Fic, PG, no challenge: Simplicissimē
Title: Simplicissimē
Summary: Charlie and Bill had a pretty good understanding of each other, but one day during winter break, Charlie tells his brother his one guarded secret: he isn’t into anything at all. - This was originally meant for the drabble challenge, “Siblings,” but. Uh. It quickly surpassed 100 words, haha.
Characters/Pairings: Charlie Weasley, Bill Weasley, passing mentions of Weasley family
Genre: Gen
Beta: -
Rating/Warnings: PG, some adult language
Medium: -
Word Count: 2,337
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: Yes.
If yes, your Tumblr username: sellotapedglasses
Charlie nibbled the edge of a cookie he’d swiped from the plate his mum had left on the table. He’d learned the trick to getting the first cookie before the rest of his siblings many years ago: help her do the dishes and also just generally not be a small tyrant. So far it always worked for him because Percy didn’t care for chocolate so never competed with him for the prize, Fred and George were disqualified for merely existing, and Ron was hardly any better for his constant niggling at five-year-old Ginny.
By learned, of course, he meant he’d wrestled it from his big brother Bill. And by wrestled, he meant he begged Bill to know his secret after Fred and George started getting to the age where the cookies mysteriously started sprouting mushrooms or floating to the toilets whenever they were near, filling the twins with mischievous glee, their father with tight-lipped amusement, and their mother with a seemingly endless supply of exasperation.
He looked down at the napkin in his hand which held a second delicious cookie and smiled. Bill gave him the secret on the condition that Charlie nab a second cookie for him, and Charlie never failed to do so. Adding his slightly nibbled cookie to the napkin, he wrapped it up and clambered up the stairs to the third floor. As he reached the landing, he heard Ron’s muffled whine from below, “Geoooorge, I’m telling mum!” He snickered and pushed open the door to his and Bill’s room.
Charlie used to have a room to himself on the fifth floor, but mum and dad converted it into a nursery for Ron. Charlie had argued his heart out that it was unfair that he’d have to give up his room, and was even more annoyed when he found out he’d have to room with Bill (“Why can’t I have the first floor room?” he’d asked with a quivering lip. “Darling, that’s your father’s office. You know he needs his tinkering space.”) She’d pointed out that in a few years, he’d be off to school anyway, and he ought to get used to sharing a room with other boys.
Knowing a few hours of sweeping the entire house were ahead of him if he argued any more, he grudgingly carried his favorite books and the toy broom he’d gotten for Christmas down to Bill’s room. Bill had been surprisingly calm about his new lack of privacy and sagely whispered across the room that night, “I mean, in two years I’m gonna be at Hogwarts and then you get the room to yourself while I’m gone. It’s not so bad.”
And that had been that.
It was now Christmas break of Charlie’s third year at school and Bill had gotten his Prefect’s badge in the letter that summer. Percie’s (they’d all dubbed him Percie the Firstie since he was finally starting school; it had the added bonus of annoying him by misspelling his name) eyes sparkled and he’d made grabby hands as the badge slid onto the table while Fred and George insisted they celebrate by turning the Wireless on to its loudest setting and jumping onto their chairs. For once, they weren’t berated by their mother who was too busy dabbing her tears with a napkin.
Charlie had given his big brother a slap on the back and a smile and no more was needed. After seven years sharing a bedroom and five sharing a common room, they’d formed a pretty decent understanding of one another. Charlie knew his big brother liked puzzles and Sugar Mice and he also knew that Bill had a giant weight on his shoulders to prove himself a success, to make their parents proud. Nobody had put this weight on him except himself, and all Charlie could do was be there for him when the anxiety became too much.
Charlie knew he was a calming force. He was the most quiet in the chaos that was The Burrow. And sometimes, when the chaos began to lose its functionality, the younger kids looked to Charlie to bring it back down to “hey maybe let’s not burn down the house, guys” levels. He never thought he was a natural leader, but as he’d gotten older he’d picked up great management skills; it’s incredible what you learn when you’re given extra responsibilities like helping mum wrangle five kids, patch boo-boos, and soothe tears.
Now he tried to tap into those skills as he pushed open the bedroom door because he knew that Bill would be on the other side, knee deep in a pile of books studying for O.W.L.s, as his big brother had been doing since the beginning of the semester.
