A/n - HELLO!!! Did you forget about us?? We're baaaaaaaaack! *evil
laughter* :)
Because we have decided that it looks nicer, thank yous are at the END of the chapter. ENJOY!
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Jenni stood in the hallway for several minutes after Charlie left, debating whether or not to head off to Gringotts and look for Bill, or wait for him at Nancy's apartment. Neither option held any real appeal, besides the obvious of seeing a certain red-head. What Jenni really wanted to do was head to Knockturn Alley and check out who Nancy had been trying to buy dodo claws from. Really, it was no big deal, just a little information gathering... If all went well, she could be back before Bill got off of work and no one would be the wiser.
Her mind made up, she hurried off. The thought crossed her mind as she arrived outside the Leaky Cauldron that it would be just like Nancy to decide that NOW was the time for a heart to heart and find her missing, but surely she'd be back in time to head that off.
Within minutes, Jenni had made her way out of the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley. She walked slowly down the street, trying to look casual as she headed towards Knockturn Alley. Hopefully no one would recognize her and ask her what she was doing there, or want to stop and chat. She decided that her distraction must have shown on her face, because she made it all the way to the end of Diagon Alley without being approached by anyone.
Jenni walked down a small set of steps that led into the dark alleyway. She had her hood pulled up on her robe hoping to conceal the three day old bruises that marked her face and carefully avoided eye contact with any one who passed her. She was in dangerous territory now, she reminded herself a bit nervously. Scanning the piece of paper in her hand for the address she had copied down, she made a right turn down a side alley and kept walking. Her eyes carefully skimmed both sides of the street looking for the signs of the first apothecary that Nancy had sent an owl to, but her mind was racing with thoughts of Death Eaters lurking behind every corner waiting to jump out at her.
The side street she had taken was getting a bit deserted, she noted with some alarm. Increasing the pace of her walk, she glanced down at the address again. She should be almost there...
The sound of approaching footsteps made Jenni's heart skip a beat and without a second thought, she ducked into a nearby shop. Poking her head out the door, Jenni cursed herself quietly for letting her thoughts get carried away as she watched an elderly witch hurry down the road.
Taking a moment to regain her composure, Jenni sucked in a deep breath and made her way out of the shop. She looked around, knowing that the store she'd marked down should be right around here... but all she saw was a blackened, boarded up wreck of a shop.
"Must've been a fire," she muttered to herself, crossing that one off and heading back to the more crowded alleyway. A passing shadow made her jump and gasp before she realized it was an old tabby cat. 'Dammit Jenni, you've got to get a grip. This is what you get for reading all those crazy muggle mystery novels. A head full of irrational thoughts and a fear of serial killers lurking behind every corner.'
Just as she was about to continue on looking for the second address, Jenni stopped. Not even two stores down was the man who had attacked her in Nancy's apartment. Jenni felt her heart rate quicken and a cold chill ran down her spine. It was the exact same feeling she had the night she stepped into Nancy's apartment and realized she wasn't alone. With a quick glance, Jenni noticed that the man had walked out of an Apothecary. In FACT, it was the same name as the fourth one that had been hastily scribbled on her piece of parchment. She turned away with the pretext of looking interested in a cage of highly priced (and probably illegally caught) Golden Snidgets. Watching the reflection in the window with a wary eye, Jenni waited until the Death Eater had completely vanished down the other end of the street before she turned and made her way quickly back toward Diagon Alley.
Relieved to be back in the sunshine and relative safety, she paused for a moment to let her hood down and then headed for the Leaky Cauldron and home.
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Several hours later, Nancy emerged from her room. She had fallen asleep face down on her bed after the small argument with Jenni, and now her stomach was churning. She should have known better than to cry into her pillow... she always fell asleep afterwards, and every time she woke up with a stomachache. Not to mention those highly annoying pillow lines on her face.
Heading for the bathroom, Nancy noticed an odd smell coming from the kitchen... and then she blinked. That was a LOT of smoke. With a large gasp that turned into sputtering and coughing, Nancy made her way to the kitchen. Even with her glasses on, it was impossible to see a thing. The smoke was thick, and Nancy wasn't sure if there was a fire in the kitchen or not. Hell, she wasn't even sure she had a kitchen left.
Just as she was wondering why the hell her smoke alarm hadn't gone off, an ear piercing beeping sounded directly overhead.
"Oh now you bloody well decide to work. Fat lot of help it does now!" she glared up at the ceiling, a good three or four feet above her reach. "Damn thing... now that I'm awake you won't shut up!" Since the best way to quiet the alarm would be to eliminate the smoke, she rubbed her quickly tearing eyes and began to survey her little domain.
As she searched for the source of the smoke, Nancy cursed loudly - the muggle contraption would not cease its incessant noise, and she was beginning to feel it echoing inside her head, a sure sign that she'd be in pain all night. Catching sight of a blacker area of the thick billowing smoke, she made her way to about where the stove should be.
Finally reaching the stove (which she noted with some relief was still there) Nancy groaned. Well, here she had the cause for the destruction of her kitchen. A pot of what appeared to be noodles, but which were now completely black after boiling out all the water and then burning the long skinny things to a crisp, was still set to HIGH. Another pan, this one her best skillet, of something (even Nancy couldn't tell exactly what) had bubbled over onto the burners, one of which was still on. Whatever it had been was also now a hard black crust on the pan itself. Nancy turned off all of the burners and took the first pot to the sink, filling it with cold water. A loud hiss escaped from the sink along with billowing steam and more cursing from Nancy.
"Damn it! That was my favorite pot! OW!! And would you please SHUT UP!?" Nancy let a few expletives fly as she found a spoon and hurled it at the annoying smoke alarm.
No sooner did she turn back to the stove to retrieve the other pot than a voice cut through the smoke "What is going on!?" Nancy jumped and dropped the still VERY hot pot right on her foot.
Nancy could barely make out a very worried looking Bill Weasley as she fought the urge to kick the heavy pot with her already sore foot. "OW! I'm having a bloody TEA PARTY! What the hell does it look like is going on?"
Bill's response was immediate. "Where's Jenni? Is she ok?"
If Nancy hadn't been in so much pain already she would have thrown the damn pot at him. "I don't KNOW where Jenni is. The last time I saw her she was getting a glass of juice, out of this very kitchen. As for what happened with the glass of juice, or why I have pots of blackened... stuff... on my stove, I couldn't tell you."
Bill shot an exasperated glare at Nancy before leaving to walk through the rest of the apartment, calling for Jenni. Nancy returned his nasty look full force, mumbling to herself, "How dare he?"
She tossed the still steaming pan into the other side of the sink.
"Just who does he think he is - walking in here like he owns the place?"
Wincing at the soreness in her foot, she bent down and carefully grabbed the pot that had fallen.
"And then..."
She paused for a moment to rub her temples with her sooty fingers, the alarm was really getting to her.
"...THEN he asks me about JENNI!"
Straightening up, she turned the cold water on full blast, causing a column of white steam to rise from the second destroyed pot.
"Doesn't care if I'M ok..."
Glaring as she saw him check the bathroom, Nancy headed over to the lone kitchen window.
"I'M the one suffering from smoke inhalation because JENNI decided to play cook!"
She threw it open, and then went searching for a large book to prop it with... it had a tendency to decide that it wanted to be shut. They'd tried magic. Nothing worked but a good heavy book.
"Typical male chauvinistic pig..."
She was still muttering and banging the pots rather loudly when Bill made his way back to the kitchen. It had aired out some, but the smoke was still thick and her eyes were watering like crazy.
"She's not here." His voice was sharp with an unspoken accusation.
Nancy let out an exasperated sigh. "Of course she's here! Where would she go?"
"You were the one who was supposed to be watching her. You tell me." Bill's face had begun to turn a deep red from anger and lines of worry creased his forehead.
"I WAS watching her. How was I supposed to know she was going to leave? Maybe she needed something for whatever she was cooking?" Nancy's voice rose a notch, along with her stress level, as she tried to talk over the still screeching smoke alarm.
Bill walked over, yanked the smoke alarm down off the ceiling and tossed it out the window. "You were ASLEEP!" he growled, pointing out the still obvious lines on her face from the pillow. "You call that watching? Jenni has been through enough without you falling asleep on her."
Nancy blanched angrily as Bill's voice became menacingly quiet. "I know what Jenni has been through. I don't need you reminding me. And I'm sure she'll be back in a few minutes."
