Chapter 6

George was starving. He hadn't had a chance to eat much at dinner after Wood called an emergency practice before the hour was even over. He'd barely had time to stuff the contents of his plate into his mouth before the quidditch captain was all but dragging him by the collar towards the pitch.

The man was going absolutely mental this year. With it his last year as captain and last year to win the House Cup for Gryffindor, it seemed like Wood had been able to focus on quite literally nothing else. He had made it his habit to track down his players throughout the day in the Great Hall, the common room, walking to class, and recently he had even begun invading their dormitories to offer his sage wisdom on a sport that the majority of the team had been playing since they were children.

Fortunately for everyone else, Harry seemed to be taking the brunt of these talks, with Wood being adamant that the match would come down to him catching the snitch. Unfortunately for everyone else, he had still insisted on morning and evening practices for everyone until their next match. He had almost added afternoon practices on top of it all, but thank Merlin, Angelina had been able to talk him down from that.

Now laying in bed after scarfing down a measly dinner followed by three hours of grueling drills, his stomach was growling. He glanced over at the clock on the table next to his bed and seeing it was already a quarter to two, considered toughing it out until breakfast. A thought that was quickly nullified by a sharp pain in his stomach.

Sighing, he sat up and looked at his roommates, who had both been snoring loudly for the past hour. Solo journey to the kitchen it is. After pulling on a pair of joggers and a t-shirt, he quietly slipped out of the dormitory and descended the steps to the common room.

He had been lost in thought, half asleep with only the pangs in his stomach keeping him awake, his eyes struggling to stay open. He almost hadn't heard the quiet giggling that was coming from the fireplace as he rounded the corner. He stopped walking as he saw Vivian crouched in front of the fire. She was in a tank top and sweatpants, her hair in damp waves around her shoulders as though she had just gotten out of the shower. As George looked past her, he noticed the distinct shape of a human head resting in the flames.

Jumping back around the corner and peaking to confirm that he had not been spotted, he couldn't help overhearing.

Okay he was eavesdropping. He was man enough to admit that. After her emotional outburst and following confession to him the week prior, he had been keeping an eye on her, worried that her dark cloud would remain. But as the days went on, she seemed…fine, chipper even. He had tried to broach the subject with her once more the following day, but she had told him in no uncertain terms that she wanted to forget the entire thing ever happened. A request that George agreed to, though unhappily.

He wasn't used to the suffer in silence type. The members of his family, himself included, were all upfront - they didn't mince words or feelings. He had grown up in a home full of yelling, laughing, and crying, sometimes all three at the same time. There was no problem that couldn't be fixed with an emotional outburst and the input of every member of his family. They had to be that way really, seeing as the limited space in The Burrow made doing anything in silence near impossible. He didn't know how to deal with someone who refused to talk things through.

"...but honestly Liz, it's…taken some getting used to. The staircases move, they call their final exams 'owls'...OH and everyone here wears robes? I seriously think you'd hate it," she was laughing as she leaned over the flames.

"It sounds theatrical. You hate it enough to come home yet?" he heard another American-accented girl reply over the crackling embers. He decided that this must be the Lizette Vivian had mentioned briefly, on the rare occasions she was in a sharing mood.

George perked up at Lizette's question. She hadn't said anything about going back to America or it even being an option for her.

"Ehhhhh well there's no place like home," Vivian hedged. "But everyone here is super nice. Plus it is kind of fun going to wizard school in a big fancy-pants castle. Nah I'll stick it out for the year, at least," she finished with a shrug.

George released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, finding himself grateful that he had the rest of the year to convince her to stay.

"Well we miss you! It's been so boring since you left. I don't have anyone to terrorize Elder Geldart with me anymore," the girl in the fire pouted.

Vivian laughed at this, a full laugh with her head thrown back. George smiled at the sound, reminding himself to ask her about Elder Geldart and what she did to the poor bloke later.

"I bet he misses me the most huh?" she asked in a sardonic tone. "So what else, what else is new there? Is Janine Reeves pregnant yet?"

"No but oh my god, do you know who is pregnant?" Lizette said in an excited voice.

"Who! Who!" Vivian replied equally as excited.

"Amber. Felix."

"NO."

"YES!"

"Who's the father?" Vivian questioned urgently.

