Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling

A/N:Okay this is my last completed chapter...so...updates might be a little slower from now on...but, I will do my best. This story really doesn't have that much left, only at the most, probably six more chapters. Enjoy!

-)0(-

Snow Angels

Chapter Ten

On the Eve

-)0(-

The Christmas Eve pre dawn was cold and crisp as George Weasley stole from his room and prowled the quiet stairwell for the landing below. Snow fell in huge, fluffy flakes the size of golf balls….the kind that Ron and Harry would be happy to find was easily blown away with wands.

It was the busiest day of the year for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and George would let no one forget it. He would stand at their doors at six am and his wake up call would echo through the doors thanks to the sonorous charm. They would hate it, which of course, was one of the reason why George would love it so much.

But that was in the morning, he had two hours until he would need to give his wake up call. First, there was something else he needed to do. He stopped, put a quieting charm on the floor, and the quickly sneaked inside.

He only had one shot at this, if he woke Luna before he was able to measure her ring finger with the piece of string he had brought, he would have to enlist the help of someone else, and he did not want to go down that road. They would never let him hear the end of it, they had big mouths, and they might spoil Luna's surprise. He had been awake half the night planning how to give her the ring, everything from burying it in her pancakes … hardly the most personal way, not to mention the fact that she might not say yes if she bit down on it and chipped a tooth… to a grand scene that involved filling her room with a million red roses.

But this wasn't a marriage proposal, making a big scene might make it seem too much like one and it could scare her off. It would certainly make his parent's freak out. No matter how close he felt to her, it had barely been a week since their meeting in Diagon Alley. Of course, he didn't need more time to know that she was the one he was going to marry, and he was fairly certain Luna felt the same…but he wanted to do things right. A promise ring seemed like the right first step, an appropriate first step…one his parents wouldn't go ballistic over.

Of course, that wouldn't stop the family from being obnoxious, but that was hardly anything new… they had been obnoxious since the moment he had walked through the door with her.

George crossed the room to where she slept, pulling the piece of string from the pocket of his robe as he went. He had never seen her sleep before and he wasn't sure what he had been expecting. Maybe that she would look like an angel in sleep, that she would be perfectly poised, her hair fanning around her head in perfect symmetric ringlets against the pillows, a delicate and dreamy smile on her face while she…of course…dreamed of him.

That wasn't how Luna looked.

She lay on her side, one arm flopped over the side of the bed, the other curled up by her face. Her hair was in long messy braids that lay twisting wildly around her head, her mouth was open … the spot on the pillow directly underneath was considerably darker than the rest, yet George was anything but appalled….it made her more real. Bedsides, he had been told he slept with his mouth open too, and unlike him, at least Luna didn't snore so loud she could wake the dead.

The best thing about her less than perfect sleeping position…her hand laying loosely on the floor, her fingers widely splayed. He would have no trouble measuring her finger…all he had to do was be quiet and not wake her.

George knelt down, eased the piece of string under her ring finger, and then tied it loosely in place. He reached into his pocket for the small scissors…and kept reaching.

'Shit!' He had left it upstairs.

The plan had been to tie the loop and then cut it open again, repairing it later so he could use the loop to size the ring. Now, he would have to ease the loop off her finger without waking her. George began to tug on the string while praying at the same time that Luna was a heavy sleeper.

He moved it slowly, thankful that Luna was a small person with tiny fingers. Once he got it past the knuckle, it would slide right off. It was the knuckle that did it. Unbeknown to him, Luna had given herself a paper cut the day before and as he slid the string over the cut, she woke.

Luna had been a prisoner of war, her reactions weren't the average persons reactions. George's biggest mistake was not taking this into consideration when planning to visit Luna's room. If he had, he never would have forgotten the scissors.

As it was, his only stroke of luck was that he had cleared the string from her finger and was just stashing it in his pocket when her fist lashed out and hit him in the face.

"Arghhhh!" He flew onto his backside and came to rest with his head against the other bed.

"What the hell...!" He pulled his hand away as the bedside lamp came to life; his palm was full of blood. "You hit me!"

"What do you think you're doing?" Luna sprang from the bed angrily then went to her knees next to him, grabbing the box of tissues from the dresser as she went. She pulled a wad from the box and then pressed them to his nose.

