Chapter 7

It has been weeks since Lydia's meeting with Lord Voldemort. The uncomfortable feeling she had in the back of her mind was still there and there was no one to talk to. Of course, she wrote to Draco several times and he wrote back with encouraging words, but there was nothing he could do about the plan.

George was also another thing. He wrote to her every day with care, asking about her days and inviting her to the Weasley's. And she lied to him, every day, that she was having the time of her life at home. The last thing she wanted was for George to be worried. Lydia knew her parents would kill the living soul out of her if they'd found out about her and George. She could never wait to go back to Hogwarts and hang out with the redhead Gryffindor. There was obviously a connection with her and George that was more than friends, and both of them knew.

And then there was the Harry Potter issue. Voldemort clearly ordered her to befriend The Boy Who Lived, or in her point of view, the boy who never crossed her mind as a good friend. Sure, he, Ron and Hermione were friendship goals, but Lydia had no interest in him whatsoever.

"Lydia Larsson Black!" Mrs. Black bellowed from downstairs, causing Lydia to violently jump out of her bed.

"Yes, Mother?" Lydia shouted back.

"Come down here, this instance!" Her mother sounded angry. But then again, she was always angry. Lydia sighed and threw her sketchbook onto her bed. She quickly trotted down the marble staircase to her red-faced mother. Her face was as red as her hair and her arms were crossed tensely. Lydia looked around and saw, on the kitchen table, an old, sick-looking owl sprawled up in a giant platter of fruits. It was Errol, the Weasleys' house owl.

Lydia tried her best not to scream and asked calmly,

"What's that, mother?" she stared at the familiar owl curiously.

"Do I look stupid to you?" Mrs. Black snapped and pointed her long finger to the unconscious owl. "That's Arthur Weasley's owl! What's he doing here?"

"Arthur- Arthur Weasley?" Lydia said innocently. "I have no idea. I thought he worked with dad? Why would you ask me-"

"Well, maybe it's because this letter is addressed to Lydia Black!" Her mother pulled out a white envelope with Lydia's name written on it. Lydia recognised George's messy handwriting immediately. Her eyes grew wide.

"I- I don't- I think there was a mistake." She concluded, reaching out for the letter, but her mother held it back.

"A mistake, you say?" Mrs. Black said evilly. "Then you wouldn't mind me reading it out loud? Perhaps we all deserve to know the truth, don't you think?" She smiled in her usual sneaky smile and tilted her head. Lydia felt her palms sweating and her heartbeat thumping. She stared at the letter and then back at her mother. Mrs. Black didn't wait for her approval. She ripped the envelope open before pulling out a handwritten letter from George.

"W-wait! That might be personal!" Lydia defended, trying to grab the letter from her mother.

"Oh, I don't think so, young lady!" Mrs. Black laughed and unfolded the letter. Lydia had no choice but to stay still in her spot. "We shall see which Weasley you've been writing to!"

"I don't know any Weasley! I've never talked to a single Weasley my entire life-!"

"'Dear Lydia,-" Her mother started, her eyes already burning with anger. "'I hope you're having a good time with your family, can't wait to see you at school tomorrow. Maybe we should go to Hogsmeade together again, I really enjoyed the last time. Me and Fred are also kind enough to send you are homemade sweets and we hope you enjoy it. Miss you, George.'" Mrs. Black finished up the letter and Lydia could see her heavy breathing.

Sure enough, she could see several re and blue wrapped sweets laying on her kitchen table. Lydia knew exactly what they were and what to do. All she knew was that the letter could just be a sick joke from a bully at school. And the candy the twins have been testing could only be another prank of theirs.

"Explain yourself!" Mrs. Black bellowed.

"See, mother, you got it all wrong." Lydia sighed. She always had the talent to lie fluently. "The Weasley twins are the biggest pranksters in the school. And, well, like every other Gryffindor, they hate Slytherins like me. I bet they've sent one to Draco too. That letter's just a sick joke of theirs."

"So sick that they've sent homemade candy with it?" Her mother said, red in the face. Lydia laughed in a hollow voice and picked up one of the sweets George had sent her.

"Care to try?" she handed it to her mother.

"I'm not eating food from the Weasleys," Mrs. Black spat in disgust.

"Fine, I'll try it," Lydia shrugged. She knew perfectly what to expect, but popped the candy into her mouth anyways. As soon as the candy touched her tongue, her enitre face turned into a deep shade of purple. Her mother shrieked in horror and dropped the letter to the ground. Lydia tried her best not to burst out laughing. "Definitely a love letter, right?" she asked grimly. Her mother calmed herself down and pulled out her wand and pointing it at her daughter.

"Renervate!" she stated, making Lydia's face turn into its normal state. Mrs. Black scoffed and thrusted the letter into their fireplace. "Fine! But if I catch you lying about this, you will be kicked out of this house instantly! Understood?"

