Before the Dawn | George Weasley

15

Exams were cancelled.

I felt my spirits rise as Dumbledore made the announcement, and the Great Hall burst into cheers. I hadn't set much time aside to study due to my preoccupation with winning the Quidditch Cup, and so it felt as if a heavy weight had been removed from my shoulders as I realised it wouldn't matter.

We hadn't had many problems with the dementors since the beginning of the year, and rumour had it Sirius Black had given up on his mission to find Harry Potter and left for good. The student body felt much more at ease without the dark ghosts floating about, and Dumbledore's cancelling exams only made it all that much better.

I sat between Marcus and Graham, my two now-former teammates, my attempt to spend as much time with them as possible before they left Hogwarts exceedingly obvious.

"I suppose that's lucky for me," I heard Lucian say a bit further down the table. "Can't fail my exams if we aren't taking them."

The table buzzed with laughter.  I grinned, shaking my head at my teammate.

Graham's nudge in my side drew my attention. "There's a Weasel staring at you."

I looked across to the Gryffindor table, where George was indeed gazing at me. I hummed thoughtfully, responding to Graham in a low voice. "I haven't spoken to him since the match."

"Are you angry with the Weasel?" Marcus asked in a mocking tone. "He hit you pretty good with a Bludger near the end of that match, if I remember correctly."

"Not to mention he tried to chase you down after the match," added Graham teasingly. "I reckon he's got a bit of a thing for you, Doyle."

I felt my face heat up.

"I tried to warn you about that lot," Marcus spoke before I could. "But you didn't listen to me, and now you've got a Weasel chasing after you. You've only yourself to blame."

"Stop calling him a Weasel," I scolded the two older boys, who just grinned at one another. "He's my friend. And I'm not angry with him. I've just... I've just been busy, I suppose."

In all honesty I'd been avoiding George, unsure of how to say goodbye to him. Summers always felt exceedingly long, and I feared our fledgling friendship might be too fragile to last over the months that lay ahead.

"Weasel isn't so bad," Graham defended. "I know he's got worse names for us."

"Not for you, that I know of." I spared another glance over at the ginger-haired boy, whose eyes were still fixed on me. "But he's got a good one for Draco."

Graham leaned over so I could whisper it in his ear, then burst into loud laughter, drawing the attention of the entire Slytherin table as well as some of the other houses.

I looked over at George again, whose face had grown red; I realised too late that he probably thought we were laughing at him. I smiled at him in an attempt to assuage his fears, but he looked away without returning it. Guilt crept up my spine.

* * * * * *

The train station just outside Hogsmeade was bustling with students, the feeling of leaving Hogwarts bittersweet for nearly every one of us.

I stood off to the side, waiting for Jamie, Lucian, and Miles, who had insisted they all wanted to share a compartment but were taking their sweet time getting to the station. I scanned the crowd for their faces, irritated when I couldn't pick them out, and suddenly wondered if maybe they were already on the train.