Title: Shifting Tides: A tale of healing by the sea

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I own none of JK's characters, I'm just an insomniac who writes.

Extended Summary: Bill Weasley, and the rest of the Order, really had no inkling of what to expect when the escapees of Malfoy Manor suddenly started appearing at Shell Cottage. Told mainly from the viewpoints of various Weasley siblings as we explore what it means to handle missions for the Order, bring laughter to dark times, how hard healing can be and how far friends and family are willing to go to try anyway. Oh, and why it takes more than one person to win a war. Expect to hear about all sorts of Weasley sibling adventures!

Warnings: Non-DH compliant for large chunks of the book. Some characters may seem OOC at times, but even the twins had to stop letting things go in one ear and out the rest once they were down to only three ears. The lightness comes in more and more as the story goes on, so at least give it a go!

A/N: I always wondered how JK would have written the post-capture Malfoy Manor part of the book if it was aimed at an adult audience (and those inferences made in the book) and not page restricted, this is an exploration of that concept.

A/N June 2018: Shifting Tides will be coming down soon, so jump in at your own risk.

Arrivals:

Bill stirred a lump of sugar into his tea, setting aside the rune translation he was working on to glance at the clock to see just how late it had gotten at Shell Cottage. Late enough that none of the Order would be stopping by the safehouse he was secret-keeper of, the house he'd bought when he'd thought Fleur would be there with him. Instead, she was in continental Europe trying to convince the Veela populations to not join Voldemort's ranks this time. She'd gone on her mission after the horrible aftermath of his attack, but with the tacit understanding she wouldn't be returning to Bill and there would be no wedding. It hadn't hurt as badly as it should have, for the most part she'd left his heart as easily as she'd left Britain. Instead he'd spent the summer at the Burrow staring at another girl, a very off limits girl, wondering why he always had to pick the hardest road and knowing she was out there somewhere on an even harder journey. He pushed those thoughts away as he'd done so many times before when they crept in while he was manning this lonely safehouse and listening to the winds howl against the cliffs.

He pulled the translation back towards himself in some vain attempt at a distraction, pushing the tea away onto one of the cozies Tonks had left in her last mission here, her maternal nesting instincts kicking in wherever she was stationed. They all left traces after their locational stays: the faint smell of gunpowder that followed the twins, a clean house and made beds courtesy of his mother, the cup of tea Kingsley inevitably left as he rushed to work, the missing silverware if Mundungus had been there last. He wondered what his marker was, he certainly seemed to always need more toothbrushes. It varied and was in a way comforting to catch the traces of their group that moved in shadow under the darkness, always in defiance. The runes were simple enough, but it was the sequence they'd been written in, which was the puzzle he'd been asked to solve. Why that order? Why this combination?

The distinct loud crack of someone's arrival was heard, causing Bill to immediately abandon his work and go sprinting to see what news and which Order member it was, a family in need of shelter or an emergency mission Instead, he found a very weak, but recognizable, Mr. Ollivander being supported by two young adults. One of them opened his mouth to speak, but Bill cut him off. Shelter then. "Take him inside. Are there others coming?"

"Harry, Ron and Hermione are still there. Malfoy Manor." The boy's voice shook slightly, information added by the dreamy blonde who looked so very young, "And a goblin and the very brave house elf, he's going to get them here too. The Manor was terrible."

Bill's insides froze at the first three names, and was glad he already had his wand out. "Inside now."

He concentrated, summoning his patronus. "Notify the Order. Somebody stole my lemon drops. Healers needed at the House by the Sea."

His patronus disappeared, just as another crack sounded and there was Ron, holding up a bloody, barely conscious Hermione who seemed to be weakly struggling in his grip. Bill reached out for her, pulling her from his brother's clenching arms in an automatic gesture. Ron's eyes were wide with fear, showing white around the edges like a spooked horse as he looked around wildly for someone else, then back to Hermione. Bill's voice was curt. "Harry?"

