Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling *Chapter contains quote from Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"

A/N Awww C'mon, Review! It's not that hard!

Carpe Diem-Latin-Seize the moment

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Snow Angels

Chapter Five

Oh Christmas Tree

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The next day dawned bright, cold and clear. Luna was thankful for this as she gazed out the window after waking, Ginny had told them that heavy snow or not, they would be going into the woods to search out their Christmas tree that night. The others had expected George to be reluctant, to maybe even refuse to close the shop early to join the others, but not Luna. Luna maybe not have known the George from before the war, but she knew enough to know that he was shifting, maybe not back to the way he had been before, but perhaps to someone even better.

There was a soft knock seconds before the door slid open to reveal a smiling face.

"Out of bed sleepy head." George grinned at her, his smile so infectious that there was no way in the world that Luna could not have returned it. "The others are down at breakfast already."

"I'm awake." She reached for her robe and pulled it on before sliding out of bed. "It's a lovely morning, don't you think?"

"Very lovely." Luna had turned to her overnight bag and didn't notice, her sliding off the foot of the bed had exposed a great deal of leg... something George had noticed. Fortunately for him, he averted his gaze before she had a chance to turn around and catch him looking somewhere he really shouldn't have been.

"I forgot to take clothes again last night." George shook himself, trying to dislodge the image of Luna's legs from his mind. "I'll just wait on the stairs."

"No." Luna turned quickly, her clothes in her hands. "Wait George, I can go downstairs and use the bathroom. No need to wait."

She pushed past him and was halfway down the stairs before he had a chance to protest. "I'll be waiting on the stairs so I can come back in and make the bed." She called after herself before disappearing into the bathroom at the bottom of the stairwell.

George grinned, he imagined this was some sort of revenge, Luna's way of trying one up him for getting away with the whole skates thing. She was wasting her time, it was never going to happen. He looked at the bed, a smirk coming to his lips, then he made it up, tucking the sheets in perfectly as his mother had taught him. He dressed quickly, savoring the indignant look he knew Luna was going to flash him when she saw that he had already done the little chore for her. He was grinning madly by the time he pulled open the door to see Luna waiting patiently by the window.

"Rooms all your's." He smiled and let her past, silently waiting.

"George!" She hissed, careful to keep her voice low. "Why did you make the bed?"

"I felt like doing something nice."

"You felt like rubbing it in that you got away with buying me those expensive skates more like it."

"That too." He smirked deviously.

"And you think I'll let you get away with this do you?"

"Of course you will."

"And why is this?"

"Because if you spill the beans to the others they will wonder why I was making your bed. Harry, Ron and Ginny actually have fairly dirty minds, they might wonder if I played a part in mussing it… hence, the reason why I might feel a need to make it. Now, I don't know about you … but, I certainly don't want to listen to their conjectures all day about why or why not I may have done it … do you?"

George smirked and passed her, leaving her standing opened mouthed on the landing.

Luna's grandfather on her mothers side had been muggle born and when she was small, they visited him every Christmas. Luna was fascinated by his television, for on it, she could watch 'videos', of his many, many, videos there had been one Christmas video that had been her very, very favorite … 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'

George's smirk reminded Luna far too much of the Grinch from her Grandfathers video…

*'The words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote, … stink, stank, stunk!'

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The day passed in a blur of activity. Christmas was growing ever closer, which meant the shop was busier with each moment that passed. George had gone to the Daily Prophet early that morning and put in a last minute advertisement for two under managers who would help him run the two shops. Ron would take over as manager in the Diagon Alley shop, but he would be leaving after taking his N.E.W.T.s in the spring to begin Auror training with Harry. By then, George needed to have both shops squared away.

By lunch time it was glaringly obvious there would be no time for a two and a half hour lunch. George had already booked up his afternoon with interviews, not to mention the entire next two days. He was hoping more than anything that he would find someone who would fit in the first few interviews so he could cancel the others. By the time they closed the shop at four-thirty George was hopeful, he had two that he planned to call back for second interviews. Still, he was more than ready to push business to the back of his mind for the rest of the night by the time they finally apparated back to the Burrow.

"Now remember…" Ginny began while they dished up bowls of hot, steaming stew before their planned excursion into the forest for their Christmas tree. "…it has to be big, and spectacular."

"Yes Ginny, we know." Arthur said in a bland, some what worn voice. She had been going on about it for days; the whole discussion was getting a bit … old.

