A/N: Well, here is your late christmas chapter... in my defense, we had like 20 people over for Christmas this year, so the holidays were madness. Relatives came over all the way from Britain, including a cousin (first cousin two or three times removed, I think, old as ancient skies) just as nice as the Weasleys' Great-Aunt Muriel. Let's just say she spent the whole time bossing people around and calling me and my sister Naomi by the name 'Catherine' - I'm convinced she thought we were the same person, only with an uncanny ability to split into two bodies with very different lenghts of hair... Anyway, after this whole... odissey, here's your chapter, mostly featuring Izzy for a change this time...

If she hadn't been so worked up when she flooed into the Burrow, Izzy might have felt a bit rude about showing up there early and without a warning. In her defence, Molly Weasley frequently pointed out that the doors of her house were always open for her, the idiot whose name she didn't even want to think of at the moment but which started with an H and ended with a Y or any other member of the Black Family – barring the estranges Voldemort-friendly side of the family, of course.

The floo connection led her straight to the Weasley kitchen, a sort of permanent tidy mess of pots, pans and plates, which was strangely empty at the moment. Usually, there was always someone present in it: either Mrs. Weasley messing with her cooking, Mr. Weasley reading the newspaper or one of their children trying to sneak themselves a snack between meals. Neither seemed to be the case at the moment and for a moment she wondered if there was anyone at home at all…

Izzy was about to announce her presence, hoping someone would hear her, when she heard a cracking sound behind her that made her turn around in a flash, her hand reaching for her wand already.

"Kreacher!" she said, a bit too sharply when her eyes landed on the elderly house-elf. "What on Earth are you doing here?"

The house-elf flinched slightly over having been caught. "Master send Kreacher to see if young Mistress arrive alright," he said in a little voice. "Master worried because young mistress look upset."

Izzy sighed – it made her feel slightly bad she'd just stormed out on her dad when none of what had happened had been his fault. He'd actually been urging Harry to tell her about his plans… "Well, then tell him that I've arrived alright, okay? And that he really doesn't have to worry because I'm fine," she told the house-elf in a less snippy tone of voice, which was quite an effort to manage, feeling as pissed off as she did at the moment.

"And Master Harry…?" Kreacher asked tentatively.

Izzy narrowed her eyes that time and nearly growled. "Feel free to quote me calling him a stupid, insensitive dolt. And I don't mean that in a cute let's-make-amends sort of way. Be sure to underline that if you come around to tell him," she said, thinking she'd want her 'brother' to simmer for a while.

Kreacher nodded, a bit hesitantly, and disappeared in the same way as he'd appeared. Just as he vanished, quick steps came down the stairs of the house and, seconds later, Ginny appeared at the bottom.

"Oh, I thought I heard voices down here," her best friend observed, surprised to see her. "I didn't think you'd show up until later."

Izzy nodded. "Yeah, me coming now was a bit unplanned. I just needed to get out of home."

"Something wrong?" Ginny inquired, raising an eyebrow as she sensed a tone of annoyance in her friends' voice.

Izzy simply grunted moodily in return. She figured that probably made her sound a bit childish but, what the hell, she had a right to act childish at the moment…

"I take it that means 'I don't want to talk about it' in some sort of caveman language," Ginny comically observed. "Listen, we're all upstairs. Mom's making us try on the stuff we're supposed to wear for the wedding. She sent me down to fetch some pins – like she can't conjure more if needs them. She just doesn't want me to see the horrid alterations she's doing to my dress… I'd invite you upstairs but honestly I think it's better for your mental health if you just stay down here. They've gone mental: Mom and Fleur are all over the place with those blasted wedding plans…"

"Your mom and Fleur get along well now?" Izzy asked in surprise. The last she recalled of the Weasleys' matriarch's interaction with her future daughter in law involved a deep cold politeness from both sides and a desperation for the other one to disappear.

