"Why? Why do classes have to RESUME?" Kelly whined, her voice cracking with sleep. "I'm fucking tired."

Kelly's monologue was enough to wake both Kim and I up. Kim groggily replied to Kelly's pleas, but neither of us was actually able to distinguish any words. I rolled over to face my clock, which read 7AM.

I moaned at the time, but then noticed a small white piece of paper tucked beneath my clock. I carefully unearthed it and saw his boyish scrawl: Rise and shine! Can't wait to see your beautiful face today! –George

I smiled, and my heart fluttered. I guess this means we are dating. And I kind of liked it.

"Look!" I yelled, a little too loudly, causing Kelly and Kim to wince at my excitement. "Look what George wrote me!"

My friends both read the note. Kelly cooed, in between zipping up her robes, "That's adorable!"

"Yeah, great," Kim muttered, not entirely conscious. "What's my first class again?"

After I packed my bag and got dressed, I slipped George's note into one of my books so I could have something to look at during class. I felt excited, triumphant. I had a new boyfriend.

But boyfriend didn't feel like the right word to call George. I still wasn't entirely sure that's what he was. He never technically asked me to be his girlfriend. But when did George Weasley adhere to technicalities?

I felt like a schoolgirl. Part of me couldn't wait to see George's flaming red hair dawdling against the sea of scarlet clad Gryffindors. The other part was dreading the moment we would officially commit to being boyfriend and girlfriend.

Relationships were work. I hated the time and effort involved in maintaining happiness. I didn't used to, but what was the point of starting another relationship if it was only going to end? Would George and I even last? Did it matter?

I pondered many of these thoughts during my double potions class, which was double brutal thanks to Snape's regained energy for torturing students. I slunk out of class, dreading the amount of homework I had to complete, when George snuck up behind me.

"Well good afternoon, miss," he beamed. He was always smiling.

I rolled my eyes. "If you say so. I just came from double potions."

George winced. "Ooh, tough one. Good thing I didn't take his class."

"You didn't get a good enough grade to."

"I thought ahead."

I shook my head and smirked. "Sure."

We moved away from the students bustling through the hallways, closer to a wall. George started, "So… did you get my-?"

"Your note," I gave him a toothy grin. "Yes. It made me feel a little better about waking up at the ass crack of dawn."

George laughed. "Yes, well, that was the intention. Seeing as you're my girlfriend now you'll be treated to all of the George Weasley treats…"

It felt like someone was squeezing my chest. I had no air. "Girlfriend?"

George's face softened. "Yeah. I mean. You are, aren't you?"

"Yes," I insisted, without even thinking. "Of course. I mean, if you want me to be."

We stared at each other, unsure what to say next. Finally, George spoke, "For a really long time."

It was strange to think that I was desirable. His compliment lit my cheeks aflame. "R-really?"

"I always told you Diggory was a git," he scowled, "for a reason. Aside from the fact that he is a huge git."

I decided to ignore George's comment. "So… now what?"

"Well," George began, and brushed a strand of my wavy blonde hair out of my face, "I hold your hand like this. We walk places together. You know, be seen in public together. Snog a little. Okay, snog a lot. Hang out sometimes. Listen to each other talk. You'll probably do my homework..."

"As if," I scoffed.

"Right, right. Well, I can always hope…"

Being George's girlfriend was easier, and more fun, than I had imagined. It was like resuming our friendship, but this time around we spent more time together. And kissed. A lot. I couldn't stand Kelly and Kim's squealing coos every time I told them about another long night with George in the Gryffindor common room. They were convinced we were soul mates, after only a few weeks of dating.

By this time, Kelly's relationship with Billie had already died out, and Kim was straddling the line between fuck buddy and stranger. Neither one seemed to mind. They didn't take love as seriously as I did.

I learned that George took his family very seriously, whereas my relationship with my parents seemed distant and sterile. I couldn't wait to get a flat in London and start training at St. Mungo's. George couldn't wait to be done with school period. He and Fred had very little ambition for school left ever since they had begun developing their Skiving Snackboxes. It was clever magic, I had to admit. I loved seeing how excited Fred and George were every time they showed me a new product. Part of me felt like a proud mother, encouraging their creativity and farfetched dreams. The other part of me wanted desperately for George to straighten up and at least care a little about classes.

George was not Cedric, but this—I had to admit—was a good thing.

