Bill Weasley and the Castle Terabil

Chapter Two: The Partner
"Bill?" Charlie exclaimed, stunned.

"Charlie?" Bill exclaimed, just as stunned.

"What are you doing here?" they both demanded.

"I work here," Bill said defensively.

"Well, I put my money in here," Charlie replied. They heard a chuckle in the corner. "Dumbledore," Charlie said. "Of course! I should have known."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Bill demanded.

"Well, I just enjoy surprises," Dumbledore said mildly. "Besides, I can never pass up an opportunity to have two Weasleys working together! They always make such a good team."

"You're not going to have Fred and George popping up out of nowhere, are you?" Charlie asked.

"Oh, no. But anyway, I am here to give you the rest of the information you need." Dumbledore rifled through his papers and bags. "Aha. You two will pick up a boot to match this one--" here Dumbledore gave Charlie a brown soft-toe boot--"And you will be transported through space and time. You will be transported to a forest called Taipo. You will be two Taipoans, at the ages you are now. Here is a map of the area. This temple is where you can go back in time to the approximate age of fifteen. Now," Dumbledore said seriously, handing over papers and the map. "You must defeat Miraz, who lives in the Castle Terabil. It... it is difficult. I know that one person cannot do it alone, and I know that each of you are highly qualified. Now, you must be holding onto the boot by nine o'clock tomorrow morning on the hill behind your house. When you arrive in Taipo, a fairy will meet you. They are slightly more helpful in Taipo, and you first need to go to personal friend of mine. He is called the Great Deku Tree. You must show respect at all times toward him. I cannot impress upon you the importance of that."

Bill nodded seriously. Charlie looked at Dumbledore blankly. "Sir?"

"Yes, Charlie?"

"Why am I here?"

"Sorry?" Dumbledore asked, looking politely puzzled, yet amused.

"No, I meant--why do you have me along? Bill knows more about this stuff than I do."

"Perhaps, but you are much more comfortable and able with beasts and all sorts of creatures than is Bill. Am I incorrect in saying that?" Dumbledore looked at them over the rim of his half-moon spectacles.

"No, sir."

"Well, then," Dumbledore said, standing up. "You may be on your way. The Great Deku Tree will tell you where to go after you meet him."

"Very well, sir." The two Weasley men walked out of the office.

~

"Hey Charlie, I've got to go, I promised Fleur I'd have lunch with her," Bill said, glancing at his pocketwatch. He looked up to see an annoying grin on Charlie's face. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything!"

"You were thinking."

Charlie left, shaking his head. He waved over his shoulder. "See you tonight!"

"Goodbye," Bill muttered. He turned around to see Fleur. "Hey."

"'Ello. Let's go to lunch," Fleur said. Bill had a feeling he was in trouble.

~

Well, this was an interesting day, Bill thought on his way to the Apparition point in Diagon Alley. Fleur had still been upset with him, but he had solved that by letting her order whatever she wanted and he paid for it. For a girl, he reflected, she eats an awful lot. Must be a French thing. Bill Apparated right outside the Weasleys' gate, and unlatched the hook with a simple Alohomora, and walked in the house. I need to speak with Mum about upping security around here. Especially if Harry is coming around again. Bill looked at the clock. An hour until dinner. Ron came bounding down the stairs. "Bill!" Ron yelled angrily.

Oh Lord. "Yeah?"

"Are you leaving again?"

"Yes, Ron."

"Where?"

"I don't think you'll have heard of it."

Ron's eyes narrowed. "Tell me."

Bill sighed. "Coulumbe. Why are you suddenly so mad, anyway? You didn't care when I went to Egypt."

Ron's ears turned red and he muttered, "Well, I've just got used to you being around, is all."

"Oh." Both boys kicked at the ground embarrassedly. "Want to play a game of chess?" Bill asked.

"All right, I'll get my pieces, you get yours."

"Okay, meet me in the kitchen."

Bill grabbed his pieces and the chess board, and set it up just as Ron came running down the stairs. "All right, Bill," Ron said grimly. "Prepare to eat dung."

"RONALD WEASLEY!" shrieked Molly. "Don't use such language in my house!"