"Yes, mother."

...

Lydia arrived at platform 9 3/4 by herself and quickly jumped onto the Hogwarts Express. The train wasn't as crowded as the first day of school, because most students were going straight to Hogsmeade station. She didn't see anyone she knew in any of the carriages. Draco was probably already at the castle, and George said he would arrive by the Knight Bus. Lydia sat alone the whole trip, sketching her redhead friend into her sketchbook. George's face wasn't so hard to memorise, he was someone you see once and remember for the rest of the year. Lydia caught herself smiling stupidly several times and rolled her eyes.

"Stupid," she muttered to herself. "he doesn't even like you, stop letting your emotions take over!" she smacked the side of her head and scoffed. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, she knew perfectly how she felt for George Weasley. She didn't know if he felt the same way, or his feelings for her were just platonic.

He was 2 years older than her, meaning he'd seen her since the first day she arrived at Hogwarts, but never approached her. Lydia never really talked to him for all those years, but she remembered that day in 4th year where she was deciding whether or not to ask one of the twins to the Yule Ball. Astoria told her to go for it, but she refused to ask a Gryffindor to the ball. So she went with Draco, as friends, instead. After that day, she forgot about him completely.

But now, all she could think of was him. The past 5 months were wonderful. Everywhere she went, she felt like it was brighter and more interesting than usual. Every time he winked at her from across the hallway, she could feel her cheeks burn red. Every time Draco made fun of his family, it made her blood boil, even though usually she wouldn't mind. What the hell was this?

"All off the train!" someone announced, through the carriages. Lydia looked up soberly and saw that she had arrived at Hogsmeade station. She packed up her things and left the train immediately. She hopped off the train and rubbed her hands together as the cold air of Hogwarts hit her in the face. She hopped onto a self-pulling carriage filled with Hufflepuffs and sat there quietly the whole way to Hogwarts.

The Hufflepuffs tried politely talking to her several times, but Lydia's unamused attitude made them fall silent. When they arrived at the entrance of the castle, she could see Draco, Crabbe and Blaise talking in a corner. Draco was clearly waiting for her. Lydia smiled in relief and approached them from the back.

"Hey guys!" She said brightly. Draco turned and smiled at his best friend.

"I thought you were lost again! Hey Lydia," He hugged her quickly before helping her with her bags. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you we were taking the earlier trains."

"It's totally fine, I had a quiet ride for once." Lydia grinned. "How was your break?"

"Boring, really," Draco said grimly. "stupid Malfoy tradition. We stayed in the manor the whole break."

"I stayed at my step father's house." Blaise said. "He's the worst. Mother's the worst. It was horrible."

"I had to stay at Gran's." Crabbe grunted. "My father was at the Black's manor all break."

"Then I guess we all had a horrible break." Lydia sighed as the four Slytherins walked through the crowded hallway. Draco hesitated to ask her something, but his mouth sealed shut when he saw how happy and relieved she was to be back. He didn't want to ruin it for her. Lydia stopped at the Great Hall and turned to him. "I'm gonna go get me trunk real quick. I'll meet you at the common room?"

"Yeah, alright." Draco smiled. "We'll meet you there."

Lydia grinned and pushed past the crowd and into the magnificent hall. The ceiling was bright and cloudy as always and was loud and crowded with returning students. The house tables were'nt filled with food, but was packed with luggages and animal cages. Lydia sighed at the familiar and welcoming place before scanning the hall for a particular redhead. Of course, not after long, she saw a group of redhead siblings collecting their luggages at the end of the Gryffindor table.

"George!" Lydia smiled, running across the Great Hall to the group of Weasleys. They all turned to her voice and George beamed.

"Lydia," he chuckled as the brown-haired Slytherin girl rushed into his arms. She looked up at him and felt safe at the sight of his warm eyes. "woah, is there something wrong?" George asked when he saw Lydia's teary eyes. Lydia shook her head and buried her face into the front of his robes.

"No, nothing's wrong, I'm just happy to be back. With you." Lydia muffled into his chest, George chuckled and hugged her tighter. Lydia hated lying at his face like that. Of course she was happy to be back, but she was back with a new perspective and a new task. The plan had entirely ruined her. And now she had to befriend Harry Saint Potter. Not to mention training herself for the task.

"I'm glad to be back with you too," George laughed. Lydia nodded, trying to forget about the plan.

"Gag me with a spoon." Fred said grimly. George and Lydia broke apart and glared at him.

"That's rude!" Ginny scolded Fred, hitting him on the arm. Fred tutted and rolled his eyes. "Just because you don't have a girlfriend doesn't mean you can be mean about your brother's!"

"Thanks, Ginny, but George and I aren't together." Lydia said with a smile.

"Yet." George added with a sly smirked. Ginny rolled her eyes and Fred made a face and put up a hand.

