Sinners and Serpents {g.w.}

Chapter 24

a/n: okay tbh,,, this is one of my favorite chapters ive written so far i hope you guys enjoy it! 

You heard the door to the Room of Requirement opening, and out of habit, you looked up. Fred and George walked in, and before they saw you, you looked away, your heart stuttering embarrassingly hard at the sight of George. You tuned back into the conversation at hand just in time to hear Ron make a joke about Umbridge that made you laugh so hard you nearly doubled over.

Of course George was here, you told yourself. It was a D.A. meeting; you should've mentally prepared yourself to see him. But apparently, you were stupid, and hadn't. Harry walked to the middle of the large room, yelling, "Oi! Listen up!"

Everyone turned their attention to him, and you did your best to keep your eyes on Harry, who was welcoming everyone back from the holiday, instead of looking at George. Though you'd seen him considerably less in the short time since you'd gotten back to Hogwarts, that had somehow only made seeing him every time even worse. It was as if all of the anticipation built up between each time you spent time with Ron, or bumped into the twins in the hallway, or studied with your Gryffindor friends and it would hit you all at once every time you saw George.

Seeing him in passing was almost worse. He'd be laughing, or brushing his red hair out of his face that was now so long it was starting to curl, or grinning lazily at some girl trying to flirt with him, and you'd have to just keep walking even though a bubble of heat would ignite in your stomach. It was the heat of attraction, no doubt about that, but it was also the burnt displeasure of jealousy. Seeing small pockets of George's day where he was enjoying himself and paying attention to others almost felt like looking onto a scene from behind a window. It was there, playing out in front of you, but you were not a part of the action. You'd started letting yourself admit you wanted George, and that was progress in your book. That hadn't made it easier, surprisingly.

You'd started letting yourself admit you wanted George, and your mind seemed to take this as an invitation to create scenarios during sleep or when you were daydreaming that always starred him. Sometimes, it would be declarations of undying love; sometimes, it would be scenes that would leave you frustrated and tense; mostly, it was little scenes of you and him together, his long fingers brushing your hair out of your face, or his soft mouth pressing even softer kisses to every bit of skin he could reach. You wanted him, and now, it wasn't purely physical. You'd somehow developed a whole bloody crush on the boy. And god, you were a mess because of it.

"Okay, so today, we're going to be working on Patronuses! I know you've all been waiting ages for this, believe me, and I think we've finally gotten to a point where we can do it!" Harry was saying, earning eager and excited expressions from the rest of the D.A. "It isn't easy, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to do it every time! Right, everyone spread out a bit, and we can begin." The sound of shoes scuffling across stone filled the air as everyone found a space for themselves. You were standing near Ron, George, Fred, Angelina, and Hermione. Luna, Cho, Seamus, and Dean were a few paces away.

Excited and anticipatory energy filled the room, practically infectious. This was likely the most anticipated lesson since the formation of the D.A., and you certainly were looking forward to it. Ever since you had seen the beauty of Harry's stag fighting against the horde of Dementors sent to deliver their fatal kiss to Sirius, you had longed for the ability to create something so wonderful yourself. You had tried a few times, on your own. You'd never been successful, though; the magic it took to produce any bit of a Patronus was monumental.