The next morning Poppy managed to avoid Percy long enough to get to Gringotts for her first day of work. She had hoped she'd bump into Bill at some point and be able to ask after Charlie, but she didn't see him at all.

She had a rather successful first day as, after being shown what to do, she managed to complete double the work that had been expected of her, getting through the mounds of papers and identification work she'd been given with great speed. The mindless distraction had been exactly what she'd needed.

That night, Percy knocked on her door and invited her to dinner, saying that she didn't need to avoid him just because she threw up on him. She almost rolled her eyes but managed to control her expression.

At dinner, she listened to his incessant chatter about having to find a new place to live, and his day.

He did ask her about her first day at Gringotts, but she didn't feel like answering much so simply muttered about it being boring so far.

The truth was that she missed Charlie. All she wanted was to say a proper bye before he returned to Romania for months. And, to find out what he was going to say to her before Percy interrupted them.

But she couldn't even write to him now since she couldn't be sure that the letter wouldn't be intercepted, and Charlie was right - the Order was more important. She couldn't mess up her chance of becoming an Auror.

"I'm sure Auror training will be much more interesting than anything Gringotts can offer," Percy said after a while.

Poppy simply nodded in reply, taking a large mouthful of her lemon meringue pie to starve off the nausea rising in her throat again.

That night she wrote to Fleur and asked if there was any way the flat would be ready sooner – she didn't know if she could take six more days of living down the hall to Percy.

Poppy wondered about sending an owl to Cass or Esther asking if she could stay with one of them, but then she remembered what they'd said about Harry and knew that wouldn't work. One week wasn't enough time for them to forgive her for disagreeing with their views on Voldemort's return enough to allow her to live with them and their families for a week.

And so Poppy spent Saturday with Percy, listening to him talk about the Ministry and helping him to look for a flat of his own. She wanted to tell him to stuff it but she knew she needed to be on his good side. Anything he said to Fudge could be the nail in her coffin whether he intended it or not.

It took them four disastrous flat viewings but eventually they found something that would work within Percy's exhaustive list of requirements and somewhat limited budget (Percy intended to, "save while I'm still single. I'd like to be able to say that I can provide for my family,"), and Poppy was glad to note that it was in another part of London to Fleur and her flat and so they wouldn't be neighbours.

She had to endure a trip to a furniture store with him and then she escaped to do some research in the Wizarding library. She leaned a book on the Auror department from 1925-1985 and took it back to her room.

It was much more gossip-y than she'd imagined, even though the title was, The British Auror Department 1925-1985: Sordid Affairs, International Crises and Death Wishes, which made sense once she saw that it was written by, S. Wainwright & R. Skeeter. Still, she found it an entertaining read, and raced through the pages.

By the time Percy knocked on Poppy's door to get her to have dinner in the pub with him, she was engrossed in a chapter entitled, Thinking of dating an Auror? I wouldn't.

It was thoroughly depressing, beginning with the rumours around the death of Leta Lestrange in 1927, and ending with the case of the married former Aurors, Frank and Alice Longbottom, who Poppy was aware currently resided in St. Mungo's Hospital.

The chapter was, the authors wrote, meant to act as a deterrent to the Witch or Wizard reading who, following the end of the First Wizarding War, might be swept up in the glitz and glamour of the Auror uniform and think it was safe to date someone whose job, "might be called 'Dark Wizard Catcher,' but should be renamed 'Dark Wizard Target'. For who knows who a dark wizard will seek for their revenge."

Her thoughts spiralled, and not even the fact that the chapter ended with the line, "Though we believe that in peacetime, Aurors have enjoyed many a romance without consequence," could make her feel more positive.

She knew she needed time alone to think properly and not get into her own head about the coming war and what it would mean for her if she did become an Auror, but once dinner was over, she went right back to the book and continued to read.

There were chapters on the First Wizarding War which outlined cases where Aurors found only parts of people, and more gruesome truths. She knew of such cases already, but reading with the context of Voldemort's return hit her harder now.

Later that night, Poppy turned a page and was shocked to sickness at a photo of two wizards which she found on the there.

The photograph was of two men, who smiled and nodded up at her. Ordinarily this wouldn't have been an issue at all - the book had been saturated with images of Aurors, dark wizard and witches, and victims, but these men were different.

Poppy felt shivers down her spine and a feeling of abject terror locked itself away in her belly as she stared at them.

