raison d'être (george weasley x reader)

6.6

It was agonizing, to say the least. Lee watched as Y/N and George stole glances at each other during Charms, both just missing the other each time.

"Can we say something?" he asked, leaning to his left where Angelina sat.

She sighed and shook her head, crossing her arms as George's head turned slightly, indicating that he was now staring at Y/N, who had just turned her focus back to Flitwick.

"It is quite annoying, isn't it?" she asked.

"That's an understatement," Lee grumbled, leaning back in his seat. "I mean, they already act like they're dating."

"Do you think he'll ask her to the ball?" Alicia asked, injecting herself into the conversation.

"No," Lee and Angelina answered. Lee pinched the bridge of his nose and added, "It would take a miracle."

George's hand was adamant about remembering the feel of Y/N's cheek. He found himself running his thumb over the tips of his fingers as he relived the moment; it wasn't the context he would have wanted, but it gave him an excuse to do it. Granted, looking back now, he was aware that he didn't have to do half the things he did. He could have just stepped into the conversation.

From further down the row, a minor shuffling occurred as a piece of folded-up parchment was sent down the row. The paper was passed along with brief whispers before reaching Y/N.

"It's for you," Campbell, their classmate, said. He handed Y/N the note and turned his attention back to the front.

George frowned and leaned closer, watching intently as Y/N opened the note in her lap. She could feel him brooding over her, but didn't give it much thought.

"Would you like to go to the ball with me?" the note read.

Both Y/N and George looked down the end of the row, where Coombs flashed her a smile. Y/N laughed fondly at the note and sat back in her seat.

"Well?" George asked, unable to bite his tongue fast enough to stop the question from slipping out. "Are you going to say yes?"

"Of course not," Y/N replied hastily, folding the note back up and slipping it into her bag. "Last time we talked was in our third year, where he reminded me I received the second highest score in Transfiguration."

George rose a brow at the excuse and slipped his hand into her bag. His fingers wrapped around the note and he pulled it out with the intention to discard it.

"So, I can trash it," he concluded, earning an amused look from her.

"Thought you didn't mind Coombs," she mused.

"I didn't," he mumbled. "Now, I do."

"Why's that?" she asked, ignoring the way her heartbeat had climbed into her throat.

"Shouldn't have flaunted his grade to you," George said before setting the note on fire and dropping it to the ground, where he stamped it out.

Lee scoffed from behind them and gave Angelina and Alicia an incredulous look, while also waving his hands in George and Y/N's direction in disbelief.

"It's worse than I thought," Angelina whispered. "He's not just going to not ask-"

"He's going to act like that every time someone does ask," Alicia finished.

Fred, who was unfortunately sitting in the same row as George and Y/N, dropped his head in his palms and let out a sigh. He had been listening to the trio's conversation and knew that they were right.

After their last lesson, the girls wandered into the Great Hall, where the Goblet of Fire sat. They were one of many spectators to linger around the tables, each watching the nominees drop their names into the flames.