Summery: For the last Christmas they may ever get the chance to spend all together, the Weasley boys (Fred, George, Percy, Charlie, and Bill) are coming home to spend time with the rest of the clan (including Harry and Hermione.) But, when Bill gets there ahead of schedule and Harry has a fight with his friends, two people will end up spending more time together than anticipated and something more than brotherly love will develop. SLASH. Bill/Harry

Disclaimer: I (as you might have guessed) do not own Harry Potter or anything even remotely affiliated with it.


CHAPTER SEVEN: SHOPS AND SHOCKS

"Do you think Hermione would like this one?" Harry asked, turning to show the locket in question to Bill. It was a pretty golden circular shape with a tasteful amount of ornamentation, though it didn't really scream Hermione.

Bill scrutinized the necklace for a moment, narrowing his eyes as he studied it intently. "It's nice..." he spoke at length, delicately lifting the locket from Harry's hand to view it closer up. "But, it seems to me that you should be able to find one that better suites Hermione," he finished, setting the locket back in its place and moving down the row of jewelry.

Harry sighed, growing frustrated with his self appointed task. "You're right, though I'm starting to wonder if this whole locket thing was really such a good idea...Maybe I should just get her a book or something," Harry complained, casting cursory glances at the array of lockets as he walked along.

"I think that getting Hermione a locket is a good idea," Bill quickly reassured Harry, giving him a sincere smile. "Problem is, you haven't found the right locket yet," he finished, continuing to peruse the aisle in hopes of helping Harry out of his dilemma.

Suddenly Harry stopped dead in his tracks, mouth falling open in slight startlement as a locket suddenly jumped out at him. Gazing at it in wonder, he cautiously reached out for it, displacing it from its velvet pillow as he analyzed his find. It was a sort of tarnished silver in color, making it look full of history rather than just like an old piece of junk. It was sturdy, well built, though still maintained a certain sense of delicacy and a graceful beauty. It was perfect.

Noticing Harry's discovery, Bill leaned in to take a look as well. He smiled, knowing that their search was over and glad that Harry had found a gift for his friend that he was satisfied with. "I think Hermione will really like that one," he stated unnecessarily.

Harry nodded, still gazing at the locket. "Yeah, I think so too," he replied, smiling proudly as he glanced around in search for a sales associate. Spotting an elderly man coming in from the back of the shop, he patiently waited until he caught the man's eye.

Smiling sociably, elderly wizard made his way over to them, his shockingly green robes reminding Harry eerily of Dumbledore. "Is there anything I can help you gentlemen with?" the man queried kindly, smiling at both in turn.

Hesitantly returning the smile, Harry paused a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing. "Umm...I was thinking about getting this locket as a Christmas present for my friend and...Well, I was wondering if it has any special protection charms or if you can cast some on it or if you even do that...?" Harry trailed off, realizing that he was rambling and hadn't given the older wizard a chance to reply.

The man merely smiled merrily at Harry for a moment, finding his babbling amusing, before taking a pair of well worn spectacles out of an inner pocket of his robe and focusing on the object held in Harry's outstretched hand. "A fine eye you have for jewelry, my boy," the wizard began by saying, accepting the locket from Harry and cradling it in his own, rather wrinkled hands.

"Yes, indeed. This piece used to belong to the great, great granddaughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, you know," he informed them sagely, letting that piece of information sink in before continuing. "I assure you that it is already quite well protected; the wearer of this locket will be safe from all minor spells, pretty well guarded against many of the intermediates, and even fairly well off against some of the more major ones."

Harry stared at the locket in amazement, wondering how it was possible for the small object to contain so much power. "What else can you tell me about it?" he asked the wizened wizard, gazing curiously at the practically ancient artifact.

"Well, as I am sure you have guessed by now, this is no ordinary locket. Not only does it have many protective and warding spells embedded in the metal, but it also will grow warm to the touch when danger is near to warn you of impending attacks. And, see this," here the man paused, holding the locket out for both Harry and Bill to see, before flipping the pendant to reveal some engravings on the back. "This is a spell meant to shield the locket from being worn by those that the Ravenclaw line would have found unworthy. The locket chooses who it reveals itself to, and it apparently has chosen you."

Harry and Bill stared, first at the elder wizard and then at the locket held within his grasp. It was Bill who had a question this time. "How did you come across it?" he wondered aloud, peering at the deceptively ordinary piece of jewelry.

"I was an old friend of Eugenia Lawcraven, who left it to me when she died," the man explained, becoming thoughtful after bringing up his dear, departed friend. Shaking his head slightly as if to clear his thoughts, he continued seriously: "I believe that she knew you would be coming for it. She was something of a Seer, though she was rather quiet when it came to her abilities."

Harry stood there stunned, trying to process what he had just been told. He didn't give much credence to divination most of the time, despite the prophecy concerning him and Voldemort, but he supposed that it didn't really matter whether this prediction turned out to be true or not because he planned on getting the locket for Hermione regardless.

