The affairs with her family were on her mind as she sat in the common room. She had taken to staring outside the window absentmindedly, watching large thestrals flying together. It was hard to believe she wasn't dreaming. She knew what they were and who could see them. It was a strange kind of magic. Magical creatures had always fascinated her. Seeing nature exhibit magic, to know this was all natural; the blood in their veins carried it, it was something she would always be in awe of. She thought of this as she watched them fly away.
She had watched a man get killed, that was why she could see them. Magic revealed itself to her because of what she had been through. It was strange, but she was intrigued by it. That was why regardless of her family history, she was so drawn to magical creatures. Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice that called her name.
It was George Weasley. He stood in front of her, looking concerned.
"Hi George" She managed, returning to her reality.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, sitting down next to her. She couldn't help but feel slightly happier with his presence. That bothered her, how much he could affect her happiness. It felt like a weakness and she didn't like feeling vulnerable.
"Better." She replied. He was looking at her strangely, he looked concerned but with a combination of another emotion that she couldn't quite understand.
"I wanted to ask you something." He admitted, and now Jade understood it was guilty mingled with the concern.
"Alright."
"Has something happened recently, in the past few weeks?" She knew he was referring to the reason she had fainted. Waiting a few moments while she thought of what to say, she decided on telling him about her aunt. He nodded and expressed his sympathies but looked unsettled.
"You're doing that thing again, you know."
"What?"
"That thing where you keep yourself from telling me the whole story." He said quietly, wondering if their weeks apart has caused her to lose trust in him.
"It is not that simple." She sighed, looking outside the window again. How much is too much?
"I am here for you, I promise." He said, taking her hand. She nodded and took a moment to think about what to say. What would he think of her?
"I think I might know how to help her. I want to ask Dumbledore if I can go see her." She said as he watched her expression remain blank and far away. He knew she was done elaborating so he simply nodded and stood up. She watched him with the same expression of emptiness.
"Come take a walk with me." He said, still holding her hand.
"I don't really feel like it."
"Please." He asked, feeling helpless. To his relief she agreed and soon they were out on the grounds, walking toward the lake.
When they reached a familiar space- a large hollow tree with a clearing next to it, he stopped walking abruptly and turned around to face her. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small device, Jade recognized it to be an mp3 player. A muggle invention, that probably belonged to his father.
George began to wave his wand and muttered a few incantations and suddenly music began to play from the tiny speakers- magnified a great deal.
"Dad figured out how to make it work with magic." He explained at her curious expression. She smiled knowingly at Arthur Weasley's fascination for muggle things.
George set the mp3 down near the tree and took her hand. They began to sway together, and she rested her head on his chest, listening to the melodies. It was a slow song that calmed her and cleared her thoughts until she only focused on moving in the right pattern. George was a surprisingly good dancer, and she couldn't help but smile as he guided her through more complicated steps.
"Someone's been practicing." At this, he playfully bumped into her and caught her as he lost her balance. Her laugh seemed to revive the warmth that had been missing in him for weeks, and he pulled her closer into his chest- cherishing the feeling of being together. In time he hoped she would trust him with secrets that seemed to be plaguing her, but for now, he was glad that she allowed him this time at least.
Together they danced until a more upbeat song played which made George swing Jade around in a ridiculous manner, eliciting a laugh from her- a sound George had missed dearly.
The sky inevitably grew dimmer as clouds invaded their peaceful, almost dreamlike time together, and they walked back to the castle in time for dinner. George took her hand, uncaring if Darius Silver would see or not, encouraged by the fact that Jade didn't seem to care either. His twin had been right, they were inevitable. George liked that way of putting it. They were bound to find each other, and he did not mind that one bit.
