Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the OCs.
*READ AUTHOR'S NOTE AT BOTTOM IF WONDERING WHY I REPOSTED THIS.* I will also explain some changes I have made.

I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar, but I cherish the friend who for me does not consult his calendar."
-Robert Brault
Chapter 1: Bad News, A Flashback, and Something Unexpected

Bethany Cooper, a blue-eyed brunette Gryffindor was well-liked by everyone in her house. It didn't matter that she was in her fifth year. She would be shy at first, but once you got to know her, she was fun. She was known mostly for the fact that she was best friends with Hermione Granger. She was extremely loyal, and would be there for her friends no matter what. It also seemed like she lived by the saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me."

She probably had to be like that, considering she had to deal with Ron and Hermione bickering like an old married couple and dealing with Harry…well, being Harry. It didn't help that her dad was close friends with Arthur Weasley during his Hogwarts days. Meaning, she spent her summers at the Burrow when her parents wanted to be alone, or got sick of her and her younger brother, David, breaking things from wrestling.

She was at the Burrow, without David, during the summer after her fourth year. The summer after Voldemort returned. It was after dinner, when Mad-Eye walked in with Kingsley and Tonks. Mad-Eye had hobbled over to Mrs. Weasley and whispered something to her that caused her to pale considerably. Bill and Charlie, the two eldest children of the Weasley brood, were both there visiting.

Bill, who went into 'I'm-the-oldest' mode asked, "What happened? What's going on?"

Mad-Eye shot a glance at Beth, and then nodded to Kingsley.

"Bethany," Kingsley said in his deep voice. She had a gut feeling that something was wrong. "The Dark Mark was found over your home. Death Eaters attacked and killed both your parents."

"I'm so sorry, Bethany," Tonks said quietly.

"Wait a minute," Beth finally said. Everyone looked at her with surprise. They weren't exactly expecting a wait.

"What about David?" she said.

Neither Tonks nor Kingsley said anything.

"WHAT ABOUT MY BABY BROTHER?! IS HE DEAD OR ALIVE?!" She screamed. Beth never raised her voice. Even when she was watching Quidditch matches.

Mad-Eye finally spoke, "He's alive, but in critical condition. He's at St. Mungo's."

Beth felt tears welling up in her eyes, and instead of collapsing onto the floor, crying her eyes out, she did something unexpected. She bolted straight out the door. As soon as the door slammed shut, the sound of rain could be heard throughout the now silent kitchen.

-x-

Not even caring that it was pouring rain, all the Weasley boys, minus Percy, went to look for her. The person who found her was none other than George. She was under a big oak tree, unknowingly shivering from the cold rain, and had an emotionless expression on her face. Without saying a word, George sat down next to her under the old tree. He didn't crack any lame jokes, he just sat there, letting Beth speak when she wanted to.

"I-I can't believe they're gone. Just yesterday I got my birthday present from them," her voice cracked as she pulled out a necklace that had a ring attached to it. The ring had a gold band accented with three rubies.

"It's the promise ring my dad gave to my mum after they got out of school," she explained to George, who still hadn't said a word.

Beth had a pensive look on her face.

"David could have d-died too," Beth said quietly.

"I could have been alone," she said in a small voice.

"George? I-I don't want to be alone," she muttered. Her eyes looked glassy, but she didn't cry.

George draped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her close, "Hey, who ever said you were going to be alone? You've got us Weasleys, and we're a force to be reckoned with. Besides, you're like family to us, and we Weasleys stick together," George said reassuringly.

"Come on; let's go back inside, mum will blow a gasket if everyone else returns but us. Then she would be yelling at me for allowing you stay out in this rain, and it would be my fault if you got sick. But you, you'll be lucky, you will probably get some of her homemade chicken noodle soup," George said as he helped her up.

Beth gave him a small smile, "Yeah, her chicken noodle soup is the best."

-x-

Unfortunately, George did get yelled at, and fortunately for him and Beth, she didn't get sick. Although, she did enjoy Mrs. Weasley's chicken noodle soup.

-x-

The funerals were held on the twenty-eighth of July, four days after Beth's birthday. David was released from St. Mungo's three days prior to the funerals.

-x-

After the funerals, Beth and George became close friends. George, being one of the most notorious pranksters ever seen at Hogwarts, and Beth who was bookish and quiet, seemed like the last people on earth that would become friends. But they did, proving all of the people that thought it was a joke, wrong.

*FLASHBACK*

Three days into the school year, Beth went to the kitchens late at night. She asked one of the house elves, politely, (she was Hermione's best friend after all) for a cup of hot chocolate. She was sitting at a table, not really drinking it, and it was soon becoming cold. The portrait opened and George walked in.

"Hey Beth. I didn't know you knew where the kitchens were," George said.

"My dad told me about it when I was in my first year after I wrote in a letter saying sometimes I would be hungry late at night," she explained with a far away expression on her face. A lone tear slowly slid down her face.

George sat down across from her, showing real concern, "Are you okay, Beth?" he asked.

"Well, if not being able to sleep at night, stressing about OWLs, worrying about your younger brother who's in his first year here, would be under the category of okay, then I guess I'm peachy," she said sarcastically, and thus began her rant.

"I swear to everything that's holy that if I see another person give me a sympathetic look as I walk down the hallways, I will blow a bloody gasket," she said bitterly. She looked up at George, and noticed the look of hurt on his face and immediately softened.

"I'm sorry, George. I didn't mean to snap like that…It just kinda all came out at once," she said as she absentmindedly traced the rim of her coffee cup.

"You know you can come to me at anytime if you need to talk, right?" said George.

"Yeah, I know," She sighed. "But you've been so busy with Fred perfecting all of your products for your joke shop...I don't want you to drop everything you're doing so then you can talk to me," she said as she stared down at the table.

"Bethany Cooper, listen to me," George said. He was suddenly right next to her, kneeling on the floor.

"You never have been or will be a burden to me," he looked straight into her eyes so she would know that he was telling the truth.

*END FLASHBACK*

Whenever Beth was sad, she went to George, and if George was having a rough patch with his inventions, he would go to her. She actually gave George a few pointers on the nosebleed nougats, since the blood kept turning out green instead of red. But if anyone asked her if that was true, she would deny it profusely.

George is basically a foot taller than her, and he sometimes to call her his 'midget'. She would usually reply with something along the lines as 'I'm not a midget. You're just freakishly tall,' and she would usually hit him on the arm. George knew Beth better than he knew anyone else, well besides Fred, of course. He could read her like an open book, and without even knowing, he had fallen for her.

-x-

Today at dinner, George instantly knew something was wrong. She was staring down at her plate, hardly eating. He knew that there would always be good and bad days, but she just looked down right sad. She looked up from her plate and saw George staring at her.

When she saw George staring at her, she quickly looked down at her plate again. She picked at her food a bit more. Then, without saying a word to anyone, she got up and left the table.

"What's wrong with Beth?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," George said as he left the table. He had noticed that she looked like she was on the verge of tears. Harry was soon following him out of the Great Hall, but the sight they saw once they walked into the Entrance Hall was totally unexpected.

A/N: Okay, so I reposted this story because when I was rereading the original, I realized how vague I left some things, and I felt that this story needed to be completely redone. So, I've combined some chapters together, to make them longer, and not as abrupt as they previously had been. I also changed the main OC's name from Kelly Bauer to Bethany Cooper because I'm just sick of that name. Hopefully you will enjoy this story now that it's going to be much, much better!

Let me know what you think!