"Get along well? Ever since the battle at Hogwarts, they've been joined at the hip in what comes to this wedding. As far as Mom's concerned, Fleur fighting alongside with Bill and the whole Order proved her worth. I suppose she's not that bad, after all, but, honestly, they're acting completely ment…"

"Ginny, what's taking you so long? Come back up here! We're waiting for you," Molly Weasley's voice came from the upper floors.

Ginny groaned and approached the stairs in order to respond. "Izzy's down here, Mom!" she shouted back. "Maybe I should stay to keep her some company."

Molly Weasley's response came in the form of steps down the stairs headed to them, only ending when the older redhead's form became visible to them.

"Oh, Izzy, dear, how lovely to see you," she greeted her with a warm smile, stopping midway through the staircase.

"You too, Mrs. Weasley. Sorry for showing up so early…"

The older woman gestured dismissively with her hand before Izzy could finish. "No nonsense, dear. You're always welcome here at any time of the day. Why don't you join us upstairs? We're trying on our robes for Bill's wedding."

"Er…" Izzy started, watching as Ginny shook her head and dramatically mouthed to her something that seemed to mean 'save yourself'. "I think I'll just stay down here – wouldn't want to get in your way upstairs. You must be busy."

"Crumbling under all the work to be done," Ginny said, agreeing with her friend before she looked up the stairs to face her mother. "And I suppose I should stay down here too in order to keep Izzy company like a good hostess should. The dress fitting will just have to wait…"

"Nice try, young lady," Molly said, her eyes narrowed knowingly. "You get yourself into the twins' old room – Fleur is waiting up there with your bridesmaid dress."

"Mom!" Ginny groaned.

"And stop whining about it, Ginevra Molly Weasley!" the older woman demanded just as the kitchen's door opened behind Izzy. Before she even could turn around to see who it was, internally preparing herself to hurl something at the person's face if it was Harry, Molly announced it out loud. "Oh, George, dear. Yours and Fred's robes aren't ready for fitting just yet but I need you to play host with Izzy while Ginny tries on hers."

The redheaded prankster groaned immediately and Izzy felt a bit bummed that he was that annoyed about playing host for her or whatever. It didn't take her that long to realize that wasn't the reason why he'd groaned. "Fred, Mom! I'm Fred, not George. Merlin, just how many times…"

"Oh, stop being lame," Ginny told him impatiently. "You're just as much Fred as I am, George!"

Her brother raised his eyebrows and didn't see it worth bothering to keep the act up. "Well, technically, since we're identical twins…"

"For Merlin's sake!" Molly shouted, turning to her son. "I don't have time to sort this out. Whoever you are, Fred or George, play host for a while, will you?" She didn't wait for her son to answer before making her way up the stairs, humming something about having raised a herd of savages under her breath. "Ginny!"

"I'm coming!" the youngest redhead responded in annoyance.

"How can you tell them apart so easily?" Izzy wondered out loud before her friend could leave as well. "Fred and George, I mean."

Ginny shrugged as she approached the stairs. "Freckles. Fred has more of them on the left side of his face, George on the right side. Easy to spot when you're looking for it."

"Oi!" George complained, covering the right half of his face instinctively. "Stop with the secret-revealing, will you, woman? You're ruining our game! Do us a favour and go upstairs play dress up with Mom and Fleur like the pretty little doll you are, Gin-Gin."

His sister glared murderously and nearly barked at him – calling her a 'pretty little doll' was far from a good idea… "I hate you. And dress fittings. I hate dress fittings!" She huffed loudly in annoyance and stalked up the stairs with heavy steps in a full blown temper tantrum.

George snorted when he heard the door upstairs closing with a bang and his mother yelling at Ginny afterwards. "Looks like someone's channelling her six-year-old self. Let's hope it passes soon."

Izzy looked at him in confusion, sitting down at the kitchen table as George did the same. "Why do you say that?"

"Clearly you didn't know her at that age or you wouldn't be asking me that. Let's say that there was no doubt who ruled this house by then and, as much as I hate to admit it, it wasn't Fred and I. Never underestimate a cute red-headed little girl. She had a temper the size of a continent and more dirt on any of us than you can possibly imagine. And if you pushed her too far, you can bet she'd… well, let's say she'd go on a truth bender. Feed Mom some of that dirt and let her wrath loose on us – it wasn't pretty. Little-kid Ginny was kinda scary, now that I think of it… It's a good things she was born in our family, 'cause if she'd been a Malfoy or a Lestrange… well, she might have turned up into one hell of a dark lady."

