After All We've Been Through

Chapter 3

Through the Years (Part 1)

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It was with a heavy heart that Jen boarded the Hogwarts Express for the last time. She could have Apparated to her house from Hogsmeade, but she was in no hurry to see her parents. She took a compartment to herself and watched out the window sadly as the magnificent castle that had been her home for more than six years grew further and further away.

Once the castle was out of sight, Jen put her head in her hands and began to cry silently. She hadn't even been gone for an hour and she was already homesick. Her thoughts began to wander until she found herself thinking about a certain redhead. She began to cry as she thought about him. She thought back to a happier time, when her and George were on speaking terms.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*flashback~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(Jen's POV)

"Dinner's ready!" I yelled out the door. Moments later, five Weasley boys, one Weasley girl and Harry came in from playing a game of Quidditch to eat the meal that Hermione Mrs. Weasley and I had prepared. George had gone to grab a biscuit, but I was too quick for him and I slapped his hand. "Don't touch! Before you guys can eat, you must go upstairs and clean up," I told them sternly.

"But I'm starving. Mum?" Ron whined as he gave his mother his puppy dog eyes.

"When are you not hungry, Ronald? But I agree with Jen and you must all go wash up before you can eat. Now, go upstairs all of you and change for dinner," she told them as she pointed to the stairs. They all groaned, but did as she said.

About ten minutes later, George's voice was heard throughout the house. "Mum, did you do my laundry?" I laughed at his question and then disappeared from the kitchen.

"No, I did not, George," Mrs. Weasley called up to him.

"Then where are my clothes?"

"I have no idea," she yelled back at him as I entered the kitchen. I was holding a basket full of George's clothes, which made Mrs. Weasley laugh.

"I'll be right back," I told her quietly. Mrs. Weasley nodded as she watched me walk up the stairs. (Those two are so perfect for each other, Mrs. Weasley thought to herself.)

As I reached the floor that the twins' room was on, Fred was leaving their room. He noticed the basket in my hands and laughed. "Did you take his clothes?" he asked me quietly. I didn't answer him, but I did give him a mischievous grin. "You are so bad," he told me as he disappeared down the stairs.

Without knocking, I walked into the room. "Here are you-" but I cut myself off when I saw that George was wearing only a towel. Bloody hell he's hot. Wow! she thought to herself as she dropped the basket on the floor, spilling its contents. Damn! she said as she bent down to pick up the clothes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to barge in here like that. I was just giving you your clothes back," I told him as I stood up. "I'll go now," I said as I went to leave, but I was stopped when he grabbed a hold of my wrist.

"Wait, how did you get my clothes?" he asked me as he stared into my eyes. I looked away because I was too embarrassed to look at him.

"I took them", I told him simply.

"Why did you take them?" he asked as he took a step closer to me. My entire body stiffened when he did that. I can't believe that he is standing this close to me and he's only wearing a towel.

"Because I wanted to play a joke on you," I told him as I took a step back. I don't think I trust myself being this close to him while he is dressed like that, I told myself. He took another step towards me and asked me why I wanted to play a joke on him. "Because you play jokes on everyone else and because it was funny," I told him as I took another step back and found the door handle. "See you downstairs." Once I had entered the hallway, I leaned against the wall and let out a sigh. That was close, I thought to myself as I went downstairs.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*end of flashback~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jen's cheeks grew warm just from remembering that moment. She wanted to kiss him so badly, but she knew that she couldn't. He was her best friend and best friends didn't kiss each other. Unless you are Ron and Hermione, said a voice in her head. But Ron and Hermione have liked each other for years. George and I haven't, she told the voice. That you know of at least, the voice said. "Whatever," she muttered as she pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. She had decided to write George a letter.

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George sat by the window in his bedroom long after Jen's carriage had left the school and the train had left Hogsmeade Station. He sat there and thought about how bad she must have felt when he didn't show up to say good-bye to her. He had wanted to go down there, but he just couldn't do it. He felt that by him saying good-bye, he was admitting that he would never see her again and it tore him up inside. Deep down, he hoped that he would see her again and that she would never forget him.

As he sat there, he thought back to happier times; times before he started to avoid Jen and before she was moving away. He found himself thinking back to the beginning of the summer when Jen, Harry and Hermione had paid the Weasleys a surprise visit to the Burrow.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*flashback~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(George's POV)

We had all just finished a delicious lunch than our mum had made when we heard a noise coming from the living room. When we got there, we found Harry, Hermione and Jen lying on the floor in a laughing heap.