"He should be-" Ron started to grind out when the final group appeared on Bill's once quiet beach. Harry unharmed, but yelling for help in a far too broken tone. Bill looked at his extremely pale younger brother and commanded, "Go."

The young black man was also running that way, but a smell from the girl Bill was supporting had just hit his nostrils that made his stomach clench in horror. She looked up at him, her eyes sliding into focus for a moment before she passed out completely and he lifted her into an easier position to carry. It was harder this time to summon his patronus, harder to recall a memory happy enough to overcome this, but the not terribly great code the Order used out of respect was still drilled in. His voice sounded hollow to his own ears. "Notify the Order. Found my candy, it seems I'd sat on them and cracked some of my favorites."

Harder yet to summon a third patronus with Harry's hollow noises of grief echoing on the cliffs, Bill looked at his somber and busy husky patronus; not fully a wolf, but so much more than just a dog. He made a move to stroke him in comfort, to assure him his job was done for the night after this last request. "Only to Remus, ok? Moony requested urgently at the House by the Sea."

He lifted Hermione more firmly into his arms as dual cracks of displaced air showed the twins, each with one of the stocked healing kits the Order kept prepared, indicating the message had been received and promptly acted upon. He directed George towards the group clustered around Harry and gestured for Fred to follow him, no laughter lurking in his eyes tonight. Fred gave a backwards glance at his twin as if to make sure it was safe, his voice clipped. "What happened?"

"I have no idea, but Mr. Ollivander looks to be in bad shape as does the blonde girl. I'll take care of Hermione for now, the house potion stock is in the first closet." With the information dispersed in a succinct fashion, Bill carried her up the stairs and into his room grabbing some stock potions as he went. He laid her bloody, half-starved, twitching form on the bed and wondered just how much the kids had been through and how much more was to come. He pushed it away, breathing back into handling what he could at the moment. He'd find the answers later, once this crisis was handled and wounds healed. He set to work mechanically, curse breaking and the requisite healer training that came with such a job kicking in. A short Scourgify, a calming draught forced down her unconscious throat, stroking the muscles of her esophagus to make her swallow. A short diagnostic test which made him frown and prioritize, first would be pulling all of the chunks of shattered glass from her to stem the blood flow. What the bloody hell had happened to her, to them? The thought drifted in and was just as quickly pushed out: she clearly wasn't in any state to answer. He said the required spell and watched as it worked and glass pushed out of her skin with small pops, as he heard the pounding footsteps on the stairs, Ron's frantic and hoarse voice echoing. "Hermione?!"

The loud pop of a particularly large chunk of glass disengaged out of her skin, blocking his hearing for a moment. Fred's calmer and more soothing voice carrying, another tiny pop, though it sounded as if Fred was physically blocking Ron. "She's with Bill, Ron. Calm down, he's checking her now."

Bill's mind abruptly started ignoring the small pops of a working spell and focused in on what was happening outside this room. Another small sound of restraint, Ron's voice again, desperate. "I have to see her, she…she.." Desperation coated the pleading, broken confession, "The screams we could hear."

The voice of the dreamy girl floated through the walls, "Yes, they were quite horrible, weren't they? But Harry needs you right now, Ron." A pause, as more heavy footsteps were heard, "Oh hello, Professor Lupin."

Remus Lupin's voice was polite, tension buried beneath the calm words, "Quite right, Luna. Ron do go help Harry and I'll check on how Hermione is doing."

There was a sound that indicated Fred had released Ron and Bill could imagine the looks passing between his prankster brother and Remus, that said everything as Ron's distinct and familiar stomp went downwards. Remus' voice floated back up the stairs, "Miss Lovegood, will you do me a great favor by making sure everyone has some of this chocolate? It will help a great deal."