George froze, he had no idea what to tell her. How the hell was he going to get himself out of this one?

"I'll do it." He pulled the wad of tissues from her hand, hoping to buy himself some time. "You've done enough already."

"Well, I'm sorry...but you startled me. I'm not used to strange men skulking in my bedroom at four in the morning."

"I'm not strange."

Luna giggled, he looked pretty strange to her at the moment. "Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes George, you are."

"No, Luna...I am not." He pulled the tissue away, relieved to see that the bleeding had stopped.

"Are you going to tell me why you are skulking about my room or not?"

"I'm not skulking."

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are."

The way he saw it, George had two choices. He could either play yes and no games all night, or he could find some way to distract her…distracting her sounded so much more enjoyable.

He reached for her, pulling her face to his. Their eyes locked for the briefest of seconds before their lips met. His arms slid around her, pulling her closer still.

Luna's mind froze, she was supposed to be angry with him. Shouldn't she break off the kiss and continue being indignant …not to mention the fact that he had so obviously chosen that moment to kiss her to distract her from the fact that he was skulking in her bedroom? But that seemed like such waste of time...spoiling a perfectly amazing kiss over something so silly. Wait...had they been arguing? What was it about again? She knew that she would remember in a minute or two...once this wonderful fog lifted...but until then...

George pulled back with a deep sigh. They were there again...the words that so desperately want to come from his mouth, but were far too premature. He knew it was only a matter of time, very soon the words would come… and he would be unable to stop them. Luna looked back at him and blinked, trying desperately to clear the haze, then she pulled further away and looked at him with grin…her memory restored.

"You were so skulking."

George rolled his eyes, dropped his hands from her shoulders, and let his head fall back against the side of the bed. "Why do you get so much enjoyment out of arguing with me?"

"Why do you think sticking your tongue in my mouth will make me forget that you were skulking in my room at four in the morning?"

George shrugged "I had to try."

The door swung open, first one face and then another appeared in the open door. George didn't know what he wished more, that they would go away so he could kiss her again, or that Luna had used a spell instead of hitting him…one that would have knocked him out for a month.

"What are you doing in here in the middle of the night?" Molly, the most dangerous woman he knew, stalked to where they sat. George couldn't help shivering...his mother had killed Bellatrix LeStrange, after all.

"You really should answer her." Luna grinned at him teasingly

"Explain yourself." Molly looked fit to spit tacks, he was going to have to make this good.

"I…" George looked towards the door where his brothers, sister, and Harry and Hermione stood grinning like they were about to watch a really good duel. "Go back to bed."

"No." Smirking, Percy crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame.

"Percy, go back to bed." Arthur leveled his third oldest with a look. "The rest of you too."

"I want to know what George was doing in Luna's room." Ginny said stubbornly "She's my guest; my best friend."

George gaped at her and got off the floor. Since when had Luna become Ginny's guest? The way he remembered it, it was him who had brought her here from Diagon Alley.

"Actually." Charlie piped in. "I heard she was George's guest. That's what dad said."

"Can we focus please?" Molly turned back towards the others. "Go back to bed, all of you."

"But we want to know…" Ron began

"We have a right to know…"Ginny broke in

"I heard a noise," George turned to them with an exasperated growl; he'd had enough time to come up with a lie now after all. "I checked on all of you, but I thought I saw something go under Luna's bed."

"What?" Luna jumped up on the bed, her eyes wide in panic. "What's under my bed? I knew it, the Nargle charms didn't work…we shouldn't have painted them."

George struggled not to laugh. It so totally evened the score for her having hit him. The devilish, naughty part of him wanted to draw it out and make her squirm. Instead, he reached out and took her hand.

"There was nothing. It must have just been the light."

"See." Arthur smiled widely and moved towards the door. "You can all go back to bed now."

The group at the door cast semi-glares towards George, clearly they didn't believe his story. He wasn't completely sure his parent's did either, but his father would do anything to keep the peace, and his mother couldn't do anything without proof. Luna, bless her, was so thankful that there wasn't actually anything under the bed that it hadn't occurred to her yet to wonder if he might have been lying.

Of course, he was pretty much screwed when it did occur to her, but with a little bit of luck by the time it did they would be at the shop and it would be far too busy for her to do anything about it.

His parents went through the door, leaving him a very brief opportunity to kiss her goodnight…again.

