"Hey, Lexi!" the voice called. "Wait up!"
Turning around, I saw George hurrying towards me. "What is it?" I asked as he reached me and came to a stop.
"The real question is, what is it with you?" He raised a brow.
"Wh-what?"
"Drop the act, Hooper. You suck at lying."
"Why, thank you," I said sarcastically and bowed at him dramatically.
"Keep your smart arse at bay," he said sternly, pointing a warning finger at me. "I wanna talk."
"Where's Fred?"
"I told him that I'd left my wand in the Common Room so I could come here to you."
I sighed. "About what?"
"About how odd you've been acting after Christmas."
"It's nothing. I'm fine," I said quickly.
"Oh, yeah?" he mused, looking absolutely unconvinced. "Then why is it that whenever we meet up for breakfast in the morning, your eyes are red and puffy?"
I gulped, looking down awkwardly. I had this sudden urge to gush out about everything; about how homesick I was feeling and how much I missed my parents, about what Kreacher had told me, and most of all about Sirius.
I wanted to cry out loud about how I knew I was going to lose the closest thing I had to a father-figure, but I kept it to myself and swallowed it up once more.
"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," I said in a small voice, still avoiding his gaze. "I-I didn't know you had noticed."
"Look, there's no reason to apologize," said George earnestly. "You didn't make us uncomfortable. You just got us worried."
"Then why didn't Fred say anything?" I questioned.
"Because," he sighed, "my dear brother says he doesn't want to cross a line and ruin your privacy."
I opened my mouth but before I could get a chance to reply, George beat me into it and said briskly,
"Look, Fred's been miserable seeing you like this. And it weirds me out to see him like this. So if there's anything any of us can do to help you out, just tell me."
I shook my head hesitantly, feeling a lump growing in my throat. "There's nothing you can do. There's even nothing I can do. And that's exactly what's been troubling me."
"So you're helpless, so what?" George huffed teasingly. "Look, you knowing things that we don't is obviously driving you crazy. Just forget about them!"
"I can't," I muttered weakly. "You don't know what it's like... some people might think that it's a gift, or wish that they were in my shoes... but this is not a gift when you can't stop things from happening, it's a curse. And even when you do change it, you'll be afraid that if something worse happened, it would happen because of you."
"See? Now that's a load of crap if I've ever heard one."
I laughed, shaking my head at him.
"You're so much like Fred and I, in many ways, except for one," said George.
"And what's that?"
"You don't live in the moment." He shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. Things are gonna happen. And yes, we can't do anything about them. But why make ourselves miserable, instead of letting our future selves deal with it?"
"I wouldn't say that if I were you," I mumbled feebly as my heart sank, but he didn't seem to hear me as he went on.
"Just enjoy the moment and live it with the people you love, while the moment lasts."
I forced a smile at him, nodding. "Thank you, Georgie."
"You're welcome, Professor Snappy," he patted my head and I chuckled.
"I'm done fighting you over that name."
"How very wise of you," he grinned and then with that, brought me into a hug.
But we jerked apart shortly as someone gasped dramatically behind us. "Unbelievable! My girlfriend and my own brother!"
We all laughed as George and I turned and saw Fred walking towards us. George then spun me around so I was facing Fred, put his hands on my back and then pushed me in a quick motion that I was knocked into Fred's chest.
But instead of letting go, Fred only chuckled and wrapped his arms around me, and that was all it took for me to feel calm once again.
While I hugged him back and pulled him closer to me, I watched as George silently walked away, throwing a wink at me. And so, he turned to the next corridor and finally disappeared out of sight.
"You okay, Lex?" Fred asked, slighting pulling away but his hands still grabbing onto my waist.
I sighed, nodding. "I'm just going to miss you. I really don't know what I'm supposed to do when you guys are gone."
"Keep up the legacy!" he said cheerfully. "You're the Pranksterotics' ambassador here! We'll be counting on you and Lee to keep up our pranks when we're gone."
I wanted to tell him that what I actually meant was that Fred and George were the only reasons that I was keeping myself together, as they distracted me from my own haunting thoughts.
I wanted to beg him not to go, and even more than that, to tell him how much I wanted to run away with them.
But I knew I couldn't do neither of them; I couldn't ask them to stay, because I wasn't supposed to change anything yet. And I couldn't leave with them, for I was still awaiting the sign that Dumbledore had told me about.
So I said nothing and instead I chuckled, going on tiptoes and placing a small kiss on his cheek.
"I won't let you down, Mr. Weasley."