[ cw: references to date rape/drugging ]
Marlee's POV
After days of board games, watching TV, sliding around on the ice and a visit to Diagon Alley, it was finally time to go back to Hogwarts.
There had been no more kisses or cuddles between George and I, but I was very content with the way things were going. I felt myself missing him when he wasn't around and I would smile at just the thought of him. But I decided that it'd be best if he figured out things with Serena first before I advanced anything between us. I didn't know how he felt about me, but he was the one who kissed me, right? That had to mean something. I just hoped he would break things off with Serena once we got back.
We came a day before classes started again because there was a late New Years party some seventh years planned. Aries was already in our dorm when we arrived. I gave her a huge hug and noticed something different about her.
"Is-is that green hair?" I lifted up her hair to reveal the bottom half which she dyed green.
She turned red and replied, "Oh...yeah."
"Dude you look hot, I've always wanted to dye my hair!" I exclaimed.
"I have some leftover potion you can try! My sister got it for me." She walked to her luggage and pulled out a small bottle of silver liquid. "Just a sip will do," she instructed.
Without hesitation I took a small sip and saw the bottom under half of my hair turn a bright green. I looked in the mirror and lifted the top half of my hair to get a better look. Even though I didn't even think it through, I loved it instantly and had no regrets.
"Wicked," I mumbled and Aries nodded in approval. It matched my new sweater from Molly which Aries then noticed I was wearing.
"Wait a minute. I thought you stayed here for the holiday? And why are you wearing a Weasley sweater?" Her brows knitted together in confusion.
I turned crimson, remembering that I hadn't exactly told them where I was going for Christmas. I nervously walked to my bags and started unpacking but she followed.
"I...erm...I spent it with the Weasleys actually," I muttered.
Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. "Blimey Marlee. Why didn't you say anything? Nevermind, how was it? Did you spend time with George—" she gasped, "did you shag him?!"
I scoffed and rolled my eyes, "No I didn't. But actually I could have—Serena sent him a letter so they were on a break for the majority of the holiday."
A smirk grew on her face, "So you do like him, don't you?" She poked my side as I blushed.
"I don't know, he still has to figure things out with Serena but I guess I should tell you that we...erm...kissed?"
Aries hopped onto my bed, jumping up and down and screaming. I hit her leg with the shirt I was folding as I scolded, "Oi! Calm down it's not a big deal. Besides we haven't even talked about it or acknowledged it yet."
She sat down, "Of course it's a big deal. We've only been waiting since that day at Kings Cross Station!"
I shook my head and denied, "I don't think he feels the same."
Now it was her turn to hit me. "Do you see the way that man—boy—looks at you? He literally can't take his eyes off of you for a second and is always looking at you in the Great Hall."
"No he is not!" I was fighting back all the muscles in my face to smile.
She stood up on the bed again and pointed her finger towards the door. "You better go tell him how you feel right now. We have waited too damn long for this—I can't wait to tell Harlow and Fab when they get back tomorrow." She started pushing me out of the room.
"Aries, I have to unpack before the party!" I whined but she successfully pushed me out of the room. She slammed the door on my face after saying one last, "Go!" I groaned loudly and turned the handle but she had already locked it. I guess there was only one thing I could do now.
Although some part of me was scared, the other was eager to hear his response. Good or bad, I would have been happy to just get it off of my chest. I didn't know where he would be so I thought to try the common room first.
However, I turned a corridor and saw him in the distance with none other than Serena. I couldn't make out what they were saying to each other but something in me didn't want to turn back just yet. I shouldn't have listened because then she pulled him in for a deep kiss.
My heart sank to my stomach. I was unable to move, unable to think. Did I have any right to be upset? She was his girlfriend after all. I felt like I'd just been Stupified and couldn't avert my eyes for some reason. I kept forcing myself to watch this horrible nightmare in front of me.
The nightmare soon ended as George looked up and saw me. His face immediately turned blank and I backed up to turn the corner. I felt so fucking heart broken and I didn't know why. I knew she was his girlfriend when I kissed him. I guess part of me just hoped he would have had stronger feelings for me. But I was wrong.
