"Just say the word
We'll take on the world
Just say you're hurt
We'll face the worst
I can see, see the pain in your eyes
You should know, I wish it was me not you"
-Take on the world, You Me At Six
****
"Miss Nonemacker, I understand the news of your past being written in a popular news paper is a bit jarring but....punching a guest-"
"I'm sorry," Harper whispered, looking at her feet as McGonagall continued to reprimand her.
"I can't emphasize how important it is to rise above that slanderous article. The gossip will stop in time, but I do understand the judgment of your academic achievements will take time to quell."
"I've been wearing the earmuffs from my first year here during classes...they seem to help," Harper nodded. She'd had her run in with Astrid the day before, being allowed a moment to get the feeling back into her feet after the biting cold turned her feet raw and blistered. Astrid came away with a broken septum, a bruised face and a ruptured ear after Harper's pounding.
Imagine if you'd used magic on her
"I...I'm having troubles keeping my occlumency intact nowadays," she spoke bitterly. "I've reinstated my lessons with Snape..." she gave a heavy sigh, running her hands through her hair. "I don't even know if I can complete the apparition testing like this."
McGonagall gave a slight nod, her worried look also giving an air of exhaustion.
"Am I in trouble with Madame Maxime?"
McGonagall shook her head, offering her student a biscuit from her metal tin, "the staff that already knew understand that you're going through a difficult time. Acting out in such a fashion is the least of our concerns when no fatal injuries occurred."
"My parents have been sending howler after howler," Harper pressed her palms to her eyes and sighed.
"These things will pass with time, do your best to stay above it. Professor Sprout wanted me to inform you that you can go to the greenhouses whenever you need as a safe space. Granted you have Sybill's office, but maybe another space may help."
"Thank you, professor,"
Nodding slightly as she fixed her bag on her shoulder before leaving into the crowded corridor.
What a freak
She's such a cheater
Fake
Fraud
Harper closed her eyes as she hurried through the throng of students, her walls crumbling down as she tried to keep the voices at bay. She ran to the library, getting to her corner and taking a deep breath, she sat down as two voices brought her to the present.
"So.....when you were talking about trusting my brothers with something.....it was this?" Ginny whispered, leaning forward as Hermione put her bag on the table in front of her.
Harper rubbed her temples and nodded, "look. You two can shove off if you're just going to ridicule and judge-"
"Do you know what memories I'm missing?" Ginny asked, her voice was slightly desperate.
"No....Gin, I'm sorry. Even I don't know," Harper shook her head slightly. "And I wish I did...It's why George and I fought at the end of your first year, I'd told him what I could do and he was beyond rightfully pissed that I did nothing for you."
"You did a lot for me, Harper." Ginny leaned back in her chair with a deep sigh, Hermione cleared her throat.
"So when the professors said you heard Sirius last year? They mean you heard his thoughts?" Hermione asked, Harper nodded slightly.
"Not everything in that article is true, and since I've come here I've gotten better control on things. Snape was helping me, your brothers help me everyday....." Harper sighed deeply. "I'm sorry I never told you lot, including Harry and Ron....it's a scary thing to most," she waved her hands in the air at the current tension she felt whenever she entered a room.
"Will you tell us what is true then?" Hermione asked a bit nervously.
Harper pulled her cheek between her teeth and mulled it over as she nodded, sitting up slightly.
"Yeah...I'll go over it all with you lot. I'm sorry I kept it hidden for so long," her eyes rested on Ginny who gave a sympathetic smile.
****
George slowly walked toward his dormitory after classes, sighing as he dropped his bag beside the door. Noticing a lump on his bed, he smirked before slowly walking up and jumping on top of it. Harper let out a squeak underneath the quilt as she tried to untangle herself. George laughing when she emerged with static hair clinging to her face.
"What're you doing up here, Harpsichord?" George chuckled.
"Was waiting for you," Harper smiled as she fixed her hair.
George grinned, moving closer so their knees touched, "what can I do for you, gorgeous?"
"I just wanted to be with you," Harper stammered, starting to pick at her sleeves.
"Oi I don't remember giving out my jumper," George chuckled as he recognized his favorite jumper.
"Oh...did you want it back?" Harper began to pull the jumper over her head.
"No no no, absolutely not," George laughed as he reached for her wrists. "It looks nice on you."
