A/N: This is a bit of a builder chapter, but it's an important one for what's to come. As always, thanks in advance for your wonderful reviews!
George Weasley stirred in his sleep. A few raindrops had escaped the opening in the large bay window of his flat and slid down to his forehead. Grumbling slightly and drying his face with the back of his hand, George propped himself up on one elbow and closed the two inch gap between the window and the wall. The day was typically London-esque; the sky was overcast and the drizzle of rain pattered against the rooftop. The combination of this and the fact that it was an early Sunday morning led George to want nothing other than to hole back up beneath the covers and sleep another solid three hours. In fact, he was about to do so when something stopped him.
Sleepily, George had lifted his blankets in order slip beneath them once more, and idly noticed that his and Katie's beds were still pushed together. They must have fallen asleep before the movie ended last night. He turned to observe her and suddenly found himself curiously drawn to her form. She was still blissfully asleep, her face serene and calm, eyelids closed. She had kicked off her blankets in the night and was huddled with her knees drawn to her chest, George's nightshirt obscuring her hands and fingers. Her hair, which had grown slightly longer in the last month, had dried in waves and hid part of her face, though he could still see her cheeks flushed with sleep and her lips red. He watched her for a moment, chest rising and falling slowly with her breathing, appreciating the way the soft blue stripes of his shirt looked against her olive skin. His shirt. Somehow, this fact made him smile slightly.
Then he realized what he was doing. Suddenly, a flash of Fred's face and the thought of what his brother would say if he could see into his thoughts at the moment burned in his brain. Horrified and incredibly angry with himself, George determinedly rolled over and threw the covers over his head and shut his eyes.
His twin brother had only been dead for half a year, and already he was behaving like a giant prick.
XxX
The next time George awoke, it was to the smell of smoke billowing through the small flat and the sound of vigorous cursing.
"Oh fuck! Oh, fuck!"
Bewildered, the redhead threw off the covers and looked around wildly. Lee was still asleep, curiously dead to the world. In the kitchen, Katie was waving a saucepan about in a ridiculous manner in an effort to clear the kitchen of smoke. Something on the stove was obviously burning, and badly at that. Amused in spite of himself, George got up and heaved the windows open to release the smoke and then walked over to where Katie was standing, utterly defeated. She set the saucepan back on the stove and slid down the refrigerator into a pathetic heap. A dozen eggshells and what looked like some sort of orange substance was strewn across the kitchen tile.
"Erm…Kay?" George began tentatively. "I don't mean to be accusatory, but what the hell happened in here?"
"Was cooking," she replied in a small voice. George did his best to suppress a laugh he very much wanted to let out.
"Yeah, I see that," he continued. "Then what?"
She looked up at him ruefully.
"What's it look like?" she said, a hint of steeliness to her tone. "Everything exploded!"
She sighed, and ran her hands through her yet uncombed hair. "I just thought I'd try to do something nice for you and Lee, for taking me in and all, and cook breakfast. And of course, it blows up in my face—literally! I've never been good at household spells, so I tried to do it the Muggle way and it was like everything I learned in Muggle Studies just sort of…"
She made a motion with her hands to signify what looked like evaporation.
The disgusted look on her face brought George so near bursting out with laughter that it took all he had not to take the mickey out of her.
"S'okay, Kates," he said bracingly. "You were always rubbish at Muggle Studies anyway, yeah? None of us would have expected different." Okay. So maybe he couldn't entirely dismiss the urge.
Katie responded by glaring at him.
"Right," he said quickly. "Sorry. Er…but it's not that big of a deal, is it? I mean, so you smoked up the flat…it's nothing Fred or I haven't done a thousand times before."
She seemed unconvinced, and snorted in derision. "I didn't just smoke up the kitchen," she opined.
George raised an eyebrow. "You didn't?"
"Ugh!"
Katie now pushed out her legs and threw up her arms so that she was lying on the kitchen floor.
"What?" her friend prompted.
She closed her eyes. "There's all this stuff on the floor," she said mournfully.
This time, George really did laugh. Katie's eyes immediately flew open and she glared up at him scornfully.
"I'm sorry," he said, attempting to restrain himself and failing miserably. "I'm sorry. Look Kay, tell you what. Why don't you get up and put on some clothes and we'll all go out for breakfast? Armando's Diner is just around the corner, and I'll even let you pay since I'm short on Galleons at the moment…that is, we could if Lee ever woke up…honestly, I've never seen him sleep through something like this. And that includes the time Fred and I let Cornish Pixies loose in the dorms…"
Katie seemed to suddenly realize something, and sat straight up.
"Uh-oh," she muttered, looking around for her wand and grabbing it off of the kitchen counter. She pointed it at Lee. "Finite!"
"I cast a spell on him last night so he couldn't hear anything," she explained to George's laughter.
At this, Lee stirred in his sleep and eventually sat up. Upon seeing the smoke, he looked around wildly.