"I don't know! She won't tell anyone. Her mom is threatening to ship her off to a convent."

"Ohhhhh my god," Vivian groaned with a laugh, as she leaned back with her fingers over her eyes.

George leaned back on the wall, losing interest in the hometown gossip they were discussing. He was just devising a plan to sneak past without interrupting the girl's conversation when something Lizette said brought his attention right back.

"Oh by the way, Canmore asked about you. He said to tell you he said 'hi'" she said slowly, in a knowing voice. A voice George knew all too well.

Vivian didn't respond right away. He peaked back around the corner to see her staring at the fire with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Well he can say 'hi' himself if he wants to so badly. He knows how to reach me," she said finally with a halfhearted shrug.

"Well I told him I'd tell you so this is me telling you," Lizette retorted, sounding annoyed to be the middleman.

"What does he even want from me?" Vivian all but yelled into the fire. "Does he need to be reminded how we left things - how he left things?"

"We all know how his temper gets…But you should have seen him once you were gone. And I think he really misses you."

Vivian gave a loud groan as she reached her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"I really, really wish you hadn't told me that Lizzie," she sighed eventually in an unhappy voice.

"Well you're not the one that has to deal with his bitching all day every day since you moved," Lizette huffed, earning another deep sigh from Vivian.

"Alright well…tell him to write to me I guess."

"Oh thank god!" the girl in the fire giggled enthusiastically. "I was not looking forward to the conversation with him if you just wanted him to fuck off."

"Ugh," Vivian sighed again, rolling her eyes and looking away from the fire towards the stairwell, prompting George to duck down, fearing he would be spotted.

He leaned his head back against the wall, considering what he had just overheard. It all seemed pretty obvious to him. He knew that this Canmore had to be an ex. And she had told him to write to her.

He cringed at the stab of jealousy that went through him. He had no right to feel this way, he knew. They had only known each other for a relatively short amount of time, of course she would have ex-boyfriends he didn't know about. And it's not like he'd done anything about his growing feelings for her (well besides watching her while she slept). She was more than free to talk to anyone she pleased.

But of course that didn't stop him from fixating on this mystery man. Canmore was probably loaded. You don't name your son something like Canmore unless you have a couple hundred thousand to spare, he thought bitterly. Plus they clearly had history together. How was he supposed to compete with that?

He sighed. He was just going to have to outshine him. Simple enough he thought, considering he would be in person while Canmore was stuck with letters.

"George?"

George jumped a foot in the air before whirling around to see Vivian, standing in the archway in front of him with a confused expression on her face. Apparently while he had been deep in thought, Vivian and Lizette had wrapped up their conversation.

"Oh heeeey, Vivian I didn't see you there," he said too quickly and not at all convincingly. Mercifully she decided not to comment on it, her eyes darting between his before her mouth settled into a small smirk.

"Up late," she commented casually, the smirk moving into a small grin that he decided to ignore.

"As are you," he raised an eyebrow at her. "Going to the kitchens for some sustenance. Hungry?"

"I can always eat," she nodded as she turned towards the portrait hole with George a few steps behind her.

The halls were dark and quiet, as they always are after hours. George loved roaming the halls at night. While the castle in the day held a certain regality that made journeying through it magical, at night the ornate architecture and lavish decor cast into shadows from the moonlight filtering through the stained glass windows made Hogwarts enchanting.

He snuck out often, alongside his twin and best friend, the group having explored the castle in its entirety throughout their years at school. If you asked him, George always said the best part of sneaking out was the exhilaration of possibly getting caught. He loved the excitement that breaking a rule gave him, he always insisted. But secretly his favorite part was the quiet walk before they set whatever plan into action or reached wherever they weren't allowed to be. Those were the rare occasions he could allow his mind to sit in silence, no thoughts bubbling up to ruin the peace.

A walk he would have been enjoying presently if he wasn't so paranoid that Vivian was upset with him for eavesdropping on her conversation. He was pretty sure she had caught him, considering the smug smile she'd had plastered to her face the second she saw him standing by the stairs. But of course she hadn't mentioned it. Why couldn't she just say what was on her sodding mind? Godric forbid she ever make a single thing easy for him.

