A/N: As usually I want to thank my readers first. I loved your reviews; they always keep me going!

Now, I mustn't forget to attend to my favourite review … so here's to you, Honest101: I do NOT suck. Because I can write stories in two different languages and you haven't even written any in one! And if there's anything else you have to tell me, you will have to write it into your diary or something because I blocked you. There.

Sorry about that, folks, but at least I'm feeling better now.

So here's another Past chap, offering you more background information on our two beloved main characters ...

XXX

July 17th, 1997

It was easy to forget that back in England Voldemort was increasing his power with every minute, aiming to take over the Ministry for Magic and endangering not just the Wizarding community but also the Muggle community, when you were sitting on the beach in South France. That was the reason why George had brought Alicia here, to the French Mediterranean Coast, for the weekend.

To try and forget for a bit.

It had been a surprise for Alicia's nineteenth birthday three weeks ago; the shop was going well, and George had easily been able to afford two rides on the International Floo, from London to Marseilles and back.

The sun was much fiercer here than in England and Alicia had had to perform several protection spells to keep her light skin from getting severely burned. But she was enjoying every minute here.

It was just a weekend. Away from it all.

And all was well, here.

But then, not quite.

One look over at her boyfriend on the blanket next to her told Alicia that he was not enjoying himself as much as she was. George was sitting quietly with his knees drawn up and hands clasped together on top of them while looking over the sea towards the horizon with a frown on his face. Surely it was possible that he was just furrowing his brow because the sunlight was blinding him, but Alicia didn't think that it was that. Ever since they had arrived here in France on Friday afternoon, George had seemed preoccupied.

It was understandable, really, what with his oldest brother being attacked by a werewolf and his youngest brother being in possible danger, too. And after what had happened to Dumbledore. Fortunately at least Bill was going to be okay. That was a relief, but all in all it had been a shock for the family, and Alicia knew that, no matter how hard he was trying to hide it, it was still bothering George.

And then there was Ron, and nobody knew what he was up to, though George had told Alicia that he and Fred suspected that there were plans. "– plans he doesn't tell us for a reason."

It wasn't that for the whole time in France George had been miserable; he had had a lot of fun on Friday afternoon, chasing Alicia across the beach, picking her up and carrying her into the water. He had enjoyed taking her out to a fancy restaurant by the beach that evening to indulge in expensive French food and sip wine while looking across the sea in the red light of the setting sun. He been passionate when they had made love underneath the palm trees on the dark beach that night, and happy when they had fallen asleep in their luxurious hotel bed later – but through all that Alicia had felt, that the situation back in England had not quite left his mind.

And then there were moments like this, when the silence between them seemingly made it impossible for George to take his mind off things. A silence that didn't happen often, because usually, he hated silence. More and more Alicia was beginning to understand why he talked so much, even when what he wasn't really saying anything. It was during those silent moments that Alicia could manage to catch him with his guard down.

At the moment he seemed so deep in thought that he didn't even realise Alicia looking at him. Thinking about it, she realised that she and George and lost a whole year in their relationship because of what was going on in England. In fact, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself was indirectly to blame even for that.

Alicia and George had got close in their sixth year at school; it had been a harmless relationship, consisting of trips to Hogsmeade while holding hands or secret kisses in the broom cupboard they later found out was called the Room of Requirement.

But then there had been the news of the He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named being back, at the end of the school year, and that had changed everything. The whole summer Alicia had spent worrying because there had been barely any news from George. Alicia had known that his family was close with Harry Potter and therefore active in the resistance. When school had started again and Alicia had overcome the relief to see that George and his siblings were alive and well, the arguments had started. Alicia had felt that she had a right to know what he had been up to during summer and why he had left her worrying. But George had refused to tell her, saying that he wasn't allowed to talk about it. That had been the end of their relationship then.

So their last year at school had passed and they had even completely ignored each other, until Fred and George had left school to found their own business. Several weeks later Alicia had got the letter from George in which he had invited her to the opening of the joke shop.

Alicia sighed. So much had changed in the past year, but right now she was sure that she loved George more than ever. So it bothered her all the more when he seemed as troubled as he did now.

