Our story starts on a bright and cheery day. But we're not going to focus on the the day but inside a house that most people cannot see. Number 12 Grimmwauld Place. Where in the library sat a lone girl named Crystal 'Chrys' McCay sat, trying to get peace and quiet while the Order meeting went on.
She sat down thinking about someone she'd never see again, someone she called a brother. Cedric Diggory. It hadnt been more then a month then his death, and it was clear that she was still greiving. Anyone could see she wanted to be alone. Well all but one. A certain George Weasley.
He had been trying for the past few times he saw her to cheer her up, if only because she was one of his best friends. Well that was what she thought. Because even though he was two years older then her, he liked her. And she had no clue about it.
He was convinced that she had loved Cedric and gave up her own happiness so Cho could be with him. He just knew it when she had saw Cedrics body with Harry after the maze. She had litteraly frozen up, paled, and backed into him, andlooked like she was going to faint. He had grabbed her around his waist and held her up when she was about to collapse.
But that was then and this is now. Now he is simply trying to cheer her up.
"Grrr... Im the evil sock Emporer and I want your socks." George growled looking rediculusstanding across from her waving his wand moving a sock up and down and talking.
"Touch my sock and you will die George. Im in no mode for your stupid hyjinkstoday." She said looking away, with an almost neutral expression. "You wound me Chrys. Im just trying to make you smile. I want you to be happy again."
She turned her head to him with a glare. "Just because I'm happy doesn't mean I have to smile. Just because I smile doesn't mean I'm happy. Im happy George, Ive changed for the better, get over it.
"Just because Im not the little girl who would smile at you or others, blissfully unaware of the world waiting for us anymore, doesnt mean anything. Im fine, got it!?" She said to him with a harsh tone of voice.
"I know your hurt Chrysie. Dont tell me your not-" He started but was quikly stopped.
"Dont tell me you know what Im feeling George Fabian Weasley. Because you dont! You dontknow how it feels to have your best friend die! To show up dead right in front of you! There are some hurts that you never completely get over. And you think time will diminish their presence and to a degree…it does. But it still hurts, because, well…hurt hurts. And Cedric's death is something I can never get over, ever.
"Look at you, you still have your brothers their still alive, all of them, even if one is being a prat and the other is in Romania. The one person I viewed as my brother. The only person other then you or Fred I've let close to me since my mother, uncle, and aunt died, died because of a stupid war!
"A stupid war that had nothing to do with us George nothing! He didnt deserve to die. Cedric didnt deserve that fate, and yet he still died. You dont know that pain, George, you dont." She choked out and looked away.
"You have your family. I only have my father left. Everyone else was taken from me, and I wont let my heart break again. Never again."
George blinked at her surprised. "Chrysie it's time to move on." He told her gently.
"Dont tell me when I can move on or not. You have no idea what Im going through! And dont call me Chrysie!"
"ChrysI know your hurt but sometimes you can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks or even months over- analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could've, would've happened… or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and move the fuck on.
"Yeah I cant tell you I know how you feel, but I can tell you that we all miss you, the real you, the one who smiled at everything, not angry. And honestly we're all tired of it! We want the real you back." George said to her throwing his hands up in the air.
"This is the real me, Georgie-boy. Get over it. Honestly I dont care if your tired of waiting for the real me to come back to you. You have to get it through your thick heads that this is me, and Im not changing." She huffed and rolled her eyes, standing up to get on square terms with him.
"You know what I think thats going through all of our minds? I think the hardest part about waiting is not knowing whether you're waiting for anything at all. None of of us know what your going through, so we're trying to back off and wait for you to get over his death. But you just wont get over it. Can you? You cant see anything other then Precious little Cedrics face hun? We're getting sick of waiting, we want the real you back.
"The one who helped Neville in Potions and Defense because she needed help in Herebology. The one who helped Fred and I prank some Slytherins before you even knew us. The one who helps Harry, Hermione, and Ron simply because she doesnt want them hurt. The one who took insults with a grain of salt, then laughed. The one who used to tell me 'I just need someone to tell me everything will be okay. I need to believe that, it is all I have.'
"And you know what, you where right with that statement, because honestly that is all you have! All you have is us telling you everything will be fine, but this time your ignoring us. Have you turned into a hypocrite to? Huh Chrys? Have you?" He said while walking towards her.
Crystal blinked and backed up as he kept walking towards her, he followed her until she stopped at the wall. "Have you Crystal? Have you really changed that much in one moment when you would take back what you said not more then a year ago? Have you?"
