The first month of the new term flew by and soon enough it was October and not only had the weather turned colder but most of the school had contracted colds. Poor Madam Pomfrey was inundated with requests for Pepper Up potions. Georgia, however, being Muggle-born was fine with continually blowing her nose and basically suffering through it all - much to her friends annoyance. She'd seen how the potion made people smoke at the ears and she didn't need that.
"Gia, just go and see Madam Pomfrey, she'll give you a potion and then you'll be right as rain" Tilly said, as Georgia was slowly falling asleep in one of the chairs in the common room, thumb in her mouth - a sure sign that she was sickening for something that plus the amount of tissues she was currently carrying around in her robe pockets and also the fact she spent most of her days at the moment complaining of a pounding headache comparing it to Gnomes sitting on her brain and kicking her skull very violently.
A week later Georgia still wasn't any better and this was made even more obvious when during one of their homework periods where they were allowed to use the Great Hall as a work space she lent onto Fred's shoulder and after hacking up a lung she whined out "Freddie, cuddle?" Which caused the twins to share a look over the top of her head, which meant they missed Ruby biting her lip at how close to Fred she was and how needy she was being as well considering Angelina was also sitting at the table too.
George swung his legs round and stood up "Come on, off we go" he demanded as he peeled Georgia away from his brother's shoulder. Once he was free from a sick and needy Georgia Fred followed suit and snaking his arm around her waist they guided her from the Gryffindor table.
"Where are we going?" Georgia asked "I have Transfiguration homework to do…" She said, trying to leave Fred's grip to return to her essay so that McGonagall wouldn't deduct house points from her when it wasn't complete.
"Nuh uh Goshawk, we are taking you to the Hospital Wing and you are going to take that Pepper Up potion and then you will feel positively brilliant" Fred explained, unconsciously pulling her closer to him as he noticed she was shivering - which meant she was running a fever on top of everything else. He then signalled to George to cuddle into her other side so that she had double the warmth.
"Where's your jumper?" Fred asked.
"Huh?" she frowned, she was wearing her grey Hogwarts jumper, "Oh! You mean yours? Trunk" she replied as her brain caught up with what he was asking, sounding all stuffy as she spoke.
"Roo?" Fred called over his shoulder.
"Yes?" She replied, with a sigh, trying to finish her homework, knowing she'd have her friends to help.
"Couldn't run up and get Gia's jumper from her trunk, the one I gave her, could you?"
"Let me finish this sentence and then yeah, sure" she nodded before returning to her homework.
After what felt like ages for Georgia's aching limbs, she was finally wrapped up in Fred's old Quidditch jumper and the three of them had reached the Hospital Wing. It was becoming an occurrence for her to wear it when she wasn't feeling well but she didn't mind as it did the trick of warming her up and making her feel better. The twins gently pushed Georgia to sit onto one of the beds, Madam Pomfrey quickly bustling over from her desk to see to them.
"Messers Weasley" She announced, used to them always showing up to be healed in one way or another "What can I do for you today?" She sighed, giving them both the once over to check that everything was in order.
George grinned as he noticed what she was doing "Not for us today, Poppy. It's for our dear friend Georgia here, she is being a stubborn witch who has refused to come and see you to get a Pepper Up potion, something about being a Muggle and how her mum's remedies are the best to get rid of a cold"
"That was a week ago…" Fred said with an eye roll and a shake of his head, she really was a stubborn little lion.
Poppy sighed "Right, thank you gentlemen, leave it with me" she said, as she shooed them out of the room and then busied herself finding the potion she required. She then walked over to Georgia and handed her the potion bottle "Take this in one, you'll feel much better after a nap" she instructed with a nod, giving her a stronger potion, knowing it would knock her out for a little while but that was probably for the best as the poor girl looked exhausted.
Georgia took the bottle from the Matron and then drank it down in one as instructed, scrunching her face at the taste, before handing the now empty bottle back and then allowed herself to get comfortable and closed her eyes - she hadn't been sleeping lately due to not being able to breathe through her nose.
She then felt around in her robe pocket for the box of painkillers "C-Could I also please get a glass of water?" The Matron nodded and then bustled off to go and fetch her one. She was thankful she had checked with Rosa that Muggle painkillers wouldn't interfere with any magic potions she may have to take whilst at Hogwarts during term time.
She soon returned with a glass of water and then went off to tend to another patient giving Georgia the space to down two Muggle painkillers in one, put the box back in her pocket and the, now empty, water glass on the side before laying back and breathing a sigh of relief, feeling a lot warmer in the oversized sweater, her eyes started to feel heavy and soon enough she was asleep.
