* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *
PART FOUR
Brave New World
Chapter 72: When in Rome
"Anyone else think this is weird? You know, drinking without Harry?"
"Nah, just you that's missing your boyfriend," Theo joked, slapping Neville on the back as he placed a drink in front of him.
Blanche snorted, "Coming from you, Theo? You couldn't have been any gayer with Draco unless you were actually fucking him."
Draco snorted and spat out of his firewhiskey.
"Which one of us lives with their brother and fucks his wife?" Theo retorted.
"That is rude," Blanche pointed out.
"And they haven't even had sex yet," Ophelia smirked, "Blanche is very upset about that."
"I'm not upset about it!" Blanche objected.
"You are; you've been pouting," Ophelia said.
"I do not pout!"
"You do," Neville chuckled, "And when you do get to that point, I'm sure you'll have fun."
Blanche narrowed her eyes at him, "What does that mean?"
"Just that Ginny's rather good," Neville said sheepishly, "In that department, you know? Do not tell Lilly I said that!" he added, pointing at Draco and Theo.
The two Slytherins grinned widely in response,
Blanche just laughed, "Well, she is a fantastic kisser."
"I think Harry's wife agrees," Draco said, shooting Theo a grin, "Remember that?"
"Remember Daphne snogging Ginny during the war then swooning about it? Hell yes," Theo joked.
"You were desperate to see the memory," Draco laughed.
"I don't blame you," Neville said, "I know she's my best friends wife but come on, Daphne is hot. She's classy and sexy but sassy as hell. Any guy or girl would go there if they had half a chance. I don't blame Lil for kissing her in Paris."
"Now I am jealous," Blanche teased, "My kind of girlfriend and your fiancé have both kissed Daphne Greengrass, but I haven't?"
"Go to any party or wedding when she's slightly drunk, and she'll kiss you," Theo snorted.
"She does tend to do that," Neville mused.
"Do you reckon Harry cares?"
"Nah, I'm pretty sure it turns him on," Neville joked.
"And I'm pretty sure he's going to be enjoying his new wife a lot right now," Blanche grinned.
"Not as much fun as Theo did hopefully, or he'll have two kids before long," Ophelia joked, smirking at Theo.
Draco and Neville roared with laughter at that while Theo rolled his eyes, "Oh go on, joke all you want. I'll be a great dad, thanks very much."
"I'm sure you will be, but you still have to admit that you didn't plan on being one so young," Draco pointed out.
"True, fair point," Theo shrugged, sipping his firewhiskey, "Did anyone actually invite Harper and Emily to pre-term drinks, by the way?"
Ophelia snorted, "No, why would we? Harper is a dickhead."
"Fair," Theo snorted.
"He's going to be even worse when he finds out that we're joining you in the big boy simulation room after Christmas break," Blanche smirked, "Sumner told us before we broke off."
"Brilliant," Theo said, "Congrats, guys."
"You'll be brilliant assets," Neville agreed.
"And we'll get to see you idiots sacrificing yourselves for each other," Ophelia joked, "Would you jump in front of a killing curse for me, Blanche?"
Blanche considered this, "Hmm, maybe. Would it get me into Heaven even though God hates the gays?"
"Probably," Ophelia laughed.
"Then yes," Blanche grinned, "Would you do it for me?"
"Nah, you're dispensable," Ophelia joked.
"Oh, thanks Fee," Blanche snorted, "I love you too."
"I love you in a completely straight, friendship way," Ophelia said, "Unlike that lot with their homoerotic BFF relationships."
"Harry and I do not have a homoerotic relationship!" Neville objected.
Draco raised an eyebrow at him, "We lost Harry tonight, but he's still with us – in here!"
Theo joined in, "You're worth twelve of Malfoy, Neville."
Neville rolled his eyes, "We don't tell each other we love each other on Astronomy Towers though, do we?"
"How the fuck do you know about that?" Draco asked.
Theo hit him, "He didn't, you idiot!"
"Oh shit," Draco muttered.
Neville, Blanche and Ophelia all laughed.
"Come on guys, we all know you have a four-way. You live next door to each other, and a secret passage probably connects your houses," Blanche said with a smirk, "You're just like your grandfathers."
"It's not even a secret passage; it's just a door," Theo admitted.
Ophelia snorted, "The big question is, are you screwing?"
"No!" Theo objected.
