Ravenclaw's Shadow

Chapter 33

I lie in George's arms, looking up at the night sky from the Astronomy tower.

"I really should go," I sigh, sitting up. George brushes my hair back and runs his thumb along my jawline. I lean into his touch, closing my eyes for a moment.

"Do you have to?" he asks tantalisingly. I laugh and nod.

"Yes," I say, standing up and grabbing my broom, "I really do."

"What kind of class is held at 10 o'clock at night?" he asks, pulling me against him and trying to take my broom off me.

"An important one," I say, playfully shoving him, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Fine," he sighs, kissing me, "see you in the morning."

I jump on my broom and take off. I fly out over the grounds, then turn and look back. George waves. I resist the urge to fly back to him for one last kiss and fly higher in the air in search of blood.

***

The next morning I head down to breakfast with Georgiana, talking about the Halloween feast the night before.

"I can't believe it's the first of November," Georgiana sighs, "this term is going way too quickly."

"It's a little over 3 weeks until the first task, though," I point out, "and then a month until holidays!"

We step into the Great Hall and sit down with Alicia and Angelina as Fred and George haven't arrived yet.

"What have we got first?" Angelina asks, pushing a plate of eggs towards us.

"Potions," I answer promptly, "then charms."

"Ugh, Potions is the worst way to start the week," Alicia sighs.

"Oooh!" Angelia squeals, covering her mouth.

"What?" I ask, turning to look over my shoulder. As I do George's lips hit mine.

"Happy Anniversary," he says, handing me a bunch of flowers. I stare at them in shock. They're stunning.

"Th-thank you," I stammer, "I didn't..."

"You forgot!" he laughs, "that's okay, next year."

He leans over and kisses me again. I kiss him back properly, getting over my shock.

"Thank you," I say sincerely, "they're gorgeous."

"Anything for my girl," he says with a wink, "now, what's this about potions?"

"I'd better take these upstairs," I say, "I doubt Snape will let me have them in class."

"I'll take them," Lee says, "I've got a free first anyway. You can pick them up after classes."

"Thanks, Lee."

I hand him the flowers and link hands with George as we walk downstairs.

"What time do you finish today?" he asks.

"Uh, I have advanced Arithmancy after dinner," I say, "that usually goes until seven-thirty."

"Great, I'll book in for seven-thirty on," he says, kissing the back of my hand, then letting go as we walk into Potions.

After class he walks me up to Charms and says goodbye. We get our marks back for our last essay and I get an O. I meet George in the courtyard for break and have a quick snack with him before heading up to Arithmancy.

I have lunch free on Mondays, so I eat my fill and put some aside to snack on during the rest of the day. George has Care of Magical Creatures after lunch, so we part ways, him promising to pick me up from Advanced Arithmancy at seven-thirty.

The day drags on and by the time seven-thirty rolls around I am starving. I know I'll need to eat before spending time with George or I'll snap and drain his blood. I leave the classroom with Georgiana and see George waiting outside.

"I'll see you later," I tell her before walking over to him. He offers me his arm and I link mine with his.

"I have something special planned," he says.

"I need to eat first," I tell him, "I'm starving."

He winks at me and leads me downstairs. I think we're heading to the kitchen, but at the Entrance Hall he turns to go right, outside. I hesitate.

"George, I really need something to eat," I tell him.

"Trust me," he says. I sigh inwardly and follow him outside. It's nearly pitch black out here, with the sun set, but the moon not up yet, but George flicks his wand and two rows of candles light up, illuminating a path.

"What's this?" I ask. He grins at me.

"Come on."

He leads me down the path, around the castle. As we round the corner I see a table, set for two, with candles floating around it.

"Oh, George, it's beautiful," I say as he leads me up. When we step into the circle he flicks his wand again, creating a small circle of fire surrounding us, giving off a warm glow. George pulls my chair out for me before sitting opposite me.

"First course," he says. The bowls before us fill with soup.

"Uh, did you cook this?" I ask, looking at it apprehensively. George laughs.

"Nah, just befriended a couple of house elves," he says, "bread?"

After the soup we have vegetarian lasagna and for desert apple pie and ice cream. Then we sit on a sofa with some fluffy blankets and talk for hours.

"Aurelia, sometimes I get the feeling you have some secret," George says, playing with my fingers.

"What kind of secret?" I ask lightly.

"Hm, I don't know," he says, "something mysterious."

"Ah, a mysterious secret," I say. George laughs.

"Ari," he says. I look up at him.

"You can tell me anything," he says, "I mean it. Anything."

I touch his cheek lightly.

"I don't have a secret," I lie, "I'm not interesting enough for that."

George nestles his head against mine.

"I think you're very interesting, secret or no," he says. I feel a pang of guilt. I think of everything he's done for me today, to make the day special. And then I just lied to him. Maybe I should tell him.

"George?" I say impulsively.

"Mm?"

"I-I lied," I say, my bravery faltering, "I do have a secret."

He sits up and looks at me with interest, but by now my courage has disappeared entirely.

"But... It has to stay a secret," I tell him, staring at my knees. George lifts my chin so I look at him.

"Why?" he asks.

"It's complicated," I say, getting up and walking to the edge of the circle, "it... It would change everything."

"You can trust me."

"I know," I say, looking back at him, "I know. I'm just not ready for you to know."

"Okay," he says, standing up, "that's okay."

I smile at him uncertainly and he grins.

"Come on, Miss Secrets," he says, putting an arm around my shoulders, "let's get back inside before we freeze."