the gentle moon / george weasley

you gave me a family

There were more courses than usual at the evening feast, but August, who was starting to feel really nervous now, didn't eat much. George had caught on, and was pushing small amounts of food toward her, just so she would subconsciously grab as she talked to her dad and grandfather. As the enchanted ceiling overhead began to fade from blue to a dusky purple, Dumbledore rose to his feet at the staff table, and silence fell.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now?"

Harry and August caught eyes, gave each other a nod, then got up. The Gryffindors all along the table were applauding them; the Weasleys and Hermione pulled Harry into hugs wishing him luck, as Remus and Jade pulled her into tight hugs, then leaving Fred and George hugging her the longest. After George kissed her goodbye, she headed off out of the Great Hall with Harry, Fleur, and Viktor.

"Feeling alright, Harry?" She asked him

"Yeah, you?"

"I'm pretty confident." She beamed, putting her arm around him, "if I lose, I hope it's you who brings this win home." She whispered to him. "Mum wants a new telly.." She joked.

"You're the one who is going to win." He smiled at her.

August had spent the last few weeks practicing her hexes and spells, not like she had to.

They walked onto the Quidditch field, which was now completely unrecognizable. A twenty-foot-high hedge ran all the way around the edge of it. There was a gap right in front of them: the entrance to the vast maze. The passage beyond it looked dark and creepy.

Five minutes later, the stands had begun to fill; the air was full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students filed into their seats. A few Slytherins had signs for Krum, but most of them were cheering for August. Cedric and his friends all had shirts on with single letters that spelled out 'August', Luna Lovegood, had made a mask that looked like a wolf's head and George had a sign that read

'MY GIRLFRIEND IS A CHAMPION'

And Fred had Moon, written on his forehead but it was backward, clearly because he wrote it himself looking in the mirror. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie had their sweaters on like they wore for the other two tasks.

The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick walked into the stadium and approached Bagman and the champions. They were wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, all except Hagrid, who had his on the back of his moleskin vest.

George came rushing down the stands toward August, engulfing her in a tight hug.

"I'm terrified." August mumbles. Her voice was lost amid chaos. Her name is being cheered over and over again, and all she could hear was her heartbeat. But George heard her, and it was as though it was a burning sword spearing his heart.

It wasn't heartbreaking, it was shattering. He didn't like how she looked standing there, wringing her hands in front of her.

"August." His hand found its way to hers. He watches her lip quivering, her eyes scanning his face. There was pure agony written across her face. "I'm scared too," He tells her. He knows it's not the task she's afraid of, but what is going to happen once it's over. Once this school year was done. He tried not to think about it too much when August told him about the hearing. He didn't know what school would be like without her there, he was scared of what they would do to her when she turned 17. It was hard enough to watch Remus come home most nights over the summer with a torn look because he couldn't get a job.