Chapter 1

George unlocked the shop. It had been over three years since he stepped foot in the place. It had closed down since he lost Fred. Ron offered to help him out with the shop if he wanted to re-open it. George knew what that meant. He'd be giving up a promising career in Quidditch. Even though George constantly made fun of Ron growing up, Ron still wanted to help him out.

"It's what brothers do," he said shrugging like it wasn't a big deal.

It was a huge deal. He would never be the same person since Fred died. He'd grieved though, he wanted to move on. He wanted to make Fred proud of what he was still doing without him. That meant that he had to re-open the joke shop. With Ron's help they could probably do well. The first step was to clean. Neither of the brothers enjoyed that aspect. Ron was cleaning up the shop area and George had the back and flat above the shop. That was what he was dreading the most.

He looked out the side window into the alley that separated the joke shop from Callow's Music Shoppe. It had closed down since he died in the war. Thalia had disappeared after Fred's funeral. No one knew what happened to her. The only living relatives she had now, her brother Markus and Jamie, were living in Ireland with their wives. George was too mad at his once friend to find out where she disappeared to. They had met their first year. Thalia was struggling to push her trunk up on the holder, so he and Fred helped. With her dry sense of humor and three older brothers (the same number George and Fred had at school), they became fast friends. Eventually, Lee and Gracie were added to their little group. Gracie had died in the Battle of Hogwarts as well.

At this point, he didn't care where Thalia was. He was too angry with her to care. How could she leave everyone she knew? How could she leave when he had just lost Fred? She didn't even talk to him at Fred's funeral! At first he assumed that she moved to Ireland with her brothers. When his owl came back with a letter from Jamie that they didn't know where she was, he spent a good week looking for her, before he realized how angry he was that she left without a single goodbye. He deserved a goodbye, right? He lost his brother without one; he couldn't lose one of the only friends he had left without one.

He tore his eyes away from the building. He refused to go down that road. George was getting better. He was finally realizing that he still had a purpose in his life and he refused to let Thalia ruin it. Ron came up to let him know he was going home for the night. He and Hermione had a "special date."

"You going to propose yet?" He asked smirking.

"Don't give Hermione any ideas," Ron said. "I haven't asked her father, yet. Anyways, if anyone is getting married it is Ginny and Harry."

"I'm surprised mum hasn't forced them to tie the knot yet. Gits," he said making Ron chuckle.

"I heard that Lee and Oliver were hitting up a couple muggle pubs," Ron prodded.

"Are you trying to tell me something Ronnekins?"

"Yeah, go out tonight. Get drunk or don't. Snog someone. Just don't be by yourself tonight. It would do you more harm than good."

George wondered if his brother was always this perceptive. No, Hermione must be rubbing off on him. "I'll think about it."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Okay George, Later this week we are going out. Even if I have to hex you. Hermione taught me some great one recently."

"You're whipped."

"Proudly."

"Go Ron, I'll still be here," George said pushing his little brother out the door.

"Yeah you will be else mum would have your head."

George didn't respond because he heard something coming from Callow's shop. It sounded like someone was playing the piano. He knew no one had been in there in three years, but it didn't give anyone the right to go in and mess around. He told Ron that he'd see him tomorrow and when Ron had apparated away, he walked towards the music shop. He couldn't see anything through the dirty glass windows. He opened the door and found the lights on. To his immense surprise someone was sitting at the piano. Whoever she was had short black wavy hair.

"You shouldn't be in here, even if this place is abandoned," George said.

"Not anymore," answered a familiar voice. The person at the piano turned around and it turned out to be Thalia. George scowled.

"You're back," he said.

"I am," she replied.

"Where were you?"

She hesitated. "Traveling."

"For three years?"

"Yeah, so?" She asked picking up on the resentment in George's tone. She was still intimidating when she arched her eyebrow.

"So?" George asked. He laughed bitterly. "You left without saying goodbye!"

"I was going to come back! Why would I say goodbye if it wasn't?" She challenged.

"Because I deserved to know that someone else was leaving me!" He exclaimed loudly. Thalia's eye widened with shock.

"George," she seemed to want to say something, but stopped. "You're right, I should've told you. You'd just lost a lot of people you loved, but so did I. I needed to…get some air."

"For three years?" He challenged. Thalia scowled.

"Yeah, three years," she said firmly. "I went to Asia."

"Sounds exotic. Pick up any more terrible boyfriend's?" He taunted. She recoiled like he had slapped her. George was too angry to care.

"Get out," she hissed. "Right now."

"You're going to leave again."

She clenched her fist at her side and said almost too quietly for him to hear, "You aren't the only one who lost people George. Don't make me the bad guy. I didn't kill Fred."

"Well, you helped kill me," he said. He apparated away without a word.

He didn't see Thalia's tears or how she pulled out a picture of all of them. Fred, George, Lee, Gracie and Thalia had gone to a muggle carnival and had their picture taken. It was a muggle photo, so it didn't move. It just helped Thalia remember that just because two out of the five weren't there physically, they'd always be remembered. She hoped Lee would be less angry when she went to see him.