"George you dont understand, I do want to go back, to before this. Before Cedric died. But I cant. My mind tells me to give up, but my heart won't let me. I want to give up on this pain Im feeling but I cant. And you dont know what its like to loose someone like that."
"Actually I have, and shes right here in front of me." George said harshly and apparated before she could do little more then have her eyes widen.
It had been a few days since Chrys and George's fight in the library of Grimmwauld Place. She had stayed at her house the past two times her father went to the house. She didnt want to know what George had meant just before he left her in the library. She had desided to findFred, because he was George's twin he might know, but the two suddenly were no where to be found. And that was shocking.
At that nights dinner she sat inbetween Hermione and Ginny, and even though she knew Ginny was close to Fred and George she didnt ask her what was up.
And for all her Gryffindor courage, she was inside a coward. So she holed herself up in her room, trying to distance herself from thinking about George, and what she had said to him. She knew she was being unreasonably harsh to him. The only time she was that harsh before was before they introduced themselves on the train.
She had been a short thing. Still was actually, compared to the Weasleys she was a midgit. But she was a tough little thing as well, you could say she had the Napoleon Complex. So when Fred and George had called her shorty, she had barked back with a following of a bite. She had insulted their prank they where going to do with the Slytherin 3rd years. But then corrected them on it. And the next thing she knew they had inducted her into their folds. They had been her first friends ever. And they had been one of the few that she allowed into her heart.
Besides Cedric, she met him just before her 2nd year. Their fathers worked together and he needed a place to stay while his dad went off on assignment. Since then they had been not only friends but near syblings. As she told George 5 days, 8 hours, and 32 minutes ago, andyes she had counted the time since. She not only lost a close friend but a brother.
She sighed and looked at her bed-side table, where a picture of George, Fred, and her stood next to of a picture of Cedric hugging her. Then burrowed her head into her pillow. "Two more weeks until school. Then I have to talk to him. Oh Merlin I wish I didnt have to." She muttered.
"Crystal Anne! Time for dinner!" Her dad called up the stairs. "Im not hungry papi!" She yelled slightly lifting her head from her pillow. "Its your favorite! Mac and Cheese with steak!" She heard closer this time, as if he where on the stairs. "I'll eat later Im finishing up my Trans-" "Now you know I know your done with all your homework Munchkin. Whats eating you?" He said opening her door.
"Nothing you can fix papi, just my own stupidity and pride." She said sadly. Her dad then sat down next to her on the bed. "I must say you are becoming more like your mother everyday. You went off at the mouth at a guy, and now you feel guilty Im guessing right? Oh and you happen to secretly like him even though nobody but you know. Am I in the ballpark."
Crystal just blinked and looked up at him surprised. "How did you-" "Know? Your mother did the same thing to me when we where young. Tell him how you feel, thats the only thing you can do. Okay sweetie?" "Okay Papi thank you." "Its no problem, I'll leave your meal ready for you when you want it okay?" "Nah I'll come down now."
"You sure?" "Yeah Im going to need some food in my system before I start thinking about what Im going to say to him." "Okay munchkin." He said as he left the room.
Crystal looked back at the pictures on her bed-side table and smiled, before following her father to the kitchen.
Crystal stood at Kings Cross, looking over the mist with Angelina, who she caught a ride with because her father had to go to work earlier then normal today. "I spy with my little eye a sea of red Angie." She said pointing in the direction of the Weasleys. "You go ahead, I'm going to say goodbye to my parents okay?" She nodded to show that she heard and went on her way over to the Weasleys. "Oi Hermes, Gins! You miss me?"
That was the moment they all turned to look at her. And the moment Ginny decided to jump Crystal. "Why haven't you been coming over with your dad?" "I had to finish my homework." She told her while proceeding to pry Ginny off of her.
"Liar. We all know you got your work done before we even left Hogwarts." Hermione said to her. All Crystal did was stick her tongue out at her. Finally getting out of Ginny's hold glared at George. "You mister, are going to talk to me, by dinner got me?" She asked in a commanding tone. "Yes Ma'am." He said saluting. "Good." She nodded and Angelina slided up to Fred. "Near 11:00 we should get going." She said and Mrs Weasley nodded. They said goodbye to the adults, and made it safely onto the train.
They Fred, George, Angelina and Crystal broke off from the others and headed to their compartment. They put their stuff in the over head-compartments and said hi to Lee.
Then Crystal glared at George. Grabbed his collar and dragged him to a nearby empty compartment. "What is it Crystal?" He asked somewhat annoyed. "What not Chrys?" She said andturned around so she didn't have to see him. "Your the one who told me not to call you that." "If it helps I'm sorry."
