keeper → g. weasley [EDITING]

↝twenty eight

   GEORGE'S BREATH CAUGHT IN HIS THROAT causing him to just about choke on it.

The candlelight danced off her widened pupils,
"M-Mallie..?" He stuttered.

She said nothing, hey eyes still trying to adjust to the semi darkness.

George quickly pulled his hand from her face.

"I know you d-don't want me.. h-here... I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to c-come..."

He stumbled up from the chair and tried to make his way out of the wing as co-ordinated as he could.

He hadn't counted on Mallie waking up.

She watched his clumsy movements with a frown, "George..?"

He shook his head and kept moving.

"George." She said again, more firmly this time.

George stopped and turned, swaying on the spot.

"Please come here, George." She whispered, but he heard it so clearly she might have been screaming.

"I shouldn't --" He protested.

"Please?"

And that was all it took, George melted like butter and made his way back to the bed fairly quickly.

Mallie was sitting up, a mixture of moon and candle light dancing off her pink scars.

George leaned forward, inches from her face. He didn't know why, but he wanted to be as close to her as he could get.

Before he could say anything, both of her warm hands came up to cup his cheeks. Mallie winced as she did so, ribs aching when she moved.

"You're freezing..." she noted with an air of emergency,
"George, why are you so cold?"

"I-I was out in ... in the s-snow for a while." He hiccuped.

Mallie gasped, pulling him closer,
"You can get yourself killed out in temperatures like that!"

"I don't care." He mumbled.

Mallie caught a waft of alcohol,
"George, are you ... drunk?" She asked, careful to keep her voice down as not to disturb the sleeping second year in the bed beside her (engorgio charm gone wrong).

He shook his head, "No.. well, maybe. Kind of.."

George avoided her eyes.

"Oh, Georgie..." Mallie said sadly, letting her fingers stroke his face softly.

"Don't call me that. I don't even deserve for you to be speaking to me," He jumped from the force of another hiccup, "I put you in this bed."