The Marauders: Year Six #Wattys2017

Gringott's Bank

Gringott's Bank

"Molly's going to murder me!" Bilius muttered for about the hundredth time between frantic shouts of the boys' names. "BILL! ... CHARLIE! ... Oh Molly's going to skin me alive... she'll use every dark hex in the history of magic. BILL!"

Chriselda ran alongside Bilius. "Bill! Charlie! ... She'll understand, Bilius, she's a mother, surely they've gotten away from her a time or two."

Bilius shook his head, "Oh not from Molly, no. Molly's got eyes in every direction. That woman's the most fiercely protective creature -- Swear, she could kill Voldemort himself with just the squint of her eye if he threatened her kids. Bloody hell. I'm going to end up dust. Dust, Chriss. She'll pulverize me - even if they're alright, she'll do it." He waved a lighted wand down an alley as Chriselda looked inside a row of oversized cauldrons lining the street.

"S'cuse me, have you seen -- two little boys? 'Bout this high?" Bilius held out his palm around Bill's height, "Carrying a stuffed dragon, one of 'em was, and the other had on a red striped shirt. Fire-ball red hair. Red as could be. And absolute loads of freckles."

Bilius asked every person he passed - every last one - which is how he ended up asking none other than Lucius Malfoy.

"Two boys, have you seen --" he stopped mid-sentence as he realized who he was speaking to, and saw the amused smiled twitch across Lucius Malfoy's lips as he stared at Bilius with cold black eyes.

Lucius's voice was hard. "Missing... something... are we?"

Bilius felt sick just facing Lucius Malfoy like this. In the back of his mind he could hear the rustling leaves, the breaking branches of running through the woods... he could hear Derek Bell's breath disappearing into darkness ahead of him... Flashback, he told himself, Just a flashback. Snap out of it. Don't let him get to you.

"Two little boys, you were saying?" Lucius continued. He could see how he was getting to Bilius, could see that his mere presence was upsetting him. Bilius's cheeks were burning red like his hair and his eyes were wobbling in and out of focus... "Would be a shame if something were to happen to them."

Chriselda Blythe came up, pushed her way between Bilius and Lucius and snarled, "Where are they you toad?"

Lucius stepped back, smirking, hands raised, "Goodness! ...Come not between a dragon and his wrath..." he murmured, eyeing Chriselda for an over-long moment, and finally he said, "Good luck with finding the little ones, Weasle-y."

Chriselda all but literally hissed as he walked away.

Behind her, Bilius murmured, "Oh gods."

"What?" she turned to look at him, her wand still raised after Lucius Malfoy's back as he slipped between the people in the crowd.

"Dragon," whispered Bilius. "The dragon. The bloody dragon." And he turned and started back down the street the opposite direction about as fast as anyone has ever run before, his lungs burning as he shoved violently between people, not even bothering with an excuse me or a pardon me or even a coming through. He just went. And behind him came Chriselda, shoving through just as rudely, until she caught up, panting, where Bilius Weasley had come to a stop outside of Gringott's Bank, staring up at the sheer white face of the building.

Chriselda was breathing hard, she stared up at the bank's tall windows, then looked at Bilius. "You don't - you don't think --?" she panted.

"Bill asked me this morning what was in there and I - gods I'm such an idiot - I told him about the dragon. And Charlie's just mad about dragons!"