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The season of summer was a time for fun, a time for Hogwarts students to relax, take a break from school and to enjoy the seemingly endless days of sun, adventures and mornings sleeping in. And for George, that was exactly how he hoped to spend his summer home, but with his best friend at his side of course.
The two of you had been spending half of the summer together ever since you both were little, barely toddlers when your parents met the Weasleys next door, and from then on, the two families would make a conscious effort to spend as much time together as they could. When you finally became a teenager, your parents let you stay at the Weasleys in the summer weeks when the sun was the brightest and the air was warm.
And being George’s best friend, he was always happy to spend more time with you, wanted to show you every new prank that he and Fred thought of, sat next to you at the dinner table and stayed up late lying outside on the grass, pointing up at the stars and talking until you fell asleep next to each other.
Tonight, was the perfect night, cool enough that the heat from the large bonfire didn’t overwhelm you too much, but warm enough that none of you were huddled around in jumpers. The only people who were still outside past midnight were George and Fred, Ginny, Bill, Charlie, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and yourself, just enjoying the quiet countryside as the bonfire crackled in front of you, embers drifting into the sky and the light of the fire casting a warm glow.
George thought you were beautiful, sitting beside him and watching the flames dance before your eyes, He’d always thought you were pretty, with a simple elegance that seemed to trap him in place and make the whole world around you disappear. And you came out in one of his old sweaters his mum had knitted him, and a nearly wrecked pair of jeans, he thought you looked as pretty as all the stars in the sky.
“You know, you should tell them how you feel.” Fred was suddenly beside him, whispering in his ear as he glanced at you. George shook his head wildly before pushing his brother away, sending him a glare when Fred chuckled.
“Are you mad as Merlin? There’s no way I can tell them how I feel.” You’d moved by then, pulled into a conversation with Charlie about the latest arrival at his dragon sanctuary, and George let out a breath of relief, praying you hadn’t heard anything.
“Well why not? It’s not like anything bad could happen. C’mon Georgie, stop being such a baby and tell them.” Fred was nudging his shoulder then, lips pulled up in a smirk like he knew something George didn’t, but still he shook his head, refusing to tell you anything.
“Bugger off, Fred. They don’t need to know; nothing will come of it anyway.” George turned away from Fred then, making it clear to the other twin that the conversation was over, and that he should stay quiet or face the consequences. But Fred never could back down from something he believed in, and in this case, he believed in getting you and George to confess your love for each other.
“Whatever you say, Georgie, whatever you say.” Fred let the conversation drop, and George thought that would be it, and he was finally graced with the peace and quiet his brother had stolen away. “But if you don’t tell them by the end of the night, then I’ll tell her in the morning.” George looked at Fred with wide eyes brimming with shock, mouth gaping open while his brother stood up and smirked, knowing the seed had been planted, and George was going to do everything in his power to win over Fred.
So, when George saw that you were alone, and everyone else was heading inside to go to bed, he finally took his chance, getting up slowly and brushing off his legs as he walked over to you. You turned when you heard him approaching, shoes crunching against the dry glass and the clearing of his throat startling you out of your thoughts.
“Hey Georgie. What are you still doing here? I thought you would have gone inside by now.” He shook his head in response to your question, coming to stand in front of you and scratch the back of his neck, a sign that he was suddenly nervous.
In truth, you knew a lot more about George than he thought you did. You noticed every little thing about him, how the tips of his ears turned red when he became angry, how he ran his hands through his ginger hair when he was nervous or anxious, how his eyes seemed to always shine bright when he looked at you, and how suddenly so fell head over heels for him. It wasn’t hard, loving George. In fact, it was a simple as breathing, the hard part was knowing that he definitely didn’t like you back. And even though that fact crushed you, you still learned to live with loving the man that was your best friend, even though you knew that nothing would come from your unrequited love.
“I’m um, not tired yet. And someone needs to put the fire out, don’t want it burning the house down.” His voice was soft, but you could tell it was heavy with worry, something that concerned you after seeing him so happy only a couple of minutes ago. You stepped towards him, lessening the gap between you when he ran a hand through his hair. “You know, uh, I can’t believe we go back to school in a week.”
“I know, Merlin, it seems only yesterday when we got to Hogwarts, and now we’re going in a sixth years?” You shook your head fondly, a smile on your face that lit up George’s world, and then you were stepping closer again, and George was trying to swallow the sudden lump in his throat as your hand accidentally brushed over his. “I gotta say, Georgie, I don’t think I could have gotten through the last couple years without you.”
“I’m sure that’s not true, Y/N. You can do anything; you don’t need me to help.” You looked down, tucking your head down so your gaze dropped to the ground below, and for a moment George worried he had said the wrong thing until you were speaking again.
“I know, maybe I could have. But…I think the honest truth is that I didn’t want to do it without you. Actually, I don’t think I want to do anything without you, I think I always want to be by your side, for the rest of my life.” You were taking his hand then, and George swore that his ability to breathe left him then, cheeks blushing red and a shiver going down his spine when you ran a thumb over the skin of his palm.
“Merlin, Y/N, I-.” George cut himself off, trying to figure out what he was trying to say as he cupped your cheek with his empty hand and moved close so that the two of you were standing, toe to toe with barely any room to move. “I have been in love with you since our third year. I have loved you since you kissed me on the cheek after we won the quidditch game against Ravenclaw in the winter.” A small smile turned into the biggest he had ever seen on your face, features lighting up as you leaned into his touch and watched as the bonfire glow flickered across his face and made his eyes shine.
“Really, George? You’re not just playing some prank on me?” He chuckled at this statement, but shook his head, smiling just as wide as you.
“If you don’t believe me, sweetheart, let me prove it.” He waited until you nodded quickly, having no idea what he was about to do, but as soon as your gaze flickered down to his lips, he was kissing you. Slow and steady, with the gentleness that only he could have, George kissed you so delicately that it made you sigh into his mouth and grip onto his shoulders, praying that this wasn’t a dream. And then his tongue was tracing the seam of your lips and softly pushing in as you hummed against him, a hand running up to card through his hair as he took you carefully by the waist, pulling you against him.
The kiss became hotter, his breath fanning over your face and your mouth latching onto his when he pulled away to take a breath, grinning against you when he felt you wrap your arms around him, and in the moment, George Weasley knew he never wanted this moment to end. But alas, the both of you needed to breathe, and when you did, George pulled away with the biggest grin on his face, bewildered and ecstatic as he held you in his arms, not wanting to let go.
“Merlin, I waited way too long to do that.” You laughed at his statement, and pressed yourself into his chest, head leaning on the crook of his shoulder as he rubbed his hands up and down your back.
“You know, Fred’s going tease us about this for the rest of our lives.” Chuckling into your hair and pressing kisses to the top of your head, George squeezed your sides, earning him a giggle.
“Oh, trust me, love, it won’t just be Fred teasing us, it’ll be my whole family and more, you better be ready for that.”
“If you’re by my side, Georgie, then I’ll be ready for anything.” You pecked his lips then, pulling out a smile and watching as his eyes fondly gazed at you.
The two of you stood out there, in the middle of the countryside, wrapped in the warm embrace of the bonfire and each other’s arms. And though you had both had many magical summers with each other, had spent countless hours together in each other’s company, the both of you agreed with the shared squeeze of your hands, that this summer had been the best one yet.
Summers were for fun, for relaxing and taking a moment to breathe. But they were also for secrets, for late night confessions and most of all, love.