Princess; George Weasley

thirty-two

After the holidays, everyone seems to come back a new person. Whether they have a new significant other, new clothes, or a new mindset, nobody seems to stay the same. Meanwhile, I still feel as if I'm in the same slump. The pressure on my chest is only getting worse, and no distraction has helped this feeling of dread. New Years is supposed to provide a sense of clarity and motivation that wasn't there in the past year. Unfortunately for me, 1993 left and the same feelings I had revolving around Cedric has followed me into 1994. I definitely am no longer head over heels for him, but I can't help but be hurt. I don't know why I'm so affected by his news, but I can't help but think that the blissful feeling he gave me was like a drug. Now that it's gone I'm left with who I was before, and she was damaged and grieving.

"Claudia?" A girl asks, opening the door to our dorm. Eve, Layla, and I are all cleaning our dorm like we usually do on Friday nights. We all look up and see Rosa with her blonde locks and light dusting of freckles walk into our dorm. Layla's eyebrows shoot up. Rosa has been skipping our tradition since she's been with Cedric. In fact, it's as if she's been spending even less time in the room. The door shuts behind her with a loud thud. My eyes go from the stack of laundry on my bed to her light face. Her cheeks are painted with a maroon flush, and her shoulders are tense. "Can we talk?"

"Of course," I say, waiting for her to continue. She looks at me, her eyes saying things that don't quite reach her mouth. My palms suddenly begin to sweat.

"Do you two mind stepping out?" She sates, motioning to Eve and Layla. I frown, realizing how serious this could be. What does she want? She has the boy she knew I had feelings for, what else does she want from me? Evangeline and Layla walk out the room, looking equally as confused as I do. I suddenly watch as Rosa pulls a folded piece of stationery out of her back pocket. "Do you mind explaining this?" She spits, no longer keeping her composure.

My heart drops as I notice my sweeping letters on the page. It's my letter to Cedric. Rosa has my confession letter to Cedric.

I look at her big eyes, trying to muster the courage to say anything. The only thing that comes out is incoherent babbling.

She looks down at me, a look of pure disgust on her face. "It's like you're obsessed with me," she scoffs. "First you take my dorm, then my friends, and now you're trying to take my boyfriend? That's pathetic, Prince, don't you think?"

I feel my pride beginning to hurt as if she had just rubbed salt over an open wound. I'm not going to cry again. She doesn't deserve my tears. I find it hard to believe that she thinks I'm purposely falling into a similar path as she has. "You don't really think that, do you?"

"Of course I do," she says, and her voice falters, "I think you've taken enough from me. Leave this for me."

"Rosa," I state, my cheeks feeling hot, "I'm not trying to steal anything from you. If I'm being honest... I think it's the other way around."

"You're impossible," she frowns, "Cedric warned me not to talk to you about this. He said you were insufferably stubborn."

That feels like a stab to the heart. Has Cedric really said that I was "insufferable?" I can't control whatever anger I've been trying to bottle up. "You can't act like you're surprised," I spit, "don't you remember me gushing over him time and time again? Frankly, if you were a good friend, our positions would be flipped."

"Please," she groans, "he would never stoop to your level. I was doing you a favor by dating him. I thought maybe you'd take your obsessed puppy eyes somewhere else."

He would never stoop to your level...

I walk away from the laundry on my bed and towards the door. She turns, watching as my hand fumbles with the door knob. "You can have your room, your friends, and your boyfriend, but don't act like you did it for me. You've avoided the group like the plague since I've got here. You never have and never will do anything for anyone besides yourself."

I don't care what she has to say anymore, so I step into the hallway, avoiding Eve and Layla waiting for us to finish. I don't know where I'm going but one foot in front of the other, I've left the warm common room. I should've told Cedric not to show Rosa the letter. At the same time, I wouldn't want him to have to lie. I don't want him to think of me negatively because I've put a burden on his relationship. I suddenly realize I've ended up in front of the Great Hall. I should go to Opal's, it's quite late, but I can't help but hear a familiar voice dragging me through the big wood doors.

"You promise it won't hurt?" Ron whines, looking up at his older brothers.

"It shouldn't," Fred responds, "but if it does you can't tell mum."

"But—"

George interrupts Ron, "you willingly signed up for this. If you don't want the galleon we can find someone else to test this on."

Ron didn't respond to George, and instead dipped his fingers into a deep purple substance. He put it on his arm, and the worry on his face was replaced with surprise. The twins beamed ear to ear, and I join them with their infectious smile.

"Claudia! Come watch this!" George exclaims, noticing me watch them from the doorway. Like an excited kid, he runs up to me and grabs my arm. He practically pulls me towards his brother sitting at the table. I watch as the purple paste on his arm sinks into his skin, and the bruise underneath fades away.

"You're looking at the first product George and I have successfully tested for our joke shop," Fred explains, watching as the paste disappears with the bruise.

"Bruising paste!" George smiles.

"Joke shop?" I ask, looking between the two.

"This is just the start," George says, closing the lid to the tub. "Follow me."

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

I sit on George's bed, soaking in the room around me. This is the first time I've been in his dorm, and it's almost exactly as I imagined it. The circular room is fairly tidy, and George's bed falls right next to a window. I watch as he opens his closet, and I see identical jars of various colored liquids and pastes on his top shelf. He puts the bruising paste with the rest, and points at numerous lively jars. He explains each formulation with such passion that I can't help but also be excited. George takes a seat at his desk. Numerous things sit on it, but everything seems to have a place. "What about you, Dia, do you have any plans for after Hogwarts?"

"Not really..." I mutter, "the only person I've really talked about it with is..."

"Cedric?" He asks.

I nod. Thinking about the situation I've found myself in. "Today Rosa found the letter I wrote him." The serious expression on George's face reassures me. Him listening calms the nerves and adrenaline I was running off of during Rosa and I's fight. "She said that Cedric is out of my league."

George scoffs, rolling his eyes. "She's delusional. She has been for awhile. She jumps from one guy to another and insists on bringing everyone down with her when things aren't what she thought they would be."

I frown, trying to make sense of what he's saying. "So you think things between her and Cedric aren't going well?"

He shrugs, "she's hard to satisfy," he pauses for a moment. "I think sometimes, Claudia, things happen for a reason. Maybe you and Cedric weren't meant to be in the moment because she would come along and try to ruin it. Ced told me that she doesn't want him talking to you."

I frown. Cedric will obviously choose Rosa over me, but what does that mean for our friendship? Honestly, I don't really want to know.

A/N: goodnight, I love you