"Of course, Professor. Chocolate is known to keep-"

Fred's voice, tense but lined with amusement. "Luna, after that do you mind starting a meal? It looks like everyone could use a bite." He paused, his voice losing all traces of his previous humor. "Then please summon a house elf named Winky from Hogwarts, if that's even possible. She and Dobby…"

Remus picked up where Fred's voice had faltered into silence, "-were very close and I believe she'd like to be here to help."

Thank Merlin, Bill thought, before looking back down at his bloody patient and realizing her eyes were wide open. He'd spent a lot of time with Hermione, but wouldn't claim he knew her well enough to tell if this wide open stare was one of pure shock or one of someone who was taking everything in and trying to process it. He kept his voice gentle, "Hermione, it's Bill Weasley. Ron's older brother," a tiny reaction, "He and Harry are safe and unharmed."

A small bit of tension seemed to leave her at that statement, though it made her muscles twitch, her voice almost a hoarse scream, but resolute and sounding rote. "It's a fake."

Bill wasn't quite sure what to make of that statement or her comprehension of her surroundings and somewhere in his chest gave a violent jerk at seeing her like this. He shoved it away, now was not the time. Ultimately, it didn't matter as her eyes shut tightly again as she twitched and one of her limbs flailed. The door eased open and Remus Lupin stood there, his nostrils flared and Bill knew he could smell what Bill had: Fenrir Greyback on the girl. Bill looked at the rage on Remus' face for a moment and made a gesture indicating he didn't know what had happened and in her current bloody, filthy state there was no telling why they could smell that bastard's scent. Remus calmed and approached the bed, ignoring the bloody chunks of glass, his voice soft. "Miss Granger? I'd like to help take a look at your….injuries." She didn't respond and there was another pop, a small piece of bloody glass flying from her scalp. Remus tried again, "Hermione?"

One eye then the other popped open, chapped lips opening in a small 'oh'. She looked from him to Bill and a flare of steeliness came into her eyes as if she was debating if they were actually real. Her voice was hoarse and hard to hear, but curiously dead all the same. "Bellatrix got to play with the Mudblood, you see?"

Well no, Bill really didn't see, but he nodded all the same, with a sick lurch in his stomach at the possibilities running through his mind of a combination of Bellatrix and Fenrir and the screams Ron had mentioned. He glanced at Remus and was about to ask another question when there were more crashing noises from below. "Go! I'll stay here. Try and figure out what the bloody hell happened."

Bill turned back to Hermione, forcing himself to speak gently, despite the growing rage. From the twitching and Bellatrix's involvement he at least knew she'd had one Unforgivable curse used on her more than once. All too common in patients the Order was treating these days. He pulled a potion from the side table, handing it to her and speaking while he helped her choke it down. Frustrated at how little the basic physical diagnostic test he'd run had told him, he'd always been terrible at healing spells. "You're going to need some healing and potions. I'll need to clean the wounds, can you tell me where it hurts the worst? Do you understand?"

Those fathomless brown eyes were on him again after watching her former Professor leave the room at a run, she was refusing to answer, maybe refusing to catalog her own injuries. "Bath."

That Bill could do, it would be gentler than some of the other antiseptic methods and help get her less filthy. There was no way she'd be able to properly undress and bathe herself in her current state though. "I'll pull it now, would you like me to call Luna?"

She looked at him blankly as if she didn't recognize the name, before trying and failing to slowly sit up on her bloody forearm and she dropped back down to the bed. Another spark and she answered, "Nobody sees."

Something inside Bill clenched, how many times had he felt that way lying injured in the Hogwarts infirmary and after with all of his scars? That nobody should see him in that state? He stilled her second attempt at movement, "Let me start the water and then I'll cast privacy charms for you so Luna can help, ok? At least with your hair?" She frowned and he made another offer, "Or Winky, the house elf?"

