I had almost forgotten that I had sent George back to school for his N.E.W.T.S. so once I realized that I decided he needed his own little chapter as well. It also gave me an opportunity to play around with Georgelina (George/Angelina) a bit, something I ever really deeply explored. I like Angelina. I always thought she was a fun character.
I've got some scattered pictures lying on my bedroom floor.
Reminds me of the times we shared.
Makes me wish that you were here.
'Cause now it seems I've forgotten my purpose in this life.
All the songs have been erased.
Guess I've learned from my mistakes.
-Green Day Scattered
Chapter Ten: The Missing Half
With four days left until the ball, Professor McGonagall had given George be in charge of decorations and some of the activities, allowing Lee Jordan, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet to come back to Hogwarts.
George had been pretty much to himself since the first night of school. He still went to classes and did what he had to do. However, he also took orders and ran what was almost a mini shop from within Hogwarts.
He tried desperately to keep himself busy so he couldn't focus on the fact that he was indeed in the place where he lost the other part of himself.
When he had told Lee and Angelina that he was going back for a term they had thought him mental. Especially Angelina. She and Fred had been dating since the Yule Ball which was in their sixth year, but had been close since day one on the train. She took the death of Fred just as hard if not harder than George. She felt as if she never ever in life wanted to set foot there ever again. So it was a big surprise to him when she had arrived with the others.
"There firsties are as small as garden gnomes I tell you." said Lee as he looked around Gryffindor common room, his old stomping grounds.
"Let them be, they are my most loyal customers. So young, so gullible." joked George as the group looked over the plans for the ball. They had decided that along with the ball, the rest of the students that were too young to attend could have a haunted house in the Room Of Requirement if it was ready. He of course would not be going anywhere near it. He left that project to Katie and Alicia.
The five spent hours planning poor every detail of both events until they had it down to a science. When the meeting had been adjourned, Angelina got up and walked out of the common room, claiming she couldn't be in there any longer.
"Should one of us go after her?" asked Alicia concerned.
"No." said George. "She needs a minute. Let her have her time I guess."
As they waited they reminisced about the pranks they pulled, the quidditch matches that were epic, and traded stories of what's been going on in the world outside Hogwarts vs what their younger friends and relatives were up to.
After an hour George decided to go and look for Angelina. And he had a pretty good idea of where she was.
He made the long and somewhat chilly journey out to the quidditch pitch, a place where he really didn't think he would come back to, as he found himself not even interested in quidditch anymore. But he knew that she would be there.
Sure enough, he looked up in the stands of Gryffindor and seen Angelina sitting on a bench, looking up at the stars. He climbed up the steps and sat down beside her.
"Knew you would be out here Johnson." he said grinning at her. She didn't smile back.
"I miss being here you know? In the pitch. Quidditch was the one thing that always made sense to me. I knew all the rules, knew how to fly, eventually learned the other players on the other team's methods and I could just be free out here."
"We were the best Freddy, you, Oliver, Harry, Katie, and Alicia. It was like we were all in sync. We were unstoppable. I loved being out here with all of you. I hadn't been here since seventh year."
"You didn't go to the first game?" asked Angelina.
"Hell no. I didn't even try out. The team isn't the same now that Harry and Gin are in Slytherin. Harry had to give his badge up to Ron, and while he did pick a good team, it just isn't the same you know"
"I know." said Angelina continuing to look at the stars.
They sat there for a few minutes not saying a word. The night air was crisp, yet warm, but the chill in the air seemed to bring them both a comfort.
"I miss him George." said Angelina finally. "I truly miss him."
George looked at her not saying anything. He has a feeling she needed to vent. She hadn't talked to anyone about her feelings of Fred's death.
"I sit up and night sometimes and I can almost feel him there you know? Sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night and think that he had just touched my face or kissed my cheek. I feel him everywhere. I feel him here too actually. Especially in the common room. That's why I had to leave you know."
"I feel him the most there too." said George.
