"But what is the point of it?"

Alicia squinted at the old man in front of her. Then she looked down at the fake wand in her hand. "Uh…I suppose it doesn't really have a point, sir."

"Then why should I give you a Galleon for it, hmm?"

Alicia rolled her eyes and tossed the wand back into the box with the others. "Then don't buy it. See if I care."

She turned away from the old man and his scowling wife and almost walked right into George. She winced and felt her face and chest burn with embarrassment.

"Sorry, boss," she mumbled.

"I thought you were exaggerating at first, but you really are complete shite at this," he said jovially. He put his arm around her waist and drew her towards the back of the store. He waved at Derek and Patrick and told them to take care of things on their own for an hour.

"I really am sorry," Alicia repeated as they stepped into the storeroom and she began unbuttoning her robes. "It's just that old man had been asking me dumb questions for ten minutes already. He wanted to know the point of every product. He refused to buy anything if it didn't have a distinct purpose. I should have asked him the point of his stupid moustache."

George pulled her robes off her shoulders and hung them on one of the hooks. He shrugged and said, "Maybe his wife likes the way his whiskers tickle the inside of her thighs."

"Gross! And they're in their sixties so I highly doubt they do that anymore."

"I'll still be going down on you when we're sixty," George said huskily, ducking his head to kiss the spot on her neck just below her ear. "Seventy even."

A pleasant shudder ran the length of Alicia's spine. That was the first time he'd said something like that. Something that acknowledged their future together. It made her stomach flutter a little to hear that he really thought they'd be together for another thirty or forty years.

"We going back to your place?"

"I ran into Ginny and Harry outside and I said we'd meet them for lunch in the 'Sticks. That okay, love?"

Alicia let out a slightly shaky breath and stepped back. She'd been looking forward to some private time with him. "It's fine. Let's go then."

George took her hand and they walked out of the storeroom together. She wasn't surprised to see the cross old man leaving the store ahead of them empty handed. Just when she thought she was getting the hang of being a salesperson, she let her temper and indifference get the better of her again.

"I think it might be for the best if you don't keep me on after Fred gets back next week," Alicia said tentatively.

"Nope," he said firmly. "You're already a valued employee of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Miss Spinnet. For the record though, our products are meant to be fun. That's the only point of them. A fake wand isn't meant to do anything other than put a smile on someone's face. It doesn't have to do anything other than that to be worthwhile. Can you really put a price on happiness?" he asked, exaggerating his charming salesman voice.

"Bollocks. Why didn't I think of saying something like that?" Alicia sighed and rested her head against George's shoulder as they emerged into the bright summer sunshine and joined the crowd of tourists in Hogsmeade. "How come you can sell ice to Eskimos, but I can't even sell a measly fake wand to someone?"

"Patience, my dear. I know you'll get the hang of it soon enough."

Alicia doubted that very much but she held her tongue. George always saw the best in her no matter what. It was a lot to live up to; it was simultaneously uplifting and daunting.

"How are your parents?" she asked, changing the subject swiftly.

"They're good. A bit sunburnt but otherwise fine."

Alicia had agreed to work at the last minute so George could have the morning off to spruce up the Burrow a little and be there when his parents returned from their holiday.

"Do they know about us yet?"

"Mum could tell something was up apparently. Said I looked different – happier – and she worked out I was seeing somebody. I ended up telling her about you. I hope that's all right."

"Of course. My parents know we're together so it's only fair that yours know as well. Besides, I'm sure someone would have let it slip eventually and it was probably better coming from you. Did she ask many questions about me?"

"Only about a hundred, so really not many considering it's my mum we're talking about."

Alicia frowned as they stepped into the bustling pub. "Did you tell her everything though? Warrington and all?"

"I had to. It was only a matter of time before someone mentioned the Prophet article to her. It was better she hear the truth from me."

"Which is?" Alicia prompted.

"That Warrington's a proper bell-end, but he's not a Death Eater."

