Spiritus aduro
At last, I have got round to uploading this - I apologise profusely for the delay. Fanfiction.net died, which was inconvenient, and I didn't want to upload until it was stable again. Thanks to Arabella for beta-reading this for me. In this chapter… The twisted Weasley/Ria triangle gets more twisted, new people arrive, and Charlie jumps to conclusions.
Part IV
Charlie couldn't believe what he saw! Bill and Ria - together. And by the looks of things, they'd been like that all night! Heaven only knew what his mother would say if she found out about this.
"This isn't what it looks like," Bill said, hastily.
"Oooh, smart!" Charlie wasn't in the mood for placation. Walking in on his brother and best friend doing…well, he wasn't actually sure what they had been doing, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know, either, hadn't exactly made his day. "You know, most people get a room," he pointed out, sarcastically.
"Nice to know how much you think of me," Bill retorted. "For your information, I've done nothing to be ashamed of."
"It looks like it, I'm sure," Charlie replied. "It seems that we have different standards for acceptable behaviour."
"What's up with you?" Bill demanded.
"Um, I get up in the morning to find my brother and my best friend in some kind of orgy, what do you think is the matter with me?"
"Orgy? Charlie, what's the matter? And its not like you can talk, anyway – you're as much of a lady-killer as the rest of us!"
"Yes, but I've never slept with my brother's best friend, have I?"
"Neither have I," Bill said, in exasperation. Charlie glared pointedly at Ria's peacefully sleeping form.
"She fell asleep on me at two o'clock this morning. If I moved I would have woken her up. So I slept here too. Stop jumping to conclusions, man! It's not like you, and it's not fair."
"So, you didn't do anything?" Charlie asked, doubtfully. It wasn't that he didn't trust his brother, he did. The problem was, he cared about Ria in the same way he cared about Ginny, and he didn't want to see her hurt. He especially didn't want to see her hurt by his brother, because he'd end up stuck in the middle, a position he quite rightly found daunting.
"No, we didn't do anything. It doesn't say much for your faith in Ria and me that you thought we had, actually," Charlie realised that he had probably overstepped the mark with Bill. As a general rule, his elder brother was perfectly amiable and great fun to be with. But, like all of the Weasleys, Bill had a temper, and once it was roused, you didn't want to be near him. And it looked suspiciously like his temper was roused good and proper.
"I'm sorry," Charlie hastened to smooth ruffled feathers. "Its not that I don't trust the two of you, it's just…"
"You don't trust us," Bill finished tartly.
"No!" Charlie protested vehemently. "I just don't want to see either of you hurt. And what would you think, if you found Ria and I in the same situation?"
"I'd think good for the two of you, actually. Not that its relevant," Bill smiled, and Charlie heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that he was off the hook. "Out of interest, how could anything have happened between us when both of us are fully clothed?"
"Good point," Charlie had the grace to look sheepish. "Well, I had only just woken up, remember."
"Perhaps it was an engage brain before mouth situation," came a feminine voice.
"Ri? How long have you been awake?"
"Long enough. Okay, Charlie-boy, Bill and I have done nothing. Gawd, and you complain about the neighbours jumping to conclusions!"
"Right. Okay then." Charlie was concerned. He'd dealt with Bill, but Ria was another case entirely. She did have an easily roused temper, and no one in their right mind wanted to get on the wrong side of her cutting tongue, in the time that they had lived together Charlie had worked that out.
"Not that it would be any of your business if we had done anything, mind you. We're big kids now, we can look after ourselves."
"Ria, forgive me for stating the obvious, but you haven't been involved in a relationship with anyone for well nigh on three years. The idea of you jumping into bed with Bill didn't seem a particularly good one, bearing that in mind!"
"Thanks for that vote of confidence," Ria retorted. "For your information, I don't plan on 'jumping into bed' with anyone in the near future. Honestly, you men, there is more to life than animal instincts, you know! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." With that, she left the room, and Charlie simply gazed after her, feeling like a complete prat.
"Well, that went well," Bill said, grinning at him.
