A/N: Written for the Secret Battle Competition, Round 1.

His First Time Back

Bill Weasley knew he'd get dragged back to Hogwarts sooner or later after he'd graduated. That part was unavoidable when he had several younger siblings – including Fred and George who could, with all the trouble they caused, manage that little feat on his own.

He hadn't thought, though, that the first time he'd go to Hogwarts after his graduation would be as acting family for Harry Potter.

In fact, he hadn't dreamed of even meeting Harry Potter, let alone as a friend of his youngest brother and an unofficial addition to their family. And Harry had been nothing like he'd imagined either, enough so that all wayward precognitions had fled from his mind at the mere sight of that small thin boy.

And he really didn't mind being that boy's big brother. Not at all. Even if it meant that, despite it being largely unintentional, Harry and Ron got into even more trouble than the twins, and Harry moreso than Ron. After all, Ron hadn't somehow landed in the Triwizard Cup. Nope, that was all Harry.

And it was because of that that Bill was now being led to the Great Hall by Professor McGonagall with his parents. And it was because of that he was searching the Gryffindor table for the mop of black hair that was a giveaway in the Weasley household – but far more common at Hogwarts. He found Harry eventually though, after Professor McGonagall made it easier by leading them straight to him. And Harry was enjoying a cup of Pumpkin juice.

They surprised him, and smiled at the look of utter happiness that replaced the slightly sorrowful look he'd been wearing before. A few more words were exchanged between them: little things that didn't concern him terribly, except when he was asked about why he was there. 'We're here to support Harry,' was the simple answer…and really, that was all the answer they needed. Even if "supporting Harry" wasn't as simple as it sounded. Not that it mattered how difficult it was. Harry was as good as family, and he – or they, all the Weasleys and he was sure Hermione would pitch in too – was going to make sure Harry had some happy family memories to take away.

Except things had a nasty way of not going according to plan.

.

A lot of new things came to light over that time: the time since they arrived at Hogwarts up till the end of the third task – and the drama that unfolded there. That in itself was a shock: Cedric's death, Moody's impersonation…Voldermort's return.

He hadn't ever thought he'd come to Hogwarts for the first time since his graduation to cheer on Harry Potter. He also hadn't ever thought he'd leave it behind in the wake of Voldermort's resurrection.

But a lot of things clicked into place then as well. Who had put Harry's name into the Goblet and why it hadn't been the disaster everyone had initially predicted. Why Harry's dreams dreams earlier in the year hadn't seemed to amount to anything. And even smaller things like why he'd found Harry and Ron packaging three post owls with a rather large and bulky package, why he'd seen Hermione combing every inch of the Great Lake at one point, why he found a rather funny looking (and even more oddly dressed) elf talking to Harry in the dorms one night.

That elf, Harry explained, was Dobby. The same Dobby that had tried to warn him about the Chamber of Secrets two years before, and who he had freed. Bill had been rather amused to see for himself what had become of the Malfoy's old elf – and it was a pleasant change. More interesting though was the eccentrics: working for a salary, enjoying his clothes, making friends with humans… Even Bill, who worked with other sorts of magical creatures in his own work, was amazed at that.

Hermione's odd behaviour had turned out to be due to Rita Skeeter – and what a story that made, once Ron wrote a letter detailing what he'd found out on the train. An animagus, he found himself repeating several times in wonderment. No wonder she could get all the hidden scoops – and rather devious of Hermione too. Not necessarily ethically correct, but he thought it was better for Harry to have someone from the media on their side…even if it was a forced arrangement.

And the package Harry and Ron had been wrestling had been to feed an escaped convict who happened to be innocent and Harry's Godfather.

Not even Fred and George were capable of coming up with a crazy mixing pot like that, but Harry and Ron and Hermione had managed it. But all those were small things he could look back on and be amused that. The worst of it was Voldermort coming back. Worse than one of those warts that kept on coming back no matter what sort of removal cream you used on it. Worse than one of those girlfriends you really wanted to lose refusing to let you go. Because sure, all those things put a damper on what was supposed to be a pleasant visit to the school he hadn't seen since graduation, but none of those quite left the same impact as a war on the horizon.