Chapter 4

George woke up the next morning, unaware of where he was, how he got there, and who he was currently tangled up with. This was not the first morning he had woken up in this position. He pulled away in disgust with himself and curled in a tight ball at the far end of the bed. His eyes were shut tight and he was hoping that the other man didn't want anything else from him.

"George," a voice called out, a voice that George recognized. "George, it's me, Oliver. Will you look at me; I won't touch you if that's what you want." George didn't turn, but he felt the other side of the bed move and knew that Oliver had stood up from the bed. George felt the tears stream down his face. What had he done, he thought, out of desperation I came here and did what with Oliver.

"Nothing happened, George, I only held you to calm you from a nightmare. You wanted me to stay with you, so I did. Nothing else happened I can promise you that," said Oliver seemingly to read George's mind.

"George, I don't know what has happened to you, but I just want to help you, if you'll let me. I won't call your family unless you want me to and I would hope that you stay here with me," Oliver continued when he did not get a response from George.

George turned to face Oliver and sat up with his back facing the wall. His eyes were bloodshot and red rimmed.

"How long have I been here?" asked George hoarsely.

"Two days, mostly asleep. I cleaned you up the first day and put your clothes over on the chair in the corner, I didn't throw anything away. If you want a shower there are extra clothes in my closet and a towel and cloth in the loo. I'm going to make something to eat, it's still a little early, but you must be hungry. I'm not sure when the last meal you had." With that Oliver turned and left the room.

George stood from the bed and stumbled a little, but eventually made it over to where his clothes were. It didn't matter what happened to the clothes, but he dug through the pockets until he found the two things he treasured the most; the gold coin that was used to summon the DA and the last thing that Fred ever gave him. Though it was only meant as a joke, George treasured above anything; a miniature version of his ear cast in gold, the one he lost rescuing Harry. Fred meant to help relieve George and thought that it was funny to have an extra ear on him just in case he needed help hearing. He gathered up his two treasures, grabbed some clothes from Oliver's closet and walked into the bathroom across the hall.

George got undressed, very aware of how thin he had gotten and how long his hair had gotten. He was also aware of all the bruising and cuts all over his body and face. Some he knew how he a received those bruises and cuts, others he had no idea. The warm water ran over his skin, the first warm shower he had had in a long time. The last shower he had was an ice cold shower he was told to take after a particularly bad night with another man. It had been a cold night and after that ice cold shower, he wasn't sure how he survived the night. He knew that he wouldn't be spending anymore nights on the street anymore. Oliver was willing to let him stay, he said he wanted to help, but he was sure there was going to be some sort of payment he was going to have to give Oliver. Everything came at a cost, nothing was done for free or out of the kindness of anyone's heart.

He wasn't sure how long he stayed under the warm water, as it relaxed his tense muscles and cleaned the dirty feeling away, but as he left the shower his skin was red from the hot water. George dressed in a pair of jeans and t-shirt and he pulled a jumper on over top. The jumper reminded him of home, but he knew that if he ever went back he would only disappoint his family. When he was finished, he put his only possessions into his right pocket and walked out to the kitchen.

Oliver had placed a plate of eggs and toast on the table with a cup of tea and pumpkin juice. George sat down at the table, but didn't touch the food.

"That's all for you George, I had mine while you were in the shower. I didn't know how you liked your eggs, so I just scrambled them." George nodded and took a mouthful of eggs.

"Thank you, I'll repay you whenever I get the chance. I'm still healing so it may take a few days, but I will repay you for letting me stay here. Just please don't make me go back out on the streets. I don't think I could survive another night.

"George, you don't have to repay me, I don't want anything, but knowing that your okay. I don't like the fact that you're living on the streets, doing Merlin knows what for money. I just want to see you healed and healthy. You can stay here for as long as you want, even after I go back to playing Quiditch. This is your home know for as long as you wish, no strings."

George nodded and looked to the table and his food, "Thank you" he said quietly.

Oliver looked over at him with a sad smile, though George had his eyes on the table and missed the look