Royalty (George Weasley) (Completed)

Spotted

Day four of our stay in the Forest of Dean was approaching, bringing with it a shortage of food, slightly warmer temperatures, and even more anxiety for both George and I.
George and I had not heard from anyone since the first letter we received from Sirius, causing us to feel both at ease and incredibly worried at the same time. It probably meant everyone was okay, right? There was no bad news to report so that must be a good thing.. But, on the other hand it could also mean that something horrible had happened, to Sirius or really anyone. The suspense of not being able to contact any of the Order was killing both of us, but more so George.
I could tell with every passing day George was becoming more and more depressed about the fact he hadn't heard from anyone in his family. He had no idea who was safe and who wasn't. He wouldn't admit any of this, of course, but it was clear to see. He was no longer trying to remain optimistic about our situation. He was having trouble sleeping, too. He'd been getting up in the middle of the night and sitting outside the tent, no doubt lost in thought about his family. I don't think he knew I knew he wasn't sleeping, I didn't want to disturb him.
Truth be told, it's difficult for me to find a way to comfort him. I don't know what could make him feel better and that killed me. How could I possibly comfort him when it's my fault he was in this situation in the first place? 
I pointed my wand at the pan on the stove, the bacon in it sizzling away. It was our last bit of it, we would need to get more soon.
"I think we should go to town and try to find more food today." I spoke quietly, as if I didn't know if anyone would hear me.
"Yeah, okay.." George mumbled to me, turning his wand over and over in his hands as he sat at the tent opening, a light breeze flowing in.
His eyes were dark, the shadows under them very prominent. His hair was untidy, and his clothes were wrinkled. He reminded me a bit of Lupin when a full moon was near. I sighed, looking at the man I was so in love with sitting there in such internal distress.
"I'll go after we eat, you should get some rest."
George looked up at me through confused eyes, "No, you shouldn't go by yours-"
"George, I'll be fine. There's no way any of Voldemort's cronies would be out in this little muggle town looking for us." I tried to comfort him, but seemingly to no avail.
"Still, it'd be safer if we stuck together."
"George, you need to get some sleep. You look exhausted."
He sighed, leaning back agains a tent pole as I brought him the plate of bacon I had just fried.
"I'm not sure it's a good idea," he said, ripping some pieces of bacon in his hand and slowly eating.
"It will be fine, trust me. Besides, someone should probably stay back to hold down the fort." I gave him a small smile, taking some bacon for myself.

"Please be careful, if you see any trouble, apparate out of there." George told me, adjusting the strap on the bag on my back.
"Promise,"
He let out a long yawn, having tried to suppress it but failing.
"You better be asleep when I get back," I warned him, pointing towards the bed through the tent opening.
"Mmm, we'll see. I'll see you in a bit, okay? Please be safe." George said once more, making me smile up at him.
"I love you,"
George smiled for what seemed like the first time in days, the familiar expression giving me butterflies as it so often did.
"And I love you,"
George leaned down to give me a kiss, holding my chin in his hands. I breathed in his comforting scent and gently placed a hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat.
Separating, I gave him one last small smile before heading out of the tent and beyond the protective barriers, following an opening in the trees that I knew led to the Muggle town a few miles away.
The town seemed busy today, maybe it was a weekend. Families were scurrying around and looking in shop windows. Children were eyeing the sweets set in display cases through the bakery window. It was nice, seeing these families having good times together. My heart twinged a bit at the thought of Sirius. I would give anything to be with him. Sirius was my family.
I, once again, did a small show of what muggles called 'card tricks', earning a decent amount in muggle money. Happy with my profits, I walked back through the town until I came to the bakery with the many display cases. I bought a loaf of bread and a jar of jam from the kind man who owned the shop, then moved down to the butcher shop, where I bought a couple of chicken legs and a parcel of sausages. I bought a few more things, trying to grab things I knew George liked to try and lift his spirits, and then headed back towards the trail.
