The Girl Who Hid | George Weasley

ch 40 : the trial

The day of Harry's hearing arrived, and you sat off on the side as Harry faced the Ministry. You were dressed up in some of Thelma's dress clothes to look more professional. Judging by the way Harry's clothes looked slightly oversized, you figured that Sirius or Remus had approached him that morning to offer him their dress clothes as well. You and Harry hadn't even thought about what to wear to the trial, both of you just trying to avoid the situation and focus on the good things in your life instead. For you, this meant spending as much time with George as possible.

The others, sans Ron, didn't seem to mind this. You even swore you thought people smiled more after seeing you and George together. Your happiness with George seemed to expand to fill the dark crevices of 12 Grimmauld Place while Fred and George's daily antics brought some life back into the sluggish days of stress and disaster planning. While you, George, and Fred had been bringing some joy into that place each day, on the day of the trial, you struggled to find your light as a darkness had settled over the group.

You sat with your fists clenched at your sides during the trial. You wished George could be there with you just to hold onto you and tell you everything would be okay. You knew that if he were there with you, you would be able to believe it. You just tried to even your breathing as you listened to your brother being berated and humiliated by these corrupt people, imagining the warm embrace of George's arms that would be waiting for you back at 12 Grimmauld Place.

When they brought the other witness out, Harry sat beside you nervously, and you gripped his hand tightly outside the Ministry's line of sight. He smiled gratefully at you, and you gave him a gentle smile back, but both of you felt as if you would throw up slugs like Ron had in your second year.

When the Ministry finally determined that Harry was free of all charges, you let out a huge breath you hadn't realized you had been holding. You wanted to throw your arms around Harry, but he had shifted away from you when you reached for him since he was trying to catch Dumbledore's attention. You stood off to the side and waited for him, your bright eyes scanning the sea of faces of the Ministry as they all filed out of the room.

After Dumbledore evaded Harry, you smiled at Harry and made to give him a hug again, but he just rushed past you and out of the room. You just blinked and tried not to let your face fall as you followed him out of the room. At that point, you were so focused on not tripping in Thelma's slightly too big heels that you almost missed the big black dog moving alongside their group.

When Sirius and Harry slipped into a room off on the side to chat, Professor Moody stopped you from following them in and sighed, "Not now. Your brother has had a rough day."

You nodded and stood off to the side, wrapping your arms around yourself and watching all the people pass by. You tried to count all the women you saw wearing black heels to make the time go by faster, but your mind just kept thinking about seeing George's sweet face again when you got back.

-

When you finally arrived back at 12 Grimmauld Place, you were practically buzzing with excitement. Once you got inside, you raced past everyone and hurried up the stairs to find George. You checked his room first, frowning when you didn't find him there. You checked Ron and Harry's room, but the room was empty other than Ron's snoring form slumped in his bed for a midday nap. You raced to your own bedroom, frowning when he wasn't there either.

Ginny and Hermione stood from their beds and stared at you with concern. Ginny put her hands out to her sides and wondered, "So?"

"They declared that he was innocent," You sighed and smiled at them.

Hermione crossed the room and crushed you in a hug. You beamed and squeezed her back. Hermione sighed, "Oh, I was worried sick. I can't imagine what it was like to actually go there. Are you alright, Y/N?"

Warmth spread in your chest as you grinned, "I'm much better now. Thanks for checking in on me."

Ginny crossed the room and squeezed your shoulder, remarking, "Hey, of course, we'll check in on you. We know this hasn't been easy on you either."

Blinking back a couple unwelcome tears, you gripped Ginny in a hug next. You felt seen for the first time that day, as if you had been wearing your father's invisibility cloak all day and had just tossed it off. Seeing your watery eyes, Hermione stepped forward and squished you in a three-person hug between her and Ginny.

After a moment, you all pulled away, and you sighed, "Thank you both."

"Of course." They both reached a hand out to squeeze your arms comfortingly.

A couple seconds of silence passed by before you wondered, "Do you know where George is?"

Hermione and Ginny both chuckled at your question before Ginny more seriously answered, "Well, mum sent him and Fred out on an errand."

You licked your lips and nodded. "Oh, I see. No problem." Your eyes darted away as you struggled to think of what to say, your mind feeling exhausted after the day you've had.

Hermione and Ginny exchanged glances with one another, Hermione opening her mouth to say something when the door swung open to reveal an out-of-breath George. His cheeks were pink, and by his panting, you figured he had to have run up all the flights of stairs. Fred came in a few seconds later, gasping, "Why are you moving so fast? Merlin, I'm-"

Fred's words halted in his throat as his eyes fell on George's frame covering yours in a protective hug. He had wrapped his arms around your waist and lifted you off your feet in the tight hug. Your toes just barely touched the ground while your arms were wrapped around George's neck.

Hermione and Ginny moved from the room and shoved Fred out with them. Fred murmured, "Wait, wait, but did we win? Where's the other Potter?"

Ginny quietly smacked her brother and pulled the door around behind them. Since Ginny had closed the door, you didn't hear Hermione retort, "Shut it, Weasley. Harry's fine. He was declared innocent. She had a hard day, and it's clear she just wants to destress."

Fred wiggled his eyebrows at the two younger girls and repeated, "Destress?"

Ginny hit him again and snipped, "Shove off, Fred."

You and George were unaware of the conversation in the hallway. You were just regaining some of your strength and joy from being in George's presence again. By the time he set you back on your feet, your brilliant smile had returned to your face, and your heart had returned to its normal pace again. George held your face in his hands and whispered, "What did they say?"

"Innocent," You breathed happily, smiling up at the one person you had wanted to be with all day.