A/N - umm. What to say. Not much, but we've been looking forward to this
part for some time... and, I realized after seeing everyone else's stories
that you're supposed to post disclaimers. Well, I do not own Harry Potter.
Nancy, Jenni, and anyone else you don't recognize... I don't really OWN
them, but close enough. :)
Louisa - Hi again! Zoe - Like I said, that was your moment of glory... that and, maybe someday we'll WRITE that article. ;) Karen - nice to see you reading! LittleWolf - Yay! Someone who I didn't have to shove the link in front of to get them to read it! I'm so glad you're enjoying... keep reviewing and tell us what you think!
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Nancy's head was reeling. Snape wasn't going to help her. She'd been so sure that, with his help, she could take care of this on her own. Suddenly, her stomach rolled, and she knew that her settling charm would be wearing off any moment. She followed Jenni back to their office and glanced down at the stacks of papers and owl messages waiting for her attention. Her stomach lurched again. Looking up, she realized that Jenni was staring at her in concern.
"Listen, I'm... I've got to go home. Something came up," she pointed blindly at one of the owl messages as she shoved her things in her bag, just hoping she made it to her flat before being sick.
"Here's my notes, if you want to try writing today. Sorry, I'll see you Monday, all right?" With that, she tossed her notepad onto Jenni's desk and ran out the door, hoping to make it home before Jenni had time to process what had just happened. She was in such a rush that she didn't notice the tall, lanky red head striding purposefully down the hall past her.
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Jenni sat at her desk in a very worried state, absently fingering the owl note that Nancy had pointed to in her rush to leave. It was nothing important, just a request for one of her articles to be a few hundred words longer. Nothing CLOSE to a reason for running out of the office like she had.
'What is she hiding?' Jenni wondered. Why did her best friend not feel the need to tell her what was going on? Jenni placed her head in her hands. She was near tears; it really hurt that Nancy didn't trust her enough to tell her what was going on. Jenni sighed as she heard a noise at the door to her small cluttered office. She looked up, trying to wipe her eyes discreetly, and gasped. There in the doorway was no one other than Bill Weasley, the one person she had tried to forget these past two weeks.
"Mind if I come in?" The words were spoken before Bill had time to think about what he really wanted to say.
Jenni stared at him trying to summon up some witty, cutting reply. The urge to argue simply was not in her; her mind was filled with worry over other things. Instead she simply nodded towards the empty chair in front of her desk.
As soon as he met her eyes, Bill noticed that the fiery spark was missing from them. "Is everything all right?"
Jenni sighed and choked back a sob, trying to get herself under control. "I'm fine. I've just got a lot on my mind right now. Nancy left early and I don't know why. She's been acting strange for the past two weeks. I have an interview that I've got to set up for the deadline in a few days." She trailed off and looked at Bill, not knowing why she had given in to the sudden urge to tell him everything. "Look, I'm sorry. You didn't come here to be bored with details about my work and nonexistent social life. Why are you here?"
"Well," Bill started carefully, "my family is having a party this weekend, and I was wondering.well.I mean, me and my brother Charlie were wondering."
Before Bill had a chance to finish Jenni went off at him. Bill grinned in amusement at seeing her temper flare up again. It appeared that he'd hit a nerve.
"Your brother! Let me tell you about your brother! First of all, he leads Nancy on, making her think he's interested in her. Second of all, she gets her hopes up about him and he doesn't even send an owl or anything. Thirdly, you think you can just walk in here and invite us to a party and that makes it better?"
Bill leaned forward on Jenni's desk, "Actually, yes. I was hoping that this party would make things all better."
Jenni glared. How dare he have such nerve to think he could waltz into her office and insist that she and Nancy go to this... this... party.
"In fact," Bill continued, his mood lifted at the reactions he was getting from her, "I'm sure Charlie would very much appreciate it if the two of you showed up. That way, he would have a chance to talk to Nancy and explain to her why he hasn't been in contact with her."
Jenni sat back in her chair dumbfounded. Not once had she thought that there might be a logical explanation for Charlie's lack of communication. Finally gaining her composure Jenni leaned forward, unconsciously mimicking Bill's earlier actions. "Well," she grinned suddenly, "just what does your brother have to say for himself?"
Now it was Bill's turn to grin, "That, I believe, is between my brother and your friend."
Jenni smiled, her heart a hundred times lighter than it had been minutes ago. This would be just what Nancy needed to get out of her miserable state.
"You are coming too, aren't you?"
Jenni looked up to see Bill's face suddenly serious. She also realized just how close they were to each other, both leaning over her desk. "I.um.well, I never thought."
Bill reached forward and grabbed Jenni's hand. "I'm not leaving until you say yes. Besides, I really want you to be there."
Jenni felt her stomach flip as Bill's fingers intertwined with hers. She looked down at her feet, unsure of what to say, and becoming increasingly nervous. Bill reached forward with his free hand to lift her chin while tightening his grip on the hand he'd captured earlier. "Please tell me you'll be there, Jenni?"
Jenni felt herself smiling, "I'll be there."
She looked up to see Bill smiling. It was a smile that lit up his entire face and made his eyes sparkle. Jenni found herself getting lost in those blue eyes and before she knew what was happening, Bill had made his way around her desk, gently grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her quickly on the lips before heading out the door. Jenni followed Bill to the door and yelled out, "What was that for?"
Bill stopped half way down the hall and turned to face Jenni. He was grinning like a fool, "That was to say thank you."
Jenni stared, "Thank you for what?"
"For saying you'll be at the party! I've got to tell Charlie. See you tonight." Bill winked and turned and left the building. Jenni blushed slightly, placing her hand to her lips where Bill had kissed her. She grinned as she watched him walk away. When he was finally out of sight she turned to the pile of papers on her desk. 'The hell with it,' Jenni thought. She grabbed her purse and left running full out to Nancy's flat.
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Nancy had spent the day exercising her owl, sending him to every apothecary she could come up with bearing inquiries into Dodo claws and any substance that might work in its place. Every time, she'd received a firm but polite, "We're sorry, that substance is now controlled and used only for Ministry research. No substitute is available." Finally, exhausted and feeling worse than she had all day, she lay down on her bed and fell fitfully asleep.
She was just dreaming that a ten-headed dragon with dark blue eyes had her cornered and was eating a dodo in front of her very eyes when she was jerked awake by the sound of the doorbell. Groggy and queasy, she made her way over her cluttered hallway and around the carefully assembled potions on her kitchen table to the door.
"Hello? Who is it?"
"Nancy! Open up. It's me..." Jenni stood on the other side of her door, alternately pounding on it and ringing the doorbell. "We need to talk."
Nancy stared at the wooden barrier, willing it to turn into a portkey so she could just vanish and not have to tell any more lies to the one person who cared enough to check up on her every day. When nothing happened, she muttered loudly enough to be heard, "I don't want to talk right now."
Jenni had stopped banging and ringing. Her heart sank. Nancy sounded so depressed... maybe this party was a bad idea after all. She thought for a minute and then shook her head in silent agreement with her earlier decision. Nancy needed to get out; she needed to have a little fun to take her mind off of whatever was preying on it. She sighed and said, "Fine, just let me in." When Nancy swung the door open, Jenni looked into her tired brown eyes and thought desperately that maybe there would be someone there who would just know what was wrong with her best friend.