Bill became extremely livid. "A FEW MINUTES!? How long do you think it should take? Whatever was cooking is now burnt to a crisp! If it was a short errand, she would have been BACK by now. And how in bloody HELL did you manage to sleep through all of this? Didn't you smell the smoke?"
Nancy picked up the pot and threw it forcefully into the other side of the sink, causing a great deal of noise. Bill, she noticed with a triumphant smirk, had stepped back at her display of anger. "NO. I didn't smell the smoke. If I HAD, then MY kitchen would not resemble the aftereffects of a dungbomb explosion gone wrong! Is there anything else you want to know?"
There were a few moments of relative silence as Nancy banged pots and pans around, splashing water all over the kitchen in an angry and loud attempt to clean up, at least a little bit. Bill scowled, but kept his distance, and began to wander around the smoky room with a bit more precision than his first quick check for Jenni. He walked over to the table, where Jenni's notes were neatly stacked and started to rifle through them, looking for some clue as to why she would bolt like this.
The blaring of the alarm had indeed created the predicted pounding in Nancy's temples, and all the smoke she had inhaled in her hurry to find the fire was leaving her a bit woozy. She glared over to where Bill was flipping through some of Jenni's papers, and snapped, "Would you MIND helping?"
Bill simply looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "You looked like you were quite enjoying playing muggle in distress..." Smirking at her furious growl, he very nearly grinned when she furtively pulled out her wand and started muttering cleaning spells. She looked almost as though she'd forgotten she could. As he came to the bottom of the stack of notes on the table, Bill reorganized them into their piles and looked around.
The only other papers sitting out in the apartment were by the book of Wizarding Companies, over on the end table. He wanted to examine them, but good manners reminded him that owl mail was private. "Were you using the directory today?"
"No, I keep it under the couch." Nancy sounded almost civil. "It's probably pretty dusty. Why, do you need it?"
"Well, it's out and open..." he said, taking her answer as a good enough reason to pry. If SHE hadn't used it, then it stood to reason that Jenni HAD. Nancy apparently had the same idea, because she hurried over to see.
It was open to the Apothecary page. Nancy blanched, having a sick sensation in the pit of her stomach as she whirled around to check the drawer where she had stashed the remains of her wretched attempt at illegal potion making. Surely Jenni hadn't found THAT...
"Nancy." Bill's voice froze her as she stepped into the kitchen. "What are these lists?"
Oh shit. She had.
"Um... let me see..." She about-faced, but it was too late. Bill had already started scanning the open pages of the Ministry listing of Wizarding Companies for the shops on her handwritten list. It would just be a moment before...
"Bloody HELL! Knockturn Alley! I think you'd better explain this."
"Right, well..." She looked up at him, his blue eyes blazing and the anger on his face highly intimidating. Her head throbbed, reminding her why she shouldn't get into an argument with a Weasley right after swimming in smoke. "I was... er... researching places where you can get illegal ingredients for... a project. But, I don't know why she would bother with it. I ended the investigation weeks ago," she was warming to her subject now. "I mean, I couldn't get anyone to admit to having them, so I discontinued the whole idea. Just hadn't gotten around to throwing these out."
Bill could tell that she wasn't telling him the whole truth. He didn't much care right now, he just wanted to know if there was any way that Jenni could have been misguided enough to GO to Knockturn Alley - alone and in her weak state.
"Didn't you ever wonder how that Death Eater FOUND you? Are you not aware that owls can be TRACED? If you owled places like this..." he waved the list inches from her face, "no WONDER the creep was able to follow you here! You practically INVITED him in!"
An idea suddenly clicked in his mind.
"Do you remember who attacked you, the night of the party?"
Nancy blinked, trying to follow his line of reasoning. "I... no. Not very well. It's all really fuzzy."
"Damn it. We need Charlie, he'd remember..." Bill was striding around, gathering up the papers, and jotting down addresses with a sense of urgency; he missed the stricken look on Nancy's face at his words. The implications of his questions had finally hit home.
Her already pounding head was reeling. What he'd said made sense - it was true, she'd never really considered the fact that sending out owls would give those on the receiving end her address. She'd just trusted that... well, the fact that she trusted anything to the decency of the shops on Knockturn Alley showed just how right he was. This was all her fault.
"Are you coming or not?" Nancy looked up to see Bill waiting at the door. She hadn't heard a word he said in the last five minutes. Guilt welled up inside her - what if Jenni was really in danger? All her fault...
"Yeah, I'm coming." Not sure where it was she was going, Nancy stood up and followed Bill out the door.
While Bill waited for Nancy to lock the door he continued scanning the list of addresses he had scribbled down. His mind was racing with a thousand different thoughts; the most prominent one was hoping that Jenni, wherever she had gone off to, was all right. Shaking his head to clear it of any dark thoughts, he heard the lock catch and turned to go just as Nancy's voice caught his attention.
"What's this?" Nancy was bending down to pick up a piece of parchment. "Did you drop this on your way over here?"
Bill strode forward and took the paper. "No, I didn't have anything.wait a minute." He stared at the parchment as a look of recognition flashed in his eyes.
"What is it?" Nancy had watched the change on Bill's face and knew something was up.
"This is Mum's handwriting. She... she must have sent Charlie over here."
Nancy felt herself falter as Bill mentioned his brother's name. "What do you mean? He was here? Why?"
Bill sighed heavily. "Nothing. Just mum trying to... Listen, it doesn't matter. What matters is - if he knew ANYTHING about where Jenni was going and didn't try to stop her, I'm gonna bloody kill him."
Nancy permitted herself the momentary weakness of praying that Charlie had stayed in bed ALL day, so that Bill would have no excuse to carry out his threat.
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When they got to the Burrow, Bill shot a glare at Nancy and snapped, "Wait here. I'll be right back out with him."
Without a second glance he headed inside. Checking for family members, he stopped first at the kitchen. There was a note on the table from his mother -
"Took the kids to Chudley Cannons game (free tickets!) Percy's working late. Charlie wouldn't come. Talk to your brother (Charlie, not Percy). (well, Percy too, if you'd like)"
Certain that he had the house to himself, Bill let loose a roar. "CHARLIE??"
He heard a crash and some cursing from upstairs, followed by a good amount of splashing. Bathroom, then.
By the time he got up to the landing that the bathroom was off of, Charlie was wrapped in a towel and leaning against the doorjamb waiting for him.
"You hollered?"
"Damn right, I hollered." His tone must have worried Charlie, Bill noted with grim satisfaction, because the open, amused look on his face vanished. "Remember this?"
Bill pulled out the silly letter that he and his mother had concocted as an excuse to make Charlie leave the house. The same letter that Nancy had found on the hall floor outside her apartment. He waited tensely.
"Oh, that. Mum was meddling, and wanted me to deliver it to you. I ran into Jenni on her way out and left it with her. But obviously, since you're holding it, you know that... what's going on?"
"Would you mind telling me what was SAID when you saw her?" Bill grit out, worry and frustration making him a bit sharper than he usually would be when trying to get information. To his surprise, Charlie flushed.
"Well... it's a bit embarrassing. I got a bit, er, shirty with her; she was trying to show me something."
"A list, maybe?" Bill's hand tightened on the sheet of paper he was holding.
"I didn't really look at it... might have been." Charlie stood up, heading back into the bathroom for his clothing. Bill followed, and Charlie turned back to him beginning to look annoyed. "Why? Did you lose her? She's a big girl, Bill... she'll be back as soon-"
"Apothecary shops." Bill interrupted angrily, "On Knockturn Alley." Charlie went still, narrowing his eyes at the mention of that very dangerous road. "That's what the damn list was, you bloody wanker. And she tried to SHOW you!"
Charlie groaned. What had she gone and done after he'd stormed out of there? He was about to offer to get dressed and come help when Bill started muttering, "You two... like bloody children. Don't want to listen, fall bloody asleep..."
His temper rising, Charlie said angrily, "Jenni Ferguson is bloody well capable of taking care of herself and making her own decisions. If she makes a bad one, I'm quite willing to help her out, because I've always liked the girl. Besides, I don't fancy watching you go mad worrying. But don't go BLAMING her decisions on me... or Nancy either," he added a bit more softly, making Bill look back at him in surprise.
"Fine. Just get some bleeding clothes on so we can go!" Bill snarled, stalking out of the bathroom and slamming the door.
