Three Hallows, Two Weasleys and One Broken Girl

Chapter 8: Overnight Oversights

George had a lot of plans for his night, primarily a spectacular prank on the Slytherin Quidditch team who had a late night practise despite the lack of matches this year.
He and Fred, may or may not have put a rather lovely potion in the shower heads in their changing rooms...

They had been unable to resist seeing the results of their efforts...but Fred had been unable to contain his laughter. Thus leading to his current situation. Running for his life from Marcus Flint and a lot of angry snakes. Damn Fred.
He hadn't looked behind to see where his brother had gone, everyone for themselves once the brawniest death eater in training was on their tails.

You might be thinking that it would be weird for George to be so panicked. I mean, the Weasley twins know secret passages even Filch doesn't...however. This was Hogwarts ground floor, and not only did it a) have barely any passages, it b) had the most well known. It was also the most patrolled floor, as it was the best place to catch students sneaking to the grounds or the kitchens, so there was always a teacher somewhere.
And they gave Harry the bloody map.
George almost thought they must have been compulsed to part with it. At least give it to the bloke permanently. They should've made Harry rent it off them. It was probably the least devious they'd ever been and he certainly regretted it. Mostly.

But he didn't have time to think about that right now. He had Flint after him, making enough of a racket to wake up Trelawney after her fifth bottle of 'elderflower-cordial-that-was-definitely-vodka'. And his best shot at losing him was coming up.

Turning a corner sharply, George launched himself at a tapestry, diving behind it, and pulling the fabric taut to stop its movement giving him away.
In entering so hastily he crashed into something soft, that gave a little gasp, but he couldn't check anything as he held his breath and prayed that Merlin would spare him.

The rush of feet came toward him, then faded away.
George breathed a sigh of relief before suddenly remembering he wasn't alone and spinning around in the enclosed space.
The pale face of Delphi Lovegood stared back at him, and he swallowed a surprised yelp before trying to cover up his shock.
"Well, hello pretty lady." He murmured, smirking playfully.
She eyed him levelly, clearly biting back a laugh. "Hi George."
"You have any idea how weird it is that you can tell us apart...when there's barely any light in here?" He asked.
She shrugged as best she could in the cramped space, "weird is my favourite flavour of being."
"Forgot you were Professor Trelawney's mystical apprentice." He grumbled and she snorted.
"I don't take Divination for a reason. The future is best left unknown."
Her eyes darkened with the statement, and there was the loneliness in it he'd seen before.
"Oh? You seem to know it well enough." He commented, recalling all the tricks and traps they'd placed over the years Delphi had always somehow evaded.
She smiled wanly, "you don't need to see the future to avoid your pranks George. Just intuition."
"The famous woman's intuition huh?" He hummed, "why are you in here anyway, for someone never caught off guard, or out when you shouldn't, this is a little out of character."
He tried not to blush at the playful smile on her lips, "oh? Why wouldn't I like some quality time with one of the handsome Weasley twins?"
His grin widened, "Handsome eh?"
She smirked, relaxing a little, though he didn't miss how she dodged his question. "An unpopular opinion but what can I say. Soft spot for gingers I guess. Why are you here?"
George chuckled, leaning back against the wall and watching her closely, "played a prank on a couple Slytherins. Always high risk but hopefully they'll find Fred first."

Delphi peeked out the tapestry. "You wouldn't happen to be talking about Flint and his lackeys would you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"They're headed back this way."
"Fuck."
George swallowed nervously, "you should go now."
Playful indigo eyes flicked to his, "I can get you out of this."
The redhead stared at her, "seriously?"
She smiled, "you'll owe me."
"Deal." George said more out of curiosity than desperation.
Next thing he knew, she'd straightened up her posture becoming her usual distant self and slipped out the Tapestry.