After having assaulted the Yule Ball with hours of their catchy hard, fast music, The Weird Sisters had finally started playing their ballads. This decision had considerably cleared the dance floor. I wondered if Cedric was rotating with Cho, his mind still on our misunderstanding.
But then George put his hand firmly on my waist, and all of the oxygen evaporated from my lungs. George didn't notice, or at least pretended not to.
I tried to have a good time again, but my mind was crammed with anxious thoughts from the evening. After our fourth slow dance, during which George cracked several good jokes that made even my angst ridden mind laugh, I wanted to leave. It had to be getting late: the dance floor was nearly bare.
"Come on, it's getting late," George nodded towards the exit. "You seem tired. Let's get you to your room."
Tired didn't even begin to cover it. I smiled at the thought of my warm bed and comfortable blankets, Kelly and Kim close by, and followed George out of the exit.
George had no problem finding the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room. Considering one of his favorite past times was nicking food from the kitchens after hours, I wasn't surprised.
We were standing a few feet away from the entrance; in nearly the same spot Cedric had dumped me. When George faced me, his mouth turned upward in a smile, I suddenly felt very nervous. How was I supposed to say goodbye?
"I had a great time," I said, and I'm not exactly sure why. I had a mostly great time, was more accurate.
But George nodded in agreement. "It was a lot of fun."
Awkward silence seemed to drape over us. I even wished Peeves would zoom by so I could have a reason to escape.
"Er, so…" I started, but George interrupted me.
"I really like you," he sputtered, his normally confident face reddened.
"What?" My face blazed.
George didn't reply right away. He wrapped his arms around the small of my back, trapping my body against his. I could feel my heart in my throat and before I could ask what was going on, he said, "Stop that."
"Stop what?" I repeated, bewildered.
"What you're doing to my heart." And he bent over, slowly.
I had barely processed his awful, corny attempt at romance when his lips pressed against mine.
Lips carried curious sensations. Cedric's lips made me feel important, proud and giggly. Like I was the girlfriend of the popular jock in an awful high school drama. Before that, I had kissed a boy named Owen, who tasted like salty potato chips and made me feel like nothing more. But George made my body tingle, like fireworks were shooting off in my fingers and toes. I felt my heart tighten in my throat, like I could hardly believe this was happening. But it was happening, fast.
George's mouth was warm, and his tongue tasted like the punch I never got to try at the Ball. His hands tightened against my back, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
I had no idea how long we were outside of my common room. But I didn't care. And then I heard, "Shouldn't you be off to bed?"
We both jumped, and turned to see Professor Sprout wearing her oversized pajamas, dirty brown hat, and a smug smile.
My face felt like it was boiling. I stammered, "Er, ah, yes, Professor. Sorry, I didn't mean... I was, just, ah, good night." And I rushed into the common room.
My head was spinning, and I felt so dizzy I collapsed in front of the closest arm chair I could find. I tried to steady my breathing, but I couldn't help but wonder if George would be all right, or if Filch would find him, too. As I calmed down, my stomach tightened in a mixture of nausea and excitement. George was a great kisser.
"I didn't know you were seeing Weasley," Cedric's voice made me jump, again, and I tilted my head to see him sitting in the arm chair on the other side of the common room.
"I… I'm not," I managed to say. Cedric's eyes were narrowed in disappointment and fury. Despite this, I couldn't help but ask, "Er. What time is it?"
"Almost two," he said icily.
"Right," I nodded. My body shaking, I rose to go to bed.
"I was only trying to be nice," Cedric said suddenly, as I was passing his chair.
I remembered how I under reacted, and then how George overreacted. "I know. I'm sorry."
"I don't like him," Cedric said acidly. "He's not a very good person, don't you think? All he ever does is get into trouble. I heard he only got three O.W.L.s. Come on, Michelle, you can do better than that."
For some reason, I felt my cheeks redden. "Well, I like him," I said coolly.
Cedric stared into the fire, the flames reflected in his retinas. "I still care about you. A lot," he said softly.
My heart quivered, but I felt stronger than I did earlier. "I'm not sure you do," I admitted.
Cedric didn't reply. Empowered, I even asked, "Did you have a good night with Cho?"
Despite himself, Cedric broke out into a wide grin. "Yeah, she's great."
I expected to feel my heart sever, but instead it didn't react. Numb, maybe.
"Good." I swallowed my pride, and added, "I'm glad."
I stood next to him, unable to make eye contact. Cedric looked solemn.
"I'm going to bed," I said, even though I think he didn't care.
"Good night," he said half-heartedly.
"So how was your night?" Kelly beamed at me. We were eating breakfast in the Great Hall. Kim looked exhausted, maybe even a little hung over, but Kelly looked positively giddy.
"Well, after the incident…" I trailed off. Kim looked up, her eyes red and puffy.
"She knows, I filled her in," Kelly explained quickly. Kim smiled and nodded, but then clutched her forehead and cringed.
"Okay. Well. George and I danced for a little longer after that. And then when he walked me home we sort of…" I trailed off again. "Snogged. For a really long time."
Both Kelly and Kim were staring at me, wide eyed. Kim gaped, "You what?"
"You heard me," my face reddened as the memory flooded back, filling my neurons. "And then Professor Sprout caught us. So I got all nervous and ran inside and found Cedric…"
I divulged my interaction with Cedric. Kelly and Kim's faces went from excitement to resentment.
Kelly shook her head, "What a douche. He just needs to leave you the hell alone."
Kim muttered, her voice hoarse and crackly, "Seriously. I'm glad you had, uh, fun with George."
I smiled awkwardly, and said, "Thanks."
As if on cue, George plopped down in the seat next to me, his face looking hurried, but mischievous.
"What did you do?" Kelly accused.
George nodded down the table, to where Cedric was sitting. Cedric was spooning porridge into his mouth, listening raptly to a friend's story.
"What did you do?" I repeated, harsher. When George smirked, I glanced down the table again. Cedric's tongue was expanding at an alarming rate. Cedric was starting to panic.
"Oh my-" Kim started, and slapped her hand over her mouth.
"Yeah, that's it," George grinned. "So what do you think? New Weasley product: the Ton-Tongue Toffee."
"I think…" I thought it was funny, but I wasn't sure if I should encourage him. Cedric was waving his hands around, trying to get attention from the Head Table.
"We've got to go, mate," Fred appeared, and said urgently to his twin. He then glanced at me and grinned, "How are you doing, lady?"
"Alright." George stood. "See you later, then!"
The twins walked very quickly out of the Great Hall, which had assumed its regular four long tables and decorations after last night. Kelly and Kim exchanged devious smirks. Down the table, Cedric was now being checked out by Professor Sprout.
Kim had apparently spent the night with the Durmstrang boy getting drunk on their ship, where "the beds were cozy and the alcohol was cozier." She hardly lasted an hour at the dance. Kelly said she had fun with Billie, but didn't see much of a future with him. Kelly wasn't much for romance anyway.
As for me, I didn't see much of George over the rest of break. Breaks were dedicated to catching up on the obscene amount of homework I had collected, which was a lot more than normal students due to my crazy dream of being a Healer. Kelly, Kim and I hardly left the common room over Christmas break aside from meals, so that left little time for me to define exactly what George and I were. Kelly and Kim were confident that an extended make out session automatically meant we were a couple, but I wasn't so sure.
A small part of me still hoped Cedric would come around, but then I remembered George's lips against mine and my body shivered like it had been plunged into a tank of exploding pop rocks. I liked George, but did I like him enough to risk our friendship?