❝Is not-fighting enough? Is caring enough? You did not know. All you knew was that things had changed for the better and that hope often ruined relationships too fragile. Being on tip-toes around George wasn't what you had expected but had received it anyway. And life had taught you how to make do with things.❞
PART 03 OF ARRANGED
PAIRING: George Weasley x fem!Reader
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hehe planned something good for this one, hoping you like it. Do tell me what you think!!
WARNING(S): Violence, blood, injuries, passing out, mentions of food and drink.
WORD COUNT: 3,606
Flattening out the skirt you wore, your eyes skimmed across your surroundings. It was rather late, the sky had turned a darker blue. Shops had switched on their porch lights, people laughed and giggled around you. The cool drink on your table was quickly perspiring, dampening the table cloth below. You stared at the menu, your mind elsewhere.
Days had been happier lately. Somehow George and you had got even closer over the past week and a half. Jokes and lighthearted conversations were common, but he had also opened up to you as you did him. It made you giddy— talking to him. The inexpressible happiness that came with being near someone you clicked with.
It was just; easy being around him. Notice things he liked, what made him tick, what made him smile— the crinkle of his eyes before he would quip a joke. You spent more time outside your bedroom, often at the coffee table as George took up the couch. Growing fond of him wasn't something you had anticipated, but had definitely welcomed. The emptiness you felt at the apartment had now melted away, leaving behind laughs and uncertain emotions.
"Stay safe," George had whispered as you put on your shoes. He stood there, his arms folded looking at you nervously— you hadn't told him it was an important mission, but somehow he had picked it up. Perhaps you had been fidgeting with the toy he made for you far too much.
"I'm always cautious," you had said with a laugh, ignoring the way your heart fluttered at his words.
"Yes, and that's why you always come back with bad wounds," he replied then, deadpanning, making you grimace. "Just— take care." Rolling your eyes you left the house, feeling his concerned eyes at the back of your head.
A hand over yours broke you out of your reverie. Sebastian watched you with distress. You had been waiting at the pizzeria for over two hours now, sweat clung to your skin, it was difficult to keep smiling.
"This is not how it was supposed to go," he muttered under his breath, the slight grit in his jaw gave away the tenseness. You took a deep breath, covering his hands with yours trying not to appear how on edge you were.
According to the intel you received, Voldermort was to send a few death eaters to put a close Order member under the imperius curse for surveillance. The mission was simple, get to know who that Order member was to keep them under observation later. Except there was neither a death eater nor an intended victim in sight. The more the seconds ticked by, the more your frustration grew. Illusionment charms wouldn't last for more than an hour and the pretence of "muggles in love" was turning out harder to keep up.
"My gut tells me something is going to go terribly wrong," you said, plastering on a fake smile. Sebastian searched your face, before landing on something behind you. His panicked features made you turn around making out a figure. George. He scanned the area before taking a seat by the cafeteria as if waiting for someone. It struck you then.
"He is the scapegoat." Sebastian cursed, turning to you to decide what to do further. If your guess was right, the dark lord's servants would arrive in under five minutes. You shook your head violently. Seeing George under the imperius, under someone's control, you didn't think you could handle it not after...
"Seb we have to save him," you said urgently. "We—"
"—we are here to observe," he reminded gently. "I know you've warmed—"
"You don't understand," you rasped, trying to come up with a logical explanation. "If he is the one you-know-who uses, he will be constantly near me. It would blow my cover."
"Isn't that—" Sebastian said before swiping the area again. The time was ticking, the death eaters would be here any moment. "Okay fuck. If we're doing this we have to act fast and loop in the Weasley. I'll distract whichever bastard the dark lord sends in, you can sneak Weasley out and preferably yourself. Blowing your cover now would risk everything."
You nodded along, but you didn't want to leave Sebastian to his own. Maybe you could help him after getting Weasley to safety. Getting up hastily you strode towards George's table. He looked up at you curiously, raising a skeptical eyebrow. Praying he would not question you, you whispered, "mihi revelare" transforming your face back so only he could see you.
"George, I need you to trust me, okay?" you rushed out, noticing the alarmed look on his face . "The dark lord's spies are on their way and they're going to try to put you under the imperius curse. Act casual and when I say run, apparate to The Burrow, okay?"
"What— but—"
"Please George," you pleaded, giving him a pointed look. "I promise to explain later, just do as I say."