Draco wrinkled up his nose, "No, definitely not," he agreed.
"Not unless your other halves are involved," Neville chimed in.
"Oh great, thanks for dropping that one in, Nev," Theo said irritably.
Neville smirked, "You're welcome."
"Nice," Blanche said with an approving nod.
Ophelia nodded too, "Theo, your wife is hot, and Hermione Granger is Hermione Granger, so yeah."
Draco and Theo shared a slightly amused look, and Blanche ordered another round of drinks.
"Anyway, before we got off topic, we were talking about Harper and Emily, weren't we?" Ophelia asked now that things had calmed down.
"Yeah, they aren't going to last beyond first year, are they?" Neville asked. Although it was pretty much a rhetorical question. Despite that, the others all shook their heads.
"So cheers to us for lasting this long," Draco said, holding up his firewhiskey glass, "We're like the Olympians of Auror Recruits."
"What…the fuck…is an Olympian?" Theo asked.
"You mean like in Ancient Greece?" Blanche asked.
"Ancient Rome actually, but no," Draco said offhandedly, "Olympians as in Muggle sportspeople?"
He was met with a sea of blank faces.
Draco rolled his eyes, "So the best of the best sportspeople in the Muggle world enter this competition called the Olympics every four years, and the country with the team of best sportspeople wins it."
Blanche raised an eyebrow, "Sounds like a farce to me."
Ophelia nodded, "Muggle conspiracy if I ever heard one."
Draco frowned, "Uh…how?"
"I mean, who invented these Olympics?" Blanche continued, "Sounds like the kind of thing some billionaire investor would do to find the greatest humans and create a justice league, you know?"
"I can honestly say that I have never thought that Blanche," Draco deadpanned.
"But," Ophelia pointed out, "It makes sense, doesn't it?"
"It does," Neville agreed.
Theo nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah…I mean, or maybe the DMLE is behind it. Maybe the Olympics is a mass muggle experiment to see what Muggles are capable of."
"Ooh, good idea Theo!" Blanche said while Ophelia nodded eagerly.
Draco shook his head in disbelief, "Right, forget I ever mentioned it!"
This, of course, did not happen.
"Speaking of conspiracy theories, most of the muggle ones can be explained away by magic," Theo said.
"Oh, here we fucking go," Draco muttered under his breath.
"For example," Theo continued, "Princess Diana, that was the hit wizards that were behind that one. I mean, she was a bloody witch, wasn't she? She could hardly keep using compulsion charms and love potions to worm her way into the hearts of the nation."
Draco let his head drop onto the table.
"And!" Theo continued, "JFK? The second gunman, also a hit wizard from MACUSA, obviously. He was threatening to expose the truth about wizards, obviously couldn't let that happen."
Draco groaned. He had been subjected to this too many times. Theo had hated Muggle Studies, but he had loved conspiracy theories.
"And everyone knows that Area 51 is actually the site of MACUSA's Department of Mysteries, hence aliens," Theo rolled his eyes, "So MACUSA basically invented UFO's and the little green man. Come to think of it; they should get royalties from that film with the little alien dude on a bicycle."
"Theo, would you please just stop?" Draco asked, although his voice was muffled because his head was still in his hands.
"No, no. I haven't even gotten started on crop circles yet-"
"Ugh," Draco groaned, letting his head hit the table, "I miss Harry."
"Okay, so I love Rome."
Harry grinned over at his wife, "I knew you would."
Daphne laughed. It still sent shivers down Harry's spine when he heard the beautiful, melodic sound. She threw her head back and leant against the railing as they stood outside the ruins of the Imperial Palace on Palatine Hill and looked out over Rome while the sunset.
"I feel naked when I'm with you, you know."
Daphne turned her head to the side to look at him, "Well, we are naked together, a lot," she joked.
Harry shook his head and looked her in the eye, "No…that's not what I mean. I mean that…it's easy to take your clothes off and have sex. I mean, people do it all the time, sometimes with people that they don't even care about. But you see through the whole chosen one thing, you see past the fame and the war guilt, you look past it all and see me. I opened up my soul to you, and I tell you my thoughts, my fears, my hopes and dreams for the future and…it makes me feel naked, to you."
Daphne smiled softly at him, "That was deep."
Harry shrugged, "Well, we are on our honeymoon."
