For the Love of a Wizard (A George Weasley fan fiction)

Part Nine

Part Nine

It was a matter of moments before Harry was slowly making his way toward the egg, keeping a wary eye on the Horntail that stalked about not too far away. I couldn't keep my hands from shaking a bit in anticipation, but my left stopped when George placed his own over mine, a gentle pressure that was very comforting.

It seemed like everyone in the stadium was holding their breath, waiting for something to happen, whether it came from competitor or dragon. Anything would probably be better than this silent, dragging suspense. Our hopes were answered very quickly with the next chain of events.

Harry whipped his wand out, and a faint "Accio!" could be heard from him. After a few minutes of waiting, his broom could be seen flying itself and stopping just to his right. He then had just enough time to jump on it before the dragon turned its full attention to him, roaring with rage.

It wasn't long before Harry managed to maneuver around the beast and snatch up the golden egg that rested among the other normal eggs. The crowd erupted into cheers, everyone on their feet, including our entire section. George turned to me and grabbed me around my waist, pulling me towards him and giving me a very unexpected kiss. In front of all of his friends.

There was a chorus of whistling and "Ooh"-ing from the general area around us, but I ignored it as best as I could. The kiss wasn't a long one, nothing like the broom closet, and once it was over, I noticed how flushed my cheeks must have been because they felt like they were on fire.

~~~

Later that evening, Luna and I sat in the Great Hall, having just finished eating dinner. After the First Task was over and the crowds had dispersed, George had gone with his brothers and Hermione to find Harry. I had told him to congratulate Harry for me because I wanted to find Luna. He agreed and then left, but not before kissing me goodbye, similar to the way he had kissed me while we were celebrating.

"You know, you and George seem to be creating quite a stir," Luna said to me after dinner.

I had noticed, but I still hadn't quite figured out why. "How's that?" I asked, resting my chin on my hand.

"Well, he's a sixth-year, and you're only a fourth-year. I mean, I don't think many people realize how old you are for a fourth-year, with your early birthday. Meanwhile, George's birthday is pretty late, so I honestly think he's only a little more than a year older than you. Of course, everyone else only knows that your two years apart in school, so they probably just think it's a little weird, that's all."

I nodded, my hand moving back and forth with the motion of my hand. She was right, people probably did think that it was a little different, at least. And I was sure that I was getting some bad looks from fifth- and sixth-year girls. What some of them wouldn't give to be with one of the Weasely boys.

Before I could reply to Luna, I felt something slam fairly hard into my back. I whipped my head around to find a blonde-haired guy sitting on the floor, obviously having been pushed by some kid sitting at the table next to ours, Gryffindor. He had a green and silver patch with a snake on his robes: he was a Slytherin. No wonder the Gryffindor had pushed him.

As this thought ran through my head, I finally realized who I was looking at. This was Draco Malfoy, a fifth-year as well, and a right prick. I had had a few classes with him since I had come to Hogwarts, but I never had paid much attention to him; he had always seemed to have an air of pride and comeuppance about him.

"Watch it, Slytherin," the Gryffindor sneered at Malfoy. "Or we'll have to tell George Weasely you purposely ran into his girlfriend. And you wouldn't want that, would you?"

For the first time, Malfoy turned his head to look at me. After a moment, he got this stunned look on his face, although I wasn't quite sure how to take it. But as soon as it had appeared on his face, it melted into a mask of stony indifference, and he stood up quickly.

"Whatever, kid," he said, glaring at the Gryffindor. "I'm not scared of any of those Weaseleys. But you had better watch yourself." Without another word, he turned and stalked out of the Great Hall, seemingly headed towards the dungeons where the Slytherin common room was.

"Sorry about that, Nicole," the Gryffindor said to me, breaking my attention. "Just let us know if he gives you anymore trouble."

"Excuse me?" I replied, a bit peeved at this haughty kid who must have been only a third-year, from the looks of him. What was he talking about? "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're the one who pushed him into me. If it wasn't for that, I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened."

"But-"

"Whatever, kid. You can come talk to me when you aren't the one actually starting stuff." Without another word, I turned back around to face Luna again. For a minute, neither of us said anything, until I finally broke the silence.

"You wanna head up to the common room?"

"That sounds like a good idea," she replied, and we both got up from our seats and headed for the staircase.

~~~

Luna and I had only made it up to the third floor when the door to e main third floor hall flew open, and I was a bit surprised to see who was standing there. Draco Malfoy calming walked towards Luna and I and then stopped directly in front of us.

"Beat it, Looney," he said, the insult directed at Luna. "I need to talk to Nicole."

Ever the pacifist, Luna simply nodded and said, "I'll see you in the common room, Nicole."

"Um, alright. Don't wait up for me, though," I said, utterly confused by the situation. Once Luna had disappeared and was surely out of earshot, I glared at Malfoy and said, "There was no need to talk to her like that, you know. I don't know why you people insist on calling her that; there's nothing wrong with her."

"Whatever," he said, sneering, although he didn't say it nearly as brutally as he had to the Gryffindor earlier. Which was odd.

"So, what do you want, anyway?" I asked.

"Just follow me, alright?" Without a word, he grabbed my wrist, although, I noted, he didn't do it forcefully. Then, he pulled me towards the third floor doorway he had come through. We passed the doors to the Charms classroom and the library before he finally pulled open a door to a room I had never been in before. As soon as I stepped inside, I realized why.

Rows of glass cases lined the walls and created aisles, all filled with gold and silver, plaques and trophies, for every kind of title imaginable. This was the trophy room, where various over-achieving students were recognized for their "service to the school".

"So, wait, why did you bring me to the trophy room?" I asked, still a bit confused.

"I needed a place to talk to you alone." he wandered farther from the door, which was now closed, and I became just slightly nervous.

"So you've got me in here now. What did you want to talk to me about?"

He turned his back to me for a moment, seeming to study one of the plaques. Finally, after a minute of silence, I stepped toward him, finally stopping to stand next to him. Just as I realized that this particular case was actually empty, he turned to me suddenly and closed any space that had been between us before. Then, he stepped around me so that when I faced him, my back was pressed against the empty case. I was very nervous now, especially since it didn't seem like I would be able to get out of this situation easily or quietly.

"Nicole, I've been watching you the last couple of months. Don't worry, I haven't been following you everywhere, I just pay more attention to you when you're around. And I realized something I didn't see before: you're absolutely gorgeous." As he said this, he slipped his hands over my waist, letting them rest there. There wasn't much I could do, as I was still stunned by what was happening. Then, he added, "And you deserve to be with someone better than that Weaseley." Then, he leaned down and kissed me.