"Go WHERE?" Charlie rolled his eyes at the closed door and said to the mirror, "Really, he was much more pleasant BEFORE he fell in love."
"You're one to talk. Now brush that hair, dear!"
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"Wait here. I'll be right back out with him."
Nancy didn't appreciate the tone of voice Bill used as he stalked towards the house. She thought about protesting, but having borne the brunt of his anger once already, she didn't really fancy trying to force her way into his family's home to confront his closest brother who also happened to be dead sexy and pissed as hell as her.
Half an hour later, her worry and panic was fading and she was starting to feel like this whole trip had been planned strictly to humiliate her. Glaring at the door Bill had stomped into earlier with uncharacteristic clumsiness, she got up and marched towards the house.
"I'll show him." She said half under her breath. "Thinks this is mighty funny, does he? Charlie's probably not even HERE. Probably he and Jenni are inside having a good laugh and a snog while I cool my heels and worry..."
She yanked her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at the door. "Alohamora!"
The door swung open, taking Nancy by surprise. That spell generally only unlocked doors, not opened them. She blinked twice and finally noticed that there was a hand attached to the doorknob on the inside. It was in turn attached to an arm - an arm that she was pretty damn sure would lead her right up to a pair of very dark, very cold blue eyes belonging to the Weasley she'd avoided thinking about whenever possible lately.
"We don't lock our doors during the day," she heard Charlie say neutrally, confirming her suspicions. "Too many people coming and going all the time."
"Oh. Right." Oh that was brilliant, Nancy. Just knock him off his feet with your sparkling wit. "I knew that..."
She chanced a glance up at him, and caught him looking at her a bit quizzically. She nearly gasped when she surprised a look of real pain on his face, but it vanished as soon as her eyes met his, replaced by a tight, guarded look. Nancy quickly looked away.
"So, at what point are you going to tell me the REASON you dragged me out of the shower and into the back yard, Bill?" Charlie asked, turning away from her to look at his brother, who was coming out the door with a few sheets of paper in his hands. Nancy took the opportunity to stare at the back of Charlie's red head; it was wild and damp, looking like he'd just run a towel over it and thrown on some clothes...
Whoa there, Nancy... you're not even speaking to the man, and the first time you're within 100 feet of him you're imagining him naked? Her silent chastisements took longer than she realised, and by the time she looked back up at them, both men were looking at her expectantly.
"Sorry, what?"
"Do you agree? It's the best way to do this..." Bill's voice was clipped and frustrated. Charlie didn't say a thing, just watched her with unblinking eyes.
"Well... I suppose, if you think it's the best way..." she mumbled, praying that she hadn't just agreed to anything too horrible. From the way Charlie glared at his brother and stiffened, she wasn't sure she'd made the right decision.
"All right then, it's settled. Charlie knows the way around Knockturn. You two can take some of our old black cloaks to hide your faces. I'll check all the Diagon Alley stores, and we'll meet back at the Leaky Cauldron in three hours." Bill handed the copies of Nancy's list of suppliers to both of them and then whirled around, headed inside for the floo powder.
"You know your way around Knockturn Alley?" The question slipped out before she realized what she was saying and to who. Reddening, she stuck her chin in the air and started inside, not expecting an answer.
"Illegal dragon deals." His words were clipped and impatient. "Did some investigating a few years ago."
"Charlie! Let's GO." Bill's voice came from inside, and Charlie nodded that Nancy should precede him in.
As she walked in, Charlie took a minute to just look at her. She seemed tired, and was obviously worried about Jenni. He supposed that having Bill berate her for not paying closer attention to Jenni's comings and goings couldn't have helped her mood. Still, at least he didn't sense anger.
She reached the door and turned back to look at him, and Charlie realized that he was still standing in the same spot. Scowling at being caught thinking about her when she'd been the one to overreact and kick him out in the first place, he hurried to catch up.
Honestly. Dragons were so much simpler.
After assuring Bill that they would indeed make their way to the Leaky Cauldron in three hours, he headed to the cloak closet to find something that they could hide under and still survive the summer heat.
Nancy sat on a chair next to the fireplace to wait for him, not really sure what else to do. She was fairly certain that Jenni wasn't stupid enough to go wandering openly down Knockturn Alley accosting Death Eaters, but since this whole bloody situation was her own fault she hadn't felt up to arguing the point with Bill. It was hard to defend her theories when he was waving the evidence of her earlier stupidity in her face.
It was only a few minutes before Charlie came back. He was carrying two cloaks, both the same size... really bloody big. Nancy stood up and bit her lip.
"Which of those is for me?"
"Oh... either." Charlie tossed the top one over to her, and Nancy held it up. It was a good foot longer than it needed to be on her, and she could wrap it around herself twice, easy. Although, it was made of some skin... very thin, but really soft. Running her hand over it in appreciation, she muttered, "Nice, but I'll be tripping over it the whole time."
He ignored her, and reached for the floo powder. But before he got into the grate, he said, "We'll go straight to the quidditch shop. I know the owner... he'll let us out the back door. And do your best NOT to trip," he added, fighting to keep a straight face as she tried the cloak on. It was one of his; he had two made from salamander skins for his summer work in the dragon mating fields. It could get really hot in there for various reasons, and the heat resistant cloak provided one more layer of protection from over protective mates and mothers.
But... it certainly was big on her. Reminding himself that she didn't WANT to be talking to him, never mind joking around with him about her size, Charlie sighed and directed his thoughts in a better direction. Time to go.
"Quality Quidditch Supplies!" he said, throwing down his floo powder and watching for the familiar grate. Most people didn't know that they could bypass the entryway of the Leaky Cauldron, but he'd practically lived in this shop during his school years.
Nancy watched him vanish and scowled. She'd never really liked floo powder... she had the worst luck with her glasses. And she realized suddenly, all tangled in this cloak she'd probably wind up tripping into someone's private grate. Taking it off again and folding it across her arm, she followed Charlie in a blaze of green.
Charlie had landed hard, but he managed to stay upright. He waved at the owner of the store just as he heard the whooshing sound of Nancy arriving through the grate. Not wanting her to fall and hurt herself, he unobtrusively took a step back and let out a loud 'oomph' as Nancy slammed head long into HIM.
Stumbling out of the grate, she could see the floor rushing up at her... until she ran right into the very solid back of Charlie Weasley. Very solid and very nice smelling, she noted absently as she struggled to find her feet. Hell, he even SMELLED manly. Oh dammit, she'd just done it again.
Quickly distancing herself from him and his manly smell, Nancy let out a growl. "You didn't have to get in my way."
Charlie narrowed his eyes. "Well, I thought you would be a little more grateful that I saved you from falling face first onto the ground."
"My hero." With her voice full of contempt, Nancy glared at Charlie before turning to dust herself off.
"Well you didn't seem to mind just a few weeks ago." Charlie's voice was equally sarcastic, covering how it smarted to remember the difference in her voice the first time she'd said that to him.
Choosing to ignore that last comment, Nancy threw the cloak around her shoulders, nodded at the man behind the counter, stuck her nose in the air, and stalked out of the quidditch store. She headed in the direction that she suspected Knockturn Alley to be, all the while stumbling over the foot or so of material still dragging the ground. She was sure she heard Charlie trying to hide a snort of laughter as she nearly took out a stand of sandals with the latest in cushioning charms, and did that say water- repelling? She felt a strong hand wrap around her arm and keep her from hitting the table until she could sort out the yards of cloak wrapped around her right foot. Resisting the urge to turn around and glare at him, she stopped and looked at the display - only 9 sickles, not bad at all...
Charlie kept his hand on her arm. It wouldn't do either of them any good if she wound up hurting herself before they even got to Knockturn Alley, and if he had to keep picking her up mid-fall, so be it. He waited for about ten seconds as she glared at the shoes, which had started competing for her attention by doing backflips and singing songs.
"Not to interrupt anything important... but, do you know where you're going?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I know where I'm going." Nancy stepped back from the shoes and started walking quickly in the direction she'd started in earlier, determined not to look at Charlie.
He raised an eyebrow. "And what do you plan on doing once you get there?"
"I... well... I was going to..." Nancy stumbled over the words as she tried to hide the fact that she really had no plan and was only trying to get as far away from Charlie as possible. "I was going there to find Jenni." Nancy finished her sentence with as much dignity as she could muster with Charlie staring at her as if she had told him she had swallowed a live flobberworm.
