Disclaimer: I am just a mere visitor in the sublime world constructed by the brilliant mind that is J.K Rowling. Anything that rings a bell is hers

Chapter 40

Ky's POV

"Look who I found!"

Silvain hiccupped as he dragged me through the trees. I ducked a branch which he had nonchalantly walked through, letting the sharp leaved prickle his cheeks until they blushed an angry red, no doubt aided by the brandy that Fred was generously and awkwardly pouring into a few glasses. I say awkwardly because he only had the use of his left hand as Selina was plastered to his right, blinking into his neck with the same red blush her twin sported.

"Vain! Sodding hell! You can't bring Ky-"

The blonde swaggered his way to George and patted his chest in reassurance, "Calm down Georgie. Ky's coooool."

"Yeah George, relax." Fred smirked at me, "It's been ages since we've seen Princess. Come your highness, your throne awaits."

He patted the seat next to him on the log he was sharing with George and Selina, the flickering fire they sat around tended by a boy with a good natured smile beneath his azure eyes which had a hypnotic gleam to it. He nodded a greeting and I smiled in response, glancing around the rest of the clearing.

We were a good way into the Forest, I could hear the sound of the trickling stream that spouted from the Black Lake in the distance.

Silvain and another auror had been to see Minnie with their daily delivery report and he literally ran into me. The other auror, who thankfully had done the talking with Minnie considering Silvain's present state of mind, had left us at the edge of the forest, saying he had Patrol duty to report to and left the demarcated foot path and headed in the direction in what I think was the Hogsmeade Mountains.

"Go on, I promise not to tell Ol' Dumbledore. Or McGonagall. Or Linus. Or-" George rolled his warm brown eyes at his tipsy twin, grabbing the glass of ale he had been offering me and tossing it to his lips. I smiled, I had missed the Twins. Fred, always ready to break the rules, and George, always knowing just the limit to not land them in jail.

"So what is this?"

Silvain didn't explain, insisting that I follow him and I honestly had nothing better to do so I did. It felt nice being out of the castle, it was a comfortable sort of night, not meant for the indoors. And it had been a while since I put even a baby toe out of line... plus I didn't know we would be going into the Forbidden Forest... but I didn't turn away when I registered where we were heading either... Nonno trusted Silvain with my life last Summer, no need to distrust him now.

"Well it's a funeral Milady!" The azure eyed guy nodded at me from his place beside the fire.

"Ignore Hawke... well it is kind of a funeral... one of the AIT's passed away today and this is just a little memorial thingy we're having."

"TO AIDAN!" Hawke shouted, gulping down his beer to which Fred and Silvain mimicked.

"AIT?" I giggled as Hawke burped loudly.

"Aurors In Training." George informed after taking a swig from his bottle.

"Or like Mad Eye likes to call 'em, Leftfooted Peabrained Maggots." Silvain guffawed as the guy named Hawke made to punch him and missed, losing his balance, which was pretty hard to do when sitting, and landing his face in the sand.

"Haha, very funny Mr I only qualified a year ago but I am the absolute best. With the best hair."

I laughed at Hawke's dismal attempt at an insult, as he clumsily righted himself, running a hand through his long brown hair to get the dirt out.

"Should they really be drinking? And what are you and Fred doing here?"

"They're off patrol duty, technically they were supposed to be getting some rest," George leaned in, "Hawk and Aidan were best mates, Tonks and Williamson are serving as extra hands whilst this lot is incapacitated. They kind of figured this would happen. I guess dealing with loss isn't something they teach in training, you just learn to deal with in time."

I nodded, looking down at Silvain who was nursing his firewhiskey as he stared into the fire, no doubt reminiscing about his dad. I looked away as I noticed his companions wet trails shine in the flickering flames, his face ruby red that had nothing to do with being drunk... I can't imagine what it must be like losing a best friend and honestly I never even wanted to imagine. I swallowed, taking a deep breath of fresh night air and turning back to George, "And you?"

"Oh well I kind of just tagged along." He shrugged, glancing at Fred who was staring down at Selina as she snored softly into his neck, "Fred and I had a meeting in Hogsmead so he came to meet Selina. Enough about this lot, how are you doing? I missed you at Christmas."