By the time Percy knocked for breakfast the next morning, Poppy had barely slept but had finished the book. Following the last page, she'd spent an hour staring at the ceiling, her mind racing through the possibilities of who might be lost to this war.

Percy questioned her mood as they walked down to the Leaky Cauldron's main room, and she had to explain about her book - about the realities of seeing people's photos and thinking about her want to become an Auror. She did not mention the war that she believed was coming, and he did not.

"But that was the war. Aurors now have barely anything to do. You'll be fine," he said.

But the two faces she'd seen in the book continued to haunt Poppy's thoughts.

She needed to write to Charlie, she decided.

Luckily, she was soon given an escape from Percy's company - at the end of breakfast, Percy announced that he needed to go into the office to complete some work before he started his new role the next day. He would be gone for most of the day, he thought.

Poppy made a show of grumbling and wondering aloud what she'd do with her free time, and then she waved him off. The minute he was gone she headed to Diagon Alley where she bought a bottle of invisible ink and some parchment. She thought that this would be the safest way to send a message to Charlie.

She was waylaid for an hour or two, spending some much-needed alone time sitting at a table outside a cafe, sipping a smoothie and watching the world go by as she tried to think of what she'd put in her letter.

But when she returned to her room to write, she could tell that something was amiss.

The handle which she'd left slightly down was now completely straight across and the 'do not disturb' sign on the hook was swinging slightly.

She took out her wand and walked in slowly, looking around for the intruder.

When she saw who it was she almost squealed but managed to hold it in. After shutting the door and locking it with a flick of her wand, she practically ran the last few steps and threw herself into Charlie's arms.

"You're here," Poppy whispered into his neck.

Charlie chuckled and wrapped his arms tightly around her middle. "I am. Sorry I had to break in. I heard someone coming and didn't know if it was Percy or not."

"Sorry for scaring you," she replied, holding him tighter. "It was just me."

Charlie chuckled. "You can't apologise for me being tense."

"Then sorry for what I said the other night," she said quietly. "And thank you for still talking to me even when I was weird. And thank you for checking in on me."

She wanted to add that she'd really needed this hug after what she'd been reading, but she didn't.

Charlie laughed. "Well now you can't apologise for me being so dense." He pulled back slightly, keeping his arms wrapped firmly around her. "But Bounce, I need you to know that nothing you said the other night was in your letter. I had no idea you felt like that."

"It was!" Poppy said, "It wasn't even a postscript."

"The letter looked unfinished when I got it," he said, shrugging.

Poppy groaned. "Ginny must've taken that bit out to save me from embarrassing myself… and then I did anyway."

"You didn't embarrass yourself. In fact…" he said, releasing her to cup her face gently in his hands, sending a more pleasurable shiver down her spine. "I wish you'd told me sooner. I was convinced-"

A noise in the hall outside cut him off, and they both turned to stare at the door. It sounded as though the person stopped outside.

Poppy turned back to Charlie slowly. His hand caressed her cheek as he stared at her, and she found unspoken words in his eyes. Words that would have made her melt just a few days ago.

The footsteps carried on down the hall and Poppy returned to their embrace, breaking their eye contact.

"Have you got your marching orders?" she asked, her voice muffled by his jacket as she avoided what she'd seen in his eyes.

Poppy felt Charlie nod and his arms tightened around her. "I'll be recruiting on my off days," he whispered straight into her ear, sending shivers down her spine despite herself. "Trying to spread the word."

"Of course. Is Ginny okay?" Poppy asked worriedly.

Charlie nodded. "She feels sorry for you. Said she wouldn't trade places for ten thousand galleons and a place on the England team if we ever win the World Cup."

"Jesus… Is it bad at home?" Poppy asked.

"Pretty bad, yeah. Dad's acting like he only has six kids. Mum's been in tears most of the time. Heads up, she's planning to come to London soon to try and get Percy to come back."

Poppy groaned again. She couldn't think of anything worse than having to hear Mrs Weasley and Percy's conversation.

"Thin walls," she explained when Charlie lifted his head and frowned down at her. "I'll hear it all and trust me, he's not going back. He's worse than ever before. I keep just nodding along. I think he wants me to say I hate you all too, but I can't lie. Not like that."

Charlie grimaced but nodded. "Are you okay for money?"

Poppy sighed and let out a small laugh. "Fine, yeah. They let me pay for the room on Friday evening after my first day at Gringotts. I've actually not touched what you gave me yet. Here," she said, summoning the small bag of coins. "I don't need it."

