Spiritus aduro
1.1 Part VII
Charlie missed Ria. She'd been gone for the grand total of four days, but he missed her. It was strange, really - when she spent the odd week with her family he hardly noticed her absence, but now the empty seat at the breakfast table was painfully obvious.
"She is coming back, you know," Merri informed him, as he played with a bowl of Cornflakes.
"Whatever made you think I thought she wasn't?" Charlie demanded.
"Oh, come off it Charlie, you've had a face like a wet weekend ever since Ria and the girls left. Anyone would think you'd had your left arm cut off."
"Not true."
"I beg to differ. And I know for a fact that if Ri were here she would -" but Charlie didn't find out whatever it was that Ria would do, for at that point Ezara nudged Merri gently with her nose, and nearly poked the poor girl's eye out. "What is it, Ez?" Merri demanded, fielding off another prod. The little unicorn looked towards the window, her lilac eyes bright with intelligence.
"It's an owl, Merri," Charlie said, following Ezara's gaze. "It can't get in. The window's closed."
"Merlin only knows why, Charlie! It's worse in here than in any of Professor Sprout's greenhouses!" She got up and released the catch, allowing both the owl and a refreshing breeze to enter the room. The owl deposited a piece of parchment in front of Charlie, ruffled its feathers, and left.
"That was a wizigram owl," he told Merri, at the same time wondering who would send him such a thing. They were practically obsolete nowadays, only used in dire circumstances when a normal owl just wouldn't arrive in time.
"What does it say?" she demanded, looking concerned. Charlie unfolded the parchment slowly, a sense of foreboding descending on him.
"'RIA LOST IN PYRAMID STOP NEED HELP STOP COME AS SOON AS YOU CAN STOP LOVE BILL'"
"At the risk of sounding incredibly stupid, how on earth did Ria manage to get lost in a pyramid?" Merri demanded.
"I have absolutely no idea," Charlie replied. "But I swear, if anything happens to her."
"You'll what? Curse Bill? How's that going to help?"
"She's stuck in a bloody pyramid! Where's my bag?"
"I have no idea.Charlie! CHARLIE! What are you doing?" Charlie had dashed off in search of his travelling bag, and was throwing sundry items into it in a frenzy.
"What does it look like I'm doing? Bill wants help, and he's damned well going to get it. Have you any idea how dangerous the Ancient Egyptians were? Where's my broom?"
"You're flying?" Merri had clearly never heard anything more insane in her life.
"No, I want to sweep the floor. Of course I'm flying! It's the quickest way to get to Egypt."
"What about Apparating?"
"I'll spend Merlin knows how many hours waiting at customs points if I Apparate, and you know it!"
"It will still be quicker than flying, Charlie. If you fly then you're not likely to get there for at least a day; a broom just can't go fast enough to be more efficient than Apparition."
"It can." Charlie saw Merri open her mouth to protest, but continued before she had a chance to. "There's a charm you can use. It's a bit dodgy sometimes, which is why it isn't used very often, but if I use it then I can be there in about eight hours. I could spend that time waiting at the Romanian customs point, and you know it."
"Dodgy?" Merri asked suspiciously. "How dodgy? Splinching yourself is not going to help the situation."
"I'll be fine, and anyway, splinching is related to Apparating and Disapparating. Don't fuss, Merri."
"You're really going to do this?" Charlie shot her a withering look. "Well good luck, then," she continued. "I'll tell Jon where you've gone."
"Thanks."
* * * *
Unlike most wizards, Charlie was rather fond of long distance flying. As a child it was something that he had longed for, but his mother had banned them from straying out of the back garden for as long as Voldemort had been terrorising the wizarding world. It was one of the reasons that Charlie really, really wanted to give the Dark Lord a punch. Of course, a punch would have very little effect on someone of his power, but it would make Charlie feel a lot better.
Thankfully, Harry Potter had vanquished Voldemort when Charlie was thirteen and in his third year at Hogwarts, although Merri wasn't convinced of this fact, and Charlie was beginning to doubt it too, after the letter that Percy had sent him. He had written to Ron in the hope of getting a first hand account, but all Ron would say was that Professor Dumbledore had made them promise that they wouldn't tell anyone what had happened. Right now, though, Ron was the least of his worries, and even the intense anxiety he felt for Ria subsided somewhat as the wind ruffled his hair, and the air currents supported him. There was nothing quite like flying to take your mind off of your problems.
* * * *
It was strange how quickly you became close to someone, Charlie reflected. He'd known Ria for nearly four years now, but it felt like forever. She was like his other sister; the sister that teased him about his romantic problems, laughed over shared jokes and commiserated with him when things went wrong. The bubbling melody of her laughter was as familiar to him as his own, and he couldn't picture life without her, even if she couldn't cook for toffee. He remembered the first time he had met her.
"Excuse me?" a small hand had tapped him on the shoulder.
"Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for a Charlie Weasley.?" He'd turned round to get his first look at those dark blue eyes that seemed to draw a second glance, even now. They had been worried-looking that day, murky pools of anxiety. At the time he hadn't realised how they would sharpen when she was irritated or amused, and sparkle when she was teasing.
"That would be me," he'd responded, and she had smiled at him, tentatively.
"I'm Ariadne Rutherford. I've been told that you'll show me the ropes." He'd viewed it as a chore at the time. Usually Jon would take care of any new personnel, but Jon had been busy that week, and for some reason had chosen Charlie to deputise for him. Charlie had never thanked him for that particular favour. Back then Ria had been a complete enigma. She was eighteen years old, and there was an impenetrable sadness in her eyes that had intrigued him. They had been practically inseparable for her first week - she had been learning the ropes and leaned heavily on him for guidance, and strangely her dependency had not bothered him. In that week he learnt that she had a wicked sense of humour, and there were certain topics that you simply didn't broach with her. Over the years she had divulged some of her secrets, but she still played her cards very close to her chest, and Charlie had long since learnt better than to question her in matters of the heart. Bill was the first boyfriend she had had since she had met him, and Charlie couldn't help but wonder whether one of her reasons for choosing his brother had been the detachment of a long distance relationship. He knew better than to suggest this to Ria though. There were definitely some mouldy skeletons in that particular cupboard.
They had bought their house a year and a half ago. Ria, daughter of a nobleman, had never been overly enamoured with the accommodation provided by those in charge of the reserve, and over the years Charlie had learnt that the flats and huts that they offered made for very little privacy. They had clubbed together and their current living arrangements were the result. Ria was, for all intents and purposes, his Romanian family, and he was damned if a pyramid would take her away from him.
* * * *
A very agitated looking young man greeted Charlie when he arrived at Bill's 'house'. Privately Charlie thought that 'house' was a bit rich. It definitely looked like a tent from where he was standing.
"You must be Charlie," the dark haired man greeted him.
"Who's asking?" he demanded, warily. Bill had told him that there were some unsavoury characters in Egypt, and he had every intention of making it back in one piece.
