The night had passed as a blur for Clover, simply three hours trying to avoid the questioning and knowing stares from Babs. She knew they had a lot to talk about and a lot to catch up on, but after being drained from work she didn't think she could handle it. The nightmares were relived in her head every night; there was no need to have to relive it during the day too.
Luckily for her, Babs had his hands full with pretending not to enjoy the obvious flirting Lee was doing with him. It's not that he wasn't interested in the curly-haired boy, he just didn't want to involve anyone else in his issues. Babs knew he was gay; it was evident as soon as he laid his eyes on the DADA teacher they had in their 5th year, Professor Lupin. But, he also knew what his family believed in. And boys liking boys were certainly not part of that. So instead, he strictly stuck to one-night stands and nothing but hookups, something that both him and Clover had in common. There was no room for romance in their fucked up lives.
After successfully avoiding her best friend's questions throughout the whole night, Clover and the other 3 boys found themselves walking back to the shop. Somewhere along the way, the blonde girl had decided to trade her work blazer for a random sweatshirt she had made sure to grab before leaving to the bar. But as soon as her two bosses had laid their eyes on the embroidered word on the emerald green fabric, she realized her mistake.
"Georgie, I can not believe my eyes," Lee stopped in his tracks and dramatically gasped while pointing at Clover, "Do you see what I see or am I going bloody mental?"
George, who Clover had noticed was mentally distant the past few hours, smirked for the first time tonight and crossed his arms over his chest, "Looks like we've got a snake on our hands."
"I can't believe we hired a snake," Lee playfully teased as they once again proceeded walking. The orange building came into sight and Clover took the lead this time, flipping off the two boys now behind her.
Babs had caught up to the girl and threw his arm around her shoulder, "Loud and proud."
"You're Slytherin, too?!" The curly-haired boy shouted, a smirk forming on his face as he locked eyes with the other dark-haired boy, "In that case, I'd love to see your snake."
"In your dreams, Jordan," Babs called out behind him, Clover chuckling into his shoulder as they arrived in front of the shop.
"How'd you know?" He winked at Babs, who held back a smile and simply rolled his eyes instead.
George remained quiet; his hands were stuffed in his pocket and he was clearly bitting on his inner cheek in discomfort. Clover noticed it right away because she knew what he was doing all too well. It was his way of physically remaining present, even though his body was mentally beginning to shut down on him. She could see it in his eyes that he didn't want to pretend anymore; George had reached his limit for the day. He wanted to go.
As if sensing her gaze on his, he slowly landed his eyes on hers. She shot him a curious, yet knowing expression and watched as his cheeks tinted pink in embarrassment. But instead of looking away, she kept eye-contact with him and spoke softly to the group, "Alright, it's getting late. George, do you mind me coming inside to get my bag?"
He stood there silently for a moment before he gratefully nodded, saying a quick goodbye to the two other boys before heading inside. Both Lee and George stared at her, wondering what had just happened. But instead she shook her head and placed a kiss on Babs' cheek, "I'll see you lot later."
Babs headed off first, and before Clover had a chance to enter into the shop, Lee grabbed her arm from behind. She looked back at him as he spoke with a soft, genuine smile on his face, "Thank you, Clover."
"I don't know what you-,"
"You know exactly what you're doing," he shot her a pointed and appreciative look, "Thank you for looking out for him."
She watched Lee turn around and walk away without hearing her response, before entering into the shop to see George leaning against the register countertop. His head was slumped into his hands, one of them moving upwards to run through his hair while taking a sigh of relief. When the door shut behind her, she watched his body become much more relaxed immediately.
He looked over his shoulder and offered her a reserved smile, "Sorry about that. I just get overwhelmed sometimes when-,"
"I know," she spoke genuinely as she moved towards the same counter he was leaning on and bent down to get her bag, "I get it, it's alright."
"Right," he shifted over to make room on the floor so she could crouch down to pick up her things.
The room fell silent as she took the blazer in her hand and shoved it into her bag. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that George was scratching behind his non-existent ear and opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something. He took a step towards her and rocked back and forth on his feet, and Clover internally smiled at the fact that he seemed much more comfortable now than he was outside.
"You going to say what you want to say, Weasley?" She teased him without looking up from her bag, which she was still sitting in front of, "Or did you just want to breathe down my neck all night?"
