Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling

Ten Reasons Why You Should Fall In Love With Me

The crescent moon rode high in the August sky, a light breeze ruffled the long grass along side the well trod path in the woods to the clearing that George Weasley had become so familiar with. He made this trek a couple of times a week, even though he was sometimes unsure of what it was that drew him so strongly.

The trees began to clear and a circle of fireflies danced among the late summer flora. In the perfect center of the clearing sat a rock and just visible behind it was a bit of dirty blond hair that glowed in the light of the crescent moon. George stepped into the clearing proper, then crossed to the rock and sat down and leaned his back to it. They had only sat side by side once. As strange as it seemed, in all the nights they had spent there talking, he had only actually seen her face twice.

"Hello George Weasley."

Even without seeing her, George could hear the smile in her voice and it never failed to warm his heart though he sometimes found her use of his full name a little annoying; why couldn't she just call him George like everyone else?

"Hey Luna."

"Have you had a nice few days?"

"Not bad, you know…"

Luna did know. George was doing much better now but the first few weeks had been hard for him after Fred died. Sometimes, she didn't know how he had managed to hold it together, though she liked to think that she had helped him, even if it was just a little.

"How's your father?" He asked. Luna had been so worried the last time they talked. Xenophilius hadn't been well since his release from Azkaban, it had drained him emotionally and physically and now she worried that he might never come back from it. George had heard rumors that he wasn't going to come back from it, but the last thing he was going to do was tell Luna that.

"The same, it seems he never changes." She sighed, a sigh so deep that it seemed to have come from her toe nails. George reached his hand back and let his fingers touch hers where they lay in the cool grass. Luna lifted her pinky in response, letting it fall over his.

"How's Angelina?" Her voice was soft and far away, George thought he detected a touch of bitterness. He knew well that Luna disliked Angelina. He had heard they had had an altercation, though both denied it.

"She's okay." George shrugged, "She's been dropping hints again."

"Oh." Luna pulled her hand back and George heard the soft click-click-click that meant she was biting her nails. It was a new habit that Luna had picked up in the last week.

"I've been thinking George."

"That could be scary." George laughed softly, every time Luna started with that line they ended up on a conversational wild ride through the deepest valleys and recesses of Lunaland. Luna's wind chime laugh drifted over from the other side of the rock and she reached down to gently swat his hand where it still lay on the grass.

"That wasn't very nice George."

"I know. I'm sorry." He allowed his fingers to caress hers for a moment. "Tell me what you've been thinking about."

"Well…" Her hand moved away from his again, the steady click-click-click began once again. "I've been thinking that you should break up with Angelina and fall in love with me instead."

If it had been anyone else, George would have been on his feet and out of there. But it wasn't anyone else, it was Luna.

"You think so?"

"Yes I do, I made a list of reasons. Would like to hear them?"

"Sure."

"Okay then." He heard the rustle of paper against fabric, then the unrolling of a scroll. "Number one. I did some checking and our astrological signs are in perfect harmony. Not just one, but our Chinese zodiac as well. The stars say we are perfectly suited to each other and well…the stars never lie."

It was so like Luna to trust her future to the stars, not just the stars of her own culture, but another. It was one of her small eccentricities that made him smile ... one of the best things about Luna was that she was always able to make him smile. Angelina had become so serious since Fred's death and in a strange way it seemed to make her angry that George still liked to laugh.

"Number two" Luna continued "We seem to have a combined body chemistry that wards off most magical pests. I have yet to see a Nargle or a Wrackspurt when we are together."

George looked up at the swarm of fireflies. "Lots of fireflies though."

"Fireflies aren't pests." Luna protested vehemently "They're beautiful, like stars fallen to earth."

George couldn't resist a smile; Luna always had such a sweet way of seeing things, even if they were a little odd sometimes.

"Number three, Professor Trelawney told me last fall that I would meet my soul mate over the summer so it has to be you, the summer is almost over and I haven't met anyone else."

"Professor Trelawney has been wrong in the past." George countered. "And really, we've known each other our whole lives."

"But we've had a kind of meeting, we did 'meet' here the first time after all." Luna shrugged "I suppose you're right though... I should disregard that one, but ten is a nice round number so I'll keep it if you don't mind."

George couldn't help wondering how Angelina would have reacted to this last exchange. Lately she had been throwing every reason possible at him for why they should get married. She had even sunk to saying it was what Fred would want him to do. George wasn't that stupid. Truth was, he was fairly sure that Fred wouldn't like the idea at all. If he had just brushed off a reason the way he just had with Luna, particularly a prophetic one …even one made by a known fraud…she would have been furious. Yet Luna hadn't so much as argued. Things were so easy with Luna, relaxing. He could be himself with her.