"Tom Kettleworth. I work with Bill."
"So you'll know about Ria, then?"
"I know that we've lost her, yes." Charlie fought to keep control of his temper.
"Well you'd better un-lose her then, hadn't you!" he responded, through gritted teeth.
"Steady on!" Tom said, raising his hands in protest. "I want to find her as much as you do!"
"I doubt that highly," Charlie snarled.
"Look, mate," a dangerous note had crept into Tom's tone. "My niece is distraught because we can't find her favourite auntie. I do not want to waste my time arguing about who wants to find Ria more when we could be doing a lot more good if we actually were looking for her." Reluctantly, Charlie had to concede that the man had a point.
"Where's Bill?" he asked, more courteously.
"Looking for Ri," came the curt reply. "I expect you need feeding. Elsie should have something ready, and then we can join Bill and Katie."
"Just how long has she been missing?" Charlie asked, suspiciously.
"Three days."
"Three days? Is that even legal?" Tom raised his eyebrows at Charlie. "Sorry, sorry. She's like my little sister, you know. I get overprotective sometimes."
"I noticed," the dark haired man said dryly. "Hurry up and eat that food, will you? Livvy and Claire are beginning to suspect that this is serious, and I really don't want to ruin the poor kids' holiday any more than is absolutely necessary." Charlie tucked into the plate of food in front of him, even though he had very little real appetite for anything.
"What about Ria?" he demanded. "She won't have any food or water."
"She had their picnic hamper. She'll be okay for nourishment. It's the curses that we're worried about."
"Thanks for the reassurance," Charlie replied, clearing the plate and ignoring the distasteful glances that the girl who served the food was sending in his direction. "Can we please go now?"
"Certainly."
* * * *
"Tom!" a pretty young woman exclaimed when they arrived at a pretty average- looking pyramid. "And you must be Charlie! I'm Katie. Bill's still poking about in there like a lunatic, but I thought I'd better wait to feed you his instructions. Charlie, you're to stick with Tom. It's better to be in twos when dealing with Egyptian relics, believe me. Now, we know that she's definitely not in certain places, so we're focusing on the unexplored areas. The problem with this is that they are, as I say, unexplored, and therefore new to us as well. It slows us down somewhat because you never know what curses you might come across. This particular pharaoh wasn't too bad, but in some pyramids you have to watch every single step you take, and I think one person lost in a pyramid is quite enough without having to worry about getting any others to medical aid. Do as Tom tells you at all times. This is not the place for amateur heroics. Having said that, we need to be as fast as possible. There's no guarantee that Ria is staying still, and if she's moving then she's making finding her an awful lot more difficult. Although, after three days in a place like this she's probably too tired to. At times like these I really wish we had enchanted maps of every pyramid we've explored. Having said that, I'm not sure I want to know what goes on in some of these places. We rendezvous at eight this evening. I hope you're fully rested, Charlie, because this could be pretty exhausting for you. Of course, you work with dragons, so I suppose you're used to hard work. Off you go, boys!" Katie winked at Charlie, causing him to look at her like she was mad. Didn't she know that this was not the time to be flirting? He kept as close to Tom as he could. It wasn't that the pyramid scared him, more that he didn't want to be splayed on the floor when they eventually got Ria out of here.
"Do you think she'd yell?" Tom asked as they tentatively walked down a passageway.
"You what?"
"You know, shout? Do you think Ria would? You know her better than I do."
"Probably not," Charlie said, thinking about it. "She's not stupid, and this pyramid is rather large. There's no guarantee that we'd be able to hear her, or that the roof wouldn't cave in, or something. Those Egyptians were mad."
"So how long have you known Ria, then?" Tom asked. Charlie found it rather disconcerting that he thought this was an appropriate time for small talk, but as they were actually doing something to help his friend this time, he answered the question anyway.
"Four years. We live together."
"But she's seeing your brother."
"Is there a problem with that?"
"There would be if she was seeing my brother."
"Unless I misheard you earlier, your brother is married to her sister, so it wouldn't happen."
"Don't count on it. Geoff and I are only half-brothers. Same father different mothers. Geoff can't stand Ma though - she also happens to be his aunt. She and Pa had an affair while Pa was still married to Aunt Fernella."
"That's awful!" Charlie was genuinely shocked. How could sisters do that to each other?
"It's not that bad. Pa reckons he was always in love with Ma, but my Grandfather insisted that he marry Aunt Fernella, and Geoff was the product of that relationship. But love is love, or so Ma says, so they did what they had to. Of course, they were ostracised from society when it all came out. According to some of the old biddies he got Ma pregnant while he was still married to Aunt Fernella, but no one's ever been able to prove that. Anyway, when Aunt Fernella died they got married and had me, but Geoff despises Ma. Can't say I blame him, to be honest. He and I get on well enough." Charlie was shocked that a virtual stranger would tell him so much about his family history. On the other hand, it was an interesting story. Twisted, but interesting.
"What's that?" Charlie demanded, a white flash catching his eye. On further inspection they discovered it was Ria's handkerchief.
"She's clever, you've got to give her that. We're obviously going in the right direction. I didn't realise that people still carried handkerchiefs in this day and age, though."
"Her father is an aristocrat. Obviously the upper classes have some habits that the rest of us view as inane," Charlie responded. Tom laughed.
"Have you ever met Alex Rutherford?" he asked.
"No, why?"
"Because I have, and anyone less like an aristocrat is hard to come across."
"Look, let's not complain if one of Ria's quirks helps us to find her, okay?" Charlie said, fed up of this virtual stranger laughing at him.
"Where's your sense of humour? We will find her, you know. It's more than our lives are worth not to."
* * * *
Ria definitely wasn't stupid, Charlie reflected, two hours later. At odd intervals she had left little trinkets - nothing valuable, but things that were instantly recognisable as hers - to guide them to wherever it was she ended up. Charlie wasn't sure whether she was the brightest, though. After all, why hadn't she just stopped and waited for them to find her? Then he realised that the narrow passage they were walking down was hardly suitable for sleeping in.
"Helloooo?" the call echoed around much as Charlie and Tom's footsteps did.
"RIA?" Charlie yelled. "RIA, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!?"
"No need to bring the roof down," Tom muttered. Charlie glared at him.
"Charlie?" came a distant voice. Charlie started, his heart thudding. It was her - the voice was as faint as a whisper on the wind but he would recognise it anywhere. He clutched Tom's arm, gesturing at him to stand still and be quiet.
"Ria," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Look, Ri, we're trying to find you."
