Blood Magicks
Bill sat sullenly on the couch; the pillows Fleur had insisted that they could not live without lay haphazardly at his feet. It had been two months since Malfoy had come to see him. Two months of setbacks and disappointments. Every lead turned sour as he delved deeper. Every location he scouted held no promise. To make matters worse, Malfoy had begun to become impatient, threatening to cut off funding if he didn't come up with results.
Malfoy's interest in his sister's whereabouts was somewhat of a mystery to Bill. He supposed they had spent a fair amount of time together during the war. It was only natural that one form attachment to those around them. He had seemed to care for Ginny's well being after the Final Battle. Perhaps their friendship ran deeper than either cared to admit. But they had not seen each other since the end of the battle, as far as he knew. They had no contact whatsoever. Although Bill was beginning to believe that no one knew what had been running through Ginny's head this last year, except that it appeared to be the opposite of what they all just assume.
Bill sighed. He knew this was going to happen when he first suggested it to Malfoy. Had told him of the difficulties surrounding their plan. The time consuming nature of it. The stark probability that it would have no answers for them. Malfoy had yet to question the financial requests Bill made of him, simply transferring the fast accumulating amount of galleons into the specified account.
A sharp tapping at the window distracted Bill from his musings. A bedraggled owl, drenched by the fierce rain plummeting to the ground outside, fluttered in, weakly depositing is delivery into Bill's hands before turning, almost hesitantly and flying back out into the vile night. Bill turned the letter over, excitement sparking as he noted the sender's address. He broke the wax seal of the waterproof charmed envelope quickly, anxious to view its contents. He gave a small cry of exultation as he read the parchment before him. He'd found it.
Bill flooed Malfoy immediately, informing him on the preparations that had to be made before next month's full moon. Malfoy simply nodded, a House Elf acting as his scribe. He thought he saw the House Elf throw the quill at Malfoy's head as he rudely dismissed her and then Bill dismissed the thought as quickly as the floo call was cut off.
Bill heard the locks on his front door sliding out of place and hurriedly stuffed the parchment into his pocket and resumed his slumped position on the couch. An irritated looking Fleur stormed through the doorway, her wet blonde hair stuck to the side of her face.
"Hello Fleur," Bill said pleasantly. "What did the doctor say?" Fleur scowled in reply.
Bill raised his eyebrows at her, a small smile playing on his lips. "I take it I was right then?"
"Vous êtes une bouton singes arsenaux!" Fleur snapped, glaring hatefully at him. Bill chuckled.
"I still don't see why you had to go all the way to France to see a doctor. We have them right here in England you know."
"HA!" she scoffed, throwing her bag towards Bill. "Zey are dizguizting! I vill not let thoze ignorant abeille gardienne 'ho are mazquerading as doctorz near me!" Fleur exclaimed disappearing from his sight with a slam of their bedroom door. Bill couldn't help the grin that covered his face as he leaned back into the couch, giving Fleur a few minutes to herself before he dared to breach the threshold of their bedroom.
Bill sat uncomfortably outside the office of Draco Malfoy, a large dragon hide bag at his feet, staring down the large mahogany doors. He nodded politely to Malfoy's secretary as she prattled on incessantly. Bill breathed a sigh of relief as the doors swung open to reveal Draco Malfoy showing a portly man from his office. Malfoy nodded to Bill as his secretary scurried back behind her desk. Bill raised his lanky frame from the leather chair, silently making the short trek to Malfoy's office. With a glare to his secretary, Malfoy followed, shutting the doors silently behind him.
Malfoy didn't bother to offer Bill a seat as he walked behind his desk, withdrawing a palm sized gold disc from a drawer.
"I assume you have in your possession all that you require," Draco said, his eyes flickering over the large bag draped over Bill's shoulder.
"Of course."
In reply Malfoy held out the golden disc to Bill. A muttered word and a lurching sensation later, Bill and Malfoy stood just outside Stonehenge.
"Care to explain to me, Weasley, why I'm ruining 1000galleon shoes?" Draco sneered, glaring at the flecks of mud splattered across his shoes and bottom of his trousers. Bill smiled enigmatically, withdrawing his wand from his jacket pocket. With a loud "Ostendo sum," he brought down the wards surrounding Stonehenge. Draco fought the urge to allow his mouth to drop open at the newly revealed sight before him.
In the centre of the stones, stood a simple square shaped stone construction. From Draco's vantage point he could see the inside of the building, large stone steps led down into the darkness. That's new. Bill walked forward crossing the threshold of the small building.
"Coming, Malfoy?" Draco hurried forward, a customary sneer taking control of his features. His shoes clacked loudly as they descended, the light quickly fading around them. Draco ran into Bill's back as the Weasley stopped abruptly.
"What the fu-" Draco began, taking a stumbling step back.
Red sparks sprayed from the tip of Bill's wand towards the wall. Fire roared away from them across the wall, illuminating drawings and carvings etched into the stone. Draco recoiled from the sudden heat.