She gave his hand a grateful squeeze upon hearing that. It felt like they really were making progress. If only Christopher would start making some concessions of his own, but he was still keeping his distance from her.

"There they are," George said, pointing towards a table in the corner where Ginny and Harry were sticking out like sore thumbs thanks to their respective infamous hair.

They made their way over and joined the other couple. Alicia realised this would kind of be their first double date. She'd have thought for sure that would have happened with Fred and Angelina, but they were still sipping cocktails on the Amalfi Coast.

"Look at you two love-birds," Ginny cooed as they sat down at the table.

"Shut it. You're as bad as mum," George sighed.

"What brings you two all the way up here in the middle of the week?" Alicia asked, smiling pleasantly at the young couple in front of her.

"We were meeting with McGonagall to discuss holding the charity match at the school," Harry answered. "She gave us permission to use the stadium on the weekend before the students return."

"Shit," Alicia muttered to herself. She looked up quickly and amended, "Not shit that we're playing at the school. This means I've only got a month to get back to match fitness."

"You'll be fine," George said firmly. Beneath the table he slid his hand over her leg, squeezing her thigh comfortingly.

It had taken Alicia a while to get used to how tactile George was. He was always touching her somewhere. That wasn't something she'd been used to with anyone else, especially Chris. It was quickly becoming the norm for her now and she already found herself feeling bereft whenever George wasn't touching her.

"Butterbeers all around?" Harry asked, getting to his feet. Everyone murmured their assent and he disappeared off towards the bar.

"I received something this morning that I think you'll be interested in," Ginny said. She stood up briefly and pulled a folded piece of parchment from her back pocket. "Flint sent me the final team list for the Slytherins."

Alicia snatched the piece of parchment rather more forcefully than she meant to. George leaned closer so he could read along with her. As her eyes scanned down the list, her frown deepened. Bletchley, Flint, Montague, Pucey, Derrick, Bole, Malfoy.

"Wait. Warrington's not playing?" George asked, voicing the question currently bouncing around Alicia's own mind.

"Apparently not. But why?"

Alicia looked up into Ginny's curious brown eyes and shrugged one of her shoulders. "I haven't spoken to him in weeks. I thought for sure he'd want to play though."

Chris loved Quidditch and he was really good at it. Prior to being disinherited, he'd played with a bunch of acquaintances every week in Burgundy. Alicia had obviously never been invited to join in. Being half-blood and possessing a uterus didn't work in her favour there, never mind the fact that she would have flown rings around all of them.

All things considered, Alicia couldn't see any scenario in which Chris would turn down the opportunity to play in a proper match one more time.

George hummed thoughtfully and straightened back up. "I'm obviously no fan of the bloke, but Warrington's a much better player than Pucey. What was Flint thinking?"

"I doubt he was thinking when he picked the team," Harry said, returning with a jug of Butterbeer and a stack of glasses. "Flint's a walking advertisement for why inbreeding is a bad idea. Can't really second guess someone who barely has two brain cells to rub together."

"So you have learnt something from all your years spent with Ronald," George said, grinning devilishly as he accepted a glass from Harry.

Alicia defended the absent Weasley by elbowing George in the side. She folded the parchment back up and handed it to Ginny. "Well, that's still a strong team they're bringing to the table, regardless of one Chaser being overlooked."

Harry nodded and passed her a drink. "But we'll be pretty evenly matched. We have Oliver and Angelina and they have Bletchley and Montague."

Alicia recalled that Bletchley currently played for the Tornadoes and Montague had been with the Falcons since graduating. Each team had a professional Keeper and Chaser in their line-up. At this stage Alicia could only hope and pray that she wasn't going to prove to be the weakest link for the Gryffindors.

A waitress came over and took their lunch orders and Alicia let her worries melt away as she leaned against George and listened to Harry recount some of the recent happenings at the Ministry. Apparently there had been a push to make May 2nd a public holiday to recognise the sacrifices made during the Battle.

