Hey everyone! I haven't forgotten this story, but during the last months real life has been a right pain in the ***, with my Master thesis taking up most of my time. It's done now, though, and currently I've got lots of time off. So maybe this story will be continued even after the second chapter.

If you have read my previous stories, you will find some part that has already been published in another story and you'll find that the timeline doesn't quite fit. Please don't let that bother you, I just decided that it works better this way.

If anyone is still reading this - reviews always make my day!

2. Questions and Answers

2004 - February

A rough wind was shaking Shell Cottage on Fleur's birthday. The guests inside didn't feel the fierce cold, though, thanks to the magically warmed sitting room and hot café du lait. The table was laden with cakes of all sorts, and even Molly Weasley was impressed by the delicious tarte tatin brought from France by Mrs Delacour. Fleur's parents had come over for their daughter's birthday, as had her sister Gabrielle who was focusing her attention on little Victoire, much to Ginny's relief. Still, George couldn't help but notice that she was tending to Harry more than she used to, and it made him giggle quietly. He was surprised when he noticed that he was waiting for Alicia to ask why he was laughing, and that he was disappointed when he remembered again that she hadn't been able to come.

"What's so funny?", asked Ron instead, but before George could answer, Fleur stood up.

"Thank you all for coming", she said, beaming at her guests. "Maman, Papa, ma chère soeur, merci beaucoup. Before we start, I would like to seize that special day for a little surprise." She took Bill's hand, who was sitting next to her, equally smiling. "Maman, you will be a grand-mère again soon."

Mrs Delacour and Molly shrieked in delight in unison, which made Bill and George burst into laughter.

"It's true", said Fleur, smiling all over her beautiful face. "I am pregnant. Victoire will have a little sister."

With that spoken, there was no holding back. Everyone stood up and hugged Fleur, then Bill, and in the end it seemed to George that everyone was pulling each other into a hug.

Nobody cared about the cold winter wind anymore.

Later that day, when many guests had already left, George and Bill were standing outside, gazing out onto the sea in the distance. They were both wearing their winter coats, and their cheeks were red from the cold – and probably from the champagne, too, which had been served to celebrate the news. The brothers had gone outside to catch some fresh air, and despite the cold George enjoyed having his eldest brother for himself for a change. He could only faintly remember the last time he'd had a chance to talk to him in private.

"Hey Bill?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You want to know how that baby girl got into that gorgeous woman's body? I thought Dad had told you about the birds and bees once you turned 21. Shame that Alicia couldn't make it here today, she could've explained it to you."

George punched him in the chest, which Bill acknowledged with a snorting laughter.

"That's all you got?" He became serious again. "What's up, now?"

George shifted nervously from one foot to the other. He wasn't good at these conversations, but the question had been burning inside him for too long.

"How... how did you know that Fleur was the one for you?"

Bill looked at him in surprise, then seemed to be lost in thought for a while. George watched him as a mix of emotions became visible in his brother's scarred face.

"I didn't know at first, to be honest when we first met I just saw her great looks and thought she was absolutely stunning, but that was it. I mean, she was just about Percy's age back at the Triwizard Tournament, whereas I had to be an old man in her eyes." He winked. "It was only when she got this job at Gringotts and I got to chat with her over lunch – somehow her lunchbreak always coincided with mine - that I realized that underneath the beauty, she's indeed an intelligent, kind and loving woman. I guess that's when I fell in love with her." Bill smiled as he said it, for a moment apparently lost in thoughts. George stayed quiet. "But knowing that we were really meant to be together, and that I wouldn't want to live without her ever again... that was much later. After I met Greyback." Absent-mindedly, he touched the side of his face where the scars of the werewolf attack were still clearly visible. "After that, I... I wasn't myself. I tried to hide it, but at times I was a mess, and I was afraid of the future. And Fleur... she was just great. She never cared about my scars. None of them."

George understood that Bill was not only referring to the visible ones. The older one didn't need to speak it out loud. Bill looked at him expectantly, as if waiting for more questions, but for George there were none.

"Thanks", he said instead, "for sharing your wisdom with your less experienced little brother."

"Always happy to help with my wisdom", said Bill, patting George on the back.

"Don't let it go to your head, all I meant to say was that you're old." The smirk didn't leave George's face even when Bill pulled him into a headlock.

2004 – April

"Just hold on to my hand." George smiled when Alicia simply did as he told her. She didn't question him, because she trusted him, even if it was 6 pm and she had just come home tired after a shift at St. Mungo's.

Alicia had been unsure about her future profession throughout her entire time at Hogwarts. When all her friends were already making plans, she had simply had too many potential careers in mind that she thought would fascinate her. Then, when she had been out of Hogwarts for almost a year and still indecisive about her future, her friend Katie Bell almost died from touching a cursed necklace. Alicia had visited her at St. Mungo's, and suddenly, while watching all the Healers and Mediwizards working tirelessly to help people they didn't even know, she had known what to do. Her N.E.W.T.s had not been good enough to become a fully-qualified Healer, though, so she had instead started training as a Mediassistant.

She loved her job, but more than once she came home exhausted after yet another long shift.

Now Alicia entwined her fingers with George's and closed her eyes. She felt the familiar sensation of Apparating, then cold wind touching her face. George held her tight when her feet touched solid ground, and she opened her eyes.

"Where are we?", she asked in confusion. Instead of answering, George took her by the hand and led her down a sandy path. Trees at both sides of the road were covering the two young people with their long shadows. The sun was already quite low and a soft breeze was rustling the leaves. For a few minutes they walked in silence, before the trees became fewer and fewer. When they passed the last tree, Alicia gasped.