Harper's cheeks turned red as she smiled, putting her hair into a twisted knot. Studying her, Harper's eyes had dark harsh circles under them that were beginning to look purple, her well kept hair was now dull and her pristine manicured nails were chipped and faded. It broke his heart to see her so dismayed.
"So what're you really doing in here?" George chuckled, rubbing a circle into her knee.
"I really was waiting for you," Harper pouted.
"Sorry, got stuck in divination, Trelawney was asking about you....are you stopping Divination completely?" George reached for her hands, interlacing their fingers as Harper shook her head, averting her gaze. "Harpsichord....you can't hide away forever."
"I...I'm alright, I just don't want to see what the fates are saying right now," Harper whispered as she gave a half hearted smile.
George sighed, moving closer so his legs fell open on either side of her, taking his thumb under her chin, he made her look at him. "What can I do?"
"They're just so scared of me," Harper's eyes watered as she whispered. "I...I can hear everyone and it's just a bunch of cries and screams.....all I hear is freak or cheater. Hell now there's a rumor about us, how you're under some love potion, how I got the entire sixth year Gryffindors under something to keep them compliant?" Her voice broke at the end as she began to shake. "I heard you and Freddie, I know getting the bets for the second task was difficult because of the article....Ginny had to help, right? No one really seemed comfortable that it wasn't rigged anymore."
"No one's afraid of you, sweetheart, I swear," George's thumb gently trailed her jaw.
"I can hear them, George," she roughly jabbed at her head as she began crying. George's heart broke slightly watching Harper fall apart. "I can hear everything now, I can't control it anymore. It's like I'm all the way back to square one, nothing works. I get bombarded by voices yelling at me, I can hear the rumors. I can hear everything and it's only getting worse."
"Can you hear anything right now?" George whispered, he gently took her face in his hands, resting his forehead against hers.
"No," Harper sniffed, "but the pressure gets really bad in the common room....it's never been that bad there. It makes me sort of sick."
George was quiet for a moment, chewing on his cheek as he thought of what to do. "I'll be right back," he kissed her before running downstairs.
"Just the people I need," George grinned at the trio with Ginny beside Hermione.
"What's going on?" Hermione frowned, a bit apprehensive.
"I need some help in coaxing dear Harper from the dorms....seems she's a bit....overwhelmed and I think talking to you two girls might do the trick. Maybe get her to come down here for five minutes? She's in my dormitory."
Ginny and Hermione nodded slowly, getting up and following each other up the dormitory stairs.
"We haven't seen or heard Malfoy running his mouth," Harry offered with a sigh.
"Nothing, huh?" George sighed as he took a seat beside Ron.
"I noticed one thing odd....he was outside and talking into his hand....like he had this muggle device that's used for communication," Harry scowled as he tried to remember. "But...Hermione said you can't have muggle technology in here and that bloke dislikes muggleborns so it doesn't match up."
George nodded slightly, "did you hear the Slytherin quidditch team ended up in the Hospital Wing with uncontrollable bloody noses?! It wouldn't stop gushing, Finnigan said they tried several spells but nothing was working for the longest time," Ron spoke up, biting the leg of his chocolate frog. George raised an eyebrow, something telling him it was related to Harper.
The boys sat and talked for a bit more until the girls returned.
"Harper said she'd be down in a minute," Hermione smiled at George.
"Brilliant work ladies," George grinned.
Twenty minutes passed as George waited patiently, he couldn't help the grin on his face when Harper appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Hello, beautiful," George grinned when Harper was in front of him. She was rubbing her temples, behind her he saw students glaring—when they caught his eye they quickly looked away.
"Sent the girls after me, I see," Harper chuckled slightly. The small smile on her face and the sound of her laugh made George giddy, he'd missed that sound so much.
George silently held out his arms with a giant grin, Harper smiled as she situated herself on his lap, curling into his chest, her face nuzzling into the crook of his neck. His fingers threading through her hair.
"You didn't have to send them after me," Harper whispered.
"I know, but I really wanted you down here...I love sitting here with you like this," George whispered, kissing her cheek. Her arms tightened around his neck as she nodded. "Everything is perfectly fine, I'm here."
"Thank you," she murmured, sounding unconvinced.