Daphne reached across and took his hand, "I feel naked with you too. You saw past my defences when nobody else could, and you still do every single day, actually. You see past the ice queen and the bitterness to see me. So by your definition, I feel very naked with you."
Harry smiled at her.
"I also like being naked with you," Daphne added with a cheeky smirk, "A lot."
Harry laughed heartily and pulled her in for a kiss, "By Merlin, I love you, Mrs Potter."
Daphne grinned against his lips, "And I love you, Mr Potter."
When they drew back, they both looked out contently, and Daphne sighed, "I don't want to go home."
"Neither do I," Harry admitted.
"I have fallen in love with the villa we've been staying in," Daphne said with a smile, "You chose well."
Harry smiled a little slyly, "Well, I'm glad you like it because it's not going anywhere."
Daphne frowned, "What?"
"It's ours," Harry said with a grin, "I picked our honeymoon based on the Potter property that I thought you would like best. The flat in Edinburgh is nice, but it's too close to home. It's not the right time of year for the villa in Greece. I really wondered about taking you to the apartment in Paris or the clifftop house with the sea view in Monaco."
Daphne stared at him in disbelief.
"But I thought the historic farmhouse, stone-built eight-bedroom villa in Rome was the best bet," Harry finished with a grin.
"We have property in Edinburgh, Paris, Monaco, Greece and Rome?" Daphne asked in surprise.
"And America," Harry smiled, "We still have the ranch that came with Cordelia Cauldwell's dowry when she married into the family."
"You cheeky little shit!" Daphne said, smacking him in the arm, "You said all the Potter properties were gone!"
"I lied," Harry teased.
"You're getting better at that," Daphne said, smiling at him.
"Only when I need to," Harry assured her, "But we can come back here whenever you want."
"And we can go to Paris for a weekend!" Daphne exclaimed.
"We can, and we can go with Neville and Lilly," Harry said, "The Paris apartment has four bedrooms. It's very nice, by the way, marble floors, moving statues, the whole art nouveau thing. You're going to love it."
"I love you," Daphne said with a wide grin.
"I love you too," Harry said, capturing her lips in another kiss, "The suns set."
"Mmhmm. Want to go back to the villa?"
"Uh-huh."
"And have lots of fun without making an accidental baby?"
Harry laughed, "Way to take the romance out of it, baby," he joked as he put his arm around his wife's shoulders.
"I reckon you should come to dinner today."
"With your family?"
Charlie raised an eyebrow at the girl lying in his bed, "Tori, you literally introduced me to all of your family at Christmas. Like your scary Dad and his scary sort of girlfriend who also happens to be the wife of my Dads sworn enemy. I reckon you can hack a bit of slagging and slightly overdone beef at the hands of my family."
Astoria rolled her eyes. She got up, draped her silk dressing gown over herself and crossed her arms, "I am not afraid to meet your family if that is what you are insinuating, Charlie. I am a businesswoman, I am the CEO of Greengrass Industries, and I can handle Molly Weasley any day of the week."
Charlie smirked at her, "So why are you so reluctant then? You had no problem telling your father where to shove it when he questioned that you were dating a Weasley, so what is your problem with me putting my family in their place?"
Astoria sighed and clicked her fingers to conjure the coffee pot, "If I explain, do you promise to be supportive and not judgemental?"
"Of course, love," Charlie said, accepting the cup of coffee she had just handed him.
She perched on the edge of the bed and sighed again, "I'm not scared, but I am nervous because your family dynamics could not be more different to mine. I am used to my sister and my mother. My father was rarely around, to be honest. Then there was my uncle, who obviously is my biological father, but he was around even less, and he was always more interested in my mother than Daphne or I."
Charlie smiled fondly, "You're rambling."
"I know," Astoria rolled her eyes, "But my point is, I'm not used to brothers, and I know how you and your brothers are with your teasing and taunting, and that makes me nervous."
"If my brothers tease you or make you uncomfortable, I'll knock them for six," Charlie assured her, "They might slag me for dating someone half my age, but they can't tease you, can they? I mean, look at you, you are beautiful, intelligent, funny, you like dragons, you Astoria Greengrass, are perfect and far too good for me. So if they slag me, that is why."
Astoria smiled slightly, "Alright, I'll come."
Charlie smiled back, "Good because if it makes you feel any better, I was dreading meeting your family. I like Daphne from what I've seen of her at the Burrow, and Harry is practically my brother but meeting your dad? That was scary for me."
