Bill
Isabella Vector entered the flat she shared with her new husband Bill Weasley. She hadn't gotten home at her usual hour due to grading exams for her fifth year students. The second she had finished she had headed home, looking to crawl into bed and sleep her Saturday away.
The first place she went was their bedroom, but there was no one in there. She looked at the bedside clock, it read 10, the wrong hour to be coming in from work, but usually Bill could be found in bed due to early mornings for the Order. "Bill?" She called out, leaving the room and heading out into the rest of the flat. "Bill, where are you?"
"Bella," she heard him call from the kitchen. His voice sounded much scratchier and much more unused than normal.
The voice worried her. It was so unlike Bill whom she often likened to a rock. As she got closer to the kitchen her pace quickened. Finally she stood in the doorway, and caught sight of Bill sitting at the table looking nearly as bad as his voice had sounded.
"What is it? What's happened?" she asked as she took a seat across from him at the table and took his hands in hers.
His head rose slowly and his eyes finally met hers there was loss in them. "Death eaters attacked the house. They killed Mum."
"Oh Bill."
She stood and rounded the table and moved to sit in his lap, just to hold him. Bill accepted her wordlessly without much resistance. She wrapped her arms around him and placed her head to hers before feeling his arms tighten instinctively around her. She knew that this would be a rare occasion, as it was much more likely to be him holding her.
There were no tears, not from Bill at this moment. He was trying to pull himself together and she could accept that. She sat there trying to transfer some of her strength into him as she worked out the numbers in her head. They didn't fit, they made no sense. She felt a tear leak from her own eyes and then quickly pulled them back. This wasn't what was needed now.
"She's supposed to be around to push us to have kids," he said finally. "Yell at me about the long hair and earring and swear that it's not a sign of settling down."
Bella placed a errant piece of long hair that had fallen out of the ponytail he often wore behind his ear. "She loved you."
Bill raised one side of his mouth in an attempt at a half smile. "She loved you too, she just never really got around to mentioning it." The smile disappeared as his focused returned to the ministry signed piece of parchment before him. "I've been sitting here since the letter arrived trying to make some sense of the words on the page. It doesn't make any sense at all."
"Should it?" Bella asked, to both him and herself, wondering if things like this would ever make sense. She just wished the numbers worked out for this.
"Yes. No. I don't know." He pulled his hands over his face in a restless motion, as if he was attempting to scrape away all the heavy emotion that had fallen on him. "And I've just been sitting here," he spat as if disgusted with himself.
"What else would you be doing?" Bella asked confused. Before she could make him clarify that he had moved her off of his lap and was standing.
He stared at her for a second as if he couldn't place her before shaking his head. "I have to go home and take care of this," Bill said, suddenly mobile, nearly running towards their room.
She followed behind him quickly as his voice still echoed back to her. "Dad isn't going to be in any shape, which leaves me in charge. Ron and Ginny are going to have to come home from Hogwarts, the twins are going to have to drag themselves away from their plans, Percy and the ministry. Shit!"
He looked down into the drawer he'd just opened and realized that it wasn't his stuff. He slammed it shut and wrenched open the next one and began to pull out garments.
Bella watched him from the doorway wishing she knew how to deal with this better. She hated feeling lost and she hated uncertainty. "This doesn't all fall on you."
"Yes it does." He turned to her after placing a pile of clothes into one of his bags. "I'm the eldest; this is my responsibility."
Responsibility, she knew responsibility. That was one thing she knew she could definitely handle. She took in a deep breath and then released it before she stepped towards him. "Alright, what do you need me to do?"
"I can handle this Isabella," he snapped as he continued to pack his bag.
"I don't intend to let you do this alone." She walked across the room and laid a hand on his chest, making him stop what he was doing. "Listen to me for two seconds; I understand you're stubborn and pigheaded and are determined to do this alone because you're the oldest and it's your job, but you aren't alone."
"You didn't sign up for anything like this."
"No," Bella said, reaching up and taking his face in her hands to make him focus on her and just her. "Just life with you. This is part of that."
Bill pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to her forehead before crushing her too him. "I love you too."
