Tonks and Weasley (George Weasley)

Eighteen.

Another few weeks later the Quidditch teams had gotten in enough practice that they could start playing against each other like we usually do. The first match was Slytherin VS Gryffindor, natural enemies. Of course.
   
This was Ron’s very first match on the team. He’s a keeper this year, and he is rather nervous about his first ever game. I don’t blame him, Quidditch is a rough game. No matter what position you played. No one was safe.
   
We all listened to Lee Jordan’s commentary as it ran through the stadium, “Listen to the crowd! They’re loving this! What is that they’re singing?” He took a pause and we could hear what the Slytherin’s were singing
   
It was a song about Ron. About how they loved how awful he was at Quidditch because it meant an easy win for them. They said he was their king. 
   
They got louder and louder as the game went on, making sure Ron could hear them. It got to him, you could tell, because he started messing up. Gryffindor ended up winning only because Harry caught the Golden Snitch and got them an extra 150 points on top of the lead they already had. Harry was hit in the back with a Bludger and fell to the ground, landing hard, so Hermione and I ran out to the pitch to make sure he was okay, we all knew the game was over anyways.
   
When Hermione, Ginny and I reached them on pitch Draco flew by on his broom and hovered over the air where Harry was so we could hear his nasty, smug voice. “Saved Weasley’s neck, haven’t you?” He said to Harry. “I’ve never seen a worse keeper…but then again…he was born in a bin…did you like my lyrics, Potter?” Harry did not answer; he turned away to meet the rest of the team who had just reached him as well. “We wanted to write a couple more verses!” Calls Malfoy, “But we couldn’t find rhymes for fat and ugly, we wanted to talk about his mother, see we couldn’t fit in useless loser either for his father, you know.”
   
By now the twins have realized what’s going on, the Slytherin’s laughed, but the Gryffindor’s stiffened. “Leave it,” I whisper to George. “He’s just sore that he lost.”
   
“But you like the Weasley’s, don’t you Potter?” Continued Draco. “Spend Holidays there and everything, don’t you? Can’t see how you stand the stink, but I suppose when you’ve been dragged up by Muggles even the Weasley’s hovel smells okay.”
   
Harry then grabbed George and I helped keep him still as the other female players kept Fred back, and Hermione was talking Ron down now. 
   
Malfoy just didn’t know when to quit it, he decided to keep going. “Perhaps, you can remember what your mother’s house stank like, Potter, and Weasley’s pigsty reminds you of it.”
   
Harry releases George then, and George shoves me aside. Not so hard that I fell to the ground but hard enough that I was forced to let go of him. A second later they were sprinting at Malfoy together. Harry tackles him and they both start punching Malfoy as hard as they could anywhere they could land a hit. So many of us were screaming at them to stop it, but our cries landed on deaf ears.
   
Madame Hooch came and broke them up with a spell. The three of them were forced to go see their heads of house, which was not about to be a pleasant visit. Fred told me at dinner that night that George, Fred, and Harry were banned from playing Quidditch and they had to give up their brooms to Umbridge.
   
The twins weren't very upset about it. They could play Quidditch whenever they wanted. And now they could focus more on their shop. They nearly had a premises. They were working so hard on their future after school and I was so proud of them.

Before we knew it, it was almost Christmas in England. Hagrid had returned from teaching and he was covered in bruises. I guess Dumbledore sent him and Madam Maxine to recruit some giants for the Order. We were having a great time with our Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. We were lucky not to have been caught yet. At the last DA meeting before Holiday Break Cho Chang stayed behind and she and Harry finally kissed. I was proud of him for finally making a move. It was something that he has been wanting for a long time now.
   
Then, the day before we left for break all of the Weasleys and Harry weren't there. Neville told Hermione and I everything. Harry had a nightmare and woke the entire boy's dorms. He kept going on about a snake and an attack on Mr. Weasley. Then he and Ron were taken to the Headmaster and I assume they left the school as a family. So, Mr. Weasley was attacked by a snake, and Harry had a nightmare about it. They must all be terrified.
   
I sat with Hermione and Lee on the way back to King's Cross Station. Dora was here to pick me up this time, not my mum. I spent a quiet Christmas with my family, and then the next day my sister took me to see the Weasley family at the House of Black, where they have been since they left school. Hermione was here, too, which was odd to me because she said she was going skiing with her family. The twins were very excited to see me.
   
The second day I was there, Fred took me into the living room and said, "George said he wants to talk to you alone. He's waiting for you in our room upstairs."
   
"Okay," I say, nodding, "did he say what he wanted to talk to me about?"
   
He shakes his head no, "He didn't. He just said he wanted to talk to you alone." I nod, understanding and then I headed up the stairs to the room the twins shared.
   
"Fred said that you wanted to talk to me alone, George," I say and I enter the bedroom. George smiles at me instantly.
   
"Ah, yes, close the door behind you, please," he instructed and I listen, closing the door behind me and then I join him sitting on the bed.
   