"Right." Charlie nodded. "Then lead the way. I'll follow you."
Nancy stuck out her chin, proudly gathering up the cloak so as not to stumble over it again and began walking. Charlie stared at her, caught between grinning in amusement and seething in frustration at her unfair attitude towards him. Only a few steps further, she stopped mid stride and turned back to him, mumbling something under her breath.
"What was that?" Charlie put a hand to his ear and leaned in towards Nancy. "I didn't quite catch what you said."
Nancy flushed furiously and then snarled into his ear, "I said, I DON'T KNOW WHICH WAY TO GO!" She crossed her arms and smirked as Charlie pulled his head back. Nancy was feeling childishly satisfied as she watched him glare at her.
That feeling quickly turned to confusion when she saw his eyes darken, and he reached forward, tugging her towards him as a rather large warlock shoved by behind her. As angry and scared and frustrated as she was, having him touch her like that sent a shiver down her spine.
Charlie transferred his glare to the fat old man whose piggy eyes had lingered a bit too long on Nancy's curly hair as he passed. Despite the hurt that still remained, he let his hands linger for just long enough to feel her shiver. Trying to hide the smile of pure male satisfaction that rose up as he realized that she was NOT cold on this summer day, he reached around behind her for the hood of the cloak. He gently tugged it up over her head, hiding her in the depths of the large cloak. After all, he told himself, this wouldn't work if he was worrying about her getting hit on by the scum of the wizarding world.
"All right, keep that up or we'll be in trouble," he said brusquely, stepping back and putting his own hood up. He started forward, but noticed that Nancy wasn't following. "WHAT is your problem now?"
Her voice was muffled and annoyed. "I can't really see anything... hood's a bit large." He watched as she gathered up the folds of the cloak in one hand, holding them above the ground like some medieval lady, and then she stuck out her other hand. Charlie stared at it for a moment, his smile twisting wryly.
"Well, then, m'lady, shall we?" he asked, taking her hand in his and leading her towards the shadowed entrance to Knockturn Alley.
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Jenni breathed a sigh of relief as she climbed the steps to Nancy's apartment. That had been one hell of an experience that she didn't want to repeat any time soon. Knockturn Alley gave her the creeps, and seeing that man... she shuddered. Best not to think about it too much.
She was just reaching for the door when an odd smell (was that smoke?) caught her attention. Jenni pulled her hand back slowly, remembering the incident that had occurred only a few nights ago. She reached in her robes for her wand and cautiously unlocked the door. Jenni turned the knob and swung the door open in one quick motion, stepping into the room half- expecting someone to come exploding out of the shadows. When no one appeared, she slowly made her way through the rest of the apartment repeating the same basic entrance - wand at the ready, fling open the door and check all corners.
"Well Jenni, that does it for you," she muttered on her way out of the bathroom. The apartment seemed clear. "No more muggle mysteries for ten years. Here you go barging around like Charlie's Angels and you're down two angels! That's NOT what I would call a winning situation if you had been expecting a visitor. Especially after your last encounter."
With a sigh, Jenni made her way to the kitchen. The smoke smell was much stronger here, and Jenni groaned as she noticed a pair of burnt pots in Nancy's sink. Slapping her hand on her forehead, she sank into a nearby chair. "Nancy's gonna kill me. I forgot to turn off the spaghetti. That means... I ruined her favorite pots!"
It suddenly hit her that Nancy wasn't standing there, waving the pots at her angrily. She hadn't been asleep in the bedroom, or in the bathroom... DAMN it. Jenni winced as she let her still sore head fall with a thud onto the table. Obviously, Nancy had awoken and realized that Jenni had left in a hurry. This complicated matters.
She sat upright suddenly. Maybe she could head to the Burrow and tell Nancy she had been there all along. It would work, as long as Bill hadn't decided to stop here first on his way home from work. Her heart lifted for a second, but then reason took hold. She wasn't going to lie outright to Nancy. But she WAS going to head over to the Burrow anyway. Maybe Nancy had gone there to look for her...
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A/N AAAAAAAAAND CUT. Hey, don't glare at me. This one's Loooooooong. Ah, but if only Jenni knew, huh? ;) WELL. Let's get on with it... iiiit's THANK YOU time! I love this part. THIS chapter's thanks are directly from the keyboard of JENNI! Except the one that's to my big sister. Cause Jenni figured I had to respond to that one. But the REST all ALL her.
Zoe - you know, Snape's woman really sounds like a cool person. You think she really could help me? LOL, at least I would have someone on my side right?? ;)
Louisa - hope this chapter didn't end as quickly for you! But you know what I find helps?? You read it two or three times just to make sure you don't miss anything!! (nancy note... Like, say, CHARLIE in a towel?? ;) )
Joyce - well, I'm really sorry you feel that there is too much time between chapters. Unfortunately we work on this story when time allows us. As for giving up other less important things... well, Nancy could give up school and her new job and sit around the house all day and I could tell my boss that being an assistant manager at the store I work at is no longer top priority. But obviously we're not going to, so the story gets done on our schedule. As for the thank yous, we feel it a privilege and an honor that people actually take the time to read something we started for fun. In fact, the thank yous that we take the time to write out take up only a half hour and are done well after the chapter has been written, edited, and a proper title thought of. It's just our way of telling each one of you personally that we appreciate the fact that you take the time to read this and give us many helpful ideas on how we can improve our writing or where we don't need any help. We are both disappointed to see that THAT is what you came away from the last chapter with... complaints about our time schedule and nothing to say about the story itself.
Carrie!! HEE HEEE!!! Nancy?? Make peace with Charlie?? HAHAHHHAA!! Don't make me laugh! OW!!! Nancy, what didya hit me for?
LILY!!! Well, this one only took us about a week to write it...only a month and a half to post it! HAHAA....I guess that's some sort of improvement. Or maybe not.
Psiana - I say this every time but your reviews just crack me up! HAHAHAAA!!! Shorter than a kneeling midget!! HEEHEEE, and I get a mental image of mini Bill trying to kneel. HAHAHAAA!!! OOOH, maybe that wasn't the right thing to say. He looks a bit miffed at me. Er...sorry Bill. Oh, and just so you know...we aren't in Bali. Nancy got us one way tickets to Aruba! ;)
Fracindy - you get major hugs!! You are really the coolest! Thanks for being so understanding and supportive! Even just the littlest things mean the most to writers. (You know how that is!!!) And I'm sure Percy really has been keeping a pretty close eye on you! AHAAAHAHAA!!
Big Sis -- Cushions?? STRAWBERRIES?? Where are they?? I waaaaaant! Here's the freakin rest of it. :P And... well... for the moment you're far too far away to kick me anywhere. ;) Enjoy.
Heather - thanks for reading!! Just don't let Nancy hear you say that Charlie is cute. Even though she's mad at him, she still tends to be a bit possessive of him! ;)
Hey Karen! HAHA, well just so you know Nancy and I take turns writing the thank yous and responding to the reviews. I'm sure she sees them just as well as I do! And yes I totally agree with you, she and Charlie really need to get over themselves. Acting like children! Hmph, what's wrong with them??
Ronsspawn - you think it's frustrating reading about it?? You should try living with a moping Nancy...HEY!! OW!! Quit throwing pots at me Nancy! I Know I don't really live with you...I was...OW!!! OOOH, this pot is burnt bad! (Runs away from Nancy, who is frantically chasing Jenni with a pot)
Margaret - NO!! You can't go into FLUFF DEPRIVATION!! We won't let you! More fluff soon, we promise. Just not in this chapter. Maybe the next one?? Who knows, we'll see.
Christine, Hailey, or Paige - (UM, take your pick which one you want to be today...) LOL, thanks soooo much for reading and reviewing! HEHEEE, and yes, the Molly Weasley bit...forcing Charlie to go to the apartment. Clever witch, that Weasley mum is!!
Heather - (Ok, so I'm assuming this is a new reader with the name Heather, which makes two of them!!) Charlie, Bill, Fred, George, what's not to like about those Weasleys dear??? As for more chapters, we put them out as soon as we can! Thanks for reading! And we're so glad you like it! :D
Wilma Love - HAHAHAAAA!!!! Making a fuss over Bill and Charlie is an art that Nancy and I have perfected! MUWAHAHAHAHAA!! Feel free to join us anytime! And much thanks for the lovely praise! (Feel free to do that anytime as well. We quite enjoy praise!)