This time, Izzy rolled her eyes. "Merlin, you are not exaggerating even a little, are you, George?" she asked sarcastically. "You make her sound like a psychopath, which I know for a fact she isn't."

The redhead shrugged. "Believe what you want to. The point is that you wouldn't want to mess with Ginny's six-year old self. What did you do at six years old?"

Izzy shrugged. "I held tea parties with my stuffed toys and dragged Harry into them too. I made him wear one of Lulu's beach sun floppy hats on his head 'cause I thought that constant mess his hair is in would offend the rest of the guests. One way or the other, he always ended up with the bloody hat on his had," Izzy recalled with a chuckle. The amusement lasted for just a few seconds after mentioning Harry since she remembered the exact reason why she'd come to the Burrow and why there was a heavy weight of frustration and hurt in her throat. Back then she was always the first one to know everything, not the last…

"Merlin, eager infliction of torture on a brother… even then you and Ginny would have been the bestest of friends," George commented before noticing her sudden change of mood. "What's with the sudden long face?"

She shrugged. "Nothing."

"Well, 'nothing' put quite a frown on you," he observed. "If you're not careful, that's gonna give you some wrinkles that not even our bloody expensive Wonder-Witch products can make go away. We wouldn't want you to look like a hag before you turn seventy at least. Sharing would come a lot cheaper and might be even more successful with the hypothetical wrinkles than cosmetic potions."

Izzy tried to ignore him. "I just don't want to talk about it."

George rolled his eyes. "Fine, then don't talk about it. Go on sulking – that's just brilliant for your health – gives your skin a majestic glow…"

"Shut up, George," she mumbled, trying not to feel amused.

"Come on, I'm curious! And I don't deal well with curiosity – you're gonna make me beg?"

She shrugged. "Sure. Beg away." Izzy looked away and tried to seem uninterested but, even without seeing it, she knew he was still observing her. Knowing that made her feel a bit jumpy, actually… Not in a particularly bad way. It just put a strange feeling in her stomach… like flutters or something… "Don't you have anything else to do, anyway?" she asked at some point. "Like running a successful joke shop? Plotting practical jokes with Fred? Where is he now, anyway?"

"First of all, I happen to be here 'cause Mom demanded we tried our robes on today too. Plus, Remus can handle the shop on his own when needed – he's that efficient. As for Fred, he's busy at the moment. Showing the shed to Angelina," George pointed out easily.

Izzy looked at him oddly. "Showing the shed…"

"Maybe not in one of the most literal ways to do so…" he stated, casually hinting that other activities were taking place in the Weasley shed.

She rolled her eyes. "Your mom would have his head if she found out about that, you know? Did he honestly just bring Angelina over for the fitting in order to… give her a tour through the shed?"

"Oh, no. Angie's got to try her dress too. She's going to be a bridesmaid for Fleur," George declared.

"A bridesmaid?" Izzy asked in surprise – she didn't recall hearing of Angelina Johnson and Fleur Delacour actually sharing more than a few polite greetings over the Weasley dinners. They barely had anything in common.

"Yeah, we were surprised too. But apparently they bonded over dating a Weasley bloke at the same time – according to them, it's quite a hardship…"

Izzy had to chuckle. "I'll have to take their word for it – knowing you people, it's likely accurate…"

"Hey!" George complained. "I'll have you know Weasleys are perfectly regular dating material – nothing tricky about us. Not that you care, anyway, since I have a feeling you're just pushing this conversation further in order to avoid that one we were having two minutes ago – something about you not wanting to share what's upsetting you… If you want me to piss off, just say so – but first I'm going to take a blind shot and guess this whole thing is about guy-troubles. Need Fred and I to rough up some bloke a little?"