"Bye, I'm out." he said shortly and left the rest of the Weasleys before walking out of the Great Hall with Lee Jordan. George gave Ginny and Ron a look and they left, following Fred out of the hall. George sighed and looked back at Lydia warmly.

"So- good Christmas?" he asked her with a soft smile. Lydia faked a smile back.

"'Course! We went skiing and drank eggnog all night." she said happily. "What about you?"

"It was great as well." George replied.

"What about your father? Is he alright?" Lydia asked.

"He's alright. Mum was furious about him accepting muggle medication, but other than that, he's been great." George said. He glanced down at Lydia's tote bag and saw her sketchbook poking out of it. Lydia followed his gaze and realised what he was looking at.

"Oh no, you don't." she said, but it was too late. George grabbed the sketchbook from her bag and used his tall privilege to prevent her from getting it back. Before he opened it, he decided to ask her first.

"Can I just have a look?" he smiled down at the Slytherin girl.

"No!" Lydia said with a grin.

"Please?"

"Nope-"

"I won't say anything."

"Don't make fun of me-"

"I won't!"

"Hmm..." Lydia frowned. George pouted his lips and she rolled her eyes. "Alright. I guess you can."

George beamed and quickly opened the leather sketchbook. It was quite new so there weren't many drawings in it. But it was enough to make George gape in awe. He stared at her drawing of Hogwarts, of Draco, of Toffee, of a fruit bowl, and finally, of George himself. George blinked and traced his fingers on the surface of the paper. He slowly grinned and looked at the red faced Slytherin girl in front of him.

"You drew me?" he asked quietly.

"Well, no, that's clearly Dumbledore's toenail, what do you mean?" Lydia grinned. George snorted and chuckled loudly, causing a group of Slytherins to glare at them. He shook his head and put an arm around Lydia's shoulder., guiding her out of the hall.

"Your drawings are amazing." He told her with a grin.

"No, your face is amazing," Lydia said sarcastically.

"You actually mean that, don't you?" George asked. Lydia scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You're horrible," she grinned.

"But my face isn't." George smirked and Lydia laughed.

"So full of yourself, Weasley." she grinned. "Anyways... wanna get out of here? These 1st years are trading lip balms again." Lydia glanced at the loud little girls trading little treats from their Christmas. George snickered and stood up from the table, following the Slytherin girl.

They decided mutually to go hang out in the grounds for the rest of the day. George told her about the pranks he and Fred had done throughout their years at Hogwarts, and how they were planning to leave and start a joke shop before their NEWT exams. Lydia could definitely see Fred and George as one of those successful millionaire dropouts. She promised him to help plan their dramatic exit.

Outside, the sky was cloudy and the whether was still really cold. But it didn't stop Lydia and George from entertaining themselves. They saw Umbridge walking towards Hagrid's hut in her usual bubblegum pink coat and followed. George successfully put a stinking charm on the ugly woman, making a group of students that walked by gag and eyes water. Lydia watched from afar and quietly died of laughter in her spot.

"You are horrible!" She told George through her laughter. "That iconic stinking charm."

"That's why you love me," George grinned.

"You're not wrong," Lydia shrugged.

"Brilliant. So should I put a stinking charm on you too?" George asked, raising his wand over his head. Lydia shrieked and grabbed his arm. The Weasley-invented spell lasted more than a day, which was very scary, in Lydia's opinion. George laughed at her terrified face and lowered his wand instantly. "I was just joking! Bloody hell, you look traumatised. Scared of my iconic stinking charm, Black?" he nudged Lydia's shoulder.

"Stinking charm my arse," Lydia muttered furiously. George smirked.

"Sure!"

"No!" Lydia hit George's arm sternly.

"OK. Sorry." George said, still grinning like a maniac.

"Not cute, Weasley." Lydia scolded.

"Not even a little?"

"Nope."

"Alright." George stuffed his wand in the pocket of robes.

"Let's go back to the castle. It's almost dinner time." Lydia said, checking her watch.

The two went back up to the castle together, where it was cozy and warm. The Great Hall was already filled with students and food as they walked in. Lydia mouthed to Draco that she was going to sit with George and earned an annoyed scowl from him. She sat at the end of the Gryffindor table with the Weasley twins, Lee, and Ginny. She and Ginny were actually getting along quite well. They had the same sarcastic humour and the both supported the HollyHead Harpies, an all-girls Quidditch team.

"Have you been to one of their games before?" Lydia asked the youngest Weasley. Ginny laughed hollowly.

"The only Quidditch game we've been to, we got the tickets for free. It was the World Cup last year." she said with a shrug.

"I was there too," Lydia smiled. Of course she was there. Her father was one of the lead Death Eaters. "It was wonderful! But the Harpies games are the elite."

"I wish I could go see them one day." Ginny sighed. Lydia smiled at her warmly.