REVIIIIIEW!!! And you could get a little mention TOO! ;) ;)
Because we have decided that it looks nicer, thank yous are at the END of the chapter. ENJOY!
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Jenni stood in the hallway for several minutes after Charlie left, debating whether or not to head off to Gringotts and look for Bill, or wait for him at Nancy's apartment. Neither option held any real appeal, besides the obvious of seeing a certain red-head. What Jenni really wanted to do was head to Knockturn Alley and check out who Nancy had been trying to buy dodo claws from. Really, it was no big deal, just a little information gathering... If all went well, she could be back before Bill got off of work and no one would be the wiser.
Her mind made up, she hurried off. The thought crossed her mind as she arrived outside the Leaky Cauldron that it would be just like Nancy to decide that NOW was the time for a heart to heart and find her missing, but surely she'd be back in time to head that off.
Within minutes, Jenni had made her way out of the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley. She walked slowly down the street, trying to look casual as she headed towards Knockturn Alley. Hopefully no one would recognize her and ask her what she was doing there, or want to stop and chat. She decided that her distraction must have shown on her face, because she made it all the way to the end of Diagon Alley without being approached by anyone.
Jenni walked down a small set of steps that led into the dark alleyway. She had her hood pulled up on her robe hoping to conceal the three day old bruises that marked her face and carefully avoided eye contact with any one who passed her. She was in dangerous territory now, she reminded herself a bit nervously. Scanning the piece of paper in her hand for the address she had copied down, she made a right turn down a side alley and kept walking. Her eyes carefully skimmed both sides of the street looking for the signs of the first apothecary that Nancy had sent an owl to, but her mind was racing with thoughts of Death Eaters lurking behind every corner waiting to jump out at her.
The side street she had taken was getting a bit deserted, she noted with some alarm. Increasing the pace of her walk, she glanced down at the address again. She should be almost there...
The sound of approaching footsteps made Jenni's heart skip a beat and without a second thought, she ducked into a nearby shop. Poking her head out the door, Jenni cursed herself quietly for letting her thoughts get carried away as she watched an elderly witch hurry down the road.
Taking a moment to regain her composure, Jenni sucked in a deep breath and made her way out of the shop. She looked around, knowing that the store she'd marked down should be right around here... but all she saw was a blackened, boarded up wreck of a shop.
"Must've been a fire," she muttered to herself, crossing that one off and heading back to the more crowded alleyway. A passing shadow made her jump and gasp before she realized it was an old tabby cat. 'Dammit Jenni, you've got to get a grip. This is what you get for reading all those crazy muggle mystery novels. A head full of irrational thoughts and a fear of serial killers lurking behind every corner.'
Just as she was about to continue on looking for the second address, Jenni stopped. Not even two stores down was the man who had attacked her in Nancy's apartment. Jenni felt her heart rate quicken and a cold chill ran down her spine. It was the exact same feeling she had the night she stepped into Nancy's apartment and realized she wasn't alone. With a quick glance, Jenni noticed that the man had walked out of an Apothecary. In FACT, it was the same name as the fourth one that had been hastily scribbled on her piece of parchment. She turned away with the pretext of looking interested in a cage of highly priced (and probably illegally caught) Golden Snidgets. Watching the reflection in the window with a wary eye, Jenni waited until the Death Eater had completely vanished down the other end of the street before she turned and made her way quickly back toward Diagon Alley.
Relieved to be back in the sunshine and relative safety, she paused for a moment to let her hood down and then headed for the Leaky Cauldron and home.
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Several hours later, Nancy emerged from her room. She had fallen asleep face down on her bed after the small argument with Jenni, and now her stomach was churning. She should have known better than to cry into her pillow... she always fell asleep afterwards, and every time she woke up with a stomachache. Not to mention those highly annoying pillow lines on her face.
Heading for the bathroom, Nancy noticed an odd smell coming from the kitchen... and then she blinked. That was a LOT of smoke. With a large gasp that turned into sputtering and coughing, Nancy made her way to the kitchen. Even with her glasses on, it was impossible to see a thing. The smoke was thick, and Nancy wasn't sure if there was a fire in the kitchen or not. Hell, she wasn't even sure she had a kitchen left.
Just as she was wondering why the hell her smoke alarm hadn't gone off, an ear piercing beeping sounded directly overhead.
"Oh now you bloody well decide to work. Fat lot of help it does now!" she glared up at the ceiling, a good three or four feet above her reach. "Damn thing... now that I'm awake you won't shut up!" Since the best way to quiet the alarm would be to eliminate the smoke, she rubbed her quickly tearing eyes and began to survey her little domain.
As she searched for the source of the smoke, Nancy cursed loudly - the muggle contraption would not cease its incessant noise, and she was beginning to feel it echoing inside her head, a sure sign that she'd be in pain all night. Catching sight of a blacker area of the thick billowing smoke, she made her way to about where the stove should be.
Finally reaching the stove (which she noted with some relief was still there) Nancy groaned. Well, here she had the cause for the destruction of her kitchen. A pot of what appeared to be noodles, but which were now completely black after boiling out all the water and then burning the long skinny things to a crisp, was still set to HIGH. Another pan, this one her best skillet, of something (even Nancy couldn't tell exactly what) had bubbled over onto the burners, one of which was still on. Whatever it had been was also now a hard black crust on the pan itself. Nancy turned off all of the burners and took the first pot to the sink, filling it with cold water. A loud hiss escaped from the sink along with billowing steam and more cursing from Nancy.
"Damn it! That was my favorite pot! OW!! And would you please SHUT UP!?" Nancy let a few expletives fly as she found a spoon and hurled it at the annoying smoke alarm.
No sooner did she turn back to the stove to retrieve the other pot than a voice cut through the smoke "What is going on!?" Nancy jumped and dropped the still VERY hot pot right on her foot.
Nancy could barely make out a very worried looking Bill Weasley as she fought the urge to kick the heavy pot with her already sore foot. "OW! I'm having a bloody TEA PARTY! What the hell does it look like is going on?"
Bill's response was immediate. "Where's Jenni? Is she ok?"
If Nancy hadn't been in so much pain already she would have thrown the damn pot at him. "I don't KNOW where Jenni is. The last time I saw her she was getting a glass of juice, out of this very kitchen. As for what happened with the glass of juice, or why I have pots of blackened... stuff... on my stove, I couldn't tell you."
Bill shot an exasperated glare at Nancy before leaving to walk through the rest of the apartment, calling for Jenni. Nancy returned his nasty look full force, mumbling to herself, "How dare he?"
She tossed the still steaming pan into the other side of the sink.
"Just who does he think he is - walking in here like he owns the place?"
Wincing at the soreness in her foot, she bent down and carefully grabbed the pot that had fallen.
"And then..."
She paused for a moment to rub her temples with her sooty fingers, the alarm was really getting to her.
"...THEN he asks me about JENNI!"
Straightening up, she turned the cold water on full blast, causing a column of white steam to rise from the second destroyed pot.
"Doesn't care if I'M ok..."
Glaring as she saw him check the bathroom, Nancy headed over to the lone kitchen window.
"I'M the one suffering from smoke inhalation because JENNI decided to play cook!"
She threw it open, and then went searching for a large book to prop it with... it had a tendency to decide that it wanted to be shut. They'd tried magic. Nothing worked but a good heavy book.
"Typical male chauvinistic pig..."
She was still muttering and banging the pots rather loudly when Bill made his way back to the kitchen. It had aired out some, but the smoke was still thick and her eyes were watering like crazy.
"She's not here." His voice was sharp with an unspoken accusation.
Nancy let out an exasperated sigh. "Of course she's here! Where would she go?"
"You were the one who was supposed to be watching her. You tell me." Bill's face had begun to turn a deep red from anger and lines of worry creased his forehead.
"I WAS watching her. How was I supposed to know she was going to leave? Maybe she needed something for whatever she was cooking?" Nancy's voice rose a notch, along with her stress level, as she tried to talk over the still screeching smoke alarm.
Bill walked over, yanked the smoke alarm down off the ceiling and tossed it out the window. "You were ASLEEP!" he growled, pointing out the still obvious lines on her face from the pillow. "You call that watching? Jenni has been through enough without you falling asleep on her."
Nancy blanched angrily as Bill's voice became menacingly quiet. "I know what Jenni has been through. I don't need you reminding me. And I'm sure she'll be back in a few minutes."
