Chapter One
Nine year old Bill Weasley woke with a long gasp. It was eerily dark within his room and for some reason his night light was off. For a moment he wondered why the enchantment had been cancelled when he heard screams and shouts of alarm that made his blood freeze. It sounded like his parents.
Something was wrong.
Bill's heart was thundering in his chest as he leapt out of bed. His hands shook as he searched under the bed for his special pair of squashy slippers. They had been a gift from his dad last year on his birthday, saying to put them on if a stranger ever came into the house.
There was a loud thump upstairs and the crack of apparition. Bill's stomach lurched. He knew he should just run to the floo and get somewhere safe. That was what his mum told him to do if he ever thought he was in danger.
Instead he ran out the door and up the stairs, trying to keep his breathing steady. Not a single candle was lit making it difficult for Bill to see. On the landing he stumbled over something and almost fell but managed to catch himself. He looked down at what he had tripped over.
His body went cold. Bill gripped the railing of the staircase as his legs turned to jelly. He wanted to scream but the killer was still in the house.
Bill's dad was dead. Blue eyes that had been twinkling at him in amusement only a few hours ago stared at the ceiling, lifeless. His wand had rolled out of his hand. Trembling, Bill snatched it up and held it in a white-knuckled grip.
Loud wailing brought Bill back to reality. Ron! Bill sprinted up the final flight of stairs, hearing a loud thump that made his heart want to burst out of his chest. A high pitched laugh made his hair stand on end. Bill ran into the room and time seemed to go in slow motion.
A man in black robes was pointing his wand at a figure on the ground. Bill was going to be sick. The figure was his mum, who still held Ron tightly in her arms. Bill opened his mouth to shout, scream, to do anything to stop that madman.
Time sped up again.
"Avada Kedavra!"
For a split second a sickly green lit the darkened room. Then there was a deafening explosion that destroyed the ceiling and floor. The wooden boards beneath Bill's feet bent downward and he shouted as he slid and fell into a pile of debris.
Bill had broken a bone before when he was six. He'd fallen out of an apple tree after trying to save Percy's favourite kite. Until now, that had been the most painful moment of his life.
He stared up at the hole in the ceiling. This pain was like nothing he'd ever felt before. It felt like his every nerve end was on fire. Burning, burning, like one of Charlie's toy dragons had set him aflame. Only a thousand times worse. The air around him stank of burnt wood and something else. He didn't know what the smell was, but it was rancid.
He vomited and the pain lessened, becoming a mere throbbing in his head. Bill blinked. The room smelled of sick and smoke. Slowly the ringing in his ears faded, and Bill could hear Ron's unmistakable cries. Disbelief coursed through him. It wasn't possible.
Slowly, Bill took stock of his surroundings. He was lying spread eagle in a pile of broken wood and ceiling tiles. Turning his head he yelled in shock. A pair of dark eyes stared into space, unseeing. He immediately scrambled away, wincing and hissing in pain as his hands got cuts and splinters from the debris. Bill slid down and stood up, his whole body trembling.
That wizard in the debris had killed his parents. He tried to kill his baby brother and – Bill felt bile rise in his throat. Where were his brothers? Why hadn't they woken up from the noise? Had – had that wizard killed them, too?
Bill swayed on his feet. He couldn't stay in the house anymore. It suddenly felt tiny and like the walls were closing in on him. Bill felt like he couldn't breathe. He stumbled out of the room, retching at the sight of his dad's body, and hurried back up the stairs.
Ron was still crying, inconsolable, within the arms of his mum. Bill's vision blurred and a sob escaped him as he tip toed closer to her. Somehow the part of the floor where his mum and Ron were was still intact. Could it have been accidental magic on Ron's part? Bill wasn't sure. All he knew was that he had to get Ron and get out.
He held his breath as he unfolded his mum's arms. Careful to support Ron's neck the way mum taught him, Bill held his baby brother close.
"Shh, Ronnie. You're okay now." Bill frowned at the sight of a cut on Ron's forehead. A single droplet of blood was sliding down the bridge of his nose. Bill felt himself panic slightly at the sight. "We need to get out of here."
With a shaking arm, Bill carefully wiped the blood from Ron's nose with the sleeve of his pajamas. Ron whined but otherwise remained silent, his eyes squeezed shut. Bill was glad his brother had stopped crying. He wasn't sure if he would be able to handle to sound well at the moment.
Before he left, Bill took in a shaky breath and turned to look at his mum. Her curled red hair covered half of her face. Bill could see determination in her features, though fear was evident in her brown eyes. Held tightly in her fist was her wand. Bill carefully pried it from her hand and placed it in his pocket with his dad's wand.
"I – I love you, mum." His voice cracked and he turned away.
