Blue moon ; George Weasley

Fourteen

October came around and Esme was smiling widely as she walked down the library where Elliott was staying for the first time in his life.

It was his seventeenth birthday and Esme was probably more excited than he was.

Elliott had always hated his birthday and Esme knew this. He didn't have parents who really celebrated birthdays a lot so Esme knew why he was studying today out of all days.

Though there was more to it. Elliott was now of age, which meant that his parents were extra happy. It meant that he was finally old enough to get the dark mark.

Elliott feared going home for Christmas in just a few months. He knew exactly what was to happen.

"Hi Elli." Esme grinned and did a little skip across the floor to where he sat.

Elliott looked up and as he saw the excitement written all over her face, a smile spread across his.

"What?" He asked teasingly, narrowing his eyes, and Esme laughed, sliding onto the chair next to him.

"Happy birthday." She smiled widely, and placed a hand on his thigh as she slid a small package in front of him. "I made it myself."

"Oh, really?" He grinned as he started opening it. "I'm only opening it because you gave it to me, just so you know it."

"Well, I appreciate that." She chuckled, watching with excitement as he found the ring inside of the small package, his initials engraved into it.

He didn't know what to say. He couldn't even smile, which worried Esme. Her eyebrows fell into a frown and her smile dropped.

Elliott picked up the small piece of jewellery, studied it closely and realised just how much time and effort she had to have put into making that for him.

"It's uh... it's for your index." Esme said quietly, chewing on her lip.

Instantly, thoughts flooded her mind.

He hates it.

I should've done more.

Elliott couldn't get himself to say anything. He had this girl next to him who cared so deeply for him. She wanted him to be happy and she wanted to make him smile by making him something like this.

He felt guilty.

He was just dragging her with him. She was this happy girl who just wanted a relationship with him, a future filled with happiness, but he couldn't give her that.

"I'm sorry." He said, shaking his head as he put the ring down, then stood up and gathered his things, Esme watching him with confusion written all over his face. "I can't do this."

"What?"

She kept looking at him, unable to move as she watched him pack up and leave.

"Wait... Elliott!"

He didn't answer. He walked out of the library and Esme looked at the ring before slowly picking it up.

She didn't see him for dinner. She sat in the library for a while, just staring at the ring and then she slowly made her way back to the common room.

George, Fred and Lee all sat in the sofa area but Esme didn't respond when Fred and Lee greeted her.

She just went up to her dorm which luckily enough was empty. She shut the door behind her, dropped her bag and collapsed on her bed where she broke into tears.

She hugged her pillow close to her face, letting out all of the confusion into tears.

Had Elliott just broken up with her? Or did he just not like the present? Why had he reacted that way?

All of these questions ran through her head until she eventually fell asleep.

Lee who had gone up to check on her, noticed that she was asleep. He saw her face and he knew she had been crying.

Finding a blanket, he threw it over her and then left to tell Fred and George that she had cried herself to sleep.

When Esme woke again, she wasn't alone. It was around seven and the entire school was at dinner but not George, Fred and Lee.

Esme looked around in confusion. Fred sat in the bed with her, sitting against the headboard with his legs stretched out. He sat so close that she could feel his warmth.

George was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall so he could easily look at her, and Lee was on the next bed, talking about something.

Esme let out a groan as she saw them, then buried and hid her face in her arm.

"Morning sleepyhead." Fred grinned and ruffled her hair which she just tried to ignore. "Well... it isn't exactly morning but you know what I mean."

"What're you doing?" She mumbled into her arm.

"What?" Fred pretended not to hear her. "What did you say? We can't hear you when you hide your face like that."

Esme lifted her head and looked at Fred with narrowed eyes.

"What are you doing?"

Fred smiled at her, then tilted his head.

"Well... you didn't look very happy when you walked through the common room earlier."

Esme kicked at the blanket that covered her. The feeling of it on her annoyed her for some reason.

She groaned at Fred's response and hid her face again.

"Do you want to tell us what happened?" Lee asked.

She didn't like having them here. She had kept her distance from them since fighting with George.

"Nothing happened." She muttered against her arm and when she lifted her head slightly to place her chin on her arm, her eyes met George's.

He looked worried and that thought alone, made her want to throw up.

He didn't have any right to feel worried about her.

"I'm gonna punch you if you keep looking at me like that." She said, and George could only crack a little smile.

"I thought you hated violence." Lee commented.

"I do. But I'd gladly make an exception in this situation." She sighed before rolling onto her back. "I think he hated my present."

"Why do you say that?" Fred asked.

Esme shrugged, running her hands over her face.

"He... I think he broke up with me." She said, her voice quiet. "Then he got up and left."

She broke into tears again, this time crying into her hands, and she felt someone pull her into his embrace.

It wasn't Fred because he was sitting next to her. This person was on their knees on the other side, his arms wrapped around her tightly.

It was George.