Chapter 8
Later that night, while everyone lay asleep, I was tossing and turning. First off, I was afraid to fall asleep. It was obvious that nightmare was courtesy of Voldemort. Second, even if I didn't have that fear, I wasn't capable of sleep. I was far too anxious, what with the wedding, the war, George…
I rose from the bed quietly, not wanting to disrupt the peaceful slumber Hermione, Fleur, and Ginny had fallen into. I dressed myself in casual attire, picked up my satchel, and tiptoed out of the room. As I was walking downing the stairs, I looked out a window and noticed that it was near dawn. Each person would be awake within a few hours. As I was about to walk through the front door, leave this family behind, fight Voldemort alone, I heard a slight snore. I slowly turned around, and noticed George asleep on the couch.
That's right. Mrs. Weasley had him sleep there for the night. Fred, Ron, and Bill would use his room. I stared at him. George was a gentle person in general (unless of course you threw Dolores Umbridge into the picture), but he looked so innocent asleep. He was injured and it was because of me. I couldn't stand for that to happen again. I had to leave.
As I was about to, a second thought crossed my mind. He was George. He would gladly step in the way of a curse if it were for his sister, a brother, a friend. It wasn't just me. So if I stayed, maybe I could help him, protect him. Two sides of my brain argued, until finally, I gave up the debate with myself and dropped my satchel, sighing. I walked into the kitchen for a glass of water, deciding it would be better to stay. I sat on a stool for what felt like a few moments, tracing a knot in the wooden counter top, until a familiar voice made me nearly fall off of my seat.
"What are you doing, dressed and ready to walk out the door?"
George walked over to me, took a seat beside me, and poured himself some water.
I didn't look at him. I couldn't. He was whiter than usual, and he now had a bandage wrapped around where his… ear used to be.
"Oh, come on, don't be that way." George pulled me into a hug. His arms were wrapped around me; my face was buried in his toned chest, and his chin rested on the top of my head.
"How can I not?" I questioned him, "You're hurt because of me."
"No, I'm not. I'm hurt because of Snape. Unless you two are the same person, and I doubt you are since you're a much prettier bird than he is, then reason I'm hurt has nothing to do with you." He spoke these words of comfort into my hair.
"If I left now, no one else would get hurt," I said, "or killed," I added, thinking of Moody.
"You and I both know that's not true. You're the best hope anyone here has of defeating Voldemort." He was rubbing circles on my back to soothe me. It was working.
I tilted my head up, now looking him straight in the eyes. "I can't see you get hurt again."
"And I won't, as long as you're here to keep me company. I love you, but you need your rest. It'll be a long day tomorrow, and we all know how unforgiving you can be without sleep." George then kissed the top of my head, handed me my satchel, and I retreated up the stairs of the burrow.
"See you tomorrow." I walked up the stairs, and he watched me until I was out of sight, and then turned on his heels and tiptoed back to the sofa.
Once back in the room, I stripped down to just the T-shirt and pants I was wearing, and crawled back into bed.
George was right. Tomorrow would be a big day. It's just too bad I didn't realize it at the time.
*Reminder*
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