Her throat was closing up. The triumphant music of the third Triwizard task had long since halted, but she still felt that awful sinking feeling in her stomach.
Y/n didn’t really remember getting out of the panicked chaos of the stands, but now as she looked in the bathroom mirror, reality slowly began to sink in.
It hit her bit by bit; like the universe was throwing little reality rocks at her face. Sharp, painful, horrifying rocks.
She stared at her hair in the bathroom mirror. Although messy in its current state, it was still just like her mother’s. There was no hiding her Malfoy blood; one look at her distinct black and white locks and you would know she was Narcissa’s. Everyone knew her bloodline without even knowing her, and now that the dark lord was back they would assume other awful things about her too.
The thoughts were racing by in her head faster than she could process.
Blood traitor.
Death Eater.
Disgrace.
Murderer.
One side would assume she was a Death Eater, the other would hate her because she wasn’t. She was walking around with a humongous bullseye on her back.
He’s back. Voldemort is back.
Harry’s words kept repeating in her head as she collapsed on the floor. She hadn’t realized she was crying until she felt the hot tears drip down her cheeks. They burned her cheeks as she frantically tried to smear them away.
She couldn’t get any air. It was too much. It was all just too much. Trembling, she brought her knees to her chest and desperately tried to swallow some air, but was interrupted by the door crashing open.
“Y/n! Thank god.”
Y/n lifted her head up, only to find her favorite redhead making his way to her hurriedly. His clothes were disheveled and his hair was wild from the wind whipping it about. He clearly ran here, evident from the state of his appearance and his heavy breathing. But George was more concerned about the beautiful girl crying on the bathroom floor.
“I couldn’t find you after we were evacuated. I was worried you…” He trailed off, “Are you okay?”
She looked at him for a moment. He was a source of light in the dim bathroom, radiating love and acceptance all around him. He was her real home. George Weasley was home.
She knew she couldn’t hold all this in, but her heart was still racing and her hands were still locked into fists. She tried to take a deep breath to explain, but all that came out were shallow hiccuped sobs. Her mind was panicking and she still couldn’t breathe. Rationality began to leave her brain, leaving only fear behind. Frantically, she kept trying to take more breaths, and then-
“Hey, hey, hey,” She felt a calming warmth on her cheek. George wiped her tears gently. His touch alone was anchoring her from spiraling out. Desperately, she looked up at him with tears welling in his eyes, and somehow he understood.
Carefully, he lowered himself down beside her and pulled her legs across his lap, softly bringing her head into his chest. Y/n grasped his sweater for dear life, clinging to the only thing that made sense right now, Him. He held her tenderly, slowly combing through her hair with his fingers.
The two of them sat like this for a while. His presence was the perfect cure for her panic.
They remained quiet, both people trying to etch this moment into their memory until Y/n finally felt her fear fade away and oxygen begin to fill her lungs again. Even after that, she was content in the quiet, simply basking in his comfort.
“You know, my family was never really the touchy feely type,” she sniffled, “I can’t remember the last time I’ve been held by someone.”
“Are you ok? I’ve known you along time and I’ve never seen you cry like this,” George asked as he brushed her cheek with his thumb.
“I’m scared out of my mind George,” she replied, surprising them both with her honesty, “Anyone can take one look at me and know I’m a Malfoy. They’ll want to kill me for being something I’m not. And the Death Eaters all know me to be a ‘blood traitor’. They won’t hesitate to force me into submission. I’ve seen what they do, George. I’m dead either way.”
George was speechless. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure what to do or say. He knew she was right. This whole situation was so fragile, but there was one thing he was sure about.
He was sure he loved her, and he would do everything in his power to keep her safe.
“Y/n- join The Order,” George stated, an idea solidifying in his head.
“What? You know I would if I could. How would I-“
“Come stay with me.” He stared intensely at her before continuing, “Look I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and with everything that happened today I think it’s time. I’ve got this plan; it needs some fine-tuning but I think it’s a good one.”
“First, we get you into some trouble at school,” He began, “Then, we will ask Snape to recommend that you stay with him over the summer for constant ‘recorrection’. That way you won’t have to go back to your family over break, but they won’t be suspicious of you not returning home either. After that, we just have to get through your last year at Hogwarts. Then when we graduate, you can come live with me. By then, you’ll be too old for them to have legal power over you, and Fred and I can help keep you safe, as long you don’t mind Fred’s awful shower singing,” He finished with a smile.
It was odd the way he looked at her. His radiant chestnut eyes said he would battle against 100 men with nothing but a quill to protect her. She wasn’t sure why, but her stomach did a couple flips thinking about that.
“You’d really help me do that?” She asked, grabbing his hand and fiddling with his fingers.
“We’ve been best mates for years Y/n. There’s no way I’m leaving your side now.” He laughed, still staring at her with a twinkle of passion in his eyes and a bit of mischief in his smile.
Without warning, Y/n squeezed George tightly around the middle ensuring that he was really here, really doing this for her. George wrapped his arms around her in response, taking note of how comfortable she felt in his arms.
It was at that moment that George made a promise to himself: he would always love you, and he would do anything he could to protect you from harm.