Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. WRONG.

Aurora was a fool. She knew that this would not end well, and she had a feeling that George was feeling it too. She could feel the atmosphere shifting as she sat at the table, alone. George had spotted Angelina and wandered over to say hello. Aurora knew she shouldn't be jealous. But she was. She was jealous that George left her side to speak with another woman he has...or had, she wasn't sure yet, feelings for.

"Rory, you alright love?"

The soft motherly voice of Molly Weasley lifted her from her daze. Aurora cleared her throat and turned to look up at Molly. A small smile appeared on her lips, "Yes, Mrs. Weasley, I'm alright. Thank you for checking in. Just feeling a bit... I don't know, strange."

Aurora sighed, chewing on her bottom lip before she pushed herself up to stand, picking up her glass as she went. "Nothing a little fire whiskey can't fix!"

That earned her a glare from the matron. "I'm just joking, Mrs. Weasley!"

"You'd be better off without it. But I can't force you to stop." Molly sighed and grabbed hold of Aurora's hand to give it a gentle, yet firm squeeze.

Aurora quickly found herself wandering around the gardens, fingertips touching the stones before her. A list of names carved deep in each stone, and Aurora reading off each name as she went. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she knew she was feeling a buzz from the alcohol coursing through her veins.

She needed more – honestly – to get through being around so much magic. Just being on the outside of Hogwarts was making her fingertips tingle with her magic. Her magic that was coursing through her body, begging to be released. It had been too long since she used it. She could feel the panic rising in her chest, her hands begin to shake before she made haste across the lawn to a set of benches.

Collapsing onto one, the glass in her hand bounced a bit as it landed on the tabletop. She could spoke George's hair off in the distance. He was still sidled up next to Angelina, and she thought she could spot Lee Jordan too.

"Is this seat taken?"

Aurora turned at the sudden intrusion to her thoughts. The man looked about her age. He was tall, but not as tall as George. His brown hair was a bit messy, falling over his forehead and hitting just before his eyelids.

"No." She shook her head, glancing back to the crowd but after realizing she lost sight of George, Angelina and Lee, she turned back to the man as she watched him sit down across from her.

"You look familiar." Aurora blurted out. Her cheeks turning red and she knew she could thank the alcohol for that. He was dressed neatly. Black dress slacks, tailored to his exact measurements – or so she assumed, and a crisp, white button up shirt. She continued to look at him, taking in his appearance. She noticed the green gemstone cufflinks, and without asking permission, reaching over to dust a finger over one. "And I'm guessing you were in Slytherin." She joked, a small smile appearing on her lips.

The man grinned, taking a small sip from his glass – fire whiskey, she assumed. "Theodore." He introduced himself. He set the glass down before extending his hand across the table.

Aurora nodded, "Oh, yes! Theodore Nott." Thinking nothing of his past, she reached forward and shook his hand. "Aurora Sinclair." She told him, a smile back on her lips.

"Yes, I know." Theo admitted sheepishly, running his fingers through his hair as he pushed the hair off of his forehead.

"You ... know?" Aurora raised a brow, tilting her head to the side as she leaned her forearms on the table now, watching him.

"Well, I don't know you... obviously." Theo laughed, "But I know of you. See, Malfoy spoke a lot about the bloody Gryffindor's who were the ultimate bane of his existence." Theo explained with a smirk. "And you, so graciously enough, made that list."

Aurora rolled her eyes, a loud laugh escaping her lips as she threw her head back. Feeling a bit more than just Theo's gaze on her, she covered her mouth and looked back at him. "Malfoy can sod off." She chirped with a grin. "Bloody bastard picking on a young girl who's crime was being best friends with Ronald Weasley's little sister."

Theo smirked, "Yeah, he is a bloody bastard, isn't he?"

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

Aurora had spent the rest of the night talking with Theo. Forgetting about his past – Theodore Nott was a good man. He was trying to right the wrongs he, and his peers, had committed when they were in school. Aurora was also surprised to hear that he was delving into the muggle world. He was not as nasty as Draco Malfoy – he was never as adamant about blood purity, though his father was.

They had swapped mobile numbers – Aurora laughing at Theo the entire time since he was still fairly new to it all. He had no idea what he was doing, but Aurora made sure he knew how to text her before she left him.

"There you are! Bloody hell, I have been looking for you all night." George walked up to Aurora, a bottle of something in his hands as he moved to press his lips against her temple.

Aurora smiled weakly, "I was around. Took a walk in the gardens and met a new friend." She explained, glancing up at him meekly.

"New friend?" George inquired, placing the bottle down on a table that they walked past before turning back to Aurora, giving her his full attention.

"Yes. His name is Theodore Nott."

George choked on his own saliva, loudly, covering his mouth as he coughed to clear his throat. "What? Theo Nott? Bloody Slytherin git?" He asked her, a hint of anger in his voice. Aurora chose to ignore the hint of anger. She nodded at George in response. "Yes. The very same. He's a nice man. We're planning on meeting for coffee next week." She told him, simply continuing to walk and not look back at him as she went. She was now looking for Ginny. She was going to ask her to take her home.

