Hidden Secrets {Bill Weasley}

151

"Step away from her right now."

Lyall Lupin stepped forward, his wand raised and aimed right at Orlando who lowered his. Harley furrowed her brows and pushed Orlando behind her. She wasn't sure why her uncle was acting this way when Orlando had just rescued them all. Her neck was on fire and her chest still pounded but she wasn't going to settle until everyone else did.

Orlando could hear a whirlwind of thoughts from each different person. He understood why they would all have been worried about his presence so he took a step back raising his hands in surrender. "I come in peace. Well, after I got rid of those pansies. Now I'm peaceful." He said slowly, looking Lyall dead in the eyes.

Lyall looked the man up and down. He certainly looked very alike to his brother. His eyes matched Harley's and his mannerisms were similar too. "Harley come out of the way." He told his niece.

"What? No."

"It's okay, Harley, do as he says." Orlando nodded when she turned back to him.

Sighing, the woman did as she was told and George wasted no time in grabbing her once more, sharing a look with his older brother who still clutched Ginny tightly. He would look after his sister-in-law for Bill and would make sure she would not be harmed anymore.

"Hold out your arm," Lyall instructed Orlando and the man did so. Lyall took hold of his arm and beckoned Remus over. "Can you perform an unbreakable vow? After all, if this man really is who he says he is then he will have no problem."

"Surely this isn't necessary."

"Can't vow that you are who you say you are?"

"I am Orlando Lupin. I don't think an unbreakable vow is rather needed for me to swear that to you." Orlando trod carefully with his words. It was as if he was on thin ice and the summer heat was slowly melting it. Each word he spoke was carefully thought out and moulded into the sentence that would seal his fate.

"Oh, it's needed, buddy." Sirius sneered stepping forward, "either you do it or you leave and never contact her again."

"I'm sorry but I don't recall Sirius Black being our father? Oh yeah, that's because you're not and ours is dead. You can't control what a grown woman does or who she sees. That's ludicrous. If Harley wants me to do the vow then I will do it, if she doesn't think it's necessary then I won't. You don't decide my fate, old man."

"Old? Old man? I'm like 10 years older than you, if that! Who are you to call me old?"

Orlando ignored Sirius' cry of annoyance and turned to his sister. He raised his eyebrows and waited for her response. Please, Harley, you know that this is madness.

"Is it?"

"Harley..."

"Do it, Orlando."

The man sighed and Remus performed the spell. Suddenly Orlando dropped to his knees in pain. A burning sensation licked the veins of his arms and Lyall ripped up the sleeve of his suit arm. Deeply scared in his flesh was a P. Orlando was branded by the Pollards. The man was thrust away from Lyall and Remus in disgust.

Harley grew vexed and broke free of George's hold, she picked up her dress and ran towards him. With one swift movement, her hand collided with his cheek and her ring imprinted on his cheek as he cried out in sufferance. "WHO ARE YOU?" She demanded. "WHO IN MERLIN'S NAME ARE YOU?"

"Riccio... Fleming... Pollard." He hissed out.

"Pollard? That's how you knew everything. Your family killed my parents."

"And I would've killed you if it wasn't for your pesky uncle."

"Why?" George marched forward. "Why would you want to kill Harley? She's done nothing to you."

"Her parent's debt becomes her debt."

"Debt?"

"They owed a lot of money and their lives were not worth enough." The man hissed and hissed the firey ambush igniting his body. "Their daughter would be just enough, especially if they could torture her a bit beforehand-"

Tears welled in Harley's eyes, "why did you do this? After everything we have been through? You were a great brother, that had to have meant something, surely?"

"Pathetic. Lonely, pathetic, worthless bitch. How could anyone love you? You're just a mess, dear, a mess that can never be cleaned or fixed."

George dove toward Pollard and kicked him straight in his chest sending him flopping backwards. He then promptly took hold of Harley and dragged her back over to Bill who placed his other arm around his wife. Harley buried her face into his chest as Sirius took out his wand.

"I will give you ten seconds of mercy. Ten minutes in which you can apologise despite it not being of any help to you and then I will officially become a murderer. Not a mass one. But a murderer still. And I will enjoy every single thing about it. Nobody and I repeat nobody, will ever harm my little knight and not pay for it. Got it, sunshine?"

"Sirius, be careful-"

"It's okay, Mads, I know what I am doing."

"No, seriously Padfoot, think about this."

"Moony, either join me or shut up."

"Oh, of course I will join you. Are you stupid?"

Belle pushed Fred away from her despite his very tight grip on her arm. "Yes, he is stupid and so are you. I don't care how much crap he has done I don't want either of you murdering someone. There's something else you can do that will stop him from doing anything ever again without murdering him. Personally, I believe it could be worse."

Harley joined her cousin's side again. "What are you taking about?" She asked her. Belle whispered in Harley's ears, standing on her tiptoes to reach. Harley smiled and nodded her head. Taking her wand out again, she whispered, "obliviate."

The light left Orlando's, no, Riccio's eyes and they became hazy. The pain in his body stopped and he then fell asleep. "Dump in the village," Bill said to nobody in particular.

Remus' head dropped once more in shame as he reached his daughter's side. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. You had to witness my moment of madness once again. I jut couldn't stand there and-"

"I get it, dad, I really do. I just know that you wouldn't forgive yourself if you went through with it.... Harley?" Harley fell into Remus' arms and put her arm around Belle too, "are you okay?"

"This wasn't quite how I imagined my wedding day, but hey-ho. It was still a good day, just didn't quite end as great. I just hope that Harry, Ron and Hermione are safe."

"They will be safe, they have Hermione. Without her they'd have died in first year." George chuckled softly.

"You were amazing George." Bill clapped him on the shoulder, "I can't thank you enough."

"Harley's a Weasley now. We stick together remember."