A/N: Thank you so much for those of you who reviewed last chapter. Sorry that this one was a little late. I hope you all had a happy holiday season!

George was restocking products in his shop before opening one morning when Angelina came striding through the door, allowing a burst of chilly autumn air to come in with her.

"Hi George," she said, walking boldly across the floor. "Is Lee around?"

"Yeah, he's in the back doing the books," George answered without looking back toward her.

Angelina hesitated, and George could tell she was trying to figure out how to ask him something.

She settled for, "George, it's been two weeks and Katie still hasn't come out of her room."

"Mmm," George hummed, still not facing her. He knew where this was leading and he didn't feel the need to hurry her there.

She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. "Have you even tried to go see her?" she pressed.

George put down the last box of Knicker Nut Rolls, climbed down from the small step ladder and turned around to face her, exposing the nasty black eye that had still not healed.

"No," he said shortly, folding his arms in front of his chest and watching her wince.

"That's still pretty bad, isn't it?" Angelina said, scrunching up her nose. "You should have Alicia take a look at it."

"He won't let her," Lee answered as he strode out of the back room. "But I asked, and she gave him some mugwort for it, but says it's best to just let it heal." He walked over to where Angie was and placed a small kiss on her forehead.

George rolled his eyes and sat down on his step ladder. He involuntarily brought a hand toward his face and traced the outline of his right eye. Great, he thought, Now I've got no ear and practically no eye. Just perfect.

"How is Alicia—er—lately?" George asked, fidgeting.

"Um, I think she's alright," Angelina said, glancing at Lee for his concurrence. "Michael managed to talk some sense into her, I think."

"That's good," George answered gruffly, tugging at the sleeve of his robes.

"She tried to go see Katie the other day," Angelina said in a would-be-casual voice, exchanging glanced with Lee. "But she won't see anyone. Except Michael sometimes."

George didn't answer, he just looked between them.

"We were thinking of going again tonight," Lee chipped in. "Wood's tried a couple of times, too, of course, but he hasn't had any luck either."

George simply nodded.

"We want you to come with us," Angelina suddenly said, rather bluntly. "We think she's really hurting, George."

"Usually that's a reason why people lock themselves up in their rooms," George responded coldly, standing up and again climbing the step ladder.

"George," she pressed. "Come on. She listens to you."

"Apparently not," was all his reply.

Angelina suddenly exploded. "George, would you quit acting like a hurt puppy?? You're being ridiculous! Do you have any idea how many times you hurt her while you were in that state?! And she never bailed out on you! Not once! And this is how you repay her?? When she needs you, you hide away and pretend she doesn't exist?!"

"Isn't that what she's doing to us?!" George snapped, whirling around. "Believe me, Ange, if I could lock myself up away from the world, I would! But I have a shop to run, and a life to live, and I'm not Fred! I don't go running after her when she decides to behave like an ass! It's not what I do!"

"You're right," Ange whispered bitterly. "It's not." And Lee took her arm cautiously and led her to the back room. George swore under his breath and turned back around.

Self-righteous Angelina, always meddling, he thought. Even when they were in school, she could never just let something lie without sticking her nose in. She was most of the reason he and Alicia had started dating—and look where that had gone. Alicia now wanted Michael Bell, and he wanted—well, all he really wanted anymore was to be left alone. He had even refused to comment on the fact that she and Lee were now dating. He saw that she wanted to be gratified, and he refused to do so for that very reason. And now she was pestering him again.

Why should he have to go see Katie? He wasn't her family and he wasn't Fred. Why did everyone keep forgetting that?! As if he didn't have enough to deal with already without taking someone else's misery upon himself. Besides, Katie had made it pretty clear that she didn't want him in her life anymore. He had no idea what he had been thinking previously.

And what were Ange and Lee thinking, asking him to do this?! They were happy and shagging; why should he, George, who had lost his twin brother, have to worry about Katie Bell?? No. Let them do it. He was finished with it.

George angrily kicked over his step ladder as he walked toward the cash register, frightening a small child who had just wandered in through the front door.

No one understood how alone he was. No one.

XxX

Oliver Wood had spent most of his free time sitting outside Katie Bell's bedroom door for the past couple of weeks. It wasn't normally how he would have chosen to spend his time; the white washed walls reminded him of a hospital and he was allergic to something in her carpet, but he cared about the person beyond the door. She would not yet let him in, or speak to him beyond the occasional, "OLIVER, GET OUT!" But, he still came every chance he got.

Katie's brother Michael had temporarily moved in, sleeping on the living room sofa, cooking his sister's meals and feeding her venus flytrap, Annette. He did not say much, but always let Oliver in when he came over. Today, Michael was out to lunch with Alicia, and Oliver was sitting in the hallway outside Katie's bedroom door saying nothing. He was fairly certain she did not know he was there, either because she was sleeping or because he had not yet ventured to call out to her. He was sitting, staring down at the petals of a daisy he had brought with him. He twirled the stem between his thumb and finger, frowning slightly, which caused a small crease to appear between his brows.