Charlie stepped backwards and shook his head.

"Here. Really," Poppy said, trying again, but Charlie continued to refuse it. "It's going to be much cheaper living with Fleur rather than on my own so I'm okay, really, I've just got to be careful until I next get paid but I'll be okay for now…"

Charlie smiled. "Then call it a house-warming present."

"To buy what?"

Charlie laughed. "I'm sure you'll think of something absolutely ridic-"

There was a sharp knock at the door and Charlie stopped, staring over at the entrance to the room. "I have to go," he said apologetically when whoever it was didn't say anything.

"But you only just got here," Poppy said quietly.

"I know. But I need to avoid Percy."

"He's at work," Poppy whispered.

There was another knock, and then Percy called through the door, "Poppy? Are you in? I thought I could hear you."

"Okay, that's not fair," she complained, glaring at the door. "Why's he here? He said he'd be in the office until at least dinner. I just want to know how everyone is."

"I know. I know," Charlie said, moving backwards, watching Poppy's face fall. His own expression fell into a glare, which she knew was directed at his brother. "Tell him you'll be there in a sec."

There was another knock.

"I'M NAKED, PERCE! I WAS IN THE BATH. I'LL COME TO YOUR ROOM IN A MINUTE!" Poppy shouted at the door.

"Oh er, yes," came Percy's muffled reply, and then his footsteps hurried down the hall.

"Right. I really have to go," Charlie said, trying not to laugh. "Wish I could've seen his face though. Hey, promise me something?"

"Anything," Poppy replied honestly.

"Don't let him see you sweat. This week's going to be hard, but I know you can do it and then you'll be living with Fleur. Just pretend, okay? Don't defend any of us. We need you to look like you're on his side."

Poppy pouted but nodded. "I'll try."

Charlie walked over to the window and summoned his broom which was propped up against the bed. There was a large suitcase tied to the handle, and so he shoved it out of the window before he clambered out to sit on the windowsill, swinging his legs outside.

"Hey Charlie?" Poppy asked, watching him mount his broom and float. He stuck his head back inside the window.

"Did you steal my jacket?" she asked, trying to hide her teasing smile.

Charlie laughed. "You mean did I take my jacket back? And yes. Unless you want me to go up in flames when I get back to work."

He reached his wand up to the top of his head and a moment later his body was near-invisible. Another moment and his broom was as well.

His invisibility allowed her to voice the words she'd intended to write in a letter.

"Charlie? Could… could you forget what I said? About how I feel about you?" Poppy asked sheepishly.

"What?" came Charlie's quick and shocked reply.

"Well, with the war and Percy and everything, we have to be friends, don't we?" Poppy asked. "It'll be less awkward if you-"

"No," was Charlie's firm reply.

"Charlie," Poppy whined.

"Bounce. It's not awkward and I don't want to forget it. So why do you want me to?"

Poppy's heart swelled, but she forced herself to be rational. "You were the one who said I had to hide my allegiances. And I've found it hard enough to pretend to Percy these past few days, let alone if I was even more connected to you- to your family."

"Try harder," he said seriously.

Poppy let out a huff of a laugh. "It's not that simple, is it?"

"No," Charlie replied slowly. There was a moment of silence and then he reappeared, his invisibility gone.

From the look on his face, she knew he wanted to ask her something, and by his silence she could only assume that he thought it would anger or upset her.

"Go ahead," Poppy said, crossing her arms.

"Are you really concerned about having to pretend in front of Percy, or are you scared of us not working?" he asked seriously.

Poppy looked away, blinking fast. "It's everything," she said quietly, ignoring the way her heart skipped a beat when she noticed that he'd referred to them as an 'us'. "It's Cedric, it's Percy, it's everyone who died last time Voldemort was around. It's- It's everything. We need to have clear heads for what's coming. We can't be distracted, and I keep…" Poppy sighed and shook her head.

The realities of Cedric's death had hit her a few nights previously, and then the book.

Now she feared that it might be too dangerous to begin a relationship. Feared that one day she might have to endure Charlie's death. Or he hers. And with the family he'd lost already…

She explained this to him when he pressed for her thoughts.

"Where's this coming from?" he asked quietly when she'd finished.

"I was reading this book," she began.

"Merlin. Which one?" Charlie asked exasperatedly.

Poppy pursed her lips to hide her entertained smile and summoned the book, handing it to Charlie who flicked through the contents and appendix and then let out a deep sigh.