"Great, now she'll be an ice queen towards me for weeks!" Charlie wasn't happy. In spite of opinions to the contrary, he did enjoy the idea of a peaceful life, and life with an annoyed Ria was anything but peaceful.
"You made your bed, you have to lie in it," Bill pointed out.
"Oh, great saying there," Charlie said, dryly. "At this time, I have a personal preference for 'have your cake and eat it'. Talking of which, do you want breakfast?"
"Well, now you mention it…" Bill left his comment open.
"What do you want? And her holiness hasn't left the house yet, give her a yell for me, would you?"
"RIA!!" Bill obligingly yelled Ria's name.
"WHAT?" Ria yelled back.
"CHARLIE WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU WANT BREAKFAST?"
"I always want breakfast," she said, appearing once again. "What is it?" Charlie noticed that she addressed herself to Bill, not to him. It would seem that she wasn't overly enamoured with him at the present time. Great.
"Dunno," Bill replied. "Charlie, what's for breakfast?"
"That," Charlie told him, patiently, "is what I want to know – what do you want?"
"What do you want, Ri?" Bill asked.
"She can hear me, you know," Charlie pointed out, exasperated. Honestly, this was bordering on childish.
"Toast and cereal, same as most mornings," Ria told Bill, pointedly. "Ask him if he wants help."
"Ria, you don't have to talk to me through Bill, you know," Charlie pointed out.
"Tell him I do," Ria told Bill, imperatively. But, Charlie could see the twinkle in her eye as she said it.
"You're evil, Ri, you know that?"
"Yes, dearie, but no more evil than you! What kind of tart do you think I am?" Ria sounded indignant.
"I don't think you're a tart at all, Ria, my sweet. Now, yes, I'd love some help. You can come and talk to the teapot for me." Bill raised his eyebrows questioningly.
"Private joke," Ria explained, smiling benevolently in his direction.
When they were all sitting around the table in the kitchen, Charlie turned to Bill.
"So, what is going on between the two of you?"
"Nothing," they replied in unison, and far too quickly. Charlie smiled knowingly. How very…predictable of them.
"You do realise the two of you sound like you've been found in the broom shed illegally, don't you? McGonagall would be having a field day!"
"Wouldn't she just?" Ria replied, wryly.
"You sound like the voice of experience," Bill smirked.
"I am," Ria replied shortly. Charlie couldn't help but smirk as well. So, Ria wasn't quite what she seemed then.
"Do tell," he told her, winningly.
"Yes; do," Bill agreed. Ria looked from one to the other, and then rolled her eyes.
"If only you knew how alike you looked," she told them. "That same puppy dog expression in your eyes."
"But you'll tell us," Charlie told her, "won't you."
"Oh, I'll tell you," Ria agreed. "With hindsight, it's actually rather funny."
"Now I'm intrigued," Bill told her, and silently, Charlie agreed. He'd always thought of Ria as being Little Miss Perfect at school.
"I'm surprised you didn't hear of it, actually, Charlie," she began. "You would have been in your last year at the time. I was actually pretty rebellious as a teenager. I think my parents despaired of me, to be brutally honest," she paused to smile. "Anyway, in my fifth year at Hogwarts I got involved in my first romance. With my best friend's twin brother actually. Of course, Jessalyn was over the moon about this – it gave her a marvellous source of material to tease us both with. Well, Jack and I decided that a midnight tryst would be particularly thrilling," again she paused, this time to laugh at herself. "Honestly, a midnight tryst. It sounds like something out of Shakespeare. Talk about melodrama. I must have been the Drama Queen of the decade! If I recall correctly, we started out in Professor Trelawney's little room. I have yet to work out just why, mind you. Both of us hated Divination with a passion. Anyway, the incense eventually got to us, and – being rather light-headed – we made for the broom shed. Bear in mind that this was the seventies. Well, when McGonagall found us, she was not impressed."
"How far did you go?" Bill asked. Charlie glared at him. Talk about prying!
"Far enough, and none of your business," Ria replied. "And just because people were saying 'Make Love not War' it doesn't mean that we forgot ourselves to the extent that we actually did."
