Secrets Only Trouble Knows - George Weasley

22 - Tension

The following week after Fred and George had gone home after their stay with my family in Castle Combe, I felt a sense of relief I never had before.

I finally had a school year to look forward to. I wouldn't be entering it feeling stressed about what kind of trouble George would rope me into, or the bickering that would surely ensue between us. I didn't need to fear being pranked or embarrassed by him. In many ways, it felt like I was going into my first year all over again. All I felt was happiness and excitement and positivity. Not dread or frustration.

I was so glad we'd talked that night under the tree in my backyard. Not only was our three-year-long rivalry finally over and I could relax now, but I'd gotten closure about the recent feelings I'd been having about our relationship. I'd learned he too wished for us to become real friends, and having those same sentiments returned felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

My mom was absolutely thrilled to hear about this major accomplishment. She kept telling me how, really, it was all thanks to her. If she hadn't allowed Jasper to invite them over, such progress between George and me never would have happened. She was right, of course, but I didn't let her hear me admit it aloud.

Everyone absolutely did "lose their shit," as Jasper had so elegantly put it, when I boarded the Hogwarts Express on September 1st, joined my friends in our usual compartment, and told them the recent news about George and me.

Callie, Kol, Flora, and Isla stared at me like I had horns growing atop my head. Adrian, on the other hand, looked both extremely confused and incredibly disgruntled. And Jasper— well, he watched the entire scene play out like he was viewing a movie in the cinema, shoving Chocolage Frogs into his mouth.

"So that's the first thing you say when we ask you about your summer? You tell us you're friends with George Weasley now?!" Callie exclaimed, her wide, brown eyes looking at me with pure astonishment.

"Now how did that happen exactly?" Isla asked, gaping at me from beside Callie.

"Yeah, I'm gonna need a play-by-play for that one," nodded Kol.

"Well, it all began with me," piped Jasper, almost proudly. "I invited the twins to join us in Castle Combe for a week."

"It's true," I agreed. "He did. And at first it was a little rocky with George. But then... weirdly enough, we started getting along quite well towards the end. On the very last night of their stay, I couldn't sleep, so I went outside to clear my head. He ended up randomly finding me out there and somehow we just... talked about things. Everything. And then decided to drop all the fighting. So... yeah. Here we are, I guess. Giving being friends a shot," I shrugged.

"This literally has to be a prank," Callie stated with disbelief, shaking her head.

"This is too weird for this to actually be real," concurred Kol.

"That's what I said!" my brother shouted.

"I know, I know, but it is," I assured them. "It's real."

"Well, good for you, then!" Isla beamed. "I'm proud of you!"

She stretched across the compartment to give me a hug which I embraced gratefully.

Flora, having yet to speak, merely leaned back in her seat with a smirk and crossed her arms over her chest.

I gave her a look, knowing she was certainly itching to say something about this news.

"What?" I demanded skeptically. "Go on, say it."

"Remember what I theorized last year on the train?" she wondered.