Molly Weasley was standing at the sink, humming her favourite song quietly to herself as she washed the dishes. There weren't many, just hers and Arthur's, which was why she was doing them by hand rather than with magic. It wouldn't be long though before the house was filled with noise and chaos once more though, as her children were due to return from school within a few short weeks. Drying her hands in her apron she jumped in fright as an Owl tapped on the glass window.
With a small chuckle she pushed open the kitchen window to allow the beautiful bird to come inside, she didn't recognise the bird but instantly knew it was from Hogwarts as she saw the wax seal on the envelope attached to its left leg. All too familiar with the behavioural letters from Minerva McGonagall she let out a disappointed sigh as she untied the letter and peeled it open, wondering which of them had gotten themselves into trouble this time. After Ron's silliness at the start of the year the boys had done so well behaving themselves throughout the rest of the year and Molly found herself upset that one of them had let themselves down so close to the end of term.
Unfolding the parchment she began to read the letter, but the further down she got the more her hands began to shake. "Not my baby girl, not my Ginny" she cried out, she knew of the Chamber of Secrets and after a letter from her third eldest, Percy, she knew that the chamber had been opened and that students were being petrified. But he'd promised it was just the Muggleborns in danger and reassured her that they were all keeping safe and that he'd watch out for Ron and Ginny. And the last she'd heard her boys were making sure their Muggleborn best friends were being kept safe also.
"Arthur... we've got to go at once" she called out to her husband.
"Molly dear, what is it?"
Molly handed him the letter that she'd partially crushed in her hands, Arthur went pale as he read through it and quickly moving towards the fireplace they floo'd straight to Minerva's office as requested in her message. The four children got a fright as the quiet that had fallen over the room was disturbed by the fireplace glowing, then suddenly Molly followed by Arthur stepped out of the grate.
"Mum..." Percy breathed out, and she grabbed him in one of her bone crushing hugs.
"Oh my dear children" her voice was filled with emotion as she let go of the eldest boy before moving to Fred and George to hug them both too.
As the twins were pulled away from her grasp Ruby wrapped her arms around her torso, unsure what else to do with them and feeling a little lost. Not wanting her to feel left out Arthur placed a comforting hand on Ruby's shoulder, tucking her into his side, in a similar way he would have done with Ginny and the blonde witch gave the elder man a thankful smile. She'd watched Ginny grow up from being a baby and saw her as the little sister she'd never had, she felt guilty for not doing a better job of protecting her but was glad that the Weasley Patriarch still wanted to include her in their family business.
Molly let go of her identical sons and frantically looked around for her youngest son, Ruby's insides tugged painfully at the look on her face, she couldn't even begin to comprehend how either of them must feel, knowing the fate of their only daughter was still hanging in the balance. It was all in the hands of Professor Lockhart and that in itself was the least bit promising.
"Where's Ron?"
"We have reason to believe that he and Mr Potter have gone looking for Ginny" McGonagall spoke calmly and Molly let out a sharp gasp.
"We could lose two children to the monster that lies beneath?" Arthur whispered.
"Let's try not to think so gravely," McGonagall responded.
Molly's eyes then landed on Ruby and she looked around the room once more, someone else was missing. Just as it was rare to see Fred without George it was usual to see Ruby without Georgia.
"Where is she?" Molly asked, her eyes still on Ruby whose line of vision darted to the twins.
"Didn't you tell her?" She questioned them in shock and rubbing the back of his neck Fred shook his head.
"Everything happened so quickly that it slipped my mind"
"What's happened?" asked Arthur, he knew he could probably guess the answer but wanted to hear it confirmed.
"She was petrified, the same day as Penelope and Hermione" Percy stated, twisting his hands in front of him. He had also forgotten to write home and tell his mother the news.
