Nora
After tearfully explaining as much as she could to her family, Nora locked herself away in her parents' spare room. She just didn't really feel like staying in her... Eleanor's... old room at the moment.
When she'd lived at home for a couple of months earlier in the year, she'd found living in Eleanor's room to be too weird... too other, like she was trying to fit into someone else's life.
Since moving out, she'd stayed in the room a few times and it had been fine, but that weekend was different. That weekend, she just didn't want to be confronted with her past self right now, especially considering George's deception, and his connection to Eleanor.
Nora spent most of the weekend lying in the spare bed, moving between tears and anger. She couldn't believe that the George she knew could have been this cruel. And yet somehow, he had been.
It painted their whole relationship in another light, and she began to go through everything that she could remember as she tried to figure out why he'd done this.
Had he been making fun of her to his friends? Was this why he wouldn't meet her family, or rarely mentioned her meeting his?
The hardest question to work out was: Had he ever loved me?
Even with this question in mind, on Saturday she still found herself clock watching until the hands moved to two o'clock in the afternoon, and then she returned to feeling nauseous. She could imagine George's confusion and worry when he turned up at her flat to pick her up for lunch and she wasn't there.
No, she practically shouted at herself as she burrowed under the covers, you have a reason to be angry and upset!
At one point on Sunday, Cat broke into the room Nora was staying in.
"You have to eat something," Cat said.
Nora pulled her covers down to see Cat climbing in through the open window. "You could fall and hurt yourself," she said, groaning and lying back against the pillows.
"Bah," Cat replied, jumping down from the windowsill. "Right. Chocolate," she said, chucking a large bar at Nora.
"Honeyduke's?" Nora asked, snapping a large piece off the bar. She handed it back to a suspicious looking Cat. "I didn't even realise I brought any with me... Where'd you find it?" she asked biting into the sweet treat.
"It came with... this," Cat said, moving cautiously forwards to hand Nora a small letter.
Nora's eyes widened as she recognised the handwriting and she threw the letter and the chocolate on the floor, rolled over, and pulled the covers over her head again.
"You're so dramatic. I love it, but seriously Nora," Cat whined, sighing deeply. "You have to-"
"I don't have to do anything," Nora said, sniffling. She groaned and wiped more tears from her eyes.
"Can I at least open it?" Cat asked after a while, sitting on the bed.
Nora, who really was quite interested to know what George had to say for himself didn't answer, and Cat took that as her assent.
"Okay... Tell me to stop if you don't want me to read it out loud?"
Again, Nora stayed completely still.
"Right. It says..." Cat declared. There was a ripping noise, and then silence for a moment as Cat unfolded the parchment. "Still can't get over how fancy wizarding paper is... Uh... okay. Nor... he calls you Nor?"
Nora frowned and peeked her head over the covers to see Cat staring back at her. "Yes..." she admitted, unsure if the nickname was odd to her sister or not. "Does anyone else call me that?"
Cat hummed and returned to the letter. "No... anyway. Nor, when you get this, could you send back an owl to say if you're alright or not? I waited at your flat for a few hours yesterday but you didn't come home. Are you at your parents' house or something? If you could let me know, that'd be great because I'm trying not to worry too much here! Though I'll admit that I've already checked with St. Mungo's, just in case! Very glad you're not there! Love, George."
"He's a dick," Nora said loudly, her words muffled by her duvet which she'd pulled over her mouth. Her eyes still peeked out and watched Cat's reaction to her words.
"He actually sounds quite thoughtful," Cat replied, raising an eyebrow and waving the letter. "He's freaking out but he still respects your space..."
"No," Nora said, sulking. "He just doesn't know where we live so he couldn't check here. There's a difference."
"He checked with St. Mungo's," Cat argued. "And if he went to the hospital then he's really really worried. Seriously, this sounds like someone who's panicking and trying to act natural."
"He only knew to go to the hospital because he knew what ward I was on before. He tried to visit me when I was Eleanor, remember?" Nora retorted, but she knew that Cat was right - she felt awful that George was potentially panicking over nothing while she was sat there completely safe, just angry with him.
Cat pursed her lips. "Well, I think you should at least reply."
"And say what?" Nora asked quietly. "Really, I have no idea what to say... help me?"