"Oil shelf," Bill murmured, looking down the thin passage way at the seemingly unending set of stone steps. Bill could see symbols engraved in the middle of each step. Some he recognised, some escaped his broad range of reference.
A thin sheen of sweat began covered the two men's foreheads as they continued to follow the steps, the heat of the corridor increasing as flames came rocketing up the opposite wall. Finally the stairs levelled out leading Bill and Draco to a cavernous room. A ceremonial alter stood in the middle atop an ancient symbol carved into the floor. The oil shelf continued around the circular room to rejoin at the entrance.
"What is this place?" Draco asked with barely concealed awe, his eyes flitting around this simply decorated room. Finger paintings from different ages and cultures covered the stony walls.
"Not sure," Bill said distractedly, emptying his dragon hide bag, item by item, and laying them atop the alter.
Draco stared at Bill incredulously, "You're not sure?"
"There's no accurate account of this place, no evidence," he said, placing a stone mortar and pestle in the middle of the alter. "There are stories throughout history of a temple with unsurpassed magical power trapped within its walls." Bill stopped emptying his bag, turning on his heel to face Draco. "Only the oldest of magicks can be practised and intensified inside these walls. Potion magicks, incantations, blood magicks."
"Dark magic you mean?" Bill laughed at Draco's question, the sound reverberating eerily around the room.
"No, Malfoy. Not dark magic. Blood magicks and alike are not dark magic, no matter how much propaganda the ministry insists on putting out," he paused, raising his head slightly to look Draco directly in the eye. "Dark magic is the dark intent behind the spell. The urge to hurt, to control, to kill. All magic can be labelled as dark when in the wrong hands but no 'dark' magic can be practised within these walls," Bill paused, taking his time to take in the images adorning the walls.
"Voldemort searched for years, combed the globe for an entrance. Pointless really. This is the most highly warded place in existence. Even if he were able to locate an entrance he couldn't cross the threshold. No one harbouring any ill intent towards your purpose can cross the threshold." Bill returned his gaze to Draco, looking him dead in the eyes leaving Draco with the desire to shift his weight from one foot to the other and look away.
"So if you wanted to find Ginny to harm her in anyway, you would have been thrown away from here. Probably right into that mud you were so worried about."
"You were testing me?" Draco asked indignantly.
"Of course," Bill answered, unperturbed by Draco's tone. "A Death Eater, traitor or not, wants to find my baby sister, for reasons he doesn't feel the need to disclose and will pay any amount necessary to do so. What kind of man would I be if I didn't questions your motives?"
"Doesn't that go against the good little Gryffindor mantra?" Draco sneered. Bill shrugged indifferently.
"We're not in school anymore, Malfoy. We can no longer be defined by the qualities valued by our house." Draco glared at the older man, at a loss as to how to respond.
"Do you mean to tell me that the Dark Lord never thought to look at Stonehenge when looking for your little voodoo temple?" Draco scoffed, returning the conversation back to where he felt comfortable.
Bill sighed. "There are many entrances to this place all over the world. Many entrances to this one cavern. That's why there are so many different symbols and drawing on the walls. More cultures than you could imagine can access this temple's power." Bill pulled a large intricately designed blade from his bag and stood. "It's a bit like the threshold. Those with evil intent cannot find the temple. Only those who wish to do good are allowed access. Though good intent does not always guarantee what is right will occur. That fact had led to many an atrocity being perpetrated within the temple."
Draco's eyes were trained on the blade. The silver glinting in the firelight. Draco took the opportunity to gulp silently while Weasley's back was turned to him.
"So what happens now?" he asked with no trace of the nervousness he felt.
"I blend a couple of ingredients, say a rhyme and slash open my arm." Draco blinked. He hated Weasleys.
"And then?" Draco prompted with a lethal glare trained at Weasley's back.
"Well, if all goes according to plan I should be able to find Ginny and go to wherever she is."
"And if everything doesn't go to plan?"
"Die a horribly painful death."
"Good then. I'll hope for the latter."
Bill cast Draco an annoyed look as he began to crush numerous herbs in the mortar and pestle, till they were crushed into a fine dust. "You might want to stand back, Malfoy. I have no idea what is going to happen." Draco hurriedly moved backwards, stopping only when he felt heat uncomfortably at his back.
"Hear me now, those that came before, hear my prayer," Bill began, tipping a vial of sickly green potion into the crushed herbs. "Find me that that which I seek," The stone mortar shattered the herbs stained sickly green swirling in the air around Bill.
"Find me my missing kin and bring me forth to her. My life's blood I give in payment." Taking the blade, Bill slashed his left arm deeply, his blood spraying out and flowing thickly down his arm, never to touch the floor. His blood joined the swirling mist. Breathing heavily Bill continued to chant, his voice suddenly deeper and changing from English to fluent latin. Draco stared unsure whether this was supposed to happen.