"What if I promise I'll try my hardest not to die?" Charlie said, raising an eyebrow as if teasing her.

"Charlie," Poppy whined. "It'll just be easier this way."

Charlie looked down at the book and began flicking through the pages again.

"Charlie?" she asked when he didn't answer.

"Just give me a minute," Charlie said, closing the book with a snap. He avoided her gaze and stared instead at her four-poster bed.

They stood in silence for longer than a minute.

"Charles?" Poppy asked again when she could no longer bear the silence.

Charlie sighed and said, "I'm trying to work out how to go back in time and stop you from getting into your own head about this."

Poppy smiled sadly. "Time turner?"

"No, don't have time to break into the Ministry," Charlie said, seriously, turning back to her, "I start work at five."

Poppy snorted a laugh and placed her hand over her mouth.

"Okay, here," Charlie said, smiling. He pulled a quill and a piece of parchment from his bag.

He wrote quickly, hiding the note from her view.

"Take a break from your fear mongering and figure out what that means," he said, handing the parchment to her. "I'll read this…" He glanced down at the book and seemed to realise the author for the first time. "Skeeter? Really? After what she said about Harry and Hermione last year? With what's she's printing about Harry and Dumbledore now?"

Poppy averted her eyes and crossed her arms again. "My Dad always said that my Mum used to say, 'Gossip is based in truth,' and that you have to read between the lines of what people say. I don't believe all of it, of course I don't. But," she looked up at him, "this was written just after the war, just after the Death Eater trials. And sometimes you have to listen to the gossip and strip out the false information, you-"

"It's all fake," Charlie insisted. "If it's Skeeter, then-"

"Turn to page three-hundred and ninety-four," Poppy said, blinking quickly, crossing her arms more firmly at her chest, hugging herself. What Charlie would find there would be shocking, she knew, and she felt bad for forcing this on him.

Charlie stared at her for a long moment, and then let out a huff of a breath as he reluctantly began flipping through pages in the book. He stopped when he came to a picture of the two men smiling up at him.

"You know them, don't you?" Poppy asked, tilting her head to see his reaction.

Charlie didn't answer at first. He seemed shocked, as if he'd seen a ghost, and then he licked his bottom lip and worried it between his teeth. He nodded slowly.

"Fabian and Gideon Prewett. My uncles," he said quietly.

Poppy nodded. She wasn't surprised. "I've read about them before. I just didn't know you were related. This book was the first time I saw their faces," Poppy said sadly. "The resemblance… Charlie, it's…"

"It's the first time I've seen them in a while. Mum doesn't like to keep photos out, she keeps them in her room," Charlie said quietly. "She said it was too hard for her so she just talks about them."

"Charlie, you look just like them," Poppy whispered. "Well, at first. I guess it's an old photo."

Charlie hummed. "It's the hair and the Prewett build. Stockier than Weasleys," Charlie replied quietly. "Fred and George look a bit like them too, but I'm the most alike."

"You were eight when they died?" Poppy asked.

Charlie sighed deeply and closed the book and sent it to his bag with a flick of his wand. Poppy saw the resignation in his eyes when he met her gaze. "You're really worried about this?" he asked.

"I am. It-" Poppy's voice broke. She sighed and rubbed her nose. "It scared me."

Charlie moved forwards and tried to pull her into his arms.

Poppy stopped him, placing her hand on his chest. "I can't," she whispered. She knew she'd give up all of her resolve if he held her again. "We can't. We-"

"Okay. Okay look, I'll read this," Charlie said, lifting up the book, "and you figure out that note. We'll chat when I'm next in London. But don't say no yet."

"Charlie…"

"Nah, sorry Bounce, but I'm not giving up this time," Charlie said, shaking his head. "Not when I know you love me."

"Don't use that against me," Poppy whispered with a small chuckle.

"Why?"

"Because it's embarrassing," she said, sobering, omitting that she was also overly conscious that he hadn't said those three words back.

"No it's not. Look, all you need is time to get out of your own head. You're with Percy every day and it's getting to you. This book is getting to you. So this is me giving you time. Work out the note," Charlie said. "And remember, Weasley's are stubborn. We don't give up easily."

Poppy nodded and looked down at the parchment, looking at it properly now. On it was a drawing of an intricate knot.

Poppy's brow furrowed. "Charlie?" she asked.

There was no answer.

"Charles? Oh for god's sake."

Launching herself out of the window until she was half out, she squinted to try and see a flash of magical camouflage in the sky. But Charlie was already long gone.