"Hey."
"Hi."
Without thinking about it, Jenni reached out and pulled Nancy into a bear hug. She felt Nancy hug her back after a moment, and sighed, relieved that she was at least letting her care. Whatever it was that she was hiding, Jenni decided, she wouldn't bug her about it tonight. They were going to dress up, go show those Weasleys who they were dealing with, and get Nancy smiling again. The rest would come in time. Stepping back she grinned and said, "Is that pretty red robe of yours clean?"
Nancy's eyes widened. That was NOT the question she'd been expecting. "Uh, yeah, I think so... I haven't worn it since last Christmas."
"Well, lets go see! I've got a surprise for you tonight." Jenni grabbed her by the arm and steered her back down the hall to her bedroom. After a few minutes of searching, the red robe was found, and pronounced perfect by Jenni. Nancy had to admit that it was a pretty one, more of a wine color than a bright red, but the pretty silver trim had always made her feel like a fairy queen. As she pulled it on over her head, she wondered out loud, "Did you bring something, or do you want to borrow one of mine?"
"Well," Jenni winked, trying to preserve her innocent expression, "there is this ONE that I thought you might be able to lend me..."
That earned her a giggle, as her friend pointed her to a drawer where a soft butter yellow pile of fabric was stuffed to one side. "You left it there last time."
With a grin Jenni pounced on it and murmured a quick ironing spell. "See, good as new!" She twirled around holding it, and Nancy had to smile. When she'd bought that robe, it had been slightly long on her, and she'd still hoped that she would grow. However, the first time she'd had Jenni try it on, she'd relinquished all claim to it. Now it was what Jenni wore any time they were headed out from Nancy's apartment. It was very feminine, with pretty little sky blue flowers embroidered around the edges of the sleeves and hem, and totally out of character for Jenni, which Nancy suspected was why her friend loved it so much.
Come to think of it, Jenni was in an astonishingly good mood. Nancy watched as she bustled around the apartment, tossing Nancy a brush and digging under the bed for shoes. It was odd, seeing as they'd both been rather down since the craziness in Romania, but she wasn't about to refuse what looked to be a really fun time. Besides, she thought to herself hopelessly, if that last shop didn't reply with something more encouraging than the rest of the stores had, she wasn't going to be up for this for a long time.
Jenni ran back into the room, having succeeded in finding the pretty pair of silver shoes that she wanted Nancy to wear, and noticed immediately that her friend looked rather down again.
"Look what I found!" She set the heels down and they both looked at them.
"They're pretty," Nancy murmured, "but I don't really feel like dealing with heels tonight. Can't I just wear my..."
"No." Jenni glared at her. "Those old things do NOT match your robes. And besides, I'll make the heels go away. Terrarium!" There was a flash of blue light and the shoes became soft slipper-like flats.
"Oh fine, be all clever..." Nancy sighed, but couldn't help grinning. Jenni was trying so hard to cheer her up. Fine, tonight she would not even THINK about dragons or red hair or... or anything!
The two women spent the next hour spinning around, singing loudly with no music, and generally having far too much fun. The only tense moment came when Jenni went to scrounge for snacks in the kitchen and found the potion bubbling on Nancy's table.
"What's this? You working on something? I could help, I was always better at potions than you were..."
Nancy froze, she'd never thought of what to tell her about that. "Oh, umm, well, it's just something that's supposed to settle my stomach," she lied softly. "I've been a bit queasy lately. No big deal. Now, are you going to bring the cheese kanoodles in here or do I have to come and get them myself?"
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With a *pop* Jenni and Nancy were standing in front of a door to a very lopsided looking house. Nancy looked at Jenni with a curious glare, "And just where have you taken me?"
"Oh, I meant to tell you earlier. Bill stopped by the office just after you left and invited us to a party." Jenni spoke the words so fast that Nancy almost didn't catch what she said.
"Bill? Bill WEASLEY? And since when have you been on speaking terms with him? I thought he infuriated you? Made you angry?" Nancy's voice was dripping with amusement. "Come on Jenni. Tell me, what exactly happened in Romania. Did he kiss you and you forgot to tell me about it?"
Jenni blushed a deep crimson and tried to stutter out an explanation to stop Nancy's ramblings. At Jenni's failure to complete a sentence, Nancy gasped. "That's it! He kissed you! Jenni! How dare you keep this a secret from me?"
Jenni was trying very hard to get Nancy to keep her voice down. "Shhhh Nancy! Someone might here you."
Nancy began to grin. "So, how many times did he kiss you? Was it once? Come on Jenni, tell me please?" Nancy pleaded to Jenni while absentmindedly knocking on the front door.
Jenni stuttered nervously, trying hard to avoid making eye contact with Nancy. "Nancy, that's personal!"
Nancy's mouth dropped open as realization sunk in, "Bill kissed you more than once?"
Jenni cringed as Nancy's voice rang out. Stumbling forward from the absence of the door she was knocking on, Nancy fell headlong into two identical red heads grinning mischievously. Just as Nancy was about to hit the floor, a pair of arms reached out to catch her and she was greeted with a very comical performance.
"Nancy! What a surprise!" "Yes! Quite spiffy to see you here!" "So, what brings you here?" "Did one of our brothers invite you?" "Who's your friend?" "Does she have a boyfriend?" "Is it true you tried to jump from a broomstick 50 feet in the air?" "Did your friend really kiss Bill?"
Jenni wanted to die. What was she thinking? Why did she ever agree to come to this party? She shook her head as she watched Nancy animatedly talking with the identical red heads that she assumed to be the infamous Weasley twins.
Nancy turned to Jenni, "Oh, Jenni I'm so sorry! I forgot to introduce you! This is Fred and George."
Jenni smiled nervously. Something about those two put her on her guard. She would have to keep her eyes open when they were around. Sensing her discomfort, George (or was it Fred?) offered a hand to shake.
"Jenni, absolutely a pleasure to meet you! Now, as with all of our guests tonight we have a special welcome gift for you two lovely ladies." "Right you are George." Fred continued. "And for these two, what do we have today?" "Well now, for our good friend Nancy, as she's so fond of dragons." "Ah, yes! Just like our dear brother Charlie."
Jenni noticed at the mention of Charlie's name, Nancy blushed.
"As I was saying," the one named George continued. "A lovely dragon shaped pin for the lovely Nancy!"
Jenni couldn't help but grin at the twins' antics. They were quite amusing. However, her grin turned to a scowl as they proceeded in the same manner for her gift.
"And for the lovely Jenni." "Yes, well Fred, we know Jenni is fond of reading Romanian newspapers." "Of course! How could I forget." "A small pin very reminiscent of the famous Romanian Prophet." "And, would you look at that George, it's upside down!"
Jenni fought the urge to pull out her wand and hex the younger Weasleys at their proud moment of gift giving. However, she did promise inwardly to send them a very nice thank you gift later on. Nancy however had clearly gotten over her earlier embarrassment and was following the twins to another location. Deciding it was best not to stand around like an idiot, Jenni followed.
