Hi, this chapter is fun! Okay.

George came back to me a couple minutes later, and I placed my hand on the bend of his arm. I didn't really know where to shop for Christmas items in the wizard world, most of mine came from muggle shops. Except the candles, they came from Diagon Alley and I adored them. They never melted down and the wax never got on anything yet they filled an entire room with the smell.

He, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly where to go. He Apparated us to Diagon Alley and lead the way to a shop I'd never seen before. My surprise must've been evident because he laughed and pulled me closer to explain.

"The shop only appears during Christmas," he told me, watching the way my eyes got bigger as we got closer. "I never knew you loved Christmas this much, 'puff."

I banged my shoulder against his playfully and replied, "It's a brilliant holiday all about giving and kindness. What would make you think I didn't love it? I'm a proud Hufflepuff after all."

Instead of replying, he kissed the side of my head fleetingly and replied, "You just keep getting cuter. I'm waiting for it to stop happening, but there doesn't seem to be an end in sight."

I didn't answer him, I just snuggled further into his side. Close to him was quickly becoming one of my favorite places to be. He was so warm and always smelled so wonderful, and don't even get me started on how amazing he was at hugging me or what his forehead kisses did to my insides.

Eventually, we parted and made our way into the shop. It was a lot bigger than I realized at first glance, there had to be at least three floors to the place. I felt like a little kid with the ball of excitement welling in my belly. I was so hyped to see everything that I was literally bouncing on my heels.

While I was trying to see the entire store from my spot, George grabbed a trolley and made his way back to me. "You know it's easier to see the place if you move from that spot, yeah?"

I rolled my eyes but followed him deeper into the store anyway. We made our way to the bobbles first and he stared at the shelves. I didn't want to pick everything out for him, I wanted his flat to look like his version of Christmas.

"You look a little perplexed, Weasley," I remarked cheekily. "It's not complicated, just pick the ones you like the most."

He gave me an exasperated look before shifting his gaze back to the shelves. Eventually, he chose some and it made me laugh at how predictable he was. That Gryffindor pride must run deeper than I realized.

"Why are all Gryffindors so predictable?" I asked, gesturing to the red and gold bobbles now sitting in the trolley.

He didn't dignify that with a response, he just ignored me and made his way to the lights. Those were easier for him to choose but not surprising again. They were gold; I was definitely starting to see a pattern to his decorations.

"So, are you going to charm your tree to roar or would that be a bit over the top?" I kept teasing as we looked at trees.

"I lied, there is an end to your cuteness and I just found it," he told me, but the grin on his face contradicted his words.

"Wow, I was just trying to do something helpful and you attack me like this? I'm offended," I teased, brushing my fingers over the pine needles of the tree in front of me. "I would be angrier, but it's impossible when it smells so wonderful in this place."

"Ah, and the cuteness is back just like that," he grinned, leaning over and pinching my cheek playfully before focusing back on the trees. "They all look the exact same! How am I supposed to pick one?"

"They most certainly do NOT look the same! Not one of these trees have a thing in common, they're not even all green!" I exclaimed. "There are big ones and small ones and thick ones and thin ones and white ones and green ones with snow on their limbs."

"So, you picked a tree out with no problem?" he asked, looking at me with a raised brow.

"No, I just transfigured a house plant into a tree until after the holiday," I replied. "But when I go to my parents' house, we'll chop down our own tree."

"Chop down a tree? What does that mean?" he asked, his attention leaving the pines and focusing completely on me. "Is that a muggle thing?"

"We learned about it in muggle studies. You take an axe and go into the woods to find the perfect tree. It's either that or a fake, plastic tree that can be reused every year," I explained, instantly falling into professor mode without much thought. "Those are practical, but they hardly have the same feel to them. A real tree fills the house with the smell of pine and it's one of the most basic smells of Christmas."

I expected him to say something sassy in return, but he just looked at me instead. His eyes were slightly bigger than normal and his lips were turned up in the slightest of smiles, awe coloring the rest of his features. I couldn't figure out what he was in awe over, I was just speaking like I did whenever I was with my students. I figured he would think it was annoying like everyone else did whenever I explained something muggle related.

"I want to snog you in the worst way right now," he breathed so quietly that only I could hear.

