A/N: I was kind of under the impression that people had lost interest in this story (I can't believe I started this two years ago), but I got three reviews in a row asking me to please update from different people, so I took it as a sign. I wasn't entirely pleased with this story, to be honest, so I was going to abandon it but I guess some of you really like it so I will continue. Cheers.

George stood quietly in the corner of the kitchen without saying much unless spoken to. Through his shaggy red hair, his eyes flicked from the front door of the Burrow to the floor and back again. Ginny passed him carrying a basket of dinner rolls, paused, and returned to him.

"What's eating you?" she asked bluntly. "You look dreadful."

"Thanks, Gin," he grunted.

"Well if you're waiting for the Bells," she continued matter-of-factly. "Katie's not coming. She's still in her room, isn't she? Just Mrs. Bell and Michael. Not Elizabeth either."

"Go away, Ginny," George said. She continued to stare at him for a few seconds and then retreated into the kitchen where most of the party was.

Molly Weasley had felt that it was time to host a large family dinner party for their friends in the absence of so many dessert nights, and consequently the Burrow was in a bit of a buzz. It was nothing compared to its former glory, of course, but that stage of its life had gone now. It was not facing Katie Bell that had George occupied. He hadn't expected her to turn up, especially after the escapade yesterday. George was very on edge about encountering Michael Bell. He was not sure how fast or how far the story of what he had done at Katie's apartment had spread, but he was absolutely certain that at least Michael would know about it. And he dreaded seeing him.

George watched Ginny return from the kitchen and sit herself down next to Harry Potter who instantly took her hand. They bent their heads together, whispering and occasionally smiling. George observed them hollowly until the door finally opened, bringing in a burst of cold Autumn air and Mrs. Bell.

Molly greeted her warmly and welcomed her inside as though she were an invalid. Indeed, George noted that Andromeda Bell had lost a great deal of her pluck—her skin looked paler and her cheeks were significantly sunken in. Michael soon followed her inside casually, but was assaulted by Charlie almost instantly who had been heading down the stairs.

"So—you and some young blonde, I hear, Bell!" Charlie boomed good-naturedly.

Michael's face broke into a grin. "Not just any young blonde, Charles, my friend," he returned. "One of Katie's friends. From school—Alicia Spinnet."

Charlie laughed. "Well, that's why little sisters have friends!"

Part of George's personality that he hadn't yet learned to silence suppressed the impulse to state that Charlie rarely dated, and it was never any of Ginny's friends, who could probably find better, less elderly options. It wasn't fun to joke without Fred. He tried, of course, but it was only because it was expected of him. It wasn't the same without having a twin brother who was guaranteed to laugh with you and continue the joke with some sort of witty supporting comment.

Michael laughed, his brown eyes creasing and then suddenly landing on George. George froze instantly as Michael's face sobered and set into a firm grimace. He felt his body tense as Michael crossed the room toward him, and he slightly backed up against the wall.

"Look, Michael…" George was determined to have the first say before Bell could punch him or even verbally abuse him, but he was really at a loss for words.

"Outside," Michael said gruffly in a low voice.

George's eyes widened. "Look, I know I was a git, but do we have to fight?"

"Outside," he repeated, grabbing George by the scruff of his neck and directing him to the front door.

"Going somewhere, Bell?" Charlie called curiously. "What's going on with you and George?"

"Just gonna have a little chat, Charlie," Michael said calmly. George's mind was racing as to how he could avoid yet another black eye from a member of the Bell family without injuring yet another Bell sibling.

Once outside, Michael calmly shut the door and turned around. It was a pleasant evening, though chilly. The moon shown brightly in the crisp autumnal sky and a few leaves scattered across the driveway leading up to the house.

"Michael," George began yet again.

Michael put up his hand. "I don't want to fight you, George," he said.

George stared. "You don't?"

"No," he returned evenly. "I just want to talk."

George was quiet for a moment and then nodded. "Okay," he agreed.

They began to walk around the Burrow.

