Counting the Stars (A George Weasley love story)

Chapter 5

The walk to the owlery was the longest of my life. My legs wouldn't move to the speed of my heart, but when I got there it stopped.

She's sitting on the base of one of the arch windows and softly stroking a white Pygmy owl with odd tufts of feathers poking out where they shouldn't.

She's wearing the school uniform, grey skirt with grey socks pulled up to the knee, though they had slipped down somewhat. Her Hufflepuff cloak was folded haphazardly beside her and instead she wore a grey knitted jumper, several sizes too big.

The tufted owl lets out a tiny squawk and she turns to look at me with piercing blue eyes, that turn soft in an instant.

'Hey,' she smiles, 'you made it then, starting to think you wouldn't show up.'

'Yeah...I...divination,' I say, and she nods with a smirk.

'Learn anything of interest?' she asks me. I relive Trelawney's final words to me, 'why she chooses you', did she mean Adeline? I decide to say nothing of the matter.

'Oh, just the usual, I'll die a slow and painful death, that sort of thing.'

Addy frowns, 'you don't like divination?'

'Oh no, it's not that I don't like it, it's just...' I start, desperately trying to save myself. 'It's just that I... well it's just a bit vague isn't it.'

'Not at all! Well I suppose it can be, Professor Trelawney is vague, I'll give you that. It is one of those subjects that you can either do or you can't.'

'And can you?' I ask her.

She blushes slightly, and turns away for a second as if to hide it, but she comes back to me smiling and says 'vaguely'. I smirk.

'So, hey, you got a class next?' I ask, rubbing the back of my neck.

'You know I do, some of us don't have the luxury of free periods,' she says, rolling her eyes.

'Yeah, of course, so... um... what do you have?' I ask, hating myself as I stumble over the words.

'Divination,' she laughs, hitting my arm softly. 'But I've got a puzzle for you,' she coos, pulling me by my arm to sit beside her. 'If Trelawney can see the future, then it may be the case that she has seen me missing today's lesson,' I raise an eyebrow to this. 'And if she has already seen me miss this class then is there really any point in going?'

'Now that, Adeline, is a very interesting proposition, I suppose it depends on whether you believe the future to be fixed or flexible. If flexible then she may have seen one of the many optional futures, if fixed then it's not really your fault is it.'

'So you're saying it was destined?' she asks, shuffling towards me a little.

'You could say that,' I reach my arm behind her and lean in, 'but I prefer written in the stars.'

At this proximity I can feel Addy's breath on my face, it's slow and drawn out like she's breathing deeply. I'm worried because I don't know what she wants here, does she want me to kiss her, hold her? I've never been close with a girl before, well there was that one time but we were 7 and she thought I was Fred.

I get the feeling that my puzzled thoughts are shown in my face as Addy is smiling profusely.

'What?' I ask defensively.

She smirks. I feel knocked off my guard and I know my cheeks have turned scarlet. When my mind returns to normality I notice Adeline standing above me, offering her hand.

'Where are we going?'

'I dunno, let's ask,' she looks up and shouts 'stars, where to now?' I struggle to contain my laughter as the owlery wakes up. Owls fly angrily over head, but Addy is standing stock still doing that face people do when they're trying to hear something far away. 'Thanks stars!' she shouts again, followed by squawks from the nocturnal birds.

'You ready,' she asks me, her arm outstretched again.

'If the stars demand it.'

I take her hand and we leave the owlery in fits of laughter.