A/N: This one's a bit shorter, but I hope you like it anyway…more longer chapters to come.
Katie was beginning to think that her so-called philanthropy wasn't such a good idea after all. As she moved around the kitchen, observing the mysterious world of baking, she began to feel rather out of place. She wasn't sure where she fit in with these women; Despite appreciating Mrs. Weasley for being the mother of her two best friends, they didn't really have much in common. Katie hated all things domestic, and Mrs. Weasley had always been a little cautious about quidditch. As for Fleur, there was no need to explain. Tall, blonde veela and a brunette Chaser. Nothing more really needed to be said, did it? With Hermione, it was still that irrational aversion to her that would most likely persist for a while. And Ginny…well, she supposed she had the most in common with the youngest Weasley, but she was four years younger. Katie sighed, pretending to know what she was doing with a cooking utensil that she didn't actually know the name of. She wished George were there to save her the awkwardness of this moment. She had been stupid not to have known he would be at the shop.
Katie was very bored. Observing that the rest of the "Weasley Women" were managing baking duties quite handily, she considered making an excuse and dashing off to the shop to find George. She was about to say that she needed to check up on the amount of space available for the dessert buffet and escape when none other than Charlie Weasley burst through the door.
"I'm home!" he shouted cheerily, hanging up his jacket and looking around the small living room. "Mum? Gin? Anyone?"
"Charlie, we're in here, dear," Molly called, craning her neck to see her second son. "He's been down since this morning for the launch," she added to Katie, smiling.
Charlie stepped jauntily through the entryway to the kitchen, and his face split into a wide grin when he saw Katie. "Kates!" he shouted, throwing his arm out wide.
Katie grinned and hurtled toward her older brother's best friend, nearly knocking him over as she enveloped him in a giant bear hug, which made Fleur frown slightly.
"How are you, kiddo?!" Charlie asked excitedly, mussing up her hair as they parted. "How's Michael?! I tried to pop in to see him this morning, but Alicia said no visitors…"
She laughed. "That's because he sneaked out to see me," she explained. "How are you, though? I haven't seen you since—"
She paused, trying to figure out how to best phrase this. She hadn't seen Charlie since Fred's funeral, but she didn't think any of them needed reminding of this, especially today.
"Since June," Charlie finished for her, squeezing her shoulder. "I've been good, you know…"
Katie nodded. She did now. Charlie now looked up, surveying the rest of the kitchen.
"Hullo, Hermione, Fleur," he said, waving cheerily to both of them. Hermione grinned back and Fleur smiled, inclining her scintillating blonde head. "Mum, Ginny. Have any of you lot seen George around? Ron and Lee are missing him at the shop…"
Mrs. Weasley looked surprised and Ginny raised an eyebrow. "What d'you mean?" the youngest Weasley asked. "We thought he was at the shop with the rest of you."
Charlie's face fell and Mrs. Weasley let out a moan. "Oh, Georgie," she said nervously to herself, wringing her hands. "What now?"
"We'd better find him, Mum," Charlie said, placing a reassuring hand on his mother's shoulder. "Ron said he hadn't been over there in a couple of hours."
"Yes, yes…obviously," Molly replied, collecting herself. "Okay, everyone, aprons off. Ginny, you search the yard because you can't Apparate yet—" Ginny moaned, "And everyone else…let's find my son!"
"I weel check zee cottage, eef he 'as gone to see Bill," Fleur volunteered, disapparating with a pop.
"I'll have a look 'round the village, I guess," Charlie said grimly, and copied Fleur.
Before she knew it, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley had disapparated as well, Ginny had taken off somewhere, and Katie was by herself in the kitchen. She bit her lip nervously. She thought she had an idea of where George might have gone, but she didn't exactly want to go there either…
XXX
The late morning was full of sunshine, and Katie squinted up the hill, trying to make out what she was hoping to see in the distance. No such luck, however. Damn. That meant that she would have to get closer. As she forced her feet to take her through the meadow and up the hill, she wondered how it was that she knew exactly where to go. There was no reason that it should be her instead of Molly, or Ginny, or Charlie that knew exactly where George would be on the morning of the reopening of his and his brother's joke shop. And yet, she knew.
