Bordock the goblin was sitting on his throne-like chair, his long, sharp fingers clawing at its arms. His pointed ears were moving, trying to pick up any sound that could be detected. Beside him, his trusted companion, Argunk the Aberrant, was picking at the wand he had adroitly stolen from an unsuspecting Gringotts wizard. They were in a cave miles underground, deep inside the bowels of Gringotts, where no wizard could reach without the help of a goblin. The only sources of light were the torches that were suspended in brackets along the walls. The stone walls behind Bordock’s chair turned red and gold in the flames of the torches as they flickered.

“What’s taking Gorbuk so long?� Bordock hissed in Gobbledegook, gripping the arms of his chair tightly. His long nails threatened to sink into the wood. Bordock, however, did not notice, or pretended not to. He narrowed his eyes, distorting his already-grotesque face even more.

“I don’t know, Bordock,� Argunk said in his raspy voice, looking apprehensively at his superior. “He must have been caught or–�

His words were cut off by the loud noise of heavy footsteps. Bordock looked at the entrance of the chamber, where the sound seemed to have come from. A shadowy figure seemed to move in the darkness, and soon the ugly face of a large, brawny goblin came into view. The flickering light of the flames threw relief to the deep cuts scarring his face. His small eyes were bloodshot.

“Bordock,� the new goblin addressed. His loud booming voice echoed off the walls of the stone chamber.

“You have news, Gorbuk?� Bordock asked, leering at the newcomer. It seemed he was waiting for this goblin all along; he looked eager to listen to the news that Gorbuk had brought.

“Yes,� the informer replied, smirking.

“What is it?� Bordock asked, crossing one leg over another and leaning backwards in his chair.

“The response from the silly wizards is outstanding," Gorbuk told him. "Those foolish wizards don’t suspect a thing. It’s laughable! They think we are merely trying to get on good terms with them!�

“Good, very good. What else? Are all the Gringotts wizards going to be present in the… conference?�

“Definitely.�

“And? Are the Ministry wizards going to be there as well?� Bordock asked. He was getting very excited. The wild look in his eyes was rather unnerving.

“Of course they are.�

“And… their leader? The Minister for Magic, too?� Bordock said impatiently, leaning forwards in his chair. His grin was very wide now.

Gorbuk smiled evilly before saying one word, “Yes.�

“Excellent!� Bordock roared. “Next week, we will rejoice at our victory! All these wizards will be destroyed! Their upper echelons will crumble, begging for our mercy, and we, we, my fellow friends, will find our long-awaited freedom!�

Bordock threw his head backwards and laughed loudly. His laugh reverberated off the walls of the chamber. It was a high-pitched laugh that could send a chill down someone’s spine. Argunk and Gorbuk joined in with him, and together the three goblins celebrated at the doom that was about to befall.

Bill Weasley brushed the soot off his blue robes as he stepped wearily out of the fireplace of his home. He had had a very tiring day, and he was looking forward to a relaxed evening. Running a hand through his dishevelled red hair, he shuffled across the living room towards his couch and flopped onto it.

“Bill, dear, are you ‘ome?� A sweet, melodious voice came through the kitchen door. Bill recognised it as his wife’s. A moment later, Fleur Weasley walked in from the kitchen, wearing an apron, wand in hand. Her silvery blonde hair was tied up in a knot at the top of her head. She walked up to Bill and kissed him lightly.

“Hello, my sweet,� Bill murmured. He gazed at her beautiful face and felt his exhaustion evaporate.

“’Ow was your day?� she asked, sitting down beside her husband. “Are you tired?�

“I was… a while ago,� Bill breathed. “But after seeing you I feel much more… energetic.� He leaned forwards to kiss her, but Fleur pushed him back.

“No, no, Bill, not now,� she whispered.

“Oh, and why not? “ Bill asked, raising an eyebrow. He leaned forward, trying to kiss her again.

BAM.

“Ooh, look at that, Ronnie!�

Bill moved away quickly and looked towards the door. He saw his brothers Ron and George, both grinning stupidly from ear to ear. Bill felt his face go red.

“Zat,� Fleur muttered, “is exactly why.� She got up, gave her husband a quick peck on the cheek and walked out of the living room and to the kitchen.

“What are you two doing here?� Bill demanded from his two brothers indignantly.

“Oh, did you forget?� Ron smirked, leaning against the doorframe. “We are eating over here today, remember?�

Bill mentally slapped himself. He had completely forgotten that Ron and George, along with their wives and children, were coming to dinner.

“Don’t be silly, Ron,� George cackled, resting his elbow on his younger brother’s shoulder. “After that sweet little thing, his mind’s too foggy to recall anything.�

There was a loud bang. A moment later, the three of them came out of the living room and into the kitchen. George and Ron winced as they walked, and Bill followed, wand aloft, grinning satisfactorily.

“What happened to you two?� Angelina asked interestedly from the dining table as soon as she saw them, raising an eyebrow at her husband and brother-in-law.

“Nothing,� George grunted as he sat down beside her. He winced as he felt his bottom touch with the wood.

“Are you sure?� Hermione asked Ron, narrowing her eyes whenever he made a face.

“Absolutely, Hermione,� he groaned. He tried to smile, but failed miserably, and ended up grimacing instead. Hermione frowned, and Angelina rolled her eyes.

Dinner was quite satisfactory, thanks to Fleur’s scrumptious food, and Bill enjoyed it more when he saw his two brothers flinch whenever they moved. He loved magic, and he loved Harry for teaching him how to make boils turn up on a person’s buttock.

