The days following the triple attack all blended into one and Fred was no longer sure what day was what. Not that he cared either, the teachers kept him on track of where he needed to be. Though occasionally he would find the opportunity to wander off and do his own thing, like in the hour between the end of lessons and the start of dinner. He'd overheard Harry and Ron talking about not being able to unsee the way Hermione was just laying there in the hospital wing and it had peaked his interest. If they'd visited her then there was nothing stopping him visiting Georgia. Except there was one thing, he was hesitant to actually pass through the double doors, he didn't want to see her petrified and have it haunt his every thought. He'd rather keep the happy memories that he had inside his head. Visions of her laughing and smiling at his silly jokes.
It wasn't until the end of the week that he found the courage to actually enter the schools hospital and it was mostly through anger that he did so. His older brother Percy was there, he'd seen him a few times, usually sitting closer to the doors no doubt seeing his fellow Prefect, Penelope. Fred had always left before his brother could see him though. But this time Percy was further down, and he wasn't sure how he knew but he sensed his brother was sitting with Georgia this time and that annoyed him. Pushing through the doors he stormed past the rows of beds, the first few sectioned off and partly hidden by curtains, and down to where the curly haired Weasley was sat.
"What do you think you're doing?" he all but growled at his big brother.
"Excuse me?" Percy stood to glare at him, he wouldn't be spoken to like that, not by anyone. Family or otherwise, he was a prefect and deserved to be respected.
"You've got your own girlfriend to sit with" Fred pointed at the ravenclaw in question.
"You and Georgia are..." Percy questioned with wide eyes, wondering when it had happened and why he wasn't privy to that information.
"No!" Fred snapped, "We're not, but that's not the point. Why are you sitting with her" he'd so far avoided letting his eyes settle onto his best friend.
"Because funnily enough, none of her friends have bothered to come see her" Percy sighed, knowing he couldn't be mad at his brother for losing his temper. They were all feeling the pressure of the sudden rule changes. "Ron and Harry have been to see Hermione, the Hufflepuffs still visit Justin, I've been visiting Penny and even a few first years have stopped in to see Colin. But not one of you has been to see Georgia, I didn't want her feeling left out" Percy pushed his glasses further up his face, shuffling awkwardly as he spoke and Fred felt a sudden pang of guilt in his chest. He'd been too busy worrying about his own issues to care how Georgia would feel to find out she'd had no bedside visitors.
"Oh" Fred hummed, unclenching his fists and shoving his hands into his pockets. "Thanks I guess"
"It's okay" Percy patted him on the shoulder, "But you're here now, go see her" the older boy encouraged and Fred threw him a worried look. "You'll be fine" Percy promised, understanding why he was hesitant.
"Can she hear us?"
"Madam Pomfrey isn't sure, because none of them have been woken up yet to ask, but she said it's still worth talking to them in case they can, let them know they're not alone" Percy explained and Fred nodded before sucking in a deep breath and moving forward. As his eyes finally landed on Georgia his heart tried to beat right out of his chest, the air catching in his throat. She still had the painted stripes across her cheeks and she was wearing his old Quidditch jumper, that she claimed was a good luck charm, in preparation for the match that never happened, not that she knew that though. Her eyes were glazed over and staring right through him and her expression one of half amusement and half shock. It caught him off guard for a moment and he took a ragged breath, suddenly feeling Percy's hand on his shoulder once more.
"I can't do it, Perce" he whispered.
"You can" Percy guided the usual confident twin to sit in the chair he'd recently vacated, "Just sit, talk to her"
"What do I even say? It's my fault she's here. I promised to protect her and I haven't"
"Stop blaming yourself, you weren't the one that attacked her, she won't be blaming you" Percy explained, and Fred realised he was right. He could practically hear Georgia's voice in his head telling him he wasn't at fault, calling him a goof and telling him off for moping. "Just tell her the things she's been missing" the other red head added before moving to go see Penelope once more, leaving him to it.
And so it began, Fred would take a trip to the hospital wing daily, to catch Georgia up on the things she was missing, not that it was a lot, the attack felt like it had happened both minutes and years ago all at once. Classes had become boring as well without her in them and homework had been forgotten about, it didn't seem important anymore. Despite there being nothing else to do in the evenings the common room was always too loud and crowded to focus on completing homework anyways. And the library was out of bounds after six o'clock, not that he'd ever willingly go there unless the brunette witch was behind him forcefully marching him there, telling him his studies mattered. He, George and Ruby were quickly falling behind in their subjects but the professors, although concerned at how unfocused the three Gryffindors had become, were enjoying the quiet undisturbed lessons they could now hold.
Most days though Percy was hanging about and listening to his conversations with Georgia so with the help of the map he'd started sneaking out of his dorm late at night when the rest of the castle were sleeping, so he could talk to her about more personal things. It bothered him that neither his twin or their blonde best friend had been to see Georgia yet but whenever either of them asked where he'd been he'd lie or avoid answering, liking that his hospital visits were a secret and just something for him to do.
