Written for "xPerfectlyImperfect's Perfectly Challenging Competition". I've been working on this for days and finally got this done. Since I have no beta and I don't trust OpenOffice's grammar and spell checker, I've used several grammar checkers online. I'm pretty sure half of this grammar is wrong, but I tried my best. I'm using the book version of her: blonde hair and pale skin. The blue eyes part is an assumption.

Lyrics: "I'll be right there beside you, when the walls are caving in. Oh, I'm not going anywhere" - Faith (When I Let You Down) by Taking Back Sunday

Pairing: George/Verity

Prompts: Blind/ "I'll never leave you."/ Comfort

I think this will turn into something completely different from what I had in mind in the beginning, but I like it. Verity is a character with almost no background and i liked having the challenge to create something for her.

Verity was a shy girl, he must admit. Never really opened up to him or Fred, but she loved to make others feel better. Make others laugh with her crazy antics. That's what George loved about her most. Even if she was sad, she'd make others happy.

This was one of those sad moments.

He could see it in her eyes as she packed up for the day. A steely glint that looked as if she would break down in any minute. George figured that needed to change. He whistled to get her attention and when he had it, he twirled in circles while getting close to her. Right in front of her desk, he stopped and held out the bright yellow puff of marshmallow to her.

"'Ello, love." Verity laughed and took it from his hands.

"Hi, George. Thanks," she said popping it into her mouth. "I love marshmallows." George smiled at the sight of her puffed up cheeks.

"I can see that." He waited while she ate and looked her over. Her light brown eyes had dark circles under them and the black liner around the orbs didn't make them any lighter. Her hair, usually dark and smooth, was frizzy and held in a messy ponytail. Her lips weren't covered in the usual sheen that glinted in the light. It worried him.

"Thanks, again. I needed that." As if to emphasize the point, her stomach growled loudly causing her to blush. The tinge made her pale skin look sickly. The sight made his stomach turn and he frowned.

"You're welcome. Hey," he grabbed her arm gently as she tried to turn away. Verity looked at him. "Are you okay?"

Instead of an answer, he got a laugh. Not the snorting laugh he got when he played a funny joke on Fred, but a bitter, hatred-filled one. It made him flinch. Verity smiled at him, but it didn't make him feel happy. It made him feel afraid.

"I'm fine, George. Why do you ask?" He looked at her face, a mask he realized.

"I know something's wrong, Ver. You're not yourself today." She dropped the smile and glared at him. Compared with Malfoy's glares when he came to Diagon Alley, hers were nothing. George waited until she gave up and sighed.

"It's nothing, really. I've," again Verity sighed, "just been dealing with my parents. Haven't got much sleep lately." The blonde sat on her desk and wrapped her arms around herself. George wished those arms were his. He sat down next to her and put his hands in his pockets.

"Want to talk about it?" She didn't say anything for sometime so George practiced his patience. When he lived with Charlie as a kid, his brother would come to him to talk about things though most of the time he had no idea what the older Weasley was talking about. Charlie always thanked him for his patience and listening ear and it made George feel all proud. Like he was special.

"When I was a kid, my parents were strict." The Weasley boy looked at her when she spoke. "They didn't let me go anywhere they weren't, didn't allow me to do anything with other kids, watch or listen to anything that wasn't G rated. It was a lonely childhood." Verity grabbed her hair and started twisting it anxiously.

"I was home schooled by tutors my father paid. My tutors were as strict as my parents. If I didn't do something right," she held out her arm and pulled up a sleeve. Her pale skin was decorated in old scars about the width of a ruler. Stunned, George cautiously reached for it. He ran his fingers over the old bruises that hadn't healed and the scars, careful not to hurt her.

"It's okay. They don't hurt as much as when I was a kid." He internally scowled at the nonchalant tone of her voice.

"So when did it stop?" She looked away from his eyes and he gritted his teeth. "It hasn't stopped, has it?" Verity snapped her head back to him and frantically denied it.

"No, no. It's stopped! I was just trying to remember." Relieved, George let out the breath he didn't know he was holding in. He nodded for her to continue. She bit her lip and he couldn't help but smile a bit at the adorable look.

"It was just before my seventeenth birthday. Right before my parents kicked me out because they needed to make room for my little sister." The disgust and loathing in her voice made him flinch. "We all had a fight the day before. They said they needed room for their daughter and not a freeloader. I wasn't even seventeen!" By now, Verity had gotten up and started pacing.

"I was taught all they knew what to teach me and needed to get out and leave them with their new daughter. I said, 'What you taught me was how to not do anything when someone hits me!' My mother sighed while my father was furious. How dare I speak to them in that way! They were my parents! Well, you know what I said? I said, 'Well since I'm a freeloader then you aren't my parents!' My mother stood up and slapped me. 'We are your parents! While you live in this house, you will treat us with respect,' she said. I laughed and screamed, 'Apparently, I'm not living in your house, am I mother?'"

Verity paused and stopped pacing to look at George. "I left that night and slept at a homeless shelter a ways away from the house. When I went back the next morning, all my things were on the lawn. Even my bed." George shook his head in disbelief and repulsion. He drove down his feelings and walked over to the blonde girl.

"So what happened to make you like this?" Again, she laughed bitterly and if George never heard her beautiful laugh cut in that way again, it would be too soon.

"My parents," she started sarcastically, "have asked me to take in my nine-year old sister because they want to be able to vacation without hearing anything about her." George placed a hand on her shoulder when he noticed her clenched fists. She relaxed somewhat and took a deep breath. "I just can't believe it. They're tossing an innocent, baby lamb out into a world of wolves because they can't deal with the responsibilities of parenthood. Not protecting her when she's so young. Letting her down." The pieces finally clicked together in his head.

"Just like they let you down." he realized aloud. She nodded.

"Yeah." She leaned against him and he wrapped an arm around her, guiding her back to the desk. Heaving a sigh, she dragged a hand down her face. A sight that filled George with such sadness and sympathy. "I have three days to decide before they give her to an orphanage."

"It'll be alright in the end." he said, trying to comfort her. She nodded, not convinced.

"I don't want to let her down, even if I've never met her. She's my little sister. I've tried to be there for her despite my hatred for my parents. I talk to her tutors to see how she is, how she looks, and how she's been feeling, but I feel like I've missed out on a big part of her life. How could I have been so blind to her because of my parents?" George cupped her cheek and made her look at him. Her blue eyes shone with unshed tears.

"Just by caring, you haven't let her down. Your parents might have, but you haven't. You tried your best to be there for her around your parents will. You care enough to want to know about her well being and how she is in general. You are the best sister you can be to her and you haven't failed her in the least."

Verity smiled. "Thanks, George." She hugged him and he squeezed her tight in return.

She let go of him. "Can I count on you?"

George grabbed her hand and kissed it, smiling at the dumbfounded look on her face.

"Don't worry, Verity. I'll be right here when you need me." She stared at him for a bit before lunging at him. George laughed in surprise but caught her and twirled her around just to see her beautiful smile.

"Promise me you won't leave me alone." she said. He hugged her tight again.

"I'll never leave you alone. I'd hate not to hear that beautiful laugh, love."

Hopefully, this turned into a better story for readers than it was in the beginning. Review, please!