I'm loving the feedback I've gotten since changing the story from light and fluffy to more dark. At firstI thought I'd have some angry reviewers, but they thankfully proved me wrong!

Rating: There isn't any strong language to make it a T, but I still think it's not quite a K or anything. So, I'll leave it at T.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!

Notes: This chapter branches out to focus on more people rather than the main character (which is Katie) and is something that will be seen from time to time in this story. I think that it helps add character depth and makes it more realistic, but you can take it for whatever you like. That being said, this is an Alicia-centric chapter.

November 14th, Two Days before Kelly Graham's birthday

Dear Katie,

I know it's been a while since Alan and I have visited, and I want you to know that anytime you wish for us to come over, we are free to come visit. I'm positive George wouldn't mind seeing you either, it has been two months since he's seen you last. Alan misses you and has even made a picture for you. He's quite proud of it, as I know you will be.

The shop is doing quite well, and just the other day Cho Chang stopped by to get some herbal tea for her mother. She's quite a nice girl, too bad we never really bothered getting to know her in school.

I know you hadn't planned on having one, but Katie, the baby is coming soon, and perhaps we could have a little shower for it? Perhaps even buy a few gifts for the child. It doesn't have to be anything big, if anything else it could be a small dinner. Please consider it.

I know you don't like getting out of the house, but next week George, Alan, and I are planning on visiting the lakehouse in Norway. You are more than welcome to come. There is plenty of room. Angelina and Fred might be able to make it since Holyhead doesn't have any matches for the next two weeks. It's up to you, but there's no pressure for you to come.

When I went to take Alan to George's today, Oliver was there. He was his usual self, slightly Quidditch obsessed. And he inquired how you were doing. I told him that you were getting along and that maybe someday he could come and visit. At that he said that you wouldn't want that, for it seems you hadn't been bothering to write him back. He understands why, so don't take that as me trying to scold you. He's just trying to be a friend, Katie. None of us understand the situation. We all want to be the best friends to you that we can be. I don't want to take up any more of your time. Please write back with a response to our offers, and maybe we can arrange for a visit.

Love,

Alicia C. Spinnet

Alicia folded the letter and slid it into an envelope that was addressed to Katie. She opened her tawny owl's cage and gave the letter to it and watched the animal disappear out of the window into the dimming sky.

She let out a heavy sigh as the owl finally vanished. She had lied in her letter to Katie. But it was for the best. Oliver wasn't at George's by chance. Actually, Oliver wasn't the only one that had been there. Angelina, Fred, George, Oliver, and herself had all been there to discuss Katie's behavior. . .

"She can't go on living like this. It isn't healthy." Fred had insisted, and everyone had agreed. They needed to pull Katie out of her depression. If not for the sake of herself, than for the sake of her unborn child.

"None of us have ever lost someone so close to us." Oliver argued. "How do we go about helping someone with a problem we don't understand?"

There had been many suggestions, but none were fitting. Fred and George had offered the use of their house in Norway that was secluded in the mountains by a lake. It was a good idea to help Katie get out of the house she had locked herself in for months, but how to get her to do it was the hard part.

"Let us all go." Alicia herself offered. "It seems less suspicious."

"I think that sounds like a good idea." Angelina agreed, as did everyone else present. "I'm free for the next two weeks, and even if I wasn't I would make myself."

"As am I for the most part." Oliver added since he and Angelina were in the same profession. "There is a match up against some minor team next Tuesday, but there is a Keeper in Reserves that they can use who can do just fine."

Alicia had commented that she could get one of her assistants to run the store for a week without any problems. Fred and George added that they could take leave for a few weeks. George and Alicia had agreed upon asking Bill and Fleur if they could watch Alan if needed, for Katie might want to spend some time with Alan.

Everything was settled. Now all they needed was Katie to allow them to let herself leave the house she had made her own prison.

Next they discussed what was going to happen in two days, Kelly's birthday. "It's going to be horrid for her." Oliver decided to state the obvious.

"There's nothing we can do to keep the day from coming." George had added dismally.