Fred and George reentered the Great Hall to find Ruby sitting where they had left her, absentmindedly chewing on the handle of her wand as she flipped through her textbook, underlining sections with her quill. If the librarian could see her now she'd have a heart attack that the book was being defaced. As they got closer they noticed that she had packed all their stuff up for them and had the three school bags on the bench beside her. Sensing the presence of someone Ruby looked up and smiled
"Hey, how's Georgia doing?" She asked, noticing she was missing.
"Poppy shooed us out but I'm sure she'll be fine in a bit," George replied.
"We can go collect her when the study period is over" Fred added, taking a seat.
"I wasn't sure how long you'd be so I've put your homework away" Ruby shrugged handing their bags across the table to them "That's an awful lot of scribbling you've done on your charms paper George"
The twin in question glared at his brother, who avoided looking at him, before answering "Because someone switched my Charms book for my Transfiguration one and I copied out half a paragraph before realising I was writing about the Vanishing Spell instead of the Summoning Charm"
Fred let out the laugh he'd been holding "You've got to admit it was clever though" he grinned.
"You're both terrible" Ruby chuckled at them.
"Says the sister of Onyx Wilkins" Fred replied, before ruffling Ruby's hair and poking George in the side who threw him a pout, Onyx and Charlie had been friends back when they had attended Hogwarts together and they spent most of the school holidays teasing Fred and George and now they were both off travelling for their jobs and whilst the twins missed Charlie they were pretty thankful that he wasn't constantly chasing them and threatening to flush their heads down the toilet.
Ruby looked up at Fred and harrumphed as he'd messed up her hair "Onyx says hi, actually, he also told me to tell you that he is extremely excited about coming back for a visit - something about you two are getting it when he sees you?" She shrugged not totally understanding what Onyx had meant but the reaction it had caused in the twins piqued her interest and she vowed to send an owl to her brother to find out more.
The twins eventually put their bags back down on the floor and sat down, pushing Georgia's bag closer to Ruby so that she could take it to her in the Hospital Wing after they were allowed to leave their current study hall.
"Fred?" Angelina asked, sliding across the bench and closer to George, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear before giving him a coy smile, glad that Georgia was no longer at the table nor clinging to him like a limpet. Ruby snorted as she had the wrong twin but quickly covered it up by pretending to cough when one of them nudged her foot under the table, subtly telling her not to give them away. Fred and George shared a smirk and Ruby watched in amusement as neither decided to correct her.
George looked up from his homework "Yeah?" He replied, his tone light as he answered his friend.
"What are you working on?" She asked, leaning closer.
"Charms" he answered.
"Oh. I was wondering if you could give me a helping hand with the Care of Magical Creatures homework, please?" She added, batting her eyelashes at him.
Ruby resisted the urge to laugh at the chaser's awful attempts at flirting and tried to focus back on her own essay. Fred sat watching the exchange with a bemused grin on his face.
George was nibbling on the end of his quill as he was still trying to figure out his Charms homework now that he had the correct book in front of him but he really wasn't getting very far so sighing he closed the book, putting the parchment that corresponded to it inside the book and then slipped it back into his bag "Yeah, sure, what are you struggling with the most?" He asked, gesturing for the parchment and book she had in front of her.
Angelina obliged with a smile and pushed it across the table towards him "Fire Crabs" she responded simply.
Fred looked at his twin, eyes wide and then at Ruby briefly - she was flirting with him. Most teenagers at Hogwarts knew if you were taking Care of Magical Creatures and you started asking for help with the homework that involved either Fairies, Unicorns or Fire Crabs you were flirting with them. George apparently hadn't caught that memo and cleared his throat as he flicked to the page on the creature in question and then looked over at the essay topic they had been set, not that he had made any attempt to do it yet "Hmmm... " he hummed, wondering where to start.
Fred shook his head at his oblivious twin and went back to his Charms homework, Ruby doing the same not sure how much of the awkward situation happening across the table from her she could take, didn't help she was also worried about Georgia, most of the time the Pepper Up potion kicked in after several minutes and yet it seemed like the friend that made them a quartet had been gone longer than that.
So nudging Fred she decided to ask him if he knew the real reason she was in the Hospital "It was just to get Pepper Up, right?" She quizzed him to which he nodded.
"Yeah, she seemed fine aside from the cold" he replied, still looking down at the parchment in front of him.
"Then why is she still not back yet?" She asked, mostly to Fred but also to anyone who would answer.
"Maybe she got intercepted by Tilly?" George replied, mainly to the book he had his nose in. Much to Angelina's annoyance, she wanted his full attention to herself.
