Marlee's POV
George and I spent the rest of the afternoon in the common room while I helped him with his schoolwork. Many passed through including Lee, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, George's little brother. Lee said hi to George and he introduced us while on the other hand, Ron and George just argued about something having to do with Christmas.
"Sorry about him," George scoffed, "what a foul git he is." Ron rolled his eyes clearly hearing his brother talking about him. "Oi what about you, Marlee. Got any plans for Christmas?"
"I think I'm just staying here," I stated.
"Cho told me she's going to London?" Harry furrowed his brows. My sister talking to Harry? That was surprising. I thought she'd still be upset about her dead boyfriend.
"Yeah, she is but I'm not," I explained.
"What, why not?" questioned George.
I shrugged my shoulders, "I dunno, I just don't want to go."
George wasn't going to let this slide, "Oh c'mon if you're not going to London then you must come to The Burrow with us. Harry's coming. Hermione'll be there. Ang too."
Ron and Harry looked at each other hesitantly, almost like they were unsure if they wanted a total stranger spending the Holidays with them.
Acknowledging Harry and Ron's expressions I said, "I'm not sure if you noticed but I'm not really friends with any of those people."
"Don't worry, Mum loves guests." Ron assured me which took me by surprise considering what his initial reaction was.
George nudged my arm with his elbow. "C'mon, please?" he pouted.
"I'll think about it," I replied just so he'd shut up.
Then, Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom came into the room, distracting Ron and Harry and they left us alone. Christmas wasn't for another two months so I hoped that George would forget about it. I really only knew George so that would be really awkward for everyone if I went.
Angelina's POV
Fred and I spent the whole day at Hogsmeade which was absolutely brilliant. We had been together for almost four months now.
As we approached the Fat Lady painting, some third years were walking in. Inside the common room, I saw George and Marlee sitting at one of the tables together.
"Oh my god," I muttered and cover my mouth with my hand.
"What?" Fred looked around, concerned.
I pointed through the door, "Look!"
Fred's eyes widened then he crossed his arms in approval. "Wow looks like my brother's got game after all!"
"Don't be so mean," Ginny said, walking past us and into the common room.
Marlee and George were laughing at something when they spotted all three of us.
"Is that...is that the Marlee?" Ginny froze and Fred elbowed her for being so obvious.
Marlee smiled, "Yes I am the Marlee. You must be Ginny. George talks about how much he loves you all the time." Marlee winked at Ginny which caused her to giggle.
"I do not!" protested George.
Fred, Ginny and I sat down opposite of the happy couple. "There's no denying it George," I said.
"Yeah c'mon how could you not love this adorable face," Marlee lightly pinched Ginny's cheeks as Ginny gave her best puppy eyes.
"She's twelve, not four," George rolled his eyes.
Ginny stood up, "Hey I am fourteen actually."
"Yeah she's fourteen George gosh," Marlee added, sarcastically. I remembered how funny Marlee was.
"Shut up, you two are not friends," he pointed at Ginny and Marlee. Ginny gave Marlee a dramatic hug to spite George.
"Mum's gonna love her don't you think," Ginny sighed and kept her arms around Marlee.
"Why would she be meeting Mum?" questioned Fred.
"Isn't she your girlfriend?" Ginny narrowed her eyes at George and sat back down in her seat.
George and Marlee turned red and awkwardly looked at each other. "No she's not my girlfriend Ginevra, but she will be meeting Mum. I've invited her over for Christmas," George said.
"Oh yay! That's great!" I exclaimed. I was also going down for the Holidays to meet Freddie's parents. I was quite nervous about it to be honest.
Marlee quickly interrupted, "Yeah but I haven't decided if I'm going yet." She nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
"You have to come! Besides I'm sure George will have the balls to ask you out by then," Ginny smirked and Fred snickered, high fiving his little sister under the table.
"I think it's time for you to leave, Ginny." George pushed his sister up the stairs as she protested, saying that she was only joking. This left Fred, Marlee and I at the table.
"You should come to my birthday party next week," I broke the silence.
Marlee giggled slightly, "Actually Harlow already invited our whole dorm, so surprise?!"
"Oh brilliant! The more the better!" I wasn't upset about that at all. I wanted to start talking to Marlee again. Even after just these few, brief moments, I remembered how much I liked being around her.
George came back down and I made up some excuse for Fred and I to leave. I knew they said they were "just friends" but I was still rooting for them.
"Freddie?" I asked once we were up the stairs, "how come you weren't that talkative with Marlee?" I stopped walking and crossed my arms. Fred was always a chatterbox so I was curious to see why he wasn't with Marlee.
He scratched the back of his head and replied, "Well, you told me you and Marlee had an unsettled history so I was just letting you figure it out on your own. Plus I'm still deciding on whether or not she's fit for my brother."
"Freddie, she's perfect! Can't you see? Even Ginny loves her," I exclaimed.
"Ginny loves you too," he cooed and tucked a hair behind my ear.
"I guess I'm perfect then," I batted my eyelashes jokingly.
He laughed and gave me a peck on the lips, "Yes you are."
Marlee's POV
"Hey Cho!" I called to my sister down the corridor, "How are you holding up?"
I hadn't gotten to really talk to her all that much yet because I'd been so busy but I wanted to check in on her. I knew she was still down about Cedric.
She shrugged while I caught my breath from jogging, "Fine."
"I hear you're talking to Harry," I smirked and wiggled my eyebrows.
She rolled her eyes and smiled, "It's nothing, besides what's going on with you and Weasley?"
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes, "It's nothing." She laughed in response. I missed seeing her this happy.
"How's Quidditch going?" I asked. She was the Seeker for the Ravenclaw team.
"Really good! You should have tried out again."