Izzy hesitated before responding – she could tell him to piss off as he'd pointed out. But still, she supposed it was easy talking to George since he had this strange way of putting her at ease with his easygoing ways (except when he was just staring at her, which gave her those weird sensations).

Honestly, she needed to vent about her spat with Harry – she'd thought of doing so with Ginny at first but then that would put her friend in an awkward position right in the middle of a conflict between her best friend and her boyfriend. She couldn't expect Ginny to take sides or to be an impartial judge in that… Maybe George wouldn't be such a bad person to talk to in that case, after all. Provided he acted serious about it, which she supposed he could manage to do from time to time.

"It's something about a guy alright. Just not quite the sort you're imagining," she shared in a slightly detached tone, avoiding looking at him.

"Hum, I take it you mean there's no dim-witted boyfriend for me and Fred to torture, then," George concluded, feeling slightly hopeful she'd confirm it. Hopeful in a protective way, he justified to himself. Yes – she was as good as family and her father was a fellow prankster. It was a matter of loyalty feeling protective about her…

Oblivious to his thoughts, Izzy shook her head as her eyes remained on the landscape out the kitchen's window. "Not really."

"What's it about, then?" It was about a guy but not a about a boyfriend and likely no suitor to that position too or she would have mentioned it. Well, that did narrow the list down and made it easier for him to guess. "Did you have a fight with your dad? Or maybe Harry?" She finally turned to him and shot arrows with her eyes at the mention of her adoptive brother's name, leading him to conclude he's found the source of her annoyance. "Well, there it is. What did my may-at-some-point-brother-in-law-to-be do to get on your bad side?"

"He's a git," she said moodily.

The redhead chuckled at her words. "Well, that's sort of common knowledge, Isabelle. Would you be a bit more specific?"

She groaned and, just as she was about to specify, something occurred to her. George didn't know about the Horcruxes – as far as she knew, no one from the Weasley family aside from Ron and Ginny knew about them. Telling him about the Horcrux hunt without explaining about the Horcruxes in the first place wouldn't make any sense… She instantly regretted not having just told him to piss off like he'd said before and avoiding reaching that point of the conversation. It seemed like an awful thing to think but it would be just as awful to leave him hanging… "It's complicated, George. It's stupid but I can't be much more specific than this – I promised… well, no, that's not true. I didn't promise anything. But still this thing… the reason why I'm angry at… at him is about something that's not really mine to tell you. I'm sorry – I shouldn't have started this conversation in the first place…" She motioned to get up in order to leave but George grabbed hold of her arm before she could.

"Hey, hey!" he protested. "Where do you think you're going?"

"George…"

"First of all, I'm the one who started this conversation," he pointed out, "so don't apologize about that. Second of all, no one is asking you to share someone else's secrets or anything more than you can." He was curious about the parts she couldn't share – he couldn't deny that – but not nearly enough to bully a friend into telling him something she wasn't comfortable about.

Besides, it wasn't like he didn't know Harry had his own cut of secrets and plans that he wouldn't share with anyone but his closest friends – and, bearing in mind the amount of crap Harry had to deal with in a regular basis, George couldn't bring himself to take it personally. At the end of the day, his sister's boyfriend was still more of a hero than anyone else he knew.

"Look," he started, "just say what you can and I'm sure I can use my imagination to fill in the blanks you leave. Even if we know odds are my imagination will turn the whole thing into a comedy in my mind…" He managed a grin when he said that last part and noticed Izzy biting her lower lip as the corners of her mouth turned slightly upwards.

His words really made her want to not walk away and she wondered if she could manage continuing that conversation without actually spilling Harry's secrets – she might be angry at her brother in a way because of those same secrets but she understood what was and what wasn't hers to share… "Are you sure you're okay with that? Because it sounds to me like you're in the weakest end of this deal, George."

He shrugged. "Well, I suppose if I have to be in the weakest end of a deal, I might as well do it when the deal in question is between me and a good friend. Just do me a favour and promise that at some point you'll fill the blanks for me. Preferably before I go mad wondering."