And there he was, sitting on the rough wooden floor with a quill in his mouth and his chin length red hair pushed back behind his ears, his face screwed up in concentration. Charlie plopped down onto Bill’s bed, careful to avoid the mess of papers near the pillows, and nudged Bill’s leg with a socked toe.
“Cookie.” He said, as Bill swatted his foot away. “Mum put in Lady Marrowack’s Fizzing Chocolates as a treat since nobody got detention this semester.” He saw the moment Bill’s gaze on his books became unfocused and knew he’d broken through. Bill sighed and held out a hand.
“Gimme,” was all he said as he looked expectantly at Charlie.
“Rude,” Charlie laughed but handed him the cookie anyway. “One condition, though. Take a minute break, ok? You’re wearing yourself thin and I’m pretty sure that Arithmancy book has melded to your hand.” Bill rolled his eyes but gave him a small, tired smile, and rose from the floor to sit next to him on the bed.
They both bit into their cookies, with nothing but the fizzing hiss of the specialty chocolate to break the silence. Finally, Bill spoke up.
“I think I bit off more than I can chew.”
Charlie knew he was speaking about his schoolwork, but couldn’t resist saying in a teasing voice, “I mean I know Mum’s cookies are a bit dense but there’s no need to be dramatic.”
Bill snorted and popped the last of his cookie in his mouth. When he was done chewing, he flopped backwards onto the bed.
“Twelve classes - “
“How - “ Charlie quickly interrupted but Bill cut him off.
“Nope.” They’d had this conversation many times before. There was no way it was possible to take twelve classes, but no matter how much Charlie’d badgered him to explain his timetable, Bill refused to answer. He said he’d promised not to tell, but Professor McGonagall had made arrangements for him, and if he said how he’d have to murder Charlie. It never stopped him from hoping to slip his brother up into answering. But Bill moved on, “Twelve classes, Prefect duties, and Maggie wants go to Hogsmeade the first weekend back which is just stupid.”
“Mm. Maggie. Ravenclaw with the Celestina obsession?”
“Not Celestina, Celestina’s cousin Astra Langdon.”
“Who?”
“Yeah, that about covers it,” Bill answered dispassionately.
“Why not just… break up with her? You don’t sound really happy to be around her. And you’ve got so much on your plate,” Charlie asked, slightly bewildered.
Bill propped himself up on his elbows and stared at Charlie. “I can’t just break up with her. And I don’t want to, either. I like her.”
Charlie raised his eyebrows. “OK, but every time you talk about her you sound frustrated, you don’t like any of the same things, and she doesn’t respect how hard you’re working on classwork which, by the way, is crazy considering she got sorted into Ravenclaw.”
“Being in Ravenclaw doesn’t necessarily mean you only care about school,” said his brother with a defensive edge.
“Wow, I’m so glad you focused on that and nothing else I said,” Charlie retorted dryly.
Bill sighed again and dropped back down onto the bed. “She has nice lips, and she plays with my hair, and… and she was my first, you know? I can’t just dump her because we don’t like all the same stuff.”
Charlie’s face screwed up in confusion. “Maggie? She’s not your first girlfriend. Didn’t you date Madeline in third year? I think you have a thing for M-names, by the- oh,” he stopped dead at Bill’s significant look. “Oh your first - oh.” He looked away feeling incredibly awkward, his arms on his legs, hands entwined, thumbs twiddling.
There was another pause before Bill said, “You’re the weirdest thirteen-year-old I’ve ever met.”
“Thanks,” replied Charlie through clenched teeth. He knew he was. He knew he didn’t really fit in with the other boys in his dorm. He was well aware that his habit of volunteering his weekends to help feed the baby knarls with Professor Kettleburn instead of going on a Hogsmeade date with a cute girl was strange. What he didn’t know was why. Why he didn’t look at girls’ chests and why he didn’t want to kiss anyone.
He’d spent a full week wondering if he was gay after Thomas Adkins teased him for turning down Norah from Hufflepuff in favor of Quidditch practice, but after trying to imagine kissing nearly every boy in their year, he gave up and crossed off that possibility too. He just. Didn’t care. And increasingly, that didn’t seem like an option.
