Chapter 13

Sage didn't want to meet George that night, but she was curious. She spent the rest of the day thinking of why he wanted her to meet him. It was 8:00 when dinner started and around 8:30 when Sage finished eating. She planned to go up to the dormitory and study until 11. Sage had told Stacy about what George had said, and Stacy had gone crazy, yelling at her to make sure she would go and meet him in the common room. Stacy had even advised for her to be late, to make George sweat a little.

Sage managed to study a little, but she started to get anxious, so she stopped and put her homework away. She leaned back into her pillows, thinking about George. She was still upset that he had stopped her from attacking Pansy, but underneath the anger, she thought it was kind of sweet. Sage liked how he seemed to be trying hard to be her friend again. She was wondering when it would turn 11 when she fell asleep.

It was 11:15. Where is Sage? George thought. Maybe she was still mad enough to not want to be around him. George's heart sank, but then rose again when a thought occurred to him. Once she'd seen what he'd done for her, maybe she'd forgive him. Alone in the common room, George got to work.

Sage opened her eyes, bright light streaming into the girls' dormitory. Wasn't she supposed to do something important? Then she remembered: George. She bolted up in her bed. How could she have forgotten? Kicking the sheets away, she ran down the stairs into the common room just as George walked in from the corridor outside. He smiled when he saw her, taking in the early morning mess that was Sage. There were other people in the common room who were all looking curiously at Sage, and then at George.

"Mornin', sleepyhead," George said cheerily, then brushed past her to go up to the boys' dormitory. Sage's hair was sticking up on one side and she had marks on her arm and face from her blanket and pillow. She was pretty sure her morning breath was horrid, but she ran after George anyway, stopping him halfway up the stairs.

"Why did you want me to meet you last night?" she asked, trying not to let any stinky breath make its way to George's nose.

"Ah, you missed out on a devious plan of mine. I had to have help from Fred instead of you. But no worries, dearie. You'll find out at breakfast," he said, clearly excited for breakfast to roll around. He grinned, and Sage noticed the dark bags under his eyes. He must have been up all night. George made his way past her to go get ready for the day.

Sage got ready and then went to go find Stacy. She told her of the George weirdness that had happened twenty-five minutes ago. Stacy frowned.

"Wait, so you didn't meet him last night?" she exclaimed.

"Uh, yeah. I kind of... fell asleep." Sage mumbled.

Arriving at the Great Hall, Sage sat with Stacy at the Ravenclaw table. They ate and chatted amiably. Sage almost forgot about George's "plan", but when she heard a shriek from the Slytherin table, she somehow knew it was George's doing.

Pansy Parkinson's food was alive. Or rather, it seemed to look that way. Her french toast was dragging itself towards her, constantly attempting to attach itself to her face. Her scrambled eggs were magically being pelted at her head. Pansy's sausages were trying to make their way into her nostrils. And that was only the beginning. Pansy's nose started to bleed. She had a hard time swatting away the food while trying to prevent the blood from pouring out of her nose. She tried to get up, but her legs instantly snapped together: a leg binding charm. Humiliated, she had to be helped up by some other Slytherins who were all completely disgusted by the constant flow of blood. They helped her out of the Great Hall.

The entire room was echoing with laughter. Sage and Stacy had tears streaming down their faces, both girls unable to breathe. Sage caught George's eye, and he winked. She grinned at him, no longer mad. Fred and George exchanged triumphant high-fives.

"WEASLEY!" The voice of Professor Moody cut through the laughter, which died away immediately. Moody limped over to Fred and George, grabbing them by their ear.

"I saw your satisfied high-five," he growled. "I assume you're behind this elaborate prank, the both of you!"

"Ow, ow, ow!" exclaimed Fred and George in unison. Dragging them by the ear, Moody called out to Sage, "Sage, if you'll please follow me. I know you're involved in this somehow." Sage got up from the bench, every eye in the Great Hall fixed upon her, and sighing inwardly, she followed Professor Moody out of the Hall.