Good Girl || George Weasley

52

George

I don't even know how much time has passed when I hear Dumbledore say,

"I just received word that our two Champions were found on the edge of Hogsmeade. Harry ran into the Hog's Head for help, but Miss Clearwater is unconscious. Come with me."

And my heart stops.

Before I can really process what I'm doing, I'm running, pushing past confused people who are whispering and murmuring and trying to figure out why Harry and Katie are in Hogsmeade, how they left the maze without anyone seeing, Moody not being Moody, and everything else, but I could care less, because the love of my life is unconscious and hurt and I need to get to her.

I hear Fred behind me, and the two of us stop right in front of Dumbledore, who's flanked by McGonagall and Snape, and joined by Fudge. Fred starts to ask — beg — them to let us go with, to see if Katie's okay, and as much as I want to say something, I can't get my mouth to work. 

Before anyone can say anything to Fred, to agree or to refuse, I hear the familiar voice of Judson Clearwater to my right.

"Let them come, Albus," he says, and while his voice is firm and collected, I hear the hint of panic underneath. "If there's anyone that Katie'll want to see when she wakes up, it'll be these two."

Despite my relief at being allowed to tag along, I can't control my panic. It's heavy and crushing and weighing down on me like a ton of bricks. As we walk, hurriedly following the professors and Katie's dad down the path to Hogsmeade — the same path I've walked countless times with Katie herself — I feel a hand squeeze my arm.

I look over at Fred, who purses his lips together and gives me one, firm nod. But despite his stony appearance, I know him. I know him better than myself, at times, and I can see the terror in his eyes clear as day, because he's thinking that if something is seriously wrong with her, that they never got the chance to properly make up.

But all he says is,

"She'll be okay." His voice is hoarse, nervous. "She's Katie Clearwater, after all." He tries to crack a smile, but it falters immediately. His voice drops a shade quieter as he says, "She has to be okay."

I reach up to where his hand is gripping my arm, wrapping my fingers reassuringly around his wrist.

"She'll be okay," I repeat, because both of us need to hear it.

I desperately wish that everyone would move faster, but finally, we make it to the Hog's Head. A flustered employee is waiting at the door for us, ready to usher us back to a room that reads Employees Only.

She's the first thing I see when I step foot into that room. I don't even care who I'm pushing past to get to her, because there she lies, her eyes closed and her hands and shirt bloody and dirty but she's breathing. I release a breath of relief as I drop to my knees next to the couch that she lays on, lowering my forehead until it rests at the base of her throat, just needing to feel her breaths, to know that she's alive and that she's gonna be okay.

I hear Dumbledore start to question Harry, who honestly, in my moment of panic, I forgot was here, too. I look up, only to see that he's in considerably worse condition than Katie, a huge gash in one of his forearms, yet he's the one who's conscious.

I listen as Harry explains, from the moment they grabbed the Triwizard Cup at the same time, to everything in between, which makes everyone in the room go silent as they listen, as he drops names like Lucius Malfoy and You-Know-Who and Annette Clearwater. He ends with the moment where Katie grabbed his arm, he heard a loud crack, and next thing he knew, they were lying on the streets of Hogsmeade, alive, but Katie was unconscious.