Firecracker | George Weasley

Chapter 9

It was the day of the first task and Scarlett was shaking with nerves. Her friends sat beside her cheering with excitement unaware of the task Cedric was about to face. They two had decided to let the task be a mystery to their friends, they didn't want to risk having them worry and distract them from their game plan.

Scarlett was deep in her thoughts, going over the variety of ways Cedric would distract a dragon and trying to figure out what the task would actually be. No one could get her out of her own head until she heard the familiar voices of Fred and George calling for bets. She looked up and saw George walking over towards her. She stood up and tried to catch his attention, it didn't take long since he was already on the lookout for her. He quickly made his way over, ignoring people who were wanting to place some bets, much to Fred's disappointment.

"How are your nerves Letty?" George asked concerned, knowing full well that Scarlett had started getting more and more anxious the closer the task came. He sat down and put his arm around her to comfort and warm her up, she quickly leaned in and rested her head on his chest as he looked down at her seeing the brooch he'd got her pinned to her coat

"Through the roof, I just want to see him get it over and done with." Scarlett replied feeling comforted by his presence 

George smiled enjoying the closeness, caressing her shoulder "He'll be fine, I'm sure of it."

Scarlett eyes were drawn to the suitcase George had resting on his lap. She pulled away from his chest to look at it more carefully analysing the odds written on the inside of the open lid "How many people placed a bet against Ced?"

George quickly closed the lid "Ummm, don't worry about that, they are just silly bets."

Scarlett straightened up fully causing his arm to fall off her shoulders as she turned around to look at him properly her eyes growing wide trying to make herself look as innocent as possible "Please Georgie I need to know how many people think he's got a chance."

"You know I can't resist that face" He sighed and opened the suitcase to show her the bets. She examined it carefully and made a mental note of who had bet against her brother then calculated how much money she would be making when he won and smiled to herself.

"I'm going to make a killing today." her excitement at the incoming galleons dulling her nerves causing George to laugh. 

Suddenly the cannon fired and everyone focused on what was happening below. Scarlett stood up to get a better view. The Swedish Short-Snout was released and soon Cedric walked out of the tent. Scarlett quickly grabbed George's hand and squeezed it tight as everyone chanted 'Diggory!' but she couldn't bring herself to say anything she was too nervous.

She watched as Cedric transfigured a rock into a Labrador to distract the dragon, just like they had planned. She hadn't realised she was holding her breathe until the dragon started chasing the dog giving Cedric the opening he needed to get the egg. Unfortunately, as he grabbed the egg the dragon lost interest in the dog and spotted Cedric, changing its course straight for him instead. Scarlett leaned against the barriers of the stands and screamed her brother's name watching as the dragon breathed fire in Cedric's direction. She couldn't take her eyes off the scene before her as her hands drew to her face covering her mouth. George stood up behind her placing his hands on her shoulders for support. 

Once the fire cleared, she saw Cedric's face was burned but he managed to get away in time. She leant back on George feeling relief wash over her. He guided her back to their seats, getting comfortable after the emotional roller coaster. She was trembling from the aftermath of the adrenaline but George mistook it as shivering. He placed his arm around her to warm her up and although she wasn't cold she enjoyed the embrace. She turned to give him a grateful smile and was caught off guard when her eyes met his. His big brown eyes were staring at her with a mixture of care and worry in his gaze. She swallowed as her eyes moved down from his eyes to his lips. Involuntarily she was drawn closer to him, the distance between their lips growing smaller and smaller.