He huffed out a small chuckle as he slid his back down the counter, moving to sit next to her. His legs remained bent and his arms were thrown over them.
Clover was closing her bag when she felt a pair of eyes on her, George's voice finally answering her question, "You're a Slytherin?"
She looked over to find him staring at her with his eyebrow raised; his face was curious, not criticizing.
"No, you wanker," she deadpanned, her face straight and serious as she pointed at the embroidered Slytherin on her shirt, "I thought it was pretty clear that I was a Ravenclaw."
He cracked a smile at her joke and nudged her slightly with his elbow, "You a Ravenclaw? Don't make me laugh."
"Says the boy who asked if the girl wearing a Slytherin sweatshirt is a Slytherin?" She narrowed her eyes challengingly, unable to hold back her lips from upturning at their banter.
"Smartarse," the redhead rolled his eyes playfully, but turned his head to look at her sincerely as he spoke again, "It's not a bad thing, you know. I was just shocked."
A strand of her hair fell in front of her face and she quickly raised her hand to tuck it back into place, her eyes trained on her shoes, "Not all snakes are poisonous."
"Right," he cleared his throat and looked at her in confusion, "And you're a pureblood, too?"
Clover was grateful that she was looking out at her shoes so George wasn't able to see the fear that flurried through her expression. It didn't last long, the initial reaction, but the shock had made her tense up. It was a singular word attached to an innocent question; it should not have felt as if it had two hands that were currently wrapping themselves around her neck. But the again, she should have expected that. The word pureblood would always be attached to her because of him.
"W-what?" She choked out, not daring to tear her eyes away from the tiny section of her shoelace that she focused in on.
George tilted his head to look at her, studying how the grip on her bag tightened ever-so-slightly, how her breath hitched for not more than a second, how her chin bowed down at his words. It was small, he realized, the way she showed her discomfort. They were hidden, silent, subtle movements that were as much as a whispered secret as she was to him. But George noticed; he didn't know why or how or when, but he began noticing.
He refrained from putting a comforting hand over hers and cleared his throat to explain himself, "Well, it's just that when your friend first came in he called you...erm...a pureblood Princess. I just assumed that-,"
"He's a git, he knows it annoys me," His sentence was abruptly cut off by the girl next to him. She snapped her head over to make eye-contact with him, firm with a touch of uncertainty. When her gaze met his, she relaxed at the sight of how soft and inviting his face looked. He wasn't trying to be judgmental or condescending, he was simply staring at her waiting for an answer. And so with an exhaled breath, she continued in an explanation. "My parents...one was a muggle and one was a pureblood, which makes me a halfblood."
He nodded, convinced in her words, and couldn't bring himself to tear his gaze away from hers. Silently, he sat there as Clover began speaking once again, nudging him knowingly with her elbow, "Why's it matter anyways? We both fought for the same side, didn't we?"
Her head fell as she spoke in order to brush her hair out of her face once again, and when she tilted it back up she was met with an even more intense, yet soothing stare.
"I wouldn't know that...I didn't know that," he calmly said, his face tilting towards her as he whispered, "I don't know much about you, blondie."
"You don't need to," she shook her head and let out a small, breathy chuckle. When the smile on her lips died down, she realized just how close the two had gotten and just how close the two were continuously getting.
There was a force, a pull, an addiction to the way he was staring at her. You see, Clover had never been a fan of honey, it was too sweet for her liking. But as the two pools of darkened honey stared at her as if she actually meant something to anyone, she craved to feel the sweetness on her tongue.
Their faces were not even centimeters away at this point, their noses a breath away from touching. And still, his eyes never left hers. George's breath hit her like a spell as he whispered, "But I want to."
Liar, she thought while looking back at him. He may claim he wants to know more about her, but not after he hears everything. He wouldn't want to know about the nights that she's haunted by her little sister's screams, or even worse, the days where she's haunted by her little sister's smile. He wouldn't want to know about the summers spent living on the streets with nothing but Linny's company, or even worse, the amount of days she had gone without eating just to make sure her sister had enough to eat. He wouldn't want to know that when she closed her eyes all she could see was his cruel face and the familiar wand pointed in hers, or even worse, the emotional and physical torment that had come along with it. No, George Weasley was a liar. He wouldn't last a second if he knew more about her.
With their nose brushing, their eyes locked on each other, and the word liar dancing on the tip of Clover's tongue, the bell above the door jingled. The two separated just in time to see Angelina Johnson and Ginny Weasley piling into the shop one after the other.
