Choices

“Draco where are you going?” Valerie asked as they walked out of the Slytherin common room. “I thought you said that you were going to do last minute studying for your exam today?”

“I just have to do something for Professor Umbridge,” he replied waving her towards the library. “I will meet you there.”

“Hurry up because you have about two hours before your O.W.L,” Valerie chided him.

“Don’t worry,” Draco huffed at the overprotectiveness Valerie was exerting as he walked away.

She didn’t particularly like that Draco had decided to join the Inquisitorial Squad but he was stubborn and had wanted to participate. Valerie knew it was really only to be able to bully other students but most importantly to feel superior to Potter. Boys will be boys though and she had left her brother to make his own mistakes and learn. Walking down the halls of Hogwarts wasn’t the same as it used to with Dumbledore having been replaced a few weeks ago by Umbridge. The woman was clearly on a deluded mission and there was no stopping her. She had taken a clear liking to the Slytherin students but the rest were forced to face her wrath and displeasure. Without doubt the blunt of her hatred had settled on the Gryffindors, Potter was among the top students she obviously couldn’t stand.

Since she had become Headmistress she had become the target of Fred and George’s unlimited pranks. There wasn’t a day that went by when she wasn’t running from one end of the school to another fixing the dozens of messes that the twins loved to start and no one wanted to help her, not even the teachers. Even if she was a Slytherin, Valerie had a secret loathing of Umbridge. First, she clearly was no Dumbledore. Second, the woman had insane ideas about what the world should be but then again Valerie had heard it many times at her own home. Lastly and most importantly, the moment Umbridge had set her eyes on George for her cruel punishment Umbridge had become dead to her.

Even though Valerie was staying as far away from George despite his persistence which had redoubled over winter break when she came back single and free of Marcus she still felt the strangest sensation that George was hers and when he was hurt so was she. Therefore, when Valerie had seen the puffy red words on George’s hand during one of the classes that they had together she hadn’t been able to contain her fury at the pain it must have cost him at the hands of Umbridge’s sadistic quill.

“Valerie! Thank goodness I found you! Do you have the notes for Potions? I have no idea where I put mine.” Valerie turned to find Holly the closest friend she had at Hogwarts jogging towards her. It was crazy to think they had never talked until this, their last year here, and Valerie had never felt the deep friendship she had with Holly with anyone else. They were so similar, both Slytherins with family ties that led to the Dark Lord but both of them clearly detesting what he stood for. Family pressure and pureblood ideas ingrained in their being from a young age they understood each other perfectly. Holly was the only one to whom Valerie had trusted with the secret of her loving George Weasley.

“Here,” Valerie dug around in her bag before pulling out the journal.

“Thanks you are a life savior!” Holly hugged her. “Where are you off to in such a hurry? A tryst with a certain redhead in the Room of Requirement perhaps?”

“Holly!” Valerie jabbed her elbow in her friend’s side and gazed around the library to see if anyone had heard. When no one gasped and pointed at her in accusation Valerie breathed easier.

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist…or get those knickers off with George, your choice,” Holly whispered as they sat at a deserted table.

“I am beginning to regret telling you about this.” Valerie spread out her piles of notes and opened the books she would need to go through again over the table while Holly took out a romance book. “Holly you have to study.”

“I hate studying!” she protested but when Valerie raised her eyebrow she relented and exchange her book for the notes she had taken from Valerie. For the next hour they studied in silence and were joined by Draco soon after. When facts were starting to blur together and Valerie didn’t think she could remember one more thing she heard Holly sigh deeply and throw her papers on the table.

“I can’t take another minute! I really did wish you had a rendezvous with your hunky so we would have something to talk about!” Holly blurted.

“What man?” Draco didn’t look happy because he was just as protective of Valerie as she was of him. “I thought you were single?”

“I am,” Valerie answered him, shooting a glare at Holly.

“Oops,” she said under her breath.

“Then what man?” Draco said again.

“Oh look! Time for you to go to your test!” Holly interrupted the sibling’s conversation. “Good luck Draco! Bye, bye.” She practically knocked him out of his chair in her haste to get rid of him. “That was way too close,” she wiped her brow in exaggeration.

“Let’s not do that again.” Valerie turned back to her Potions book.

“Valerie, do you really have a meeting that you aren’t telling me about?” came Holly’s odd question.

“No. Why?” She looked up to find her friend looking at something over her shoulder intently.

“Because your gingerbread man is staring at you from behind those bookshelves.”

Valerie spun in her chair, not bothering to be coy. She cursed herself at the smiled that had spread naturally on her face when she caught sight of George. She really was losing this battle against her fascination for George and sometimes even found herself not caring that people would talk if they saw the two of them together. Quickly she erased the joy on her face and let the emotionless mask cover her features. George’s self-assured smiled said that he wasn’t buying it. He motioned with his head to the right before disappearing, not even bothering to wait for her response.

