Flames of Eternity // George Weasley

27. The Black Lake

Song for this chapter ~ Till Forever Falls Apart by Ashe & FINNEAS

Calista's POV

Ever since having found George so distraught that night, I swore to myself that I would always be next to him before he fell asleep and whenever he woke up— not until the nightmares stopped anyways.

Although I hadn't thought he would have gotten over the events from that night, it had never occurred to me how heavily they had impacted his sleep.

Nearly an entire summer he went having the same nightmare, and I couldn't bear to think he had to push these thoughts out of his mind almost every day for two months. But after having fallen asleep with him that night after he had opened up to me, I felt his torment.

The way he gripped onto me the following nights, I had come to realize how frightened and in desperate need of me he must have been. It wasn't how he normally had, with his arms wrapped around my waist, or the gentle hand he would hold my face with at night— it was now more of a protective and unyielding grasp.

Although my nights were nowhere near as bad as his when we weren't with one another, I did sleep exceptionally well when I was with him.

Despite these struggles, not only had he gotten adequate rest the next few weeks, but he had also managed to focus his mind elsewhere; with his and Fred's plans on getting their names put into the Goblet of Fire.

With each of their failed efforts, they were confident that the next would work. Unfortunately for them, their last attempt at getting past Dumbledore's age line had hilariously gone wrong in every way possible— an attempt that landed the two of them being scolded by Madam Pomfrey as usual.

"I would've paid good money to see you and Fred as old men," I grinned, turning my face to the side to look at George as we now walked hand-in-hand out of Hogsmeade village, back towards the castle. "Is that a grey hair I see?"

His hand immediately let go of mine as he reached for his hair out of panic. My lips formed a small smirk at this, before he soon realized I was only teasing.

"Very funny," he glared down at me as he grabbed onto my hand again, continuing to walk towards the direction of the castle. "I really thought we could do it, you know?"

I looked up to see a disappointed look spread across his face.

"The prize money would've been a life changer...wouldn't have to worry about being able to afford that shop..."

"I know you guys will find another way," I said to him reassuringly. "Besides, you still have nearly two years to save up...it's plenty of time."

"I suppose," he spoke, giving me a defeated smile as we now walked along past a clearing in the woods. "What do you say we make a quick stop before we head back up?" his expression changed in an instant as a grin crept up his face.

"It all depends where the stop is," I looked up at him suspiciously, as he pulled me into the wooded area, the small clearing now revealing the vast lake that lay ahead of us.

"Care for a swim?" he grinned, pulling me closer to the dark, bottomless body of water.

"You're mad— it's probably bloody freezing this time of year," I mumbled, hoping that statement alone would be enough to talk him out of it. However, I was painfully mistaken as he had already begun to peel his shirt off his back. "George..."

"Stop giving me excuses...come on," he now said, sliding down his trousers so that he was left only in his trunks. He slowly began to make his way inside the lake, stretching his arm down towards the water and submerging his hand before splashing it towards me.