The Girl Who Hid | George Weasley

ch 39 : green

You woke up early the next morning to the sound of footsteps padding in the hallway past your room. You fluttered your sleepy eyes open and looked up into George's peacefully sleeping face. He looked so innocent and sweet in that state. If people saw him like that, you were certain that no one would ever be able to believe that he was one of Hogwarts' biggest pranksters.

You lifted your hand and brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen into his eyes. He stirred in his sleep at the gesture, but he didn't open his eyes. Rather, he just whimpered and pulled you tighter against his chest, smiling softly as he settled into a peaceful stillness again.

You thought your face was going to break from how brightly you were smiling.

When you heard faint screaming from somewhere nearby in the house, you slipped from his arms and grabbed your wand from the dresser and hurried to investigate. George whined incoherently but soft snores fell from his mouth just seconds later. You tugged the covers up higher on his body before you padded out of the room and moved down the hallway.

You whipped open Harry and Ron's bedroom door with your wand out as you scanned the room. When you found Ron standing there with his skin an almost fluorescent green and Fred smugly smiling from a few paces away, you slowly lowered your wand. Harry, Ron, and Fred all looked over at you when you entered. You trailed, "I thought I heard a girl screaming..."

Fred threw his head back laughing before jabbing his thumb at his little brother. You stared at Ron with wide eyes and questioned, "That was you? I was worried it was Thelma or your mum!"

This comment sent the half-asleep Harry into a fit of laughter from his bed on the other side of the room.

Ron rolled his eyes and groaned, "Fred! Do the counter-spell. I cannot go around looking like this all day."

You began laughing too as you really took in Ron's appearance. You widened your eyes and covered your mouth with your hand when the bright green boy shot you a wilting look.

Ron retorted, "Blimey, stop laughing at me, Y/N. It's not like we don't already know that George didn't sleep in his own bed last night." Ron gave you a flat look with his eyebrows raised challengingly.

The smile was wiped off your face as you remembered the night before. Your nightmare that scared your friends came back to the front of your memory. You gave a smile that didn't reach your eyes and nodded once before your eyes slipped over to your brother's. You could see the mix of understanding and pity in his eyes, realizing from his single look that he understood what had truly happened. You blinked a couple times before slipping from the room wordlessly. You shoved your wand into your pocket and hurried down the stairs, embracing the silence of the early morning hours at 12 Grimmauld Place.

You found the kitchen, disappointed to see that the light was on. You peeked your head in the doorway and sighed when you saw that the rooms only occupant was Molly as she was beginning to cook breakfast. You shuffled in and washed your hands before pulling on an apron and sidling up beside Molly.

The older woman smiled at you. When you gave her a half-hearted smile back, Molly wondered, "Did something happen, sweetheart?"

You shook your head and murmured, "No, no, I'm okay, really."

Not believing you for even a second, Molly set down her spatula and tugged you in for a tight embrace. When you pulled away, you gave her a grateful smile and picked up a spoon to stir some eggs. Molly seemed satisfied by your brighter smile that time and got back to her sausage.

At some point, you heard footsteps enter the kitchen and both of you looked over to find Lupin standing in the doorway. He smiled at you and Molly before asking, "Y/N, could we talk for a minute?"

You nodded and handed your spoon to Molly before following Lupin out of the room. You settled into what appeared to be an empty library of sorts. You both plopped into a pair of cushioned seats, and you pulled your legs up underneath you. You looked at him with a bright grin and wondered, "What did you want to talk to me about, Professor Lupin?"

He blinked at your formality and laughed, "Y/N, you know that you can call me Remus, right?"

You beamed, "Oh, sorry! Of course, Remus. What were you hoping to talk about?"

Remus looked around at the now empty shelves before he sighed, "I wanted to check in with you on how you're feeling with everything going on. I know that with You-Know-Who being back and Harry's upcoming trial, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed lately." He looked at you with a warm smile, and you were grateful not to find any pity there.

You wrapped your sweater covered arms around yourself and sighed, "I'm okay. Just trying to stay hopeful." You gave him a small smile and continued, "I mean, they can't really charge Harry for using a protective spell, right?"

Remus wanted so badly to tell you it would all be okay and that the Ministry of Magic would do the right thing, but he really couldn't know for sure. His hesitation made your smile falter. He stammered, "Dumbledore will defend him well and do his best, that I'm sure of."

You murmured, "I hope it's enough... Do you know if Dumbledore wants me to act as a witness in the trial?"

Remus pursed his lips and admitted, "He isn't sure that the Ministry will allow it."

"He thinks they will just write me off," You realized as you chewed on your cheek. Remus' uncomfortable silence was the only answer you needed as an air of uncertainty fell over the room. Looking at your exhausted expression that you couldn't hide with a smile, Remus wished he could say the right thing and give you some comfort, but he was so used to the stress and pain that sometimes he lost the words.

As Remus was scrambling to think of something inspiring, the door creaked open, and George's cheeky face poked in. You immediately perked up at seeing his goofily smiling face, and Remus took note of the bright grin that covered your face. You chuckled, "Hey, George! I will meet you in just a minute if that's alright?"

George nodded and winked at you before he pulled the door shut again. You turned back to Remus with a genuine smile on your face now and wondered, "Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

Remus just smiled at your sudden chipper attitude and shook his head. You hopped up and excitedly hurried to the door. You threw one last smile over your shoulder before yanking the door open. George was leaning against the wall on the other side of the hallway, and you rushed into his opened arms, enjoying the warmth his presence provided you after that heavy conversation.

He placed a kiss on the top of your head before tugging you along to breakfast, still tucked into his side.

You didn't notice Remus' wide smile as he watched the two of you, oblivious to everything else around you. All your problems faded into the background since you were each other's world.