Hey everyone! Can you believe I've updated again already! I certainly can't. I guess it's cause Ive been super bored in class and this is keeping me mega occupied. Anyway I want to thank you guys for the reviews:

FizzingWhizbeez: Haha thanks for those little tips on chapter two. I didn't realize how sketchy it was.

magentabear: I don't know why, but I really liked the whole count down thing too. I'm glad you appreciated it cause I still don't know where I got the idea from, lol.

angelface04 : Yeah I really like Angelina in chapter 1. I plan on keeping her that crazed though out the entire fic so it should be interesting when the wedding starts to approach.

Will There Ever Be a Rainbow : Here's more so please read more! Thanks!

Gaelic Lover : I am dying to have them meet already, but the anticipation is way more fun.

satinzevi : I'm glad you like it, thanks for reading and reviewing!

Well that just about covers it. Leave me some love when your done reading and it will make me so hip hop happy. The next chapter will probably be up soon seeing as I have been writing like crazy during class.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the HP world. Just my own strange strange ideas.

Remember When

Chapter 3- Some Things Never Change

"Oi, Alicia! Over here!"

Alicia had barely collected her bags from the spinning table thing when she heard a voice she hadn't heard in years. Katie Bell stood a few feet away, her face beaming as though she had just won the Quidditch World Cup.

"Hey Katie!" but there was no time for her to get out anything else as Katie bolted over and wrapped her arms tightly around Alicia.

"For Merlins sake, Alicia, you look great." Katie squeezed tighter and Alicia gasped. "How long has it been, what eight years?"

"Katie love…" She breathed, " Could you tone down the reunion excitement cause I can't really breathe."

"Oh, right, sorry." She giggled and let go. "Ali oh gods, it is so wonderful to see you here. Oh my you havent changed at all. Well except for the suntan and the freckles and geez when did you sprout those perky little…"

"Katie!" Alicia chuckled. Katie Bell hadn't changed at all. Still the overly excited ball of energy she had left behind all those years ago. "You look good too, dear." Shifting the one satchel over her shoulder she smiled, "So can we get out of this airport I'm really wiped."

"Of course, of course. Come on I have my car parked outside." Taking the other bag of Alicia's she ushered the girl through the crowd and towards the door. " So how did you like your first muggle air flight? Exciting huh? Not like flying on a broom."

"Exciting?" Alicia dodged a crying little girl running past her. " That was not flying Katie. It was more like death torpedoing in a thirty foot metal tube. I must have dug my nails into the poor lady sitting next to me like twenty times."

"Oh I adore airplanes. It's flying without all that broomstick hassle. You just sit back and relax and let the good times roll."

"Yeah I let my lunch roll right onto the attendant on board. She wasn't so cheerful after that." Alicia grimaced.

The walk back to Katie's car had been everything Alicia expected it to be. Katie bombarded her with questions about Australia and Alicia tried to answer quickly before Katie burst out with another question. She explained the whole Warren situation and what it was like to live with Beverly for eight years, but most of all she tried to keep away from the topic of employment. Back when they were in Hogwarts writing had been her greatest passion besides Quidditch. To admit that she had been called a talent less writer burnt her heart probably more then anything. It was something she wasn't quite ready to admit.

"So Angie's been good about sending me a letter once a year or so. She always bugged me to come home but, well, I wasn't exactly ready for that yet." Alicia watched the trees whiz by as she stared out the window of the car. "Last one said you were balancing out your veterinary work while keeping your relationship with Lee a hush hush." Alicia smirked. "Hows that going?"

"Angelina never could keep her mouth shut." Katie chuckled and made a turn onto Jarvis Drive. "The veterinary work is going fine. Last week I had to treat a family dog that had been accidentally charmed to bark bubbles. Apparently the four year old daughter had found mummys wand sitting on the sofa. It reminded me of something Fred and George…would…do…"

Alicia felt her stomach drop. Well it was evident, wasn't it? She couldn't expect the conversations not to lead to him. Turning from the window Alicia caught a look of panic on Katie's face. The poor girl looked like she swallowed dung or something.

"It's ok Katie."

"Ali, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring him up." She turned the car again and began to roll down the window. "I tend to be stupid with things like that, ya know. The whole slip of the tongue thing never really matured. Katie Bell, apartment fourteen." She yelled at the little intercom outside the window. A large gate opened and she began driving again. " Mostly I just mess things up like that, but I really am sorry Alicia."

