I hissed in pain as one of the files sliced through my finger. Immediately I stuck my finger in my mouth, trying to ease the pain.

Angelina rolled her eyes. "Another paper cut?"

"There's just so many papers to go through," I muttered.

"We're almost done," she reminded me.

I looked at the three boxes we had left between us to sort and file. "We're almost done with the paperwork. After this the inventory has to be taken and properly recorded."

She groaned, letting her head fall down on the desk. "Why must the boys insist on being so unorganized?"

"It's the only way we can think to keep you two around," Fred joked from the doorway.

George chuckled and handed me a mug of hot tea. "We're like projects for the two of you."

"Mmm, well there's going to be three of us soon," I informed him.

Fred sputtered on his tea. "You're pregnant?"

George's eyes were wide. "There's no way! We've never—"

"Fleur's coming!" I laughed.

He collapsed on my lap, ignoring the papers I had scattered around me. "Why?" he groaned. "I thought you were able to handle all of this on your own?"

I ran my fingers through his fiery hair. "She feels like an outsider, love," I whispered, kissing his forehead. "You can see it in her eyes when we all have dinner. She's really a great person. Won't you try harder for me?"

He nodded slightly. "Yes, darling."

Hours later, the upstairs of the shop was filled with laughter as the last of the customers exited. The smell of pizza wafted through the entire building. Fleur had arrived shortly after the pregnancy scare, and now Bill was here to bring her home after his day at Gringotts.

"You know this meant a lot to her," Bill said quietly.

I shuffled my feet, and sighed. "We made it pretty hard on her, didn't we?"

"You lot certainly haven't made it easy," he muttered.

Sophia's laugh echoed all the way down the stairs, lighting up my face. "Is she making it easier?"

Bill chuckled. "Yes, Fleur told me the other night that she finally has someone to talk to."

"George, Sophia's trying to walk again!" Angelina yelled down the staircase.

"Bloody hell, Sophia!" I exclaimed, running upstairs. By the time I got there, Sophia was sitting on the sofa pouting away. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that I want to bloody walk already, George," she snapped.

Bill greeted her, kissing her cheek before taking Fleur's hand. "You'll get there, Sophia," he promised. He kissed his wife with a grin. "You ready to leave?"

She nodded and reached down to give Sophia a hug. "Zank you for 'aving me."

"Fleur, there's no need to thank me! We'll be family soon enough."

"We'll see you lot on Sunday for dinner at Mum's, right?" Bill checked.

I took my seat next to Sophia. "We'll be there."

"I know you're frustrated, darling, but there isn't anything you can do."

I glared at him. "There has to be something, George! I hate having to just sit around all day long!"

"The healers said we just have to wait this out. Your legs aren't strong enough right now, that is all."

I pushed him away from me when he tried to pull me onto his lap. He got off of the bed and instead leaned against the dresser. "I don't care what the healers said," I
muttered. "They thought I was dead, George!"

He sighed and shook his head, but said nothing. Instead he slowly came back over to the bed. "I know they thought that. I also know that you're not mad about not being able to walk, but the fact that you're scared you can't protect me or you from Deatheaters."

I started to speak when he smirked.

"You try to hide everything, but I can read you like an open book." He slid over to where I was sitting in the middle of the bed. "We're safe here, Sophia. You don't have to feel like you're constantly being attacked."

"I lost my parents, George. I can't lose you," I whispered.

He pulled my legs out so they were straight in front of me and then gently pushed me back onto the pillows. "I can't lose you." He hovered over me, holding his weight on his arms. "And lately I've…" He shook his head. "Never mind."

I held his chin, forcing him to look me in the eyes. "Tell me," I demanded.

He sighed and hid his face in the crook of my neck. "It feels like…like we're growing apart. It's like we're going through the motions of being a couple, but they don't mean anything to us."

"I don't think the typical boyfriend-girlfriend thing works for us," I admitted quietly.

"You mean fiancé-fiancée thing."

I nodded, letting my hands slip under his shirt and trace the contours of his muscled back. "Maybe it's because we've never had a chance to practice before?"

His eyes had closed and he was rubbing his nose against my collarbone. "I can't think when you touch me like that," he admitted.

I grinned when I realized the effect I had on him. "I'm sorry," I whispered as I ran my nails up and down his back.

He groaned, moving onto his side next to me. "You know you aren't."

I nestled against his side and began kissing his neck. "Do you remember when you came over to my flat that first night and all we did was eat take-in and ice cream?"

He nodded slightly. "I had to keep myself from snogging you senseless the entire night," he admitted.

"You're lying," I muttered in between kisses.

His arms snaked around my waist and pulled me on top of him. I shuffled nervously, trying to move away, but he held me securely.

"George, I weigh too—"

He rolled his eyes. "You weigh next to nothing, darling. Now, back to what you were saying."