Darius Silver did indeed see, and instead of sadness, there was a hollow rage that filled him. It infuriated him that she didn't seem to care, and it did not occur to him that her mind was preoccupied with other things. While he was busy convincing himself of her indifference, he failed to notice that she was still barely eating- only being forced to by the encouragement of George and Hermione- and her contributions to any conversations were minimal. The twins and Hermione remained concerned as she seemed to withdraw from them, only seeming interested when any mention of Dumbledore came up. When Darius finally went up to her the next day to speak, he seemed to have broken her out of a reverie. She spoke with little emotion, which he mistook for disinterest in their relationship.
When he asked her to speak with him on the Quidditch grounds, he wasn't expecting much resolution.
"I feel like a fool, Jade. Is that what you take me for? I knew of your feelings for him." He had exclaimed in the middle of their conversation about her health. He could not help himself.
She started to say something, but she knew he was right. She knew her feelings for George were far too deep to ignore.
"Is there something I should know Jade?" He asked, shutting his eyes tight.
"Yes, I suppose there is." She sighed with a resigned look to her face. The previous day's events came to mind, and the combination of that memory with her concern about her aunt's condition resulted in a rash judgement that she couldn't be bothered constantly worried about Darius' feelings. She knew how she felt about George, and that it wasn't going away. She also knew that telling Darius about her family was not something she ever intended to do, so she made a choice.
He swallowed and waited for her to continue.
"George has feelings for me."
"And are they reciprocated?" He asked. The question hung in the air, lingering. For a few moments there was a steely silence until she broke it by answering;
"Yes." she said dully. Her eyes were still distant as she felt a slight twinge of guilt.
"I see." He said, getting up.
"I'm sorry." She said while a wave of pain hit her, breaking her out of her bubble. She saw how much hurt was on his face and slowly remorse creeped into her.
"Don't be sorry for the way you feel." He smiled tightly, and bent down to kiss her lightly on her lips, before turning to leave.
Watching him walk away, she suddenly couldn't believe how careless she had been. She got into this relationship as a retaliation and defiance of her feelings of George. It was incredibly selfish not to even think of Darius' feelings.
She found herself in the common room alone, everybody else seemed to be out. Then she noticed somebody at the couch; it was George. She was embarrassed to see him in her state. The combination of guilt and stress about her aunt had resulted in her breaking down in tears as she walked to the common room. Luckily, nobody had seen her but now George watched her with an expression of shock.
Looking at her expression he stood up. Confusion swept his mind, her eyes were red, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
''What is it? What happened?''
''We broke up.'' She whispered. Somehow that news didn't make him any gladder. Seeing her like that was devastating.
His palms curled up into fists, "Why did the git do it?'' he said through gritted teeth, rage clouding his mind. He could feel the anger pulsing through his veins.
''I broke up with him George.'' She said, throwing him off. His expression changed and he was about to say something but she turned away.
''Look I just really need a friend right now.'' She said, wondering if Hermione was up in her dorm studying.
"We're friends remember?'' George said, walking up to her. His strong arms enveloped her and she fell into them, grateful for the support and comfort.
He stroked her hair gently and wiped away her tears.
They sat down on the sofa and her head rested on his chest as he gently stroked her back.
''I didn't mean to hurt him.'' She murmured. "But I couldn't do it anymore. The look in his eyes whenever he spoke to me, I couldn't reciprocate. It wasn't fair."
He said nothing but wiped away more tears.
After a few moments she stopped crying and lay with her head rested on the couch. George sat on the opposite side, staring at the fire place. He had moved away because he knew she needed space.
"Well at least now you don't have to sneak in and out of the room of requirement. I reckon Filch was getting suspicious." He said absentmindedly before a pillow smacked him on the face.
"Don't be a git." She said, unable to prevent the small smile on her lips.
"You throw like Ronald." He scoffed, tossing the pillow on her.
Within seconds, both of them had armed themselves and cushions were being tossed back and forth.
"Oy! What's going on here?" Fred's voice called from the entrance. Lee and he looked upon the two with amused and surprised faces.