"It's down to a vote with the Wizengamot," Harry explained. "From what I hear, they're going to approve the motion."

Alicia stared down into her lap and cleared her throat awkwardly. She didn't want to contribute to any conversation regarding the Battle. Especially not in front of Harry.

"Hermione's been campaigning the hardest of course," Ginny added. "If this passes it'll be mostly thanks to her working day and night to have the day officially recognised."

"That doesn't surprise me one bit," George said. "But I think it ultimately makes sense to have everyone stop and acknowledge what happened. I mean, there's always the remembrance ceremony every year, but it'd be nice if families could spend the day together as well."

"Wait," Ginny said suddenly, reaching across and slapping her hand on the table right in front of Alicia. "You never received your Order of Merlin!"

Alicia blinked up at the younger witch. A surge of surprise and panic made her extremities tingle. "What are you talking about?" she said softly.

"Your Order of Merlin!" Ginny repeated, her eyes widening. "Everyone who was at the Battle got one but you were out of the country."

"You should have received a letter from the Ministry about it years ago. I'm sure your name was on the list," Harry said, frowning at her slightly.

Alicia didn't immediately reply. Mainly because she couldn't think of what to say to end the conversation. She could actually remember receiving the letter clearly. The owl had arrived when she'd been sitting with Chris on the roof of her block of flats in Paris. It had completely thrown her for a loop; she hadn't thought about the war in months and suddenly she was being invited back to London to receive a medal she didn't even deserve.

She'd had a mini meltdown upon reading the letter and Chris had been startled and confused and unsure of what to even do. In her moment of vulnerability she'd told him about what had happened to her during the Battle. It was all very stupid and embarrassing now, considering she'd hardly known him at that point and all they'd been doing was shagging occasionally. But that was just testament to how badly the whole thing had upset her.

It still did evidently. Her chest felt tight and her stomach was hollow. She reached for George's hand, the one still on her leg, and she squeezed it, knowing that she was likely crushing his fingers, but needing to ground herself.

"There was a new sub-class created just for participants of the Battle, but you'd be entitled to an O.M second class. Right?" Ginny asked, turning to Harry for confirmation.

"No, I don't-"

"Right," Harry agreed, cutting Alicia off as he readjusted his glasses smoothly. "Since you were also in Dumbledore's Army you'll be awarded a second class."

"I don't want any class of O.M," Alicia said, her voice finding some conviction as she imagined how that ceremony would go. It'd end up in the papers and someone would start digging and it would be revealed that she had effectively been unconscious for the entirety of the fight. She deserved it about as much as someone who was wrapped up safe and warm in their bed that night.

"Everyone else got theirs in one big ceremony, even if it was awarded posthumously. Even George here got a first class since he was also in the Order." Ginny turned kind eyes towards Alicia. "You deserve to have your moment as well. We can be low-key about it if that's what's worrying you."

"I just don't want it at all," she replied, softening her tone a little because Ginny really did seem to be upset that she never got her medal. "I didn't…do what I did to get some sort of recognition."

"None of us did but-"

"Look, Gin, you can't force an Order of Merlin on someone," George interrupted. "If Alicia says she doesn't want the thing then that's up to her."

He'd turned his hand over and hadn't even flinched as she tightened her grip. Alicia took a deep breath then gave Ginny and Harry a placating smile. "Look, I'd rather not have the attention, all right. That sort of thing doesn't sit well with me and I've already had plenty lately, not to mention what's coming my way thanks to this match."

"It's up to you," Harry said, "but if you ever change your mind just let Hermione or myself know and we'll get the paperwork organised. I really think you should receive what you're owed."

"No one owes me anything."

The nightmarish conversation finally ended when their lunch arrived. Alicia began shovelling shepherd's pie into her mouth immediately, hoping everyone would take the hint that she was done talking. Ginny thankfully started telling them about their morning meeting with McGonagall.

"Yeah, she's even agreed to let us use the Great Hall to hold a feast after the match ends," Harry added.