I leaned my head against George's shoulder, stifling a yawn into it, I was actually making my way up to the dorms when I ran into Silvain. "I missed you guys too." I knew George wasn't asking why I didn't show up for Christmas, pretty much everyone knew why.

"George, you mind. I need to take a leak." Fred gestured to his shoulder and George stood, taking Fred's place as he wandered into the dark. He brushed a bit of Selina's blonde locks behind her ear before letting her nuzzle into his shoulder, his brown eyes sad. "She's not been doing very well since..." He glanced at Silvain but the guy was currently drunkenly debating something with Hawke.

I heard a rustling nearby and George glanced that way too. "Don't worry. This is actually the clearing they used to house the dragons during the Triwizard Tournament, most of the creatures here give it a wide berth; probably think the dragons might be coming back or something. Who knows, but these lot use it as a camping site when they're on night patrol and don't want to travel from Hogsmeade."

Raucous laughter broke through the night but it wasn't from Silvain and Hawke, instead it was from the familiar face of one Roger Davies. I rose my brows, I would never had suspected him to become something as selfless as an auror, his eyes widened when they landed on me but he didn't voice his surprise as a petite woman with long scarlet hair made her way towards us. She had kind blue eyes and looked less likely to hurt a fly let alone make a living from catching dark wizards.

"Heya Fred." She smiled at George, her heart shaped face that combination of cute and sexy that could make just about any boy fall in love with her.

"SARAH!" Fred ran out, zipping up his pants and running to the redhead whose blue eyes were wide with shock as George's drunk half pulled her into a hug.

George quickly rose to his feet and his twin had to duck down quickly to make sure Selina didn't fall to the floor.

"Guess Georgie needs to pee as well. We're identical right down to the bladder!" Fred laughed at his own joke. Something about the girl's now sad eyes made me slightly uncomfortable, I wasn't prepared for her to start crying as well...

Davies quickly fell to the floor next to Hawke, and I was shocked to see him pull the bottle away from the azure eyed boy, I watched as he cast aguamenti, diluting the alcohol. His blue eyes found mine but he didn't even smile saucily at me, or even look anywhere inappropriate... there was sadness in the dark blue orbs that made me more uncomfortable than the others tears and I rose to my feet.

I walked in the direction that George had wandered off to, I announced myself as I walked through the trees, but something tells m he didn't leave the clearing to take a leak, maybe he too was uncomfortable with the scenario back there...

"George?"

He didn't respond but I saw the shock of scarlet catch in the bright waves of lunar light that clung to the little stream which trickled throughout the forest. George was seated on a large rocky surface near the stream, the moonlight shining on him leaving the light from his lit wand quite useless.

I looked up at the full moon, thinking of Remus. Somewhere out there he was in his werewolf form. Linus and Len were probably listening to him howl, I wonder how they lived? It didn't seem like they had much luxuries considering their less than hygienic look about them these days, but also they couldn't exactly leave a huge trail behind which would happen if you check into hotels.

I wonder whether they too sat around a fireplace, Linus longing for Nessie and Len... Len didn't even have anyone. I don't know if he ever would meet the right girl, I didn't know much about Alexia, she seemed bookish, not at all Len's type. Then again, what the fuck do I know? If anything this past year has shown me is that I obviously don't know shit about relationships. Maybe I'm like Len. Maybe I would end up alone, not finding my soul mate like Linus. Or atleast, not being able to make him love me back, even if I did find him... had found him...

"Princess?"

"Yup George."

"How do you tell us apart?"

I frowned at the random question, my frown lessened though as I thought on...was it that random... that Sarah girl had just mistook George for Fred but then again nobody really could tell them apart, they were identical down to the last freckle.

I crossed my arms and looked up at the starry night, "Your eyes."

It wasn't the colour, the colour was always the same, it was the gleam. Fred always had a somewhat manic gleam to his brown hue, like he was plotting and planning whereas George's eyes, though the same colour lacked that gleam making it slightly duller. It made him look like he was constantly thinking; it's how they worked though. Fred would birth the idea and George would plan the execution, not that George didn't have any original ideas or Fred lacked intellect... they just worked best that way to me.

