Only You

Spoilers: *OOTP and HBP later*
Rating: NC-17 later in story
Pairings: George/OFC, M/F
Main Characters: George Weasley, Fred Weasley, OFC

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Disclaimer: None of the characters nor the settings belong to me but are all the property of J. K. Rowling. I make no money from them.

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He had noticed her from the very beginning, from the first moment he laid eyes on her looking somehow different from the other first years at the Sorting Ceremony. At the time, he didn’t know why she was different, only that he couldn’t keep his eyes off her and that, when it was her turn to be sorted, he repeated the word ‘Gryffindor’ so many times under his breath that his twin began to stare at him. He clapped enthusiastically with the others when she joined his house, his unexpected happiness such that he almost missed the sorting of his own brother. Only when Fred dug his elbow into his side and his brother Percy hissed at him to pay attention did he see the sorting of the most famous boy in the wizarding world.

He would later come to know some of the reasons for her uniqueness … That when she received her acceptance to the American school of magic her family had not allowed her to go, thinking it was too soon after the tragedy that had claimed her parents and that she needed time to regroup. That later when she had finally convinced her guardians to allow her to attend, the school would not accept her since she was no longer the appropriate age. In a country where bureaucracy filtered into every aspect of life and where rules were followed every time without exception, the leadership of the school was unable to contemplate the idea of considering circumstances and making a choice based on what might be best in an individual situation. The headmaster had brought the girl to Dumbledore’s attention himself, assuaging himself from the guilt of turning her away from his own school.

Dumbledore had interviewed her himself, traveling over during the summer break to meet her. Her found her to be delightful, older than her years but with a wry sense of humor that rivaled his own. Impressed by her interview, he thought she was one who would be unafraid to make waves but only if the circumstances warranted and never just for the sake of entertainment. His decision already made, he still scrupulously followed the necessary tradition and interviewed some of her teachers, learning that things came easily to her and she did not have to work hard to achieve impressive results. Dumbledore had smiled to himself, thinking of the Hogwarts professors and how they pushed students beyond their expectations as a normal circumstance. He couldn’t imagine someone finding Minerva’s class, or Severus’s for that matter, easy. He had extended the invitation to attend Hogwarts that very evening and made arrangements for her travel and necessary supplies.

So she had traveled to London and taken up a temporary residence in a Muggle hotel, traveling to Diagon Alley with his instructions in her hand and chaperoned by a cousin. Confused by the directions to the train, the cousin had worriedly approached another family who was obviously buying supplies for the same school and learned how to reach the correct platform.

The honey haired American girl soon found herself on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, boarding the Hogwarts Express for the journey to the school. Uncomfortable with strangers (and with strangers’ customary response to her nationality) she’d joined a car with other first year misfits…a boy with large teeth and a toad who wouldn’t stay put and a bushy haired girl with a nose in the air and a voice that dripped condescension. The American had pulled out a book and buried her nose in it, not noticing what went on around.

As the first years were taken to the castle and prepared for their sorting, she carefully concealed her nervousness, distracting herself with her observations of her classmates. One boy seemed to feel as out of place as she, the eyes behind his glasses as wide as an owl’s, and she smiled shyly at him and nodded her head. One of the first to be sorted, she was surprised by her placement in Gryffindor as she’d never thought to describe herself as brave or courageous. But she’d joined her new house’s table, shaken hands with some of the others, and spent the rest of the ceremony settling her insides back down. She’d looked surreptitiously around the table during the meal, noticing the boy with the wide eyes and smiling again at him.

In the dorm, she’d been placed in a room with the bushy haired brunette who’d lost no time in talking her ear off about classes and teachers and classmates and futures. Most of the house ignored them both, put off by the brunettes pushiness and not sure what to make of the quiet American who was the same age as the second years but still only a first year. A rumour that she’d come to Hogwarts to repeat her first year after failing in America went made the rounds early on but it gradually lost steam when one of the Weasley twins uncharacteristically took up for her and threatened to dangle the next person who repeated it over the banister in the main hallway.

Of course, as frequently happens when boys of that age fancy a girl, he didn’t understand the attraction she had for him. He picked, and he niggled, and he teased her whenever she was unfortunate enough to be near him. They both did. She was frequently the brunt of the Weasley sense of humor, although George never let any of their pranks go too far but always somehow knew just when to stop pushing. Her name, Melody, was a favourite target and they thought it quite funny to burst into song when she entered a room. When one of their early jokes left her covered in slime in the middle of the Gryffindor common room, most of the house was astonished by her peal of laughter. George's heart felt as if it were going to burst from his chest with pride, although he found that idea quite idiotic when he thought about it later. She had laughed merrily with the others, turning their laughter at her into something they shared, thereby changing her relationship with the rest of her house. Where once she’d been an outsider, now she was an accepted part of the group.

Not that the new relationship changed her standing with the Weasley twins. In fact, Percy tried to intervene oh her behalf several times, worried that their constant harassment would interfere with her studies and thereby reflect badly on his prefect skills. Of course, the twins had never really paid any attention whatsoever to anything their brother had told them to do so it hadn’t helped. They had followed her until they knew all her favourite places and could find her faster than an owl delivering a message. Then, one day after she’d found her hair turned orange by her morning pumpkin juice, she had smiled sweetly at them, put an arm around both their necks, and suggested it would have been funnier if it had been her face that had changed colour, perhaps with some flashing letters.