Tears should have been streaming from my face but I was too numb to feel anything. I hurried back to my dormitory, keeping my head down. When I got there and Aries was gone, I realized it was dinner time.
I slowly made my way to the Great Hall when I saw a too familiar redhead with his hands in his pockets and his gaze on the floor. His red flannel was in the flowing air as the wind caught his long strides and on his head sat his white and blue hat.
There was no other easy entrance to the Great Hall so I couldn't turn around now. I swallowed hard and tucked my hands under my armpits, nervously.
"Hi George," my voice came out all squeaky.
He looked up and was surprised to see me, "Oh Marlee." His eyes widened for a second as he stuttered, "Y-your hair. Has it always been like that?"
I touched it, now feeling a bit insecure. "Oh yeah..."
He raised his eyebrows and nodded, "It looks...wicked."
I bit back a smile and quietly muttered a thank you. We stopped in front of each other, right in the middle of the Great Hall doors. There was an awkward silence as we stood there, I pressed my lips together and he rubbed the back of his neck.
"So," I began, "I assume you didn't tell Serena we kissed then?"
George bit his lip before replying, "Not yet. I will eventually so if you didn't say anything, that would be great." He spoke in a monotone voice that made his words seem unconvincing.
"Sure, I mean it's not a big deal, we were just messing around," the words fumbled out of my mouth.
He looked at me blankly, "Right...it's funny, I ran into Zane earlier—he was the one that gave you that hickey?"
My jaw dropped but I quickly closed it, not wanting him to see my reaction. "Oh...erm...yeah, that was from him," I mumbled.
"Oh," was all he replied with.
There was more awkward silence between us before he asked, "So are you two..."
"Oh no. Oh god no. He was just trying to get me to sleep with him," I explained. I didn't want him to know the real reason why I was there. Especially after I now knew he didn't feel the same as me.
George scrunched up his face, "Did you?"
I shook my head furiously as I answered, "No. Definitely not. I learned my lesson."
"Good...Smith is bad news," he crossed his arms and looked off to the side.
I looked in the Great Hall and saw that a couple of people had been staring at us. "Um see you at the party," I quickly muttered before running off to the Slytherin table.
I kept my head down and sat across from Aries who had an excited look on her face. "So?!" She asked.
"He's still with Serena," I sighed and put some food on my plate.
Aries frowned. "Well what did he say when you told him?"
"I didn't tell him. I was going to but then I saw him kissing Serena—and then right now he had the fucking audacity to tell me that I shouldn't be fooling around with Zane," my emotions were starting to pour out.
Aries' eyes widened, "You're fooling around with Zane?"
"It was just once," I assured her.
She poked a carrot with her fork and shoved it in her mouth. "Well I still think you should tell him. Just to see what he says. Maybe it will change his mind," she shrugged.
"No, if he really liked me then he would have broken things off with her. I don't want to be a second choice," I declared.
"Marlee, you're not even a choice if he doesn't know how you feel, you have to tell him before he goes too far with Serena," Aries said sternly.
I turned around my shoulder and saw the two sitting next to each other at the Gryffindor table. Serena had her arm wrapped around his muscular bicep and they listened intensely to whatever Fred was saying. They were perfect together. I couldn't change that.
"I think it's already too late," I muttered and ate a spoonful of mashed potatoes. Aries decided to drop the subject after noticing how glum I was and told me about her Holiday. We walked back to our common room after dinner and noticed some decorations were being set up.
"What's going on?" Aries asked.
Marcus, who was setting up some drinks said, "The party's been moved to here."
"What?!" There was panic in my voice that I quickly tried to cover up. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to the party after what happened but now that it was moved to the Slytherin common room, I didn't know what to do.
"Yeah, Violet decided it'd be easier this way since Jerry isn't back yet," Marcus explained. Violet and Jerry were the Head Boy and Girl. Violet, a Slytherin and Jerry, a Gryffindor. Fun, right?
"Marlee or Aries, one of you," Terrence called, "come help me put this sign up." I went to help him and knew I wouldn't be able to get out of this anymore. We continued to help set up and soon people started arriving.
