Gunpowder & Daisies (George Weasley x Reader/ Cedric Diggory x Reader)

Twin Promise

The bell rang, and George walked out of the classroom door hurriedly along the warmly lit corridors.

How had he not realized it earlier? He heard Fred calling him but did not stop.

I love her. I love her?!

George's heart was pounding, he felt light-headed. He bumped into some first-years, and barely managed an apology. He stepped through the first alcove he saw, grateful to find that it led to the fields that stretched outside of the school. It was an otherwise lovely and soft afternoon, as opposed to the turbulent feelings inside him. He walked, and walked, aimlessly, for what it felt like hours.

When George finally stopped, he found himself on the daisy field at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He dropped his bag among the daisies, and stood motionless, surrounded by the starlike glistening of the enchanted flowers. The setting sun cast long shadows on the fields around the castle. George lay on the floor, among the flowers, staring at the sky as light faded, and it got cold quickly.

Could he go on pretending everything was the same? A fear creeped up. Does Fred know? Worse, does y/n know? No, they can't. Fred would have blabbered it to the entire school by now and even worse to y/n. And if y/n did know, she showed no signs of it.

He sighed in relief.

And then her smell came back to him. He closed his eyes.

How would she react if she found out? Y/n was his best friend, his closest friend. He couldn't ruin that. But friends could fall in love. Wasn't that how it happened in movies, in books?

Maybe she would hate him. She'd think it a betrayal of their friendship.

No, y/n was not cruel. She would pity him, treat him like a wounded animal. That would be worse than hatred. George would rather die than be pitied by the girl he loves.

When had it started? George could not pinpoint a moment. Was it really love? How could he know what love really feels like if he'd never felt it before? Would it disappear if he just ignored it?

Maybe it was all because of Snape's stupid class. Amortentia was a powerful drug, after all. Yes, that was it. He probably wouldn't even remember it tomorrow.

It was late when George finally went back to the Gryffindor Tower. There was noone in the Common Room apart from Fred, who was helping Ron and Harry with their Charms assignment.

"George!" Fred exclaimed when he saw his twin emerge from the portait hole. "Alright, boys, I did my best but you're both hopeless cases. Run off now and let the big boys talk."

"Thanks, Fred," Harry and Ron said defeated, their eyes red from the lack of sleep. They packed their parchment and quill and went up the stairs to the boys' dormitory dragging their feet and yawning all the way up.

When Harry and Ron were gone from sight, Fred turned to his twin "So, where did you run off to? You missed dinner" Fred said.

"I was just... walking."

"Walking?" Fred looked at him surprised.

"Yeah, walking," George said.

"Walking where?"

"Just you know, around the castle," George shrugged.

"Alright, keep it to yourself then," Fred said. "Everyone is full of secrets lately. Y/n ran off and didn't turn up for dinner either."

"Where did she go?" George asked worried that she might have found out his secret.

"I wouldn't ask you if I knew, would I?" Fred said, "Diggory went after her, so maybe it's some Hufflepuff business. Hey, is everything alright, Georgie? You look like you have seen a Dementor" he asked, worried.

"It's alright, Fred. All those fumes in Potions made me a bit dizzy, that's all," George said, and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Alright then," Fred gave a shrug. "Speaking of Potions, I think I found out what Snape's secret for the Amortentia is. He puts this egg-shaped thing into the potion, and hear this, he crushes it. He doesn't cut it like the book says - oh no, no - he crushes it! I saw him do it sneakily without anyone noticing. Anyway, I think we can talk to one of our suppliers and..."

"Really? That's great, Freddie," George said without having listened to a word his brother had said.

Fred stopped and stared at him, frowning. "You're acting really strange, mate. Are you sure you don't have anything you want to tell me?"

When George didn't reply, he pressed on, "Come on now, I'm your twin! What's wrong?"

"I... uh..." George began. Maybe he could tell Fred about it without telling him all the details. "You know how the Amortentia potion... uh... it smells different to each person?"

"Yes, according to what attracts you," said Fred, patiently.

"Well, it smelled really odd today..."

"What, like arse or something?"

"What? No!" George exclaimed, disgusted.

"I'm just yanking your wand, mate. So what did it smell like?" Fred asked, clearly amused.

"Not what, but who. It smelled like someone. Someone I know..."

"Oh," Fred smiled, and nodded like he'd finally understood. "You mean y/n?"

"Y/n? What do you mean y/n?" George's eyes widened. "How'd you--?"

"Oi, calm down. Did you think I wouldn't know?" Fred said laughing. "I knew way before you did!"

"How?!"

"Call it twin intuition," Fred shrugged.

"I-- Fred, listen, you can't ever, ever tell her, nor anyone else!" George said, a tone of alarm in his voice. "You have to promise, Fred!"

"Hey! When have I ever partaken in idle gossip?" Fred said with feigned indignation, but when he saw his twin's distress he grew serious, "Your secret is safe with me, twin promise."

"Thanks," George let out a breath. "I had just never even realised it. Of course, I love her as a friend, and I did have a crush on her when we were younger, you know--"

"I know," Fred interrupted him. At George's inquiring look, he said, "Mate, honestly it's all over your face when you're with her. I'm surprised she hasn't seen it yet."

"What do I do now?" George threw his hands in the air, hopelessly.

"What do you mean?" Fred quirked a brow.

"This is a disaster! I can't just have feelings for her!" George said distressed.

"For the love of Merlin, why not? Would it really be that bad? You've known eachother for so long. It's a win-win situation, for all I see."

"Who says she likes me back?" George rubbed his forehead. "And say she does, what if things go wrong? What am I supposed to do then? I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"Well, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Sometimes you just have to take the risk," Fred said nonchalantly.

"And what if I don't want to take the risk?" George insisted.

"Then you need to be ready for when someone else does," Fred's expression grew serious. "Someone like Diggory, for example."

"Merlin, not Diggory," George threw his head back, and groaned.

"Listen," Fred put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to do anything right now. Why don't you sleep on it? See how you feel tomorrow. Let things take their own natural course, eh?"

George took a deep breath and nodded. Fred was right. He didn't know if he could go on pretending everything was the same, but as much as it pained him, the best he could do for now was sleep on it.

George followed his twin up the spiral staircase, the exhaustion of his emotions weighing heavily on his shoulders. When he finally reached his bed, he fell asleep almost instantly, and dived into strange dreams.