"Someone needs to be there with her. It's going to be the worst day yet." Angelina reminded the group firmly. "I don't care who, and if it needs to be me, I'll do it."

"We know you have a game then, Ange. Your career is important to us and to you. We don't want you giving that up, especially when some of us are free." Alicia had told her best friend and former teammate.

"We're free." Fred and George had pointed out.

"As am I." Oliver added for what good it would do. "Though, I think you'd be better off going." He nodded in indication towards the twins. "She hasn't talked to me in six months, and seen me in two years."

"Don't take it personal, Oliver." Alicia told him politely. "But, I do know that it's going to have to be one of you guys. I've got several important shipments coming in and Carin is on holiday.

"We could all three go." Fred offered hopefully. "That way it won't be as awkward."

"Yeah, that's fine with me." Oliver added. "George?"

"Let's do it." The other twin had agreed.

And so it was decided that in two days time Fred, George, and Oliver would all go and visit Katie. They wouldn't write, for they knew that she would refuse to let them come. It wasn't how they would wish to go about doing it, but that had to be done.

After closing the window that her owl had flown out of, there was a knock on the front door. Alicia quickly got up from her desk by the fire in the library and made her way down the stairs to the front door. "Coming!" She called to whomever was on the other side of the door.

She opened the door and was greeted by a tall man with flaming red hair that was now quite shaggy. "George. Is there a problem with Alan? Where is he?" Were her immediate responses to seeing her ex-husband.

George shook his head. "Alan is just fine. Oliver is still over at the house visiting and offered to watch him while I came to talk to you."

"Oh. All right. Come in then." She stepped out of his way as he stepped over the threshold and came inside. "Isn't it a little late . . . not to mention chilly to be making house calls?"

"Sorry if I was imposing on anything, 'Licia." George apologized at her question as he turned to face her.

"No. Of course not, George. You know that." Alicia firmly insisted. "You know you are more than welcome to come over. I just thought since Alan was with you tonight that you would want to be spending some more time with him."

"You know I love spending time with Alan. He's actually the reason I came to talk to you." George told his ex-wife. "Shall we go to the sitting room?"

"Yes." She nodded and led the way to the main room and took a seat by the fire in a dark red velvety chair. George sat opposite her in the exact match of the chair she had chosen to sit in. "What about Alan?"

"I know it's a while off, but I don't want Alan going to Hogwarts." George simply stated.

"You don't want Alan going to Hogwarts? Why not? We both went to Hogwarts. Nearly all of our friends went to Hogwarts!" Alicia protested, looking at her friend intently. "What brought about this?"

"Alicia, you know as well as I do that ever since Dumbledore passed Hogwarts hasn't been the same. I don't expect Minerva to be there but another year or two, for she is getting on in years. She is the last of the Hogwarts teachers worth trusting, you know that. Pomona Sprout is a good woman, but she has only a few more good years left herself. Poppy can't do much good either since she isn't even a teacher." George argued his point with Alicia and reminded her that Hogwarts wasn't in it's prime any more.

"I understand your points, George. But where else can we send him? Certainly not Durmstrang!" She immediately protested.

"No! I would never think of it." George assured her. "Fleur strongly recommends Beauxbatons for obvious reasons." Alicia nodded but didn't respond as she waited for George to continue naming schools, for she knew George would have come up with more than one options. "And there is always the Brazilian Academy for Witches and Wizards, from which Bill used to have a friend in. There is even a good school in America. The Salem Institution I think it's called."

"The only problem there is that Alan would not be in his own element like he is here. He would have to either learn French or Portuguese if he was to go to Beauxbatons or the Brazilian Academy. Not to mention that we have no references to base our view on the Salem Institution." The former Gryffindor Chaser pointed out. She then added in a lowered voice. "I don't want Alan to be away from his friends and family, George. Brazil, France, and the United States are so far away."

"I understand, 'Licia." George nodded. "But I don't feel like he would be completely safe in Hogwarts now. Not to mention the instability of it all."

"George, he's our son, I know you want what is best for him. He's only five." She told him with a pleading look in her eyes. "We have plenty of time to apply him to either school, or to simply let him remain at Hogwarts."

