-Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling

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-Thanks as always to my Beta Crimsonangel23 for putting up with my insane typos, spelling mistakes, their, they're and There's, Your and you'res, and the idiot myriad of grammar errors...not to allowing me to bounce horrific things to do to JK Rowlings beautiful characters off on her late into the night!

-Oh and YAY!!! This story just got its 100th review! Keep the reviews coming guys! You SO ROCK!

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Loony for Luna: Forever from the Ashes

Chapter 16

Letting Go

Part One

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George opened his eyes and sat up to stare out the window. It was late, the moon already beginning its downward plunge towards the horizon. The problem was, he couldn't get that picture out of his head. The picture of Luna as she held little Teddy Lupin, made worse by the fact that whenever he pictured the baby now, he had bright red hair and looked an awful lot like the face George saw when he looked in the mirror.

What had he been thinking? He had been moments...no, seconds, from asking Luna to marry him. In the week since, George had been doing his utmost to blame it on the emotion of the moment. A moment of pure insanity brought on by his brother Ron's engagement and Harry Potters proposal to his little sister. There were moments that he actually believed it was just that, his being caught up in the moment.

But now wasn't one of those times. Instead, it was one of those times that he very nearly regretted chickening out. By the time he had stood and looked behind where he and Luna sat, the one who owned the voice had disappeared. George wasn't quite sure why he had been so curious, a twisted part of him wondered if he didn't regret not being able to thank the faceless person for reminding him of the horrible risk he would have been plunging himself into.

But, as he had walked away from Luna that night to get their drinks, he was filled with self-loathing. In his heart, he hated himself for the coward that he knew himself to be...even if he couldn't admit it to her.

-

Luna gave up the pretense of sleep and sat up, pulling the window shade as she went. The moon outside was bright, lighting the trees and brush outside in magnificent blue-silver light.

Judging by the sound of the tossing and turning next door, she wasn't the only one who was having trouble sleeping...and it was far from the first time that week she had heard George having a restless night.

To the untrained eye, George seemed like his usual, happy self. But there-in lay the problem. George hadn't been his usual happy self since before Fred died and that he was acting like he was was a powerful sign that he was forcing himself to act the way he was expected to.

But Luna knew better. She had known George for far too long, and far too well to be fooled. No, something was bothering him. Something that had been bothering him for the past week... since the party at the Burrow.

Once again Luna tried desperately to trace back over their steps, trying to figure out what had upset him. But it seemed a wasted use of mind power. There had been nothing she could remember that could have upset him...except...hadn't he acted funny after helping Harry and his mother with the tables? When he had looked back at her, Luna was sure she had seen an expression of pain cross his face. At the time, she had convinced herself she was imagining things. But now, she was pretty sure that had something to do with whatever was bothering him.

Perhaps it was the fact that so many people at the party had seen them together and assumed that they had reconciled. Had someone said something to him when he went to fetch their drinks? There had been an almost smothering air of expectation in the air that night, and the more Luna thought about it, the more she was sure it had been brought on by Harry's surprise proposal to Ginny. Had someone perhaps expected George to ask her to marry him?

But that was silly. Why would anyone just assume such a thing? By now everyone knew about Harry and Ginny and how they had been forced apart by Harry's destiny involving Voldemort. Everyone had been expecting an engagement announcement from them since the war ended.

Luna lay watching the shadows shift as the moon moved across the sky. The more she thought, the more she realized...there was another possibility for what could be bothering George.

Luna had almost fully recovered...she got along well now with just the use of a cane and she never used the wheelchair anymore. So...was it really fair that George was still living with her? Perhaps, after all the heat his family had given him after he left the last time, he was afraid to leave...even though it was obvious that she no longer really needed him there.

Over the past week, the list of things that Luna had needed him to help her with had slowly shrunk away until at last, nothing more remained. So, her allowing him to stay with her, even though she knew she didn't need him there anymore...was doing just what she had been afraid of...she was keeping him prisoner. Well, Okay, maybe nothing so drastic as that...but, had she told him that it was okay for him go?

The truth was, Luna didn't want him to go. She wanted him to stay with her forever, because, she loved him. But, it wasn't fair of her to force him to stay, not now, not when he had already kept his promise.

Luna was healed now. In another week, she would be leaving for school. She didn't need him there anymore...at least not in a physical sense.

George had lived up to his end of the deal. He had gotten her through the procedure, he had stood with her while she recovered.

Now, it was time for her to stand alone, and in doing so, set George free.

As much as the idea broke her heart...it was time to let him go.

