Slip Me That Love Potion, I Dare You, George Arthur Weasley

‘’Naomi, you’re making it snow.’’
‘’What? Oh, sorry,’’ I mumbled, taking a deep breath and shaking the icy flakes out of my hair.
Draco rubbed my back comfortingly, ushering us into the courtyard where everyone was making final preparations for the Hogsmeade trip. The Heads of the Houses were doing a roll call, trying to herd everyone together rather unsuccessfully. Pushing our way through a group of giggling Hufflepuff girls, the heads of Fred and Farrah appeared, her back to us while she seemed to be deep in conversation with her boyfriend.
Fred was the one who noticed us first. Nudging Farrah, he nodded his head in our direction, giving us both a wave as we hurried over. Farrah embraced me in a hug.
There was only a week until the Yule Ball. Draco, through some reluctance at first, had befriended Farrah and Fred. Oddly enough, the four of us got along swell. But where was George in all of this, you might ask?
Two words for you: Katie Bell.
Katie Bell, a Gryffindor fifth year, fancied George Weasley. George Weasley, notorious prankster and my secret love interest, fancied Katie Bell without any of us even knowing.
Where did this leave me, exactly? Dateless, seeing as they’d been continuously snogging each other’s faces off over the past few weeks. Not only that, but I’d become something of a walking zombie. I was there body wise, but inside, I’d pretty much…shut down, in a way. George had separated himself from all of us, whether out of choice or done so by force. In the six years I’d known Fred, I had never seen him so quiet.
The scary thing was it all happened so fast. I was ready, too. I was going to ask him about the Yule Ball, if he had a date or not. What a surprise it was to stumble across him and Katie, snogging in the room he and his brother had turned into a secret lab on the fifth floor. A fifty pound weight no longer weighed on my chest, but a stomping herd of centaurs.
In case you were wondering, I much preferred the fifty pound weight.
I was hoping that, during the Hogsmeade trip, the two of them would keep away from the four of us as much as possible. It was bad enough I saw them in school most of the time, I didn’t want my day of freedom to be surrounded by snogging and cuddling and heart pains. No, I wanted to enjoy myself, to spend my time laughing with three great friends.
I found that rather hard to do while George was not even fifty feet away, whispering things into his girlfriend’s ear while she giggled quite loudly.
Tearing my eyes from them abruptly, I turned back to Draco, Farrah and Fred, who were staring at the cloud that’d reappeared over my head. White snowflakes had starting falling from it again.
The sour look on my face disappeared when Draco put his arm around my shoulders. ‘’If it’s going to upset you this much, then maybe you should-‘’
‘’I’m fine,’’ I sighed, not meeting Farrah’s sympathetic green eyes. ‘’I need to finish my Christmas shopping, anyway. Let’s just go.’’
Hogwarts and Hogsmeade had already experienced some snowfall a few days previously, but it’d started snowing again, this time not by my own doing. The four of us trudged through the already-trodden path that led straight to the village, the light flurries not bothersome at all. In fact, it was all quite pretty when you stopped to absorb the sight. The ground on either side of us was untouched, glittering depending on the angle in which you looked at it. Up ahead was the little village of Hogsmeade itself, snow covering the old, pointed roofs. It looked as if it were something out of a film. The small wizarding town in all its glory.
We headed straight to the Three Broomsticks as soon as we arrived, craving hot cocoa and the warmth that the cozy little pub always provided. We brought our mugs of chocolaty goodness into a room right off of the main pub. Three puffy black leather couches sat near the blazing fireplace. The curtains on the right side of the room were drawn, displaying the snow-covered street, bustling with people in traveling cloaks and in a hurry. We settled down, taking off our cloaks, scarves, hats and gloves and sinking into the comfortable couches. The fire crackled as I clutched the hot cocoa in my frozen hands, taking small sips as the heat from it rose in a continuous stream of smoky air.
