Fight Me

You listened to the buzz of the crowd around you, serving for a welcomed respite from the somewhat orderly chatter of the school, looking around as you trudged down the cobbled path with Gerorge. It had been a while since you’d been to Hogsmeade and you missed it; focusing, for once, on studies was the responsible, mature thing to do, learning magic and all that, and it was interesting, but walking back into the sparse yet filling crowd that shuffled about the street felt like walking back into an old home. Admittedly your last trip wasn’t that long ago, but you remembered your last visit a few months back: 

you were feeling that feeling again, a general discontentment for the monotony of Hogwarts life–sure making potions and bewitching classmates was fun but when it was all you did it got tired after a while. You turned to your usual remedy, a nice and completely unauthorised trip to your local hotspot. Yes, you could have chosen to go in the daytime like a sensible person, but this was a different type of trip, it was less of a quest and more of an adventure. 

You also remembered what made you stop going. It was stupid, or at least thats how it seemed to you; a cobble, one out of place stone sticking out of the pavement. It was dark and you weren't watching your feet and tripped. Ok, no problem, just a grazed knee, there's a spell for this. You remembered raising your wand to your bleeding knee and freezing. You couldn't remember the spell. It had just been revised that day in class, but you couldn't remember. That’s what made you take a break from sneaking out, because if you couldn't fix a simple grazed knee then how could you do anything else, anything impactful or helpful?

“Hey? Hello?” You heard George say, pulling you out of your daydreams and back into reality.

“Huh? Sorry, did you say something?”

“Oh my god, come on!”

“I am, jeez.” 

George rolled his eyes as he approached a building, pushing open the door and bowing theatrically and he held it open for you.

“Madam.”

You joined in the chivalry.

“Why, thank you, Mister.”

You walked into the pub, instantly enjoying the warm atmosphere. 

“I thought a little trip here would be a fitting celebration for your win.”

“The Three Broomsticks; I like a man with good taste.” You jested, looking around at the assortment of characters that took up residence at the tables. 

George said nothing, going up to the counter and talking to the woman behind it. You spied a free table at the back to the building, making your way there and sliding into the booth. 

You watched George as he stood at the counter, noting how the light of the candles littered over the walls ran down his hair, dusting a golden shine over the high points of his amber hair. He looked like a painting that had caught fire, so much that you could almost smell the burning oil. 

You watched as he turned around, stifling a laugh at the pile of objects he was balancing in his hands. He came over and dropped two mugs of Butterbeer on the table, placing the muffins he'd bought beside them. 

George sat down opposite you and slid a mug in front of you, along with a muffin.

“Congratulations on your win.” He said, raising his mug.

“You do realise that I won a bet, not the Triwizard Tournament, right?”

“Well seen as I was there, yes, I do, but it was impressive that you even stayed on the broom, let alone win a bet, therefore it’s cause for celebration.” He smirked, tilting his head to the side as he half-complemented half-insulted you.

“I guess so,” You took a sip of your beer. “But I'm paying you back for the beer.”

“And the muffin.” 

“And the muffin.” You repeated.

“And no, you’re not. You’re well on your way to being a Quidditch super-star so you deserve free Butter beer.”

You chuckled, taking a bite of your muffin. “I think I'll stick to my books, thanks.”

“The one in the library or the ones you stole from the library?”

“Borrowed!” You corrected him, pointing a finger in his face.

He pushed your hand out of the way and leaned in. “Sorry, borrowed.”

You hummed agreeably and took another sip, looking around. You watched out the window, following the passing heads and their various hats, judging the fashion sense of some of the patrons of Hogsmeade. You looked back at George, just now fully realising that you were supposed to be in class and worrying about being possibly locked in a dungeon and flayed for skipping class.

“I don’t even know why I followed you here, I'm gonna be in so much trouble, and so are you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, we’re both blatantly ignoring the fact that we’re meant to be in class.” You paused, considering the difference between being here and being at school. “I mean, granted, I'd rather be here, but still.”

“Eh, don't worry about that,” George said flippantly, leaning his elbows on the table, still sitting tall enough for you to have to look up when you talked to him. “I sorted it.”

“Sorted it?” Oh no.

“Yeah, Fred’s covering for us.”

“How? It’s not like he can pretend to be both of us and turn up to our classes.”

“Honestly I don't know, I kind of left him to his own devices.”

You did not like the sound of that. “Oh, god.”

“What!?” George said indignantly. “I'm sure he came up with an evil master plan.”

“Mmm, sure.”

“Mmm, sure.” He mocked, drinking the last of his beer. “Well if you’re that stressed then let's head back.”

You agreed, grabbing the rest of your muffin and picking at it as you walked back to the castle. 

The buzz of Hogsmeade faded away slowly as you walked along the path, finishing your muffin and just enjoying the experience of being away from school in the day. 

“So,” George piped up, stretching his arms over his head as he walked. “I have to ask…”

“Ask what?” You inquired.

“Did you cheat?”

“Cheat? On the bet?”

“Yeah, I was just wondering because yo-”

“Because i wasn't shit?”

“No,” He looked down at you, “Because you said you’d never played before.”

“Wow.” You said, throwing your arms in the air and stopping in your path, being somewhat overdramatic to illustrate your point. “WOW!” 

“What!” George said spinning round to face you, “I had to ask! It makes no sense!”

“WOW.” You crossed your arms and looked away, playing at looking offended. “So you have no faith in me?”

“I do!” He protested, walking up to you, “I do, I was just curious.”

“I was just curious.” You mocked him, rolling your eyes. 

George took a step closer, bending down so you were eye-to-eye, grinning his usual mischievous grin. “Besides,” He tilted his head. “I can keep a secret, especially for you.”

You looked back at him, slightly stunned as you attempted to formulate a response with the complete void of words in your mind. You just looked back at him, taking in the rare sight of his face this close up, since you usually only saw him from below. He was too damn tall.

You opened your mouth, about to start saying something–though you weren't sure what–when he stood straight again, turning around and continuing on the path. “C’mon!” He called after you, “You were the one getting stressed about getting back to class.”

Still devoid of all language you followed him, catching up and walking basides him. 

What just happened? Did anything just happen? Am I making it up? Was that actually nothing? Why do I feel like this? What just happened?

You watched your feet and thought for the remainder of your walk back, slowly regaining your ability to speak, not sure why you couldn't.

When you reached the school grounds you looked around at the empty scene, suddenly wondering what you were meant to do.

“Wait,” You said, thankful that real words came out. “Where do I go?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do I barge into class? Or do I wait for the next lesson?”

“Uhm,” George scratched the back of his neck, spinning round. “I don’t know, really, just whatever you do, have an excuse on hand, just incase Fred wasn’t convincing enough.”

“What,” You looked at him angrily. “Oh I better not be in trouble, or I'm gonna turn you into a pig.”

George backed away slowly, chuckling. “Have fun with that!” He called, walking down the corridor.

“Where are you going!” You shouted after him.

“Class; you should too!” 

You were about to call back when he rounded a corner, leaving you standing alone in the empty corridor. Since he was going to class (apparently) you decided that you should follow suit, making your way to the Divination classroom. 

You were slightly nervous about busting into class fifteen minutes before it finishes, but you were more nervous about what just happened, or didn't happen, you weren't sure. Maybe that was a perfect normal interaction, but if it was, why did you feel like this? And on that note, how did you feel? You couldn't pinpoint it, but it was there.

You sighed as you stood at the bottom of the tall, winding stars that were ahead of you, pausing before taking a step, already bored.