"Charlie." Her voice reminded him of a very small Ginny after she had had a nightmare. "I'm scared." That she would admit fear was indication enough of her state of mind. This was the same woman that braved fire- breathing dragons without batting an eyelid. Ria was no longer Ria. She was alone and defenceless, like a frightened child who needed his help. An age-old instinct to protect his loved ones raced through his veins more powerful than anything he had ever experienced. He had to get to her. He began to run. He knew he could find her. Somehow he instinctively knew where she was. Her admission of fear was all it took. His feet pounded against the stone floor. Dimly he was aware of Tom yelling at him to wait. He didn't care. He came to an abrupt halt on rounding a corner and walking headlong into a sphinx. It took all he had not to explode.
"Dammit, move! MOVE!" he yelled, completely forgetting all that he had learnt about sphinxes in those long ago Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons.
"Charlie!" Ria screamed. Charlie was dimly aware of Tom breathing heavily at his side.
"You.you.have a.riddle?" Tom panted.
"Yes, traveller.
Often I go to war with the waves and fight against the wind.
I fight against both of them when I'm buried by the foam and go to seek the earth.
If I stay still then I am mighty in the battle
If I flee from their pulling then I have failed
They want to carry off the thing that I keep safe.
I defeat them if my tail holds strong and if the stones of the earth hold me up firmly.
What is my name?" Charlie glared at the sphinx. Whose brilliant idea had it been to put the blasted creature there, anyway? He asked the creature to repeat the riddle several times so he could memorise it, but still no flash of brilliance came to him. He looked at Tom helplessly.
"Don't look at me. You're the Magical Creatures Man."
"You're supposed to deal with these things as part of your job, so do something!" Charlie said, barely restraining himself from throwing a punch at Tom. He was on edge with anxiety. Obviously his companion realised this.
"Give us a clue, eh?" Tom coaxed the creature. Charlie looked at him in astonishment. Not only had Katie been flirting with him at an inappropriate time earlier, Tom was now doing the same with the sphinx. Mr Kettleworth needed serious medical assistance.
"I am afraid that is impossible, traveller. My kind is bound by certain rules. I am allowed to help you only by reciting the riddle. I do not solve it. That is for you alone."
"Whatever floats your boat," Tom replied nonchalantly. Charlie, who had been feverishly wracking his brain, gave a sudden shout.
"Hey!" he yelled. "That's it! Boats!" Tom gave him a look that spoke volumes. Clearly he thought Charlie had lost it.
"You what?"
"Boats. Anchors. The answer is anchor."
"I won't ask how you know that," Tom said, shrugging. "If you want to be eaten then so be it. Try it."
"Think about it," said Charlie, feeling exceptionally brilliant. "'Often I go to war with the waves and fight against the wind.' It has to travel to the very bottom of the ocean, or whatever. 'If I flee from their pulling then I have failed'; if an anchor comes loose the boat will be lost. 'I defeat them if my tail holds strong and if the stones of the earth hold me up firmly'. It has to be anchor, it has to be." Tom nodded. "The answer is anchor," Charlie told the sphinx, confidently, and the large creature bowed to him before moving aside. Huddled up on the floor was a sight that caused Charlie's heart to leap. There she was, as white as a ghost with huge dark circles under her eyes.
"Charlie!" she exclaimed, and he was shocked to see tears running down her face as she threw herself into his arms, nearly knocking him over, not that he cared. She was safe. That was all that mattered. He held her tightly, muttering soothing words, words that meant nothing and everything. It was all okay. The nightmare was over. Tom just stood and watched as the two of them let out the emotions that had been building ever since Charlie had learnt of Ria's dilemma.
* * * *
The candlelight flickered, illuminating the faces around the table, the atmosphere was one of cosy togetherness, and the food was absolutely amazing. Charlie was thinking about stealing Elsie from Bill - Ria and Merri were admitted failures in the kitchen, and occasionally he missed simply having his food placed in front of him in the manner he had become accustomed to whilst living in Molly Weasley's care. Claire and Olivia had long since been put to bed after an emotional reunion with their aunt, and the four adults were enjoying a companionable meal. Ria was explaining just how it was that she had ended up incarcerated in a pyramid in the first place.
"So, anyway, after Bill had abandoned me-"
"I did not abandon you!" Bill protested.
"You did too! There I was, being all academic and actually trying to learn something, and I turned around and you'd gone and left me, taking my nieces with you, I hasten to add, so I thought I'd follow you."
"Right," Charlie began, assessing the situation as he saw it. "So, you were alone inside a pyramid, and you decided to go off exploring on the off chance that you might find Bill and the girls, and never mind that pyramids are dangerous places, and with every step you took you risked being blown to kingdom come."
"That's about it," Ria nodded cheerfully.
"Just checking."
"Now, where was I? Oh yes, so Bill had left me and I didn't want to lose Claire and Livvy - I know what Olivia is like, take your eye off her for ten minutes and you're likely to need a search party to find her again-"
"I wonder where she gets that particular trait from?" Charlie shot, sarcastically.
"I have no idea," Ria replied, innocently. "Obviously not wanting to lose my six year old niece in the big scary pyramid I decided to make my merry way to find her. I must have taken a wrong turning or something, and it didn't take me long to realise I didn't have a clue where I was. It didn't bother me all that much until I took a step forward and nearly ended up going to the little village in the sky. Those curses pack a good punch, I can tell you. I must have been hit by debris or something, because the next thing I knew I had a splitting headache and was half buried under a lovely pile of rubble, which, by the way, I moved by hand. Didn't dare move it by wand - who knew what other curses were placed on the joint. It was about then that I realised I was in a spot of bother-"
"And that's the understatement of the century," Bill interrupted. "Remind me never to take you on a sightseeing tour again."
"Oh, very funny," Ria shot back.
"Hush," Katie told Bill, imperiously. "Carry on, Ria, I'm listening."
"A spot of bother," Ria repeated, "but I thought it might be a good idea to move before the whole pyramid collapsed on me, so off I trotted. And I got a bit tired, and realised that if I kept moving all the time then it would be well nigh on impossible to find me, so I thought leaving strategically placed bits and bobs might give you a bit of a clue as to my whereabouts. Well, I would have stayed still at that point, but the passage was rather narrow and I didn't fancy my chances sleeping there, so I thought I'd try and find an anteroom. And I did, only then the sphinx appeared and I was stuck, which really didn't make my day. And eventually you found me." There was a short silence as Ria's audience absorbed her story. Charlie was the one to break it.
"Right. So, Ria, what have you learnt from this experience?" Ria gave him an angelic grin before replying.
"Next time I go exploring I'm taking a hard hat and my nail file. It gets boring when you're waiting for an heroic rescue." Charlie glared at he, before relenting as the room filled with infectious laughter.
