stardust ⋮ george weasley

ninety-one :

N I N E T Y - O N E

⋮✰⋮

Adeline didn't know how long she had been sitting outside for.

The sky was dark, but from the faint light from her wand, Adeline could see small snowflakes falling around her. She had run from the Burrow, unsure of where to go but just wanting to get as far away from the home as she could without going outside the magical protective boundaries. She eventually found herself on the side of a small hill, trying to fight back her tears as she shivered and wrapped her knit sweater tighter around her.

Her mind was racing with how guilty she felt over everything that had happened. Despite her best intentions, Adeline had ruined the Weasley's Christmas with all her family mess she had tried so desperately to keep under wraps. She had been sitting outside for a while when she heard a noise in the distance. When Adeline turned her head, she was surprised at the duo who was approaching her: Sirius Black and Fleur Delacour.

Fleur and Sirius, meanwhile, didn't spot Adeline at first. Instead, they saw a faint light in the distance. They found Adeline sitting on a mound of snow once they got closer. Her wand was stuck in the ground in front of her, and there was a bright flame appear from the top.

When Adeline turned her head, she saw Sirius holding a bottle of Firewhiskey, and Fleur with a steaming mug of what Adeline assumed was Mrs. Weasley's famous hot chocolate. "I thought you might be cold," Fleur said as she offered the mug to her. "Sirius thought you might need something stronger."

Adeline gratefully accepted the mug and took a long sip, letting the contents warm her up. She hadn't realized how cold she was After a moment, Adeline grabbed the alcohol bottle and poured a small amount into the mug.

"Can we join?" Sirius asked. When Adeline nodded, the two sat down on either side of her in the snow. They were an odd trio, but strangely it worked. It was what Adeline needed in that moment.

"Tonks told us all what happened. No one should ever have to come across something like that." Fleur began, resting her hand on top of Adeline's. Adeline was silent, but she squeezed her hand. "No one should ever have to come across something like that. George wanted to come see you. But we managed to convince him not to yet."

When Adeline still didn't stay anything, Sirius decided to speak up. "It was weird when your parents die, and you didn't have a good relationship with them. No one tells you how to act in that sort of situation. When my parents die, it was like this weight was lifted off my shoulder. They couldn't hurt me anymore. But it's different for everyone, and the way your parents died was a lot different than mine. I don't know if saying this helps, but you're allowed to feel however you want."

"It does help," Adeline finally managed to say. "Both of you being here really helps. Thank you."

After a few seconds, Adeline asked, "Could you ask George to come out please? If he wants to see me?"

If it weren't for the situation, Sirius would've laughed. "There's no world where George wouldn't want to see you."

⋮✰⋮

Fleur and Sirius left Adeline soon after, and Adeline was alone again for a few minutes. It wasn't until too long before Adeline felt someone sit down next to her. Adeline didn't even have to look up to know that it was George sitting next to her. His hand was quick to find hers, and the warmth of his hand nearly made Adeline forget the freezing snow.

"I'm sorry," Adeline began in a small voice. "I know I should've told you. It was wrong of me to not tell you about all of this."

"I'm not upset with you, angel. I'm more worried than anything. You traveled to your parents house and dealt with all of this on your own. What if something happened to you, and I didn't know?" George asked, and it made Adeline feel even guiltier over what she did than before. "You could've been hurt or killed, and I wouldn't have known until it was too late. When were you going to tell me?"

"I was going to tell you after Christmas, I promise," Adeline answered, and George could tell from her tone of voice that she wasn't lying. "I'd get it if you were still angry at me. You're allowed to be."

"I'd never be angry at you. I'm just kicking myself because I didn't even notice that you were experiencing all of this. I feel so stupid."

"You're not stupid. Not one bit," Adeline insisted. "I tried to do everything I could to make sure it looked like everything was alright. I didn't want to burden you with all this mess so close to Christmas."

"Addie, I will repeat this as many times as I have to until it sinks in – you will never be a burden for me. Never in a million years."

"I just don't want to put this–"

"But that's what I'm here for, Addie," George protested as he reached out to hold both her hands. "Do you want to talk about what happened? Or even how you ended up there in the first place?"

"Emily showed up a few days ago outside of the Leaky Cauldron wanting to talk to me. She asked me to meet with them. It's the only reason I was there in the first place," Adeline eventually began to explain. "I wish I knew what they were going to talk to me about that night. I think I'm going to be wondering about that for the rest of my life. And on top of all of this, I feel this overwhelming sense of guilt. If I wasn't a witch, maybe they wouldn't have been murdered. Had their whole life ripped away from them."

"You don't know that. Death Eaters murder innocent Muggles all the time. There's stories about in the Daily Prophet nearly every week nowadays."

Adeline shook her head. "Me being a witch put a target on their backs even though I rarely visited them. The families of Muggleborn witches and wizards are near the top of most Death Eaters' hit lists. I feel so guilty and shameful because I don't think I'm as upset as I should be. They were my family, and they were murdered because of me."

"Addie, we both know the way your parents and sister were never truly a family to you. They didn't treat you the way that they should've. Sure, the way they died was awful, and I don't wish that on anyone, even your parents. But you have every right to not be as 'upset' as you believe you should."

"You say that and I know you mean it, but it doesn't stop me from feeling so terrible. Emily was only a few years older than us, and she had her entire life ripped away from her. Even though I was miserable around my parents, I would've just cut them off for the rest of my life and I would let them live their lives far away from me. I never wanted Emily or my parents dead."

In that moment, the last shred of composure and denial that was holding Adeline together finally broke. A floodgate of emotions she had been holding in spilled out of her as she buried her face into George's sweater. George could feel his heart shatter in his chest when Adeline began to sob into his shoulder, and he cradled her head as he held her against him, wanting so desperately to protect her from the rest of the world and anything that made her feel like this.

⋮✰⋮

a/n:

hi guys !!

even though adeline is surrounded by all these people who love her and want to support her through shitty times, she's just so messed up from her upbringing that she can't even comprehend it.

i hope you all enjoyed the chapter and that you have a lovely day !! let me know what you all thought about the chapter, and i'll see you at the next update !!

- g ♡