stardust ⋮ george weasley

twenty-two :

T W E N T Y - TWO

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Late that evening, well after the match had come to a close, the feeling in the Badin's tent was near euphoric. While Mr. Badin was in the sitting room in front of the tent, drinking with several Ministry members and celebrating the Irish victory, the girls were hanging out in the small room, drinking butterbeer and snacking on the stash of wizard sweets Ophelia had to pack for the trip.

The girls felt drunk, but not from alcohol like most of the campground that night. Instead, the four best friends were drunk off of pure happiness and delight. Nights where they didn't have to worry about assignments or curfews or any sort of responsibilities became a rarity the older the girls became. They knew that moments like would become too far and in between as they went into their sixth year and beyond, so the girls wanted to savor the night for as long as they could.

Pointing at Adeline with one of her Chocolate Frog cards and grinning wildly, Estelle loudly proclaimed, "I think Ms. Adeline over here needs to do something crazy this year."

"Like finally ask out George?"

Shooting a giggling Melanie a dramatic eye roll, Adeline replied, "As if George would say yes if I asked him out."

Melanie raised an eyebrow. "So you're finally admitting you fancy him?"

"I'm not admitting anything." Her three friends began giggling once more, and Adeline's eyes widened impossibly more. "I'm serious! I think I'd know if I George fancied me."

Ophelia mumbled something that Adeline couldn't quite catch. When Estelle began laughing loudly beside her, presumably because of Ophelia's comment, Adeline shot the girls a confused look. "Are you two alright over there?"

Estelle and Ophelia shook their heads quickly, but their grin remained. "We're all good," Ophelia insisted, despite Adeline not believing her in the slightest. "Nothing crazy going on here."

The room burst into giggles once more, and the conversation turned away from Adeline's "love life", which she was incredibly thankful for. However, as the girls talked about the upcoming school year and classes they were going to take, Melanie's mind was on something else entirely. She had been debating on whether to tell her friends something for a couple of months, and in that tent with them so incredibly happy, something just felt right about telling them it that night. So when Ophelia finished celebrating about how she never had to take another Potions class with Snape again, Melanie blurted,

"I want to tell you guys something."

The mood in the room quickly shifted. Adeline had never seen Melanie look so nervous before, even during the O.W.L.s and on days before Quidditch matches. Melanie didn't seem upset or angry, which alleviated Adeline's worries just a little bit, but she still had no idea what Melanie wanted to talk to them about.

"I've known this for a long time but I haven't really said anything but I feel like I can tell you guys," Melanie began, fiddling with the Dumbledore Chocolate Frog card in her lap and not looking any of the girls in the eye. She took a deep breath. "You guys know how I've had crushes on plenty of guys in the past? That's true but...I've also had crushes on girls as well."

The room was quiet for a split-second, and Melanie held her breath as she waited for some sort of response. She couldn't even look up from her lap, terrified to see the looks on her friends face.

However, Melanie found herself surprised when Estelle so quickly and brightly asked, "Who?"

Bewildered, Melanie sent Estelle a questioning look, silently asking what she meant by that. "Who are all the people you've fancied?" Estelle asked with a warm, eager smile that made Melanie visibly relax. "We know all the boys, now we want to know all the girls!"

Adeline and Ophelia quickly agreed, nodding and grinning as they asked Melanie to give them all the details. They didn't know how much this meant to Melanie, who had been so worried about the tiny possibility that her friends wouldn't accept a part of her that she had kept hidden for so long up until this point.

But there they were, so easily and happily asking about which girls she had liked, and she couldn't have been more grateful to have a group of friends like the ones sitting beside her right now.

So Melanie told them. She told them about how about she insisted to her parents that she would have a picture of Celestina Warbeck hung up in her room to this day, despite secretly disliking her music. She told them about when she had the most massive crush Asteria Candal a small Slytherin girl with dark curly hair that seemed to go on forever and a fiery personality that captivated every one in the room, for most of her third year. She told them about the few weeks during their fourth year where she had fancied Delilah Abbington when they were Herbology partners and she could never seem to properly take care of their plants whenever Delilah wasn't around – despite Melanie having a near-perfect grade in the class up until that point.

When she was done, Adeline, Ophelia, and Estelle didn't even have to say anything to each other about what they were going to do next. The three girls immediately jumped on top of Melanie, pulling the girl into a tight and crushing, yet affectionate and loving, group hug.

"So I'm guessing you guys are alright?" Melanie asked, her loud laugh muffled by all the girls dog-piled on top of her.

Shaking her head fervently, Adeline asserted, "We love every single part of you, and we're all really happy you told us."

The joyful moment was cut short by the curtain divider being pushed open in a frantic sort of way. Mr. Badin came stumbling into the room, and while Adeline at first thought he was there to tell the girls to quiet down, the panicked look in his eyes made her think otherwise.

"We need to run. Now."

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a/n:

yeoowwww university has been Crazy but!! i've been making friends!! and it's been super fun!!

i really hoped you enjoyed the chapter!! it's kinda short but i really enjoyed it. also!! the next chapter is much longer so!!

- g ♡