George refused to come back inside. He had become confined to the barn because of his own insistence. Molly had of course tried to intervene, but there was no way that George was going to hear it. He would stay there until Emerald left, that was his promise. New Years Eve arrived and Emerald finally decided to do something. Everybody had tried to talk to George and now she figured that it was her turn. While everybody was left in the house getting ready for the New Years party hosted by the Ministry, Emerald snuck out and headed for the barn. She was wearing a sparkly silver mini dress that went halfway down her thighs with a pair of black leggings and silver heels. Her hair was parted heavily on the left side and curled within an inch of its life. So in her lovely holiday outfit, Emerald went sneaking out to the barn to see if she could do anything to ease George's anger.

Emerald gently opened the barn door, peering around in the eerie darkness that had consumed George…somewhere. Animals hadn't inhabited the barn for a very long time, but the floor was still scattered with hay. There were parts of cars, parts of planes, and various other objects on shaking tables and on the floor. It was hard to maneuver around, but Emerald managed.

"George…where are you?" She called out, hoping to get a quick response. Emerald was terrified of the dark and the creaking barn was not helping that fear.

There was no answer to her quiet question, not one that she could hear at least. She teetered around for a bit before hearing a small shuffling coming from in the loft. In her silver heels, she climbed the small ladder and poked her head through the small hole that opened to the loft.

"Are you up here?" She asked softly. Her question was met with a soft grunt, coming from a shadowed corner. She climbed all the way up, glancing around and smoothing down her dress. George came walking from the shadows, a large bottle of liquor in his hand. Emerald wasn't going to ask where he had gotten it from. The only thing that she could assume was that he had found it somewhere in the barn and was well past wasted. He plopped down on a barrel, taking a long swig.

"Happy fucking new year." He muttered after a few seconds. Emerald nodded, keeping her distance.

"I see that you're celebrating, am I interrupting?" She asked politely. George shook his head.

"No…sit down…do you want some?" He asked as he offered her the half empty bottle. Emerald shook her head, sitting a barrel somewhat close to him.

"No thank you, I'm fine." She smiled at him awkwardly as he took another drink. "How are you doing out here?" She asked. George shrugged his shoulders.

"There are a lot of rats…" Emerald nodded as a period of awkward silence passed between them.

"I came to talk to you about Fred and I." She suddenly blurted out. George nodded again, leaning against the barn wall in his drunken stupor.

"Of course…you and everybody else!" He took another long swig from the bottle as Emerald just stared at him. George caught her staring and held out his bottle. "This is dad's stash, for when he likes to get really wasted…figured now was the best time for me." He drank again while Emerald furrowed her brows together.

"Why are you so upset about this whole thing?" She asked. "Fred and I aren't hurting you…so why does us being together bother you so much?" George slowly stood up, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"Because you're a hippie." He muttered, pointing a shaking finger at her. Emerald crossed her arms.

"You've said that every time that you've complained about me, what's wrong with being a hippie?"

"I don't see what's so fucking great about you!" He exclaimed, smashing his bottle against the wall. Emerald jumped and almost fell off of her barrel. She edged around it and started backing up towards the ladder. "I guess your pretty…and you're not so creepy." He threw the remainder of his bottle to the ground, the crashing sound making Emerald jump and cry out. "He probably likes you so much because he gets to fuck you."

"Please George…it's not like that…"

"I'll bet that it is." He said, grabbing her wrists and forcing her against him. "That's probably the only reason why he can stand your ass is because you put out." George managed to force her down to the floor, a loud scream escaping her lips as he started to pull at her clothing. "Maybe I should fuck you to see what the big deal is."

Emerald started to cry, pushing on his chest as he ripped her dress in two and started working on her leggings. She was struggling against him, desperately trying to escape his grasp, but even in his drunken state George was much stronger than her.

"Let go of me!" Emerald exclaimed. She hit his face and kicked at his knees, but George held tight on her. In a sudden swoop, he slapped her across the face, rendering her silent for mere seconds. Her screams would fall on deaf ears as George ripped away at her leggings and left her exposed on the floor.

It was not gentle, for there was no love; it was not quick, for there was no love; Emerald would never forget, for there was no love. With her wand, she silently repaired her clothing and made everything right again. She left as quickly as she could, stumbling over the dozen different car parts lying in her way. She didn't know if George was running after her or if he had passed out on the floor; all she knew was that she had to get out. Emerald rushed to the house, fighting back her tears as she walked into the house. Fred instantly greeted her with a wide smile and a big hug.

"What were you doing out there?" He asked in her ear as he held her close. He furrowed his brow together when he noticed that she was trembling slightly. "Are you all right?" He asked so that nobody else would hear. She quickly nodded, showing him a bright smile.

"I'm fine…don't worry about me…" Fred hesitantly nodded, taking her hand and going to the front door where his family waited for them in the car. They squeezed in together in the small car sent by the Ministry, Emerald ending up on Fred's lap with their legs tightly pressed together. She ended up staring out the window, tears suddenly erupting from her eyes. Emerald quickly wiped the tears away, but Fred had seen her crying. He pulled her closely to him and gently kissed her temple.

"Why are you crying?" He asked in a low whisper. "What's wrong?" Emerald pursed her lips together, mentally battling with herself. If she told Fred now, he would throw an absolute fit and possibly kill his brother. Not to mention the fact that George had been drunk and that he would be killed by his entire family if they found out now. Emerald had already caused enough trouble in the Weasley family. A case of rape was the last thing that they needed. Emerald glanced at him with a soft smile, deciding then and there to keep her mouth shut.

"I'm crying because...I have to leave soon." She quickly lied. "And I love being with you so much...and I adore your family." Now that was the truth. Fred smirked, gently rubbing her hip.

"Don't worry, we still have school to be together…and I'm not leaving you any time soon." Emerald gently kissed him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"I know…"