"Yes, I think I'll get it...Is there anything else I should know?" he queried, hoping that it wasn't like one of those things you always saw in the B rated muggle films where the object caused the wearer to be cursed by some ancient dark spell.

The man frowned slightly, his brow creased in thought as he tried to recall anything else he might know about the locket. Nothing came to mind. "I'm sure that there is more to that locket than I've told you, lad, but there's not anymore about it that I know. It's not going to bring any harm to your friend, though, if that's what you're thinking," he finished, smiling warmly in reassurance.

Harry nodded, feeling somewhat sheepish about his worries...although Ron was always telling him about disastrous encounters with enchanted objects. Following the old wizard up to the front of the shop, Harry waited patiently as he rung up the locket.

"Your total is fifteen galleons, five sickles, and two knuts(1). Would you like it gift wrapped?" Harry pondered for a moment before deciding that it would be too much of a hassle to wrap it himself. He nodded his head in reply. "Very well, I'll just go take care of this for you in the back real quick," the shopkeeper informed, disappearing through the back door.

Taking his coin pouch out of his robe pocket, Harry carefully counted out the correct amount, laying it on the counter for when the man returned. Mentally going over his Christmas list, he made sure that he had now gotten gifts for all on his list except for Bill, who he would either buy a gift for later or owl order one. Satisfied that he hadn't forgotten anyone, he turned back toward Bill, curious as to how much time they had left.

"What time is it?" Harry questioned, vaguely noting that it was already getting pretty dark outside. Then again, it was winter and they were pretty far north, so there weren't a lot of hours of daylight.

Glancing at his magically enhanced wristwatch, Bill let out a low whistle. "It's four; we've still got a whole hour to kill before we're supposed to meet everyone. I don't know about you, but I've already bought everything on my list..." Bill trailed off, waiting for some response from Harry.

"Umm...yeah, I don't have anything left to get either," Harry replied lamely, not knowing what else to say. What could they do for the next hour or so? Before he had time to really ponder the question, the sales clerk came back into the main portion of the shop, eloquently wrapped silver and red package in hand.

Harry accepted the package while the man collected the money and wrote out a receipt. Shrinking the package, Harry hid it securely in his robe pocket, for a moment panicking about the gift accidently getting squished before remembering that gift boxes in the magical world were spelled so that they would lose shape. After that was done with, he smiled and nodded in farewell to the shop owner, following Bill out onto the alley again.

Once outside, Bill halted a few steps away from the door, glancing in both directions down Diagon and letting out a sigh. "So where do you want to go now?" he asked his younger companion, raising a red eyebrow.

Harry thought for a moment, but was at somewhat of a loss. He was pretty tired of shopping and they had just eaten...he couldn't really think of anything else to do. "I suppose we could just go get a drink somewhere or something," Harry hedged, feeling somewhat uncomfortable at the thought of spending a whole hour alone with Bill and without the distraction of shopping.

"Yeah, a cup of warm spiced apple cider sounds pretty good right now," Bill agreed, heading in the direction of the leaky cauldron, where they were going to have to meet up with the others anyway.

"So, do you think your mum will actually let us go to the club tonight?" Harry asked, feeling the need to make conversation and also somewhat leery of Ginny's plan. After all, he'd never been to a club before and he didn't want to make a fool of himself. Although it would certainly be a good place to work on getting Hermione and Ron together.

"Well, I don't think she'll be too keen on the idea, but Ginny's mum's favorite; if anyone can break mum's resolve, it's her," Bill declared with a chuckle, shaking his head slightly in amusement. Suddenly something caught Bill's eye, a devious look--reminding Harry uncannily of the twins--crossing his face at whatever it was he had seen.

Wondering what could have piqued Bill's interests so, Harry spun around on his heel, finding himself facing Spellbound with slight confusion. He didn't see anything unusual, so what was Bill looking at? Before Harry had a chance to ask, Bill suddenly grabbed a hold of his arm, dragging him into the store as he revealed his plan.

"If we're going to go clubbing tonight, then we've got to get you something appropriate to wear," Bill explained, seemingly excited at the prospect of helping Harry pick out some new clothes. Harry, however, wasn't nearly so enthused.

"Really, Bill, that's not necessary. We probably won't be allowed to go anyway, and if we do go I can just borrow something from Ron," Harry protested in vain, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

Bill merely gave Harry a skeptical look worthy of Hermione. "Come on, Harry, be a good sport. We've got some spare time and, no offense, but the clothes you have on now look more suited for a house-elf than a wizard," Bill pointed out, causing Harry to pull his robe tighter around him to hide his worn hand-me-downs.

"I don't know, Bill, I mean, I've never really gone clothes shopping before..." Harry trailed off, nervous.

"Look, I'll pick some things out and all you have to do is try them on. If you don't like any of the stuff I pick out, then you don't have to buy anything, okay?" Bill proposed reasonably.

