Clover rolled onto her side, her eyes still closed as she nuzzled into the soft cushion underneath her. It was an unfamiliar feeling for her since she usually woke up on small, hard park benches. A glorious smell wafted through the air and her body was tucked under what seemed like a blanket. She grabbed the edge of it and brought it closer to her body, not used to having a blanket to keep her warm while she slept. She wanted to know how she ended up in the position she was in, but she couldn't bring herself to let go of this moment yet. It was nice being warm and comforted, even if she did only get a mere hour of sleep after being up and checking on George all night.
"Mum?!" An unfamiliar voice shouted out from above her, "Why is there another Fleur sleeping on our couch?"
"Didn't Fleur have a sister?" Another voice echoed out from next to the first one in response, "The one we saved during the Triwizard Tournament."
"Oh, right," the first boy answered, his voice gaining volume as he shouted once again, "Mum, why is Fleur's sister sleeping on our couch?!"
Clover slowly opened her eyes and groaned at the sight above her. A confused looking Ron Weasley and Harry Potter stared down at her, her mind being transported back to the few years at Hogwarts when the only people ever talked about were the two hovering over her. Lin had always ranted and raved about how heroic the golden trio, as they were called by her younger sister, was. But in all honesty, Clover never saw them as heroes. She never saw anyone as heroes or villains anymore, rather just people doing what they needed to do to survive.
"Oi, leave her alone, you git," Clover snapped her head over to the staircase that a freshened-up George just came down, watching as he walked over to Ron and slapped the back of his head, "Or I'll stick a spider on you in your sleep again."
Ron gulped nervously, but puffed his chest and fisted his hands, "Bloody hell, how many times do I have to tell you I'm not scared of spiders anymore?!"
"We all know that's not true, Ron," Harry commented from his side as he laughed under his breath and rose his eyebrow at his friend, "If I remember correctly, you weren't so fond of Aragog or his little friends."
"That was one time!" Ron pleaded while stomping off into the kitchen and forgetting about Clover, Harry nodding at the girl before following Ron's lead.
George rolled his eyes at his younger brother. He turned his head slightly to the left with his mouth open as if he were going to say something, but when he looked to the empty space next to him the smile wiped immediately off of his face. He stood there for a moment, his eyes fixated on the empty void next to him, and let out a frustrated sigh. It's been over a year, but George didn't think he would ever get used to the emptiness beside him. Fred would've made fun of Ron, but Fred wasn't there anymore. He never would be.
Clover cleared her throat, sensing the inner turmoil that George was sifting through, and sat up in her seat, "Erm...thank you for letting me sleep here."
He shook his head as if he was pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind and walked over to sit next to her, "It's the least I could do for the girl who snuck me a dreamless sleep potion."
He held up the empty vial and shook it in her face, Clover letting out a breath and rolling her eyes at her failure to get rid of the evidence. George breathily chuckled at her response before standing up and offering a hand out to her, "Come on, at least let me repay you with breakfast."
Clover stared at his hand for a moment, her eyes flickering between him and the gesture. After losing her job, she didn't know how much longer she would be able to afford to buy her own food. She didn't even know how many more meals she would have laid out for her. A free meal was a free meal, and she certainly wasn't going to say no to that. She took George's hand and followed him into the kitchen, the unfamiliar smell of a home cooked English breakfast hitting her straight in the heart. It had been years since she had a proper one of those.
A woman, whose hair color convinced Clover that it had to be George's mum, was bustling around the kitchen while aiming her wand towards the self-cooking food on the stove. Ginny, Ron, and Harry were setting the table while having a conversation amongst themselves. The words 'Hermione' and 'Eighth Year' that Clover had overheard told her that the 3 were talking about the only member of the Golden Trio that wasn't currently in the room. Clover knew Harry and Ron immediately took up the position they were offered in Auror training at the ministry, probably not seeing the point in continuing their education if they were already given job opportunities. And, she assumed that Hermione returned to Hogwarts for the special eighth year that McGonagall had set up for those who never got to finish their school work due to the war.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Ginny looked up and sent her a small smile and a wave, "Slept well?"