Astoria sipped her coffee, "I can understand that. Meeting my dad after he woke up… was scary for me. But I am sorry that I didn't realise how nerve-wracking it must have been for you to meet my family on Christmas Day. I just figured since you knew Harry and Daphne, you wouldn't mind…Harry sort of engrained himself into our family seamlessly, you know? It was like one minute he was dating Daphne at school, and then the next thing I knew, he was just so familiar, and my dad loves him too. It's nerve-wracking for me because I feel like I'll never get a boyfriend like that."
"You put too much pressure on yourself," Charlie said softly, "And on me. We'll never be Harry and Daphne because those two are like the freaking power couple of our generation. But we don't have to be them. It's okay to just be us."
"And how are your family going to feel about us?" Astoria asked anxiously.
"They'll be fine with it," Charlie assured her, "Just trust me on this one."
Astoria searched his eyes for a moment before nodding, "Fine, I trust you, Charlie, I do."
Charlie got up and kissed her lightly, "They'll love you as much as I do," he promised.
The words were already out of his mouth before he realised the impact they would have. Her eyes widened, and she nearly slipped off the bed, which would have been funny in other circumstances.
"You…you love me? Charlie, we've only been together for a couple of months-"
"I know, I'm sorry," Charlie said quickly, "That was stupid of me to say it too soon. I've freaked you out, haven't I?"
Astoria swallowed and shook her head, "Uh…no. You just…honestly, you just took me by surprise," her expression softened, "You do that quite a lot actually."
Charlie smiled, his shoulders visibly relaxed with relief, "Good. Now look, you don't have to say it back until you're ready, alright? No obligations at all."
Astoria just nodded.
"I'm gonna have a shower, then get ready for lunch," Charlie added, kissing her again before slipping into the bathroom.
"Charlie!"
"You came, sweetheart!"
Charlie smiled at his family as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen.
"Hey everyone," Charlie said as he stepped aside slightly, "For those of you who don't know, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Astoria."
There was a stunned silence which Percy broke by smiling at Astoria, "Hi Astoria, how are you doing?"
"Good, thank you, Percy," Astoria replied with a nervous smile.
Bill stepped forward and raised an eyebrow, "Hi Astoria. Hey Charlie, not going to lie, I'm still pretty annoyed about the fact I found out you two were dating when I caught you snogging at Harry and Daphne's wedding, though."
Charlie fixed his brother with a long look, "Bill, don't be judgemental about this just because I didn't tell you straight away. I mean, you can't judge; your wife is seven years younger than you."
"I'm not judging," Bill said flatly, "But I am pissed off because you, my brother and my best friend, did not tell me about this and Daphne, who I spend almost every day with in a small office with not much else to talk about, did not bloody tell me about this!"
"She did just find out before Christmas," Astoria defended Charlie.
"But I mean, I knew before you, Bill," Percy smirked, "And I thought you were Charlie's favourite brother."
"Boys," Molly warned.
"Percy knew before me?" Bill asked in disbelief, "Percy?"
"Come on, Bill, he's dating Susan Bones. She was at Potter Manor for Christmas too," Charlie pointed out, "It's not like I've been intentionally keeping it from you. You're my best friend."
"Whatever, Charlie, we're done. I need to go find a new favourite brother," Bill said, smiling slightly as he did.
Charlie punched him in the arm, "You're a fucking fanny, you know that?"
"Language, Charles!"
Astoria hid a smile behind her hand.
"Sorry, Mum," Charlie and Bill said in unison.
Molly smiled at Astoria, "Hello Astoria; it is lovely to meet you. Daphne has talked about you a lot, of course."
"Has she?" Astoria asked in surprise.
"Of course," Molly said with a kind smile, "She always seemed very proud of you. Would you like to help me set the table?"
"Of course," Astoria replied.
Molly handed her a pile of cutlery and asked, "So, however did you and Charlie meet? Forgive me if I sound rude, but you do not exactly run in the same circles."
Astoria laughed, "No, we don't, you're right. We met by chance, actually. Daphne and Harry went to Shell Cottage to spend the weekend with Bill and Fleur, and they asked me if I wanted to tag along. I didn't realise that Bill had also invited Charlie to cheer him up after his break up, and while we were there, we got talking."
"I see," Molly said as she set glasses out on the table with a wave of her wand, "Terrible business his last break-up."