She wanted to crawl under her duvet and not come out for months. But she'd been given a task. And if being polite to Percy was what she needed to do to help the Order, it was the smallest and easiest task she could take on right now.

So Poppy closed the window, wiped her eyes, hid the drawing, wet her hair with magic, shoved on a new outfit, and made her way down to Percy's room.

A few days later, despite her resolve to carry out her 'task' for the Order, Poppy's politeness broke during dinner with Percy.

"For god's sake, shut up Percy!" Poppy said angrily.

Percy stared at her as if she'd gone mad which, she supposed, she had. She was meant to be keeping Percy on her good side, and here she was shouting at him.

"I can't take it," she said after a moment when Percy didn't say anything.

"Whatever do you mean?" he asked, frowning.

"I mean that one of my friends died, and you constantly bringing up how Mr. Fudge thinks it was an unfortunate accident, and how he's speaking to the Diggory's to try and get them to see sense, and how the papers are filled with information on Harry being mad it's… it's too much! My friend died!" she reiterated, letting him see her tears finally. "Please. Just change the subject."

"Ah… yes. Well, I can understand that," he said, poking a piece of his beef pie with his fork. "But it is quite a lot of my role at the moment. Mr Fudge has entrusted me with editing his statements to the Daily Prophet-"

"You said," Poppy mumbled while he continued.

"-and unfortunately, even though you don't want to hear about it, quite a few Wizarding folk do. Though… I did see a rather good joke about Harry Potter come across my desk. Didn't have anything to do with Diggory. Do you want to hear it?"

Poppy, who knew he would say it whether she agreed or not, simply nodded and took a mouthful of her French onion soup, deciding to drone him out with her own thoughts rather than get riled up with his chatter.

The soup wasn't as flavourful as the one she'd had at Hogwarts while Beauxbatons were visiting, but it was pleasant enough, and she ticked it off in her mind as one to suggest to Fleur. If the silver haired girl ever turned up that was.

It had been five days now since she'd sent her letter to Fleur, and tomorrow morning would hail Poppy's fourth day at work - her first Wednesday at Gringotts. She had nearly completed a whole week of work (she was part-time, but due to her commitment to the Auror Assessment Week, she'd agreed to work full-time hours throughout the summer in recompense for her ill-timed 'holiday') and she couldn't wait for nine a.m. so that she could get away from Percy again.

She was beginning to wane under his company. Even the enigma that was Charlie's note wasn't enough to keep her mind busy enough to not be affected by his incessant chatter.

It was like Percy was a walking Dementor.

She smiled to herself. Yes, Percy was her own walking Dementor.

"What time does Sugarplum's close?" she asked, cutting through Percy's punchline.

He looked affronted but answered her and allowed her to run off to buy some much needed chocolate - the only defence she knew of to combat the after-effects of Dementors, apart from a long exposure to a Patronus charm.

When she returned to her table with Percy in the Leaky Cauldron, she found someone sitting in her chair.

The wizard was dressed in deep navy robes and looked a little tired, but happy enough to be sitting with her red headed 'friend'. She groaned inwardly. That meant the newcomer was probably another Fudge-believer. Though she couldn't help but smile at the fact that the unnamed wizard had a gold hoop hanging from one ear - it felt out of character for someone acquainted with Percy, who was incredibly uptight.

"Ah, Poppy! I'd like you to meet Kingsley Shacklebolt, one of our most efficient Aurors," Percy said happily, raising his hand to indicate the man who sat with him. "Brilliant mind, and currently heading up the hunt for Sirius Black. I saw him at the bar and I said to myself, 'I can't let Poppy miss out on a chance to talk to someone she'll admire even if she is being rude,' and invited him over for a drink."

Poppy quickly moved her rather large bag of sweets behind her and held out her right hand.

She hoped she was dressed appropriately and hadn't made too bad of an impression – it was one thing meeting someone who worked for the Ministry. Another thing entirely to meet Kingsley Shacklebolt himself.

"Poppy Jacobs, sir," she said, hoping he wouldn't dock points from her before she'd even started the Auror assessment week.

Kingsley smiled good-naturedly and stood.

He was tall. Taller than she'd thought he would be when she'd read about him. And boy had she read about him.

Not only had she studied some of his cases during her time at Hogwarts, but she'd spent the past two evenings in the Wizarding Library poring over newspapers and articles about Aurors in the past ten years to help in her preparation for the Assessment Week.

