Written for and dedicated to hillstar (pairing: Bill/Fleur, prompt: capture the castle)

Written for the Months of the Year Challenge (April - write about someone who is beautiful. Prompts: (word) stubborn, (colour) pink, (plot point) April showers - it should rain in your fic)

Capture the Castle

Bill Weasley had it all. A loving wife, who just happened to be stunning, and three beautiful children. He had a home that was so far away from any Muggle population that magic could be performed anywhere in their surroundings. He also had a great job that would take him and his family anywhere in the world.

At seven, five, and three months, Victoire, Dominique and Louis had already seen over twenty countries between them.

He couldn't ask for more.

Well, maybe he could do without the nagging.

"Bill, your mozzer will be 'ere any moment, and this house eez a mess! I need your 'elp in cleaning!" Fleur's tone from upstairs told him she was not going to ask him again.

"Daddy, can you help me build a castle?" Victoire's blue eyes were staring at him from a few feet below. She was dressed in a pink princess costume Uncle Charlie had sent for her birthday.

"Daddy, can I have something to eat?" The only child to have inherited his red hair, Dominique, was tugging on his hand to force him into the kitchen to make her food.

"Bill, can you get Louis, please? He eez crying!"

Suddenly, Shell Cottage was filled with so much noise that Bill could barely hear himself think. He still had two children tugging on his hands, pulling him in two directions; and he had his wife yelling at him to help him clean, and to tend to the baby.

Looking down at the round eyes of Victoire and Dominique, he pulled his hands away and ruffled each of their hair. "I'll be back in a little while," he said gently, and he left Shell Cottage.

Despite the peacefulness of their surroundings, he and Fleur had still set up boundaries and Apparition points to avoid any unwelcome visitors (or media attention).

Feeling flustered to the point of anger (though, he'd try hard to not let his children see), Bill marched to that point, which was between two trees, five-hundred feet from the shoreline. Perhaps he should Apparate away until he cooled down. He didn't want to yell at any of them.

But then he remembered Fleur's words. Your mozzer will be 'ere any moment.

Damn.

So, instead, he sat between the two trees, hoping that his mother would arrive at the other Apparition point, or by Floo. He just needed some time.

He sat there for a good fifteen minutes. The calmness of the waves crashing into the sand, and the silence, relaxed him. It was unusual for him to get angry, but for some reason Fleur insisted the whole house needed to be cleaned for any visitor. And with three young children to contend with as well, sometimes it was all very overwhelming.

He loved them all dearly, but there was a reason he didn't invite family over often. Fleur fussed like his mother did, and that, too, had always driven him mad.

He was ready to go back inside, but the presence of another stopped him. She was walking – no, almost floating – towards him. Even after almost ten years of marriage, he still got butterflies whenever she was near him.

He smiled. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Oh, Bill, I was so worried," Fleur said. She used a charm to ensure she got no dirt on her clothes before sitting beside him. "Victoire told me you said you'd be back soon, and then left."

Bill nodded.

"Eez everything okay?"

Bill nodded again. "Yes."

"Your mozzer is with the children, so I thought eet best to come and find you."

Bill smiled. "I'm sorry."

"You 'ave nothing to be sorry about, Bill. I left you alone wiz zee children. And then I kept nagging you. I just wanted eet to be perfect."

"Oh, it's alright." Bill waved her away, taking her hands in his. "I really am sorry," he added. "I just needed a breath of fresh air, is all."

Fleur smiled. "Eet's okay, Bill," she assured him, and she leaned forward to peck his cheek. As she did so, a fat raindrop fell between them, trickling down their noses.

They both laughed.

"We should go inside." Bill got to his feet before offering a hand to his wife.

The rain was gradually getting heavier as they ran along the shore of the beach to make it safely into their home. They were both greeted by two pairs of arms around their waists.

"Where'd you go?" Victoire demanded, looking up at both of them crossly.

"We just went for a walk, darling," Bill said, picking the child up.

"In the rain?"

Why was Victoire so stubborn?

"Yes, dear," Fleur answered.

"But why?"

"Because your fazzer needed a walk, and I went wiz him," Fleur continued. Her tone was final, and Victoire's next question went unasked.

Setting his daughter down again, Bill gave his mother a kiss, who'd been standing and waiting. "How's everything, Mum?" he asked.

Molly smiled. "I'm just glad to see you, dear. We don't get many visits these days."

"Well, we're pretty busy with three kids," Bill told her. "How'd you manage seven?"

Molly's smile broadened. "Now, where's my little Louis?" she asked. "I want to give him a big kiss…." Her voice trailed off as Fleur pointed her in the direction of Louis' nursery; a makeshift room which had been magically added a few months before his birth. Molly had not seen it yet.

When she returned with the baby in her arms, googling at him with sappy talk, Fleur came over to her husband and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Are you ready for lunch, Bill?" she asked him.

Billy nodded, returning her kiss. He couldn't help but smile. He had everything he could ever wish for: a home, a loving wife, and three wonderful children.

As he watched Victoire and Dominique play together – Victoire insisting on being the princess in her toy castle – he realised he had his own castle right here.

He'd conquered it, and he'd caught it.

He couldn't ask for more.

hillstar, I hope you enjoyed it. I don't write this pairing often, but it was fun! I should write it more!

This was written for hillstar as a gift-giving event I am running on my profile. I am gifting a fic a month to somebody. If you would like to be one of those months, please send me a PM with a list of pairings you'd like to see (more than one please) and a list of prompts (again, more than one please). I am happy to write for anybody who messages me!

Also, if you're interested in joining a writing competition in the form of Quidditch, follow the link on my profile. You can join a team and write your way to victory! It's really fun, and we still have team positions available.