I'll Be

George felt his heart break as he looked down at Katie. They were sitting on the couch in his and Fred's new flat in Diagon Alley. Katie was currently asleep, her head on George's shoulder, tear stains on her cheeks. George sighed at the familiar sight of Katie asleep after pouring her heart out over the loss of a family member or friend. With the new war no one was guaranteed to remain unscathed, no one was guaranteed to make it out alive. So with the recent passing of their friend Alicia Spinnett and her family, Katie had made the decision to help the war effort. She had made the decision to leave England and head to France where they were in desperate need of Healers. George was to stay with Fred and continue work on their joke shop. The citizens of the United Kingdom and Ireland needed the shop to keep their optimistic spirits up. Everyone thought the same thing: The war will be over soon. It won't be like last time. George sincerely wanted to believe this but looking at Katie again, he decided it wasn't worth believing. The war was taking Katie away from him. His Katie. George didn't care if he was being selfish. He and Katie had been through so much in the past few years, he felt they deserved a little peace and quiet away from so much torment. And now, the war was separating them once again. She was to leave tomorrow and all he wanted was one more night.

If you leave, don't leave now
Please don't take my heart away
Promise me just one more night
Then we'll go our separate ways
With hours left time on our sides
Now it's fading fast
Every second every moment
We've got to--we've gotta make it last

Katie shifted as George watched her. He pushed some of her hair out of her face gently and slowly as not to wake her. They were going into their third year of their relationship and had no thought of slowing down. They had developed a routine over the years. Every other day, after Katie finished up work at St. Mungo's, she would drop by his flat and have dinner with him. They would walk around Diagon Alley or Apparate over to Hogsmeade and stroll around the village. On the weekends they would join Fred and his long-time girlfriend, Angelina Johnson, and go watch a Quidditch match or catch up over lunch. As George watched Katie in his arms, he began to see every bit of routine slip away. Everything would change and his world would crumble. He needed her as much as he needed her while they were at Hogwarts.

I touch you once I touch you twice
I won't let go at any price
I need you now like I needed you then
You always said we'd still be friends someday

"George?" a voice from below him asked. He snapped out of his daydreaming of better days and smiled at Katie.

"Yes, love?" George asked. Katie smiled at his affection.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. George pulled Katie into a tight hug and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Don't be. You're going to do amazing things and help loads of people. I'm proud of you," he told her. He could feel her smile against him. "Just promise me you'll come back. I've known you for seven years and can't imagine life without you. Just promise me you'll come back."

"Of course I will, George," Katie said softly. "I'll come back to you."

"When you leave, don't look back," George requested. Katie pulled out of the hug and looked at him, confusion in her eyes.

"Why?" she asked.

"Just don't. I won't be able to handle it," he told her.

If you leave I won't cry
I won't waste one single day
But if you leave don't look back
I'll be running the other way
Seven years went under the bridge
Like time was standing still
Heaven knows what happens now
You've got to--you've gotta say you will

"Okay," Katie said. "I won't look back." George kissed her forehead before kissing her briefly. He turned his attention to the photo albums on the coffee table in front of them. He picked up the album and placed it on his lap, keeping it open to where they had left it. Katie curled into George and rested her head on his shoulder as they looked at the moving pictures. They were open to the page with the pictures of the Yule Ball from the Triwizard Tournament. Katie looked at pictures of their group of friends: Fred, Lee Jordan, Angelina, Alicia, George and herself. The guys had picked up their dates and were posing for a picture with them. Lee was giving Alicia a piggy-back ride, while Fred and Angelina were attempting some sort of dance ending pose that involved Fred holding Angelina at his hip. George had just picked up Katie and was holding her in his arms. They would laugh, along with Lee and Alicia, at Fred and Angelina, then would look at each other in a loving way. Occasionally George would send Katie a reassuring look, telling her that he wasn't about to drop her any time soon.

I touch you once I touch you twice
I won't let go at any price
I need you now like I needed you then
You always said we'd meet again

They passed through pictures of triumphs in Quidditch and the year they took back the Cup for Gryffindor. Katie liked that the photo album had no particular order. They had put pictures in wherever they wanted and left room at the end for more recent pictures. They stopped at a picture of them at the Burrow, lying on the grass, supposedly looking at the stars, but fast asleep. Katie looked up at George.

"Who took that picture?" Katie asked. George smiled.

"My dad. He was trying out his Muggle camera," George told her. Katie smiled and looked down at the picture with a new appreciation. She ran a finger over it and took George's hand.

I touch you once I touch you twice
I won't let go at any price
I need you now like I needed you then
You always said we'd still be friends

George rested his cheek on Katie's head and sighed. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and smiled. In response, she wrapped her arms around his stomach and snuggled deeper into him. She could hear his heart and it slowly lulled her to sleep. George watched as her eyes slowly closed and she drifted off into sleep. He put the album on the table carefully. He gently laid down on the couch and pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and threw it over them as Katie shifted in her sleep to get comfortable. George kissed her head again and held onto Katie tightly as he slowly let sleep take over him. He dreamt of the girl who was lying on him as they slept. He dreamt of the day that they would meet again. He dreamt of a girl who would accomplish great things and come back to him.

I touch you once I touch you twice
I won't let go at any price
I need you now like I needed you then
You always said we'd meet again someday

George stood on the platform with Katie next to him. They were waiting for the next underground train to take her to France. They were told it was safer and George had to agree with them. The security for the trains during the war had magnified ten fold. George watched with a heavy heart as the train pulled into the station. He immediately engulfed Katie into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and held on to him tightly. He pulled away slightly and pressed his forehead to hers.

"I love you," he whispered to her. "Always remember that."

"I will. And you remember that I love you beyond life itself," Katie told him.

"Always have to best me, don't you?" George teased. Katie smiled before kissing him. They stood there for a moment. George pulled away, pressed his forehead to hers once more but kept his eyes shut. "Remember what I told you." Katie nodded. They kissed again, this time quicker than before and Katie extracted herself from George's grasp. She picked up her bag from beside them and turned heading toward the train.

Don't look back, don't look back, George thought. And she didn't.

If you leave
Oh if you leave
Oh if you leave
Don't look back
Don't look back