I remember Ginny had joked once that I had the horrible habit of looking someone straight in the eye when speaking to them, she said it was pretty unnerving and intense and I didn't realise that lots of people don't do that. I did have the tendency to notice one's eyes first but that's because I always felt that's where the honesty laid... those little involuntary muscles that surrounded the orbs, even a twitch can give your true intentions away...

"You know your mum still gets confused between you two, you shouldn't blame the poor girl for not knowing." Plus, he did have Selina slung over him; it's a fair assumption to make... I guess you expect your crush to notice... was she George's crush?

He sighed and I looked down at him, my frown deepened at the look of hurt on his face. I sat down quickly and hooked my arm into his, "What is it George?"

He didn't respond immediately, removing his arm and slinging it around my shoulder, nestling his cheek comfortably on my head, he sighed. "I've done something stupid."

I scoffed, "Well, that's a shocker."

I felt his shoulders shake as he laughed, but it quickly stopped, "I've done something unforgivable."

"Unforgivable?" That was an awfully big word. "You didn't kill someone, did you?"

He sighed, "Not in that sense. I... like someone I shouldn't."

I stared at the still water... that was pretty vague. I could probably name ten girls George shouldn't like all for different reasons. My silence seemed to prompt him further though, "It just happened though. She was sad, really sad. Depressed even. And it just made me realise how much I care for her."

Selina? No... George would never.

"Have you spoken to Fred about it?"

"No... I haven't even admitted it out loud... I think he suspects though. His relationship with Selina kind of drastically changed ever since Baron died. They never really had a proper relationship before... it was completely physical but now I don't think she can exist without Fred. At first I think he rose to the occasion, I mean she lost her only living parent, I can't imagine how that must feel. But I think it's kind of becoming too much right now... I mean he didn't take a leak just now. He just left to get away from her a bit, I saw the look on his face. She's become really clingy and sometimes he gets this look like he just wants to runaway, that he is about to do something stupid. Sometimes I think his something stupid and my something stupid, is the same thing. "

I glanced up at George, trying to understand what he was trying to say, "What is your something stupid?"

His warm brown eyes found mine and he had a longing in them that I knew I sometimes displayed, it was hard to lie with your eyes. "Angelina."

I nodded against his chest, I understood where George was coming from. If dating a friend's ex-girlfriend was frowned upon, dating a brother's ex must be like banned. And dating a twin's... now that must be taboo. I sighed, I was thinking like a child though, there were no rules in love. George obviously didn't fall for Angelina because he wanted to, and it seemed like it pained him to even admit it.

"How long?"

Georg pulled me closer to his chest as a strong wind rustled the trees, I obliged, it had been a long while since I cuddled with someone and even if I didn't admit it to my nosy roommates and my worried best friend, I did miss it.

"Only after they broke it off. I mean, it must have been latently there for sometime but she invited me to watch the Harpies play, she isn't on the A side as yet but I suppose she would be real soon." There was a high dose of pride in his voice, "Anyway, she didn't just invite me, it was Fred and Oliver and Alicia and Lee as well and Fred was with Selina and Oliver had practice and Lee and Alicia couldn't get time off... and... it was just different. It was as fun as it used to be, but there was just something different. I've visited her a few times over these months, just to check in. I think Fred knows because... well because when we found out about Katie getting hurt he told me to go on ahead, that I was needed there. I knew he knew then."

"Then what's wrong George, it kind of sounds like he was giving you permission."

I felt George swallow thickly and his fingers fidget with a lock of my hair, "I got there as fast as I could, I dropped everything. Katie was like a little sister to her, to all of us really. I know how upset she must have been, how worried. I tore up the stairs and when she saw me, her whole face shone with relief. Utter relief and my heart it just... I can't explain... and then she opened her mouth... she spoke that throaty melody... 'Fred, I knew you would come! I knew you would come for me.'"

I wrapped my arms tighter around George, not knowing what to say. What could I say?

"I just stood there... I didn't know what to say..."

"Did you correct her?"

"No. How could I. I hugged her and it hurt how she clung to me and I left as fast as I could. She still loves Fred..."

Now I understood why he left, why he seemed offended by the redhead's reaction. "I'm sorry George."

I knew how he felt, loving someone who wouldn't love you back. Who hurt you yet you still wanted them. There really was no logic to love.

"Erm... George?"