* * * *
Charlie liked Katherine Bonniene. A lot. She was both pretty and intelligent, and she also seemed to like him. A lot. And he was flattered. It wasn't every day a woman of her calibre made him an offer, as she had done after dinner when they had left Ria and Bill to a lovey- dovey reunion. Actually, he didn't get many offers, full stop. Well, if he was honest he had a bit of a reputation at the reserve for being a love them and leave them kind of guy, which wasn't, strictly speaking, true. Unfortunately, those people who knew that it wasn't true also suspected that he held a secret candle for Ariadne, which also wasn't true. He liked Ria, certainly. He even loved her, but not in the way that they thought. No, Ria was definitely sister material. Katie, on the other hand, was relationship material. And Charlie was very tempted to take her up on her offer. Tempted, but not quite swayed. And as was the case in Romania, he went to Ria to discuss the situation, Ria being his relationship guru and never mind that she had the love life of a nun. Or had had the love life of a nun. He supposed that now she did have a love life, although from his perspective, Bill was as good as a convent if not better. But then, Bill was his brother so he was obliged to think that.
And so, there they were, Ria sitting with her knees under the bedclothes and drawn up under her chin, Charlie leaning against the footboard his eyes fixed on hers as she frowned thoughtfully.
"So, do you like her?" she prodded, gently.
"Ria!" he exclaimed.
"Okay, okay! You like her. Well that's a start, I suppose." There was a pause as Ria thought some more. "Charlie, when I've given you advice have you ever actually followed it?"
"No."
"Right. So would you mind explaining to me just why it is we go through this ritual every time you're interested in a girl, or she's interested in you?"
"Because it makes me feel better," he told her firmly. "Besides, that's your duty as my best friend. To listen to all my romantic problems, solve them, and then not say I told you so when I don't take your advice. Also, I like your bedroom more than mine, and those pyjamas suit you." Charlie ducked as Ria threw her pillow at him. "What? Now if you said something like that to me, I'd be flattered."
"Yes, Charlie, dear, you're missing the crucial point. I am not you, and I am not flattered by personal remarks. Kindly remember that I'm going out with your brother, would you?" Ria grinned at him. That was the real reason why he liked these little pep talks. They meant that he and Ria could throw insults at one another well on into the night, probably not come to a satisfactory conclusion, but at least each knew that the other was there for them.
"Right, so, Katie," Ria said, once more.
"Shhh!" Charlie hissed. "Not so loud! She'll hear you!"
"Ah, isn't that cute?" Ria smirked. "So what if she does. At least she knows that you're thinking about her."
"That makes me feel so much better," Charlie replied, dryly.
"Good, it was meant to. And would you mind moving to the left slightly, only you're a bit bony, and my feet are dead."
"Yes, your holiness." He did as she asked, and then looked at her expectantly. "So.? What do I do?"
"There are a number of options available to you," Ria began, primly, sounding a lot more like a bank manager than a dragon researcher. "A, you ask her out. The chances are that she'll say yes, because she's the one that's been making all the moves, not you. If she says no, well, then you don't need to worry any more, because she's not interested. And before you mention your ego, egos heal very quickly. Everything goes hunky-dory and eventually the two of you get married and give your mother the grandchildren she desperately longs for." It was Charlie's turn to throw the pillow.
"And what about you and Bill, may I ask?"
"Hey, who said anything about me having children?" Ria demanded. "I'd make an awful mother, and stop trying to change the subject. B, you ask Katie out. She says yes. You go on a date. You decide that she isn't the woman for you, and dump her. It hurts her, but in the long run it's less painful than waiting six months and then telling her that you never really loved her. You feel guilty for a while, but a few burns later and we're back where we started.
"C, you do nothing. And you spend the next six months worrying that you should have done something. In said six months you make my life hell, not to mention Merri's. We all wish you'd just asked the poor girl out, although really we think that if you're dithering this much you don't deserve her."
"So, in your expert opinion I should ask her out," Charlie concluded. "Marvellous. Where exactly am I supposed to take her, may I ask?"
"There I can't help you," Ria replied. "Ask Bill, he's the one who lives here. Presumably he knows where all the classy restaurants are."
"Ria, have you ever had romantic advice from my big brother?" Ria looked at him. "Okay, stupid question, my big brother is the one you need romantic advice on. Well, let me explain to you."
"Are you sure I want to hear this?" Ria interrupted. "I mean, I don't mind if your ego takes a battering, but mine is considerably more fragile."
"You'll survive, dear. Now, Bill's idea of romantic advice is to tease you relentlessly. And you never actually get anything useful out of him.come to think of it, the two of you have a lot in common. Only difference is, you're a lot prettier to look at."
"Charlie, you are awful!!" Ria exclaimed, laughing.
"Thank you, thank you. Ri, if you think I'm bad you should meet Fred and George."
"For goodness' sake, Charlie, just ask Katie out. If she says no then I promise I'll give you another one of these midnight counselling sessions. If she says yes I will still give you a midnight counselling session, and I will make your brother tell me just where there is a nice restaurant. If it will make you feel better, I will even make him take me to that restaurant on the night of your date."
"Okay, Ri, I have to draw the line somewhere. It was all sounding very healthy until you mentioned bringing my brother to my date. But you win. I'll ask Katie out. It can be a holiday romance type thing."
"I'm sure she'll really appreciate that," Ria said, wryly.
"I don't want or need a long distance relationship, Ria, and she should be free to check out any other nice guys that come this way. But if you could get Bill to recommend a nice place to take her, that would be excellent."
"You've got it, honey. She won't know what's hit her!" Ria grinned, and Charlie returned the smile. The girl was amazing.
"Charlie?"
"Hmmm?"
"How's your dancing?"
"Awful, why?"
"Because you may have to do some tangoing after dinner. But don't worry, my father is a nobleman. I could tango before I could walk. I'll throw in dancing lessons."
"Excellent. Ria?"
"Hmmm?"
"What is this?" Charlie demanded, pulling a stuffed toy out from underneath him.
"That? I believe it's Blinky."
"Who or what is Blinky?"
"Blinky is Claire's favourite teddy. She's left him here to guard me. She thinks if nothing is here looking after me then I won't be here in the morning. I didn't have the heart to refuse after the speech she gave me. Besides, her baby blues are irresistible."
"Poor kid. I get the feeling she missed you."
"Charlie, she's five years old and the only thing familiar to her here disappeared for three days. I think we can fairly safely say that she was more than a little scared. At least Livvy had Tom."
"Tom is one weird guy, Ri. He reminds me of someone, though. Something about his eyes."
"They're the same shape and colour as Livvy's, dear," Ria informed him.
"No - hers are the same as.yours. Ria! Tom looks like you!"
"He does not!"
"He is the spitting image of you."
"He's a man. He can't possibly be the spitting image of me."
"Don't split hairs, Ria, I'm serious. Thomas Kettleworth is a dead ringer for you."
"Charlie, it's late and you're tired and overwrought. Why don't you go to bed and worry about who and what I look like in the morning?"
"Deny it all you like, it's true."
"Charlie." Charlie got the feeling that Ria wasn't going to accept his observation just yet so he said good night and took himself to his own room. But he was right, he knew he was. Ariadne Rutherford and Thomas Kettleworth were in some way related, he'd bet a month's earnings on it.