"Well, if you weren't actually doing anything, what was the problem?" Charlie demanded.
"You went to Hogwarts and you're asking why it was a bad thing that McGonagall found us in the broom shed. I daresay that things would have got more heady if she hadn't turned up when she did." Ria looked rather amused.
"So what happened to Jack?" Charlie asked, curiously.
"You know Jack, you twit," Ria told him, affectionately.
"No I don't, the only friend of yours called Jack that I know of is," Charlie paused as the light dawned.
"Living with Tom in the wilds of Dover. Yes, Charlie, that is what happened to Jack. He decided he was the other way inclined, and dumped me for Tom the day after graduation. A few weeks later, I met Aidan, and the rest is history."
"You went out with him for two years before he realised?" Bill looked sceptical.
"Oh yeah," Ria was flippant. "You should see some of the letters he's written me. He and Jess are still my best friends, actually. Most of Jack's letters are beseeching me to hook up with some guy. That particular paragraph normally starts with something along the lines of 'Now Ri, I know that you haven't got over my stunning sexiness yet, but really, after five years, I think you should be looking elsewhere for fulfilment'. He worries me, he really does."
"Sounds like quite a character," Bill said, grinning.
"Oh, he is," Charlie replied, thinking back to the first time he had met Jack and Tom. "Jack is one of those people who gets along with anyone and anyone, and Tom is pretty much the same. Both of them are rather enigmatic, to say the least."
"What about his sister?" Bill asked. "What's her name? Jessica?"
"Jessalyn," Ria corrected him. "Well, Jessie used to be a rebel to rival me. Then Edwin came along. Don't get me wrong, he's a lovely guy, but after she married him, Jess settled down to domestic bliss. Now, she and Edwin live on the Isle of Wight in perfect harmony. She has two daughters – Lindsay and Tatiana. Cuties they are too, but a far cry from the fifteen year old Jessalyn who swore that she was never going to marry."
Charlie had to smile. Ria never ceased to amaze him; there was so much about her past that he just didn't know, in spite of living with her for so long. He'd met Jack, and heard of Jessalyn, but this was possibly the first time that Ria had recalled her past in any great detail. Admittedly, it wasn't the era of her life he most wanted to know about, but it was a good start. Sooner or later she was bound to disclose just what it was that she had done in the year before she joined the Romanian team, and he could be patient.
"It's Lisa's last day today," Ria told him, completely changing the subject.
"I'll bet Gerald is pleased, too," Charlie responded. "I'm surprised he let her carry on working for this long, to be honest. Pregnancy and dragons – not a particularly good mixture."
"I don't know," Ria mused, "I don't think that I'd let my husband or lover, or whatever tell me what to do if I ever ended up in the family way, heaven forbid. Besides, I'm sure it must be good for an unborn child to be so close to nature."
"Yes, Ri, whatever you say," Charlie replied. "The second you get pregnant I'm sending you home. You're accident prone enough as it is, without having a kid to worry about."
"Don't be so old fashioned," Ria chastised him. "This is 1991, not 1901!"
"I don't care. Some traditions should never be dispensed with," Charlie told her. He meant it too. If there was one thing that he was sure of, it was that babies should not be born on dragon territory unless they were scaly and breathed fire. It wasn't so much that he had a problem with pregnant women working – although he wasn't sure that that was a good idea either – it was more a case of safety. A few tonnes of dragon could never be safe, even when you were on top of your form. And he didn't care what anyone said, when you were wandering round with a sproglet inside you, you were not on the top of your form.
"Well, quite why it is that we're discussing my pregnancy – again, I really don't know," Ria told him. "Bearing mind that I am not, and never have been, pregnant. What I was going to say, before we got all wrapped up in babies, is that we'll be getting a new team member, won't that be nice?"
"Very. Her name is Merrilees and she's from Scotland. She was in your year at school, Ri. A Hufflepuff?"
"Merrilees Fergusson?" Ria grinned. "Merri's coming to play with dragons? Just wait until I tell Jess this! She'll have heart failure!"