"You know I'm not gonna do that. Besides Draco's doing just fine as Seeker." I replied. My first and second year I was the Seeker for the Slytherin team. Draco wasn't the best player but I definitely wasn't going back.
Cho frowned, "Well at least come to my games!"
"I will for sure," I assured her and put a hand on her shoulder.
A smirk grew on her face, "We play Gryffindor next week. You better be there." I knew what she was getting at so I hit her arm while she giggled.
I decided to get back at her, "Isn't Harry the Gryffindor Seeker?"
"Oh shut up," she sassed but I could see her blushing.
With us being in separate houses and years plus our different and busy schedules, I didn't get to see her all the time so I missed chatting and laughing together. I felt especially bad because I knew how much she needed someone right now.
—
Harlow led us to the Gryffindor common room and we stood outside the door, awkwardly. None of us really wanted to go to this party, but we didn't say anything for Harlow's sake. Angelina gave Harlow the password, so we were able to get in. The common room was filled with a good amount of people, most that I recognized.
Angelina spotted us and ran over to hug each of us individually. I assumed she was already drunk because I know for a fact she'd never spoken to Aries or Fabienne before. We gave her our present and she loved it. It was a simple bracelet we bought at Hogsmeade. She quickly got distracted with some other guests and scampered away from us.
We all felt out of place in the environment. Fabienne didn't even bother getting drinks. We just stood in a corner quietly chatting amongst ourselves.
"Hey Marlee, there's George." Harlow pointed over to a group of guys on the stairs talking. He was with Oliver and Lee and a lightbulb turned on in my head.
"Let's go say hi," I grabbed all of their arms and started to drag them towards the direction Harlow had pointed in.
But they all pulled back. "No. Marlee. I haven't spoken to Oliver since that night!" Fabienne whined.
"Well whose fault is that? Besides now's your chance," I sassed and dragged them along. Either I was really strong or they actually wanted to go say hi because I knew they could've stopped me if they wanted to.
George spotted us before we approached them, "Hello ladies."
"Georgia," I replied. I gave him that nickname in class this week after he called me 'Marlin'.
"Marlin," he glared at me, "I don't believe we've all met." I knew George would be on the same page as me once he saw all of our awkward friends staring at each other.
"No we haven't, Georgia. This Harlow, Aries and Fabienne—I believe Oliver knows her," Fabienne elbowed me hard, "—ow!"
"Well it's nice to meet you. This is Lee and Oliver but I guess you two already know each other," George looked at Oliver who nervously took a sip of his drink.
"Nice to meet you ladies," Lee smiled. My friends smiled back shyly.
"Hey Weasley!" a voice shouted from across the room. It was Roger Davies, a seventh year Ravenclaw.
George cupped his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice over the music, "What's up, Davies?"
"Come play pong!" Roger yelled back.
George looked at us, "Want to play?"
I observed my timid friends and decided, "Yes. Yes we do." They shot me dirty looks but begrudgingly followed the boys through the crowd.
"What even is this?" Fabienne asked once we approached the setup on the table.
"It's a Muggle game," Oliver explained to her. I'd heard about it before and seen others play but I had never actually tried it myself.
"Pair up, pair up. I'll take you," Roger, who I detected was a bit tipsy, pointed at Aries. The four of us hadn't drank anything yet, so we were all very sane.
"Me?" Aries confirmed, pointing a finger to her chest while she raised her eyebrows.
Roger nodded, "Yeah. Holland." She stood there for a second, surprised that he knew her name before Harlow pushed her towards him.
"Want to be my partner?" Harlow turned to ask Lee. I knew she had it in her.
"Of course," Lee replied, genuinely wanting to. Lee had a reputation for being a charmer and he was a really sweet kid.
Fabienne gave me a look of desperation but I was feeling a bit malicious and turned to George instead. "Georgia? Would you do me the honor of being my partner in Muggle pong?"
"It would be my honor," George responded playfully.
"Well looks like that leaves Oliver and Fab," I said, pretending like I hadn't already thought it through. She glared at me because of this.
"Alright, Holland. Who do you wanna take on?" Roger looked at his partner. Aries scanned each pair but when she got to George and I, she smirked, knowing she was gonna get her revenge since I was the reason she was in this situation in the first place.
"Let's take on the lovebirds," she grimaced at me.
"Alright...Oliver, Fab," George kidded. This sent Lee, Harlow and I to chuckle under our breaths.
"Ha-ha, very funny but she meant you two," Fabienne scowled and pointed at me and George.
"Fine fine. We can take on a couple of Chasers. Can't we, Marlin?" George said as we walked to the opposite side of the table to face Roger and Aries.
"For sure," I agreed. George rolled up his brown long sleeves then high fived me and pretended to crack his neck before we started playing.
Aries and Roger were surprisingly really good but then again they were both athletic Chasers. George on the other hand, had some difficulties.
"George come on, it's not that hard," I whined. I stood behind him and placed his arms at the perfect angle for him to throw but he somehow still missed.
"George, how did you miss that!" I had to shout over the music.
"Maybe because you angled me wrong!" he shouted back.
"No, no. I'll show you." I walked over to Roger and placed him the same way I placed George. Roger, being Roger, made it in.
"See," I said to George as he rolled his eyes.
"You're drinking that," he harshly pointed to the cup Roger had just shot.
I scoffed, "Fine." I picked up the cup and chugged it in seconds as I was furious with my dimwitted partner.
"Merlin, Marlin, slow down," George said, snickering at his new found catchphrase for me.
I took one last huge swallow then wiped my mouth, "You better get this in." I poked him in the chest firmly and he winced in pain from my finger and continued to play.
•••
let's pretend they can go to hogsmeade whenever they want, screw hogsmeade weekends