Secrets Only Trouble Knows - George Weasley

37 - Mystery Boy

Nova's POV

Christmas Eve eventually arrived, and with it came a couple inches of powdered snow. Jasper, Fred, George, and I spent the morning playing in it together. But after an hour or two, I parted ways with them, letting them continue to make a mess of the wintery field down the street while I patted back to the house to get warm.

Once inside, I changed out of my wet clothes. I bundled up in a comfy jumper, pulled on my fluffiest socks, made a cup of hot chocolate, and perched myself on our cozy window bench in the den that Mum and I often use as a reading nook. I sat there with a blanket wrapped around me and watched the steady snowfall in our back garden for some time, enjoying the momentary peace and quiet that filled the cottage in the boys' absence. The only sound that carried through the air was that of Mum's soft pattering on the floor as she moved between rooms doing chores.

I'd been caught in a daze staring at a very intricate little snowflake stuck to the window when a gentle hand combed through my hair, pulling me out of my daydream. It was Mum.

"Come bake with me?" she asked softly. "I was thinking we could make some sugar cookies from scratch, no magic. Then decorate them with the boys when they come in."

"That sounds lovely," I smiled warmly, untangling myself from my blanket.

"You want some music?" Mum asked as I followed after her into the kitchen. She was already heading to the little radio we kept in one of the corners. "There's a station that's got holiday tunes playing these days, I should think."

"It's only fitting," I replied.

She turned the knob on the radio, adjusting it to the right channel. Frank Sinatra's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was playing. She smiled to herself and approached the cupboard. As she rummaged through it to retrieve what we'd need for the cookies, I hopped onto the countertop and waited patiently.

"Alright, you're going to mix the dry ingredients," she said, returning to me. She handed everything over, along with a large mixing bowl. "And I'll do the wet."

We began working on our respective tasks without talking, opting to appreciate the music in the background. I measured the proper amount of flour, baking soda, and baking powder and mixed them together in my bowl while Mum cracked an egg and whisked it with sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in hers. When we were both finished, we combined everything into dough. I couldn't refrain from pinching off a tiny bit of it and popping it in my mouth before we began scooping it out of the bowl and shaping it. It tasted delicious already.

After she and I had been rolling the dough into small balls for some time, Mum eventually broke the quiet.

"So... I think there's something you haven't told me yet," she began.

I placed the current ball I'd just made onto our cookie sheet, then looked to her curiously. I had no idea what she was talking about. I wasn't hiding anything, nor had I done something to upset her.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I think you know very well what I mean, Nov," she replied simply, the corners of her lips etching into the tiniest of smiles. "It involves you and a certain Weasley twin."

I froze, completely taken aback.

"W-what?"

Mum stopped what she was doing and turned towards me.