"Then you'd better go pay for these things," I replied just as quietly, biting my bottom lip teasingly. Then I laughed and said louder, "The tree's not gonna chop itself, Weasley."

"Merlin's beard, you're such a tease!" he hissed, pushing the trolley to the nearest till.

"I'd only be a tease if I didn't plan on going back to your flat with you, silly," I grinned before dipping out to look at the bobbles.

I didn't actually see any of them, I was just trying to calm myself down. I was so hot and bothered it wasn't funny. The man could get under my skin easier than anyone I've ever met in my life. He could just look at me and say a few words and make me putty in his hands. I could only imagine what it would be like further down the line.

I felt a hand rest on my lower back and knew George had found me. He had his bag in one hand and slid his other into mine, leading me out of the shop. I Apparated us back to his flat so he could leave his things and I could transfigure something into an axe.

"Do you have anything long and cylindrical?" I asked as I walked around his front room. "Because I assume you don't have an axe on hand."

"Considering I don't know what an axe is…" he replied before he disappeared back down the hall and into a room.

I heard things shifting around for a couple minutes before I heard him coming back to me. He held an old broom with the bristles broken and crooked. It was obviously older and had been through the ringer a couple times.

"One of the practice brooms I may have borrowed from Hogwarts during my time there," he explained, a mischievous light toughing his eyes. "Then I might have been flying backward and hit a tree…"

I snorted with laughter as I pictured him flying backward into a tree. "And people say you were a great beater…"

"Oh, so you're questioning my Quidditch abilities?" he asked, tossing the broom onto the couch as he approached me slowly. "I don't even remember seeing you at a game, 'puff."

"I've seen you play a couple games, it wasn't much," I teased, my lips tilting up into a playful smile. "Nothing like your brother once you left from what I heard."

He scoffed and reached forward, grabbing my hips and pulling me close until there was barely an inch between us. "So, what you're saying is I need to prove to you I'm better than Ron at everything?"

The pitch of his voice sent a shiver down my spine and the roughness of it made my stomach tighten. My hands were resting on his chest as I tried to keep myself from releasing a wanton whimper.

"I don't know. Can you?" I asked in a whisper, tracing my fingers along his collarbone just under the collar of his jumper.

A noise I've never heard came out of George: a growl from deep in his chest. He leaned forward and pressed our lips together, immediately demanding entrance to my mouth. I let him inside easily and basically melted into a puddle at his feet.

His hand moved up to cup the back of my head, his kisses leaving me weak and excited all at once. He shifted a bit and caught my bottom lip between his, sucking it into his mouth and scrapping his teeth over it gently. Without thinking, I clutched at his neck and let out the wanton whimper I'd been holding since the beginning.

His teeth bit down harsher at my sound and I arched my back to press us together completely. When we parted, I took the reins and pressed timid kisses from his jaw down the side of his neck. He moved his hands to rest low on my back, dangerously close to intimate parts. When I realized that, my kisses got harsher and caused wanton noises to leave his mouth that spurred me toward confidence.

My personality was never dominant, I was always the one to submit, but not this time. I pushed George's shoulders until he sat down on the couch just shy of the broken broom and I followed him down, sitting myself astride his lap. Without giving myself enough time to get embarrassed of my brass actions, I went back to kissing his neck.

I've never kissed Ron Weasley nor did I ever have plans to do so, but there was no way he was better than his older brother. George Weasley's kisses were absolutely lethal, and I hope he thought the same thing about mine. Judging by the noises coming out of his mouth and how tight his grip was on my bum was, he thought I was also pretty bloody good.

I didn't hear the door open, but I certainly heard the disgusted noise Ron made when he saw us together. I surprised myself when I didn't bolt off George's lap, I just pulled away from his neck in annoyance. George only moved his hands up to my hips, nothing else moved at the interruption.

"What do you want?" he asked, glaring at his younger brother around my body. "I'm busy."

"I didn't bloody know you two were up here! I was coming to grab some more Skiving Snackboxes," he replied, but I couldn't see his face because mine was resting against George's shoulder flushed with annoyance rather than shame.

"Well, go get them if they're so damn important!" George responded crabbily as rubbed his thumbs along my hipbones over my jumper.

Once Ron was out of the room, I lifted my head enough to whisper in his ear. "Don't be so upset, I was very impressed with your skillset this time."