She shook her head resolutely and he shoved a pain potion and another calming draught at her, forcing her to drink it, before going into the bathroom to run the bath. He started soothing bubbles, poured anti-scarring potions, ones for muscle repair and nerve damage into it at random. Later, he'd never quite remember all of the potions that went into the bubbly water or whether they were even effective topically, but would recall over the sound of tub filling he could hear the rhythmic sounds of spades hitting dirt in his garden and took a moment to rub his own scarred face in the mirror. He'd been an older brother all his life, Head Boy, a curse breaker and a member of the Order and handled so many critical situations he'd lost count, but never one quite like this. Never one quite so important and so unexpected as his baby brother, this broken girl, and the other most wanted people in Britain popping by with an entourage of creatures, bodies and prisoners.

In the end, she was more stubborn than even Ron had described and with privacy charms on her, averted eyes and gentle hands he managed to get her into the bath, despite the fact privacy didn't seem to matter all that much to her at the moment. With an even softer touch and some mild spells, he helped the dazed girl get clean, falling into a monologue to distract her and himself of just how red the bubbles in the tub were becoming. "I heard my brother was terrible at using the telephone when he tried to call Harry to invite him to the Burrow, but there's quite a good reason for it." He gently cleaned her forearm manually, noting the word and how she trembled and flinched and kept talking, "Charlie's best friend at Hogwarts, one of his roomers, wasn't from a magical family and he'd often go over on sleepaways during breaks and watch muggle television. He got rather obsessed with something called infomercials for a time, I understand they're extremely long ads for silly things that rarely work as intended. Anyway, Charlie wanted all of the products, but we didn't have a phone to call and order them. Plus, we were underage and Mum was threatening to break our wands herself if we stepped a toe out of line again. So, he nicked Dad's wand one night. He'd seen this spell from one of Mum's Witch Weekly papers to make a wand act like a phone so Muggleborns-" She shuddered at the word, quivering as he shampooed her hair and shoved her forearm deeper into the water.

Resolutely he carried on, it was best to know what would and wouldn't set someone off from a traumatic event and he'd gotten her mostly clean already. "-Could talk to their family and friends with ease. Charlie was so determined to get this thing he'd seen, thinking it was absolutely necessary for his continued existence, that we snuck down to the twins' room with Dad's wand." He rinsed her hair twice with water from his wand before continuing on with conditioner, still not sure he'd gotten it completely clean, but it at least it wasn't bloody and filled with glass anymore. There would be time for more baths later. "It was the best place for harmless mischief, for Charlie and I anyway, we could always say we were making sure they weren't up to something. So, Charlie tried this spell and somehow mucks it up that so instead of calling the number Dad's wand became the number of all of the muggle TV ads on the network."

He gently added more conditioner to a tangle he was trying to work out of her hair and felt like she might have smiled slightly, "So Dad's wand is buzzing and ringing like crazy for days with people trying to buy muggle TV products like egg cookers and self threading needles and they're all yelling at him because he has no idea what's going on or how to get them what they want. Mum's going mental over how he's taken his muggle gadget obsession too far and that he's surely going to get sacked from the Ministry and…." Bill chuckled as the tangle finally released, "…and we blamed it on toddler Ron out of pure panic of being caught, terrified of what Mum would do to us. We concocted this whole story of Dad taking us to the muggle village to see some plugs and in passing we saw the ad on the tv screen and how it had freaked little Ron out so much that maybe his accidental magic had caused it. Charlie just kept saying, 'Well, Mum you were visiting Aunt Muriel' as if repeating it enough would make her believe our entire poppycock story. So, Dad and Ron both think you have to talk really, really loud on the phone to this day and Ron gets really embarrassed about any mentions of his phone misadventures." She flinched slightly.

He brushed more of Fleur's expensive left over conditioner into her wildly tangled hair, while wondering if he should give her a tension potion for her shoulders. No, he threw one into the water already. "Dad completely knew we were lying, probably wasn't sure if we were covering for the twins or not, but let it pass because it got him out of trouble with Mum too. He even backed our little tale up by producing some extra plugs that he'd been hiding in the shed."

