Weasley Twins - A Fate You Can't Escape

Chapter 35 - Conscious Conversations

I open my eyes slowly.  I blink a few times and two blurry figures come into focus.  One the right, Madam Pomfrey, and on the left George Weasley.

"Hi.  Welcome back.  How are you feeling?"  Madam Pomfrey asks, smoothing back my hair.

"Hi.  My head feels funny."  It's true.  My head feels like there's little tiny electrical shocks running through it.

"That's a side effect of the potions, dear.  Terribly sorry about that."  She explains.  "Can you tell me what you remember?"

"Sure?"  I try to sit up and George helps me, shoving pillows behind my back.  "So there was the quidditch game?  And I think we won?  I broke my arm.  And then... Did I fall off of my broom?"

"Yes, yes you did."  Madam Pomfrey nods.  "Quite a fall it was."

"You terrified everyone.  Fred thought you'd died."  George tells me and Madam Pomfrey glares at him.  "But obviously you didn't."

"Do you remember waking up previously?"  Madam Pomfrey continues and I think about it.

"It's really fuzzy.  I remember going to some classes, but everything keeps running together.  And George brought me here, right?"  I turn to look at the boy, who is smiling at me.

"Yes.  This is excellent improvement, Miss Taylor."  Madam Pomfrey is as close to smiling as I've ever seen.  "I'll call down to the kitchens and have some food be brought up.  No doubt you're starving."

"I guess."  I hadn't noticed, but as soon as she mentioned food, my stomach growled loudly.  George laughs and scoots his chair over to the bed.

"How long was I out this time?"  I am scared to ask.  I really hope I didn't miss any classes.

"Ah.  Yes, that."  He scratches at the back of his head and I know it's not going to be good.

"Two days?  Three?"  I start panicking, trying to figure out how much I missed.

"Five."  He says quietly, looking down at his feet.  "It's Saturday.  You missed the whole week of classes."

"A whole week?"  I feel dizzy.  How am I going to make all of that up?  Especially with Umbridge not taking my injury seriously.  "What... what am I going to do?"

"You're best.  I know Umbridge is hard, but ultimately, the grades you get during the year don't matter.  All that matters is that final NEWT score."  He tries to comfort me.

"You're right."  I take a deep breath.  "It's too late now to worry about it.  Besides, I have until June to catch up on missed material.  That's plenty of time.  Two whole months."

"It's all going to be okay."  He holds my hand, and I believe him.  "You're going to get so many NEWTs that everyone will want you to work for them."

"I don't know about that."  I grin at him, blushing.  "But hopefully enough for a few offers."

Suddenly there's a loud crack and Rita is standing at the foot of my bed with a tray of delicious smelling food.

"Miss Taylor!"  She squeaks, rushing over.  "I'm so happy you're awake!  I've been worried!  You haven't visited in so long and I was getting scared."

Her words cause me to tear up.  I hadn't even considered that she would be affected by all of this.

"Thank you Rita.  You are so kind."  I place the tray on my bedside table and give her round little head a kiss.  "And thank you for the lovely food.  I can't wait to eat it."

"No problem miss.  I made your favorites!"  She smiles happily.

"I'm sure it's perfect!  I'll try to come and visit soon, okay?"

"I would like that very much.  Good bye Miss Taylor!"  With another crack, she's gone.

"So," I take a bite of my cucumber sandwich, "what'd I miss?"

"I got detention for skipping too many classes to be here with you. Fred and his girl broke up. And... Mia has been a trooper and has been keeping your mother at bay. Apparently she tried to bust in here Tuesday morning and nearly got hexed. Can't just show up like that in times like this." He shakes his head.

"I'm going to need more information on all of that." I shove a whole nugget in my mouth.

"Since I don't plan on sitting for NEWTs, I figured I was the best candidate to hang out with you. Terrible company you were though. You ignored me the entire time!" He teases, reaching for a nugget.

"Thanks, that's sweet of you." I say as I smack his hand away from my food.

"Not sweet enough for a nugget." He grumbles, withdrawing his hand.

"Sorry, not sorry." I keep eating and gesture for him to tell me more.

"Fred and Sadie broke up. Apparently he had been secretly hooking up with a girl for months before and didn't tell her." His words nearly make me choke on my nugget. "Despite his assurances that it was long over, she just felt there was a lack of trust."

"Oh." I feel myself blushing hard. Will Fred want to... resume things? I don't think I want to at this point.

"And Mia has been owling your mom everyday. I know you don't really contact her much, but we figured it was better than her trying to constantly visit." George continues on, unaware of how much I was affected by the last topic.

"Yeah, you did the right thing." Did Fred tell Sadie that it was me? Fred didn't ask if he could tell.

"Hey, has your other half come by?" I try to make it sound casual.

"Weirdly, no. I invited him, but he said he better not. Don't know why though." George makes another grab for a nugget and this time I let him have it.

"Hmm." I need to talk to Fred. I'm sure he'll straighten it all out. I'm probably just jumping to conclusions. "Any chance Fred told who the secret girl was? I'm just curious."

"He didn't tell me. But based on her reaction, I'm pretty sure he told Sadie." George grins, "I'm incredibly curious too."

"Yeah, I'm sure you are." A knot of dread forms in my stomach at the thought of George finding out. For some reason, I really, really don't want him to know. But another part of me feels like I have to tell him.

I try to shake off the feeling. Either way, I won't be doing anything about it today. No use worrying about it.

"So what did you do here all week? Can't imagine you'd just sit here being bored."

"Far from it!" He pulls a notebook out from under his seat. "I've been drafting up new products. This really gave me some good down time to think."

"Maybe I'm just a good muse." I snort, messing around.

"Maybe." He says back, but the twinkle in his eye makes me feel like maybe he meant it.

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