Petrichor •George Weasley•

III

It was always the same.
Their 'meetings'.
Athena wasn't sure if you could even call it that, a meeting, perhaps an encounter, brief entwinements of time. A simple coincidence working itself into a routine.

They just fell into it after the first time, as though it had always been the way.

George was ecstatic with his room placement, not only was he right beside the kitchen, but the window placement meant no one was going to catch him smoking. Which is exactly how he first 'met' Athena. It was a Thursday evening, the air still warm and clammy, summer in full swing during their early return to the castle. He was leaning out of his window, elbows resting on the ledge, cigarette held loosely in his fingers.

"Watch where you're dropping those ashes won't you?" A voice called from below him.

George hadn't noticed her sitting there, wavy blonde hair piled on top of her head, notebook and pencil balanced on her lap. "Sorry, I didn't even see you were down there. Did I get any on you?"

She shook her head, "It's not me I was concerned about."

"What?" He replied, leaning further out of the open window to look around better, "Oh... are those your plants?"

She laughed, finally looking up at him, "Do you see anyone else sitting here?"

He grinned, "Touché."

They sat in silence for a few moments, Athena went back to writing in her book.

She heard the soft thud of feet landing on the grass beside her, and George settled down to her left. "Any particular reason you've brought indoor plants outside?" He queried, picking up one of the pots and inspecting it.

"I thought they could use a little sunlight, my room can be quite dark. Plus it'll be too cold for them outside soon, may as well let them enjoy it while they can." Athena responded, setting her pencil inside the notebook and closing it.

George arched an eyebrow, "Why not just keep them outside then?"

"They would die."

George let out a laugh, "I'm just going to pretend to understand. You're Athena right?"

She nodded, "And you're George, right?"

"How'd you know which one I am?"

"Just because I've barely spoken to the pair of you, doesn't mean I don't know who you are." Athena jibed.

George narrowed his eyes at her, "I can't tell if you're joking or not." He set her plant back onto the grass, watching her carefully for any change in expression, "Can you really tell whose who?"

She raised her brows quickly at him, "That's a secret I'll never tell." She couldn't contain her laughter for much longer after that, finally admitting that she saw the room plans before they were approved. And she couldn't actually tell the twins apart.

After their first conversation, things fell into a natural rhythm. They would spend time almost every day sitting below their windows, basking in the last moments of sunlight before it set behind the mountains.

It took time for them to warm up to each-other, coming from opposing houses still had its affects, even after the war. At the start, it was surface level, they spoke about their families, touched on the topic of friends, hobbies, school.

George talked at length about his brothers and sister, his mother and father, their extended family, which admittedly Athena lost track of rather quickly. In turn Athena spoke about her mother, and older sister Rhea, both of whom lived in her hometown in Ireland.

Slowly but surely the conversations began dipping deeper and deeper, it started with talk of the war, house alliances, their friends. Then they moved onto their lives, telling stories from when they were younger, and before they knew it, they had told each-other a surprising amount.

Athena was too hesitant to tell her friends what was going on, whatever it was that was going on.
It didn't seem like a big deal, they were only friends, she was sure Pansy and Draco didn't tell her about every conversation they had on a day to day basis.

"Why did you come back?"

She blinked, coming back out of her daze after reflecting on the past, forgetting where she was. George was looking expectantly at her from his position, lying on his back a couple of inches from Athena's crossed legs.

"Come back here?" She questioned.

He nodded.

Athena pursed her lips for a second, dropping her gaze to her hands, "I didn't really know what else to do... Everyone else was coming back, it felt like the only option."

He hummed in agreement, "Me too. Where Fred goes, I go. I mean- we obviously still have the shop to run, but it just felt right to come back, and finish our education. Just incase things go belly up, we need something to fall back on."

"I'm sure they won't, that shop is bringing business to Diagon Alley, I'm surprised you came back." She responded, unable to contain the yawn that she had been suppressing the past hour.

George sat up, glancing quickly at his watch, "You're tired already? It's barely half eight."

"Yeah a bit. I didn't sleep great last night, I think it's time for a coffee."

He laughed, "Is it any wonder you can't sleep if you're drinking coffee at this hour... I'll come with you, if you make me one too that is."

Athena's brow shot up, "Now whose the person who won't be sleeping?"

George grinned, "Well, at least I'll have you to keep me company. We can be sleep deprived together."