After a certain point post-break up, a girl begins to notice all of the flaws in her recent ex-boyfriend. Kim was the most vocal in this field of post-break up science, and always lamented for at least a week about how stupid she was for dating what's-his-name. Kelly generally noticed annoyances in her boyfriends right away, and so she hardly ever needed this phase.

Cedric seemed to transform before my eyes overnight. After our disgruntled conversation in the common room after the Yule Ball, my brain began to bubble with his flaws. Cedric never really shared my sense of humor, and so it was always a trial if I wanted to tell him a joke. Cedric was sort of bossy, and usually prescribed what I did each evening. "To keep me on track," he winked, but remembering his sly smile made my heart race with anger.

And soon, it was like a monsoon of wrongness poured into my memory: Cedric was too nice. Cedric didn't like Kelly and Kim very much. Cedric slurped his soup. Cedric snored whenever we napped together.

"I can't believe I dated him for that long," I vented. George and I were lounging on the couch in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. It was well after midnight on a Friday night. Despite my body's innate desire for sleep, I couldn't stop talking. "When I think back to it, I feel like I worked too hard to make him happy. But he hardly put forth the same effort."

"I know, I told you that several times," George chided me. "He never seemed to care the way you did."

"I know, I know. But still. It was so frustrating for me to have to please him. He could be so condescending sometimes, and hell, he was a prefect." Both George and I made a face at the word. "He never got my sense of humor."

"I've always thought you were hilarious."

"He didn't care much for Kim and Kelly, and that was always hard to deal with because they were always around me."

"I think they're brilliant. Kim drinks more than I can," George joked, and I smirked at the memory.

"So why wasn't I dating you, then?"

George's expression softened. "Because I wasn't Diggory."

The thought hung in the air between us. It suffocated my thoughts, and I stayed silent.

"I've liked you since our fourth year," George played with his hands.

"What? You did?" I racked my brain for any indication that George may have had a crush on me, but I came up empty. "I had no idea."

"Honestly? I was a bit obvious sometimes. Diggory didn't like it much."

"Cedric never talked to me about you."

This made George's face twist in shock. "Really?" I nodded. "Well, he knew anyway."

"Knew what?"

George shot me a patronizing look. "That I liked you, but I couldn't have you."

My inner catalogue was still running through fourth and fifth year. It seemed like so long ago.

"You were with Alicia, though," I snapped at my fingers at the memory. "In the spring of our fourth year. And in the beginning of fifth year. I remember you telling me about it."

"It was mostly you squealing about it," George smirked, "I remember not being nearly as thrilled. I didn't care much for her. She let me touch her naughty bits, but it didn't keep me from thinking about you."

"And my naughty bits?"

George gave a big, appreciative laugh. "Exactly."

"Same with Katie?" My mind jumped to the end of last year.

"No, she was shorter." I rolled my eyes. "But yes, essentially the same situation."

My voice was soft, "I had no idea."

George cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable with the topic. "Yeah, well, you were with Diggory. You saw the sun shine out his ass."

"Sometimes," I admitted. "He was a good friend. But an awful lover."

"I don't need to hear about your and Diggory's sexcapades." George's face pinched with disgust.

"I was speaking mentally, but since you went there, he wasn't great in bed either. Not completely awful, but Kelly always had to reassure me there is a such thing as better sex."

"Sorry for your absence of tingly bits."

I laughed. "You more than make up for it."

George's face turned very red, but he wore it with pride. "Thanks, I think."

I stuck my tongue out at home. "You're welcome, love."

Silence fell between us. I reclined against the contours of the couch, feeling my body become heavier and heavier against sleep.

George spoke, waking me up. "I'm glad you gave me a chance."

"It should have been you all along," I told him honestly.

We stared at each other, our eyes serious. Finally, George said, "I love you."

And I could feel it in my heart, rattling against my rib cage. I slid closer to him on the couch, and nuzzled against his chest. "I love you, too."

George wrapped his arms around my body, warming me with his touch. He pressed his lips against my forehead. "For a really long time."

A/N: This is me encouraging you to keep reviewing. Because they make me happy in my soul. Thanks to everyone who has, and who continually, reviews. Let me know what you like, what you think could or should happen, or what your favorite 90's boy band was. (I loved me some Backstreet Boys. And Dreamstreet, but that was like 2001.)