"Blimey!" he cried. "Has someone got a baby dragon in here?"
Katie stalked off to her closet.
XxX
The next three weeks of October passed away pleasantly for both Katie and George. They would eat breakfast together—sometimes with Lee, sometimes not depending on where he spent the night—then Katie would dash off to the Daily Prophet offices and George and Lee to the shop. She would come home in the afternoons, sometimes help out if it was a particularly busy day, and then the three of them would cook a low maintenance dinner. Afterward, Lee would dash off to Angelina's and George and Katie progressively worked their way through the pile of films Alicia had given Katie when she moved in. Indeed, neither one of them had much time for anyone else but one another. They stayed in on weekends, declined most invitations from friends, and aside from the occasional obligatory dinner at the Burrow saw almost nothing of anybody. Katie found the whole routine a wonderful one. To Angelina and Alicia, however, it was slightly more troubling and, Angelina being Angelina, decided to do something about it.
"I'd steer clear of your cubicle if I were you," Oliver Wood said to Katie one day, who was on her way to drop off a research file before retreating to the cafeteria with the Puddlemore Keeper.
Katie stopped in her tracks and raised an eyebrow. "Why?" she asked warily, teetering on her black heels. Most of the attention which had been focused on her after Fred's death had dissipated, but there were some diehards who had heard of her self-imposed hiatus and were anxious to turn it into another story.
Wood's answer turned out to be a different, though nonetheless threatening source of anxiety.
"Angelina and Alicia are hanging around waiting for you," he replied, leaning casually against one of the filing cabinets and gazing down at her. His hair was windswept from practice and his face wore a rather amused expression. "They say you haven't been answering their owls."
Katie rolled her eyes, but avoided Wood's gaze. "They seem to think there's some sort of problem with George and me being mates," she answered coldly. "Even though we've clearly been fine. Neither one of us has had a br—well, you know, problems since we've been living together!"
Oliver shrugged, but seemed to have an opinion he was keeping to himself. "Either way, they look as if they're out for blood, so I think if we want to sneak out, we ought to—"
"There you are."
The pair jumped and turned around to see Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet standing with their arms folded across their chests. Alicia was tapping her foot impatiently and Angelina wore a small frown.
"You couldn't possibly have been tipping her off about us being here, could you have, Captain Wood?" asked Angelina accusatorily.
"Right, well, you three look like you have a lot of catching up to do," Wood said quickly with the unmistakable look of someone who had been cornered. "Kates, I'll see you around."
Katie was about to open her mouth to protest this unfairness when, surprisingly, her need was negated by Alicia
"Now wait just a minute, you," she said, catching him by the scruff of his neck. This was a remarkable feat as Wood was a full six foot two and Alicia was barely over five feet herself. Wood looked rather taken aback.
"We want to speak to you, too," she said firmly. "You wait here." And with even more unexpected strength, she shoved him down into a nearby chair and she and Angelina grabbed Katie under the arms and dragged her into a nearby vacant copy office.
"Thanks," Katie said, voice dripping with sarcasm after she was deposited into a chair. She folded her arms and awaited whatever accusation about her life they were intent on imparting that day.
"We're here to save you from yourself," Alicia began cheerfully, looking at Ange for approval. The latter nodded.
"Alright," the accused continued in the same false manner. "May I ask how I'm messing up this time?"
"Don't be like that," Angelina snapped suddenly. "We're legitimately concerned; the least you could do would be to stave off the inclination to give us cheek."
"Fine, cheek gone," Katie returned. "I know this is about George, so let's have it. I haven't slept with him, by the way."
Ange simply glared at her. Katie sighed.
"I'm done, I'm done," she promised. "What's wrong with my hanging around George?"
"Nothing," the taller girl said sincerely. "It's lovely. I just want both of you to have other people in your lives. You've been ignoring all of us. It's just another form of hiding."
"How is it hiding?" her friend complained, well aware she knew exactly why it was hiding—that was the reason she was doing it.
"Because when you're with each other, you don't have to let anyone else in," Alicia piped up. "And you don't have to deal with people wondering about how you're coping with Fred's death."
Alicia had hit the nail on the head and Katie had no room to argue anything. She sat in silence.
"Well it's one step better than not dealing with anyone," she finally said.
Her friends exchanged glances.
"Well that's true," Angelina began. "But don't shut us out, Katie. Come dancing with us this weekend. That's what we came to ask. Let's just get all gussied up and go to a bar like we used to. Girls' night."
Katie scoffed. "Yeah, that sounds great. I'd love to put on a tight fitting dress and go flail about like a twit while some Senor Gross slides his hands over my arse. Count me in."
Ange frowned. "You used to love going dancing."
"I used to not have a dead fiancé," she answered bluntly.
"You're going, and that's all there is!" Alicia suddenly interrupted shrilly. The force of her demand took both her friends aback and they stared at her.