She eyed him carefully; the deep frown that was creasing his forehead told her that there was a lot of thinking going on behind it. Alicia let her eyes wander on over his body, clad only in a pair of shorts. She couldn't help thinking that he looked sexy in those shorts, tall and toned from years of Quidditch practice. The lack of training after the end of school added to the stress of being a shop owner had made him gain a little weight which, in spite of what he said, wasn't "all muscle", but Alicia thought that it suited him.

What she didn't like was the way his arms and shoulders were beginning to look red from the burning sun, giving him what Alicia thought was the look of the typical English tourist. She wondered how many more freckles he would have when they returned to England after this trip and could already hear him groan when he realised.

"You're getting a bit red, love," Alicia said gently and reached out her hand to touch him. When her fingertips made contact with his arm he winced, another sign how deeply he had been lost in thoughts. He turned his head and his eyes became focused on her.

"What did you say?"

"You're getting sun-burned," said Alicia with a worried note in her voice. "Didn't you perform another sun protection spell after lunch?"

"No, I totally forgot about that."

Alicia smiled. "Well, it's your skin you're ruining, not mine. Besides, you are the one you will have to endure the pain of your sunburn tonight."

"But there can be something done about the pain, can't there?" The frown on his face had disappeared and he was grinning now. But Alicia knew, whatever had bothered him wasn't forgotten.

"I can give you a potion," said Alicia. "It doesn't work so well with sunburn, though. You'd be better off using a protection spell."

"Licia, I can hardly use magic with all the Muggles around."

"Well, we could go back to our Hotel room –"

George grinned as he stretched out his legs and leaned back on his arms. "You just want to be alone with me."

Alicia moved on to her knees so she could bend over and bring her face within inches of his, while propping herself on her arms with one hand between his legs. "Would that be so bad?"

"Whoa!" His eyes were fixed on her arm for a moment, then he moved them up to meet hers. "What's this? What happened to the shy little girl I once knew?"

"I suppose, you have turned her into a little monster," said Alicia with a giggle. With a pout she added, "You know, you were supposed to kiss me and take me up to the hotel room."

"Well, I could have done that. But this is our last afternoon on the beach – there's lots of time to spend in bed tomorrow when we're back home."

"Is there? Don't you have to go to the shop right away, see if business has gone well?" asked Alicia mockingly.

"Am I that bad?"

"Sometimes." She pinched him.

"Ouch! What was that for? Just you wait!"

Giggling, Alicia scrambled to her feet and tried to run, but George caught her ankle and made her fall over into the white sand. He started tickling her with one hand while holding her with the other and she tried to wriggle out of his grasp, until they were both out of breath. Then he kissed her.

"I love you," he managed between the kisses.

Alicia felt that at this rate they would end up in their room sooner or later. "I love you, too," she got out, breathlessly.

"Shame we can't just Disapparate back to the hotel Apparate back here later."

"Well, that wouldn't be a good thing to do with all these Muggles around, wouldn't it?" Alicia replied sarcastically. "How about walking?"

"Or running."

Giggling, they both got to their feet. Running in the sand was far more difficult than Alicia had expected and when they had finally reached their hotel a couple of minutes later, she thought that they were probably both too exhausted to do what they had planned. But when the door closed behind them and George kissed her, moving her towards the bed, she knew better.

After some passionate love-making, Alicia found herself lying on her back next to George with their hands touching, feeling happy and relaxed and suddenly very sleepy. It was nice and cool in the room, a relief compared to the heat outside. Alicia felt her eyelids drooping. "George?"

"Huh?"

"You 'sleep?"

"Almost –" She saw him open one eye and lift his arm, pulling her close. That way they both fell asleep.

When Alicia woke up she was alone in the bed. She yawned, rubbed her eyes and sat up, propped on one arm. "George?"

He was sitting on the window sill, his legs dangling out through the open window. When she called his name he turned around and smiled.

"What are you doing there?" asked Alicia. She crawled over to the edge of the bed and fished her bikini and her skirt from where they had landed on the ground a couple of hours before, to pull them back on.

"Thinking."

"About what?"

He shrugged. "Things."