His name had come up a lot - he was one of the Aurors who had really come into their own after the end of the First Wizarding War and helped to hunt down some of the worst Death Eaters.

Surprisingly , rather than taking her hand, Kingsley held out his arms and pulled her into a slightly awkward hug. Poppy was sure that it was her stiff arms and wide eyed stare that made it awkward, but Kingsley didn't seem to care.

"The Phoenix," he whispered.

Poppy had been prepared by Dumbledore to wait for this message, but had not been prepared for it to come from Kingsley Shacklebolt. She tried to hide her surprise and whispered, "Rises."

Kingsley pulled away and clapped her on the back, turning to Percy. "We might not be the most approachable of folk but us Aurors know how to greet each other!" he laughed.

Poppy watched the frown on Percy's face ease, and the red-head smiled broadly.

"Now," Kingsley said, turning to a still slightly star-struck and now awe-stricken Poppy. He winked at her and whispered, "Go with it." Raising his voice, he added, "Please, join us."

He waved his wand and conjured a chair, which he sat in, waving her over to her old seat.

Poppy sat down quickly, placing her bag onto her lap. Kingsley beamed at her, and Percy frowned.

"Poppy, are you not going to-" Percy prompted after a moment, nodding eagerly towards Kingsley.

"Going to…?" she asked, confused – had Percy changed his mind about joining the Order? What had happened in the past few minutes?

Kingsley laughed and shook his head. "Not many Auror hopefuls would turn down the chance to ask me about training!"

"Oh! Is that okay?" she asked, eyeing up Percy. "I mean, that's not… it's not against the rules or anything?"

"Rules? What rules?" Kingsley replied in a slow and steady voice, "we can talk about training. Not the assessment centre or active cases."

"My idea," Percy added, pouring out a glass of wine for Kingsley. "You must be worried about it." Poppy sent him a thankful smile. She was thinking maybe she'd misjudged him, when he said, "Why else would you keep bringing telling me to stop talking about the Diggory boy? Worried about the optics of association," he said to Kingsley.

Kingsley, as if sensing Poppy's annoyance, reminded her to ask him anything.

"Of course, of course, I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting… I've uh… I read about the poisoning incident of eighty-nine in my research," she said. "Do you know what you would have done differently if faced with that today?" she asked, leaning forwards slightly.

Kingsley smiled and shook his head. "Next question."

After fifteen minutes Percy made his excuses, saying that he had just seen someone he needed to talk to about a paper. She felt sorry for the witch whose dinner was interrupted by Percy's badgering.

"I should be off too," Kingsley announced soon afterwards. "I'm expected at dinner. Speaking of," he added in a hushed tone, "I believe you have plans with an old friend tomorrow evening, don't you?"

Poppy nodded slowly. She tried to control her features to not show her absolute delight – this meant that she was going to the Order headquarters. "I'm going to meet her after work but I'm not sure what to look out for."

"Thought so. She'll be wearing black robes and have a scar running down her left cheek. She'll find you. See you later," he said, standing. He placed his hands in his robe pocket and withdrew a couple of large golden coins.

"No, it's okay, I have this," Poppy said. But Kingsley waved her off.

When she was securely in her hotel room again, Poppy grinned. Finally, she would be doing something worthwhile.

She was so happy that it took her a moment to realise that there was a light blue letter waiting for her on her pillow and that there was a rather majestic looking owl stood by the window, its eyes trained on her.

The letter was from Fleur - she recognised the writing - but when Poppy opened it, she found that there were some letters and words crossed out and others added here and there. For a moment Poppy was worried, but then she noticed that the edits were all grammatical errors or unnecessary words, and she smiled when she saw Fleur's apology in the margin, indicating that she'd bought a new book on translations.

Poppy,

I am sorry for not replying sooner. I am sad to say that Papa and I were not able to get the flat any earlier than Friday.

I have been writing to Bill, and he said that you might not move in on Friday as planned as you have a dinner with his family. Shall we meet on Saturday morning instead? Perhaps 10?

Please use Bayard to reply. He is much quicker than your post office owl.

I have much to tell you,

All my love,

Fleur

"Writing to Bill, eh?" Poppy asked aloud as she re-read the letter. She couldn't help but smile - Bill deserved a little happiness, especially right now. He was probably spending his time working, consoling his mother, and making sure his younger siblings (minus Charlie) were in check. Maybe, she thought, Fleur could help him smile.

She replied quickly and agreed to meet on Saturday.