"It really is all right, Katie. Gods what do you think I'm going to do, hex you?"

"You used to."

"Oh right."

"Your not going to though, right?"

"Well I would be making up for eight years of lost hexing…"

"You're a bad liar."

"You're still a klutz."

"What!"

"Katie, the garbage pail!"

Her words came too late as Katie careened into the garbage pail in the middle of the lot.

"Oh bloody hell!"

It was certainly good to be home.

"Katie this apartment is great! It's huge! How do you manage to afford it? Does Lee live with you?" She giggled again as she propped up her feet on the coffee table.

After they had pried the garbage pail that had lodged itself into the front of Katie's car, the girls had gathered Alicia's things and headed up to Katies apartment. The place was nothing like the one she shared with Bev back in Australia. It was enormous, and Katie kept it looking like a bloody museum. A place for everything and everything in its sodding place.

Alicia had quickly thrown her bags into the spare room and peeled her travel clothes from her aching body. Who knew traveling could be so tiring? She opted for some cotton shorts and a comfortable white tank top and then joined Katie in the sitting room where a hot cup of ginger tea was waiting for her.

"No you prat. Lee does not live here. In fact our relationship, if you wish to call it that, is pretty much me begging him to join me at the movies. I swear the boy is romantically challenged." Katie sighed and took a sip of her own tea. " If he had it his way he'd spend his entire day at the blasted joke shop with those two twits." She sighed and rolled her eyes. " There I go again. I always know how to kill the mood and bring up the bad."

Alicia shook her head and giggled. "You need to stop feeling so damn guilty about it. It's really no big deal." Which was a lie because every time Katie made some sort of reference about him she felt like the entire world kept pushing down on her shoulders.

"Well then…."

Here it came.

"Did you owl him about the wedding?" She placed her tea cup down on the table. " I mean last I heard he had received almost all the responses back…except yours."

Slowly Alicia shook her head. " I decided I'd just surprise Angelina at the bridal shower tomorrow. I figured I wouldn't have to send any sort of response since I came right over once I got the invitation."

There was an awkward moment of silence between the two. Katie ran her fingers through her hair and Alicia sipped at her tea.

"He'll be glad to see you, ya know." There was a strain in Katie's voice.

"You didn't tell anyone I was coming here, right? It's still a secret?" While on the plane she had constantly tormented herself with thoughts of George. She wondered what he was doing, and if he still looked the same. She wondered what his favorite thing to do was, and if he still enjoyed joking around like he used to. Then she wondered if he had thought of her at all during the last eight years. Mostly because she had thought of him every night before falling asleep.

"No, I didn't spill a word." She paused. " Lee doesn't even know. Honestly I've been really good." Her eyes looked everywhere but Alicia.

"How can you be so certain that she's coming?" George Weasley tapped his finger on the bar signaling the man for another drink.

"Well when I asked Katie what she was doing today she wasn't paying attention and slipped that she was going to the airport." Lee Jordan down the rest of his own drink.

"Lee, mate, that could mean a million things. There are other people out there in the world."

"True, but when Katie slips something that's supposed to be secretive she immediately tries to cover it up. Unfortunately her cover-ups are supremely lame."

"And her great excuse was…

Lee chortled " She said she was going to pick up her friend Felicia."

"Actually Ali, I might have accidentally slipped that I was going to the airport today."

"What! Katie!"

George and Lee both wiped their eyes but they still couldn't control their laughter.

"And what did you say?"

Lee snorted back another chuckle and grasped the fresh glass of fire whiskey. "Are you kidding, I tormented her for nearly a hour with questions. I thought her head was going to explode."

"Katie, I told you not to say anything!"

" I know, I know. I'm really didn't say anything incriminating. I just sort of slipped to Lee that I was going to the airport."

"Geez Katie, what did he say?"

"Not much. He asked some questions, but I threw him off I think."

"I'm not saying I care or anything, but you think she's going to the bridal shower tomorrow?" George's eyes dropped down to the glass.

"Of course! Girls flock to these things in herds. They love these ridiculous excuses for parties. Though Alicia never was really the whole girly girl type. He brought the glass up to his lips but paused before he sipped. "But it's not like you care or anything." He rolled his eyes.

