Summery: In which the Weasleys get drunk and talk about their love lives and the loves of their lives.

Rating: M to be safe

Pairings: All things cannon and some things not

Warnings: Language, AU, themes. Nothing graphic. Dialogue heavy, also slight perspective changes.

Fire Breath

"Annie Hart," Bill said in a surprisingly somber tone, given the festivities of the rest of the evening.

"Come again?" Fred asked, he leaned slightly forward and seemed to lose his balance, forcing his weight onto the table in front of him.

"The first girl I ever kissed, Annie Hart," Bill replied. He had acquired a strange, somewhat dazed look and his eyes didn't focus on any of his siblings, but off somewhere in the distance. He caught his brothers' eye and shook himself out of it. "Sorry, nostalgic," he explained, putting down a picture he had seen on the mantel of himself at his Hogwarts graduation, surrounded by friends.

"She was Elaine's older sister, wasn't she?" Charlie asked his brother as he came back into the sitting room. "Gorgeous curves on that one, if I remember correctly."

"Are you talking about Annie or Elaine, now?" George challenged his second oldest brother. "Because from here it sounds like you two went around sharing in your school days and if that's the case I want the whole story."

"Please," Charlie began with a smirk, "Like you two haven't offered to fulfill the twin fantasy to every bird who's walked through the entrance hall of Hogwarts. Plus, it was only once."

Fred lifted his weight from the table and stared at his two brothers now sharing the couch before them. Ginny's eyes, which had, since the evening began, been drooping on account of a six-day grueling Auror schedule and two toddlers, shot open. Even Ron and Percy, who were deeply involved in their game of Wizard's Chess, (drink for every player that gets killed, Ron's rules,) turned to join the conversation of their siblings.

"Actually, Charlie," Bill began with a smirk and a long drink from his glass, "It was twice." Charlie cocked his head to the side for a moment and had the decency to blush before an enormous smile broke out on his face.

"I forgot about that night," he said with a laugh. "What is it with you and birds that don't speak English?" The two fell into a fit of laughter.

"Oi, Romeo and Casanova," George said, snapping his fingers, "We happen to speak English very well. And we want to know the story."

"Stories," Fred added with a smile.

Bill took an unnecessarily long drink and poured himself another one before replying.

"Is this how it's going to go, then?" He asked his siblings. "All of us old and married off and telling the stories we hoped the others would never hear?"

"Oi, I'm not married off," Charlie protested, hands in the air.

"And I'm not old," Ginny said, to which Ron added,

"If Ginny's not old then I'm not either."

In the end it was Fred who silenced the rest of his siblings.

"I think Bill's right," he said, mirroring the strangely serious tone Bill had used when he had first brought up Annie. "I mean, who's to say how many times we'll be able to sit around a fire in, just the seven of us and lots of booze. None of our spouses, no mum or dad or kids running around. We may never have this opportunity again."

"What Fred's saying," George cut in, "Is that he wants to hear the story of the poor unsuspecting birds that Charlie and Bill got pity shags out of."

"I didn't say there weren't fringe benefits," Fred replied with a smile.

"If that's where this conversation is going then I want out," Ginny said, standing and reaching for her purse. "There's plenty about you then I'm more than happy not knowing."

"Gin – stay," George said, putting his hand on her forearm. "It'll be nothing graphic and we're all still allowed our secrets, I just think it'd be fun to swap some stories. You know, of the good old days."

"I married my high school sweetheart," she said with a grin, though she put down her bag. "I don't have any stories."

"Michael Corner?" Fred asked with a grin,

"Dean Thomas?" Ron added, not looking up from his game.

"And didn't I hear that you went to the Yule Ball with Longbottom?" Charlie added. Ginny didn't say anything for a moment, though the tips of her ears were beginning to turn scarlet.

"Oh, fine. But I'd be happy to put down money that I was the best behaved of you lot during school."

They heard a cough and all turned to face Percy, who was raising a few fingers in the air, though still not taking his eyes from the board.

"Fair point," she replied, slumping slightly in her chair, then changing her mind and popping up to get another butterbeer.

"Alright," Fred began again, "I think we were promised stories."

"I promised nothing," Bill replied, but he looked towards Charlie, who simply shrugged and took another drink from his bottle.

"Plus, you guys really don't want to know." Ginny vehemently nodded, but protests from Fred and George filled the room.

"You two are our older brothers," Fred began, and hushed Percy when he tried to cut in about being an older brother as well.

"We admire you," George added,

"We want to walk in your footsteps," Fred continued. They would have continued but Bill finally put up a hand to stop them.

"Maybe in a little bit boys, I don't think Charlie's had enough to drink yet." Charlie only smiled at them.

"Fine," Fred began with a yawn. "Since you guys are boring we can start off with something a little lighter. First kiss?"

Bill put his hands in the air, "I told you mine already," he said with a nostalgic laugh, "Third year."

"Mine was Alicia," George said with a smile, "Right after Fred and I played our first Quidditch game." He got a dreamy expression on his face and then added, "Gryffindor won."

"Sounds like they weren't the only ones," Fred coughed,

"Fred?" Bill asked, opening another butterbeer. "Who was yours, since you brought it up?"

"Patty Stimpson," he replied. "Truth or dare, actually," he paused and looked at his twin, "I think it was right after that game." The two high fived and Bill just raised and eyebrow.

