All is Full of Love
Chapter 10
Sour Taste
Author's note: I'm really sorry it took me so long to update this story. My thanks go out to Zsenya for the beta-reading and to Miss Pince who keeps on encouraging me. I hope next chapter won't take as long.
The party was in full swing and George was having fun talking about Quidditch with his old teammates, Oliver Wood and Serafina McQueen. Serafina had been the Gryffindor Seeker the first year he had been on the team. They were actually rather miffed that he and Fred weren't going to play Quidditch professionally. George couldn't help but be amused and told Oliver that he was ready to join any team where Oliver was captain, for he would be the only one who could whip the twins into shape.
"Just between the two of us, Harry is good at game strategies but he doesn't wake you up at five in the morning threatening you with everlasting Furniculus hex if you don't get your arse down to the Quidditch pitch in five minutes," George told Oliver, who grinned.
The endless mass of girls seemed as intimidating as ever. It was hard to focus on a single one, not to mention that the clues he'd been given were completely useless. Dresses with laced-up backs seemed to be all the rage this year. He even had a hard time finding his sister among them despite her very prominent hair colour but he finally caught sight of her, cosily chatting with Harry in the corner. George suppressed a smile. Harry probably was now trying to figure what had hit him now Ginny was revealing more of her personality to him.
"Seen the secret admirer yet?" Fred had sneaked upon his brother. "She could be hiding under someone's robes. House-elves are tiny, y'know."
"Shut up, Fred. I'm not in the mood for this right now," George retorted.
"Not seen her yet?" Fred asked, more serious.
"What do you think? All I see is this whole sea of girls and none of them is someone I'd like to be the secret admirer."
"Cheer up, they ain't all bad." This caused George to raise his eyebrows at his brother. Fred was in no position to comment on this, he had Angelina. Thankfully, he got the hint and turned away to join in a chat about Quidditch between Alicia, one of the Hufflepuff Chasers and Roger Davies.
The swarm of girls shimmered before him like a school of herring. Why didn't she just come up to him and reveal her who she was? Those thoughts occupied George's mind as he made his way through the throng of people in the living room. His speculations were interrupted when he bumped into someone, who squealed,
"Oh, there you are. I have been looking for you all night. It's me." George blinked and saw that the girl was Parvati Patil, one of Ron's classmates.
"Huh?" was the first thing he uttered, but then he realized why she'd been looking for him. "Are you her?" he asked perplexed. She giggled and nodded hurriedly.
"Really?" George found it hard to comprehend that his secret admirer was no longer so secret. She just kept nodding and was starting to twiddle her thumbs.
"Err … do you want to go somewhere and talk?" George looked nervously at her but she just nodded again very excitedly. They made their way from the living room up the stairs to his room. When they entered the room, he awkwardly invited her to sit on his bed. He really was at loss, what was he supposed to talk to her about?
"So, Fred and you share a room?" Parvati finally asked. George nodded.
"Padma and I have separate rooms."
"Oh," said George indifferently.
"So, aren't you going to ask me?" She straightened up and looked at him. Ask her what? He was bewildered. What on earth was he supposed to do with her? His mind refused to slow down, a million thoughts circled around in his head and he had to fight the urge to run away. Parvati's brown eyes still stared at him like she expected him to break into song and dance.
"So, err … about those notes and things." George paused, not sure if he wanted to ask the next question. "You, er, d'you fancy me or something?"
"Yeah," said Parvati and blushed. "I like you very much. I think I love you." George blinked. How was she able to say something like this? She hadn't even talked to him at all. Her way of communication had been leaving notes in his schoolbag and clean laundry. She couldn't possibly understand the complexity of love. Holy anger seemed to be bubbling inside him and he wanted to yell at her for invading his privacy and then telling him she loved him. Merlin's beard, what was he supposed to say to that?
Parvati on the other hand, wasn't very interested in what he had to say. She nudged a bit near him and took him by surprise by reaching forward and kissing him. He was completely unprepared for that sort of assault so he acted on his first instinct, which was to kiss her back. That seemed to encourage her for her kisses became more passionate and her hands moved up to grip his shoulders.
