Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter universe.

A/N: I'm back. Once again sorry for the delay, this time I have nothing to blame but myself. Also, just as a head's up, I may not be able to update again this month. I will try but I am busy getting ready for Sakura Con. If anyone is going, I would love to hear from you. Now, on with the chapter.

Learning to Live Again

Ch. 10 - No News is Good News?

George was pacing the length of his flat, as he had taken to doing every morning since Scarlet had left. It had been two and a half weeks since he had last seen her. It was now the sixteenth of May. As each day passed, he found himself wishing more fervently that she was, in fact, still on her mission because he couldn't stand the thought of the other two options. If she wasn't still working, then she either truly didn't want to talk to him again or something had gone wrong and she was in trouble. The only day that he had not wished this had been on May 7th, Scarlet's birthday. That day he had wished that she was safe at home.

Part of him wanted to stay there, pacing, until he knew something. But, as he had every other day, he reminded himself that he still had a business to run and that he had to get downstairs in order to do so. By the time he got to the shop, Ron was already there, almost ready to open. Smirking as George made his entrance, the younger redhead said, "Blimey, George! I think you broke your own record today!"

George scowled in reply, "Bugger off!"

"Bite my head off, why don't you?" returned Ron, "I know you're worried but Scarlet's a big girl and one bloody brilliant witch. Besides, it's not like it's her first mission. I'm sure she knows what she's doing."

"That's easy for you to say. How would you feel if it were Hermione in Scarlet's position."

Ron didn't answer but he visibly paled. The thought brought back memories of listening to Hermione scream as the Cruciatus Curse was used on her. It began to put things into perspective for him what George was going through. He tried to cover up the pain the memory brought up in order to comfort his brother, "At least if you haven't heard anything, there's still some hope that everything's fine, right?"

George snorted, "When did you become such an optimist?"

"I'm not really trying to be optimistict," shrugged Ron, "just honest."

"And a bit logical. That would be Hermione rubbing off on you, eh?" George couldn't entirely keep himself from smiling as he watched his younger brother blush and begin to squirm. Then he leaned forward and ruffled Ron's hair, "Thanks, though. I guess ickle Ronnikins grew up a bit, didn't he?"

The rest of the day progressed much as normal. The shop was busier than it had been recently. People were startig to get over the scare that had been generated by the cancellation of the ball and were starting to get back to their normal lives. The customers kept George busy enough that, for a few hours of the day, he didn't have time to worry about Scarlet or her mission. That changed when Ginny stopped by in the late afternoon.

"George," she started, sounding out of breath, " Have you seen today's Daily Prophet?"

George shook his head, "I never read the news before work. It would hardly put me in the right frame of mind for the joke shop. Even when it's not completely depressing, it's still too serious."

"Well, I think you had better go look at it now. If Ron and Verity aren't enough to cover the workload, then I'll help out until closing."

"Until closing?" inquired George.

Ginny nodded, "I think you'll need it."

"Okay," answered George with some hesitation, "If I'm not back in ten minutes, try to close the shop ask early as you can tonight."

"Right. I'll also send word to the others to come over when they get off work. I have a feeling you're going to want some company tonight," Ginny then shooed her brother away.

With a single, brief nod, George turned and flew up the stairs to his flat at record pace. He shut the door behind him and proceeded to make his way, much more slowly now, toward the table, where that day's copy of The Daily Prophet sat. He reached cautiously for the newspaper, as if afraid it would burst into flames the instant he touched it. Slowly, he picked it up and scanned the first two and a half pages before finding the article he was sure Ginny was talking about, halfway down the third page. When George read the headline, he wished the paper HAD burst into flames.

The headline read: Routine Operation Turns Deadly For Team Of Aurors.

George leaned against the wall and slid to the floor before he continued reading. The article went on to describe how a team of four Aurors had been sent out to track down a group of suspected dark witches and wizards. The team of Aurors had been attacked, leaving one Auror dead, two in the hospital, and the fourth one missing. Adding to George's rising panic level was the fact that the article did not mention any names. He had no way of knowing whether or not the team that had been attacked was the one that Scarlet had been apart of, much less how she fared if it had been her team. As all the different possibilities started to swarm through his head, George stood up and began to pace. He had no idea how long he had been pacing when a knock on the door startled him so badly that he nearly jumped out of his skin.

Racing over to the door, Goerge threw it open to reveal a group of his closest mates and siblings. Harry was the first to speak, saying, "We thought you could use a little company this evening."

It took George a moment to comprehend what had been said. Once it sunk in, he nodded, "Ginny mentioned she had invited everyone over."

"How are you doing?" asked Hermione.

"It's frustrating," George answered, "I don't really know anything. I don't even know if I should be worried or not, since they haven't mentioned who any of the Aurors involved were."

The others nodded. They had all experience the feelings that went along with not knowing the fate of someone they cared about. They knew waht it was like to worry about losing a loved one better than anyone their age should have to.

The group stayed until rather late in the evening, trying their best to distract George from his worries, but, in the end, they each had to return to their own homes. When the last of his mates had left, George headed to his bedroom and collapsed on the bed. He highly doubted he would get any sleep that night but he figured he might as well be comfortable. Even this task proved more difficult that George would have expected. He tossed and turned and fidgeted. He got up and paced the room, then returned to his bed. He sat down on the edge, tapping his foot for nearly five minutes before falling back onto the bed.

Just seconds after his head hit the bed, he heard a loud "CRACK" outside and then a pounding on the shop door downstairs. Instantly he leapt to his feet and flew down the stairs. He raced acrossed the shop at a speed that he thought must have been faster than he had ever moved before. When he reached the door, without a second of hesitation, he tore it open.

What he saw shocked him. There, on the doorstep, looking far from her best, was Scarlet. She was propped up against the doorframe, looking exhausted. Her face and arms were a map of small cuts and bruises. She managed to flash George a weak smile before he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in the shop and to him. He sank to the ground, pulling Scarlet with him. He pushed her hair back from her face and murmuredto her, "I can't believe you're here. After the article in The Daily Prophet, I didn't know if... You have know idea how worried I was. I'm so glad you're okay. You are okay, aren't you?"

Scarlet nodded, "I'm okay. Only minor injuries. I was luck in that regard. However..."

"However what?" George prompted.

"Oh, George!" cried Scarlet, resting her forehead on his shoulder, "I'm in trouble, and now I fear I have placed you in danger, as well."