The Healer | Part 3: The Survivors

The Birthday Party

Edith

Dinner the following week was much less awkward than it was the week prior. George took me to the local pub in Ottery St. Catchpole for fish and chips. It had been a long time since I had eaten greasy food, but it was delicious and I enjoyed every bite.

'Are you all moved in then?' I asked. Even though we hadn't seen each other, we had been communicating through the Instant Owl Notebooks during the week. He had kept me informed about Falcon's Rest and how everything had gone through rather easily. I suppose home sales went a little more smoothly in the magical world than in the muggle world.

'Not really much to move, is there?' He said, reclining in his chair. 'I left everything in the flat for Ron and Harry. All I took were my books and clothes and things.'

'Did you find furniture?' I asked.

'Some,' he shrugged. 'Enough.'

I rolled my eyes. Enough to him was probably a table, a chair and a bed.

'Are you minding being on your own?' I asked.

'Er...' his face seemed to flush a little, but I couldn't be sure. 'Yeah, about that...'

'What?' I grinned.

'I got a cat.'

'What?' I exclaimed before I burst out laughing. 'You're not serious. I thought you didn't like cats!'

'I'm being perfectly serious,' he managed a sheepish grin. 'He's brown and speckly and his name is Spud.'

'Who are you?' I laughed. 'What have you done with my boyfriend?'

'It was too quiet!' He said, raising his hands in defense. 'He spends most of the day outside and comes in for the night. Can't be too careful, there's all sorts of wildlife up there.'

'Aye, can't have anything bad happen to wee Spud,' I chuckled.

'He's not very wee,' George smirked. 'You'll see when you meet him.'

'Good lord,' I wiped my eyes. I wasn't sure if it was the lagers, but I found the whole thing quite hilarious.

'We should go,' he said, looking at his watch. 'Mum won't be happy if we're too late. It's not far, we can walk from here.'

He placed some muggle notes on the table, stood and offered me his hand. I stood as well and took it.

'It's good for us to live apart, you know,' I told him. 'For a little while anyway.'

'We've already lived apart, Edith,' he reminded me. He held the door open for me and we walked out into the warm evening.

'I quite like living alone, actually,' I remarked.

'Do you?' He exclaimed. 'Really?'

'Well, I didn't at first,' I admitted. 'But I'm rather used to it now. It's normal, we'll appreciate it more when we do decide to live together.'

'If you say so,' he shrugged. 'I don't want to put pressure on you, Edith. I know school is important to you.'

'I appreciate that, George,' I let out a deep breath. 'I just know my grades would suffer if I was living with you.'

'What do you mean?' He asked. 'Am I distracting?'

'I think you already know the answer to that.'

He laughed. We had reached the edge of the village and started down the path that led to his parents' house.

'It's odd being back here without you around all the time,' he remarked after a few moments of silence.

'George, we knew it wasn't going to last forever,' I reminded him.