"What's going on in here?" mum said as she walked in the room. Her eyes immediately brightened when she saw the three children lying on the floor. "What a surprise to see you three. What are you doing here?"

"We came to surprise you," Hermione told them all as she dusted herself off. "I received and owl from Jen and we decided to visit for the weekend," Hermione began.

"And they stopped and picked me up on the way," Harry added with a grin.

"But how were you able to leave the Dursley's?" Ron asked.

"I got special permission from Dumbledore, but it's only for the weekend. I have to return Harry to the Dursley's on Sunday afternoon," Jen told them. "Dumbledore told me that he must remain there until the second week of July before he can come here for the rest of the summer," she told Mrs. Weasley.

Harry went outside with us to play Quidditch in the yard while Jen and Hermione stayed inside to help mum clean up lunch and to help her make dinner. A few hours later, Jen called us in for dinner. When we all came in, I went to grab a biscuit, but Jen slapped my hand.

"Owww! That hurt, Jen," I told her as I drew my hand back.

"You can't eat until you all go upstairs and clean up," she told us. Then Ron whined to mum, but she told him that Jen was right and then sent us all upstairs. I jumped in the shower before getting dressed. But when I got to my room, I found all of my clothes missing. I asked Fred, but he told me that he didn't know anything about it.

I figured that mum had done my laundry, so I yelled downstairs to her, "Mum, did you do my laundry?" she told me that she didn't, but I still didn't know where my clothes were. "Then where are my clothes?" she told me that she didn't know, but I could have sworn that I heard her laugh.

"Tough luck, George," Fred told me with a grin as he left the room. Not even a minute later, Jen came walking into my room holding a basket of my clothes. She was apparently shocked to see me wearing only a towel because she dropped the basket and my clothes spilled onto the floor.

"She immediately bent down to pick up my clothes and the basket. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to barge in here like that. I was just giving you your clothes back," she told me as she stood up. "I'll go now." As she turned to leave, I grabbed her by the wrist to stop her. I didn't know what had come over me, but I was definitely not in control of what I was doing.

"Wait, how did you get my clothes?" I heard myself ask her. I found myself taking a step towards her as I stared into her beautiful hazel eyes. She looked away from me, probably too embarrassed by my present state of dress, or lack there of. She told me that she wanted to play a joke on me, which is why she took my clothes as she backed away from me. I asked her why as I took another step towards her, still not sure as to why I was doing it.

"Because it was funny," she told me as she stepped back again and opened the door. "See you downstairs," she told me as she stepped out of my room and closed the door. After she had left, I leaned against the wall and sighed as I ran a hand through my hair. Stupid! Now she probably thinks I'm completely nuts, he thought to himself. He sighed again as he rummaged through the basket of clothes she had brought up to him so that he could get dressed for dinner.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*end of flashback~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

George sighed as he gazed out of the window. He remembered that day all to well. He still had no idea what had come over him to act like that. He knew that he would have kissed her if she hadn't left the room. I'm glad that I didn't. It would have changed everything, he thought to himself. But then he thought about how it would have felt if he done it. That would have been brilliant! he thought to himself as a smile crossed his lips.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Meanwhile in the Common Room~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Is George still in his room?" Harry asked as the six friends entered the common room and sat down near the fire. Hermione huffed at Harry's question' she was still upset about the conversation that she had with George the night before.

"He's probably still drunk from the night before," she said with a slight hint of anger in her voice. The others looked at her in complete surprise.

"What do you mean drunk from the night before? George doesn't drink," Fred told her with Ron, Ginny and Lee nodding in agreement.

"That may be, but he was certainly drinking quite a bit in his room last night. When I went up there to talk to him about joining the party, I saw an empty bottle of firewhisky and a few empty bottles of butterbeer. He was about to open another bottle of butterbeer when I walked in," she told them.

"That makes no sense," Harry said.

"It would if he was depressed enough about her leaving," Ginny said.

"And the fact that we were celebrating her leaving down here probably didn't help him," Fred added.

"Okay, maybe it does make sense," Ron said.

Lee, who had remained quiet the entire time, decided to change the subject a little. "I wonder what was on the parchment that Dumbledore had given Jen before she left," he said. His statement had its desired effect because they all immediately began discussing it. They talked about it for quite some time, only ending the conversation when George came downstairs.

