The Amazing Thing About: Trust. Chapter twenty-seven.
By the next morning Fred was back to his usual self. Eliza stayed up a bit late worrying about him but it seemed that was all in vain. George, however, was being awfully quiet. She tapped Fred on his wrist and nodded in his brother's direction but Fred shook his head as if to say 'don't ask me.' Which had her wondering what could possibly be bothering him.
She wanted to ask him how to the night had gone with Katie but if the way he was acting was an indicator then it couldn't have been good news. She decided it was best not to ask him at the table and turned her attention to Tasha instead who was talking to Ginny about meeting up for homework later. She waited until they were done before asking Tasha about Cas. The girl was at the Hufflepuff table with her brother and it was a good chance for her to pick Tasha's brain about her.
"Cas is fine. Great, actually." Tasha said which was relieving to hear. The way Cas had come leaps and bounds from a scared, crying girl to a proud sister of her champion brother had worried her at first. The way she was always showing a smile concerned her that Cas might be putting on an act. If anyone would know it would be Tasha.
"That's good to hear." Eliza said resting her arms on the table. "I worry about her." She admitted.
Tasha just smiled and bumped their shoulders together. "You've helped her a lot, Eliza." Her words were a comfort and they settled around her heart like a warm blanket. As much as she didn't want to be overbearing with either of them she wanted to make sure they knew they had her to rely on if they needed it. She didn't know what caused her to feel so sentimental then but she chalked it up to the school year coming to a close. When she hugged Tasha the girl laughed and called her weird but that was fine.
Catching up with Cas later the girl told her she'd been helping her brother come up with different ways to prepare for the maze. Eliza pretty much just listened as the girl went over all of the charms and tactics they'd gone over together. She sounded like she was really into it. She was excited and hyper going over everything. It seemed she'd taken up the mantle of Cedric's number one fan.
With that worry out of the way she made it a point to talk to George after Defense Against The Dark Arts. He'd been very tame during class despite the fact that it had quickly become one of his favorites since Moody started teaching. He was usually leaning forward in his seat hanging onto the man's every word. So to see him sitting slightly hunched, arms crossed over his chest with a faraway look was a big change in his demeanor.
"What is up with you today?" She asked tugging on his sleeve. Fred was on his other side and quickly turned on his heel to go in the opposite direction as if he wanted to get away as fast as he could. She watched him go with confusion. She'd have thought he'd want to know too but maybe he'd already gotten the scoop from George. He'd looked like he'd been on the verge of cracking up when he'd left them.
George glanced behind them at his brother's back. "Nothing." He said as if equally confused by Fred's actions.
"Liar." Eliza muttered but when he raised an eyebrow at her she quickly recovered. "How did last night go?" She asked.
He lowered his eyes to the ground and she could swear he looked a bit pink. Was that a good sign? Then what was with the quiet act? "It went well." He said with a half-hearted shrug. There were so many questions racing through her head but she tried to take it easy. Maybe he was embarrassed.
"Well?" Eliza asked. "I'm gonna need a little more than that." She said with a nudge.
He focused on Rikki scampering around and greeting students up ahead. "We talked." He said giving nothing up.
Eliza chuckled at his avoidance tactics. "I would hope so. Hanging out with someone in complete silence is creepy, George-o."
He cracked a smile and pushed her by the shoulder. "Sometimes I wish you and I did that more often."
She placed a hand to her chest."Ouch." She laughed. "So?" At this point she was dying to know exactly what had happened. He was making it far too mysterious for her to be able to handle. Her curiosity was eating at her.
George's face scrunched up a bit. "I think she's my girlfriend now." He muttered.
Eliza grabbed his arm and stopped him. "You think?" Why did he sound so hesitant? "Did you ask her to be?" She asked shooing him to the side to get out of the way of other students.
"Kind of." George said and though he looked a little annoyed at her shepherding him he moved to the side.
Eliza bounced on the balls of her feet. "And what did she say?" Her excitement was bubbling over. He looked like she was acting strange but how could she not be excited for him?
"She didn't." He said and her excitement fizzled. She asked him for clarification and he shifted his weight and looked down at his shoes with a small smile. "She kissed me." He said.
Eliza nearly screamed but she contained herself. That would be overkill. "Oh. Oh wow." Her happiness turned into her cracking up laughing at the stupid look on his face. "Yes, George. I think that means she said yes." She said taking him by the shoulders and shaking him. He chuckled and she gave him a quick hug."Happy for you." She said before he pushed her off.
"You're so weird." He said but he had the dopiest smile on his face.
That good bit of news carried her through all the way to dinner and when her friends asked her what had her smiling so big she motioned to the Gryffindor table where George and Katie were sitting together. They were talking and laughing, holding hands under the table.
"That is so cute." Kelly said and Eliza nodded. "I know, right?" She turned back to her food grinning like an idiot. She didn't know what it was about seeing George happy but it felt like a big ball of sunshine in her chest.
Next to her, Victor glanced at the Gryffindor table with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, George got himself a girlfriend. Lucky guy." He said and under the table he rested his hand on her knee. She knew what he was getting at and lowered her voice a bit with a coy look. "Are you complaining?" She asked setting her hand atop his and drumming her fingers over it.