I sighed and rested my head against his shoulder. "I fell in love with you that night," I admitted. He gave me a squeeze to show he was listening. "After the battle, when you stopped me from beating Mallory, I fell in love with the person you were. You sat with me and didn't let me speak a word of Mallory or the air of death all around us. You just asked question after question about me and my life. No one had ever done that."

"Except for the boy in the picture," he whispered.

My body froze. "W-What picture?"

His hands rubbed softly on my lower back. "That night you were going through the pictures of Deatheaters. You remember which picture I'm talking about, I know you do."

I fell quiet as our breathing fell in synchronization. His hands never stopped moving though. Finally I moved myself so I was next to him.

He grabbed me when I started to turn away from him. "Sophia, I didn't bring it up to upset you," he said quickly. "I thought maybe it'd help us from becoming distant, but we don't have to talk about him. It's your decision."

I looked up at his eyes before briefly kissing him. "Can we get ready for bed and then I tell you?"

"If that's what you want to do." He slipped from the bed, and then his arms found their way under my butt and back. He lifted me up and carried me to the bathroom.

Showering was out of the question for me until I regained strength in my legs. For now I had to stick with taking baths, and even then there were issues. I could get in the tub by myself because George would sit me on the edge of the tub. The real trouble came when I needed to get out. I had to wait until all of the water drained from the tub, and then wrap myself in the towel as best as I could. George insisted on coming in then and he would carry me back to the bedroom.

This time he tossed me on the bed, straddling me before I could move. "I'm going to miss this when you start walking again," he whispered against my ear.

I pushed against his chest. "You need to shower."

"Do I smell bad?" he chuckled.

I groaned as his hands squeezed my waist gently. "No, but I n-need to get d-d-dressed," I stuttered.

One of his hands slipped down to the edge of the towel that rested at my thighs. He tugged on it. "No need."

I shook my head. "Not until we're married, George," I reminded him.

"I know. You just make it so hard, darling." He kneeled over me, reaching behind him to grab the small pile of clothes. "Need anything else before I go shower?"

I picked through the clothing; underwear, a bra, and one of his button up shirts. I rolled my eyes. "Way to be discreet," I muttered. "No pants?"

His hands skimmed up and down my legs. "You know I much prefer to see your gorgeous legs, darling."

I pushed him away with a laugh. "Go shower, you git!"

Once he was gone and the door was securely shut behind him, I slipped the clothing on and then pulled back the covers of the bed. With slight difficulty, I wormed my way under them and curled up with the book I had left on the nightstand.

I was two chapters in when the door opened again. George came in with his hand covering his eyes.

"You can look, George," I teased.

He chuckled and then collapsed on the bed next to me. He wiggled around a bit before pulling me flush against his chest. He moved down until he was eye to eye with me, and then he waited.

I sighed and gave him a kiss. "Alright. No interruptions," I warned him. "I'll tell you everything if you promise."

He nodded. "Okay. No interruptions, got it."

"Okay," I breathed. I took a moment to gather all of my thoughts before the words started pouring from my mouth.

"His name is Phillip Withermore. I met him during my first year at Hogwarts on the train. We ended up in the same cabin together, and we just talked about books we both loved. He was sorted into Syltherin, so we didn't have many classes together. We studied together though. Nearly every day, actually. I suppose he was the closest thing I had to a friend.

"He stayed with my family a few times during break. He talked little about his parents, and what he did say was never good. My parents liked him quite a bit. He wouldn't come with me during Hogsmeade visits though. He was scared someone would tell his family that he was with my family and that repercussions would be made."

I bit down on my lip for the longest time, trying to will away the tears. I tasted blood before George could stop me. His hand returned to the small of my back.

"I didn't see him after we graduated. He wrote a few times, but when my parents were killed I never heard from him again."

He started to shake his head. "I know where you're going with this, darling," he whispered. "You don't know."

"What if he was there?" I demanded. "He might have known they were going to kill my parents, George. There were others with Mallory that night. He might have been one of them."

"I can see it in your eyes, Sophia. You don't believe your own words for a minute."

I wiggled my way closer to him and rested my forehead against his chest. "George, I need to know who was there that night."

He took a few breaths before I felt him nod. "Alright. I'll make some calls tomorrow and we'll start seeing what we can find out."

"Okay."

"I have one condition though, darling. All of the research has to be done here or at one of the family's houses until you're up and moving again."

I agreed and cuddled into his arms. "George?" I mumbled sleepily a few minutes later.

"Yes?" His voice was husky with sleep, but warm as it brushed against the top of my head.

"I can't wait for our wedding day," I whispered.

He laughed quite loud and it earned a shout from Fred in the living room. "Put up a silencing charm, you two love birds!"

I giggled, blushing madly as George kissed me. "I can't wait for our wedding day either, darling. Now get some sleep. We've got inventory tomorrow."

After rolling my eyes, I turned over, pressing my back against his chest before letting my breath slow as I drifted off.