"I didn't believe your story by the way." She smiled up at him, her eyes wide and amused. " I was just putting on a brilliantly acted ruse for the sake of your parents and the others."

"You're lying." he scoffed

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

He considered being chagrined and decided it was too much effort, at least he wouldn't have to worry about the moment of impending doom.

"I am assuming your sneaking in here has something to do with Christmas."

"Maybe." He grinned "Or maybe I just wanted to see you in your braids."

Luna looked horrified for a moment, her hand went to her hair as if she as going to jerk the ties out … and then practicality took over. She would just be putting them back in in a moment anyway…what was the point?

"I guess I'll find out soon enough. You're mother is still waiting on the stairs by the way, I don't think she believed your story either." She grinned in what George was sure was a highly sadistic way. "Good luck with that…it's not like you can distract her by sticking your tongue in her mouth."

"That's sick."

"I know." She giggled and kissed his cheek, pushed him out of the room and then closed the door. "Goodnight."

-)0(-

George watched the door close in his face, unsure whether to laugh or be annoyed. As it turned out, he didn't have time to make a proper decision.

"Ahem." He looked down to find his mother standing at the bottom of the stairs, waggling a finger for him to join her. He looked at his watch and then followed her down the stairs. Looked like he wasn't going to be going back to sleep. He was surprised to find his father sitting at the table, either he had decided that truth would be better than fiction, or he had decided that he might need to protect his son from the wrath of his wife. Both possibilities made George shiver.

"Mum, dad…" He began, only to be shushed by his mother lifting a finger. She went to the stove and for some unfathomable reason, made hot cocoa. Once she had set steaming mugs in front of the three of them, she sat in the chair opposite George and looked at him curiously. Suddenly, George realized the reason she had made the hot cocoa… his mother was angry and making the cocoa had given her sufficient time to cool her temper down enough to show at least a modicum of civility. He was out of practice… he should have recognized the signs, but then he also realized…this was the first time in his life…ever…that he had been in trouble and had to face his parents without Fred sitting next to him.

"Now." Molly's smile was scary as hell, the calm and overly rational one that had usually resulted in his father taking them outside behind the barn. "Perhaps you will tell me the real reason you were in Luna's bedroom in the middle of the night."

"I told you…" George began feebly.

"Don't bother George; you should know by now your mother knows everything." Arthur said tiredly "I'd like to go back to bed, so let's get on with it."

His father was definitely there to prevent bodily harm.

"Alright." There was no way he was going to get away with a lie, not even a half truth. He sighed and rose from his chair, went to his cloak and came back a moment later with a small red velvet box in his hand. He lay it on the table in front of his mother.

"That is why I was in Luna's room."

Arthur and Molly exchanged worried looks, something that George had been expecting.

"What is it?" Arthur looked at the box as if it were covered in maggots.

"It's definitely not what you think." He rolled his eyes; picked the box up again, opened it, and then laid it back on the table.

Arthur picked the box up and looked closely at the ring. "Well, it's very pretty, but I don't think that it explains why you would be in Luna's room."

"I know why." Molly took the box from him, a knowing smile on her face. The other would have been far too soon, but this…this was perfectly acceptable. She took the ring out of the box and looked at it closer. "So you were in there…"

George rested his cheek in his hand, then blandly reached into his pocket and pulled out the string without saying a word.

"I see." Molly laughed, her good humor restored now that she was assured her son wasn't turning into a pervert. "You should have cut the string off her finger then repaired it."

"I planned to." George looked away sheepishly, his face growing redder by the minute. "I forgot the scissor upstairs."

To George's dismay, Molly threw her head back and laughed loudly.

"Thanks for not rubbing it in Mum." He rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Nothing like a bit of salt in the wound."

"Sorry George." She patted his shoulder. "It's just that, well…you and Fred were always so sneaky. It appears you've lost your touch."

George grinned, partially because of the irony, but also because they were talking about Fred and he didn't feel like he was about to be turned inside out by grief. He was remembering Fred and it felt good for once.

"Guess so, maybe." He joked "Never know when it might come back though."

"Is this what I am thinking it is George?" Molly was still staring at the ring, her eyes had taken on that same misty look that they had worn when she had found out that Harry and Ginny were a couple. The '- Ohhh - one - my - babies - is - in - love - and - it - is - going - to - last - forever - look.'

