A/N: I am so sorry for this long wait. It's been a rough time and busy! I am hoping to update a bit more regularity until the story is done. Hope you are all still following and reading!

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Thank you to everyone! For the favorites and follows. Thank you for the reviews. I love them all so much! Thank you to those who perhaps read and didn't review or follow/favorite. I only write for fun and hope that all of you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing this story. Here's the next chapter. I hope it does not disappoint.

Disclaimer: I own Anna, and the plot. That is all.

Chapter 9 Always

George had taken a sip of orange juice. So when Anna said, "He's missing," George spit his juice out. With a wave of his wand, he cleaned up the mess.

"What did you say?" It was a hypothetical question. George had heard her.

"I just find it strange. He was really good with Memory Charms, if I remember correctly, wasn't he?"

"I think so. I wasn't exactly involved in a lot of the things those three got into."

"I know." Anna laughed. "It's okay. I think I'm going to have to talk with Harry. Can you take me?"

"Of course. What about work though?"

"This is more important. I'll just call in. They'll understand."

While Anna was calling in to work, George was getting ready to leave. Anna came into the bedroom to change her outfit. She had still been wearing her scrubs. Now, she wore a pair of jeans and a pale pink shirt that cinched at her hips and wrists but was loose fitting everywhere else. Anna grabbed a few things, put them into a bag, and then waited in the library. George finished up and met Anna. He held out his arm and they disapparated to the ministry. George helped Anna check in and then left to get to his workshop. Anna went to the lift and pushed for Harry's floor. It took her sideways and then down. The lift stopped on a floor and opened. Only one person was entering the lift.

Draco did a double take at Anna. "A-Anna. How are you?"

"I'm well. You?"

"I'm well also. I didn't recognize you."

Anna laughed. "Yea, I imagine you didn't. Unfortunately, this is my normal dress."

"Yes, muggle attire. I have to admit they offer a bit more flexibility than robes."

"I love the robes." Anna said looking down.

Draco lifted her head with his fingers. "Never look down. You're too pretty to feel self-conscious. I'm glad you love the robes. Speaking of love, how is the new kitchen?"

"I love it. I haven't gotten to use it much, but it is out of this world."

Draco laughed. "Good to hear. Scorp has been asking to return to the store to see you. Perhaps you'll just visit him?"

"Won't your wife mind?"

"She's away on business. I don't expect her back...for some time." Anna could tell he meant something else. She didn't bother asking when he'd expect her back.

"Oh, well perhaps this weekend I could come for a visit?"

"Excellent. I will pick you up Saturday afternoon at like 1 from Weasley's shop. Is that alright with you? You can stay for supper."

"Yes, alright."

The lift stopped and Draco looked out. "I believe this is you. I will see you Saturday, Anna. Good day to you."

Anna was smiling when she stepped out. She was happy to see that Draco had changed. He was one of her favorite characters, uh, people. She hoped they'd be good friends. He looked like he could use someone to have adult conversations with who wasn't just business clients.

As Anna made her way to Harry's office, her smile faded. She still had to have a talk with Harry about Professor Lockhart's disappearance. His office door was open and he was sorting through some papers. His office was a mess, Anna noticed. She knocked on the door even though it was open. Harry jumped a little and looked up.

"Anna! How wonderful to see you. Come on in. Please excuse the mess. Busy as of late."

Anna laughed. "It's as messy as your hair." Harry blushed.

"Ah, yes." He gave a nervous laugh. "I keep forgetting you've read, uh, what you've read." Harry cleared his throat. "What can I do for you?"

"I was reading the paper this morning. I always do, it's so fascinating! Oh, um, anyways. I came across the article on Professor Lockhart missing and-"

"Yes, we're desperately looking for him." Harry interrupted. "I know what you're thinking. That he's possibly in on this whole book thing."

"Yes. I mean, wasn't he particularly good with memory charms?"

"That he was. However, the mediwizards are certain that he has never recovered from his own backfired memory charm he tried on Ron and I."

"Harry, is there a way to tell if you've had a memory charm performed on you?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Is it possible that he performed a charm on everyone who worked with him? You know, then they wouldn't remember he'd been making progress. I mean people don't just recover and go home. Even if they had cured him, they'd have kept him and taken note of his progress to make sure he was fully recovered."

"That is possible. I will get some people to get St. Mungo's and get things checked out again. Tell me everything you're thinking." Harry waved his hand and the door shut.

Anna and Harry discussed everything she was thinking. She was thinking this was more than Professor Lockhart, but the key to finding the person responsible was to find him first. Anna was certain that this was bigger than what they could see before them. Harry agreed. They talked about things for so long that Anna's stomach growled. She blushed embarrassed.

"Well look at the time! It's after lunch. Let's get something to eat, shall we?"

"I didn't bring anything, George took all my money and-"

"Anna, don't be silly. I'm treating."

"Oh, I couldn't do that! I-"

"Don't argue. Where would you like to go?"

"I wouldn't even know where to start."

"We'll go to Morgana's Café in Diagon Alley."

