Captain - An Oliver Wood Fanfiction

Chapter 43 - You're not allergic to plants, right?

"Erin, wait up!" George shouted as he ran after her. Erin was fast, ploughing through the snow on her way to the castle. George had the advantage of really long legs, so after a while, he was able to catch up with her.

"Erin, hold on", he said, gently slowing her down by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I know it's hard, but just-"

Erin stopped, turned around and wrapped her arms around George's torso. She just really needed some comfort right now. George was shocked at first, but then protectively pulled her closer. He wished he could shield her from all the harm in the world, but right now all he could do was help her through it.

"Come on", George mumbled and gently picked her up. She was cold and tired and it was still a long way to the castle. Lucky for him, Erin was rather small, especially compared to his 6 foot 3.

Erin rested her head against George's chest, staring blankly into the distance. They walked in silence for a while and Erin focused on George's steady heartbeat to calm down again. She was so tired, so empty.

"You're not allergic to plants, right?" George joked as he opened the door to Greenhouse two.

Even though it was freezing outside, it was always warm in the greenhouses, which is why George took her there. It smelled of greenery, soil and moss, which was a smell that could always calm him down.

He gently placed Erin in the corner of the greenhouse and filled a small bowl with water. He took a clean cloth and wet it gently.

"Tell me when I'm hurting you, okay?" he said and carefully took her hands in his. The blood had dried up, which was a good sign. The cuts weren't too deep.

George gently wiped away the blood and Erin barely reacted. She just stared at his movements, exhausted. When the blood had been washed off, he got out his wand and closed the cuts with the Episky spell, a spell he unfortunately was very familiar with. He put the bowl and cloth away and sat back down next to her.

"I come here when I'm angry about something. Feels homey", he said. He wrapped one arm around her waist as she laid her head on his shoulder. Even with a tear-stained face and a sad look in her eyes, she still looked beautiful.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" he asked after a while, trying not to overstep. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but it sometimes helps. I promise I won't tell anyone."

Erin took a deep, shaky breath. She knew she would cry again when talking about it, but she also wanted it off her chest. She wanted to see his point of view.

"Oliver and I had planned to meet at Hogsmeade today. First time I'd see him again since the summer" she started, fiddling with her fingers.

"But when I arrived, he wasn't there. We have a two-way mirror so that we could talk to each other whilst being away from each other, so I tried to reach him, but he didn't show. And-" She had to pause for a while to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat and a shiver ran down her spine, although it wasn't cold.

"It's okay, take your time", George said, grabbing her hand and lacing her fingers with his. He was not trying to make a move at all, he just wanted her to know that he was there for her, that she wasn't alone.

"And then the mirror did show a reflection, but it wasn't his. It was Marlo Deverill, in his bedroom, wearing pyjamas." Tears rolled down Erin's face again as she rested her head on her knees. She really hoped Oliver had a good explanation, but how do you turn something like that into a misunderstanding?

"I'm so sorry", George sighed, pulling her closer. It pained him to see her like this. Oliver was so, so lucky to have her and he had screwed it up. If only the boy realised what he actually had.

"You sure it's what you think it is?" Erin shrugged.

"He was in the room with her, she was talking to him. Even if he didn't sleep with Marlo, he did forget about our date, the only date we had planned in three months." That was what hurt Erin the most, why she didn't want to talk to Oliver. Maybe he did have a good explanation as to why Marlo was in his bedroom, wearing pyjamas, but he still had missed their date and that was what stung. She wasn't important enough to him to show up to one single date.

"And he knows I dislike her. I told him that I didn't like Marlo, so why would he invite her over?" She wiped away the tears which were immediately replaced with fresh ones.

"I know, I'm sorry", George mumbled. He didn't quite know what to do. If it were up to him, he'd deck Oliver in the face, multiple times, preferably with a hammer, but that wouldn't benefit Erin. He knew that Erin needed to speak with him in order to deal with it. She was so heartbroken right now and no one could fix it but the one who caused it. She loved him, that was the problem. She'd go back to him eventually, that's what people who are in love do. That's the reason that after a year of her being in a relationship, George was still head over heels in love with her.

"Do you think you're going to talk to him?" Erin shrugged again. She wanted to, to show him that he had hurt her, but she knew she was too weak to resist him and that he'd win her over once again. He had hurt her so many times, the rejection, getting her splinched, breaking his promise and now this. She didn't know if she could take anymore heartache. She was afraid that her heart was damaged beyond repair.

"Maybe, eventually, but not now. I need to deal with these emotions before I speak with him. I need to be able to tell him how I feel and what I think without having a mental breakdown." George smiled slightly, knowing she'd be okay. She was a strong girl.

"Well, you still have over a month until Christmas break. Think you'll manage?" 

"I will."

Erin thought about Christmas break. She wouldn't be able to avoid him then, but that was still a month away. She just needed to clear her head until then.

"George?" she asked. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Would you be my date to the Yule Ball, please?"

It was quiet for a while, as George didn't know what to say. Of course he wanted to be her date, there was no other girl he'd love to go with more, but he didn't want to be a rebound and she definitely didn't want her to make irrational decisions because she was emotional. Erin noticed that he was having doubts.

"I was planning on going alone because of Oliver, but right now I just want to have fun with people I care about, have a pleasant night. If I'm going alone, I'll only be reminded of the reason why", she admitted. She didn't ask him to make Oliver jealous or to distract her, she just wanted to have fun.

"Then I'd be honored to take you", George said, planting a small kiss on her head.

"You should get Fred to ask Beatrice, that'll be double the fun", Erin smiled slightly. She just now realised how many people she had to rely on. She had only properly met the twins about half a year ago, but here George was, comforting her as if they'd been friends since birth. She had them and Beatrice, who would give her life for her and the other way around, and she had Michael, Jonathan and Anthony. She had her little brother and her mother. She'd be okay.

"Everything will be okay", she mumbled softly before slowly drifting off to sleep.