Farrah and Fred sat on the couch across from me, Fred lying across it with his head in her lap as she played with his hair. Draco was on the sofa in between us, staring blankly into the fireplace while his hot cocoa rested forgotten on an old end table. He looked to be deep in thought over something. Out of concern and sheer curiosity, I opened my mouth to ask what was troubling him.
‘’Naomi, can you do something for me?’’ I took my eyes off of Draco to avert them to Farrah’s serious face.
‘’What?’’
‘’Smile.’’
I blinked a few times, trying to take in what that word meant. ‘’I-what?’’
‘’Smile,’’ she repeated, removing her hand from Fred’s hair, ‘’I haven’t seen a smile out of you in nearly two weeks, and it’s saddening. You have a nice smile, in case you didn’t know.’’
I gave her what I thought would be a convincing grin. The looks on my three friend’s faces clearly said it wasn’t convincing in the least.
I placed my mug on the end table between Draco and I, clasping my hands together in my lap. ‘’Have you ever tried smiling through slow, continuous torture? It isn’t exactly simple or fun. It’s a wonder I haven’t jumped into the Black Lake with an anvil chained to my leg.’’
‘’The lake’s completely frozen solid, so have fun with that,’’ Fred piped up. A small smile twitched at the corners of my mouth.
‘’There are ways to break ice, nimrod.’’ I took a long drink from my hot cocoa, licking my lips. ‘’But that isn’t really the point here. The facts are already out on the table, aren’t they? George, for whatever reason, Katie or something else, has decided he doesn’t need to hang around us any longer.’’ At this, a flash of pain showed in Fred’s eyes. Farrah continued stroking his hair. ‘’I guess the only thing we can do is let things play out. I don’t know how well talking would work with him, but that’s always an option, too.’’
My eyes flickered over to Draco, who was running his fingers through his messy hair, his elbows propped up on his knees. All four of us were tense, our heads swimming with unanswered questions. I, in particular, couldn’t help but wonder; what, in the name of Merlin’s ancient arse, had driven George away from us in a matter of two weeks? I didn’t think myself, or anyone else, for that matter, had done anything to piss him off. It wasn’t very easy to piss off the twins, after all. Unless you hurt someone they care about. In that case, I highly suggest you duck and hide.
Twenty more minutes dragged by, and hardly anything was said. The silence was filled with the sounds of chatter in the other room and the occasional slurping from our now-cold mugs. It was the elephant in the room; no one wanted to talk about it, no one wanted to acknowledge that it was there
Draco accidentally spilled some cocoa on his robes. Muttering ‘charming’, he pulled out his wand, mumbling a spell to clean up the mess. Sighing, he looked up at me, a slight frown appearing on his pale face. ‘’What?’’
‘’It’s nothing,’’ I replied, shaking my head. Across from me, Farrah and Fred seemed to be taking a nap, Fred mumbling something inaudible in his unconsciousness. On the floor next to him, I spotted a Puking Pastille that’d fallen out of his pocket. I eyed it, my brain breaking through all the cobwebs and starting to whiz.
‘’Has anyone been bothering you lately?’’ I asked Draco, my eyes gleaming with the opportunity to take my frustration with George out on someone else who deserved it.
The excitement in my voice didn’t slip past Draco, who leaned back on the couch with another sigh.
‘’Blimey, Marwick, you really are a sadist. No, people seem be leaving me alone lately.’’ He tapped his chin thoughtfully. ‘’I think it was the combination of your Conjunctivitus Curse and my Knee-Reversal Hex on Zabini last week that did it. Honestly, who knew that Hogwarts was full of homophobes?’’ He laughed half-heartedly, shaking his head. ‘’You’d think my house would be busy tormenting muggle-borns or something. I don’t see what the big deal is about that, either. I mean, we’re all human beings, we’re all wizards, so just accept it.’’ His eyes focused on the fireplace. ‘’I hate my house. Stupid, cocky, pureblood prats…’’
I stared at him silently, blinking. ‘’You know, sometimes I think they sort too early.’’
