Disclaimer: Not mine. The HP world belongs to Rowling.

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What Changes and What Does Not by luvsanime02

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Blood pounds in his ears, but even through that, and through the chaotic sound of curses bellowed out in a haphazard rhythm, with the very walls sparking from missed spells, Bill Weasley turns around quickly at the sharp cry that comes from behind him. Even amidst the brutal battle that encompasses the Astronomy Tower of Hogwarts and the surrounding corridors, Bill recognises his little sister's voice.

Suddenly, there's a flicker of purple at the edge of his vision, and then Professor Flitwick's body catches him in the chest and forcefully expels all the air from his lungs. Bill sucks in a shallow breath, and then another, regains his senses enough to roll back up into a crouch, wand up, and only then glances down at the diminutive professor. The man's left arm has a deep gash that oozes blood, and he's clearly unconscious.

No time to check him. Antonin Dolohov races forward, and the two of them duel. Bill gets in a Diffindo, and feels a rush of satisfaction at the resulting crack and deluge of blood that spurts from Dolohov's leg. The man roars in anger and pain, and starts to lift his arm to perform his signature Flame Curse (Bill remembers a funeral, two coffins, and his mother sobbing onto his father's shoulder) before Bill strikes again with his own Relashio. The Death Eater flies back down the hallway and crashes into the opposite wall.

Bill frantically looks around as he remembers Ginny, and sees her quite near him as she faces her own attacker. Thorfinn Rowle's Avada Kedavra misses her by inches, and Bill swears as he dives to the side to also avoid it, an "Impedimenta" already hurriedly leaving his mouth. He doesn't particularly care which of the two combatants his jinx hits, and is satisfied when Ginny falls to the ground, another curse passing by where she had been only a second before. Bill sees Tonks move towards Rowle to resume the fight, and leaves her to it. He rushes to the tower itself, intent on breaking the ward at the bottom.

"Specialis Revelio," he mutters, and sees the lines and colours of an original ward appear. The taint of Dark magic emits an aura he can taste in the back of his throat, similar to blood, heavy with iron, and he grimaces as his wand steadily moves through complex patterns in an attempt to counter it.

There's a shout from behind him, but Bill doesn't look, has to trust that his companions are able to cover him. It's a few crucial seconds before he would have broken through the barrier that someone slams into him and pushes him across the floor sideways. Bill turns as he slides, twists in an effort to get his wand up between him and his attacker, but the weight is already gone. He looks up, and his throat runs dry.

Fenrir Greyback snarls at him from less than two yards away. The man looks filthy and feral even without the full moon, his teeth and nails both sharp and yellow. His eyes flash with something Bill has never seen from Remus Lupin, a sadistic gleam. "Evenin', Ginger."

A nonverbal Stupefy leaves Bill's wand and hits Greyback squarely in the chest, but the man barely flinches, and instead laughs at the attempt. Bill's next curse is another Diffindo, but Greyback dodges it, already leaping for him, and there's no one else near enough to help. His claws catch Bill's face, and the pain feels like blue fire, it's so intense. His head smacks off the floor, and there's a sudden scent of rotting flesh before he feels teeth clamp down on his face and yank upwards.

His hand rises without thought, and a silent Aduro flashes through his mind. There is heat and howling, and Bill's whole world slips into grey before everything slowly fades into black…

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Someone lightly runs a finger down his nose, and Bill smiles before he thinks not to. He opens blurry eyes, and Fleur's lovely face swims into view as she greets him tenderly. Bill remembers what happened, and he is not so foolish as to hope there is no lasting damage.

As though she can read his thoughts across his face, Fleur gently kisses him, and suddenly, Bill doesn't care what he looks like. Her other hand firmly grips his own, and she starts talking to him about their wedding, about wearing his Aunt Muriel's tiara, and Bill cannot find the words to tell her how much he loves her right then. Instead, he raises their intertwined fingers and kisses the back of her hand. She quirks an eyebrow at him mischievously, drops another impossibly-soft kiss onto his nose, and then continues talking.

Later, Bill will have to ask her about what happened after he passed out. He sees his mother's cloak lying on the back of a chair beside Fleur, even though she's currently elsewhere, and no doubt the rest of his family will show up too, once they hear that he's awake.

Later, he will have to look into a mirror and come to terms with what Greyback did. No doubt he will be angry, and upset and bitter, too. For now, though, just for these few moments with Fleur still smiling down at him, Bill is utterly carefree.