"Okay." Anna looked down. She wasn't used to people buying her things. Harry walked over and lifted her chin the way Draco had done.

"Please don't look down. You are family now. This is how we take care of family."

"I just am not used to this. I always make my own way."

"Well, now you don't need to." Harry held out his arm, Anna accepted it, and they disapparated away.

They arrived outside a quiet little café. Morgana's had a warm glow coming from inside. When Anna followed Harry inside, she took in the scene. The lanterns hanging on the wall were obviously old fashioned and the tables had a mid-evil look to them. Harry led her to the back of the café. He sat down at a table where his back was against the wall. Anna sat across from him. Soon the waitress came and Harry ordered two butterbeers. Harry then explained that he always sat with his back to the wall so no one could sneak up on him. Anna laughed and called him Mad-Eye Moody. Harry laughed but said that in all seriousness that was probably what happened to every Auror. Anna agreed that he was a good man.

Anna was constantly looking around at her surroundings. She would occasionally catch Harry staring at her. She smacked his arm and told him to quit staring. Harry mocked pain where she'd hit him, then laughed and explained that he was fascinated by her fascination with everything. He told her about his first trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Even though she'd read the book a thousand times, it was nothing compared to hearing it first-hand. Their drinks had arrived during his story. The waitress had taken their orders and Harry continued. Anna was staring star struck and in awe of him.

Harry finished the tale right as their food showed up. Anna took one look at her food and her mouth started to water. It was an Alfredo pasta. They spoke only a little while they ate. Anna found she enjoyed Harry's company very much. Once they'd eaten, Harry asked Anna a question.

"Would you love George if you hadn't known about us beforehand?"

Anna looked into Harry's brilliant green eyes and answered with all honesty, "Yes." Harry nodded. "I'm surprised you'd even have to ask."

"When I was dating Ginny, I knew she used to idolize me, but I knew throughout the years that she had stopped idolizing me and had become a real friend. Yet, part of me always wondered if she still only liked me for my fame. I figured you loved George for George, but I wanted to ask because sometimes people are good at fooling."

"I understand. I love him more and more every day. I don't think I would have believed him as fast if I hadn't known, but I know I would still love him just as much. I love the way he makes me laugh, how he cares about everyone so passionately, and his skin. He has nice skin." Harry looked at Anna who had laughed. "I'm sorry, Harry, I couldn't resist. Actually, I find his eyes the most appealing."

"I don't think I'll ever get used to you having practically been inside my head for how many years."

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to this being real. I keep thinking I'll wake up in my studio apartment and this will all have been a dream."

"Yes, I used to think like that. Sometimes I'm still scared that will happen. That I'm really in a coma and will wake up one day back at the Dursley's."

"I'm sorry." Anna reached for Harry's hand. She squeezed. "At least we know that we are real and so is this wonderful world. I'm so happy to be a part of it."

Harry smiled. Anna let go of his hand. "We should be going." Harry left more than enough money for the check on the table, Anna grabbed his arm again, and they disapparated. Harry had taken her to George's apartment. He hugged her good bye and disapparated back to work. Anna headed to Fred's room and changed into a beautiful set of green robes. She folded then laid her clothes on the bed before heading down to the shop to help Daniel. She came into the shop and instantly started helping customers.

Before she knew it, it was closing time. Daniel thanked her for the help. They went upstairs and Daniel procured two butterbeers. He asked her about her day and they talked for another hour until George came upstairs to get her. George's smiling face signaled that the product he was working on was getting closer to being complete. Anna said goodbye to Daniel and disapparated with George back to her place.

George had such a great day in the work shop that he wanted to celebrate. He summoned two glasses and a bottle of wine. Anna took the glass he gave her and sipped it quietly. She smiled when he leaned in and kissed her cheek. He couldn't help but stare at her. Her curls framed her face, her green robes brought out her hair, and her blue eyes sparkled with happiness. He could only think how lucky he was he'd disapparated to her apartment that night. The sound of Anna's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Earth to George. Hello are you in there?" She was waving her hand in front of his face.

"Sorry, I was just thinking how lucky I am to have a beautiful woman like you with me."

Anna blushed and looked down. He brought her chin up and kissed her on the mouth. He moved his hand from her chin and wrapped both arms around her waist. Her arms wrapped around his head and they both gripped each other tighter as they kissed. George's head was spinning when Anna finally pulled away breathless. They were still holding on to one another.

Anna spoke first, "must be the wine." She laughed. He did love her laugh. "So what are we celebrating?"

"I'm making terrific progress with a new invention."

Anna picked up her wine glass from the table, put it in the air, and said, "Cheers." George grabbed his glass and followed suit, clinking her glass with his.

"Cheers." He took a drink as she sipped hers. "Anna?"

"Yes, George."

"If I found a house to live in rather than my apartment, would you consider moving in with me? Not right away, I realize we've only just met, but I'd like to start looking and would love to have you in mind when picking it out."

"Of course, George. This relationship is supposed to be moving forward. Just make sure you pick a good house." She smiled up at him. "I do work tomorrow morning, so let us get to bed."