"I agree." The former Gryffindor Beater admitted truthfully. "I just wanted to make sure and address my thoughts to you."

"Sounds good." Alicia smiled. "I like that we can still talk like this."

"I do too, Alicia. You just don't understand how much I do." He agreed passionately. "I love you, Alicia. You know that."

"George -- you agreed not to talk like that anymore." Alicia held up her hand as if to silence him. "The divorce was difficult enough. We can't go through that again."

"Alicia, would you rather I lie to you and tell you that I don't have feelings for you? Just as you would be lying if you told me you don't still love me?" George stood up now and placed his hands on the mantle and looked at the moving picture of Alan waving to the picture taker -- which had been his grandfather, Arthur Weasley -- and smiling brightly.

"Stop. Now." Alicia looked away from him sadly. "Please don't talk like this. It kills me." Her eyes were stinging now from the tears she wouldn't allow to fall.

"You do still love me. I know you do." George turned to face her and saw her looking in the other direction. "Why can't we give it another try? We are older now!"

Alicia shook her head and turned back to face him. "Old enough not to make the same mistakes twice." She firmly told him, making herself sound stronger than she felt.

At this he had a passionate outburst. "Our marriage was not a mistake! It was everything we had ever wanted! It produced the best thing in either of our lives. We have a son because of that mistake as you choose to call it."

"No, George, no! Our marriage was not a mistake. I would never think of it as that. We just can't be together! Don't you understand? We are adults now! Not the same free spirited teenagers we were in Hogwarts. We have responsibilities. Not everything is a joke now!" Alicia replied just as passionately as he had.

"I know that now, Alicia." He tried to convince her. "We were only nineteen when we got married, Licia. We were kids!" He shook his head and ran his left hand through his red hair. "And just twenty when we had Alan. Of course we weren't ready for parenthood and we clashed. It happens."

"Yes we are older. And yes we aren't the same people we were five years ago, but George, we just can't live in the past. Many people divorce and remarry and live happy lives!" She argued back, not letting her emotions control her.

"No one lives a perfectly happy life!" He protested. "There will always be faults and flaws, because no one is perfect."

"I know that George. I'm not some child with a sheltered view of the world." She stood and took his hand. "It's no question that I love you. You are the father of my child, and because of that we will always have a strong bond and we'll always be together in the sense of raising Alan." She pulled him into a hug. "But that's all we can be. I can't risk loving you like that again and then something go wrong and affect Alan or have another break up damage our friendship."

He held onto her for a long while before speaking. "I let my emotions get the better of me, and for that I am sorry." He squeezed her tighter for a brief moment. "But what I said was my true feelings, I cannot and won't deny that." He released her after saying those words and stepped away from her.

"I don't want to leave Alan with Oliver for too long. Or we'll have a Quidditch obsessed son on our hands. I don't know how Mr. and Mrs. Wood handled that, to tell you the truth." He had to lighten Alicia up somehow. It was just in his personality to do so.

"No, we don't want that." Alicia said with less laughter in her tone than he had. "I'll see you in two days when I pick Alan up."

"Ok." George nodded and with a crack he vanished into thin air.

Alicia collapsed into the chair by the fire and cried.

I think by writing this as an Alicia-centric chapter shows that Katie isn't the only one that is dealing (or not dealing with in Katie's case) their issues in life. That might sound bizarre to some of you . . . so just let me know!

Lady of Masbolle: I'm glad that it was absolutely fantabulous! I hope I don't screw the story up and make you wish I wouldn't have continued . . . lol.

TheBrassPotato: Yes, Katie's situation isn't that great. And yeah, I think this going to be more of a side project since my main focus is on Incomplete.

Lia06: Yes it is sad, but I think because it's so sad it will make it a more, is realistic the right word? . . . type of story. And I hope that I will be able to update weekly on it.

Apathetically Interested: Oh yay. I surprised you! And yeah, I normally prefer writing one extreme or the other. And the fact that your brother has the same birthday as Kelly is neat. Only, I hope that the atmosphere around his birthday is less depressing.