Chapter Two: When You Say Nothing At All

It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word you can light up the dark
Try as I may I could never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing

Alison Krauss

The weekend could not come fast enough for Bill. It had been a while since he had seen his family, and he was anxious to do so. Not to mention, he would be spending more time catching up with Aysia, there were so many things he still wanted to talk to her about. He had forgotten how easy she was to talk to. He smiled as he remembered their talks from Hogwarts; they had talked about anything and everything. When he felt like his head was going to explode from studying, she was there to help him relax; when he was angry about something, she was there to listen as he blew off some steam; when he was ecstatic, she was there to share it with. But that was just the kind of person she was.

Bill was slightly relieved Fleur hadn't been able to join him this weekend. They planned on it, but at the last minute her mother owled her, telling her she should visit her family since her grandparents were visiting. Bill had been a little disappointed when she told him she was going home for the weekend, but she promised to visit his family and meet his old friend after she returned from France.

It was Friday afternoon, and he was supposed to meet Aysia, her sister, and her brother at The Blue Duck, so they could Apparate to the Burrow together. He glanced down at his watch and saw that it was a little after six o'clock. He looked back to the entrance of the café expectantly; she said they would be there by six fifteen that evening. Sure enough, not five seconds after he looked up, he saw her and her family enter the café.

He smiled when his eyes settled on Aysia. He liked the way she looked, which was very different from the way she looked at work. Her wavy chestnut hair was let down and it fell just below her collarbone. She was wearing cute two-piece top, the fist layer was a simple, white tank top and over it lay a pretty mauve on that was tied in the front and held together by two bows. She wore light blue jeans that flared slightly at the bottom with a par of simple black sandals. Her twin and brother, however, dressed differently.

Trinity wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a simple dark green shirt, which helped to emphasize her beautiful green eyes. She wore her long light brown hair in two loose braids that reached her elbows. Jaerrod dressed as every teenage boy would dress. He, like his sisters, wore dark jeans and a Ballycastle Bats tee shirt with a comfortable pair of trainers. He shared his sisters' green eyes, but had long curly hair that so chocolate in color it looked black.

Aysia left her overnight bag and her family by the front door and went over to greet Bill. She smiled and hugged him. "Hey, are you ready for this weekend?" she asked him as they walked over to her brother and sister.

"Yeah, I can't wait," he told her.

She turned to her siblings, ready to make the introductions. "Trin, I'm sure you remember Bill from Hogwarts." When Trinity nodded, she turned to her brother. "Jaerrod, this is Bill, the friend I've told you about and whose family we're visiting."

Bill stuck out his hand and Jaerrod shook it. Bill was impressed by the confidence in the younger man's grip and grinned at him. Jaerrod, who was thankful for some form of male companionship, grinned back.

"Right, shall we make our way to the Burrow then?" asked Aysia. The group nodded and picked up their bags. "Jaerrod, who would you like to Apparate there with?" she asked.

He glanced over to Bill, who noticed. "You could come with me, if you'd like," he offered and held out his arm.

"All right, then," he replied and took hold of Bill's arm. He looked over to Aysia and noticed Trinity taking hold of her arm. He remembered she had never been to the Burrow before, and thus it would be difficult for her to Apparate there. "Everyone ready?" Bill asked. When they all nodded he closed his eyes and imagined his childhood home. There was a loud pop, and the four of them were gone.

They arrived a few yards away from the Burrow a few seconds later. The home was at least six stories high and most obviously held together by magic. Aysia looked over at Bill with the biggest grin on her face, remembering the time she had stopped by for a brief visit before her move to France. She had ever so much fun with the Weasley family and regretted having to leave after only a full twenty-four hours.

When they reached the house they were greeted by Molly Weasley, who appeared to be the only one at home. She was a short, plump, kind looking witch, who had a motherly presence about her constantly, which she came by naturally after raising seven children. Her hair was as red as her children's and she shared the same blue eyes as her eldest son. She opened the front door with a look of happy surprise. "Oh, Bill, you're here! I've missed you so much, dear," she said and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. She released him with a smile. "I was sorry to get your note about Fleur, but excited when you told me about Aysia and her family coming," and with that she turned to Aysia.

"Thank you for the invitation, Mrs. Weasley," she said.

"I was happy to have you dear, you were always such a pleasant girl. And these are your siblings?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

Aysia turned to them. "Yes, this is my twin, Trinity, she was in our year, of course. I was sorted into Ravenclaw, but she was sorted into Hufflepuff. And this is my younger brother, Jaerrod, who is now Head Boy and in Gryffindor House," she explained.

"How lovely, make yourselves right a home, you two. Come on, dears, and I'll show you where you'll be sleeping." And with that she led them up stairs. Once they reached the second landing, she stopped by the first door on the right. "Now, Bill, you'll be in your old room with Charlie when he gets here." She continued to the third floor and stopped at the second door on the left. "I've prepared this room for you two girls to share and the door across from this one is for Jaerrod. Now, why don't you unpack, then come down to the kitchen and we can catch up. The others should be arriving shortly and I have a few things left to do fore Harry's party." When the four of them nodded, she flashed them a warm, motherly smile and strode back down the stairs.

"Who is Harry?" asked Aysia, looking at Bill.

"Harry Potter, Aysia, he's like an adopted son to my mother and Sunday is his birthday. We're having a family party for him, which is why I invited you this weekend, to have fun with us."