“You ok, Charlie?” asked Bill, now fully sitting up on the bed and looking at his brother with concern.
“Not really. I’m tired of -,” he stopped for a second, wondering if he was really about to tell someone this for the first time. Then he remembered it was Bill, who understood him probably better than anyone else. He trusted his brother. “ - tired of trying to figure out why I don’t care about that stuff. The whole -” he waved his hands vaguely in front of him, hoping Bill would understand without having to embarrass himself by saying the words. Luckily it looked like Bill got it.
“Just… just with girls? Or…,” trailed Bill, watching his younger brother closely.
“No,” Charlie answered firmly. “No, all of it. Everyone. I don’t want to kiss anyone or, er. Or whatever.”
“You’ve never looked at a pretty girl and felt uh… like… like fizzy feelings?”
“Such a way with words, no wonder you get all the girls,” said Charlie halfheartedly trying to lighten the mood.
Bill chuckled. “Shut up. You know what I mean.”
“No I don’t. I don’t know what you mean. That’s the problem. I’ve never felt it and I don’t care about feeling it but I do care that everyone else seems to care that I care - “ Bill stopped his increasingly distressed speech with a hand on his shoulder.
“OK, wow. Let’s slow down for a second. Are people messing with you? I have hundreds of hexes that I’m dying to test out so you just give me the word.”
Charlie looked down at his hands and let a small smile slide onto his lips despite the mounting anxiety he had felt only moments ago. He wondered why he’d thought, even for a second, that his brother would react any other way.
He gave a short shake of his head and answered, “No. Nothing I can’t handle. Might get worse, though, if I don’t get a girlfriend soon.”
Bill nudged Charlie’s shoulder with his own and Charlie looked up at him. Bill caught his eye and said, “Listen, there’s nothing wrong with you. It’s OK to not care. Hell, I kinda wish I didn’t care because it would definitely make it easier to concentrate on schoolwork sometimes.” Charlie snorted but Bill pressed on. “You like what you like and they like what they like and, er…. I dunno, I’m not good at inspirational speeches but I don’t want you beating yourself up over something you can’t really control, OK?”
Charlie wanted to laugh at his big brother’s struggle with words, but instead he just felt warmth and the weirdest urge to hug him which didn’t happen often. He ignored it and instead grinned widely. “OK. Thanks.”
They smiled at each other until Bill stood up abruptly, and stepped over the pile of books on the floor to pull open a drawer in his dresser. Charlie watched, confused, as Bill dug under his trousers and tugged out a brown paper bag with small rope handles. “Aha!” Bill said happily.
He carried the bag back to the bed and handed it to Charlie. “So this is my Christmas present to you and if you don’t tell mum I gave it to you early, then I won’t tell her that you gave the garden gnomes some of her roast last night. It just seems like maybe you needed a bit of cheering up?” he finished, his voice lilting up at the end, sounding unsure now.
Charlie looked at the front of the bag; it was plain except for a small pattern of quills. He knew that pattern well, considering it belonged to the second-hand book shop next to Florean Fortescue’s, where they often went to get school books. He got me a book? Weird, thought Charlie as he reached into the bag. The book he pulled out was green with silver accents on the spine and edges, only slightly battered with use and time. The spine read Tome Dracōnum: The Dragon Encyclopedia by Morys Nempt. His eyes widened in delight.
“How -” he began breathlessly, but Bill had an answer ready.
“You have that poster of the, er….”
“Hebridean Black,” Charlie supplied, now rifling through the pages of the book.
“Yeah, that. You’ve had that poster since you were a kid and I’ve seen you reading all sorts of dragon books from the library, so I checked and made sure this one wasn’t at Hogwarts….” He trailed off again, obviously waiting for Charlie’s reaction.
Charlie looked up from the book and gave his brother another grin. “It’s brilliant. Thank you.” He sat the book down and reached over to give Bill the hug he wanted to give him earlier. “Don’t tell the others,” he said into Bill’s shoulder, “but you’re definitely the best big brother.”
Bill laughed and patted him on the back, “I’m pretty sure I’m your only big brother, but hey, I’ll take it.”