"It's a ring." He shrugged, deciding that it might be best to downplay it… for the sake of his own sanity, not to mention Luna's.

"You bought this from Mr. Perry in Hogsmeade, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"If that's the case, then this is more than a ring…it's a promise ring." Molly corrected. "I thought I recognized the work. All the girls used to moon over them when I was in school."

"A promise to what?" Arthur asked, looking blankly between his wife and son.

"A young man gives a girl a promise ring as a promise that he will be buying her another ring sometime in the future." Molly smiled at George, her eyes growing mistier by the minute. If George wasn't careful, she would be rushing Luna out to look at china patterns after breakfast.

"What kind of ring?" Arthur looked puzzled, but in his defense, he was suffering from lack of sleep and it was four-thirty in the morning.

Molly gave Arthur a bemused grin. "A diamond ring."

"You mean an engagement ring."

"Yes." Molly looked incredibly pleased that he had caught on at last. George on the other hand would have been more than happy to have slid under the table and hidden out there until he could sneak out of the house and go hide away in his busy shop.

"It's a bit soon for an engagement ring isn't it?" He shook his head at George. "You've only been seeing each other since…since…" He looked at George blankly again, his eyes bleary with his need for sleep. "Hold on a minute…when did you and Luna start seeing each other?"

George laughed silently at his fathers confusion, they had managed to keep it a secret from one Weasley at least, that was better than none at all.

"Can I go back to bed now?" Arthur looked at his wife pleadingly, wanting nothing more than to see his pillow again now that it appeared Molly wasn't going to use it to smother their son.

"Yes Arthur." Molly patted his shoulder. "You go on back to bed." Arthur rose from the chair and kissed his wife on the cheek. He was as confused as ever, but he was sure Molly would explain in the morning. Chances were it still wouldn't make sense, but it couldn't be worse than it was now.

"Dad." George turned quickly and stopped him before he reached the stairs. "This is supposed to be a secret, so…not a word to anyone."

Arthur scratched his head, his eyes a glazed over mass of red. "I won't tell anyone anything. How can I when I have no idea what is going on?"

"Night dad." George grinned and then turned back to his misty eyed mother. Obviously, the real questioning was about to start. "Alright mum, let's have it."

"I reckoned something happened that night." She smiled, her finger brushing over the soft red velvet of the ring box.

"You were right." He shrugged and gave her a slight smile. "Something did happen."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Molly patted his hand and rose from the table, she went back to the stove for the kettle of hot cocoa to refill their cups and then returned to her chair. Her eyes danced with expectation and for the first time since that night George found that he actually wanted to tell someone about it.

"Maybe I do." He smiled, the memory of that night coming to life again as the words formed on his tongue.

"I was upset when I left. I had started thinking about Fred and …well, you know how that has always effected me."

"I know dear, I knew it then. Of course I did." Molly reached across the table and covered his hands with her own.

"Everyone was trying so hard to pretend that nothing was different; it was like there was a big elephant in the room and everyone was pretending they couldn't see it. I couldn't stand it."

"You went to Diagon Alley; to go to the shop?"

"I started going to the Leaky Cauldron, but Tom was away. So instead I thought I would spend the night in the back room." A warm contented smile spread over his face and his eyes took on the dreamy quality of someone reliving a precious memory. "I turned around and … there she was."

"Luna."

"Luna. She was all alone walking in the snow ..." George nodded, he'd just felt a lovely fluttering in his chest at the mention of her name. He found he couldn't tell his mother everything, not the very most personal part, the part about his thinking she was an angel. Maybe someday, but not tonight. "We talked, about Fred, about her father, how she was sure he was gone and that she was all alone now. It hit me you know? Luna was all alone at Christmas, she would have given anything to have her father back … yet I had this wonderful family and I was turning my back on you." He lifted his eyes from their joined hands to see that she had tears on her cheeks. "I'm sorry mum, what I did…it was so wrong."

"You were hurting George. There is no right or wrong when you hurt, you only think about what you can do to make it hurt less."

"And that makes it okay to hurt others in the process?"

