Title: Unsinkable
Author: R. F. Lupin
Rating: R
Warnings: bad language, sex, death
Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing. I don't have any money, so don't sue me.
Summary: It's 1912, and the Weasley kids are aboard the famous Titanic, on their way to a new life in America. What will happen to them when the ship strikes an iceberg in the North Atlantic, dooming more than half of the passengers? (AU, BWOC)
A/N: I thought I'd put together two of my loves: HP and the story of the Titanic. It's going to be a fairly short fic, only six or seven chapters. I apologize in advance for any German grammar/spelling mistakes (English ones, too) because even though I've been taking it for five years, I still don't know a lot of stuff. Translations will be either in context or at the end of the chapter.
Reviews are love.
Chapter 1: A New Beginning
April 10, 1912"Bill, George's copying me! Make him stop!"
Fred Weasley was the world's biggest whinger, and his incessant complaining was wearing on his eldest brother's nerves.
"No I'm not!" George, Fred's identical twin, replied indignantly. "You're the one who's copying me!"
"Both of you, knock it off or so help me Merlin, I will hex both of you into next month," Bill said, glaring at his younger siblings. They were about to protest and demand that he actually do something, but then Charlie, the second oldest but physically biggest Weasley brother, warned them of what terrible fate would befall them if they opened their mouths again.
"And don't think I'm joking, either," he finished menacingly, taking another swig from his glass.
This sobered the twins, and they sat ramrod-straight and silent, lest they ignite Charlie's infamous temper.
"Thanks, Char," Bill mumbled, looking around at his other siblings.
The seven Weasley children were all sitting around two small tables in the 3rd class common room of the RMS Titanic, trying not to attract any unnecessary attention from the Muggles that surrounded them. The ship had set sail less than four hours ago, and the younger ones were already at each other's throats. Bill was dreading the rest of the six-day voyage, and was contemplating a way to somehow make time go faster.
He wished his parents were there, because they were the only two people in the entire world who could successfully keep the Weasley brood in good order. He knew that was impossible, though, as his parents had spent nearly all the family's savings on the six tickets for this voyage. (Ginny, the youngest and smallest child, had to be smuggled on because they hadn't had enough money for her ticket.) Arthur Weasley, their father, had promised to work double shifts at his job to earn enough money for he and his wife to follow after on another ship, and had left Bill in charge of the rest of his children while they crossed the Atlantic. Even though he was 19, Bill still didn't think he was old enough to care for his six younger siblings. In fact, he didn't think he would ever be.
"Bill?"
It was Ginny. She had left her seat, and was begging to sit in her favorite older brother's lap. He obliged, and scooped her up easily. She curled up against him, letting the rest of the world spin around her, completely unconcerned.
"Look over there," Charlie said, pointing across the crowded room. Bill's gaze followed, and he saw a rather pretty blonde girl sitting alone, knitting a scarf out of bright red wool. "Think you can manage this lot?" Charlie asked, making to leave the table, and Bill snorted.
"If you need to bed someone that badly," he said grumpily. Since they had boarded the ship, Charlie had tired his luck with at least six different women. Four of them had turned out to be already married or betrothed, and the last two had been traveling together, and seemed to have no interest in the stocky redhead's amorous advances. It had made Bill chuckle, and Charlie sulk.
Bill watched his younger brother stride across the room and take a seat by the pretty woman. He struck up a conversation easily, because thankfully, the woman knew a bit of English.
The Weasleys had met people of many nationalities on their short time on the ship, most of whom didn't speak English. Charlie was the only one who knew another language, and it was German. (He had intended to go to Nuremberg to work at a dragon reserve there, but Fate had recently conspired otherwise.) This helped a little, but there were still a lot of people who spoke neither German nor English.
"Bill, I'm hungry," Ron, the youngest boy child, said. He was trying not to bother his older brother.
"You'll have to wait, Ron," Bill said, bouncing a now-fidgeting Ginny on his knee. "Dinner's not for another hour or so . . . Just try to be patient."
Ron pouted, and tried to content himself with drawing invisible shapes on the tabletop. After a few minutes, during which Bill managed to drain the last of his drink, Ron looked up and said,
"It's not working. I'm still hungry."
