I too hope that Harry will leave on his own at one point. I understand that he need some training and experience right now before he is ready for the world but it would be nice to see him start walking his own path.

 

Wow! A few Bill Haters! The way I see it, Bill hasn't taught Harry that much in the way of spells. Let see, here is a quick list. There is a hair coloring charm, a minor translation spell, a wide arc cutter that is useful in removing vegetation, and a compulsion spell to make a monkey walk blindly into its death but not much else. Beyond that Bill attempted but failed to teach him how to apparate and he has been giving him practical curse breaking. Not exactly Dark Lord toppling spells if you get my drift!

As for Harry relying on Bill for guidance, well it has been barely a week since the great betrayal. Harry is still adjusting. It is Bill's expedition and he is in charge. Harry does need to follow directions as he begged to be taken along. When it comes to cursebreaking of course Bill will be teaching him. Harry is good at defense, but beyond dueling with other magical folk and driving off dementors he doesn't have much practical experience with dark creatures and other things like Blood Vine. Harry is quite literally in a new world which he has never even been able to imagine. Already he has pushed the limits of his freedom by getting drunk and getting into a compromising position with a woman 10 years older than himself.

As for Bill understanding the nature of things between men and women, well he managed to get uber hottie Fleur into the sack. He has obviously been around and he could see Karina eyeing up Harry. Notice Bill doesn't have a good answer for Harry when he sees her again.

You are right about Bill having a sense of obligation to Harry. Harry definitely saved Arthur and Ginny's lives and has probably pulled Ron out of the fire at least once. He is trying to be a friend that Harry deserves. Maybe he is trying too hard.

Their relationship will eventually evolve into more of equals by the time the action catches up to chapter 1. Harry needs to grow at a believable pace and not become superbadass Harry overnight.

From a practical storytelling part, Harry has to interact with people. If not Bill, then who? Thundercloud and Kwan are developing, Karina and Chico will be part of a minor story arc showing just how much trouble Harry can get into in a foriegn land and there are the letters from Luna.

Hope that answers some of you your complaints.

Jim

 

This was another fantastic chapter. Really good work. I too, want to see Harry being really independent in the later chapters, but I perfectly see, why it's the way it is right now. Now I don't know what to say else so:
Good work and update soon!

 

Big Brother Bill..didn't people have big brothers who knew all the answers etc?..thats the way I am seeing him..so yes..you Bill haters..go away:}.LOL

great chapter..keep at it..love Big Brother Bill...

ThunderGod

 

Bill is a good character. He's knowledgable, without seeming like a nerd, and he's kind. And he has a good name. My only problem with him is that he seems a bit condesending at times (though, if I were spending time with a kid 9 years younger, I would be too).

 

That's the crux of the matter right there. Harry's 9 years younger than Bill, and you can't really say that Harry has seen worse things than Bill since Bill is a cursebreaker in Egypt and I think that it's fair to say that being a cursebreaker isn't the tamest of jobs. Therefore, Bill is the knowledgeable, cool older brother that is helping Harry to get real world experience. I know that if I went on an expedition with my older brother (15 years older!) I would drive him up a wall solely because I'm that much younger.

I quite enjoy Bill's character. He's helping Harry get experience and is willing to help him get on the path to destroying Voldemort, so...

Bill++

 

Pfft... He is also a condecending prick who defends an old man who steals from a 15 year old who has been abused all his life. He's seen worse then Harry? Harry grew up for 10 years in a cupboard being called a freak and being forced to watch his aunt and uncle shower his cousin with love while never receiving any in return. He burned a man to death with his hands at 11, faced a 60ft snake at 12 and managed to kill it with a fucking sword, he's ran from gigantic spiders, werewolves, etc. He faced a dragon at 14, he saw someone die at 14 and he was force to run from a man so evil people don't even say his name. He's been possesed, belittled, tricked, etc. I highly doubt Bill Weasley, who spent 7 regular years at Hogwarts with a loving family has seen worse breaking curses for a fucking bank. Bill doesn't care that Harry has been betrayed by people he called friends and mentors, he lets Harry go, not because he really likes him, or because he feels alot of gratitude for saving his sister and fathers lives, but because he doesn't want to feel like a dick taking a trip on someone elses money and not even allowing them to come. (That's how he seems to me at least). He chastises Harry all the time, and sure, he's older and knows more about magic. But suddenly, despite everything to the contrary in canon, Bills knows all about Voldemorts Horcruxes, he can say Voldemort like it's nothing, etc.

 

TheIllusiveOne : That's one way to look at it. But consider this:

- Dumbledore doesn't steal Harry's money, it's the Blacks' fortune that Sirius has left him.

- Dumbledore doesn't steal for his own personal profit, but to help the war and poor people. Would Sirius have prefered his money to be spent on a sports car or whatever, or the way Remus and Dumbledore are spending it?

- Harry's been through lots of shit, but he could have been much worse; there are kids who've been the same (or worse) abuse as him, but are neither magical, powerful, rich or famous. They end up charity cases, doing shitty jobs or turning into junkies. Fighting dragons is still better than that, right?