"Hey, George, wanna play a game of chess with me?" Fred asked him. George smiled and nodded as he sat down near the chess set. Fred joined him and the others were a bit shocked by what Fred had asked him, but then they saw his logic. They all decided that they best way for George to get over this was to not bring it up at all. They knew that if he wanted to talk about it, he would when he was ready.

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The Hogwarts Express pulled into King's Cross Station and Jen was not happy about it. She put her unfinished letter in her trunk and gathered her things. When she got off the train, her parents were there waiting for her. They walked up to her, but she ignored them and walked passed them and through the barrier. She was still mad at them for making her move and she wanted them to know it. She went to a safe place and Apparated home.

When she got there, she marched straight up to her room. When she got there, she threw her trunk down next to her bed and magically locked the door. She sat down at her desk and took out her unfinished letter to George and stared at it. As tears began to swell in her eyes, she continued to write her letter. When she had finished it, she sealed the parchment and tied it to her owl Isabella and watched her fly out the window and into the night. As Jen lay on her bed, she cried. She cried so much, that she eventually cried herself to sleep.

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By the next morning, George seemed to be in better spirits. The only one who knew better was Fred. He knew that George was still depressed about the fact that Jen had left, but that he was masking it to everyone. Fred knew that George was never good at showing his emotions; something that Ron shared too.

When they had all arrived at breakfast that morning, there was an owl waiting at the Gryffindor table; coincidentally waiting in front of the seat that George usually sat in. once seated, George looked at the owl and then at the envelope attached to its leg.

"That owl looks very familiar, doesn't it?" Ginny asked. George had taken the envelope and gave the owl a piece of bacon, knowing that it was the owl's favorite treat. He reluctantly opened the letter and read it.

"Yeah it does. Isn't that Jen's owl, Isabella?" Hermione asked as she placed a couple of pieces of toast and some bacon on both hers and Ron's plate.

Noticing the look on George's face, Fred leaned closer to his brother and asked, "What does it say?" George didn't answer; he only took a piece of toast and left the Great Hall. Since he left the letter on the table, Fred picked it up and began to read it softly to the others.

Dearest George,

I am writing you this letter as I take my last train ride home. It feels weird to be doing this without you, Fred and Lee. I always imagined my last train ride consisting of watching you three play with your latest inventions or us all playing Exploding Snap or some other game. I never expected to be taking this ride alone and with a heavy heart.

This brings me to the main purpose of this letter. What happened between us? When we first became friends, I know it was a bit awkward since I was the only girl of our small group of friends. Over time, the four of us (you, me, Fred and Lee) became inseparable. But something has happened between us recently and I can't explain it. When you found out that I was moving, you began to ignore and avoid me. I understand that you are upset that I have to leave, but I think that I am more upset that you are. I am the one being ripped away from the only home I have known and from the people that I love. I begged my parents countless times to not go, but they never cared about what I wanted. I tried to stay here, but Dumbledore told me that I had to go. He never told me why, he just told me that I had to.

With you ignoring me, I have begun to feel empty inside. Every time I tried to talk to you, you would find something to distract you and then you would walk away without a word. You would avoid me in the common room and at meal. I got the feeling that you were mad at me. I was confused as to why you would be mad at me for something that I have no control over. I do hope that you can get over this and be my best friend again. Now that I am no longer there, I need you more than ever.

I am now sitting in my bedroom at home. As I look around, I see all of the years that I have spent both in this room and at Hogwarts. I think about all of the fun times we have all shared, from the Quidditch World Cup and creating Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes to the pranks that you would pull in school and me scolding you three for them. I don't want them to end here, the same way that I don't want our friendship to end here. You mean too much to me for that to happen. You are my greatest friend and I cherish you more than you could ever imagine. Being your friend has given me so much and I don't want that to die.

I know that you fear that our friendship will die by me moving away, but I do not want that to happen. The only way that will happen will be if you continue the silence that you have created between us. You are my best friend and I love you with all my heart. I truly hope that I hear from you soon. Until then...

Love always

Jen

PS Tell the others I said hello and that I will send them their Christmas gifts soon.

Fred finished reading the letter and looked up at his silent friends.

"That was so sweet," Hermione said with a dreamy look. Ron smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I really hope that he writes her back," Ginny said. She shot a quick glance in Harry's direction, but luckily for her he didn't see it.

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