He had to call the aurors. Avoiding the hole in the floor, Bill hurried down the stairs to the nearest fireplace in his parent's room. He ignored the debris and body and looked for a safe place to set Ronnie down. A violent gust of cold air whistled through the hole in the roof making Bill shiver and Ron whine. He spotted the jar of floo powder on the mantle and had to hop up a bit to reach it.
Green powder slipped from his grasp and a good portion of it spilled onto the floor. Bill didn't care. He tossed the floo into the weak flames and watched as it turned a brilliant green. Bill dropped to his knees and called the Auror's office before pushing his head into the cool flames. He felt a wave of dizziness and blinked blearily before his vision cleared.
The Auror's office was dimly lit with a few floating candles of navy blue. Bill's eyes darted around, searching for an Auror – any Auror. When he saw none, he decided it would be best to simply speak up.
"Someone help please!" Bill heard the sound of a chair screeching and footsteps, though he couldn't see anyone from his angle. "Help!"
A blond man walked into his field of vision, eyes concerned but facial expression deathly serious. "Auror Mendel here. What's your name, lad?"
"I'm Bill. Bill Weasley. And please – Auror Mendel? I-I-I think you-know-who killed my parents and I think he's killed my brothers, too a-and…" Bill couldn't help the tears that flowed down his cheeks. It was like a dam had burst, and all the emotions he tried to keep held back were escaping the cracks.
"Bill? Bill!" Auror Mendel was crouching before him. "Is he still alive, Bill? Are you still in danger?"
"N-no, he's dead." Bill sniffed and wiped the snot with the back of his pyjamas. "They-they're all dead."
"I'm going to help you, Bill." Auror Mendel said with such conviction that Bill couldn't help but believe him. "I need to know you're floo address. Can you tell me that, Bill?"
"Yes. I-It's The Burrow, Ottery St. Catchpole in Devon."
"Thank you, Bill." Auror Mendel stood. "Stay where you are. A team of Aurors will be with you in a few minutes. If you feel like you're still in danger, you need to run, do you understand me Bill?"
Bill nodded. He was feeling exhausted and wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed. "Yes, sir."
"Good. Be careful, Bill. You can end the call."
He pulled his head out of the fireplace and watched as the emerald flames slowly changed back to their normal red. Ronnie was in a peaceful sleep at his side. Bill didn't dare touch him in fear of waking him. He eyed the cut on Ron's forehead. It wasn't bleeding anymore, thank Merlin, and was starting to scab over. He wondered if it would leave an ugly scar. Maybe his mum had something that would-
Mum. She was dead. Bill suddenly felt very much alone. He pulled his legs in toward his body, clutching them, and rested his head atop his knees. Tears spilled soundlessly from his eyes and it felt like a hippogriff was sat on his chest. Mum was never going to come back. She was never going to give him another bone crushing hug, scold him about the length of his hair, or shout at him for flying much too high again. Mum wouldn't be there to comfort him when he was sad, chase away the scary doxies, or let him lick the cake batter off the spoon. She wouldn't be there to see him go to Hogwarts…
Loud clunking footsteps sounded through the house and Bill tensed. His hand went for his pocket, where his parents' wands were. Then he heard a voice.
"Bill? Bill? It's Auror Mendel." His voice was coming from the staircase, it seemed. Bill relaxed and tried to stand.
"I'm here!" He wavered, almost falling over, but managed to stay standing.
Auror Mendel shouted over his shoulder, "Over here, fixit!" Behind him a young healer with black hair hurried over, a wand in one hand and a small box in the other. The healer grumbled something that sounded like, "Don't call me fixit."
"Auror Mendel?" Bill leaned against the wall, his body aching. "Check Ron first. His-his forehead is bleeding."
The healer said something under his breath and waved his wand. A patient exam table appeared in the room and he carefully set Ron onto it. As the healer did some diagnostic spellwork on Ron, Auror Mendel placed a hand on Bill's shoulder. "It's okay now, Bill. You're okay."
Bill's vision blurred as tears welled up in his eyes. He felt like a sob was being wrenched out of him and the hand on his shoulder tightened. "How is it okay? My whole family is dead?"
Auror Mendel knelt down in front of Bill and met his eyes. Both hands were on his shoulders. "Yes, Bill… they're gone. But you and your brother survived. It'll get better." He kept talking but Bill tuned him out, tears sliding down his cheeks. How was it going to get better without his dad there to cheer him on when he learned a new trick on his broom, or tell him stories about Great Grandad Weasley, or show him the little muggle knickknacks he found?
He was vaguely surprised when the auror pulled him into a hug, and without thinking he hugged the man back. If he closed his eyes he could pretend it was dad there instead. But the hug ended too soon and Bill was faced with blond hair instead of red and his heart sank.
