Freebs: Let's have a blushing contest! I had to keep chapter 2 so short because I had nothing else to write for it. Anything else would have been filler and taken away from the story

TheMex: I'm writing as fast as I can!

Kathy: Thank you!!!

Holly: Just keep writing. It takes lots of practice. This is my first fanfiction. I've been writing for years. So just write and revise a lot and I definitely recommend having a beta-reader.

Karen, my all-mighty beta-reader: Thanks for watching my punctuation and giving me a plethora of ideas to work with.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Duh.

Closure: Part I

The Danish Minister of Magic stared at Katie angrily.

"And why should we believe that if we fight alongside England, that Mr. Fudge will not betray us. Did he not deny Voldemort's return for an entire year?"

Katie mentally cursed Fudge's stubbornness and stupidity during her seventh year. His inability to acknowledge the truth for an entire year was coming back to haunt them. Most other countries were leery of fighting with England because of it. They viewed Fudge as weak, or worse, a traitor.

"Mr. Ogden, I swear to you that Mr. Fudge is not a traitor," she replied, "He made a mistake as anyone could and he realizes that. He has apologized to everyone involved."

"He cost innocent people their lives."

The negotiations were not going well, and Katie knew it. She could feel herself failing miserably like every diplomat before. Desperate, she took one last stab at reaching an agreement.

"Professor Dumbledore has expressed complete faith in Mr. Fudge," she blurted out, "If you do not trust Cornelius Fudge at least trust Albus Dumbledore. He has never disappointed the Wizarding community and has helped to defeat various deatheater troops."

Mr. Ogden's expression cooled.

"Yes, Albus is a good man," he murmured, "a most trustworthy wizard. Tell Mr. Fudge that I will consider his offer and have an answer by the end of the week."

He got up and walked out of the conference room leaving Katie alone with his two security guards.

"Miss Bell," said the larger of the two, "if you'll just follow us, we'll show you out."

She grabbed her briefcase from beside her chair. It wasn't a complete victory, but it was the closest the Blue Flame had come to reaching an agreement with Denmark in months and she would take it. Besides, it meant that she could go back to her flat and prepare for her meeting with the Minister of Magic of Germany. Germany had been holding out the longest and rumors were flying that their Minister of Magic, Gunter Stovald, had already joined Voldemort.

The security guards walked so quickly through the winding halls that Katie was nearly jogging to keep up. It was her impression that they just wanted to be rid of her as soon as possible, not that she blamed them. The last time a member of the Blue Flame had held negotiations with Denmark, a troop of deatheaters showed up. Five people were killed.

"Here you are Miss Bell," the smaller guard grunted, pointing out the door. "We hope you have a pleasant trip home."

They turned on their heels and left, their boots making no noise on the tile floor.

"You hope I never come back is what," she muttered.

She looked over her shoulder to make sure that no one was watching, before opening the door and stepping inside the charmed room.

************************************

"So, I hear Dumbledore found you and Katie asleep on the couch when Angelina arrived at her flat last week," Fred teased as he took a sip of his butterbeer.

Oliver rolled his eyes. He had hoped that since the twins had been away that day, they wouldn't hear about the compromising position he and Katie had been found in, but there was no such luck. He realized that he should've known Angelina would tell Fred everything.

"It was no big deal," Oliver exasperatedly informed him, "She was tired but didn't want me to leave, because she didn't know when she'd see anyone again. I only agreed to stay only because she promised to get some rest. I fell asleep."

Fred grinned.

"Ah, but why was her head in your lap?"

He opted to stare into his butterbeer as a blush began to creep up his neck. The truth was that by the time he finished telling Katie about the past 2 years of his life, she was sound asleep. He didn't want to disturb her when she had gotten so little sleep. After a bit, he succumbed to his own exhaustion.

"Leave it alone, Fred."

"Fine, fine," he threw his arms into the air in defeat, "I was just asking. You might as well find romance. Who knows if George will ever be able to move on?"

Oliver nodded in agreement.

"Wish he'd just admit how upset he is. Probably would make it easier to move on."

***********************************

Katie stared at the sleeping George Weasley on her couch, debating whether or not to wake him. He looked rather peaceful. Then again, she was tired from her meeting and much too ready to kick back with a cup of hot chocolate.

Sighing, she gently touched his shoulder. "George."

He jumped.

"Merlin, Katie, scare a wizard half to death, why don't you!"

She rolled her eyes. "You are sleeping on my couch, you know."

"Ah, so I am."

Her response was another eye roll. "Is there any particular reason you decided to show up unannounced?"

He pretended to be offended.

"Do I need a reason to visit one of my friends?"

It wasn't a very good lie. Katie could see right through it. His eyes were full of pain, masked by jokes and a fake laugh.

"It's about Alicia, isn't it?" she asked, sitting down beside him.

"Am I that obvious?"

"Just a little." She got up again. "How about I make us some hot chocolate and you can tell me what's on your mind."

"That sounds like a plan," he smiled slightly, "besides, I never could pass up your hot chocolate."

He followed her to the kitchen where she got out a gallon of milk and powdered cocoa.

"So George, what brings you to la Casa de Bell?"

"I," he twisted his hands nervously, "I wanted to ask you something about Alicia."

She carefully poured the milk into a saucepan. "I don't know what I can tell you. I hadn't seen her in years."

"But you were really close, so I'm assuming that you would have told each other everything when you were in contact."

"Well, of course," she stirred the milk with a wooden spoon, "Is there something in particular you wanted to know?"

He took a deep breath.

"I really liked Alicia, but she was, well, killed before I could say anything," he blinked back a few tears, "I wanted to know if she had ever said anything about liking me."

Her tongue suddenly seemed frozen solid. The thought of causing any more pain to anyone over Alicia's death weighed over in her mind.

"George, I…I don't…"

"Katie, please," he begged, a few tears slipping out, "I need to know. I want to be able to move on, but I can't as long as I wonder about this."

The ticking of the clock grew louder in the background as Katie stirred powdered cocoa into the hot milk.

"Back in Hogwarts," she finally whispered, "Alicia liked you. She said there was more to you than mindless pranks and stupid jokes."

George swallowed hard.

"If I had asked her out, do you think she would have said yes?"

"George…"

"Katie, please." His voice was pleading, asking for the last bit of closure he needed.

She sighed as she poured the hot chocolate into two mugs and handed him one. "Yes."

His mug crashed to the floor, shattering on impact. Hot chocolate quickly spread across the floor.

"I really screwed up didn't I, Katie?"

She set her mug on the counter and cast a quick cleaning spell before sitting down beside him.

"There was no way for you to know what would happen. No one knows what each day is going to bring, but I'm sure Alicia wouldn't want you to sit around here miserable." She gave him a hug. "She would want you to move on, make pranks, and keep telling stupid jokes."

He managed to nod.

"Promise me you won't make my mistake Katie. If you find someone, tell him."