Protégée (George Weasley)

Chapter Twenty Two

Lisa was definitely not herself over breakfast, Noel noticed as he watched her poke around the yolk of her sunny side up egg. She had barely said a word over the past our, and he was beginning to think that she was holding some sort of grudge against him.

Majority of the people surrounding them were clearly hungover, their disheveled and easily bothered state giving it away. Angelina had practically hissed at her younger brother when he had asked her to pass him the plate of waffles.

A hungover, irritable sister, and his bestfriend who would barely say a word. What a great way to start the morning.

Lisa, meanwhile, had been constantly stealing quick glances at George for the past hour, marveling at how great he was bouncing back from his hangover, compared to Fred, who was an absolute mess.

Perhaps, she thought, George wasn't as drunk as she thought he was.

The memory of his seemingly drunken confession resurfaced in Lisa's head, a thought she's been struggling to suppress since she went up to her quarters that night. She repeatedly told herself not to think too much about it, but alas, she definitely could not help herself.

In all her life, she had never caught herself thinking about a boy as much as she did in that moment.

Lisa shook her head, trying to dismiss the thought of George's possible genuine feelings, finally cutting up a piece of her sunny side up and shoving it in her mouth. Noel's brow arched, "Just when I thought you were incapable of doing anything else but stab at your food."

"Sorry," she apologized, "I'm just a little out of it this morning."

"Elisabeth Louise Branson," Noel fake gasped, "Have you been drinking last night too? What a scandal."

Lisa gave his foot a light kick under the table, "I am not hungover. I'm just...thinking about something."

"Penny for your thoughts, then?"

"They cost more than a penny, sorry." she joked, to lighten up the mood, "It's nothing you should worry about Elly."

Noel held back a surprised expression. It was very unlikely for Lisa to keep things to herself. She always told him about her troubles, from something as insignificant as buying the wrong brand of ink to something as big as another row she's had with her parents.

"Are you sure?"

"Ofcourse. It's not a big deal. I shouldn't be thinking about it too much too." Lisa smiled, her eyes flickering one last time to the redhead who was a few meters away from her.

"Well, if you insist."

Lisa heard the tone in his voice, frowning at her best friend, "I don't have to tell you everything that's going on in my life, Elly. I'm allowed to keep secrets to myself."

"I know." he answered curtly, hurt evident in his voice, before finishing his breakfast in silence. Lisa sighed, not a big fan of Noel and his irrational moods. She had noticed this particular change in his behavior, but could not really point out what was causing it. She had been his best friend since the first year, and this was the first time she could not read his feelings like an open book.

Pushing the thought of Noel aside, Lisa glanced at George one more time, her brain looping back to the events of the night before. She contemplated on whether or not she should go up to him and talk to him about what he had said.

Would she look bad if she did, though? Desperate, perhaps?

It was not like she obsessively fancied George, her subconscious told her, but another part told her otherwise, pointing out that she wouldn't really make a big fuss out of the situation if she didn't like George Weasley in that way.