Seeing him agree eventually, you let out a sigh reaching for his palm, giving it a little squeeze. He was on edge, you could see that, but he said nothing.
"Hey, it's going to be okay," George said abruptly, making you open and shut your mouth.
Something made you want to apparate him to safety before the death eaters could arrive. Mission came first, your brain reminded bitterly— you pulled back. If George apparted back without a reason, they would become suspicious— it could risk everything. Minutes were passing by, you had to react quickly. Nodding at him, you transformed back, moving behind a small lane which kept you hidden from bystanders but gave you the clear view of what transpired.
It was almost too soon that you saw Mulicber walking down the street, a wide smirk on his face. You watched Sebastian 'accidently' drop his drink on him, acting angrily. Biting your lip, you waited for Mulciber to do something, something that could make up for George running away.
Mulciber clutched his wand, ready to point it at Sebastian and you knew this was it. Dashing towards George, you told him to "run", pulling him with you as Sebastian dodged away the expected attack. Shouts and screams filled the area as you concentrated on getting him to a safe place to apparate.
"Crucio!"
You didn't see Mulciber pointing his wand at you, the white light took away your senses. Screaming as your body lit up in pain, you forced yourself to look towards George whispering "leave" as he watched you wide-eyed.
A lot of things happened all at once. George jumped in front of you, hexing Mulciber as Sebastian sprinted from behind him. You fell down on the ground in excruciating pain. Breathing heavily, your head zoomed; the cries all around making it difficult for you to focus. It was Weasley's wail that finally caught your attention.
Mulciber had him under the cruciatus curse, ready to mouth something even more terrible as George's body writhed in the air. You willed yourself to get up and point your wand at him. Sebastian followed suit, your combined power overpowering the death eater's making him unconscious. You darted towards George, his arm bled and you could see him fading out. Whipping towards Sebastian, you saw him pick the death eater up before looking at you.
"Go! Leave for his house, you'll be safe there."
You didn't need to be told twice, you gripped George tightly apprating for the burrow. Everything felt like a heavy haze, teleporting took away the remaining shred of your energy. The sight of The Burrow gave you some hope. George was heavy, and being wounded yourself, you trudged towards the door with all your might, frantically whispering to him to hold on. Knocking, you steeled yourself.
"Who is it?"
"(Y/n)!" you called out. "I'm with George, please let us in— this is an emergency."
The door opened with a swoosh, Molly panicked on seeing George.
"He needs to be laid down, take this—" you said, handing her a mirror. "—call Stace— she would be free at the moment," you uttered with some difficulty as red heads surrounded you. It was hard to breathe.
"What the fuck—"
"What did she do to him?"
Arthur was the only one who made an effort to clear the way, leading you into a silent room. The siblings followed as you laid him down on the bed as gently as possible. You flinched as he let out a piercing groan. Molly hastened in with dittany, but you stopped her.
"He's been hit by the cruciatus, there might be some internal broken bones that will make it worse."
"The cruciatus?!" Ginny exclaimed but there was a pop at the door driving the attention away from her.
Stace stalked decisively, as prim as you first met her, nodding when she saw you. You filled her in on the details, panting. She was one of the people who knew about your involvement, Dumbledore had insisted upon assigning an emergency healer to every team.
"Okay, I got this. But I need everyone out right now!" she ordered and turned towards you. "And you need rest. Remember the process I taught you?"
Registering your nod, she turned to glare at the people still inside the room. There was a general grumbling though everyone complied. Taking a last look at George who was quickly losing colour, you exited the room. Your heart thumped against your chest as the door slammed shut. You didn't even have the moment to catch your breath as Fred took you by your elbow.
"What the fuck did you do?" he hissed. You snatched your arm away glaring at him.
"I didn't do anything," you said in a level voice. "George got in middle—"
"Like hell you didn't!"
"Was it not enough for you to forcibly marry him?"
"I—"
"That's quite enough!" Arthur said assertively as the redheads quietened down. "(Y/n), I see you're injured. Come on, let me help you to a room. We can talk later."
You nodded, taking the opening. Between your eyes itching and the sweat creeping on your body, you could hardly make anything out. The mission had left you overwhelmed, the accusations by the family affected you far worse than an average day. Was your upbringing the cruelest thing you had done? Was it enough to evaluate everything about you? Feeling of not being wanted was choking you, you didn't want to stay at The Burrow anymore, you wanted to run away. Then again, you had to stay. You didn't have a choice— you never had one.
