Tidal Wave [george weasley post war]

12. Pursuit Of Happiness

"Are you done laughing at me?" George groaned, his entire neck and face were now bright red and most likely warm to the touch. He narrowed his eyes at Aurora, who was still cackling loudly – her body sprawled out on the floor beside her bed.

"Oh...Oh George, I can't-" She tried to speak between laughter, her hands clutching onto her stomach as she tried to catch her breath. The laughter slowly started to die down, her hands now pushing herself up into a sitting position, wiping at the corners of her eyes that were now wet from tears. "I'm sorry, that was just... That was too good." She laughed softly, shaking her head before looking up at him with a wide grin. "I can't wait to tell everyone."

"Oh no you don't!" George exclaimed, shaking his head profusely. "Please, Aurora, I'm your friend now. Friends don't embarrass friends like this!"

"George, how many friends have you had in your life? That is exactly what friends do!" Aurora told him, now moving to sit beside him on her bed. She turned to face him, pulling one leg up onto the bed and bending it at her knee to press her foot into the opposite thigh. She bounced the other leg a bit, curiously watching George as the blush started to disappear.

"You're going to be the death of me." George sighed, shaking his head before leaning it back to look up at the ceiling. "What is this box anyhow?" He glanced over at her, noticing that she was still watching him.

"My wand." She said softly, chewing on her lower lip.

It had been two years and three months since she last saw her wand. In the beginning, she would open the box and look at it. Maybe let her hand slip into the box to run along the smooth wooden instrument before quickly closing the box at the first spark beneath her fingertips. Come to think of it, the last time she touched a wand was Christmas Day and it wasn't her own. It had been his. She often wondered if he remembered that she took his wand away from him or not. He never mentioned it. But then again, they didn't have many conversations since that night.

"Why are you giving it to me?" George cleared his throat and moved to sit exactly how Aurora was. The box nestled down onto the mattress between their legs, his eyes stayed on it as he kept one hand on the side of the box, gently rubbing his thumb against it before glancing back up at her. "I don't know if I'm understanding what you want me to do with it, or at least why you're showing me."

"Well, Georgie," Aurora reached out and gently flicked his nose with her index finger, making a 'pop' sound with her lips as she did so. "If we're going to help each other be less depressed and more mentally stable," She joked, looking down at the box before she ran her fingertip along the top. "I trust you with holding onto this for me... That is, until I'm ready to use it again."

She slowly pushed her up towards the top of her bed. She stretched her legs out with a soft sigh before leaning over and pulling open the drawer of her nightstand. She pulled out a small key and laid back again, her head sinking into the soft pillow beneath her. She held the key up and gestured for George to take it.

"Aurora..." George's eyes widened a bit as he watched her, shifting a bit out of her way as she made her way up her bed. "I can't accept this. It's a lot to ask of me." He told her softly, picking up the box and placing it on top of her nightstand before looking down at her hand that was now holding out the key to him. He looked up at her and bit on his lower lip. The look she was giving him was doing something to his insides. Ever since the battle and losing Fred, George rarely felt bad for other people. Looking into Aurora's deep blue eyes and seeing the complete and utter heartbreak, as well as fear – well it just did something to him. How could he help her when he, himself, was broken too?

"George." She eyed him, noticing that he wasn't moving to take the key from her hand. She sighed and leaned over again to set the key on top of the box. She smacked the pillow next to the one she was laying on and smiled at George. "Please."