A/N: I am painfully aware how incredibly overdue this update is. I hope it has been worth the wait! It's rather long, so watch out for that…And! P.S.! My birthday is tomorrow, so if anyone needs any last minute gift ideas for me (and has any semblance of artistic talent), I would love for someone to draw the last scene of this chapter. For real. I'd love to post pictures to go along with this story, but I'm woefully unartistic. Anyone, anyone? If not, you can just write a killer review & that will do for a great birthday present as well. Ha. Cheers, everyone!
"George Weasley!"
"You've no idea how wonderful it is to hear your screeching voice in the mornings, Ange," George said dryly from behind the counter where he was going over last week's ledger.
Angelina ignored him. "Why haven't you come to see Katie?" she demanded. "Didn't you get my owl?"
"Yes, I had the pleasure of receiving the information which you were so good as to send me," he continued in the same style. "But after perusing it, I discovered that Kates had no desire whatsoever to see me, and thus remained here."
"Quit being cute," Angelina said crossly.
"I'll try, but it's difficult."
"George."
"Angelina."
She sidestepped his retorts. "It's Wednesday. I sent you that letter on Saturday. And you haven't come. Don't you want to see your friend at all?"
George turned serious now. "Really, Ange, I do, but she doesn't. And I've got to respect her wishes."
She crossed her arms. "You mean you can't be bothered," she translated.
"I didn't say that."
"Because your pride was hurt!"
George put away the ledger, flicked his hair away from his face and stared at his friend.
"So what if it was?" he asked her. "Is that so unreasonable? It's not as if I haven't got feelings too, you know. She's not the only one having a hard time of it."
"I know that, George, I'm just—"
"What? Really? I mean, I'm sorry to sound like a selfish jackass here, but my function in life is not only to provide comfort to Katie. And it's not yours either. I'm just tired of you coming down here every time she has a melt down and expecting me to fix it!"
Angelina looked flabbergasted as she watched George. He was not yelling, but was clearly speaking forcefully about something he felt very strongly. He shrugged his shoulders and his eyes invited her to contradict him. In her silence, he continued.
"I don't know if you've noticed, Angelina, but life isn't exactly wonderful when your twin brother dies and all of your friends spend their time worrying about someone else."
It slipped out before he had meant it to, but the effect was immediate. In her typical manner, Angelina jutted out her bottom jaw and put her hands on her hips forcefully. The fire inside her eyes built up and flashed.
"George Weasley, you know that is in no way fair," she said in a manner that reminded George of his mother. "Alicia's rearranged all of her shifts at the hospital so that her schedule matches yours in case you ever need her. And what about when I ditched that bloke I liked to come with you to the reopening of this place? And Lee? Did you know Lee dropped a very lucrative contract to DJ on KWIZ because he didn't want you to have to go into business alone? God, George, it's no use talking to you when you're like this!"
She stomped out of the store and slammed the door behind her, leaving George feeling more like an ass than he had in a long time. A fresh burden of guilt piled onto his plate, he sighed and flopped down on the couch in the back room, running his fingers through his ginger hair.
XxX
Katie Bell grabbed her mail out of the beak of her tawny owl which had perched over the door just as she was exiting. Rifling through it as she made her way down the stairs, she frowned at a yellow envelope and then shoved the lot in her brown messenger bag. She would deal with that later. Turning on the spot, Katie apparated into the bustling halls of the Daily Prophet.
Going back to work had been quite a bit easier than Katie had anticipated. No one had said anything about her extended absence, though she attributed this mainly to her friend in the booth next to her. According to Jacquelyn, Germaine Hudson had appeared slightly relieved that she was taking time off in the first place, and as for the rest of the staff, they had either been threatened by Jac or had simply grown bored of the Katie Bell Drama Hour. Katie rather hoped it was the latter.
The aforementioned energetic brunette now appeared directly in front of Katie as she was turning the corner to head toward her desk.
"Hi," Jacquelyn said abruptly, spilling a bit of coffee out of her mug.
"Hello," Katie returned suspiciously, cleaning up Jac's mess with a flick of her wand. "What's going on with you?"
She had known her friend long enough to be aware that Jac was bursting to tell her something—either about a man or gossip about a coworker. In this case, and judging by the pink twinge in her cheeks, it appeared to be the former.
"Nothing with me," Jac hummed ridiculously. "But you have got a handsome Scotsman waiting for you at your desk this morning!"
Katie rolled her eyes. "Please don't tell me it's Oliver," she said.
Her friend blushed.
"Jac, honestly," Katie laughed. "Haven't you been around him enough by now not to go completely nutters when he comes 'round?"