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"Hey." George rubbed his eyes and smiled as he sat down at the table the next morning. For the first time, she had awoken before him and now sat a huge plate of pancakes and bacon in front of him.

"What's this?" He grinned "You never get up before me, much less risk burning the place down by cooking."

"Start one little fire..." Luna rolled her eyes and handed him a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. "...and I'll never hear the end of it."

"You destroyed your fathers kitchen." George pointed out

"Just a little." She sat down across from him. "He'd been wanted to remodel it anyway."

George laughed and ate a huge bite of pancake. "So, whats the occasion?"

"Well, I wanted to thank you." She smiled "For all you've done for me. I couldn't have gotten through this without you."

"You did all the hard work." George grinned

"I owe you so much George. If not for you I would still be suffering in pain. Soon, I'll be back on the train to Hogwarts...and it's all thanks to you."

"I told you Luna...I'm no saint." He looked at her sadly "I brought on a lot of pain too."

"But you were here when I needed you." She reached out and put her hand on his "So, I wanted to thank you. And..."

George looked up nervously "And?"

"And to tell you that...I think it's time..." She took a deep breath "time for you to go."

"Go?" George stopped eating and put his fork down. He looked worried, as if he had done something wrong. "You want me to leave?"

"Yes....I mean no..." She shook her head "I don't want you to leave...it's just that, well, I'm all healed now from the procedure. I can walk alone and take care of myself...I don't..."

It was on the tip of her tongue to say that she didn't need him, but she couldn't. It would be a lie. Luna would always need George with her, ALWAYS.

"I don't want to hold you here anymore. You've kept your promise, it's time you got your life back." Luna tried to smile, but failed badly.

" Have I done something?" George asked nervously, afraid that Luna had picked up on upheaval his emotions had been in since he had almost asked her to marry him. He had been careful, forcing himself to be his usual self, refusing to let her see how afraid he was of what he had almost done. "Do you want me to go?"

"No!" Luna shook her head vehemently "Of course not!" She tightened her hand on his.

"It's just that...we had a deal George. You've held up your end." She smiled softly

"Yeah." George rolled his eyes "I was a big help. Ignoring you, fighting with you... upsetting you so you hurt yourself and running out on you when you were sick..."

Luna giggled a little "It was never boring."

George looked up at her and grinned. "That's one way of putting it."

"I'm not saying I want you to leave my life George." She gave his hand a firm squeeze "I'm just saying...the time has come for you to go back to yours."

"So..." George cleared his throat and smiled "When is this eviction effective?"

"Well...I thought it might be nice for us to celebrate my successful recovery first."

"I thought that was what this breakfast was all about?" He arched an eyebrow

"I'm being selfish, you know...trying to delay your leaving somewhat." Luna grinned "Work with me here."

"Okay then." George laughed "How about I take you to Daigon Alley today to get your books and then out to dinner tonight. I will vacate the premises in the morning?"

"Deal." Luna grinned "Now eat your breakfast."

George looked at her with a sinking heart. So many times he had longed for the time that his responsibility to her would be lifted. Now that it had come, the only thing he longed for...was more time with her.

-

"Is this table okay?" Luna didn't miss the fact that the waitress gave George a through looking over as she'd watched him pull the chair out and it annoyed the hell out of her. It appeared to Luna that the waitress barely managed not to drool as her eyes slipped down to George's butt.

"You know..." Luna said as she pulled out the chair on the opposite side of the table and sat down, refusing his help. "I think I would rather sit on this side."

George gave Luna a puzzled look as he slid into the chair kitty-corner from hers and accepted his menu.

"Er..." He began, giving the drink menu a quick look over "Two glasses of white wine I think?" He looked at Luna "Is that okay?"

"I'll need to see the young ladies identification." The waitress gave George a smoldering look while she ignored Luna totally.

"No you don't" Luna glared back at her "Because I would prefer to order for myself thank you."

She flipped the menu over "Pink Lemonade please."

The waitress scribbled on her pad and gave George a final look before turning away.

"Luna?" George looked at her, his eyebrows raised so high they were hidden in his hair. "Is something wrong?"

Luna broke her glare from the waitresses back and affixed it onto George. A feeling of embarrassment came over her. It wasn't as if it was his fault he was so damned attractive.

"No." She sighed and shook her head at herself "It's not your fault."

George looked properly confused, as he should have been.

"What's not my fault?"

"You really have no idea?" Luna looked surprised. Did he really have no idea how absolutely gorgeous he looked that night in his tight black jeans and crisp white cotton button down shirt? But then, as much as she teased him about being arrogant, for someone as attractive as George was, he had always been shockingly unaware of his effect on women. Well, most women. Luna had never been able to hide the effect he'd always had on her.