She felt unsure about that at first. But then she concluded that no secret lasted forever – or at least she hoped so. And she hoped that one, the Horcruxes, Voldemort's near-immortality, wouldn't have to last very long – hopefully ending with his destruction. She supposed after it was all over there would be no problem in telling George about it. "It's a deal."

"Deal," he repeated. "Now, will you please just tell me what this is about?"

Izzy sighed. "It really is complicated."

"Then un-complicate it," the redhead said easily.

She sighed. "It's like…" She paused and licked her own lips, looking up at George. "Well, I'm always the last one to know everything important when it comes to Harry."

George furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" she huffed. "I don't know how to explain it without going into specifics, George."

"Come on, you're a smart girl. Give it a try."

She did so, pausing for several seconds as she thought of the words and the sentences. "I suspected Harry was up to something for the past few days but I figured it wouldn't be that important or he'd let me into the secret. Turns out it was really important – and how do I know that, you may ask. Well, because he only just told me about it today – after telling Ron, Hermione, Ginny… even my parents. All of them days ago!"

"And you were the last one to know," George guessed easily.

She nodded. "It's not the first time it happens – not the first time I end up being the last one to find out about something so important. I know loads of people don't know about this at all, you included, but it's not the same. It probably sounds selfish and… frivolous but…"

"…it isn't," he finished for her, understanding what she meant. "You grew up together – it's understandable that him constantly leaving you for last these days hurts you. Odds are I'd feel pretty bummed too if Fred did that to me." Although, he had to admit he and Fred were a different situation – twin-hood made then closer than regular siblings, blood-related or not.

Izzy nodded slowly. "It does. Even more so because we didn't just grow up together." She sighed. "We used to be each other's best friends. We never went to school before we came to Hogwarts since Lulu was around to home-school us – I suppose because of that, we never really made friends outside of home. But it was okay – we were enough for each other. Most boys don't really care about having their little sisters following them around everywhere, as you probably know yourself."

George shrugged. "At that age, we pretty much see all girls, especially younger ones, as annoying little brats. Don't take it personally."

"Well, maybe it was because I was the only kid around for him to play with but Harry was okay with it," Izzy told him. "We did everything together and there were no secrets between us then – I was the first to know when Harry was up to something and he the other way around… well, unless it was about one of us planning a practical joke on the other. Anyway, then we came to Britain and Harry went to Hogwarts, where he met Ron and Hermione. I wasn't jealous…" she paused, reconsidering. "Well, maybe I was. Just a little… but I met Ginny and got myself a new friend too. We weren't each other's only friends anymore. And time kept passing, so things changed. Now everything is different: there's Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione… and then there's me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing them of being bad friends. Ginny, especially… she's the greatest best friend you can have. But still when it comes to the important stuff, the secrets…"

"… you feel left out of the group," George concluded. "Legitimately, let me add. Now there's Harry and Ginny, the happily co-dependent couple, and Ron and Hermione, a pair themselves in their own twisted let's-bicker-until-we-end-up-snogging-one-of-these-days way – the four of them form a sort of private group and you're outside of it. You became the fifth-wheel. And nobody wants to be the spare wheel…"

"How did it get to this?" Izzy asked in a sad whisper. "How did I get from being the first one to know everything to the last?" She shook her head and looked away. "Sometimes I wonder, you know? If I'm too youngto be their friend in the first place… I should be one year behind Ginny, you know? Having been born in December and all. It didn't matter before but…"

"Oh, well, it must be just that, then. You're simply like a little kid compared to them. And to me…" he clicked his tongue, shaking his head. That 'too young' mention annoyed him more than he'd expected. "I guess I should switch to cooing and baby talk when it comes to you, then, since you're simply too young to understand actual speech. Are you even eating solids, yet?"

She glared. "Don't be a jerk. You don't have to be so sarcastic about this."

