366 prompt: Dare
The Valentines Making Station - Orange: Write about the Weasleys.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - Task: In Hansel and Gretel, there is a preoccupation with food and eating. The stepmother sets her plan into motion through fear of starvation, the Witch lives in an edible house and she wants to eat the children. Recreate this element - through a character/family that's not got enough food, a character/family that always has had food and is now struggling or vice versa, or some other preoccupation - either in your main Assignment story or in an additional story.
Chocolate Frog Challenge: (Silver) Bill Weasley Challenge: Write about Bill Weasley
A Good Son
Bill Weasley
Bill Weasley sat down with a quill and parchment, slowly outlining all of his costs. He counted out what he'd need for clothes, for toiletries, books, parchment and ink and anything else he'd need for the month.
After all his careful calculations, he set his quill down on the paper. He could give half of his wage.
...oOo...
Bill looked around the dinner table. Though all of their plates contained a nice quantity of dinner, their parents had less on their plates than the others.
The gnomes had destroyed quite a few of the crops that Molly had planted - not that she had many, she didn't have a lot of time to deal with crops now that the twins were getting bigger and needing all of her attention, as did Ginny, who was just starting to crawl.
Bill picked at his food, before pushing the plate away. "I'm full," he said, looking at his mother.
"Are you sure, you've not had much -"
"I'm not feeling too good," he lied. "Maybe someone else will finish that up?"
"Oh, I'll get you a pain -"
"I'm not in pain," he said. Another thing that his parents spent money on. "Just a bit drained. I think I'll take a nap, I'll probably feel better afterwards."
She nodded. "Call down if you need anything. Now, do any of you want extras?"
There was no reply, the children tucking into the food that they already had, and Bill watched in satisfaction as Molly began to share the food between her and his father.
Bill knew his parents were putting away every last penny they could due to the costs of buying everything he needed, but at least when he was there, they would have one less mouth to feed. They didn't dare spend a single knut they didn't have to, because money was too tight.
Especially if he stayed at Hogwarts for all of the holidays.
...oOo...
Bill headed into his small vault at Gringotts after working.
Though money wasn't as tight as it had been before he went to Hogwarts, as a lot of his siblings now attended, he knew things were still tough due to the costs of books and equipment. His parents still saved throughout the year for the costs.
Bill had been lucky to get work straight out of Hogwarts for Gringotts bank. For now he was working in England, and one day he would travel the world. He couldn't wait.
..oOo...
The next morning, Bill offered to escort his mother to Diagon Alley with all his brothers and his sister. Relief turned to shock as Bill used his money to pay for the new textbooks for everyone. It wasn't a lot - just half of his wage, but the look on his mother's face told him it was worth it.
That night, he noticed a little bit more food on their dinner plates, and a relaxed expression on his mother's face - an expression that was rarely seen, and his father shot him a proud look.
500 Words
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