Thanks to clues from Hermione along with Harry and Ron's quick thinking they had been the ones to work out where the entrance to the Chamber lay and how to access it. They'd rescued Ginny before it was too late and the young witch was even more in awe of the boy who lived, for saving her life. The monster, which turned out to be a Basilisk, was dead and no one could quite believe they'd not seen a whopping great snake roaming the castle. No one was entirely sure what had happened but Professor Lockhart had returned from the Chamber not knowing who he was and after a short stay in the Hospital Wing he was sent off to the Wizarding Hospital, St Mungos to be treated. Meaning Defence Against the Dark Arts classes were cancelled.
Once Ginny had been looked over and coddled by her mum and dad she had been released to go back to her Common Room. Feeling the pressure of everyone's eyes on her she apologised before telling her brothers all about the diary and with Harry's help she explained how the piece of soul living within the book had latched onto her and possessed her. Making her do terrible things that she didn't have any control over, she'd lose hours of her days and not fully understand why. But there was always bad news afterwards.
"Oh my god..." Ruby gasped, hands going to her mouth as she took in the shocked looks on the twins faces, "A-Are you two okay?" She asked, finding their hands once more and holding them, she knew how much they adored their little sister and what they were hearing was hard to take in. Both boys gripped her hands for dear life and she squeezed their hands to let them know it was okay. She was safe and with them.
"How did we not notice?" George asked, sounding broken and Ruby looked up at him.
"Georgie... none of us noticed. This isn't your fault, we're all to blame, we all assumed she was moody because we weren't talking to her" Ruby reassured him, really wishing she had Georgia by her side because she'd know what to do to make the boys see sense.
"She could have died" Fred whispered, his voice cracking as he voiced his thoughts and Ruby just wanted to wrap both of them up in massive hugs and not let them go until they had great big smiles on their faces. But she was only one person with one set of arms and her own heart was breaking at the fact they hadn't looked after Ginny better and made sure she had a good first year at school.
"But she didn't, and look, she doesn't blame us"
In that moment Ginny walked up to them, giving them an apologetic look, "I'm really sorry about Georgia, I never meant to hurt anyone"
"We know you didn't Gin" said George as he held his arms out to hug her.
"Oh shit!" Fred exclaimed before leaving his family, and Ruby, as he dashed off. Percy, George, Ruby and Molly blinked after him. The latter berated him for his use of bad language.
"Family comes first Fred!" Molly reminded him but he waved his mother off, she didn't understand how important this was to him.
"I know that but Gia will be awake by now, someone needs to be there to meet her when she's allowed to go" he called back, it had been a long and emotional night for all of them, and he couldn't believe he'd almost forgotten about the brunette being allowed to join them for breakfast.
Percy tutted and rolled his eyes "It's not like you were there for her at the start..." he reminded him and Fred came to an abrupt halt and his twin and best friend turned to look at their Prefect.
"Shut up Percy!" the three chorused at him.
"Fred, stay with your family. They're more important right now" Tilly told him, having overheard the conversation she'd joined the large group of redheads.
"But Gia..."
"I can go collect her, she'll understand that Ginny needs you more right now"
"But…. There are things I really need to tell her" he whispered so that only Tilly could hear, the mousy haired witch smiled to herself "You'll have plenty of time to say them" she reminded him and he nodded as he realised so, letting her go he returned to his family - including Ruby.
Tilly smiled at the huddle and then headed for the Hospital Wing, wondering what state she would find her friend in when she arrived.
Tilly pushed open the double doors of the Hospital Wing and gasped happily as she saw Georgia sitting up chatting happily to Hermione and Penelope she skipped over to them and smiled cheerfully at them, thankful that they were awake and able to talk in normal sentences. "Hey!" she beamed and the three girls looked at her
"Oh hey Tilly, say, you don't know why the three of us are here do you? I mean the match must be well underway by now!" Georgia enquired, before reaching for the hair tie that was meant to be on her wrist so that she could resume braiding her hair but frowned when she noticed it was missing, so started to look around on the bed and even under it in case it had fallen off. "Haven't seen a hair tie have you?" She asked the other two girls and Tilly smiled to herself
"Last time any of us saw it it was tied round Fred's wrist" she replied and the three girls frowned
"What does Fred Weasley want with a hair tie?" Peneople asked, her nose wrinkling and Tilly bit her lip before asking the three a different question, the answer to Peneolpe's question was for Georgia's ears only!