Bill became extremely livid. "A FEW MINUTES!? How long do you think it should take? Whatever was cooking is now burnt to a crisp! If it was a short errand, she would have been BACK by now. And how in bloody HELL did you manage to sleep through all of this? Didn't you smell the smoke?"
Nancy picked up the pot and threw it forcefully into the other side of the sink, causing a great deal of noise. Bill, she noticed with a triumphant smirk, had stepped back at her display of anger. "NO. I didn't smell the smoke. If I HAD, then MY kitchen would not resemble the aftereffects of a dungbomb explosion gone wrong! Is there anything else you want to know?"
There were a few moments of relative silence as Nancy banged pots and pans around, splashing water all over the kitchen in an angry and loud attempt to clean up, at least a little bit. Bill scowled, but kept his distance, and began to wander around the smoky room with a bit more precision than his first quick check for Jenni. He walked over to the table, where Jenni's notes were neatly stacked and started to rifle through them, looking for some clue as to why she would bolt like this.
The blaring of the alarm had indeed created the predicted pounding in Nancy's temples, and all the smoke she had inhaled in her hurry to find the fire was leaving her a bit woozy. She glared over to where Bill was flipping through some of Jenni's papers, and snapped, "Would you MIND helping?"
Bill simply looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "You looked like you were quite enjoying playing muggle in distress..." Smirking at her furious growl, he very nearly grinned when she furtively pulled out her wand and started muttering cleaning spells. She looked almost as though she'd forgotten she could. As he came to the bottom of the stack of notes on the table, Bill reorganized them into their piles and looked around.
The only other papers sitting out in the apartment were by the book of Wizarding Companies, over on the end table. He wanted to examine them, but good manners reminded him that owl mail was private. "Were you using the directory today?"
"No, I keep it under the couch." Nancy sounded almost civil. "It's probably pretty dusty. Why, do you need it?"
"Well, it's out and open..." he said, taking her answer as a good enough reason to pry. If SHE hadn't used it, then it stood to reason that Jenni HAD. Nancy apparently had the same idea, because she hurried over to see.
It was open to the Apothecary page. Nancy blanched, having a sick sensation in the pit of her stomach as she whirled around to check the drawer where she had stashed the remains of her wretched attempt at illegal potion making. Surely Jenni hadn't found THAT...
"Nancy." Bill's voice froze her as she stepped into the kitchen. "What are these lists?"
Oh shit. She had.
"Um... let me see..." She about-faced, but it was too late. Bill had already started scanning the open pages of the Ministry listing of Wizarding Companies for the shops on her handwritten list. It would just be a moment before...
"Bloody HELL! Knockturn Alley! I think you'd better explain this."
"Right, well..." She looked up at him, his blue eyes blazing and the anger on his face highly intimidating. Her head throbbed, reminding her why she shouldn't get into an argument with a Weasley right after swimming in smoke. "I was... er... researching places where you can get illegal ingredients for... a project. But, I don't know why she would bother with it. I ended the investigation weeks ago," she was warming to her subject now. "I mean, I couldn't get anyone to admit to having them, so I discontinued the whole idea. Just hadn't gotten around to throwing these out."
Bill could tell that she wasn't telling him the whole truth. He didn't much care right now, he just wanted to know if there was any way that Jenni could have been misguided enough to GO to Knockturn Alley - alone and in her weak state.
"Didn't you ever wonder how that Death Eater FOUND you? Are you not aware that owls can be TRACED? If you owled places like this..." he waved the list inches from her face, "no WONDER the creep was able to follow you here! You practically INVITED him in!"
An idea suddenly clicked in his mind.
"Do you remember who attacked you, the night of the party?"
Nancy blinked, trying to follow his line of reasoning. "I... no. Not very well. It's all really fuzzy."
"Damn it. We need Charlie, he'd remember..." Bill was striding around, gathering up the papers, and jotting down addresses with a sense of urgency; he missed the stricken look on Nancy's face at his words. The implications of his questions had finally hit home.
Her already pounding head was reeling. What he'd said made sense - it was true, she'd never really considered the fact that sending out owls would give those on the receiving end her address. She'd just trusted that... well, the fact that she trusted anything to the decency of the shops on Knockturn Alley showed just how right he was. This was all her fault.
"Are you coming or not?" Nancy looked up to see Bill waiting at the door. She hadn't heard a word he said in the last five minutes. Guilt welled up inside her - what if Jenni was really in danger? All her fault...
"Yeah, I'm coming." Not sure where it was she was going, Nancy stood up and followed Bill out the door.
While Bill waited for Nancy to lock the door he continued scanning the list of addresses he had scribbled down. His mind was racing with a thousand different thoughts; the most prominent one was hoping that Jenni, wherever she had gone off to, was all right. Shaking his head to clear it of any dark thoughts, he heard the lock catch and turned to go just as Nancy's voice caught his attention.
"What's this?" Nancy was bending down to pick up a piece of parchment. "Did you drop this on your way over here?"
Bill strode forward and took the paper. "No, I didn't have anything.wait a minute." He stared at the parchment as a look of recognition flashed in his eyes.
"What is it?" Nancy had watched the change on Bill's face and knew something was up.
"This is Mum's handwriting. She... she must have sent Charlie over here."
Nancy felt herself falter as Bill mentioned his brother's name. "What do you mean? He was here? Why?"
Bill sighed heavily. "Nothing. Just mum trying to... Listen, it doesn't matter. What matters is - if he knew ANYTHING about where Jenni was going and didn't try to stop her, I'm gonna bloody kill him."
Nancy permitted herself the momentary weakness of praying that Charlie had stayed in bed ALL day, so that Bill would have no excuse to carry out his threat.
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When they got to the Burrow, Bill shot a glare at Nancy and snapped, "Wait here. I'll be right back out with him."
Without a second glance he headed inside. Checking for family members, he stopped first at the kitchen. There was a note on the table from his mother -
"Took the kids to Chudley Cannons game (free tickets!) Percy's working late. Charlie wouldn't come. Talk to your brother (Charlie, not Percy). (well, Percy too, if you'd like)"
Certain that he had the house to himself, Bill let loose a roar. "CHARLIE??"
He heard a crash and some cursing from upstairs, followed by a good amount of splashing. Bathroom, then.
By the time he got up to the landing that the bathroom was off of, Charlie was wrapped in a towel and leaning against the doorjamb waiting for him.
"You hollered?"
"Damn right, I hollered." His tone must have worried Charlie, Bill noted with grim satisfaction, because the open, amused look on his face vanished. "Remember this?"
Bill pulled out the silly letter that he and his mother had concocted as an excuse to make Charlie leave the house. The same letter that Nancy had found on the hall floor outside her apartment. He waited tensely.
"Oh, that. Mum was meddling, and wanted me to deliver it to you. I ran into Jenni on her way out and left it with her. But obviously, since you're holding it, you know that... what's going on?"
"Would you mind telling me what was SAID when you saw her?" Bill grit out, worry and frustration making him a bit sharper than he usually would be when trying to get information. To his surprise, Charlie flushed.
"Well... it's a bit embarrassing. I got a bit, er, shirty with her; she was trying to show me something."
"A list, maybe?" Bill's hand tightened on the sheet of paper he was holding.
"I didn't really look at it... might have been." Charlie stood up, heading back into the bathroom for his clothing. Bill followed, and Charlie turned back to him beginning to look annoyed. "Why? Did you lose her? She's a big girl, Bill... she'll be back as soon-"
"Apothecary shops." Bill interrupted angrily, "On Knockturn Alley." Charlie went still, narrowing his eyes at the mention of that very dangerous road. "That's what the damn list was, you bloody wanker. And she tried to SHOW you!"
Charlie groaned. What had she gone and done after he'd stormed out of there? He was about to offer to get dressed and come help when Bill started muttering, "You two... like bloody children. Don't want to listen, fall bloody asleep..."
His temper rising, Charlie said angrily, "Jenni Ferguson is bloody well capable of taking care of herself and making her own decisions. If she makes a bad one, I'm quite willing to help her out, because I've always liked the girl. Besides, I don't fancy watching you go mad worrying. But don't go BLAMING her decisions on me... or Nancy either," he added a bit more softly, making Bill look back at him in surprise.
"Fine. Just get some bleeding clothes on so we can go!" Bill snarled, stalking out of the bathroom and slamming the door.
"Go WHERE?" Charlie rolled his eyes at the closed door and said to the mirror, "Really, he was much more pleasant BEFORE he fell in love."