"Why?" Bill seemed to be curious.
"Bill, honey, you never met Merrilees Fergusson, did you? I'm sorry, but that's just classic!" Ria went off into hysterics, and Charlie stared at her, worried about her mental health.
"Ri, are you feeling okay?" he asked, in mock concern.
"Oh, absolutely fine," Ria replied. "Charlie, if you think I'm bad, I'm not a patch on Merri. Oh, her heart's in the right place, granted, but if I remember correctly, she was the one who managed to muddle dragons with basilisks. All I can say is I hope her Care of Magical Creatures skills have improved somewhat!" Charlie looked at Ria in horror. How could anyone get dragons and Basilisks muddled up. It was like confusing humans with birds!
"That was a joke, right? Please, tell me that was a joke!"
"Be logical, brother," Bill told him, scathingly. "They surely wouldn't employ someone who didn't know a dragon when she saw one."
"That's what you'd think, yes," Charlie replied. "But, I've been here for a while now, Bill, and I've seen some of the people who are 'experts' when it comes to dragons. Believe me, after that, I gave up trying to anticipate what they would do next."
"That bad?" Bill looked sympathetic.
"Worse," Charlie told him, smiling suddenly. "We got Ria, didn't we, and what could be worse than that?"
Playfully, Ria hit him. As they embarked on a play fight, Charlie noticed Bill smirking at them. Ten minutes and several punches later, Ria had him pinned to the floor.
"Ginny will be pleased," Bill observed. "Women's' Lib, and all that!"
"Shut up, Bill," Charlie said, struggling against Ria's grip, and eventually managing to turn the tables. "Hah, who's better now, your highness?"
"Charlie, stop being so childish," she replied, wriggling under him. "I'll be late for work if you don't move."
"Ri, you can't be late for work, sweetie," Charlie pointed out. "You pick your own hours. And stop wriggling!"
"Well, move then!" Ria told him, in exasperation.
"Hey, you started this!" Charlie pointed out.
"Well, if you're going to be like that, let's just recap, shall we?" Charlie could detect a slightly dangerous tone in Ria's voice, but dismissed it.
"Ria – hit Charlie after he first suggested that she was involved in some kind of physical relationship with his brother, and then, to add insult to injury, mentioned that she was awful at looking after dragons. Charlie – see above. Hmm, who do you think is more in the wrong here?" Charlie opened his mouth to reply, but she beat him to it. "You, you big pillock, so get off of me!"
"Now now," Charlie mocked, "that's not very nice! What about the magic word?"
"Charlie, stop messing about and be your age, would you!" Grinning mischievously, Charlie set his flatmate free.
"Teach you to attack me, that will," he told her, his tone self-satisfied.
"Have you finished molesting each other yet?" Bill asked him.
"I think so," Charlie told him. "I'm going now, so if you want," he paused, suggestively, "to talk, then feel free." He dodged the tea towel that Bill aimed at him, and left the house, smirking.
"Excuse me?" Charlie was startled out of a pleasant daydream as a melodic voice spoke to him. He looked up from his perch in the keepers' hut near the Ukrainian Ironbelly enclosure. Today, he was…babysitting a female Ironbelly, in an effort to ensure that nothing harmed her eggs. A petite girl was standing there, murky green eyes studying him intently. "I'm Merrilees Fergusson – the new researcher. I was wondering if you knew where I should go?" Charlie took a second, closer look at her. She was the same age as Ariadne, he knew that, yet she looked much younger, and that was saying something. If he were asked to put an age to this Merrilees, he wouldn't have her out of Hogwarts, that was for sure, and yet, she was only two years younger than he was. Her messy hair was almost the same flaming red as his own, and the curly masses were caught off of her face in a short, thick and stubby braid. Her elfin face had a generous helping of freckles, and her mouth was smiling, uncertainly. If there was one thing he was sure of, she could never be described as beautiful. She couldn't be described as pretty, either, to be honest.
"Charlie Weasley," he offered her his hand. "Pleased to meet you."
