"How many of these books have you actually read?" George questioned as he continued to ogle at the infinite supply of cases.
"I finish one on average a week," Blair pondered aloud as she made her way over to the sofa in front of the fireplace.
"A week?!"
"Hm."
Compared to the Gryffindor common room, the Ravenclaw one wasn't as warm and comforting. Maybe it was the warm colours that usually covered every part of the room that made the Gryffindor one so home-like. But this common room had a different sort of feel to it. Where the Gryffindor tower would be the loud and lively party, the Ravenclaw tower would be the quiet and calm reading corner. George didn't mind it actually. It was a nice change from not only his dormitory but from his home. It was always chaos at the Weasley residence.
Blair quietly clicked her tongue and the soft padding of Jasper's paws could be heard coming down from the girls' dormitories. George watched in amusement as the black cat appeared meowed at the sight of his owner, jumping up on to the sofa to nuzzle his head against Blair's thigh. Blair smiled to herself as Jasper purred and George walked over to take the space next to the feline.
"He takes a pet like no other huh?" George commented and scratched Jasper's head.
Blair agreed in her head and stared down at the book in her hands, having no intention of reading it anymore. She wasn't sure if a person from another house had ever come into the Ravenclaw common room before but she quite enjoyed seeing George so amazed by the bookcases. Ravenclaws took pride in their literature and were known for their wisdom and intellect. You'd never speak to a Ravenclaw that hadn't read a book in the past month. Just like you'd never speak to a Hufflepuff that said that don't like Nifflers or Bowtruckles.
"So Blair Rosier-" George started and she looked up to face him. "-what do I need to know about you?"
She raised an eyebrow at him and wasn't sure what answer he was looking for. No one had ever taken an interest in her before and she had never thought about the things about herself that people would be interested to hear. It was one of those times where you'd question your entire existence when asked about an interesting fact about yourself.
"I do remember you being a Chaser for your Quidditch team," he suggested when he saw Blair was struggling to say something.
"Yeah I am," she said. "We versed you guys last year."
"And won."
"The house cup. Not the game," Blair mentioned and George stopped.
"What do you mean by that?" he narrowed his eyes at her.
"I'm just saying that Potter was a little rough against our Seeker Cho," she shrugged her shoulders as if she wasn't that bothered. But inside, she was passionate about Quidditch. And the final game last year against Gryffindor wasn't the fairest in Blair's opinion.
"Oh do you, now?" George raised his eyebrows and smirked widely. "Not just being a sore loser are you?"
"No," Blair snapped and he pursued his lips.
They sat in silence for a moment before George let out a stifle of a laugh. The atmosphere changed and Blair couldn't stop the smile that sprung up to her face and laughed out loud. George followed and laughed along with her, the two lapping into uncontrollable giggles and chuckles. It was the first time George had heard Blair laugh and it made his stomach leap inside of him. The way Blair's cheeks flushed and her eyes disappeared from her bright smile stirred something inside of him he couldn't explain.
And Blair was experiencing the same sensation. She found herself adoring the way the corners of his eyes crinkled from his smile and his straight white teeth were on full display. She hadn't laughed in a long time and could feel her heart pumping in glee from the new experience. Even though there was no real reason as to why they were laughing, Blair somehow didn't want the moment to end.
"I can tell you a little bit about me if you don't want to start," George suggested once their laughs had dialled down. Blair bit her lip and nodded lightly, feeling she may be a little more comfortable to talk about herself if George started with things about him.
"Alright well, I've got five brothers and one sister," he began. "We live in Ottery St. Caterpole in what we call The Burrow. It's not much, but its home. My Dad works in the Ministry of Magic and has an infatuation with Muggle inventions. Bit weird, but he's our Dad, you know?
Freddie and I plan to open up our own joke shop when school finishes. It'll be better than Zonko's! We've got Puking Pastilles, Nosebleed-Nougat, fireworks, Love Potions-"
George rambled on about all the products he and Fred had planned for their shop and Blair found herself being absorbed into his excitement. His face practically glowed as he talked and Blair actually liked seeing him so interested in his plans. She knew about his 'talents' in pranks and jokes, and she also knew about his lack of interest in school. She remembered that he had said he had only gotten O's in Potions and Charms, meaning that had some sort of academia in order to produce the products he raved so much about.
"It's your turn now," George's voice brought Blair out of her trance and she saw that he had finished his explanation and was waiting to hear hers.
"W-Well..." she found herself saying. "There's not much to say-"
"Oh come on," George rolled his eyes playfully. "Blair Rosier, the biggest mystery at Hogwarts, has nothing to say about herself?"
"I'm not that interesting," she mumbled bashfully.
"Alright, what about the basics? What's your favourite colour?"
Blair raised her eyebrows at him and George glanced down to her attire of a black sweater, black jeans and black shoes. Even Jasper who purred blissfully next to her matched her aesthetic.
"Okay, that one was stupid," he chuckled lightly. "What do you wanna be when you graduate?"
"A potioneer."
"I knew it," George grinned and Blair blushed. "Where do you think you'd work?"
"St. Mungos maybe," she answered. "Make up the treatments and stuff. Although there's always the privately owned shops."
"You can work for Fred and I!" he butt in. "We've got formulas for Love Potions! You can make them for us!"
"I'll think about it."
The two spent the afternoon learning about each other and Blair was actually enjoying herself. Her weekends were usually filled with early assignments and reading, and it was a nice change to have someone to talk to. George was generally interested in her life and she enjoyed hearing about his chaotic one. She was amazed at how much his home sounded like a continuous festival of magic and family members.