George shook his head in the negative. "I have no clue."

"That waitress..." Luna began "She was checking you out...and if I'm not mistaken, she liked what she saw."

George began to laugh then. "She was not."

"Was." Luna rolled her eyes

"Not."

The waitress returned with their drinks and a devilish look came into Luna's eyes. The look that George had always referred to as 'Trouble brewing in Lunaland.'

"Excuse me, Miss?" Luna began, turning a sweet smile on the waitress.

"Yes?" The waitress tore her eyes off the bare bit of George's chest that was visible in the V of his shirt.

"Would you mind telling my friend that you were checking him out?" Luna said, her face smug "You see, he doesn't believe me."

The waitress looked like a fish out of water, her mouth open and gasping while she fought to think of something to say.

George, on the other hand, had known Luna for far too long to be shocked by what she had just done.

"She was NOT checking me out." George rolled his eyes "Because I am pretty sure it is apparent to anyone with eyes that as pretty as you look tonight, I would have no desire to look at anyone else. So checking me out would be a total waste of time."

It was George's turn to look smug as he took advantage of Luna's shock to order for both of them. The waitress, her face now incredibly red, scribbled their orders down and beat a hasty retreat.

"Did you really mean that?" Luna asked softly "You think I look pretty?"

George gaped at her. She wore a soft blue mid-thigh length sundress with thin straps that buttoned down the front and the ribboned silver shoes she had worn to the party at the burrow. Her hair was down with the sides pulled up into the familiar silver combs. But Luna had never been able to see in herself what George had always seen. It was her heart that made Luna the most beautiful woman he had, or would ever, know. Her outer beauty was just icing on an amazingly gorgeous cake.

"Actually..." George said nervously "No..."

Luna looked up sharply as he continued. "Incredibly beautiful is more like it."

Luna smiled at him over the soft candlelight.

"I'm going to miss you, you know." she said softly

"I wont be far." George smiled "I hope you'll come and see me before you leave for school next week."

"Well, just because I am kicking you out, it doesn't mean you can't come to visit before I leave." She shifted nervously " I mean, if you want to...you don't have to."

"Of course I want to." He took her hand "I'll miss you too."

A waiter approached then carrying a heavy tray bearing their meals. Apparently, their waitress had gone on break.

"See what you did." George grinned at Luna as he cut into his steak "You scared that poor girl off."

"Shame on me." Luna giggled "I guess next time she will learn to be more careful when she looks at someone's butt."

"She was not looking at my butt." George blushed

"Was."

"Not."

"Of course she was looking at your butt George." Luna shook her head "Everyone looks at your butt. I still look at your butt and I have had plenty of time to get use to the sight of your butt."

"You mean your not sick of looking at my butt?" George lifted at eyebrow at her

"Right." Luna nodded sarcastically "As if anyone could get sick of looking at your butt."

"Hmmm" George smirked "Thanks, that could be very useful information."

"Well, don't get cocky." Luna grinned "I still don't think your ears are that handsome."

"Not even my fake one?"

"Err...no..." She rolled her eyes "Your fake one looks just like your real one."

"You're a difficult woman to please Luna Lovegood." He shook his head, then he grinned and winked at her "Guess it's a good thing you are so fixated on my butt."

Luna just giggled. It wasn't like she could deny it...she was fixated on his butt...among other things.

-

Luna heard voices as she attempted to shake the just woken fog from her mind.

He was leaving today. In an hour or so, George would be gone. It had been her decision, and she had known it was the right thing, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it. Did it?

"Luna?" George knocked softly on her door.

"Come in." She called as she sat up and reached for her robe.

"Hey." He said as he opened the door

"Is someone here?" She asked as she stood and slid into her robe.

"Err....yeah." George looked nervous and upset about something. "My dad, and Percy."

"Oh." Luna said sadly as she pulled the braids from her hair, ran the brush quickly through it and pulled it back into a messy bun held it in place with the silver combs "Have they come to help you with your things?"

"Not exactly." George took her arm "They've come to speak with you."

"Me?" She looked puzzled

"Yes." George took a deep breath "Luna...it's about your father."

Fear gripped Luna's insides. The look on George's face scared her.

"Daddy?" She put her hand over her mouth and sank down on the side of the bed.

"Luna..." George knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his. "I'm afraid the news isn't good."

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Chapter 17 Preview

Luna is faced

with the most difficult

decision of her life and George

makes a decision that will

change everything.

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