Standing up, I told Draco that I had Christmas shopping to do and I’d meet up with everyone later. I debated on whether or not it would be smart to wake Fred and Farrah up, but thought better of it when I remembered the last time I tried.
I would never again question Farrah’s skill at the Leg-Locker Curse.
Pocketing the Puking Pastille, I walked back into the main room and out the wooden front door.
Through the snow that’d started falling heavier, I headed over to Honeydukes first, finding it already packed with Hogwarts students. The shop was nice and warm, which was a huge relief, considering I’d nearly froze to death in the few minutes it took to walk there. I was met with the mouth-watering smells of sugar and chocolate the moment I entered, pushing my way through the crowded shop. I didn’t know what I was looking for, to be honest. I wanted to get something that looked appetizing. Although, if I were going by that, I’d end up buying the whole store.
I wandered around in search of Sugar Quills and Chocolate Frogs. I didn’t really know where to begin. The shop was relatively large, its shelves packed to the brim with any sweet imaginable; Acid Pops, Chocolate Skeletons, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, Pepper Imps, Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum, Jelly Slugs, Treacle Fudge, Salt Water Taffy, Liquorice Wands, and so much more that it’d make anyone’s head spin. I kept on my guard in case George and Katie decided to pop up, making sure I had my wand on me if I had to hex a few heads off. It was tucked safely in the side of my right black boot.
The back of the shop didn’t have as many people. A group of fourth years were looking at Peppermint Toads. But standing near the back wall that displayed various types of chocolates stood someone who I really didn’t feel like talking to, his arms crossed as his bright brown eyes looked away from the fourth years, focusing on me. I let out an agitated sigh when a smirk appeared on his stupid face.
‘’Well, well, little lady, long time no see.’’ He straightened himself up, that smirk staying firmly where it was. Pinned to the red set of robes he wore was a nametag that flashed ‘Ashton, at your service’ and ‘How may I help you today?’
‘’Go away, Chudderley,’’ I groaned, turning my back to him to try and find the Chocolate Frogs, desperately this time.
‘’Ah, I see you haven’t changed much,’’ he sighed, walking around until he was face to face with me.
‘’Neither have you, unfortunately,’’ I mumbled, looking elsewhere, anywhere but at him.
Of all places for the bothersome, pain in my arse to work, he had to choose a place in Hogsmeade. Figures, it was just my luck.
Ashton Chudderley was two years older than I. The previous year had been his last at Hogwarts, and let me tell you, it was a huge relief on my part. He’d spent the majority of his final semester nagging me, trying to get me to go out with him for some unfathomable reason. The twins couldn’t stand him, as when they could’ve be out pranking people senseless, they were busy hexing Ashton into leaving me alone when I wasn’t doing it. When he graduated, I’d nearly thrown a party.
But instead of wanting to throw a party, at that particular moment, I felt the urge to throw him through a closed window. I probably sounded mean, but you’d be annoyed two if you were practically stalked by someone and finally thought you were rid of them, only to run into said stalker again unexpectedly on a day you were in a foul mood.
‘’-really love working here, get to eat free sweets in the backroom and everything,’’ he jabbered, not even realizing I wasn’t paying attention.
‘’That’s fantastic. Now, I’ll just be on my way,’’ I said quickly, turning around to continue weaving my way through the people when I felt him grab my left forearm. Spinning around on my heel, I glared.
‘’Take your hand off me,’’ I growled. He dropped his arm at once, stepping back a bit.
‘’Why won’t you go out with me?’’ he asked confidently, a question that’d probably been on his mind for the six months he hadn’t seen me. I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on.
‘’For the billionth time, Ashton, you already know why. You irk me to no end and you can’t take no for an answer. And even if I decided I wanted to date you, it certainly wouldn’t be today. I’ve got too much shit on my plate to deal with, thank you very much. Now please be so kind as to stay away from me.’’
I turned to walk away again. Instead of grabbing me again, though, he voiced his opinion on my little rant, rather angrily, I might add.
