Because I - George Weasley

14: Because I Celebrated

Harry seemed disgruntled by the treatment he was receiving when we'd arrived back in the Gryffindor Common Room.

Lee had unearthed a few Gryffindor banner from somewhere, and he insisted on draping one around Harry and I like a cloak. Harry couldn't get away; whenever he tried to sidle over to the staircase up to the dormitories, the crowd around him closed ranks, forcing another butterbeer on him, stuffing crisps and peanuts into his hands.

It was odd to me that someone so famous could still not be used to the attention. At the same time, it was understandable why he'd started to get upset. Nobody wanted to hear that he wasn't hungry; nobody wanted to hear that he hadn't put his name in the goblet. I seemed to be the single person to have noticed that he wasn't at all in the mood to celebrate.

I wasn't sure how I felt that I was the one who'd actually gotten chosen and yet no one seemed to care about me besides Lee and the twins and a few of the Quidditch players.

It wasn't like I wanted to be celebrated or the center of attention, but it hurt a little to not even be recognized.

All anyone wanted was to know how he had done it, how he had tricked Dumbledore's Age Line and managed to get his name into the goblet...

"I didn't," he said, over and over again, "I don't know how it happened."

But for all the notice anyone took, he might just as well not have answered at all.

"I'm tired!" Harry yelled finally, after nearly half an hour of being prodded with snacks and drinks and asked about things he didn't have an answer for.

"Ah, come on, Harry," said George, grabbing his shoulder.

"No," said Harry, pushing George away.

"We're just trying to celebrate man!"

"Seriously, George — I'm going to bed—"

"Hey!" I yelled over the people grabbing at him. Everyone paused for a moment, confused by such a loud noise coming from someone they'd hardly ever heard speak. "Sod off, the lot of you. You're Champion needs sleep, all right?"

I knew that he didn't want to be called the Champion. I knew that better than anyone else apparently. But it worked, because Harry nodded at me as he slipped up the staircase without being touched or talked to by another person.

"Well that was boring," said someone from the other side of the common room. "Our Champion doesn't even want to celebrate with us."

I looked down at the flood, trying not to leg anger overcome me.

"You're all daft," said Angelina suddenly. "Gryffindor has two Champions!"

Few people cheered, but it was more awkward murmuring about none of them knowing who I was and, therefore, not caring.

Someone asked who the other chick even was, obviously not noticing the banner tied around my neck.

A group of boys started joking about not noticing anyone who wasn't tall and beautiful like Angelina.

Another said, "Isn't she one of the Winters twins or something? I thought they were both in Slytherin. The two girls that live with the Malfoys."

"There's three of us," I spat, finally losing my cool and pulling the Gryffindor banner from around my neck and shoving it into Lee's chest. "Not that anyone cares."

"Winters," Katie Bell said timidly. "We care! It's just... no one really knows you."

"Yo! You're the girl that Moody messed with right?" one of the other sixth years asked suddenly, apparently just noticing who everyone was talking about. "That was super cool!"