George and Jade shared a wicked look for a millisecond before Fred and Lee were hit. Their laughter echoed through the room as pillows flew about like missiles. After an hour, they lay on the fluffy mess on the ground amidst each other.
"So what was this about?" Lee asked, panting.
"I broke up with Darius." Jade said quietly, coming to terms with it.
"Oh, sorry love." Fred said, propping himself up on his elbow to face her.
She turned toward him and smiled weakly, "Thanks."
"You alright?" Lee asked concerned.
"I'm not sure." She breathed, staring at the ceiling with a bemused expression.
George lay silently, contemplating what this meant for them. He wasn't sure of her feelings toward him, but of one thing he was;
He wanted her to be happy. Right now, his feelings would have to wait.
The four of them lay there chatting until they gradually began to fall asleep.
When he awoke, George found her in his arms. Her face was peaceful and devoid of emotion. Her chest rose and fell softly with her breaths. Even with her hair splayed out all over his chest; she looked beautiful. For a few minutes he watched her and traced her jawline lightly with his fingertips; marveling at her beauty.
Her eyelids began to flutter and soon her almond eyes stared back at him. Raising her head, she looked around. He feared that when she found the position she was in, she would draw away quickly. Her recent moods had made him miserable too because there was nothing he could do to help.
To his relief, she simply smiled and him and lay her head back on his chest. Closing her eyes, she murmured, "Morning." and snuggled closer to him.
Internally, he smiled. "Morning," he replied, putting his arm back around her.
They lay like that for a few moments, while he wondered what she was thinking. After a few minutes she drew a breath and began to sit up. His heart sank as she slipped from his arms and did very feline-like stretch. She bent down to plant a kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you." She whispered.
He said nothing but simply took her hand and began to play with her fingers.
Propping herself up on one elbow, she silently watched his green eyes focused. They were mesmerizing. When you first looked at them, they seemed to be a light brown, but they were actually green with flecks of hazel. As she pulled back her hand, he sighed and looked back at her.
"Anytime. But you should know that by now." He finally answered sincerely.
Her steps dragged as she walked up the stairs to the girl's dorms.
Thoughts rushed through his head as he watched her retreating figure, but he stopped himself. Friends. That's all. For now.
They met again in the great hall for breakfast. Nothing was said about the previous night except when Fred and Lee went into an argument of who threw worse. Of course George added how Jade throws like Ron, which caused Ron to flare up and threaten them with telling their mother about the products they were selling. That made the twins dare Ron to and see what he would wake up as the next morning, which shut him up quite effectively.
Hermione walked in late, looking rather knackered and asked about the mess the common room was in, which only lead to more laughing.
"We're off. Bye.'' Hermione told the guys after they finished breakfast.
"Yeah, practice at 5 right?'' Jade asked.
"Yup. See you then.'' George replied, his mouth filled with sausage.
As the girls left Hermione began questioning Jade and got all the details by the time they were in the girl's dorms, except the part about the pillow fight.
"I still don't know why you didn't come to me last night.'' Hermione said, looking worried.
"When I came back to the common room, George was here. He was amazing, he listened and we talked and then when Fred and Lee arrived, we had some fun.''
"I'm so sorry about Darius.'' Hermione said, sympathetic.
"It had to happen, I was in that relationship for all the wrong reasons.''
''I know.'' She replied smugly.
"Oh shut up.''
''So now what?''
''Now I'm single and fine with that. I need a break from these feelings.''
''They won't go away you know.''
''Maybe not, but for now I'm happy being on my own.''
''Good. That's all that matters.'' Smiled her best friend.
Jade flopped down on the bed. They had slept on at 2 or later and she was feeling the effects of the lack of sleep.
''You know I went to the library today morning. It was quite early, just about everyone was asleep." Hermione said in a suspicious tone.
"And?'' Jade asked, wondering what she was getting at.
''And I saw you. And George.''
''Oh.''
''Oh?''
''That was nothing.'' Jade said, biting her lip.