"Sorry, sorry."

"Sorry, Mum, we're just getting ready to play chess," Bill said, rolling his eyes at Ron.

"Chess? But dinner will be ready in an hour!"

"A quick game," Bill clarified. "Speed chess."

"No, I hate speed chess," Ron complained. "It makes you screw up."

Bill grinned wickedly. "I love speed chess." It happened to be a forte of Bill's, speed chess. They began to play, Bill capturing a knight in his second move, Ron getting a pawn.

The game grew steadily more intense, when Ginny suddenly appeared over Ron's shoulder. "Whatcha doing, Ron?"

Ron jumped. "Ginny! I am playing chess with Bill, prat! What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Sorrrr-ree. Can I watch?"

"Sure," Bill said, capturing a bishop. Ron scowled.

"I hate speed chess! It's not a real game!"

"Better hurry up and move before your time is up and I get a free move," Bill advised.

Ron moved his queen haphazardly, still frowning. Then his face cleared. "Check!"

Bill grinned. "I was hoping you'd do that." The blood drained from Ron's face. Bill picked up his rook and captured Ron's queen, checkmating the king. "Ahahahahaha!" Bill laughed triumphantly.

Ginny laughed and clapped her hands in glee. "Ron lost a chess game, Ron lost a chess game!" she chanted. She and Bill high-fived while Ron, fighting a smile, put up the board and pieces.

Charlie barged in the door. "Oi, Mum, what's for supper?" Then he looked at Bill and cackled. "Have you told them your good news yet, Billy-boy?"

Bill scowled. "I have not told them our good news if you are talking to me."

"Huh?"

"I do not like the name Billy-boy, git!"

"Boys, boys, stop fighting," Molly said, wiping her hands on her apron. "Charlie!" She dashed over to him, enveloping him in a huge hug, and reverting to her habit of talking to him like he was still a baby. "Poor, poor Charlie, always having to stay at that awful dragon ranch, and never getting a decent meal to eat, and never getting any sleep, and having to risk getting burnt and killed and eaten up like a...like a waffle! Ohhhh!" Molly began to sob. "Mummy has missed you!"

Charlie, looking quite terrified, patted her on the head. "Mum, I don't starve over there, and you've seen me lately, so it's not like it's been years."

"It's been eight months since I've seen you!" Becoming more brisk, she said, "Now, come sit down, dinner is almost ready, the twins will be here any moment. And what are you doing here in town anyway?"

"Mum, he's here for Bill's going-away dinner," Ron reminded her gently, looking at her like she was insane.

"Ron, don't look at me like I'm mad, when I owled Charlie, he said he was in England anyway and was planning to stop by."

"Well," Charlie said, glancing at Bill, "perhaps I better wait until everyone is here, and I'll just tell them at once."

"Yes," Bill agreed vaguely. "I'll wait, as well."

Molly looked from one to the other suspiciously. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"Nothing," the boys chorused.

Molly looked like she was about to say more, but Arthur walked in, asking how long supper was going to be, as he was absolutely starving, distracting Molly effectively.

Charlie sat down, reaching behind him to the crafts shelves and pulled out paper and a pencil. He started to draw secretively. "What are you drawing, Charlie?" Ginny inquired.

"Nothing."

"What is it?"

Charlie merely looked up and said airily, "You are too young to know."

Ginny scowled. "I am not."

"Yes you are."

"Are you drawing naked women?"

"No!"

"Naked men?"

"Gross, no."

"Then I am not too young. Let me see!" Ginny insisted.

"NOOOOOOO!" Charlie grabbed his papers and stomped off to the living room. "And don't follow me!"

Fred and George Floo'd in about five minutes after Charlie left. "What's up, lads?" Fred asked cheerfully, noting Molly and Arthur hugging and tasting food. "Ew. Parents, eh?"

The others shrugged, nodding in agreement. "How're things with..." Ron paused slyly. "Angelina?"

"Fine," Fred replied casually, unzipping his jacket. "Where's Charlie?"

"Right here," Charlie said, sticking his head in the door. Suddenly he froze. "What is that?" he nearly shouted, pointing to Fred.

