"Morning babe," you said as you planted a kiss on Roger's cheek. You took a seat next to him and started building your plate with breakfast items. His mouth was full and he managed to spit out a greeting.
"Where were you last night? I thought you would've been at the party," you asked casually.
"I just got carried away with some studying and I forgot," he said. It sounded a little rehearsed but you didn't question it.
"Well, you didn't miss much. Although, I did get caught heading back to the common room. Detention on Thursday."
"Mmm."
"Are you okay? I feel like something's bothering you."
"I'm fine," he said, shoveling more food into his mouth.
"So, I've been thinking. For the Yule Ball I might get a navy blue or a purple dress. So don't get your dress robes until I pick one out. I just wanna make sure we match."
"Y/N, you're getting ahead of yourself. The Yule Ball is still months away."
"I know, I just can't help but be excited! And I want us to look perfect."
Roger slammed his fork down on the table and sighed, "You're making this so difficult."
"What?"
He grabbed your hand and pulled you out to the Entrance Hall. "Look, I didn't want to do this right now, but..." he spoke.
"Roger, what are you talking about?" you grabbed his arm and looked him in the eye, thinking no good could come of this.
"I...I think we should break up."
You were speechless, unable to process what he had just said. This was the last thing you expected.
"Please don't be too upset. It's nothing you did. I just...I've found myself interested in someone else and that's not fair to you."
"...Someone else?" you asked, holding back tears.
"I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen."
"We can work through this Roger. It doesn't have to be the end," you pleaded.
He merely shook his head, kissed your cheek, and walked away. You sat on the staircase and realized things were really over. You felt heartbroken, but mostly blindsided. You knew you were never going to marry Roger, but you didn't have any serious relationship issues. Things were always great between you.
You sat there a while longer, waiting to see if someone would find you or if your emotions would change but nothing happened. You went about your day, attending classes, as if nothing had changed even though you were hurting on the inside.
X
You arrived at McGonagall's office ten minutes before your detention was to start. You sat there, waiting for George to arrive and a few minutes later he dashed into the room, out of breath and took a seat next to you.
"Excellent, now that you are both here, we can begin your punishment. This evening, you will be polishing the trophies in the Trophy Room, by hand. Once every trophy has been polished and is up to my standard, you may go." She summoned rags and polishing liquid for you and sent you to the trophy room. You walked in silence to begin with but you knew it would be a long evening if it kept up like this.
"I'm sorry. About what I said the other night," he said as he started on the first trophy.
"Don't be sorry. You were right. I have been a bit of a bitch to you. I'm sorry I've treated you so poorly all these years."
"S'okay," he mumbled casually.
"I don't know how it got this way. I just caught up in unimportant aspects of life. I guess I wanted to be popular and now look where that got me."
"I heard about Roger and Fleur."
"Fleur? That's who left me for? Bloody hell, my life keeps getting worse and worse."
"Sorry, I thought you knew..." he muttered.
"Is everyone talking about it?" you asked him seriously.
"I...I only overheard it from some Gryffindor girls. That's all I know about it."
"Yeah, word spreads so fast here, I can't say I'm surprised." You moved past him to work on the next trophy. "The worst part is, I still want him back." You caught yourself before you revealed any more. "Sorry. I'm sure you don't want to hear any of this," you chuckled.
"No, it's okay. We used to be friends at one point. You can tell me things. But if you want my opinion, you can do better than Davies."
"Hardly, he's the school's most eligible bachelor, behind Cedric and maybe Harry Potter now that he's been crowned champion."
"So what's your plan then? How are you gonna get him back?"
"I...I don't know. How can I complete with Fleur? She's part veela for God's sake."
"That doesn't mean anything. You're just as beautiful as she is. Plus I guarantee you have a better personality."
"Oh yeah?"
"Absolutely. You're actually funny, and you have a toughness to you which means you can stand up for yourself. Fleur's more...delicate, fragile."
"And since when do boys look for personality in a girl?"
"Personality is the biggest factor in looking for a lass to bring home. Guys want someone who is confident and comfortable in their own skin, and who can actually talk about things other than clothes and makeup. Someone real. And you have that quality."
"No offense, George, but I don't think Roger dated me because I'm 'real'."
"Perhaps you should be questioning your taste in men, then." You pondered this when he added, "Do you really want to get back with Davies?"
"Yes." At least, you thought you did.
"Then you have to get back at him."
"What did you have in mind?"
"You gotta get even. He has a new girl, so you can't try and win him back. Instead, you have to make him jealous."
"Okay, okay. I see where you're going with this. But with who?"
