A/N: PLEASE REVIEW. That's all I have to say. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE.

Katie Bell now worked a regular eight-hour day. When she wasn't at the Daily Prophet, she was spending her coffee break with her mother and Aunt Elizabeth who had opened up a small herbs shop in Diagon Alley a couple of years ago, reestablishing family ties she had let die. She was over at the Weasleys' for dessert which seemed a much lighter affair now that George appeared frequently, told jokes, and even laughed; the prospect of their son and brother reopening the shop took a lot off of the family's mind. When they wanted to be alone, she and George would take their walks on Alki Beach and continue to support each other in their mutual resolve to heal. On the weekends, she spent most of every day with Angelina and Alicia, helping them furnish and decorate their apartment and going to Oliver's quidditch games that Angelina sneaked them into with her publicist's badge. Lee and George, when they weren't brainstorming new product designs, sometimes joined them. They reported that they were making progress and both men had now moved into the store, though they still had not opened the old bedroom George had shared with Fred when they were operating previously. Sometimes after work, Katie came by and helped them reorganize and clean out the building just as she promised she would. She was even able to help with some particularly tricky charm work regarding a lotion which caused boils to form, spelling out various insults on your skin.

She saw Oliver Wood frequently. Ludo Bagman finally offered to pay him for his services and he worked the small part time job in the morning on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; on those days, he and Katie spent the lunch hour eating, walking the streets of London, and getting to know one another. Once every few days, he came with her to visit her grandfather and Alicia at St. Mungo's. Grandpa Artemus liked Oliver quite a bit and the two would sometimes enter into long conversations about quidditch before Alicia would gently remind Oliver that Katie's grandfather needed rest. She found she enjoyed Wood's company quite a bit, surprising her with his generally laid back attitude…about everything except quidditch, of course. He had even shown up one day with a picnic basket, declaring that it was too nice a day to waste indoors. He didn't make her laugh as much as the twins or Lee ever had, but he was clever even without her friends' antics and she appreciated his company, loving to be around his wide grin and zeal for life which so outstripped and contrasted with her own.

Katie found, in a strange way, that she reclaimed part of her previous self when she was with her friends. It was odd, but it was as though she hadn't aged so very much in the last few months after all. When she was with George, this of course changed, but it was healthy reflection and time spent together. The fact that they were sometimes able to joke about each other's own solitary and solemn nature told Katie that things just might be okay.

In general, things felt—and were—a great deal happier. Elizabeth Garibaldi-Prewett had taken comfort in her father's healing, visiting him almost daily. Katie's own mother was happy in her strengthening bond with her daughter. The only thing that constantly plagued Andromeda Bell besides her husband's imprisonment was her missing son, Michael. Now that Katie's head had cleared a bit, she thought about her brother, too. Now missing for over three months, she could scarcely hope to believe that he was still living. She wished for his body to be found somewhere, whole, so that they could have a proper burial and memorial for him to get closure. Her mother, however, still held on with the strongest of hope that he was yet alive. It was this that worried Katie the most. She knew her mother was still on the edge and losing a son would cut her too deeply for Katie to be able to repair. She tried to talk to her mother about the possibility of Michael's being dead, but Andromeda refused to hear it. Katie always gave up with a sigh, smoothing out her mother's sandy blonde hair and wishing for her sake that she wasn't right about her brother.

It was a Sunday morning after Katie had spent the night at her parent's house that she entered into yet another one of these conversations with her mother. Aunt Elizabeth sat at the breakfast table beside them, listening silently.

"Mum, I know you don't want to hear it, but I really think we're going to have to start thinking about funeral arrangements for Michael. He's been missing for three months." Katie looked across the table at her mother with sad eyes. Andromeda, however, simply shook her head vigorously.

"No, Katie," she said firmly. "I know he's alive, I just know it. I'm his mother. Mothers know these kinds of things. Why are you in such a hurry to write your brother off as dead?"

She stared at her daughter with anguished eyes and Katie felt a slight gasp escape her mouth.

"Mum, how can you say that?!" she asked, shocked. "Michael is my brother."

"Then why don't you start acting like he is?" her mother snapped suddenly. "He wouldn't have given up on you, you know!" She cleared the table with a flick of her wand and let the dishes crash into the sink. Breaking out into sobs, Andromeda disappeared up the stairs.

Katie sat trembling in her chair, unable to move. She chanced a glance at her aunt, who regarded her sympathetically and took her hand.

