Disclaimer: See part one.
In a Chain of Flowers- Part 2
Bill Weasley never thought that he'd long for the feel of hot, corrosive sand flaying his skin, searing his eyes, and weighing down his steps. Nor did he think he'd ever long for a Sphinx, a vengeful mummy, or at least a few inventive curses to make the day normal. The reality of the situation was that he was about ten feet into a gigantic spider web in the middle of the Amazon that could have snared one of Charlies' dragons.
Though he wasn't yet stuck in the clingy silk, he was aware that the webs' occupant was conspicuously absent. As if on cue, his left foot snagged on the web which drawing a string of curses from him.
"Mother-," he huffed. "What I wouldn't give for a little sunstroke right now."
Slicing the web away from his foot, he slipped the small knife back into his boot and glared at the tiny spider that was scuttling away from the center of the web. It was his weakness for women that had gotten him into trouble to begin with. After all, there was a saying in the Weasley household; "Bill can't refuse anything that comes in heels or a push up-bra."
The prospect of a jaunt down the Amazon on an archeological lead, time off sanctioned by Gringotts of course, had sounded so nice coming from lips coated in strawberry lip-gloss. There had been no mention of spiders, man-eating vines, or lizards even Hagrid would have cringed at. The proposed three days had come and gone three times, and he had the sinking suspicion that he was missing something very obvious.
/All roads lead into the spider web, eh Weasley? /
Smirking to himself, he parted the sticky web with his hands and stepped through into an empty space. Dirt below, webbing on all sides, no sky above. The space he'd stepped through was unidentifiable from the rest of the ivory mass, the reason for that triggering something every curse breaker knows.
Being trapped be it in a web, a pyramid or a woman's bedroom, was not something to face without wand in hand. Rule two of the Bill Weasley creed was much like rule number one of the Moody school- "Constant vigilance!" The first rule was "Trust your instincts", though his own mother told him that "Think with your pants" was more fitting. Either way it was irrelevant to the matter at hand, unless the mistress of the web was a bronzed, busty Amazonian woman.
He was a lucky guy, but not that lucky. Odds were that it was a mammoth spider, so it was definitely a moot point. With wand in hand, and honed curse-breaker senses on elevated alert, he progressed slowly through the web inch by inch. The process was slow. Jerky or rushed movements would alert the web's owner to potential prey. Inch by inch, with patience that went against the Weasley grain, he made it through the obstacle only to burst through the web and into the most surprising place yet- a clearing, not in the jungle, but in the middle of a ring of mismatched fruit trees.
Clutching his wand, he got his footing well enough to make it to the center of the ring without embarrassing himself. The ground beneath his feet was packed earth, devoid of the lush plant life of the jungle. All sign of the web had vanished upon his exit. A dense forest of trees now surrounded him and at once his muscles quailed at the idea of moving from the clearing. Effectively he was rooted to the spot.
Taking a deep breath, he tried to make sense of his situation without getting too irrational. Even growing up in a house held together by more charms than stars in the sky, and doing his time at a school that in the best of times was puzzling and bordering on insane, he was unable to explain his situation. Out of a big nasty spider web and into a bloody orchard.
Out loud he muttered, "From one strange prison to the next."
To his left, a soft voice hummed in outrage, catching him off guard. Turning his head toward the flowering Cherry tree, he was surprised to see a slight female peaking accusingly out from behind the trunk. Then with complete clarity she asked, "Why are human men always so insulting?"
"It wasn't my intention to be insulting. I thought I was alone," Bill admitted with a flash of a smile. The girl was regarding him with very dark almond shaped eyes. She made no move to come completely out of hiding, despite him being held in place and unable to even lift his wand arm up to be threatening. "Listen, I'm not a danger to you."
"I know that." The girl used the same exasperated tone his mum used when talking to Percy. He had to remind himself of how fast things could turn ugly to stop him from smiling. " If you were a danger to me, the insatiably hungry Acromantula who owns the web that you cut through would have had you as part of her afternoon meal."