Marcus turned on some music and people were already sprawled around our common room with drinks. House rivalries really weren't as big of an issue as you'd think, it was more of personal grudges. However, those with elitists parents were a bit more intense than others.
I saw the group of Gryffindors arrive together and I wanted to hide but Aries saw Lee and ran over to hug him. I followed behind slowly and greeted Lee myself. Everyone, minus Ginny, that I had come back from the break with was present, so I didn't really have to say hi to them and I for sure wasn't going to greet Serena.
The large group split off into groups but Aries was nice enough to stay with me instead of running off with Lee. We danced with Marcus and Terrence a bit and they were actually quite fun. I didn't see Zane anywhere and I hoped that he wasn't planning on coming to the party. We also chatted with Tristan and Ceaser but I could tell Aries was uncomfortable so we quickly got ourselves out of that.
Many Butterbeers later, I plopped down onto the couch where Angelina was watching her boyfriend have a dance-off with Lee, from afar.
"Marlee! I've been meaning to ask you something—oh Merlin your hair! You look sexy—I've been meaning to ask you something," she yelled, tipsily, over the music, "did you sleep with Gred—George on Christmas Eve?"
My jaw dropped slightly and she gave me a sly look. "Um...no-yes but not like that," I quickly assured her.
"So what happened then?" She took a large sip of her Butterbeer and subtly winked at Fred from across the room.
"We just slept together that's it, nothing more, nothing less," I answered. I assumed George probably didn't want anyone knowing we cuddled too. Why was I catering to him so much? He was the one who was being a dick.
A voice amplified through the room, "Who's down for spin the bottle?" Violet yelled. Cheers and claps erupted from all of the drunk people and Angelina grabbed my arm, dragging me over to the game. I guess I didn't mind playing.
Almost everyone was playing and we sat in a large circle around the room. It was a smaller group than the usual party goers due to the Holiday but still a wide variety.
Violet went first and flicked her wand at the bottle in the middle. It landed on Marcus who was blushing furiously. She crawled over to where he sat and gave him a long, passionate kiss. Marcus' lips glimmered from her lip gloss after she retreated and left him dumbfounded.
We went around the room as everyone began their kissing. It was such a silly and dumb game but since we were all intoxicated, it was absolutely hilarious. Girl on boy, boy on girl, girl on girl, boy on boy—for some reason I found myself laughing harder than ever.
Angelina was next and she landed on Alicia. Fred, who was sitting next to Padma, almost rolled his eyes and looked away. I noticed Parvati was gone and that Cho hadn't come home yet either.
Angelina and Alicia share a sweet kiss and ended up laughing hysterically. Fred was looking at Angelina like I'd never seen before. He usually wasn't the type to be jealous. I felt bad for what was coming to her later.
It was now my turn. Almost half of the people had gone and nobody had landed on me yet. I took out my wand and the bottle spun and spun. It started slowing down then came to an abrupt stop. I looked up and the bottle was pointing at none other than George.
We both stared at each other for a moment, not moving. Loud cheers came from the group and I saw him gulp. He turned to a tipsy Serena sitting next to him and she responded loudly, "Kiss her Georgie! I want to see this 'chemistry' everyone's been talking about. Maybe some sparks might fly." She gave me a devilish grin and George looked down at her in disbelief.
"Are you serious?" he exclaimed. She nodded and took a sip from her cup before pushing his shoulder.
I hadn't moved at all and it was almost like I had sobered up. We'd kissed before but nobody knew, if we kissed now word would definitely spread fast. George slowly stood up as I made my way to my feet as well. I met him in the middle of the circle and everyone became silent with anticipation.
George wasn't looking me in the eyes but grabbed my waist to pull me closer to him. He slowly leaned down until we were interrupted by an abrupt noise from one of the broom cupboards.
As everyone's attention turned away from us, Hermione groaned and then pulled out her wand. "I told them what spell to use! Silencio!" She slurred her words and a low groan from the closet was silenced midway. That's when I saw Seamus' face turn red.
"Who the bloody hell was that, Hermione?" Ron asked.
She shook her head furiously, "Nobody. Back to the game."
Everyone turned back to me and George, his hand still on my waist. I quickly plucked it off and sat back down.