"Hey, Georgie," Angelina walked over to the redhead, who had stood up as soon as she walked through the door, and bounced up to kiss his cheek and ruffle his hair at the same time, "Ran into Lee on the way here, he told me you lot had a few drinks. Already corrupting the new girl, yeah?"
Before George had a chance to respond, Clover chuckled from her spot on the floor while answering the dark-haired girl next to him, "It was actually me who did the corrupting this time. My friend pretty much forced us all to go."
Angelina smiled welcomingly and laughed, "Well, it seems like you're already a great addition to the team."
Clover's lips tugged upwards as George finally spoke, his arm now wrapped around Angelina's shoulder, "What are you doing here, love?"
"Quidditch practice just ended," She shrugged off the bag weighing down her shoulder before glancing over at both Ginny and Clover, "I...erm...didn't know you'd be busy. I can come back another-,"
"No," he shot out in a voice just shy of begging as he gripped onto his arm, "N-no, stay."
Clover and Ginny shot each other a similar look as they listened to the redhead go completely weak at the thought of Angelina leaving. His voice cracked and his face softened, a child-like resemblance of separation anxiety taking over.
"Alright," the dark-haired girl squeezed George's hand and began making her way towards the stairs that led to his flat, "Meet me upstairs when you're ready."
When she had disappeared behind the door, George turned his body sheepishly towards the other two girls in the room, "I-I....I...erm...,"
"Go, Georgie," Ginny placed a reassuring hand on his arm, "I'll lock up and make sure she gets home alright. I just wanted to see if you were okay anyways. But you seem alright, yeah?"
He nodded gratefully and shot one last look at Clover before following Angelina's steps up to his flat. A moment later, Clover felt a body slide down onto the floor next to her.
"What was that about?" The blonde couldn't help herself from voicing the thoughts in her head.
Ginny chuckled at her straightforwardness and began explaining, her face dropping a little bit while doing so, "F-Fred...he and Angelina used to date before, you know. They were really great for each other, both wild and crazy and had this huge sense of adventure. Freddie would get these insane ideas, and Angelina would be there to keep him in line. B-but then, Fred was gone. And now, George and Angelina fell back onto each other for comfort."
Clover remained quiet for a second before hesitantly speaking her mind, "And you don't think that's a bit odd?"
"Do I think it's true love? No. But if it keeps George around then I refuse to see a problem in it," Ginny spoke truthfully, her head comfortably falling into Clover's lap out of habit, "I've already lost him as much as it is and I'm scared he might actually fall apart without her..."
Clover didn't know whether it was from the exhaustion plastered on Ginny's face or the quietness of the room that caused her to open up so much, but she didn't mind. It was nice remembering what it felt like to have a younger sister.
"And that's why you always come to check on him," Clover said, making sense of everything the younger girl was saying.
Ginny sighed, her body looking as if it ached the way an older one does, "He may not be 100% himself, but he's still my brother. I wont give up on him like he's done to himself."
"That's amazing of you," Clover commented as she stared down at the girl laying on her lap, a smile on her face when the red hair momentarily flashed blonde in her memories.
"That's what family does," the younger girl concluded, stilling everything inside of Clover.
The word family played over and over in her head as if she were searching for something, anything positive that came out of her family besides Linny. Family had never been kind to either of the two sisters, leaving it a word undefined in Clover's mind. It seemed beautiful the way Ginny had described it, nothing like the way she remembered it. Her heart ached a bit more, yearning for her younger sister to be back by her side. That was the only family she had ever known.
For the next few hours, the two found themselves easily continuing a conversation until Ginny fell asleep on Clover's lap. She brushed the hair out of the younger girl's face and smiled at how peacefully she slept; Clover couldn't remember the last time she was able to sleep like that. She leaned her head back against the counter and closed her eyes, Ginny curled up with her on Clover's lap as if the two had known each other forever. And in both of their minds, it felt like they did.
They stayed there like that until morning, when George found his sister curled up on top of Clover. And whether he knew it or not, a smile worked its way onto his face.
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AUTHORS NOTE:
Okay everyone I want your honest thoughts of the cannon George and Angelina relationship. Do we like, do we dislike?
And I'm going to try to post at least 2-3 times per week from now on. I LOVE YOU GUYS THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MEEE!!!