Shrinking Violet

Brave

He heard her laughter twinkle beside his ear, his hands roaming the smooth skin on either side of her waist. Her plump red lips pressing against several sensitive spots along his neck. Her legs on each side of him, body clad in nothing but a lacy black bra. She stopped only for a moment, her long dark hair tickling his face. 

"Why don't you unwrap your present George?" Cleary's eyes full of some foreign emotion, as she guided his hand to the clasp.

And in that moment, George awoke. Sweat like a second skin that clung all along his back and arms. A hand entangling in his hair,  looking to his right he saw Fred in a rather unattractive position, his mouth hanging open with drool slipping out the side, arms and legs in a wild position. And to his left he saw Lee, curled into a ball holding his pillow to his chest as if it were an actual human being. He sighed, the pale moon outside reminding him that it was only a dream. A growing uneasiness blooming in his chest as he lied back down. He shut his eyes, but his mind continued to race. 

                                                                                               ****

"You know you can't just keep avoiding him."  Ginny wrinkled her nose as she flipped through another page in her book.  Cleary looked to Hermione for her usual words of wisdom, but only received a sympathetic smile and a shrug.

"She's right, you play against him in Quiditch. You're going to have to face him eventually." Her tone brisk, as she dipped her quil into the bottle of ink and rushed out several words.

"Maybe I'll just quit."

"And then what? Enroll of in Beauxbatons academy of magic, change your name, and cast enchantment spells so no one will recognize you?" Ginny piped in, her eyes straying from her book to Cleary. Her words taking a toll on the girl in front of her, Cleary's mouth pulling into a straight line. Hermione stepped in at the right time, her words dissipating the tension.

"No one blames you for how you reacted," her brown eyes warm and filled with empathy. "But you can't hide away from what scares you forever, you might be surprised by what a few seconds of bravery can accomplish." And those words rung in her ears, transforming into a sort mantra, as she smiled at her friend. Her quil scribbling words with a new desire and ferocity.

                                                                                       ****

It meant nothing, he reassured himself. Cleary leaned against a pillar, eyes wide and her head snapping at the slightest sound she heard.  He took a deep breath as he she yawned as he saw the soft flesh of her hand raise to cover her mouth as a yawn rippled through her body and out of her mouth. And suddenly all he could think of was her hand on his, leading it to her upper back, his fingers brushing against the soft delicate skin there that had never been touched before. He shook his head, averting his eyes away quickly.

What was he doing thinking about that right now? That was his best friend! She was practically family. He shoved a hand in his hair, staring blankly at the map he held in his hand. They were strolling through the halls at two in the morning, when tomorrow they had an early Quiditch match. What were they even doing? Looking for some secret room in the dead of night like a bunch of thieves. 

"You know I just thought of something weird," Fred's voice broke through George's internal ramble. His eyes keen on the wall before him. "That broom closet we were hiding in from Filtch isn't here anymore."

All three stood in front of the wall now, gazing at it with a quizzical gaze. Cleary was the first to turn around, gazing at the tapestry opposite of it.