“The nerve! He didn’t even wait for me to say yes or no,” Valerie said outraged. She was not some kind of house elf that he could order around!

“Because he knows you would say no and he clearly wants to get you in those stacks to snog you senseless.”

“I take it back. I don’t even like that arrogant boy,” she stood and pushed her hair back, not even commenting on Holly’s explanation.

“Holy crap you are actually going to him. I am so proud!” She clapped her hands together in glee and brought them to the side of her face with a goofy expression on her face.

“I am only going there to tell him no and then I will be right back.”

“No you won’t,” Holly replied as Valerie ventured to where she had last seen George. He was nowhere to be seen so she marched further to the back of the library. She walked to the back where no one ever went, dust coating the hundreds of old books. Valerie finally found George leaning casually against a bookcase, arms crossed over his broad chest.

“I am not a slave to be summoned when you want George Weasley,” she snapped strolling over to him. “I—.”
She forgot and didn’t care what her next words were because all George did was wait for her to be close enough before lowering his head to kiss her. She should have pushed him away from her and slapped his pretentious face but she didn’t do either. Valerie moaned it wasn’t a soft, tender kiss but one that had fire racing through her body and the pent up desire exploded. She linked her arms around his neck and stood on the tips of her toes so that George would have a better angle. He didn’t waste time deepening the kiss when he saw that there would be absolutely no resistance on her part. Teasing her lips apart with his skilled tongue she opened her mouth to his intoxicating invasion. Valerie tangled her hand through his hair as he brought their bodies closer with his grip on her hips. One hand managed to slip under her shirt and made its way north with antagonizing slowness. Valerie wanted his hands on her. He groaned when she slanted her lips just right while her own hands found his skin under his shirt. She marveled at the softness yet firmness as his body flexed under her fingertips. Finally, was the only thought running through her overwhelmed brain.

“Jeezus!” Valerie jumped a few feet away from George and turned guilty eyes to find Fred standing there. She expected him to be dazed at finding her with his brother but he didn’t even blink an eye. “George you said you would take ten minutes. We have to go it’s time.”

“Time for what?” Valerie asked.

“You didn’t even tell her?” Fred shook his head. “Hurry it up will you.”

George nodded and Fred turned his back to give them some privacy as George took Valerie by the elbow and pulled her a few feet to the side.

“What’s this about?” Valerie took the time to fix her appearance so that she didn’t look like she had just been ravished.

“I’m leaving—.”

“You can’t leave! Not now—I mean, why? And how?” Valerie bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from screaming out any more embarrassing things. The man was full of himself enough without her adding to his ego.

George smiled, “School isn’t exactly the environment for Fred and I. Our talents are better suited somewhere else.”

“Why do I have the feeling that you aren’t just going to quietly leave out the door?” Valerie sighed, not wanting to admit that the kiss had changed her. She didn’t want to hide from her feelings for him anymore but then again she wasn’t quite ready to take it public either.

“That just wouldn’t be our style,” George and Fred gave each other a conspiring look.

“We have to go,” insisted Fred.

“Come visit me at 93 Diagon Alley.” He kissed her once more before sauntering over to his twin. “I’ll be waiting to finish this.”

Valerie couldn’t do much more than wave and think that Holly was right about kissing her senseless. George was an amazing kisser and she was having a hard time deciphering up from down.

“Clearly your little lamb loves gingerbread, she was practically eating you when I go there!” Fred’s voice carried to her location

“Shut up Fred, you are just jealous.” George replied. Valerie was glad they weren’t there to see her turn tomato red. After a few seconds she managed to tell her feet to move and made her way numbly back to Holly.

“I take it everything went well,” Holly smiled widely. Valerie only nodded unable to speak. “Did someone get thoroughly snogged?” Again, a nod. “Lucky!”

Valerei collected herself and was about to tell Holly all of the dirty, amazing details when a loud boom echoed through the school. Everyone looked up and soon all the students were rushing towards the Great Hall. Valerie could see the sparks of firework as soon as she turned down the hall. Valerie stifled a laugh when she saw Umbridge burst from the Hall as a firework dragon caused all the Decrees to burst and crash to the floor. Fred and George flew past the near-to-tears Umbridge as the students cheered them out of Hogwarts. Valerie followed the others to the courtyard as George and Fred made their final fly around and lite a firework that formed a huge letter ‘W’ in the sky. George air kissed and winked at her before flying to Fred’s side and vanishing into the distance to the thunder of the crowd.

Valerie grinned; of course George would go out with a bang.