Harry couldn't see any harm in that arrangement, so reluctantly he agreed. "Alright, but I reserve the right to refuse to put on anything I don't feel comfortable with," Harry stipulated, stubborn to the last.

Bill rolled his eyes. "I'm not trying to torture you. And I hope that doesn't mean you think I have no fashion sense," Bill feigned offense.

Harry sighed. "Okay, let's get this over with," he deadpanned, though he was secretly somewhat excited about the whole idea.

Bill smiled, immediately getting to work as he searched the clothes racks, grabbing a shirt or pair of pants here and there. Harry watched in fascination, unused to having anyone dote on him (his 'fans' didn't dote on him, they just annoyed the hell out of him).

Having collected quite a few articles of clothing, Bill ushered Harry into a fitting room after hanging everything carefully inside. "I want to see everything that you try on; I don't think I trust you when it comes to making wardrobe decisions," Bill intoned, causing Harry to roll his eyes as he shut the current for privacy.

"No need to roll your eyes, young man," a voice spoke from just behind Harry in the dressing room, nearly startling him to death. Turning, he came face to face with a full length mirror. Why did wizards have to charm everything? Couldn't they see that some things were better left alone? After all, who wanted to have an animated mirror watching them while they changed? Before he could find his voice to say something in response, the mirror continued. "Judging by your current attire, I'd have to say that your boyfriend is quite right in his judgment," the female voice observed.

Harry was even more startled by the last comment than he had been by the mirror talking in the first place. "He-he's n-not my...boyfriend," Harry stammered out, blushing madly and listening to see if he could tell whether or not Bill had picked up on what the mirror had said.

The mirror merely replied in a tone that clearly said that she didn't believe a word he was saying. "Whatever you say, dear," she spoke as if talking to a small child. Harry swore that he could hear amusement in her voice.

"He's my best friend's older brother," Harry tried to explain in a frustrated whisper, uncertain why he cared so much what a stupid mirror thought.

"That's nice, but it doesn't mean that he couldn't be your boyfriend as well," the mirror countered logically. Harry decided to give up on trying to change its mind.

"Whatever," he conceded, hesitantly proceeding to change into one of the many outfits Bill had laid out for him.

Putting on a pair of dark wash jeans that actually fit him the way that pants were supposed to, Harry examined himself in the mirror, surprised at the difference a simple change in pants made. He actually looked...pretty good, if he said so himself.

"Those look quite nice on you, dear," the mirror commented appraisingly. Harry wondered if she was giving her honest opinion or merely trying to sell clothes.

"I think I'm going to get these pants; I really like them," Harry spoke loudly enough so that Bill could hear him, feeling extremely thankful to the redhead at the moment.

"Well, you have to show them to me first," Bill said back.

Harry was surprised when he heard footsteps right outside the fitting room. "I'm not dressed!" he declared in a panic.

Bill chuckled from outside the curtain. "I have five brothers, Harry, it's not like you have anything I haven't seen before. Besides, you change in front of your dormmates all the time; no need to be shy now," Bill reminded. "So, can I come in?"

Harry knew he was being silly and wasn't quite sure why he was suddenly feeling so uncomfortable, but only knew that he was. But if he didn't let Bill come in, then he would know something was wrong or think he was being weird. Sighing, Harry hesitantly pulled the curtain back, allowing Bill inside the dressing room.

Bill let out a low whistle, checking out the pants Harry had on. "Lookin' good!" he commented, raising his eyebrows. He chuckled, letting Harry know that he was merely teasing as Harry blushed. "Seriously, though, I think you should get the jeans. They fit you way better than any of the pairs you have," Bill informed the younger.

"Yeah, I was planning on buying them. Thanks for dragging me in here," Harry replied, smiling in gratitude at Bill, though he felt rather sheepish.

The red head chuckled, waving it off. "It's my pleasure. Now hurry up and try on the rest of those clothes before we run out of time," Bill declared, turning and heading out through the curtain.

Harry sighed, facing the neatly hung up clothes to pick out what he would try on next. Before he could decide, the mirror suddenly broke into his thoughts.

"I suppose he's not your boyfriend," the mirror conceded, giving Harry a great deal of relief despite himself. Of course, that was before he heard the rest of her assessment. "Yes, he may not be your boyfriend now, but he soon will be."


AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know, I know, I didn't get to the club scene! I'm sorry you guys, but I promise it will be in the next chapter. I hope you liked this chapter anyway. I got really excited when I thought up the whole thing with the mirror. Not really any action going on, but still...something. I'll try to update again as soon as I can, though the next chapter probably won't be out for at least another week or two (maybe more). Also, I posted a drawing I did of Bill on my website. You can view it at http/ www. deathbysuffication/ billweasleydrawing .html (just take out the spaces).

1) I wasn't really sure what the price should be on this because I'm uncertain of what the conversion rate is. If anybody has a better idea of what it should be, just let me know. Otherwise, just pretend it's reasonable.