asking in vain // george weasley

chapter two

After an uneventful carriage ride to the castle, we were now all seated at the Gryffindor table waiting for the Sorting to begin.

I quickly noticed that our spot at the table had moved, and the three of us sat only a glance away from the twins and Lee Jordan, obviously to ensure that Angie and Fred can share lots of meaningful glances during dinner.

I unintentionally let a scowl form on my face as I pet Bullet, who sat under the table with his head in my lap like he did for every meal and study hall.

After Dumbledore made his speech declaring that the Dementors were going to be present until Siruis Black was caught, a man that I was somehow, distantly, related to through my grandmother, I gave my full attention to the pup between my feet. I continuously snuck Bullet scraps of the meat off my plate as I did at every meal, until Angie was elbowing me in my side.

"C'mon, Ace, we're going back to the dorm."

As was ritual every year once the first night was upon us, the three of us changed into our pajamas and sat on our beds as we decided who was going to end up with who throughout the year.

"Well, Fred and Ang is a given," Alicia said. "And maybe me and Diggory?"

We all giggled and Alicia's suggestion, every girl dreamed of being Cedric's date to literally anything. Alicia had been saying her and Digs would get together every year, even back when we we first years. On the train ride Alicia started having a panic attack and me and Ang had no idea what to do but luckily Cedric was walking by, saw what was going on, and promptly calmed Ali down to a reasonable mindset. I had tried my methods for when I got a panic attack, i.e. shoving Bullet in her lap, but it hadn't helped.

"Well," Angelina proudly begun, "my bet's on George and Ace. He was making eyes at her all dinner long while she was too busy giving Bull some love."

My cheeks blazed at the thought of any boy paying any kind of romantic attention to me. "Believe me, Ang, not going to happen."

"Oh yeah," Alicia said, "then why are you redder than a ripe tomato right now?"

"You must like him," Angelina said.

I shook my head. "I promise you two, I don't. I never even thought of George like that, I'm just awkward when it comes to any interaction with guys. You know this. It could've been Draco Malfoy smiling at me and I still would've blushed like a lunatic."

Seeming as though it was pre-planned, the three of us simultaneously scrunched our noses at the mention of the Malfoy boy.

I honestly had no idea how one boy could hold so much angst and hate. Even though I was somehow related to him too, he was completely detestable. To be fair, though, nearly everyone at Hogwarts who has pureblood heritage is distantly related, and still no one seems to care.

We continued our drama discussion late into the night, until we all absolutely had to get to bed. I got under my covers with Bullet snuggled into my side and I was out almost immediately.  

**

The next week or so, it was as if my attention to people surrounding me had multiplied, tenfold. Or, more specifically, my attention to a certain redheaded twin.

I wouldn't say I had a crush on George, but I was definitely curious. Were Ang and Ali telling the truth?

In all honesty, I couldn't tell. I would never actually look at George, but rather just turn myself in a way so that I could watch him out of my peripherals. It was true that he looked at me a lot, but that could mean anything.