Kimberly//Hufflepuff//78 points
Summary: Charlie and Bill had a pretty good understanding of each other, but one day during winter break, Charlie tells his brother his one guarded secret: he isn’t into anything at all. - This was originally meant for the drabble challenge, “Siblings,” but. Uh. It quickly surpassed 100 words, haha.
Characters/Pairings: Charlie Weasley, Bill Weasley, passing mentions of Weasley family
Genre: Gen
Beta: -
Rating/Warnings: PG, some adult language
Medium: -
Word Count: 2,337
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: Yes.
If yes, your Tumblr username: sellotapedglasses
Charlie nibbled the edge of a cookie he’d swiped from the plate his mum had left on the table. He’d learned the trick to getting the first cookie before the rest of his siblings many years ago: help her do the dishes and also just generally not be a small tyrant. So far it always worked for him because Percy didn’t care for chocolate so never competed with him for the prize, Fred and George were disqualified for merely existing, and Ron was hardly any better for his constant niggling at five-year-old Ginny.
By learned, of course, he meant he’d wrestled it from his big brother Bill. And by wrestled, he meant he begged Bill to know his secret after Fred and George started getting to the age where the cookies mysteriously started sprouting mushrooms or floating to the toilets whenever they were near, filling the twins with mischievous glee, their father with tight-lipped amusement, and their mother with a seemingly endless supply of exasperation.
He looked down at the napkin in his hand which held a second delicious cookie and smiled. Bill gave him the secret on the condition that Charlie nab a second cookie for him, and Charlie never failed to do so. Adding his slightly nibbled cookie to the napkin, he wrapped it up and clambered up the stairs to the third floor. As he reached the landing, he heard Ron’s muffled whine from below, “Geoooorge, I’m telling mum!” He snickered and pushed open the door to his and Bill’s room.
Charlie used to have a room to himself on the fifth floor, but mum and dad converted it into a nursery for Ron. Charlie had argued his heart out that it was unfair that he’d have to give up his room, and was even more annoyed when he found out he’d have to room with Bill (“Why can’t I have the first floor room?” he’d asked with a quivering lip. “Darling, that’s your father’s office. You know he needs his tinkering space.”) She’d pointed out that in a few years, he’d be off to school anyway, and he ought to get used to sharing a room with other boys.
Knowing a few hours of sweeping the entire house were ahead of him if he argued any more, he grudgingly carried his favorite books and the toy broom he’d gotten for Christmas down to Bill’s room. Bill had been surprisingly calm about his new lack of privacy and sagely whispered across the room that night, “I mean, in two years I’m gonna be at Hogwarts and then you get the room to yourself while I’m gone. It’s not so bad.”
And that had been that.
It was now Christmas break of Charlie’s third year at school and Bill had gotten his Prefect’s badge in the letter that summer. Percie’s (they’d all dubbed him Percie the Firstie since he was finally starting school; it had the added bonus of annoying him by misspelling his name) eyes sparkled and he’d made grabby hands as the badge slid onto the table while Fred and George insisted they celebrate by turning the Wireless on to its loudest setting and jumping onto their chairs. For once, they weren’t berated by their mother who was too busy dabbing her tears with a napkin.
Charlie had given his big brother a slap on the back and a smile and no more was needed. After seven years sharing a bedroom and five sharing a common room, they’d formed a pretty decent understanding of one another. Charlie knew his big brother liked puzzles and Sugar Mice and he also knew that Bill had a giant weight on his shoulders to prove himself a success, to make their parents proud. Nobody had put this weight on him except himself, and all Charlie could do was be there for him when the anxiety became too much.
Charlie knew he was a calming force. He was the most quiet in the chaos that was The Burrow. And sometimes, when the chaos began to lose its functionality, the younger kids looked to Charlie to bring it back down to “hey maybe let’s not burn down the house, guys” levels. He never thought he was a natural leader, but as he’d gotten older he’d picked up great management skills; it’s incredible what you learn when you’re given extra responsibilities like helping mum wrangle five kids, patch boo-boos, and soothe tears.
Now he tried to tap into those skills as he pushed open the bedroom door because he knew that Bill would be on the other side, knee deep in a pile of books studying for O.W.L.s, as his big brother had been doing since the beginning of the semester.
