the gentle moon / george weasley

exams

"Has either of you seen my copy of Numerology and Grammatica?" August asked Fred and Angelina

"Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading," said Fred, but very quietly.

"Hermione was using it." Angelina told her, "She couldn't find her copy."

"Right.." August sighed, looking at Fred, "How's George?"

Fred looked up at her and shrugged. "He's fine." He tells her. It had been 3 weeks since their kiss and they hadn't spoken. "He finally took up on the offer to go on a date with that Ravenclaw girl."

"Stella?" August asked, hiding the heartbreak in her voice, "They'd be cute together."

"I don't think so," Fred tells her. She swallowed hard, looking down at his paper so she couldn't look him in the eyes. "That should be a 9, not a 6." She pointed at his arithmancy homework and then walked away.

The exams were nearly upon them, and instead of lazing around outside, the students were forced to remain inside the castle, trying to bully their brains into concentrating while enticing wafts of summer air drifted in through the windows. As June approached, the days became cloudless and sultry, and all anybody felt like doing was strolling into the grounds and flopping down on the grass with several pints of iced pumpkin juice, perhaps playing a casual game of Gobstones or watching the giant squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake.

August was hiding in the library's restricted section, knowing only Madam Pince could get to her most of the time. And that's how it went for the remainder of May and bled into June. The only time August really left the castle was for the two full moons that had passed and when Remus forced her to go on a walk to get fresh air.

"Oi, August." It was George. She didn't think he would be up this early, let alone flying since the season was over. "One-on-one."

"I'm shit at sport."

He chuckles

"Come on, I'll teach you." He smiled, balancing the beater bat on his finger, "I'm a bloody good teacher."

"I'm serious, I suck. I fell off my broom the last time I tried to play."

"And you were 12 when that happened." George teased, "You won't suck if you let me teach you."

August scoffed

"Come on." He tossed her a quaffle. "Chuck it here!" He yelled, flying away from her.

And when August threw the ball at him, he overreacted, grunting when he caught it.

"Fuckin Moran over here." He teased.

"Piss off." August laughed, "Heard they're playing in the finals this year."

"Thought you were shit at sport?" George leaned on his broom looking down at her, "How'd you know about the championship?" Throwing the ball back down to her

"Mums obsessed with the Irish. If you looked at any trophy cases around the castle, you'd know you're fillin' in mum's shoes."

"Jade was not a beater!" He barked, "Piss off!"

"Her final year she was banned after crackin' Malfoy's skull with that." She laughed, pointing at his bat. "She was also pregnant with me, so it was best she was off the broom."

"Dad scored us tickets for the match, I think we have an extra. Come with?"

"Can't." She shrugged, throwing the ball up and catching it, "Full moon."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, mum got tickets and then we realized the date."

"Bummer."