The Healer | Part 3: The Survivors

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

Edith

Healers MacClesfield and Kincaid were waiting for me outside the dormitory exactly as they had told me they would be and we set off at once for Diagon Alley.

I hadn't been inside the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes for over a year. I knew it was still prosperous and George had told me business had picked up even more since his return and the introduction of some new products.

He loved his job, I had initially been worried about him going back to it because it had been both his and Fred's dream. But if anything, it was therapeutic for him to be back in the shop, coming up with ideas and inventing new products. I hardly heard from him when he was at work.

'Ah, this is the spot, isn't it?' Healer MacClesfield said as we approached the brightly-coloured shop. 'I've never been in here before, what about you, Ryan?'

'Can't said I have,' Healer Kincaid answered.

'Do go in and see if your friend is in, Ms Falconer, put in a good word for us, eh?' Healer MacClesfield turned back to me. I nodded wordlessly and walked into the shop, the two Healers following close behind me.

The shop wasn't as different as I thought it would be since I had last set foot in it. There was still the violently pink display of WonderWitch products and the Camouflage Cloaks, Shield clothing and the classic Skiving Snackboxes. There was a new jewelry display that contained beautiful Shield necklaces and bracelets and even a shelf full of Instant Owl Notebooks, ready for sale.

'Erm... excuse me,' I asked a staff member in magenta robes who was stocking more Fever Fudge. He looked to be barely out of Hogwarts. 'Would George Weasley be in?'

'Who, may I ask, is inquiring?' He replied, raising an eyebrow.

'Edith Falconer,' I answered. I might have imagined it, but I thought I saw his eyes widen slightly.

'Ah, yes, Ms Falconer,' he straightened up from the box he was stocking the shelves with and turned to face me. 'Right this way, Mr Weasley said you're to come straight through.'

I snorted quietly, I don't think the wizard heard, he started walking briskly to the back of the shop. I followed him up a flight of stairs and into a back room.

'There's a Ms Edith Falconer here to see you, sir,' he called into the room.

'Is there?' I smirked when I heard George's surprised reply. 'Well, send her in, Derek.'

The wizard called Derek reappeared in the door and opened it for me, gesturing for me to go inside.

It looked like how the flat had when I first arrived in it two years ago. There was a large counter covered with parchment, potions ingredients and bits of metal and wood. There were funny-looking tools on every surface and old takeaway boxes on both the counter and floor. There seemed to be no sense of organization at all. There was a large window letting in the sunlight from the street outside and illuminating the mess of the room.

I spotted George at once, leaning up against the counter and looking at me curiously. He wasn't alone. I recognized his friend, Lee Jordan, from school in the room as well, sitting in a desk chair facing George. It was clear I had just interrupted a discussion. They each had a takeaway container of food in front of them. I saw George hastily shoving something into his trouser pocket out if the corner of my eye. I made a mental note to ask him about it later.

'This is a pleasant surprise,' George said after I shut the door behind me. 'I would have tidied up a bit if I knew you were coming.'

I snorted. 'I've heard that before.'