And there he was, sitting on the rough wooden floor with a quill in his mouth and his chin length red hair pushed back behind his ears, his face screwed up in concentration. Charlie plopped down onto Bill’s bed, careful to avoid the mess of papers near the pillows, and nudged Bill’s leg with a socked toe.
“Cookie.” He said, as Bill swatted his foot away. “Mum put in Lady Marrowack’s Fizzing Chocolates as a treat since nobody got detention this semester.” He saw the moment Bill’s gaze on his books became unfocused and knew he’d broken through. Bill sighed and held out a hand.
“Gimme,” was all he said as he looked expectantly at Charlie.
“Rude,” Charlie laughed but handed him the cookie anyway. “One condition, though. Take a minute break, ok? You’re wearing yourself thin and I’m pretty sure that Arithmancy book has melded to your hand.” Bill rolled his eyes but gave him a small, tired smile, and rose from the floor to sit next to him on the bed.
They both bit into their cookies, with nothing but the fizzing hiss of the specialty chocolate to break the silence. Finally, Bill spoke up.
“I think I bit off more than I can chew.”
Charlie knew he was speaking about his schoolwork, but couldn’t resist saying in a teasing voice, “I mean I know Mum’s cookies are a bit dense but there’s no need to be dramatic.”
Bill snorted and popped the last of his cookie in his mouth. When he was done chewing, he flopped backwards onto the bed.
“Twelve classes - “
“How - “ Charlie quickly interrupted but Bill cut him off.
“Nope.” They’d had this conversation many times before. There was no way it was possible to take twelve classes, but no matter how much Charlie’d badgered him to explain his timetable, Bill refused to answer. He said he’d promised not to tell, but Professor McGonagall had made arrangements for him, and if he said how he’d have to murder Charlie. It never stopped him from hoping to slip his brother up into answering. But Bill moved on, “Twelve classes, Prefect duties, and Maggie wants go to Hogsmeade the first weekend back which is just stupid.”
“Mm. Maggie. Ravenclaw with the Celestina obsession?”
“Not Celestina, Celestina’s cousin Astra Langdon.”
“Who?”
“Yeah, that about covers it,” Bill answered dispassionately.
“Why not just… break up with her? You don’t sound really happy to be around her. And you’ve got so much on your plate,” Charlie asked, slightly bewildered.
Bill propped himself up on his elbows and stared at Charlie. “I can’t just break up with her. And I don’t want to, either. I like her.”
Charlie raised his eyebrows. “OK, but every time you talk about her you sound frustrated, you don’t like any of the same things, and she doesn’t respect how hard you’re working on classwork which, by the way, is crazy considering she got sorted into Ravenclaw.”
“Being in Ravenclaw doesn’t necessarily mean you only care about school,” said his brother with a defensive edge.
“Wow, I’m so glad you focused on that and nothing else I said,” Charlie retorted dryly.
Bill sighed again and dropped back down onto the bed. “She has nice lips, and she plays with my hair, and… and she was my first, you know? I can’t just dump her because we don’t like all the same stuff.”
Charlie’s face screwed up in confusion. “Maggie? She’s not your first girlfriend. Didn’t you date Madeline in third year? I think you have a thing for M-names, by the- oh,” he stopped dead at Bill’s significant look. “Oh your first - oh.” He looked away feeling incredibly awkward, his arms on his legs, hands entwined, thumbs twiddling.
There was another pause before Bill said, “You’re the weirdest thirteen-year-old I’ve ever met.”
“Thanks,” replied Charlie through clenched teeth. He knew he was. He knew he didn’t really fit in with the other boys in his dorm. He was well aware that his habit of volunteering his weekends to help feed the baby knarls with Professor Kettleburn instead of going on a Hogsmeade date with a cute girl was strange. What he didn’t know was why. Why he didn’t look at girls’ chests and why he didn’t want to kiss anyone.
He’d spent a full week wondering if he was gay after Thomas Adkins teased him for turning down Norah from Hufflepuff in favor of Quidditch practice, but after trying to imagine kissing nearly every boy in their year, he gave up and crossed off that possibility too. He just. Didn’t care. And increasingly, that didn’t seem like an option.