"Do you know what day it is?" She asked, looking at them all, and then finding her eyes looking round the room at the other woken up Muggleborns "Do any of you know what the day is?" She was met with confused looks and the students looking around for a calendar to see if they could answer her question but to no avail and soon the realisation dawned on Tilly "You don't realise that you've been here for months do you?"
Penelope, Hermione and Georgia all looked at her wide-eyed "P-Pardon? Did you say months? But what happened?!"
"You got petrified" Tilly replied before addressing the other three "You three happened on the same day within a few hours of one another"
"Y-You wanted the loo… I was about to braid my hair and then it went…" Georgia said, trailing off when the sickle dropped "Who won?" She asked as she looked down at the jumper "Oh Gods! How are the boys?!" She exclaimed out as she realised that her best friends probably wouldn't have handled the news too well.
Tilly held her hands up to bring calm "The match got cancelled, the boys weren't too happy, Fred yelled at me - but then when Ruby reminded him that it wasn't my fault he calmed down but now they've got more pressing things to contend with" she said with a grimace and the girls lent forwards a little to hear her properly "The heir took a student into the chamber, that s-student happened to be G-Ginny Weasl-"
Georgia let out the loudest gasp ever, stopping Tilly from finishing her sentence "WHAT?! Please tell me you're joking!" She practically begged, eyes filling with tears and Tilly looked at her before shaking her head "I'm afraid not, hence why the brothers aren't here, family comes first so I said I'd be here when you woke up. But come on, it's breakfast soon and I don't know about you three but I could definitely do with some food" so offering Georgia her arm the four of them headed off to the Great Hall to be welcomed back by their friends.
Tilly pulled Georgia back so that they could hang back and she could fill her in on the Gryffindor gossip "So, I have some news regarding Fred" she started and Georgia turned to look at her "Are him and AJ dating?" She asked and was surprised to see Tilly shake her head "No, he's been pining after you" well, that caused Georgia to laugh
"Thanks Tilly, you really know how to cheer up a Muggleborn student whose been petrified and is now revived" but Tilly wasn't laughing back
"I'm not making it up, he really has been pining after you hence the hair tie. He went to visit you and returned with the hair tie around his wrist and didn't take it off for weeks" She repeated and Georgia blinked but before she could probe some more the doors to the Great Hall opened and all eyes turned to fix on the students who were now revived, spotting her best friends Georgia found herself wanting to run to them but before she could be released from Tilly's hold the smaller witch lent up and whispered into her ear "Go and see for yourself" and with a frown and a shrug Georgia wriggled her arm free and then sprinted down the Great Hall and threw her arms around Ruby who squeezed her
"Thank Merlin you're okay, I don't know how much I would have been able to cope with them on my own" she teased before letting the brunette go so that she could hug George but before she even got the chance to throw her arms around his neck she found herself being lifted off her feet and spun around.
She opened her eyes and came eye to eye with Fred's brown ones "F-Fred?" She whispered as she realised she was still in his arms, her feet hovering off the floor "W-What are you doing?"
"I've missed you so much" he let out, it felt so good to hear her voice again.
"You can let me go now" Georgia whispered with a small giggle, she could practically feel everyone's eyes on them and she wasn't one for the attention.
"I'm never letting you go again" Fred replied, letting her feet touch the stone floor again but not totally releasing his hold on her as he lay his head on top of hers.
