Boom baby! I'm back! And I am so so so so so so sorry for being away so long! A-levels cane and I have no laptop at skool so with a lack of time and equipment, I have been parted from you lovely readers for about a whole month! I will try never to do it again! And I'm not going to leave any story unfinished I promise!

I have so many people to thank/comment etc that I've lost count so just thank you to everyone who reviewed, you are all lovely! Please r&r, tell me if school has made me lose my touch (which hopefully it hasn't but you never can tell!)

Lol r xxx

In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, commotion reigned. In actual fact in reigned for about three weeks, but this is approximately three minutes afterwards. With both Hermione and Ginny unconscious in their chairs, and the knowledge that Fred had been inside the bank when the blast had happened, Harry, George and Ron sat in their chairs in a complete state of shock. The Sun was shining down on their table and their ice cream sundaes were starting to melt, but quite clearly, this was the last thing concerning them.

'I need to find mum,' George managed to croak out and he left his chair and disappeared into the crowd of screaming and crying shoppers. Meanwhile, Harry and Ron, trying to regain some composure, set about to trying to revive the other two. After a few minutes Ginny fluttered her eyelashes, looking up at Harry who was vent over her with a glass of water and a fan he'd conjured up seconds before.

'Here,' he said gently, and handed her the glass. She took it, but didn't drink, obviously trying to understand what had just happened. Then, realisation spreading over her, she began to sob quietly in the water in her hand.

Ron was trying to revive Hermione, but was quite clearly going about it the wrong way- her lips were turning steadily blue as he expelled cold air from the tip of his wand.

'Ron, look,' said Harry, looking at a large pale something flying towards Ron. 'Isn't that-'

'George's signal,' Ron finished, and stood up, waving his wand and making the something disappear. 'I'll go, you stay here and try and wake her up.' Harry nodded, and Ron jogged off in the direction George went,

George's signal was one he'd used frequently over the summers. He usually used it if he was practising one of his products and it went wrong. The signal was one of a pair of wings, with a letter G in the middle. It usually flew to whoever in the family was nearest and let them know he was in trouble.

Five minutes later, Ron and George reappeared, supporting Mrs Weasley between them. She was chalk white and couldn't quite support herself. George led her to the nearest chair and set her down in it. Hermione, who had been revived a few minutes before got up shakily and walked over to her chair. Crouching down, she muttered n her ear, drawing out her wand at the same time. The colour flooded back into Mrs Weasley's face and her breathing regulated.

George looked between Harry and Ron blankly.

'Every single Auror is there now,' he said wanly. 'Mum tried running towards the bank when she heard the explosion. Moody caught her and hen she collapsed. That's when I go there.' Harry and Ron nodded. There was nothing they could saw in answer to that.

'They'll be looking now?' asked Harry. George nodded. And at that moment, Ginny let a small shriek, but not one of distress. For beside her shoulder hovered a very pale pair of wings... with the letter F clearly set between them.

'I'm so sorry,' she whispered. 'About everything.' She swallowed, trying to hold back the tears she knew were coming.

'Shh, it's okay Hermione, it's okay.' She laid a hand on his and squeezed slightly. He squeezed hers back, and that's when she started to cry.

'How is he?' asked Harry as Hermione left the ward. She smiled, looking very much like how she had in their third year, tired and thin.

'He's fine,' she said. 'Healer Zratza told me it'll take him a couple of weeks to recover, but they've patched him up pretty well considering.'

'I think I'll go see him after lunch, give him a bit of time to sleep,' said Harry. Then as an afterthought he added, 'Have you seen Fred yet?'

'No, I was going to go see him now. Want to come?'

When they entered the Evan Shakovski ward, they found Fred lying on his bed, deep in conversation with a girl, obviously quite as distraught as Hermione had been several minutes ago. The girl looked up, it was Angelina. There was a solitary tear sliding down her cheek, but she smiled at them anyway.

'Looks like you've got extra company,' she smiled at Fred. 'I should probably go.'

'You don't have to,' said Harry, not wanting to rob them of a private moment just by their presence.

'No really, it's okay,' Angelina said, standing up. 'I should probably go and get some sleep. But can I come back again this evening?'

'Course you can,' said Fred, and Angelina bent down to kiss him. Hermione and Harry looked away, both suddenly becoming very interested in the various gruesome portraits around the walls.

Only when Angelina had swept past them with a small smile and a muttered 'See you soon,' did they proceed to Fred's bed.

'Hey mate, how you feeling?' asked Harry, resting a hand on his shoulder.

'Like a building fell on top of me,' grinned Fred. Obviously the incident hadn't dented his sense of humour.

'When are you going to be out of here?' asked Hermione.

'Few days. Healers are driving me mental. Got some crazy trainee, same one who did dad's... what are they called? The sewing things?'

'Stitches?' Hermione and Harry supplied in unison.