"So what about your home life?" the question finally came that Blair was dreading.
George had previously been telling her about the time he and Fred transfigured their Brother Ron's teddy bear into a giant spider. Blair found it hilarious and held back a loud laugh at his description of his Mum scolding the twins for a week, only to stop any sign of laughter when Georg asked the taboo question. She of course didn't expect him to know of her home life, but she had hoped he'd maybe never think to ask or get the message that because her father was killed during the Wizarding war, that she wouldn't have the most stable of homes.
George noticed Blair's obvious change in demeanour and wished he had never said anything. Her smile dropped completely and she looked exactly how she did when he first saw her on the Hogwarts Express. She looked away from him and stroked Jasper who was curled up next to her, using him as a distraction.
"I think you should probably go..." Blair spoke up and George's heart sank. "People are going to start coming back from Hogsmeade. I'm not sure how Ravenclaws would react to having a Gryffindor in their common room."
"R-Right," George nodded reluctantly and they both stood up from the sofa. Jasper looked up from their movements and yearned for their warmth, but stayed curled up while they walked towards the corridor that led to the door.
"I'm sorry if I offended you, Blair," George said as he stepped out of the corridor and looked back at her. "I didn't mean to..."
"It's fine. Don't worry about it," her tone was plain and showed no hint of understanding or forgiveness. "See you."
The wooden door shut as Blair disappeared back down the corridor and George was left concerned and worried. He was afraid that he may have tarnished the progress he had made with getting to know Blair and may have taken steps back in becoming her friend. She had just seemed so happy before the mentioning of her home life and George couldn't possibly have known that it would have been the turning point in the conversation. He prayed that she wouldn't go back to being the girl who glared harshly at him whenever he opened his mouth.
"What are you doing here, Weasley?" a voice brought George out his deep thoughts making him turn to see three girls staring up at him suspiciously. He recognised one of them as Nancy Lindor, the girl who sat at their table in Potions and the other two being in his Transfiguration class. Poppy and Nina or something like that.
"Oh I was just..." George started and pointed his thumb over his shoulder to the door with the eagle handle, only to sigh. "Nevermind. See you later."
He shook his head as he walked off and quickly turned the corner to head down the spiral staircase, itching to get away from the girls' judging stares. He would just have to wait until he next saw Blair to find out if he really had just been the biggest idiot at Hogwarts.
"Why was one of the Weasley twins outside?"
Blair looked over her shoulder and saw her three dormitory mates standing with raised eyebrows. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to play off George's appearance as nothing to do with her as she was obviously the only person in the common room. She bit her lip and looked back down at Jasper while thinking of a lie, but gave up.
"I-I let him in. We talked for a little while..." she answered and heard the three girls walk around the sofa and sit in the armchairs next to her.
"Oh really?" Poppy smirked and raised an eyebrow at her. "You only talked?"
"Yes," Blair snapped but the girl took little to no notice.
"We don't mind that you brought a Gryffindor in, Blair," Mina stated. "We just didn't think you'd befriend someone like a Weasley twin, whichever one he was."
"Yeah well, we're not friends," Blair stood up from the sofa and marched towards the stairs leading up to the girls' dormitories. The girls watched in surprise as she disappeared with an aurora that stunk of irritation and the need to be alone.
"Do you think he tried something?" Mina hinted worriedly and Nancy shook her head, still staring at the stairs which Blair had climbed up and out of sight.
"No, I think she's just not used to having someone to talk to. Maybe he got too nosy," Nancy said and the girls looked up collectively towards the stairs. They too were curious about Blair.
---
Blair half expected to have George sit in front of her again at breakfast the next day, but was shocked to find his brother who was identical to him there instead. Fred sat down and stared at Blair with an expecting look, making her think that she was supposed to know exactly why he had chosen to sit at the wrong table this morning. She looked back at him with her spoon full of cereal and raised her eyebrows in question.
"What did you do to George?" his tone wasn't inquisitive; it was demanding. And this immediately put Blair into an even sourer mood.
"I didn't do anything," she answered and busied herself with her cereal.
"That's codswallop," he cursed and she heard a few gasps come from her fellow Ravenclaws who were eavesdropping. "He has been sulking ever since I came back from Hogsmeade yesterday and he was with you the whole time."
Blair sneaked a glance over Fred's shoulder to the Gryffindor table and true to his word, she saw George sitting with his cheek against his fist picking absently at his plate of eggs and toast. Lee could be seen sitting next to him looking uncomfortable and basically itching to find a more lively and energetic person to be sitting next to on this particular morning.
She had to admit, she was quite hurt when she saw George walk into the Great Hall this morning and take a seat at the Gryffindor table. He didn't even look her way and send a goofy smile, confirming that her absence from dinner last night was definitely noticed by him. She wasn't in the mood to sit around all the bragging people with their Hogsmeade purchases last night and she certainly wasn't ready to face George. She knew he was prepared to question her odd behaviour and decided it was best to have some much needed space from the boy who followed her nearly everywhere.
"Look Rosier-" Fred made her look away from George and see that he was now serious with no hint of a joke in his voice. "I don't know what my brother sees in you. But he considers you a friend and Gryffindors are known for being loyal to their friends. So you are going to see what a beautiful person he is and accept his friendship. And if you don't fix this sulking brother of mine, then you'll be finding a large number of Dungbombs in your cauldron next time you're in Potions class."