Chapter Six

Short and sweet this time...I didn't want to ruin it by trying to make it longer. Things start to head uphill, be happy :)

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Thanks to: Mrs. Darcy14, danalexkayarimad, cyn23, Hope-W, and skateboard c for reviewing!

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George and Angelina sat facing each other across the small table in the dim restaurant, oddly reminiscent of that night long ago at the Leaky Cauldron. They had departed the Burrow after the incident under the mistletoe, and walked in silence into town, where they had entered the first restaurant they had found.

It turned out to be the perfect place. The crowd was loud and boisterous, the lighting dim, and the table in the corner secluded, all adding up so that their strange robes went unnoticed and their conversation unheard. They had arrived five minutes earlier, and sat, still silent, with two glasses of water in front of them.

A waitress approached them, her hair dyed a deep purple and styled into a shaggy ponytail that gave the appearance of carelessness. Her dark eyeliner was smudged beneath her eyes, and her face remained indifferent as she asked, "Can I get you something to drink?"

George—only having glanced at the girl for a brief moment—answered. "I'll just have, er…" he realized he didn't know any Muggle drinks, and was quite sure they wouldn't serve butterbeer or pumpkin juice here.

"Diet Coke. For both of us," Angelina jumped in. The girl gave George a strange look before departing. Angelina played with a stray lock of hair as she studied George, hey eyes questioning.

"What happened to the braids?" George asked.

"What?"

"You know, you used to have you're hair braided all the time. It's been weeks now and I haven't seen them."

"Oh, right," she replied. "Well, I guess I just figured they didn't look very good." George reached out and tucked the hair she had been playing with behind her ear, his fingers lingeringly slightly on her cheek. She shuddered a breath, trying to remain very still, not wanting to ruin the moment.

"Is it wrong?" he whispered, looking deep into her eyes. "Is it wrong I should feel like this? When you and Fred were…you know?" He was shocked by the pain this statement caused him. Not just for the fact that Fred was dead, but because his brother had once held Angelina's heart, and George wasn't sure if that grip had ever been relinquished. Angelina gently shook her head. "Tell me I'm not crazy for thinking this. For wondering if you feel this way about me just because I remind you of Fred." George felt a hand clench his heart as he contemplated how he would feel if this were true.

"George…" Angelina's voice was choked with tears, her eyes glistening. "It's not crazy George. I'm not going to lie to you and say I never had feelings for Fred. I did, I cared for him very much. When he died, a little piece of me died too. Fred and I weren't good for each other that way, though. You might think it's silly to say that because you two were so similar, but in so many ways you weren't. I know you, George. I know your middle name is Fabian, after your uncle. I know you eat like a pig when you think no one is watching. I know that you were quieter than Fred, but just as funny. I know that you are self-conscious about your missing ear, and try to pretend you aren't with countless jokes. And I know you hurt, George. I know you hurt more than any of the rest of us. But I know I hurt too, and I know being with you makes me hurt less. I know that it hurts me when I see you talk to other girls, and when I think about a future without you in it, it makes me want to curl up and cry. I know that…" She stopped abruptly, tears leaving tracks down her face, unsure if she should go on.

George finished for her. "I know that I love you, Angelina."

She laughed slightly, amazed at how her world could flip upside down with just three simple words. "I love you too, George."

He stroked her cheek gently. "We're such idiots, Ange," he said with a chuckle. "Everyone saw it but us."

She wiped away her tears with a smile. "That's what love is, isn't it? Being an idiot. Putting ourselves out there, and hoping someone will be there to catch us when we fall."

"You were there for me, Angelina," he said, his voice husky in its emotion. "Every step of the way. You never gave up on me, and I swear I will never give up on myself again."

"That's all I ask."

"I'll always be here for you," he whispered, and with that closed the gap between them.