"Try not to hug all the air out of her Freddie" George moaned, slapping his twin on the upper arm and Fred reluctantly let the brunette go, with a smile Georgia wrapped her arms around the younger twins middle. "It's so good to see you again, he's been a total nightmare without you around" George chuckled lightly as he returned her hug and the short witch felt her cheeks warm with a blush, finding herself really wanting to know what she'd missed while being unconscious because the Fred that was making sure he was sat as close to her as possible at the Gryffindor table wasn't the same Fred he'd been before she'd been petrified.
Georgia looked at him before shooting a look over at Ruby and then turned round to look at Tilly confusion evident on her face, the mousy haired witch mouthed 'I told you so!' before taking her place at the table. Figuring she'd have to work the answers out for herself she lay her head on Fred's shoulder.
"I believe you've got something of mine..." she hummed.
"You've got something of mine..." he mumbled back.
"What?" She frowned, sitting up to look at him fully, she didn't have anything on her, let alone something that belonged to the twin.
"Sorry, what?" Fred asked, clearing his throat as he feigned innocence. She'd stolen his heart and he'd assumed she was telling him the same.
"My hair tie?"
"Oh, that's mine now" Fred grinned, running his finger over the black bobble in question, that was still in place on his wrist.
"You don't have any use for it" reaching up she ruffled his short, ginger hair.
"So" Fred shrugged, "I like it, so I'm keeping it" he smirked, enjoying how it felt on his arm and liking that it was a constant reminder of her.
Shaking her head at him she turned back into a better position on the bench as she started to eat her breakfast, knowing full well she probably looked like a Weasley as she hadn't eaten in months, several mouthfuls in and she was very aware of Fred watching her every move and that in itself was a little off-putting.
Eventually she put down her fork and turned to look at him "Whilst this is lovely that you're making sure I'm eating after I've been unconscious for months, do you mind telling me what is up?"
"It's nothing" Fred shuffled in his seat, averting his eyes from her and refocusing back on his own breakfast, he might have gotten away with it if it weren't for the fact that George and Ruby both snorted with laughter across the table from them.
"Yeah right," said George.
"Seriously, will someone tell me what's wrong?" Georgia folded her arms across her chest. She hadn't asked to be petrified or to miss months of school and she didn't want her friends acting off with her because of it, "I'm not going to break"
"Honestly, everything's fine" Fred insisted, giving her one of his charming smiles to prove his point.
"You may as well tell her," Ruby told him and George nodded, "Please, I don't think I can take the lost puppy look any longer" he added, resting his chin on his hands so that he could watch them.
"Tell me what?" Georgia asked, looking between the three of them, they were up to something and she didn't like not knowing. Fred was glaring at the two sat across the table, both of which had mischievous smirks on their faces, clearly enjoying what they were doing to cause Fred discomfort. "Well?" she prompted.
"Need a little help Freddie?" George asked in a mocking tone.
"What he's trying to say is that he's got himself a little cr-"
"A little nothing!" Fred cut the blonde off, he would tell Georgia about his feelings in his own time, and over breakfast wasn't that moment. "I've missed you, that's all" he added, a blush creeping up his neck. "Like a lot, and I was worried, we were all worried about you" he corrected himself.
Georgia ducked her head, trying to hide the smile on her face, it made her insides feel warm that she'd actually been missed and that they'd actually cared about her well being. George let out a snigger as he picked up his fork and pretended to be interested in his breakfast as he commented, "Yeah and the rest of it"
Underneath the table she felt Fred aim a kick at his brother's legs and sensed he really didn't want to talk about what was bothering him, but her curiosity got the better of her and she looked up at the elder twin sitting next to her, "You can say whatever it is you know, I won't judge you"
Fred smiled and he seemed to be having a silent battle inside of his mind before his shoulders relaxed and he turned his body more towards her, placing his elbow on the table top to block out the conversations going on to his left and hoping their fellow housemates wouldn't get nosey as he lowered his voice, "I know you probably don't want to dwell on what happened," Georgia shook her head at that, she really didn't want to remember it. She could see the yellow eyes everytime she closed her eyes and it scared her even though she knew she was safe now and that the monster had been killed and the Chamber sealed, hopefully for good. "But were you aware of anything while you were, you know" he bobbed his head to show he was indicating something and hoped she would get the hint.