"And check with me before you chop anything down. No sense in killing tress we can't be sure of."

Ron and Harry exchanged eye rolls...they had heard her instructions before.

"We won't kill any trees that don't need to die Ginny, don't worry." Percy patted her hand being unintentionally condescending. Ginny turned her glare on him.

"Are you mocking me?"

"Wouldn't dream of it." Percy said seriously, his eyes subtly checking to be sure she hadn't brought her wand to the table with her. "We just want you to be happy."

"And find the perfect tree." Hermione put in. She was, after all, sitting within Ginny's line of fire.

"Don't worry dear. Everything will be fine." Molly worked up a smile, even though she too had begun to grow tired of Ginny's Christmas tree obsession. It had been cute when she was four, her adorable demands that Daddy find the perfect tree, that it be decorated in just the right way and that the fairy lights give the exact perfect amount of twinkle so that the lights would dance on the ceiling and windows just right. It had stopped being adorable somewhere around the time Ginny had been eight, when she yelled at Bill and called him a stupid git for chopping down the wrong tree … and Ron had pushed her down for it then yelled at her for being a snotty little prat.

Ginny had mellowed out a bit the older she got, she was still picky, still demanded the final say… but she was more open to letting the others have their say too. Not that they ever won, but at least she let them talk now.

"I just want it to be really nice this year." Ginny looked around nervously, knowing they all knew why this year was so important, but not about to say it out loud.

"It will be Ginny." George smiled at her softly. He understood well that she was trying so hard in no little part because of him. She wanted to make him happy. The thing was though, it wasn't the decorations that would make the season wonderful, just as it had been in all the Christmas's past, it was the people around him that made Christmas special. Yes, one of them was gone this year, but he was thankful for the ones who still remained and he had been foolish to have lost sight of that in the beginning.

Dinner now finished, they pulled on their cloaks, mittens and hats and began to decide who would go with whom. Charlie had arrived that morning and so they divided into perfect pairs, Arthur and Molly, Percy and Charlie, Ron and Hermione, and Harry and Ginny … leaving George to pair with Luna.

They had only an hour or so of daylight left so they separated at the entrance to the forest, Ginny reminding them once again not to touch a single tree until she gave her approval.

George waited until the others were out of sight before he reached for Luna's hand and lead her into their appointed area.

"Ginny is a bit …." Luna began hesitantly.

"Obsessed?" George finished with a grin.

"Yes." Luna smiled up at him "Has she always been this way or does she do it out of some odd holiday need to impress guests?"

"Oh, no." George laughed loudly "It has nothing to do with you, I assure you. Ginny has been like this since she was little. The Christmas she was nine, she kept us all out here so late dad finally put his foot down and chopped down the next tree we came to. Ginny had a fit. The next day, she refused to help decorate it, just sat in her room and pouted the rest of the night."

"Poor Ginny." Luna sighed "That must have been miserable."

"Poor Ginny?" George exclaimed loudly in disbelief "She made us miserable that entire Christmas! It got so bad that Bill and Charlie offered to go and with her and find a better tree, but she refused. If you want to feel sorry for someone, feel sorry for Harry. He's the one who's going to marry her and be stuck with it for the rest of his life."

Luna giggled despite herself. The image of the famous Harry Potter chasing through the forest after a crabby wife was just too ridiculous.

"Ahhh… yes." George grinned and stopped in front of a fallen log and began brushing the snow off of it. "This is my spot."

"Your spot for what?" Luna asked innocently

George grinned mischievously then motioned to her to sit down. "This is where Fred and I always used to sit and wait out the insanity."

He winked and began to gather small bits of wood. Luna ignored the log, choosing to help him gather wood instead.

"Aren't we supposed to be looking for a Christmas tree?"

"Not much point." George kicked away a circle of snow, then lay a pile of kindling in the center.

"Incednio"

Luna used her wand to cut apart a large tree limb, then lay it in a pile next to where George was stacking his own wood on the burning kindling. With nothing else to do, and since they obviously were going to have nothing to do with finding a Christmas tree, Luna took the previously offered seat on the log.

"So … why is there no point in helping look for a Christmas tree?"

"Because…" He flashed a cheeky grin and sat next to her on the log. "Ginny has always hated any tree Fred and I picked out. I have no reason to assume that will change now."