"Has he even slept?" Ruby asked as she pointed her fork in Fred's general direction one morning at breakfast and George shook his head, worrying his lip between his teeth - he'd never seen his brother like this ever! It didn't help that the freckled faced boy kept vanishing as well, one second he'd be there the next he was gone. Several conversations had gone on one sided because they hadn't realised he'd left. He'd show up again soon after and would never talk about where he'd been and it was infuriating to the others.
"He snuck out again last night" George commented, he'd woken up in time to see his twin sneaking back into the dorm. Fred continued to push his food round his plate, completely ignoring the fact they were talking about him, before he forcefully stabbed a rasher of bacon and lifted it to his mouth.
"Fred" Ruby spoke softly, "Have you got any leads on the heir?" She asked, assuming that's where he was sneaking off to at night.
"No, I haven't been looking"
"So where have you been going?" She asked and he shook his head, refusing to answer and Ruby threw a look at George. They were going to have to wait and follow him to find out.
"Freddie, if you're going to keep sneaking off at least let your twin know, yeah?" George eventually complained. Fred gave a noncommittal shrug and grunted before eating some more food off of his plate.
Ruby frowned, if he wasn't careful he'd choke. "Will you slow down please, before you choke?" She all but begged him and he turned to look at her, eyes narrowed and she gulped, this wasn't like him at all!
"Why haven't you been to see her?" he mumbled out the question and Ruby frowned at the sudden change in conversation, quickly trying to work out what he was talking about.
"The same reason none of us have been?" She replied slowly, answering his question with a question to let him work it out himself. They'd all agreed it would make it too real to see her laying unmoving in the hospital wing along with the others.
"Speak for yourself" Fred grumbled, catching Percy's eye across the table, he knew his brother would back him up on his whereabouts. They'd formed a sort of understanding over the last couple weeks. He'd help Percy sneak away to the hospital wing and in return the elder boy wouldn't get onto him about not doing his homework on an evening.
Ruby felt a little hurt at his words until the sickle dropped. "Wait, is that where you've been going? To see her?"
Fred nodded his head, pushing his plate away, and folding his arms. "Someone had to," he shrugged. "How would you feel if none of your friends had come to see you?"
"And you didn't think to tell us? Or ask us to come with you?" George replied, sounding annoyed.
"No" Fred ducked his head, "I kind of enjoy the quiet, and I like talking to her without you lot prying"
"You fancy her! He fancies her!" Ruby gasped, looking between the two twins for a reaction that she was right.
"Alright, shut up" Fred hissed, he didn't need everyone knowing his business. He wasn't even sure what he was feeling was real or if he was just really missing having the brunette around. But his insides ached with sadness and the only thing that helped was visiting her in the hospital wing.
"So it's true?" She asked in a lower voice.
"Look Sprout is waiting for us" Fred pushed himself up from the table, throwing his school bag over his shoulder. He didn't care much about Herbology but he'd take it over a conversation about his feelings for the brunette any day.
"Why didn't he tell us he was visiting Gia?" Ruby sighed as her and George followed. "She's going to think we don't care"
"Well you obviously don't" Fred snapped, before holding onto his bag strap tighter and marching off towards greenhouse three.
"What's gotten into him?" Angelina asked, joining them on the walk to their first lesson.
"He got out the wrong side of the bed, don't mind him" Ruby shrugged, falling into step between George and the other witch.
"Just give him his space, he's only grumpy because he hasn't slept" George explained before running to catch up to his brother to see that he was okay.
Later that afternoon Fred had calmed down and allowed George to talk him round into letting them join him on his next visit to see Georgia, as Lockhart walked them all back to Gryffindor Tower after their final lesson of the day, Fred gestured to his twin and Ruby to hang back. Crouching down he pretended to retie his shoelaces as the rest of the class walked by them, then restanding he jerked his head to the side and they hid inside the nearest empty classroom until the coast was clear. Reaching the hospital wing Fred blocked the door before they could enter.
"Don't back out of the deal now" Ruby huffed, she was worried of how she'd take seeing the other witch that had left a hole in their lives, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to go through with it.
"I'm not" Fred promised, "There's a few things I should tell you first" turning round he looked through the windows on the double doors before turning back to the other two. George frowned at him, trying to work out if his brother was trying to prank them in some way.
"Like what?" he asked.
"It's going to be a bit of a shock when you first see her, but please remain calm. She's still our Georgia and I know it'll look like she's staring at you, but Percy doesn't think they can actually see us. He does however think that it's a good idea to talk to them, so when we go in say hello, okay?"
"You've been taking advice off Pompous Percy?" George sniggered.
