George considered Ernie and what he'd just said. "That's what I was afraid of. All that bottling up can't be healthy, and there's no way he's not terribly disturbed by everything that's happened. He wouldn't be human if he wasn't. Although there have been times where I've wondered... Still, I'll warn you, things could get ugly in here. My plan is if I can't get him to admit that things are serious, that he's in danger, and that he's not handling things well, get him angry at me so he'll still get it out. For his own good, and it really shouldn't be that hard. I'm pretty sure I get on his nerves more than the rest of the family combined. It's a gift and a curse." His second question bothered him. "I hope he isn't. If he is, no one will be able to protect him from Ginny, she'll flip. And if he is, I think he deserves it."
He glanced at Percy and how well behaved Gidget was being. "How'd you get him to do that? He never listens to me." He leaned his head on his hand. "Well at least not terrible is better than I was expecting. I was afraid for something really bad." He waited a moment before he continued. "So how's work been?" he asked, very carefully starting to probe his brother's reactions and answers, not wanting to get too far into it until the others got there.