"What did I do?" the mousey brown haired witch asked, looking up from the textbook she'd been hunched over a little further down the table.
"Nothing, sorry" George apologised.
"Try again?" Ruby challenged him, sounding a little frantic.
"Roo, just calm down I'm sure she's fine" Fred said, in his 'I'm the eldest' tone and resting a hand on her shoulder he gave it a light squeeze and then returned to writing up his Charms homework. But Ruby couldn't calm down and she couldn't concentrate, Georgia was meant to have gone, taken the potion, possibly closed her eyes for a twenty minute nap and then return to the Great Hall to carry on with study hall, not still be missing when there was only about ten minutes left before they would be allowed to leave and return back to their common room for the night, free to do what they pleased since they'd already had dinner.
Sighing heavily Ruby threw her homework items into her bag, then got up from the table and turned on her heel to leave. She couldn't concentrate when she was concerned about her friends' whereabouts. Making her way out the hall she walked the familiar route through the empty hallways towards the hospital wing. If Georgia wasn't there still then she hoped that Madam Pomfrey might know where she'd gone. The echoing sound of running footsteps reached her ears before the sounds of Fred and George's voices did.
"Wilkins hold up" that was George, she knew that without needing to look and that thought made her proud.
"You left Georgia's bag. What happened to us collecting her when we finished studying?" and that was definitely Fred. She smirked, enjoying the fact she could tell them apart by their voices alone. Angelina would never have anything on her.
"You're meant to help us study," George added and Ruby turned to raise an eyebrow at him.
"Looked to me like you were more than capable of studying. Become quite the expert on Fire Crabs haven't you"
"Angelina asked for help, what was I meant to do?" he shrugged.
"She wanted help," Ruby drawled out, using her fingers to make air quotes.
"What's that meant to mean?" George frowned and Fred sniggered, throwing an arm around his shoulder, ruffling his hair.
"Sweet innocent Georgie, you've got a lot to learn"
"Will someone tell me what the hell I've missed?" he grumbled.
"She was flirting with you, you prat" Ruby rolled her eyes, taking Georgia's bag from Fred and throwing it over her shoulder with her own. Before continuing towards the double doors of the hospital, completely missing the blush that spread across his face and the wide eyed look he'd given his twin.
"Well technically she thought I was Fred so it was you she was flirting with" George said, shoving his twin in the shoulder.
"Could have made me look more intelligent and macho" Fred scowled.
"She would never have believed that" Ruby laughed, winking at George.
"Yeah, we all know you're neither" George joked, high fiving the blonde as they roasted Fred.
"I hate you both" he grumbled, peering through the glass to see if he could spot Georgia. But he couldn't see who was in the beds because the curtains had been pulled round them.
"You tell yourself that" Ruby commented and with a sigh she pushed the doors open and entered. Madam Pomfrey appeared from behind a curtain and hurried over thinking she had a new patient.
"Miss Wilkins, how can I help? Do you need your monthly's?"
"What?" Ruby frowned and shook her head "No, I'm here to see Georgia. She is still here, right?"
"Yes, right over here, she was sleeping but..." Poppy stopped as Fred and George came through the doors.
"They're with me" Ruby told her "We'll keep the noise down, I promise"
"You have five minutes!" The matron told them with a hard stare before going off to see her other patients.
Ruby poked her head round the curtain and gave her friend a small smile "Hey, how's our little sick bug? Are you feeling better?" Georgia returned the smile with a weak one of her own, she felt a lot better but she was still miserable and feeling sorry for herself.
"We've been worried about you, well I have been" Ruby added moving to sit on the side of the bed, looking at the twins over her shoulder "How come she kept you here? Figured you'd be back in like ten minutes"
"Took some Muggle painkillers" the brunette replied, in a whisper, "Clearly Pepper Up and paracetamol makes you extra sleepy?" She shrugged, glad to be finally able to breathe and the nap had done her good.
"Oh no that's the worst! Aunt Flo and a cold? Ugh!" Ruby responded, sympathetically and Georgia nodded "Yup! Sucks to be me. Feeling brighter now that I've slept though"
Ruby grinned at that "So, you're free to go then?" She asked but Georgia shrugged "I guess I'll have to ask Pomfrey" She replied, so Ruby tried to get the matron's attention.
