Sinners and Serpents {g.w.}

Chapter 23

a/n: just a reminder that this story is also on ao3!

George tugged on his sweater, his hair damp from the shower he'd taken after their first day back to classes. For the most part, it had been just as mundane and boring as he'd expected, especially Umbridge's class. He couldn't stand that woman; he hated her affinity for the color pink, he despised her voice, and every time he looked at her and saw her beady eyes trained on him like he was a bomb about to explode, he couldn't control the disgust that crept up his spine.

The only thing that had stood out in an otherwise normal day was Scales' rosy mouth had dropped open slightly as he and Fred had nodded their hellos to her earlier that morning. George didn't quite understand; it was just a nod. He had to admit, though, that seeing that familiar shade of dusty pink cover her cheeks and nose as she flushed was a rather wonderful sight.

He couldn't count the amount of times Fred had pestered him about Scales since Halloween. George had shut him down with finality every single time, but Fred was Fred, which apparently meant he was incapable of leaving George well enough alone. Normally, the two of them shared everything. Fred was his better half, the bright sun to his dimmer moonlight, the calm to George's explosive and unpredictable behaviour.

But this...George just couldn't share this with his brother. How could he? George couldn't even work out how he felt. Sharing the jumbled knot of feelings that seemed to now permanently reside in his chest felt impossible. Untangling it had proven quite daunting and difficult so far.

No, he'd just have to figure it out first. If that were even possible.

He groaned as he dropped down onto his bed in the dorm he shared with Fred and Lee. Ever since Scales had shown up at the beginning of the year at the Burrow, her hair longer than George had ever seen it and her skin darker from the summer sun, George had been engaged in an internal war that didn't seem to have an end in sight.

And god, her fucking body. George threw an arm over his face, feeling rather defeated and morose about the whole situation. When he'd seen her at the All Hallows' Eve party, he could barely keep his eyes off of her. He hadn't known it was her, of course, but still. George had felt distantly guilty that he'd slightly ignored his date that night, but compared to the way Scales had looked, every other person in the Great Hall could've been transparent for all the notice he gave them.

Asking her to dance had taken him more bravery than he'd ever admit to anyone, including Fred. She'd been so dark and enticing and the way her body moved as she danced had George practically drooling over this mystery girl that had caught his eye right when he walked in. Finding out it was Scales had made George's heart stop cold. He really should've known, though. A mask covered in gilded snakes? Only Scales would wear something so obvious and on the nose. George had barely been able to process the information when he'd found out it had been her underneath that finely-crafted mask.

Not because he was upset, though. Merlin, no. It made his heart stop because he'd done the one thing he'd been thinking about since the end of August, and he hadn't even known at the time. It would've been different, kissing Scales knowing it was her. George had been sure of it. There was just something different about Scales that made George's head feel foggy in the best way possible.

He honestly wasn't entirely sure what had changed over the summer, but something definitely had. Before, he'd only seen Scales as Ron's annoying Slytherin friend who was around far too much in George's opinion. When she'd first walked into the Burrow, George just thought it was a passing moment of brief physical attraction, which was bound to happen when everyone's body was changing all the time. She'd constantly catch his eye when she'd walk into the room in clothes that weren't her school uniform, and when he'd had her pressed up against him in the hallway the night they'd hidden from Umbridge, George had nearly combusted as he felt her arse press into his hips. And it had just been physical attraction, until the Quidditch game they'd played at midnight after Umbridge had banned scheduled games.