Joke's on Me | George Weasley | Book 1

chapter 9 - hospital time

Natalia stared down at her cherry pancakes. It was her dad's birthday, and it was always tradition when she was younger to have the favourite pancakes of whose ever birthday it was. Blueberry for Natalia, cherry for her dad, maple syrup for her mum. She'd asked the house elves for them in her first year, for herself and her dad, and they'd never missed a year. She refused to even talk about her mother even then.

But looking at them now only made her miss him even more, made her angrier at her mum.

"Natalia." Draco stood by her right shoulder, clutching a letter so tightly it was creasing, his knuckled white.

She didn't bother to respond.

"Lily, could we have a minute?"

Lily looked at Nat who didn't look up. "Yeah. But if she doesn't want to talk, she doesn't talk."

Draco didn't respond at all, keeping his eyes trained on Natalia.

Finally, she pushed away her pancakes, resting her chin in her palm. He took it as an invitation.

"I know we're not currently speaking, but we can't ignore this, Natalia." He dropped the letter in front of her.

She took her time opening it, smoothing out the creases he'd made, before slowly opening it. But she wasted no time in skipping the unimportant garbage, getting to whatever had Malfoy scared stiff.

-something coming. Contact will have to be limited, the ministry can't get suspicious. Tell Natalia to get ready and keep the recent present from her mother safe and away from everyone - including the original owner. Especially the original owner.

It felt as though someone had slapped her around the face and thrown her into space without a suit or way to get home.
She stood, nearly knocking Draco over in the process. Latching on to him, she stared down at the words now echoing in her head like a broken record. "So, it's really happening? Soon?" Her eyes were wide, searching, hoping it was all a trick so she would talk to him, but he looked just as terrified as she did. Well, not as terrified; his fear was confined to his eyes. Natalia was sure hers was easily readable from her face.

"It's happening. It's planned. That's all he'll tell me, all he will risk saying by owl. We're not invited for Christmas."

Natalia felt as though there was a lump in her throat, her mouth running dry and she felt hot and cold at the same time. Her hand was still on his arm, she could tell she was cutting the circulation off by the way he kept flexing his hand but she felt as though if she let go she'd drown in her own mind.

"Goddamn it, Natalia where's your damn boyfriend can't you cut off the circulation in his arm instead." He growled under his breath, dragging her along out of the Great Hall.

"I broke up with him." She stuttered, not really able to comprehend anything other than the fact that within the next few months she would again be face to face with her own mother. Except this time, there would be no dementors sucking away the happiness, there would be no chains in the way. Just the two of them, free.

Draco waited until they were somewhere decidedly more secluded before detaching her hand from his arm, shaking it to regain some feeling in it. "I'm not talking about Blaise. You really think I wouldn't notice? Come on Nat."

She could barely get her head around the news about her mother, never mind the fact Draco was well aware about her and George.
Then again, it was Draco Malfoy. He knew nearly everything that happened within the walls of Hogwarts. And what he didn't know it was likely Natalia knew them instead.

She stared at him like a deer caught in headlights. "I'm going to throw up."

His eyes widened as she held her stomach and went white as a sheet, pulling her through the hall to a bathroom, shoving everyone out of the way. It was the boys' toilets they came too first, but it would have to do. He shoved her into a stall, locking the door behind them.
He held her hair back, rubbing her back as she threw up whatever she'd been able to stomach at breakfast.
"Ok, when you're done here we'll get you to the infirmary, there's no way you're going to class today."

Natalia sat back, resting her head on the stall wall. "I'm- I'm fine-" She tried to convince him but he just rolled his eyes.

"I can't believe you're making me sit on this filthy floor."

Natalia could barely manage a smile. Her mother's face was floating in her mind, her unhinged smile making her skin crawl, her natter and chatter, endless rantings and ravings about blood status and the Dark Lord...
She retched into the toilet again, trying to get rid of all memories, all thoughts and feelings and relations she had with Daphne Rosier. Seeing as it was in her DNA, Natalia would probably be there for a while.

"Malfoy? Is that you?" There was a knock at the door.

"Ah, good, just who I was hoping for." Draco sighed, making sure he still held her hair back from her face and unlocked the door. "I really can't tell, but I'm hoping you're George."

George nodded, eyes on Natalia. "What's wrong?"

Natalia sat back, slightly dizzy, breathing laboured.

"Family matters causing extreme stress and... well, this is what happens when she'd put under extreme stress," Draco explained, trying to make sure she was ok. "Just waiting for her to stop-"

As if on cue, Natalia started retching into the toilet again.

"-throwing up long enough to get her to Madam Pomfrey, Merlin's pants Natalia how much could you possibly have eaten." He sat with her again, rubbing her back.

George stared for a second before seemingly coming to his senses. "Bloody hell." He muttered, quickly dropping his bag, pulling out a decoy detonator and pointing his wand at it and muttering a few transfiguration spells under his breath. He managed to transfigure it into a bucket. "I'll hold this, you carry her, we can't leave her here."

Draco stared at him, trying to decipher what he meant, but did as he was told (Natalia would try and remember exactly what made him do that later, but she was too out of it when it was happening to notice) and lifted her, making sure to keep her on her side as much as he could. George tried to help, but with the height difference, and Natalia not being able to control whatever was happening to her, it made it difficult to even get five feet without having to stop and readjust

Natalia tried to stand on her own, but admittedly everything was spinning around her head so fast it was difficult for her to even remember to breathe.

It took them a while, but eventually, they staggered into the infirmary where Madam Pomfrey took one look at her and directed her immediately to a bed along with a proper, self-cleaning bucket. "What happened? Did she wake up like this?"

Draco shook his head. "Stress."

She looked at him as if he'd grown a third head - or something alarming to her, Draco wouldn't put it past her to have seen it. "Stress?"

Draco gave her a pointed look. "Family stress."

She pursed her lips, nodding. George looked confused but didn't want to press the matter with Natalia... well, with Natalia as she was.

George looked as though he wanted to stay, but one pointed look from Madam Pomfrey and he begrudgingly left for his classes. Draco stayed, pushing his luck, sitting by her bed.

"Anything in particular about her family stresses that set it off?"

Draco knew this was her way of asking if she had any information, but he definitely couldn't endanger his father's place in the ministry. Voldemort would kill him without a second thought. So he shrugged, "well she recently had to cut all contact with her father. He's gone away for work, Special forces in the muggle army," Draco lied through his teeth, "maybe something to do with that."