From then on, she became less a brunt of the jokes and more of a silent partner in crime. It wasn’t often that she was able to add something that would top one of their ideas, but they found themselves pulling pranks for her enjoyment, priding themselves on those occasions they could make her laugh aloud. She found herself bemused by their attentions…they were, after all, two years ahead of her and didn’t seem the type to want to hang out with a nerd. For nerd is how she saw herself and thought she was being brutally honest.

Granted, she had more in common with her roommate, Hermione Granger, than she thought she did with the Weasleys. She was at the top of her classes, often vying with Hermione for the number one position. She took easily to the world of magic, frequently getting spells and potions right on the first try. Yet she always did the background work and learned the application of its use, its implications, and what could go wrong. Unlike Miss Grainger, she worked in the background, choosing to sit in the back and perform without so many watchful eyes, and only her seatmates saw her quickness to learn. The uncharitable may have remembered the rumour about her repeating first year classes, but none wanted to find themselves hanging upside down over a banister and, by that time, everyone knew that anyone who messed with Melody would also be taking on the Weasley twins. Even the uncharitable eventually changed their minds when she helped them correct mistakes, questioning and leading them to the right answer, often giving them a memory aid to help them remember what they were supposed to have learned. Somehow what was insufferable in Granger was easier to take from the older, and less know-it-all, American.

Her good influences even extended to the Weasleys though it was quite unintentional. Instead of pestering them to study or do their homework the way Hermione would, she simply did her own. If they wanted to be with her badly enough, they found something quiet to do. If it tended to be a nap, as in Fred’s case, she didn’t really mind. George watched her with considerable consternation for a time before one day opening his own book to see what could possibly be so fascinating. While he never quite grasped it, he did notice that she developed a tendency to watch him study from time to time. She never watched Fred sleep. Of course, one didn’t have to watch Fred to know he was asleep. It was usually George’s job to roll Fred over when he got too loud, but once he let it go to see what she’d do. He pretended complete concentration on his book, and she finally put her book down and leaned over to whisper softly in Fred’s ear. George was surprised by the emotion that whipped through him and, while he didn’t understand why he felt that way, he made sure she never had the chance to whisper in his brother’s ear like that again.

Then one day, she asked him what he was studying. As he explained what he was working on, he noticed how intently she was focused on what he was saying. She asked questions, and he’d had to elaborate and demonstrate, and by the time all was said and done, he’d had her undivided attention for over an hour and come away knowing the spell inside and out. George wasn’t nearly as interested in learning his schoolwork as he was in having her attention completely focused on him. Fred eventually caught on to the benefits of having a pretty girl completely fascinated with what he was saying, and soon the boys were scouring their lessons for something new to teach her. Oblivious to the reasons they had suddenly become something akin to tutors for her, she posed questions and they’d discussed possibilities until the boys had become worried that their professors would catch on and think they were actually…well, learning. Perversely, they were both amused by the intricacies involved in pretending they hadn’t been learning their lessons and thought it a great joke to pull the wool over their teachers’ eyes. Particularly Snape. Merlin forbid that the greasy git of the dungeon find out they were actually quite good at potions.

Oddly enough, they were never sure if Dumbledore hadn’t figured out their game. He’d surprised them all by showing up as they were debating the possible other uses for bubotuber pus, and they were never sure just how long he’d been standing there. He further threw the twins into confusion by winking at them the next time Snape complained about their lack of attention in class.

For their part, the Weasley twins shared an unspoken obsession with getting her to lighten up more often. She was surprised her first Christmas at Hogwarts with a selection of Zonko products and Honeydukes chocolates that they had gathered at their most recent trip to Hogsmeade. They dragged her everywhere they went and categorically refused to allow her to open a book the entire holiday. Seeing how they also included Harry in the holiday celebrations, she shrugged and was grateful to have someone with whom to spend the holiday. Her second Christmas found her with many more gifts, including a sweater from the twins’ mom complete with an M on the front, as they’d noticed that theirs were the only gifts she’d received the year before. They even bullied their brother and his friends into getting her gifts although it only took the suggestion for Harry and Hermione to realize they ought to get her something as they’d become friends, if not close. Ron took a little more persuading and it wasn’t until the twins threatened to hang him from the window with “I love to kiss girls” printed across his chest in lurid green that he agreed, gruffly getting her some chocolate. Harry and Hermione both gave her books, as did both Fred and George this year. In fact, it had taken considerable time for the twins to figure out what books they could possibly get that she wouldn’t have already read. Her gifts to them all were so well thought out and Harry and Hermione, at least, were glad they’d thought to give her something so they weren’t embarrassed when they’d found she’d gotten them something. Even Ron appreciated the Chudley Cannons shirt she’d found for him.

Fred and George also taught her not only to appreciate Quidditch but to play herself, although she was convinced they were just doing it to be kind and not because she’d shown any talent for it whatsoever. Actually, she was a fair Keeper and a better Chaser, though she’d never equal their talents. But it gave them the chance to spend hours with her with nary a book in sight, and she did improve with practice. A little.

They also taught her the little known places of Hogwarts. They somehow seemed to know how to get everywhere, the location of every hidden passage and hidey hole, and could get anywhere without being caught. It wasn’t until the end of her second year before they trusted her with the secret of their success.

The rest of the house weren’t sure what to think about the group but, as time went by, grew used to seeing them always together. The older girls did their best to dislike her when it started to become apparent that neither Weasley twin was going to look their way, but she was just so darn nice… And they’d already started to think of her as a little sister. They felt better when, after pumping her for information about what they did with their time, they decided there was nothing romantic going on between them. At least, they didn’t think so…