Embers of the Heart ; George Weasley

Four

Warning: Self-harm

As we gathered around the table in the potions lab, I couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that settled in the pit of my stomach. The familiarity of the ingredients from my parents' shop served as a stark reminder of the life I had lost and the painful memories that still lingered beneath the surface.

Fred glanced at me, noting the furrow in my brow as I examined the bottle of leech juice. "Hey, you okay there, Aurora?" he asked, his tone laced with concern.

I looked up, blinking away my thoughts as I forced a smile. "Yeah just... nostalgia, I guess." was my reply.

George exchanged a knowing glance with Fred, silently acknowledging the weight of my words. He reached for my hand, offering a reassuring squeeze that sent a jolt of warmth through me.

"Let's get started on the potion." he suggested, attempting to shift the focus away from my melancholy thoughts.

So we got started on the potion. The recipe was there for my sake. It seemed that the twins knew it inside and out, but I guess that was a giving since they created it. I followed the recipe closely, and an hour later, it was ready to be poured into a vial, so that's what we did.

"I'm gonna get this into storage." Fred said, walking towards the door. "You two are on cleaning duty."

With that, he left George and I alone in the dark potions lab. I looked at him, and he looked at me, offering me a soft smile before we started leaning up after us.

I used a cleaning spell on the cauldron before grabbing it and walking to the cupboard. I opened it, only to find that the twins had grabbed it from the highest shelf. I got up on my toes and just about managed to put it back.

"What happened to your wrists?"

I immediately fell back on my feet, spinning around. George was right there, his eyes scanning my wrists which were no longer exposed.

He saw the bruises.

"What? Nothing." I pulled at the sleeves of my jumper.

"Don't do that. I saw your wrists. Who hurt you?"

I walked past him, deciding that maybe ignoring him would help, but instead, he just followed me around the room, demanding answers.

"That is not fucking normal, Aurora." he said, gently grabbing my arm. "Who hurt you?"

"No one!" I snapped, pulling away. "Merlin, you're insufferable, do you know that?"

He shook his head, placing his hands on his hips and followed me to the table as I gathered their ingredients and put them into George's bag.

"Don't go back to being mean." he said softly. "I like you better when we get along."

"Well, stop getting all up in my business and I won't have to be mean." I stated, handing the bag over to him. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, George."

—

The next morning, I woke up feeling more exhausted than ever. I was so tired that I wondered if I ever actually went to bed in the first place. I sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes before looking over at Eva who was fast asleep.

Today were were going to Hogsmeade which I was pretty excited about. I got to go shopping a little, get my mind elsewhere and just spend some time with my friends.

But first, I needed to get Eva out of bed.

I grabbed my pillow and threw it at her, hitting her right in the head. I heard her groan, but a second later, she continued snoring.