Waldosia/// George Weasley

Chapter 4

Clover rolled onto her side, her eyes still closed as she nuzzled into the soft cushion underneath her. It was an unfamiliar feeling for her since she usually woke up on small, hard park benches. A glorious smell wafted through the air and her body was tucked under what seemed like a blanket. She grabbed the edge of it and brought it closer to her body, not used to having a blanket to keep her warm while she slept. She wanted to know how she ended up in the position she was in, but she couldn't bring herself to let go of this moment yet. It was nice being warm and comforted, even if she did only get a mere hour of sleep after being up and checking on George all night.

"Mum?!" An unfamiliar voice shouted out from above her, "Why is there another Fleur sleeping on our couch?"

"Didn't Fleur have a sister?" Another voice echoed out from next to the first one in response, "The one we saved during the Triwizard Tournament."

"Oh, right," the first boy answered, his voice gaining volume as he shouted once again, "Mum, why is Fleur's sister sleeping on our couch?!"

Clover slowly opened her eyes and groaned at the sight above her. A confused looking Ron Weasley and Harry Potter stared down at her, her mind being transported back to the few years at Hogwarts when the only people ever talked about were the two hovering over her. Lin had always ranted and raved about how heroic the golden trio, as they were called by her younger sister, was. But in all honesty, Clover never saw them as heroes. She never saw anyone as heroes or villains anymore, rather just people doing what they needed to do to survive.

"Oi, leave her alone, you git," Clover snapped her head over to the staircase that a freshened-up George just came down, watching as he walked over to Ron and slapped the back of his head, "Or I'll stick a spider on you in your sleep again."

Ron gulped nervously, but puffed his chest and fisted his hands, "Bloody hell, how many times do I have to tell you I'm not scared of spiders anymore?!"

"We all know that's not true, Ron," Harry commented from his side as he laughed under his breath and rose his eyebrow at his friend, "If I remember correctly, you weren't so fond of Aragog or his little friends."

"That was one time!" Ron pleaded while stomping off into the kitchen and forgetting about Clover, Harry nodding at the girl before following Ron's lead.

George rolled his eyes at his younger brother. He turned his head slightly to the left with his mouth open as if he were going to say something, but when he looked to the empty space next to him the smile wiped immediately off of his face. He stood there for a moment, his eyes fixated on the empty void next to him, and let out a frustrated sigh. It's been over a year, but George didn't think he would ever get used to the emptiness beside him. Fred would've made fun of Ron, but Fred wasn't there anymore. He never would be.

Clover cleared her throat, sensing the inner turmoil that George was sifting through, and sat up in her seat, "Erm...thank you for letting me sleep here."

He shook his head as if he was pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind and walked over to sit next to her, "It's the least I could do for the girl who snuck me a dreamless sleep potion."

He held up the empty vial and shook it in her face, Clover letting out a breath and rolling her eyes at her failure to get rid of the evidence. George breathily chuckled at her response before standing up and offering a hand out to her, "Come on, at least let me repay you with breakfast."

Clover stared at his hand for a moment, her eyes flickering between him and the gesture. After losing her job, she didn't know how much longer she would be able to afford to buy her own food. She didn't even know how many more meals she would have laid out for her. A free meal was a free meal, and she certainly wasn't going to say no to that. She took George's hand and followed him into the kitchen, the unfamiliar smell of a home cooked English breakfast hitting her straight in the heart. It had been years since she had a proper one of those.