They were standing on top of a hill, overlooking open fields and an island, surrounded by the blue sea, in the distance. She could make out a lighthouse on the edge of a cliff. The scenery was illuminated by the low sun, bathing everything in a golden light.

"George, this is amazing." Alicia couldn't take her eyes off the the view in front of her even as George led her a little further down the hill and towards a blanket on the ground. When they stopped, Alicia looked away from the sea for the first time, and her eyes widened even more at the sight in front of her. On the blanket, there was a basket filled with food, a bottle of wine and something that looked a lot like the little chocolate cakes from Honeydukes that Alicia had loved ever since her first visit to Hogsmeade.

"Did you do this yourself? Gosh, George, when did you do all this?"

George laughed when he saw the joy in Alicia's eyes. He had to admit that he was rather pleased with himself – no need to confess that his mother had helped with the choice of food.

"I'm awesome, didn't you know that?", he said with a wink.

"I do know that", Alicia replied. She sounded serious as she said it.

Both sat down and George took two glasses out of the basket and filled them with wine. One he gave to Alicia, who was still gazing admiringly at the scenery in front of her, the other he took for himself. He raised his glass and beamed at his girlfriend.

"To you."

"To us."

"This is so beautiful." Alicia sighed.

The two young people were sitting on the blanket watching the sun setting slowly. George had his arm wrapped around Alicia's waist, while her head was resting on his shoulder, and he thought that he could easily stay like this forever.

"You are beautiful", he said quietly, and Alicia poked him playfully at the side.

"A perfect dinner, a compliment – spill the beans, what have you done this time? Experimented in the kitchen? Made a fool out of Ron?"

George chuckled.

"None of that. I just thought you deserved this."

He felt Alicia take his hand, and he smiled. It always happened when she did this. Feeling her soft, slender fingers entangled with his, it never seized to amaze him how a simple touch could induce such happiness for him.

"So where exactly are we? How come you never told me about this place before?"

"I had to save this for a special day", George said after a minute of silence. "We're in Kerry. Ireland. What you see over there is Valentia Lighthouse."

"Have you been here before?"

"Yes, I have. It's the first holiday I can actually remember. Ron was a baby at that time, Ginny not even born. Fred and I... we loved this place. At least I think we did, I don't really remember anything specific. It's just that memory of a really good time, you know?"

His voice cracked a little, and Alicia squeezed his hand.

"I love it, too. Thanks for taking me here."

"I always wanted you to see this." He made a vague gesture at his surroundings, not pointing at anything in particular, but he was sure that Alicia knew what he meant. The sun was almost down, and the lighthouse, the sea, the cliffs – everything was basked in a golden light.

Suddenly he got to his feet.

"Let's go for a walk", he said. Apparently surprised by his spontaneous activity, Alicia allowed him to take her hand and help her stand up. Hand in hand they walked down the hill towards the sea. It was a long walk, but none of them felt the need to talk. The wind was rustling the trees in the distance, a seegull shrieked twice. They reached the end of the hill and gazed towards the see below. George pulled Alicia into a firm embrace. A strand of her curly hair was blown into her face by the wind, and he brushed it away softly before he kissed her.

"I love you", he whispered into Alicia's ear, and to him, her beautiful smile was better than any spoken answer. "I love you, Alicia. I love you for making me happy, and for making me feel good about being happy, too." He was looking directly into her eyes as he spoke, and he hoped that she could understand how serious he was. "I know I've not always been the best man or friend for you, but no matter what, my love remained true even when I couldn't always show it. You've been there during my worst times, always knew what to say, never tried to push anything. You were just there and saved me over and over again."

Alicia was looking at him, and for a split second she opened her mouth as if to say something, but she remained quiet.

"After the war – when Fred was gone – I was a wreck. And somehow you found a way to build me up again, you saw what's underneath the rubble, and for that I will always be grateful. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you. There was a time when I wished so badly to fall asleep and never wake up. And now I wake up everyday and I know it's going to be a good day because I'll spend it with you."

His voice was trembling subliminally, but he looked Alicia straight into the eyes when he kneeled down and took her hand.

"I wish I could feel like that every day for the rest of my life, but it's not for me to decide that, because I need you to be there with me. Alicia Spinnet – will you marry me?"

He held his breath and time seemed to stand still while somewhere in the distance, a flock of birds flew off towards the horizon. As if in slow motion, Alicia's lips broadened into a smile, then laughter, as she nodded and pulled him close.

"Yes! Yes, yes of course I will!"

Now all tension seemed to fall off George, and he kissed Alicia and put the silver ring on her finger. The tiny diamond sparkled almost as much as Alicia's eyes.

The two young people stood embraced for a while. The sun was almost completely down when they let go of each other. George took his wand with his right hand, while his left was still holding Alicia's.

"What are you doing?"

"Just trying something." George closed his eyes for a split second, and when he opened them again he looked straight at Alicia. "Expecto Patronum!"

A silvery mist emerged from the tip of his wand and quickly transformed into the solid form of an eagle. It spread its wings and opened its beak, as if to shriek in delight about the new freedom after long years in a cage. It's been a long time since I last saw you, George thought. As he watched the Patronus fly away, he turned to Alicia.

"Here's to new happy memories."

A/N I: The last part may seem familiar. It's in my story "Spark of Hope". I imagined that after Fred's death, George has had immense difficulties producing a Patronus. In fact, he does produce one in my other story "Learning to feel again", the day of Halloween, but it takes a lot of effort to conjure a happy memory. I think that with Alicia, he will finally be able to make new, happy memories and also accept the memories of Fred as something to cherish, rather than something to dread.

A/N II: I have absolutely no idea when Victoire's sister is born, so this is just my lucky guess.