"Of course not." She smiled sadly and wiped at the tears. "But, when people love you enough they understand. You didn't mean to hurt anyone dear. Your sister and brothers know that. Losing Fred has been …" She closed her eyes and shook her head. "There are no words to describe it are there? It's been horrid, for all of us, but you and Fred were different. You were together, not just your whole lives, but from the moment you came into being. Not one member of this family will begrudge you your pain George. Not one."

He lifted his cup and took a long swallow. It was almost like they were discussing a different person; the person that he had been a week ago no longer existed.

"It's not like that anymore mum; I'm better."

"I know that." She smiled and squeezed his hands before letting go to sit back in her chair. "And, I know why too."

"She helped me that night. I know you and the others were in pain too, but… Luna understood in a way that no one else did…she knew exactly what I was feeling, and … that wasn't the last time." He sighed and looked up again, his eyes pleading for the understanding that he knew his mother would give. "There has only been one person who has really understood me mum …until now."

"Sounds to me as if you understand each other." Molly smiled and leaned over the table again. "And I am proud of you for not leaving her on her own for Christmas. It was a very kind thing to do."

"I don't think kindness had much to do with it." George grinned, picked up the ring box, and then picked up the piece of string from where he dropped it on the table. "I have never been one to believe much in soul mates Mum, but…"

He took the ring out of the box, and then lay it over the loop of thread that he had measured from around Luna's finger.

They matched up perfectly.

Molly grinned as she looked at the two perfectly matched circles, she stood, skirted around the table and stood behind George, then rested her hands on his shoulders.

"Where do you stand on destiny George?"

She bent and kissed his cheek, and then turned and left him alone with his thoughts.

-)0(-

Luna couldn't have imagined a more perfect Christmas Eve, particularly when she considered how she was supposed to be spending it, all alone in her flat with just her branch in a jar Christmas tree and a lonely, unused sprig of mistletoe hanging from the chandelier. It made her all the more thankful for the people who surrounded her now.

There were the usual Weasley's, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat in the center of the room, the radio turned to Mrs. Weasley's Christmas Eve staple, Celestina Warbeck. Bill and Fleur had come in from Shell Cottage bursting with news…Fleur would be having the couples first baby in June. Bill sat in a corner with his wife cheering him on while Charlie attempted to defeat him for the first time ever at wizards chess. Percy sat with his girlfriend Penelope in the corner opposite them. Percy had privately told George and Luna at the shop that day that with any luck, after the new year she would be his fiancée, he had bought a ring to give her at the stroke of midnight at the Ministry Ball.

It was to be a huge affair, held in celebration of the first new year post Voldemort. Mr. Weasley had come home with VIP tickets for everyone for the black tie/formal dress event. George hated wearing formal robes and he knew his family would never let him out of it.

He sat with Luna at the table playing exploding snap with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. The last two had starting talking dress shopping and included Luna in on the planning. If there was a part of him that didn't mind the idea of going, it was the part that knew it would mean seeing Luna in a formal dress … she was sure to be stunning.

"Well, it's getting late." Penelope rose from the settee where she and Percy had been sitting quietly talking. "We really need to get going, my parents will be waiting for us so we can go to church together."

"You'll be back right after Percy?" Molly asked, she didn't care much for the way the weather was looking.

"Of course mum." He bent down and kissed her cheek "I promised I would be here for breakfast in the morning, didn't I?"

She patted his hand where it rested on her shoulder, seeing Percy back at breakfast table in a Weasley sweater was one of the sights she was looking forward to the most the next day. It was something Percy was looking forward to even more.

"Be safe dears."

"We should really get going too mum." Bill stood and stretched "We have a lot of apparating to do tomorrow to get to Fleur's parents."

"Oh, if you must go." Molly understood that her oldest son was married now, part of that was getting used to the idea that he would miss some holidays with them…but that didn't mean that she had to like it.

"I'm sorry mum." Fleur kissed both of Molly's cheeks and gave her a tight hug. It was impossible to tell that the two had gotten off to rough start when you looked at them now, if not for the obvious lack of red hair, you might have thought that they were mother and daughter by birth, rather than by marriage. "Besides, that awful racket is giving me a headache…I don't see how you listen to it every year!"

Molly lowered a glare at Fleur and then laughed. As much as they loved one another, some things would never change. "Get out of here you two; give your parents my love won't you? Don't forget that box of sweets I made up for them."

"Got it mum." Bill swooped down and kissed her cheek again before sweeping Fleur out the door.