"Mendel!"
The two looked up to see another Auror standing in the doorframe. Her skin was pasty white and she seemed to be in shock. "The house is clear. I set up protective enchantments so no one but DMLE and Healers can enter for now. I…" She glanced at Bill and trailed off. "We're taking the wand to Ollivander to see if he can identify the owner, but judging by his appearance we think it's Him."
Auror Mendel looked hopeful. "It better be Him. I want this damn war to be over." He stood up and turned to the Healer. "What did you find, Fixit?"
"For the last time, Mendel, it's Fisk. Not fixit." Healer Fisk said as he stood, Ron in his arms. "Besides the scar, the baby's fine." He glanced at Bill briefly before looking at Mendel again. "I tried everything I know to get rid of the scar but… it won't disappear. I'm pretty certain it's a curse scar." He took a few steps forward and lowered his voice. "I know it sounds crazy Mendel, but I think it was the killing curse."
Mendel stiffened. "That's not possible, Fisk. Everyone knows-"
"Yes, yes, no one can survive the Killing Curse. But look at this mark on his forehead. That's the exact wand movement."
"There's no way-"
"Healer Fisk is right," Bill piped up. The two wizards looked down at him. "It-it was the killing curse. I was there. I heard him say it. Then… then the house exploded."
They shared a look that Bill couldn't decipher. Healer Fisk frowned and tilted his head slightly and Auror Mendel sighed. It was the healer who spoke next.
"Bill, I'm going to need to do some diagnostic spells on you to make sure you don't have any hidden injuries. Is that okay?"
"What about Ronnie? What's going to happen to him?" Bill looked at the small bundle in Healer Fisk's arms.
"Ronnie will be just fine, Bill, no need to worry." To Auror Mendel he said, "Can you get the bassinet over here?"
Auror Mendel waved his wand and muttered the summoning spell. A few moments later Ronnie's bassinet showed up in the room.
"Auror Mendel?" Auror Verity called from outside the room. "The coroners are here. They want to speak with you."
He nodded and turned to Bill. "I'll be back later, Bill. Healer Fisk is going to take care of you right now, all right?"
Bill nodded. "Okay." He watched as Auror Mendel left the room, Auror Verity at his side. His attention turned to Healer Fisk, who at some point has conjured a magical mobile of snitches and broomsticks. It floated and spun round and round in a way that transfixed Bill.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Healer Fisk said. "They have all sorts of mobiles at St. Mungo's paediatric ward. I don't think they'll miss this one."
He glanced at Healer Fisk, who turned to meet his eyes. "Are you going to do a check up on me?"
That seemed to snap the healer out of his thoughts. He pulled his wand out of his robes. "Yes. It'll just be a diagnostic spell first. Why don't you have a seat on the table, Bill?"
Bill eyed the table and nodded. He didn't like seeing Healers. Something about the colour of the robes gave him anxiety, and he always ended up having to drink a disgusting potion afterwards. However, his back was starting to hurt a lot. It was with great reluctance that he sat on the table.
"I'm going to do the spell now, all right? It won't hurt a bit." A look of deep concentration appeared on his face as he worked. Bill noted there was a brown-red speck on the wizard's robes and he wondered if it was blood. Healer Fisk pointed the wand at Bill's back and he made a sound of distaste. A moment later he stepped back.
"Good news, nothing's broken. You do however have a nasty cut on your back. I'm going to clean it up and heal it up, all right?"
He nodded at the healer and stared at the mobile over Ron's bassinet as he healed Bill. It didn't take too long, luckily. Healer Fisk used a spell to heal his back, and Bill was feeling hopeful about not having to drink any potions.
"All right, you're healed right up." Healer Fisk smiled, putting his wand back into his pocket.
Bill managed a small quirk of his lips. "Thank you."
"You're quite welcome, Bill. Oh, there's one more thing."
Dread filled Bill's heart as the healer pulled a small phial from his little box. "This potion will relieve the pain and soreness. It'll be good for twenty-four hours." The wizard handed the phial of bogie coloured liquid to Bill. He opened his mouth to say 'do I have to' but then shut his mouth. There was no point in arguing.
It tasted as horrid as it looked and smelled of spoiled eggs. Healer Fisk chuckled at the face that Bill made, and handed him a small mint.
"That's for the bad breath."
"Thank you." Bill felt relieved as the coldness spread across his tongue and freshened up his mouth.
He walked over to the bassinet. Inside Ron was fast asleep, his chubby legs twitching as he dreamt. The scar on his forehead was bright red.
"We're going to be okay, Ronnie." Bill whispered. He then leaned forward and kissed Ron's cheek. "I promise."
