No specific trigger warnings.

Bill's panicked voice pulls Ginny out of her awe. Maybe he hadn't realised that his bubble had found her. She tries calling back but her throat is raw from screaming. She takes a tentative step towards his call and the bubble follows keeping her in the centre. It was so cool. Even Tom didn't have anything bad to say about it; he was speechless. She would definitely have to get Bill to teach her. Did it work underwater? Ginny takes slow, tentative steps, careful not to outpace the bubble not wanting to accidentally pop it.

It took a few minutes but she soon found him. Bill stumbled into the bubble, meeting her in the centre, his features distorted by his own bubble head charm. His eyes are wide with shock as he dispells the bubble head.

"Bill, I'm so glad you found me! This bubble you made is great!" Ginny rasps, throwing herself into his arms.

Bill shakes his head perplexed and holds her close.

"I took it slow in case the bubble popped. Let's go back together". She continues before grabbing his hand and pulling him forward before stopping.

"Which way is it?".

Bill laughs. Ginny thinks he sounds a bit manic and quite relieved. He must have been really worried. He recovers pretty quickly, links his arm with hers and leads the way. The bubble follows.

They reach the buildings without any trouble. Once through the safety of the doors, the bubble drops and Ginny launches herself at Bill.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you" she cries. Her brother was so amazing.

Bill hugged her tightly and for a moment Ginny thinks she can feel him trembling. Her hands are also shaking. She would have died if it wasn't for him.

He pulls away and bends slowly meeting her eyeline directly and holds onto her shoulders.

"Gin, that wasn't me. It was you".

No, that didn't make any sense. She didn't hold anywhere near that kind of power and she hadn't heard of any spells that could perform that kind of feat. She tried to tell him but he shook his head.

"Gin, what you just did was so powerful and so rare".

Ginny cocked her head to the side slightly. What was he talking about?

"You're like me, Gin. You have elemental magic. Where I was touched by fire you have been touched by wind".

Ginny bites her lip, thinking. That didn't make any sense, did it?

"Like your fingers?" She enquired, thinking about the flames that seemed to spring from the tips of Bill's fingers when he was mad.

"Exactly. Let's keep this to ourselves for now though, yeah?".

Ginny nodded. She didn't really believe that she had cast that magic. It didn't make any sense but Bill seemed so insistent so she would let it drop for now.

Not long after they had stumbled through the doors a member of staff came rushing over. They told Bill how the wards had been disrupted by some kind of weird invention his twin brothers had created. The guy seemed to be a friend of Bills and warned him that some of the members of the site were not happy that their tents and equipment had been damaged.

Ginny could tell that Bill was also annoyed. In fact, annoyed wasn't the right word. He was livid. The flames flickered on his fingertips seemingly springing back to life as soon as he gained some semblance of control. He strode into the dining room where the rest of the family were sat huddled in the corner awkwardly avoiding the glare of the other site members.

Ginny shrank behind him, following in his wake. Eyes trailed his movements across the hall. As he reached the family everyone seemed to hold their breath. With a flick of his wrist the twins' wands went sailing from their pockets into his open hand. He turned to Mum and Dad.

"What in Merlin's name were you thinking? They just destroyed a part of the campsite and you let them keep their wands?"

Mum looked like she was going to protest for a moment before Bill cut her off.

"And yet, Gin is terrorised by a dark artefact for a year and you decide to strip her wand from her even though she had done nothing wrong? What. Is. Wrong. With. You?" each word is emphasised with a bit more heat.

Dad hangs his head in shame. Ron is hiding behind Mum. Percy looks thoroughly embarrassed by the whole affair and the twins exchanged alarmed looks.

"How dare you. I let you come into my workplace with the understanding that you would respect it. Instead, you bully your little sister" he says staring directly at Ron.

"You mess with a complex warding scheme" he turns to gaze at the twins.

"You" he continues turning to Percy who looks rather taken aback. "should have been helping Mum and Dad keep an eye on things".

Finally, turning to Mum and Dad eyes ablaze.

"And you, have let all of this happen. How could you be so blind or negligent? The twins are trouble-makers so you need to keep an eye on them. I trusted you and I can see now that the trust was misplaced. Ginny was nearly killed. Do you understand me? She nearly died!".

Mum was crying now and Ginny found that she really did not care. The other occupants of the hall had relaxed. They seemed content to let things pass knowing that Bill would handle them appropriately.

Fred and George gulped in unison and took a step forward.