George felt his mind go blank as the mixed feelings he had previously been experiencing vanished. The girl was a very good kisser and why should he be peeved about few notes that had appeared on his pillow and in his shoe? He was kissing a pretty girl who wanted to kiss him very much. Slowly she reclined on the bed and pulled George with her. Her small hands were travelling up and down his back while he rested his weight on his right arm as he stroked his left hand up her neck. Her skin was smooth to the touch. He was gradually surrendering to his senses; smelling her scent, tasting her lips, touching her. His hands searched her high and low and finally found their way to her hair. He was sure he would find long, thick locks he would be able to run his fingers through. That was just wishful thinking because as soon as his hands touched her hair, his finger got caught in a hair clip and his trance was broken. The moment of revelation was upon him. This making out with Parvati was purely a hormonal driven thing. He didn't feel a thing for her; she was just a pretty girl he knew nothing about.
He broke their kiss abruptly and raised himself in the bed. She rose too, looking confused.
"What is it, George?" she whispered.
"It's just … I don't know you or anything and you don't know me. You never bothered to get to know me, just sent me notes and when I finally got to know who you were, you just wanted to snog me, not talk." George bit his lip. He was very afraid he would hurt her, something he would rather like to avoid. Her eyes seemed to grow in size and she frowned.
"Don't you like me?" she murmured. He swallowed and closed his eyes; she was going to be hurt by what he had to say.
"No, I'm sorry but I don't like you. You're probably a great person, I know I find you pretty and all but there's no real attraction." Her only response was a slight sigh and she turned away from him. He couldn't help but feel rotten for breaking her heart into a million pieces. They sat there in silence for awhile until Parvati decided to break the silence. Her voice was only a whisper.
"Did I make a huge mistake?"
"Err ... I … this wasn't a very good method you used." George could see that her eyes were starting to well up.
"I … thought you would find this fun … and I was also afraid you wouldn't take me seriously if I'd just started flirting with you." She had her head turned away from him as she spoke, obviously avoiding his eyes. George felt more sorry for her with each minute. Her words had hit a nerve. Was he shielding behind his practical joker front? His thoughts were interrupted when Parvati cleared her throat and asked, "Would you mind terribly if I've could be alone here for few minutes?" He didn't respond, just nodded, got up and left the room. He paused in the corridor, leaned against the wall and grabbed his forehead.
Deep in thought, he made his way downstairs where the guests were apparently having the fun he had hoped to have. He might as well do some washing up. It would be wiser to have the glasses and crockery clean when his parents returned home. The kitchen was deserted and it seemed that the supplies of drinks were finally becoming exhausted. There were crisps strewn across the floor and someone must have spilled butterbeer on the floor, for it was sticky. George couldn't help but sigh. This meant he'd have to pull up his sleeves and clean. As he was pouring hot water into a bucket, he heard a familiar voice in the hallway.
"What's going on here?" the voice could be heard saying sternly. He gritted his teeth. This was Percy and when he found his younger brothers, they could be sure that all hell would break loose. With a swift glance over the kitchen, George searched for a hiding place. That was no chance that he was going to be the one who would deal with an irate Percy, the evening had been bad enough. Fred and Ron were welcome to deal with this mess. He made a quick decision, it seemed that the pantry would be the perfect hiding place …
~~~
"Mmm," was the answer Angelina gave Fred as he began his assault on her neck. He pressed himself to her and silently hoped that the pantry table wouldn't give from their combined weight. This retreating to the pantry had been a spur of the moment decision. They were completely caught up in the moment and didn't notice when jars and cutlery came crashing to the floor. Angelina reclined fully on the table and pulled Fred to her. Their mouths met again and he began to crawl up the table. Soon he was resting on his forearms, kissing her deeply while her hands were travelling up and down his back. Slowly he eased her dress of her shoulders as she pushed apart his robes. Fred had completely surrendered to his senses as all reason had been banished like a boggart from his brain. Angelina was well on her way of unfastening his robes and as she hoisted herself higher on the table, he used the chance to sneak his hand up her skirt.