"You're one to talk. Now brush that hair, dear!"
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"Wait here. I'll be right back out with him."
Nancy didn't appreciate the tone of voice Bill used as he stalked towards the house. She thought about protesting, but having borne the brunt of his anger once already, she didn't really fancy trying to force her way into his family's home to confront his closest brother who also happened to be dead sexy and pissed as hell as her.
Half an hour later, her worry and panic was fading and she was starting to feel like this whole trip had been planned strictly to humiliate her. Glaring at the door Bill had stomped into earlier with uncharacteristic clumsiness, she got up and marched towards the house.
"I'll show him." She said half under her breath. "Thinks this is mighty funny, does he? Charlie's probably not even HERE. Probably he and Jenni are inside having a good laugh and a snog while I cool my heels and worry..."
She yanked her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at the door. "Alohamora!"
The door swung open, taking Nancy by surprise. That spell generally only unlocked doors, not opened them. She blinked twice and finally noticed that there was a hand attached to the doorknob on the inside. It was in turn attached to an arm - an arm that she was pretty damn sure would lead her right up to a pair of very dark, very cold blue eyes belonging to the Weasley she'd avoided thinking about whenever possible lately.
"We don't lock our doors during the day," she heard Charlie say neutrally, confirming her suspicions. "Too many people coming and going all the time."
"Oh. Right." Oh that was brilliant, Nancy. Just knock him off his feet with your sparkling wit. "I knew that..."
She chanced a glance up at him, and caught him looking at her a bit quizzically. She nearly gasped when she surprised a look of real pain on his face, but it vanished as soon as her eyes met his, replaced by a tight, guarded look. Nancy quickly looked away.
"So, at what point are you going to tell me the REASON you dragged me out of the shower and into the back yard, Bill?" Charlie asked, turning away from her to look at his brother, who was coming out the door with a few sheets of paper in his hands. Nancy took the opportunity to stare at the back of Charlie's red head; it was wild and damp, looking like he'd just run a towel over it and thrown on some clothes...
Whoa there, Nancy... you're not even speaking to the man, and the first time you're within 100 feet of him you're imagining him naked? Her silent chastisements took longer than she realised, and by the time she looked back up at them, both men were looking at her expectantly.
"Sorry, what?"
"Do you agree? It's the best way to do this..." Bill's voice was clipped and frustrated. Charlie didn't say a thing, just watched her with unblinking eyes.
"Well... I suppose, if you think it's the best way..." she mumbled, praying that she hadn't just agreed to anything too horrible. From the way Charlie glared at his brother and stiffened, she wasn't sure she'd made the right decision.
"All right then, it's settled. Charlie knows the way around Knockturn. You two can take some of our old black cloaks to hide your faces. I'll check all the Diagon Alley stores, and we'll meet back at the Leaky Cauldron in three hours." Bill handed the copies of Nancy's list of suppliers to both of them and then whirled around, headed inside for the floo powder.
"You know your way around Knockturn Alley?" The question slipped out before she realized what she was saying and to who. Reddening, she stuck her chin in the air and started inside, not expecting an answer.
"Illegal dragon deals." His words were clipped and impatient. "Did some investigating a few years ago."
"Charlie! Let's GO." Bill's voice came from inside, and Charlie nodded that Nancy should precede him in.
As she walked in, Charlie took a minute to just look at her. She seemed tired, and was obviously worried about Jenni. He supposed that having Bill berate her for not paying closer attention to Jenni's comings and goings couldn't have helped her mood. Still, at least he didn't sense anger.
She reached the door and turned back to look at him, and Charlie realized that he was still standing in the same spot. Scowling at being caught thinking about her when she'd been the one to overreact and kick him out in the first place, he hurried to catch up.
Honestly. Dragons were so much simpler.
After assuring Bill that they would indeed make their way to the Leaky Cauldron in three hours, he headed to the cloak closet to find something that they could hide under and still survive the summer heat.
Nancy sat on a chair next to the fireplace to wait for him, not really sure what else to do. She was fairly certain that Jenni wasn't stupid enough to go wandering openly down Knockturn Alley accosting Death Eaters, but since this whole bloody situation was her own fault she hadn't felt up to arguing the point with Bill. It was hard to defend her theories when he was waving the evidence of her earlier stupidity in her face.
It was only a few minutes before Charlie came back. He was carrying two cloaks, both the same size... really bloody big. Nancy stood up and bit her lip.
"Which of those is for me?"
"Oh... either." Charlie tossed the top one over to her, and Nancy held it up. It was a good foot longer than it needed to be on her, and she could wrap it around herself twice, easy. Although, it was made of some skin... very thin, but really soft. Running her hand over it in appreciation, she muttered, "Nice, but I'll be tripping over it the whole time."
He ignored her, and reached for the floo powder. But before he got into the grate, he said, "We'll go straight to the quidditch shop. I know the owner... he'll let us out the back door. And do your best NOT to trip," he added, fighting to keep a straight face as she tried the cloak on. It was one of his; he had two made from salamander skins for his summer work in the dragon mating fields. It could get really hot in there for various reasons, and the heat resistant cloak provided one more layer of protection from over protective mates and mothers.
But... it certainly was big on her. Reminding himself that she didn't WANT to be talking to him, never mind joking around with him about her size, Charlie sighed and directed his thoughts in a better direction. Time to go.
"Quality Quidditch Supplies!" he said, throwing down his floo powder and watching for the familiar grate. Most people didn't know that they could bypass the entryway of the Leaky Cauldron, but he'd practically lived in this shop during his school years.
Nancy watched him vanish and scowled. She'd never really liked floo powder... she had the worst luck with her glasses. And she realized suddenly, all tangled in this cloak she'd probably wind up tripping into someone's private grate. Taking it off again and folding it across her arm, she followed Charlie in a blaze of green.
Charlie had landed hard, but he managed to stay upright. He waved at the owner of the store just as he heard the whooshing sound of Nancy arriving through the grate. Not wanting her to fall and hurt herself, he unobtrusively took a step back and let out a loud 'oomph' as Nancy slammed head long into HIM.
Stumbling out of the grate, she could see the floor rushing up at her... until she ran right into the very solid back of Charlie Weasley. Very solid and very nice smelling, she noted absently as she struggled to find her feet. Hell, he even SMELLED manly. Oh dammit, she'd just done it again.
Quickly distancing herself from him and his manly smell, Nancy let out a growl. "You didn't have to get in my way."
Charlie narrowed his eyes. "Well, I thought you would be a little more grateful that I saved you from falling face first onto the ground."
"My hero." With her voice full of contempt, Nancy glared at Charlie before turning to dust herself off.
"Well you didn't seem to mind just a few weeks ago." Charlie's voice was equally sarcastic, covering how it smarted to remember the difference in her voice the first time she'd said that to him.
Choosing to ignore that last comment, Nancy threw the cloak around her shoulders, nodded at the man behind the counter, stuck her nose in the air, and stalked out of the quidditch store. She headed in the direction that she suspected Knockturn Alley to be, all the while stumbling over the foot or so of material still dragging the ground. She was sure she heard Charlie trying to hide a snort of laughter as she nearly took out a stand of sandals with the latest in cushioning charms, and did that say water- repelling? She felt a strong hand wrap around her arm and keep her from hitting the table until she could sort out the yards of cloak wrapped around her right foot. Resisting the urge to turn around and glare at him, she stopped and looked at the display - only 9 sickles, not bad at all...
Charlie kept his hand on her arm. It wouldn't do either of them any good if she wound up hurting herself before they even got to Knockturn Alley, and if he had to keep picking her up mid-fall, so be it. He waited for about ten seconds as she glared at the shoes, which had started competing for her attention by doing backflips and singing songs.
"Not to interrupt anything important... but, do you know where you're going?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I know where I'm going." Nancy stepped back from the shoes and started walking quickly in the direction she'd started in earlier, determined not to look at Charlie.
He raised an eyebrow. "And what do you plan on doing once you get there?"
"I... well... I was going to..." Nancy stumbled over the words as she tried to hide the fact that she really had no plan and was only trying to get as far away from Charlie as possible. "I was going there to find Jenni." Nancy finished her sentence with as much dignity as she could muster with Charlie staring at her as if she had told him she had swallowed a live flobberworm.
"Right." Charlie nodded. "Then lead the way. I'll follow you."
