Miss Mischief ▶ George Weasley

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The goal was to make a plan. Find a good time and a good place to tell George that Emerson was completely in love with him. Hell she could do it right now, but that would be impersonal and a bit strange.

On the walk back to the common room, Emerson walked next to George. Each time her arm moved as she walked, he knuckles would brush against his and sparks would race up her veins and electrocute her heart. Emerson could grab George's hand and hold it if she wished.

She did wish.

However the thoughts of George were pushed aside when they arrived and the portrait of Gryffindor Tower to find that the portrait was empty and had tear marks through it.

"What's going on?" Emerson looked up at George, who then looked over at Fred with a perplexed expression. Before anyone could answer, student after student crammed their way through the corridor, all crowding around the empty portrait of the Fat Lady.

Neville Longbottom stood behind the three fifth years, standing on his tip toes to see the portrait over their shoulders. "She's gone!"

Fred looked down at Neville and laughed. "Did you forget the password again and fight the Fat Lady?"

Neville's cheeks turned dark red. "No!"

Emerson rolled her eyes. "Oh leave the poor boy alone," she scolded Fred. "It would probably Peeves harassing her."

A cackling rang through the air. Peeve's cartwheeled above all of the students heads. "It wasn't me!" He said in a sing-song voice. Then he disappeared among the sea of students.

Emerson was pushed forward by the growing crowd behind them. George grabbed her by the robes too keep her from falling, and he looked at everyone around him. "Where the hell is Percy when you need him?"

"Probably snogging Penelope," Fred said.

Emerson wasn't quite paying attention though, she was too busy looking at the rips on the Fat Lady's canvas. Four large diagonal tears right through the center, chunks of the painting hanging on by a thread. "Do those...do those look like claw marks to you?"

Neither of the twins heard her, they were too busy waving at Percy through the see of people. Followed by him was the headmaster, and Professors McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape. And once again, Emerson was pushed forward.

Dumbledore stood next to Emerson, taking one look at the portrait before turning around and instructing the teachers to find the Fat Lady. But Peeves jumped up again, flying above the faces of concern and confusion. "You'll be lucky!" Peeves cackled.

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked.

"Ashamed, she is, your Headship. She doesn't want to be seen," Peeves flipped in the air, grinning at Dumbledore.

"Did she say who did it?"

"Oh yes, Mr Professorhead," Peeves bent backwards and smiled through his legs. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

The students were ushered towards the Great Hall and soon were joined by the Ravenclaws, Hufflepuff's, and Slytherins. All were confused and stressed, wondering why they were being forced back to where they just had dinner.

"I want to go to bed," Emerson groaned, and the twins nodded in agreement.

"We've got practice tomorrow," Fred stated. "Oliver's going to be angry if we can't go to bed at a decent hour."

Dumbledore announced that all of the students would he spending the night in the Great Hall and with a flick of his wand, a hundred purple sleeping bags appeared on the floor.

Fred, George, and Emerson claimed three of the beds by a large window. They sat down and leaned against the stone wall.

"Emmie, is your back going to be okay tonight? You know, sleeping on the floor." George asked Emerson, a tone of concern in his voice.

Emerson quickly found herself blushing. It was nice how concerned he was when it came to her well being.

"I'm not sure," Emerson told him. "If not I'll just lay in bed tomorrow, take some potion, and hopefully it will get better."

"Maybe you should talk to Madame Pomfrey tomorrow, or even Snape," Fred said. "You've been taking that potion a lot, I'm wondering if it's healthy."

Emerson knew that Fred was right. Every small pain she felt was cause for her to take the potion, even if it was so minor it was barely noticeable. She didn't know that Fred or George had noticed.

"Maybe," Emerson mumbled. "I just don't want to be a pain."

"Emery, there's nothing wrong with asking for help," George said. "I'm sure it's better for you to tell them you're hurting then suffer."

Nodding in agreement, Emerson sighed. The Great Hall was the last place she wanted to spend the night. She'd much rather be in her own bed surrounded by her own blankets. But at least Fred and George were with her. She moved from the wall and crawled into a sleeping bag, twisting and turning in attempts to get comfortable.

Emerson glanced up to see George looking at her as she laid down, making her pull her sleeping bag up to her eyes to shield the redness of her cheeks.

"Good night, Emmie," George told her with a small smile.

"Good night, George."

Ah, I love writing the cheesy romance. I hope you all are enjoying the rewrite and all of the new chapters!

Also, I published a Sirius Black story that is part of the New Perspective series. I would love if you could give the first chapter a read and let me know what you think!

~ Aly