"Oh," she said and asked no more

After that, they each when to their respective rooms and unpack. In Aysia and Trinity's room, there were two twin beds with homemade quits spread upon them. The floor was hardwood with threadbare rugs spattered here and there. There was a single dresser for both of them to use and they filled up about half of it with their belongings. There was also a pair of windows facing east, decorated with homemade curtains. Once they had everything squared away they left their room and made their way down stairs and into the kitchen.

They had only been upstairs for about fifteen minutes, but when they came back down, the house was full of people. Every Weasley was packed into the small kitchen, which made it more cramped than it already was. The entire family was squeezed together at the scrubbed, wooden table of the kitchen and a fire was blazing happily in the fireplace, waiting for Mrs. Weasley to finish preparing the evening meal. Next to Ron, were three people Aysia didn't recognize as part of the Weasley family. The first pretty young woman had wavy, honey-colored hair, which fell to her shoulders, and matched her honeyed eyes. She was a Healer at St. Mungo's if her robes were any indication as to her profession. The young man on her left, and whose hand she held in hers, had untidy raven black hair and the most beautiful emerald-green eyes. The second young woman was seated to the right of Ron, and he had his arm draped across her shoulders. She had waist-length, dirty blond hair and the most beautiful set of silvery-grey eyes Aysia had ever seen.

Bill looked up as they entered the kitchen and called his family's attention to them. "This is Aysia, my old friend from Hogwarts; her twin, Trinity; and her younger brother, Jaerrod." They each waved and the family waved back. Bill then introduced them to his family, and introduced the couple as Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, Ron's best friends from Hogwarts, and who, along with him, defeated Lord Voldemort. The other woman was Luna Lovegood and Ron's longtime girlfriend. Aysia couldn't help but notice the sad look on Ginny's face as Bill introduced the two couples and she wondered why Ginny was alone at the table, without a love of her own. She could also tell Jaerrod was happy to know someone at the table and no be completely in a room of strangers.

Mrs. Weasley stood and pushed her chair in. "Why don't we move outside, where there's more room for all of us. Boys, if you wouldn't mind taking care of the tables and chairs, the girls and I will manage with the food and dishes."

Everyone stood and the men went outside, while the women remained in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley awarded Luna and Hermione the task of gathering the dishes and Ginny the job of collecting silverware. Aysia, who loved cooking, offered to help Mrs. Weasley finish the rather large meal, while Trinity flitted about, fetching items and helping in various ways.

When everything was finally ready the nine Weasleys, the three Bleus, Harry, Hermione, and Luna all sat down at the two tables that were assembled in the back yard. Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, was happily chasing the Weasleys' garden gnomes. "Tuck in!" called Mrs. Weasley from the head of the table and everyone began to conssume the meal that took the better part of a few hours in twenty minutes.

Later, after everything had been cleaned and cleared away. Aysia slipped outside and began walking. The evening shadows and the stars had appeared, the moon was almost full. Everyone else was still inside, they were having a wizard's chess tournament, and Aysia stole the opprotunity to have a moment to herself.

This past week had been crazy. She got her dream job at Gringotts, her brother was made Head Boy at Hogwarts and was going to pass his seventh year, her sister's daycare was finally getting off of the ground, and she met Bill again. The warmth of the day had gone with the sun, she wrapped her arms around herself and wished she had thought to bring a sweater.

She laid herself down upon the springy grass and looked up at the stars, trying to find the different constesllations. "Hey, what are you doing out here all by yourself?" asked a voice above her.

She smiled at Bill as he joined her on the grass. "Nothing, just looking at the stars," she replied. "That's the Dragon, Canis Major, Cygnus, Leo, Cassieopeia, and Orion," she told him as she pointed ou the different patterns in the sky.

"You know your astronomy," he told her.

"It was one of my favorite classes at Hogwarts."

Bill said nothing as his gaze caught the moon. He had learned about the moon in the past few years. It was almost full, in just a few more days it would be a complete orb. He was lost in his thoughts until he heard Aysia calling to him.

"Bill? Bill, are you all right?" she asked, leaning over him as to get a better look at his face. His scars looked slivery in the moonlight and for the first time, she wondered how he got them.

He looked up at her, seeing the concern on her beauiful face. It was amazing, she was saying so many things to him without uttereing a single word. Her gaze to him she cared, she loved him, she was worried about him, and that she was just there for him. "Sorry, Aysia, yes I'm fine. I was just thinking about something, that's all."

"What were you thinking about?" she asked, moving so that he might sit up.

He sighed and looked into her eyes for what felt like several long moments. "Have you ever wondered about how I aquired the scars on my face, or why I like my meat rawer than it should be, or why I behave oddly at times?"

She silently nodded and held his hand, urging him to continue in that sublte way.

"Well, the reason why is because I was attacked by a werewolf a little over a year ago."

"Oh, Bill. I had no idea," she whispered and held his hand a little tighter.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, Aysia. It wasn't near the full moon when I was attacked. I was protecting Hogwarts from the Death Eaters the night Dumbledore passed. I was dueling with Fenrir Greyback when he threw aside his wand and attacked me instead. Luckily, I lived and he wasn't transformed that night. It could have been worse for me," he told her when he noticed the tears filling her eyes.

"I know, it just that bad things shouldn't happen to good people, especially someone like you," she explained.

He smiled at her and kissed her forehead before he stood up. "Come on, Mum will be wondering where we are if we don't come in soon," he told her and offered his hand. She accpeted his offer with a nod, and they returned to the Weasley house walking with their arms about the other's waist.

(WC: 2,322)