raison d'être (george weasley x reader)

4.1

The summer before Y/N's fourth year was uneventful. Her parents were busy with work most days, so she would entertain herself by wandering the neighboring forest or finding a new book to read.

She had grown rather fond of the wilderness by this point. At Hogwarts, her spare time was allocated between the Gryffindor common room, library, and the edge of the Forbidden Forest by Hagrid's cabin. At home, she wandered the much safer and brighter forest by Ottery St. Catchpole. The neighborhood was one that was mostly populated by magic-folk, so it wasn't uncommon to see a magical creature every now and then.

The summer heat kept her adventures short, but they were eventful nonetheless. She had found a birch tree populated by bowtruckles a few years ago and it had quickly become her favorite spot. Once she grew weary of mindless wandering, she would locate the tree and interact with the creatures, some of whom had grown familiar with her over time.

The area was her safe space, a haven where no negative thoughts or emotions could reach her. She was protected by the rustle of the leaves and the buzz of forest life. Oftentimes her mind would stray to her friends and she made a mental note to bring them here one day. She was a bit concerned about Fred and Lee causing a ruckus with the more aggressive bowtruckles, but figured it would at least make for an amusing experience.

Occasionally, her quiet bubble would be broken by the sound of one of her friends' owls. Angelina and Alicia, who lived fairly close together, wrote to her about their trips to Muggle shops and gushed about the items that they had bought for her. Lee, who didn't write as often, told her about his family's vacation to Scotland, detailing stories about the multiple encounters he's had with beautiful women. Fred left most of his correspondence to George, who would always include a message from his brother at the start of his letters.

She thought of them often, smiling at the letters that reassured her of their safety and happiness. Her smiles were accompanied by the soft tickling sensations caused by the stray bowtruckles that would climb over her arms, finding a comfortable spot near the crook of her neck.

During one of these days towards the end of summer, Errol, the Weasley family's owl, came flying through the forest. He perched perfectly on Y/N's bent knee, raising his right leg to show off a rolled-up piece of parchment that was messily tied into a bow. She easily removed the letter from his leg and mindlessly began to stroke his head as her eyes skimmed the page. A bright smile had been on her face at the start of it, but as her eyes reached the bottom, the smile faded and her eyes narrowed in disbelief.

The next morning, a redhead boy with messy hair and tired eyes could be seen waiting in his usual spot by the kitchen window, a small smile creeping onto his lips as he spotted a large, old owl flying his way. He pushed the window open and waited for Errol to land before untying the neat scroll from his leg.

He wasn't surprised to see the short message, especially after the last letter he sent telling Y/N of the boys' excursion in their dad's flying car. His eyes lit up in amusement and he laughed at the four words that she had scrawled out:

"I'm mad at you."

Despite her threats to never speak to him again, Y/N continued to respond to George's letters, though she never failed to remind him of how disappointed she was in him and how he should be grateful that they weren't spotted. Her dad, who had heard of the events from Arthur Weasley while at work, found the situation amusing.

"Arthur's definitely got his hands full with those boys of his," he chuckled during dinner that same day. "Y/N, aren't they friends of yours."

"Yeah," she nodded, shaking her head as she was reminded of what Fred, George, and Ron had done a few days ago.