George nodded, kissing her forehead, relaxing further back into the chair with a content sigh. "What do you say to a trip to the Great Hall?"
"Absolutely not," Harper whispered.
"Please? You didn't bat an eye at the werewolf attack last year, where's that confidence now?" George smiled down at Harper who was frowning at the fireplace beside them, pressing her forehead into the juncture of his neck and shoulder.
"It got crushed under the weight of all the people telling me to leave," Harper whispered.
"Harpsichord, if people are truly being this mean. Let me help then," George whispered, tightening his grip around her.
Harper only shook her head in response, George kissed her temple as they sat there. His mind working on something that would brighten her day.
***
"Where do you think you're going?" Angelina's voice was cold as she scowled at George packing his bag.
"I'm taking Harper to the astronomy tower tonight, the stars are going to be perfect for her today," George bit back.
"You just think that taking her to stargaze is going to fix it all?" Angelina scowled at him.
"Why don't you read about it tomorrow in her diary?" George gave a wink and a sneer that would've made Malfoy clap.
"You're such a prat-"
"Tell me, if Freddie was the one running from you that day. Could you have stunned him?! I'm pretty sure he couldn't stun you if the roles were reversed!" George seethed, pointing a finger at Angelina. "Unfortunately for this argument, Fred has decided to remain quiet. But I know my brother. He couldn't harm you like that, even if it was to save yourself."
"Oh would you two stop already? It's been weeks of you two fighting like this!" Lee called, stepping between his two friends. "We get it, you both think the other failed in protecting Harper and she went berserk and punched someone. Let it go. If you really cared about your friend then both of you would be helping her manage all the gossip she has to listen to every day or the judgmental stares. How do you even think her patrols have been going?!"
"You're right, Lee," George frowned.
"Yes, I am. So fucking stop. Harper needs both of you together or else she's going to do something more drastic than break someone's nose," Lee huffed, "you can't let the group fall apart like this."
Angelina frowned slightly, nodding as she sighed. "Have fun tonight then," she spoke softly, averting her gaze to the fireplace.
"You know I'm doing absolutely everything I can for her, Ange," George spoke a final time before turning on his heel and exiting the room.
**
"Harpsichord, please just follow my lead?"
"George, I told you-"
"Just one more step," he muttered in her ear, keeping his hand over her eyes as he led them to the ledge of the astronomy tower. A small blanket with a box of exploding bon-bons, some grilled cheeses and warmed Butterbeer sat waiting for them. George led her over to the blanket and removed his hand from her eyes. "Ta daaa."
"I told you I wanted to revise for exams, the apparition testing is coming up too," Harper frowned.
George frowned at her, his heart breaking slightly, he noticed Harper grab at her chest as she bit her lip.
Come on, Harpsichord
"I wanted to do something nice....just figured you would enjoy this, I even checked the weather tonight, perfect for stargazing," he pushed his hands in his pockets, looking out at the stars, it was a beautiful night—the stars were out in full force, glittering above the tree line before them.
Harper wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her cheek against the hollow of his neck.
"I'm sorry, this is nice, it's perfect," she whispered.
"Just stay here for a minute, if you aren't enjoying yourself then I'll let you revise all you want." George said a bit stiffer than he'd meant to.
Harper seemed to flinch away slightly at his voice. She sat down on the blanket, picking the skin around her thumb as George sat down beside her, his legs falling on either side of her as he studied her. Her eyes looked tired, the dark circles were more pronounced today, sitting above slightly protruding cheekbones, he frowned. The girls promised she was eating but her complexion told another story.
"I do like this, it was a nice idea," she smiled at him, George gave a half hearted smile. "No please....please don't be like this, I can't handle us falling apart right now," Tears began to fall down her face as she shook her head.
"We aren't falling apart, love. I'm just worried," he said softly.
George moved closer, resting his forehead against hers as she sniffled. Nudging her nose with his, his hands framing her face, wiping away the tears. He could feel her cheekbones underneath his thumbs, his breathing stopped for a moment.
Harper, why're you doing this to yourself?
"What can I do that'll make you actually happy?" He whispered.
"This, this is making me happy. I'm just in my own head, George please-"
"Breathe, love," he took a deep breath, closing his eyes as Harper followed his lead. "If you really want to be revising I won't-"
"I want to be here with you." He smiled as she began to kiss his cheeks, his thumbs still running across her own. "I'm scared....so scared that I'll be sent away any moment, I need to prove myself all over again-"
"Breathe."
