misdirection ⤷ g. weasley

[12] the 3rd of december

Marlee's POV

I froze, not knowing what I should do but once George saw me, my decision was made for me. His lips formed a smile as he yelled, "Marlee!"

I faked a smile and replied, "Hi George...Serena." Serena gave me a tight-lipped smile and looked down.

George didn't notice the sudden tension in the room and continued to ask, "What are you doing all the way over here? Dinner's starting."

My heart dropped, he doesn't even remember.

"I was just doing some studying...in the library..." I swallowed hard as I tried to get the words out. "What have you guys been up to?"

George opened his mouth to answer but Serena beat him to it. "We were just down by the Black Lake for a nice stroll," she beamed then changed the subject. "I gotta use the restroom really quick, Georgie. Would you mind waiting for me?"

George nodded and she walked into the bathroom across the corridor then he turned his attention back to me. He smiled widely as he looked down at me but I didn't know exactly what to say.

His eyes traced over my books twice and he abruptly slapped his forehead. "Fuck—Marlee, I forgot about our plans! Fuck, I'm so sorry," he apologized and ran his hands through his hair. "Serena just wanted to go for a walk and I lost track of time—fuck...how long were you waiting for me?"

I bit my lip and looked up as I counted the time. "Mmm about an hour and a half," I stated, monotonously. I could tell he felt really bad about it but that didn't mean I still wasn't upset. Especially about the fact that he forgot because he was with Serena.

"Damnit. I'm so sorry, Marlee. If there's anything I can do, I'll do your homework for you, buy you a Butterbeer or a car—anything you want—"

I cut him off with a chuckle as I realized he really was sorry. "It's okay, George. You don't need to apologize."

"Are you sure?" he asked and I nodded. "Okay...I promise it won't happen again. I just-I-I..."

"Serena?" I helped him finish his sentence.

He paused and chewed on his bottom lip then looked away. "Yeah..." It seemed like he wanted to say more but he just don't know what it was that he wanted to say.

"Don't worry about it...if you're happy I'm happy." I gave him a weak smile.

Before the conversation could go on, Serena came out of the bathroom and the couple went to the Great Hall while I made my way to my dormitory to drop off my books but I couldn't ignore the bad feeling that was forming in my stomach.

—

I talked to Cho about going to the meeting at Hog's Head together and she agreed to meet me in the Ravenclaw common room. We only talked briefly back when I left her match and she asked if I was okay—but other than that I hadn't seen much of her.

I answered the riddle password quite easily and the door opened to reveal the royal common room. It was much different from the Gryffindor common room, which was warm and cozy and definitely different from the Slytherin one, which was dark and cold. I never fancied our common room but I did love going there at midnight when it was pitch black.

Cho, Marietta Edgecombe, Luna Lovegood and Padma Patil were sitting on a long, white couch, chatting when I arrived. I'd met them before as they were Cho's friends, so they weren't surprised to see me.

The walk to Hogsmeade was quite long and boring since I had to listen to their conversation about things I didn't know the context of.

But just as my boredom was going to kill me, I heard George call my name. I turned around to see the whole gang minus Harry, Ron and Hermione. I told Cho and her friends that they could go ahead and she winked at me teasingly. I would have to tell her about him and Serena sometime soon—she also wasn't a fan of Serena. I guess we could put it this way, although Serena was quite popular amongst the boys, she was very unliked amongst the girls and not just because of her minx actions but because of her attitude and the way she presented herself when boys weren't around.