Heart of Stone: HPHM Year 6

Surprises

"Steady on!" said Bill with a chuckle, though he returned Sarah's hug eagerly. "I was gonna ask if you missed me, but I guess you've answered that already."

Sarah just buried her face in Bill's robes, letting her broken heart mend, if only for a moment. When Bill left Hogwarts only days after Jacob's second disappearance, it had been like losing two brothers at once. 

When she finally let go, she asked, "What are you doing here?"

Bill just looked at Charlie, impressed. "You actually managed to keep it a surprise."

"She did her best to get it out of me. I had to hole up in my dormitory to avoid her." 

"I believe it." 

Bill greeted Penny and a bashful Rowan. 

"How's life as a Professional Cursebreaker treating you?" Rowan asked. 

"It's great. I'm just a junior at the moment, so the work's not quite as exciting, but it means I'll have enough time off to come up and see you quite often, I hope." Rowan had to hide her blush. "What about you lot? How's Hogwarts coping without me?" He frowned at the uncomfortable looks on all there faces. "That bad, huh?"

They filled him in on the latest curse, the petrified student, and how little progress they made so far. 

"What about Jacob?" Bill asked Sarah.

She almost jumped at the mention of her brother's name. "What? Nothing. I haven't seen or heard from him since that night." The night Rakepick had left them to die in the buried vault. Charlie shuddered and Bill swallowed at the memory. "I've no idea where he is or how he is, or...anything." 

"Maybe he wants to contact you, but he can't," piped up Fred. 

"Yeah," said George. "Maybe he's nearby, making sure you're safe."

She smiled at them. The twins may have kept her and Charlie on their toes each night trying to prevent them from destroying the common room, but they were good for a laugh and they had good hearts. 

"Maybe," she said, more to humor them than anything. 

The door to the classroom opened, and several of their classmates began filing in.

"What's going on?" asked Rowan. 

"You'll see," said Bill. "I only want to explain it once, so I'll wait until everyone's here. Meanwhile," he turned to Percy and the twins, "you two better head back to Gryffindor common room."

"No way!" said Fred. "We wanna see what you lot are up to."

"Nothing you need to be concerned about," Bill answered. "Now, make yourselves scarce, or I'll right to mum and tell her that story you told me about the dungbombs and Filch's cat." 

The twins snickered, but Percy grabbed them by the wrists and began dragging them toward the door. "Come along, we've got just enough time to review your Potions essays before bed."

Sarah giggled as Fred mimed wrapping a noose around his neck and George mouthed the words, "Help us," before they were led from the room. 

By now, it looked as if everyone Bill had told Charlie to invite had arrived. Along with Sarah, Penny, Rowan, and Charlie, there were  Ismelda, Merula, Liz, Andre, Tulip, Tonks, Diego, Ben, Badeea, and Barnaby, who came to stand by her at once. Sarah refused to acknowledge Bill's smirk. 

"Thank you all for coming," Bill called to silence the conversations.

"What do you want, Weasley? I thought we were finally rid of you."