"Yeah, well, you don't have to be so brainless about this!" he snapped back before he could get a hold of himself. He regretted saying that immediately, as he saw her glare deepening and caught her glancing towards the door like she was planning to escape. He took a deep breath and spoke more calmly afterwards. "You're not brainless, so don't act like you are. There's no age standard for friendship, Izzy. And even though they have their own little group, you can't question that they're all still your friends – you said so yourself. Likely, they don't even realize you're being left out – sucks just the same, I know, but trust me on this one. I know how it feels like to be the spare wheel…"

Izzy looked at him doubtfully, still a bit annoyed. "You do?"

"Sure. With Fred and Angelina. It took me a while to get used to them – my twin brother and best mate turning all lovey dovey all the time with another one of my best friends. Spending half his time snogging her all over the place… I was happy for them and everything but I felt a bit like a third wheel for a while too."

She was silent for several seconds. "How did you work around that?"

He shrugged. "We just talked about it and reached an agreement to end the awkwardness. Eventually I got used to him and Angie being a thing – I give them their space, they give me mine and when the three of us are hanging out, they're not Fred and Angie, the couple, making me the third wheel. Instead we're Fred, George and Angelina good old friends, former class and teammates. Of course, in your case, it's not just a about a couple with a PDA problem… yet the solution is the same. You've got to talk to Harry. Yell if you want to – you've got a right to it, all things considered."

"Yeah, well, I think I've already used up my right to yell before I came here…" she mumbled. "It got pretty loud, I imagine."

George raised his eyebrows. "What did Harry say then?"

She shrugged. "I guess he was surprised I felt this way. Said he hadn't meant to leave me for last, which honestly just makes it worse because it keeps happening anyway…" she informed the redhead, sighing. "Apparently, he just waited to tell me after he told my parents so I wouldn't be in a difficult position by having to keep it from them. Who does that? He should know I wouldn't have hesitated in keeping any secret he asked me to keep."

He took a deep breath. "Listen, sometimes us guys, especially when we're Harry's age and have as much stuff to worry about as he does, can be a bit thick about other people's feelings. I'd bet my arm and leg that the last thing he meant to do when he didn't immediately share whatever is going on with you was hurting you. In his own way, it's pretty clear he was trying to spare you a little and, yeah, maybe thinking of you more as a little sister than as an old friend when he did that. But that doesn't mean that's all you are now. You two just really need to talk…"

Izzy was about to say something in return but wasn't able to even start it when the door leading to the garden opened and Fred stepped in with Angelina, a grin all over his face.

"Hello, Izzy," he greeted her. "Spiffy seeing you here."

"Hi, Fred. Angelina," Izzy greeted the other two before Fred turned to his twin.

"Mom hasn't summoned us yet?" he asked.

George shook his head. "Not so far. Must be sticking pins all over Ginny – you know how much our lovely sister loves dress fittings… How was the shed?"

Fred grinned. "Good. Took me a while to show it to Angie, thought – I had to put a lot of emphasis in demonstrating how sturdy the walls were…"

The former Quidditch captain (and current backup chaser for the Caerphilly Catapults, a Welsh Quidditch team from the minor leagues) elbowed him on the ribs unceremoniously. "Don't be crass, Fred! Isabelle doesn't have to put up with your perverted mind," she said, turning to Izzy. "Can you believe these guys?"

"Not if I didn't actually know them personally," Izzy replied with a soft chuckle. Her mood seemed to have improved severely after talking to George, like a weight had been lifted from her chest.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say…" George mumbled just as the sound of steps came down the stairs and Ginny appeared behind him, looking pretty annoyed.

"If I have to try on that thing one more time…" she murmured through her teeth.

"That pleasant, was it?" Fred asked her, grinning cheekily.

She glared at her brothers. "Mom's waiting for you two in your old room – looks like the wedding fairy barfed all over it, by the way. Ron's already over there, anyway, trying his robes on too." She turned to Angelina, then. "Fleur has your bridesmaid dress in Bill's room."