"That I don't really know. Probably someone who is well known by everyone, but different than your usual type. Someone unexpected; someone who will shock everyone. Who that is, I'm not sure."
You stopped cleaning your trophy and looked at him, a sly smile creeping onto your face. The gears were turning in your head and there was no turning back now. He questioned the look on your face and said, "What...you know someone?"
You nodded and said, "Oh I know someone alright..."
"Who?" he asked. You didn't say anything. Instead you let your smile grow a little bit and tilted your head, hoping he would pick up what you were putting down. It took him a moment but you saw his face change when he realized who you were talking about.
"No, no absolutely not," he said, shifting his attention to the latest trophy he was polishing.
"Oh come on. You're perfect. Everyone knows you, and loves you for that matter. We run in different circles so it would be totally unexpected, yet we've known each other for years so it's believable."
"Y/N, this is crazy."
"Is it really that crazy? This whole thing was your idea and I actually think it could work."
"Okay, say I do agree to this. What's in it for me?"
"Easy. You can get the attention of a certain girl on the Gryffindor quidditch team that I know you have your eye on. Act like an awesome boyfriend to me and she'll be more inclined to date you. And we'll get to spend more time together. Just the other day you said you wanted to hang out more-"
"I did not say that. I said 'we haven't talked in a while.'"
"Still, I make a compelling argument. So what do you say?"
He didn't look at you; he continued to polish the already spotless trophy in front of him. You walked over to him and put your head on his shoulder. "Come on, look at how cute we are together," you looked at your reflection in the trophy and he did the same. "And you know it'll be fun," you said, shooting him a winning smile. "Help me out here and I'll owe you a favor. Or five." You hoped your last statement might set him over the edge.
He sighed, "Okay fine."
"Really!?" you chirped.
"But on one condition, an easy out clause. If at one point, either of us wants to end things, we end things. No questions asked."
"That sounds perfectly reasonable. But, I just want you to know that I don't half-ass anything. If we're doing this it has to be believable. We have to be attached at the hip; inseparable."
"This takes commitment from both sides. You can't go around making out with other guys if we're supposed to be a couple."
"You have my word I will not make out with anyone while our fake fling is going on."
"Then I'm in." He held out his pinkie and you interlocked yours with his, making this deal quasi-official.
"You really are something else Y/N," he laughed. You continued working through your punishment and you made the best of it. Somehow you forgot how funny George was. You were laughing at almost everything he said and every now and then you would send a joke or a funny comment his way. You kind of forgot what it felt like to laugh.
The laughing made the mundane task go by much quicker. You weren't sure how much time had actually passed but a moment later you were polishing the last trophy.
"Looks like it's time to call McGonagall in for approval," he said. She closely inspected every cup and plaque and gave you the okay that you could head back to the tower.
"Any plans for tonight?" he asked as you started your trek.
"Probably just catching up on school work tonight. What about you?"
"I have some business to attend to..." he said.
"Wow, vague."
"I can't spill all my secrets to you just yet."
You reached the common room and you gathered your books and started working on your latest essay as George disappeared, probably up to no good.
X
"Still up?" George asked you as he found a spot next to you on the couch a few hours later.
"Yep. Trying to be as productive as possible. What about you? Finish up with that business?"
"Ah yes, it went quite successfully."
"Let me guess...another prank? Who was it this time, Filch or a group of first years?"
"We decided to mix it up this time and go with some Slytherins."
"Ah, a justifiable prank. Well done."
"So have you thought about how we're pulling off this ultimate plan?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" you hoped he wasn't backing out.
"Like, are we doing this gradually or just going full force?"
"Well, what do you think is more believable?"
"Personally, I think we need some sort of build up. Instead of just emerging as a couple, we should build the suspense. Make people speculate."
"Okay, I can agree with that. So right now we just need to do a lot of public appearances. Nothing overly touchy or flirty, just spending time together."
"Excellent. I just wanted to check with you before telling Fred about the situation."
"Wait, what? You...you can't tell him about our arrangement."
"Y/N, he's my twin brother and my best friend. I can't hide anything from him."
"No, no, no. You can't tell him. He is a key player in this situation. His reaction to us needs to be genuine."
"I tell him everything. I feel like he'll know something's up if I don't say something."
You paused for a moment, as you realized you weren't being fair. "Look, I know that I'm asking a lot of you, but please don't tell Fred. At least not yet. Please."
He looked at you with a pained expression and said, "Okay, if that's what you want."
"Thank you, George. Now go get some sleep and I'll see you at breakfast."