As she walked toward the back of the house, Jenni began smoothing out her robes. Her eyes began scanning immediately for Bill. She cursed herself for her impatience. She noticed Nancy too was scanning the crowd for a certain Weasley as well. Jenni took a deep calming breath as they rounded a corner and were faced with a crowd of people that neither her nor Nancy knew. Jenni momentarily looked down to smooth out her robes once more. As she looked up she was face to face with a pair of bright blue eyes belonging to Bill Weasley.
"You made it. I was beginning to get worried that you might not show up." Bill had grabbed Jenni's hand the moment he walked up. She felt a jolt of electricity as his fingers locked with hers. Before she could respond, he continued. "I see you were able to convince Nancy to show up?"
Jenni turned toward her friend. She was appalled to see Nancy walking away with a wink and saying, "I'm off to find a drink." Jenni was left with no other choice but to turn back towards Bill. He was no longer smiling, but he was staring at her with an odd look on his face. Suddenly feeling very self conscious, Jenni looked at herself, "What? Is something wrong? Did I step in mud or something?"
"No, you look." Bill paused before continuing. "You look great." She looks amazing, Bill thought inwardly. The pale yellow robes with the tiny blue flowers looked absolutely fabulous on Jenni, he thought. The slight pink color that arose in her face from his compliments made her just that much more beautiful.
"Come on, I want to introduce you to everyone." Jenni's heart skipped a beat as Bill tugged on her hand and flashed a killer smile.
Jenni was introduced to loads of people she had never met before and would probably never meet again. However, her favorite person had to be Bill's dad. Jenni enjoyed talking to Mr. Weasley about his fascination with muggle inventions. Growing up muggle, Jenni was eager to talk about her childhood recalling technological breakthroughs. She giggled as Mr. Weasley was telling a story about a toaster and his new assistant, a Miss Fracindy, trying to pry out a quill with her wand while the appliance was plugged in and accidentally turned on.
Jenni had also been introduced to several people from the Ministry of Magic, a few people that worked with Bill in Egypt, and the remaining Weasley siblings including Percy, Ron, and Ginny. Jenni was also very taken with the quiet, youngest Weasley. It had only taken a few questions before Jenni had the young girl rambling on in nonstop chatter.
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Giving in to the jolly mood of the people around her, Nancy headed off towards the refreshments, hoping that there was some drink there that would settle her stomach. She winked at Jenni as she walked off, leaving her friend to deal with the rather exuberant six plus feet of Weasley man who had accosted her almost immediately upon their arrival.
She asked a few people she didn't know, and who didn't seem to be family since none of them were redheads, and wound up in the back yard, totally lost. She was scanning the crowd for anyone with red hair when she felt someone grab her shoulder, and jumped.
"Don't make any noise," said a rather slimy voice in her ear. The hand on her shoulder kept her from turning around, and she smelled something foul mixed with alcohol as the man leaned in closer to her ear. "I've got business to discuss with you."
Reacting quickly, Nancy lifted her right foot and aimed behind her, hoping to catch the man off guard, but he was prepared. She winced as he muttered "silencio," and hoping the charm hadn't hit her, opened her mouth to yell for help. When no sound came out, she doubled her struggles, until the slimy voice found her ear again.
"No longer interested in procuring those Dodo claws? I can take my business elsewhere..."
Despite every instinct in her head screaming that he was not safe, Nancy froze. He had some? Thank Merlin! But why didn't he just reply to her owl...
"Ah there we are, I knew you could be reasonable. Now, if you would just follow me over here, we can discuss my terms." With that, he released his bruising grip on her shoulder and walked quickly around the side of the house, into a dark area of trees. She watched him go, unable to see his face or recognize him, and KNOWING that following him was stupid... but he had them. Maybe even with him! This nightmare could be over as soon as she got home tonight... Decided, she limped after him, not noticing the concerned blue-gray eyes that followed her as she rounded the corner.
It was dark, and she shivered. She'd always had a fear of the dark. Her bad eyesight had made every shadow and tree branch into a monster when she was a kid, and she was still jumpy. She nearly whimpered as the noise of the party faded away, but as she wasn't able to make any sound, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. She cursed inwardly, knowing that she was being extremely foolish, especially as she didn't have her wand.
"Lumos."
He was right in front of her. Nancy jumped, startled and afraid, and stepped back a few paces.
"Now, now. No need to be so... skittish with me," he leered unpleasantly.
"What do you want?" The words formed on her mouth but no sound came out... he seemed to get the gist of it and answered.
"Well, I have something that you obviously want quite desperately." She shivered again as he looked her up and down in a very unpleasantly cold way. "Now what I need is something from you that I want just as badly."
Hoping that she was reading him wrong and he meant money, Nancy thrust her hand into the pocket of her robes and pulled out her last few galleons. His cynical laughter was grating and a bit sinister.
"Money? No no, my dear, that is something that is far too easy to come by in my line of work. Besides, you could not possibly have enough to equal the worth of what I am offering to you." He stepped closer, and the offensive smell washed over her again, making her already volatile innards clench angrily. "I want something more... interesting from you."
Eyes widening, Nancy suddenly realized what was going on. She stepped back to leave, suddenly very much afraid of this man, but tripped over a root and fell hard to the ground.
He moved up to stand over her. "Ah, I see you finally understand me. I'll leave my final offer for you." The man pulled out a small card and wrote a few words on the back. "Unless, that is, you would like to earn your reward now?"
She would have screamed then, would have screamed so loudly that half of England would be awakened, but since she couldn't scream Nancy focused on getting up and out of there. In a panicked haze, she heard the cold laughter of her creepy salesman mixing with the scraping of her hands and feet on the ground as she tried to regain her footing. She was so frightened that she didn't notice when he stopped laughing and turned to move away from her, nor did she see someone detach from the distant group of partygoers and approach at a run.
She felt him, though, in the next moment. Every warm, strong, safe inch of him, pulling her into his arms. Charlie Weasley had found her.
His words came spilling out of him as he held her shaking body close to his. "Nancy! What happened? Are you all right? I was looking for you everywhere, and Percy said he saw you go over here with some shady character, and... and he said you were LIMPING..." His voice was rough with worry, and he looked down into her shadowed brown eyes. "What's going on? What's wrong?"
Sure enough, before Nancy had even lifted her head enough to try to respond, Percy, Fred, and George all came skidding up behind their brother, wands at the ready. Embarrassed to be seen in such a state, she buried her head in his chest and listened to the conversation he had with them, his arms never loosening around her.
"What happened? Is she ok? Did you see him?" That sounded like George to Nancy, but she couldn't be sure. She didn't know the twins well enough to distinguish their voices.
"Was it one of THEM then?" That voice Nancy knew. Percy Weasley had been a year below her in Gryffindor, and she'd spent some time with him explaining the duties of Head Girl and Boy, since it was entirely obvious to her that he'd be chosen for his seventh year. She wondered what he meant, one of them. It seemed to bother Charlie because his arms tightened and his voice had a warning note in it.
"We'll talk about it when I take her back to the house. No, I didn't see him... Perce, can you and the twins check to make sure he's really gone? Don't want the bastard hanging around here."
