George headed back to Grimmauld Place right after work. In fact, he had wanted to go sooner and had been ticking down the minutes before he could close his shop. He was hoping that either Jax or Harry or somebody would have some news about Thea.
As soon as George was able to lock up the store, he disapparated, reappearing on the front step. He headed in to find that Ginny was the only one there.
"Have you heard anything?" he asked her anxiously, but she shook her head.
"Not about Thea," she said. "Jax went in and gave Liam a hard time, but that's all I know."
"We can't just sit here!" said George, and Ginny offered him a small, sympathetic smile.
"Now you know how I always feel," she said. "I'm the one who's always left behind. I think she'll be okay," Ginny told him. "Jax was telling me about her...she's spent most of her life preparing for this." She paused again. "And I can see why you like her. She's nice, and she gets you. You deserve someone who gets you."
"I asked to get to know her better after this is all over," George said softly, "and she's agreed."
Ginny smiled at that. "Good. She's good for you."
"You didn't like any of the other girls I've dated?" George joked.
Ginny shrugged. "You mean the few there were before the war? They were nice, but they didn't understand you the way Thea seems to. And she makes you smile. I haven't seen you smile since Fred died."
Normally, even just hearing his name was like having a fist clamp down on his heart, but it was as if something had eased. It still made him sad that his brother was gone, but for the first time, he was beginning to see what life could look like without him. "Yeah," he said softly. "I'm sorry I've been so difficult lately."
Ginny nodded. "You have been difficult," she poked fun at him, before becoming serious again. "But you were grieving. I'm just glad to see that you're starting to be a little more yourself again."
Before George had a chance to say anything else to that, the others arrived. George jumped up from his seat, anxious to see if they had any news.
Jax knew as soon as he saw George's face, and he shook his head. "I haven't heard from Thea. I have, however, heard from Liam. He sent me an owl just a little bit ago-I've got a meeting set with Liam and the Head of the Elite tomorrow morning."
"I'm going with you," said George.
Jax raised an eyebrow. "You can't. We're not supposed to know each other, remember?"
"What if I go invisible?"
Jax shook his head, and George could even hear the desperation in his own voice. "I'm worried about her, too," Jax said softly. "But if we reach out to her, we could jeopardize her cover. We need to wait for her to contact us."