chivalry » noun ⇢ the combination of qualities expected of an ideal knight, especially courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help the weak.
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"You're coming to the party, right?" Ginny said to Lane as they watched Fred and George make a snowman and goof around in the snow.
The Gryffindors, despite being told not to by Professor McGonagall multiple times, were throwing a New Year's party. Ginny had insisted Lane just had to go and it wasn't hard to agree when she was giving her the signature Weasley puppy eyes.
"Yes Gin, I've told you a thousand times I'm going." Lane said reaching down and grabbing a handful of snow to make a snowball.
She weighed the ball in her hand before looking at Ginny and then the twins with a mischievous grin on her face that the other girl knew all too well. "This won't end well for you but I'm very curious to see how it plays out," Ginny said getting more comfortable for the show that was bound to ensue.
Lane stood up and smirked before tossing the snowball towards the twins and nailing Fred directly in the back of the head. He gasped and stop moving completely with a look of shock on his face. Both twins turned around from their snowman and looked around for the culprit before they both saw Lane holding in her giggles. Without a second thought, Fred sprinted towards her with a manic look on his face as George bent down and began making snowballs for the war that was about to take place.
"Mallard, you better get back here right now!" Fred said running after her as she took off around the courtyard to get away from him.
The thick layer of snow and their heavy winter clothes made the chase a lot slower than it would typically be and soon enough Lane held Ginny in front of her as some time of human shield.
"Hey, keep me out of this!" Ginny exclaimed as Fred and Lane danced around her still playing their game of tag. "Ginevra, you're going to need to move or I will not hesitate to deck you," Fred said making her scowl at the use of her full name.
"Call me that again and it's you who'll be decked." She said standing up tall, however, in comparison to Fred, she still looked quite small.
He smirked with an evil twinkle in his eye accepting the challenge. "Bring it on Ginevra-"
Before he could get any more words out, Ginny had pounced on him and they were wrestling in the snow. Lane sighed in relief and took it as her chance to get away while Fred was distracted but as she turned to head towards the castle she came face to face with George and a pile of snowballs.
"Not so fast, Laney." He said with a cocky grin before throwing a snowball at her.
It hit her right in the face making her gasp and wipe the snow off her face before reaching down and making her own ball to attack back with. Laughter filled the entire courtyard and soon Harry and Ron joined them – Harry joining Lane and Ginny's team and Ron joining his brothers. Fred got tired fairly quickly after his scuffle with Ginny and fell in a pile of snow beginning to make a snow angel. The rest of them laughed but nonetheless decided to do the same.
"Oi George get your spaghetti arm away from my angel!" Ron said angrily when George's snow angel accidentally overlapped with his.
George giggled and did it again making Ron get up angrily and tackle him where he laid. Lane couldn't remember how exactly she'd ended up at the bottom of the dogpile of bodies that had formed but she couldn't stop her giggling as the boys and Ginny all tried to fight each other.
"Cant. Breathe." George said dramatically from next to her as he pushed Fred off him a little harder than necessary making his twin fall to the ground with a thud.
They all sat up and looked at one another, cheeks flushed with Jack Frost nipping at their noses, and laughed hysterically. It was the carefree childlikeness of it all that made them all feel drunk off the experience and not seem to care that their clothes were now damp from the snow or that they were chilled to their bones. One by one they got up and headed towards the Gryffindor common room to heat up before lunch.
Harry, Ron, and Ginny split from the group to change into fresh clothes, as Fred went to 'use the bathroom' which really meant he snuck off with Angelina for their daily make-out session, leaving Lane and George on the couch by the fireplace.
"I should have stopped by my dorm for new clothes." She said with her teeth chattering. George shook his head as he protested. "It's too far."
She laughed and rubbed her arms hoping it would accelerate the heating process. George's hair was a mess from the hat he'd worn outside, and the ends were wet from the melting snow – Lane couldn't help but think he still looked absolutely beautiful. After 10 minutes of trying to get warm in vain with their clothes still soaked, George got up with a groan.
"I need to change." He said with a slight pout.
Lane followed his lead in standing too and nodded.
"I'll be back for the party later." She said heading towards the door before he held her hand gently with his pout more prominent.
"But I don't want you to go yet." He spoke.
She felt her cheeks heat up and blamed it on the fireplace crackling next to them but knew the real reason deep down.
