everlong - g. weasley

two

autumn was a beautiful season at hogwarts. the castle seemed to change with every season, and rory liked the fall version most. orange, yellow, and red leaves trickled from the sky and covered the ground, the sound of crunching loud as the students walked around the castle.

rory sat by the edge of the black lake, her back resting on a large tree and an open book in hand. she'd finished all of her homework during study hall and really didn't have much to do. her friends were busy with sports and other friends, so the girl spent most of the day doing what she loved most - being by herself.

rory's mom loved to call her a hermit. during the summer, it was typical for the girl to spend most of her time around the house. if she did leave, it was on her own. things were simpler that way, and simple was what rory liked.

the sound of leaves crunching increased and followed behind her, though rory didn't notice it enough to look up. pride and prejudice was her current read, and she could barely peel her eyes from the page.

the sound of leaves stopped suddenly next to her, and from the corner of her eye she watched her best friend take a seat next to her, resting his back against the same tree and pulling his knees up to hug them with his long arms.

he stayed silent, simply staring out at the lake and observing the scene in front of him. he knew that rory preferred silence when she read, and he didn't want to bother her until she wanted to be bothered.

"i can't read when you're staring at me," she said after a moment, closing her book and facing the tall boy.

"i was not staring," george replied defensively, unwrapping his arms from around his legs to raise them as if to show he was innocent.

"your pants are literally on fire," rory teased, turning her body slightly so she could see him better.

"not possible, im wearing my fireproof pants today."

"that's not even a real thing."

"it is, actually, and i invented it."

rory shook her head, out of comebacks. if it had been anyone else interrupting her precious alone time, she would've been annoyed. but george weasley was the one person she could spend endless amounts of time with and never feel drained. he accompanied her in her little shell.

"what were you reading?" the boy asked after a moment of silence. the book sat next to her, the page she'd left off on marked with a piece of grass she'd pulled from the ground.

"pride and prejudice," she told him with a small smile. "i've only just started it so i'm only a few chapters in."

"never read it," he commented.

"you've never read any book ever," she scoffed.

"that's so not true."

"it so is."

"okay, read to me then," he shrugged, leaning further against the tree.

rory stared at the boy for a moment, unsure if he was serious or not. george loved to brag about his hate for anything involving reading.

"you're serious?" she asked with a small smile.

"dead serious. read to me about this pride and prejudice."

rory picked the book back up from the ground and flipped to the page she'd left off on. as she began reading, her best friend scooted over a bit to place his head on her shoulder and close his eyes. she tilted her head so that it rested against his as she continued to read, her voice gentle and quiet.

it was only about a chapter later that it became obvious he was no longer awake. although he didn't snore, he breathed quite loud.

rory smiled and continued to read her book in silence. the sun set over the lake, her page as golden as the leaves that fell around her.