‘’You know what?’’ he seethed, stepping closer. A few people looked over at us. ‘’You’re nothing but a raging cunt, depending on those stupid Weasley twins to protect you all the time-‘’
‘’I don’t depend on anyone to do anything thing for me,’’ I shot back, ‘’and they’re anything but stupid, you idiotic creeper.’’ Well, Fred wasn’t, at least. George was a whole other story.
Thinking about George sent a pain right through my chest.
More people were starting to stare.
‘’Yeah, alright, the way the two of them were always trying to hex me for something? They were like your ruddy henchmen,’’ he spat, his dark hair covering his left eye.
‘’And we’d do it again if it meant you finally backing off, Chudderley,’’ a familiar voice piped up from behind me. I didn’t even have to turn around to know it was George. I’d recognize his voice anywhere.
I felt my heart race at just hearing him speak, but my blood ran cold when I remembered I was mad at him for abandoning us.
Ashton glared up at George’s tall frame, and when he realized that a good portion of the people in the shop was watching, he returned to his normal voice.
‘’I’ll be in the back if you need anything.’’ And with that, he stormed off to the back room, slamming the door behind him.
The shop went quiet for a second before returning to its usual happy chatter. I stood frozen for a moment, wondering why George had stood up for me. To say the least, I was baffled.
He appeared next to me, his hair a bit wet from the snow, his usually pale skin even paler.
I narrowed my eyes at him, and instead of saying thank you, I came out with ‘’where’s Katie?’’
‘’With her friends,’’ he shrugged, looking around at the store. ‘’I can’t stand that Chudderley prat. He really needs to check into St. Mungo’s.’’
I nodded, not really knowing what to say. These were some of the first words he’d spoken to me in about two weeks.
‘’Right. Well, I have some Christmas shopping to do, so…I’ll see you around,’’ I said quietly, spotting the Chocolate Frogs on the other side of the shop. As I pushed my way through the crowd, I let myself look back at George only once.
His eyes met mine. I turned around abruptly and continued on my way, confused as ever.
I didn’t see George the rest of the time I was in Honeydukes, but as I paid for my stuff, I had to remind myself that it’d become almost perfectly normal. The way George seemed to come and go lately made him something of a ghost.
Leaving the shop, the snow was falling heavier than before, making almost anywhere you looked hard to make out through the quickly-falling flakes. Walking back toward the Three Broomsticks, I spotted someone sitting on the bench next to the pub.
George. Sigh.
I trudged through the snow. The streets were pretty much abandoned at that point, seeing as most people wanted to get out of the bad weather. I really didn’t blame them.
Coming to a stop a few feet away from George, I waited for him to say something. I really wanted to know why he’d backed me up against Ashton, when lately it was as if I didn’t exist to him. He looked up at me for a brief moment before brushing off the spot next to him, motioning for me to sit. Hesitantly, I did.
‘’You didn’t have to say anything to Ashton, you know,’’ I said quietly, looking down at my Honeydukes bag. Snow was getting inside of it.
‘’I know,’’ he replied, smiling slightly, ‘’I wanted to.’’ He was quiet for a minute before the smile fell from his face. ‘’Where’s the others?’’
I jerked my thumb in the direction of the Three Broomsticks. ‘’Last time I checked they were in there.’’ I felt odd, having a semi-normal conversation with him. But he’d changed alright. I never knew him to be so calm and…normal.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was a sign of a coming apocalypse.
‘’And Draco?’’ he asked, frowning further.
This caused me to frown as well. ‘’He’s probably with them. What, do you have a problem with Draco or something?’’
He shook his head. ‘’No, just…never mind.’’ He looked at the watch on his wrist, standing up. ‘’I’ve got to meet Katie at Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop in five minutes.’’
I could’ve sworn I felt my eye twitch. Tea shop? The George I once knew wouldn’t be caught dead in there. That scared me.
‘’Have… fun with that,’’ I said unsurely. He gave me a quick wave before running down the street through the snow to go have tea with his girlfriend.
What sort of screwed up alternate universe had I entered?