"You two both had your first kiss in the same night, Merlin." He took a swig from his bottle.

"What about you, Charlie?" Fred asked. "Who was your first kiss?"

Charlie just laughed, "You're going to think this is crazy," he said, and the twins leaned in closer.

"Tonks,"

"No," George replied,

"You're kidding," Fred cut in. Charlie only shook his head.

"Nope, third year, we were in the middle of a snowball fight and then we were kissing."

"What was it like?" Fred asked, "Did she sprout pink hair or grow a pig nose or something?" Charlie furrowed his eyebrows.

"Cold, that's about all I remember," he replied truthfully. "Are you planning on getting that lot involved in this conversation?" He nodded over to Percy, Ron and Ginny who had been concentrating particularly hard on the game for the last few minutes.

"Check and mate," Ron said, then looked up to see his four older brother staring at him.

"Oh no," he said quickly, "You're not getting me into this conversation, I don't want to."

"Your game's over," Bill pointed out. Ginny and Percy turned around and caught each other's eye.

"I'm in," she said with an evil smirk, "I do love me some blackmail." How else could she have grown up with six older brothers?

"I didn't think this through, did I, Gred?" One of the twins began,

"No, Forge," the other replied, suddenly looking worried, "No, you didn't."

"So then, Ginny," Bill said, "Who was your first kiss?" Ginny turned beat red, as if suddenly remembering something she desperately didn't want to.

"Gin?" Fred said, suddenly very interested, "Tell me you didn't." She glared at him and then finally spoke.

"It was at the Yule Ball," she said, "Neville asked me to go and at the end of the night he kissed me. It was –," she paused, looking for the right word, "nice." But nobody heard her because Fred, George and Ron had broken into fits of hysterical laughter.

"You – did not," Ron began, choking out the words, "Have your first kiss with – Longbottom."

Ginny sucked her teeth. "I did, and, as a matter of fact, I enjoyed it. Who was yours, mister high and mighty?"

"Lavender Brown," he said, glaring at her. Fred looked up from the label on his butterbeer.

"I thought you two started dating your sixth year –," he began, his words running together ever so slightly. "Don't tell me you didn't get kissed until your sixth year."

"It was in fourth year," Ron replied, "Seamus was being a right prat to her and I let her cry on my shoulders."

"What a champ," Fred began.

"Standing ovation, standing ovation," George added, standing up and clapping. Ron simply glared.

"Percy," Charlie began "Who was yours?" Percy turned beat red, and for a moment it looked as though his hair was going to catch fire.

"I'd really prefer not to discuss it," Percy said, but the room had gone quite. It was a comfortable sort of silence, however, and gave Percy, as well as the others in the room, the feeling of complete safety. They would make fun of him, oh for certain, but they would not be cruel. Percy knew the extent to which his siblings could be annoying, but cruel was not a word he would ever use to describe them.

"Fine," he said after a moment. He looked off to the corner of the room, which suddenly seemed very interesting and mumbled, "Oliver Wood."

"Come again?" Fred said, for the second time that night. He was starting to think all his brothers were barmy.

"Oliver, my fourth year."

"The Oliver Wood?" Fred began, "Our lovable Quidditch Sadist - I mean Captain, tall, burly, heavy Scottish accent, that Oliver Wood?" Percy nodded, Fred looked impressed.

"So," Bill began, "Was he any good?" Percy choked on the butterbeer he had been nursing, but it was the other voice that spoke that caused the room to go silent.

"I think good's an understatement," Charlie said, a twinkle in his blue eyes that told stories.

"I mean—," Percy began to stutter, "After that – we, that was all. I started dating Penelope. It was just the one kiss."

Slowly but surely each of his siblings turned around to face Charlie. He rolled his eyes. "I was back in England to get those permits for the Reserve," he began, "Picked up some last minute tickets to the Puddlemere and Cannons Championship and then Oliver and I went to grab drinks."

"And ended up doing what exactly?" Ron asked, leaning in on his elbows.

"Well, George said this wasn't going to get graphic," Charlie replied, but his cheeks turned that old Weasley red and he knew his siblings weren't going to let him off the hook that easily.

"Oh no," Percy cut in, surprising everyone around him, "You can't start a story like that and not give us the details. Plus, I want something to get him for."

"Using me for blackmail, Perce?" Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Merciless mockery," the younger replied and George smiled,

"We've finally gotten through to you," he said in excitement. Percy only scoffed, but there was a curl to the edge of his mouth that seemed to conceal a smile.

"Fine, that night we went back to his flat and ended up shagging like bunnies," Charlie replied, "And for seven months after." There was a wicked smile on his face that had been seen on Fred and George after a successful prank, that Ron had worn after winning the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor. It was nostalgic and unapologetic and Charlie's eyes were off somewhere distant, where none of his siblings dared to go.

For a moment there was silence, their mirth muffled by the serious expression on their second eldest brother's face. Fred coughed, then said,

"Anyone want another drink?" Six hands shot up.

A/N – I think this end was a little sudden, but I'm going to start on another chapter soon. I just really like the idea of the siblings sitting around talking. I've always kind of wanted a big family, so I'm living vicariously through a fictional one. Whatever. Anyway, let me know what you think or if you have suggestions. Merry start-of-school. xRuby