As much as I wanted to keep going, I knew we needed to go get a tree before things went too far. I kissed George briefly before getting up from his lap and blushing when I realized just what state I'd left him in. It was obvious he was hard beneath his slacks; I guess I was better than I originally realized.

"I'll be back in a second," he said, standing up quickly and heading down the hallway.

I sat back on the couch and calmed my flaming cheeks. Ron reappeared a minute or so later with his arms full of things. He waved fleetingly at me before disappearing back downstairs into the shop, probably embarrassed of what he'd interrupted. Once I'd calmed down, I grabbed the broom and quickly transfigured it into an axe. By the time I was finished, George was back in the room with a red tinge to his cheeks and a kneazle-who-got-the-cream smile on his lips.

"You are a minx, Lydia Duke," he grinned, grabbing my jacket from the kitchen and holding it open for me. "We have to go before I take you back to the couch."

A giddiness filled my belly and I jumped to my feet. "If you say so."

I Apparated us to the forest my family and I always got our tree from after we left his flat. His hand found mine as he hefted the axe up against his shoulder. Even if he said he didn't remember the lesson from muggle studies, he was packing it like a professional.

"Just pick the tree you like the most," I told him, walking through the snow with him. "Then comes the chopping."

He rolled his eyes at me but did as I instructed, looking at each of the trees closely. We looked until the coldness of the snow started seeping into my toes and my fingers were numb. I was about to suggest another day when George found his tree.

"This is it, this is the tree," he told me, dragging me over to stand in front of a nice pine tree. "Now, how do I chop it down?"

That made me grin, he was actually going to do what I wanted. I took the axe from his hand and told him to watch closely. I'd done it a couple times before so I knew what I was doing. I hit the sharp edge against the trunk and heard the wood split. I did a couple swings before George's pesky masculinity stepped in and made him take the job from me.

By the time he got halfway through the trunk, he looked ready to throw in the towel. "You can just use magic now if you want. I know how hard it is to chop it down by hand."

It took a bit of bickering between us, but in the end he did use magic. He held onto the tree with one arm and my hand with the other as we Apparated back to his flat. Once we were back, he pulled me close and pressed his lips back against mine, but he was smiling so it couldn't get very deep plus the pine needles were brushing against my face uncomfortably.

"Mhm, what was that for?" I asked after he stepped back from me, leaned the tree against the wall, and started taking off his jacket. "Not that I'm complaining or anything, just curious."

"Just happy you went with me today, I suppose," he mused, pulling the stand out of a box I didn't notice and maneuvering the tree into it with a little magical help.

His admittance made warmth blossom in my belly and I couldn't stop the pleased grin from tugging at my lips, not that I wanted to. He said it so easily, like he didn't even have to think about it. He was genuinely happy I went with him to get his Christmas things, even if I had him partially cut down a tree the muggle way.

While he was hanging up our coats, I did a quick charm over the tree so it would stay fresh until the holiday was over. I'd taken off my boots earlier so I was wearing a pair of fuzzy socks with reindeers on them, a harsh contrast to George's maroon one when he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. My, we were very touchy-feely tonight.

"Hello there," I whispered, leaning back into his embrace and placing my hands over his on my belly. "I should be getting back to the castle soon, it's getting late."

He made a noise to indicate he'd heard me but didn't release me or move back. Instead, he pushed my hair over my shoulder and pressed gentle kisses against my scarred skin. The more he went on, the weaker my knees got until only he was holding me upright.

"Mhm, I should've told you how I felt in school," he whispered, kissing my ear after he finished.

I hummed in agreement and ran my fingers up his arms where they still wrapped around my waist. "I probably wouldn't have believed you if you had."

He stiffened before twisting me around so we were looking at each other. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I sighed before replying, "We've already talked about this. You and I existed in separate worlds, I hardly think I would've caught your attention."

He rolled his eyes and cupped my face in both his hands. "I'm going to say this once more and then never again, so you'd better listen up, 'puff. You are one of the most amazing women I've ever met, I'm lucky to have you. If anything, I'm amazed I caught your attention and then you stayed after I told you about the dragon pox thing."

That made me laugh and stand on my tiptoes to kiss his lips. "Fair enough, Weasley."

Thanks for reading! George and Lydia are bonding and telling secrets.

Tell me what you all think about their relationship!