"George," her voice shook, the fear in it hurt him. He opened his eyes, the gold flakes he adored stared back with a frightened intensity that matched his own emotional state.
"I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere, what's it Ange was telling me one day? I'm like a grounding point for you, yeah? If that's true, there's nothing to fear right here, it's just us and the stars right now. The stars that you love. That I love that you love. So please, breathe and stay in this moment for me. Nothing is going to happen to you here. I'm right here, I'll always protect you."
She was quiet for a moment, the only sound was their synchronized breathing. He felt her very gently press her lips to his for a moment, when she pulled away she'd wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her forehead into the crook of his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair at the nape of his neck. His other hand holding her waist.
"I don't want to leave."
"No one's going to make you, I'll make sure of it."
"I meant from this," she shook her head.
"We have all night," George smiled, his thumb trailing her jawline as his hand moved from her cheek to her neck, letting his own fingers tangle in her hair.
"What if we fell asleep out here?"
"Are you already asking to sleep with me, Miss Nonemacker?! I require at least a full year of dating first! Minimum!" George gave a fake gasp, pulling away to see her rolling her eyes as she laughed.
"Ah, that beautiful sound," George grinned, keeping his hand along her neck, pressing his forehead against hers. "Things are going to be just fine, it's already been three weeks since the article and what's the worse—"
"Cedric and everyone I patrol with are weird about it now, even in class I'm getting stared at. I've gotten notes-"
"Things are still happening? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" George leaned backward on his hands with a frown, "does Ange know?" She shook her head, "love. We can't help you when we don't know—"
"I didn't want to think about it," she whispered, the tears beginning to fall again. George reaching up to wipe them away. "I didn't want to bother any of you."
"I can't help if I don't know," he whispered, scowling as she nodded slightly, her eyes were big as tears continued to fall.
"I just figured I'd be expelled again...."
"But I don't want you expelled. I want you here, with me, I wanna watch you stargaze with that mesmerized look on your face, I wanna watch you revise for our exams, I wanna watch you blush while I mercilessly tell you how you make me feel. I can't do that if you give up and let yourself hide in that guarded shell from our first year here."
"I-I-I was not that guarded," Harper stammered, looking out over the darkness before them.
George pushed her hair behind her ear, the soft waves threading around his fingers as he pulled her into a soft kiss.
"I had to toss you in the snow to get you to talk to me again," he mused, smiling at the memory of just briefly holding her around the waist.
"You would've understood if someone made a bet about you," she muttered, her gaze averting to the ground.
George let out a heavy sigh, cracking his neck before pressing his lips to hers in a deep kiss that felt like hours before they came back up for air.
"I will always be making up for that lack of judgement," he murmured against her lips. "How about some stargazing while the stars are still bright to start?"
"You hate stargazing."
"I don't hate it, but regardless, you love it. And I truly am in love with you, I'm doing this for you. Not me, your happiness is all I care about," he pressed his nose against her cheek, making her turn her head toward the sky as his lips trailed along her neck, he could feel her shiver slightly as he continued to kiss her skin. "I enjoy listening to you talk, so tell me what's out there tonight, love."
"George?"
"Mmm."
Feeling Harper's laugh in her throat, he pulled her against him tighter, his face nuzzling further into her neck.
"I love that you're a grounding point for me," she whispered, leaning her head against his chest. "I don't know what it is about you....but you're..."
"I'm like really important to you, I know," he smiled into her hair, pressing his lips to her temple as they sat in a peaceful silence. "You're very important to me, always have been."
Harper made a noise, moving closer into his chest as they sat there, George handed her a butterbeer with a smile as she began to look out over the starry night.
"So tell me what you see, Nonemacker," George grinned.
"Well, there's a bloke with a really bad lovestruck look in his eyes....with the warmest smile and best laugh—"
"I meant in the sky, love," George laughed.
Harper smiled, leaning into George a bit more, and turning her eyes to the night sky.
"I could've been talking about Hercules, you know."
"Oh I'm sure you were." She could feel the eye roll from George as he chuckled, his hands running up and down her arms. He pressed a kiss on top her head, falling silent before picking at the small picnic he made.