W00t! Yay! 23 reviews! I am a happy sponge!

Don't own anything: Disclaimer.

Woo... I started typing this Friday... so I don't know when this will be up... maybe Sunday... I HOPE YOU DON'T FORGET ME BY THEN!
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Alicia woke up to the sound of her doorbell being rung repeatedly. She glanced at her alarm clock, then did a double take. CRAP! She was late.

She jumped out of her bed without making it like she usually did, and ran to the door.

George was standing there. "Uh... hi."

Alicia blinked. "Hey! Sorry..." she said, gesturing to her sticking up hair and hole-filled pajamas. "I woke up late."

"'S'okay. You weren't at work and everybody freaked out and had no idea what to do, so I came to see if you got kidnapped, run over by a car, or were still here."

Alicia laughed. "Thanks. I'll be right back, I'm going to go get ready." She started to walk back to her room, then turned. "You can have any food you want... and while you're at it, could you toast me a bagel? They're in the fridge."

Alicia was in the middle of buttoning her new black robe when she heard a yell from her kitchen. She ran out of her room to find George waving his finger around.

"What did you DO?" she shrieked.

"Er... I tried to get your bagel out of the toast thing, but I burned my finger because it was stuck. Sorry..."

Alicia groaned inwardly. She'd forgotten- George had no idea how to use a toaster.

She peered in the toaster and sighed. "It's okay, George, but next time, you need to split the bagel in half before you put it in one of the slots."

"Oh.""I'll guess I'll just grab a banana on my way out, I don't have time to dig the bagel out. You can go ahead to my office, if you want."

"No, it's okay. I'll wait."

"If you want..." Alicia said, shrugging and turning back to her room.

She stared in the mirror. She loved black robes, but it looked to plain...

Wow... she thought. Days ago, I wouldn't have even been looking in this mirror! What changed?

She half-smiled before putting in earrings that were charmed to match whatever she was wearing. You couldn't go wrong with those.

Today, they turned magenta, she supposed as an accent to the black. Alicia grabbed a magenta scarf from her closet and tied it around her waist, then grabbed her bag and walked into the kitchen.

George was standing in front of her refrigerator, eating leftover takeout Chinese right from the box.

He turned, and swallowed. "Oh, hi. Here's your banana," he said, pointing to the counter.

"Thanks, I guess."

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Kelly was still sick.

Alicia, her note read, I'm soooo sorry! I'm really sick. Yesterday it was a cold, and now I'm barfing my brains out! I think it's the flu. I'm probably going to be gone all week. I'm sorry! I miss everybody already!

Alicia wrote back, assuring Kelly it was okay, and that she could stay home as long as she needed to.

George stuck around again, although Alicia could not at all understand why.

He hated it yesterday! Why is he back?

She was in a rush, though, because the new issue was due next week.

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The week went by quickly, and so did all of Alicia's work. This week was much more pleasant than the last few.

George came every day to help her out, running as many errands as Alicia needed, and giving her the best opinion he could. He collected articles, kept Alicia organized, and was available to anyone who wanted help with their article. He got along with everyone, too, except for Destiny, of course.

And it barely seemed like Destiny was there. She'd turned in her article at the very last minute, like always, but Alicia hadn't heard her complain since Monday. Destiny still had the whacked out idea that Alicia and George were dating, and refused to come into Alicia's office. She'd dropped off her article with out a word, not even a nasty comment, and that was all Alicia had seen of her all week.

Not that it was a bad thing.

Alicia loved having George around... it was so fun. He made everything more exciting, and gave her much less work. She got nervous when he wasn't in the office exactly on time, and felt a tiny bit jealous when he wasn't helping her.

That day, Thursday, she was staring enviously at Liana as George leaned over her, staring at the cover.

"I dunno, Li... it's missing something."

"I know! I kept thinking that, but I told myself it wouldn't matter. What should I add? It really doesn't matter, does it? I wonder what Alicia will think. She gets really mad if I don't turn my cover in on time. Last time it was late, she talked at me twice about it. Usually we turn our articles in on time, but I just can't work under pressure and mine are usually late! Isn't that crazy? You should have seen the howler she sent to Destiny. Swearing and everything! I haven't seen Destiny lately, have you? She hasn't been complaining or anything. I think she actually turned her article in on time, and..." Alicia tuned out as Li babbled on and on.

Why was she jealous, of all things? She wasn't! Just forget it, Alicia, she told herself.

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She'd seen a lot more of her friends too, lately. After work, she'd go to Diagon Alley with George and visit their store. Angelina, who could have run down the street to say hi many years before but didn't, finally did, and stopped to talk for awhile. Katie could occasionally leave Hogwarts, and she stopped by sometimes.

Usually half of the team met when Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes closed. They would order food from the Leaky Cauldron and eat it in the back room, testing out Fred and George's new products.

Ginny was often there as well, so she joined in their party. Even though she was a few years younger than her, Alicia spent a lot of time with her now. They'd people watch and make fun of customers before Katie and Angelina came, and they started getting together on weekends to see movies and such.

Alicia couldn't believe just seeing her friends had changed her this much in only two weeks.

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THAT CHAPTER SUCKED! Feel free to pelt me with anything within reach.

You know, thanks to Ragdoll, I just had a BRAIN BLAST! I think this might turn into an Alicia/Fred thing. Depends if I feel creative enough.