"You guys didn't kiss!" Angelina pointed out.
"Yes we did, you guys just didn't see!" I fibbed but technically they didn't see when we actually kissed, so it wasn't exactly a lie...
Everyone was too drunk to understand or care so George made his way back to his seat. Part of me wanted to kiss him so bad, I ached for the feeling of his lips on mine. But I knew it would've made me hurt more than I already was.
I practically zoned out as we finished the game, until it was Zane's turn. Bloody plonker showed up halfway through the game. The bottle started spinning at his wand's command and I closed my eyes in fear of who it would land on. As if the bottle was bewitched, it landed on me.
Are you kidding? I can't catch a break.
The usual whoops were heard amongst the group and Zane smirked at me. I wobbled my way to my feet, feeling a lot more dizzy than before. Zane quickly grabbed my face and pulled me in for a kiss. After just a second, I pulled away, not wanting to kiss him, but felt him bring me back in. His hands squeezed my arse and he was asking for permission with his tongue. I squirmed in his grasp and suddenly felt my legs lose muscle. I fell to the floor and everything was blurry.
There were shouts of my name and I saw a flash of light beam at Zane before he fell to the ground. Faces were hovering above me but I couldn't make out who they were. Soon everything became silent and the world was black.
—
I woke up in the Hospital and it was now day time. Aries, who was sitting next to me quietly reading a book, noticed that I awoke then came to sit on my bedside.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, holding my hand.
I sat up slowly and rubbed my forehead. "I'm fine. What happened?"
"Well you were kissing Zane then all of a sudden you fell to the floor and fainted. Then Ceaser hexed Zane, he said that...that Zane was trying to drug you—I've been so worried. Are you sure you're okay?" Aries spoke softly with her brows furrowed.
I slowly nodded, processing everything she had just told me. Did he successfully drug me then or why did I faint?
"We couldn't exactly tell Pomfrey what happened so we don't know if you were drugged or not," Aries explained. "But...George said it might've been your concussion?"
It all made more sense now, smart git he is. "Oh yeah, probably. That would make sense," I realized.
Aries let out a sigh, "Oh thank Salazar! Where'd you get a concussion from?"
"This Muggle dude ran into me when we were ice skating," I said casually.
Her eyes widened and she let out a chuckle, "Looks like you've got a lot to tell me about your Holiday." I laughed with her and we began to talk quietly while I told her about everything.
Madam Pomfrey came back and let me go once I assured her it was just a concussion. She gave me a potion so that I wouldn't faint again and said I should stay away from loud noises or flashing lights along with high activity.
Hogwarts was now filled with students as more were coming back home. We reunited with Harlow and Fabienne and shared our fun stories. I was quite vague about my Holiday since George had asked me to not tell anyone but word had already spread about what happened at the New Years party so they knew about that. We chatted for hours until it was dinner time. I spotted Cho and ran to give her a tight hug.
"How was your Holiday?" she asked immediately.
I sighed, having told the story twice today already, "I'll tell you about it another time. How about yours? Did they buy my excuse?"
She sighed and pulled something out of her pocket, "I didn't read it but Dad said he said everything in there." I took the letter and put it in my pocket for later. I didn't want to get yelled at just yet.
I forgot about the letter until the next morning and quickly put it in my robe pocket, rushing down for breakfast. We were running late as we weren't accustomed to waking up so early anymore. I shoved some toast down my throat and said goodbye to my roommates before going to DADA.
I'd forgotten that I sat next to George and was surprised to see him sitting there like usual. I sat down swiftly and quickly buried myself in my letter so he wouldn't talk to me.
Marlee,
I hope you had a good Christmas. It wasn't the same without you. However, I understand your need to stay whether it be true or not, I just wish you would have written me yourself. I hope you decide to come home for Easter but until then I miss you tons.
Love,
Dad
I guess it was nice that he wasn't too upset about me ditching but then again it was probably because he didn't care. However, Easter? How was I going to get out of that one?
Suddenly an owl flew into the classroom and dropped a purple letter in front of me. It was from my dad. I tore it open, slightly confused as to what it would say.