Wood had stepped in where George had retreated, and he knew it. If Katie had been sick, injured, or even if she had simply turned her back on the world in silence, George would be here, and not himself. Oliver did not quite understand it, and he wondered if part of the reason for Katie's resistance was that he was the wrong man. She probably wants to see a friend and not someone who's made an arse of himself attempting to pursue her, he reasoned. And yet he could not help himself. He could not help caring about Katie Bell and her future, and he knew that his attraction to her was only a partial reason for this. She was kind; maybe not directly so, but it still showed. She was fiercely loyal, and at school he had known her to be relatively carefree—mischievous, almost to the point of exhaustion. He would not let her collapse in on herself like this. If he could help it, he would not.

Oliver had done all that he could think of—he had spoken to her boss, Germaine Hudson, and had secured her a temporary leave of absence, something the Daily Prophet had been attempting to get her to take for a while. He came over whenever he could, and did his best to help Michael take care of her. He wasn't much of a prodigy in the kitchen, but he attempted. And so he sat, staring at the daisy he had plucked for her, wondering what more he could do.

"Katie," he said, half-hopeful and half-sighing, his Scottish accent breaking the silence. He said nothing more, and simply slid the flower through the space between the floor and her bedroom door. A few minutes passed in silence, but he heard her cross the room and pick it up.

XxX

Katie was lying on her back and staring up at the ceiling when her brother entered the room. Katie turned over on her side and curled up into a ball, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Michael said casually as he crossed the floor and handed her a bit of toast and set a bowl of cereal on her nightstand. He pulled up the chair from her desk and sat down close to her head. "Are you going to come out and enjoy this fine Autumn day?"

His sister eyed him.

"Come on, Kay," he said, more seriously now. "You've got to come out sometime. I don't know how long they're going to let you miss work."

"I don't care," she replied, rolling over to face the wall.

"Except I think you do," Michael interrupted. "You've been in here for two weeks. You've got to be tired of seeing just me."

"The only thing that I'm tired of," Katie replied stonily, "Is seeing everything I love end."

She paused a moment before she whispered softly, "No one knows how I feel."

"I don't think that's true," Michael replied quietly.

"I lost my fiancé and my grandfather, not to mention about a dozen friends," Katie spat. "What do you know?"

"I think Aunt Liz probably understands," Michael pointed out. "She lost her husband and her father. Andromeda Tonks probably knows what you're going through; she lost her husband and her daughter. Mum hasn't spoken to Dad in ages, and she just lost her father. George just lost his twin brother, for fuck's sake! His other half, Katie, and you don't see him hiding away in his room."

"HE DID!" Katie cried through angry tears. "He did until I came and coaxed him out! And where is he now when I need him?! Not here!"

"You punched him in the face," Michael reminded his sister, grabbing her by the shoulders and steadying her. "He probably doesn't think you want to hear from him."

"I don't care," Katie began to cry. "I don't care anymore, I just don't care…"

Her shoulders shook and Michael frowned slightly, leaning over his sister and rubbing her back. "I know, Katie, but you have to try, okay? You can't just give up on me. I need you. A lot of us do."

"I can't," she spluttered. "I can't go back out there…not after what I did. What I said."

"No one holds it against you," he said firmly. "We all understand you were upset. If anything, it was my fault. I shouldn't have walked out of there in the first place and left you by yourself."

Katie smiled back at him through her tears. "Oh, Michael, it wasn't your fault and you know it."

He smiled at his sister. "That's the smile I miss," he said. "Listen, I won't push you, but Mum wants to come over today, alright? She's worried about you."

Katie fervently shook her head. "No," she said. "No, I won't see her."

"Why not, Katie? She's your mother."

"Because. I just won't. I won't see anyone."

"Not even Oliver?"

"Of course not him. No one."

Michael shrugged. "Well, I'm sure he'll be over in about five minutes anyway. It's his lunch break. He comes over every day you know, to check on you."

"He doesn't have to," Katie said coldly.

He just started at her for a while before saying, "Listen, Kay, I'm going to go out today alright...? I'm taking Alicia out for lunch."

He gave her a knowing look and Katie just nodded. "Fine," she said. And then, "I knew there was a reason you were in a sweater instead of one of your horrid oversized button ups."

"Thanks, little sis, you're a real flatterer."

"You won't comb your hair, though, will you?"

"Never. Besides, I'm not taking advice from someone who can barely make it from her bed to the bathtub every day."

Katie threw a pillow at her brother as he exited the room. She turned on her side to face the wall. So he was going to see Alicia. Well, that was fine. Alicia would have someone to look after her. She had thought George might have been that person for her, but it didn't matter. He didn't matter. He could abandon her, she didn't care. Let him live his life. She didn't have one anymore.

Katie curled into a ball and stared at the silver band still slipped onto her left finger. She spun it around as the light streaming in from between the blinds reflected off of it and made shapes on the wall.

"Fred," she whispered softly.

"Katie."

She jumped, but realized it was just Oliver Wood. She sighed, casting her gaze toward her door. "Idiot," she breathed.

And then she saw a simple daisy pushed through the space between the door and the floor. She paused a moment and then retrieved it, throwing it out the window.

No one understood how alone she was. No one.

XxX