1.1 Part VII
Charlie missed Ria. She'd been gone for the grand total of four days, but he missed her. It was strange, really - when she spent the odd week with her family he hardly noticed her absence, but now the empty seat at the breakfast table was painfully obvious.
"She is coming back, you know," Merri informed him, as he played with a bowl of Cornflakes.
"Whatever made you think I thought she wasn't?" Charlie demanded.
"Oh, come off it Charlie, you've had a face like a wet weekend ever since Ria and the girls left. Anyone would think you'd had your left arm cut off."
"Not true."
"I beg to differ. And I know for a fact that if Ri were here she would -" but Charlie didn't find out whatever it was that Ria would do, for at that point Ezara nudged Merri gently with her nose, and nearly poked the poor girl's eye out. "What is it, Ez?" Merri demanded, fielding off another prod. The little unicorn looked towards the window, her lilac eyes bright with intelligence.
"It's an owl, Merri," Charlie said, following Ezara's gaze. "It can't get in. The window's closed."
"Merlin only knows why, Charlie! It's worse in here than in any of Professor Sprout's greenhouses!" She got up and released the catch, allowing both the owl and a refreshing breeze to enter the room. The owl deposited a piece of parchment in front of Charlie, ruffled its feathers, and left.
"That was a wizigram owl," he told Merri, at the same time wondering who would send him such a thing. They were practically obsolete nowadays, only used in dire circumstances when a normal owl just wouldn't arrive in time.
"What does it say?" she demanded, looking concerned. Charlie unfolded the parchment slowly, a sense of foreboding descending on him.
"'RIA LOST IN PYRAMID STOP NEED HELP STOP COME AS SOON AS YOU CAN STOP LOVE BILL'"
"At the risk of sounding incredibly stupid, how on earth did Ria manage to get lost in a pyramid?" Merri demanded.
"I have absolutely no idea," Charlie replied. "But I swear, if anything happens to her."
"You'll what? Curse Bill? How's that going to help?"
"She's stuck in a bloody pyramid! Where's my bag?"
"I have no idea.Charlie! CHARLIE! What are you doing?" Charlie had dashed off in search of his travelling bag, and was throwing sundry items into it in a frenzy.
"What does it look like I'm doing? Bill wants help, and he's damned well going to get it. Have you any idea how dangerous the Ancient Egyptians were? Where's my broom?"
"You're flying?" Merri had clearly never heard anything more insane in her life.
"No, I want to sweep the floor. Of course I'm flying! It's the quickest way to get to Egypt."
"What about Apparating?"
"I'll spend Merlin knows how many hours waiting at customs points if I Apparate, and you know it!"
"It will still be quicker than flying, Charlie. If you fly then you're not likely to get there for at least a day; a broom just can't go fast enough to be more efficient than Apparition."
"It can." Charlie saw Merri open her mouth to protest, but continued before she had a chance to. "There's a charm you can use. It's a bit dodgy sometimes, which is why it isn't used very often, but if I use it then I can be there in about eight hours. I could spend that time waiting at the Romanian customs point, and you know it."
"Dodgy?" Merri asked suspiciously. "How dodgy? Splinching yourself is not going to help the situation."
"I'll be fine, and anyway, splinching is related to Apparating and Disapparating. Don't fuss, Merri."
"You're really going to do this?" Charlie shot her a withering look. "Well good luck, then," she continued. "I'll tell Jon where you've gone."
"Thanks."
* * * *
Unlike most wizards, Charlie was rather fond of long distance flying. As a child it was something that he had longed for, but his mother had banned them from straying out of the back garden for as long as Voldemort had been terrorising the wizarding world. It was one of the reasons that Charlie really, really wanted to give the Dark Lord a punch. Of course, a punch would have very little effect on someone of his power, but it would make Charlie feel a lot better.
Thankfully, Harry Potter had vanquished Voldemort when Charlie was thirteen and in his third year at Hogwarts, although Merri wasn't convinced of this fact, and Charlie was beginning to doubt it too, after the letter that Percy had sent him. He had written to Ron in the hope of getting a first hand account, but all Ron would say was that Professor Dumbledore had made them promise that they wouldn't tell anyone what had happened. Right now, though, Ron was the least of his worries, and even the intense anxiety he felt for Ria subsided somewhat as the wind ruffled his hair, and the air currents supported him. There was nothing quite like flying to take your mind off of your problems.
* * * *
It was strange how quickly you became close to someone, Charlie reflected. He'd known Ria for nearly four years now, but it felt like forever. She was like his other sister; the sister that teased him about his romantic problems, laughed over shared jokes and commiserated with him when things went wrong. The bubbling melody of her laughter was as familiar to him as his own, and he couldn't picture life without her, even if she couldn't cook for toffee. He remembered the first time he had met her.
"Excuse me?" a small hand had tapped him on the shoulder.
"Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for a Charlie Weasley.?" He'd turned round to get his first look at those dark blue eyes that seemed to draw a second glance, even now. They had been worried-looking that day, murky pools of anxiety. At the time he hadn't realised how they would sharpen when she was irritated or amused, and sparkle when she was teasing.
"That would be me," he'd responded, and she had smiled at him, tentatively.
"I'm Ariadne Rutherford. I've been told that you'll show me the ropes." He'd viewed it as a chore at the time. Usually Jon would take care of any new personnel, but Jon had been busy that week, and for some reason had chosen Charlie to deputise for him. Charlie had never thanked him for that particular favour. Back then Ria had been a complete enigma. She was eighteen years old, and there was an impenetrable sadness in her eyes that had intrigued him. They had been practically inseparable for her first week - she had been learning the ropes and leaned heavily on him for guidance, and strangely her dependency had not bothered him. In that week he learnt that she had a wicked sense of humour, and there were certain topics that you simply didn't broach with her. Over the years she had divulged some of her secrets, but she still played her cards very close to her chest, and Charlie had long since learnt better than to question her in matters of the heart. Bill was the first boyfriend she had had since she had met him, and Charlie couldn't help but wonder whether one of her reasons for choosing his brother had been the detachment of a long distance relationship. He knew better than to suggest this to Ria though. There were definitely some mouldy skeletons in that particular cupboard.
They had bought their house a year and a half ago. Ria, daughter of a nobleman, had never been overly enamoured with the accommodation provided by those in charge of the reserve, and over the years Charlie had learnt that the flats and huts that they offered made for very little privacy. They had clubbed together and their current living arrangements were the result. Ria was, for all intents and purposes, his Romanian family, and he was damned if a pyramid would take her away from him.
* * * *
A very agitated looking young man greeted Charlie when he arrived at Bill's 'house'. Privately Charlie thought that 'house' was a bit rich. It definitely looked like a tent from where he was standing.
"You must be Charlie," the dark haired man greeted him.
"Who's asking?" he demanded, warily. Bill had told him that there were some unsavoury characters in Egypt, and he had every intention of making it back in one piece.