"Glad that amuses you George" Percy glared at him, causing the three to jump as they hadn't seen or heard him approaching them.
"Sorry" George mumbled in reply, though he didn't look very apologetic. "What would you know about being petrified though?"
"Not a lot, I will admit" Percy nodded his head, "I've tried to read up on it but there's not much to go off of in the library, but Madam Pomfrey has been a well of knowledge, Professor Lockhart, not so much" the Prefect frowned, unsure the newest Defence Professor was up to much standard. "But if you'll excuse me" The three fourth years parted to allow him enough space to pass through the centre of them and enter the hospital. He thanked them as he disappeared.
"Seriously though, Percy?" Ruby asked with raised eyebrows, if anyone was giving Fred advice she hadn't suspected it to be him.
"He's not all that bad under the exterior" Fred shrugged, "He's the reason I started visiting Gia" he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling embarrassed at the memory of it, Being ready to punch his big brother for showing some support hadn't been his finest hour.
"Really?"
"Yeah, he'd been keeping her company while visiting Penny, because he'd noticed none of us had shown up. But come on, you ready?"
"Let's go," George nodded confidently before walking through the doors that Percy had went through moments ago, he was as ready as he'd ever be.
"Roo..." Fred added, holding the doors open for her, "Come on, it's not as bad as it seems"
"You promise?" she whispered.
"I solemnly swear" the taller boy nodded, "There's nothing to worry about, you've got me and Georgie" Ruby took a deep breath before nodding her head and going for it, knowing she couldn't put it off any longer, Georgia may have been petrified but she still needed her friends.
Ruby joined George in standing at the bottom of the bed that Georgia had been placed upon, and gripped the metal bar across the base of the bed to steady herself, Fred hadn't been joking about it being a lot to take in at first and she felt bad that her and George had let him face that alone.
"Hey Gia" Fred spoke, breaking the silence, "I'm back again, told you I would be, I've brought some other visitors with me today. We can't blame them for being scaredy cats and not coming to see you sooner though" he threw them a small smile trying to lighten the mood a little and show them there really wasn't anything to worry about. "Say hello" he encouraged, jerking his head in Georgia's direction.
"Hi Georgia, we're missing you terribly" George found his voice first.
"Hey, I'm sorry we've not been to see you sooner" Ruby added, loosening her grip on the bed, it felt strange talking to someone that couldn't reply to them. But she found herself understanding what Fred had meant when he said it was nice to get things off his chest. "George is right though, you're a big miss in classes, the days are so much quieter without you"
"She's just gutted she hasn't got someone to correct her spelling mistakes in the essays" Fred teased.
"Bet he hasn't told you that he hasn't touched his own homework in weeks though, Gia" Ruby teased back, giggling when Fred mocked being hurt.
"The betrayal" he gasped, "Don't listen to the nonsense Gia"
"You do realise she'll hex us all into oblivion when she wakes up and finds out we've slipped behind in classes, right?" George commented with a grimace.
"We're doing it for her benefit" Ruby shrugged and the twins threw her a pair of matching looks that were filled with confusion.
"How have you come to that conclusion?" the elder twin asked.
"Well what's to say she'll be awake before exams?" Ruby questioned, "She'll be held back, and we can't leave her, so if we fail our own exams we'll be kept back with her" she finished, as though it was obvious, but George was looking at her as though she'd grown a second head.
"Not if she's given a special excuse to skip exams" he explained and Ruby let out a small oh, Georgia would really kill them if she went on without them. The rest of hour passed by way too quickly for any of them and soon Percy was on their backs, ushering them from the hospital wing and walking them to dinner, but not before the three of them promised to be back to see the witch.
"Do you really believe that they'll wake up soon?" George asked as they reached the Great Hall and it was Percy who responded.
"Of course, Professor Sprout said that the Mandrakes are coming along really well, it won't be long before they're fully grown"
"But what if it doesn't work? You said yourself that there's not a lot of information out there about being petrified, who's to say it's a mandrake that will revive them?" Ruby worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she took her place at the gryffindor table to eat her dinner.
"Dumbledore believes it's the answer and we have to trust him" Percy clarified, before changing the subject. He didn't want to start worrying the other students, everyone was already scared enough as it was. Waiting on another attack that would undoubtedly cause the school to close. And no one wanted that.
Passing the bowl of roast potatoes to George he encouraged his brother to take some, "Come on, eat up" Percy said, "I haven't seen either of you eat a decent sized meal in ages. And I'll write home to Mum if I have to" he threatened, well aware that Molly would no doubt charge up to the school and force feed them all herself if need be.
