This chapter has even more relationship development between George and Lydia. It's just a sweet little piece of fluff, but I really enjoyed it.

Eventually, we went back into the shop and George easily fell back into his niche. He easily belonged in the middle of the crazy store. His smile was blinding when a younger boy ate a sweet and immediately started puking into the trashcan by the display. I guess I would've been too if I'd created all these things that brought people so much joy.

I remember looking out the window of my flat in Diagon Alley when I still worked at the Ministry. It was bleary and sad everywhere until you saw the bright building with the laughing Weasley at the top. Just leave it to him to always be this bright, shining light in the darkness. I think that might have been one of my very favorite things about him, something I didn't realize I needed until he came into my life.

"You're Lydia, right?" a voice asked from behind me, making me jump and turn to find Ginny Weasley standing there. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay, I was distracted," I told her, leaving out that her brother was the one distracting me. "Yes, I'm Lydia."

She smiled in satisfaction and said, "Good, I was hoping to meet you before George brought you to dinner. The whole family is quite curious about you, George has never been one to be stuck on one girl."

I didn't know how to respond to that. I knew George had a bit of a track record when it came to girls but hearing his sister say it was a completely different thing. My ever growing insecurities started to well up, and I tried desperately to keep it from showing on my face. Something told me showing weaknesses weren't a good idea.

"Well, I'm curious about you all, too," I finally said for lack of a better statement.

She nodded and looked down her straight nose at me. I think she was trying her best to intimidate me and it was working. She was scrutinizing every inch of me, sizing me up to see if I was worthy of her brother. Without thinking, I tugged down the bottom of my top and pulled the collar up closer to my neck. That last thing I needed was for her to find the biggest chink in my armor: my scars.

"I see you've met my charming little sister," George said, swooping in out of nowhere and placing his hand on my lower back. "And that she's met my even more charming girlfriend."

Girlfriend? Is that what he called me in his head? Did he think we were boyfriend and girlfriend? That was one of my biggest questions throughout this entire relationship. I never knew what to call him out loud to other people.

While I was having my internal freak out, Ginny's serious expression dissolved into a happy smile. "I'm happy you're happy."

She walked away from us and straight out of the shop, making me realize most of the people were gone as well. The only people still here were me, George, and Verity who was behind the counter counting out the money and placing it in a bag. I guess I was too distracted by Ginny's third degree.

"I'm going to go lock the doors and see Verity out if you want to head upstairs," he told me, moving close to me and pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"Anything you say, boyfriend," I grinned, figuring I'd take the humorous route instead of being too serious.

"You caught that, did you?" he asked, wincing when he turned around to look at me. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything. I just wanted to get Ginny off your back, I could see how anxious you were."

"No, it's okay. I'm thankful you were there," I told him, reaching out to take his hand in both of mine. "I want to be your girlfriend."

His grin was blinding when I told him that and his hand in both of mine pulled me close. He hugged me tight and kissed my temple repeatedly until I started giggling like crazy. I blew a raspberry against his throat and heard him laugh along with me.

"Go close your shop, I'll be waiting for you upstairs," I told him, pulling away reluctantly.

I got my pajamas out of my duffle bag and headed to his bathroom to change once I got back to his flat. I washed my face clean of makeup and twisted my hair up onto my head before I went back outside. There was a roaring fire in the living room and the place looked comfy and inviting.

George came out of the kitchen and smiled when he saw me standing awkwardly by the sofa. He made his way over to me and twisted a lock of hair that had escaped from my bun around his finger playfully. Then he tugged on it and made me huff, hitting his shoulder.

"It isn't very nice to pull my hair," I told him, reaching up and tracing fingers along the side of his neck lightly.

"God, you're gorgeous," he told me in a rush of breath, seemingly forgetting about all our banter. "Merlin, so beautiful."

I stretched up on my tiptoes and pressed our lips together. He took my waist in his hands and pulled me until every inch of our bodies were touching. Then I pushed him backwards until he fell onto the sofa, looking up at me with surprised eyes. Before I could talk myself out of it, I reached down and pulled my t-shirt over my head and straddled his lap.

"Lydia, you don't have to do that. That's not why I called you my girlfriend," he told me, his eyes not leaving my face. "I really care about you."

I took a calming breath and said, "I am doing this because I trust you. I've never shown anyone other than my healer what I look like, but I want to show you."

"I don't know what to say to that other than I'm honored," he told me, his hands reaching up to hold my wrists and his thumb stroked over the side of them.

"Then kiss me," I grinned, leaning forward to meet him halfway.

One of his hands held my hip while the other slid up my bare back to steady me. He trailed his lips from mine down my face and to the side of my neck. He was getting closer and closer to my scars, but I refused to worry about it. George wasn't going to judge me for them, he was going to think I was just as beautiful and I was sure of that.

