Bill rolled over to face the pile of blankets in the bed opposite; somewhere in the middle of that was his brother.
"Hey, Charlie? You awake?" he called quietly across the room.
"Go to sleep," was the irritated reply.
"I got a job," he whispered.
"Good for you. You can tell me all about it in the morning."
Bill waited so long before replying that Charlie was almost asleep, thinking that his brother had finally gained some common sense and was going to wait to have this conversation at a more reasonable hour.
"It's in Egypt."
"What?" Charlie sat bolt upright in bed, definitely awake now.
"Yeah, I'll be working for Gringotts-"
"That's not in Egypt," Charlie interrupted.
"No, I'm not working at Gringotts, just for them."
"How's that work?"
"I'm gonna be a Curse Breaker. It's actually really cool; I get to go into all these ancient tombs and-"
"Don't die, alright?"
"I'm not gonna die."
"Okay, just... Don't."
"I didn't know you cared so much," Bill smirked as he teased his brother.
"Of course I care! I'm the one that's gonna be stuck with Mum hearing how you never write anymore and then when the letter comes-"
"You've got a whole scenario planed where I die?"
"It's not a plan! I'm not gonna head over to Egypt and off you."
"You are being ridiculous."
"Hey, with you gone I'd be oldest!"
"No you wouldn't. Mum would never let you guys forget me, and I'd still be there in spirit."
"Oh, Merlin, you're gonna haunt us, aren't you?"
"Not at first. Otherwise I might as well not have died. I'd like to be mourned for at least a couple years."
"... What if you actually died in Egypt, and we never knew," Charlie spoke again, more seriously this time. "I'd miss you," Bill almost didn't hear him.
"If I was dead?"
"Well, yeah. But that's not what I meant."
"... I'll miss you, too. But Charlie," Bill sat up and turned to face his brother fully, "I'm going to Egypt. I already accepted the job. I start at the end of August."
Charlie didn't say anything, his expression darkening.
"C'mon, Charlie, it won't be forever."
"You're not even gonna see Ron off at the platform for his first year at Hogwarts!"
"Uh, Charlie... Ron starts next year..."
"What? Really? That kid is tall."
"You could not handle being oldest," Bill deadpanned.
"I could! You still can't tell Fred and George apart."
"Neither can you!"
"'Course I can. Fred's taller, and George has those weird freckles that join to make the Deathly Hallows thing."
"What?"
"Yeah! I mean, he tries to deny it, but they are there."
"How do you even notice something like that?"
"How can you not? I mean, you gotta add in the circle yourself, but-"
"So it's not there."
"You have no imagination."
They both fell quiet again. Bill lay back down.
"Hey, Bill," Charlie smirked; something had just occurred to him.
"What?" Bill mumbled into his pillow.
"Can I be there when you tell Mum?"