"Hey, how come we're all stuck with Mom and Angelina gets to be all alone with Fleur?" Fred protested before realizing how he might have sounded and turning to his annoyed girlfriend. "Not that I have any reason to want to be half-naked in front of her… Did I mention I see her purely as a sister? No lusty feelings whatsoever involved…"

Angelina rolled her eyes. "Remind me why I agreed to date you in the first place…"

"'Cause I'm rich and good-looking?" Fred tried. "Plus, I'm pretty sure you get a kick out of dating a younger bloke, even if it's just by six or so months…"

She shook her head. "You're an idiot," she said, huffing and making her way up the stairs as Fred followed her, trying to convince her otherwise.

"Well," George said, getting up from his seat again. "I suppose I'd better go after them before Angelina gets physical with him – and not in a good way…"

Izzy got up too and stood up, awkwardly looking at George for a couple of seconds before saying anything. It had felt easier talking to him earlier when they'd been alone – now, she was pretty aware of Ginny's presence as she stood against the counter, taking a bite of an apple as she looked oddly between the two.

"So, thanks," Izzy said. "For the talk and the advice. I'll talk to him later when he comes over for dinner."

George nodded. "You don't have to thank me about that. And try to give him a chance to speak when you get to that. Before yelling some more, I mean. He might have something interesting to say, which may spare your vocal chords a little…"

She chuckled. "I'll try to do tha…"

"George, what's taking you so long?" they heard Molly yelling. "Hurry up. I can't do this all day – I need to start dinner soon!"

"I'm going, Mom!" he shouted back before turning back to Izzy and Ginny. "Duty calls."

He disappeared up the stairs a few seconds later and Izzy turned to face her best friend, who was still looking at her quite oddly. "What? Do I have something on my face?" she asked self-consciously.

"No," Ginny responded, taking another bite of her apple as she kept looking at Izzy. "Is there something going on between you two?"

"Between who?"

The look on the redhead's face all but called her 'dumb'. "You and George, who else?"

"Oh," she mumbled. "No. Why? Did it look like there was?"

Ginny shrugged. "Maybe. Then again I've just been released from wedding-land. I suppose one of the second-effects of being there is seeing romance everywhere." Hearing that, Izzy looked away, trying to hide a blush. Romance – that was a strong word… "

"Anyway, what did Harry do to you?" the redhead asked.

Izzy furrowed her brows and turned to her again. "Why do you think he's done anything to me at all?"

"Well, first of all, you were in a pretty snippy mood when you arrived, which would mean you were upset about something," her best friend started. "Then, you said you said you'd come here because you needed to get out of home and just now you mentioned to George you'd talk to some bloke – which might involve yelling of some sort – when he came over for dinner. All that together leads me to believe that either your Dad or Harry… or, well, Alex, who are the only three male presences at your home as far as I know, did something to upset. Since I doubt your two-year-old brother did something to piss you off and your dad is completely wrapped around your little finger most of the time, that leaves Harry as the culprit. Am I on the right path?"

For a moment, she just gaped at her friend. Nothing escaped her, did it? "Yep – he's the culprit," she ended up confirming.

"Well, so this thing Harry was what you were upset about before? You seemed pretty pissed off."

Izzy nodded. "I was. Still am, though not half as much. I'm mostly frustrated. But George helped me figure out most of it while you were upstairs doing your dress fitting. He's pretty easy to talk to on occasion."

"Yeah, the twins have their moments from time to time when they're not blowing up stuff," Ginny confirmed with a chuckle before sighing. "So, tell me honestly, which of your arses am I supposed to kick today? Yours or Harry's?"

Half an hour before, Izzy would have responded Harry's for sure. She'd have told Ginny to kick him hard and then not speak to him for a week just to drive him crackers. But at the moment, after hearing George's reasoning, she wasn't quite sure.

She couldn't turn back time and make herself and Harry each other's best and only friends again. Honestly, she probably wouldn't if she was given the chance, considering how she wouldn't be able to bring herself to give up her current other friends: Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Neville… George and the other Weasleys… They were all important to her.

Yet, of one thing, she was sure: she didn't want to be left out anymore. To be the last one to know.

After all, George had been right to say that no one wanted to be the spare wheel and that was what she was at the moment…

A/N 2: Well, not much more to say. Happy New Year in advance, I guess! This will continue next chapter. Feedback is always welcome, as always! Review!