No one spoke after that, and she heard footsteps moving away from them, further into the trees. When it was silent again, Charlie stepped back from her for a moment, and then swung her into his arms and started back to the house. Neither of them said anything, but he kept a very tight grip on her. Nancy's leg was throbbing, and her head had begun to pound. She didn't even want to THINK about her stomach right now. It was the worst she'd felt since getting hurt, and that was saying something. Her vision blurred behind her glasses as hot tears started forming. How had her life gotten so damn frightening?
Charlie felt her start crying just as he reached the side door. His heart wrenched. He hadn't even had the chance to apologize and explain for not staying in touch when she was assaulted on his family's property! He looked down at her dark hair, not wanting to speak to her until he was sure they were alone. Slipping inside, he darted up the stairs, earning only a worried look from his ever-observant mother.
By the time he had reached the room he and Bill were sharing during their time at the Burrow, she'd stopped crying and was shaking more violently. Charlie's heart was beating double-time, and he quickly stepped inside and shut the door, laying her down on his bed. Then, he reached up and lit the lamp with a flick of his wand.
"Incendio."
It was the first good look he'd had at her since she'd arrived. He couldn't say she looked awful, not with those adorable robes and all that curly brown hair. But... something was definitely wrong. Her skin had the pale, stretched look of someone battling a serious illness, totally unlike the soft healthy glow he'd memorized during that one day two weeks ago. Her eyes had deep shadows under them, and he had to know about that limp...
He was reaching down to pull the hem of her robes up when there was a sharp knock on the door. One of the twins (Fred, he thought distractedly, noticing the bruise on his jaw from the last prank his new girl had pulled -- that Marion was some little devil) was standing there, looking worried and unusually serious.
"Did you..."
"No, he's not there anymore... George and Percy are checking the wards on the yard and house. But... I found this close to where she had been..." Fred trailed off helplessly.
"She's ok. Really." Charlie tried to sound reassuring, and Fred nodded reluctantly. "Let me see what you've got..."
"It's just a card... no visible name, but look what it says on the back."
Charlie brought it into the light. "One pound Dodo's claws for one night. Owl me." He tried to choke down his anger, knowing it couldn't help anyone to fly into a murderous rage over a girl he'd known two weeks, but only barely succeeded. "Well, shit. It does appear that our Nancy has an... admirer."
That was all he could say in front of his brother. His brain working furiously to figure out just what had happened tonight, he sent him off to warn Bill that Jenni needed to be distracted from worrying about her friend until they had a better idea of what they were dealing with.
Closing the door behind his younger brother, Charlie leaned against it and sighed, looking from the enigmatic writing on the small card to the silent girl on the bed and back again. How in the hell had she landed herself in a position where she needed an obsolete potion for a dragon's bite?
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Bill grinned as he watched his sister walk off towards Ron. "You know, I think you're the first person I've ever seen her take to like that. How did you do that? I mean, get her to open up and talk like that?"
Jenni shrugged, "I don't know. I just like kids a lot."
"Well, I must say, you were excellent. Ginny never talks that much. Not even with us."
Jenni smiled. "So, is there anything to drink at this party?"
"Yeah, what do you want?" Bill began rambling off names of various drinks such as pumpkin juice and lemon fizz. Jenni opted for the lemon fizz as it reminded her of homemade muggle lemonade. Bill had prompted her to stay put while he retrieved the drinks. He was thoroughly enjoying the evening. Nothing was going to ruin this night for him, he thought as he poured their drinks. His thoughts were interrupted as he noticed Fred walking towards him with a rather serious expression. This can't be good, he thought.
Fred quickly explained what happened only moments ago and that Charlie felt it would be best if Jenni was kept occupied until they knew all the details. Bill nodded. He walked back with a grin, knowing exactly how he wanted to occupy her mind.
Bill handed Jenni her drink and suddenly felt guilty about not telling her that Nancy had been in trouble. He knew she would be furious if she thought he was hiding something from her. But he had to agree with Charlie. Best not to involve her until they knew everything. At least as long as he was with Jenni, he knew she would be safe.
Jenni looked up. Noticing a distant look in Bill's eyes she questioned him. "Are you okay?"
He was jolted back to his senses as he realized he had allowed his mind to wander off. "Yeah, I'm fine. You want to go for a walk?" Without waiting for her reply, Bill took her hand and led Jenni off, away from the crowd of people and towards the garden.
Jenni took in everything. The gnarled trees, stone walls, a pond filled with frogs, and flowers. She also noticed several small creatures scuttling through thick patches of grass. She was just about to ask what they were when one appeared out of nowhere and ran in front of her, causing her to yelp. "What is that!?!?" Jenni shrieked.
Bill laughed. "That, is a gnome. Haven't you ever seen one before?"
Jenni glared. "No I haven't." She shuddered at the memory of the sight of that hideous little creature. It had to be the most disgusting thing she ever saw.
Bill had felt her shudder and wrapped his arms protectively around her. "Don't worry. They're perfectly harmless, unless you're Fred and George and decide to feed them canary creams. Gnomes do not like to sprout feathers all unexpectedly."
Jenni felt herself giggling at the thought of feathered gnomes.
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Oh gods, her head was killing her. And her stomach... shoot! She needed a bathroom NOW. She tried to sit up, hoping to make it before all of the cheese kanoodles she'd so unwisely eaten came back up to say told-ya-so.
"Nancy?" Oh my, his eyes were only inches away. Deep dark blue, looking so worried and confused... she shuddered as her stomach rolled urgently. The eyes would have to wait; right now those cheese kanoodles were demanding her attention.
"Nancy... are you..."
Suddenly she couldn't hold it in any longer, and she found herself on the receiving end of Charlie's amazing quidditch/dragon reflexes. His arms were around her, and he'd produced a basin for her to aim for within seconds of her agonized moan.
As she listened to his murmured words of comfort and sympathy, Nancy couldn't help letting a bit of her mind wander off and wonder just WHY he would expend so much effort on her behalf. At least she knew for sure that he wasn't using her for her looks or her money, she thought a bit grimly, trying not to melt with gratitude as he gently cleaned her up and settled onto the bed, pulling her into his lap. Trying being the key word. She failed utterly, and couldn't help leaning into his solid chest as she tried to get her bearings.
"Why were you limping?" His voice was soft and gentle, and she could feel her eyelids drooping even as she gestured to her mangled leg, which at the moment was carefully hidden under the robes and a bandage. He shot her a look and she nodded. Might as well see what he made of it all. She was about to learn just how much Captain Dragon knew about... well... dragons.
He reached down and very gently pulled up her skirts and unwrapped the bandages. Oddly, Nancy wasn't tense as she waited for him to figure out the secret that she'd so carefully guarded for two weeks. Maybe it was the after effects of escaping the attempted kidnapping of the apothecarist, maybe the fact that she was wrapped up in his arms and cuddled against his chest, or maybe it was just that she hadn't had a good night's sleep in two weeks, but something about him was just so calming that she could barely keep her eyes open.
Charlie couldn't help smiling as she drifted off to sleep in his arms. She seemed exhausted, and it felt so nice to hold her while she was so peaceful. His smile vanished, however, as he finished unwrapping her leg.
"What the hell?!"