The silence left his mind to race. He wanted to ask her about her conversation with Lizette. He didn't know what a convent was or why a pregnant girl's mother would threaten to send her to one. He was also dying to know about Elder Geldart and what they did to terrorize the man.

And if he was honest with himself, he desperately needed to know more about this allusive Canmore. He couldn't imagine it was a topic she was very keen on discussing with him considering her reaction when her friend had brought it up, but he was going to drive himself mad if he didn't get some answers. Fuck it-

"So who's Canmore?" he blurted out before wincing slightly at his lack of tact.

She let out a short laugh of disbelief, before looking over at him with a grin.

"Heard that did you? Weasley, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were eavesdropping," she said as she raised a sly eyebrow at him.

"No no no no no I-I-I just happened to hear the name as I was walking up-"

"Uh huh."

"-and I just happened to be curious about how rich a bloke has to be to be named Canmore," he finished with what he was almost sure was a confident shrug as a nervous grin spread over his face, hopefully hiding the anxiousness he was feeling about her answer.

She giggled as he felt his shoulders relax, relieved when she didn't seem too put off with his nosiness. And it didn't hurt that her laugh was like a drug to him, relaxing him and exciting him at the same time. Fred and Lee called him a sap but every time he heard it ring out was another hit and he found himself quickly becoming addicted to the sound. He had gotten a giggle tonight, but now he wanted a real laugh.

"Canmore is his last name. His first name is Evander."

George fully stopped walking to stare at her in disbelief, which earned him a bubbling laugh from Vivian that bloomed through his chest and made his stomach flip. He didn't even mind that it was just slightly quieter than the one she had for Lizette at the fireplace.

Gods, maybe Fred and Lee were right. He was a sap.

"Evander Canmore?" He asked, incredulous.

"The Third," she added with another blasted giggle.

"The th- who the hell is this guy?" he exclaimed, grinning when he was rewarded by another real laugh from Vivian.

"A colossal waste of my time, that's what," she replied, shaking her head, her laughter fading back into quiet giggles.

"Ex-boyfriend then?" he asked, annoyed with himself that he hoped the answer would be no. He wasn't competing with Canmore, so why did he suddenly feel like he was about to lose?

"Sort of? We were…together I suppose," she answered, turning away from him.

"What does that mean?" he stared at her, wishing he could take her chin in his hand and force her gaze to meet his.

"Hmm, it was complicated," she said slowly as they approached the bowl of fruit that marked the entrance to the kitchens.

"It always is," George replied, letting the subject drop as he tickled the pear that granted their access.

After being immediately surrounded by the house elves, who stuffed toasted ham and cheese sandwiches into their hands, the two found themselves wandering around the empty halls as they ate.

George wasn't overly worried about getting caught. He and his twin had long since memorized the habits of all the Hogwarts staff and prefects. He knew which hallways to steer them away from and which hallways were almost always clear. Plus, he had been getting regular detentions since his first year. Another one was nothing. Vivian also seemed at ease being out this late past curfew, much to his surprise. Considering it was her first year at Hogwarts, he would have thought she would be more nervous about breaking the rules.

"Want to go to the Astronomy Tower?" she asked suddenly, through the last bite of her sandwich.

"Gotta be well past two in the morning isn't it?" he said, kicking himself immediately. Why would he say that? Was he fucking stupid?

"I took a long nap earlier today so I could stay up for Liz's call. Won't be able to sleep for a while," she shrugged at him over her shoulder as she made to turn the next corner. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"I didn't say no," he replied quickly, following her new direction, smiling again at the quiet laugh she let out.

Once in the tower, she wasted no time pulling the flattest cushions from the professor's cupboard to the center of the room before laying on her back, stretching her arms over her head.

"Come here a lot?" he asked with an eyebrow raised at her familiarity with the space.

She only nodded and patted the cushion next to her, commanding him to take his seat.

"Cig?" he looked over to see her offering a cigarette to him, seeming to have conjured the pack from thin air.

"You just had these on you?" he asked, taking the cigarette from her and lighting it with the tip of his wand before leaning in to light hers in turn.

"I was gonna come here anyway after I hung up with Liz," she replied before taking a deep inhale.

He waited for her to continue, but as she lounged with her arm behind her head gazing up at the stars, she seemed perfectly content to sit in silence, a concept he was unfamiliar and uncomfortable with.