"Tom Kettleworth. I work with Bill."
"So you'll know about Ria, then?"
"I know that we've lost her, yes." Charlie fought to keep control of his temper.
"Well you'd better un-lose her then, hadn't you!" he responded, through gritted teeth.
"Steady on!" Tom said, raising his hands in protest. "I want to find her as much as you do!"
"I doubt that highly," Charlie snarled.
"Look, mate," a dangerous note had crept into Tom's tone. "My niece is distraught because we can't find her favourite auntie. I do not want to waste my time arguing about who wants to find Ria more when we could be doing a lot more good if we actually were looking for her." Reluctantly, Charlie had to concede that the man had a point.
"Where's Bill?" he asked, more courteously.
"Looking for Ri," came the curt reply. "I expect you need feeding. Elsie should have something ready, and then we can join Bill and Katie."
"Just how long has she been missing?" Charlie asked, suspiciously.
"Three days."
"Three days? Is that even legal?" Tom raised his eyebrows at Charlie. "Sorry, sorry. She's like my little sister, you know. I get overprotective sometimes."
"I noticed," the dark haired man said dryly. "Hurry up and eat that food, will you? Livvy and Claire are beginning to suspect that this is serious, and I really don't want to ruin the poor kids' holiday any more than is absolutely necessary." Charlie tucked into the plate of food in front of him, even though he had very little real appetite for anything.
"What about Ria?" he demanded. "She won't have any food or water."
"She had their picnic hamper. She'll be okay for nourishment. It's the curses that we're worried about."
"Thanks for the reassurance," Charlie replied, clearing the plate and ignoring the distasteful glances that the girl who served the food was sending in his direction. "Can we please go now?"
"Certainly."
* * * *
"Tom!" a pretty young woman exclaimed when they arrived at a pretty average- looking pyramid. "And you must be Charlie! I'm Katie. Bill's still poking about in there like a lunatic, but I thought I'd better wait to feed you his instructions. Charlie, you're to stick with Tom. It's better to be in twos when dealing with Egyptian relics, believe me. Now, we know that she's definitely not in certain places, so we're focusing on the unexplored areas. The problem with this is that they are, as I say, unexplored, and therefore new to us as well. It slows us down somewhat because you never know what curses you might come across. This particular pharaoh wasn't too bad, but in some pyramids you have to watch every single step you take, and I think one person lost in a pyramid is quite enough without having to worry about getting any others to medical aid. Do as Tom tells you at all times. This is not the place for amateur heroics. Having said that, we need to be as fast as possible. There's no guarantee that Ria is staying still, and if she's moving then she's making finding her an awful lot more difficult. Although, after three days in a place like this she's probably too tired to. At times like these I really wish we had enchanted maps of every pyramid we've explored. Having said that, I'm not sure I want to know what goes on in some of these places. We rendezvous at eight this evening. I hope you're fully rested, Charlie, because this could be pretty exhausting for you. Of course, you work with dragons, so I suppose you're used to hard work. Off you go, boys!" Katie winked at Charlie, causing him to look at her like she was mad. Didn't she know that this was not the time to be flirting? He kept as close to Tom as he could. It wasn't that the pyramid scared him, more that he didn't want to be splayed on the floor when they eventually got Ria out of here.
"Do you think she'd yell?" Tom asked as they tentatively walked down a passageway.
"You what?"
"You know, shout? Do you think Ria would? You know her better than I do."
"Probably not," Charlie said, thinking about it. "She's not stupid, and this pyramid is rather large. There's no guarantee that we'd be able to hear her, or that the roof wouldn't cave in, or something. Those Egyptians were mad."
"So how long have you known Ria, then?" Tom asked. Charlie found it rather disconcerting that he thought this was an appropriate time for small talk, but as they were actually doing something to help his friend this time, he answered the question anyway.
"Four years. We live together."
"But she's seeing your brother."
"Is there a problem with that?"
"There would be if she was seeing my brother."
"Unless I misheard you earlier, your brother is married to her sister, so it wouldn't happen."
"Don't count on it. Geoff and I are only half-brothers. Same father different mothers. Geoff can't stand Ma though - she also happens to be his aunt. She and Pa had an affair while Pa was still married to Aunt Fernella."
"That's awful!" Charlie was genuinely shocked. How could sisters do that to each other?
"It's not that bad. Pa reckons he was always in love with Ma, but my Grandfather insisted that he marry Aunt Fernella, and Geoff was the product of that relationship. But love is love, or so Ma says, so they did what they had to. Of course, they were ostracised from society when it all came out. According to some of the old biddies he got Ma pregnant while he was still married to Aunt Fernella, but no one's ever been able to prove that. Anyway, when Aunt Fernella died they got married and had me, but Geoff despises Ma. Can't say I blame him, to be honest. He and I get on well enough." Charlie was shocked that a virtual stranger would tell him so much about his family history. On the other hand, it was an interesting story. Twisted, but interesting.
"What's that?" Charlie demanded, a white flash catching his eye. On further inspection they discovered it was Ria's handkerchief.
"She's clever, you've got to give her that. We're obviously going in the right direction. I didn't realise that people still carried handkerchiefs in this day and age, though."
"Her father is an aristocrat. Obviously the upper classes have some habits that the rest of us view as inane," Charlie responded. Tom laughed.
"Have you ever met Alex Rutherford?" he asked.
"No, why?"
"Because I have, and anyone less like an aristocrat is hard to come across."
"Look, let's not complain if one of Ria's quirks helps us to find her, okay?" Charlie said, fed up of this virtual stranger laughing at him.
"Where's your sense of humour? We will find her, you know. It's more than our lives are worth not to."
* * * *
Ria definitely wasn't stupid, Charlie reflected, two hours later. At odd intervals she had left little trinkets - nothing valuable, but things that were instantly recognisable as hers - to guide them to wherever it was she ended up. Charlie wasn't sure whether she was the brightest, though. After all, why hadn't she just stopped and waited for them to find her? Then he realised that the narrow passage they were walking down was hardly suitable for sleeping in.
"Helloooo?" the call echoed around much as Charlie and Tom's footsteps did.
"RIA?" Charlie yelled. "RIA, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!?"
"No need to bring the roof down," Tom muttered. Charlie glared at him.
"Charlie?" came a distant voice. Charlie started, his heart thudding. It was her - the voice was as faint as a whisper on the wind but he would recognise it anywhere. He clutched Tom's arm, gesturing at him to stand still and be quiet.
"Ria," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Look, Ri, we're trying to find you."
