This is a work in progress, that means that with no warning it could stop making progress. I will do all I can to prevent that but... well I'm not much of a writer and I'm doing this for my enjoyment. This also looks like it will be a large project... which scares the shit out of me but I really love the concept so I'm going for it anyway. Just a warning. At this point I will try to update every friday.

This will eventually be Bill/Harry slash. If this offends you, please find another story. This story was made to be slash there is no way it will not be slash. However Harry's too young at the beginning of this story for either of them to consider a relationship together seriously. If they start a relationship before Harry is 17 it will not be intimate. Harry will be exploring his sexuality and may or may not do so with other boys his age in the meantime. On this site I plan to fully comply with their restrictions on appropriate material. If there is a scene not allowed on this site that I think benefits the story, you can find it on my AO3 account. My username there is artisticfool. I'll try to include pre-slash H/B hints to consol your slashy hearts.

Over the course of this story, some religious concepts will be discussed. First this is fanfiction and should not be taken as serious religious discourse. Many of the views will be from Harry's point of view, who only has the Dursley's for examples. I don't see them as shining examples of all the good things about religion so his views will be rather negative. Please don't be offended by any comparisons between Wizard religion and Muggle ones.

I'm very sorry for the long authors note, it won't happen again.

Chapter 1
What Happened at Dinner

Harry didn't think he had ever been this happy. He was away from the Dursleys for another year. He was playing quidditch with his best friend. He was going to the World Quidditch cup. The day was beautiful and bright and the Weasley's were just... perfect. He wished he could just stay here always.

Below him Molly Weasley came out into the yard still wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "Boys! That's enough for today. Come help with the table." She yelled. Ron grumbled but he and Harry quickly made their way to the ground. When Harry came inside the Burrow he saw two young men he'd never met, who were obviously Weasleys.

He must have been staring because Molly quickly made introductions. "Oh Harry dear, you haven't met my two eldest. They just arrived, they'll be going to the match tomorrow too. This is Charlie, and this is Bill." She bustled off.

Charlie was much like the twins, short and thick, with scars and burns on his face and arms. He seemed very friendly though. He hugged Harry, in a way that felt more like a tackle, lifting him clear off the ground and saying how good it was to finally meet him. Harry was left a little breathless. He wasn't used to that kind of physical affection at all. It made him feel nice, welcomed in a way none of Ron's assurances could. It also felt very very odd and he wasn't sure what to do with his hands or what to say. Luckily he didn't have to say anything. He was put down and Charlie was off teasing Ron and making jokes with the twins.

A strong long fingered hand clapped him on his shoulder, the attached arm squeezing him gently but firmly. "He's always like that, energy out his ears." Bill said fondly. He turned Harry to look at him and smiled. Harry found himself blushing. Bill was tall and thin like Percy, but that's where the similarity ended. He had long hair in pony tail, and a tooth for an earring, but what Harry noticed most was his very warm blue eyes. "It's very good to meet you Harry. I've wanted to since I heard what you did for my little sister." Harry didn't know what to say to that. He had done what he had to do, what anyone would have done. He blushed brighter and looked down at his shoes.

Thankfully Bill didn't linger. "Why don't you grab some plates from the kitchen, I'll float the table outside."

Soon the table was outside, expanded and set. Molly followed with several dishes floating in her wake, smelling divine. Everyone sat down, and though no one assigned seats or anything, it naturally fell out that the youngest sat at one end of the table and the oldest the other. Harry had never observed them having any type of Grace or prayer before when eating at the Weasleys so he thought nothing about digging in to the meal along with everyone around him. The table was filled with loud happy chatter.

"Bill! Must you do that here? We have guests!" Molly obviously didn't want her whisper to be heard, but the anger in her voice cut through the friendly dinner noise like a knife. Harry looked down the table. Molly looked incensed and embarrassed. Harry looked at Bill but he didn't see anything wrong until he looked at Bill's plate. A thin column of smoke was rising from one corner and dissipating quickly.

"Yes Mother, I must do that here, I must do that everywhere." Bill looked calm and unapologetic as he began to cut up his food.

"In my house-" Molly seemed about to continue irately but Arthur put his hand on her arm and said, "Later Molly." He didn't appear any happier with his son though. He was scowling fiercely. Molly gaped that looked down the table at Hermione and Harry who were watching, and at her other children, who pointedly weren't. The whole table had gone silent except for slow clinks and scraps of cutlery. Stiffening she turned back to her plate and attacked it. After a moment, her voice determinedly bright she asked, "So Charlie, how did that date go with, Adele? You never said."

