George Weasley: good news?

"Why now?" I think to myself. I'm sitting on the toilet in my parents-in-law's tent, Arthur and Molly Weasley. We arrived an hour ago at the quidditch world cup that takes place this weekend. In addition to my boyfriend George; Fred, Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hemione are also present. The atmosphere was good, until I just now come to the conclusion that I have started my period. More than a week early!

I flush the toilet and go to George and my room to throw my bag upside down. Sweaters, make-up, socks and clean clothes pass by, but tampons and painkillers are nowhere to be found. I could kick myself in the head, why didn't I pack this just now. I decide to thoroughly search my bag again in the hope of finding a stray tampon somewhere, just at that moment George enters. "What are you doing?" he asks as he sits down on the bed with my bag on it. "I have a problem," I sigh. "My period just started." George scratches his head and starts laughing. "Isn't that good news?" he jokes with a questioning look. "What's good news?" asks Fred curiously, poking his head around the corner of the bedroom door. Before I could say anything, George walks past me into the living room of the tent and plops down on the couch. I follow him and hear him say, "That Lizzy isn't pregnant."

"George!" I mumble. Just then, Arthur and Ron walk through the tent flaps and into the room. "Who's pregnant?" asks Arthur in surprise. Before the twins can open their mouths, I quickly call out, "No one! George, bedroom, now." And I run back where I continue to examine my bag. George finally gets the hint and sits back on our bed, where he looks at me in surprise. "Liz, are you okay?", he asks carefully. I decide to abandon the search and sit next to my red-haired boyfriend on the bed. "No," I whisper. "I didn't bring any tampons and ibuprofen because I thought I wouldn't get my period for another week. We'll be here for another two days, and I don't know what to do now."

"You're right, that's a problem," admits George. He knows that I always have a lot of cramps during this time of the month and that I really can't live without ibuprofen. "Thanks for the confirmation," I reply irritated. "But that is of no use to me because in the meantime I am just leaking while we are having a nice chat." George turns red. "I'm sorry," he says. "What do you want me to do?" I immediately feel guilty for snapping at him like this, but the longer this goes on the more desperate I become. It's Saturday night and the game starts in two hours. In addition, all shops in the surrounding area are closed, so going up and down quickly is not possible either.

"I don't know," I admit honestly. "I'm going to ask Hermione, maybe she brought tampons." George nods and stays on the bed while I get up and knock on Ron and Hermione's room. "Come in", I hear Ron say and I am cheerfully greeted in their room. "Hermione, did you happen to bring tampons?" I ask after greeting back. I don't care to talk about this subject anymore while Ron is in the room, we've been friends since I can remember. "Let me have a look," Hemione replies helpfully as she grabs her bag. After searching for a while, she puts her bag away with a sigh. "I just got off my period, so I didn't think to bring tampons here," she explains to me. "I'm sorry Lizzy." Secretly I am disappointed by her answer, but Hemione can't help that either. "It's okay, I'll see you later," I reply with a smile. I walk back to George and close the door behind me. "Bad news. I think I should stay here tonight," I explain as I sit back on the bed. "But you were just as excited for the competition," exclaims George. "I know, but I can't sit there all night without a tampon," I say as my eyes fill with tears.

Suddenly the living room is filled with voices. It looks like Sirius and Remus have arrived. "Wait here," George suddenly says as he runs out of the room. I have no idea what he's going to do. 'He's not going to ask the men for a tampon, is he?' I ask myself. The 'just' waiting seems to take hours, but after a while George comes in with a box in his hand. Tampons for the prettiest girl in the world," he says proudly, handing over the package with a bow. "How did you get that?" I shout, hugging him. That's one less problem. "Remus took it for emergencies for Tonks," George explains. On the one hand, I'm a bit embarrassed to accept something like that from my professor, but necessity knows no law. Gratefully, I take the package and storm back to the toilet, where I see Professor Lupin in the corner of my eye. I blush a little as I make eye contact with him but he gives a reassuring wink. Once I've freshened myself up, I change into the team colors of our favorite Quidditch team, and we leave with the company towards the high stands of the world championship.

The first hour of the game is going well and our team is well ahead. The audience cheers and the entire stand shakes from the clapping and dancing. Because of the relief of the tampons, I hadn't thought about the abdominal cramps that seem to be getting worse. "Yeah!" shouts George when our team scores another goal and pulls me up to jump. Just then I feel a stab of pain through my lower abdomen and I try to fold in half unnoticed. I immediately feel sick and have to struggle to stay upright because of the shaking wooden frame. Our friends continue to cheer as the host yells into the microphone, but George notices that I'm no longer joining in the dancing revelry. "Love, what's going on?" He asks softly when he sits down next to me. Still doubled over, I shake my head gently in response. "Nauseous," I declare and I get up to go to the toilet. To get there I have to go down a hundred steep stairs and I look down dizzily. I put my foot on the first step and feel myself being grabbed. "I'm coming with you, come," George says, holding me down so I don't fall. I'm suddenly too tired to tell him to stay, so I focus on the stairs and walk down with George.

"Let's go to the tent," continues George and I nod softly. "Are you sure you want to miss the game? I can also walk back alone?", I ask. But George replies that he is absolutely sure of his case. Side by side we walk towards the tent. Suddenly I'm overcome by an even more intense cramp than before and I grab George's left arm as I close my eyes. "I'm sorry," I mutter as I quickly let go of him and continue walking. George doesn't say anything, but he gently pushes me back against his arm with a worried look. In this way he supports me until we are back in our bedroom. He opens the covers and helps me into bed, where I immediately curl up like a hedgehog. The pose eases the cramps a bit, but I'm still in pain.

"Come here," whispers George softly. I roll over and I feel George gently move his hands to my stomach. I cringe at the cold touch, but soon relax as he begins to massage my lower abdomen. The pressing touch seems to work and I sigh deeply. "You're heavenly," I say to George and see him smile. Outside the game seems to be over and the voices outside the tent are getting louder and louder. The moment I almost fall asleep from the massage, I hear two people whispering in my room. Just as I open my eyes I see Remus closing the door and George standing in front of me with painkillers and a glass of water. Gratefully I take the pill and drink the glass of water, after which I settle back into bed. I kiss George on the cheek as he lays down next to me and he snuggles close to me. I tell myself to bring flowers to Professor Lupin monday. "Good night, George", I yawn. "Sleep tight, Liz," he replies. And together we fall into a deep sleep.