"So tell me, Mento," he started after a whole three minutes without talking, possibly a record for him. "Who's this Liz girl I've heard so little about?"

She laughed and turned to face him then. He found it difficult not to stare at her; she was really a sight. With her head propped up on her elbow and her golden hair shimmering in the moonlight, cascading down her arm, she looked almost ethereal.

"She's my best friend. We grew up together," he nodded for her to continue as he watched her tap the unlit part of her cigarette against her thigh, fighting the urge to wonder how his hand would feel there instead.

"She's just like me but way worse," she leaned forward as she laughed.

"Worse? How can she possibly be worse?" he teased, still on his back as he brought his cigarette back to his mouth, trying to ignore how close their faces now were and the swell of her tits that was suddenly visible in her tank top thanks to her new posture.

She smacked him in the shoulder but the smile stayed on her face.

"Ha Ha. We're a lot alike. She has a stronger personality than me but she's also more rigid in a way. She's the outgoing one but I'm the fun one," she gave him a look as though she expected George to know exactly what she meant by this.

"I can see that," he said, reaching up to pinch her cheek and laughing as she swatted his hand away before moving to lay back down, so they were again shoulder to shoulder, eyes focused on the stars above.

"I lived with her family for a while actually," she continued after a few more beats of silence, her voice quieter now. "After my brother died, since my parents were gone, the elders didn't want me living alone in our house. But I refused to move to the communal quarters, right? So Liz's parents took me in. For close to a year," he looked over to her at this revelation. She had spoken very little about her parents before this, giving vague answers about them only when pressed. The last time he had asked about them, George had sensed her obvious displeasure at discussing the topic and had dropped it rather quickly.

"Where were they? Your parents?" he asked in a gentle voice, hoping he wasn't coming off as trying to pry. Eventually he would have to ask her what the "communal quarters" and who these "elders" were but those questions could wait.

She let out a long, frustrated sigh. The kind of sigh you give when you're asked a question you've pondered a thousand times without results.

"Good question. If only I knew the answer, George," the frustration had cleared from her voice only to be replaced by a quick stab of sorrow as she shifted her eyes to meet his.

"But anyway," she continued after only a beat, her voice not containing a hint of the pain that had been there seconds ago. "I remembered that Liz was actually the one who showed me that spell we used to find your recipe book. You know the one you loved so much?" her smile grew back as George grimaced at the memory.

"So that's the kind of company you keep huh?" he teased, trying to make his voice appropriately scolding. "Miss. Mento I fear that you may have fallen into a bad crowd."

He had to briefly catch his breath to recover from the smile she gave him. She certainly had this way of looking at him that made him feel as if everything else in the world around them had stopped, leaving them as the only two people alive.

"You're one to talk, Mr. Weasley! I seem to recall that you're one of this school's top bad influences."

"You wound me, Vivian! And here I thought I was a respectable young man," he cried, slapping a hand over his heart in mock upset.

"Well then tell whoever you're respectable to to share the wealth a little bit because we're practically destitute over here," she rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh yeah?" he challenged, suddenly sitting up to tower over her on the ground.

"Yeah," she said flatly, though her eyes were twinkling up at him.

"Lies! Do you think an unrespectable man would do this?" he said, suddenly jumping up while grabbing onto her hands, pulling them both into the first couple steps of a messy waltz before he moved one hand to her waist, pulling her into him.

He could have bathed in the laugh that exited her mouth as he led them in a haphazard circle around the Astronomy classroom. It flowed over him like warm honey, filling his veins. He had to hear it again. He had to hear it soon or he would go absolutely insane, he was certain.

"I didn't really take you as a dancer, Weasley," she wiggled her eyebrows up at him, as he tried to ignore how warm her hand felt as it moved to his shoulder.

"No?" he raised an eyebrow at her. "Why's that?"

"Too tall," she shrugged, eying the ground to point out how she practically had to stand on her tiptoes to reach him.

He laughed then, right from the gut. Of course someone as short as her would say that. She could barely reach the shelves in the library without help.

"Well my mum wanted us all to have skills. I guess she was worried we'd have no culture if she didn't force us to," he smirked at her as she stumbled trying to keep up with his fast pace.

"She must be a classy lady."