"The last thing I remember us doing is him telling me the silliest joke about taking a body count of the Death Eaters we were going to kill. He said that the giants were triple the points. He was about to tell me that he loved me I think. But I had told him not to say it until we saw each other again. And then..."
Angelina put her face in her hands and began to cry. George stood up in front of her and hugged her to his chest, allowing her to cry in his arms. He then felt the tear that were welling up in his eyes fall down his cheeks and fall into Angelina's jet black hair.
"I miss him too Angie. Every minute of everyday.." he said as he say down and let Angelina lay her head on his shoulder. "We both lost what was probably the best person in our lives. Hell Ang, he was my twin. My right. He was my life. And now I'm lost as hell. I don't know what I'm doing. I thought coming back here and completing N.E.W.T.S. for the both of us would help me feel closer to him but i have never felt more apart from him than I did coming back here. Except for right now. For some reason, you being here is actually making me feel closer. And I don't know why."
Angelina nodded. "I feel that way too. I wish I could help you. But unlike you and your twin, I graduated." she said chuckling, making George laugh as well.
"Yeah I'll never forget the scolding Mum gave us when she found out we left Hogwarts. She was cross with us for weeks. She didn't stop until the night Ron got attacked by that brain. Then she was too worried about him to focus on us."
"But if you didn't, you wouldn't have Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. And your mum is proud of you two for that." said Angelina.
"True."
"Are you going to come back after taking your N.E.W.T S?"
"Not to Diagon Alley." said George. "Zonkos is going out of business next year and I plan on buying his shop from him and running a store in Hogsmeade. Business here would be great with the students so it'll be perfect."
"Sounds like a good plan." said Angelina.
"Wanna run it with me?" asked George. "Lee and Verity was already going to run the store in Diagon Alley and I would need a right hand man, or in your case, woman."
Angelina blushed. "Sure. I'd be honored. You sure Alicia won't be disappointed?"
"You are on the late Knight Bus love, me and Alicia broke it off ages ago. She doesn't even like being around me." said George.
Angelina laughed. "So that's why she was hesitant about coming back here. What was the reason this time then?"
"Not my fault this time. She decided Cormac McLaggen was better suited for her fancy."
Angelina scrunched up her nose, a thing George had always found cute about her. "He's such a little prat. She lied to me then. She told me they were only shagging."
"Well then she lied to you. I'm surprised she didn't bring him with her seeing are she knew this was going to be a ball."
"Knowing Cormac, he would have tried to have a go at one of these current seventh years or something. She probably didn't trust him." said Angelina. "Ugh this ball. Haven't been to one since the Yule Ball. I'll never forget Fred and him yelling at me from across the common room asking me to the ball."
"Thus starting the four years of seeing my brother stick his tongue down your throat every chance he got." laughed George.
Angelina gently nudged George. "Jealous?" she asked laughing.
"What if I was?"
"You're one to talk. You was happy being a bachelor snogging to tons of girls and then when you got bored running right back to Alicia." laughed Angelina again.
"Tis a male slag I was. Those days are long gone now. Too old. Leaving it up to these young bucks. Would have taught Ronniekins the ways but Hermione had his nose wide open since the day they met." said George, actually proud of his little brother and Hermione finally getting together.
"They really are adorable. Damn Fred. Probably got himself offed because he knew he would owe us money for the bet that we all made on the two of them you know?" grinned Angelina.
George laughed loudly at that. The loudest he had laughed in awhile. "That sounds like him alright."
Angelina smiled. It was nice to hear George finally laughing. Really really laughing. She couldn't help but feel warm inside knowing that she had done it.
"Say Ang? What say you go to the ball with me." said George all of a sudden.
Angelina couldn't help but blush again, although she couldn't understand why. "Really? As grown as we are?"
"Awh come off it, it'll be fun. I mean I'm no Fred, but I have been told I look like the wanker." he said chuckling. "Besides, he would want you to have fun doing your time here don't you think?"
Angelina thought about it and then nodded. "Okay sure. I'll go to the ball with you. Only, what will we be?"