His smile was slow and secretive. "Not at all. I just wish we could be more concrete instead of discreet." He muttered with a squeeze just above her knee causing her to jerk and her knee would have hit the table if he didn't push it down. Eliza huffed before grabbing his hand and removing it. "Cut that out."
Victor smirked down at his food. "As you wish, dear." He said causing her to roll her eyes. After a few minutes he asked her if she wanted to take a walk after dinner. She thought about saying 'no' but she was in such a good mood and it made her feel invincible. Like nothing could bring her down. It was a lovely night if not a bit warm and she was glad she'd chosen to leave her robe in her dorm.
His presence next to her was calming as they strolled. She would have been fine letting him pick the direction in their path but he seemed to be headed towards the boathouse. Memories of the year before had her pulling him in another direction towards the black lake instead. She didn't want their time ruined by unnecessary reminders of a bloody evening.
"Prefer a stroll along the shore?" He asked as she brushed their hands together. He linked their pinkies together and Eliza smiled to herself. "If you don't mind." She said.
"Of course not, honey." He teased. It made Eliza laugh quietly. He'd been slipping in pet names all week and it was digging at her a little. It wasn't that she minded him wanting to call her something cute but the way it came off just felt wrong. She swore if he called her darling she was going to throw up on the spot. He'd managed to dodge that one wisely but it gave her anxiety that he might slip.
"Ew. Don't call me that." She cringed. So far he'd been picking some pretty old-fashioned terms of endearment.
At her reaction he laughed. "What's wrong with that one?" He asked. So far she'd come up with all sort of excuses for him not to call her something. In all honesty she liked the way he said her name and having him call her by anything else felt like she was being cheated. There was no way she'd be telling him that though.
Her reason was pretty good for that one. "That's what my mom and dad say to each other." She said, her nose scrunched up.
His laughter only got louder and she just let him get his kicks. His laughter was something that she could never get tired of hearing. The way he let it out so easily was one of life's little miracles. The fact that she was able to cause it was something that gave her butterflies.
He took her hand in his and looked around as his laughter faded. There weren't too many students out and about so she didn't mind it so much and even let him pull her towards the end of the shoreline near a small group of trees. "Then what shall I call you?" He asked settling his back against one of the trunks and taking both of her hands in his. Eliza pretended to think for a moment. "My name works just fine." She giggled as he pulled her to his chest and slipped his arms around her waist.
"Hm...No." He chuckled and stared down at her with a sly smile. "I can't call you dear? Or sweetheart?" He asked. Eliza cringed and turned in his arms to settle back against him. He set his chin atop her head as she stared out over the still surface of the lake. Moments like these made her think back on how she'd been so adamant about not acknowledging his feelings. The way he made her feel was something she treasured now.
"Those things sound weird." She said as she let herself relax against him.
"How so?"
"Because we aren't together." Eliza felt like she'd ruined the moment but Victor just wasn't the kind to let her stupidity get in the way of their time together.
"Eliza. Listen to what you just said and look at what you're doing." He let one of his hands slide up her arm to the side of her neck where he pulled out the necklace he'd given to her. He lifted the pendant and held it in front of her face. "I don't know what you consider to be 'together' but I'm really hoping you don't do the same things you do with me with anyone else."
"Guess I see your point." She muttered as he let the pendant fall to her chest and swept her hair to the side. He placed a gentle kiss to the side of her neck and she giggled. "Okay. I get it."
He shook with laughter as he hugged her to him from behind and buried his head into her neck and blew a raspberry onto her flesh. It made her swat at him and laugh. They stood like that for some time just enjoying one another's company until Eliza yawned. "Time to get you to bed." He said and then leaned down. He picked her up making her squeal and beat at his chest to let her go which he refused to do until they were close to the castle.
"The dueling club? A little special tutoring?" Fred teased a few days later when she mentioned she was headed that way. He and George were on the way to hang around the HufflePuff common room hoping to sell off some badger badges that switched to Cedric's face. They'd come up with the idea because of the 'Potter Stinks' badges and since they'd spread like wildfire they figured the closer to the last task the more students would want to show support. They'd made some for Harry but they just weren't selling as well as they'd hoped.
Eliza just wanted to see Victor and if she got in some practice she would be all the better for it. "I don't plan to get any 'special tutoring' with a bunch of other people around." She said at Fred's jest. But that only had him handing over the box of badges to Lee and saying that they'd accompany her if it wasn't such a big deal. Not wanting to show him that he'd been somewhat right she'd said they were more than welcome. That severely cut her chances of getting some alone time with Victor after the other students left though and she was kicking herself the whole way to the club.
"Ew. Why are they here?" Louis grumbled after greeting her and seeing that the twins were tagging along. His usual lack of enthusiasm at seeing them had Fred making a face at him. Theirs was a complicated friendship. Sometimes Eliza couldn't tell if the twins actually liked him deep down. She knew for a fact that Louis admired them somewhat even though he liked to call them names and give them a hard time.