"I know who he dated, don't worry," Astoria said before Molly could go into it, "Charlie was completely honest about his attempted relationship with his former flame."
"So you know that it ended because Aurora did not want to have a family for quite some time and that Charlie did?" Molly asked.
Subtle Molly, Astoria thought to herself. However, she just smiled and replied, "Yes, I knew that."
"Oh good," Molly said, smiling brightly, "A relationship is always better without secrets. Don't you think?"
Astoria nodded her agreement, but before any more could be said, the backdoor opened once more.
"Oh Hermione, Draco, you made it," Molly chirped as she hugged Hermione and smiled warmly at Draco.
Draco smiled back and handed her a bottle of firewhiskey, "A belated Christmas gift Molly."
"Oh, thank you, Draco," Molly said as she set it down on the table.
Draco shot Astoria a grin, "You two must be official if he brought you here."
Astoria smirked, "You're just jealous because it took Hermione a year to bring you here."
"And the rest," Hermione chuckled, "But Draco was a bit of a dick to almost everyone in this house for many years before I managed to reign him in. You and Daphne, on the other hand, are just nice people who happen to have been in Slytherin house."
"Good point, well made," Charlie said, putting his arm around Astoria and grinning at Hermione, "I saw that article you wrote about guard dragons for the prophet last week, by the way. Kudos to you."
Draco rolled his eyes, "Oh great, Tori, fancy a tour of The Burrows awe-inspiring farm gardens? Those two are going to be talking dragon welfare for at least half an hour."
Hermione glared at Draco, "At least someone appreciates the work I am trying to do, Draco!"
"See?" Draco mouthed to Astoria.
Molly chuckled, "Don't be too long. Dinner will be ready soon."
"We won't delay you, Molly," Draco promised as he led Astoria outside.
Astoria hooked her arm through his as he 'showed' her the chicken coup, "What are you up to?"
"Partly, I don't want to listen to my fiancé drone on about fucking guard dragons for any longer than I need to," Draco said, shooting Astoria an exasperated look, "But also, I wanted to give you a word of advice."
"About what? Dating Charlie?"
Draco nodded, "About dating someone of a different class."
"Draco-"
"Just hear me out," Draco said calmly, "This isn't like your sister and Harry. Yes, Harry is down to earth and doesn't realise how powerful or famous he is, but he is a Marquiss. He has a manor, a title and a place on the Wizengamot."
"I don't care about that Draco," Astoria assured him, "I will have my own place on the Wizengamot when the business settles. I do not need to find one through a husband."
"I know you don't, and I know you don't care about that stuff right now," Draco said honestly, "But there will come the point when you realise quite how different you are. It might be something small, or it might be something big, but something will make you think; oh shit, I'm the Princess, and he's the frog, you know?"
Astoria frowned, "No, I really don't know."
Draco sighed, "Basically Astoria, someday you will realise that you are a Greengrass with a rich Daddy, a good family name, and plenty of money and that he is a Weasley with no claim to anything. When that day comes, it will test your relationship, and if you don't expect that day to come, it can knock you for six."
"You sound like you're talking from experience," Astoria said, shooting him a knowing look.
"Of course I am," Draco admitted. He stopped in the orchard and leant against a tree, "I love Hermione, and I am fully committed to marrying her and raising a family with her, but that is now. It wasn't always that way, and even now, most of our fights are about cultural differences. There was this point when it became make or break, and I either had to accept that things would change if I chose Hermione or break things off with her. Obviously, I accepted the changes, but I am not a Malfoy anymore. I lost my name, my title, my manor, my fortune, all of it. I'm a Black with a minor title, a seat on the Wizengamot not anywhere near as prominent as my old one and a relatively small house in London. My life changed because I chose love over status."
Astoria sighed and leant against the tree too, "I know what you're saying."
"And?"
"And I can hack it, a life without status," Astoria said, "Besides, I don't think it should all be about who your husband is. I think it can be about how powerful you are as a woman, and I intend to bring Greengrass Industries into the 21st century."
Draco smiled and pushed himself off of the tree, "Then I am sure that you will be just fine."
Astoria followed him back in the direction of the house, "But I appreciate the heads up, Draco, honestly."
Draco shrugged, "If someone had given me a heads up, Hermione and I wouldn't have struggled to adapt so much."