She made a hoarse noise that might have been a laugh and Bill smiled at his small victory, at least lightening her mood for a moment. He rinsed her hair combing it gently, and unsure what to do next was extremely happy when Winky popped into the bathroom, wringing her hands. "Clean clothes for Misses Hermione, Winky didn't have time to iron or fit thems, but is making broths and dinner for everyone. Mr. Harry Potter wants to…" a soft wail escaped her, "gives Dobby a funeral soon." Reverence entered her wailing tone, "A real funeral for a house elf."

Bill thanked and reassured the little elf with tears running down her cheeks, patted her gently as he left the bathroom to let the elf help Hermione fully rinse off and dress. He was planning on consulting the better trained healers about what to do about the still bleeding words inscribed on her arm and see how everyone else was doing. A thought passed through his mind that if only they could contact Poppy for assistance, but communication with Hogwarts wasn't easy. He sighed, curse breakers recognized nasty cursed wounds when they saw it, but it didn't mean they always had the answers or counter charms, that was why Healers existed. Perhaps one of the twins had thought to bring one of Aunt Muriel's advanced healer books or there would be something in his own collection of books on cursed objects to help.

He didn't make it fully across the room before the little elf appeared in front of him with a crack, barring his way. "No, no, Misses Hermione is shaking, sirs. She doesn't want you to leaves, so you stays."

So, Bill rubbed a hand over his face again and obediently turned around, really wondering when someone would be able to explain to him what had happened and not wanting to get on the wrong side of house elf magic. He creaked the bathroom door open, "Hermione? I'm sorry, I was just going to get some bandages and some healer advice."

She looked swallowed by Tonk's pre-pregnancy robes, her shoulders shaking with unshed tears and Bill did the only natural thing he could: there weren't words for what she was going through. Touched her shoulder in permission, before pulling her into his arms, stroking her back, letting her take the strength from him she didn't have at the moment and felt the magic begin to flow. It was sometime later when she was calm enough to go down and bury her little friend and saviour. Bill eyed the stairs dubiously, her legs still as shaky as a newborn colt, and knew innately from his own recovery that she wouldn't damn well let herself be carried down. So it was with great relief when Fred came out of another room at the right moment, saw the stairs, bowed dramatically to Hermione before offering her his arm, "May we escort you down, milady?"

She took first Fred's arm then Bill's and let herself be supported, her weight barely touching each stair. Fred quoting and misquoting the muggle and wizarding versions of the Canterbury Tales throughout their slow progression to Dobby's final resting place. It was a grave Harry, Ron and Dean had manually dug, and the gathered crowd had a the little elf crying near Professor Lupin, Harry's blank face, Ron's anxious one amongst Dean and George and a sad, but serene Luna. She smiled when they approached and handed Fred a tiny, little knitted hat, which everyone else was already wearing in some bizarre twist on celebratory paper Christmas crowns. Fred promptly plopped it on his head and moved towards his twin, wearing a poorly knit horrid green hat. Bill took and applied his mechanically and was surprised when Ron was both anxious and tentative in bringing the last one to Hermione, his words soft as he looked her over with his heart on his face, "Dobby kept them all, every last one you made."

She made no response and Bill wondered if perhaps he had indeed given her too many calming draughts by accident, but then Ron tried to place the hat on her head and there was certainly a reaction. She flinched away and twisted as if to take herself away, but wandless and weak she simply collided with Bill's chest. She stayed there trembling, held up by his arms, while Ron's face changed from anxious to red, then white. She finally turned forward only when a seemingly oblivious Luna began to speak for Dobby. Either not noticing or caring about the hurt still crashing across Ron's face that had nothing to do with the funeral he was attending or his other best friend's crashing emotional state.

The funeral was complete and people were starting to drift towards the house to finish what had been a very long day, trying to slip quietly away to let Harry have the last few moments with his friend, when Ron's anxiety and temper broke into a stress-induced tantrum. "Why are you holding her like that, Bill? Why?"

Bill opted for logic, never the best tactic with his youngest brother, but always Bill's innate response. "Ron, she can't stand on her own. She's been through a lot." His last sentence was meant as a gentle reminder, "You all have."