Alicia realised then that she hadn't even been back inside Hogwarts since the Battle. She knew that the Hall was where Voldemort had died and she internally questioned the logic of holding a celebratory feast back in the place where so many had suffered. But she supposed life had to continue. Hogwarts still had to function as a school and people had to move on with their lives. She would probably be one of the few participants of the Battle who hadn't been there to help with the clean-up and repairs.

"Are we going to use the stadium at extra capacity?" George asked.

Ginny nodded and stabbed heartily at one of her chips. "Yep. McGonagall's going to open it up to the full five thousand seats."

"Five thousand," Alicia repeated, flabbergasted. The stadium only held just over a thousand spectators last time she checked.

"You haven't seen the new stadium up close yet," George told her. "It was going to be rebuilt to the old specifications because that was all the budget allowed, but the school received a large enough donation that they were able to include some modifications. The stands are now sturdy enough that they can be magically extended whenever needed."

"It was actually Tiberius Ogden who donated the extra money," Harry said. "You used to work for him, right?"

"Years and years ago," Alicia said, a lump rising in her throat. She was ashamed that she hadn't thought about Tiberius in a long time. After their work in France had concluded he'd retired to some small island in the Caribbean where his family owned a cottage by the beach. He planned to live out the remainder of his days there in seclusion and peace.

"Could you get in touch with him somehow?" Ginny asked. "It'd be fitting for him to be at the match, considering it was the Ogden family who paid for the stadium to be rebuilt."

"I can give it a try. His house is masked and unplottable, but he gave me the address of an owl post office that he visits every week or so. I'm sure I still have the information at home somewhere."

"Thanks." Ginny sighed contentedly and folded her arms on the table in front of her. "Everything's coming together nicely. I even heard back from Lee yesterday and he says he's going to take some time off so he can be back to commentate the match."

Alicia jerked in surprise, her melancholy forgotten for the moment. "Lee's coming back?" she asked, turning to share an apprehensive look with George.

"Yeah. I thought it would be amazing if he commentated again. Plus, he's agreed to mention the match on his radio show so I scored some free publicity there."

Harry was narrowing his eyes across the table. "Why do you two look so put off? Isn't it good if Lee comes back for the match?"

"Katie's going to have a nervous breakdown," George said to Alicia under his breath.

"And Angelina's going to be so smug about it all."

"Oi. No whispering amongst yourselves at the table. What's going on?" Ginny demanded.

"Katie and Lee have a…thing going on," George answered. "They hook up whenever he's back home."

"But I thought Katie was with Oliver."

Alicia's eyes slid over to Harry. "Wait. How do you know that?"

"I thought everyone knew," he said with a casual shrug. "It was pretty obvious after I saw them together at the interview. Being perceptive happens to be a part of my job, you know."

Since there was no point being cagey anymore, Alicia quickly explained the situation between Katie, Oliver and Lee, and even as she spoke her stomach turned over in anticipation of them all being in the one place. Oliver liked to play it cool and pretend like he and Katie weren't doing anything. Lee was less likely to be discreet and keep his hands to himself. If Oliver saw something…

Ginny groaned and dropped her head into her hands. "Oh no. What have I done? I'm going to have to go and speak to Katie today and let her know Lee's going to be here in a couple of weeks. She's going to hate me!"

"She won't hate you, Gin. I think she knows she needs to pick one or the other sooner rather than later."

Alicia wasn't so sure about that, but she didn't correct George. There was no point in any of them second guessing Katie's emotions because she kept them to herself more often than not. Things were just going to have to play themselves out and hopefully no one would get too hurt in the process.

George glanced at his watch. "I need to get back to the shop so Patrick can have his lunchbreak. I suppose I'll see you two at the Burrow on Sunday?"

"Yeah we'll be there with Teddy."

George grabbed a handful of coins from his pocket and slid them across the table, then he helped Alicia to her feet. She said a cheery goodbye to the other couple and followed him back out of the pub and into the main street of Hogsmeade.

