For Reilly. I really hope you enjoy.
Also for Quidditch League, Season 2, Beater 1. Prompts are "every family has bad memories", "courage without a conscious is a wild beast" and below.
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Victoire's small hand is encased in Bill's own larger one. He leads her along the streets of Diagon Alley. Their first stop is to Gringotts where he pulls out some money.
"Papa, can we get some ice cream?" Victoire asks, tugging on his hand. He looks around and notices the ice cream shop to his right. And he smiles.
Unable to deny her, he responds, "Right before we leave, we'll get some. Okay?"
Nodding, Victoire quietly follows him through the crowd. As they pass Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, Victoire tugs on his hand again. "Is Uncle George there?"
Bill looks through the glass. The shop is busy with customers, and he sees Verity rushing around, but he sees no sign of George. "I don't think so, sweetie," he answers. "We're almost where we need to go, though."
They enter Scribbulus Writing Instruments a few shops down. He needs to pick up some more stationery items for Fleur since she insisted she was almost out. As he goes to purchase his items, he says to Victoire, "Time to go, Vicki!"
When he receives no response, he turns to glance around the store. "Victoire!" he calls out, worry leaking through his voice. He turns back towards the shop keeper. "Have you seen my daughter?"
"Nope," the shop keeper responds. "But are you going to pay for those?"
Shooting the man a disgusted look, Bill drops his items on the counter and rushes out of the shop. "Victoire!" he calls out, repeatedly, frantically. He sweeps the crowd, looking for the strawberry blonde curls of his daughter. With each passing moment, his heart sinks lower and lower.
"Bill!"
He recognizes the sound of his name. He immediately turns to look at his brother's shop. "George, have you –"
"Vicki's right here," George says, cutting across him.
Bill looks down and sees his daughter standing behind his brother. "Victoire," he says, breathing a sigh a relief. He drops down beside her. "What were you thinking? You scared me."
"I'm sorry, Papa. I just wanted to see Uncle George," she answers.
He pulls her into a hug. "Don't ever do that again. You understand me?" When Victoire nods, Bill stands up. "You can stay with Uncle George for a few more minutes. I need to go pay for your Mama's stuff."
As he makes his way back to Scribbulus Writing Instruments, he realizes how close he was to losing Victoire. And it's just that thought that scares him the most.
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He's sitting in his armchair, reading the Daily Prophet and enjoying a cup of coffee. After an extended stay in Asia to help the curse breakers there, he's happy to be home where he can relax and spend time with his family. He'd missed them sorely while he was away.
He goes to turn the page when he hears a high pitch scream coming from outside. Without hesitation, he snatches his wand from the side table and rushes outside. He finds his oldest daughter kneeling next to her sister, crying.
At one glance, fear rushes through his veins. Dominique is sprawled out on the ground, unconscious. He drops to his knees next to her. "What happened, Victoire?" he questions. His voice, despite everything, is gentle. He's trying not to make her any more frightened Victoire than she already is.
"She snuck a broom," Victoire starts, her voice shaking. "I told her that I was going to come get you if she didn't come down. She wouldn't stop going higher. As I was about to come get you, she just lost control. I'm sorry, Papa," she sobs.
As he's listening to Victoire's story, he swipes his wand over his five year old. Surprisingly, there is no sign of anything other than a broken arm and maybe a concussion when she wakes up. Relief floods his body. He could've lost Dominique.
"It's okay," he assures her. "Dom is going to be just fine."
Victoire looks up at him, hope lighting up her face. "Really?"
He nods. "She just broke her arm and she might have a headache." He picks up Dominique in his arms, and starts off toward the house. "I'm going to take her to St. Mungo's to get her arm fixed. Tell your mother where I've gone."
He walks back inside. Since he knows better than to Apparate, he steps into the fireplace and throws some Floo powder down. As he lands, Dominique stirs in his arms.
"Papa?"
He gives her a small smile that quickly turns into a frown. "How are you feeling?" he asks, sitting her down in a chair.
"My arm and my head hurt," she whimpers softly.
"I'd imagine so," he agrees. "Victoire tells me you fell from quite a height." He pauses for a moment. "I have to go sign you in. Don't move." When he comes back, Dominique is looking up at him.
She hangs her head a bit. "I'm sorry, Papa."
"What were you thinking? You know you're not supposed to be riding a broom without your Mama or me there," he states.
She turns her dark blue eyes on him. "You were tired and Mama was asleep. I just wanted to ride."
He shakes his head affectionately. All he is reminded of is the time Charlie broke his arm doing the same thing, and Ginny sneaking out to practice as well.
"I don't need to worry about you doing it again?" he asks, raising his eyebrow. And even though she says no, he knows he will because Dominique surely inherited the Weasley gene for doing things without thinking about the consequences.
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Bill is in the kitchen, cooking dinner since Fleur is too sick to do so. He may have not inherited his mother's cooking skills, but he can manage to cook without burning the house down, which he feels is a good thing.
He charms the potatoes to peel themselves and the onions to chop themselves. As he's levitating the pot of water from the sink to the stove, he glances out the window over the sink. He notices a small figure in the water.
Since both Victoire and Dominique are at Hogwarts, he knows it's Louis. He lets the pot drop back into the sink and Apparates to the shoreline. As he lands, he watches Louis' blond hair dip below the water. And his heart skips a beat.
It takes him a moment to start kicking off his shoes and to pull off his shirt. He however, doesn't lose sight of Louis. When he finishes, he drops his wand and starts into the water, heading in the direction of his son.
It doesn't take him long to reach Louis and to pull him back out on shore since Louis' five year body weighs no more than nineteen kilograms. Louis is turning purple with each passing moment. Bill snatches his wand up.
He quickly expels the saltwater from Louis' lungs. And there's an immediate change. Louis' eyes fly open and he starts coughing. Bill leans back, relieved. And then, he pulls Louis up into the sitting position. "Slow down, buddy," he coaches. "Breathe slowly. It will hurt less."
A few moments later, Louis' breath is slower. "My throat," he croaks.
"Come on," Bill says, standing up. "We'll go get something to soothe your throat before bedtime." He smiles when Louis tries to protest his punishment, but falls quiet because of his throat.
As Louis sips on some broth, Bill finds relief. His children just can't help but find some trouble to get into. He was there, though, as he was when Victoire and Dominique both needed him. And he will be there when they need him in the future.
A/n – So many thanks to Paula for beta-ing this for me.