"Likewise," she said smiling, and Charlie noticed that her English had that tell tale Scottish lilt, although, to be sure, it was no where near as pronounced as Joe MacFusty's. "I'm not really sure what's going on, to be honest," she explained to him, earnestly. "I mean, I was told to be here today, and I know that I'm going to be working with dragons, but beyond that, I know nothing."
"S'okay, we'll go and find Sam Kingston. Lisa was in her team, so I'm assuming you'll be there too. She'll know where you're supposed to be going. Follow me."
"I haven't got any luggage with me," Merrilees confided in him. "Mam said she'd send it on when I knew where I was. She said that I'd only have to lug it around if I brought it with me. Of course, I do have some stuff, but not too much."
Charlie, busy concentrating on talking to Merrilees, didn't notice the girl coming in the opposite direction until he had sent her sprawling to the ground. Without thinking, he helped her up.
"Honestly, Weasley," Ria glowered at him, jokingly, "you could look where you're going occasionally!"
"Sorry Ri," he said penitently. "What are you doing this way, anyway? I thought you were babysitting Norbertina."
"I was," Ria told him. "Then Sam told me that Merri was coming, and could I see about finding her." Then, she did a double take. "Merrilees? Heavens, you haven't changed a bit!"
"Ria!" Merrilees flung herself on Charlie's dark haired companion, causing Charlie to smile, and Ria to raise her eyebrows in concern. When Merrilees had at last finished trying to squeeze all the air out of her old school friend, she stood back to survey Ria critically.
"You've lost weight," she declared. Charlie looked at her in amazement. What was she talking about? Ria hadn't lost any weight. He'd be worried if she did; actually, she was almost slim enough to fit in the skinny category. "It suits you," Merrilees continued. "So, what happened with Aidan then?"
"Aidan?" Ria seemed slightly confused.
"Yes, Aidan, silly," Merrilees rolled her eyes. "You remember, Jack dumped you the day after graduation, and then you hooked up with Aidan. Last I heard, you were engaged to him. When's the wedding, and am I invited?"
"Wedding?" Ria asked, a slightly glazed look in her eyes. "What wedding? I'm not getting married any time soon."
"Really? Why on earth not? Four years in a long time to be engaged!"
"I'm not engaged," Ria said, shortly.
"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry!" Merrilees clearly didn't know what to say. On the one hand, Charlie was annoyed with her for upsetting Ria, but on the other hand, her charging at things like a bull in a china shop had the potential to be endearing.
"Don't worry," Ria replied shortly. "Do you want to go back to your Ironbellies, Charlie? I'll take Merri to see Sam."
"Thanks, Ri," Charlie replied. "Much appreciated. Back to the joy of egg watching," he winked at Merrilees, smiled at Ria, and walked away from them, back towards the enclosure.
"So, what do you want to do?"
"That's your call. If you want to leave it at this then I'll leave and we'll never mention it again." Two voices filtered out from Ria's bedroom when Charlie arrived home that evening. He frowned slightly, and was about to push her door open and announce his arrival, when another figure caught his eye.
"Don't go in there," Merrilees Fergusson told him, smiling. "When Ria and I got back, she and Bill went off out, and I've not spoken to either of them since they got back, but by the sound of things, they have a lot to discuss."
"Whoa," Charlie said, sitting down beside her. "What are you doing here in the first place?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Merrilees smiled apologetically. "You see, they don't have any digs for me to stay in, and whilst I'd love to get close to all of the dragons, sleeping in a dragon enclosure doesn't exactly suggest that one would get a good nights sleep. Well, Sam wasn't quite sure what to do, and then Ria said that I could stay here with her until Lisa's old rooms are ready for me."
"Well, that makes sense," Charlie agreed. "The more the merrier, after all, if you'll pardon the pun." Merrilees smiled at him.
"Not your fault," she told him. "It's a common enough saying. Its just unfortunate that my name is Merri, really."
"Merrilees is a pretty uncommon name," Charlie observed. "What with you and Ariadne – did your year just go in for strange handles?"
