Who: Bill Weasley and Cressida. What: arriving! Where: The edge of town inward. When: Sunday Evening.
Mum had all but kicked Bill and Charlie out of the house that afternoon. Percy was sick, and the twins had been crying for who-knows-why all day, and Charlie had broken one of the picture frames while running around with his silly wooden sword. And so, Molly very loudly suggested that Bill take his younger brother to the backyard to play, and Bill didn’t mind, it got him out of having to get water for Percy or cover his ears to the sound of the babies.
Technically, Mum said not to leave the backyard, because she wanted to be able to see them playing, but Bill knew there were ways around that. Bill could almost always here Molly call for them, and if she asked where they’d gone off too, he could easily say they were just on the side of the house. Instead, Charlie and Bill almost always went to a thicket of trees just off their property, where the gnomes often went when dad threw them out of the garden. So of course, that was immediately where the two went with hardly a look over their shoulders to make sure their mum wasn’t watching.
“Betchya can’t catch me!” Charlie dared before darting into the tree line. Bill could very easily catch Charlie (he always did) because he was just faster and older and better at running than Charlie was, but he’d learned that it was more fun if he gave Charlie a minute to get ahead of him, which is why he waited a moment before plunging into the tree line at full speed. He’d hardly just stepped into the trees before he began tripping, there were roots and plants and snags that Bill was certain hadn’t been there before. And it was darker wasn’t it? Maybe it was going to rain and a cloud came over the sun. And Bill couldn’t remember there being this many trees, looking behind him, he couldn’t see the way out or the Burrow. This was not on.
“Charlie!” Bill shouted, moving forward, “Charlie, this isn’t funny, we ought to go home! I’m not joking, you win!” Bill wiped his dirty hands nervously on his jeans, he couldn’t go back home without his little brother, his parents would be very disappointed in him. So, he swallowed the big stone of fear that had nestled in his throat, and he walked forward. It felt like forever before he found the other edge of the forrest. He’d been calling Charlie’s name, and he hadn’t come out anywhere. Bill’s parents were going to be so mad at him. But peering out from the tree line, Bill saw a little town peaking up, and the sun sagging in the sky. He’d had no choice. It was getting dark and surely his parents would be worried about him too, right? Besides, Charlie was smart, he would have gone there too after getting lost, right?
Bill crossed his arms and tried to look intimidating as he marched through the town past unfamiliar shops and people. Surely one of them would have a floo at least, so he could go home and tell his parents. Though the thought of having to tell them that he’d lost Charlie brought scared tears to his eyes. “Chaaaaaarlie!”