"It's alright," Elizabeth said quietly. "Your mother's been under a lot of stress; she didn't mean what she said."

"I—I don't want M-Michael to be d-dead," Katie struggled to say. She was still shaking uncontrollably, unable to get her mother's angry face out of her head.

"Of course you don't," her aunt said soothingly. "And Andromeda knows that. It's just been hard for her here, with your dad still in Azkaban and your brother missing. And you—"

"And me giving you all the cold shoulder and saying, 'Have a merry life without me'."

"And you having troubles of your own," Elizabeth said firmly. "And me living here and sucking out the rest of her energy," she added as an after thought.

"Oh, no one blames you," Katie responded fiercely. "This is just—this is just-"

"War," the other woman finished for her quietly. "This is what happens after war."

"Should I go to her?" Katie asked timidly.

"No," her aunt said with decision. "Leave it to me. But if you want to pop 'round for dinner tonight, I think she'll be all calmed down by then."

Katie nodded, disapparating from the house still worried. She ran her hand through her hair, attempting to shake it off and let herself into her flat. What was sitting at her small kitchen table made her gasp and drop her things.

"Oliver!" she said breathlessly, stooping down to gather up her bag and its contents. "What on earth are you doing here? And how did you get in?" Her mind went back to George surprising her earlier in the month and she made a mental note not to recommend this particular complex to anyone she knew.

"Landlord let me in," Wood said easily, grinning and standing to help her. "You'd be surprised at the amount of influence being an internationally famous quidditch star can induce."

"Did he also open the door for you in case you happened to let it swing back and knock you over, Accident Prone Ollie?" Katie asked darkly, gathering the remainder of her things before Oliver could reach them.

"Har har, very good one, Bell," Wood said sarcastically.

"What are you doing here?" Katie repeated. She attempted to sound exasperated, but she was actually rather relieved that Wood was there to function as a momentary distraction for her.

"Got an owl from Alicia this morning," he said enthusiastically. "Your grandpa's ready to spend some time outside today and she was wondering whether we wanted to join him. He's going out at noon, I thought we could spend the time until then getting a picnic basket ready."

"Alicia sent you the owl instead of me or my mother? Or my aunt?" Katie raised an eyebrow.

"Well she said she thought if she sent it to you, you wouldn't think to invite me along," Wood grinned.

Katie rolled her eyes. Typical Alicia move. For the past couple of weeks, Alicia had been dropping not so subtle hints that there was, or could possibly be, something occurring beyond friendship between the old captain and his chaser. What Oliver thought of this, Katie didn't know, but her own plans included living a purely celibate life until she could be somehow reunited with the only person who had managed to capture her heart completely. Was Wood attractive? Oh, Merlin, yes. Did he make her happy? Certainly. Had she blushed in his presence? On more than one occasion. But could he ever hope to incur in her the same feelings as Fred had? Absolutely not. She had pointed this out to Alicia who responded by asking pointedly if she would then abandon her attempts to get her and George alone on a date together. Katie had sighed. So much for love conquering all.

"Well alright then," she responded, thinking of how much her grandfather seemed to enjoy Oliver's company. "But I think we should invite my aunt along as well. Grandpa Artemus is all she really has left anymore."

Wood nodded solemnly and agreed that this was a good idea. Two hours later, the three of them were carrying a fully loaded picnic basket up the stairs to seventh floor where Artemus Garibaldi was recovering. When they entered room 717, Alicia greeted them with a smile and the elderly man looked up in surprise.

"Well what is this?" he shouted. "I don't need a whole damn parade going out with me!" He feigned disgust, but Katie could see in his eyes that he was very pleased.

"Oh, you know you prefer it this way, Dad," Elizabeth said, kissing him on his wrinkled forehead and looping her arm through his. "We'll take it from here, Alicia, you can get back to your other patients."

"I'm not a patient, Liz, I'm recovering," Grandpa Artemus said moodily. Alicia just grinned and gave them directions on where they could go and then disappeared down the hall to tend to her other work. The three family members plus Wood made their way down the elevator and to the ground floor, where they emerged in bright sunlight. The old man's eyes filled with cheerfulness as he cursed at the "damn sun" for being so bright and grinned as Elizabeth escorted him carefully along a small dirt pathway.

In the middle of a discussion on the various advantages of the keeper's starfish defense maneuver, Grandpa Artemus suddenly barked out, "Kathryn! When are you going to start dating this fine young man?"