"Who knows, maybe Oliver and Lee won't care that they've both been sleeping with Katie. They both knew she wasn't exclusive with them."

Alicia looped her arm around George's elbow and asked, "Do you really think that?"

"No," he admitted. "I just thought I should try to be positive."

They walked the rest of the way back to the shop in silence. The weather was warming up now that July was drawing to a close; every day felt hotter than the last. It was tempting to forgo exercise in the oppressive heat, but Alicia knew she was going to have to drag her arse down to the park to run a few laps before she had to collect Jake.

Angelina was due to return in a few days, then the three Chasers would be back in the air together. Finally.

Oh bugger. Alicia had meant to ask Ginny if she could borrow one of her brooms, but she'd been distracted by the whole Order of Merlin conversation. Maybe Angelina would be in such a good mood when she returned home that she'd be willing to lend out one of her coveted professional brooms. Wouldn't hurt to try.

As soon as Alicia pushed open the door to the shop, a little old lady came hurrying over, holding a cardboard box out towards George.

"Aha! Just the man I was looking for," she said brightly.

"Afternoon, Mrs Krenshaw."

"I made a fresh batch of pumpkin pasties this morning and I wanted to bring some over while they were still warm."

Alicia frowned and saw out of the corner of her eye that Derek and Patrick were leaning against the counter and looking on rapturously. Since she was being completely ignored by the stranger in front of her, she let go of George and went to join her supposed colleagues.

"What's all this business?" she asked the young men, waving her hand towards where her boyfriend was still standing in the doorway.

Derek sniggered. "That's your competition."

"What are you on about?"

"Mrs Krenshaw lives in the village and we're convinced she's in love with the boss. She's always bringing him pumpkin pasties and complimenting him on everything he does."

"No way. She's got to be seventy years old," Alicia scoffed.

"Sixty-seven."

"I still doubt she fancies him, lads."

"Keep watching then."

Alicia did just that and she saw it for herself. The old bag definitely let her eyes linger on George's arse as he walked across the shop floor towards them. Then the two women locked eyes and Mrs Krenshaw glared daggers.

"Jesus Christ," Alicia muttered. "A sixty-seven-year-old nemesis. That's just what I need."

"Am I paying you two to stand around and do nothing?" George snapped at the two men as he approached.

The pair jumped to attention and hurried off to find something constructive to do. George waved the box in Alicia's face then took her hand. "Come and have one of these pumpkin pasties before you go."

"That old lady has the hots for you."

"I know." George gave her a roguish smile. "Can you blame her?"

"I suppose not. As long as she keeps her hands to herself I can't really get too upset."

"Definitely no touching. I get fresh pasties every week though and she gets to look at my bum or whatever it is old women go for these days."

Alicia fought the urge to roll her eyes. She'd spent years watching him scoff pumpkin pasties at school so she knew how much he loved them. George shut the door to the storeroom behind them and went to sit on top of the little desk. He opened the box and held it out to her. They did smell divine.

"Just so you know, if these are laced with love potion I'm totally not above slapping someone's grandmother."

"Just shut up and eat one."

Alicia gave him a coy little smile then helped herself to one of the still warm pastries. It really was very good – flaky and not too sweet. Stupid old woman.

"Best you've ever had, right? Better even than the house elves at school used to make." George finished his own in two bites then sighed happily. "So bloody good."

"You're an adorable twat sometimes," Alicia said affectionately as she rubbed her hands together to clean them off.

He reached out and stuck his finger into the front pocket of her jeans then pulled her over the stand between his knees. "You know, I really think you should get that Order of Merlin."

Alicia had expected him to bring it up, just not this soon. She slipped her arms around his neck and hugged him so she could avoid looking him in the eye. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Mmm. That's not how this works, remember," he said, running his fingertips up and down her back.

"George…"

"But I know exactly what you're going to say so I can continue the conversation even if you don't want to talk to me. I know you're going to say you don't deserve it. I know you're going to say you didn't do anything useful that night."