"She is," he agreed with a solemn nod.

"Do you get along with your family?" she asked suddenly as he twirled her around, peering into his eyes curiously when he pulled her back towards him.

"Most of them get on my nerves more than anything but yeah, nothing I wouldn't do for any of them," he slowed their dance down so he could catch his breath, leading them in a slow swaying circle towards the center of the room.

"What are they like?"

"My family?" he asked, continuing when she nodded. "Mum's a warhead but I love her. Helluva cook and if she knits you a sweater that means she likes you. She runs a tight ship but she cares more than anyone."

"She sounds lovely," Vivian murmured, with a small smile on her face.

"She is," he nodded in agreement. "Dad works for the ministry, in the Muggle Artifacts office. He's actually pretty looney about muggles, he's always bringing artifacts home for us to test out."

"What kind of artifacts?" her face lit up. Having grown up intertwined with the non-magical community around her, she was fascinated by the European wizard view of muggle technology.

"Like one time he brought home this weird metal box that was supposed to cook bread, but we could never get it to work."

"A toaster?" she asked, stopping their sway in surprise. Now that she thought about it, she didn't recall ever seeing one in the school kitchens. They must toast bread via spell.

"Not a very creative name is it?" he nodded, pulling her back into the movement.

"Well that's what it does! What would you call it?" she laughed, rolling her eyes at him.

He thought for a second, removing the hand from her waist to tap his index finger to his chin.

"The Bread Blaster?" he said after a moment.

"No," she deadpanned.

"No? Not good?" he laughed at her serious expression.

"No. What about your siblings?"

"What would my siblings name the toaster?" he joked, reveling in the way she squeezed his hand as she glared at him playfully.

"Tell me about your siblings," she let her grin fall to a smirk, only showing off the dimple on her right cheek.

"Well oldest is Bill, he's in Egypt now working at Gringotts. We all just visited him in the Summer. Then it's Charlie who's in Romania working at a dragon sanctuary, so he's pretty cool. Next is Percy, who you have the misfortune of knowing as Head Boy this year. Then Fred and I, you're favorite Weasley's, I'm sure. After that is Ickle Ronniekins, who you know-unfortunately, and last is Ginny, who you also know. She's a warhead just like our mum."

"Damn," she said with a chuckle under her breath. "Six boys, I don't know how your mom and sister put up with it."

"They manage just fine, thank you very much," he tried to sound offended, but he couldn't keep the grin from his face long enough to be convincing. They had stopped moving in a circle at that point, only swaying side to side in the center of the room.

"I bet you don't make it easy though," she responded, matching his grin. He had to put a great deal of effort into ignoring how close their bodies now were to each other, at some point in their dance he had pulled her closer to his chest and she'd let him.

"Definitely not," he heard his voice get low, not bothering to stop his eyes from flitting down to her lips before looking back up. He found himself unable to rip his gaze off her. Even in the dim light of the astronomy tower, her eyes were a kaleidoscope of blue, seeming to take different shapes every time he looked into them. George was sure that he could spend hours staring into this sea. He would drown in them if only she'd let him.

He was acutely aware that their faces had moved towards each other, only inches apart. He would barely have to move to close the gap between them now. He let go of her hand to tuck a straying lock of hair behind her ear, delighted when she immediately moved her newly freed hand to rest on his other shoulder. He kept his hand on her cheek as he leaned down, the pounding in his chest turning into hammering when he saw her eyes flutter shut, tilting her chin up just ever so slightly-

"OUT AFTER HOURS!" a screeching voice jolted them both backwards as they whipped their heads around to face Filch, closely flanked by Mrs. Norris climbing up the stairs. George had no idea how he hadn't heard them come up.

Well okay, maybe he had a bit of an idea. The blood wasn't rushing to his ears after all.

0-0

"I really don't see the problem, Vivian. He's hot, you're hot; why would it have been so bad to kiss him?"

Vivian groaned, from underneath her pillow, where she had been since Alicia started pestering her with questions about her whereabouts last night.

"We're friends, Alicia. It would have made things totally awkward."

"Why would it make things totally awkward?" Angelina threw her a confused look from where she stood in front of her wardrobe. "You fancy each other, I think it would be a good thing."

"Oh my GOD we do not fancy each other," Vivian sprang up, with a panicked look to her friend.