Magically chatter started up again, with no one mentioning the incident. Harry was confused and very anxious. What had Bill done? Even last year when the twins had stolen the car to rescue Harry, though Molly had be yelling, she hadn't seemed even half as angry as she had in that whisper. It reminded Harry all too clearly of Aunt Petunia when the word magic was mentioned. Irrational, furious, offended and frightened. As far as Harry could see he'd only burned up some of his food. Which was weird, and probably rude since Molly had worked hard to make it but... he just didn't get it. And although Harry wasn't really thinking about it, it was ruining his ideal that the Weasley's were a perfect family. When Harry had seen her angry before, he could tell the reason. Her children had done something that had scared her, or could have hurt someone. It made sense, and truthfully he'd been envious, not scared then. He often wished there was someone who would scold him, would care when he screwed up. He wasn't envious now though, this reminded him too sharply of the Dursleys. And like the Dursleys, a part of him wondered if he was going to mess up like Bill, whatever Bill had done, and Molly would look at him in that cold furious way. Would she make him leave?

Harry couldn't stand not knowing what Bill did wrong anymore. He leaned closer to Ron beside him and whispered, "What did he do?"

Ron looked like he wanted pretend he hadn't heard or didn't understand, but he finally said, "Leave it Harry! I'll tell you later if you want." Then he turned to Ginny on his other side and talked about the Harpies.

Harry was left anxious and frustrated. But since the topic was obviously closed he turned to his food and tried to eat. What had been so delicious, now tasted like ashes.

Harry sat in Ron's room, waiting for Ron to finish brushing his teeth. Finally he came in, but regardless of seeing Harry sitting there waiting he went to his bed. He looked like he had every intention of going right to sleep, ignoring his promise to explain. Harry was not going to be put off a second time. "Ron! You said you'd explain!" Ron grunted and looked rebellious. Harry held his eyes stubbornly. "Gah! Fine. I don't see how it matters now though. Mum won't let him do it at the table again," he sighed. He sat back up and looked at his hands, looking embarrassed. "What he did, it was Dark Magic."

Harry was shocked. Whatever he'd been expecting that was not it it. Dark magic? At dinner? In front of his very light magic family? It didn't make any sense, and Bill seemed like a good guy, not like the Malfoys who oozed with their superiority and malevolence.

"A couple years ago, just after he graduated and started working for Gringotts, he started hanging out with a bad crowd. They taught him all kinds of messed up shit, saying it would make his magic better or something. Rituals and spells and crap. Now whenever he comes home he gets in a big row with Mum and Dad. They keep hoping that it's just a... a phase or something. That eventually he'll come to his senses. Dad tried to forbid him to do it, but Bill said he was an adult and could practice magic however he liked. Then Dad said he could, but not in his home. So Bill said that he wouldn't be coming home then. Mum didn't like that. Finally, Dad said he'd let him but he made Bill give an Oath that he would never try to teach it to any of us, ever. Still Bill comes home less and less often. We mostly ignore it, but I guess doing it in front of you and Hermione was too much for Mum."

Harry was amazed and weirdly reassured. At least he knew that Molly wasn't reacting for no reason. Dark magic was serious. Though now that he thought about it, wasn't dark magic illegal? "So... what did he do? Was it some sort of curse?" he asked, but even as he asked he knew that didn't make sense. Bill apparently cast this spell a lot. He'd said he did it everywhere. What sort of evil spell did you need to cast everywhere?

Ron shrugged, "I dunno mate. He's not allowed to tell us remember? I do know I've seen Malfoy do it. Not in the great hall, but once when I saw him eating outside with his thugs, they all did it. In broad daylight! Like it wasn't dark magic at all. Just poof! And set their food on fire." Ron shook his head in disbelief. "Really mate, that's all I need to know. If dark wankers like Malfoy are doing it, it can't be good."

"But, if it's dark magic, isn't it like... illegal?" Harry asked hesitantly. He was obliquely implying his brother should be in jail after all.

Ron shook his head, "No. I don't know what it is or does, but I do know it's not illegal. I asked. Same with the weird crap he does. When Bill made that Oath, Dad told him if he ever did any of the really dark stuff, like hurting people stuff, that he wasn't to come home again. No matter what Mum said."

Harry and Ron sat in silence after that, each thinking. Before Harry could form another question though, Arthur knocked on the door, "Lights out boys, big day tomorrow." Ron jumped to put out the lamp, looking relieved. With the light out they heard Arthur's footsteps go down the stairs.

Harry lay in the dark a long time, thinking.