"But it's true."

"I missed the thick of the fighting as well. Do you think they should take away my medal?"

"Of course not. What happened to you was totally different. You ended up with an awful scar because you fought a Death Eater."

"And you ended up with a skull fracture," George reminded her lightly. "But it's not so much about what happened once you got to the castle, it's that you even went there in the first place. That's the bravery you should be rewarded for. Nobody forced you to Apparate to Hogsmeade with all of us. Not to mention you signed up for Dumbledore's Army."

Alicia wanted to tell him she felt like a fraud. She'd been terrified that night. She hadn't felt like a Gryffindor at all; she hadn't for a long time after. But she knew exactly what response he'd have to a comment like that so she simply promised she would think about it. She tightened her grip on his shoulders and buried her face in his neck, trying to turn off the images that were flashing through her mind.

"Can I ask you something?" George said after they'd been standing there in silence for almost half a minute.

Alicia pulled back and dropped a quick kiss on his cheek. "Of course you can."

"Will you come to the Burrow with me this Sunday? Mum's planning a big welcome home lunch for Fred and Angelina."

Alicia didn't say anything right away. Her heart was pounding as she tried to steady herself by focussing on the lighter, golden flecks in his brown eyes. Going along to a Weasley family lunch felt like a big deal.

"I realise you've met most of my family already so it won't be that big of a shock, but they can be really annoying when they're all together and right in your face. So don't feel obliged to say yes or anything; I'll understand if it's –"

Alicia put her hand over his mouth to cut him off. "I'd love to be there with you. Chris has some work thing to go to though so Jake is being dropped off around lunchtime. I'll send an owl over there tonight to explain the change of plans and Frank can simply Floo over to the Burrow instead of coming to the flat."

"I doubt Warrington's going to be happy about that."

"I don't care. He can't do anything about it. There's no stipulation that Jake has to go to the flat, just that he has to be returned to my care. Christopher Warrington will do as he's fucking told for once."

"Good because I really want you to be there. I'm going to invite Katie as well. It's going to be a pretty special lunch."

Alicia hid her grin. She knew what was about to happen over in Italy. Fred was going to propose to Angelina any moment now. It was supposed to be a secret, but Angelina had arrived home early from training the other week and she'd heard Fred practicing his proposal in the bathroom mirror. Obviously George knew it was happening and Alicia had been itching to talk to him about it, but Angelina had sworn her to secrecy. She wanted Fred to think he was surprising her and Alicia readily agreed to keep her mouth shut since she was still going out of her way to keep Angelina happy.

"I was also thinking about Saturday night," George continued. "After we go out to dinner I want you to spend the night with me."

"You mean stay over at your place?"

"Yeah." George rubbed at the back of his neck and lowered his gaze. "Unless you think it's too soon. I know it's barely been ten days..."

Alicia ducked her head to catch his lips with her own. His hands came up to cup her jaw immediately and she clutched his shoulders tightly. Just as the kiss was deepening, she pulled back and gave a contented sigh. "Never mind the ten days. Falling asleep in your arms has literally been a dream of mine for the better part of ten years. So, yes, I'll stay at your house on Saturday night, then we can go to lunch together on Sunday."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

George beamed at her, the crinkles at the corners of his eyes becoming pronounced. "You're wonderful, you know," he said.

Alicia smiled back at him, feeling light and bright and cherished all of a sudden. "Glad you think so. Does that mean I can I have another pumpkin pasty for the road?"

"Hey. Whoa. Now you're pushing it, sweet pea."


A/N: Apologies for the lateness of this chapter. It was a bitch to write and I had a few tries at it. Still lots of exposition and dialogue, but this was the best edit of the bunch. So with part one (Get The Idiots Together) complete, we're trucking on through to part two (Let's Play Some Quidditch) and things are about to get interesting. Next chapter will see Chris make his reappearance. For better or for worse...