The American. (George Weasley)

Thirteen.

Over these two months dating George I've gotten close with George's siblings, especially Ginny and Fred. Ron was alright but he seemed to be complaining about something minor all the time. He was also always off with Harry and Hermione doing something with them.
   
Hermione and I have actually gotten kind of closer too. Since Christmas when I comforted her when Ron was a jerk to her. She's a good friend. Ginny has become a good friend of mine too. She was hilarious, honestly. She was very close with Fred and George, and you can tell how much of their personalities have rubbed off on her.
   
She talked to me about boys. She liked Harry when she first met him, but Hermione and I are helping her move on, since he doesn't like her like that. So far it seems to be working. She was still rather young, only 13, so she shouldn't have her mind on boys anyways but it seems to be what she comes to me for advice about the most. George said she looked up to me like an older sister, and I thought that was very sweet.
   
George was also making an effort to get to know my brother and sister as well. It was harder for him since they were in different houses. We have lunch with them sometimes. Fred and George walk with us to classes, but that's about all the time he gets with them really.
   
And as for Fred and Genevieve, well, they've been spending a lot of time together. Fred said he likes her but he wants to get to know her a bit better before they take things any further. Which I am happy about.
   
The Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament was in late February, and it was cold outside that day. The Task was held at the Balck Lake and we couldn’t find Ron, Hermione, or Harry anywhere this morning. Harry showed up to the Task right before it started. Whatever was in the egg was a clue for this Task, and the last I knew Harry had figured it out but didn't know how to.hold his breath under the water for an hour.
   
Dumbledore said that the Champions had something taken from them, and they would have an hour to get it out of the lake. I was surprised to see Ron or Hermione weren't here to watch. They were Harry's best friends and biggest supporters after all.
   
Fleur came back first, but she didn't have anything with her. When Cedric Diggory came up out of the water holding his girlfriend Cho Chang, it suddenly hit me what was going on. "Ron and Hermione are at the bottom of the lake." I said without thinking about it.
   
"You think so?" Asked Ginny.
   
"Yes, think about it, who would Harry miss out of anyone else in the school? Ron. His best friend."
   
"What about Hermione?" Asked Genevieve.
   
I didn't have to answer that because then Viktor Krum came bursting out of the water pulling Hermione beside him.
   
"Oh shit, you were right, Daisy," said Fred, sounding dumbfounded. We watched as Hermione and Viktor were helped onto the dock and handed blankets and towels and brought over to a heated tent where Madam Pomfrey had hot tea waiting for them.
   
It took Harry almost the entire hour to reach the surface. We were all starting to worry when he finally came up. He had Ron and a little blonde girl with him. They were helped up on the dock by 
   
The judges took their time deliberating a winner. Probably so the champions and the others could get warm before being dragged back out here into the cold. Cedric and Harry ended up both getting first place, because Cedric returned first but Harry arrived at the people underwater first but he refused to leave until he knew everyone was safe. Viktor took second place and Fleur took third and last place, and we were all back by lunchtime.
   
Everyone from Hogwarts cheered loudly for our champions. Harry was a hero in Gryffindor Tower once again and Cedric was one in the Hufflepuff basement according to my sister. Later that night, we were all sitting around the fire as Hermione, Harry, and Ron all warmed up. We had tea and sat together. George had me sit on his lap on the couch, and I mindlessly played with the strings of his hoodie while we hung out with his siblings and our friends. Lee was next to us on the couch.
   
Gen was next to Fred on the ground. Ginny was on the other side of Fred. Ron, Hermione, and Harry were all sitting closest to the fire warming up from being wet outside in the cold, frigid, February air. George was running one of his big hands up and down my back, and I rested my head on his shoulder. Fred smiled at us for a moment before he turned his attention back to the others.
   
This was how we spent the day. We just hung out and kept to ourselves in the Common Room. Harry didn’t want much attention on him, so we kept him out of the way of all the people. Some Gryffindor students came over to tell him congratulations on getting first place, but that was it.
   
March came about a week later. And Fred had asked Genevieve to be his girlfriend. She finally got her man. I was so happy for her. She was right this entire time, he just had to get to know her. That was it. It was cute.
   
There was another article in the Daily Prophet and this time it was about Hermione. She said Harry and Hermione were dating, but she left him for Viktor Krum, and she mentioned that Krum has asked her to visit him in the Summer Holidays and that he has never felt this way about any other girl before. In the article, Pansy Parkinson said Hermione was using a live potion because she was too ugly. Ron could only say I Told You So, because he did warn her not to anger Rita that day at the Three Broomsticks.
   
Hermione said that the only facts in this article was that Viktor did ask her to visit him over the summer, and that he did say that he had never felt the way he does for her about any other girl before. Hermione couldn't figure out how she knew that though since they were totally alone when it happened and Viktor hates Rita as much as Harry does so he wouldn't have talked to her. The article didn't bother Hermione though. At least it didn't at first. And then people started treating her like it was fact, when it wasn't.
   
Mrs. Weasley had sent her children and their friends some Dragon Eggs for Easter. My siblings and I all got one as well. Hermione’s was the size of a chicken egg. I looked at Hermione egg and then to George and I told him that we were never breaking up because his mother was scary. He laughed but I told him I was serious.
   
Harry, Hermione, and Ron met Sirius that weekend where he asked to meet us. He took them far enough from the village where he could speak to them in person and not get caught. According to Harry, Sirius was still in the same robes he had on last time they saw him. He warned them that he was worried about Harry being in this Tournament. With Barty Crouch constantly ill and a Ministry witch still missing as well Sirius said something fishy is going on.
   
Barty Crouch was found dead in the Forbidden Forest a few days after the article came out. It was certainly a shock to us all. We all had no idea why he was killed. But he had been missing since the Second Task.
   
The twins also finished their Apparition test and turned 17 at the beginning of April. They were officially of age in the Wizard World. I got them some more Exploding Snap as a gift. My brother, sister, and I turned 16 at the end of the month.
   
It was an early May day when Harry had found out what the Third Task would be. They were going to turn the Quidditch Pitch into a maze. Harry didn’t know what was going to happen in the maze but he was ready no matter what.
   
My sister has friends at school, but since our birthday she had been sitting at the Gryffindor table during meals. She said she just wanted to get to know George better but I think she might have a crush on someone in my House. She won't say who, but I could tell she was crushing on someone in my house, her sitting with us at meals was her opportunity to see them more.
   
I asked her about it one day I just flat out asked her. "Hey, not that I don't love you and enjoy you eating meals with us, but is there someone in Gryffindor House that you might have a bit of a crush on?"
   
"W-What?" She asks, and I could tell she was obviously caught, but she was playing dumb.
   
"Come on, Irina. You can tell me you know."
   
"N-no," she says as she shakes her head, "I j-just wanted to s-sit with you."
   
Her brown eyes that we share started shifting around. I had caught her, but she wouldn't admit that I had. Her eyes stopped and then quickly looked away again. I looked into that direction and saw Neville Longbottom sitting reading over a Herbology book. He was sitting next to Dean Thomas, so it could have been either of them, but it was for sure one of them, and I was excited to figure it out.

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Here's part 13!

Neville and Irina? I ship it. But I also ship her with Dean too. So idk who I want her with but it'll be decided upon soon.

-Emily Winchester.