Harry Potter and The Ginger Snap

Chapter 17

Ava woke up confused as to where she was. It wasn't until she noticed George's body pressed against her and his arm wrapped around her loosely that it all came rushing back. The bottle of Fire Whisky, Fred and Cedric getting along, George's steady eyes that matched her own in the dormitory filled with their friends. She sat up on George's bed, still in her clothes from the day before, careful not to wake George up. He looked so peaceful lying there so close to her, she'd hate to wake him up and ruin it or make things weird.

The first thing she noticed was Ron passed out on the floor. She wished she could slap some sense into him about Harry. And she was sure Ron wished he could do the same to her. But Ava was certain Ron believed Harry didn't put his name in the Goblet of Fire, all of his actions told her so. She knew it was his pride the size of a mountain that was stopping him from apologizing and getting his best friend back. Ava knew what that was like.

When Sid and her had fought about Malfoy, Ava knew Sid had good intentions. Hell, she even knew Sid was right. But she couldn't put her pride aside then and admit it, let alone apologize. She made a mental note to talk to Ron about it again, maybe she could help him. Friendships were too important to be ruined over something so trivial.

She looked back down to George, his arm still across her body, his eyes still lying delicately shut. What was she supposed to do about him? She didn't want to ruin their friendship either. When he wakes up, then what? Do they admit they slept soundly together? Do they laugh it off awkwardly and pretend it never happened? She wasn't even sure she could do that. George meant something to her, that she couldn't deny. But was it worth losing what they have now? The truth was, he scared her. The way he looked at her, said her name, held her hand, it all felt so different than anything Malfoy could give her.

Ava knew what Malfoy wanted, what he was going to do, she even knew what she meant to him which was evidently nothing at all. And she was okay with that, she knew what to expect with him. She knew it would end in disaster and that's what was so thrilling about it. That inevitable devastating ending was the only reason she kept coming back for more. It was the only thing she understood; loss.

But George Weasley, his red hair, brown eyes, and wide smile seemed too much to lose. She wanted to keep him as long as she could, but not too close. She learned the hard way that the people who cared too deeply for her faced the greatest consequences. There was a cost to loving her, one that she couldn't allow George to pay.

No, she'd need to keep him at an arm's length. She wasn't strong enough to let him go entirely, she knew that. But keeping him farther away than he was right now would be a good start. It was for his own good. She was saving him and one day he'd thank her. Just maybe not today.

She carefully removed his arm from across her body and gently placed it back where it belongs. She took one last look at him, his cheeks red from the heat, his eyes heavy, his face relaxed. She wanted to remember him like this... safe. She made careful movements when she left the bed, cursing under her breath when the floorboards creaked under her weight.

She was relieved when she made it to the door. In the Common Room she found Harry, who's eyebrows raised in suspicion as she exited the boy's dormitory, "Don't say a word. I don't want to hear it."

She ran her hands through her hair and tried to ignore the pounding in her head from the Fire Whisky's hangover.

He laughed a little, "Good morning to you too. Care to go for a walk or something? I really need to leave the castle, it's becoming a brutal reminder of the whole me-having-to-fight-a-dragon situation."

"Understandable." She heard footsteps coming down from the Boy's Dormitory and panic started to creep in that it could be George, "Yes, yes. Let's go for a walk."