Princess; George Weasley

twenty-seven

George's pov

The heartbreak on Claudia's face is real as she wipes the tears resting on her cheeks. Her red, puffy eyes are left dry. She sits on the bench, legs crossed while hanging her head. A section of hair falls from behind her ear, and covers her face.

She exhales, and fixes her hair. She looks at me for the first time in the past half hour. Her big eyes look bloodshot, and her eyelashes are clumped together because of all of the tears. Her hands are clenched tightly against each other as they lay in her lap.

"How come it's always you who has to clean up the messes I get myself into?" She whispers.

I let out a small chuckle, and get a strange glance in return. "Someone has to do it."

"You should go," she says, louder this time.

I scoff, "over my dead body."

"Seriously George... I shouldn't have to lean on you every time I need a shoulder to cry on. I can't afford to—"

"Afford to what?" I ask. I frown, thinking of what she just said. I want her to come to me when she's upset. I want to be there for her. Her lip quivers as she shakes her head. Her eyes move away from me as I anticipate her response. "Claudia, I'm your friend. I don't get to just stop caring for you anytime something may inconvenience me."

I swear I see a small smile creeping up on her face. Part of me soars at the thought of being able to cheer her up. I quickly wrap my arms around her and she tenses. I instantly regret coming off so strong. I feel her melt into my arms and whatever nervousness I once felt is gone. She shifts her legs as her head lays underneath my shoulder. I can't keep from grinning ear to ear.

"It's been a long day," she sighs.

I let out a soft laugh, looking into her glimmering eyes. "And yet it's only five pm."

A loud groan escapes her as she wipes her eyes one last time. "Thank you, George."

I give her shoulder a light squeeze. "Anything for you Prince."

She continues to rest her head on my chest as my eyes wander into the direction she's looking. The sky is a radiant blue despite it being early November. She lets out a deep breath before she closes her eyes completely. She sinks into me as her breathing steadies. Her calm expression fills me up inside. I want nothing more than for her to be happy.

"What happened after I left Gryffindor common room?" Claudia asks suddenly.

"We have a plan," I say. "Harry is going to sneak out to Hogsmeade and try to figure out more information."

She nods. I can tell she's holding something back, but I'm not sure what. Her eyes flutter open and her head falls into my lap. Her arm floats off the edge of the thin bench as she gazes at the sky above us. Her skin is glowing as she turns her head to look at me.

"What about the letter?"

Her voice is so soft I almost don't hear it. I look down at her and see her bloodshot eyes fill with tears, waiting to fall. I sigh.

"Fred and I will get it back, I promise." I smile and I swear her face brightens ever so slightly. "We swiped the map, I'm sure a small little note will be easy."

Dia nods. "I want to think of her—"

I don't say anything and let her think for a moment. She wipes her eyes free of whatever was lingering and puts on a rigid face.

"I want to be able to think of my mom and not cry." She makes eye contact with me and her voice gets stronger as she continues. "It seems silly, I didn't even meet her and yet—"

A silence falls between us. Despite looking in opposite directions, we're very aware of each other. I'm proud of her for being so vulnerable. I just hope she isn't embarrassed by it tomorrow.

"Claudia?"

Both of our heads snap into the direction of the voice. Eve and Opal are standing there, different expressions on their faces.

Eve crosses her arms with a small smirk as she looks between the two of us. I suddenly wonder who all has passed us, wondering what's going on. Opal on the other hand is frowning and rushing towards Claudia quickly. She looks determined, and her gaze is fixated on Dia.

"What the fuck did you do to her?" Opal asks.

Claudia suddenly sits up, and Opal's arms wrap around her neck. Eve slowly walks towards the two of them, her smile slowly fading. Opal sits in the little space between Claudia and I. Her blonde hair obscures my vision as she looks at Claudia with her bright green eyes.

Claudia gives me a small smile before pulling away from Opal's hug. Opal's eyes fill with tears, and I feel a weight being lifted from my chest. I know that Opal and Dia are close, but seeing Opal react to her friend being upset is different. I'm relieved Claudia has friends like this.

I stand, letting the group of friends have their moment. "Will I see you at dinner?"

Claudia nods, and I walk away with a small smile. I honestly think about how lucky I am to have Claudia. Something about her is just different. When she's around she's suddenly my whole world, and everything else fades away. Hogwarts could be burning to the ground and the only thing I would think about is her safety.

I'm left to wonder if these thoughts are normal or not. Surely it's just me being an overprotective friend.

A/N:

I know I said it may be a while until I upload, and that I'd start a new fic before I continued on with this one. The truth is that I honestly tried to do that but I just couldn't stop thinking about this. I think I'm far enough enough into recovery to where I can use this as an outlet for my feelings of grief. Updates might not be as frequent as they were, but I promise I'm back to writing this story. Hopefully you don't mind the shorter chapter to get back into things.