"So then why'd you almost kiss him?" asked Alicia, with a raised eyebrow.

Vivian glared at them. She did not fancy George. Sure she liked being around him and liked how he always made her laugh, even in her worst mood. And she liked that he always made time to listen to her ramble about whatever random topic was on her mind. Not to mention the fact that even when she was a crabby bitch to him, he still did everything in his power to be around her. And who was she kidding, the guy was hot. But they were friends and that was how it had to stay.

She had made the mistake of hooking up with friends before, and it always ended badly and made things weird. The last time she experienced that particular lapse in judgment, it had ended with a ruined friendship, at least four different people refusing to speak to each other, and a friend group that could no longer all hang out together for fear that it would end in a bloodbath.

No matter how strong the friendship was before, the dynamic is never the same after a breakup and some friendships can never recover. She hadn't known George for very long in the grand scheme of things. It was entirely within reason to think that any kind of moves towards something romantic or even just physical would jeopardize the solidness of the friendship.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "It would have been a terrible, terrible mistake. I should go down and thank Filch for interrupting when he did."

"Oh quit being so dramatic!" Alicia snapped at her. "And quit lying to yourself while you're at it."

Vivian crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Alicia. She was not lying to herself. She just had a very serious rule that she intended to follow.

"I don't shack up with my friends, Alicia."

"Who said anything about shacking up? It was one kiss," Angelina's incredulous voice called from the bathroom.

Vivian groaned again, throwing her head back down on her pillow. Could they never, just once, make anything easy for her?

"In my experience the risk is never worth the reward," she called, raising her voice slightly so Angelina could hear from the other room.

Alicia sighed, and turned to get dressed for the day.

"So what are you gonna do about it then? Are you going to tell him you're not interested?"

"No way!" Vivian sputtered. "I'm going to pretend like it never happened and pray to god he doesn't bring it up."

Alicia turned around to give her a disbelieving look.

"Mature," she said dryly.

"It's the most mature thing I can think to do at the moment," she replied with a grim smile.

That was the truth. Her first reaction had been to flee the castle, probably the country as well. That would be leaps and bounds easier than having to have a serious conversation with George about what had almost happened in the Astronomy Tower the night before.

She had no idea what she had been thinking. Clearly her good judgment had been diminished by her lack of sleep that night. It was the only explanation for why she had let her eyes flutter closed as his fingers moved gently over her cheek. Surely if she had been well rested, she would have had the sense to pull away from him, instead of letting his hand remain on her face as his long fingers brushed into her hairline. She could still feel the tingle of her skin as he moved a hair away from her face and the burn of his eyes as they gazed back down into hers-

Alicia slamming her trunk shut jolted her out of her daydream. She had to get it together. She needed to keep reminding herself of her rule: NO HOOKING UP WITH FRIENDS. She'd etch it into her mirror if she had to so the message would be the first thing she saw when she got up every morning. Anything to drive the message home to her brain, who did not seem to want to cooperate with her. She was supposed to be pretending it never happened, not fantasizing about his touch!

She sighed again, aggravated. Maybe a cold shower would help ease the desire she had felt raging in her chest since last night. It would at least give her time to scold herself for what she did, or almost did.

She could say whatever she wanted after the fact about how it would have been a huge mistake, but she knew if Filch hadn't walked in when he did, she would have kissed him, probably more than kissed him. Especially when he had been holding her so close and staring into what felt like the depths of her soul-

"AGGHHH" she yelled into her pillow, vocalizing the frustration that suddenly bubbled out of her.

"Yeah, this definitely seems like the behavior of a person who's being honest about their feelings," Alicia quipped as she pulled her sweater over her uniform shirt, her voice dripping in sarcasm.

Vivian didn't respond to this, finally tearing herself out of bed and stomping to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her to show her displeasure and ignoring the snickering she heard from the other side.

Glaring at herself in the mirror, she brushed her teeth. She did not like George and even if she did it would not happen. So help her god.

0-0

The trio of girls surprisingly beat the boys to breakfast that morning, Vivian sliding into her seat as Angelina and Alicia sat in the seats opposite her. A part of her selfishly hoped that they might be skipping the meal that day, a hope that was soon dashed as George slid into the seat next to her, giving her a gentle nudge with his elbow as he sat down.