All of a sudden, a ray of light fell on Angelina's face. Fred froze, still with his hand high on her thigh.
"Oh, I didn't know anyone was here. Oh, is it you, Fred?"
"Of course it's me, George. Who did you think it would be here with Angelina?" Fred was quite annoyed.
"Err, it's just … Percy is here," George said with a panic in his voice. Fred's annoyance was quickly washed away, replaced with anxiety. He swore strongly and Angelina who was busy adjusting her dress, exclaimed half indignant, half amused, "Watch your mouth, Fred Weasley."
"We are in trouble." George nodded. Fred sighed, there was only one thing possible in this situation. They had to face Percy.
"You go first," Fred said to his brother, hoping that if George went first, he would take the most heat. It was obvious to Fred that the state of his robes and Angelina's for that matter, would not help winning any argument he would have with Percy right now.
As they emerged from the pantry, they could see that the look on Percy's face conveyed exactly how displeased he was with what was happening at the Burrow.
"I presume you two are responsible for this," he said, coolly, catching the twins off guard, for they had expected him to blow the gasket right away.
"Err … you could say that," said Fred after awhile, "just having few people over for fun. No harm in that." Percy wasn't amused.
"I don't need to ask if you have permission for this. Of all the things … have you any idea how perilous it is to have such a large gathering of under-aged wizards without any supervision? Especially in times like these?" It was obvious to Fred that this was Percy, the Ministry official speaking.
"Hey, look here. We are practically full-licensed ourselves and Wood and McQueen are here. Then there are the wards here at Burrow. No one will have an easy time getting through them." Fred had straightened himself so Percy wouldn't have such advantage with his extra two inches.
"Really? And tell me, was it hard to take the wards into account when you were charming the Portkeys?" Percy raised an eyebrow in question.
"We know the wards," answered George. Fred nodded although he knew that Percy had a point. Even though the twins were pretty clever, they had no guaranty that some ill-willed wizard wouldn't be as clever.
"Not to mention our parents. Didn't you think for a minute about Mum?"
"Yeah, we were kind of hoping that she wouldn't notice," said Fred, feeling quite lame.
"Not notice? Not notice that at least forty people are crammed here in the house? I'm just amazed that you're still this irresponsible at the age of seventeen. Besides going behind our parents' back and disregarding all security measures, you are offering alcohol to minors and Merlin knows what else. I suggest you ask your guests to leave now but don't think that will get you off the hook." Percy meant business. The twins exchanged defeated looks.
"It's best to do what he says," whispered George. The twins were on their way out of the kitchen when Lee Jordan whom Fred hadn't noticed standing there, spoke up,
"Cut this self-righteous crap, Percy Weasley. You always think you're right about everything. You were that way at Hogwarts and I see you're still that way." Everyone who heard, stopped still.
"I beg your pardon," said Percy quite alarmed.
"You heard me. I have no idea why you are so full of yourself, you must be compensating for something more than just the fact that you're a flea-bitten Weasley." As Lee uttered these words, Fred felt a sour taste in his mouth. He couldn't be hearing right, Lee would never say something like that.
"Lee, what's wrong with you?" Angelina uttered flabbergasted.
"Oh, there's nothing wrong with me. I'm just telling like it is. Finally, the Weasleys are going to get it. They walk around, oblivious to the fact that everything they pretend to uphold, are things that undermine the Wizarding world. Their self-righteous, Muggle-loving ways have destroyed people and will continue to do so." There was fever-like gaze in Lee's eyes while George kept mouthing words that also were echoing in Fred's head,
"This is madness!"
"Oh, you think I'm mad. You know nothing about madness, nothing!!" Lee grinned and stuck his wand out. It happened so quickly that Fred didn't have time to register what had happened until suddenly Lee had Percy in his grip, pointing at his throat with his wand and in a rasp voice he proclaimed,
"Don't even try to save him. He'll be dead even before any of you will have touched their wand."
