triple threat - "I don't break my promises." plus family
chess - bill weasley
300 words by gdocs
"If you need me," Bill says, "I'll be there. I promise."
He's looking into Ginny's eyes, his little nine-year-old sister, and he wants to leave to Egypt and follow his dream of becoming a curse breaker, but he doesn't want to leave his sister. He doesn't want to miss seeing her grow up. It makes it even harder that she doesn't want him to leave, either.
Still, he knows he has to. This is his future.
And he will come back. He's just an owl away.
…
Three years later, Bill walks into Dumbledore's office and his sister is flinging herself at him and hugging him around the middle tightly. Bill bends down so he's level with her and he hugs her back just as hard. He hasn't heard the full story yet, just a vague version of it in a letter from his father, but there'll be time enough to hear it later.
Bill can feel his sister crying onto his shoulder, and he holds her through it.
"Hey," he says, running a finger through her hair. "I promised I would be here if you needed me and I don't break my promises."
After a few more moments, Bill pulls away, taking in his little sister properly for the first time. He's struck with how small she is, the same thought he's been thinking since he saw her for the first time. He wishes there was a way he could wrap her up and shield her from the world.
"I love you," Bill says, wiping a tear away from underneath Ginny's eye.
"I love you too," Ginny croaks out, engulfing him with another hug.
Bill stays there, hugging his little sister, and he knows that he'll never break his promise. He will always be there when she needs it.