After a few last painful notes the radio went silent as the network went off the air. Molly looked around the now silent room.

"Well, I suppose I might as well go to bed. A lot to do in the morning. Arthur are you coming?"

"What?" Arthur looked up guiltily from the box of electric wires, nuts and bolts that Harry had given him. Apparently, they would have to wait for morning. He set them aside, and then rose to follow his wife to bed. "Oh, yes Molly."

Charlie followed them a moment later, and after being given a fairly nasty look by George, Harry, Ron Hermione and Ginny decided to follow his lead and go to bed as well.

Finally, George was alone with Luna. It was the first time they had been alone since she had punched him in her bedroom at four in the morning and it was only by way of some heavy pay offs that he had managed to stop his family from bringing it up multiple times during the day.

"I should probably go to bed too." Luna sighed softly and began to rise from her chair. George rose too, but he took her hand and lead her in to sit on the sofa.

"Not just yet." He smiled and went to the tree, reached deep inside the branches and came out with a bright blue wrapped box. There was no way he was doing this in front of his family; this was a moment that called for privacy. "I thought you might like this tonight."

"Oh." Luna's eyes went huge. "I thought we wouldn't exchange presents until morning."

"We will…with the others, but I want you to open mine now."

Luna felt her heart flip flop. It had to be something really special if he wanted to do it privately, but if he was giving her his now, then she was giving him hers as well.

"I'll be right back." Luna scuttled up the stairs to her bedroom, pulled out the tiny little shrunken box, and then used her wand to restore it to its intended size. A moment later she returned to the sitting room, her smile huge and radiant.

"Here." She smiled and put the shiny red box in his hand. "You open mine first."

"No, you open mine first." He pushed the box back in her hand.

"Stubborn." She pouted. "Can't you please open mine first?"

He hated it when she used those tactics. Not only was it unfair, but he was unable to resist.

"Alright." George pulled the box into his lap and tore at the wrapping, and then used his thumbnail to slice the seal on the box. He pulled the lid off, pulled out the wad of raw cotton and pulled it off until all that remained was the crystal snowflake.

The light from the Christmas fairies caught on the facets, casting a million sparkles over the dark room. George might have thought he had never seen anything more beautiful, if not for the fact that Luna's face was inches from his.

"It's beautiful." He leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips, not caring if anyone was peaking from the stairs or not. By this time tomorrow they would all know everything anyway; what difference did it make if they found out now?

"It's not new, my father brought it home for me after one of his trips to Austria." Her smiled was beatific as she ran her finger over one of the edges of the snowflake. "I didn't know what to get you, then I saw this in my flat and thought you might like it. It reminded me of the night we met in Diagon Alley."

George smiled, he loved remembering that night. So much good had come from it.

"Are you sure you want me to have this? Your father gave this to you, maybe you should keep it."

"No, I want you to have it." She smiled and lay her head on his shoulder. "It is very special to me, and so I want you to have it so that when you look at it, you can know how much you mean to me."

The room was utterly silent as they stared into one another's eyes. A million things ran through George's mind at once, so many things he would have liked to have said, things that should have been said…but he was unable to say a thing. Luna overwhelmed him. Everything about her, her kindness, her gentleness, her loving heart… he had always thought he was a good person, but he was no where near good enough for her.

"I don't deserve you." He brushed his lips over hers, each gentle kiss making him realize just how true his words were.

"Don't be silly." Luna laughed when he pulled away. "Of course you do."

She meant every word. She meant it more than any thing she had ever said in her entire life.

He picked up the blue box again from where it had fallen when he kissed her, and then put it back in her hand.

"Your turn."

Luna had never been one for delicately opening packages and she wasn't about to start now, not even with George sitting next to her watching her intently. She ripped into the pretty blue paper, made short work of the ribbon, and within seconds sat holding a red velvet box…a look of horror on her face.

"George." Her voice was a mixture of dread and panic.

"It's okay." He laughed and kissed her cheek. "Relax, it's not what you think."

"Are you sure?"

"I bought the thing didn't I?" George cringed when her look still spoke of disbelief.

"You promise I am not going to open this and find a Wrackspurt egg sack?"