"Yes, and you?" Clover nodded her head and sent Ginny a knowing look, hoping she had actually took her advice from the night before.
"I actually did," Ginny smiled genuinely before a gratifying expression took over her face, "Thank you."
Ron looked between the two girls incredulously, his eyes landing on Clover as he pointed at her, "I thought you spoke French?!"
A moment later, Harry added in from besides Ron, an equally confused look on his face, "And what happened to your accent?"
Clover couldn't contain her laughter at the fact that they still thought she was related to Fleur. She shook her head at them as the chuckles slipped through her lips, "You know, you sure are daft for two boys who practically saved the wizarding world. Just because I have blonde hair does not mean I'm related to Fleur."
Ron opened his mouth as if he were about to speak, but Clover cut him off knowing exactly what he was going to ask, "And no, I'm not a Malfoy either."
"Right," Harry gulped with red cheeks and scratched the back of his neck, his eyes avoiding looking at a gaping Ginny.
"You are so lucky you're pretty," Ginny pointed at Harry with the fork she was about to set down on the table before moving it in Ron's direction, "And you...well, I honestly don't know what Hermione sees in you."
Ron was about to protest when Molly turned around from her spot in front of the stove, "Oh, would you two stop it! Ginny dear, finish setting the table. Your dad and Percy are already at work so they don't need a plate. Ron, Harry, start putting the food down. George, you can go ahead and start sitting-,"
She cut herself off when her gaze fell onto Clover, her eyes flickering between the blonde girl and George. He was standing there with his hand covering the chuckles escaping from his lips while looking at her, seemingly still laughing at what she had said. And for a moment, Molly's heart jumped in her chest at the sight of a smile on George's face. She couldn't even remember how long it had been since she had seen it there, and she couldn't help it when a smile of her own formed on her face.
"Oh hello, dear. Are you a friend of George?" She politely greeted the blonde-haired girl, not bothering to contain the happiness radiating off of her face at how George was looking at her.
Clover tensed up and her lips pulled into a smile she normally used when talking with adults before eyeing George and nodding, "Yes, ma'am."
George's gaze was solely fixated on the blonde girl next to him, wondering how someone with such a witty and sarcastic personality changed almost immediately at the sight of his mum. He watched her smile tighten into something that looked almost uncomfortably polite and her posture straighten as she spoke. It was as if she was trained to dull herself down and become submissive when in the presence of someone older than her.
It was only when his mum called his name that he was brought back to the conversation at hand, "George, are you just going to stand there or are you going to introduce us to your guest?!"
"Right...erm...everyone, this is Clover," George scratched the back of his neck and introduced everyone from his seat, "Clover, I'm sure you know Tweedledee and Tweedledum already, you've met Ginny, and that's mum."
"Lovely to meet you, Mrs. Weasley," Clover reached out a hand to an oncoming Molly, but it was pushed aside when she was pulled into a hug instead, "Call me Molly. It's great to meet one of George's friends."
Clover noticed that Mrs. Weasley was smaller and more plump than she was, but had the warmest expression decorating her face. The embrace startled her a bit, she wasn't used to an adult showing her physical affection before. It was different, but it was nice, she thought. Linny would like her...
Harry, Ron, and Ginny all took a seat as Molly stood in front of George, reaching out to fix a piece of hair that was out of place on his head, "So George, do you know Clover from Hogwarts?
It took everything in him not to roll his eyes at his mum's attempt to find out whether or not Clover knew Fred. He wished that everything he did didn't always have to come back to Fred. He wished that for once in his life something wasn't a reminder of his dead brother. Fred may be gone, but he was still alive, barely, but still alive. When were people going to start treating him like that?
"She's just a friend, mum," George gritted through his teeth as he turned around in his seat and stared at the table.
Molly walked around the table to her normal seat and sat down across from George with a reserved, curious look on her face, "Very well, but how did you two meet?"
