Princess; George Weasley

thirty-five

TW: gaslighting/emotional and social abuse.

An uncomfortable silence washes over the group of us. Rosa is smiling smugly, but everyone else seems to be in utter shock. Adrian grabs my hand even though I want to do nothing but run from him. It felt good while nobody knew, like my own little defiance. Now that the people I care about most are looking at me with horror in my face, a wave of guilt hits me. I let go of Adrian's hand, but he's still holding on.

"I thought I warned you," Eve says, breaking the silence. The truth is, she did. She didn't tell me what exactly happened, but I can remember her trying to warn me while everyone else was teasing her over breakfast. Her voice falters, it's almost as if she remembers it too. "You're clearly desperate for a way to hurt everyone who's ever looked out for you. First by obsessing over Cedric to get back at your dad, and now this."

"Evangeline..." Fred mummers, putting a hand on her arm. She shakes him off, and Fred's frown deepens.

Evangeline hangs her head low, "Next time you come crying to me, you better have your life fucking figured out." She walks off, her figure fading into the crowded street. Fred glances at me, and for once I can't read his face. He follows after Eve, his hands balled into fists. Colorful jackets stand out against the gray sky and cobblestone streets. Life is still going on outside of this alley, but for me it feels as if it's stopped. Is Eve right to just storm off?

Cedric and Rosa now at the front of the crowd, and Cedric's rosy cheeks seem to have suddenly lost their color. His jaw is tense, and his eyebrows are furrowed downwards. "What do you think you're playing at, Adrian?"

Adrian tightens the grip on my hand, his tone is almost carefree. "You couldn't see how brilliant she is, so someone else did."

Cedric scoffs, his eyes meeting mine. The aching only gets deeper as I glance at the familiarity of it all. "There's no way you'd agree to this, Dia. He has too be using you—"

"What do you think you're doing, Cedric," Rosa spits. "'Dia' knows exactly what she's doing, and it's in order to get you back."

"Rosa she's my—"

"She's not your anything anymore," Rosa nearly yells, dropping his hand, "She's definitely not yours to protect. I'm leaving, and I have a feeling you should too." With that, she walks past me, not making eye contact. Instead of following his girlfriend and getting near me, Cedric turns in the opposite direction where they came from. My stomach sinks even more.

George shakes his head, and a great amount of tension is held in is shoulders and hands. Lee looks nervous, like he's about to bolt at any second. I don't blame him, I've only talked to him a handful of times. It's not like we hit it off either, the night he met me was the night of Adrian's mistake.

"What are you doing?" George mutters, his voice barely a whisper. He runs a hand over his mouth, and I can feel the stress radiate off of him. His amber eyebrows form a concerned expression, but his eyes are soft.

"We've been going out," Adrian says, rather rigidly.

Lee frowns, and I'm surprised that he's begun talking. "What the hell does that mean?"

"We were paired up for a potions assignment, which I told you about," I respond, trying to not show my nervousness. I like Adrian, I really think I do. Regardless, I don't know why I care about my friends opinions so much. Shouldn't what I feel for Adrian and what he feels for me be enough? "And started going on dates..."

"You wanted to do all of this?" George asked, his arms folded in front of his chest.

Adrian opens his mouth to speak, but cut him off. I don't think George will take his words to heart. "It was my idea."