everlong - g. weasley

three

astronomy was one of rory's favorite classes. the professor was one of the nicest out of the entire school, and it gave her an excuse to be out past curfew, looking up at the stars.

rory didn't believe in a higher power, but she believed in space. she was fascinated by the planets and what their placements meant, and loved trying to decode her horoscope for the week, month, year, and future with a piece of paper and a perfect view from the astronomy.

their homework for the night was to figure out what the stars had planned for them within the next year. though she was normally in bed quite early, rory decided to wait until most people had come and gone on the tower before she headed there.

it was around midnight when she finally left her dorm, angelina and katie's snores loud and echoing throughout the small room. bea was nowhere to be found - probably in another boys dorm room. that's where she could be found most friday nights.

"where do you think you're going, missy?" a familiar voice boomed from the gryffindor common room couch. george sat with his brother and some blonde girl from the grade above them.

"to the astronomy tower," she said, lifting her tote bag higher onto her shoulder. she was wearing an oversized white sweater with plaid pajama pants and thick, fuzzy boots. it was freezing at night, and she planned on staying up there for a while.

george hopped up from the couch, excusing himself from his brother and the blonde. rory thought her name was bella, but she really wasn't sure. whoever it was looked extremely irritated and disappointed that george was leaving her, especially for another girl.

"where you go, i go," he said dramatically, falling into step with his best friend as she exited the common room. "say, what are we going up to the tower for? a little midnight stroll? a perfect view to clear our heads?"

"homework, actually," the girl replied quietly. "you have to be quiet, i'm allowed to be out past curfew, you're not."

"who says?"

"professor sinistra."

"well, i don't need a professor to tell me what i can and cannot do. i make my own rules," he retorted, crossing his strong arms. he was wearing an oversized green sweater with a golden letter "G" on it, and a similar pair of pajama pants, though his were black and red. rory's were black and white.

"is that so?" she challenged, elbowing her best friend in the arm. she knew it wouldn't hurt him much - he'd gained a lot of muscle over the course of the past 5 years thanks to quidditch.

"very much so," he winked, elbowing her back.

"rebel," she replied sarcastically.

"indeed," was all he said in return.

they had approached the tower and climbed to the top, the time now reading 12:34 am. it was empty, just as she'd hoped.

"so, now what?" george asked, breaking a short comfortable silence between the two. rory simply walked over to the rail and rested her arms over it, looking up at the sky.

"now, i study the stars and try to figure out what the future holds," she huffed, squinting to make out the constellations. as much as she liked this class, she wasn't the best at it.

"like that's gonna work," he snorted, leaning against the railing next to her.

"i think it could if i do it right." rory knew that most people found any form of prediction to be stupid and impossible, but in a world like hers, impossible didn't exist. if magic was real, the possibilities were endless.

george continued to stare at the sky, stealing glances at his best friend every once in a while. she was scribbling in her notebook at lightning speed, biting the inside of her cheek with her brows furrowed.

he didn't speak again until she closed the book and shoved it back into her bag.

"so, what does the future hold?" he asked with a grin.

"romance, apparently. and good fortune. but i think i did it wrong so i'm not sure how accurate that is," she shrugged, turning her body so her back leaned against the rail. george copied her movements.

"rory's getting a boyfriend," george teased, poking her in the arm until she swatted his hand away, giggling.

rory had never had a boyfriend before, unless you counted george, though it didn't really count. it was their first year at hogwarts, and he had asked her out on a dare (though, really, he would've done it anyway, dare or not).

she'd said yes, but when she found out it had been on a dare, 11 year old rory broke his poor heart. that was how they'd become friends, though, and now here they were, closer than ever.

"i highly doubt that," she said, brushing her hair out of her face. it didn't seem to want to stay behind her ear due to the wind.

"oh, don't be so hard on yourself rore," george replied. he noticed how she struggled to keep her hair back and swept her hair back from the side of her face closest to him, tucking it securely behind her ear. "there are plenty of guys lining up to be with you, trust me."

"oh yeah? like who?"

"blaise zabini, for sure," he began.

"he definitely does not like me," rory scoffed.

"oh, he does. you should see the way he looks at you. same with that nott boy."

"theo?"

"yeah, heard him talking about you to malfoy just last week."

"all good things i hope?" rory cringed a bit.

"all good things."

"anyone else i should know about? just so i can start narrowing down the list, you know," rory giggled, not fully believing that the boys he'd named really felt that way towards her.

me.

"not any that i could name, but i'm sure there's plenty more," he shrugged nonchalantly.

"oh, yeah, i'm sure there is," rory giggled, sliding down the rail to sit on the floor. george copied her once more, sitting next to her with his legs stretched forward. when had they gotten so long? rory stretched hers out to mentally compare.

"much shorter than mine," he commented, forcefully stretching his legs out as far as he could. as if he needed to. rory was tall, but not as tall as he was.

rory and george seemed to be able to read each others minds. they didn't even need the mind reading marshmallows to do so, though george wasn't sure he would let her use one on him.

"you know, you're not unlovable, rore," he said after it had been quiet for a moment. he knew that the fact that she'd never really had a boyfriend upset her and made her feel as though something was wrong with her, but he also knew that she was perfectly lovable.

"thank you," she replied quietly, her voice almost muted and carried away by the strong, rippling wind that continued to push its way into the tower.

"i mean it," he replied. "some boy, or girl even, is going to come sweep you off your feet and make you the happiest girl at hogwarts."

"mhm, sure," she giggled, settling her head on the boys shoulder and wrapping her arms around his own arm. "in the mean time, i guess i'm stuck with you."

"i guess you are," he smiled.