CHERRY ── George Weasley

( 068, hide and seek )

( CHAPTER SIXTYEIGHT, "What if they're in the Hufflepuff common room?" )

THE FOLLOWING DAY, CERISE HAD A well deserved sleep-in, much to George's and Winona's dismay. Both were on the hunt for the Hufflepuff, when they bumped into each other. "Woah," George said, reaching out to steady Winona, "You okay?"

Winona nodded, her eyes wide. "You're friends with Reesie," she said, "Do you know where she is?"

"Reesie?" George repeated, eyebrows furrowed. And then, it hit him. "OH! Cerise? No, not a clue. I'm looking for her, too, actually."

"Are you her boyfriend?" Winona wondered as they both searched the halls of Hogwarts together.

"N — No," George replied, his face flushed. He could feel the heat rising up his neck. He hated how flushed that simple question made him. He hated how flushed Cerise made him.

Winona smirked. "But you want to be!" She said in a sing-song voice, before her eyes landed on the Hufflepuff, who was sat at a windowsill, staring at a picture in her hands. "REESIE!"

Cerise glanced up, and felt a smile appear on her face at the sight of Winona and George. "Hey, Winnie," she greeted as the younger Hufflepuff sat herself next to her. "Hi, Georgie."

George grinned. "Where have you been hiding all day?" He asked, sitting on the other side of her. His eyes fell on the picture in her hands. Cedric...

"In my bed," Cerise replied, "Sleeping. I was gutted I missed breakfast. But lunch is in, like, an hour, so I don't really care."

Winona leaned on Cerise's arm, and glanced at the picture in her hands. "I'm sorry," Winona muttered quietly.

Cerise knew exactly what Winona was referring to — the scar that would permanently remain on her hand. She glanced at Winona, "It's not your fault," she said, throwing her arm around her shoulder.

Winona sighed, her eyes going to the picture in Cerise' hands. It was from some type of ball, Winona noticed. She smiled. "You're pretty."

Cerise let out a small laugh. "You're pretty, too," she said, before standing up. She turned to George. "Where's your brother and the other lot?"

George shrugged. "Probably in the kitchens. Lee and Elijah were starving."

Cerise nodded. "Okay, let's go find them." She held Winona's hand and the three went towards the kitchen, immediately finding them all, leaving it. "Who wants to play hide and seek?"

Immediately, Loralei grinned. "Fred, you're it. Count to one hundred."

Fred groaned and turned around, covering his eyes. The group immediately began walking away, before George separated with Lee and Elijah, leaving Loralei with Winnie and Cerise.

"I think we should hide in the kitchens," Cerise said, a grin on her face. "I'm starving."

Loralei and Winona looked at each other and shrugged, before the trio made their way towards the kitchens, keeping an eye out for a tall, ginger haired human so they could avoid him. Once the coast was clear, they rushed into the kitchens and sat down happily.

FRED GROANED IN ANNOYANCE, ignoring Lee, Elijah and George who were slowly following behind him, laughing loudly. He was determined to find the three girls, he was tired of being the seeker. He glanced behind him, narrowing his eyes. "Any idea where they might've gone?" He asked, his question directed at George, who knew Cerise a lot better than the others did.

"Nope," George said, shaking his head. Obviously he knew where Cerise would be, it's the only place she seemed to be when there was no classes. Recently, Cerise was constantly in the kitchens, which was improvement from when she refused to go near the house elves.

Anyway, George knew Cerise was in the kitchens, he just didn't want to tell Fred where the girls were, knowing Cerise would be annoyed that their 'girl time' was interrupted.

So, he glanced at Lee and Elijah, and then shrugged in the direction of Fred. "What if they're in the Hufflepuff common room?" He suggested, making Fred give him a look. George pursed his lips. "They could've gotten tired?"

Fred sighed and looked at Elijah. "Get us into the Hufflepuff common room." He said, glancing at George, who was hiding a smirk. "Georgie here thinks it's where the girls are."

"Bullshit," Lee mumbled.

"Anyone who knows Cerise knows—"

"She wants to rest." George interrupted, giving Elijah a glare.

Elijah shrugged. "Sure," he muttered.

Fred shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing. "Cerise likes to rest, after she's eaten." He stated, turning to George and narrowing his eyes. "They're not in the common room, they're in the kitchens."

The four boys made their way to the kitchens, and upon entering, they noticed the kitchens were empty — other than the house elves. Fred rubbed his temples. "You've got to be kidding me." He muttered.

George gave Fred a smug look. Though, he was trying to lie when he said the girls were in the Hufflepuff common room — thinking that they were in the kitchen. Except, it seemed that he was not lying.

Elijah lead them into the common room, and upon seeing the three girls on the couch, he rushed forward and jumped in between Loralei and Winona.

Fred, George and Lee sat on the floor, staring up at them, listening to the three talk as Winnie was half asleep with her head on Cerise's shoulder.

cakes comments—
This is just a little filler to show that despite everything going on in the world, they're still teenagers who love to play games and spend time with their friends.