"We really didn't know"

"That a sandstorm was so dangerous"

"We thought it would be like snow"

"But sandy..."

Bill glared at them and they hung their heads.

Dad took a step forward and put a hand on Bill's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Son. We will do better".

Bill seemed to relax the slightest little bit.

"Well, you all have the lovely opportunity to clean up the campsites which have been destroyed. Only Mum and Dad are permitted to use magic as the rest of you are underage. I'll keep hold of these" he said twirling the twin's hands in his hand "so you're not distracted". He takes a deep breath struggling to regain control over his flames.

"And, considering that you haven't even bothered to check in to see how Ginny is" he continued, venom in his voice.

"I shall be looking after her for the remainder of the summer. She will return by portkey the day before term. You will meet her at the Ministry" he added turning to Dad.

Shame overrode Dad's features "We can't afford..." He started turning red.

"I will find a way" Bill cut him off. Ginny let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding.

"Ginny will look after Fred and Georges wands until she returns". Bill adds handing the wands to her. She takes them and he gives her a reassuring smile.

At that declaration, Mum seemed to finally snap back to attention.

"It's not their fault that Ginny went running out in the dessert. You have no right to take their wands. Hand them back right now" she demanded.

Ginny couldn't help but take a step further behind Bill.

Bill rounded on Mum fury evident in his eyes.

"No, that was Ron's fault. In fact" he flicked his wand again and Ron's joined the twins'.

Percy walked forwards and handed his wand over.

"It's only fair" his eyes met Ginny's "I'm sorry I haven't been terribly helpful to you. Are you ok?".

Bill gave a tight smile as Ginny nodded.

"Your trip finishes in 3 days. Until then, you will help with fixing the camps. If everything goes well, then there are some tombs that you can explore. Now I'm taking Gin to get some rest and healing. Do not move from this spot until I return".

Bill turned round and gently bent down to whisper in her ear. She had been leaning heavily on him from exhaustion.

"Is it ok to carry you?" She nodded and succumbed to his arms not daring to look back at her family.

On the way out of the hall one of the older members of the site gave him a nod of approval. Ginny felt Bill breathe a bit easier. It must have been difficult for him, he looked to be one of the youngest in the camp. They headed in the opposite direction of the rooms.

"Maddie is one of our camp healers. She is excellent" Bill said as way of explanation as they walked through the doors to a medical room. It was pristine inside. There was some kind of ward on the door as the moment they crossed the threshold all the sand was purged from their hair, clothing and bodies.

Bill placed her gently on one of the beds as a dark skinned woman, Ginny assumed was Maddie, hurried over. Maddie turned out to be surprisingly well-informed and had only asked how she had managed to survive so long out in the storm. Though didn't seem to want a response before starting the examination. Her hair was styled in elaborate braids which formed a large bun at the back of her head. She waved her wand and Ginny laid back, letting the magic wash over her. The results were predictable, some malnutrition which she was already working on, an extremely raw throat from the screaming and a few grazes from the sand. The grazes were patched up quickly and she was given some potions to help with her throat. One now, another before bed and a final one in the morning and she should be fine. It felt like drinking thick ice water but had strange aftertaste.

Bill said she could take a shower or go straight to bed. She opted for the warmth of the hot water, her muscles ached. Bill seemed reluctant to leave her but needed to go supervise the family. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and left. nder the hot streams of water Ginny sat huddled on the floor letting the events of the day wash over her. She wasn't surprised about her families reactions, not really. Despite how scary it had been she wouldn't change a thing. She now knew what her mindscape would be.

Ginny had been exhausted so spent the rest of the day drifitng in and out of sleep. The rest of the holidays were the best Ginny had in her entire life. The next day, after leaving to give some quick instructions to the family, Bill celebrated a quiet birthday with her in his quarters. After a breakfast of pancakes and berries, Bill bundled her up with pillows and blankets on the sofa. He handed her a small box and motioned for her to open it.

Inside was a small woven bracelet made with thin strips of black leather. Interspersed across the braid were silver beads. As she looked closer each bead had been inscribed with a rune. Bill tied it onto her wrist and pulled out an identical version which he secured to himself. He explained the runes behind each bead. It was genius really. He could probably sell these for hundreds of galleons if he was inclined. The band would allow them to communicate through emotions. There was a form of charm that linked the two together. So if Ginny touched the bead and felt sad Bill would receive the emotion his end and could push back happiness and vice versa. There was also some form of location charm on them so they would be able to find each other through apparition if needed. Though, they wouldn't be able to break through strong wards and would just land as close as possible to the other. On top of that were minor shield runes which would absorb some of the damage from harmful spells. It also could not be removed without her permission. It was perfect and she told him so.

