The Halloween Feast, an occasion the boys and I have been looking forward to all year. My first at Hogwarts. When it finally arrives, the boys lead me excitedly, chattering about how it sounds as though this will be the best Halloween Feast yet.
When we get inside the Great Hall, my eyes go wide, taking in the decorations. There are huge carved pumpkins, and the candles hanging above the tables flicker eerily. Then, I see the bats. Letting out a shriek, I cover my head.
"What? What's wrong?" Fred asks, looking concernedly at me.
"B-Bats," I whimper, lip quivering.
"Aw, poor baby. Are you scared of bats?" Fred mocks me in a baby voice.
"They're rats with wings!" I cry.
"I know, Sweetheart," he indulges me, grabbing my hand and leading me to Gryffindor table, advising me not to look at them and reminding me that Dumbledore wouldn't let them hurt me.
I take a seat, allowing the food to distract me. I stuff my face, the twins chuckling at me. This is the first time in a long time I've been truly eager to eat. Then, when dessert starts, I watch as a troupe of skeletons, hired by Dumbledore, does an elaborate dance.
"Hey," George whispers into my ear as the skeletons dance.
"Hey yourself," I reply, looking at him for a second, chuckling, and then returning my eyes to the skeletons.
"Why didn't the skeleton dance at the Halloween Feast?" he asks, a smirk on his face.
"I dunno. Why?" I ask, my eyes lit up at the potential for a good joke.
"It had no body to dance with," his smirk turns to a grin.
"You're awful," I shove him lightly, chuckling.
"Oh, yeah? Why didn't the skeletons eat the food at the Feast?" he asks, eyes sparkling.
"Why?" I ask, turning and facing him, dancing skeletons long-forgotten.
"They didn't have the stomach for it."
This is the way the rest of the Feast goes, and it's the most fun I've had in a long time.
After the Feast concludes, the twins and I head upstairs to bed, but what we find on the way is more than disturbing. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are found beside a very dead-looking Mrs. Norris and a sign written in blood:
THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione are taken away, along with Mrs. Norris, and the rest of us are sent off to bed.
"Do you think Ron'll get expelled?" George asks Fred and I, worried.
"No, George. Everything'll be fine. It always is," Fred assures his brother.
"Let's just get to bed," I sigh, trudging up to the dorm, where I collapse onto George's bed, ready for a welcome night's sleep.
I'm woken, panting and sweating in the middle of the night. The night terrors have never come when I'm with George. Gently, I nudge him awake.
"Georgie?" I whimper.
At first, he just mutters an incoherent noise, but then he appears to register the urgency in my voice and wakes quickly.
"What's wrong, Rey?" he asks, eyes wide with concern.
"I'm sorry. I just… I had the night terror," I confess.
"In here?" he asks, confused.
"Mhmm," I moan, kicking off the blankets.
"You ready to talk about what happened yet?" George asks, his voice and eyes soft.
Taking a deep breath, I resign myself to the fact that I will have to tell him the truth at some point.
"He went bankrupt. His business failed and his wife divorced him, so he moved back in with Dad. He hit me. A lot. Took all his anger from the business and marriage failures out on me. Not much else to tell, really," I whisper, haunting images flashing in front of my eyes.
I feel George's arm wrap around my waist, his lips on my forehead, trailing kisses down my nose and over my eyelids, along my cheekbones and the tips of my ears. "You are the most beautiful, talented, smart, kind, and funny witch I know - my best friend along with Freddie. I will never, ever let him near you again. You have my absolute word, okay?"
I nod, burying myself in him. George. My beautiful, wonderful, best friend, George. No one can make me feel better the way George does. No one. Within minutes, I've fallen back asleep, my limbs entangled with his and my cheek pressed against his chest.