Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot. See J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series for characters, etc.

Okay everyone, I think this is gonna be my last chapter :) Thanks so much for reviewing/following along, it's been great having you along for the ride! Hehe. I was thinking about maybe starting to write a Katie/Fred story after this one, & then possibly something with Angelina. Tell me what you think :) School started today! I'm so tired. Hehe. So yeah, it might be a little longer between chapters if I decide to start another story. Anyway, go ahead & tell me what you'd like to read next, if anything all :) Enjoy the last chappy!

"We need to talk?" I sputtered incredulously, "TALK! That's all you have to say for yourself? --We need to talk?"

Some of that fire that had possesed me in the Hospital Wing was regaining strength. I tried my best to fight it down, but I pictured George holding my hand in Hogsmeade, and then George making out with Lisa and in a split second I was indignant again. I wanted to forgive him, but it would come at a price.

"Unless you'd prefer me to express my feelings the same way you did," George said calmly, but coldly.

Ouch. That shut me up. "Fine, we were both wrong. Although I hardly think you're in a position to criticize me after your provocation, you philanderer, you chauvenistc--"

"Allie, please," George said, exasperated. "Could you cut it out with the words I don't know?"

I laughed out loud, in spite of myself. My emotions were always spastic, subject to change at any second when I was upset. "I'm sorry," I apologized. Then it all started to come out. "Oh George, I'm so sorry! I'm sorry for everything! No matter what you did to me, I had no excuse to lash out at you and hit you like that!"

George just shook his head. "No, Allie, it was deserved. I'm--I'm an idiot."

"I'm the idiot! I shouldn't have taken you seriously. It's just that I let my imagination run off with me so quickly that--"

George leaned over and gently placed two fingers over my lips. He stared into my eyes, and I watched him in wonder.

"It's not your imagination, Alicia," he whispered softly.

My head snapped up. "What?"

He sighed and looked down at his hands. "I said it wasn't your imagination. I--Merlin, Alicia, where do I start?"

"At the beginning might be a good place," I couldn't help teasing gently. George didn't laugh.

"No, Al, I gotta--I gotta get this out!"

He stood up and began pacing the snow, throwing his hands in the air as he spoke. I looked at him curiously.

"Alicia, you're amazing. No, you're more than amazing, you're..." He seemed to be under a great deal of stress, searching for the right word, "You're incredible! You turn my world on fire, Allie, and I don't know what to do. I feel things for you that I don't understand. I can't comprehend them, 'Leesh, they're so strong. And different! Merlin knows I've never felt this way before...you're everything Al, everything. Smart, beautiful, funny, special--and all in one girl! I don't know how to handle that!" He spoke softer now. "That's why I went back to Lisa today, Allie. To get away from that power you have over me. That power, that incredible power that scares me. I never meant to hurt you--you're the last person I'd want to hurt--but I knew if you were with me too long, in that way...I would hurt you."

He sat down numbly, and looked at me as though begging me to speak.

"The only way you could hurt me was to not want to be with me," I said, eyes streaming. "I love you, George."

"I love you, 'Leesha." Then he laughed. "I must have sounded like the biggest fool in the world. Sorry about that." He grinned.

"You are the biggest fool in the world. But I love you."

He looked at me with eyes full of love, and smiled. "And I love you, my little geek."

"I love you, super-freak!"

"No more talking."

And he wrapped me up in his ams, and kissed me right there, in the falling snow. And this time, I knew it was sincere.

Somewhere behind us, someone let out a whoop. We both looked back, startled to find Fred Weasley yelling and jumping in the air.

"Five galleons said they'd be hooked up by Christmas morning! Pay up, Kate!"

The girl groaned and checked her watch. "Two minutes past midnight, Fred, give me a break!"

"Five galleons to me! Five galleons to me!"

Katie tackled him and the two toppled over in the fresh snowbank.

"Snowball fight!" yelled Angie, who was running down the hill to join the fray. Wood was right behind her, giving us a thumbs-up as he pelted his girlfriend with snow. A couple seconds later, Professor McGonagoll appeared in a bathrobe and slippers, yelling to "Get back in bed! What a disgrace to Gryffindor!" ("Aw, c'mon, Professor, it's Christmas!" coaxed Fred).

George smiled down at me. "Wanna join in?" he asked, jerking his head toward the disarray. I bit my lip and looked up at him mischeviously.

"In a bit," I said, "I'm not quite sure I'm tired of kissing you yet."

He returned the playful grin. "Oh, I know just what you mean!"

THE END!