Number 12 Grimmauld Place

Autumn 1995

"Is it just me, or is that nothing but trouble?"

Bill Weasley followed his brother's gaze to where two witches, one with pink hair and one a brunette, still sat chatting at a corner of the kitchen table despite the end of the Order meeting ten minutes ago.

"I don't know." Bill twisted the top off a butterbeer and handed the second one to Charlie. "You're the one who's kissed both of them."

Nymphadora Tonks and Amy Green had five years, a continent, and a culture gap between them, but none of this seemed to be of any significance as by all appearances, they were deep in animated conversation.

Charlie looked away from the women long enough to give Bill a skeptical look. "Tonks and I were together at Hogwarts. There are a lot of people who know about me and her. How many people know what happened with you and Amy?"

Bill and Amy had dated briefly when she transferred from the United States to Gringotts's Cairo branch, where she still worked as a curse breaker. Despite a continuing friendship, it was Charlie who had recruited her into the Order two months ago. Time and distance made it difficult for Amy to attend Order meetings in person, and Tonks's work as an Auror meant her attendance was hit-or-miss as well, so this was the first time they had met. Now that he thought about it, Bill half-regretted making the introductions.

"Just you, I guess," Bill said. Charlie had unwittingly been present when Bill and Amy's casual relationship exploded, leaving debris not only in his relationship with Amy, but also with his brother.

Charlie took a long pull from his bottle. "And Tonks, if they keep that up."

As if on cue both women looked up, noticed Bill and Charlie watching them, and smiled. Bill knew that smile—it was the sly, mysterious smile women used when they were confident they had a secret. A dangerous secret.

"I take it back," he said in an undertone, pretending to examine the Black family crest on the china stacked on the dresser beside him. "If Tonks finds out what Amy knows—and vice versa—"

"The ridicule will be merciless," Charlie agreed. He affected a casual pose against the dresser. "Any ideas?"

Bill tilted a plate, ostensibly examining the design but really looking over its edge at the two witches with their heads bent close together. "We should play it cool," he said, returning the plate to its stack. "Show no fear. If they sense that we're worried—"

"Time to go, mate," Charlie said, abandoning his butterbeer and standing in one fluid motion.

"What?" Bill looked over his shoulder. Their mother had sat down beside Amy, and the younger witches greeted her warmly.

"Bye, Mum!" Bill called. "Dad, Sirius, everyone—see you next time!"

"Boys, wait, I've prepared plates for you—" Molly Weasley stopped mid-sentence when her second-oldest son disappeared up the stairs behind his brother. "Well," she huffed, sitting down again. "What's got them in such a hurry?"

Tonks swiped a biscuit and glanced at her new friend. "Didn't you say you weren't going out on assignment for a little while?"

Amy nodded, eyes sparkling.

"Think you can make the meeting next week?"

"Absolutely. This is going to be fun."

a/n: Amy Green and her relationship with Bill (and Charlie) can be found in my fic "Hidden Chambers and Unseen Monsters"; she also features in "Comfort and Joy Gone Astray." It hit me a while ago that Tonks couldn't have been the only young witch in the Order, and I thought it would be fun to play with the idea of women from Bill's and Charlie's pasts coming back to haunt them ;)

My apologies for the double update notification; I initially made an error in capitalizing the chapter title and FF wouldn't let me correct it. I tried to just live with it and not harass you guys, but ... well, I'm something of a perfectionist :P