Chapter One: Cheating Whore Girlfriend

"Good luck, Cedric! Hope you've been preparing for the task!" A bubbly Gryffindor girl stood in front of the table, her hands holding her hips. Her lips spread in a massive smile, and she added slyly, "Maybe I can get a kiss after the task?"

Cedric looked up from his meal, his face pale and sullen. "Kiss… What?"

"Too bad he has a girlfriend, huh?" I said acidly.

Gryffindor Girl didn't get it. She narrowed her eyes, and crossed her arms. "I heard they broke up. Lots of fighting. When you're together for that long what else do you do?"

"Snog, a lot," I spat, and turned to Cedric. "When did we break up?"

Gryffindor Girl gasped, and covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh, no. I didn't mean… I just heard that… How long have you been together?"

"Two years," I replied icily. Cedric was pushing his dinner around on his plate with a spoon. He must have forgotten he was eating pasta.

"Wow," her eyes widened, "You guys have been together forever."

Cedric looked like he was going to be sick. He forced his lips to smile.

"Yes, thank you," I muttered, but Gryffindor Girl was already bouncing back to her table. I noticed she hit one of her girlfriend's in the arms. The girlfriends laughed uproariously.

"Forever," I echoed snottily.

"It has been a while," Cedric agreed, his voice quivering. He noticed my narrowed eyes, and cleared his throat anxiously. "Sorry."

"No, it's not you." I sighed, swallowing my unnecessary anger. Cedric barely nodded, and then dropped his spoon on his plate.

"You seem nervous," I said, scooting closer to him on the bench. I wrapped my arms around his left arm, and put my chin on his shoulder. "You'll do alright."

Cedric made a noise that sounded like agreement, but could have also been pure terror.

"Do you think we've been together that long?" I wondered aloud.

Cedric didn't answer, as if he didn't hear me. He glanced down the length of the Ravenclaw table (where I had suggested we eat to escape his growing fan club), and we both noticed Cho Chang get up slowly, still laughing at a friend's joke, and then stroll by. When she saw Cedric, she gave a little wave. But then her eyes found me, and both her smile and fingers drooped. I looked at Cedric, who had been momentarily smiling from the interaction. When he caught my stare, he cleared his throat.

"Well?"

"We've been together forever," he said flatly, a hundred emotions spinning in his eyes.

It felt like a worm had wiggled into my stomach. Cedric dropped his spoon, and stood. "I'm going to go practice again," he announced to no one in particular.

I fluttered my fingers, but he didn't notice. Cedric pecked my cheek, and then walked out of the Great Hall.

I almost never hung out with George Weasley on weeknights, but special feelings called for special get-togethers. George offered to bring the booze, but as a Ravenclaw, I had a principle against getting unnecessarily drunk on weeknights. George said I was weak. I socked his arm.

"I never see you anymore," George lamented. I was lying on top of him on the couch in the Gryffindor common room. A handful of students were completing last-minute homework or gossip sessions, but it felt like we were alone. "You should have been in Gryffindor."

"The Sorting Hat didn't think I was brave enough." I closed my eyes and tried to remember that day almost six years ago, but it all felt like a dream. "Bright, and eager to learn: Ravenclaw."

"We could have been best mates," George rambled on.

"We are best mates, George," I corrected him, and his eyes smiled kindly.

"Hmm. If you say so." I rolled my eyes. "How have things been with Diggory?"

George called Cedric by his last name because he thought Cedric was suffocating and completely wrong for me. I thought George was unnecessarily overdramatic and weirdly protective.

"If you mean about the task, he's completely petrified." George tried not to smirk, but I watched his lips twitch. "Stop it. He'll come out alive, anyway. He's ready."

"I'll make sure to place high bets on him, then," he joked, and I laughed.

My body melted into George's. The heat from the fire licked my skin, and I felt warm, but safe. The silence in our conversation was okay, but I could feel my sadness brewing inside me, boiling over.

"I think Cedric's cheating on me," the words spilled out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"What?" George asked, genuinely surprised. He moved our bodies so he could look at me, his eyes narrowed with concern. "Why do you think that?"

"I don't know," my voice quivered, "Whenever he hangs out with me in Ravenclaw, he's always very anxious. Like he wants to leave. But when we're in Hufflepuff, he dotes on me like I'm the best thing ever."

"You are the best thing ever," George agreed.

"Great," I said icily.

"That doesn't mean anything," George reassured me. He rubbed his hand up and down my arm. "Maybe he gets uncomfortable when he's not in Hufflepuff. They're not the adventurous type."

"You didn't see the way he smiled at Cho Chang today. Or ever," I scowled. Last week, I had gone upstairs to change, and when I came back down Cedric and Cho were chatting like best buds. I didn't even know they knew each other.