She stirred at his words, but didn't wake. He was still staring at her leg, guilt and worry quickly replacing disbelief. He recognized that cut -- he'd bandaged it crudely in midair two weeks ago. But... how had he missed the fact that she'd gotten it from a dragon?
Louisa - Hi again! Zoe - Like I said, that was your moment of glory... that and, maybe someday we'll WRITE that article. ;) Karen - nice to see you reading! LittleWolf - Yay! Someone who I didn't have to shove the link in front of to get them to read it! I'm so glad you're enjoying... keep reviewing and tell us what you think!
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Nancy's head was reeling. Snape wasn't going to help her. She'd been so sure that, with his help, she could take care of this on her own. Suddenly, her stomach rolled, and she knew that her settling charm would be wearing off any moment. She followed Jenni back to their office and glanced down at the stacks of papers and owl messages waiting for her attention. Her stomach lurched again. Looking up, she realized that Jenni was staring at her in concern.
"Listen, I'm... I've got to go home. Something came up," she pointed blindly at one of the owl messages as she shoved her things in her bag, just hoping she made it to her flat before being sick.
"Here's my notes, if you want to try writing today. Sorry, I'll see you Monday, all right?" With that, she tossed her notepad onto Jenni's desk and ran out the door, hoping to make it home before Jenni had time to process what had just happened. She was in such a rush that she didn't notice the tall, lanky red head striding purposefully down the hall past her.
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Jenni sat at her desk in a very worried state, absently fingering the owl note that Nancy had pointed to in her rush to leave. It was nothing important, just a request for one of her articles to be a few hundred words longer. Nothing CLOSE to a reason for running out of the office like she had.
'What is she hiding?' Jenni wondered. Why did her best friend not feel the need to tell her what was going on? Jenni placed her head in her hands. She was near tears; it really hurt that Nancy didn't trust her enough to tell her what was going on. Jenni sighed as she heard a noise at the door to her small cluttered office. She looked up, trying to wipe her eyes discreetly, and gasped. There in the doorway was no one other than Bill Weasley, the one person she had tried to forget these past two weeks.
"Mind if I come in?" The words were spoken before Bill had time to think about what he really wanted to say.
Jenni stared at him trying to summon up some witty, cutting reply. The urge to argue simply was not in her; her mind was filled with worry over other things. Instead she simply nodded towards the empty chair in front of her desk.
As soon as he met her eyes, Bill noticed that the fiery spark was missing from them. "Is everything all right?"
Jenni sighed and choked back a sob, trying to get herself under control. "I'm fine. I've just got a lot on my mind right now. Nancy left early and I don't know why. She's been acting strange for the past two weeks. I have an interview that I've got to set up for the deadline in a few days." She trailed off and looked at Bill, not knowing why she had given in to the sudden urge to tell him everything. "Look, I'm sorry. You didn't come here to be bored with details about my work and nonexistent social life. Why are you here?"
"Well," Bill started carefully, "my family is having a party this weekend, and I was wondering.well.I mean, me and my brother Charlie were wondering."
Before Bill had a chance to finish Jenni went off at him. Bill grinned in amusement at seeing her temper flare up again. It appeared that he'd hit a nerve.
"Your brother! Let me tell you about your brother! First of all, he leads Nancy on, making her think he's interested in her. Second of all, she gets her hopes up about him and he doesn't even send an owl or anything. Thirdly, you think you can just walk in here and invite us to a party and that makes it better?"
Bill leaned forward on Jenni's desk, "Actually, yes. I was hoping that this party would make things all better."
Jenni glared. How dare he have such nerve to think he could waltz into her office and insist that she and Nancy go to this... this... party.
"In fact," Bill continued, his mood lifted at the reactions he was getting from her, "I'm sure Charlie would very much appreciate it if the two of you showed up. That way, he would have a chance to talk to Nancy and explain to her why he hasn't been in contact with her."
Jenni sat back in her chair dumbfounded. Not once had she thought that there might be a logical explanation for Charlie's lack of communication. Finally gaining her composure Jenni leaned forward, unconsciously mimicking Bill's earlier actions. "Well," she grinned suddenly, "just what does your brother have to say for himself?"
Now it was Bill's turn to grin, "That, I believe, is between my brother and your friend."
Jenni smiled, her heart a hundred times lighter than it had been minutes ago. This would be just what Nancy needed to get out of her miserable state.
"You are coming too, aren't you?"
Jenni looked up to see Bill's face suddenly serious. She also realized just how close they were to each other, both leaning over her desk. "I.um.well, I never thought."
Bill reached forward and grabbed Jenni's hand. "I'm not leaving until you say yes. Besides, I really want you to be there."
Jenni felt her stomach flip as Bill's fingers intertwined with hers. She looked down at her feet, unsure of what to say, and becoming increasingly nervous. Bill reached forward with his free hand to lift her chin while tightening his grip on the hand he'd captured earlier. "Please tell me you'll be there, Jenni?"
Jenni felt herself smiling, "I'll be there."
She looked up to see Bill smiling. It was a smile that lit up his entire face and made his eyes sparkle. Jenni found herself getting lost in those blue eyes and before she knew what was happening, Bill had made his way around her desk, gently grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her quickly on the lips before heading out the door. Jenni followed Bill to the door and yelled out, "What was that for?"
Bill stopped half way down the hall and turned to face Jenni. He was grinning like a fool, "That was to say thank you."
Jenni stared, "Thank you for what?"
"For saying you'll be at the party! I've got to tell Charlie. See you tonight." Bill winked and turned and left the building. Jenni blushed slightly, placing her hand to her lips where Bill had kissed her. She grinned as she watched him walk away. When he was finally out of sight she turned to the pile of papers on her desk. 'The hell with it,' Jenni thought. She grabbed her purse and left running full out to Nancy's flat.
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Nancy had spent the day exercising her owl, sending him to every apothecary she could come up with bearing inquiries into Dodo claws and any substance that might work in its place. Every time, she'd received a firm but polite, "We're sorry, that substance is now controlled and used only for Ministry research. No substitute is available." Finally, exhausted and feeling worse than she had all day, she lay down on her bed and fell fitfully asleep.
She was just dreaming that a ten-headed dragon with dark blue eyes had her cornered and was eating a dodo in front of her very eyes when she was jerked awake by the sound of the doorbell. Groggy and queasy, she made her way over her cluttered hallway and around the carefully assembled potions on her kitchen table to the door.
"Hello? Who is it?"
"Nancy! Open up. It's me..." Jenni stood on the other side of her door, alternately pounding on it and ringing the doorbell. "We need to talk."
Nancy stared at the wooden barrier, willing it to turn into a portkey so she could just vanish and not have to tell any more lies to the one person who cared enough to check up on her every day. When nothing happened, she muttered loudly enough to be heard, "I don't want to talk right now."
Jenni had stopped banging and ringing. Her heart sank. Nancy sounded so depressed... maybe this party was a bad idea after all. She thought for a minute and then shook her head in silent agreement with her earlier decision. Nancy needed to get out; she needed to have a little fun to take her mind off of whatever was preying on it. She sighed and said, "Fine, just let me in." When Nancy swung the door open, Jenni looked into her tired brown eyes and thought desperately that maybe there would be someone there who would just know what was wrong with her best friend.
"Hey."