Ron's ears started to burn red in growing anger as he looked at the girl he so desperately cared for, had so desperately failed in protecting. "She needs St. Mungo's!" A pause, as Ron noticed her wet hair and fresh robe, his voice rising rapidly in volume, "Who the bloody hell helped her clean up if she can't stand? Luna was with us."

Hermione started to shake in his arms again and turned into Bill's chest when something unexpected happened. Ron hit the ground, clearly stupefied and cut off in what was inevitably building into a rant he would certainly regret later. Bill looked to his brothers, saw them looking at each other in baffled confusion and then Dean spoke, nervously. "Sorry, I just….well…it's not right at a funeral, you know?" He gestured, "It's upsetting the girls."

Luna glanced at him thoughtfully, her own face calming down as she gestured for Winky. "Was that a non-verbal spell?"

He nodded, giving the other Weasleys' an apologetic glance, "Mr. Tonks thought that just because I was on the run it didn't mean I had to stop my education." A pause. "Sorry, Harry I know he's your best mate."

The twins spoke in unison, saving Harry from any response. "Well done."

Fred, "I bet that-"

George, "-having to share a dorm-"

Fred, "-for years-"

George, "-with teenage Ron would want anyone to-"

Fred, "-hex him. Believe me-"

In unison again, "-We would know."

The levity broke, and Bill half-heartedly shook his head at his younger brothers antics, as Dean smiled in thanks at them. Remus spoke next with his own sad smile, "30 points to Gryffindor, Mr. Thomas." A pause as he glanced at Harry, who had barely taken in the scene and Hermione still shuddering in Bill's arms, "I believe in this case, Mr. Weasley should be administered a draught of dreamless sleep before being ennervated, allowing him to rest fully. A recommendation for anyone who hasn't had a full night's sleep in recent times."

George headed for the house with Ron levitating beside him and Remus cast a thoughtful look at all of them, indicating Dean and Luna should follow with the distraught little elf crying into her dress. He looked between Bill and Fred and said decidedly, "Fred, do you mind checking in quickly at headquarters, your mother will be having kittens having heard the messages. I believe we'll need some extra potion supplies as well." Here his eyes slid to Hermione then away again, "Bill, do you mind helping get everyone arranged for the night? I'll need to help shift Shell Cottage out of cargo rotation for awhile and restrain my wife from going on a rampage."

Bill nodded and they both disappeared with a twist, and he and his little, quiet companion made their way back to the house by the sea, leaving Harry to grieve without either of his best friends to support him. Sometimes, grief needed privacy to start the healing process.

"I'd actually been itching to do it for ages, Seamus and I had this crazy scorecard between our beds tracking Ron's sulks, Harry's nightmares and Neville's potions breakdowns to prevent us from hexing them in their sleep. Though we never would have actually hexed Nev." They were the first words that drifted into Bill and Hermione's ears as he slowly re-entered Shell Cottage and she indicated she would no longer tolerate being carried. With a frown he set her back on her own feet, securely wrapping an arm around her waist so he could more discreetly lift her with each step.

George's laughter was choked by a full mouth of bread. "Fred, Lee and I were so disruptive McGonagall let our other roomers move into a different room in third year."

"I wish I could have done that," Luna's dreamy voice floated as they entered the kitchen, "Ginny was my first real friend, you know."

As a still crying Winky started to bustle them towards the table, George shot him a questioning look, eyeing the doorway for Fred. Bill shook his head in the negative, "Checking in. Winky, I think it's best Hermione eats in bed. She'll be in the master room. Luna, come up when you're ready."

Hermione clutched at him, ragged sharp nails digging into his side, telling him that his plan of having her and Luna in there and the boys sleep in the living room and spare room to allow Mr. Ollivander and Griphook private healing was not going to be accepted. Bill internally sighed, not wanting to face why it was him she was clinging to so heavily rather than Harry or Ron, or even her other schoolmates. He knew though, he'd been in her shoes. The Ravenclaw seemed to comprehend the shift in mood and said, "Oh, I think it would be too much of a shock if Mr. Ollivander woke and I wasn't there. We were in the same cell for ever so long."

