Sorry that took a few days, guys. I'm not completely happy with the chapter, but I found the prompt really difficult. Anyway, I think it turned out reasonably well. We've got another glimpse at George. Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions!

Some thankies: Firstly to kat, who has broken the record for most reviews in one go - five! Thanks gorgeous! We also have completelysmitten18, who reviewed three times, as well as Musafreen, xxxBekaForEvaxxx, futurejkrowling-x (thanks for the enthusiastic feedback!), Delia-of-the-Oysters, laura-csm, AverageJay and werewolfatemyphoenix. You guys are all amazing!

Disclaimer: I know I forget this most of the time, but seriously, if I owned these characters, would I be wasting my time writing fanfiction??

9. Cigarettes
Sunday

The face in the doorway is freckled and familiar. "George!" says Ginny, flying up from the table to hug her brother. "What are you doing here?"

"I knew Ron and Harry were at the Ministry again, so I thought I'd come by and keep you company," he says. "How're you going, Gin?"

"Not bad," she says. "Just a bit tired. How're you?"

"Great," he enthuses. "Business is booming. I've had to hire two more workers, and I've hardly got time for development. I do have one new product though…"

He pulls a small paper cylinder out of his pocket.

"What is it?" asks Ginny, looking dubious.

"It's like a—what do you call it—a cigarette. You know, Muggles smoke them. Except you don't have to light ours, you just activate them with your wand and the smoke comes out. You can do all sorts of things, look—"

George taps the cigarette with his wand and thick white smoke appears from the end. He puts it to his lips and inhales, before blowing a huge heart-shaped smoke ring.

Ginny still looks cautious. "But… I've seen Muggles with cigarettes on the street! Harry says they're really bad for you! They can make you sick—"

"Hey, just relax, Gin," says George. "Do you really think I'd sell something dangerous? There's nothing in it that can make you sick, trust me. I even had Angie check it out. She's a Healer, you know."

Ginny looks up at him cheekily. "Angie, huh?"

So I kind of feel like we're seeing a new, happy George who hasn't really been around much since Fred died. He kept the shop going all this time, though he relied a lot on Ron to do it, especially at first. (If anyone has read Interlude by SilvverPhoenix, that's probably where I got it from.) He lost his spark and his enthusiasm for a long time, but thanks to "Angie" he's starting to get it back again. (Yay!)

I hope these notes make sense, and you find them helpful. With such short chapters, I'm finding it difficult to explain everything so that it makes sense... that's why I give you some backstory if I think I need to.

I have the next couple of chapters written already, so I promise they'll be up very soon! Don't forget to review!