Nancy stuck out her chin, proudly gathering up the cloak so as not to stumble over it again and began walking. Charlie stared at her, caught between grinning in amusement and seething in frustration at her unfair attitude towards him. Only a few steps further, she stopped mid stride and turned back to him, mumbling something under her breath.
"What was that?" Charlie put a hand to his ear and leaned in towards Nancy. "I didn't quite catch what you said."
Nancy flushed furiously and then snarled into his ear, "I said, I DON'T KNOW WHICH WAY TO GO!" She crossed her arms and smirked as Charlie pulled his head back. Nancy was feeling childishly satisfied as she watched him glare at her.
That feeling quickly turned to confusion when she saw his eyes darken, and he reached forward, tugging her towards him as a rather large warlock shoved by behind her. As angry and scared and frustrated as she was, having him touch her like that sent a shiver down her spine.
Charlie transferred his glare to the fat old man whose piggy eyes had lingered a bit too long on Nancy's curly hair as he passed. Despite the hurt that still remained, he let his hands linger for just long enough to feel her shiver. Trying to hide the smile of pure male satisfaction that rose up as he realized that she was NOT cold on this summer day, he reached around behind her for the hood of the cloak. He gently tugged it up over her head, hiding her in the depths of the large cloak. After all, he told himself, this wouldn't work if he was worrying about her getting hit on by the scum of the wizarding world.
"All right, keep that up or we'll be in trouble," he said brusquely, stepping back and putting his own hood up. He started forward, but noticed that Nancy wasn't following. "WHAT is your problem now?"
Her voice was muffled and annoyed. "I can't really see anything... hood's a bit large." He watched as she gathered up the folds of the cloak in one hand, holding them above the ground like some medieval lady, and then she stuck out her other hand. Charlie stared at it for a moment, his smile twisting wryly.
"Well, then, m'lady, shall we?" he asked, taking her hand in his and leading her towards the shadowed entrance to Knockturn Alley.
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Jenni breathed a sigh of relief as she climbed the steps to Nancy's apartment. That had been one hell of an experience that she didn't want to repeat any time soon. Knockturn Alley gave her the creeps, and seeing that man... she shuddered. Best not to think about it too much.
She was just reaching for the door when an odd smell (was that smoke?) caught her attention. Jenni pulled her hand back slowly, remembering the incident that had occurred only a few nights ago. She reached in her robes for her wand and cautiously unlocked the door. Jenni turned the knob and swung the door open in one quick motion, stepping into the room half- expecting someone to come exploding out of the shadows. When no one appeared, she slowly made her way through the rest of the apartment repeating the same basic entrance - wand at the ready, fling open the door and check all corners.
"Well Jenni, that does it for you," she muttered on her way out of the bathroom. The apartment seemed clear. "No more muggle mysteries for ten years. Here you go barging around like Charlie's Angels and you're down two angels! That's NOT what I would call a winning situation if you had been expecting a visitor. Especially after your last encounter."
With a sigh, Jenni made her way to the kitchen. The smoke smell was much stronger here, and Jenni groaned as she noticed a pair of burnt pots in Nancy's sink. Slapping her hand on her forehead, she sank into a nearby chair. "Nancy's gonna kill me. I forgot to turn off the spaghetti. That means... I ruined her favorite pots!"
It suddenly hit her that Nancy wasn't standing there, waving the pots at her angrily. She hadn't been asleep in the bedroom, or in the bathroom... DAMN it. Jenni winced as she let her still sore head fall with a thud onto the table. Obviously, Nancy had awoken and realized that Jenni had left in a hurry. This complicated matters.
She sat upright suddenly. Maybe she could head to the Burrow and tell Nancy she had been there all along. It would work, as long as Bill hadn't decided to stop here first on his way home from work. Her heart lifted for a second, but then reason took hold. She wasn't going to lie outright to Nancy. But she WAS going to head over to the Burrow anyway. Maybe Nancy had gone there to look for her...
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A/N AAAAAAAAAND CUT. Hey, don't glare at me. This one's Loooooooong. Ah, but if only Jenni knew, huh? ;) WELL. Let's get on with it... iiiit's THANK YOU time! I love this part. THIS chapter's thanks are directly from the keyboard of JENNI! Except the one that's to my big sister. Cause Jenni figured I had to respond to that one. But the REST all ALL her.
Zoe - you know, Snape's woman really sounds like a cool person. You think she really could help me? LOL, at least I would have someone on my side right?? ;)
Louisa - hope this chapter didn't end as quickly for you! But you know what I find helps?? You read it two or three times just to make sure you don't miss anything!! (nancy note... Like, say, CHARLIE in a towel?? ;) )
Joyce - well, I'm really sorry you feel that there is too much time between chapters. Unfortunately we work on this story when time allows us. As for giving up other less important things... well, Nancy could give up school and her new job and sit around the house all day and I could tell my boss that being an assistant manager at the store I work at is no longer top priority. But obviously we're not going to, so the story gets done on our schedule. As for the thank yous, we feel it a privilege and an honor that people actually take the time to read something we started for fun. In fact, the thank yous that we take the time to write out take up only a half hour and are done well after the chapter has been written, edited, and a proper title thought of. It's just our way of telling each one of you personally that we appreciate the fact that you take the time to read this and give us many helpful ideas on how we can improve our writing or where we don't need any help. We are both disappointed to see that THAT is what you came away from the last chapter with... complaints about our time schedule and nothing to say about the story itself.
Carrie!! HEE HEEE!!! Nancy?? Make peace with Charlie?? HAHAHHHAA!! Don't make me laugh! OW!!! Nancy, what didya hit me for?
LILY!!! Well, this one only took us about a week to write it...only a month and a half to post it! HAHAA....I guess that's some sort of improvement. Or maybe not.
Psiana - I say this every time but your reviews just crack me up! HAHAHAAA!!! Shorter than a kneeling midget!! HEEHEEE, and I get a mental image of mini Bill trying to kneel. HAHAHAAA!!! OOOH, maybe that wasn't the right thing to say. He looks a bit miffed at me. Er...sorry Bill. Oh, and just so you know...we aren't in Bali. Nancy got us one way tickets to Aruba! ;)
Fracindy - you get major hugs!! You are really the coolest! Thanks for being so understanding and supportive! Even just the littlest things mean the most to writers. (You know how that is!!!) And I'm sure Percy really has been keeping a pretty close eye on you! AHAAAHAHAA!!
Big Sis -- Cushions?? STRAWBERRIES?? Where are they?? I waaaaaant! Here's the freakin rest of it. :P And... well... for the moment you're far too far away to kick me anywhere. ;) Enjoy.
Heather - thanks for reading!! Just don't let Nancy hear you say that Charlie is cute. Even though she's mad at him, she still tends to be a bit possessive of him! ;)
Hey Karen! HAHA, well just so you know Nancy and I take turns writing the thank yous and responding to the reviews. I'm sure she sees them just as well as I do! And yes I totally agree with you, she and Charlie really need to get over themselves. Acting like children! Hmph, what's wrong with them??
Ronsspawn - you think it's frustrating reading about it?? You should try living with a moping Nancy...HEY!! OW!! Quit throwing pots at me Nancy! I Know I don't really live with you...I was...OW!!! OOOH, this pot is burnt bad! (Runs away from Nancy, who is frantically chasing Jenni with a pot)
Margaret - NO!! You can't go into FLUFF DEPRIVATION!! We won't let you! More fluff soon, we promise. Just not in this chapter. Maybe the next one?? Who knows, we'll see.
Christine, Hailey, or Paige - (UM, take your pick which one you want to be today...) LOL, thanks soooo much for reading and reviewing! HEHEEE, and yes, the Molly Weasley bit...forcing Charlie to go to the apartment. Clever witch, that Weasley mum is!!
Heather - (Ok, so I'm assuming this is a new reader with the name Heather, which makes two of them!!) Charlie, Bill, Fred, George, what's not to like about those Weasleys dear??? As for more chapters, we put them out as soon as we can! Thanks for reading! And we're so glad you like it! :D
Wilma Love - HAHAHAAAA!!!! Making a fuss over Bill and Charlie is an art that Nancy and I have perfected! MUWAHAHAHAHAA!! Feel free to join us anytime! And much thanks for the lovely praise! (Feel free to do that anytime as well. We quite enjoy praise!)
REVIIIIIEW!!! And you could get a little mention TOO! ;) ;)