Arthur led you to a room with twin beds, providing you with a medicine box he picked up from one of the drawers.
"Don't listen to them," he said before clearing his throat. "They— they don't know and seeing George like that—"
"I understand."
Arthur looked at you sympathetically. You forced yourself to give him a smile, digging your nails into the palm of your hand to stop yourself from shuddering. Arthur observed your injured shoulders.
"Would you like some help?"
"No, it's okay," you whispered through a heavy throat, watching him leave.
Muttering a silence charm and a lock on the door, you slumped. With no one noticing you, it was easier to assess your body and what you felt. Breath coming out in spurts, you started to work on closing the wounds that you had. You couldn't fall apart. Not now.
-♡♡♡-
A knock on the door shook you up. You didn't know how long you had been lying on the bed after healing. Getting up slowly, you mumbled another cleaning spell over your face just to be safe. Molly stood there patiently, taking in your sight as you opened up.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, concerned.
"I'm okay," you answered curtly, giving a polite smile. "How is George?" you asked before you could stop yourself.
"Stace left about fifteen minutes ago. He's asleep but would be up in about thirty minutes. Why don't you come down and eat something until he does?"
"I don't want to impose—"
"Nonsense! I'm inviting you, come on!"
"Mrs. Weasley I— I am not sure if it's the right thing to do, especially right now," you said, gnawing the inside of your cheek. Molly seemed like she was going to resist, but she stopped.
"Very well, would you atleast eat something here?"
"Thank you," you gushed. "And yes I would love that."
Molly left for a few minutes and came back with a plate of pasta. You inhaled deeply and thanked her again as she brushed you off. Sitting opposite to you, she watched the grounds from the window. It was night, the stars twinkled and a light breeze blew. The sound from windchimes soothed the room.
"I'm sorry for the unexpected circumstances you met us in," she said in a low voice, after a while. You waited for her to continue. "It's war and everyone is paranoid. I hope you know we, at least Arthur and I, consider you family. Thank you for saving George's life today."
You blinked, taken off guard by her words.
"Mrs. Weasley—"
"Molly, please!"
"—thank you, Molly. Hearing this from you, it means a lot."
A stillness fell over the room, it was oddly calming. Pulling your limbs closer to yourself, you finished the meal in silence. There was a tap at the door before Fred entered, looking at Molly not quite meeting your eyes. You felt the strange ache in your chest return.
"He's up," he told her briefly, making her rise. You followed them back, scanning the house. It felt mostly like George's apartment, warm and comforting. Your chest beat rapidly as you reached where he lay.
The door opened to reveal George was sitting up, the Weasleys surrounded his bed. He had a rare laugh on his face as Ron told him something animatedly. Standing back, you watched Molly rush and engulf him in a tight hug.
"You'll strangle me, mum!" he fake groaned through a smile. Fred gave a smack to his head.
"Good, you deserve to be strangled," he said glaring at him. "Scaring us all like that."
"Were you scared for me, brother dearest?" George said cheekily, earning a slap on his arm. You found yourself smiling despite yourself. Ginny hugged his sides tightly as Molly pulled back. George wrapped an arm around her, kissing her forehead.
You were staring, you realised. Looking down at your hands, you heard their laughter ringing through the room. The relief and happiness in the air seemed contagious. Maybe it was because it was all so pure. George's voice broke you out of your trance.
"Hey," he breathed as you gave him a small smile.
"Hey," you replied, unsure what to say, feeling all eyes on you.
"Come on, give them some space," Molly said suddenly as the others collectively groaned. You wanted to stop her, but then again you needed to talk to him. And you couldn't if everyone was present. They slowly cleared out and left, closing the door behind them. Walking to sit beside his bed, you saw him staring at your form. Your eyes fell to his heavily bandaged arm and you slowly moved your hand to touch it, feeling him stiffen.
"I'm sorry," you whispered, pulling back, but George stopped you. He rolled his eyes playfully, giving you a grin.
"I'm not made of glass you can touch me," he said, making your lips quirk upwards.
"Maybe not glass, ceramic perhaps?" you said with a smile but your heart constricted. Memories of the fight were still fresh. Your mind returned to how you panicked when you realised it was George, how the curse burnt your skin, how he pushed you out of the way... "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you push me away? You should've saved yourself—"
"He was torturing you," he fidgeted in his seat. "I couldn't leave you there."
