SHIVER ━ A George Weasley Story

chapter 3, beginnings

[c h a p t e r  t h r e e , b e g i n n i n g s]

[Hogwarts Express, 1989]

"Anything from the trolley, dears?".

The trolley cart pulled up, pulling the four out of their enamoured discussions. Fred immediately knew what to buy, listing off the names of all these strange confectioneries that Rosie had never heard the likes of before.

"Rosalie, do you want anything?" Fred asked, halfway through listing his selection. Rosie, having lost her appetite that morning due to nerves and not wanting to look like a fool, opted to simply shake her head. She didn't want to embarrass herself further with her lack of Wizarding knowledge, even if it was just confectionery.

George noticed this, and as the trolley pulled away and the four of them continued their discussion, George silently began picking through his Bertie Botts Every Flavour beans, concentrating at great length to make sure to pick out the best flavours, and none of the horrendous ones like vomit, rotten egg and booger.

Meanwhile, Lee and Fred were deep into a healthy debate regarding which Quidditch team was better. Rosie by this point had lost the conversation entirely, mostly because she had no idea what this Quidditch business was, only listening absentmindedly and laughing when the two shot japes at one another.

She had played schoolyard rugby back home, enjoying the sport immensely. She wondered if it were a similar thing.

Highly unlikely, by her best estimates.

She glanced out the window, condensation building on the windows the further they left the city and into the countryside. The rolling hills, she noted, began turning more into sprawling mountains, and deep loch's, with grass greener than Rosie, had ever seen. It had also started to rain softly. She watched absentmindedly as the rain fell from the foggy window like slow tears. She traced her finger across the cold glass, a steady stream of condensation running down her index finger to her wrist, under her sleeve. Her eye-line then quite accidentally fell on the boy sitting in front of her, who was too only half-interested in the conversation going on beside them.

He felt her eyes boring into the top of his head and looked up, shooting her a small grin.

Rosie felt her cheeks heat, embarrassed she had been caught staring.

George wordlessly prompted Rosie to hold out her hand, and without asking, Rosie opened her palm flat, and the boy dropped a small selection of what looked like jelly beans into it.

"Will these explode, or change the colour of my hair?" Rosie asked, wondering to herself why he was so willing to share. It almost seemed too good to be true.

"No, but there may be a few rogue flavours in there. I did try my best to make sure you got the best ones, no promises though... the colours all look the same" George explained, popping one into his mouth, and trying his best not to grimace. She glanced at his facial expressions, suddenly concerned.

"This one may or may not be bogey..."

Rosie laughed "Why on earth would I want to eat anything that tastes like bogey?".

George grinned back, shrugging as he responded: "It's all part of the fun".

Astonishingly, she shrugged, trusting her new friend enough to pop one of the beans into her mouth and began chewing.

"What do you taste?"

Rosie tried her best to keep her expression neutral for dramatic effect, tentatively taking bites, and to her surprise, it tasted like nothing she had ever experienced before in an ordinary jelly-bean. She glanced up, noticing the boy stare apprehensively, and so she explained: "It tastes... like a dessert, with pastry, chocolate, cream... an eclair?"