Secrets Only Trouble Knows - George Weasley

43 - Follow the Spiders

Nova's POV

The Easter holiday came and went, and then a few more weeks drifted by too, most of which were pleasantly mundane. The Chamber of Secrets mess had remained unsolved, but no more attacks had occurred.

Largely, things around Hogwarts felt normal again. It seemed to be just like any other spring. The weather had warmed up by now and several nice and sunny days had brought about lots of time spent outdoors. Loads of students made frequent trips to the Black Lake, and George and I ourselves had gone on numerous picnics there and across the grounds together too.

Our time together only grew more lovely with each passing day. We'd yet to make our relationship official in terms of a label, but our care for each other was unwavering and only continued to deepen. I was certain it would happen soon enough and he'd ask me to truly become his girlfriend. I knew George was just being keen not to overwhelm me or rush me into anything I didn't feel ready for, given I'd told him I wanted to move slowly. It was a very big step to fully commitment to someone in such a way for the very first time, especially given my history. I was grateful he recognized that. Every single day, however, I felt myself become more and more open to the idea, like a blossoming flower.

But technical terms or not, I was satisfied with where our relationship was. It was obvious we were both the only people each other wanted to be with, and that was the most important affirmation either of us needed right now.

Late spring at Hogwarts also came with the eagerly anticipated Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, which was a week from today.

Despite having been sufficiently training for months on end, Oliver Wood was still enforcing that practices be held this week every single day leading up to the match. The team felt perfectly ready for the game as it was, of course, but Oliver was adamant that a little last minute preparation would "only improve the team's odds of winning."

Thus, I was spending my Sunday afternoon watching my brother, George, and our other friends train from up in the stands. I hadn't originally planned on doing so, given I wanted to get ahead on some of my assignments for this week, but Callie had animatedly suggested we enjoy the rare beautiful and mild day outside while supporting our boys in the process.

When we'd trekked up the stairs of the stands and found a nice spot to sit, the team was already in the air. Jasper, Kol, and Alicia were running drills and practicing strategic plays against Oliver who guarded the goalposts. Harry was working on finding the Snitch — chasing it all around the pitch, catching it, and then releasing it to repeat the cycle over again. All the while, George and Fred were beating a Bludger back and forth, simultaneously ensuring it never collided with any of their teammates.

Admittedly, I seemed to pay the most attention to George, who still hadn't seemed to realize that Callie and I had come to watch. Since it was quite warm outside, the sleeves of his Quidditch robes were rolled up as far as they would go, giving me a good look at the toned muscles of his arms. His disheveled ginger hair, damp at the ends with sweat, that he had to keep pushing back out of his eyes looked like fire underneath the bright glow of the sun. After every powerful hit of the Bludger he whacked toward his brother, a dopey grin would spread across his flushed freckled face. When he was such a sight, it was hard to look anywhere but at him.

"Pick your jaw up off the ground, Nova," Callie noticed my staring and teased.

"Oh, leave me alone," I laughed. "It's been awhile since I've come to practice. I've forgotten how great it is to watch him when he's in his element, is all."