"Ria and I probably have the most strange," Merrilees reflected. "And between the two of us, I think I win the prize when it comes to most bizarre name – Merrilees. My father came up with that one. Apparently its some kind of gypsy name, and not in the least Scottish. I think Mam wanted to call me Bonnie, but Dad said that Merrilees was much more unique, and they could call me Merri for short. After all, there's not so much difference between being bonny and being merry that she could really object. So, Merrilees it was."
"Its pretty," Charlie observed.
"Yeah, but would you call your daughter Merrilees?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh no," Charlie grinned ruefully. "We try not to discuss babies, to be honest. Up until the arrival of my darling brother a couple of days ago, Ria and I were both happily single, thank you very much. Besides, I suppose I've always thought that the mother gets to choose the girls' names, and the father the boys'."
"Old fashioned, are we? And did it work that way in your family?" It was obvious that Merrilees was curious, and Charlie realised that here was someone who'd be a valuable addition to his circle of friends.
"Well, no," Charlie admitted. "There are six boys to one girl in our family, and Ginny's the youngest. Mum chose all our names. Mum is your typical matriarch, actually. She's terribly protective of us all, and my dad is subordinate to her, if I'm honest."
"So, what's your full name?" Merrilees asked.
"Charles John Weasley," Charlie told her, agreeably. "What about yours?"
"Merrilees Arabella Fiona Fergusson," she replied, ruefully. "Awful, isn't it?" Charlie fought back the urge to laugh.
"Not at all," he said, kindly. "Unusual."
"When I was small, I alternated between wishing I had some kind of normal name, like Elizabeth or Anne, and thanking my lucky stars that I was never going to have to worry about there being someone else with my name in my class."
"I can understand that," Charlie said. "Considering Charles is actually a fairly well known and used name, I have to say, I have yet to come across any one who shares it with me – apart from famous people, obviously."
"Do you have many siblings?" Merrilees asked, changing the subject.
"Six," Charlie replied. "Here," he picked up a framed photograph of the Weasley dynasty from the table beside him. "That's my mum, Molly, and my dad, Arthur. Bear in mind that Ginny was only six when this was taken, and she's ten now, so its four years old and they've all changed somewhat. Anyway, that's Bill, you've met him, he's the one eyeing up Ria. I'll let you find out about him from him. In front of Bill is George. He and Fred are identical twins, and pranksters extraordinaire. They were eight when this was taken – twelve now. To George's left is Ron. He's the youngest boy – he's only seven here, although he's in his first year at Hogwarts now. He's pretty funny too, but not quite as prone to getting into trouble as Fred and George. He's also very good at chess."
"The little girl is Ginny," Bill's voice came from over his shoulder. Charlie had been so engrossed in showing Merrilees his family that he had missed his brother and Ria joining them. "Gin's sweet. You really should get a more up to date photo, Charlie. She's changed loads since that was taken." Bill was admiring the photograph critically. It was unusual for the wizarding world because none of the figures moved. "Why did you bring the Muggle one, anyway?"
"Well, when we had the magical one out, Ria realised that visitors might actually take offence at some of Fred and George's antics, so she said we had to stick to Muggle photos."
"And that," Bill said, continuing to explain the family to Merrilees, "is Percy. He's fifteen going on five hundred, if you ask me. Percy is the family black sheep, really. The rest of us are all a lot more fun loving. Percy can be really serious."
"Oh, leave the poor boy alone," Ria laughed. "Someone has to be the voice of reason, you know! Come on the Merri, tell Bill and Charlie all about your family."
"Well, it's nowhere near as large as theirs," Merrilees pointed out.
"Which means we won't be sitting around for hours whilst you tell us about them," Ria pointed out. "Come on, tell all!"
"I don't know why you're so eager," Merrilees exclaimed. "You know all about them anyway."
"Yes, but Bill and Charlie don't, so do hurry up!" Charlie smiled at Ria's enthusiasm.