However, when I stepped behind a shop named "Computer Repairs" I saw a familiar face. Jumping back around the corner, I peered out to get a closer look. It was the same frightening looking man who had been in Gryffindor tower with my mother and Yaxley. Seeing him in the daylight, I noticed his sharp features. He was almost.. animal-like. He had a slightly hairy face, with teeth that looked like a canine's. His eyes were black as night, looking hungrily from muggle to muggle.
That's when it dawned on me.. this man was Fenrir Greyback. This was the notorious murderous werewolf. And even worse, he was lurking around a crowd of muggles, all of whom looked keen to avoid the frightening looking man. He licked his lip as he watched a family of four rush by him, heading down the cobblestone road.
I had to get him away from the muggles. From the stories I've heard, he wasn't afraid of attacking a muggle, in fact it seemed he rather enjoyed it. If I left now without stepping in, no doubt some innocent lives would be lost.
Taking a deep breath, I leapt out from behind the shop, wand at the ready by my side.
"Greyback!" I yelled out, causing a few muggles' heads to turn.
The werewolf's head snapped towards me, his eyes narrowing to slits. He bared his teeth, beginning his walk towards me.
Reaching my hand in the bag on my shoulder, I felt around for a familiar suede pouch.
"Come on.. where are you?" I mumbled to myself, grasping around blindly.
Muggles were looking at the scene unfolding with a mixture of confusion and fear. I had to hurry..
Finally, I felt the pouch clasped in my hand. I yanked it out of the bag and poured a handful of the black powder into my hand.
"Try and find me now, you dog!" I called out to Greyback, throwing the dust onto the ground right in front of me as he reached out an arm for me.
Backing away quickly, I saw the darkness overtake Greyback. The Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder had done its job. I ran through the trail, listening as confused muggles cries of confusion died out. It was a few seconds before I heard leaves rustling behind me.
"I can smell ya, girly!" the deep voice of Greyback called out.
I finally came to the clearing in the woods, stepping through the barrier I had put up myself. I collapsed to the ground, out of breath. I held my breaths in, though. He would be able to hear them.
"Liz, what's-"
Jumping up, I turned around and slammed a hand over George's mouth. He looked down at me, confused. I put my other finger over my mouth, telling him to keep quiet.
The leaves behind us rustled, causing us both to turn and see Fenrir Greyback coming into the clearing.
"I know you're close... I'd smell a pretty little lady like yourself anywhere."
My skin crawled at the sound of his voice, George's body tensing up and his hand instinctively wrapping around mine.
"How about you make this easy on both of us and just come on out?" he called out again, a sick grin twisting on his already gnarly face.
George's hand released mine and I watched as he pulled his wand out of his pocket.
"Your mummy wants to have a word with you!" Greyback yelled once more, agitation growing clear in his voice.
George rose his wand and carefully, as if he was lining up an arrow for archery, he pointed it off in the distance.
Understanding his plan, I kept quiet and nodded at him as he looked down at me for approval.
His face screwed up in focus as he clearly said a nonverbal spell, his wand aiming a blasting spell towards a tree in the far distance along the trail. A loud crack resounded throughout the forest as the tree split in two. Angry birds flew from their nests in a hurry.
Greyback's head snapped towards the sound, and he immediately ran off down the trail towards it.
George and I remained silent, neither of us willing to break the silence in fear that the werewolf would come back.
"We need to leave, now." George finally whispered, breaking the silence.
I nodded, heading straight into the tent with his hand still wrapped around mine.
George and I silently and quickly packed the tent back into the bag, along with the groceries I had just bought us.
"Where are we planning on going?" George's words broke my thought, making me fumble my wand in my hand.
I hadn't thought about where we would be going next. We couldn't return to Hogwarts and we couldn't go to Grimmauld Place or even the Burrow.
"Um, I don't really know.." I mumbled, unsure what to tell him.
"You don't think we could just pop home for a bit and then be on our way? What could that hurt?"
My heart hurt for George. I know by "home" he meant the Burrow. He was still worried about his family, understandably.
"George, Sirius said not to.. I don't know.."
George sighed, looking defeated as ever.
"George, I know I've said it before but I'll say it again.. if you want to go and check on your family, I understand. Really, I'm the one they're looking for."
