What Matters Most

(1) Avoidance

It had been a few weeks now since I woke up from my coma and returned home for summer break. So much had already happened, and my head was absolutely killing me from the overwhelming stress of it all. I was currently sitting on the edge of George's bed, cautiously watching the door to the twins' room.

George perched next to me, gently placing his hand over mine on the bed. "Belle, you're going to have to face him eventually." When I didn't respond, he sighed and continued, "To be fair, I am impressed by your ability to completely avoid him in this house for as long as you have."

My eyes flickered toward the twin seated next to me for a split second before returning to the door. "George, I don't want to talk about it. Fred and I are not going to be friends for a long while. Yes, I am thankful that you both found me at the Leaky Cauldron, but I can't deal with the drama that comes with us being together. Plus, I realized the reason it probably didn't work out was because I am much too young for a relationship. I mean, I am only eleven and Fred is thirteen." I laughed, "We are both absolutely mental if we think that we should be in a romantic relationship right now."

George opened his mouth to respond but footsteps warned us of Fred's return. I turned to hug my friend before I stood and hurried out the door and up the stairs to Ron's room. As I reached the next landing, I could hear Fred's quiet voice as he asked his brother, "Did I miss her again?"

I didn't let myself stay to hear the rest, I felt bad enough. Although it was true, Fred and I were too young for this to happen. I'd rather spend time with my best friends over a boyfriend any day.

I pushed open the door to Ron's room and was instantly rewarded with Ginny and Ron sitting on the boy's bed and whispering together. When I walked in, they stopped talking and turned to look at me. Ginny smiled while Ron paled and looked away.

I walked over and sat next to Ginny, smiling and nodding to Ron's nervous form. "What secret is Ronald trying to hide from me this time?"

Ginny giggled, "Oh, he's just being weird because yours and Harry's birthday is coming up and he doesn't know what to get you two."

I couldn't help but laugh, "Ron, our birthday isn't even for another month. It's the end of July, not the beginning. By the way, you don't need to get me anything for my birthday. It's nice enough of your family to let me stay here all summer."

At that, Ron looks up and meets my eyes. "Belle, my family has loved having you here. No one would have thought twice about you showing up here. In fact, Mum didn't even notice she was feeding another person the first week of you being here."

I smiled as I remembered the excitement in Molly Weasley's face as she realized I was sitting at their dinner table. It was a night none of us will forget, especially due to the celebration we had after. I pushed past the memory and changed the topic, "Now, what were you two discussing before I came in here?"

Ron yelped and turned away again, and Ginny rolled her eyes at the boy before shrugging her shoulders. "Nothing too important. We were trying to figure out if Harry was going to come to the Burrow for his birthday so we can celebrate you both together."

The thought of Harry showing up made me excited. I haven't seen him in weeks, and I know that we all missed him greatly. Plus, he was in a terrible house filled with muggle filth called the Dursleys. I shuddered at the thought; poor boy.

Before I could respond, a knock at Ron's bedroom door startled us all. Ron frowned, standing up and making his way to the door. He turned to face Ginny and I, "No one ever comes up to my room, like seriously, no one." As Ginny and I urged him to open the door, a voice called out from the other side that made me freeze.

Ginny's eyes widen as I look to her for help. Ron's eyes widen as well and he moves to stand against the door in case his idiot brother decided to just walk in. I shook my head, I couldn't deal with this today. Ginny helped me hide under Ron's bed before the door was pushed open and Fred walked in.

"Belle?" He glanced around the small room in disappointment before turning to his brother. "Has she left then? She wasn't in downstairs and she's definitely not in Percy's room so where is she? I just want to talk to her."

Before Ron could speak up, Ginny cut in. "Well, she doesn't want to talk to you, Fred. When she's ready, she will talk, but you need to stop trying to corner her like this. It is going to make her want to avoid you even more."

Fred frowned, "She's really trying to avoid me, then? I thought that was George just trying to get me to stop talking about her." He paused for a moment, glancing around once more before his eyes finally found mine underneath the bed. I held my breath, silently begging he wouldn't push it. He sighed, his eyes never leaving mine, "Well, please tell her I am still so sorry and that when she's ready, I will be waiting anxiously for her arrival." With that, his piercing eyes left mine and the door to Ron's room shut once more.

I slowly pulled myself out from under the bed, sitting next to Ginny again as Ron walked back over to us. He sat on the other side of me and we bathed in the quiet for a moment before Ron spoke again. "Belle, Fred said that—"

"I heard, Ron." He flinched as I snapped at him, before he went quiet again. Part of me felt bad for getting angry with him, but I didn't apologize or say anything else. I just accepted the quiet with open arms.

I don't know how long the three of us sat there, but soon Ginny and I made our way to her room, where I made myself comfortable on the pile of blankets Molly had left on the floor for me. It took a while, but soon I fell into a restless sleep.