I laced my fingers in his hair and tugged on it when his tongue traced over my collarbone. He spread kisses all over my bare skin that made me weak. He traced his tongue along the line of scars on the front of my shoulder and I tightened my grip on his hair without thinking as I arched into him.

"George," I gasped.

He groaned against my skin as one of his hands moved down to grip my bum. I could feel the heat coming from him through the thin material of my pyjama bottoms. I could also feel just how big his hand was, covering almost all of my butt cheek.

I braved up and moved down to the hem of his shirt, sliding my hands under it to rest on his stomach. He got the hint and reached behind his head to grab the collar, removing his lips from my skin just long enough to pull the shirt off before diving back in.

He moved his kisses down my cleavage and sucked a mark into the side of my left breast exposed by the lace of my bra. I tilted my head back and ran my fingers through his hair, clenching and unclenching my thighs around his hips as pleasure coursed through me. I used my hand in his hair to pull his face up to mine.

"My turn," I grinned, my voice husky.

"Fuck," he hissed as I kissed from his jawline down to his neck. "You're going to kill me, baby."

That name echoed through my whole body and made me kiss harsher than before. I bit and sucked, leaving a mark of my own where his shoulder met his neck. He always wore dress shirts and ties so I knew it wouldn't be seen by anyone other than me. Both of his hands were holding my bum now, encouraging me to keep kissing his skin.

"Lydia," he breathing, moving his hands up to rest on my waist and pulling back until we looked at each other. "We need to slow down."

Rejection coursed through me and I pulled back from him, pushing my bra strap back into place before crossing my arms over my stomach. I felt my bottom lip start shaking as tears clouded my eyes. I didn't have my hair to hide behind so I just looked down at the pattern of the sofa instead of his face.

"Hey, look at me," he whispered, taking my jaw in his hands and tilting my head up until I looked at him. "I want to do this, Merlin, I want to do this. I just don't want to push you into something too fast."

"I trust you more than I've ever trusted any man. I want to do this," I promised, my voice still rough but with emotion this time. "If you don't want me, it's okay. You're allowed to back out, I know the scars are a lot."

"Lydia Duke, how many times do I have to tell you that your scars are beautiful before you start believing it?" he asked, rubbing his thumbs over my cheekbones.

I just shook my head and moved forward until my head was resting on his shoulder with my forehead against his neck. I wrapped my arms around his middle and let out a contented sigh, kissing his throat. He held onto me as he leaned back against the sofa.

"Do you want to sleep in my bed? I'll sleep out here," he asked a little later as we cuddled up together on his sofa.

I shook my head but didn't move out of his grip. "No, I don't want to take your bed from you. I can sleep out here."

"That's not even an option, 'puff," he said, rubbing his hands along my spine lightly. "You're not sleeping on this awful sofa."

"Then I suppose the only option is for us both to sleep in your bed," I said, thankful he couldn't see how embarrassed I was.

"I suppose that's the only option left, isn't it?" he replied, a playful lilt to his voice that made me grin. "I can also feel how hot your face is, even if I can't see it."

I pinched the skin of his chest between my teeth and heard him hiss in pain. "You love it when I blush."

"I also love it when you bite me," he replied, kissing my head before sitting up with me astride his hips. "We should head to bed, mum's expecting us at around eleven tomorrow."

"That's rather early for dinner, isn't it?" I asked, allowing him to pull my shirt back on me before doing the same to himself.

"Mum makes an entire day out of it. We also exchange gifts," he replied, standing up and letting my feet slide to the ground. "It'll be a lot of stuff, but it's usually pretty fun. Just tell me if you get overwhelmed by any of it."

We headed back to his bedroom and I noticed there was only one closed door down the entire hallway. Fred's room, I realized. That kind of broke my heart and made me reach out for his hand, sliding my fingers between his and placing my other one on top of it.

If he picked up on me being weird, he didn't say anything. Since we'd been together, I don't think he'd ever once talked about losing him. Sure, he'd told me about things the two of them did together and then there was the whole portrait thing from the day of the prank but nothing about his feelings. It wasn't necessarily my place to ask about him, I just hoped he felt comfortable enough to me to bring it up one day.

We walked into the room and he gestured for me to get on the bed. "I have to warn you, I'm a total duvet hog."

He grinned at me over his shoulder as he tugged his shirt back off. When he saw me raise my eyebrows, he said, "I don't sleep in a shirt. Is that a problem?"

I shook my head and moved to pull the covers down invitingly. He got into bed with me after he turned the lights off, then pulled my body back against his chest and rested his arm across my hip before pressing a kiss to the back of my neck. Once I calmed my down my racing heart, I fell asleep pretty easily.

Thanks so much for reading! I really appreciate you all so much!