"I've got to get warm clothes, Georgie." She said calling him by the nickname for the first time ever.
His heart felt like it was going to burst. He'd grown up with his family calling him that, even a few friends would too just to tease him. But when Lane said it, it was enough to make his face turn red all the way to the tips of his ears.
"You can borrow some of my stuff just," He rubbed the back of his neck feeling quite shy suddenly. "Don't go yet."
With him looking so boyish and cute how could she possibly say no? She followed him up to his dorm and stood waiting as he looked through his trunk for some warm clothes as she shyly stood in the middle of the room. She knew it was very much against the rules to be in the dorm of the opposite sex, but those red flags started to turn yellow when she was engulfed with the smell of Fred and George. Grabbing a sweater and a pair of sweatpants, he turned back to her with a smile as he handed them over.
"I hope you don't mind the sweater, it's a bit old but it's my coziest one." He promised.
She smiled before walking to the connected bathroom and changing. The sweater was a bit big on her and had holes in some places, but George was right, it was extremely cozy. She felt some type of pride as she admired herself in the mirror wearing a sweater with a large G in the middle. The sweatpants scrunched at her ankles because she didn't quite have the legs to fill out the length of them like George did but she didn't mind. She felt like she was wrapped in a constant hug and the best part of it was that she was finally warm – that and it smelt just like George. Stepping out of the bathroom she saw him now changed into a plain hoodie and checkered pants. He looked so welcoming that Lane couldn't help but smile as she walked over.
"Now we can properly warm up by the fire." He chuckled as he took her hand and lead her back downstairs and onto the red velvet couch by the fireplace.
Once they were situated and comfy with a blanket thrown over them both, Lane noticed her hand was still in Georges and she didn't mind one bit. Part of her was wondering what was taking Ginny, Harry, and Ron so long but another part of her didn't care enough to check because this alone time with George seemed to be fogging her brain. However, much to her dismay, they were soon interrupted by Angelina and Fred stumbling in. They both had goofy grins across their faces and were giggling like children until they saw the two sitting there. Angelina's eyes went wide before she grinned.
"Sorry, didn't realize we were interrupting something." She said taking note of the two sharing a blanket and holding hands.
George cleared his throat and let go of Lane's hand before sitting up straighter. "You aren't interrupting anything; we were just getting warm."
Lane felt a pang of hurt pass through her at the idea that George didn't want to be seen cuddling with her, but she understood her was probably just doing it to avoid teasing - or she hoped. Fred pulled Angelina to his dorm and she sent Lane a wink before they disappeared, an awkward silence taking over the room. George's stomach growled and Lane smiled softly.
"Wanna go to lunch?" She asked before backpedaling after thinking about how he'd pulled away when someone saw them together. "I can sit at the Ravenclaw table if you don't want to eat with me-"
He furrowed his brows and stood up with her.
"Why on earth would you think that?"
Looking down at her sock-clad feet, Lane shrugged.
"Is this about me pulling away?" George asked, always able to read her. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings I just didn't want to deal with Fred's teasing more than I already do."
He had taken a step forward and cupped her face like he did the night of the ball. Bringing her face up so she would look at him he gave her a warm smile and stroked her cheek ever so gently with his thumb.
"Let's get some food and then come back and cuddle, yeah?"
She nodded and let him take her hand again to lead her to the Great Hall. There was no label on what they were, but something had changed in their relationship since the night of the ball. George was touchier and always made sure to check if Lane was okay and laughing at his jokes. It was like he'd seen her in a new light. Sitting at the end of the table closest to the grand doors, George and Lane enjoyed their lunch together after all their friends seemed to have disappeared.
"Bit weird to be dating a third year, don't you think Weasley?" Someone said from behind Lane making George's fist clench and his jaw stiffen.
"We aren't dating Davies," George said to the Ravenclaw quidditch captain who just laughed and looked to his friends who were laughing too. "And she's a year older than the rest of her year so it doesn't matter anyway," George added.
Lane ducked her head down to hide her blush as Roger placed his hand on her shoulder and leaned down to whisper to her. "Sweetheart, you tell me if Weasley doesn't treat you right and I'll show you a good time-"
Before he could finish his sentence, however, George had lunged from across the table and grabbed the front of his shirt as a fight broke out between the boys
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a/n: i'm sorry this chapter is long as hell but i didn't want to split it up so i put it all in one -- hope u don't mind!