"Are you alright?" Michael began honestly.

George's astonishment registered on his face. "I'm fine," he said quickly. "How is Katie? Look, I'm so sorry about what happened, I don't know what came over me, I just—"

Again, Michael stopped him.

"Katie didn't tell me what happened, George," he said.

George frowned. "She didn't?" he asked.

"No," he said. "You know what she's like."

"Loyal to the point of making you feel like a jackass," George muttered to the ground. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I was going to with 'stubborn as hell and obnoxiously unyielding', but I suppose that's a good description as well." Michael laughed quietly and looked at George.

The Weasley twin was puzzled. "Michael, I made your little sister, who was already in a really bad place emotionally, cry to the point of making her hate me and then I broke her door. And you're laughing with me instead of punching me in the face?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Michael frowned. "You don't think I've ever made Katie cry?" he asked. "That I've never given her cause to hate me? I do it on a regular basis, George. But that doesn't mean I don't love her."

George was silent and they continued walking through the tall grass.

"And I know you love her, too," he continued. "And I know you would never try to hurt her under normal circumstances, which is why I asked if you were okay."

"I'm…" George was really too amazed to answer. "Fine," he finished.

The older Bell simply continued to stare at him.

"I miss Katie," he finally muttered, staring down at his shoes. They had rounded the corner and reached the front porch again.

"So do I," Michael said. "I know I see her every day, but it isn't her. I miss seeing my little sister smile. George, I would give anything to hear Katie laugh again."

George nodded silently. "Me too."

"I'm not going to ask you what happened," he said firmly. "But I've got to know…are you going to help me take care of her? She's strong, but there's no chance in hell she's doing this alone. I understand if you can't, believe me, I do. But she cares about you, and I know you were everything to her when I was gone--she told me. So what do you say?"

George nodded resolutely. "Of course," he agreed. "I'd do anything…just to get her to talk to me again."

Michael grinned. "Well okay then," he said brightly. "Now let's go inside because I'm starving."

George was overwhelmed by what had just happened, but let Michael slap him on the back and shove him back inside the Burrow. He underestimated the Bell family far too much, and wondered if Fred had known just how open-hearted of people they were.

XxX

Katie Bell shifted lightly in her bed so that she faced her small, dirty window. The grime that had coated the glass when she had moved in refused to be removed and had only intensified during her time there. The moon was large in the dark autumn sky and she watched the progress of a bright red leaf from a giant oak tree as it flapped in the wind and finally detached, floating erratically through the sky. She blinked.

Though she had not been outside, Katie could tell it was the time of year when September finally yielded to the inevitability of the approaching Fall. October was arriving soon, and with it came biting chill, the air full of spices, and long sleeves and jackets. At Hogwarts it had meant the addition of a Gryffindor sweater and having to accept that Summer was actually over, and that homework needed to be tended to instead of shoved aside in favor of greeting old friends.

October also hailed the official start of Quidditch season when Wood's speeches became longer and the hours of training were actually put to use. Oliver. He had taken to not saying anything when he came; just sitting outside her door. She knew he was there by the steady evenness of his breathing and the faint smell of leather and old spice she could pick up when she drew near. She liked not having to say anything. It was nice to sit on the other side of her door and know that Wood was just outside, for once not saying anything. She was tired of what people had to say.

The dark-haired girl shifted her gaze to her door. The long crack that had formed when George slammed it shut was still there. She hadn't let Michael mend it, though she wasn't sure why. Katie continued to stare at the door until her eyes slipped out of focus, creating multiple fissures throughout the grain of the wood. George's voice rang in her ears without saying anything.

She had thought several times of the fairness of what George had said that day without acting on it. She was afraid. Somehow, leaving this room meant that she had to try. Katie was tired of trying. She had tried since the very day Fred had been killed. Hadn't that been enough? Wasn't it now time for some relief, some gleaming ray of hope to give her the will to carry on? She did not want to become like George who seemed to exist for the sake of existing, too afraid to do anything else. Katie wanted a reason for her life. Fred was gone; she could not find another.