Cat sighed and pursed her lips. "I don't know..." she said with a shrug. "Tell him that you never want to see him again? That he's a liar? That you don't want to hear his side of everything? That's what you said yesterday... Or," she said, pulling the cover back down, exposing Nora's head and shoulders. "You can be truthful and say that you're hurt, confused and angry, but you love him more than you remember loving anyone or anything, and you need to figure out what you want to do next."
Nora groaned and thumped her arms onto the duvet in front of her. "What about a confused middle-ground?"
"Uh... George, someone told me everything. I need time to think, Nor?"
Nora shook her head and crossed her arms. "Don't want him to call me Nor at the moment... But yeah, I'll write something..."
"Good, because his owl's downstairs and Mum and Dad are trying to figure out what to feed it..."
Nora groaned and rolled over onto her front, burying her face in her pillow. "Wait here?" she asked, sitting up on her knees.
Cat nodded and, true to her word, waited while Nora wrote out a short reply;
George,
I'm sorry, but I won't be back at the flat for a while. I need some time and space to think.
Nora
She sent the reply and addressed the envelope to 'George Weasley' so that he'd understand why.
"Are you sure that was the right call?" Cat asked when she returned.
Eleanor shrugged and sat on the bed cross-legged, next to her sister. "I don't know, but it's the truth, and it's more measured than what I felt like writing yesterday or the day before..." she said, playing with a small loose thread on the duvet cover. "Can I ask you something personal?" she whispered, glancing up to see her sister's face.
Cat bit her lip and looked down, but nodded nonetheless.
"Did Eleanor tell you about him?" she asked quietly.
Cat stilled. Nora and her family rarely talked about Eleanor - they saved their thoughts on the 'Ellie' or 'pre-'98 Eleanor' for when it was just the three originals - Cat and their mum and dad. Otherwise, they did what Nora did, and talked to Nora about her own experiences, without correlating the two people much.
"You... You never ask about..." she whispered, shooting Nora a worried look.
"I know," Nora whispered. "But... But someone said Eleanor had a crush on George?"
Cat gulped, but nodded. "Ellie asked him out in her sixth year," she whispered after a while, turning her body away from Nora as she stared at the wall opposite, the smile long gone from her face. Her eyes began to well with tears. "He laughed at her and I think she found out that it was all a big misunderstanding at some point, but she was so embarrassed by it all. She'd snap if we mentioned it, but she said that by the end of school that people didn't mention it much, and she said they were on good terms. I think it would've been odd for her boyfriend if she wasn't over the whole thing."
"She had a boyfriend?" Nora asked, sitting up now. "Ellie had a boyfriend?"
Cat gulped and looked down at her hands, which she was wringing together in her lap. "Yeah," she whispered. "When everything happened to... Well, when... He uh... He said it was all too hard and he walked away. So when you woke up... We just didn't tell you."
Nora stared at the side of her sister's face and her mouth fell open.
"I think that's why Mum and Dad were asking if they could see who George King was in your yearbook..." Cat whispered, "because when the doctors... Sorry, Healers... When they were still working on removing all of those false memories, there was only one other person apart from us who tried to visit you. You know... Didn't just send a letter or anything..."
"George?" Nora asked.
Cat nodded. "George Weasley. He sent letters as well... I recognise his writing now. I know you don't want to read any of them so we just put them in Ellie's room when they arrive. Most people stopped writing after they met you and realised you weren't Ellie anymore, some people just wrote one offs and stuff, and we still get the occasional letter, but... but his ones only stopped in May."
"But he visited the hospital?" Nora asked, sitting up more, trying to ignore the fact that she met George in May.
"Yeah. He turned up on your birthday, but the Aurors sent him away... Mum and Dad only really know him by sight... He wrote to apologise for trying to visit so we knew it was him from the way he addressed this letter... Mum and Dad actually wanted to meet him... But then you woke up properly and you said you didn't want to see many people... And you weren't ready to talk about... about Ellie, and-"
Nora readjusted on the bed to pull her little sister into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry," Cat whispered, burying her face in Nora's neck. "I just miss her," she admitted tearfully. "I know we have you now, but I do..."
"I know... I know," Nora replied, stroking Cat's hair. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry you lost her."
"At least we have you."
xXx
She thought she'd get away with not going into work on Monday, but at seven in the morning her mum woke her up and made her get ready. When she got downstairs, breakfast was waiting for her, and she Apparated to the Ministry when her dad left for work.