"Petrified, you can say it Fred, the world won't combust. But no, from the attack happening to waking up in the hospital everything is blank" Georgia wondered if she'd ever feel right after losing months of her life. "Why?" she asked as an afterthought, remembering what Tilly had told her about him pining after her.
"Just wondered if you'd heard me talking to you" he admitted with a shrug.
"No... You did that?" she asked in awe.
"I know it's silly"
"It's not" she promised, cutting him off. "It's kind of sweet actually," she smiled, feeling her face flushing pink as she silently cursed herself for being such a sap and thinking that she had control over her crush on him. "What did you say?"
"Nuh uh" Fred sat back up straight and shook his head, "That would be telling"
"Fred" the brunette witch whined, "You can't leave it at that"
"I can" Fred nodded, grabbing more toast before it could vanish, "And don't think about asking Georgie either, not even he knows about which deepest, darkest secrets I told you" he said as she turned her attention to his brother. Going along with it George shrugged giving her a look that said he was just as clueless, Georgia narrowed her eyes at him, certain he was lying to her.
"Why tell me then if there was a chance I might hear?"
"What's life without a little risk?" Georgia let out a huff, he was still just as infuriating as ever.
"Can I not even have a teeny hint?" But Fred shook his head and she knew how stubborn he could get, she'd have to wait and catch him off guard. Biting her bottom lip she let the subject go for now, storing it away in the back of her mind to find out another time. "What day is it? Do we have classes today?" She frowned, changing the subject anf trying hard to get her brain to remember.
"Not today, it's Saturday"
Georgia let out a small sigh of relief at George's answer, not sure she would have been up to facing being back in class so soon after regaining consciousness. "But what's the date? What month are we in?" She questioned, trying to refind her bearings in the world.
"29th of May" Fred spoke around a mouth full of toast making Ruby grimace.
"Oh" Georgia let out, her voice filled with sadness.
"What's up?" Fred quickly asked, placing his hand on her arm.
"I missed my own birthday" she gave a shaky laugh, "Wait, I missed your birthday" her eyes were filled with emotion and Fred gave her arm a squeeze as he told her it was fine.
"They missed their own birthday" Ruby sniggered. It was nice that they could laugh about it now, but at the time they'd all been too worried to care about celebrating being another year older. Zoning out Georgia got lost in her own thoughts as she realised there was probably a lot she'd missed.
"I've missed out on so much school work haven't i?" She wondered, cringing slightly at the thought of being held back behind her friends. The three of them nodded before they shared a look. "What?"
"Exams start on Monday" Ruby replied, giving her an apologetic look.
Georgia whined, stomping her foot under the table in annoyance, "Tell me you're joking! I can't spend all weekend studying to catch up. That's ridiculous"
"Sorry" Ruby mumbled before returning to the plate of food still in front of her. She hadn't meant to burst the happy little bubble between them. Before long the whispering and the staring had started, and Georgia wished the ground would open up and swallow her as people began to come over and welcome her back, others asking questions about the monster.
"I need to stretch my legs, you want to come for a walk? Get away from all this?" Fred suggested, tilting his head in the direction of the hall's entrance. He could see how distressed she looked by the sudden surge of attention and he didn't know how to stop them without drawing attention to his feelings for the witch. Going for a walk and clearing her mind sounded like a great idea, she could feel herself getting all anxious and worked up and a bit fresh air would definitely help, so Georgia nodded her head, her mouth to dry for her to try and speak. Across the table Ruby caught her attention, the blonde was grinning at her like a Cheshire Cat, Georgia gave her a questioning look and the other witch just gave her the thumbs up in response. "Aren't you coming with us?" she queried, not wanting to leave Ruby and George behind, she wanted to catch up with all three of her best friends.