Bill smiled as he looked at them all, laughing happily, chattering with one another. After the war, his family had been devastated. There had been so many deaths… Fred’s had been the hardest. His mother hadn’t stopped crying for one second. No one laughed for at least six months. Managing George had been exceptionally difficult – after all, Fred was his twin, and a very strong bond had existed between the two. He had even refused to look at the mirror, for he could see Fred’s face in there when he looked at his own. Now, as Bill looked at his brother laughing with his wife, he thanked the heavens for Angelina. About ten years after the war, everything seemed to be back to normal.

Bill did a quick head count. Hermione, Ron, George, Angelina... the kids, however, were nowhere to be seen. He wondered where his two daughters and his brothers’ children were.

“Honey, where’re Victoire and Dominique?� Bill asked Fleur.

“Zey’re upstairs, playing wiz Rose and Fred,� his wife replied. Rose was Ron’s eldest, who was about a year old. Fred was George’s son, who was almost three. Once George had seen that his firstborn was a boy, he refused to name him anything else, and Angelina had agreed, seeing how much it meant to George. Bill often thought that Fred did kind of look like the baby Fred (and George) he had seen in the pictures of their childhood.

“Won’t they eat?�

“I gave zem zeir food upstairs,� she answered, taking a bite of her steak and kidney pie.

“Oh.�

“So, Bill,� Ron spoke up, taking a bite of his chicken leg. He flinched again and scowled before continuing, “How’s your work coming along?�

Bill waited till he had swallowed a bite of potato before he answered, “Pretty good. The job’s become really tiring, though, after the promotion.� Bill was now the senior curse breaker as well as the manager of all the work the goblins did. He had to handle all of the goblins’ work, which proved to be very hectic. They always tried to take back the goblin-made artefacts that rightfully belonged to wizards.

“Why don’t you try to take a day off this Thursday?� George asked.

“Why?� Bill asked curiously.

“Well… we were wondering if we could get together one day for a game of Quidditch. You know, we’re all busy with our work and we thought we could do with some family time.�

“What’s wrong with the weekend?� Bill asked, confused.

“Well, Harry can’t manage it, since he has to work extra this weekend, after the Death Eater incident.� Ron explained. Bill knew that story. A few days ago, one of the Death Eaters who had evaded capture so long had been spotted in London. Harry and the other Aurors had been tailing him for a very long time, but somehow or the other he always managed to escape. Harry had told Bill that the Aurors had a sneaking suspicion that he was trying to gather as many other escaped Death Eaters as possible, so he was a big threat.

“Not to mention Percy, who has some top secret job to do this weekend,� George added, rolling his eyes. “Personally I think he would be better off doing–�

“And,� Angelina cut George off, “Ginny has to write some sports report for the Daily Prophet.�

“But everyone is free this Thursday!’ George announced happily. “So all you have to do is take Thursday off.�

“Well…� Bill frowned. “I suppose I could… The conference is on Wednesday, so I guess I’m free.�

“That’s great then!� George said, grinning.

“Yeah!� Ron added. “I’ll tell the others after returning home.�

---

Ron, George and their families left soon after dinner. Bill helped Fleur clear up the dishes, and then he went to his daughters’ room.

“Papa!� Victoire squealed. She ran towards Bill as soon as he opened the door, her strawberry blond hair flying behind her. She grinned, revealing the gap in her neat line of teeth. Her front tooth had fallen off on her seventh birthday as she was eating cake. Imagine her surprise when she found a tooth in her slice!

“Hello, honey!� Bill beamed as he hugged her. “How was your day?�

“Very good!� The eight-year-old smiled. “I helped Maman make dinner for Uncle Ron and Uncle George and Aunt Hermione and Aunt Angelina!�

“Really?� Bill asked, sounding impressed. “That’s very nice! Did Dominique help?�

“No,� Victoire complained, “she was in the garden, messing my flowers up!�

“I was not!� Dominique snapped indignantly from behind. She was already wearing her pyjamas, her honey-blonde hair tied in a ponytail. “I was fixing them!�

“No, you were not!� Victoire retorted, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at her sister.

“Yes I–�

“Okay, sweetie, I get it!� Bill interrupted, not wishing to create an argument. He had had one experience where Victoire had accidentally set the dining table on fire out of anger.

“Daddy, promise me you’ll get me my own garden!� Dominique demanded stubbornly.

Bill chuckled. “Okay, sweetie, I’ll try,� he agreed. He knew that he couldn’t rest in peace for one moment if he denied. Dominique looked triumphantly at Victoire, who stuck out her tongue.

“Come on, girls, go to sleep now,� Bill instructed. “You’ve got to wake up early tomorrow.�

“But Daddy!� Dominique protested.

“No, honey, you need to sleep.�

The girls both pouted. Bill pretended not to see as he put them to bed.

---

Once back in his room, Bill got into his pyjamas and lay down on his bed, waiting for Fleur. Once she came out of the washroom, he said, “You know, I’m really lucky.�

“Why do you say zat so suddenly?� Fleur asked as she got into bed.

“I dunno, I just felt like saying it,� Bill replied. “I’ve got a loving wife, two adorable daughters, a huge and lovely family, a well paid job – what else do I need? I wish this could go on forever.�

Fleur smiled as she replied, “Of course, ’oney. Zis is ze best family we could weesh for.� She kissed him once. “Let’s go to sleep now. You’ve got work tomorrow. Ze senior curse breaker does not want to be late, does ‘e?�

Bill chuckled as he laid his head on his pillow. After a few minutes, he drifted off to sleep.