"Charlie." Her voice reminded him of a very small Ginny after she had had a nightmare. "I'm scared." That she would admit fear was indication enough of her state of mind. This was the same woman that braved fire- breathing dragons without batting an eyelid. Ria was no longer Ria. She was alone and defenceless, like a frightened child who needed his help. An age-old instinct to protect his loved ones raced through his veins more powerful than anything he had ever experienced. He had to get to her. He began to run. He knew he could find her. Somehow he instinctively knew where she was. Her admission of fear was all it took. His feet pounded against the stone floor. Dimly he was aware of Tom yelling at him to wait. He didn't care. He came to an abrupt halt on rounding a corner and walking headlong into a sphinx. It took all he had not to explode.
"Dammit, move! MOVE!" he yelled, completely forgetting all that he had learnt about sphinxes in those long ago Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons.
"Charlie!" Ria screamed. Charlie was dimly aware of Tom breathing heavily at his side.
"You.you.have a.riddle?" Tom panted.
"Yes, traveller.
Often I go to war with the waves and fight against the wind.
I fight against both of them when I'm buried by the foam and go to seek the earth.
If I stay still then I am mighty in the battle
If I flee from their pulling then I have failed
They want to carry off the thing that I keep safe.
I defeat them if my tail holds strong and if the stones of the earth hold me up firmly.
What is my name?" Charlie glared at the sphinx. Whose brilliant idea had it been to put the blasted creature there, anyway? He asked the creature to repeat the riddle several times so he could memorise it, but still no flash of brilliance came to him. He looked at Tom helplessly.
"Don't look at me. You're the Magical Creatures Man."
"You're supposed to deal with these things as part of your job, so do something!" Charlie said, barely restraining himself from throwing a punch at Tom. He was on edge with anxiety. Obviously his companion realised this.
"Give us a clue, eh?" Tom coaxed the creature. Charlie looked at him in astonishment. Not only had Katie been flirting with him at an inappropriate time earlier, Tom was now doing the same with the sphinx. Mr Kettleworth needed serious medical assistance.
"I am afraid that is impossible, traveller. My kind is bound by certain rules. I am allowed to help you only by reciting the riddle. I do not solve it. That is for you alone."
"Whatever floats your boat," Tom replied nonchalantly. Charlie, who had been feverishly wracking his brain, gave a sudden shout.
"Hey!" he yelled. "That's it! Boats!" Tom gave him a look that spoke volumes. Clearly he thought Charlie had lost it.
"You what?"
"Boats. Anchors. The answer is anchor."
"I won't ask how you know that," Tom said, shrugging. "If you want to be eaten then so be it. Try it."
"Think about it," said Charlie, feeling exceptionally brilliant. "'Often I go to war with the waves and fight against the wind.' It has to travel to the very bottom of the ocean, or whatever. 'If I flee from their pulling then I have failed'; if an anchor comes loose the boat will be lost. 'I defeat them if my tail holds strong and if the stones of the earth hold me up firmly'. It has to be anchor, it has to be." Tom nodded. "The answer is anchor," Charlie told the sphinx, confidently, and the large creature bowed to him before moving aside. Huddled up on the floor was a sight that caused Charlie's heart to leap. There she was, as white as a ghost with huge dark circles under her eyes.
"Charlie!" she exclaimed, and he was shocked to see tears running down her face as she threw herself into his arms, nearly knocking him over, not that he cared. She was safe. That was all that mattered. He held her tightly, muttering soothing words, words that meant nothing and everything. It was all okay. The nightmare was over. Tom just stood and watched as the two of them let out the emotions that had been building ever since Charlie had learnt of Ria's dilemma.
* * * *
The candlelight flickered, illuminating the faces around the table, the atmosphere was one of cosy togetherness, and the food was absolutely amazing. Charlie was thinking about stealing Elsie from Bill - Ria and Merri were admitted failures in the kitchen, and occasionally he missed simply having his food placed in front of him in the manner he had become accustomed to whilst living in Molly Weasley's care. Claire and Olivia had long since been put to bed after an emotional reunion with their aunt, and the four adults were enjoying a companionable meal. Ria was explaining just how it was that she had ended up incarcerated in a pyramid in the first place.
"So, anyway, after Bill had abandoned me-"
"I did not abandon you!" Bill protested.
"You did too! There I was, being all academic and actually trying to learn something, and I turned around and you'd gone and left me, taking my nieces with you, I hasten to add, so I thought I'd follow you."
"Right," Charlie began, assessing the situation as he saw it. "So, you were alone inside a pyramid, and you decided to go off exploring on the off chance that you might find Bill and the girls, and never mind that pyramids are dangerous places, and with every step you took you risked being blown to kingdom come."
"That's about it," Ria nodded cheerfully.
"Just checking."
"Now, where was I? Oh yes, so Bill had left me and I didn't want to lose Claire and Livvy - I know what Olivia is like, take your eye off her for ten minutes and you're likely to need a search party to find her again-"
"I wonder where she gets that particular trait from?" Charlie shot, sarcastically.
"I have no idea," Ria replied, innocently. "Obviously not wanting to lose my six year old niece in the big scary pyramid I decided to make my merry way to find her. I must have taken a wrong turning or something, and it didn't take me long to realise I didn't have a clue where I was. It didn't bother me all that much until I took a step forward and nearly ended up going to the little village in the sky. Those curses pack a good punch, I can tell you. I must have been hit by debris or something, because the next thing I knew I had a splitting headache and was half buried under a lovely pile of rubble, which, by the way, I moved by hand. Didn't dare move it by wand - who knew what other curses were placed on the joint. It was about then that I realised I was in a spot of bother-"
"And that's the understatement of the century," Bill interrupted. "Remind me never to take you on a sightseeing tour again."
"Oh, very funny," Ria shot back.
"Hush," Katie told Bill, imperiously. "Carry on, Ria, I'm listening."
"A spot of bother," Ria repeated, "but I thought it might be a good idea to move before the whole pyramid collapsed on me, so off I trotted. And I got a bit tired, and realised that if I kept moving all the time then it would be well nigh on impossible to find me, so I thought leaving strategically placed bits and bobs might give you a bit of a clue as to my whereabouts. Well, I would have stayed still at that point, but the passage was rather narrow and I didn't fancy my chances sleeping there, so I thought I'd try and find an anteroom. And I did, only then the sphinx appeared and I was stuck, which really didn't make my day. And eventually you found me." There was a short silence as Ria's audience absorbed her story. Charlie was the one to break it.
"Right. So, Ria, what have you learnt from this experience?" Ria gave him an angelic grin before replying.
"Next time I go exploring I'm taking a hard hat and my nail file. It gets boring when you're waiting for an heroic rescue." Charlie glared at he, before relenting as the room filled with infectious laughter.