A ray of moonlight momentarily passed through the branches of the oak tree and landed directly on the silver band on her left hand. Immediately, the cracked door was eclipsed by the brightness of the light. Katie's eyes widened, the stagnation of the room suddenly illuminated with a clarity she could not deny. Dust particles rose from the floor and flew into focus as Katie shifted Fred's ring, playing with the prisms of light inside the tiny room. She let her mouth fall open slightly and closed her eyes. Sleep took her.

XxX

"Fred, what the hell are you doing back there?" Katie asked, rather crossly. She was sitting with her legs criss-crossed on the floor and her head leaning against the back of an old bed in Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. It was two days before Christmas—one of the few times she and Fred had managed to be together since the war had come out in the open—and she very much wanted to be downstairs with the rest of their friends and family celebrating the holiday. Snow fell silently outside the grimy window.

"One moment, my fetching young minx!" Fred called from the closet through the sounds of rummaging and several things breaking. "I'm just trying to find a marker!"

"What?" Katie frowned. "Fred, your mum called us down for dinner ages ago. George will have eaten all the stuffing by now, and you know how I feel about the stuffing."

"That I do," Fred said, his head popping out from the closet briefly.

"Then why are we putting it off for a sodding marker?"

"Because once I find one, you will be so thrilled, so dazzled, and so speechless, you shan't remember that you're missing out on stuffing at all," he answered confidently, disappearing again.

Katie rolled her eyes. "I seriously doubt that," she muttered.

"I heard that!" Fred called cheerily, finally emerging from the closet, a bright red marker twirling between his fingers. He sat down beside her.

"What do you want, Fred?" she asked tiredly.

"To marry you," he answered simply.

"Har har," Katie replied. "What do you actually want?"

After a momentary pause, he answered again, "To marry you."

His girlfriend's eyes widened, her jaw dropping slightly. "You're JOKING," she said.

"Actually, I'm not," he said seriously, his mouth twitching slightly in nervousness.

"Fred, we're nineteen," Katie said.

"I know," he returned.

"You don't think that's a little…young to be doing something this rash?"

"I'm always rash, love," Fred answered softly.

Katie stared at him, her brow furrowed. "Fred Weasley, what are you on about?" she said. It was barely a whisper.

"This," he said gently, taking her hand in his. He held it and spread her fingers apart, uncapped the marker, and lightly began drawing on her left ring finger.

"Kates," Fred said seriously. "I'm in love with you. I always have been, and you know that. I've also been an ass my fair share of times, and at Bill's wedding—" He paused. "Katie, I've never seen you so upset when I disappeared with that—"

"Veela," Katie finished for him, her breathlessness momentarily gone as she recalled the memory, her face hardened.

"Right," Fred said guiltily, still continuing to trace around her ring finger. "You looked so hurt. You didn't even yell at me. I know we were having problems and…well I don't remember exactly what they were. But then there was that attack, and you were gone. And I had no idea where you'd gone to, or if you were okay. Kates, I've never been so scared in my entire life, you've got to believe that."

He paused, taking several deep breaths. "What I'm trying to say," he began again, "My very best without sounding like a complete git, is that I realized I can't afford to lose you again. Not here, not now, not like this. I can't have you disappear again without knowing you'll come back. And I know you're going to disappear in a few days, or I am, and I need to know…I need to know that someday when this is all over we can be together. I want to think about that when we're apart."

"Fred," Katie said, her voice rushed and bothered. "You know I love you, but are you sure that marriage is the answer? I mean why would you want to be with me forever?"

Fred laughed merrily. "Katesy, Katesy, Katesy," he said as if she were a small child who had gotten her multiplication tables wrong, "You have courage, wit, loyalty, not to mention a stunning figure. And you're funny—not intentionally, of course, but you make me laugh. Katie, honestly…you are in every way everything in every woman I have ever met, and even more. I know I don't have one jot of anything to deserve you, but I do love you. And I'd take care of you and let you beat me over the head with your broomstick when you're angry with me."