''Really? It didn't look like nothing.''
''Well it was. So shut up.'' Jade said firmly, covering her face with a pillow.
"You like him.''
''I do.'' She finally admitted with a sigh.
''A lot.'' Hermione probed further.
"And your point is?''
''Why don't you tell him?''
''I think he knows already.'' Jade replied, furrowing her brows. I mean he should know by now. Everyone else does. She thought.
"Then why on earth are you two not together already?'' Hermione asked, throwing her hands in the air, exasperated.
"I don't know okay? It's pretty complicated." Hermione didn't know the real reason for Jade's breakdown, and Jade didn't intend to tell her.
"Actually it's not. He fancies you, a lot may I add, and you fancy him too."
"Thank you Sherlock."
"Don't get snarky with me. You two just enjoy prolonging this."
"Oh really?"
"Yes. Wait no!" She cried, holding her hands up. "You're afraid of commitment! That's it!" Hermione said, her eyes lighting up.
"Excuse me?"
"You've never had anything remotely close to a committed relationship, and neither has George. I mean I think he's more open to it than you and you're afraid of getting hurt because he really means a lot to you." Here Jade rolled her eyes "And so you're stalling."
"I appreciate the analysis of my relationship with George, but I think I'll handle it."
"You haven't been handling it very well."
"Why are we discussing this again?"
"Because you two need to get yourselves together!" She exclaimed shrilly.
"It's none of your business!"
"Actually, it has become my business. You have no idea the effect the boy has on you."
"Actually I do."
"Then I am completely blank as to why you're not just telling him."
"It is not that simple Granger."
"Fine. But it's only going to get worse."
"What is?"
"Being around him. I see how you two act when you are together. It's going to get harder."
"It's always been easy though. I mean that's why I like him so much. It's easy to talk to him and be around him. He usually, always makes me smile and I love spending time with him."
"So it hasn't been the least bit awkward?"
"Well, obviously when I was with Darius it was. It was quite awkward, but usually... Usually I love being with him.''
''I can't wait for you two to finally get together!''
''That won't be for a while... I need some time... And who knows, maybe he won't want me then.''
''I doubt that.'' Fred's voice said out of nowhere. Suddenly his head popped from behind the drapes into view. The girls sat up, surprised.
George was next, coming up beside his twin. He had a smirk playing on his lips.
''He's right.'' he said, looking right at Jade as she dropped her gaze and turned a delicate shade of red.
''Have you two been eavesdropping?'' Hermione asked, horrified.
''Barely, we came to return your book.'' Fred said innocently, holding up a textbook.
''Both of you.'' Jade said, rolling her eyes.
"Well... Yeah... Hermione come here a second.'' Fred said, taking her hand and pulling her down the stairs away from Jade and George.
"Look… Whatever you heard...'' Jade began, flustered.
''Stop.'' George halted, holding up his arms.
''I'm not asking for anything. I'll be whatever you need me to be Jade.'' he said, pushing his hands into his pocket.
She nodded, grateful and then stood up with a look in her eye that George couldn't read.
"But what if you get tired waiting for me? What if there's someone else for you?" She asked, her voice stained. Comprehension dawned on his features as she refused to look away. He felt bad for being slightly pleased at her implication of jealousy, but he took a few steps to close the distance between them and took her hands in his.
"There's not going to be someone else, anyone else. You've got me completely, and that isn't going to change." He said sincerely. Jade felt a strength in his words and immediately felt reassured.
"Thanks Georgie.'' She whispered, putting her arms around his waist. She lost herself in the warm embrace and sighed into his chest.
'' For you, anytime.'' he repeated.
"A bit earlier than I expected.'' Fred's voice interrupted the moment.
"Piss off." George shot back.
"About time." Hermione smirked from beside him.
"Friends, for now.'' George said the first word with emphasis, but with a wink and Jade rolled her eyes.
''For now.'' Fred repeated with a wink and dragged him off.