Bellus Angelus

The Black Lake

A/N: Another long one! This contains some violence, just to warn you.

Jade groaned once more as she stepped into the common room, completely exhausted after the night's events. She looked over at the ancient clock that was placed in the room- only midnight. Then she looked over at George, bracing herself for what was about to happen. She knew he was angry, but didn't know why. She didn't see anything happen to him at the party, and he seemed to be in a much better mood when she left him, so she couldn't think of what could be wrong. Maybe Adrian had gotten to him before he got to her. He glared at her still, from the moment the portrait swung open, his eyes clouded with a mixture of intoxication and anger.

"Had a good night, did you?" he asked with a tone of annoyed sarcasm in his voice.

Immediately, she was confused. Was he mad at her? How could he possibly be mad at her? Sure, things had been off recently but as far as she knew, she sorted things with George that very night.

"...Yes?" She was unsure of what to say, and that was evident in her nervous reply which sounded more like a question.

"Great. I'm glad you did. I'll just go off to bed, then." He replied in a huff and stood up to leave. Jade motioned towards him, though, and lightly grabbed his upper arm stopping him from leaving.

"Hold on, what's wrong, what happened? I saw you run off." She asked.

"Nothing." He stated.

He couldn't meet her eye, and there was a moment of silence before he spoke up again.

"Stop acting like you care. You haven't even tried with me since we got back from the holidays." He added definitively. Jade's brow furrowed in a mixture of anger and confusion.

"How was I supposed to try when I had no idea what was wrong?" she retorted.

"You could have asked!" He shouted.

She stared at him, open-mouthed. George rarely ever raised his voice, so she stood there as though she had been stunned. After a few seconds of pondering how to respond, she spoke.

"I didn't know what to ask- how to ask it. Please, Georgie, just talk to me." He let out an exhale and ran his fingers through his long hair.

"I have no idea why you have been so down lately but I want to help, I really do." She added.

"There's no point in talking about it. It's too late." He replied.

"Just- just tell me what's been happening." She asked, quietly.

"I'm going to bed. Don't let me keep you from your boyfriend." He replied.

Footsteps echoed in the common room as he made his way to the staircase that led to the boy's dorms, leaving Jade shocked, upset, and lonely in the grand common room. But before he disappeared, Jade had to get one more word in.

"Don't take it out on me, just because you've been too scared to talk about your damn feelings." She said, her voice slightly raised.

Maybe he was right and she hadn't tried to be a good friend to him, not as much as she should have. Her head was always elsewhere- constantly thinking about Cedric and what could happen between them. Still, she thought, that wasn't a reason for him to get so angry at her. It's not as though he was lonely- he was a twin for Godric's sake! A built-in best friend. Aside from Fred, he also had Lee. So why did the responsibility fall on her? Why was it her who George got mad with?

Her mind began racing with all kinds of thoughts- she wasn't tired anymore. In fact, there was no way she would be falling asleep anytime soon, not after what had just happened. She could go back to the party- though she wasn't really in a party mood anymore. She needed to get some air, to breathe. Thinking of the events of the night began to suffocate her. She wanted peace and quiet and air.