* * * *
Charlie liked Katherine Bonniene. A lot. She was both pretty and intelligent, and she also seemed to like him. A lot. And he was flattered. It wasn't every day a woman of her calibre made him an offer, as she had done after dinner when they had left Ria and Bill to a lovey- dovey reunion. Actually, he didn't get many offers, full stop. Well, if he was honest he had a bit of a reputation at the reserve for being a love them and leave them kind of guy, which wasn't, strictly speaking, true. Unfortunately, those people who knew that it wasn't true also suspected that he held a secret candle for Ariadne, which also wasn't true. He liked Ria, certainly. He even loved her, but not in the way that they thought. No, Ria was definitely sister material. Katie, on the other hand, was relationship material. And Charlie was very tempted to take her up on her offer. Tempted, but not quite swayed. And as was the case in Romania, he went to Ria to discuss the situation, Ria being his relationship guru and never mind that she had the love life of a nun. Or had had the love life of a nun. He supposed that now she did have a love life, although from his perspective, Bill was as good as a convent if not better. But then, Bill was his brother so he was obliged to think that.
And so, there they were, Ria sitting with her knees under the bedclothes and drawn up under her chin, Charlie leaning against the footboard his eyes fixed on hers as she frowned thoughtfully.
"So, do you like her?" she prodded, gently.
"Ria!" he exclaimed.
"Okay, okay! You like her. Well that's a start, I suppose." There was a pause as Ria thought some more. "Charlie, when I've given you advice have you ever actually followed it?"
"No."
"Right. So would you mind explaining to me just why it is we go through this ritual every time you're interested in a girl, or she's interested in you?"
"Because it makes me feel better," he told her firmly. "Besides, that's your duty as my best friend. To listen to all my romantic problems, solve them, and then not say I told you so when I don't take your advice. Also, I like your bedroom more than mine, and those pyjamas suit you." Charlie ducked as Ria threw her pillow at him. "What? Now if you said something like that to me, I'd be flattered."
"Yes, Charlie, dear, you're missing the crucial point. I am not you, and I am not flattered by personal remarks. Kindly remember that I'm going out with your brother, would you?" Ria grinned at him. That was the real reason why he liked these little pep talks. They meant that he and Ria could throw insults at one another well on into the night, probably not come to a satisfactory conclusion, but at least each knew that the other was there for them.
"Right, so, Katie," Ria said, once more.
"Shhh!" Charlie hissed. "Not so loud! She'll hear you!"
"Ah, isn't that cute?" Ria smirked. "So what if she does. At least she knows that you're thinking about her."
"That makes me feel so much better," Charlie replied, dryly.
"Good, it was meant to. And would you mind moving to the left slightly, only you're a bit bony, and my feet are dead."
"Yes, your holiness." He did as she asked, and then looked at her expectantly. "So.? What do I do?"
"There are a number of options available to you," Ria began, primly, sounding a lot more like a bank manager than a dragon researcher. "A, you ask her out. The chances are that she'll say yes, because she's the one that's been making all the moves, not you. If she says no, well, then you don't need to worry any more, because she's not interested. And before you mention your ego, egos heal very quickly. Everything goes hunky-dory and eventually the two of you get married and give your mother the grandchildren she desperately longs for." It was Charlie's turn to throw the pillow.
"And what about you and Bill, may I ask?"
"Hey, who said anything about me having children?" Ria demanded. "I'd make an awful mother, and stop trying to change the subject. B, you ask Katie out. She says yes. You go on a date. You decide that she isn't the woman for you, and dump her. It hurts her, but in the long run it's less painful than waiting six months and then telling her that you never really loved her. You feel guilty for a while, but a few burns later and we're back where we started.
"C, you do nothing. And you spend the next six months worrying that you should have done something. In said six months you make my life hell, not to mention Merri's. We all wish you'd just asked the poor girl out, although really we think that if you're dithering this much you don't deserve her."
"So, in your expert opinion I should ask her out," Charlie concluded. "Marvellous. Where exactly am I supposed to take her, may I ask?"
"There I can't help you," Ria replied. "Ask Bill, he's the one who lives here. Presumably he knows where all the classy restaurants are."
"Ria, have you ever had romantic advice from my big brother?" Ria looked at him. "Okay, stupid question, my big brother is the one you need romantic advice on. Well, let me explain to you."
"Are you sure I want to hear this?" Ria interrupted. "I mean, I don't mind if your ego takes a battering, but mine is considerably more fragile."
"You'll survive, dear. Now, Bill's idea of romantic advice is to tease you relentlessly. And you never actually get anything useful out of him.come to think of it, the two of you have a lot in common. Only difference is, you're a lot prettier to look at."
"Charlie, you are awful!!" Ria exclaimed, laughing.
"Thank you, thank you. Ri, if you think I'm bad you should meet Fred and George."
"For goodness' sake, Charlie, just ask Katie out. If she says no then I promise I'll give you another one of these midnight counselling sessions. If she says yes I will still give you a midnight counselling session, and I will make your brother tell me just where there is a nice restaurant. If it will make you feel better, I will even make him take me to that restaurant on the night of your date."
"Okay, Ri, I have to draw the line somewhere. It was all sounding very healthy until you mentioned bringing my brother to my date. But you win. I'll ask Katie out. It can be a holiday romance type thing."
"I'm sure she'll really appreciate that," Ria said, wryly.
"I don't want or need a long distance relationship, Ria, and she should be free to check out any other nice guys that come this way. But if you could get Bill to recommend a nice place to take her, that would be excellent."
"You've got it, honey. She won't know what's hit her!" Ria grinned, and Charlie returned the smile. The girl was amazing.
"Charlie?"
"Hmmm?"
"How's your dancing?"
"Awful, why?"
"Because you may have to do some tangoing after dinner. But don't worry, my father is a nobleman. I could tango before I could walk. I'll throw in dancing lessons."
"Excellent. Ria?"
"Hmmm?"
"What is this?" Charlie demanded, pulling a stuffed toy out from underneath him.
"That? I believe it's Blinky."
"Who or what is Blinky?"
"Blinky is Claire's favourite teddy. She's left him here to guard me. She thinks if nothing is here looking after me then I won't be here in the morning. I didn't have the heart to refuse after the speech she gave me. Besides, her baby blues are irresistible."
"Poor kid. I get the feeling she missed you."
"Charlie, she's five years old and the only thing familiar to her here disappeared for three days. I think we can fairly safely say that she was more than a little scared. At least Livvy had Tom."
"Tom is one weird guy, Ri. He reminds me of someone, though. Something about his eyes."
"They're the same shape and colour as Livvy's, dear," Ria informed him.
"No - hers are the same as.yours. Ria! Tom looks like you!"
"He does not!"
"He is the spitting image of you."
"He's a man. He can't possibly be the spitting image of me."
"Don't split hairs, Ria, I'm serious. Thomas Kettleworth is a dead ringer for you."
"Charlie, it's late and you're tired and overwrought. Why don't you go to bed and worry about who and what I look like in the morning?"
"Deny it all you like, it's true."
"Charlie." Charlie got the feeling that Ria wasn't going to accept his observation just yet so he said good night and took himself to his own room. But he was right, he knew he was. Ariadne Rutherford and Thomas Kettleworth were in some way related, he'd bet a month's earnings on it.