"Hi."
Without thinking about it, Jenni reached out and pulled Nancy into a bear hug. She felt Nancy hug her back after a moment, and sighed, relieved that she was at least letting her care. Whatever it was that she was hiding, Jenni decided, she wouldn't bug her about it tonight. They were going to dress up, go show those Weasleys who they were dealing with, and get Nancy smiling again. The rest would come in time. Stepping back she grinned and said, "Is that pretty red robe of yours clean?"
Nancy's eyes widened. That was NOT the question she'd been expecting. "Uh, yeah, I think so... I haven't worn it since last Christmas."
"Well, lets go see! I've got a surprise for you tonight." Jenni grabbed her by the arm and steered her back down the hall to her bedroom. After a few minutes of searching, the red robe was found, and pronounced perfect by Jenni. Nancy had to admit that it was a pretty one, more of a wine color than a bright red, but the pretty silver trim had always made her feel like a fairy queen. As she pulled it on over her head, she wondered out loud, "Did you bring something, or do you want to borrow one of mine?"
"Well," Jenni winked, trying to preserve her innocent expression, "there is this ONE that I thought you might be able to lend me..."
That earned her a giggle, as her friend pointed her to a drawer where a soft butter yellow pile of fabric was stuffed to one side. "You left it there last time."
With a grin Jenni pounced on it and murmured a quick ironing spell. "See, good as new!" She twirled around holding it, and Nancy had to smile. When she'd bought that robe, it had been slightly long on her, and she'd still hoped that she would grow. However, the first time she'd had Jenni try it on, she'd relinquished all claim to it. Now it was what Jenni wore any time they were headed out from Nancy's apartment. It was very feminine, with pretty little sky blue flowers embroidered around the edges of the sleeves and hem, and totally out of character for Jenni, which Nancy suspected was why her friend loved it so much.
Come to think of it, Jenni was in an astonishingly good mood. Nancy watched as she bustled around the apartment, tossing Nancy a brush and digging under the bed for shoes. It was odd, seeing as they'd both been rather down since the craziness in Romania, but she wasn't about to refuse what looked to be a really fun time. Besides, she thought to herself hopelessly, if that last shop didn't reply with something more encouraging than the rest of the stores had, she wasn't going to be up for this for a long time.
Jenni ran back into the room, having succeeded in finding the pretty pair of silver shoes that she wanted Nancy to wear, and noticed immediately that her friend looked rather down again.
"Look what I found!" She set the heels down and they both looked at them.
"They're pretty," Nancy murmured, "but I don't really feel like dealing with heels tonight. Can't I just wear my..."
"No." Jenni glared at her. "Those old things do NOT match your robes. And besides, I'll make the heels go away. Terrarium!" There was a flash of blue light and the shoes became soft slipper-like flats.
"Oh fine, be all clever..." Nancy sighed, but couldn't help grinning. Jenni was trying so hard to cheer her up. Fine, tonight she would not even THINK about dragons or red hair or... or anything!
The two women spent the next hour spinning around, singing loudly with no music, and generally having far too much fun. The only tense moment came when Jenni went to scrounge for snacks in the kitchen and found the potion bubbling on Nancy's table.
"What's this? You working on something? I could help, I was always better at potions than you were..."
Nancy froze, she'd never thought of what to tell her about that. "Oh, umm, well, it's just something that's supposed to settle my stomach," she lied softly. "I've been a bit queasy lately. No big deal. Now, are you going to bring the cheese kanoodles in here or do I have to come and get them myself?"
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With a *pop* Jenni and Nancy were standing in front of a door to a very lopsided looking house. Nancy looked at Jenni with a curious glare, "And just where have you taken me?"
"Oh, I meant to tell you earlier. Bill stopped by the office just after you left and invited us to a party." Jenni spoke the words so fast that Nancy almost didn't catch what she said.
"Bill? Bill WEASLEY? And since when have you been on speaking terms with him? I thought he infuriated you? Made you angry?" Nancy's voice was dripping with amusement. "Come on Jenni. Tell me, what exactly happened in Romania. Did he kiss you and you forgot to tell me about it?"
Jenni blushed a deep crimson and tried to stutter out an explanation to stop Nancy's ramblings. At Jenni's failure to complete a sentence, Nancy gasped. "That's it! He kissed you! Jenni! How dare you keep this a secret from me?"
Jenni was trying very hard to get Nancy to keep her voice down. "Shhhh Nancy! Someone might here you."
Nancy began to grin. "So, how many times did he kiss you? Was it once? Come on Jenni, tell me please?" Nancy pleaded to Jenni while absentmindedly knocking on the front door.
Jenni stuttered nervously, trying hard to avoid making eye contact with Nancy. "Nancy, that's personal!"
Nancy's mouth dropped open as realization sunk in, "Bill kissed you more than once?"
Jenni cringed as Nancy's voice rang out. Stumbling forward from the absence of the door she was knocking on, Nancy fell headlong into two identical red heads grinning mischievously. Just as Nancy was about to hit the floor, a pair of arms reached out to catch her and she was greeted with a very comical performance.
"Nancy! What a surprise!" "Yes! Quite spiffy to see you here!" "So, what brings you here?" "Did one of our brothers invite you?" "Who's your friend?" "Does she have a boyfriend?" "Is it true you tried to jump from a broomstick 50 feet in the air?" "Did your friend really kiss Bill?"
Jenni wanted to die. What was she thinking? Why did she ever agree to come to this party? She shook her head as she watched Nancy animatedly talking with the identical red heads that she assumed to be the infamous Weasley twins.
Nancy turned to Jenni, "Oh, Jenni I'm so sorry! I forgot to introduce you! This is Fred and George."
Jenni smiled nervously. Something about those two put her on her guard. She would have to keep her eyes open when they were around. Sensing her discomfort, George (or was it Fred?) offered a hand to shake.
"Jenni, absolutely a pleasure to meet you! Now, as with all of our guests tonight we have a special welcome gift for you two lovely ladies." "Right you are George." Fred continued. "And for these two, what do we have today?" "Well now, for our good friend Nancy, as she's so fond of dragons." "Ah, yes! Just like our dear brother Charlie."
Jenni noticed at the mention of Charlie's name, Nancy blushed.
"As I was saying," the one named George continued. "A lovely dragon shaped pin for the lovely Nancy!"
Jenni couldn't help but grin at the twins' antics. They were quite amusing. However, her grin turned to a scowl as they proceeded in the same manner for her gift.
"And for the lovely Jenni." "Yes, well Fred, we know Jenni is fond of reading Romanian newspapers." "Of course! How could I forget." "A small pin very reminiscent of the famous Romanian Prophet." "And, would you look at that George, it's upside down!"
Jenni fought the urge to pull out her wand and hex the younger Weasleys at their proud moment of gift giving. However, she did promise inwardly to send them a very nice thank you gift later on. Nancy however had clearly gotten over her earlier embarrassment and was following the twins to another location. Deciding it was best not to stand around like an idiot, Jenni followed.