Isabella Vector entered the flat she shared with her new husband Bill Weasley. She hadn't gotten home at her usual hour due to grading exams for her fifth year students. The second she had finished she had headed home, looking to crawl into bed and sleep her Saturday away.
The first place she went was their bedroom, but there was no one in there. She looked at the bedside clock, it read 10, the wrong hour to be coming in from work, but usually Bill could be found in bed due to early mornings for the Order. "Bill?" She called out, leaving the room and heading out into the rest of the flat. "Bill, where are you?"
"Bella," she heard him call from the kitchen. His voice sounded much scratchier and much more unused than normal.
The voice worried her. It was so unlike Bill whom she often likened to a rock. As she got closer to the kitchen her pace quickened. Finally she stood in the doorway, and caught sight of Bill sitting at the table looking nearly as bad as his voice had sounded.
"What is it? What's happened?" she asked as she took a seat across from him at the table and took his hands in hers.
His head rose slowly and his eyes finally met hers there was loss in them. "Death eaters attacked the house. They killed Mum."
"Oh Bill."
She stood and rounded the table and moved to sit in his lap, just to hold him. Bill accepted her wordlessly without much resistance. She wrapped her arms around him and placed her head to hers before feeling his arms tighten instinctively around her. She knew that this would be a rare occasion, as it was much more likely to be him holding her.
There were no tears, not from Bill at this moment. He was trying to pull himself together and she could accept that. She sat there trying to transfer some of her strength into him as she worked out the numbers in her head. They didn't fit, they made no sense. She felt a tear leak from her own eyes and then quickly pulled them back. This wasn't what was needed now.
"She's supposed to be around to push us to have kids," he said finally. "Yell at me about the long hair and earring and swear that it's not a sign of settling down."
Bella placed a errant piece of long hair that had fallen out of the ponytail he often wore behind his ear. "She loved you."
Bill raised one side of his mouth in an attempt at a half smile. "She loved you too, she just never really got around to mentioning it." The smile disappeared as his focused returned to the ministry signed piece of parchment before him. "I've been sitting here since the letter arrived trying to make some sense of the words on the page. It doesn't make any sense at all."
"Should it?" Bella asked, to both him and herself, wondering if things like this would ever make sense. She just wished the numbers worked out for this.
"Yes. No. I don't know." He pulled his hands over his face in a restless motion, as if he was attempting to scrape away all the heavy emotion that had fallen on him. "And I've just been sitting here," he spat as if disgusted with himself.
"What else would you be doing?" Bella asked confused. Before she could make him clarify that he had moved her off of his lap and was standing.
He stared at her for a second as if he couldn't place her before shaking his head. "I have to go home and take care of this," Bill said, suddenly mobile, nearly running towards their room.
She followed behind him quickly as his voice still echoed back to her. "Dad isn't going to be in any shape, which leaves me in charge. Ron and Ginny are going to have to come home from Hogwarts, the twins are going to have to drag themselves away from their plans, Percy and the ministry. Shit!"
He looked down into the drawer he'd just opened and realized that it wasn't his stuff. He slammed it shut and wrenched open the next one and began to pull out garments.
Bella watched him from the doorway wishing she knew how to deal with this better. She hated feeling lost and she hated uncertainty. "This doesn't all fall on you."
"Yes it does." He turned to her after placing a pile of clothes into one of his bags. "I'm the eldest; this is my responsibility."
Responsibility, she knew responsibility. That was one thing she knew she could definitely handle. She took in a deep breath and then released it before she stepped towards him. "Alright, what do you need me to do?"
"I can handle this Isabella," he snapped as he continued to pack his bag.
"I don't intend to let you do this alone." She walked across the room and laid a hand on his chest, making him stop what he was doing. "Listen to me for two seconds; I understand you're stubborn and pigheaded and are determined to do this alone because you're the oldest and it's your job, but you aren't alone."
"You didn't sign up for anything like this."
"No," Bella said, reaching up and taking his face in her hands to make him focus on her and just her. "Just life with you. This is part of that."
Bill pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to her forehead before crushing her too him. "I love you too."