Giving the fourth year the once over Poppy deemed her well enough to leave, linking arms with Ruby they headed towards the common room. Fred telling her the story of Angelina mixing them up and George being clueless to the flirting, not realising it was waking the green eyed monster that resided inside of her. As they climbed another set of stairs into another hallway a streak of red robes ran straight for them and the four friends parted to let whoever it was through, he thanked them before coming to a halt at the end of the corridor and turning to call after them, "Weasley's, Wilkins! I'm glad I caught you" Oliver Wood said, walking back towards them. "Be on the pitch ready to play in fifteen minutes"
"It's a Thursday Oliver, we don't practice on Thursdays" Ruby called back.
"This week, we do. I've come up with a wee idea and I want us to try it" he grinned.
"Tell me your joking," Fred moaned, still sore from the previous night's practice game.
"No, so chop chop. Times ticking" and with that he took off.
Georgia offered them a small sympathetic smile as they set off for Gryffindor Tower once more, sandwiching herself between the two red heads. With her fever now gone she was feeling a lot warmer but had kept her red and yellow jumper on. The twins were cracking jokes and making fun of Oliver for being so Quidditch orientated, electing joyous laughs from the two witches. Upon reaching the portrait of the Fat Lady it swung open revealing Harry and Katie who asked if their captain had managed to catch them.
"Yeah" George nodded, "Any idea what he's up to?" He asked but the two younger players shook their heads no.
"Guess we should join him and find out then" Ruby shrugged, telling Katie she would see her in five minutes as she held the portrait open to let her three best friends pass through first.
"At least I'll have some peace to finish off that homework I missed" Georgia smirked, elbowing the twins in the sides.
"Feeling better though aren't you" Fred grinned, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her to his side as he ruffled her hair. Georgia giggled letting herself bury her face in his strong chest, enjoying the moment while it lasted, not noticing the looks she was being thrown from the dark skinned witch standing at the bottom of the dormitory stairs.
"Yes, yes. You were right" She rolled her eyes, not wanting to give him another reason to boost his ego.
"What about the homework we missed?" George asked playfully.
"Don't worry Georgie, we can go over fire crabs after practice" Ruby teased him, giving him a wink. The four of them burst into laughter, Georgia's eyes meeting Angelina's across the common room and suddenly the atmosphere changed within the room as the chaser stalked towards them, her face like thunder.
"If you've got something to say Wilkins, say it to my face" Angelina spat out.
"Excuse me?" Ruby squared up to her, ready for her to start.
"You lot, laughing about me" the skinny witch pointed at them.
"Wind your neck in AJ, your name wasn't even mentioned" Georgia spoke up and Angelina pushed Ruby aside, much to the blondes frustration, to face the brunette.
"And where have you stolen that from" Angelina demanded, indicating her sweatshirt as she shoved Georgia backwards by the shoulders. "It's obviously not yours, it doesn't even fit"
"I didn't steal it"
"Come on Angel, there's no need to be like that. And I gave her the jumper, to keep, so it is hers" Fred defended, trying to calm the situation.
"You gave her your Quidditch jumper?" Angelina asked in disbelief. Did he fancy her or something?
"Angel?" Georgia asked at the same time, raising her eyebrows as she looked between the two.
"You're not the only one with a nickname, Pipsqueak" Angelina laughed harshly. "Probably only gave you the jumper out of pity" she scoffed.
"What do you mean by that?" Georgia scowled, very much aware of the attention they were drawing but sticking her chin out defiantly anyways to attempt to look taller as she stood up to Angelina. Not ready to back down until she found out what her problem was.
George shook his head at Ruby, silently telling her not to get involved as he lightly held her back. They couldn't always fight Georgia's battles for her, they had to let her do it herself. The three of them knew how feisty she could get and if they allowed her to show the others then maybe they'd stop thinking her weak because she wasn't as tall or boisterous.
"Look at you" Angelina closed the space between them, towering over Georgia. "You're pathetic. It's no wonder Fred feels sorry for you. That's the only reason he keeps you around." She shoved Georgia backwards again, "It's not because he likes you. You're not even on the Quidditch team, you're whiny and clingy and it's not attractive." She continued to shove the brunette witch as she listed each thing off. "You've not even got the guts to fight back have you?" Angelina cackled and something inside Georgia snapped, she'd show her pathetic, and in one swift movement she'd slapped the taller girl across the face.
There was a collective gasp in shock from those watching and it was Georgia's turn to let her sharp tongue go. She shoved Angelina back, not letting her get the better of her. "You're the joke, claiming to like one twin but making moves on the other. At least I can tell Fred and George apart" Georgia said smugly.
Before anyone could really comprehend what had happened Angelia let out a high pitched squeal as she grabbed Georgia by the hair and shoved her into the common room wall. Both of them wrestled to take control of the fight as they swung their arms.