She walked over to the lifts with a head full of jumbled words and unintelligible thoughts. Standing in front of the gold griddle waiting for the next to arrive, she barely heard the chatter of the witches and wizards who arrived and stood around and behind her, waiting for various lifts.
She was frowning deeply, staring at the gold griddle and biting her lip, when she was jolted out of her reverie by a hand on her arm. Blinking, Nora turned to the owner of the hand, and her eyes widened. "You?" she asked.
The older woman who she'd seen sporadically for the past few months smiled and dropped her hand. "Are you alright?" the woman asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Nora frowned again and opened and closed her mouth a few times, her eyes darting around. For some reason she didn't want to lie in that moment. But could she tell this stranger anything? No. Did she want to...? She had no idea. She was so confused. All she knew was that she was sure that the mysterious woman knew exactly who she was, and for some reason that didn't scare her.
The woman smiled kindly. "It's okay. You don't have to be strong all of the time."
Nora blinked, and then looked to the floor. "Look, if you want to talk about Eleanor, I can't help you."
"I don't. I want to talk about you. How are you doing?" the woman asked.
Nora was incredibly surprised. She looked to her again. "I'm-"
"I have to go," the woman said suddenly, looking over her shoulder. "But if do you want to talk, meet me at Copper's café in Diagon Alley tomorrow. I'll be there all day."
"I have to work," Nora said quietly. But she was confused but tempted. Incredibly tempted.
"Lunchtime then," the woman replied.
But before Nora could answer, the woman had ducked into the crowd.
Nora bit her lip and her furrowed her brow, looking after the woman, following her until she disappeared. She blinked a few times and then she had the now-familiar feeling that someone was watching her. She looked to the left and instantly regretted her interest.
At the back of the queue stood George. He was watching her. While his face was blank, his eyes swirled with emotion and it make Nora's breath catch.
She didn't know what to do, because she couldn't look away from him. She bit her lip. This was why she had avoided him all weekend. Because she knew that when she saw his face, her resolve would begin to crack.
She heard a ding behind her and the crowd began to push forwards, but Nora stayed where she was, allowing people to move around her without taking her eyes off George. Another ding, another lift full of people. And again. Until they'd been standing there, feet apart, for a couple of minutes.
Finally, George took a step forwards and Nora broke eye contact, looking around, her eyes welling with tears, her chest feeling tight.
"Nor," he whispered when he reached her. "I was going to tell you. I was-"
"When?" she asked, stepping backwards and wrapping her arms around her torso. "When?"
"On Saturday."
"Why?"
"What?"
"Why Saturday? Why not two months ago? Why not when we met?" she asked, shrugging and shaking her head as she looked around, her emotions overwhelming her and making her unable to look him in the eye anymore. "Why did you make me fall in love with you? Why were you that cruel? I don't... I don't understand!"
"I love you," George said firmly. "I do. I love you. I never pretended. Okay? I love you and you love me. We fell in love together. And if you'll give me a chance to explain everything, I really think you'll understand."
Nora licked her bottom lip and bit down on it, looking up to the Atrium ceiling, shaking her head. She moved her hand to cover her mouth.
"Nor," George said, stepping into her little bubble.
"Stop calling me that," she replied, looking down, her eyes focussing on the emblem on his bright magenta robes. Weasley and Weasley. A little part of her was even angry that he'd made her pay full price for one of his own products. It made sense now though - his experiments, the fact that he always knew what the owners of the shop he worked for would say.
George didn't speak for a moment, and then he said quietly, "Why?"
"Because. Because you know... knew. You... You knew Eleanor. You knew her. You stayed with her while she... When it happened. You held her. You came to the-" She paused to hike in a breath, "hos... hospit-"
Her breaths became uneven and ropey and George stepped closer, but she stepped back and caught her breath.
"You came to the hospital," she said, trying to keep her words calm and measured. "You wrote her letters. You knew her, and when you call me Nor now it makes me think that that's what you used to call her, and-"
"No. No. Nor- bloody hell. No. Nora, Nora, please look at me?" he asked. He ducked his head to try and catch her eye and she turned her face slightly, looking down at the ground to her left. He sighed deeply. "Nora. I barely knew Eleanor. We might have nodded to each other on the street after Hogwarts, but there wasn't a relationship there. There were no feelings whatsoever."