They spent the day laughing over his adventures, drinking hot chocolate and reading in comfortable silence. It was the best birthday ever.

Over the course of the holidays Bill explained more about elemental magic. It was a rare talent that usually develops not through blood but through strong emotions or trauma. It could happen to anyone, but was unlikely. His own skill with fire came from a fierce desire to protect those he loves and actually came from him fighting a kid who had hexed Charlie in Charlie's first year. He lost control and accidentally burned off their hair. It took a lot of practice but now he could generate fire at will. He assured Ginny that she would be able to gain control over wind in time.

By the end of the holidays she was eating normal portions of food (though the thought of eating meat still made her feel distinctly unwell), exercising with Bill, practicing mind and elemental magics and had become a little sister to most of Bills curse breaking team. They had all chipped in to buy her portkey home so that Bill didn't had to shoulder the financial burden by himself.

She hadn't won instant respect, however. One of the more grizzled members of Bills team, Mike, had openly expressed that a little girl who couldn't defend herself would put the team at jeopardy just by being there. Even when exploring lower level tombs. After all, you could never know what nasty tricks they will have placed and they couldn't keep an eye on her all the time.

Ginny, bolstered by the week of private lessons from Bill, instead of shrinking away, found herself standing her ground and telling him to fight her.

"You can't take me down, girl" he growled.

She grit her teeth and unpocketed her wand.

"No, but if you're as strong as you say surely I won't even pose the slightest bit of a challenge so let's see just how long I last".

That drew some chuckles and jeers from the surrounding team. Ezekiel, one of Bills closest co-workers gave her a wink and another gave her a nod of encouragement. Bill stepped in.

"Okay, okay. I know that nothing I will say will curb Ginny's temper so let's even up the playing field a little bit, yeah?"

Her opposition grunted.

"No spells that cause injury intentionally or spells that cause long lasting damage... and I get to quickly teach Gin a new spell so she has something a little stronger than the first year curriculum in her arsenal".

"Do what you will, she won't last a mo" Mike retorted, only to receive an elbow in the gut from Ezekiel. Bill rolled his eyes and strode over to her.

Bill bent down and whispered in her ear. He said that Mike's overconfidence will lose him the match. If she comes out with something unexpected it would catch him off guard. He explained the bat bogey hex to her in detail, she just needed to find an opening. It would be tricky to cast on the first time so he advised that if it misses to act like it was a distraction and follow up with a flippendo. Ginny grit her teeth and suppressed her nerves, she could do that, but she wasn't about to mess up the spell.

Bill counted them off. As soon as the count was over the jet red light of stupify came roaring towards her. She dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way. From her position on the floor she cast a flippendo which Mike blocked with ease but it gave her time to scramble to her feet. Tom was shouting advice and she blocked him out. She didn't want to kill the man and that was kind of Tom's whole angle. It had started to get a bit old.

Apparently she had been thinking too long as she was hit with Rictusempra and doubled over with laughter. It was hard to breathe or focus.

"As I said, wouldn't last a mo" Mike added, distinctly smug.

"Okay, okay. She's only a kid Mike, jeez" she heard Bill respond. "Now release the spell" he added with more bite.

Ginny didn't need Mike to do that. She would do it herself. Tom had taught her finite incantatum and she could do it non-verbally. She drew in a deep breath in between one of her outbursts and cast it. The tickling subsided. But Mike didn't seem to notice. Now was her chance.

She cast incendio at his feet catching him by suprise. He nearly tumbled back but caught himself. Before he could regain balance she cast the bat bogey hex imagining the slimy bogey bats crawling out of his nose and attacking him. It worked. Perhaps too well. The bats just kept coming and Mike was completely incapacited. Bill and the rest of the team looked at her in suprise. Mike was choking and cursing trying to regain control but before he could cast the spell to remove the bats she followed up with an expelliarmus catching his wand in mid-air.

Bill and Ezekiel rushed towards her. While the rest of the group eruoted into applause for her, and jeers for Mike.

"You did it, Gin!" Bill cried and lifted her into the air. In that moment, she felt like she could take on the world.

Sorry for the gap in posting, work has been immensely busy.

Thank you all for sticking with the story :)

~ Fiona