She looped her arm through her friend's and walked over to where Oliver was perched on her rather untidy desk space. He perked up when he saw her.
"Hi Kates," he grinned.
"Morning, Ol," she said. "Listen, could you do me a favor and stop doing whatever it is you do that turns Jacquelyn into a pathetic school girl?"
Jacquelyn now flushed a shade of intense red, smacked Katie on the arm, and marched around the corner. Katie just laughed as Oliver looked after her quizzically. Once she disappeared, however, his smile returned.
"Lunch again today?" he asked pleasantly.
"Sure," Katie said, sitting down and beginning to look through the contents of her inbox. "But I can't go out today, don't think I'll have the time. Meet you in the lunch room though?"
"Whatever you say, Bell," Oliver returned. "Well, off to practice, then." And he disappeared with a pop.
She and Wood had been sharing lunch together since she had returned to work, sometimes eating out, and sometimes sharing whatever he had managed to steal from his teammates. It was quite nice having someone to chat with who wasn't incessantly asking whether she had spoken to George Weasley yet. Oliver often turned up muddy or bruised from practice, but always with a grin and fresh subjects to discuss that were as non-George related as she could possibly hope.
Jacquelyn soon reemerged from wherever she had been hiding and took her seat next to Katie.
"I can't believe you said that," she said grumpily, going through her own inbox.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Katie replied, feigning ignorance. "Now, you know Simon from upstairs? I was thinking we should talk to him about the Ministry revamp story…"
And with that, she launched forward into a full morning of work.
It was good to be back to living her life. With her old engagement ring now on a chain and close to her heart, Katie felt freer than she had in a long time. In a way, she felt Fred was still with her, though now not as restricting as his memory had previously been. She almost felt as if he were helping her somehow, an unseen presence giving her aid and comfort. Additionally, coming to Angelina had been the right choice. With her typical blunt and militia-like efficiency, she had forced Katie to see everyone she had been shunning. Though initially somewhat painful and incredibly uncomfortable, the breaches in her friendships and family had been swiftly healed. The only problem which remained unsolved was George.
Katie had wasted no time in cornering her brother to demand to know what had taken place between them at the Burrow. This required some measure of stealth, as she had to feign knowledge of the meeting from another source—she knew Michael would never come clean if she admitted to overhearing his conversation and snog fest with her best friend, and listening in without announcing herself. Pretending that Ginny had mentioned it to her, Katie had entered into the conversation on the following rainy Saturday afternoon from when she had stumbled over to Angelina's.
She had been helping Michael move his things back to his place at Kenmare House and the two Bell siblings had retrenched into lounging on the sofa in the living room.
"So what did you say to him?" Katie pressed. "You weren't rude?"
"When have I ever been rude?" Michael joked, avoiding his sister's piercing stare.
"Quit being cute, Michael," she said impatiently. "What did you say? Is he still mad at me?"
The elder sibling considered this carefully and finally said, "No, he's not."
"Well then?" Katie pressed. "Why hasn't he come to see me if he's not mad? He must still be, I knew it."
"Katie—"
"You don't have to protect me, Michael, I can handle George Weasley's anger."
"Kates, he's not mad at you. Trust me."
"How do you know?"
"Because," Michael hesitated. "Because…I asked him to help me…I asked him to help me get you back."
Katie softened. "You did?" she asked quietly.
"Well, yeah. I missed you, Kates. The old you. I still do."
She was silent for a moment. "I do, too," she said finally. "But I'm trying now, Michael, that's the material point."
"Of course it is, baby sis," he agreed genially, back to his carefree manner. "And old George agreed to it, of course. He cares about you, Kates. I just don't think he knows how to show it."
Katie did not answer, but couldn't help repressing the thought, If he cares about me, why won't he bother to come to me?
"What was that yellow notice on your door earlier, anyway?" Michael continued casually. "I saw you try to hide it."
"Nothing," Katie said quickly. "It's nothing."
"Please, I've seen you lie from the time you were four. What is it?"
Katie sighed. "A form saying I have ten days to vacate my apartment before the management changes locks and apparition spells."
"What? Kates, why?! Haven't you been paying the rent?"
"I have," she said defensively. "It's not that. It's…"
"What?"
"It's Dad."
Michael darkened. "What about Dad?" he asked.
"They say they have a right to refuse housing to anyone whose family member is under investigation for dangerous crime."
"But that's ridiculous!" Michael exploded. "Dad was considered dangerous when Death Eaters were in the Ministry! He's all right now, they're just taking a while to sort it out!"
"Save your breath, I know that," Katie said irritably.
"Why on earth are you acting so calm? You're getting kicked out of your apartment!"