With a roll of his eyes Fred loaded his plate with pork chops and mashed potatoes, giving Percy a look that asked if he deemed it up to standard. He was feeling a lot better and like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders now that he'd been honest with his twin and best friend which had helped to improve his appetite greatly. After dinner they'd all made the long walk back to the common room for their six o'clock lock down. Taking seats in front of the fireplace George pulled out a pack of cards, enticing them into a game of exploding snap. Percy had declined, telling them he had some reading to catch up on, so Fred had hollered Harry and Ron over to make things a little more exciting. Ginny had joined them too, but had declined Ruby's offer to take part, instead the young witch sat silently watching them, a look of sadness etched on her face. Not even the twins' jokes had been able to make her smile and Ruby found herself wondering if she too was missing Georgia and Hermione as much as her brothers were.
Their games went on well into the night and suddenly before any of them realised it, it was way past midnight before any of them took themselves up to bed. Not that Fred could sleep though, he lay for hours staring at the canopy above his bed. He knew he should be tired because he hadn't slept properly in days but he wasn't and he couldn't explain why, though he did have multiple things swirling round inside his head. The earlier conversation about Georgia not waking up being the one at the forefront. He didn't know what he'd do if she didn't wake up, there were things she needed to know. Like how much he liked her, he felt like an idiot for not realising it sooner.
Climbing out of bed he decided he had to go, even if she couldn't hear him he had to let her know. It was like there was a magnet inside of his chest drawing him to her. Grabbing his wand he snuck out of the dorms once more, not bothering to take the map with him this time, one because he didn't have time to worry about that, he had to go. And two because he never usually saw anyone else in the halls anyways, and being a pureblood he knew he was safe from the monster. Reaching the hospital wing he carefully peered inside to make sure that Madam Pomfrey wasn't bobbing about tending to anyone before he slowly sneaked inside, using longer strides than normal he reached Georgia's bed and hid behind the curtains that were offering her some slight privacy.
She looked just as she had all the other times he'd come to see her, poised ready to tie her hair back and suddenly Fred wanted to run his fingers through it. That scared him and he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pyjama bottoms. The dim lights keeping the hospital illuminated glistened in Georgia's eyes making it seem like there was life behind them, spurred on Fred sat gently on the edge of her bed, reaching out he carefully ran the tip of his finger along the side of her face. Pulling back he wondered if it was strange for him to be feeling such strong feelings for someone at his age when the sickle dropped and he realised not only had he missed his and George's fifteenth birthday but Georgia's too. Pressing the palms of his hands into the sockets of his eyes he tried desperately to remember the date. It had been written in the corner of the blackboard in most classes. He gasped as suddenly he pictured it and looked back at the witch, it was past midnight which meant one thing.
"Happy Birthday Honeybadger" he whispered into the dark. The urge to go see her made sense inside his own head now, it was like an unknown force was telling him it was her birthday. He felt the sadness settle in the pit of his stomach that he wasn't able to do anything nice for her this year. "I'm sorry we can't celebrate this year, George and I missed our own birthdays, can you believe that" he chuckled lightly. Removing the hair tie from around her fingers he awkwardly held her hand as best he could, her skin was cold to touch but he didn't mind.
"I want you to know that I need you to wake up, once they make that restoration potion don't fight it off. Percy reckons it won't be long now. But there's things I need you to know, things that I've started to realise after you kissed me at Christmas and I'm sorry I never seen it sooner" Fred rambled, and then he continued to ramble well into the early hours of the morning. It was something he and George had the unfortunate ability to do, talk for hours about anything and everything without shutting up. It annoyed the life out of his mother. He jumped into the air as someone laid their hand on his shoulder, suddenly aware of the ache in his back from sitting in one place for so long.
"Bloody hell George!" He hissed upon seeing his twin, gripping a hand to his chest he tried to calm his breathing and still his pounding heart, having thought he'd been caught by the matron.
"Didn't mean to scare you" George whispered back, glad his instincts had been right and he'd found his brother. "But come on, you've got to get back to bed. You can't be here out of hours"
"But Forge, it's her birthday" he said, with wide innocent eyes, hoping his twin would understand.
"Happy Birthday Gia, but I'm taking my twin back now, hope you don't mind" George reached out and grabbed his brother by the arm, pulling him towards him before wrapping his arm around his shoulders. "We can come back later, but for now you need to sleep and we have to get back before we get caught being outside of the tower."
"I don't care if we're caught" Fred mumbled, looking back at Georgia once more.
"You will when you're stuck in detention and can't visit her" George explained as he checked the coast was clear and guided Fred out into the quiet corridor. Fred sighed but agreed with his brother, he hated when he was right and wouldn't admit it but he made a good point. Just as the trip to the hospital had been, the trip back was just as quiet and uninteresting. They saw no one and finally they were back at the portrait hole. The Fat Lady had grumbled about being disturbed but had granted them access anyways, and with a yawn Fred followed his twin back up the stairs to their dorm room where they both flopped into their beds. Fred dropped off to sleep almost instantly, his dreams filled with a certain brown haired witch.
