After a War ((Old Copy))

Chapter 23 Book 1

After a War

George rushed through dinner, it was already dark outside and that dog could already be out there. He ate as fast as he thought possible. Nobody asked him about it, even if they were staring at him funny. Harry even asked why he was eating so fast but he refused to answer. He even slipped a bit of the meat from the table into a bag he had. He glanced at the Slytherin table to see Theo, Maya and Draco all mopey because Hermione wasn't there, the Gryffindors were upset too. It even seemed like the entire school was upset over her being in the hospital wing. He felt horrible about it but all he could think about was that dog and how it looked at him as though it were human. It seemed like the dog understood his problems. Plus, he had never met a dog trained so well.

Switching to Maya...

She sat at the table and barley ate anything. She may have had a piece of toast or two but all she could do was stare at the boy at the Gryffindor table. She pretended to be eating whenever he glanced at her. It was so odd, knowing that he liked her, knowing that he told her himself and he didn't even know he did. She wanted to run into the woods again, the moon was pulling her out there. She felt the urge to just transform right there and run out, howling like there was no tomorrow. But that was just the wolf talking, she knew she would never show the entire school who she was. She ignored everyone's questions on whether or not she was ok. Sure, she was just great, not only had her best friend been put in the hospital wing but her other best friend tried to kill her. Yeah, just fine. She didn't want to be rude so she didn't say anything. What if George figured out it was her? What if he figured out that the dog he had played with for hours was really the girl he liked? She shook her head and stood up. A loud squeak from the bench she was sitting on gained everyone's attention, she couldn't take her eyes off George. Not for a second. She forced herself away and walked out of the great hall calmly. She started walking towards the way out of the castle. The loud sound of footsteps jogging towards her didn't make her stop walking, it made her speed up.

"Where are you going?" George asked from beside her.

"Outside, for a run." Maya answered simply, not looking at him.

"Oh good, before you start running, I want to show you this dog I found last night, hopefully she'll still be there when I get there. Its the most obedient dog ever." George said happily.

"Sorry, no thanks." Maya said, knowing she was the dog he was talking about.

"Ahh, come on!" George pleaded.

"No, I'm good." Maya said, she picked up her pace and he fell behind quickly. She ran towards the lake and she looked toward the castle to see if he could see her. Once she was totally out of view, she turned into a wolf and sat patiently at the lake. He arrived after a few minutes. She jumped on him and licked his cheek.

"I told you id be back." George said, he sat in the grass and let the dog knock him to the ground. He started petting her head. His hand got caught on something in her fur. No! She forgot to take off her necklace. He ran his hand down to the centerpiece of the necklace. "What's this? Do you have a collar?" He looked at the golden chain around her neck, he found a piece of gold with the name Maya carved into it. He looked at her eyes. No. No. No. He couldn't find out, this was a bad idea. A very bad idea. She sat still though. He said she was a obedient dog, and she wanted to remain that way until he found out, and that wouldn't be too long. She whimpered a bit as his eyes grew wide. He sat up and hid his face in his hands.

"Maya?" George asked. She laid her head on his lap. "I thought you were a red wolf." He mumbled, his face still in his hands. She sat up slowly and looked at her paws. She didn't want to turn back into a human, she didn't want to talk. He got out his wand and pointed it at her. "Homorphus." He whispered. She slowly turned into a human. He looked at his knees, then at the lake.

"George I'm sorry-" Maya started.

"How long were you going to do it before you told me? Or were you never going to tell me?" George asked. She shifted closer to him.

"George, I was going to tell you, I just didn't know how. I was on my run and I saw you, I couldn't help it." She mumbled. She hated herself at the moment.

"I told you things!" He yelled and stood up.

"I know! And I never should have listened! I shouldn't have pretended to be something I'm not! I know its horrible! But I have a good explanation!" Maya yelled. She stood up, only a few inches shorter than him.

"And whats that?" He yelled.

"Oh, umm." She said quietly.

"See, that's what I thought." George said. Maya wanted a good answer to fly from her brain but nothing did. She just thought for a while. He must have been thinking too because he was silent.

"I wanted to get to know you more, when I'm a wolf, its as though the moon controls me. It uses emotion to judge what I do and don't do. If I'm angry, I run and I don't stop until I have to. If I'm happy, I run for a while and come around to the lake. You were there and I felt the urge to talk to you, but its weird talking to you, so, I pretended to be a dog." She said quietly. It was the only answer that she understood. She hoped he understood too.

"Its weird to talk to me?" George asked.

"Well, after the mistletoe thing, yeah." Maya said. He stayed silent. "I wanted to know you, without you knowing me."

"How is that fair?" He asked.

"Its not. I already told you I was sorry." He was silent again.

"You licked my hand." He said, he rubbed his hand on his jeans.

"It was gross the first two times, then I got used to it." Maya said quietly.

"So then you had to lick my face?" George asked. Maya shrugged and nodded.

"I was trying to be a dog." She mumbled.

"Yeah, that's still gross." George mumbled back. Maya laughed, he smiled. She tried to take a step towards him but, there was a blasted rock that made her trip, right into his arms. Oh that was Ridiculous. Stupid universe. She stopped laughing and looked up at him, even though he was only a few inches taller. She stopped breathing.

"Umm." Maya started.

"Hi." He said. She smiled.

"Hi." She said. She stood up straight, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently.