Beautiful Misbehaviour | George Weasley

Chapter 14

Artemis crouched beside her twin, hugging her knees to her chest. She didn't speak, simply basked in the fact that he was alive. 

"I - I know you said not to get hurt," Apollo grunted. His hand was grimy with dirt and blood, and she cringed when he gestured to his chest. 

"I take it back," Artemis's voice was a quiet whisper, "I don't care what you do, Pol, just don't leave me."

Apollo reached out his free hand with some effort and squeezed her arm, "Not likely," he wheezed, "you got stuck with me the moment we popped into this miserable world one by one."

Artemis realized she was crying. She sniffed out a sound that was half-sob-half-laugh and wiped at her eyes with a clean part of her wrist, "Is this the part where you brag about how you're six minutes older than me?" 

"Six minutes and thirty seconds."

"Oh, shut up!" But she was laughing. 

The two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence for the first time in a long time. If only their parents could see them now. The thought put a sour taste in Artemis's mouth. They'd wasted so much time with useless squabbling. 

"So, how long have you been stringing along this poor sod?" Artemis jerked her chin towards Carmichael. 

Apollo rolled his eyes at her but smiled at the sleeping wizard shyly, using his free hand to smooth Eddie's hair away from his closed eyes, "Who says he isn't the one stringing me along?"

"Please," Artemis forced herself to stand, despite how much her joints protested, "you're much too smart to dabble in matters of the heart."

"I said that one time!" 

Artemis ignored his quiet cry of irritation and turned away from him. She stretched her arms above her head from side to side, popping her spine pleasurably. Then she yawned and blinked her bleary eyes. She could see the telltale signs of dawn breaking through the windows. The sky was grey but glowing with pre-dawn light. 

She had been awake all night. The thought made her bones feel even heavier. 

The room had grown quieter as the night's adrenaline faded and was replaced by respectful mourning. The night hadn't been without losses. 

In the corner, Andromeda sat atop the closed chest that held Artemis's once-extensive stores. She was drinking something from a flask that she and Molly were passing back and forth. Molly had dark circles under her eyes but wore a smile from where she sat against the wall, Ginny asleep against her mother's shoulder. 

There was no sign of the twins or Lee.

Artemis frowned. She made a lap of the room to ensure nothing more to be done for the night before retreating from the hall. She leaned against the doorjamb for a moment, before pushing off and wandering down the hall in the opposite direction of the entryway. 

It didn't take more than a minute to find where the twins and Lee had taken refuge. They were at the end a hall that branched to the side that held doors labelled with cleaning products and various linens and towels and such. 

Lee and Fred sat on one side, legs stretched out, opposite George and Angelina. They were murmuring softly amongst themselves, but looked up when Artemis appeared. 

Lee, surprisingly, jumped up and wrapped her in his arms, lifting her off the ground, "There's my saviour!" 

Artemis put a hand on his shoulder to steady herself when he put her down, "Ah, yes. I forgot my act of valour, failing to block multiple curses and successfully casting three shield charms altogether."