Bill nodded his thanks and took his unexpected charge upstairs, alternating broth, bread and potions to his silent tucked in patient. The dreamless sleep draught was next when she croaked, "Stay?"

"Of course, now drink this and I"ll tell you a tale of when Charlie took down the entire floo network." He settled into the chair he'd pulled up to the bedside as he watched her drink it, not entirely surprised when she pulled his hand urging him into the bed and curled against him immediately. Merlin, she was freezing. What conditions had she, Harry and Ron been living in before showing up on his beach? Ron had said they'd had a tent and been starving, but he'd spent his December at Shell Cottage, warm and contrite.

He summoned another blanket to the bed, casting a warming charm on it and began to speak softly, knowing the potion would kick in soon enough. "Once upon a time, Charlie Weasley didn't know you couldn't floo with certain magical creatures. So when he tried to floo with a baby dragon…"

The door eased open, not disturbing the girl who'd just fallen asleep, and George's head popped in. Bill motioned him inward, wondering what was next and surprised by what it turned out to be. George took the chair with a slightly raised eyebrow, then emotions passed across his face as he stared at Hermione's limp form curled against Bill's chest. George struggled for a moment, torn on speaking or not, before finally coming to a choice of words. "I'm glad it's you, Bill. You've always had the most level head and she'll need that."

Bill stared at his brother, knowing where this was going, but not going to be the one to say it, to bring up the past. George gave a grim upturning of the lips and obliged, his hand ghosting over his missing ear as he glanced to make sure she was truly out. "Dean said they could hear her being tortured from the dungeons and Ron kept screaming her name every time she screamed." He grimaced, but gave no further description. "You're the first safe person she saw and you know how magical healing goes after things like that." He paused, the bond of knowing both he and Bill had been through the process of magical healing after being damaged, and looked at his oldest brother clinically, "I clearly had Fred. At least you two took all the boring classes the rest of us skipped. Runes, Muggle Studies, Arithmancy…"

Bill tried for a joke and failed miserably, "You took Arithmancy, George, and I heard rumors Fred was there occasionally."

George half shrugged, his tone light and joking. "We thought it would help us run the shop. We split the electives, though usually teachers couldn't tell which one of us was actually attending the class as we still had matching ears then." Emotions crossed his face again like a cloud, a decision finally being made. This time his voice was softer and more conflicted, less the distant tone he used whenever he handled anything related to the war and not the irreverent lightness that so characterized the twins' usual demeanour. He shifted from the man who'd lost an ear in battle to simply Bill's younger sibling. "Ron isn't the only brother whose attention she captured at Hogwarts."

Bill raised his eyebrows in surprise, running possibilities of the siblings who'd been at Hogwarts with her and age differences. "You?"

"Fred, actually." A grin did light George's face this time, "You wouldn't believe all of the stupid stuff I had to do just so she would talk to us, well, really scold us most of the time or even just sit with us at meals. Meals were easier when Ron was being a prat to her." He stood, his smile showing he was shifting back into his normal self and into a more businesslike mode, "I've got to get the potions started, but can he have a few minutes with her? He's as worried sick as ickle Ronniekins."

It went without saying that Fred was torn up, while George was the slightly more sensible, restrained and quieter twin, Fred carried the mantle of being loud and completely invested in whatever he did, feelings included. Bill nodded and began to shift her off of him knowing Fred would be back at any moment, "I"ll help you get the potions started, she'll be out for awhile."

A/N: Reviews are very much appreciated, flame away if you feel the need, and drop a line if you're willing to beta! If this seems a little complicated let me know, because when Ginny and Tonks get involved there's no telling how crazy things will get.

Cheers,

Crow