George looked at me with pleading eyes, "Just come with me, please."
It was hard to look at him with such need in his eyes, I couldn't possibly have told him no.
"Okay," I sighed out, hiking the bag up on my shoulder and looking back at the empty plot of land our "small" tent had been set up on, making sure we didn't leave anything.
"Hold on tight," George said, placing an arm around my waist. I held on to him, closing my eyes with him. Three turns in our place, and we vanished from the Forest of Dean.
The air whipping around us felt thick and viscous. It was different than apparating usually felt. It felt as if we were being squeezed through a tube, and it seemed to be taking an awful long time. Our feet finally thudded to the ground, both of us snapping our eyes open.
"Stupefy!" three familiar voices yelled in unison, taking both George and I by surprise.
George's hand pushed me down to the ground, himself nearly falling on top of me.
"It's us! STOP! It's George and Eliza!" he yelled out through the sounds of spells ricocheting off of each other.
"ARTHUR! Lower your wand, that is your son!" I heard the familiar, shrill voice of Molly Weasley yell out. My heart rejoiced at the sound of her voice, shrill as it may be, it was a relief to know we were near her.
Slowly, George and I stood up, looking disheveled and confused.
"Bloody hell, dad.. I would've taken a nice 'welcome home' hug just fine." George finally spoke, a smile evident in his voice.
"Oh, Georgie!" Mrs. Weasley cried out, running towards her son with arms wide and tears streaming down her face.
"Hi, mum." I could hear the happiness in George's voice, having his mum in his arms once again.
"I was.. so worried. We all thought they- they got you!" Mrs. Weasley sobbed out against George's chest, successfully soaking his jumper.
"We are okay, just a bit hungry is all."
I silently agreed with him, realizing now that we hadn't eaten in a while. And of course, nothing was better than Mrs. Weasley's freshly made onion soup.
"Oh, Eliza! Come here!"
Mrs. Weasley's arms wrapped around me next, bringing me in for a bone crushing hug. I welcomed it, needing to feel this comfort.
"I'm sorry, we probably scared you all!" I told her, rubbing her back as she continued to steadily cry.
"N-no problem at all deary.. Well, I'd better get off and fix you both something to eat.
Mrs. Weasley wiped her eyes on her apron and scurried off towards the kitchen door, Mr. Weasley behind her with a comforting arm around her.
"Blimey, Bill. That scar makes you look like some type of war hero!"
I turned on my heel to see George talking to his brother, Bill. However, Bill now sported a large scar over his left eye, going all the way down his cheek.
"Greyback is a nightmare, I'll tell you.. Lucky I got out with just this scar." Bill smiled, walking towards me with his arms wide.
"Long time no see, little one." he told me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.
"Good to see you, Bill. George is right, though. You definitely look to be some sort of war hero."
I tried to lightly joke about the scar, but really it was quite frightening. Not how it looked, but the fact that Fenrir Greyback was the one to put it there. Having been chased down by him only an hour earlier, I knew just how scary he could be.
Bill chuckled, and then was promptly knocked out of the way by a jolly looking Charlie Weasley.
"Charlie!" I nearly jumped into the ginger boys arms, his hand going up to ruffle my hair.
"Mum's been worried sick about you two. Glad to see you both have been managing to, well.. stay alive."
I rolled my eyes at him, shoving him in the chest. I was particularly close with Charlie, him being the one who first taught me how to ride a broom during my first summer at the Burrow.
"Alright, alright. I'd like my girlfriend back, if you lot don't mind." George's voice made me turn to see him with his hands in his pockets, looking a little impatient and his ears glowing slightly red in jealousy. Smiling, I walked over to him and wrapped my arm around his waist as he threw his over my
shoulder.
"Come on, love. Let's warm up inside."
Stepping into the warmth of the Burrow was blissful. It felt like home, and smelled of Mrs. Weasley's marvelous onion soup. Everything was scattered about, giving the place a certain charm that I'd never be able to explain. George and I flopped onto the sofa in the sitting room, breathing sighs of relief that we were once again with the people we loved, and that we knew they were safe.