She was also nervous about what awaited her once she got there. She knew that George was likely to be in a state, but what kind of state, she wasn't sure. And since she would be the one to find him, it would be up to her to comfort him. Katie sighed, reflecting on how much comfort she had had to give over the past year. At school, that was never her duty. It was Alicia's, and sometimes Angelina's. She had been no good at consoling anyone. Katie's idea of making someone feel better had been to say, "Well, at least you're not being eaten alive by a Kodiak bear." Needless to say, this had not consoled a sobbing LeAnn who had just been broken up with by Alex Gatsby. And now, for some reason, she had the mysterious feeling that George just might need her as much as she needed him—for whatever reason. And though she couldn't explain how she knew where to go, or her uncanny ability to bring comfort to George, she still made her slow and steady way up the hill in the meadow toward Fred Weasley's grave.
What she saw when she finally reached the top of the hill nearly caused her to lose her nerve. Fred's simple grave marker stood out amidst the long grasses and wildflowers, but nearly missed George altogether. He was stretched out on the ground, lying stomach down, hands gripping patches of wild grass. He made no noise, but Katie noted the strained muscles in his hand and the heaving of his stomach. And for the first time approaching George since Fred's death, she was scared.
She hung back for a couple of moments, the thought of calling his mother or Charlie to him instead fleeting in and out of her brain. She considered making a joke, since that was the order of the day, but dismissed this immediately. Calling his name would not work either. Katie breathed in deeply, slowly, and attempted to just trust whatever was inside of her that was telling her what to do.
Cautiously, Katie tiptoed over and lowered herself onto the grass next to George. She arranged herself so that she was at eye-level with him and slowly lay down. His long hair had fallen over his eyes so that he couldn't see her, but his hands loosened their grip on the ground as he felt his presence next to her. Almost trembling, Katie reached up with both of her hands and parted his hair.
"Hey," she said softly, returning her hands so that her head rested on them.
George's eyes were dry, and curiously calm. He didn't answer her.
"What are you doing?" she asked, gently again.
George stared at her for a while before answering, "He's right here. My twin's right here, six feet below me, and this is the closest I've been to him in a quarter of a year."
Katie felt her eyes start to well up, but fought it off. George did not need her breaking down, too.
"Fred's not down there, George," she said softly, forcing her voice to remain calm. "That's just his body. Nothing else."
George just shook his head, putting his face to the ground. "I can't do this," he said, voice muffled.
Katie regarded her friend sadly. "I know that it feels that way," she conceded. "But you're so much stronger than that, you know? Everyone else knows that you can do this—brilliantly, too. You just seem to be the only one who's missed the memo."
She smiled lightly as he turned his head to face her, a slight breeze ruffling his scruffy bangs. "But this is so much easier…" he whispered.
Katie shook her head. "Sadness is easier because it's surrender," she told him, still not letting her voice rise above softness. "And the George Weasley I know never surrenders. He fights, and he fights with style, too. George Weasley sends firework dragons from rockets chasing after the bad things in his life."
She smiled again, hoping to encourage him, but he just regarded her as though unconvinced.
"I don't think I can be funny tonight," he admitted. "Not like this."
"Of course you can't," Katie said, causing him to be surprised. But she went on. "It takes time to be funny. It takes time to extract all the joy from life. Everyone knows that. The key is to not let anyone know that you're not to that point yet."
"What d'you mean?" he asked curiously.
"I just mean fake it 'til you make it, Georgie," she smiled. "That, I know you can do."
"I dunno…" he said, contemplating this.
"George," she said, more firmly now as she sat up and pulled her legs underneath her. "You can. And you might not realize it until you're out there in front of all your friends, but it will come."
"You think so?" he asked, sitting up and joining her.
"I promise," she said firmly. "You have a beautiful date and I know you'll be the most dashing bloke in the place. Everyone's going to be jealous of Angelina."
She said this a little sadly, surprising herself.
"Except for maybe Lee," George added off-hand.
Katie grinned and laughed. "See?" she said. "You can do it."
"As long as you're there in the audience and I can see your face the whole time," George replied seriously.
Katie smiled softly and touched his hand. "You can count on it."
"And George?" she asked suddenly on an afterthought as they were taking their time walking back to the Burrow. "Thanks for waiting up for me at St. Mungo's. It meant a lot, even though you didn't stick around to say hullo."
George shrugged uncomfortably. "Oh, I just fell asleep on accident, that's all…and I didn't notice that you were back in the waiting room when I woke up, so I took off."
Katie just smiled knowingly and looped her arm through his.
"I love you for it anyway."