Disclaimer: I don't own anything that does not belong to me. Obviously.

I apologize for taking so long to update and I hope that anyone that still wants to read this will enjoy it. But first I would like to explain that the way I write this is going to get much stranger.

Also, if you have a problem with my writing, I truly am sorry. This just happens to be the best I can do, review and give me suggestions. Read my profile and you might understand my problem a little better. Thank you to Sunshine Spray for all of your constructive criticism.

On to the story.

After a very long time away from his family, Charlie was returning home to his family. Well, technically it hadn't been that long, but Fred's funeral wasn't exactly a happy return for him.

He was finally ready to go home. He had been invited to Katie and Lee's wedding and he wasn't going to disappoint them. Yet, as glad as Charlie experiencing some serious misgivings. So he had brought his old friend Oliver Wood with him, to make it easier. When he had seen him on his way home, Charlie had jumped at the chance to drag Oliver to the Burrow. Screaming, if necessary.

He was in love with Alicia Spinnet. The Spinnets were old friends of the Weasleys and, as such, the families had spent quite a bit of time together. Yet, even though his feelings for her had been uncomfortable and strange while she had still been at Hogwarts, this was the first time that he was going to interact with her on equal standing. Scary thought.

But he would be fine, wouldn't he?

--

No, Charlie decided, he was not going to wear those hideous robes to the wedding. They were worse than the ones that Ron had worn to the Yule Ball in his fourth year. Those robes just weren't going to work for him, he was just about to tell his mother that when he heard Alicia's voice.

''Mrs. Weasley, do you happen to have any grapefruit? Ooh. Or any cantaloupe? I have such an intense crav-'' She stooped; she was fairly surprised to see Charlie. ''Charlie,'' she smiled, '' I thought you wouldn't be back until next week.''

"Don't worry dear; I'll go see if we have any, you need the protein you know. No, stay here," she said when Alicia attempted to go for herself. "Just sit down here and talk to Charlie," she said as she shuffled out of the room.

"Hey, how have you been?" Alicia finally asked after a minute of silence.

"Oh, I'm fine." Charlie managed to get out. "And you?"

"Well, I've had an interesting couple of months."

"Really, how so?" Charlie wondered what could have put that odd look on her face. She looked so melancholy. A little sad. "I can't imagine why you look so unhappy, you look healthier. You had gotten so thin and you looked so weak. You look a lot better."

"Well, I am pregnant."

"Wow . . . When did that happen?" Ouch, that hurt. He had always known that she had a thing for George, but he had thought his brother was too stupid to notice. Plus, one of the reasons that Charlie had come back was to see if he could beat him to the punch.

Alicia smiled, it was strained. "Actually, I'm 4 months." She closed her eyes for a moment. "It took forever for it to sink in. It was crazy when I realized it. I haven't told very many people, but it's crazy, you know. It really is. You've always been a really good friend to me Charlie. I'm sorry; you probably don't wan to hear all of this."

Still in shock, he just looked at her.

Alicia smiled. "I haven't even told you the best part. I'm giving birth to your niece ort nephew. It's lovely. Angelina freaked out when she found out." She stopped smiling. "It almost ruined our friendship; I'm surprised that she still speaks to me. But I still feel as if I have lost my best friend. Sometimes, I feel that I have lost everything."

Charlie was confused. "Wait, who did you . . . I mean, who is . . . "

"You're going to judge me. Even Mrs. Weasley seems to, even though she has been so supportive of me and the baby."

"It wasn't . . . Percy or anything was it?"

Alicia laughed, a little hysterically. "No, it definitely wasn't Percy. It was Fred."

"Oh."

"Yeah, definitely an 'oh' moment."

--

A little later, when the surprise-or maybe shock is a better word- wore off, Charlie asked the tough questions. Alicia answered them.

Then George came home. Let's just say that Alicia did not want to see him. Neither did Charlie, but that was because he didn't quite wish to see anyone.

"Hello big brother." George hugged his brother, they did that hug and pat thing that guys tend to do to each other. They stopped and George looked anywhere but at Alicia, "Hello Alicia."

"Goodbye George, I need to go . . . Do something." Alicia ran off.