"You will, one day." she said reassuringly. "By the way, where did you guys spend your Christmas if it wasn't at The Burrow?" Lydia asked the Weasleys.

"Oh- um," Ginny said awkwardly. "It's at our cousin's muggle hometown in London. Huge place, great for gatherings."

"So you had a great Christmas." Lydia said, trying not to sound jealous. She spent hers with Lord Voldemort, what did she expect?

"It was amazing." George replied. "Hermione and Harry were there, and so were mum's other friends. It was really wonderful. Dad's also completely healed, so everything was just brilliant. I wish you were with us, Lydia, I know mum would adore you."

"You think?" Lydia smirked.

"Totally." Ginny smiled.

"She adores everyone, really." George chuckled. "Harry, especially. Ron reckons she loves Harry more than any of us. I don't think so. I'm definitely mum's favourite. But Harry's basically part of our family, now... talking about Harry, I think he's got a thing for you."

"What?" This took Lydia by surprise. She frowned and stared at George's honey-brown eyes. He looked pretty serious, unlike every time he joked around. And then she let out a chuckle and hit his arm playfully. "Very funny, Georgie Weasley."

"It's true! Look at the man himself behind you. He's literally drooling." George jerked his head to the end of the Gryffindor table. Lydia turned back and saw the Golden Trio chatting at their usual spot. Ron and Hermione were arguing like always and Harry was staring at George and Lydia with his chin rested on his hand. When he realised they were staring bak at him, he turned away, blushing slightly red. Lydia's stomach clenched badly. Ginny looked between her and Harry and turned red.

"I gotta go." the redhead girl whispered. "See you, Lydia."

"We're going, too." Fred said, and he and Lee stood up. "Meet us at our common room, Georgie."

"See you," Lydia and George said. The three Gryffindors left the table and left the Great Hall. Lydia and George were alone, apart from the Golden Trio at the other end of the table. Lydia stared at them. Harry caught Lydia's eye and immediately ran his finger through his hair. Lydia quickly turned away and looked back at George, wide-eyed. What. The. Actual. Hell. She cringed slightly as she gave the boy a weak smile. It was good thing, wasn't it? After all, that's what Voldemort would have wanted.

"Oh Merlin," Lydia muttered under her breath. George laughed and shook his head.

"C'mon, he's not that bad." he said, nudging her arm. "He seems so interested in you. Give that boy a chance."

"He's so stuck up. With his weird scar and all." Lydia scrunched her face.

"He's a talented bloke," George grinned. "And a really rich one, too."

"But I'm not interested in him- I'm interested in you." Lydia blurted. George raised and eyebrow and she turned deep red. She quickly looked at her feet and stuttered, "I meant- like- not in a weird way, just-"

"I'm interested in you, too." George said quickly, causing Lydia's lips to part slightly. He blushed and blinked at the floor. Lydia raised her eyebrows.

"You mean like- interested interested?" she piped. What a stupid question. But George understood. He blushed deeper red and scratched the back of his neck. Lydia grinned slightly at the sight of his embarrassed expression. George was never nervous or embarrassed, so that made her feel quite superior. "If you know what I mean," Lydia added, filling the awkward pause.

"I do." George said, smiling at her. "I'm just not sure if- you're interested."

"I- am. I am interested." Lydia stuttered and rubbed her fingers together.

"But- you don't fancy The Boy Who Lived." George said with a slight smirk. "Why would you be interested in me?"

"I don't know, maybe because you are such an idiot." Lydia grinned. "You're so likeable, George Weasley." George grinned and looked at her sparkling eyes.

"So..." he said slowly, biting his lips nervously. "Do you want to- try it out? See if we work out?" Lydia could feel her heart bloom with delight. A smile crawled onto her face as she nodded eagerly. George chuckled and nodded slowly. "So. Lydia Larsson Black. I really like you and I think you feel the same way. You make me laugh and you make me happy in general. We've know each other for only 5 months, but I feel like we could do so much more together. Would you like to go out with me?" it was really odd to see him quite shy like this, Lydia thought. She beamed at the Weasley and nodded.

"Yes, yes I would love to!" She sighed happily and hugged him again.

As the couple said good bye, and as George gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, Lydia kept wondering, why would she do that to herself? Why would she want to be with someone who would hate her for who she really was. She knew perfectly that the plan was organised and she would have to do it. So there was no going back from what she had. She was going to attack... perhaps kill one of Georg's friends. What the hell would he think of her if he'd knew?

Author's notes: Hey everyone! It's been quite a while, and I've been having a lot of school work. I've managed to write this chapter throughout the week, and it's not really edited yet. I didn't want to make you guys wait longer, so here it is (there might be some spelling mistakes, so don't be surprised haha). Anyways, please enjoy. Things are going downnn. As a review had said: This is going to be MESSY.