They walked past the chicken coup and heard Molly calling that dinner was ready. Draco laughed and opened the door, "You had better hurry in quickly. You don't want to face Molly's wrath."
Astoria had managed to make small talk with everyone over lunch. Once everyone had eaten, they migrated into the living room as they often did.
Charlie was sitting in the window seat, watching Astoria talk animatedly with Percy about economics, when he was tapped on the shoulder. He looked up and drew himself out of his thoughts, "What's up, Bill?"
"You got a minute to chat? Quietly?" Bill asked.
Charlie frowned but rose to his feet and followed Bill out of the room anyway. They slipped through the kitchen into one of the downstairs bedrooms, which they shared as kids.
Their Mother used it as a laundry room now, but there were still remnants of their childhood, like the muggle posters of half-naked girls with tattoos, sitting on motorbikes, that they had attached to the walls with permanent sticking charms.
"I just wanted to have a chat with you about Astoria," Bill said honestly as he perched on a chair.
Charlie raised an eyebrow at him, "A serious one this time?"
"Yeah," Bill said, he ran his hand through his hair, "Because the thing is Char, I do know what it's like to date someone when there is an age gap concerned. There are seven years between Fleur and me, but there are nine years between you and Astoria and…you never think it's going to be an issue, but it can be."
Charlie sighed, "Go on?"
"When Fleur and I started dating, we fell in love really quickly. She was hot as hell, and Merlin, that French accent did things to me. I had never fallen head over heels for a girl like that. Still, when the adrenaline died out, and we were left exhausted with a screaming baby, we started to realise that we didn't have anything in common."
"Bill-"
"Just hear me out, Char," Bill cut in.
Charlie raised his hands but shut up.
Bill continued, "But that could have happened to any couple, regardless of the age gap. Then we hit the killer one, I was quite happy with one kid, but Fleur wants more. She wants to have another baby then get back to her career. She said that I've had my career, so I should take a step back for her, but Char, I don't want to step back. I'm only 30, yes I've taken on a less active role for Vic, but I can't hack giving it all up; I've got a lot left in me yet. But Fleur's only 23. She's still so young and full of ambition. It just…it doesn't always work out, Char."
"I appreciate what you're trying to do," Charlie said, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder, "But with all due respect, Bill, you and Fleur rushed into marriage because of the war and Mum might not, but you and I both know that Vic, as amazing as she is, wasn't exactly planned."
Bill nodded reluctantly.
"Tori and I don't have that problem," Charlie said calmly, "And we definitely don't have to worry about the 'nothing in common' thing. She is a die-hard Puddlemere fan. She loves tagging along to games with the Potters-"
"Okay, it's weird that we can call them that now," Bill interjected.
Charlie chuckled, "I know, but what I'm saying is that Astoria and me, we aren't you and Fleur. No offence to her, but Fleur has always been a little immature. Astoria has had a harder life. She's the CEO of a globally recognised company at 19 years old, for crying out loud. Sometimes I genuinely forget how young she is because Merlin knows she doesn't act it."
"I get that," Bill promised, "And I'm sorry if I offended you, Char. I just don't want you to make the same mistakes that I did."
Charlie smiled sympathetically, "I appreciate that, Bill, I really do. And I'm sorry things are still shit with Fleur. Are they not getting any better?"
Bill shook his head and rubbed his eyes, "No, if anything, things are getting worse. It's just…Merlin Charlie, there's just no love there anymore, only anger and resentment."
"You've got to end it then, Bill," Charlie said, squeezing his brothers shoulder, "Before Vic gets dragged into the mess."
Bill dragged his hands through his hair again and nodded, "I know I do. Deep down, I know that. We've been trying to make it work for her, but we're making each other miserable, and we both know that."
Charlie sighed, "I'm sorry, Bill, I am. Here I am, stupidly happy when I should be helping you through this."
Bill shook his head, "Don't be stupid, Char, it does me a world of good to see you stupidly happy. When you broke up with Rory, I worried I would never see that again."
Charlie smiled and hugged his brother, "You'll be happy again too, even if you do split up with Fleur. There's light at the end of every tunnel Bill, you just never know how long that tunnel is when you're in it."
Bill hugged his brother back, "Thanks, Charlie," he said, hoping his brother wouldn't be able to tell that his voice was slightly choked because he was holding back tears.
* ~ TBC ~ *