"Number four, our auras are compatible, not that it really means anything, but if we did decide to walk down the same path our auras would be in harmony."

George leaned his head back against the rock. He didn't know about auras, but he and Luna did seem to harmonize well. It hit him then why he made this journey to sit in the clearing a couple times a week. It wasn't to watch the fireflies or to star gaze…it was to see her. Truthfully, he wouldn't cross the street to see Angelina. He realized that he wanted to be convinced to break up with Angelina. He wasn't the kind of person who could just do things without reason…but if he had them…

"What else you got?"

"Number five, we've known each other my whole life and I've always admired you. The past few weeks I have sort of come to think of you as my best friend. I guess I don't know what you think of me, but I hope the reason that you have been coming here is because you think of me as a friend too."

"I do." He spoke softly "Of course I do. I wouldn't be here if I didn't"

Luna's smile was huge. She still couldn't believe that he was listing to her list; she had expected him to run away when she first brought up the idea. She knew the idea was audacious, to some ludicrous even, but she couldn't stand to keep quiet anymore.

"Number six, I think our families would be happy about it. We've been neighbors our whole lives after all and in a way it just seems natural. Though I suppose some would say Ron would be the better choice, since he is closer to my age."

George was surprised by the bit of jealousy that came to him at the idea of Ron and Luna together.

"That would never work." He shook his head. "You and Ron are all wrong for each other."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because, he's a boring little Prefect and you … you love to laugh. You should be with someone who can make you laugh a lot. You have a beautiful laugh you know; it would be a shame to waste it."

If George could have seen her face he would have seen that Luna was blushing madly. She had never had anybody say she had a beautiful laugh before, in fact, she had never gotten much in the way of compliments at all. It was one of the reasons she wanted this…one she would never tell George about. He never treated her like Loony Lovegood.

"Number seven, I think we are good for each other. I don't know about you, but I find that I can tell you things that I can't tell other people, not even my dad. It's been so sad for me since he came home, worrying that we only have a short time left together."

George shifted so he could see Luna's hair blowing in the breeze. He knew how he had felt losing Fred, it had to be hundreds of times worse for her. Fred's death had been quick and painless; she was watching her father waste away slowly. He couldn't imagine what that must be like, he didn't want to know. And still, with all of this going on, Luna had been here for him, time after time.

"Number eight, I think we could make each other happy."

Luna knew it to be true. She came here every night, hoping that he would come and though he didn't come every night, she had noticed that had been coming more often lately. That had to mean something…it had to.

Luna looked at her list, knowing the next one was probably going to make him angry. Yet she had to say it, she was worried and she couldn't let him go without at least speaking her mind.

"Number nine, Angelina is hurting you. I hear it in your voice every time you talk about her. She's destroying you, it's like your soul is dying more and more every day you spend with her. I'm afraid George, afraid if you don't break away from her that your heart will die."

"Wh..." George started to speak but his voice broke on the first word. He cleared his throat and tried again.

"Why do you think that?"

"You're not happy and she doesn't care that you're not." George couldn't miss the sadness in Luna's voice...unlike Angelina..she did care, she cared a lot.

George felt his throat clench tightly and he had to struggle to breathe for a moment; his eyes began to swim. If Luna could see all that by just hearing his voice, how much worse must it be seeing his face? It was all true. Angelina didn't care, and...she was killing him. He didn't even know how it started, one minute she was crying on his shoulder…the next she was demanding an engagement ring. It wasn't what he wanted, she wasn't what he wanted, and in admitting this he also realized what it was he truly did want. He wanted the girl on the other side of the rock.

He wanted Luna.

Luna with the silly ideas and loving heart. Luna who had always understood, who sat up with him night after night, her tiny pinky resting over his. He was hit with a sudden desire to see her face...to look into her eyes; he hadn't seen her face in weeks, and there had been a reason for that…but now it seemed pretty stupid. But first...

"What's the last one?"

Luna closed her eyes and bit her lip. She had delayed as long as possible getting to this one, this was the one that would decide everything and if he heard it and then left her sitting alone…she would be broken for the rest of her life.

"Number ten." She paused and took a deep breath. This one had been decided ages ago…in the stars, in professor Trelawney's vision…Luna didn't know. Only that it had already been decided.

"Do you remember the first night we met here?"

Something wonderful and horrible clenched in George's stomach. Butterflies wrapped in barbed wire. "The night you let me cry in your arms."

"Yes." Luna nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see. "Do you remember what happened after you stopped crying?"

George remembered ... Her lips on his, the incredible sensation of their bodies in the dew wet grass, the way his heart had hammered at the frantic pace of their lovemaking...over and over and over again, until the darkness gave way to the pink light of dawn.

He remembered it all with stunning clarity. The beauty of the night, the horror of the morning.

