for now. [george weasley]

chapter sixteen: the ball busters

THE NEXT MORNING, COLLINS AWOKE IN GINNY WEASLEY'S bedroom with the sun shining on her face. An extra bed had been set up in the only girl's bedroom for Collins to sleep in, and Ginny was kind of a cool roommate. Before bed, they talked entertainingly about Quidditch (specifically, the Hollyhead Harpies) and music - both Muggle and wizard.

Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she ran a hand through her knotted hair. Ginny had apparently already woken and started her day, because Collins had observed that she was alone in the room. After stretching her limbs with a satisfying yawn, she sat up and pulled on an old plain black jumper, swapping her pajama pants out for a pair of baggy, ripped jeans and woolen socks.

After she made a quick trip to the bathroom, she snatched her glasses from the top of Ginny's dresser and briskly made her way downstairs. The scent of waffles and bacon became more and more apparent, and her stomach awoke delightedly.

"Morning, my love!" Marlene chirped as her niece entered the dining room. She stood quickly, snatching an empty plate from the counter and began piling food onto it.

"Morning, Marley," Collins greeted, her voice raspy with sleep.

"Go on and eat, before Molly has a fit about how skinny you are." Marlene laughed, shoving the now full plate into Collins' hands. She mumbled a quick thanks through a yawn, and pulled out a chair next to Harry.

"Sleep okay?" He asked, glancing over at her before cutting another bite from his own plate of waffles.

"I haven't slept okay since the womb, Pots, but it was better than usual." Collins smirked, pouring herself a cup of tea. Harry snorted, shaking his head and shoving a forkful of waffles into his mouth. Across from them, Ron sat in between Ginny and George, pouting into his glass of orange juice. "Alright, Ronnie?" She asked, quirking a brow.

" 'M fine," he grumbled, taking a drink with disdain.

Collins wasn't fooled. "What's with 'im?" She whispered to Harry.

The boy opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Fred. "He's just miffed about Hermoine, but what else is new?"

"Ah, how is Miss Granger?" Remus asked from beside his daughter, who was enchanting the napkins into little oragami animals. "I was surprised to see she wasn't with you."

"Oh, she's just corking," Ron replied, stabbing at one of his sausages.

"Watch your tone," Molly warned.

"Ah, don't mind him, mum," George piped up, elbowing his brother in the gut. "He's sore that Granger showed him up at the ball by going with Victor Krum."

"Victor Krum?!" Bill gasped, freezing his hand which was halfway to his mouth with a piece of bacon. "She went to the Yule Ball with the Victor Krum?"

"Downright treachery, isn't it?" Ron griped, looking at Harry, "Poor Harry, had to his best mate just betray him like that."

The boy in question shifted uncomfortably. "Well-"

"Oh, come off it, you jealous prat," Ginny scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You're the one who acted a complete arse to her."

"Ronald Weasley!" Molly screeched, throwing a washcloth down vehemently and sneering at her youngest son. "If I find out that you've been giving that girl a hard time for enjoying herself-"

Collins sat awkwardly between Harry and Charlie, her eyes bouncing back and forth from one member of the Weasley clan to the next.

It was Ron's turn to scoff now, his face and ears burning red. "Oh, yeah! Give me a hard time when George was the one who went around punching the French blokes!"