Bill groaned, and was about to snap irritably at his younger sibling when Percy intervened.
"Here, Ron," he said kindly, offering one of the few books he'd brought with him. "You can read this."
Ron looked at the book appraisingly for a second, and then snatched it up, flipping through the pages absently. Bill nodded his thanks to Percy. It was nice to have at least one brother who wasn't a complete hassle.
The next hour passed quietly. Charlie returned after about 20 minutes, informing Bill angrily that the pretty blonde girl was married with two children. He sulked for a while, and then allowed Ron to sit in his lap. The twins fell to laughing and joking between themselves, ignoring the rest of their brothers, save for the occasional poke or prod. Ginny stayed with her eldest brother, curled up and sleepily content, while Percy drummed on the table with his fingers.
Finally, it came time for dinner. Ginny hugged close to her brother while they waited to get their food, hiding her face in his side. Bill had to wonder what had come over her, because she was usually a very outspoken and chatty kid, but then realized they were on an oversized ocean liner full of foreigners, heading towards an uncertain future in an unfamiliar land. He'd be quiet, too.
They sat back down with their food at the same two tables, and no one else joined them. This didn't really bother them, but Bill was worried they were beginning to look suspicious. He wasn't sure if there were any other Wizarding folk on board; there certainly weren't any below decks, and going up to the first class quarters was completely out of the question. He had decided that his family needed to stick together, that it was their only chance of making it to America.
Fred and George remained uncharacteristically quiet during dinner, which led Bill to believe they were planning on doing some serious damage to someone or something in the immediate vicinity. Despite their adamant protests, he hurried them off to their cramped stateroom, which was little more than a hole in the wall with four bunk beds and a sink, just as soon as they'd finished eating. He left Percy to supervise them, which, in hindsight, turned out to be a very bad decision.
Bill came back to find Ginny and Ron curled up in Charlie's lap while the latter tried to catch the eye of another petite blonde woman across the room.
"Watch the lot, I'm going to mingle," Bill said to Charlie, who pulled a look of annoyance at this.
"Why do I have to watch them?" he whined, which was something an 17 year-old Wizard really shouldn't do.
"Because you're their brother, and they're too young to go tramping around here by themselves," Bill replied tetchily, leaving before his brother could get another word in.
A small band, comprised of people from many different countries and traditions, began to tune up, and started playing a lively jig. Bill thought it was amazing that even though the people had never met each other before, they could still connect through the music. All someone had to do was start a tune, and everyone else would join in.
People around him began to pair off and spin merrily around the wide room. Not everyone knew the dances, but that didn't stop them. The common room became a brilliant picture of flying skirts and tapping feet, and Bill was content to just sit back and watch. He'd always considered himself an "intellectual," as opposed to "physical," being, and never really cared much for dancing or sports. He left that to Charlie, who was a very competitive Quidditch player, and Fred and George, who had too much energy to be anything but physical.
As Bill drained his second glass that day, he caught sight of a pretty brunette woman sitting across the room. She was alone, but if Charlie's adventures that day had proved anything, that didn't necessarily mean she was available. He waited for a few minutes, and when no one stopped to talk to her, or even really noticed her, he got up and walked over to her.
She looked up at him as he approached, but she didn't show any emotion or anticipation at his coming. She simply scooted over on the bench so he'd have a place to sit, and went back to watching the people with a detached sort of look.
"What's your name, love?" Bill said slowly, not sure if the woman could even understand him. She turned to face him expectantly.
"What?" she replied politely, and her accent told Bill that English wasn't her first language. "What" was probably one of the few words she knew.
"Do you speak any English?" he asked, making an awkward sort of gesture that might have been confused with a convulsion.
"A . . . a little," the brunette replied, with a strained sort of look.
"Ah," Bill said, and looked around for a distraction. This really couldn't have been more awkward. The girl took a breath, and then said,
"I speak . . . German. Yes, German."
"I've a brother that speaks German. Let me go fetch him," Bill said quickly, and the girl just smiled, a glazed sort of look in her eye. She hadn't understood him.