"My... jacket?"

Charlie slammed his papers down on the table and began jabbing Fred with his pencil. "Is that...dragon hide?"

"Erm... yes," Fred said in a small voice.

"Do you realize," Charlie said with a dangerous glint in his eye, "that a dragon DIED to give you that jacket?"

George and Bill looked at each other, as George tried to slip off his jacket without Charlie noticing, and Bill casually put his boots under the table.

"Well, actually, Charlie," Fred said in a strangled voice. "I think this was gotten from some skin that a dragon shed."

"DON'T BE AN IDIOT, BOY!" Charlie roared. "The merchants, ha! They tell you that, but they are LYING! They killed for that jacket!"

Arthur cut in, "Boys, dinner is ready. Charlie, why don't you sit down?"

"I am not sitting next to a dragon killer."

"I didn't kill a dragon!" Fred protested.

"You paid someone to."

"But--"

"Enough, boys," Molly said in a low voice. "Now," she continued, voice brightening, "what's the news you and Bill have for us, Charlie?" She began to pass out the plates of spaghetti, starting with Charlie and Bill.

"Huh? Oh," Charlie said, remembering. "Me and Bill are going on a mission from Dumbledore for the Order."

"You and Bill?" Ginny looked surprised.

"Yep."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Arthur asked.

"Well, we didn't know we'd be working together until this morning," Bill replied, twirling a forkful of spaghetti.

"Cool," Fred said, picking up a piece of garlic bread.

"Shut up, dragon killer."

"What are these?" Ron asked as he picked up the papers Charlie had slammed down.

"Drawings."

Ron began looking through them. One drawing sent him into a wild fit of laughter. "Charlie, this is brilliant! Can I keep it?"

"Very well," Charlie said airily.

"So anyway," Ginny cut in, "Where are you guys going?"

"This land called Coulumbe," Charlie said, mispronouncing the name.

"Colombia?" Fred and George exclaimed. "Brilliant!"

"No," Bill said, rolling his eyes. "Coulumbe. Koo-loom-bay."

"Oh," they said, disappointed.

"Anyway, we have to defeat this wizard guy and he'll tell us where Vol--" Bill hesitated. "Where You-Know-Who is hiding. Apparently, this guy is a friend or a follower of some sort."

"Dumbledore said we'd have to play with time; you know, going back to our fifteen-year-old selves, then our now-selves..." Charlie explained. "Kind of like a Time-Turner. Only... not."

"I see," Molly said. "That sounds interesting. How long will it take?"

Charlie and Bill glanced at each other. "Well, we aren't sure," Bill said diplomatically. "Could be as short as a week, could take years."

"It also is hard to say as we'll be playing with time so much," Charlie added.

Arthur and Molly tensed. "When will you be leaving?" Arthur asked tensely.

"Tomorrow morning at nine."

"Will your time changing stuff... affect us?" George asked worriedly.

Bill shrugged. "I don't know. Dumbledore gave us some papers, and he wrote that he'd be sending you guys an owl with more information."

"Hmm."

The rest of the dinner was pretty quiet.

~

"Well," Bill said, leaning back and stretching. "That was brilliant, Mum."

"You're welcome, dear. Ron and Ginny, you two can clear the table."

Charlie picked up his papers, leaving one out for Ron. "Hey Charlie, what is this?" George asked curiously.

"Fudge," Charlie replied.

"The chocolate?" Fred said, leaning over George's shoulder.

"No, you git," George said in disgust. "Cornelius Fudge." Then George laughed. "This is really funny." The drawing portrayed a buck toothed Cornelius Fudge in a clownish costume with a dunce cap and a piece of paper that said HARRY POTHEAD IS LYING.

"Yeah," Fred agreed, laughing as well. "When did you draw this?"

Charlie turned away, his nose in the air. "Bill, tell Fred that I do not speak to dragon killers."

"Fred, Charlie says--"

"I heard, I heard. Come on, Charlie, I'm sorry."

"Tell it to the dragon!"

"Look, to my knowledge at the time of buying this jacket, it was gotten from a shed skin," Fred attempted to reason.

