Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter characters. All original characters are mine.

A/N: This chapter starts out with unfamiliar characters but will get back to the characters we know in the middle. Also, the last names for all of the original characters came from places so if anyone wants to take some guesses on those, feel free. I had four different ideas for introducing the new character. I ended up blending two of them together to get this chapter.

Learning to Live Again

Ch. 2 - Scarlet

"Weedle," Iris Montgomery called out into the room that, apart from herself, appeared to be unoccupied. A moment later a cracking sound was heard and a small, knobbly house elf appeared, bowing its head toward Iris, who wasted no time in issuing her command, "Weedle, I want you to go find Miss Jenkins and tell her that she's to report to my office at once."

With another crack, Weedle the house elf disappeared. Iris leaned back in her chair, resting her head against the back, and thought about the young woman she had just summoned. Scarlet Jenkins was not your ordinary girl. She wasn't even your ordinary witch. She was peculiar in looks, personality, skills and acheivements; considered a genuine prodigy by most. She was also, Iris believed, the best suited witch or wizard at Holkeboer to take this new assignment, despite the fact that she was one of the younger staff members.

Iris' thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. She looked up to see Scarlet standing in the doorway, "Ah, Miss Jenkins! Come in. Have a seat."

Scarlet sat down across from Iris and quirked an eyebrow, "You sent for me?"

"Yes, there's a case that I would like you to handle. It would mean heading overseas," as her companions eyebrow raised again, Iris continued, "I know, I know. It's usually your other job that is more likely to send you out of the country, but I think this case will interest you."

Scarlet took the parchment that was handed to her and began to read. By the time she finished, she had both eyebrows raised. When she set the parchment down, she met Iris' gaze and muttered, "Fascinating."

Unsure whether Scarlet was being sincere or not, Iris chose to nod in agreement, "Yes, I thought that would catch your interest, especailly given your history." Scarlet responded by bobbing her head and Iris continued, "From what I understand, it might also be an opportunity to meet THE Harry Potter."

"I gathered that much from the letter," sighed Scarlet, "but I wouldn't let that make my decision for me, you know that."

"And what is your decision, may I ask?" Iris inquired.

"Oh, I think you know that as well or you wouldn't have bothered telling me about this. Of course I'm going. I couldn't just leave a fellow member of the wizarding community in need now, could I?"

"Great! You'll be flying out first thing tomorrow morning. You read your directions on how to get there, right?"

"Knight bus to the Leaky Cauldron. I'll have a room reserved. Ask for Tom, he'll help me from there," Scarlet responded.

"Perfect. You're free to go get ready now. We'll see you whenever you get back."

It was three days after his appointment at St. Mungo's and George was back in his shop. Today he had actually answered two questions from customers, but his heart still wasn't in his work. Therefore, the was currently sitting on his stool behind the counter, staring at the ceiling. He had been trying to tune out all of the noise in the shop when suddenly Ron's voice came through loud and clear, "Hey Verity, that looks like a new customer. I've never seen her before. She's got a different sort of look to her, doesn't she?"

"I'm not sure that was an entirely polite thing to say, Mr. Weasley," remarked Verity.

Ron groaned, "Come on, Verity. You know I didn't mean it like that. She IS different looking but she's far from ugly. She's quite pretty, really."

"Mr. Weasley! Need I remind you that you are engaged?" Verity jokingly reproved.

"That doesn't mean I can't call a pretty girl pretty."

At this point, George decided to make the effort to see who they were talking about. The young woman in question was not hard to spot. Ron had been right, she had a 'different' look to her. To start, she was tiny. George guessed she was probably around five feet tall and he was willing to bet half his money that she didn't weigh over ninety pounds. She had and ivory skin tone and near-platinum hair that fell in riotous curls to her shoulders and was pulled back from her face on each side with a clip. George couldn't clearly see her eyes from this distance but they were obviously just as pale as the rest of her. Another unusual aspect, at least for a being in Diagon Alley outside of school supply shopping time, she was dressed in an entirely muggle outfit; a pair of dusty-blue jeans, a pale gray jumper and gray and black trainers. Tilting his head slightly to the side, George watched as the newcomer walked over to Ron and said something to him. Ron, in turn, shook his head and pointed right to the spot where George was sitting. George's eyes widened in surprise as watched the girl nod and begin to approach him.

"Are you George Weasley?" she asked when she stood directly across the counter from him. She spoke in a distinctly American accent, making her that much more unusual in George's eyes.

"I am," he responded, "Who are you?"

The young woman stuck out her hand for him to shake and introduced herself in a voice full of confidence, "Scarlet Jenkins. I'm a mediwitch at the Everett Holkeboer Memorial Wizarding Hospital. I believe you were expecting me?"

Rather than answering her query, George posed a couple of his own, "YOU'RE the healer they sent? You look like a student, how old are you?"

"I'm twenty one," she replied indignantly, "I'm about a month younger than you and definitely old enough to be a fully trained mediwitch. I'm a trained Auror, too, for that matter."

George wasn't actually paying attention to Scarlet's rant, however, for he had just gotten a really good look at her eyes and couldn't stop himself from blurting out, "You have really bizzare eyes."

Scarlet's expression changed to one disbelief and her voice, when she spoke a moment later, was dripping with sarcasm, "Gee, thanks."

"I-I didn't mean that the way it sounded," George was surprised to find himself stumbling over his words, "but you have to admit, your eyes are not the most normal color. I can't even really tell what color they are, they're so pale. They kind of remind me of frosted glass."

He was saved from having to further explain himself when Scarlet unexpectedly broke out in surprised laughter, "Frosted glass, huh? I've never had anyone else use that description before but I have to say, I kinda like it."

George stared uncertainly at the girl across from him. He hadn't expected her to be so willing to laugh. In his experience, healers tended to be stodgy old crones or geezers, who had no sense of humor whatsoever. This girl, Scarlet, however, seemed to be defying all expectations. While he still wasn't exactly eager to have a healer practically forced upon him, it was starting to seem like a little less of a hassle. At least they had sent someone who mildly sparked his interest. It was rare for anyone or anything to do so these days. He managed a brief snort of amusement before asking, "So, what's your plan of action? How are you going to help me?"

"Well, first, you and I are going over to the Leaky Cauldron to get my things. I'm gonna be staying with you for awhile. Don't worry, I can help out here in the shop. Oh, and while we're at the Leaky Cauldron, I figure we might as well get a drink and, if you're upt to it, we might try to learn a little bit about each other. Then, I'll make it up as I go along."

Before George had a chance to protest, he found himself standing in front of the bar at the Leaky Cauldron. He turned to Scarlet and asked, "What do you want? Butterbeer?"

"Butterbeer?" Scarlet scoffed, "No thanks. I won't be having anything less than firewhiskey. You can go ahead and have butterbeer if you want."

"As if I'm about to let a girl half my size outdrink me," retorted George, turning to order.

When they received their drinks, they sat down at one of the smaller tables. Scarlet took a swig of firewhiskey before looking George full in the eye, "So, I understand you were a Beater at Hogwarts, correct?"

"Yeah, are you a Quidditch fan, then?" George asked.

Once again Scarlet surprised him by laughing, "Not just a fan, silly boy. I was a Seeker in school. I was actually asked to try out for the American National Team but I decided to respectfully decline."

George nearly choked on his drink. So far it seemed that nearly every time Scarlet spoke she revealed some new surprise to furhter deviate from his expectations. Whether or not her treatment would help him or not, he had no idea. But, at the very least, he was beginning to think it would be a great distraction.