"Wait here," Bill said, miming with his hands. She raised her eyebrows, but nodded. The redhead walked briskly across the room, and found his younger brother talking with the petite blonde woman from before. Ginny and Ron were sitting at the table with some paper and bits of charcoal, drawing pictures to pass the time.
"Charlie, I need your help," Bill said earnestly. Charlie looked away from the girl, and said stiffly,
"I'm busy."
The blonde woman whispered something to Charlie that made him smirk, and Bill glared.
"It'll take five minutes, honestly," Bill said, trying not to sound desperate. "She only speaks German, and I don't know more than two words-"
"Oh, so we're talking about a lady friend?" the younger Weasley asked, sounding intrigued.
"Yeah," Bill said, knowing he had just given his brother the upper hand. "Please? Just help me find out her name, that's all I want."
"What do you think, Karina?" Charlie said, turning to the blonde in his lap. "Should I help my brother or not?" The woman looked Bill up and down before turning to Charlie and whispering her response. The mischievous glint in her eyes was noted by all. "You're in luck, my friend!" Charlie said, clearly enjoying this whole situation. "She says I should, and I aim to please."
"Right," said the older Weasley, pulling his brother along. "She's over here. I told her to wait, but I don't know if she understood . . . "
Bill found the brunette girl again, and she smiled when she saw him.
"Here," he said, shoving Charlie between them. "Help me."
"What do you want me to say?" he asked, winking coquettishly at the brunette.
"Ask her what her name is, where she's from, that sort of thing," Bill said, also trying to win the girl over. Her face was mostly impassive, as though she was pretending not to notice the boys' competition for her affection, but the gleam in her eye gave it all away.
"All right," Charlie said, taking a seat beside the woman. She looked at him anxiously, as though saying, "Well? Get on with it already!"
"Sie müssen meinen Bruder verzeihen," Charlie said quickly, and she perked up at the sound of her native language. "Er ist heute sehr blöd."
"Es macht nichts," the woman replied with a smile, and Bill looked at his brother expectantly.
"Well?" he demanded, sitting on the other side of the woman. "What did she say?"
"I haven't asked her anything yet, hold on," Charlie said, then turned back to the brunette. "Mein Bruder will wissen, was ihr Name sind."
"Ich heisse Annelies," the woman replied, turning and saying it to Bill.
"Annelies?" he repeated, looking to Charlie. "That's her name?"
"Yeah."
"Tell her I think it's pretty."
Charlie rolled his eyes, and said,
"Mein Bruder dacht, dass ihr Name sehr schön ist."
"Danke," Annelies said smartly. "Ich will wissen, was der Name seines Bruders ist."
"Mein Bruder heisst William, aber alles tituliert ihn Bill."
"Are you talking about me?" Bill demanded, having heard what he thought was his name, and realizing that he sounded slightly paranoid. "What are you saying?"
"She wanted to know what your name was, so I told her," Charlie said impatiently. He stood to leave. "Well I think that's all you needed me for, I'm off."
"Wait, you can't leave!" Bill said, making to chase after him. "I can't speak that crazy language, how am I supposed to talk to her?"
"You're a smart kid, you'll figure it out," Charlie said smugly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with Karina . . . Tschüss, Annelies!"
As Annelies waved, Bill sighed wearily, and called after his brother,
"At least try not to wake Fred and George up, will you?"
Charlie waved back at him, saying,
"Will do!"
The eldest Weasley sighed again, and as he settled himself on the bench next to Annelies, he knew it was going to be a very long night.
German Translation:
Sie müssen meinen Bruder verzeihen . . . Er ist heute sehr blöd. – You must excuse my brother. He's being very stupid today.
Es macht nichts. – It doesn't matter.
Mein Bruder will wissen, was ihr Name sind. – My brother wants to know what your name is.
Ich heisse Annelies. – My name is Annelies. (pronounced Anna-lees)
Ich will wissen, was der Name seines Bruders ist. – I want to know what your brother's name is.
Mein Bruder heisst William, aber alles tituliert ihn Bill. – My brother's name is William, but everyone calls him Bill.