Others Have Excuses
Chapter I: Seeing Ghosts
There was a small pop from the kitchen. Molly rushed through the door separating the kitchen from the small living room. She returned a minute later with tow young women. The shorter one had brown, frizzy hair and mascara running down her cheeks. The blonde girl beside her was more pale than usual. They both directed their attention to the lanky boy slumped into an arm chair by the empty fireplace.
"Oh, Percy," the brunette said in a rushed voice," We came as soon as we heard, but owls only travel so fast especially over seas!" She gulped softly then suddenly burst into tears. Molly hurried over to her and ushered the sobbing girl into a chair.
"Come now, Katie, it wasn't your fault," she said calmly, "Bethany, you sit, too. You both look exhausted."
"I can't believe Penny is dead," said Bethany. Se and Katie were sitting in front of Florean Fortescue's with Fred, George, and Lee. Katie sniffed at Bethany's words. George nodded in agreement. Katie stared down at her ice cream, which kept trying to change from strawberry to artichoke.
"I hate him," she said, "I hate Voldemort."
***
Two years later…
I'm serious, Fred," said Katie Harrison, "You can't continue running your store if you keep giving stuff away! As your accountant…"
"But your not our accountant," complained Fred, "You're an auror! We don't even have an accountant!"
"Well then," Katie huffed, "What am I doing here?"
"How should I know?" Fred yelled, "Get out of my store!"
"If you're going to act like that, I'm leaving." She sauntered out of the shop and into diagon alley.
"It's hard to put together a surprise party for someone who keeps popping up to give you legal advice," Fred said as George entered from the storage room with a box full of streamers, "That was a close one." The bell on the door jingled, and the twins looked up.
"'ello, Beth," George said, "about ready?" She nodded and blew a bubble of pink gum that made her float a few feet above ground.
A commotion outside caught Fred's attention, and he stuck his head outside the door of his shop to see what was happening. Katie was running back toward the store with a look of complete terror on her face. Fred moved out of the way as she came towards him; he had forgotten the large sign hanging behind him that read, "Happy Birthday, Katie."
George started shrieking that Katie shouldn't be there and that the surprise was now ruined, but he hadn't noticed that Katie's eyes were focused on a small picture hanging on the wall of Percy and Penny's graduation day. Penny had always been a sort of sister to Katie ever since Katie's first year at Hogwarts. When Penny had died, Katie had become depressed and a bit suicidal.
"Katie," Beth rushed over to her best friend, "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I did," whispered Katie, "I saw Penny."