Oliver and Elizabeth laughed good-naturedly, but Katie froze in her tracks, stunned at what her grandfather had said.

Taking advantage of Katie's temporary muteness, Elizabeth replied, "Maybe she would start dating him if we let them have a little time alone; what do you think?"

Katie opened and closed her mouth, gawking as her aunt and grandfather changed direction, saying that they had forgotten his favorite pillow in his room.

"Just go find a lovely spot without us, will you, dears?" Elizabeth called as the two disappeared from view. Katie reflected angrily on the old man's sudden capability to speed walk.

Scowling, she turned around and marched determinedly up the hill. Oliver laughed and ran to catch up with her.

"What, Kates?" he grinned, pulling her to him. "Don't you want to date me?"

"Quit mucking around, Ol," she said moodily. "My family is full of arses."

"But what if I'm not mucking around?" he asked suddenly. It was clear that he had not planned on blurting this out that day, but now that he had, he regarded her with seriousness and bated breath.

Katie's face melted into sympathy. "Oh, Ol…" she said sadly, squeezing his arm. She seemed unable to finish this sentence.

Katie liked Oliver; really, she did. He was becoming a good mate and quite impeccable at cheering her up when she needed it. Two and a half months, however, was hardly enough time to accept the reality that Fred was gone, let alone to begin dating again. In the quietest hours of the night, she still held on to the half-hope that he would emerge from behind her dresser and sweep her up into the familiar giant bear hug, saying that the whole thing was an elaborate prank and he was back to stay. Her dreams still consisted of fuzzy memories of Fred, and she still woke up each morning to the dull ache that came with realizing that he wasn't right next to her. In this state, how could she possibly go out with anyone? Even Oliver? And the thought of how this might affect George and the rest of the Weasley family seemed too much to bear.

Still, she could not put this into words. Wood seemed to understand her meaning in her eyes, however, and shrugged it off, smiling once more.

"S'alright," he said cheerfully. "But I'll be here when you are ready."

Every day after that, Oliver asked Katie out on a date. Every day, she said no.

XxX

Katie worked late at the office on Friday night. She had spent an extra two hours out at lunch that afternoon meeting with her mother and patching things up. Both mother and daughter wept as they apologized for their behavior earlier in the week and promised that from that time forward, they would be a team. The consequences of this reconciliation, however, meant that Katie stumbled onto the balcony of her flat at ten o' clock that night, feeling extremely tired and very guilty that she had not been able to make it to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes when it was due to open in just three days. Her feelings of guilt doubled when she noticed a note tacked to her door in George's recognizable handwriting.

Frowning, she unpinned the parchment and let herself into her flat. She dropped the old burlap messenger bag and unfolded the note as she sank onto her couch. Katie frowned instantly, noticing that George's usually untidy scrawl was even less legible, probably due to a shaking hand.

Katie,

Missed you tonight. Don't worry about it, though; Ron, Lee, and I were able to get most everything finished up around here. Guess I just wanted your company. If you're too tired, I understand, but if not I could really use seeing you. Seriously though, Kay, don't come if you're tired from work and definitely don't worry. I'm fine, I promise. I'd write Flint over you in a heartbeat if I weren't. Then we could cuddle.

George

As quickly as possible, Katie changed out of her blouse and skirt into jeans and a Weird Sisters concert tee. "You're totally fine, my arse, George," she muttered as she threw her hair into a messy ponytail. "That horridly unfunny joke said it all."

She apparated to George's shop in half a second and began banging on the front door.

"George!" she called. "George, it's me!"

"Merlin, Kay, d'you want to wake up all of Diagon Alley?" the red-head questioned, opening the door and escorting her inside.

The shop looked incredible. Each product and display was masterfully set up, and brightly colored re-opening banners hung from the ceiling. The floor glistened and the entire place emitted a feeling of cheer. George, however, was tousle-haired and red-eyed. He had obviously been crying.

"George, you're not fine," she accused, ignoring the jibe and gesturing to his note which she still held in her hand.

Her friend opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it again, admitting defeat.

"Where's Lee?" Katie asked, slightly gentler.

"At Ange and Al's," George muttered, sinking into the couch of the small back room where he and Lee Jordan had been sleeping. He sighed and attempted to tame his unruly hair with little success. "He stays the night when Ange has some bloke or other over."

Gingerly, Katie sat down next to him and touched the crook of his elbow. "And Ron went home?"

"Yeah, he did."

She paused, hesitating. "You didn't feel like going with him?" she finally asked.

