Secrets Only Trouble Knows - George Weasley

27 - When I'm With You

Nova's POV

The following days passed quite slowly and blandly. The only truly monumental highlight was hearing about Isla's date.

As expected, it had gone exceptionally well. She and Cedric had sat together in the middle courtyard under the stars, getting to know one another while they shared some sweets Cedric had acquired for them to enjoy. He didn't kiss her, but Isla was very thrilled to tell anyone who'd listen that the two of them would definitely be going out on more dates. I was so happy for her.

Aside from that, there wasn't anything else of importance to report— up until today.

The calendar marked Tuesday of Halloween week, and it was just now around 8:30 in the evening. After a hectic day of classes, I was sprawled on my stomach on the ground near the fire, keeping some of my Gryffindor friends occupied while they busied themselves with various tasks before the night came to an end.

Callie, Alicia, and Angelina were finishing an essay for Transfiguration I'd completed myself not long ago. Hermione was on the couch, skimming through one of her textbooks for the sheer joy of it. It was safe to say Ron and Harry weren't interested in joining her in such an activity, so they'd struck up a game of Wizard's Chess nearby. Next to Hermione sat Neville Longbottom, who was particularly chatty tonight. Given I had nothing better to do for the remainder of time before bed, I allowed him to tell me all about the Mimbulus mimbletonia plant he'd recently gotten, which he was especially eager to share his love for to someone. Herbology made him exceptionally happy, I could tell. He knew a lot more about it than the average second-year. I admired his keen interest in the subject, and therefore didn't mind listening to him blubber on about it. I loved when people spoke about their passions.

Off in the distance, Jasper, Lee, Kol, and Fred were fooling about with an Inflatable Tongue one of them had purchased from Zonko's Joke Shop in Hogsmeade awhile back. When Neville began talking in endless circles about Herbology, I cut my eyes to them. I didn't want to shut him down, but admittedly I was eventually getting a tad bored. So I watched the boys for a moment, smiling at their silliness.

But then I quickly realized something was off. George, surprisingly, was not with them. He had been— I was sure I'd seen him with the group not long ago. But he'd since disappeared, which was quite odd. Had Fred vanished too I'd likely not think anything of it, but it was just him that was missing.

Perhaps it was none of my business where he'd gone, but something just didn't feel quite right. It was incredibly rare when George wasn't with the rest of the boys in the evenings as they were all together— if they weren't out pranking, he usually joined them in joking around and entertaining other students all the way up until curfew and bedtime.

Curious to find out where he went, I pushed myself up onto my knees.

"Sorry, Neville," I cut the boy off. He'd still been rambling about Herbology-related things, but for the last several moments I hadn't caught a word he'd said. "Would you excuse me for just a second?"

"O-oh, sure, Nova!" he smiled kindly. "I'll still be here."

"Great," I returned the gesture, then looked to Callie. "Hey, watch my things? I'll be right back."

She nodded mindlessly, appearing to be in the middle of writing an important sentence of her essay. So I slipped my wand in my back pocket and stood to my feet.

Brushing through a few pairs of students conversing here and there, I made my way over to the boys across the room.

"Hey, Fred," I called, approaching him.