Chapter 31
Bill and Adria hurried down the street of a muggle town somewhere in Bristol. They had apparated away, after telling the family that they had some urgent work to do, and would be back as soon as possible. The city was bustling, people doing shopping, some sitting in little cafes the littered the streets, drinking coffee and conversing without a care in the world. The streets slowly got rockier, and then turned to dirt as the two left the busy city, and entered a rural area, lined with small farm houses, and children running around. Some were sitting atop plastic broomsticks, and some running around with fake wands. This made Bill realize that he was in a wizarding community. A tightly knit one as it seemed. There were dozens of tiny shops lining a town square with people selling everything from bread, to robes, to broomsticks. It was a beautiful sight. Everyone seemed to be talking to someone else, whether it was shouting across a field, or standing in the window, waving to another. Another odd thing, Bill noticed, was owls littered the sky. There were thousands of them, flying over all of the houses, some landing, and others clearly just passing through.
"Adria, where are we?" Bill asked, looking around in half awe, half confusion. Adria didn't answer but seemed to know where she was going, and most of the people in the small village, as she waved to multiple people. They waved back, looking excited to her return, and many offered her to come in and have a spot of tea, but she politely refused, saying she needed to find someone in particular. The villagers, always had the same reaction. They face palmed in realization, reminding her to stop by as soon as she was finished. Not soon enough, did the two stop in front of an old, beat down house. There were lights on in the kitchen, and the smell of something sweet wafted from the open windows. Adria walked in without a care, and kicked her shoes off.
"Ma! Pa! I'm home!" She yelled into the empty hallway. It was her childhood home. The place she grew up in. The entire thing was amazing for Bill to witness, but now he was as confused as ever. What were they doing at Adria's house?
"Oh Adria darling! You're home!" A man exclaimed happily walking down the stairs carefully.
"Pops! Let me help you with that!" Adria exclaimed, helping the old man down the stairs.
"Don't worry too much about me sweets. Worry about yourself. Working with dragons is a dangerous sport. But of course with your gift- And who are you?" The man looked up finally, seeing Bill standing awkwardly in the doorway.
"I'm Bill. Bill Weasley." Bill introduced himself.
"I'm Gerard, Adria's grandfather." Gerard said, shaking Bill's hand with a surprisingly firm grip. A woman walked out of the kitchen, with loose, brown hair, slightly graying, tied up into a loose bun on the top of her head.
"Adria? Did I hear you calling?" She said as she walked out, but stopped short at the sight of her daughter. The similarities were definitely there. In fact, the two looked almost identical. Adria just had jet black hair, instead of her mother's copper hair color.
"Hi Ma!" Adria exclaimed happily, running to her mother, and enveloping her in a hug.
"Oh! How's the baby doing? You know, you should really take my advice on staying either, home, or with the Weasleys for your last term of pregnancy." Her mother said, giving Adria a stern look, which just looked more menacing because of her steely gray eyes.
"I'm thinking about it. Me and Charlie are still debating. And what would we do with Nikio? I'm pretty sure the other villagers won't take lightly to a Chinese fireball living next door to them." Adria gave her mother the same look as they pulled away.
"Greg! Oh. Greg!" Adria's mum called. "I swear that man will be the death of me." She grumbled, just as another man came walking down the entrance hall.
"What Addy? I have a bracelet that I need to make for a special customer. Done by- Adria!" He shouted. The man had salt and pepper hair, that was sticking up everywhere, and was clearly once the color of Adria's hair, with amber eyes. He brought the smell of metal, and smoke into the hallway, and had a pair of glasses perched atop his head. Wearing a welcoming smile, he opened up his arms, and Adria stepped into him, hugging her father tightly.
"Hi pa." She said into his overalls.
"What brings you here Didi?" Greg asked, pushing Adria back, and staring into her eyes. "No problems with Charlie I trust?"
"No Pa." Adria grinned, rolling her eyes. "I do need your help on something though. You see me friend Bill here? Well he needs an engagement ring. Something special, that you can't get at any muggle jewelry shops. So I thought, why not take him back to my childhood home, and make my dearest Pa make him a ring for his gal?" Adria gave her father puppy dog eyes.
"Alright, alright!" Greg turned to Bill. "Let's go get some pie first. Addy's just let it cool." He said gruffly. Bill just nodded, as they walked into the kitchen. There was a welcoming fire, roaring in the hearth. It's flickering flames dancing up, as if telling a story. Bill sat down at the tigerwood table, and played with his hands in his lap, not sure what to say. Adria had pulled her hair up, and was at the stove with her mother, cutting up the pie into slices. Soon enough, they each got a large slice placed in front of them. Bill couldn't help but look hungrily at the dessert. Everyone dug into the delicious meal, and as soon as they were done, everyone was left feeling full and tired.
"So. What do you think when you think about your girl?" Greg asked. Bill thought for a few moments, before answering.
"Well..." He started off. "She's kinda like lightning. Or a rainstorm."
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