Rating:
PG
House:
Astronomy Tower
Ships:
Other Canon Witch/George Weasley
Characters:
Other Canon Witch George Weasley
Genres:
General Romance
Era:
The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years
Spoilers:
Goblet of Fire
Stats:
Published: 01/03/2005
Updated: 01/03/2005
Words: 1,733
Chapters: 1
Hits: 802

Slow Dance

Kelsey Potter

Story Summary:
"Somewhere there waiteth in this world of ours For one lone soul another lonely soul, Each choosing each through all the weary hours, And meeting strangely at one sudden goal, Then blend they, like green leaves with golden flowers, Into one beautiful and perfect whole; And life's long night is ended, and the way Lies open onward to eternal day." ~Edwin Arnold, Somewhere There Waiteth

Posted:
01/03/2005
Hits:
801


Lisa sighed slightly as she watched the gay-clad dancers whirl across the floor of the Great Hall. Her forest green eyes searched the happy couples, glossing over Cedric and Cho, skimming past Draco and Pansy, passing Blaise and Caristìona, and finally coming to rest on a tall, dark, handsome boy. He was laughing gently about something as he danced with a delicate, graceful redhead.

The redhead was Ginny Weasley. Lisa knew her by sight, by association, and once or twice had met her personally. The boy she was dancing with, the one looking at her with love in his eyes, was Michael Corner. Lisa's boyfriend--now her ex. And her date for the evening.

The song playing was really pretty, but as the Weird Sisters had no vocalist Lisa knew very few people would recognise the song as a Lee Ann Womack song called "Why They Call It Falling." It was just coming around to the last verse. Softly, Lisa sang along.

"It's like a knife

Through the heart

When it all comes apart,

It's like someone

Takes a pin to your balloon,

It's a hole,

It's a cave,

It's kind of like a grave

When he tells you

That he's found somebody new.

And why they call it falling,

Why they call it falling,

Why they call it falling,

Now I know.

Why they call it falling,

Why they call it falling,

Now I know."

"That's really pretty," someone said behind her.

Lisa jumped and whirled around. A short, stocky boy with red hair, blue eyes, and freckles stood behind her, grinning slightly. "Sorry if I startled you...I just heard you singing and thought I'd listen."

"That's okay." Lisa gave him a slight smile and moved aside. "You might want to go in...I don't think your date would like it if she saw you talking to me." Girls were inclined to jealousy.

The boy's grin faded somewhat. "Don't have a date," he told her. "Sad, really...my brothers and even my baby sister have dates, but I don't."

"Why not?" Lisa asked curiously. He seemed like a nice guy...and even if he wasn't exactly handsome, there was just something about him that Lisa thought most girls would go crazy for.

The boy shrugged. "I dunno. I guess it's because I just didn't want to ask anyone."

Lisa frowned slightly. She had seen very few people without dates, and they were mostly people like Crabbe and Goyle who looked like the back end of a bus. "So...why are you here, if you don't have a date?"

The boy frowned a little as well. "Moral support. It is my sister's first dance, after all...not to mention Ickle Ronniekins." He looked a little defensive. "What about you, then? Why are you here without a date."

"I'm not," Lisa said defensively. Then she drooped slightly and glanced at Michael. "Well...technically I'm not. I came with a date...but I guess I'm leaving single. My boyfriend kind of broke up with me."

The boy nodded. "Is that why you were singing that song so wistfully?"

"Probably." Lisa remembered her manners and held out her hand. "By the way...I'm Lisa, Lisa Turpin."

"I'm George, George Weasley," the boy said, shaking her hand.

"Related to Ginny Weasley?" Lisa inquired. It was an honest question. She felt no malice towards Ginny, just a little lonely when she reflected that Michael had never enjoyed being with her as much as he seemed to enjoy being with Ginny.

"She's my baby sister. Why, d'you know her?"

"Sort of. We've met a couple times. And she's dancing with my ex."

"You used to go out with Neville Longbottom?"

"Lord, no. Michael Corner."

"You're making a mistake. Ginny came with Neville."

Lisa scanned the hall and spotted Neville. He was dancing with Su--who had come in a group with Caristìona and Mandy and Izzy--and seemed to be enjoying himself, despite the fact that both of them were treading on one another's feet rather a lot. "Well, Neville is dancing with Su Li, so I imagine Ginny left him when Michael asked her to dance the first time."

George peered in the doorway, too, and groaned slightly when he saw Ginny. "Oh, no."

"Michael won't hurt her, George."

"I know that, but..." George sighed and sat down on the small bench next to the door. "She's my baby sister. If she's got a boyfriend--which I guess she has, if this Michael fellow broke up with you--that means she's growing up. And she can't grow up yet, because...well..."

Lisa sat down next to him. "Because then who'd be your baby sister?"

"Exactly." George looked up at her with a crooked grin. "You understand."

