Good Girl || George Weasley

55

"You know we're coming back, right?"

Roger's voice snaps me out of my thoughts, and I swivel around to see him leaning in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.

"What?"

He grins, pushing himself off the door frame and walking towards me.

"You're standing here staring at this room like it's the last time you're ever gonna see it. Don't you worry, K, you're gonna get another full year of rooming with Marietta Edgecomb."

I can't help but grin at him. "Don't remind me."

He wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me to his side and resting his head on top of mine. He's right; I was staring at the empty room as if I'm never going to see it again, as if I'm not coming back in a few months. But there's just a part of me that knows it's going to be different.

As if he read my mind, Roger says, "You realize the pressure's gonna be on next year, right?"

I look up at him. "Hm?"

He grins. "I'll paint you the picture. The two of us are going to inevitably be Head Boy and Head Girl, because, I mean, there's no better options. And you, obviously, are Quidditch Captain, and I'm your second-in-command, and it's our last chance to win the Quidditch Cup, which we're obviously going to do. Plus the added bonus of us being the top two in our class, which we have to maintain. I'm exhausted just thinking about how amazing we are."

I laugh; I can't help myself. Partly because he's so dramatic, but partly because he's right. We are pretty bloody amazing.

"It's hard being us, isn't it?"

"Are the two of you coming? Or are you still in there because your heads can't fit through the door?"

I turn around at the sound of Lee's voice, and there he is, in the doorway, accompanied by the twins. I sneak a smile at George, who smiles back.

This past week of school has been... not the best, to say the least, but the boys have been everything I could ask for and more. We've taken advantage of these last nights together, before we all go home for the summer and have to get used to not seeing each other every day like we're used to. Roger and I pinkie-promised to see a lot of each other during the summer and not to spend all our time with Lee and George, respectively — but now that we both can Apparate, it'll be easier to plan — even though I still need to work on my Apparition.

Turns out that successfully Apparating a dangerously far distance when you're unexperienced doesn't immediately make you an expert.

The five of us make our way out of the castle and to the train, which most people have already boarded. I get a lot of looks on the walk, but I try to ignore them and focus on George's hand, intertwined with mine. A few steps ahead of us, Fred walks with Lee and Roger, who are holding hands, too. I can't help but smile at the sight.

On the train, we make our way to our usual compartment, me sitting in between the twins on one side, with Lee and Roger across from us. We keep the door open, and a few people greet us, including Angie, Bell, and Alicia — and I can't not notice a lingering look between Angie and Fred.

Seems like I'm not the only one, either, because both George and I whirl our heads to look at Fred, who's closest to the window. He grins at us, somewhat cocky, but with a hint of sheepishness at the same time.

"Yeah, about that–"

"Did you fuck her, too?" Lee asks abruptly, and way too loudly, since the girls are definitely not out of earshot.

"No," Fred replies. "Not yet, anyway. I'm being a gentleman this time around, Jordan. I'm taking a page from your book and taking things slow."

"Is Alicia okay with that? You 'n Angie, I mean?" I ask.

Fred slides lower in his seat, manspreading an obnoxious amount in the already too-small compartment. I hit my knee against his until he gets the point and pulls his legs in.

"Yeah, I talked with both of them around the Third Task and, uh, never really found a good chance to bring it up to you." He looks at me, shrugging one shoulder.

I hold his gaze. "Because I was too busy having a near-death experience?" I ask dryly.

Fred nods, the corner of his mouth twitching as he tries his best to fight back a smile. "Exactly. Next time, Clearwater, have your near-death experience at a more convenient time, alright?"

I start laughing, even before George reaches over me and playfully smacks Fred in the back of the head. As he pulls his arm back, he wraps it around me, and I curl into his side, resting my head on his shoulder as the train slowly begins to move.

Roger sighs, looking out the window as Hogwarts start to grow more and more distant. "I can't believe next year's it."

"I know." Lee rests his head on Roger's shoulder. "Only one more year of blessing your ears with my Quidditch commentary."

Fred, of course, makes a comment about planning on winning the Quidditch Cup next year, and Roger, of course, takes the bait and retorts that no, we're going to win the Quidditch Cup. Lee watches them, clearly amused, his head swiveling back and forth.

But I just lift my head and look at George, who immediately looks back at me and smiles softly. I study his face, his freckles, the slight curve of his lips, everything that I adore so much. To think that we've already been through so much, but our life together is really just starting. And it won't even really start until we've left school, but first, we have another entire school year to get through.

And, even before that, another summer.

"Alright?" George mouths, his eyebrows ever-so-slightly tugging together with concern. I smile at him, and his gaze almost immediately softens.

Because sure, now,  I'm going to have to deal with the nightmares that have interrupted my sleep ever since that night. Sometimes it's Harry I kill, sometimes it's George, sometimes it's Fred or Roger or Lee, sometimes I have to stand by and watch, helpless, as my mother or Voldemort kill the people I love, one by one. I'm going to have to deal with people calling me a liar and an attention whore and a million other things that I've already heard whispers of in the corridors.

But I have my George. So I smile at him, and even though Fred and Roger continue to tease each other next to us, with Lee interjecting occasionally, it almost feels like we're in our own little world, where things will be okay, as long as we have each other.

So, I tell him, earnestly:

"I'm alright."

THE END