When Harry met Wednesday

Chapter 18: Expecto Patronum

Author's Note: Despite the fact that I don't get the time I'd like to work on this anymore, I think writing is one of the few things keeping me sane right now.

Thank you all for reading, and making me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile here. Huge thanks to those of you who review, especially those who do so repeatedly. Reading your feedback is the best part of posting a new chapter. As always, let me know what you guys think.

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Chapter 18:
Expecto Patronum

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For the fifth time in two weeks, Bill finished up a floo call with his brother Charlie. It was getting harder each time, but he managed to once again convince his younger brother to stay where he was. His main argument was that there was nothing he could do, and nowhere for him to stay. This of course, was a bald faced lie, but he couldn't outright tell Charlie his real reasons. He needed to know that at least one member of his family was safe, and he was sure it was a comfort to their mother as well. He shook his head as it occurred to him that the safest member of his family, was the one who played with dragons for a living.

Bill ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. His family was suffering, and there was very little he could do. Their home, the Burrow, was a complete loss from an attack where he was the first casualty. Ever since he woke up in Saint Mungo's, he had felt constant guilt that he hadn't been able to protect his family.

His fiancée was disfigured badly while protecting him, and despite his constant assurance that he still loved her with all his heart, she was convinced that he was lying. She had taken to covering her face with silk scarfs that showed only her pain-filled eyes, and she refused to remove them, even in the privacy of their small home. If he couldn't find a way to get through to her soon, he feared that she would leave him.

He had learned that the only reason they had all made it out alive at all, was that his father stood firm against Bellatrix Lestrange, giving her no ground, and allowing them time to escape. At times, Bill wondered if his father would have been better off dying that day... The healers had all but given up hope that his father would ever wake, and he was now in the permanent care ward.

Then, on top of all this tragedy, his youngest brother disappeared while at Hogwarts. Bill really wasn't certain that he could take anymore bad news.

A knock on the door startled Bill, to where he nearly fell out of the chair he was resting in. With his wand drawn, he cautiously looked through the window to see a well dressed couple. Considering they wore muggle clothes, and appeared unarmed, he risked opening the door slightly.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Bill asked tersely, a blasting curse on the tip of his tongue.

"My name is Gomez, and this is my lovely wife Morticia. We've come to show our appreciation for your actions. We would have come sooner, but it took a few days for us to convince Ragnok to let you keep your job, and by extension, your home." The man explained cheerfully. "May we come in?"

Bill froze as everything clicked into place. The muggle clothes, the almost vampiric paleness of the woman, that they claimed to have enough influence to sway Ragnok's decision... to... fire him... This couple had to be members of the Addams family, and Ragnok must have somehow learned that he aided Dumbledore in breaking through the protections set around Grimauld Place.

While his brain was able to process and come to the right conclusion fairly quickly, his mouth was a little behind. On reflex, he softly repeated the last words Gomez had said. "Come in?"