"Bill, where the bloody hell did you hide my exploding ginger cookies?"

The redheaded male smirked to himself, trailing over to the package of said cookies and slowly drawing one out to munch on while he was attempting to finish up some paperwork from a few days prior. It wasn't necessarily his fault that they tasted so bloody brilliant. He would, however, admit to figuring out where they were kept, but that was about the extent of his confession.

"If you ate them, I swear to God I'll toss you into the ruins." the distinctly feminine voice continued as more rummaging was heard.

"You need to think of new threats, Scarlett." the Weasley called over his shoulder.

"And you-" the voice replied from next to his ear, a hand snaking out and grabbing the package of cookies, "-need to stop stealing my food, William."

"Not my fault you have the best snacks, Scar." Bill replied innocently, holding up his hands defensively. He could still remember the last time that she'd gotten irritated with him stealing her food. He'd had bruises for weeks, and he was almost positive that his pinky fingers were never going be able to bend quite right again.

"Whatever. What are you even doing in here? The pyramids are that way." the woman replied, crossing her arms as he turned to face her.

Scarlett was well shaped, with wide hips and a similarly wide chest, and her curly blue hair was currently up in a high tail that trailed down her back. Given that it was Egypt, she was wearing a pair of shorts that fell to her thighs, a flannel shirt, and her usual pair of dragon-hide boots. Not that he was complaining, of course. He appreciated the view as much as the next person who happened to cross paths with her.

"Bill? Earth to Bill..." Scar muttered, prodding the Weasley's cheek with a long nailed finger. "You're absolutely sure that that you've got enough water in your system? We wouldn't want you wandering off and getting eaten by a Sphinx now, would we?"

"Ha ha. Very funny."

"Hey, I'm not going to confirm or deny anything." the blue haired woman shrugged.

"You're insufferable."

"Atta boy, Bill. Using those big words." Scarlett cooed. "Now, come along. I think we've got a nasty one in the eastern segment that I don't want to take on without my ever so charming partner to back me up."

"Again- insufferable."

"And yet we've made it three years without killing each other." the blue haired woman quipped.

"Shut it."

She'd been right.

There had been something particularly unpleasant in the eastern segment of their map, and of course, he was the one who'd had to deal with the werewolf-like mummies that had attacked them. Not that Scarlett didn't do anything- she was the one blowing them to smithereens with her wand while he tried to figure out how to get rid of the curse that was animating them.

He'd been coated in mummy parts, to say the least, and it was highly unpleasant. And who even knew that werewolves could be mummies? Wasn't there some kind of law against that?

He was currently drying himself off after an extremely satisfying shower, in which he'd decided that he was never going to let Scarlett near mummies with her wand ever again. As he towelled off his long hair, there was an all too familiar screech, closely followed by a heavy thud from the other room. Brows furrowing, he wandered into the living room, clad in only a pair of low riding jeans, towel slung over his shoulder, only to blink as he realized what the grey mass on the coffee table was.

"Errol?

The elderly owl wheezed out a hoot from his pitiful position and offered him a leg, a letter loosely tied to said limb. Moving over, Bill untied it with practised ease and unrolled the parchment, eyes wandering over his mother's familiar handwriting.

Bill,

How are you? I hope you're doing well in Egypt- I know we haven't seen you since we came to visit a couple of years ago, but I am a mother and I do have to ask these things.

I'm writing to tell you that your father has managed to get us tickets for the World Cup! Of course, I understand if you're busy with work, but it is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you know how lovely it would be to see you again. Just send Errol back with how many tickets you'll be needing- if you're bringing along that lovely young woman you've been telling me about- and we'll see you next Saturday.

And yes, I expect you to arrive a couple days early so we can actually interact with you before you head back to Egypt again, love.

Keep in touch,

Mum.

The eldest Weasley remained silent for a long moment, then sighed as he weighed out his options. On the one hand, he could decline the offer and risk his mother physically coming to Egypt, in which Scarlett would find out and then hex him into the middle of next year, or he could just go along with it.

At this point, going along with it was sounding a hell of a lot better than the former option.

"I guess that means I'll be headed back to England, then." he muttered, moving over to the desk to write a reply. However, just as he was about to put quill to parchment, there was a screech of terror from outside the tent, closely followed by manic cackling.

Turning to look out the front of the large tent, Bill watched with vague shock as a Sphinx thundered by, followed by none other than Scarlett, who also happened to be bellowing insults at it while it fled.

"TRY AND EAT ME, WILL YOU!? HUH? HUH!? COME BACK HERE AND TRY THAT AGAIN! I DARE YOU! I'LL SHOW YOU A HEX! TURN AROUND AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN, YOU RUDDY SHE-BITCH SANDCASTLE!"

...Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to take Scarlett with him after all. A break from all this sand could do them both some good.

"Hey Scar..."

"Yep?" the blue haired woman asked, pausing in her book to glance up and over at Bill. "What do you need, William?"

The Weasley held up his mother's letter as an explanation, and the woman blinked, looking slightly confused for a moment.

"Nobody died, right? Nothing negative happen in any way, shape or form that I need to be concerned about?"

"Opposite, actually." he replied, resisting the urge to grin. "Mum wants to know how many tickets Dad's going to be picking up from the Ministry for the World Cup."

Scarlett was quiet for a long moment, lips parted in a small 'o'. Then, slowly, a bright smile lit up her face as she realized what exactly it was that the redhead was asking her.

"Merlin's beard- really? You want to know if I want to go?" she squealed.

"That's the general idea, yeah." Bill rolled his eyes.

"Of course I want to go!" Scarlett grinned. "When are we leaving?"

"Next Saturday. Mum wants to socialize. Is that fine with you?"

"Bill, your mother's known about me for what, two years? I think it's about time that I actually get to meet with her."

"So...two tickets?"

"Damn straight, Weasley!" Scarlett said mockingly, punching his shoulder. At the same time, she fished the package of exploding ginger cookies from his jacket pocket and raised a brow.

"How do you-?"

"That's for me to know and you to never find out." Scarlett sniffed primly, already beginning to munch on the cookies. "And for crying out loud, stop stealing my food, you thief."