"Well, that was awkward," George said, for the first time in Charlie's life he saw his brother strain to smile and make a joke that wasn't even a joke.

"Yes, it was." Because what else can you say to that?

--

Being the idiot that he was, George went to go see Alicia a little while later. She was eating grapefruit with peanut butter and sprinkles on top. And it was making her feel much happier, and then she saw George.

She, of course, didn't say anything. He had come in search of her, plus, she didn't quite wish to speak with him at the moment. That moment representing the rest of all time.

"Hey," George said as if nothing had happened. Although, of course something had. If you looked at his face you would have known that. He looked like he was struggling not to run out of the room at the first sign of danger. Which he was.

Alicia wasn't in the mood to humor George, so she stayed silent. Plus, she had a feeling that if she were to speak at that exact moment she might have burst out crying.

"Well, this is a pleasant situation." No comment.

"It's a little confusing, you know? I mean, it wasn't enough for my brother to be dead," he said looking like he wanted to die; he was in a whole lot of pain. Of course he still missed his twin.

"I also had to find out that he cheated on his girlfriend. The same girlfriend that I slept with after his death. I think we're all kind of screwed up. And I don't think it's going to get any better anytime soon. And you're going to have a baby. My nephew or niece and I don't want you to shut me out. I really don't." George stopped, waiting for Alicia to say something. After all, this moment was important.

This moment was going to decide whether or not George and Alicia could ever go back to camaraderie, if they could still be friends. So when he had spoken, the words had tumbled out because he was nervous.

"What, exactly, is it that you want from me?"

George just stared. Then he finally understood. "I want us to put this behind us. I want to go back to the way things were before . . . "

"Before everything changed," Alicia finished the sentence.

"Yes"

Alicia closed her eyes, gathering strength. "I don't think that I can do that."

"What? Why?" George was cleary flummoxed. And utterly confused.

"Do I need to smell it out for you?" Alicia was beginning to get angry now.

"I am tired of pretending that I don't have feelings for you. And I am not going to let you continue to avoid my feelings. I am tired of being your friend the way you want me to be. If you want to go back to the way things were, you're going to have to realize that things have changed. And things weren't so great before." That hurt.

"Oh." George like he had been soccer punched.

They were both quiet, realizing that they couldn't go back, sometimes you can only move forward.

"Let's start over."

"What?"

George walked over to Alicia, who was sitting on her (the bed that was hers at the moment anyway) and she was very confused. George sat next to her, took her hands and repeated his question.

"Let's just try to be future family members. Maybe we'll be okay."

"We can try." Alicia didn't quite understand what he wanted, but she was too tired to argue with him, she'd wait until she finished her ice cream. Which was melting, by the way.

"Great. When is your next appointment, someone should go with you. And as the uncle, I think it should be me.

Plus-"

George was cut off when Alicia pushed him off of the bed. That shut up the idiot.

"Who said that I was going to take you anywhere? Did we not just get done saying that we were going to start over?" She was really upset now. The audacity of the little . . . Chipmunk. He was a stupid chipmunk. A stupid chipmunk that needed to be taught a lesson.

While Alicia began to plan the demise of one of her (formerly) oldest friends, George began to sputter.

"I thought you said . . . What? Didn't you? Uh."

"Men, you think that everything is okay because we give you a little hope. Idiot."

"Hey! Don't call me names."

"Well, maybe you deserve them."

"How would you know?"

"Get out of my room, you . . . Monkey!"

"Fine, I didn't want to talk to you anyway."

"Why did you come to talk to me then?"

"Because I thought you might want some company to your appointments!"

They were both yelling at the top of their lungs by now.

"I don't need your help!"

"Of course you don't. Why would you think that-"

George was cut off by his mother dragging him out of the room. She wiggled her finger at him. "Don't upset her like that."

"I didn't do anything."

"Of course you didn't. Now go rescue Oliver from Percy, you know how your brother gets." A fate worse than death and a final order.

--

I just felt the need to do something. Out of guilt. I am a seasonal writer. I write when I don't have a ton of things to do, which happens to be during the summer and during random breaks.

Sorry.