Order Only: Private Message to Bill Weasley

[alt_charlie]

You around, or you still trying to hold Mum back from storming the school with wand drawn?

I'm still so furious. Ugh.

Comments

[alt_bill]

She's calmed down a little, ever since Madam Umbridge gave her that half-arsed promise that the hex won't be reapplied in the morning.

But she's still planning on being up at dawn so she can keep an eye on her journal to make sure the hex dissipates around breakfast time.

Yeah. Furious. And actually almost sick to my stomach, too.

Thank Merlin that Lee and Ron and Ginny were there.

(Percy was less help here, I have to admit. Well, at least he was trying.)

[alt_charlie]

Percy is very trying, yeah.

Okay, okay, that's not fair. He was much less of a git than I thought he was going to be, I'll give him that. I'd've thought he'd come down on the side of duly-appointed authority. Maybe the fact Malfoy clearly disapproves of the woman means he's allowed to dislike her too.

Sorry. I'm not funny.

I know what you mean with the sick to your stomach thing. I can't stop thinking -- what if it had been for real? I can't remember the last time they were apart for more than an hour or two. And from now on, the possibility that one of them might get killed is going to be real to them, not just in the way that we all try so hard not to think about it.

You can't come back from that. Not really.

I wonder if Snape knows some way to, I don't know, get in their brains and make the last 24 hours feel fuzzy and not-real, like a horrible dream or something. Did you see, he told Jordan to ward off the doors and windows and put alarms around their bed? If I didn't know better I might almost say that he cared.

[alt_bill]

Yeah.

I also notice that Lee's talking under private lock to Snape and Poppy. Which makes me think that it's actually worse than they're telling us, maybe. Perhaps Ron and Ginny know, but we can't exactly cross-examine them.

[alt_bill]

As for trying to tinker with their brains...Fred told me during the hols that they were working on occlumency with Snape, and it wasn't going very well--and maybe that was something related to their being twins, too. So they had switched to Dumbledore for lessons, which was going slightly better, but not good enough.

Ugh. That reminds me I need to pick up on occlumency practise, too.

[alt_charlie]

Cheers, now I'll be up half the night worrying too.

At least if there's anything massively wrong, Poppy will know when it's time to cut and run, right? I mean, if whatever was going on with them was something totally time-critical and dangerous, I don't think Poppy would be shy of saying, get them out of there and over to St M's right this instant, don't bother waiting. And Jordan's got a hell of a head on his shoulders, at least -- I worked with him a bit over hols, during those study sessions -- so I'm going to sit here and believe that he's told Poppy everything she needs to know to make that decision and she's told him what to look for.

I'm not surprised they had trouble with Occlumency, really. I've always wondered if their sentence-finishing thing is because they've got a touch of Legilimency, just with each other, so they'd sort of be used to reaching out, and blocking their minds off would block them from each other, too, you know? I don't even know if it works like that, but they sure do seem to live in each other's heads half the time.

And yeah, ugh. You're not the only one who's been slacking. I never even had the formal lessons, just bits and pieces here and there. I suppose I ought to suck it up and ask Snape for lessons over the summer, or something.

[alt_bill]

Mum's about done in. Hair every which way and eyes red from crying.

I'm actually tempted to pour a tot of Dad's Firewhiskey for her.

Except she'd probably choke to death on it. She has no head for the stuff at all.

[alt_bill]

Charlie?

[alt_charlie]

Yeah?

[alt_bill]

I hate this.

[alt_charlie]

Oh, Bill.

I do too. I do so much. I wish --

Well. You know what I wish.

Can I do anything to help you?

[alt_bill]

You've been doing it right now. Thank you.

I'm probably going to get to bed soon. I have a terrible headache. Bottled up wrath, no doubt.

Hope the Hogwarts contingent sleeps all right.

[alt_charlie]

You know I'm always here to listen whenever you need me to.

And yeah. Bed is a good plan. Give Mum half a shot of the Firewhiskey in a whole bunch of tea, you take it neat, and I'll talk to you in the morning, okay?

Everything always looks better in the morning.