"How does he smile at you?"

"We've been together forever," I said bitingly, even though he didn't understand the context.

"I'm so sorry, Michelle," George's voice was thick with sadness.

"Thank you," I said softly. Silence enveloped us.

"The weird thing is I'm kind of okay with it." George was silent, listening. "Maybe it hasn't hit me yet. But I guess the end of our relationship has been a long time coming. Two years is a long time. We started dating when we were fourteen; we were so young. But I love him, I really do… He's so comfortable. Like a warm security blanket. I'm used to him, and used to us. On the other hand, I feel like I've spent too much time with him, you know?"

George didn't reply, but I swore I saw him smile a little.

"You need to do what's best for you," he finally uttered. "What do Kelly and Kim think?"

I hesitated before admitting, "They don't know."

Silence. I never kept anything from Kelly and Kim, especially things involving my relationship with Cedric. We were sisters, but not by blood.

"If it makes you feel any better, Fred and I are getting conned," George frowned at the thought.

I laughed, although inappropriate. "Why would that make me feel better?"

"You could feel sympathetic for us, maybe."

"Maybe."

George smiled. "You're so cheeky."

A fire roared in my stomach. "Go on."

George put on his serious face. "We made a bet with Ludo Bagman at the Cup. All of our savings on the outcome of the game. We won, naturally, and we received our winnings. It was supposed to go towards our shop. But it was Leprechaun's gold."

My jaw unhinged. "What?"

"Exactly. We're flat broke."

The fire turned into anger. "What can you do? That's awful."

"We've been trying to contact Bagman. No luck so far."

"Jesus," I swore. I closed my eyes, and exhaled deeply, trying to push the negativity from my abdomen. No luck.

"No, Ludo Bagman," George corrected.

"Well since you won't be filthy rich anytime soon, I guess you'll just have to find a girl who likes you for your personality," I teased, and George laughed out loud.

"Not a chance in hell," he smirked. "I've tried."

"Who's the girl?" I pried, but George didn't smile, or laugh, or oblige.

"She's with another guy," he explained simply.

"Oh, George. She'll come around." Now it was my turn to reassure him. He shrugged.

"It's been so long," he admitted. George never talked about his love life with me, so I was patient in listening. "I've liked her since fourth year."

"Wow." I thought of my boyfriend. Two years ago, Cedric brought me to the greenhouses, and showed me a gorgeous pink plant he had been attending to. He stammered about its beauty, and then said, "It doesn't compare to you." I laughed, even then, and it took all his courage for Cedric Diggory to admit that he liked me; really, really liked me. And then he kissed me, in the greenhouses, next to the pretty pink plant he named Michelle.

"I've been told I need to move on by just about everyone. That's why I dated Alicia and Katie. But they weren't her."

Oddly, I felt a tinge of jealousy at how passionate George was this girl. I bit my lip, suddenly uncomfortable with how he wasn't talking about me. And I had no idea why.

"Do you love her?"

"Absolutely," he answered quickly, "More than anything. She's perfect, and I'd do anything for her."

It felt so wrong that he was holding me like this; so wrong that I was so comfortable in his arms. Sadness settled in my abdomen. It felt heavy like weights.

But I had to laugh, because that is what George and Michelle did; we were best mates, after all.

"You know, it's funny," I admitted, slowly, testing my confession, "I'm a little jealous of this girl."

George didn't speak right away. When I turned my head to meet his stare, he looked like he had a million things to say, but no words.

Finally, he spoke, "You shouldn't be, Michelle."

And suddenly, I knew who the girl was. My stomach fluttered at the recognition.

"George," I said his name, tasting it on my tongue. It was sweet, like Honeydukes candy.

George Weasley kissed me, his lips warm and strong. The fire roared in my stomach, shooting off fireworks in my tongue, fingertips, and toes. I wrapped my fingers in his hair, and pulled his mouth closer to mine. George ran his hand up my hips, past my waist, over my breasts. I moaned into his mouth, and he kissed me harder, deeper. My head was spinning.

I don't know how long we kissed in front of the fire that night. When our bodies got tired, we relaxed against each other, and let our racings hearts soothe us to sleep.

I thought briefly of how Cedric was doing tonight. If he was thinking about me, or about Cho. And then I closed my eyes, and found sleep waiting for me.

Hello and welcome! This is the re-imagining of You Never Know called And He's Loved You Forever. For fans of my former George/OC story, I think you'll like this one better. (I do, anyway.) There's more drama, more romance, and more silly times with your same favorite characters. Let me know what you think; leave a little love for me in the form of a review, a PM, or perhaps a virtual hug. :) Enjoy the story!