"I would've been safe, I've been tortured harder than that."
"No you wouldn't, you would be in the same pain as I am. Was I supposed to ditch you like that?" he snapped and you found yourself scowling.
"To not let it upon yourself, yes." You took a deep breath. "Mulciber wouldn't have thought twice before using the killing curse on you. George, I know what I got into when I took this up. If something happens to me during a mission... I, I am okay with that. My dad knows this but—"
"Well I'm not," he said tensely. "Being on a mission doesn't mean you have to risk your life."
"If it saves even one other, yes it does. I have made my peace—"
"No."
"What do you mean, no?"
"Because there is always a way without having to sacrifice yourself," he pointed out, sitting up straighter, hissing. "Because I don't want you to die."
Your eyes watered and you let out a puff of air, not wanting to cry in front of him. You needed him to understand that he had to be strong— with the kind of missions you were getting it was just time until... But you couldn't argue. Especially not now. Feeling his hand interlinking yours, you looked up at him, slowly gathering the strength to explain further.
"I was so scared," you said softly. "The mission was to find out who was being put under the imperius to keep a watch on them and seeing you... it threw me off... For a moment I really thought I would lose you. I don't think I could've handled that."
George held your hand tighter for a while, before breaking out in a smirk.
"So you do care about me," he said, tilting his head while batting his eyes. You let out a wet snort, shaking your head.
"Of course I do you big goof!" you said, trying not to show just how much. "I have no idea why, but I do."
"That might be the best thing I heard today," he said dramatically. "My wife cares about me."
You narrowed your eyes at him yet decided to play along.
"And what about the husband? Does he care about his wife?" you asked, grinning as he pretended to think.
"Very much so," he said, a teasing look on his face though there seemed to be some truth behind his eyes. "I wouldn't have tried to save your life otherwise."
You shook your head, smiling at his tone.
"I should be leaving," you exhaled, getting up. "The dark lord would surely send someone to check up on the apartment tonight and it'll raise suspicion if I wasn't there."
"Wait— I'll come with," he prompted but you made him sit back.
"No. You're injured and if they ask I'll just say you haven't been home since morning. They wouldn't dare to come to the Burrow after."
"What if they try something on you?"
"They probably won't."
"Probably?" he asked, making you fall silent. "I'm coming with you."
"George."
"I am and you don't have a say in that."
You exhaled noisily.
"Fine."
Helping him get up, you helped him move out of the room getting anxious by the way he was tripping.
"George I'm not sure about this, you need rest."
"I'm completely okay!"
The door creaked open and surprised faces looked up at the two of you. Fred was the first one to speak.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Going back to my apartment," George answered calmly. Fred scowled as you tried to avoid everyone's eyes. You did not want to agitate anyone further— the day had already been a whirlwind of emotions.
"No you're not," Ginny spoke up. "You're injured."
"Yes and staying here won't change that," George explained and your fingers unconsciously tightened around his waist. "Besides, (Y/n) would be there alone, it's better to stick together right now."
"I don't think it is a good idea either," you said in a low tone, glancing up finally. "But if he stays with me, I'll take care of him."
You saw Molly and Arthur nodding and released a breath you didn't know you were holding.
"Yeah like you did today?" Ron sneered. Molly chided him harshly but he just violently shook his head going on. "Stop acting like you care about him. You've brought nothing but sadness from the time you entered this house. Just leave, no one even wants you here."
Molly reprimanded Ron but you couldn't hear that. Not above the drumming in your head. Biting the inside of your cheek, you kept a straight face and turned towards George. Your stomach turned but you would be damned if you let that show.
"George, you can come back a few days later after you're healed, I think it'll be better for everyone," you told him, he started to object but you stopped him. "Your family needs you. That's more important— and like I said, I'll be okay."
Pushing your nails into the palm of your hand, you slowly helped him sit on the couch despite his protests. He gritted his teeth telling you to stop but you didn't want to acknowledge that. Patting his shoulder, you turned and stalked towards the door. Molly followed you.
"You should stay here, I don't think being alone would be safe right now," Molly advised but you shook your head gently.
"I'll put both our lives in danger if I don't leave for my apartment," you explained, freezing as she hugged you. After a moment, you hugged back.
"Thank you. I needed this."
And with that, you apparated.
soooo thoughts?