“You ok, Charlie?” asked Bill, now fully sitting up on the bed and looking at his brother with concern.
“Not really. I’m tired of -,” he stopped for a second, wondering if he was really about to tell someone this for the first time. Then he remembered it was Bill, who understood him probably better than anyone else. He trusted his brother. “ - tired of trying to figure out why I don’t care about that stuff. The whole -” he waved his hands vaguely in front of him, hoping Bill would understand without having to embarrass himself by saying the words. Luckily it looked like Bill got it.
“Just… just with girls? Or…,” trailed Bill, watching his younger brother closely.
“No,” Charlie answered firmly. “No, all of it. Everyone. I don’t want to kiss anyone or, er. Or whatever.”
“You’ve never looked at a pretty girl and felt uh… like… like fizzy feelings?”
“Such a way with words, no wonder you get all the girls,” said Charlie halfheartedly trying to lighten the mood.
Bill chuckled. “Shut up. You know what I mean.”
“No I don’t. I don’t know what you mean. That’s the problem. I’ve never felt it and I don’t care about feeling it but I do care that everyone else seems to care that I care - “ Bill stopped his increasingly distressed speech with a hand on his shoulder.
“OK, wow. Let’s slow down for a second. Are people messing with you? I have hundreds of hexes that I’m dying to test out so you just give me the word.”
Charlie looked down at his hands and let a small smile slide onto his lips despite the mounting anxiety he had felt only moments ago. He wondered why he’d thought, even for a second, that his brother would react any other way.
He gave a short shake of his head and answered, “No. Nothing I can’t handle. Might get worse, though, if I don’t get a girlfriend soon.”
Bill nudged Charlie’s shoulder with his own and Charlie looked up at him. Bill caught his eye and said, “Listen, there’s nothing wrong with you. It’s OK to not care. Hell, I kinda wish I didn’t care because it would definitely make it easier to concentrate on schoolwork sometimes.” Charlie snorted but Bill pressed on. “You like what you like and they like what they like and, er…. I dunno, I’m not good at inspirational speeches but I don’t want you beating yourself up over something you can’t really control, OK?”
Charlie wanted to laugh at his big brother’s struggle with words, but instead he just felt warmth and the weirdest urge to hug him which didn’t happen often. He ignored it and instead grinned widely. “OK. Thanks.”
They smiled at each other until Bill stood up abruptly, and stepped over the pile of books on the floor to pull open a drawer in his dresser. Charlie watched, confused, as Bill dug under his trousers and tugged out a brown paper bag with small rope handles. “Aha!” Bill said happily.
He carried the bag back to the bed and handed it to Charlie. “So this is my Christmas present to you and if you don’t tell mum I gave it to you early, then I won’t tell her that you gave the garden gnomes some of her roast last night. It just seems like maybe you needed a bit of cheering up?” he finished, his voice lilting up at the end, sounding unsure now.
Charlie looked at the front of the bag; it was plain except for a small pattern of quills. He knew that pattern well, considering it belonged to the second-hand book shop next to Florean Fortescue’s, where they often went to get school books. He got me a book? Weird, thought Charlie as he reached into the bag. The book he pulled out was green with silver accents on the spine and edges, only slightly battered with use and time. The spine read Tome Dracōnum: The Dragon Encyclopedia by Morys Nempt. His eyes widened in delight.
“How -” he began breathlessly, but Bill had an answer ready.
“You have that poster of the, er….”
“Hebridean Black,” Charlie supplied, now rifling through the pages of the book.
“Yeah, that. You’ve had that poster since you were a kid and I’ve seen you reading all sorts of dragon books from the library, so I checked and made sure this one wasn’t at Hogwarts….” He trailed off again, obviously waiting for Charlie’s reaction.
Charlie looked up from the book and gave his brother another grin. “It’s brilliant. Thank you.” He sat the book down and reached over to give Bill the hug he wanted to give him earlier. “Don’t tell the others,” he said into Bill’s shoulder, “but you’re definitely the best big brother.”
Bill laughed and patted him on the back, “I’m pretty sure I’m your only big brother, but hey, I’ll take it.”
Kimberly//Hufflepuff//78 points