Fred pulled Louis under his arm and pinched one of his cheeks. "Just to bother you, pest." He said as Louis struggled. If there was one thing Louis hated it was being treated like a little kid so the brothers did it as often as they could. As Louis wriggled out of Fred's grasp and lashed out at him George was quick to bend down and throw the boy over his shoulder. "Easy, little fella." He grunted as he did so.
Louis kicked and pounded on George's back but he ignored it as Victor joined them. There were a few students taking turns dueling and Eliza pointed out how well they were doing. Victor told her they'd been learning some new things and they were just practicing now. It looked like they'd picked up the lesson pretty quick.
"Are you two here to participate?" Victor asked over her shoulder to the brothers. Louis had given up fighting and George finally let him down since he'd quit squirming so much. Louis repaid him with a swift kick to the shin and he grabbed for the boy again but Louis took off to hide behind Victor.
George gave Louis a 'You just wait' sort of look as he used Victor as a shield. "You couldn't handle it." He said in response to Victor's question. Eliza felt like she was suddenly only there as a spectator.
"Care to make a wager?" Victor asked and Fred perked up. He looked to his brother and the two shared a look. Sometimes the twin thing was weird and it reminded her of the way her parents could sometimes have an entire conversation without saying a word.
From behind him, Louis poked his head out. "Victor would wipe the floor with you." He said and that seemed to make up George's mind.
All it took was a little goading and the mention of betting to have him nodding. "Alright, then. You're on."
"Oh, this should be good." Fred said and Eliza sighed. "Boys." As they moved off to the side. There was something very childish about all of this but who was she to judge? She was just as easily provoked when it came to the guy standing next to her.
The students who'd been practicing stopped what they were doing and hopped down. Watching Victor take to the platform she wished him luck and he winked her way as George took the position across from him. Now that was a strange sight right there. "My money's on George." Fred said with a nudge of his elbow. Eliza looked between the two of them debating on who she would wager on if she were the betting type. She'd never seen George in a dueling situation so she couldn't really say.
Eliza knew he wasn't lacking in skill but Victor did this more often than he did. "I wouldn't count him out but I think Victor's got this." She said. He scoffed and said she was only saying that because of their relationship but she dismissed it with a swat to his shoulder. Not everything had to do with how she and Victor were getting on.
George looked confident as he pulled out his wand. "I don't plan on doing this by the rules, Duponte." He warned as he gave a goofy mockery of a bow.
"I wouldn't expect anything less, Weasley." Victor chuckled lightheartedly. He barely bowed and George fired off a hex before he even straightened up. Victor looked ready for it and deflected it with ease before narrowing his gaze at his opponent.
"Oh, boy." Eliza sighed and took a seat. She had a feeling this was going to be a longer match than Fred assumed.
Watching them Duel Eliza had to admit George was far more talented than she'd originally given him credit for. Though he'd started out playfully it looked like he'd begun taking it seriously once Victor had started in with an all-out assault. Eliza was glad he typically went easy on her because there was no way she'd be able to keep up with either of them.
George was quick to deflect and attack when the opportunity presented itself and from where she sat it was interesting to see him really putting serious effort in. On both sides their faces were set and eyes calculating, watching each other for any opening they could exploit. The way they went at it there was so much going on it was hard to keep track of who was attacking and who was defending. The attacks came so rapidly that it felt like she was watching a firework show up close instead of a duel.
"George has him." Fred said confidently. Victor looked like he was losing ground and Eliza watched his feet as stepped back. George advanced and managed to get close to hitting him causing him to stumble back. George fired off a follow-up but Victor dropped to one knee and hit him in the legs knocking them out from under him. When George made to sit up Victor disarmed him. "Warm-up is over." He grinned.
"I had you.." George matched his grin and took the hand Victor offered him. While they were both being cocky it looked like they were both conceding the others skills.
Victor shrugged. "Maybe. Let me know if you ever want a rematch." He said and they started talking about the things they wish they'd done differently and complimenting each other on the different tactics they'd used.
Fred had his arms crossed. "I could take him." He muttered as the two talked.
Eliza wasn't much interested in seeing how that would play out and rose to her feet. "I think that's enough wand measuring for one day. I wanted to get some practice in." She said and gave Fred a sly grin. Watching Victor in action had given her a bit of a thrill and she eyed the way he ran his hand through his hair. It looked slightly damp with sweat and she wanted to dig her own fingers into it so she could pull him down and kiss him senseless.
Fred looked from her face to Victor and made a face. "You've got a bit of drool." He said and she very well could have and not cared. Victor had just loosened his tie and her attention was locked on the movement. It just made her think of the first time she'd watched him do that and what had taken place after. She could definitely go for that again.
Victor caught her gaze and the way his eyes dragged down her it seemed he knew exactly where her mind had gone as a slow smile crept onto his face. As far as Eliza was concerned they were the only two people in the room but Fred made a gagging noise. "Never getting that image out of my head." He grumbled and it took everything she had to tear her gaze from Victor.
"You're the one who wanted to be here." She said as the two joined them. Her fingers twitched having Victor within touching distance but she kept them at her side. She could be patient for when they were alone.
