Aurella drummed her fingers on the worn wooden table. She was stationed near a back corner of the Hogwarts library in the Runes section, far away from any prying eyes and chatty people. Night had long since fallen, and the only Hogwarts students still out of bed were the upper years, busy studying for their NEWTs.
Aurella flipped the page of the document Charlie had given her and scanned it once before letting go and taking her quill, scribbling down a rough translation of what she had. She let out a sigh, and set the quill down, rubbing her eyes briefly and looking out the window.
The stars were out in full force, a winter chill swarming the air as Christmas marched steadily closer. It seemed nowhere in Hogwarts could escape the iciness of the outside, which frosted the stone in the entrance and had Aurella curling up in her bed each night.
What she wouldn't give to be warm in the south of France.
A hand rested on her shoulder and Aurella flinched, nearly knocking over her inkpot. She spun quickly in the wooden chair, looking up.
Somehow, George-- in all his chaotic noisy glory-- had snuck up on her. She'd blame it on the sleep deprivation.
He plunked down an orange and a steaming cup of coffee. Aurella stiffened, somewhat stunned. She tilted her head up to look at him and stiffened again. His hand was braced on the back of his chair, close enough that she could lean back against him and his arm-- covered by one of Molly Weasley's hand-knit sweaters. He was smiling down at her, his eyes crinkled at the edge of the corner.
Aurella's heart stopped for a moment, and she couldn't stop her eyes from dipping to his lips.
Thankfully, George didn't notice her transgression and moved around the table, sliding into the seat across from her.
"Do you ever leave this place?" He asked, his lips quirking up. His voice was low so as to not disturb the other students.
Aurella fixed a glare on him, though there was no malice behind it. The candlelight flickered over his face and he leaned back, crossing his arms.
George laughed and reached across the table to nudge the coffee closer to her. The scent filled her nose and she sighed, taking a sip.
"You have no idea how many house-elves I had to bribe to get that," He chuckled. "they were not happy about having to find coffee."
Aurella exhaled in amusement and stretched her arms above her head before she looked back down at the paper. She had finally made a break. It seemed that the paper she had and the files that Charlie and Lia had given her were connected. Something about dragons and living: she couldn't quite tell what it was yet, but the runes were coming together. The puzzle solving was her favourite part of her studies.
George shifted in his seat and it creaked. Aurella flicked her eyes up to him and he gave her a crooked grin.
She paused, glancing down at her cup. "What are you doing here?"
George's smile dropped and he ducked his gaze. "Can't a guy want to spend time with his girlfriend?"
Aurella frowned at him. "What do you want?"
George sighed. He dug one of his hands into his pocket and pulled out a small toffee.
Aurella's eyes narrowed. "That isn't."
"It is," He responded. "Don't tell Fred. He would kill me if he knew I was asking you. We've been trying to make the ton-toffee stop at a certain point but keep ending up with way bigger than we want."
Aurella sighed. There weren't really any negatives to helping them. It wasn't as if Mrs. Weasley would ever know.
"Fine," Aurella took the toffee from George and shoved her papers at him. "You work on this."
"I never took runes?" George asked.
"I know, but entertain yourself with it."
George snorted but did as he was told, and when Aurella looked up from where she was fiddling with the toffee-- it kept sticking to her fingers-- George was hunched over the paper, his hair hanging in his eyes. She would've laughed if it wasn't kind of cute.
They settled back into the comfortable silence. Aurella was semi-surprised at how well they got along when they weren't purposely trying to argue. It was starting to feel normal.
Aurella pulled out her wand and gently tapped the toffee once. A little flash of light burst and then vanished. George looked up.
"What did you do?" He asked.
Aurella shrugged. "I just applied a charm that will stop the magic from working after a certain amount of time. Hopefully, the tongue only grows to a certain time."
George stared at her for a moment, a half smile on his face, until he blinked and laughed. "I could've been using you this whole time."
Aurella snorted and turned her head back to her runes. It certainly had something to do with dragons and life, but what it was, she wasn't sure. She sighed, chewing on her lip.
It was quiet for a moment, and then her eyes flicked up to George. He was leaning back in his chair, his long muscular limbs sprawled out. He was watching her, his eyes warm.
"What?" She asked.
He ducked his gaze, his freckled cheeks heating up. "Nothing."
~~~
Aurella hid her yawn behind her hand and crossed her ankles in front of her. Why Madame Maxime wanted to meet with them all this morning, she wasn't sure, but from the way she was smiling, it had to be good.
Beside her, Kira was poking at a cup of coffee, a spoon mixing in a small amount of milk. Kira was yawning too, though for a different reason, if slightly mused hair was any indication.
"How's Alicia?" Aurella asked, pulling her warm cup to her mouth to hide her smirk.
Kira narrowed her eyes at her. "How's George?"
Aurella snorted into her cup and set it down as Madame Maxime clapped her hands.
"I have an announcement!"
Aurella glanced at Kira. Madame Maxime had an excited tone to her voice, which was unusual for the giant.
"There is an old tradition associated with the Triwizard Tournament called the Yule Ball. Fleur, as our champion, will be opening the ball, but you are all expected to attend. This is also a way of promoting friendliness between schools, so please be on your best behaviour."
Aurella glanced at Kira, whose face had lit up. A ball, that's what all of the etiquette and dance classes were for.
Her heart stopped for a moment as she glanced around the room and her eyes fell on Henri, who was already watching her. She stiffened slightly. Hopefully, George asked her, that is, if he was serious about this relationship thing.
YOU ARE READING
Flourish and Blotts//George Weasley
Fanfiction"I don't know what we are now, and I don't know what we are going to be in the future, but I do know that I want you with me, no matter what we are." It was finally supposed to be her year. Aurella de Clare had the specialization she wanted, the bes...