We pulled away from each other and turned, the redhead was standing awkwardly in the midst of the trees a few feet away, her blue eyes were watery but it could be due to the alcohol, "Er... Roger passed out and Hawke and Silvain are too intoxicated to work. I just need to do a quick walk around the inner perimeter of the castle and Fred insists I don't go alone even though I am perfectly capable. And well he can't come along because Selina is well..."

George stood easily, pulling me to my feet, "Sarah, it's no problem. I was going to take Princess back to the castle in a bit anyway."

She glanced at me and I saw how her eyes flickered to George's hand on my shoulder. He however was oblivious, pulling me through the trees as Sarah walked quietly next to him. I suppose there was no way of pointing out that this girl obviously had feelings for George without her hearing.

I sighed. Why do we always love the people that won't love us back?

"!"!"!"!"

I reached the dorms easily, pulling off my pants as I made my way to my bed, summoning my pyjama bottoms and snapping off my bra, about to jump in as I glanced at Mi's bed, careful not to wake her up because she was the only person that didn't sleep as if she was dead in this dorm.

I let my bra fall softly to the floor as my eyes adjusted to Mi's bed... which was empty. Mi's bed was never empty... especially at one in the morning. I looked over at my bedside drawer, trying not to panic, my heart sped up slightly when I saw there was no note there. I turned, trying not to run, there surely was a logical-

"Oh thank Godric." I gasped as Mi appeared at the door. She shushed me but it was useless, Parvarti slept with earplugs and Lavender had taken headache tonic before bed which could knock a person twice her size out for a good few hours.

Mi quickly made her way across the dark room and pulled me into her four poster, magicking the drapes shut before I could even raise a quizzical brow.

"Muffliato."

I did raise a brow at that, she hated that book Harry lugged around and now she was going to use spells that he learned from it. My brow fell at her flushed face, was everyone drinking tonight?

"Teddy nick some-"

"Theodore and I made love."

She fell back on the bed, face still flushed and loosening her tie...

"What?"

She let go of her tie, covering her blushing face with her slightly trembling hands. Was that all the answer I was going to get?

"You and Teddy shagged!" I gasped as it finally hit.

"Ky!" She chided but it was spoiled by the toothy grin as she nodded in affirmation at my words.

"Oh my fuck." She didn't even bother reprimanding me at that, crossing her legs and pulling me down so I could sit opposite her.

"Ky... it was... Godric-"

I laughed at the thoroughly euphoric look on her face, "Start from the beginning. Where?"

She giggled at the question, her facing getting redder still as she bit her lip, "...Library."

"Whow." She glanced at me quizzically, "I meant what and how and it came out WHOW which it actually is WOW... I mean... WOWWW!"

She laughed, "Well... you know how Theodore is, he could probably add some stuff to the Marauders Map. We had just finished that essay that Snape set us and then... well Madam Pince came to inform us that it was closing time and well he... showed me this little room.. I mean it was more an unused personal study, it didn't look like it was used in ages and it's entrance is near the restricted section and I have no idea how he even found it because you have to have a password for at least three different portraits to get it open and well..." She caught her breath after the long spiel and I couldn't help laughing with her.

She took a breath to regain some composure, "Well obviously it wasn't my intention... ohh but Ky. Ky it just felt right you know. And I mean... I love him, I really do. And... well... it happened." Her cocoa eyes widened as it hit her as well, "I lost my virginity." She laughed. "I actually did...it."

"Mi you love Teddy, don't go over thinking this."

She snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head at me, "No, no. I'm not over thinking it. No. Oh Ky... I don't have a single regret." Her brown eyes trembled with tears, "It was beautiful." She wiped her eyes, "It's so silly to cry. It's just..." She gave me a watery smile and sniffed, "I never thought I could be so... that I could feel so strongly... I love him. So much." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders, "And in that moment...I... I could feel... I could feel his love Ky. It was... magical."

I pulled her into my arms, patting her back as she shed more tears of joy, surprised at my usually composed best friend's reaction but I understood how she felt. It really was an emotional experience. Not just losing your virginity... but feeling that magic... it left you exposed... unguarded yet powerful beyond words...

I gulped as a tear ran down my cheek, it was... magical.

Reviews as always will be appreciated. Liked the Twin's appearance?

Kalina