Ready to Start

“What happened to Charles?” George asked.

The two were walking back to Sydney’s flat. It was now the middle of the night. They’d sat in the park, just hugging, for hours.

Sydney sighed, shoving her hands into her pockets. “They got him a couple days after Vic died. He kept saying he didn’t know what he had done and he didn’t mean to. They still shoved him off to wizarding prison.”

“Is the one in Japan bad?” George inquired.

Sydney winced. “Think of Azkaban in the peak of Voldemort’s years.”

George shuddered. “So how old were you when this all happened?”

Sydney stared off. “I was sixteen.”

“Why don’t your parents remember her?”

Sydney gave him a sad look. “They couldn’t bear with it anymore. They couldn’t think of living without one of their children. So my parents extracted their memories of Vic and stored them in a pensive. After that, they obliviated one another. They offered to do the same to me, but it wouldn’t feel right living without Vic somewhere inside of me.” She said. “That’s why she’s not in my parents’ files. They willingly took her out of their memories.”

“But why wouldn’t she have a file?” George asked.

Sydney looked up at the sky. “The files of deceased witches and wizards are in the department of mysteries somewhere. I don’t know what they do with them…but they keep them locked up. I know they used to study them, but the study of afterlife just became too dangerous, my dad said. After that, they just decided to leave the dead in their place.”

George and Sydney walked quietly for a few seconds, which George interrupted.

“I’m sorry.” He said. “For everything…for doubting you.”

Sydney smiled. “It’s alright. It’s a hard story to tell. It took me a while to actually muster up the courage to say something about Victoria after she died…at least tonight, you’ve made some progress.”

George cocked his head. “How do?”

“You talked about Fred tonight. You told us how he died. That means you’re really starting to heal.”

George gave her a face. “I’m…I’m just afraid this is going to hurt.” He said childishly.

“It’s going to be the most painful thing ever. But it’ll be worth it.” Sydney said.

*~*~*~*

They got back to the flat. Sydney noticed the note on the table.

Sydney dear, we noticed a bit of a problem at dinner, so we just cleaned up for you. We’re back on our travels and hope to see you soon. Love, Mum and Dad

Sydney started the kettle and sat next to George on the couch.

“I really do not want to go home right now.” George sighed.

“Then stay here.” Sydney said.

“Really?” he asked, surprised. This was a girl he’d barely know for a while, who he had shared life stories with, and she was now offering her home to him for the night.

“I’d really rather not be alone tonight either.” She confessed. “You can sleep out here. I’ll transfigure it into a trundle.” She said. They got up, and she engorged the couch so it was as big as a queen sized bed.

George sat there awkwardly when Sydney went away to change into her pajamas. He took off his jacket and pants, putting them on the table. Stretching, he sat on his makeshift bed.

That’s when he saw her.

She was walking from her room to the kitchen to grab some tea. She was wearing a plain white t shirt over shorts and her hair was piled on top of her head. But for some reason, she’d never seemed prettier to George. She had a natural curve to her mouth; it looked as if she were smiling. She turned to see George. “Tea?” she asked.

George shook his head slowly.

She smiled. “Goodnight, George.” She called out, turning around.

“Goodnight.” He murmured, slipping into bed. He didn’t understand what he was feeling.

Sure, he’d met plenty of pretty women and dated a lot of girls, but this was a feeling he didn’t recognize.

His only serious girlfriend had been Elise, and that had only lasted for a few months. He’d only known Sydney for weeks and he already felt like he had an obligation to protect her. George wanted to be around her…because when he was around her, he felt sane. She understood him. She got that he was broken, and she knew how to fix him.

But the strange feeling overcame him as he tried to fall asleep. Did he find her attractive now? Sure, he thought she was nice looking when he first met her, but he didn’t really consider her datable. Before, she was just the gangly, tall, thin girl who he talked to. Now…now he saw her differently.

Confused, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his head and went to sleep.

*~*~*~*

Sydney’s heart thumped. She was just a few yards length away from George.

Did she like him? She didn’t know. At first, she just saw him as a poor guy who needed help getting over his twin. But after tonight, after he listened and understood her story, she saw him in a whole new light.

He was good looking. He was smart. He was fit, and he understood what it meant to lose a twin.

She shuddered a bit. They’d only known each other for a little while. She didn’t want to spoil it by trying to get at him. For all she knew, he thought she was a freak. The way he was staring at her earlier that night when she offered him tea…it was as if he were lost.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she fell asleep.