As she walked toward the back of the house, Jenni began smoothing out her robes. Her eyes began scanning immediately for Bill. She cursed herself for her impatience. She noticed Nancy too was scanning the crowd for a certain Weasley as well. Jenni took a deep calming breath as they rounded a corner and were faced with a crowd of people that neither her nor Nancy knew. Jenni momentarily looked down to smooth out her robes once more. As she looked up she was face to face with a pair of bright blue eyes belonging to Bill Weasley.
"You made it. I was beginning to get worried that you might not show up." Bill had grabbed Jenni's hand the moment he walked up. She felt a jolt of electricity as his fingers locked with hers. Before she could respond, he continued. "I see you were able to convince Nancy to show up?"
Jenni turned toward her friend. She was appalled to see Nancy walking away with a wink and saying, "I'm off to find a drink." Jenni was left with no other choice but to turn back towards Bill. He was no longer smiling, but he was staring at her with an odd look on his face. Suddenly feeling very self conscious, Jenni looked at herself, "What? Is something wrong? Did I step in mud or something?"
"No, you look." Bill paused before continuing. "You look great." She looks amazing, Bill thought inwardly. The pale yellow robes with the tiny blue flowers looked absolutely fabulous on Jenni, he thought. The slight pink color that arose in her face from his compliments made her just that much more beautiful.
"Come on, I want to introduce you to everyone." Jenni's heart skipped a beat as Bill tugged on her hand and flashed a killer smile.
Jenni was introduced to loads of people she had never met before and would probably never meet again. However, her favorite person had to be Bill's dad. Jenni enjoyed talking to Mr. Weasley about his fascination with muggle inventions. Growing up muggle, Jenni was eager to talk about her childhood recalling technological breakthroughs. She giggled as Mr. Weasley was telling a story about a toaster and his new assistant, a Miss Fracindy, trying to pry out a quill with her wand while the appliance was plugged in and accidentally turned on.
Jenni had also been introduced to several people from the Ministry of Magic, a few people that worked with Bill in Egypt, and the remaining Weasley siblings including Percy, Ron, and Ginny. Jenni was also very taken with the quiet, youngest Weasley. It had only taken a few questions before Jenni had the young girl rambling on in nonstop chatter.
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Giving in to the jolly mood of the people around her, Nancy headed off towards the refreshments, hoping that there was some drink there that would settle her stomach. She winked at Jenni as she walked off, leaving her friend to deal with the rather exuberant six plus feet of Weasley man who had accosted her almost immediately upon their arrival.
She asked a few people she didn't know, and who didn't seem to be family since none of them were redheads, and wound up in the back yard, totally lost. She was scanning the crowd for anyone with red hair when she felt someone grab her shoulder, and jumped.
"Don't make any noise," said a rather slimy voice in her ear. The hand on her shoulder kept her from turning around, and she smelled something foul mixed with alcohol as the man leaned in closer to her ear. "I've got business to discuss with you."
Reacting quickly, Nancy lifted her right foot and aimed behind her, hoping to catch the man off guard, but he was prepared. She winced as he muttered "silencio," and hoping the charm hadn't hit her, opened her mouth to yell for help. When no sound came out, she doubled her struggles, until the slimy voice found her ear again.
"No longer interested in procuring those Dodo claws? I can take my business elsewhere..."
Despite every instinct in her head screaming that he was not safe, Nancy froze. He had some? Thank Merlin! But why didn't he just reply to her owl...
"Ah there we are, I knew you could be reasonable. Now, if you would just follow me over here, we can discuss my terms." With that, he released his bruising grip on her shoulder and walked quickly around the side of the house, into a dark area of trees. She watched him go, unable to see his face or recognize him, and KNOWING that following him was stupid... but he had them. Maybe even with him! This nightmare could be over as soon as she got home tonight... Decided, she limped after him, not noticing the concerned blue-gray eyes that followed her as she rounded the corner.
It was dark, and she shivered. She'd always had a fear of the dark. Her bad eyesight had made every shadow and tree branch into a monster when she was a kid, and she was still jumpy. She nearly whimpered as the noise of the party faded away, but as she wasn't able to make any sound, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. She cursed inwardly, knowing that she was being extremely foolish, especially as she didn't have her wand.
"Lumos."
He was right in front of her. Nancy jumped, startled and afraid, and stepped back a few paces.
"Now, now. No need to be so... skittish with me," he leered unpleasantly.
"What do you want?" The words formed on her mouth but no sound came out... he seemed to get the gist of it and answered.
"Well, I have something that you obviously want quite desperately." She shivered again as he looked her up and down in a very unpleasantly cold way. "Now what I need is something from you that I want just as badly."
Hoping that she was reading him wrong and he meant money, Nancy thrust her hand into the pocket of her robes and pulled out her last few galleons. His cynical laughter was grating and a bit sinister.
"Money? No no, my dear, that is something that is far too easy to come by in my line of work. Besides, you could not possibly have enough to equal the worth of what I am offering to you." He stepped closer, and the offensive smell washed over her again, making her already volatile innards clench angrily. "I want something more... interesting from you."
Eyes widening, Nancy suddenly realized what was going on. She stepped back to leave, suddenly very much afraid of this man, but tripped over a root and fell hard to the ground.
He moved up to stand over her. "Ah, I see you finally understand me. I'll leave my final offer for you." The man pulled out a small card and wrote a few words on the back. "Unless, that is, you would like to earn your reward now?"
She would have screamed then, would have screamed so loudly that half of England would be awakened, but since she couldn't scream Nancy focused on getting up and out of there. In a panicked haze, she heard the cold laughter of her creepy salesman mixing with the scraping of her hands and feet on the ground as she tried to regain her footing. She was so frightened that she didn't notice when he stopped laughing and turned to move away from her, nor did she see someone detach from the distant group of partygoers and approach at a run.
She felt him, though, in the next moment. Every warm, strong, safe inch of him, pulling her into his arms. Charlie Weasley had found her.
His words came spilling out of him as he held her shaking body close to his. "Nancy! What happened? Are you all right? I was looking for you everywhere, and Percy said he saw you go over here with some shady character, and... and he said you were LIMPING..." His voice was rough with worry, and he looked down into her shadowed brown eyes. "What's going on? What's wrong?"
Sure enough, before Nancy had even lifted her head enough to try to respond, Percy, Fred, and George all came skidding up behind their brother, wands at the ready. Embarrassed to be seen in such a state, she buried her head in his chest and listened to the conversation he had with them, his arms never loosening around her.
"What happened? Is she ok? Did you see him?" That sounded like George to Nancy, but she couldn't be sure. She didn't know the twins well enough to distinguish their voices.
"Was it one of THEM then?" That voice Nancy knew. Percy Weasley had been a year below her in Gryffindor, and she'd spent some time with him explaining the duties of Head Girl and Boy, since it was entirely obvious to her that he'd be chosen for his seventh year. She wondered what he meant, one of them. It seemed to bother Charlie because his arms tightened and his voice had a warning note in it.
"We'll talk about it when I take her back to the house. No, I didn't see him... Perce, can you and the twins check to make sure he's really gone? Don't want the bastard hanging around here."
No one spoke after that, and she heard footsteps moving away from them, further into the trees. When it was silent again, Charlie stepped back from her for a moment, and then swung her into his arms and started back to the house. Neither of them said anything, but he kept a very tight grip on her. Nancy's leg was throbbing, and her head had begun to pound. She didn't even want to THINK about her stomach right now. It was the worst she'd felt since getting hurt, and that was saying something. Her vision blurred behind her glasses as hot tears started forming. How had her life gotten so damn frightening?