Charlie sighed and stared at the ceiling. After a few minutes, he relented. "I suppose there is no chance you can get a refund?"

"No."

Sighing heavily, Charlie nodded. "It was an honest mistake, then."

Rolling his eyes, Bill said, "I'll be right back, I'm going to see if I've got a Latin dictionary." He turned and walked up the stairs, breaking into a run when he heard Charlie yell, "Hey! What are those boots made of?"

~

"Soooo..." Charlie said, as he barged into Bill's room. Bill jumped slightly, flushed, and hid the parchment he was writing on. Charlie's interest was immediately piqued. "What's that?"

"Nothing."

"Is it for... Fleur?"

"So what if it is?"

Charlie sighed in a wise-man-of-the-world way. "Billy, Billy, Billy. How charming to see an almost thirty-year-old man acting like a foolish schoolboy in love."

Bill scowled. "You make me sound old."

"Well you are!"

"And you're twenty-eight. If I'm old, so are you." Bill's forehead wrinkled as he thought of something. "Do you think... Never mind."

"No, what?"

"Well," Bill blushed painfully. This was bloody embarrassing. "Do you think I'm too old for Fleur? I mean, she's only just nineteen. Her birthday was two weeks ago. And I'm almost thirty."

Charlie smirked. "Insecure in your old age?"

"Charlie, this is not a laughing matter."

"I'm not laughing!"

"You are on the inside."

"Come on, ten years isn't that much of a difference. I mean, you could be like fifty years old." Charlie paused, and shuddered.

"I was starting Hogwarts when she was a year old! I'd just finished my curse-breaking training when she started Beauxbatons!" Bill began to look extremely depressed.

Charlie began to feel extremely uncomfortable. "Look, Bill, if you feel too old for her, then maybe you should... I dunno, talk to her."

Bill looked down at the parchment. "I guess."

"Anyway, have you finished packing?"

"Yeah, and I put out my clothes for tomorrow. I will be so glad to wear something other than those Gringotts robes." Bill made a face.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "You sound like a girl whining over her clothes."

"Oh, and I guess you never complain about your uniform for work."

"Actually," Charlie grinned, "we don't have a uniform. I can wear whatever I want. Dragons don't really care about how professional you look. We only wear the robes when the Inspectors come in."

Bill gaped. "That is not fair."

"Life isn't fair."

"Speaking of... well, anything but this, are you ready to go tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I've got all my weapons and stuff packed."

"Weapons?" Bill snorted. "What kind of weapons?"

"Um... a dagger, and my wand. And mace."

"Mace? What in Hogsmeade's that?"

"It's this thing that Muggle women carry around when dirty old men try to attack them."

Bill raised an eyebrow. "And you got this... why?"

"Well, it seemed like a good thing to get... you know, in case some dirty old man attacks us." Charlie looked at it for a moment. "Well, now that I show it to you, I feel kind of stupid."

"Gee, I wonder why?" Bill asked in mock puzzlement. Suddenly Dumbledore's owl, Anraoi, flew in. "Well, hello there, Anraoi. What tidings do you bring?" Bill pulled the letter off the owl's leg and told Charlie to give it a treat.

To Messrs. Kamaitachi:

A reminder: Portkey at nine, you know where. Also, wands will be at a very diminished capacity, though they will still perform simple spells.

W.B.

Bill told Charlie what was in the letter, and Charlie nodded and turned to leave. Bill turned back to his letter to Fleur, when Charlie put his head back in the door, and said, "Bill, I think you better hurry and marry the girl before you get sterile in your old age."

Charlie ducked into the hall just quickly enough to avoid the empty ink bottle flung at his head.

~

Bill lay in bed that night, unable to sleep. Finally, after staring at the ceiling for five hours, he gave up. Luckily for him, Charlie decided to sleep in the twins' old room, rather than in the room they used to share, otherwise, Charlie would have teased him mercilessly about not being able to sleep because of Fleur. Charlie had always been a light sleeper, Bill reflected. Whenever Bill woke up, Charlie would declare that he was unable to get any rest when Bill was stomping around, throwing open his clothes cabinet, no matter how quietly Bill tiptoed, no matter how slowly and cautiously he tried to open his clothes cabinet. Bill shook his head and quietly opened the door. Hot cocoa suddenly seemed like a very good idea.