Mar,
You should be grateful that I'm not sending a Howler. I just ran into Mr. Weasley who told me that you spent the Holiday with them? Not only am I upset that you lied but that you spent it with another family?! One you don't even know! I am absolutely disappointed and hurt that you would do something like this! I have tried my best to be understanding the past four years but this is too far. I didn't know where you were, you could have been killed! You are grounded from Hogsmeade visits until further notice, no exceptions.
-Dad
I groaned at the last part and covered my face with my hands. If I were to go home for Easter, I'd be hearing an earful of bullshit from my father. I suddenly remembered that he had a supposed surprise for Cho and I so I tucked that thought to the back of my brain to ask her about later.
"How's the concussion?" Lee asked abruptly. I took my hands away from my face and he was conversing with George through glares and eyebrows.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, "It's fine."
"Whoa, sick hair," he exclaimed, noticing the bright green as I exposed it.
I tucked my hair behind both ears and shyly replied, "Thanks Lee. Have a good Holiday?"
"Brilliant! And you?" he asked obliviously.
A shear moment of panic flashed through my veins and I felt George tense up next to me as well. Clearly George hadn't told anyone about anything—probably not Fred even.
"It was...lovely," I chimed.
He turned his body to face me more. "So Mama and Papa Weasley like you then?"
"I-I guess you could say that? I don't know," my voice trailed off as I thought about how they probably wouldn't like me anymore after having found out about my lying.
He now turned to George, "Well George, do they?"
George hesitated before replying, "Mum does for sure." He was doing his thing again where he would talk to me indirectly and that started to piss me off.
Lee's face changed from glee to confusion, "Whoa. I'm getting all of these vibes from you guys. The sexual tension is practically radiating off of both of you. I could almost cut it with a—"
"Okay we get it," George muttered.
Lee's face lit up, "So you guys shagged?"
My eyes bulged out of their sockets as the conversation escalated very quickly. And why the hell did everyone think we shagged?
"What? Where did you get that from?" I stammered.
Lee turned to George and his face immediately dropped. I assumed that George gave him a deathening glare as Lee dropped the subject and talked about Quidditch instead.
—
Days passed and things with George went back to how they were before the break. We would still talk at least once everyday but he seemed different. There was something off about him that I couldn't quite put my finger on.
I was taking a stroll through the school when I ran into Serena. She looked a lot thinner than before, if that was even possible. Her blue eyes were blazing and almost blinding. I guess I have never really looked at her that well since second year.
"Hey," she said calmly as she walked up to me.
"Hi?" I spoke, half a question.
She sighed and looked me in the eye, "George told me and I'm not mad. I did break up with him at the time. But just don't try to do anything now because he loves me and me only."
I didn't really know what to make of her last sentence. It wasn't like George loved me or the other way around. I also didn't know that he and Serena already said I love you to each other. Then again, George never really talked to me about Serena.
"And maybe I don't have your hat but I'd appreciate it if you'd stay away from him," she demanded. She wasn't using her usual sassy or harsh tone, it was very calm and I didn't know why.
I didn't really know what she wanted me to say so I just replied, "Okay." And with that she nodded and walked off.
I, of course, wasn't going to change anything in the way I talked to George. Our brief conversations before DADA were short enough, I thought she wouldn't mind.
—
At dinner one evening, there was a bustle of talk amongst the students. I sat down next to Aries and noticed Fabienne reading the Daily Prophet.
"What's everyone on about?" I asked.
Fabienne laid down the paper for me to see. "Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban apparently by mass-murderer Sirius Black with the help of Diana Lee," she pointed to the article. I felt my body freeze as she read off the names.
"Diana Lee? Wasn't she that Death Eater that went missing?" Aries questioned.
"Oh yeah. Like a couple decades ago, I remember my Mum talking about it," added Harlow.
"Yeah, but," I hesitated, "didn't they say she was found dead?"
Fabienne shrugged, "I dunno but either way this breakout is not good news."
I looked around at the room full of students, hovering around their copies of the Daily Prophet. As if things weren't already bad enough—this year was looking just absolutely brilliant.
•••
i'm just gonna say it...i hate this chapter
i kept having writers block while writing it but i just needed to publish it so i'm sorry for the crappy chapter