Charlie felt her start crying just as he reached the side door. His heart wrenched. He hadn't even had the chance to apologize and explain for not staying in touch when she was assaulted on his family's property! He looked down at her dark hair, not wanting to speak to her until he was sure they were alone. Slipping inside, he darted up the stairs, earning only a worried look from his ever-observant mother.
By the time he had reached the room he and Bill were sharing during their time at the Burrow, she'd stopped crying and was shaking more violently. Charlie's heart was beating double-time, and he quickly stepped inside and shut the door, laying her down on his bed. Then, he reached up and lit the lamp with a flick of his wand.
"Incendio."
It was the first good look he'd had at her since she'd arrived. He couldn't say she looked awful, not with those adorable robes and all that curly brown hair. But... something was definitely wrong. Her skin had the pale, stretched look of someone battling a serious illness, totally unlike the soft healthy glow he'd memorized during that one day two weeks ago. Her eyes had deep shadows under them, and he had to know about that limp...
He was reaching down to pull the hem of her robes up when there was a sharp knock on the door. One of the twins (Fred, he thought distractedly, noticing the bruise on his jaw from the last prank his new girl had pulled -- that Marion was some little devil) was standing there, looking worried and unusually serious.
"Did you..."
"No, he's not there anymore... George and Percy are checking the wards on the yard and house. But... I found this close to where she had been..." Fred trailed off helplessly.
"She's ok. Really." Charlie tried to sound reassuring, and Fred nodded reluctantly. "Let me see what you've got..."
"It's just a card... no visible name, but look what it says on the back."
Charlie brought it into the light. "One pound Dodo's claws for one night. Owl me." He tried to choke down his anger, knowing it couldn't help anyone to fly into a murderous rage over a girl he'd known two weeks, but only barely succeeded. "Well, shit. It does appear that our Nancy has an... admirer."
That was all he could say in front of his brother. His brain working furiously to figure out just what had happened tonight, he sent him off to warn Bill that Jenni needed to be distracted from worrying about her friend until they had a better idea of what they were dealing with.
Closing the door behind his younger brother, Charlie leaned against it and sighed, looking from the enigmatic writing on the small card to the silent girl on the bed and back again. How in the hell had she landed herself in a position where she needed an obsolete potion for a dragon's bite?
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Bill grinned as he watched his sister walk off towards Ron. "You know, I think you're the first person I've ever seen her take to like that. How did you do that? I mean, get her to open up and talk like that?"
Jenni shrugged, "I don't know. I just like kids a lot."
"Well, I must say, you were excellent. Ginny never talks that much. Not even with us."
Jenni smiled. "So, is there anything to drink at this party?"
"Yeah, what do you want?" Bill began rambling off names of various drinks such as pumpkin juice and lemon fizz. Jenni opted for the lemon fizz as it reminded her of homemade muggle lemonade. Bill had prompted her to stay put while he retrieved the drinks. He was thoroughly enjoying the evening. Nothing was going to ruin this night for him, he thought as he poured their drinks. His thoughts were interrupted as he noticed Fred walking towards him with a rather serious expression. This can't be good, he thought.
Fred quickly explained what happened only moments ago and that Charlie felt it would be best if Jenni was kept occupied until they knew all the details. Bill nodded. He walked back with a grin, knowing exactly how he wanted to occupy her mind.
Bill handed Jenni her drink and suddenly felt guilty about not telling her that Nancy had been in trouble. He knew she would be furious if she thought he was hiding something from her. But he had to agree with Charlie. Best not to involve her until they knew everything. At least as long as he was with Jenni, he knew she would be safe.
Jenni looked up. Noticing a distant look in Bill's eyes she questioned him. "Are you okay?"
He was jolted back to his senses as he realized he had allowed his mind to wander off. "Yeah, I'm fine. You want to go for a walk?" Without waiting for her reply, Bill took her hand and led Jenni off, away from the crowd of people and towards the garden.
Jenni took in everything. The gnarled trees, stone walls, a pond filled with frogs, and flowers. She also noticed several small creatures scuttling through thick patches of grass. She was just about to ask what they were when one appeared out of nowhere and ran in front of her, causing her to yelp. "What is that!?!?" Jenni shrieked.
Bill laughed. "That, is a gnome. Haven't you ever seen one before?"
Jenni glared. "No I haven't." She shuddered at the memory of the sight of that hideous little creature. It had to be the most disgusting thing she ever saw.
Bill had felt her shudder and wrapped his arms protectively around her. "Don't worry. They're perfectly harmless, unless you're Fred and George and decide to feed them canary creams. Gnomes do not like to sprout feathers all unexpectedly."
Jenni felt herself giggling at the thought of feathered gnomes.
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Oh gods, her head was killing her. And her stomach... shoot! She needed a bathroom NOW. She tried to sit up, hoping to make it before all of the cheese kanoodles she'd so unwisely eaten came back up to say told-ya-so.
"Nancy?" Oh my, his eyes were only inches away. Deep dark blue, looking so worried and confused... she shuddered as her stomach rolled urgently. The eyes would have to wait; right now those cheese kanoodles were demanding her attention.
"Nancy... are you..."
Suddenly she couldn't hold it in any longer, and she found herself on the receiving end of Charlie's amazing quidditch/dragon reflexes. His arms were around her, and he'd produced a basin for her to aim for within seconds of her agonized moan.
As she listened to his murmured words of comfort and sympathy, Nancy couldn't help letting a bit of her mind wander off and wonder just WHY he would expend so much effort on her behalf. At least she knew for sure that he wasn't using her for her looks or her money, she thought a bit grimly, trying not to melt with gratitude as he gently cleaned her up and settled onto the bed, pulling her into his lap. Trying being the key word. She failed utterly, and couldn't help leaning into his solid chest as she tried to get her bearings.
"Why were you limping?" His voice was soft and gentle, and she could feel her eyelids drooping even as she gestured to her mangled leg, which at the moment was carefully hidden under the robes and a bandage. He shot her a look and she nodded. Might as well see what he made of it all. She was about to learn just how much Captain Dragon knew about... well... dragons.
He reached down and very gently pulled up her skirts and unwrapped the bandages. Oddly, Nancy wasn't tense as she waited for him to figure out the secret that she'd so carefully guarded for two weeks. Maybe it was the after effects of escaping the attempted kidnapping of the apothecarist, maybe the fact that she was wrapped up in his arms and cuddled against his chest, or maybe it was just that she hadn't had a good night's sleep in two weeks, but something about him was just so calming that she could barely keep her eyes open.
Charlie couldn't help smiling as she drifted off to sleep in his arms. She seemed exhausted, and it felt so nice to hold her while she was so peaceful. His smile vanished, however, as he finished unwrapping her leg.
"What the hell?!"
She stirred at his words, but didn't wake. He was still staring at her leg, guilt and worry quickly replacing disbelief. He recognized that cut -- he'd bandaged it crudely in midair two weeks ago. But... how had he missed the fact that she'd gotten it from a dragon?