"From your side, yeah. But you knew she liked you. You knew and when you found out I was single now, you used that attraction against me so you could find some twisted way to thank me for Fred. You-"
"No," he said firmly. "Eleanor asked me to a ball once. We spoke a handful of times after that and we agreed to put it behind us, because she didn't have some massive crush on me, she just asked me that one time and everyone blew it out of proportion. Nora," he whined, "please. You have to believe me. Look, I'll tell you everything. From the start, I'll tell you everything-"
"But that's the thing, George," she said, finally looking at him again. "You could have told me everything from the start, but you didn't. How long did you think you were going to get away with this?"
"I... Merlin. Nor, I didn't-" he said, running a hand through his hair.
"Don't call me that," she complained. She knew she was at work, and tried to control her face, but despite her best efforts she began to cry, hot tears flowing down her face. She let out a frustrated cry and angrily wiped the tears away with both hands. She sniffed and shook her head. "Don't. Please."
"I'm sorry," he replied. He looked looked around and dragged a hand over his face. "Nora, I didn't think. I just got swept up in it, and-"
"Swept up in what exactly?" she asked, angrily, waving her hands with each point. "The deception? The fun of it all? The-"
"You. You, Nora. I turned up expecting to find Eleanor and I found you. And I..." George opened and closed his mouth, as if completely lost for words. He slipped one hand into his pocket and the other rubbed his chin. "I found you. I can't explain it any more than that," he said, his hand dropping to his side. "Just... Nora, you're not her. Okay? You're not."
"We look the same!" she retorted angrily, wiping away more tears.
"I look the same as my twin, but we're separate people," he replied instantly. "There are so many differences between you and Eleanor. So many. In my head... In my head it's like you're just her twin. Her twin who I met after Eleanor... after she died."
Nora's head swam. She couldn't quite believe his words, since that was exactly how she'd been feeling about Eleanor since she woke up in St. Mungo's - like they were separate people. But she couldn't quite believe him either.
She needed more time, she realised. She needed time for his words to sink in, and she needed time to figure out if this was what she wanted - to go through everything with him from the moment he met Eleanor to the moment he met her, Nora. Could she trust that he really would tell her the whole truth? Or was he just caught in the lie and wanted to get on her good side again?
"George, I need time," she whispered.
"What?" he asked, stepping forwards. He reached out to her but flexed his hand and took it away before he touched her arm. "I'm sorry, I-" he said, gesturing around. "It's so loud."
"George," she said louder. "I need some time."
George's eyes widened, his mouth dropped open, and he paled. "Nora, please. Please don't-"
"I'm not breaking up with you," she said quickly, cutting over him. She took in a few deep shuddering breaths. "I just need-" Her breath caught again.
George did touch her now, holding her upper arms reassuringly. "Nora, it's okay. I'm here."
He pulled her into his embrace and held her, waiting with her until her breathing became easier, and then she pushed her hands against his chest and repeated, "I need time."
"I love you," he whispered against her temple.
Nora screwed up her face again and moved further away, walking slowly backwards, her head telling her to go, her aching heart telling her to stay. She looked to the ceiling as tears began to fall again. Then there was a ding behind her, and she knew the lift was back.
"I love you too," she sobbed, turning around quickly, walking away from him.
She pushed to the back of the lift and turned into the corner, ignoring the people around her. She didn't turn around until her floor was called.
xXx
Work was disastrous. Nora felt lucky that Arthur wasn't working day shifts - she didn't know how she'd manage to get through the day without acting weirdly around him. She barely got any work done.
As the day went on more and more people asked her if she was okay, and it got to the point where Tarquin sent her home an hour and a half early.
"If you're ill tomorrow, don't come in," he said, smiling kindly. "Just rest up."
"I wouldn't even know how to call in sick," Nora admitted, shouldering her bag. She did think that this would be the perfect excuse to allow her time to go to see that woman though...
"We'll just assume," he replied. "If you're still not well on Thursday, Floo a message to the reception desk."
"Thanks," Nora replied.
And instead of going back to her flat, she went back to her parents' house.
xXx
Thank you so much to everyone reading, following and favouriting, and a massive shout-out to my reviewers - IDreamTheImpossibleDreamer, ASimpleTeenager, Elcee1992, TotallyHufflepuf and Guest - ("kissab" - that's hilarious! Please feel free to blame my writing style for that one!)