George just shook his head, withdrawing from Katie's touch and cupping his hands over his face. "S'hard," was all he could manage to say. His voice was muffled and shaky, but he did not seem to be crying.

Still, an enormous wave of sadness washed over Katie as she watched her friend struggle to fight his emotions. She didn't want to ask, but she needed to know what had set him off. She only needed to wait, however, as George breathed in deeply and moved his hands upward, out of his face, and through his red hair.

"It's like he's still here," he said finally. Katie just nodded quietly, waiting for him to continue.

"It's like he's still here, but I can't quite reach him. I can hear him laugh and I'll catch a glimpse of him from the corner of my eye, but when I turn around there's nothing there. Just a voice saying 'I'm dead, you stupid git. Did you lose your sight along with your ear?'."

He laughed, but it was forced. "And it doesn't help that I'm always finding his old things lying around either. It's the stupidest things, too, Kay. His toothbrush on the sink, with the bristles all splayed out because he used to chew on it when he tried to brush and think at the same time. Old scraps torn out of our books from times when he got some brilliant idea and couldn't wait to finish balancing the books before he wrote it out on paper…I used to hate it when he did that. Last week I found his fourth-year charms book. He'd hollowed it out and kept a bunch of stuff he'd knicked off of me in there. Trick cards, exploding sweets. Copy of a class schedule…yours, I think. The twig from Alicia's broom she spent weeks doing her nut over. I looked at them, but I didn't touch any of them. Lee and Ron didn't either. I think they thought I was going to take care of them some time. And I meant to, I just…I dunno. I couldn't shake the feeling that I shouldn't move them in case—in case he came back for them some day."

Katie remained still and silent despite her urge to hold him tight and make all the bad things in his life go away. George took a breath and continued.

"Tonight, I tried to do it. I thought it would be alright. Lee and I had a good laugh over grinding up a Knicker Nutroll in Ron's soup—they're these new sweets that make your underthings shrink as you eat them—you should have seen his face, Kay, it was brill. Anyway, Lee ran off to babysit Ange and her date and Ron went home. I—I said I'd stay behind because I figured tonight I ought to gather up those things of…of Fred's…But when I tried to chuck them in the bin, I just couldn't. Not even the sodding toothbrush. It was something that was inside his mouth, probably the last place I'd want to be—no offense—but trying to chuck it, I realized then that he's really gone. He's really gone and he's really not going to come back. I don't know how long I stared at his body without being able to understand that. Now I do. He's dead, Katie, he's actually dead. My best friend is dead. And I won't ever get to see him again. My brother's gone."

Choking out those three final words, George suddenly collapsed into what Katie suspected to be the second breakdown that night. This time she was there, however, and she wasn't going to let that be for nothing. Despite the overwhelming desire to collapse into sobs with him, Katie mastered herself and took his head in her hands, forcing him to sit back up. She knew he had wanted her there instead of Molly or Arthur or Bill or Charlie, or any of the rest of his family for a specific reason. She wasn't quite sure what that reason was, but she was going to do her best to fulfill it. George looked up at her with wide eyes, as though surprised that she was not taking him in her arms and letting him cry. Setting her jaw firm, Katie wiped away George's tears with her thumb, oddly shaped as it had been broken several times during quidditch matches. She pushed his shaggy hair away from his eyes and looked at him sternly.

"Come on, George," she said forcibly. "Stay with me. You can do this. D'you hear me? I know that you can do this."

"I don't see how, Katie," he said, struggling to control himself. "If I can't throw away a lousy toothbrush, how am I ever going to manage to clean out the old flat? Lee and I can't sleep in this room forever, especially when Ron joins us full-time. How do I do that?"

"You mean how do we do that," Katie countered, with more conviction than she felt.

George looked at her, relief flooding over his pale face. "You mean that?"

"Absolutely," she said, though her insides were squirming and she felt as though she would have been better off if she hadn't been wearing gloves the day she touched the cursed necklace. "How we're going to do it is together. Right now."

"Now?"

"At this very moment in time. And then we're going to open a bottle of champagne, toast to Fred Weasley, and celebrate the triumphant return of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

George managed a small smile. "Thanks, Katie."

She smiled back. Then, acting on a sudden impulse, she leaned over and placed a small kiss just to the right of his left eye. To disrupt this act of poignancy, she ruffled his hair and got off the couch.

"C'mon, you leaky faucet," she called as she tramped up the stairs.

XxX