"Lee isn't stupid Katie! You better have come up with something good."

"Course I did." Katie's smile faltered slightly. " I told him I was picking up my friend Felicia."

Alicia slapped her hand to her forehead.

"You reckon she's still the same old Alicia?" George's eyes were still fixed on the glass.

"It's been eight years, man! What do you think?"

George sighed and a tiny smile appeared on his face. "She's still the same."

"Alicia…let…go…you're…choking…me." Katie tried to push off Alicia and the pillow she was holding down on her face.

"I can't believe you said Felicia! Felicia! Gods Katie why didn't you just go all out and say Felicia Spindle or something a little less obvious!"

"Alicia….you're killing me."

Alicia sat back. "If Lee blows this surprise for Angelina…" she shook her head.

"I'm sorry Ali. I didn't do it purposely. Maybe Lee didn't put it together." Alicia shot her a look. "Well I'm sure he wont say anything to anyone." Alicia glared at her again. " Ok, ok I give you permission to hex me."

Tucking her legs beneath her and curling into a ball, Alicia let out a long deep breath.

"It's no big deal, Katie." I just- I just didn't want George to know I was home."

"Alicia, what on earth could you be holding onto for eight years?" She waited for an answer but when the silence thickened she started in again. " Ali, it isn't healthy to hold onto a grudge for this long. I mean your twenty five and your acting like a twelve year old."

"Am not!" Alicia whined sarcastically.

"Hilarious." Katie frowned slightly and rose from the couch. " Look, I'm not saying that your wrong for being ticked at him, but don't you think its time to confront the situation?"

Pushing herself up onto her knees she bent over the back of the sofa and watched Katie pace back and forth. "You don't understand. I was ready seven years ago. I was ready to forgive him, but ya know what happened." Watching Katie pace began to make her feel nauseous so she turned away. " Not one bloody owl, not one visit, nothing! If he wanted to make up for the hurt he caused he had a chance but blew it!"

"Why didn't you initiate it? You could have owled him, you could have been the bigger person."

"I wasn't the one who broke his heart. He broke mine, remember?"

Silence again. Merlin she hated silence.

"Alicia?"

"How is he Katie?" The words had slipped so quietly from her lips that she wasn't even sure if she said it out loud.

"He's good. Same as he's always been."

"Uh huh."

"Didn't Angelina ever write anything about how he was doing?"

"No, I told her not to." She shifted her weight. " I just wanted to put him in my past."

"That's kind of heard to do when you grew up with the prat."

"What's he been up to Katie? I mean I'm terrified to even see him at this wedding. I need to know how things have been because I don't even know if I'll find the strength to talk."

Katie thought for a moment as she moved around the sofa to sit back down beside Alicia. " He still works with Fred at the shop. I mean since Hogwarts he's calmed down a bit. Not too much but its noticeable. There really isn't much to say about him. It has still been the five of us hanging around. Though Lee and George do like to hit the bars up a little more than often. Still he's George…drives most of us crazy."

"Has he - has he been seeing anyone? Not that it matters, really."

"So you've talked to Angelina about how Alicia's been doing right?" George shot a glance towards the door as though Alicia may walk in any second and hear their conversation.

"Yeah, she's spilled a bit of Ali info around. Nothing too serious. "

" So.." He rubbed his hand behind his neck. Thank Merlin he was semi drunk or else he'd never be asking this. " has she been seeing anyone in Australia?"

Katie bit her lower lip. What the hell was she supposed to do? Lie? No, Alicia would catch on and then try and suffocate her again. Best go with the truth then.

"Yeah he's been seeing girls here and there. I mean nothing was ever too serious." She twitched her nose. " Come to think of it I don't know if he was ever really into any of the girls he was seeing. It was like he never had his heart in it. He got to a lot of girls though, emotionally that is. " She shrugged. "He's just a heart breaker I suppose."

Alicia sighed. " I guess some things never change."

"Eh, I don't know much about the stuff, mate. I heard Angelina say she was dating some prat. Apparently she knew he was having an affair too but she was still staying with him. Too afraid to break it off I guess. " He shrugged. " Poor Ali's trying to play tough with an obvious broken heart.

George gave a nod. " Some things never change."