"So you're not even going to try?"

"Sure as rain on the first day of summer vacation, Ginny will hate any tree I like." George shook his head "So there is absolutely no point in our tramping through the snow, getting all cold and wet, when we could be sitting here by a nice fire, all warm and toasty, enjoying each others company."

"Just because Ginny doesn't like your taste in trees, it doesn't mean she won't like mine." Luna countered.

"No offense Luna, but your tastes have proven to be even more eccentric than mine."

Loathe as she was to admit it, George had her there, and the truth was...Ginny wasn't likely to be fond of her choice in trees either. Luna was one of those overly compassionate types, the kind who would take the puniest tree in the forest because she didn't want it to feel bad because no one had chosen it. Somehow, Luna didn't think that a puny tree was what Ginny had in mind. Still …

"I have the oddest feeling this has less to do with Ginny not liking your choice in trees and more to do with your not wanting to run about the forest all night."

George looked at her, a trace of a smirk twitching the corners of his mouth. Luna was much more attuned to people than he had given her credit for.

"You know Luna, I would be completely and totally wounded by that comment…"

Luna turned toward him and arched an eyebrow; a fantastic grin took the place of George's indignation.

"…if it weren't completely and totally true."

George winked, then reached for his bag and began to dig inside. A moment later he came out with a thermos and two cups which he filled with rich hot cocoa. Luna accepted it, grateful for the warmth, even with the fire so close.

The sunset was beginning to give way to darkness, over their heads the stars had begun to appear. The sky was void of clouds, promising a clear but cold night. The forest was mostly silent, the only sound the occasional crunch of a small animals paw on the snow, or a squirrel raiding his fall harvest of nuts. The others were far enough away that their voices couldn't be heard. Occasionally, red sparkles appeared in the sky … the traditional sign that someone had found a tree for Ginny to come and look at, yet the gold sparkles … the ones that meant that one had met her approval … seemed as elusive as ever.

"Do you think it will take them long?" Luna watched George tug another large piece of wood onto the fire, the third time he had had to replenish it.

"Hard to say." He shrugged and looked at his watch, it was six thirty…they had been there less than an hour. "One year she kept us out here until eleven."

"It's nice though, having traditions." She smiled softly and gazed deeply into the fire, her mind on her father. George let his mind slide to their own traditions … the things that he had always taken for granted, but never would again. Little things…like their yearly search for a Christmas tree.

The year before they hadn't come into the forest, it was far too dangerous by then. It was the only time he could remember Ginny not complaining about the kind of tree they had, mostly because no one … including her … had been thinking about a tree at all, nor were they expecting one. With a little jolt, George remembered that Luna had been the reason why Ginny hadn't cared about a tree last year. Ginny had came off he Hogwarts Express only days before shaken and upset, she had been in the same compartment and seen Luna taken off by Death Eaters … Ginny had been convinced she would never see her best friend ever again and though none of them said it out loud, the rest of the Weasley's were sure Ginny was right.

George shuddered with the memory, thankful that Luna was looking towards the forest and not at him. He could only imagine the look on his face.

He forced his mind to happier thoughts. The day before Christmas eve he and Fred had gone out into the edge of the forest and cut down the first tree they came to then stayed up half the night decorating it. It was skinny and sparse, exactly the kind of tree Ginny would have hated other years and Fred and George had never been exactly great artistes or masters of taste. It was tinsel heavy on one side, nearly bare on the next; all of the fairy lights were huddled in the middle near the trunk in fear and they had repeated their gnome stunt from the year before.

Ginny hadn't cared about any of that. Her eyes widened in awe and wonder when she saw the tree and though she jokingly admitted later that is was the ugliest tree she had ever laid eyes on, she also told them it was her favorite tree ever.

"What was your Christmas's like?" He turned back to Luna, his face glowing with memories. "With your father?"

A sweet smile came to Luna's face; a smile so innocent that made her look like a tiny child.

"Christmas was … wonderful." She breathed, her eyes wide and dreamy. "I can even remember the last one with my mum, when I was nine. She was a lot like Ginny is about Christmas trees; except she always wanted the one that no one else would pick… I'm very much like her in that respect, so I reckon it is like you said before … a good thing I am not helping in the search."

"Your mother sounds wonderful."

"She was." Luna nodded, her tone was solemn and reverent, the kind of tone one only used when speaking of someone worthy of hero status, or someone they loved deeply. It was the same tone he and the others used when speaking of Fred.