"What things?" Alicia got dressed and walked over to hug him from behind.

"Oh, you know – just things. The shop, my family, you –"

"Me? What did you think about me?"

George gave her a gentle smile. "That I love you."

I love you. He had kept repeating the phrase so many times lately that it made her wonder. "George, is there something you're not telling me?"

"What?"

"You keep telling me you love me so many times lately. Should I worry?"

"Worry? What are you talking about?"

Alicia rolled her eyes and sighed. "Why are you so desperate to make sure that I know you love me?"

"Because I do. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

Alicia knitted her brows. "But you are not planning something, are you?"

"What do you mean, planning something?"

"Something dangerous. Like your brother. Like Ron. You keep saying that he and Harry are planning something they won't tell the family about, and maybe you and Fred –"

Swinging his legs back into the room George jumped off the window sill. He put his arms around Alicia and said, "You worry too much."

"George, what is it you are you planning? Is it something dangerous?"

He sighed and she could feel his breath beside her ear. "You're not going to give up, are you?"

"No, I most certainly won't," said Alicia imitating the tone he always used when he was being stubborn about something. She waited for him to elaborate but he simply shook his head.

"Let's take a shower and go get some dinner," he suggested instead. "And stop worrying, will you?"

"Well, that's rich coming from you," said Alicia who was beginning to feel irritated. "You're the one who's been so off earlier on the beach."

"Licia," he said gently, "is it a surprise I'm concerned? Considering what happened during the last couple of months? Bill was attacked, Dumbledore died, Ron was poisoned. Every day the same two wizards walk past the shop several times, and Fred and I think that they're maybe Death Eaters, watching us – and all this isn't going to stop any time soon –"

"Hold on, you and Fred are being watched? You haven't told me that!"

"We're not even sure they're Death Eaters."

"What if they are?"

"Then we will have to be careful."

Alicia shook her head stubbornly. "But why are they watching you?"

"I don't think they're watching just us. They're probably watching all the ones working in the other shops as well."

"And you're not scared?"

"Of them? No. They can't harm us, especially not by daylight."

"But people have disappeared before – think about Florean Fortescue. Mr. Ollivander –"

"Ollivander is an old man. We aren't. And why would they harm us? We're pure-bloods and we're –"

"You're fighting against You-Know-Who."

"Fighting?" He narrowed his eyes, and with every passing minute, Alicia's suspicion grew that he was hiding something from her. "What do you mean, fighting?"

"You tell me," she demanded. "I know you're involved into something, some sort of – I don't know – activation or something?" George didn't answer, and that seemed to confirm Alicia's suspicion. "You are, aren't you?"

"Even if I am, I cannot talk to you about that," George said slowly.

"Why?"

"Because –" He sighed and then said, "I can't say anything else. I'm sorry, Licia, really. You will just have to trust me. I'm not in danger, okay? And neither are you, as long as I'm here."

"But why can't you just tell me what is going on?"

"Because I can't," he said harshly, but a second later his expression softened and he attempted to hug her.

She tried to push him away, but he simply took hold of her arms and she had neither the physical nor the emotional strength to fight him off. He wrapped his arms around her and she hugged him back. Suddenly the tears began to well up and before she could help it a sob escaped her.

"Licia? Are you crying?"

She was. So much she could not even answer. The only thing she capable of was to cling to him and keep on sobbing into his shoulder. He held her tightly and waited patiently until she had finally calmed down enough to speak.

"I'm – 'm – sorry," she finally managed to stutter, still interrupted by sobs. "It's – just – I'm sc-scared."

"Guess, we all are. But we'll be okay. Trust me." He grinned. "Now, how about a shower, some dinner and more sex underneath palm trees?"

Alicia wiped her eyes, sniffed and smiled. "Or we take an early evening swim in the sea, then take a shower and go to dinner."

George shrugged lightly, putting his hands into his pockets. "As long as we're having sex afterwards –"

Despite everything Alicia couldn't help laughing. She nudged him in the ribs and said, "Sometimes you're unbelievable."

XXX

A/N: Now, if you want to review, feel free to do so! If you want to flame, go write our own story first!