Angelina had been waiting for him at the Burrow when he returned at dawn, her eyes narrowed with fury. The fight had been terrible and he had walked away from it with his heart crushed. She had demanded that he never see Luna again.

He had kept that promise, but only technically…that was why they always kept the rock between them.

"I remember." He whispered softly, counting on the breeze to help carry it to the other side of the rock.

"Then you'll also remember that we weren't careful."

Luna closed her eyes and let the scroll roll shut. It fell from her hand at the exact same moment that her head fell against the rock. She felt cold; everything...from the nails of her bare feet to the strands of her dirty blonde hair went cold… all so very, very cold. She had been numb for so long, since leaving the healers office the week before. The shocking words…'you're pregnant' … had left a ringing in her ears that hadn't stopped for a moment…not even while she sat, desperately making her list.

She had to convince him to love her…everything depended on it.

The silence stretched on and Luna couldn't bear to open her eyes. A certainty grew inside her, so deep it could have been resting in her womb next to their child.

George was gone, he had fled, and Luna would never see him again.

She had been expecting this, George had come to her in this place two weeks after they made love and he told her that he couldn't leave Angelina, that he had a responsibility to her.

Yet for some reason, he kept coming to see her. Week after week he made the journey, sitting on the other side of the rock because technically, he wasn't seeing her. Even though he knew that Angelina knew and it pissed her off. Angelina had confronted her once; Luna told her if she didn't like it that was just too damned bad. As long as George kept coming to the clearing, she would be there.

Now, there would be no point in coming here. George was gone…and Luna knew in her heart, he was never coming back.

Luna opened her eyes and shifted onto her hip to push up off the ground, she gasped…George stared back at her, his eyes sparkling with tears in the moonlight.

"You're pregnant? Really?"

Luna nodded, her throat closed off and she had to swallow hard to clear it. "Yes."

"How long have you known?"

"A week." She looked away, a little ashamed for having kept it a secret.

"I've been here three times in the past week." George longed to reach out and touch her, fear kept his hands at his sides. Why would she keep such a thing secret? "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Luna shrugged, unsure how to explain. How did you make someone understand that when you are standing on the steepest precipice of your life, taking a step…even if it is a step to safety…is the scariest of your life?

"I was afraid. You said we couldn't be together, you said you owed it to Fred to take care of Angelina."

George sighed and brushed his hand over her cheek. "I was stupid. I never realized how stupid until I heard your list."

"You were?"

George nodded and kissed her gently, then pulled back and picked up the scroll. "You were right, about everything."

"It was quite a well thought out list. Our natural chemistry to ward off Nargles and Wrackspurts alone is worth researching…in fact, I think we should start as soon as we can…"

"Luna." George laughed and let his head fall to her shoulder for a second. He raised his head again and kissed her cheek, and then he replaced his lips with his hand. "You can do all the research you want, later. Right now we have more important things to do."

"Like what?"

"Don't you think this clearing would be the perfect place for a wedding?"

Luna's head jerked back in shock. "A wedding?"

"Seems the next logical step, considering."

"Just to clarify…" Luna looked at him warily "you mean you and me, right?"

George looked at her incredulously "Who else?"

"Well…you did say Angelina …"

"Merlin's sweaty nut sack Luna." George rolled his eyes. "You don't seriously think…"

Luna shrugged. "A few weeks ago you felt your responsibility lie elsewhere."

"Well, just to clarify…" George put his arms around her and pulled her closer "Angelina is going to be a very unhappy person in a few hours."

"Seems a bit unfair really, that she should be made so unhappy by something that makes me so happy."

"I was coming around to it anyway." George smiled and brushed his lips over her forehead. "I think was coming back to you the whole time, my heart knew who I wanted to be with. The fact that you're pregnant is just ... an extra little blessing."

George lifted her face to his and it hit him just how much he had missed it. All those nights, hidden behind the rock when he could have been holding her in his arms, when he could have been kissing her. She was there now, she was his, and he wasn't going to waste another minute. He pulled her closer then his lips covered hers… and it was just as he remembered.

Luna was right, they were a perfect match. Be it auras, or astrology, Nargles, Wrackspurts or familiarity formed over the lifetime that they had known one another. It had all come down to this. This clearing in the woods, a child created during an act of comforting turned to love…a bond that would last forever.

He pulled back and pulled her close in his arms; Luna laid her head on his shoulder and pulled the scroll out of his hand.

"So…are you saying I didn't need my list?"

George laughed and kissed her forehead. "It didn't hurt."

He would have to have that list framed...it would make a great family heirloom.

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You know the drill...this is where I threaten to use my Harry Potter Wand Pen to "Crucio" Opps...that was an accident, sorry, my bad...I meant to use the Cruciatus curse you if you don't review...so ...yeah... :P

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