The younger Bell rolled her eyes. "McGill's not going to throw me out," she said, referring to her elderly landlord. "He only just found out about Dad, he's probably trying to get me to offer higher payment or something. It'll sort out."
"No it won't, Katie," Michael scolded. "This is the law, and if he's got a mind to toss you out, he can do it. It's not fair, but the law's on his side…you'll be out of a home if you don't do something."
"Just because you pretended you were a lawyer in your second year play doesn't mean you actually are one," Katie snapped. "This will blow over, just wait and see."
Michael shrugged, knowing not to argue with his sister when she was in a mood. Katie had then sunk down into the couch, pondering over George and feeling deeply hurt that he was going out of his way to avoid her. In the coming days, she would bristle at the mention of his name and snap at anyone who tried to get her to go to him. She refused to see someone who clearly wanted to toss their friendship out of the window.
XxX
Miss Bell,
As I have warned you several times, I will be forced to enforce your removal from this premises this evening at 6:00, according to Magical Law Section 23, Clause 7.
Arturis McGill
"What's that?" Oliver Wood asked cheerfully, throwing down a gym bag of Quidditch gear next to his chair as he sank down next to Katie. The bright cafeteria of the Daily Prophet was bustling with activity, but Katie had chosen an empty table in the corner, further away from the noise.
"Nothing," Katie said quickly with a frown, shoving the notice back into her bag. Surely this was all a ridiculous scheme to avoid rent control.
"Ol, you've got a bit of mud on your face," Katie said with a smirk, reaching over to wipe away the dirt on Oliver's left cheek with her thumb.
Wood flushed and laughed embarrassedly, looking Katie in the eyes a bit too long.
Caught off-guard, she met Wood's gaze. His friendly brown eyes looked at her warmly. He had not asked her out again or even hinted at anything romantic between the two of them, and Katie had begun to wonder whether he had given her up for good. Slightly relieved, but somewhat inexplicably alarmed, she had greeted the change in tone of their relationship in stride. Now he looked at her as though he had returned to wanting her. This look vanished in an instant, however, and was replaced with a grin and an amusing story about an elderly wizard who had accidentally wandered into their Quidditch practice, mistaking it for a dentist's office.
XxX
It was 5:30, just after the close of business for the day, and George was sitting in the back room, leaning over the counter and drumming his fingers repetitively. He felt he had been listless all day, and several times had Lee had to call him back to the present in order to help close a deal. Now he was at leisure to ponder over the source of his distraction.
"Lee," he said abruptly as the tall, dreadlocked wizard entered the room carrying a stack of boxes. "Did you turn down a job at the WWN because of me?"
Startled, Lee stopped in his tracks, sending the boxes flying.
"It's okay, you can tell me," George said calmly, stacking the boxes again with a flick of his wand.
"Did Ange tell you that?" he finally asked.
"It doesn't matter," the redhead answered. "Did you?"
Lee let out a heavy sigh and sat down in a nearby armchair, putting his face in his hands. George sank to the sofa.
"Don't lie to me, Lee," he warned. There was silence.
"Kind of," Lee finally answered. "I mean…it was that way at first. Or at least that's how I tried to justify it to myself. That I was worried about you being on your own and all that. But in all honesty…I was worried about me, too. I knew you had Ron and that you wouldn't be alone, but I hated the idea of staying by myself in my own piece of shit flat up town. Most nights I would lie awake thinking about—about Fred, and you, and me and how nothing could bring that back. Nothing. I missed that dynamic so much that I—well I wanted to be with you again, like back at Hogwarts. So I turned down the job offer and moved in here."
"It's not like back at Hogwarts," George said after a pause. "Nothing is."
Lee let out a hollow laugh. "You honestly think I don't know that?" he asked. "It's been rough. It's downright sucked some moments." He sighed and then stood up, clapping George on the back.
"But it hasn't been too bad, has it, mate?" He gave George a toothy grin.
George attempted to mimic the gesture. "No," he admitted. "No, it hasn't been bad at all."
"Well," Lee said, tugging on his jacket over his shop robes. "I'll be heading over to the girls' place for a while. Ange wants to make tacos tonight. You, uh…?"
"I'll be okay," George interrupted. "It's like you said, right? I've got Ron." George knew full well Ron had a date planned with Hermione for that evening, but he didn't care. He didn't mind the solitude, and definitely didn't want anyone fussing over him.
Lee shrugged. "Alright," he said. "See you later, mate."
"Later."
Something stopped Lee from going, however, and he hung in the door frame. George looked up.
"You should go see Katie," he finally said. It was stated more as a fact than a suggestion.