Apparently, it could have been much uglier. Bill used the only weapon he had available to him and smiled at the dark eyed girl. " I'm coming off as a complete git, just let me explain. I'm a curse-breaker who, until recently, limited himself exclusively to Egypt, you know sand, mummies, more sand? I'm only here as a favor to this girl-"
"That explains it!" The Girl cut him off and giggled buoyantly. Bill had the grace to look confused, but seeing as she'd stopped eyeing him like she had a particularly nasty fate planned for him, he was not going to ask any questions.
She stepped out from behind the tree, looking very pleased with herself. Slight of build, sleek black hair, she was draped in a filmy fabric the same shade as the cheery blossoms' edges. No wonder he hadn't noticed her hidden in the tree; she would have mixed right in.
Stunned, Bill blurted, "You're a Dryad."
"What a smart little curse-breaker!" The Nymph sent herself off into another titter of giggles as she glided around him, sizing him up. "British, you must have been a Gryffindor."
Bill looked sheepish but recovered nicely, admitting, "I'm not up to my usual standards, being frozen to the ground and scrutinized by a Nymph is a brand new experience for me. Now if you were a Ravenclaw prefect and I was tied starkers to a standard issue four-poster, that would be a completely different story."
The Nymph snorted. "My first unexpected guest in a two millenni and you have to be a cheeky braggart."
Now he was back in familiar territory. /Flirt like you've flirted a million times before. Save some face. Come on Bill!/ "Hey now, you could have at least said charming."
"Were you asked to take up this quest while tied to a bed?" She'd stopped right in front of him and though she was slender, she was tall enough to look him in the eye. Her touch was rougher than he would have thought as she let her fingertips brush across the tanned freckles on the bridge of his nose. No one was going to believe this one when he got home, that was for sure.
"No, though that would not have been unwelcome." Seeing her questioning look, he explained, "My youngest brother has been mooning over her for ages, I don't think he'd take it too well."
"Did she tell you what you'd find here?"
Bill shook his head. "Hermione has a way of thinking ten steps ahead of herself and not filling in the rest of us. She just sent me to scout the area based on whatever research she's doing at the moment. Though if she had told me I was going to run into a pretty girl in the process, I would have at least cast a quick bathing charm before rushing in here."
"The Sphinxes must love you. You are just as ridiculous as they are."
Dropping her hands to her sides, she stepped back and freed him from the quasi-body bind she'd kept him in. Overhead, it was still full daylight despite the fact that it should have been well beyond the witching hour. Not wanting to alarm her, he made no move toward her but only cracked his knuckles. "My name's Bill Weasley."
"Kraneiai, at least that's what the Greeks called me. I have little use for names." She was studying him again with an impassive face and it was rather unnerving. He had a sense that she was more dangerous than the giant spider she'd threatened him with. She had fittingly tree-like stillness and didn't seem to breathe while thinking. After a long stretch of silence, her face brightened and she smiled. She looked so deceptively young. "You can have my treasure, Bill Weasley. The only condition is that you can't look at it, just carry it as is to your Hermione."
There was underlying warning in her words and Bill wondered idly if all the other trees had been men who'd not taken her warning to heart. The Dryad seemed to sense his thoughts and shook her head sadly. "No, Bill Weasley. They were those who were unworthy of my gift, bear no pity for them."
With the soft brush of her lips across his cheek he found himself out of the unnatural daylight and thrust into the full dark that nature had deemed fitting for the hour. In his hands, clasped with his forgotten wand, was a bundle of the fiery cloth the Nymph had been wearing. Inside was the mysterious treasure, which truly bore no curiosity for him. He could still hear her warning in his mind. Entertaining the thought that being a tree in her care wasn't remotely the worst fate he could think of, he apparated out of the living jungle.
After all, he had a package to deliver.
A/N- Thanks for all the encouragement the reviewers left. This fic is sort of an outlet while I try to make sense of 'Follow My Way'. If all goes well both fics will be updated soon. This last year at University has been murder and it's finally ending. Summer should be much more productive.