"So what did you want to talk about?" I ask curiously. George looked down at his hands before he looked back up at me.
   
"This whole thing with my dad had gotten me thinking about things. My life and my future and a lot of other things. I've decided that from now on I go after things that I want, and that I'm no longer wasting time."
   
"Yeah," I say, nodding, "I agree with that. Tomorrow isn't guaranteed, life can be taken from you in an instant. Why waste time having regrets, right?"
   
"Exactly," he says, nodding, smiling too, "Well, I've decided that I'm ready to love again. Cecelia, she was great until she cheated on me, and I never want to feel like that again, but I took the time to heal and now I am ready to share my heart again. To let someone in, and love them."
   
"Oh," I say, gulping slightly, "you are?"
   
He nods, "I am, and I want that person to be you, Vangie."
   
"Oh," I say, and then I sigh. "George, you know that I would love that. If you would have told me this at the beginning of last school year I would have been so happy. I'm so happy that you've put what happened with Cecilia behind you, I am, but I'm still working on putting what happened with Cedric behind me. You and Cecilia were over much before you truly ended, but I lost Cedric unexpectedly. He was taken from me as I was in the middle of falling in love with him. I'm still not over it. You deserve to be loved properly. I'm sorry, but I can't date you, not until I'm ready to give you all of me properly."
   
His voice tries to hide how disappointed and let down he his, but his face tells me everything I need to know. "Of course, Vange. I understand completely. You take as much time as you need, and I will wait for you, because I know you're worth it. You always have been, I was just too stupid to see it."
   
"Thank you, Georgie," I say as I pull him into a hug. He responds by hugging me back.
   
"You're welcome, Vangie." When our hug ends, he looks at me, the smallest of smiles on his face. "Thank you for being honest with me and not forcing yourself to do something that you weren't ready for. It means a lot."
   
"Yeah, well, thank you for being so cool about me turning you down. Lots of guys would have not been so cool about that."
   
"Yeah, well, I trust you that you'll let me know when you're ready, and I know that you trust me that I won’t change my mind and leave you high and dry when you are ready."
   
"Exactly," I say, nodding, "I just wish I could give you a bit of a time frame or something."
   
"No," he says, quickly. "Don't feel like you need to rush your grief for me. Vangie I'm perfectly fine waiting for you no matter if it takes years."
   
"You say that, but if it does take years you will get fed up with me eventually."
   
"Nah," he says, a smile on his face that lets me know he's about to make a stupid joke, "if it takes you years eventually I'll just start nagging you until you agree to date me. You're not getting out of this. You will be mine, Evangeline Tonks."
   
I actually laugh at his dumb joke, "Whatever you say, George Weasley."

   
Before we left for Hogwarts again, Professor Snape (the double agent of the Order and the Death Eaters) came to visit. We didn’t know why he was there, and Harry told us he was forbidden to tell us what went on in their little meeting. We heard some shouting from the kitchen between Sirius and Professor Snape, but it didn’t escalate into anything too major. Other than that, the rest of the Holiday break was pretty quiet.
   
Lupin and my sister rode the Knight Bus with us back to Hogwarts. I sat with George, Fred, and Ginny with Lupin in the back of the bus where Tonks sat with Hermione, Ron, and Harry in the front of the bus. The Knight Bus travels so quickly we were back at school in no time walking into the castle with our trunks travelling behind us. Harry was the most reluctant to come back. He didn’t want to leave Sirius alone in that house, but I told him he has Lupin with him all the time. He’s not alone, he’s with his best friend, and he perked up a little bit knowing that.
   
January, as it usually is, was a boring month. For the most part this month was no exception. Mr. Weasley was able to finally leave the hospital, which was great news to hear. but other than that January seemed to come and go like the others. The twins and Bill were right, the Professors sure loaded on the homework to us fifth year students. I was grateful for the homework planner that Hermione had given me for Christmas.
   
By the end of the month, I kind of had a little bit of a routine. Fred and George would do their best to sell their items to the other students and then George would meet me in the library. It was the only time George and I would ever be alone really. 
   
There was a mass Azkaban Breakout at the end of the month. Bellatrix Lestrange was one of the many known Death Eaters that escaped. The Daily Prophet tried to blame it on Sirius, saying he helped them break out. But we all knew he had nothing to do with it.
   
Knowing that George wanted to be with me, the fact that I have heard him say it out loud, it was everything that I have ever wanted. I had done some thinking, And I realized that I'm just scared. I'm scared to actually be with George and let myself fall for him. We don't know what's about to happen now that Voldemort is on the loose again. What if something happened to George. I didn’t think anything like that would happen to Cedric and yet now he's gone.
   
I know I was silly for not wanting to love someone again, but I just needed time. Time to heal. Time to convince myself not to be so scared anymore.

_____________________
Here's part 18!

Girl is scared, man. She's scared.

I don't blame her though. I'd probably be feeling like that too.

-Emily Winchester.