"Well, I'm the eldest, and then there's Dillon. He's nineteen now; he graduated from Hogwarts last year. He's pretty conscientious, but he's always up for a laugh. Cerian is the baby, and she's seventeen now, and in her last year at Hogwarts. We're a hotch potch mix. Strangely, for all our family is very Scottish, none of us have Scottish names. My name is Sassenach, Dillon's Irish, and Cerian's is Welsh. And then, all three of us have been in different houses. I was a Hufflepuff, Dillon a Ravenclaw, and Cerian is a Gryffindor."
"Yes, but houses are based on characteristics, and there's no guarantee that everyone from the same family will be in the same house. Lucy, Becca and Gemma were all Ravenclaws, and I was a Gryffindor," Ria pointed out. Charlie resisted the urge to mention that she was not of the same genetic stock as her siblings, which may have had something to do with it.
"Looks like we still hold the record for biggest family on the reserve then," he said, grinning at Bill. "They have yet to beat nine, although there's an eight floating around somewhere."
"We always are," Bill pointed out.
"So," Charlie said, curiosity getting the better of him, "what were you two nattering about?"
"Us?" Ria asked, innocently.
"No, Merrilees and the owl," Charlie replied, sarcastically. "Of course you!"
"We were just consolidating our relationship," Ria told him, with dignity.
"You have a relationship? This morning you were maintaining that there was nothing going on between the two of you," Charlie pointed out.
"Because this morning there was nothing between the two of us," Bill told him. "And certainly not in the way you meant."
"But there is now," Charlie stated.
"Yes, we're getting married next week," Ria told him, dryly. "No, Charlie, dear, in the past couple of hours we haven't done anything of that nature. We have decided to experiment with long distance relationships, however. But thank you for your concern, and what's for dinner?" Charlie sighed. Bill and Ria together. The principle was great. But Bill was leaving on the morrow, and he really didn't want either Bill or Ria to be hurt by a relationship. He supposed that his hands were tied in the matter, but he had a strange sense of foreboding about the whole affair.
He loves her, he loves her not, he loves her, he loves her not… Oh, I'm so cruel. Rest assured that things will work out in the end - I'm not that heartless - although who will end up with who I don't know. Until next time, mes amis, I'll leave you with a letter of thanks:
Anne - Well, the Weasleys ROX, as do the Beatles and Shakespeare. And, well, the idea of Bill as a Beatles fan was too good to miss out on. Everyone is wary of Bill/Ria, it would seem. Am I the only one who doesn't want to doom their relationship to failure?
Thing1 - The idea retort - that's the sort of thing I say to my friends with alarming frequency. I somehow won the title of responsible - I wonder how that happened. Charlie and Ron are my favourite Weasleys, and I'm wary of writing any of the trio, so dragon-boy gets his moment in the limelight.
Adrea Evans - Sir Rutherford isn't so bad - it's Georgia - I can't stand her. She was great fun to write though. It's so hard to explain writing dialogue, because Charlie and Ria have frequent arguments in my head - most of them don't end up on paper. Ria's playing her cards close to her chest, so I don't suppose she'll enlighten us about her family problems for a few chapters - the emotional wound is pretty hefty. And Bill and Charlie will survive with minimum bloodshed - none of them will die in this fic, at least.
Lone astronomer - LOL Don't you always love other peoples characters more than your own? I love your Charlie! I need Lion and the Unicorn fixes regularly. And Charlie in the kitchen… well, he's been a bachelor for so long, I thought he'd have to learn to cook at some point, especially as Ri clearly can't. You're a C/R shipper - join the club, that takes membership up to about 5, I think. I won't say which Weasley I support, though. Aidan is…well, I don't like him. Ria will have to spill at some point - the question is when?
Moey - You have no idea how much time I have spent working out the logistics of the dragon reserve - I gave up the floor plan when I realised just how many nations were involved (it wouldn't fit on a sheet of A4) - I do, however, have a map plotting the route from Romania to Egypt for Ria, and a world map with the various magical creatures in their home countries. The Hermione in me had a field day! You think it's tangled now? I'm only just getting started.
Thanks to y'all for reviewing - Chapter 5 will be along as soon as I've finished Chapter 6 (there is logic in that statement, honestly