"Per igneus of meus cruor ego queso thee ut res pro mihi statua of thy semen. Accerso mihi pro suus quod accerso mihi tergum ex unde ego venit super eruditio scientia quod ego peto,"
Bill took a bundle of herbs and holding in his bloodied arm set the end on fire. The small flame quickly burnt through the herbs, sparking the swirling mist around him. The fire that burned around the room rushed towards Bill, adding its ferocity to the spell. Until suddenly it dropped, the ashes of incinerated herbs floating to the ground. A wall of raw magically energy shot up, encasing Bill on all sides, sending a shock wave out and causing Draco to fall painfully backwards.
Images flashed through the wall in quick succession. As the blood flowed freely from Bill's arm, filling the groove of the symbol beneath his feet, the images began to slow. It seemed almost as though he could reach out and grasp them. He saw Fred and George somehow managing to burn their eyebrows off while doing paperwork. Ron staring regretfully down onto a photograph in his hands, Hermione curled up at his side. An image of Charlie with a baby dragon cradled to his chest. He saw Ginny walking down the street, her hair shortened and falling in loose curls around her face. Before the image could be replaced by another, Bill reached for Ginny, his hand passing straight through the image. With one final gush of blood from his veins, Bill fell forward, his vision blurring and landed with a thud on the cold ground.
Gingerly, Bill pulled himself to his feet, running his hand over his forearm where the deep gash from the dagger should have been. A white scar, as if healed by years, ran along his arm.
Bill looked around, his eyes falling on nothing more than an overflowing garbage can and ladders and platforms jutting out from the side of a building. Looking forward he could see a swarm of people passing a large gap in front of him.
"Good show, Bill," he muttered go himself. "You found an alley way. None of your friends have an alley as nice as this."
Bill exited the alley merging with the people on the street. He looked around uneasily trying to figure out where he was. And there she was. Across the street. She was laughing and smiling with the man beside her. She looked so healthy compared to when he had last seen her. She disappeared into a building as Bill stood transfixed. She was so close and yet so far from him now that he wasn't sure he should speak to her now. She seemed so happy. She wasn't in mortal peril as segments of his family were insisting, despite the Weasley family clock saying otherwise. It had settled comfortably on lost for the past three months. She wasn't lost though, Bill thought. Lost to them maybe but she wasn't lost. She knew exactly where she was going. He supposed she might return someday, when she was ready she would come back. Even as he thought it his mind rebelled against the statement. She may return to England someday, as her short correspondence stated, but never to them. She had shed any obligation she had to them. They had pushed her away. He knew that now. It was their actions, or inaction, that had pushed her away. They didn't pay attention. They couldn't see what was plainly stated. Didn't want to see it. She had always assured him that she was fine, happy even, when he pulled her aside. He had taken the faux assurance that she was fine, accepted the fake smiles and he had done nothing. He was as guilty as they were. He had to talk to her he decided. Even if it was only to say goodbye.
Bill descended down the stairs of The Bronze, his stomach churning. The sub level was practically empty and only half lit, chairs still sat stacked atop tables. He scanned the room with fervour searching for his little sister. His eyes fell on a tall brown haired man who was making his way over to him, a bright smile on his face.
"Hello," he greeted Bill. "We're not actually open as yet but you're free to sit down somewhere and someone will be with you as soon as possible," he said, gesturing around the room.
"Oh thank you –Alex," Bill said, reading the man's name tag. "But I'm actually looking for someone. Ginny. Ginny Weasley. Do you know where I can find her?"
Alex felt his stomach drop as the man spoke. Ginny. The man had scars across his face, mangling one eye. His long red hair was tied loosely at the nape of his neck, a fang hanging from his ear and he wanted Ginny. "There's no one here by that name, sorry." Alex replied, his face regretful.
"Oh, well, maybe you've seen her. She's about 5'4, slight, red hair, brown eyes."
"Sorry," Alex replied. "Haven't seen anyone like that."
"I saw her come down those stairs," Bill said, growing frustrated, pointing aggressively behind him. "Not five minutes ago."
"You must have been mistaken," Alex said, his face hardening. "There is no red headed, brown eyed Ginny Weasley here. Okay?"
Bill took a deep breath. He knew Ginny was here. He's seen her. "I think it would be best if you left now." Alex said, his tone leaving no room for argument. Bill sighed in defeat. He obviously wasn't going to get anymore out of the Muggle man. Besides she had to come outside at some stage. It was better that he wait till she was alone anyway. When he was free to talk to her without the fear of somebody overhearing. He could ask the questions he needed the answers to then.
He turned making his way up the stairs. He was halfway up the stairs when he heard it. A light feminine voice informing someone that there was no need to order any macadamia cookies this week as there was plenty still left in the storeroom. Bill turned quickly, almost falling down the stairs in the process. He burst through the doors, his eyes finding Ginny immediately.
She was talking with Alex, her face growing more and more concerned as Alex spoke. "There was a man here just then," he was saying. Looking for you-"
"Bill," she said shocked, her eyes fearful as they met his.