"It wasn't just at Christmas either. My Mum and Dad were the kind of people who believed with their whole hearts that every single day was special…. 'Carpe Diem', they used to say it ten times a day 'Carpe Diem, Carpe Diem' . It's on the Lovegood family crest you know, Carpe Diem.

"Every day with them was wonderful, but that last Christmas with my Mum …it was…" Her voice had taken on a far off, dreamy quality; almost as if she had been transported by time turner back to her ninth Christmas. Luna shook herself out of the haze then looked up at George and smiled; a tiny bit embarrassed now. "I don't think the words exist to describe it."

"I know exactly what you mean." George smiled mistily and took her hand in his, his thoughts once again on his last Christmas with Fred. "Sometimes, it's better to just remember. When you try to tell other people it never comes out right."

"I don't understand." Luna stared into the fire instead of looking at George. "How are you doing it?"

George was abashed. "Doing what?"

"Everything I feel, everything I can't explain to others…when I try to tell you, I realize that I don't need to…" She turned now and looked at him with watery eyes. "Because you already understand."

George wanted to laugh; if not for the fact that Luna was on the verge of tears and he was afraid she would think he was laughing at her, he would have. Luna had just summed up so perfectly what he had been trying to figure out by himself for the past two days. He shifted on the log so he could face her properly, then pulled the mug from her hand, set it next to his in the snow and took both of her hands in his.

"It's not just you, it's me too. There was only one person who understood me the way you do."

"My mum always said Dad and I were like peas in a pod." Luna sniffed and held tight to his hands. "As much as she loved me, and I her… my father was the only one who ever understood me. Everyone laughs at me when I talk about Nargles and things that I believe in … but you didn't, even though I know you don't believe, and you listened."

"Who says I don't believe?"

"George, don't be silly. I know you don't believe in the things I do."

George opened his mouth to protest but closed it when Luna narrowed her eyes. This was an argument that he wasn't going to win. "Okay, maybe I don't believe, but you believe and that's what matters. I don't expect that you will be interested in everything I am either. The point is, when you care about someone, you care about everything about them … you don't just get to pick and chose what parts of them to accept."

"You really do understand me."

George nodded nervously, his words running in instant replay in his mind. If he wasn't mistaken, he had just intimated that they were in a relationship. He wasn't about to back down, even if it was a bit soon, and to his pleased surprise, it didn't seem as if Luna wanted him to. Her eyes were dancing, filled with the starlight from the now deep blue sky. Around them, the snow hard turned a soft, sapphire blue that sparkled with a million twinkles. Had it been snowing, it would have been almost like being inside the most beautiful snow globe George had ever seen in his life. Perfect, and yet surreal. The urge to kiss her rose inside of him again, it was different now, sliding further from longing and closer to needing. He moved closer, lowering his chin as he did … pleased to see that Luna met his action by raising her own chin by the smallest fraction of an inch.

Luna could feel his breath touch her face, the sweet scent of the hot cocoa lingered to sweeten her expectation. Her mind was frozen somewhere between the shocking reality that she was about to have her very first kiss…and that her very first kiss was to be with George Weasley. She had always thought it would be someone more like her, someone like Neville Longbottom or maybe even Dean Thomas… she had almost kissed Dean one night, the summer before at Shell Cottage when they had all been a little tipsy on Firewhiskey the night Professor Lupin came to tell them about his son being born.

But George Weasley … never… not in a million years.

He dropped her hands and moved them to her face. Luna's skin was cold, but so soft it was like touching the soft silken bolts of fabric that had once filled the sitting room while his mother and Fleur sampled fabric for her wedding dress. George remembered how they had slapped his and Fred's hands when they touched and shooed them out of the house… no one was going to shoo him away from Luna, he would hex anyone who tired.

He was so close now, the tip of his nose brushed gently over hers and he closed his eyes. Luna followed suit, her hands catching in the loose wool of the cloak that rested over his chest. Their lips were less than an inch apart, now only half an inch…a quarter of an inch… and eighth of an inch… and then…

A loud explosion sounded just over their heads; with an exasperated sigh George leaned back and opened his eyes to see a shower of golden sparks.

Ginny had found her perfect tree.

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Chapter Six Preview

Decorating the

tree leads to a special moment between

George and Luna

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