"We'll follow in a bit, just gonna finish this" Ruby gestured to her almost empty plate, hoping that Fred would use his Gryffindor courage to be honest with himself once they were alone. Georgia nodded, accepting the reason and following Fred from the hall she ducked her head so that her hair fell in front of her face and blocked her peripheral vision, everyone was staring at her with sympathetic looks and she didn't like it, she didn't want the sympathy, she was fine and she wasn't about to fall apart or break either.
Realising she wasn't beside him Fred waited for her to catch up before throwing his arm around her shoulders and glaring at those nearest them, silently daring any of them to say something to her. Georgia melted into his hold and wrapped her own arm around his back, thankful that he was there. "I don't need a bodyguard Fred," She commented despite enjoying it.
"If you're going to be famous in the halls now, I'd say you do" Fred replied playfully, going along with it. "I reckon I'd make a good bodyguard though, what do you think?"
"I think you're an idiot" she laughed, breathing in the cool fresh air as they left the castle. "Besides, I'm already infamous for hanging out with you and George" she scoffed shoulder bumping him in his armpit. "The novelty will wear off in a week and your services will no longer be required"
Fred bent his arm, holding her in a loose headlock against his chest. Georgia knew his games though and predicted he was about to rub his knuckles on her top of her head, so using her height to her advantage she ducked out of his hold and twisted away from him, poking her tongue out at him, "Ha, nice try Weasley" she giggled and he smiled in return.
"I'll get you next time" he warned jokingly before they fell back into step side by side, walking around the grounds of Hogwarts which were peacefully quiet. Above them the sun was shining and Georgia soaked it all in, it felt nice to be back outside again after being stuck in the hospital wing for months, even if she hadn't been aware of it at the time. Beside her Fred shoved his hands into the pockets on his jeans.
"Honestly Fred, I'm alright" Georgia laughed lightly, having spotted the constant glances he kept throwing her way as they walked round the castle grounds, enjoying the quietness of the late morning.
"I never said anything," he replied, a smile on his face, knowing he'd been caught out.
"You didn't have too, I know what you're thinking"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah" Georgia nodded confidently as she came to a stop in the shade of one of the castle turrets. "But seriously, thank you for getting me out of the hall, I know most people are genuinely happy to see me back but I'm not sure I could have taken much more of it"
"Happy to assist" Fred mock bowed, making her laugh again. A sound he was sure he'd never tire of hearing, it was like music to his ears and he vowed to make her laugh every single day. "You're sure you're okay though?"
"Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have let me leave if I wasn't" she joked back, before being serious again, knowing that he wouldn't drop the overprotective best friend act if he didn't get a solid answer that he was happy with. "I'm fine though, I feel a little like I've been hit with a memory charm but that's just until my brain catches back up with the time it's missed out on"
"Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked, tilting his head and looking thoughtful as they continued their walk around the castle.
"Tell me what you spoke to me about while I was unconscious?" Georgia smirked, linking her arm with him.
"Nice try Goshawk, but you're not finding out that easily" Fred laughed.
"Worth a shot" she smiled, nudging him lightly. "Where do you think Ruby and your better half have gotten to?" She added, looking over her shoulder to see if she could see them anywhere. They had promised to follow them out.
"Where do you reckon our chances stand betting on them kissing in a broom cupboard?" Fred sniggered causing Georgia's head to snap up in his direction.
"Have I missed something?" She asked, ready to hex Ruby for not telling her the gossip right away.
"Pfft" Fred let out, "You've got more chance of seeing Percy naked"
"Eww Fred!" Georgia smacked his arm, scrunching her face up, "That's not an image I want stuck in my mind thank you very much" Laughing they looped round the tree and headed back towards the castle entrance in search of their missing friends.