George didn't mean to get frustrated so fast, but it seemed as if his temper was always easily snapped nowadays. He was angry at the world for taking away Fred, he was tired of always feeling so dead inside, he was simply done with trying to keep his emotions in check. Why should I? The world is cold to me, why can't I be cold to it?
He stood up from his seat, his hand banging down on the table in frustration as he snapped, "She's just some girl I met at the pub, mum. Can we eat now or do you want to interrogate me some more?!"
Clover silently winced while waiting to hear the backlash from how George spoke to his mum, knowing that if she had ever done something like that when she was younger she probably would have been starved for days. Well, not probably; more like definitely since it's already happened many times to her before. When no immediate repercussions were taken, she relaxed a little bit and began looking around the room to see if anyone else was worried. But instead of finding concerned faces, she found herself chuckling when making eye contact with a smiling Harry in his seat as he mouthed to her, "Charming, isn't he?"
"You take that temper somewhere else, George Weasley. Not with your mum or I'll have you de-gnoming the garden until you're 50!" Molly narrowed her eyes at her son, who immediately sunk back in his seat with regret and mumbled a measly apology. She once again smiled warmly when her eyes landed on Clover, the only person standing at the moment, "Where are my manners?! Come, sit, and eat. We have plenty to go around."
The blonde nodded gratefully and hesitantly made her way towards the first empty seat she saw, the one that just so happened to be right next to George. She put her hand on the chair in order to pull it out and sit when her motion was abruptly stopped.
George's hand snapped the chair out of her grip and pushed it back into the table, his voice spilling out in frustration, "That's Fred's seat."
The entire room went quiet and all eyes widened while looking between George and Clover. Her cheeks heated up in embarrassment as George internally scolded himself for letting his frustration boil over onto the girl who had treated him kindly all night. His eyes found hers and he sent her a pleading, apologetic stare, yet somehow when she looked back at him he felt even worse. He wanted her to be mad at him, she should've been mad at him for how he snapped at her. But instead, she was standing there with a small smile on her face and understanding eyes gazing into his.
"George Fabian Weasley, how dare you speak to a lady, let alone your guest, like that?!" The pair were snapped out of their eye-lock by the booming voice of Molly Weasley.
The elder woman was about to speak again, but Clover beat her to it, "It's alright, Mrs. Weasley. I should get going anyways. Thank you for the offer."
She respectfully nodded her head before grabbing her bag from off of the floor and heading towards the door. Clover waved a quick goodbye to everyone else at the table before stealing one last glance at George. She knew he meant no harm, especially when she noticed the regret behind his expression. But, she also knew she had overstayed her visit. After all, he was right. She was just some girl he met a pub, that was it. She was no one to him. She was no one to anyone, and that was something she was used to. So perhaps she should even be grateful that they let her stay here as long as she did. With that last thought in mind, she walked out of The Burrow.
She made it half way to the protective barrier of spells when she was stopped by a smaller hand grasping her arm. Clover turned around to see Ginny standing directly behind her.
"I'm sorry about that git. Erm...you told me you lost your job," Ginny panted while handing Clover a tiny slip of paper, "It's the least I can do to thank you for last night...and this morning. It's just an interview, but I have a feeling they could use someone like you around the shop."
Clover felt her heart leap in her chest at the thought of having a chance to have a stable source of income, but she didn't want to get excited yet. She didn't want to get her hopes up just so they could come crumbling back down onto her as they usually do. So she politely thanked Ginny and watched as the girl who reminded her so much of her little sister run back into her house. She looked down at the paper and read the neat handwriting, an appreciative smile forming on her face while doing so.
93 Diagon Alley. Next Sunday at 10:30 on the dot. Don't be late.
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AUTHORS NOTE:
I know I already said this but I'm gonna say it again. I have SO much planned for this book you have no idea how excited I am. If you thought Losing Game (Go read it if you haven't!!!) was dramaful, just WAIT for this one hehe.
Hope y'all enjoy!!!