As they chorused good mornings to the table, Vivian tried to give George a normal smile, a smile that said I am totally normal and not overthinking what happened in the Astronomy Tower one bit. Hopefully he got the message.

"Were you able to get any sleep last night?" he asked her quietly, as Alicia started up a rant about Snape's latest assignment.

She had not. After Filch caught them, he forced them to wait in his office while he got Professor McGonagall, a process that apparently took twenty minutes. By the time they returned, their head of house was furious, probably in part due to being woken up at three o'clock on a Wednesday morning by the greasy caretaker.

As the first part of their punishment, they'd had to spend the rest of the night cleaning the trophy case, while being observed by Filch which meant they hadn't been able to say anything to each other the entire time. The second part of their punishment was one week of detention with Filch doing god knows what. Not something she was looking forward to, she was certain of that much.

"No not really," she laughed, suddenly feeling shy. "I think I fell asleep for like twenty minutes before I had to get back up."

"Twenty minutes more than I got," he glared at her playfully as he forked a sausage from her plate and stuffed it into his mouth, grinning with his mouth full when she crinkled her nose at him in disgust.

"Heard you spent the night with my brother, Vivian," Fred butted in with a smirk, having been watching their interaction.

She willed her face not to redden as she rolled her eyes at him, ignoring the way her roommates were wiggling their eyebrows at her. She swore they all got off on trying to embarrass her.

"Only because I caught him spying on me," she huffed, attempting to slide the attention onto George.

"I wasn't spying-"

"Ah, well you see that's because Georgie here doesn't know how to approach women in a non-creepy fashion. In fact Vivian, you should have seen him after Halloween wh-" Fred was cut off by a hard slap to the back of the head by George, who now seemed to be eyeing his twin in somewhat of a panic.

"After Halloween what?" Vivian asked, looking perplexed as she glanced between the twins who were now sending dirty looks to each other as Fred rubbed the back of his head.

"Nothing," George said through gritted teeth, not taking his glare off his brother. George must have won the silent argument they were having because Fred's face soon reverted back into his standard cheeky grin as he turned to look at her.

"My mistake V, I was thinking of someone else," he said, shooting a brief smirk back at George, who still did not look pleased.

Vivian turned to look at Angelina and Alicia who looked just as confused as she felt.

"Oh…kay?" she said finally, exchanging an odd glance with the other two girls. She spared a glance at George, who seemed to be avoiding her eye as he stabbed at the eggs on his plate.

"So you two have detention now?" Angelina, always the mediator, asked Vivian while shooting an annoyed look at Fred.

"Yep," she responded, popping the 'P' loudly as she rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "With Filch after dinner every night this week."

"Detention I don't even deserve!" George's head shot up suddenly as he bumped her shoulder with a playful grin. "I shouldn't have even been there! You all but forced me-"

"Forced you?"

"If it hadn't been for you I would have eaten my sandwich and went right back to bed like a good boy-"

"'Good boy'?" she cringed, horrified by his word choice.

"-but because of you practically dragging me to the Astronomy Tower, I'm being punished!" he continued, ignoring her completely and forcing his nose in the air as he looked away from her in mock offense.

She couldn't control the giggle that escaped her mouth or the grin that spread across her face at his little performance.

"I think you actually deserve twice the punishment I do," she retorted, rolling her eyes at him.

"WHAT!" George yelled, slamming his fist down on the table, making the surrounding plates jump. If it wasn't for the gigantic grin on his face, Vivian would have worried he might actually be upset.

"Yeah I said it," she laughed, shoving his shoulder with her hand. "I hope Filch makes you clean the bedpans tonight!"

"You take that back!" his eyes widened, grabbing her wrist before she could pull away from him and pulling her hand close to his chest so she couldn't shove him again. As she struggled to free herself, he somehow managed to get ahold of her other arm, pulling her closer to his side.

She laughed as she ripped her arms out of his grasp but was soon quieted when she turned back to Angelina and Alicia who were both staring at her with shit eating grins, eyebrows past their hairlines, having watched their (admittedly) flirty argument. She could only scowl at them as George reached over to steal another sausage from her plate, giving her another affectionate nudge with his elbow as he chewed.

Crap.