"I have a younger sibling myself." Lisa crossed her ankles and tucked them underneath the bench. "Actually, I have three of them. I'm the oldest."

George gave her a sympathetic look. "Gee, that's got to be tough. I'm comfortably in the middle...actually, I'm just a little bit younger than in the middle. Still, I don't have any responsibilities of the oldest."

Lisa grinned, thinking of her siblings. "It isn't so bad, really."

"What are they like? I mean, I'm sure you know my younger siblings..."

"Ron and Ginny, right? Yeah, they're pretty nice. Ron's here with one of my best friends. My siblings are still pre-Hogwarts, though. Two sisters and a brother. Gwendolyn's nine, and...well, she's kind of a brat. Cassie's the baby--literally. She's only three, but she's as sweet as they come. And then my brother Will's in between them. He's five...he's got a muscular problem and he has braces on his legs, but he's a really nice kid."

George grinned. "They sound nice. I'd like to meet them sometime."

"Maybe."

The two of them fell silent for a little while, watching as the dancers boogied themselves out to some rock song. "Do you know this song?" George asked Lisa.

"Nope," Lisa answered. "I don't normally listen to rock anyway. You?"

"Nope."

The song ended, there was the customary burst of applause, and the band struck up another song. This one was slower. George listened for half a second, then looked over at Lisa. "Say, Lisa?"

"Yeah?" Lisa said, looking up at him.

George steeled himself, then asked, "Do--d'you want to dance?"

Lisa blinked in surprise. "Well, I...well, sure."

George grinned a little as they stood up. "Just pretend you don't notice if I step on your feet."

"Likewise," Lisa grinned.

Hesitantly, George put one hand on Lisa's waist and took her other hand. Lisa put her free hand on his shoulder, and the two began waltzing in the small courtyard just outside the door.

George was actually pretty good at dancing. "Did you take lessons?" Lisa asked him.

George chuckled. "Nope. But Ginny used to love waltzing when she was little, and I was always the only one with enough patience to dance when she wanted to. So I guess I got better as the years went on. You aren't half bad yourself."

"Thanks. Dad tried teaching me a few years ago, but I was never really interested." She gave him a nervous grin. "I guess some of it managed to rub off on me."

They fell silent for a little while, just listening to the music. Finally, George asked her a question, just to get the conversation going again. "Do you have any plans for after Hogwarts?"

"I want to teach History of Magic," she said instantly. "My dad works for the Ministry of Magic--he's an Unspeakable in the Sub-Department of Time--and from what he's told me it's going to be a very exciting class in a few years." She glanced up. "What about you?"

George blushed. Suddenly his dreams seemed rather silly. "Well, I--that is, Fred and I are planning on starting a joke shop."

Lisa's eyebrows shot up. "Really? Do you have a name for it yet?"

"Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes."

"What sorts of things are you going to stock?"

She seemed genuinely interested. George felt a little better. "Well, we've come up with these fake wands that turn into things like a rubber chicken or a toy mouse when you try to pick them up...we have these Ton-Tongue Toffees that make your tongue get really big...and just recently we came up with Canary Cremes, which turn whoever eats them into a large canary. We're still developing products."

Lisa smiled. "I'll be sure to stop by when you two open shop. How far are you from graduation?"

"Next year's our seventh. You?"

"Class of 1998."

"Oh, like Ron."

"I guess so."

George had to admit. "Actually, we might not ever get off the ground. Thing is, we need gold to get started, and we lost our life savings this summer."

Lisa's eyes widened. "How'd you manage that?"

"Bet it on the Quidditch match."

"Oh, you bet on Bulgaria to win?"

"No, we bet Ireland would win but Krum would get the Snitch."

"But that's just what happened!"

"I know."

"Do you take Divination?"

"Fred does. It's one of the classes he scored high enough on his O.W.L.s to continue with. I think it's a waste of time, but he's evidently rather good at it."

"So if you were right, how'd you lose all your money?"

"We bet Bagman. He paid us off with gold he caught from the Irish mascots."

"Doesn't that vanish after a couple of hours?"

"Exactly."

Lisa frowned. "Was it intentional, or an accident?"

"At this point, we're pretty sure it was intentional. He keeps avoiding us."

"I'm sorry about that. If there's anything I can do..."

"I doubt it, but thanks for the offer."

Inside, the song ended. The couples burst into applause. George, with a touch of reluctance, let go of Lisa's hand and removed his other hand from her waist. "Thanks for the dance. I enjoyed it."

Lisa smiled, stepping back a little. "Thank you for asking me."

George gave her a crooked grin, then paused awkwardly in the doorway. "Well...see you, I guess."

"See you."

George hesitated slightly, considering asking for a kiss, then shook his head slightly and slipped back into the brightly lit hall.

Lisa watched him go, then resumed watching the dancers, who were now doing what looked like the fox trot. But this time, unlike before, she did not seek out Michael and Ginny. And somehow, she no longer felt as melancholy and morose as she had before the dance began.