"Stop fighting" Ruby said weakly, wanting them to stop before Georgia got hurt but not wanting to get involved because there'd been a tension between the two witches for months and it needed sorting, and if that was by throwing punches then so be it. She wouldn't stand in their way. Megan and Percy, their two prefects, had begun pushing their way through the Gryffindors that had gathered to watch the fight and Fred and George quickly broke out of their trance, stepping between the two girls to pull them apart. Unable to reach Georgia to hit her again as George and Alicia held her back Angelina pulled her wand out her sleeve to fire a spell at her instead.
"Enough!" Percy roared, holding his hand up to stop her casting a spell.
"WALK AWAY! AND TELL OLIVER WHY YOU'RE LATE TO PRACTICE!" Georgia screamed at the Chaser, still struggling against Fred and Ruby who had their arms wrapped around her to keep her from fighting.
"I suggest all of you walk away" Percy commented looking furious. "I'm deducting house points for the fighting"
"Come on, move" Alicia shoved Angelina out of the common room, telling her friend she'd walk her down to the Quidditch pitch. Leaving Fred, George, Ruby and the rest of the Gryffindor common room to look at the brown haired fourth year and blink.
"Whoa Goshawk... what flipped that switch?" Fred asked, loosening his hold on her but still squeezing her shoulder in support. Instead of explaining though she just looked at him.
"Get to practice, all of you" she turned round so that George and Ruby heard as well "I don't care that she's late but I can't have you being late on my conscience too"
"We can't leave you after that" Ruby shook her head, they'd face Woods' wrath if they had to. But Tilly and Megan stepped forward telling them they'd see that she was okay as they shooed the three away. With a sigh Ruby nodded and pulled the twins with her. Grabbing their Quidditch stuff they gave Georgia hugs, Fred's eyes were filled with worry as he looked at her but she promised she'd be okay and with that he left them to it. The portrait closed behind her three best friends and a deafening silence filled the common room.
"I will be telling Professor McGonagall about what just happened," Percy broke the silence. "It was unnecessary"
"But Percy! She provoked me!"
"You were still fighting in the common room, I can't just let this slide" he said in a tone that suggested nothing would change his mind on the matter.
"You can, you just won't" she grumbled, eyes filled with tears as she then turned to Megan and Tilly for back up/support.
"Those brothers of mine are causing me more trouble than they're worth..." he muttered to himself, just to rub salt into the wound some more.
Tilly quickly turned to Georgia and pulled her away from the fireplace, their other housemates parted to let them pass, now frightened they'd be next, and up to the dormitory before pushing her, gently, onto her bed. Megan followed them, happy to let Percy be the snitch.
"Okay, well, if he wasn't entirely sure that you two had a massive crush on him he does now" Megan said, to break the silence.
Georgia glared at her "She doesn't even know which one she wants" she spat out.
Tilly bit her lip "W-Were you laughing at her?" She asked, scared of the answer.
Georgia shook her head furiously "No! Fred and George were being funny, joshing about Oliver and Quidditch. Which I would have explained to her if she'd given me the chance but clearly she didn't want to listen..." she sighed and rolled her eyes before falling back onto the bed and looking up at the canopy.
"You should probably go see Madam Pomfrey about those bruises, I can practically see them forming" Megan mentioned, pointing out the fact she'd received a couple hits to the face.
"I've already seen her today for a pepper up, she doesn't need me bothering her again" Georgia shook her head.
"It's what she's here for, stop being stubborn" Tilly urged.
"Roo has bruise paste, I'll use that" Georgia shrugged, "I think I'm just going to get some sleep" she sighed out and Megan nodded.
"You sure you're okay?" Tilly asked, her voice filled with concern.
"Of course, I'm just tired," she lied.
"Come on, let her rest" Megan said softly, guiding her little sister out of the room. Once the door clicked shut behind the two Georgia let a few tears fall. Getting up off her bed she went through the bedside drawers next to Ruby's bed. Knowing she'd find the jar of paste. Wrapping her hand around it she headed to the bathroom to dab it onto the bruises, one above her eyebrow and another on her jaw.
Changing into her pjs she pulled Fred's jumper back over her head before climbing up the covers of her bed and sinking into the pillows. Letting out the sobs she'd held back since leaving the common room after her fight. The adrenaline was now gone and she felt drained, both emotionally and physically. Not to mention embarrassed about the things Angelina had said about her, she'd been doing a fine job of keeping her crush on the freckled faced boy a secret and now it was out. Pressing the sleeves of her sweatshirt to her eyes to catch the tears the brunette witch finally cried herself to sleep.