The wily redhead smiled at her and noticing her softened gaze, rushed on to say, "Now say you'll marry me, you frigid cow, or I shall be forced to wash this off and I couldn't bear the shame."

Katie looked down at her hand which Fred had been holding to see that he had drawn a solid ring around her left ring finger. She laughed out loud in spite of herself.

"It will have to do until I can afford a real one," he offered, embarrassed. "But I needed to mark you."

Katie laughed and threw her arms around Fred's neck. "Fred, you unimaginable bastard," she grinned. "Look what you've gone and done to me."

"Is that a yes, then?" he asked.

She slapped him upside the head. "Of course it is, you great git."

The grin on his face had never been so broad as he gripped onto her and whispered into her ear, "Katie, I love you. And you love everyone and everything. You carry on when no one else does."

Katie was unable to respond from grinning through her tears. Fred flashed her a devilish smile. "See?" he said wickedly. "I told you that you would be speechless if I found this thing."

He twirled the marker in his fingers.

XxX

Katie sat up in bed. She looked down at the ring around her finger, breathing heavily.

"It's about love," she breathed to herself.

She got up. She would not let herself change from the person she was when he loved her. She crossed the room, opened the jewel box which sat on her small desk, and pulled out a plain silver chain. She removed the band from her finger—the first time since it had been placed there—and strung it on the chain. Hesitating only briefly, Katie hung it around her neck. She then threw on jeans and headed out the door. She needed to be somewhere where she felt safe tonight.

XxX

"Ketchup goes into the refrigerator after it's opened, moron!" Angelina Johnson shouted from the porch of her flat where she stood.

"I knew that!" Lee Jordan answered, shuffling into the kitchen.

The tall dark girl hugged herself as the breeze ruffled her hair slightly. She stared up at the moon. It seemed so large and so near tonight. Her boyfriend was inside the flat she shared with Alicia, clearing up after that night's dinner. She had been attempting to teach him how to live as a Muggle, as the apartment complex was Muggle-owned and tenants would be suspicious if they noticed things like the stove going unused.

Lee would be going back to the flat he shared with George soon and Alicia was visiting her parents for the night. She would be alone soon. Angelina looked down at the ground, giving into the thoughts that she had been suppressing, which came to her with increasing regularity.

"Fred, you bastard," she hissed bitterly at nothing in particular. "You die and take everyone with you."

She could not help feeling that way. George had not been—and would perhaps never be—himself. Katie had turned into a recluse. Lee was physically and emotionally exhausted every day from dealing with his own grief as well as George's. Alicia, in her typical fashion, betrayed no signs of outward sadness but fixated on healing everyone and not focusing on herself. In some ways, Angelina felt she did not know her friends anymore. And she could not help hating Fred Weasley for it. He had always affected everyone that way.

"At least give us Katie back, you selfish prick," she continued, tears stinging her brown eyes. "She's my best friend."

In school, Angelina had often been accused of interfering with her friends' lives. She had been considered the mother hen of the group, ordering people around and in some instances was perceived as trying to dictate their feelings. Bossy, Lee had always called her. Perhaps she was. Yet, she always felt she did the things she did because she cared. And a lot of the times, those things had worked. Now, if George would only go to see Katie…

Secretly, buried somewhere deep inside herself, Angelina was resentful that it would not be her who could talk sense into Katie. She wanted her to confide in her again, the way she had when they were younger and stayed up late giggling in the Hogwarts dorm rooms. Yet, if she had to use George to get Katie back, she would. But the man would not go.

Already frustrated, Angelina snapped at the sound of a breaking dish.

"Lee Jordan!" she shouted, whirling around to lecture her boyfriend on being more careful. Lee's face greeted her, wide-eyed, when she re-entered the apartment.

"What?" she snapped, unable to control herself. "What did you drop that dish for?"

"Sorry Ange," Lee stammered. "It's only—"

"Only what?"

"Katie's here."

XxX