As he walked down the stairs, stepping over the ones that creaked, he heard the sound of something simmering in the kitchen. Bill sighed. Obviously, there would no privacy to be had in this house. He gave up on stealth and walked normally into the kitchen. There, to his surprise, was Ginny, boiling water for hot cocoa. She looked up as he entered, and relaxed when she realised it was him. "Hey Bill."

"Hey. What are you doing up?"

She shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. I kept having nightmares."

"About what?" Bill asked, concerned.

"Oh, the usual. You know, showing up at school naked, being told I was a squib and an utter failure, being an old spinster that nobody likes, but everyone feels sorry for." Ginny paused, and shuddered. "And one where Dad told me I had to marry Mundungus Fletcher."

"Ew," Bill said, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "That is one heck of a nightmare."

"Yeah," Ginny said. "That's when I decided to fix some hot cocoa." The water began to boil, and she added the cocoa.

"So, nothing about... erm, Tom, right?" Ginny didn't reply. "Gin?" Bill prodded.

"One," Ginny replied, softly.

Bill's protective big-brother instinct kicked in and he hugged Ginny close. Ginny wriggled away. "Come on, Bill," she laughed a bit. "They aren't that bad. Besides, I'm used to them now." Ginny turned away and stirred the cocoa. "I'm nearly fifteen. I can handle a little nightmare."

Bill sighed. "I'll get you a mug."

"All right. Get me the one with the daisy on it, that's my favorite."

Bill shook his head, a smile creeping over his face. "Daisies? I thought you were too old for daisies," he teased. "Nearly fifteen, and all that."

Ginny stuck her nose in the air. "One is never too old for daisies."

"Baby."

"I am not."

Bill got her mug, and picked out the mug he'd sent his parents from Egypt that had a pyramid on it. Ginny looked at it, and asked, "Do you miss Egypt?"

"Tons," Bill sighed. "England is so cold. And there's nothing interesting here."

"You know, I read somewhere that millions of Americans long to come to England, because of all the castles and greenery," Ginny said idly. "Cocoa's nearly done."

"Americans are some of the silliest creatures I've ever met. There was one witch in Egypt who was convinced that for fun, I took ladies to balls and danced waltzes with them, and was quite shocked when she saw my earring. She said it wasn't a British thing to do, and was I born somewhere else?" Bill rolled his eyes.

"What did you say?" Ginny asked, amused. She took the mugs and began filling them with cocoa. "Want some marshmallows?"

"Sure. Anyway, I said that I was indeed born and bred in England, belonged to a pureblood line, went to Hogwarts, never been to a ball in my life, and I happened to like my earring, thank you very much. She asked if I danced at all, and I said I learned how to swing dance a long time ago, but I've long since forgotten. Then she said, Have your parents disowned you?"

Ginny laughed out loud. "And then what?"

Bill took a sip of his cocoa and replied, "I asked what on earth they'd disown me for, and she said, 'Well, you have a snake fang earring!'" Bill shook his head and laughed at the memory. "I said, 'Well, they did think me a bit savage at first, but they've got used to it, and my brother George is toying with the idea of piercing his ear as well.' Then I told her she needed to focus on getting the artifacts cleaned up."

Ginny shook her head. "But, back to the point, England's not so bad. We've got castles and kings and queens, and royalty."

Bill smiled. "That's all very well, Gin, but I'd rather stay in a pyramid than a castle. Castles have got hundreds of ghosts and creepy feelings in them. Pyramids may have a couple of mummies, but they move slowly and don't give you that creepy feeling. So much horrible stuff has happened in castles. Hardly anything bad has happened in pyramids."

Ginny shrugged. "Are there pyramids or castles in Coulumbe?"

"I don't know. Dumbledore mentioned something about a castle in his instruction papers, but I think it's still lived in. For the most part, wizards don't have much to do with this area. A lot of people in it can do magic, but it's not a big deal if you can't. Pretty interesting, really."

Ginny nodded. "But Voldemort's trying to take it over?"