"For what" George said to her slightly shocked. "For turning into someone else, for yelling at you. Saying your sock emperorwas stupid, getting mad at you for trying to cheer me up. What are you laughing at?" She suddenly said turning around to see him laughing. "You have nothing to be sorry for Chrysie-Chrys. If anyone has to say sorry it's me."
"Why?" Crystal said pushing some hair out of her face. "Because I was insensitive of your feelings toward Cedric. I know you loved him."
She tensed. "Wait what?" "I know you loved him, why else would you sacrifice your happiness so that Cho could be with him?" "George did you listen to me at all in the library? I loved him like a brother. He was my brother and nothing else. I never wanted him. The one person I did want, probably doesn't even want me back." "You don't know that."
"Yes I do." Crystal said to him turning her head away from him. "Then tell me who it is and I'll help you figure out if he does like you or not." "No you can't George."
"Why not?" He said putting his hand on her shoulder. "Because I want you. And I know its stupid and wrong but I do. I mean you where one of the first people I ever liked. You and Fred where my first friends. And I was so happy when you took me to the Yule Ball, even though I knew you where probably doing it out of pity, because I know you heard me talking to Angie about not having a date, and feeling like nobody would ever like me, because not even one person had asked me. And you had probably wanted to cheer me up because of that. As all good friends do, and I'm rambling on aren't I? Well I'm back off to our compartment you know." She laughed nervously as George hadn't said anything and was just looking at her.
"Stop Crystal right there. I didn't ask you to the Yule Ball because I felt pity for you, I wanted to. I've like you ever since the ending of your third year. But you never paid any attention to me, so I never told you. But don'tyou ever think for one second that I don't like you." He told her, grabbing her arm, and forcingher to turn around to look him straight in the eye. Which also forced her to crane her neck up to look at him, he was that much taller then her.
"You can't like me, you just cant." She shaking her head "Why not Chrys?" "Because everyone who likes me ends up dead. And I don't want you to end up like my mum, or uncle, or my aunt." She said her eyes watering.
"Dont you cry Chrysie, I never did like it when you cry. Please smile, please?" George said, and releasedher arm, so he could wrap his arms around her. Crystal went with no resistance, she just put her head on his chest, while a few tears slid down her cheeks.
"You know what Chrysie, do you know that sometimes it's hard...I want to tell you how much I love your beautiful smile and the way your eyes crinkle when you are really happy. When you smile at Fred and I prank others. And in your 3rd year when Draco and his goons made you cry, and we all got them back for you. You had laughed so hard, you swore your lungs gave way. And for the next two weeks you did nothing but smile, and looking back it was your happiest smile and the most beautiful smile I'd ever saw.
"So can you please smile for me?" He told her, making sure she didn't feel trapped but made sure that she was well into his arms.
She nodded into his chest. "Will do. Just promise me you wont leave me. Okay?" "I promise." He said putting his face into her chocolate brown hair, until she was ready to go back to their compartment.
The year had gone as well as it could with Umbridge around. George had asked her out, Crystal had talked to Cho about Cedric, and she plotted pranks against Umbridge with Fred and George, her planning, them doing. Needless to say she got in no trouble while they got in trouble.
That was until they left, they being Fred and George. In fact Crystal had been the one to plan it, she created the Portable Swamps especially for their escape. But that didn't stop her from being upset that they left. Angelina couldn't believe they had left, so she spent the time making her feel better.
Umbridge got tighter and tighter on her, until she nearly snapped, but she remembered that her father would pay and didn't. That was until they had to go to the Ministry, she went with Harry and the others because she didn't want them to get hurt. In the end, she had fought Rodolphus Lestrange, he had got her with an unknown spell. When she woke up in the same room as Hermione, she didn't expect what she saw next.
George was asleep, his head on his arms right next to her right arm. She sat up and looked around the room. Dora or Tonks as she preferred was near the window beside her, with Remus sitting in the arm chair beside her bed asleep with a book in his lap, he didn't look hurt, so she assumed he got out with few injuries.
Nobody sat by Hermione at the time but she did see Ron and Harry's Robes on the chairs next to her bed so she then assumed that they had gone for a bite to eat.
Crystal then looked back at George. She kissed the top of his head, grabbed her extra pillow, put it under her head, positioned herself on her right side comfortably, grabbed one of his hands, and fell asleep. Happy to know he was there beside her, even though he didn't have to be.