Good Girl || George Weasley

7

"Ginny. Ginny."

"Go away," she grumbles, so I yank her blanket off of her and throw it on the floor. She groans and curls into a ball, covering her face with her pillow.

"We have to get up," I whisper, "It's almost time to go."

The room is dark, because it's still just before sunrise. Penny is gone, so I'm assuming she snuck over to Percy's room at some point during the night. Hermione is already up, rubbing her eye with one hand as she rummages through her bag with the other, searching for clothes.

Ginny groans again but pushes herself out of bed, so my work here is done. I leave so that they can get dressed - already dressed in jeans and a black tank top myself - and start heading downstairs to the kitchen.

George, Fred, Harry, and Ron are already seated at the kitchen table, all of them appearing still half asleep. I catch George's eye as I walk in, and he offers me a tired smile. I then look at Fred, but he doesn't look back at me.

I hope things aren't going to be weird after whatever happened last night. Or whatever didn't happen.

"Good morning, Katie!" Mr. Weasley says, cheerily, and despite my own drowsiness, I smile brightly at him.

"Good morning, Mr. Weasley," I reply, sitting down across from George, "Ginny and Hermione are on their way down," I say to Mrs. Weasley.

"What about Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Penelope?" Ron asks groggily. His cheek is propped up on his fist, and his eyes keep fluttering shut as he struggles to stay awake.

"Oh, they're going to meet you there," Mrs. Weasley explains as she offers around steaming bowls of porridge, "Since they can Apparate, so they get to sleep in a little longer."

"Not fair," Fred grumbles.

Ginny and Hermione walk into the kitchen then, both looking just as tired and out of it as the boys. Once we finish eating, we each say goodbye to Mrs. Weasley before heading outside to start the long walk to our Portkey.

Since the sun isn't up yet, it's chilly outside. I shiver as I walk across the yard between Fred and George, rubbing my arms as goosebumps start to rise on my skin. George stops walking abruptly, so I stop too, watching as he pulls his backpack off of his bag, swinging it around to his front and opening it. He pulls out a jacket, tossing it at me without a word and smiling before adjusting his backpack on his back and starting to walk again.

I feel my cheeks heating up as I remove my own backpack in order to shrug on the jacket. It's big, falling to my thighs, and it smells like George: a scent that is simultaneously sweet and smokey. I bite back a smile as I jog a few steps to catch up to the twins. I glance up at Fred as I do, but still, he doesn't look back at me.

George starts talking about whether we think Ireland's Seeker stands a chance against Bulgaria's.

"Against Viktor Krum?" comes an excited voice from in front of us. I look up to see Ron, who has turned around from where he's walking a few strides ahead of us, next to Harry, with Ginny and Hermione in front of them, up by Mr. Weasley. "I don't know about that. Krum's a bloody genius, after all."

"Yeah, Ron, we get it. You're in love," Fred calls back, his previously irritated expression fading as he smiles, and Harry, George, and I start laughing as Ron's face turns bright red. He raises a middle finger at Fred before turning back around. 

We continue trudging along, the sky growing lighter as the sunrise approaches. I can't tell if it's just me, or if there's some sort of weird tension between Fred and I, but I hope it goes away soon.

"Almost there!" Mr. Weasley calls back to us as we approach a large, somewhat steep hill. "Just up this hill is the Portkey!"

Fred and George groan dramatically from either side of me as we stumble up the hill, which is conveniently also covered in rabbit holes. Fred laughs as Ron trips over one, only for Fred himself to trip a moment later, toppling to the ground.

"Shut up," he says to me and George as we laugh at him, trying to hold back a grin as he pushes himself back up to his feet.

"Hello, Weasleys!" comes a voice from the top of the hill, out of my sight. The twins and I pick up our pace as best as we can to join the others, along with our new guests. My eyes first land on the short man that I recognize to be Amos Diggory, a coworker of my dad's and Mr. Weasley's over at the Ministry, and next to him, his tall, lanky son-

"Cedric!" I exclaim, running over to him.

"Hey, Katie!" he laughs, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug.

Cedric Diggory was one of the first friends I made at Hogwarts, and ever since becoming Quidditch captains and prefects last year, we've become closer. The twins have never been particularly fond of him, especially after Hufflepuff beat Gryffindor in their Quidditch match last year.

"I didn't know we were meeting you here," I say, pulling away from Cedric and pushing the sleeves of George's jacket up to my elbows.

"I didn't either," he replies, glancing over at his dad and Mr. Weasley, who are talking, "I mean, I knew we were meeting the Weasleys, but I didn't know you would be here, too. Hey," he greets Fred and George, glancing over my shoulder. I look back at them as they both murmur a very unenthusiastic "hello" in return, their blank expressions matching their greetings. I stifle the urge to laugh as I make eye contact with George, and one corner of his mouth slowly lifts up in a smile as he looks at me.

"Alright, alright, everyone, gather 'round," Mr. Weasley calls, getting our attention. My eyes are immediately drawn to the very dingy looking boot that Mr. Diggory is holding, and I realize that it must be our Portkey.

"Everyone needs to be touching the Portkey in some way, so don't be afraid to get close," Mr. Diggory says.

I can't help but wonder why they couldn't have found something less disgusting looking to act as our Portkey, but I keep my mouth shut as I join the circle around the boot. I turn to the side so that we're able to fit more easily, reaching forward to place a finger on the boot. I'm sandwiched between the twins: Fred in front of me, George behind me, and I can feel George's chest pressing against my backpack.

"Don't be afraid to get close, Katie," he teases, echoing Mr. Diggory's words as he leans down to speak in my ear.

"Shut up," I say, starting to blush.

"Just a few more seconds to go until we're off. Hold on tight, everyone."

And true to Mr. Weasley's word, after a few seconds, it feels like something hooks me and starts pulling me through the air. It's fast, too fast, and everything and everyone around me is blurry. My head spins as I try to focus in on something, but just as soon as it started, it's over, and my back hits the ground.

I shut my eyes as the whole world continues to spin around me, knowing that I won't be able to stand quite yet.

After another few seconds of having my eyes closed and listening to everyone groan around me, I open my eyes to a hand extended to me, offering to help me up. I take it, and Fred pulls me up with ease, putting his other hand on my shoulder to steady me once I'm on my feet.

"Look," George - who's already standing - says. Fred drops his hands as we look in the direction that George is pointing, and my lips curl up into a smile. There are tents as far as I can see, all the way to a line of trees that marks the edge of a forest. Seeing all these people sets in the fact that we're really here, and I feel my excitement growing as I take in the scene.

We separate from the Diggorys then, as they go to find their campsite, and we head off to find ours.