George's mouth nearly dropped onto his chest. Of all the things for her to be afraid of! Where would he even get a Wrackspurt egg sack; the bloody things didn't even exist. He opened his mouth to point this out, and then he noticed that Luna was laughing.

"That was mean." He forced his face into a pout, despite his urge to laugh.

"I know." She admitted "But you caught me off guard and scared me… I had to pay you back somehow."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're cruel?"

"Yes, you." She giggled and kissed his cheek. "Seriously… you promise there isn't a big nasty diamond in here?"

"Is the idea of being married to me really that repulsive?" He tried and failed to look hurt. He was enjoying this just as much as she was.

"At the moment? Yes."

"Well, thank you for your candor. In that case…" He tried to pull the box away.

"Nooooo!" Luna laughed and pushed his hands away. "I didn't say the idea was repulsive forever did I? Merlin's farts, I'm not even out of Hogwarts yet."

"So, you can see yourself married to me someday then."

She appeared to be thinking, truth was, she had already given this considerable thought and the answer was yes, a thousand times yes. She didn't need to let him know that though.

"Someday, sure."

George smirked, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. "Open the box then."

"Promise there isn't a diamond in here?" She asked nervously one last time.

"Diamond? No."

"Something else then?" She raised her eyebrow "Something worse?"

George let his head fall back against the wall and rolled his eyes. It was good that she was no push over, but this was taking things a little too far. It was a good thing he hadn't bought a promise ring with a diamond in it; or even worse, actually bought her an engagement ring. The crap would have really hit the fan then.

"Luna…Just open the box and quit arguing with me."

"Okay, fine." Luna bit her lip nervously, reached for the lid on the box and then slowly pried it open. She gasped when she saw the ring, it was incredibly beautiful; but what did it mean? Why had he asked if she could see herself married to him someday?

"It's beautiful George." She turned to him nervously, afraid to meet his eyes. "But.."

"It's not an engagement ring." He said defensively. "it's a promise ring."

"A promise ring." She nodded "Promise for what exactly?"

"Basically?" He pulled her closer and kissed her cheek "That one day it will be replaced with the real thing."

"I see."

She was quiet, far, far too quiet. George wasn't sure exactly what kind of reaction he had been expecting from her, but he was pretty sure this wasn't it.

"Luna… I'm sorry, if it's too much too soon…"

"No, it's not that."

"Is it me? You said you could see yourself married to me someday…but if I'm not what you want…"

"No!" She turned and put her hand over his mouth. "Don't be stupid. Of course it's not you."

"Then what is it?"

"I am just… surprised, that's all."

"Good surprised, or bad surprised?"

Luna laughed. "Good, definitely good. It's a lot like how I felt after we kissed the first time. Its so unexpected George… things like this just don't happen to Loony Lovegood."

"You're not Loony Lovegood." George shook his head and cupped her cheek in his hand. "You never have been."

Luna leaned down and kissed him, her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him tightly against her. This whole thing had taken on a dream like quality… but if this was a dream, she seriously did not want to wake up…she was going to get every last moment of enjoyment out of it while she could.

George gently took hold of her arms and pushed her back.

"Is that a yes?"

"You really want to marry me someday?" she smiled, her eyes alive with happiness.

"I bought the ring didn't I?"

"You did."

"Would you just say yes already then?" George laughed. She was teasing him now and there was a time to play around, and there was a time to be serious… this was definitely the latter.

Luna took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She wanted this, wanted it more than she had wanted most things in her life. In all the darkness and despair of the past few months, it was a promise for the future.

It was hope.

She smiled and kissed him. "Yes."

Grinning like a mad man, George took the box from her hand, took out the silver and garnet ring and then slid it on her finger. He leaned in to kiss her, but in the moment before their lips met, Luna burst out laughing.

"What?" George was dismayed…he had obviously missed some vital part of the joke.

"I just figured out what you were doing in my room at four in the morning." She giggled madly "It would have been a bit of poetic justice if you had been actually measuring my finger for an engagement ring, don't you think, considering that I knocked you flat?"

George looked at her with an amazed grin.

"You need to stop reading my mind."

"What fun would that be?"

George had to admit, she had a point.

-)0(-

Chapter Eleven Preview

Christmas Day comes

to the Burrow along with a significant

gift for Luna!

AND

The secrets out!

How will the Weasley's (and the odd Potter

and Granger) react?

-)0(-