'Yeah. Well, he's insane, no doubt about it. Keeps saying I should try these weird things called 'pain killers'. I mean, what the hell are 'pain killers'? Sound lethal.'

'They're,' began Hermione, but stopped mid sentence, knowing that Fred probably didn't' want nor need to know, especially with the headache he was bound to have. 'Never mind,' she finished softly.

'Do you two want to talk?' asked Harry quietly.

'No,' they both said a little too loudly.

'Okay. Well, I need the loo. I'll be back in a minute, okay?' But he left without waiting to hear an answer.

'Well...' said Fred, avoiding Hermione's eye.

'I-,' said Hermione.

'Yeah.'

Why couldn't she say what she wanted to? Why? What was stopping her? Nothing. So she said it.

'Fred, I'm sorry about everything. I'm sorry I got drunk, I'm sorry about the party, I'm sorry about not talking to you, I'm sorry about the bank. And-' she faltered. 'I'm... I'm glad you've found Angelina.'

'Really?' asked Fred gently.

'Really,' she replied, and smiled weakly at him.

'Hermione?'

'Hmm?'

'Go to George.'

'What?' she asked quickly.

'Go to him. Tell him I'll see him as soon as I can. Tell him thank you.'

'Sure.'

'And-,' this time it was Fred's turn to falter. 'I'm glad for you too.'

'For what?' she asked quizzically. But Fred didn't answer. He didn't need to. Even though he'd been in a stress with George, hadn't talked to him for days and days, he still noticed everything. It was second nature. Hermione smiled at him, whispered, 'get better soon,' gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked away.

'And Hermione,' Fred called after her.

'Yes?' she turned around.

'Tell him...'

'What?'

'Tell him he's a stupid idiot for going in there after me.'

'Well that's nice,' said George smiling slightly. 'Charming in fact.'

'Yeah, you can definately tell you're his brother,' grinned Hermione, helping herself to a chocolate frog lying on George's bedside table.

'Oh, apart from the fact we're identical.'

'Yeah, apart from that!'

George rolled his eyes. 'I was going to eat that you know,' he said sulkily, now looking at the remainder of the frog left in hermione's hand.

'Aw, now I feel really bad,' she grinned evilly.

'Woah,' George said. 'Do you have any idea how much you looked like Malfoy just then?!'

'Oy!' shouted Hermione and made to hit his arm, but stopped herself just in time, reminding herself that not 48 hours ago that arm had been shattered into thousands of tiny fragments. They'd actually had to remove the bones and then give him the 'Skelegrow' potion because 'uzzervize ze arm could end up looking like ze tail of a perticaularrrly spiny dragon,' (in the words of George's healer who wasn't insane, thankfully, but whose Russian accent was so thick, it was very difficult to make out what he was saying.

'Thanks,' said George, noting that she'd chosen not to whack him. He may have had to have strangled her if she'd tried. Unfortunately, at the moment he only had the use of one arm and one leg, so that could have been a little difficult.

'You're welcome,' she smiled back at him.

'So, where have my unloving family scampered off to?' he asked, in mock sullenness.

'Well, your dad's gone back to the Ministry to see if he can find anything out about the attack.'

'It was definitely an attack then?'

'Yeah. Moody said they'd found evidence of Death Eater presence.' George grimaced.

'Your mother, on the other hand, has gone home for a few hours to get some sleep and wonder why, instead of only one son in hospital, she has two.' George grinned.

'Oh come on. What could I have done?'

'I don't' know. You could have waited like the rest of us. When you just disapparated...'

'I know I know, I caused everyone double the worry. Mum's already given me the lecture. But I mean, he's-'

'Your brother, I know. I think I'd have done the same thing. Anyway, Ron and Ginny are currently upstairs eating up half the canteen I'm sure. Bill and Charlie have both been owled. Bill's still in the country and he says he'll be here tomorrow. Charlie's still in Romania though but he'll be here as soon as possible.'

'They don't need to come and see-'

'But they want to, I'm sure,' interrupted Hermione. 'Think of the countless times you had to see Charlie last year with the Hebridean Black burns.'

'Yeah, I s'pose,' relented George. 'It'd be good to see them at least.'

'Yeah, I haven't seen Charlie for ages. Have I missed anyone?'

'How bout Harry?'

'He's with Fred.'

'Cool.'

' He said he'd come see you in a hour or so.'

'Okay.'

'Did I tell you Angelina was in Fred's ward when we went to see him?'

'No, what happened?'

'Well...'

And so it continued. Hermione stayed in George's room for over two hours, chatting away like they usually did. Although this time, Hermione came to realise she had almost lost him. In the attempt to save his brother, he had almost been killed, and this had brought Hermione to see him in a different light. An entirely different light. She couldn't lose him, she couldn't' let something like that ever happen. Ever.

Please R&R! Lol r xxx