London - May, 1998

When Audrey had arrived home from work on May 2nd, Percy had been out. Based on the note he'd left, he was at work.

But then he hadn't come home that night. Or the next night. Or the next.

On May 5th, Audrey was really starting to get worried. She considered calling the police and reporting that he was missing, but he had left a note…

That morning the doorbell rang.

There was a red-haired man at the door, but it was not the red-haired man that Audrey had expected, nor was it one that she'd ever met before.

A grin stretched across the man's face. He had scars spanning the entire length of his head, scars that had healed, but were still grotesque. He had long, shaggy hair and a shark-tooth necklace. "Ah," he said, "You must be Audrey."

Audrey just barely nodded. "And you?"

"I'm Bill Weasley, Percy's brother."

"I've never heard of you," Audrey said. She regretted the words the moment they fell out of her mouth. Why was she being so rude? "I'm sorry, it's just, he's talked about Fred and George and Ron, but I've never heard of Bill."

Bill didn't seem very affected by this news. "Don't worry, it's okay."

"Where's Percy?" Audrey asked, the question that had been hanging on the tip of her tongue for days now.

Bill let out a long sigh. "Can I come in?"

"Is he okay? Is he…"

"Percy's fine," Bill promised. "But I need to talk to you about that. And it's kind of a long conversation."

"Okay…" Audrey said, and she led Bill into Percy's apartment. They sat down on the couch and studied each other for a long moment.

Finally, Bill started his long conversation. "Percy told you that we lived on a small island that was undergoing a revolutionary war, correct?"

"Rebellion," Audrey corrected.

"Oh. Well, same thing."

"That's true, right?"

Bill made a face. "I really shouldn't be the one having this conversation with you. This should be Percy. But I have to tell you now or… or… I don't even know. Percy needs you and telling you is the only way for you to see him." Bill sounded as though he was trying to assure himself, not her.

"Just tell me," Audrey insisted.

He sighed. "You have to promise not to get mad at me, or at Percy. He wanted to tell you from the very beginning, but he couldn't."

Audrey just stared him down.

A tiny smirk slid across his face before he wiped it away and continued his story. "We don't live on another island. We live in England. However, we grew up in an entirely different world than you did."

"I don't know what you mean," Audrey admitted, studying Percy's brother's eyes. They looked quite similar to Percy's.

"Will you believe me?"

Audrey shrugged.

"No getting mad," He reminded her one more time before just saying it. "We're wizards, Audrey. Me, and Percy, and our entire family."

"I don't believe you," Audrey said simply, right away.

"Didn't think you would," Bill said with a huge smile. He pulled a stick of wood out of his coat, swished it around and then flicked it through the air.

And to her extreme astonishment, sparks flew out of his wand, and a fire started crackling in Percy's fireplace.

Audrey let out a series of curses before slumping back onto the couch.

"So you didn't grow up on another island?" Audrey asked.

"No. I bet Percy didn't want to lie to you. He just wasn't ready for you to know the truth," Bill offered.

Audrey just moaned. "I guess it does make sense."

Bill smiled. "I knew anyone dating Percy would be able to see the logic there."

Audrey was quiet for a long moment. "Alright. Where is Percy then?"

The smile vanished from Bill's face and was replaced by a grimace. "There was a battle," he told her. "A few days ago. At the school that we used to go to. Our brother…" Bill paused and took several deep breaths before he gathered the strength to continue. "Our brother… Fred… was killed."

"No."

Bill nodded.

"Oh, I'm… I'm so sorry," Audrey let out.

"Percy's… in denial," Bill said slowly, enunciating each syllable carefully. "He's refusing to come out of his room. He says it was all his fault." Bill started to shake softly with sobs that wanted to emerge from his body. "I hate to put this on you, Audrey, but I'm scared. I can't lose another brother."

Tears were swimming in Audrey's eyes. "You want me to come back to your house with you."

Bill nodded. "I do. But I need to warn you. We're all magic. You're probably going to see things that you've never seen before. Some which might scare you."

Audrey considered taking the easy way out for about a nanosecond. Then she thought of Percy, crying, in pain, and she knew that she had to go help him. "I can handle it," she said, though she wasn't entirely sure that she could.

"Also… as you could imagine, my house isn't the cheeriest right now."

"I can handle it," she repeated.

Bill let out a sigh of relief, or maybe he was just trying to calm himself down again. "Thank you." He looked at Audrey carefully. "I like you. I can see how you're good for Percy. Now, come. Let's take the Floo Network."