George took Anna's hand and they both went to her bedroom, snuggled up close, and fell asleep fast.

The next morning, George awoke to Anna missing. At first, he panicked then remembered she had work. He had no idea what the time change was and found it to be the end of the day when he apparated back home. The sooner the muggle wing of St. Mungo's opened and she could move here, the better. He'd missed a whole day. He told Daniel he was sorry. Daniel waved him off and told him to take a few days off.

George chose to spend those days off looking at houses. He'd been to three so far. He didn't want to jinx it, but he was fairly certain he'd found the right one. It was probably an hour away from the Leaky Cauldron if you traveled the muggle way. Harry and Ginny were farther away, but again, only if you traveled by muggle transport.

{A/N: The house I am about to describe is a real property that is actually currently for sale. That's how I found the house. I actually looked at several houses before I found "the one". Disclaimer: I don't have any reason to promote the sale of this property, nor do I know anyone associated with this house. This is why I'm not giving an address. I am just giving a description, which I may change or describe differently than it actually looks. I just found the floor plan, which they showed a design of, pretty freaking sweet. And it looks like how I imagine a house they'd buy looking. I'm using the street name, because let's face it, who doesn't want some real facts that I took time to research?}

The house was on Chesterfield Street. There was a lower ground floor, an upper ground floor, four more floors, and then the roof terrace. The front of the house was tan brick with a large front, arched door way. The door was black with a large knocker, but was standard in size. The windows around the door were decorative. There was a fence which kept people from falling down onto the lower ground floor terrace. When you went in through the door, there is a long hallway. The study is to the right, and a huge reception room sits at the back of the house with a terrace coming off of it. The stairs are in between the reception room and study. The ones that lead down, become the kitchen and dining room. The dining room at the back of the house on the lower ground level leads out to a patio and the kitchen leads out front to a patio and vaults{A/N: please don't ask me what these are for! I have no idea! If any of you know please enlighten me!}.

If you take the stairs up from the upper ground floor, they head into a bedroom. All the floors are like this except the fourth floor, which has two bedrooms. The bedroom is to the right of the stairs when coming up and the bathroom to the left. The bedroom and bathroom lead into a closet. The fourth floor however, where the giant closet is on other floors, this is a second bedroom and the small hallway between the other bedrooms and their closet is now two smaller bedrooms. The roof terrace has a breath taking view, Anna is sure to love.

George had already place an offer and was awaiting to hear back from the realtor if it was accepted. It had been on the market a while and since he was paying in cash, he offered them less than the asking price. He wasn't about to tell Anna until he'd heard back from the realtor. So when he apparated into her apartment and found her asleep on her bed still in uniform, he just got her ready for bed and crawled in next to her.

George awoke to the smell of breakfast and an owl tapping on the window. He went to the window and opened it up. He fed the owl a treat and let it drink from Severus' dish while he read the letter. It was from the realtor. The buyers had accepted his offer. He thought that was a pretty quick decision, but the realtor had told him the buyers themselves said they couldn't turn down cash. The house would be his by the beginning of the month. He sent back a quick reply of thank you and that he'd be back to London by Monday, to discuss anything left over.

When George found Anna, she was cooking breakfast. Well, the kitchen was cooking and she was reading the newspaper. "I see you're enjoying the added features of this kitchen." George joked. Anna jumped in surprise and then blushed.

She cleared her throat. "Ahem- yes. It, uh, comes in handy. Sorry, it started doing things and I didn't know how to turn it off, and so I just let the kitchen cook it." She blushed deeper.

"I'll get Draco to show you how to use it. I probably should have done that in the first place." He grabbed the cup of coffee the kitchen had ready for him, and kissed Anna on the cheek. George sat down next to her. "I have good news."

"Really?"

"I found a house, well bought one actually."

"Oh wow, that's brilliant. I can't wait to see it." George saw the apprehension on her face.

"Don't worry, you don't have to live there with me until it is right for you."

The worry left her face and she relaxed. "Promise?"

"With all my heart." He kissed her forehead this time. "What is all the worry for, if I may ask?"

"I've been thinking. But-but it's not bad. I want to wait until we're married. I know it seems silly, and I'm not asking for a quick proposal, but I truly want to be married before we officially live together. I mean I still have my place and you have yours. I'd like to keep it that way."

"Completely understandable." George didn't think there was anything wrong with that. He was hoping to ask her in another 5 months anyways. In his head he saw a proposal 6 months after beginning their relationship, and then 6-12 months later getting married. He was hoping the hospital job, would allow her to get integrated into London, before they married. He wanted her to establish her own friends and create contacts that were not just his family. He'd have to do some checking to see where she'd live until they married, if they opened the hospital wing before that happened.

"Oh George!" Anna got up and threw her arms around him. He hugged her back.

"I'll do anything for you, Anna. Always."

(A/N: Hope you enjoy this update. Thank you for taking the time to read it. Again I am sorry for the extremely long update. I hope I haven't lost any of you!)