IV
Believe.

-x- Alicia Spinnet & George Weasley –x-

'I'm surprised that you've never been told before
That you're lovely and you're perfect
And that somebody wants you
I'm surprised that you've never been told before
That you're priceless and you're precious
Even when you are not new…'

The one thing that struck George Weasley about his best-friend and long-time love interest Alicia Spinnet, was that she had the worst sense of self-esteem he'd ever seen. That said, he himself was not brilliant at believing in himself, having lived constantly in the shadow of not only Charlie, Bill and Percy, but also his own twin, Fred; but in his own humble opinion, his sense of self-worth screamed narcism compared to Alicia's.

Constantly allowing herself to be pushed into the shadows by Angelina and Katie, who were easily two of the most outgoing girls in the history of Hogwarts, Alicia seemed unable or unwilling to step out into the spotlight, and George had had just about enough of it. It wasn't as if she didn't deserve to have the attention for once, because she extremely talented: he'd seen the poems she wrote when she thought no one was looking, and one note uttered from her lovely throat was enough to make him transfixed as she sang quietly to herself whilst working away at her Transfiguration homework.

In short, Alicia Spinnet was not getting what she was due, and he had decided it was up to him to fix this.

As they sat together one quiet Sunday afternoon by the lake, dangling their feet in the cool shallows, the warm spring sun filtering down upon them, George marvelled at her intense beauty. Well, perhaps "intense" wasn't the right word – there was nothing "intense" about her, but she was magnetically, delicately beautiful… with her pale skin, dark chocolate locks and slight build, she was arresting to his senses and it was all he could do not to just turn and tell her that in as many flowing, poetic words as possible.

Looking up from her quiet inspection of a dandelion, she smiled at him uncertainly.
'What're you staring at?'

Biting his lip, he contemplated telling her, but found himself unable to.
'Oh nothing, just staring off into space as usual.'

She laughed and shook her head gently.
'You've been doing that a lot lately, you know.'

He smiled broadly at her, before leaning down and running his fingers through the clear water, flicking them up at the last minute so that she got a bit wet.

'George!' she cried, laughing again as she daintily wiped the water from her face.

He chuckled, waiting for her to splash him back, which she did as soon as he looked away for a moment. Filling both small hands with water she dumped it over his head and got to her feet, sprinting away as he coughed and spluttered, grinning like a maniac all the while. Springing up he ran after her, his bare feet thumping down into the long, lazy, unmown grass of the grounds as he chased her.

'You sly minx!' he called after her as they ran, and she turned, slowing down to smile at him, whereupon he caught up with her and swept her up off her feet, spinning her around and around in his arms.

Shrieking, she flung her arms around his neck to keep her tiny frame from flying out of his strong grasp, and laughing hysterically, held on as he danced about with reckless abandon, seemingly oblivious to the small group of people who had gathered just outside the castle to watch the beautiful sight before them.

She was so thoroughly engrossed in the moment that she failed to notice Katie and Fred, who had snuck down to hide behind one of the trees nearby, each equipped with a camera, with which they began to snap as many photographs as possible.

Just making out Fred in his dizzy haze, unbeknownst to Alicia, George winked at his twin, before with one final spin, he set her down on the ground, tumbling to the grass when he realised he was unable to stand up straight. She herself, fell in much the same fashion two seconds later, and as they both lay sprawled in the grass, their limbs entwined, she was still laughing quietly.

'I haven't laughed that much in forever, you know,' she whispered to him, smiling as she turned her head to look at him, their noses almost touching, 'thank you George.'

Smiling in return, George leant down and kissed her gently on the lips; unassuming in nature, it was the perfect first kiss, sweet and simple.

He held her there for a few seconds before pulling away, just in time to see Fred walk up, all amused grin and mischievously twinkling eyes. Sitting up with a sharp intake of breath, Alicia cringed as her cheeks flushed a bright scarlet.

'Having fun there, are we?' Fred asked with one raised ginger eyebrow, before handing George a large leather-bound book and walking off again, whistling a merry tune as he went.

Thoroughly confused and still a brilliant red, Alicia looked at George curiously.
'What's going on?'

Remaining silent, George handed her the book, smiling slightly with nervous anticipation as she took it with a suspicious glance.
'What is it?'

'Open it and you'll see,' he replied quietly, leaning back on his hands and waiting.

Placing the heavy book in her lap, she raised a delicate eyebrow at him before opening it and promptly gasping. Flicking through the pages, she stammered, trying to think of something to say, but unable to find any words.

Each page contained at least one photograph and a few lines of the poetry she'd written and kept hidden in the bottom of her trunk, and beside these items, George had written a paragraph or so explaining his choice of items and how they related to something he loved about her. She sat in stunned silence for what seemed like an eternity, before she looked up at him, tears welling in her eyes.

Worry suddenly flitted through his facial expression as he realised she was crying.
'What's wrong? Don't you like it?'

'I love it,' she said sincerely, her voice wavering as she tried to keep herself in check, 'it's beautiful… the most amazing thing anybody's ever done for me.'

George could help it, he grinned, his face almost splitting in two the grin was so wide.
'I'm so glad you like it… I hoped you would.'

'How could I not? This is amazing… you've made me feel so… beautiful.' She replied in wonder, as she realised that this was indeed, the truth.

'You are beautiful already, you didn't need me to help you at all… you are beautiful Alicia.' He said earnestly, taking the book from her lap and placing it carefully beside him, before pulling her closer to him and gently kissing her again.

And this time, the kiss wasn't unassuming, it was confident and full of an inexplicable rush of love and passion… as if he was trying with all his might to transfer this earnest wonder of all the things she was to him, to her, so that she would understand just how amazing she was, not only in his eyes, but to everyone and in every way…

A/N: lyrics used - 'F.N.T' by Semisonic.