"Aurora, wait up!" George called, rushing after the brunette and quickly grabbed her elbow to whip her around to face him. "What the bloody hell has gotten into you?"

"George," She sighed, shaking her arm from his grip. "We're friends...yes?"

"Yes, of course we're friends, Aurora." George was confused. He wasn't sure what she was getting at with her outburst.

"I-I think it's time we start acting like it. Just friends, I mean. Not... not what we've been doing. It's too confusing." She admitted, hugging herself tightly as she looked around at the people coming and going. The night was winding down and she could spot McGonagall gathering the older students, whom they allowed to attend the festivities.

"What?" George was dumbfounded. "Where is this coming from?"

"George... We're just...we're just two different." She whispered, reaching forward now to grab his hands. "I care about you. And I know you care about me. But if I can speak freely," She smiled weakly, "I'm starting to care more... about you. And I know that's not exactly what we agreed on."

Aurora closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "Seeing you with Angelina... I found myself feeling jealous." Aurora let go of his hands and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't like being that type of person. Especially about someone I'm not in a relationship with. I just, I think we moved too fast." Aurora glanced around them once more, "I'm not comfortable talking about this in public. I'd like to go home now, George."

"Will we be ok?" George asked, his voice low. His head hung down as his eyes shut for a moment. What she was saying wasn't wrong. He wasn't looking for any attachments. He had thought they were just having fun, with no feelings. Although, he won't admit he was starting to feel a bit more, too – and he just didn't want to. He believed he didn't deserve to be happy. He wouldn't allow himself to be happy – really.

"C-Can I at least be the one to take you home?"

Aurora blinked away tears and nodded in response. "Yes, you can." She told him, leaning into his side as she clutched his arm.

Within the blink of an eye and a loud *CRACK*, Aurora found herself standing in the middle of her bedroom, still clutching tightly onto George's arm.

She pulled herself away and looked up at him. "Don't be mad at me, ok?" She rested a hand on his cheek. "We are still bloody friends, George Weasley. Just not friends who kiss...and stuff." She forced herself to laugh as she pet his cheek gently. "At least not right now. I just need to take a step back from everything. The magic is starting to overwhelm me and...I felt alone tonight."

George furrowed his brows, "What do you mean you felt alone? You could have bloody come with me to talk with Angelina and Lee, you know that."

Aurora shook her head. "You didn't offer that to me when you walked off. George, I never want to be that person in the shadows again. I was that person for so many years."

"Is this about what Fleur said this morning? About the baby thing? I mean... It's not like I'm trying to force you into..."

"No!" Aurora quickly cut him off. "Bloody hell, George, no. I already told you." She sat on the edge of her bed, chewing on her lower lip. She could tell that he was still annoyed and confused.

"I don't understand, you could have no strings attached sex with fucking Oliver Wood, but not me?" George turned to look down at her, his eyes roaming her face and body to try and get a reading on her body language.

"George, what we were doing was not sex with no strings attached and you know it. It's like we're using each other as a crutch...and it's not healthy. I'm not facing my demons, and you sure are bloody hell aren't either."

She was shouting now, her face red hot with anger and her eyes brimming with tears.

"What do you know about facing your demons, Aurora?" George shouted back, "You bloody hide away here, living as a muggle. From what Ginny told me," He took in a deep breath before continuing, "You were ... are, whatever, a bloody fantastic witch. And you threw it all away. For what?"

George was seething now. His eyes narrowed and his temper red hot. His face was almost redder than his hair and he was clutching his wand so tight he thought it might snap. He wasn't sure why he was reacting this way. A part of him didn't want whatever this was between them to end. She wasn't wrong about him not truly facing his demons. He was just hiding them away while he enjoyed shagging her brains out. That was no way to get better. But he was never going to admit it.

"Magic killed my brother, George. It's the reason he's dead. It's the reason Remus, and Tonks, and..." She paused, tears now spilling over her cheeks as she stared up at him. "It's the reason Fred is dead."

George, without thinking, pointed his wand directly at Aurora now. "Don't say his name."

Aurora blinked and stared at his wand before standing up. "I'd like for you to leave now, George. You need to cool off. And then maybe we can talk about everything later. Please. Please leave." Aurora was practically begging him now.

She wasn't scared of him. She knew George would never hurt her. But she was a little worried because of the amount of alcohol coursing through his system. They were now at what seemed like a stand still. Her hands were resting on her hips as she stood her ground, staring up at George – the tip of his wand threateningly close to her chest. George's chest was heaving up and down as he continued breathing heavily.

"I'll give Ginny your wand, not like you're going to ever use it. I don't think we should speak for a while."

And with a loud *CRACK*, Aurora was now standing alone. Letting out a sigh, she fell backwards onto her bed and let out a loud yell. She was angry at herself for acting this way. Maybe she was being childish about this whole thing. No matter what George tried to do, or say, he never understood why she had given up magic. Aurora had a feeling that he really didn't want to understand. Maybe she jumped into this too quickly.

Glancing over at her phone, she chewed back on her lower lip. Checking the time and knowing the person she wanted to speak to would most likely still be awake, she pulled open the phone and typed out a quick message.

"Had a sodding shit night. Are you awake?"