"Oh for Christ's sakes, Lee, not you too," George began grumpily.
"Give it a rest, George," Lee said, brushing his friend's interruption out the window. "And go." He narrowed his eyes. "I won't say it again."
And with that, he took off out of the shop. George sighed and sank back down into the sofa.
XxX
An hour later, George was up in the flat above his shop pulling on and off a myriad of different button-up shirts.
"You've got to be kidding, you look like a prat," he muttered at his reflection, tossing aside a shade of violent violet he hadn't worn since he and Fred were sixteen. "Nope, not this one either…"
Frustrated with himself, and realizing Katie had been home from work for nearly an hour now and might have dinner plans, he finally shrugged on a blue and white plaid shirt he had worn dozens of times before and set out into the evening.
George swore to himself as he disapparated and made the familiar walk over to Katie's apartment complex. He had purposely apparated a few blocks away to give himself time to mentally prepare for this. Much as he hated to admit it, he had wanted to see her. He was still angry at her refusal of seeing him—it had been nearly a month since he had come raging into her apartment, and still she had given him no sign of wanting to see him. Not that he could entirely blame her—but if she was making up with everyone else…
Trying vigorously to ignore the part of his mind which had been programmed to imagine what Fred would say in the situation, he ruffled his shaggy ginger hair and attempted to decide what he would say after knocking on her door.
Hi Katie, I got an owl from Angelina saying…
No. Clearly not.
Kates! Guess who's heeeeeeeere.
Far too fifth year.
Katie, look…
But his preparations were interrupted by a sight he had not expected to see at all. Sitting all alone on the damp and dirty sidewalk sat the very Katie Bell he was coming to see, cheeks stained with tears and surrounded by a variety of odd boxes and suitcases. Without thinking, he ran up to her.
"Kates?" he asked warily. "Katie, what…?"
Katie looked up at him in surprise and anguish. Her green eyes were swimming with tears and she hugged her knees tightly to her chest.
"Katie, what on earth are you doing out here?" George asked, crouching down beside her. "And why's all your stuff in boxes? Are you…are you going somewhere?" he asked in dread.
She seemed unable to speak and simply shook her head vigorously. An irrational wave of anger swept through George. "Fine," he said, rolling his eyes. "Don't tell me. I'll probably find out from Ange that you're vacationing in Santa Barbara for a month tomorrow…"
And with that, he straightened up and began to walk away. Katie's strained voice stopped him, however.
"George, I've been evicted," she said with a sob.
George's eyes widened. "What?" he asked, disbelieving. He rushed back to her side, putting his arm around her. "Are you kidding me?"
"No," Katie managed to get out. "It's—it's my dad! They say they can kick me out because he's still in Azkaban and they h-have reason to suspect me too, and I didn't do anything b-because I thought it was a ploy to get more r-rent money and—and—and now I have nowhere to go!"
She burst into a fresh series of sobs, slightly drawing away from George's protective grasp. George was utterly at a loss of what to say, however as she spoke, a somewhat ridiculous plan was formulating in the back of his head.
"Michael's in Quidditch housing for his team, and Angie and Al are full up and I could never, never ask my mother, I'd just die! And I don't know what to do, and—"
"Hey," George said calmly, determinedly retightening his grip on her shoulder. "Don't be ridiculous. You think we're going to let you live on the streets?"
"But what am I going to--?"
"Come live with me."
The words had escaped his mouth before they had had time to give meaning to his brain. Though it was what he wanted, he had not meant to give voice to them before he had thought it through. Katie looked up at him, bewildered.
"What?"
"Yeah," George said, more firmly now. "We can pull out an extra bed, Lee won't mind. Ron's still living at home, anyway. It will be fun. The three of us."
A wave of relief swept over Katie's face. "Are you sure?" she asked.
"Of course," he said easily. "I'll even make dinner for you tonight. But mind, that's just a one time thing. You'll be cooking for Lee and I every night otherwise. Have to earn your keep and all that."
In spite of herself, Katie laughed. "Oh, George," she said, sinking into him and burying her head against his chest. "I've really missed you."
Surprised, George held her closer. "I've missed you too," he said quietly.
"I just don't know anymore with everything," she muttered against him. "Sometimes I wonder what's going to happen to all of us."
"Don't worry," he said reassuringly—more reassuringly than he felt. "I'll look after you."
He kissed the top of her head, and smoothed out her short, dark hair.
"I'll look after you."
And the pair sat in that attitude, huddled up on the dank and dirty sidewalk in a back alley of London, until the rain began once again to sprinkle the earth. Katie would live with him. He would help her. He could make this all work.
XxX