"Okay," Katie finally agreed. "Dancing this weekend. I suppose the lads aren't invited? A little George-free event, am I right?"
"An everyone-free event," Angelina stressed. "It will be fun. You'll see."
"Whatever," Katie answered, completely unenthused. "Just so you know, George and Ron and Lee are planning a big Halloween party at the shop…am I allowed to go?"
"They are?" Ange asked, surprised. "Lee never said anything about it."
"It's kind of a new idea."
"Of course we're going!" Alicia said, sounding delighted. "Knowing them, it's going to be the party not to miss. Remember the twins' sixteenth? Half the castle was hung over for a week afterward!"
"Right," Katie cut in shortly. "Am I dismissed then? Oh, and why do you need Oliver?"
Alicia shrugged. "I just wanted to scare him. Send him in anyway, though, okay? I'll see if I can get him to do my laundry or something…"
Katie retreated and exchanged an exasperated glance with Wood, who gave her a half smile and walked in to see his remaining ex-Chasers.
XxX
"I don't know," Wood said doubtfully after Angelina and Alicia had divulged their plan to him. "I'm not really keen on the idea of ambushing Katie somewhere she thinks is safe."
"But that's the brilliance of it!" Ange urged, the exuberance in her eyes reminding Wood of her old zeal on the Quidditch pitch. "It's not safe. Not really, anyway. It's always Douche Bag Night in London pubs. Especially wizarding ones. Then you'll appear and represent everything that's right with men!"
"And the point of this is to…?"
"Open Katie's eyes to the possibility that there's decent people besides George Weasley who are there for her."
"And why are you picking me? I mean, can't Lee do this? Or Michael? Why do you even need it to be a bloke?"
"Because she thinks Ange and me are too abrasive," Alicia explained gently. "Or at least Ange, anyway. And there's something comforting about the presence of a man when you're feeling a bit off kilter. Michael's her brother, and Lee's her roommate. You're a whole different picture. And besides, you fancy her, don't you?"
Wood felt himself grow warmer in the cheeks, but brushed it off. "There's no use pretending I don't anymore," he admitted. "But look, girls, I really don't know if this is the right solution. I mean, Katie trusts me…at least right now. It took a lot of work to get to the point where she'd have lunch with me. I don't want to lose that."
"You won't be losing it," Angelina said simply. "You'll be building on it."
Wood shook his head. "Katie's smart. She'll see right through it."
"She won't!"
Frustrated, the Puddlemore Keeper locked his jaw and admitted something he didn't want to admit. "Look," he said. "I agree with you that her spending all her time with George probably isn't the greatest thing in the world. But if it helps her, why tamper with it? She told me herself she hasn't had any…I think she was going to say breakdowns…since she moved in with him. What if it's the right thing and we don't see it?"
"But it isn't," Angelina persisted stubbornly. "Katie's not clearheaded enough to be able to judge her situation. She locked herself in her bedroom for ages not four weeks ago!"
Wood considered this, and Alicia leapt on this contemplation.
"You want to help her, don't you, Ollie?"
"Okay," he said finally, quietly. "I'll come. But if she doesn't want to see me there, I'm not staying. Is that clear?"
"Fine," they both agreed. Oliver sighed, and got up to go back to practice.
XxX
Katie let herself into the shop after a rather late work meeting that evening. George was in the back going over the books, and Ron was cashing out the till before leaving for the new London flat he shared with Harry Potter. Judging from what she heard and smelled coming from upstairs, Lee was making dinner for the three of them.
"So I guess I'm not allowed to see you anymore," she declared, flopping down on one of the couches and staring up at her redheaded friend.
"Yeah, I figured," George answered grimly, greeting her with a nod. "You being whisked away Friday, too?"
Katie nodded. "Where are they taking you?"
"Wigtown Wanderers match," he said, his eyebrows knitting together over an apparently difficult sum. "Me, Lee, your brother, maybe Charlie, and some mates from school."
"Charlie's coming back again already?"
George shrugged. "He wanted to come in anyway for the Halloween party. Bringing a girl from Romania, apparently."
Katie nodded. "We forgot to tell Ange and Al about the party, by the way," she said suddenly.
"Oh, yeah…" George trailed off. The pair looked at one another, and Katie sighed.
"Maybe it's best we spend some time apart, then," she suggested.
George looked up, startled, but seeing that she was at least semi-in earnest, looked back down again quickly.
"Yeah, maybe," he said in what he hoped was a casually disaffected tone. "Do you want to help Ron with the till? I've got to focus on these books…"
Katie looked back at him with a slightly surprised expression on her face, but muttered a hurried, "Of course," and exited the room. George watched her go and let out a huge sigh, letting his face sink into the palms of his hands. The ink from the quill he was holding suddenly oozed out across his freckled face. George gave it a thoroughly disgusted look and hurled it across the room, where it exploded against the wall.
He swore and slammed the books shut.
XxX