Bill nodded, eyebrows raised. Ginny blushed. "I've been practicing saying his name. It's funny," she said slowly. "I don't fear the name Voldemort nearly as much as I fear..." she paused. "Tom Riddle. Odd."

Bill cleared his throat. "Anyway, Voldemort's trying to take over, but not directly. He's sent a minion over there, calling himself Miraz. Apparently, there is some sort of secret that lies in Coulumbe, and if Voldemort can find it, it will make his ascension to power much more quick and effective. Of course, if Charlie and I find it first, why, problem solved, it's destroyed, and that's one path to power Voldemort can't take anymore." Bill finished his cocoa, and Ginny put the mug in the sink.

"So, when are you leaving?"

"Anxious for me to go?"

"Nooo, I was just wondering!"

"We're taking a Portkey at nine in the morning," Bill said, glancing at the clock. It was three. "I wish I could sleep."

"Me too. Want to play chess?" Ginny asked hopefully.

"Since when are you interested in chess?" Bill asked, surprised.

"I always have been, you prat. It's just, you and Ron always played each other, and Ron never will play with me because he says he wants a 'challenge,'" Ginny said mockingly. "And you're always off gallivanting around with Fleur, or Gringotts, or the Order, and now that neither of us have anything to do, we should play chess."

"'Gallivanting around'?" Bill asked, amused.

"Well, you know."

"All right," Bill laughed. "I think I left my pieces in here last night. Get yours, and we'll play."

Ginny ran up to her room and got her chessmen. Bill cast a Silencing Charm on the pieces (after all, they didn't want to wake their family up from the pieces' yelling and fighting). Bill beat Ginny easily the first two games, but she gave a tough fight on the third round. By then, it was nearly six, and neither Bill nor Ginny got a wink of sleep the whole night. Ginny was starting to get sleepy, but Bill was still wide-awake. Molly came down just as Ginny nodded off during Bill's turn. "Bill! What are you doing up?"

"Gin and I were playing chess. Neither of us could sleep last night," Bill said sheepishly.

"I see," Molly said, surveying Ginny's sleeping form. "You're going to be very tired today," she warned. "And you've gallivanting off to some foreign country! Goodness knows how you'll survive."

Bill grinned at his Mum's choice of words. "Gallivanting off, huh?"

~

Before they knew it, it was eight forty-five. Charlie and Bill decided to leave early so they would have plenty of time to find the Portkey. They got their rucksacks and were heading out the door, telling their mum that they had had plenty to eat, when Fred and George Floo'd in, yelling for them to wait. "Hurry, guys," Charlie said impatiently. "We've got to leave soon."

"Right, right," Fred said. "We just want to give you something to protect yourselves."

Bill looked at him warningly.

"Now, Bill," George said smoothly. "Don't try to put words in our mouth. We want to give you these fireworks."

"They are enchanted to bewilder and confuse your enemies."

"Warn those who are neutral."

"And above all else--"

"Make you laugh!"

Bill and Charlie laughed, each sticking one firework in their rucksacks. "Thanks, guys," Bill said. He looked at the clock. "All right, we've only got ten minutes, bye Mum!"

"Goodbye boys!" Molly said, crying a little bit. She drew them into an immense hug, and told them how proud she was.

"Are you prouder than when Bill got his Head Boy badge?" George asked peevishly. Apparently, he was still bitter.

"Oh George, do be quiet. Now, you boys be very careful. Behave yourselves. Do as Dumbledore says."

"Write if you can," Ginny asked.

"I'll watch your chessmen, Bill," Ron promised.

"I'll see about the dragon hide jacket, Charlie," Fred said.

"All right, bye!"

"Bye!" everyone yelled back, as Bill and Charlie Disapparated to the field Dumbledore had told them about.

~

They appeared in a field. They immediately saw the boot Dumbledore described, and Charlie picked it up. "Here," Charlie said, holding the boot out to Bill. "It'll be any minute," he said, in an unnaturally serious voice.

Bill took it wordlessly. They both held on the edge, when finally it was nine o'clock. They felt a jerk behind their navels and they were pulled into a whirl of speed and colour.