That could be true. He probably took him in the first place as a compensation for what his family did to him. Sceptic in me says that it was either that, or Harry going to the Ministry and raising charges against the Weasleys and Dumbledore, in return for supporting Fudge...

There's no canon evidence that Dumbledore was the only one to know about Horracruxes. I guess that's the information shared on 'need to know' basis... and in this case, Bill needed to know. Besides, this is AU, remember?

As for Voldemort's name, I think it's mostly indecent to say it more than anything else. Like saying the nig... word in US. Since Bill travels a lot and is living out of England, he plays along with the stigmata, but doesn't really feels that way.

 

Thanks again for all the opinions. Some things you have to understand about Bill. With him being out of the country until book 4, he may very well not be aware of the extent of Harry's piss poor upbringing. I don't think Dumbledore would advertise that fact even to the order members. He may have heard snatches from his family, but his only practical experience with Harry came from meeting him in the tournament. He also wasn't one of his guards in book 5, so he could very well be ignorant of Harry's home life.

He obviously knows that Harry saved Ginny from a basilisk and his father from Nagini. Put yourself in Bill's shoes from the moment he bumps into Harry in this story. You find out that Harry is being manipulated by your own family and Dumbledore. You don't have a clue why. What do you do with Harry? Out of a sense of honor to your family's debt to Harry, you decide to bring him along and keep an eye on him. You realize that the expedition you are in charge of is being funded out of Sirius's fortune that is under Remus's care and that Harry has no clue.

Bill is in a tough spot. He certainly doesn't want his family's actions to become public knowledge. Being the oldest child, he probably has an ingrained notion about upholding the family honor and name. He has also reached a stage in his life where he can butt heads with Arthur and Molly as an adult Weasley. So he is trying to reconcile his family's actions and fulfill his sense of obligation to Harry while trying to prevent his family and Dumbledore's name from being dragged through the muck any more than they already have given the events of book 5.

From the perspective I wrote it, Bill made a choice. Remove Harry from the situation. Take him along, keep him close and try and work through the issues.

Anyway onto Bill's knowledge of Horcruxes. Did any of you think it was stupid of Dumbles to take Harry to the cave and leave Bill at the castle to get mauled by Greyback. He is a CURSEBREAKER! Breaking wards around cursed artifacts is his specialty. It is just another in JKR's long line of mistakes that really led me to writing my own fics. I am giving Dumbledore a bit more credit. Here they have a lead onto a Horcrux from Bill's training with his instructor. Perhaps Bill even realized what Tom Riddle's diary was and called him on it? Dumbledore sets Bill up with funds for an expedition to find a lost city and try and recover a second Horcrux. The lost city is probably the Holy Grail for Cursebreakers.

Jim

 

He's a cursebreaker... for a bank. I highly doubt that Bill, despite being a profressional cursebreaker is more talented at breaking curses then Dumbledore. I also doubt that he's out breaking curses from the evil wizards of old. He clearly says in book 4 that he's out looking for treasure for a bank, I think your overestimating what he does a bit. Though, that might be true of course, but as far as Dumbledore taking Bill, why would he? He doesn't need another wizard to help him, he only took Harry as a courtesy being the one who ultimately has to kill him, and if he did need another wizard, I'm positive he would have taken Snape instead, as Snape has become 'completely trusted' in book 6, getting the Defense job sealed it for me.

 

Err.. Am I missing something, or doesn't that constitute being Harry's money? Sirius gave it to him, post-humanly, therefore, the money is clearly his.

I think Sirius would want it to be Harry's choice, as he left the money for Harry in the first place. Not Remus, Not Dumbledore, Harry. I also think that while both Harry and Sirius would have no problem seeing the money spent that way, the fact that Dumbledore and Remus didn't ask and merely took the money and used it as though it were their own is disgusting.

Err... What the hell? I was retorting to Fue's comment that Bill has seen more shit then Harry, I wasn't comparing to any other kid, merely Bill, so I really don't see how what you're saying is relevant... at all.

Decent theory, and it might be correct, however that goes out the window when we see everyone flinch/yelp/cry/faint every time the name is spoken

 

Bill is a professional cursebreaker who does it all the time. Dumbledore is a headmaster of a school in Scotland, who also dabbles in politics locally and globally and several other things. His background is in Alchemy and Transfiguration. Yes he is an extremely powerful wizard, but how often does he get out and look for cursed artifacts. Do you want an Electrical Engineer to wire your house or a professional electrician? Its about using the right person for the right job. You're going into a duel, who do you bring with you? Molly Weasley or Alastor Moody? You need children minded who do you use Molly or Severus? HBP is just an extension of JKR's making the adults muck it up so the kids have to save the day. Trying to write a mature alternative, I'm going to make the adults a little more competent. Dumbledore keeps telling Harry to rely on his friends and don't try to do everything on his own. Maybe he is humble enough to take his own advice?

Bill on the other hand breaks into tombs that haven't been broken into and weren't meant to be opened. I am not saying that Bill is a great duelist, he probably isn't, but he has extensive experience at artifact recovery. His skills are current whereas Dumbledore's are dated if they exist at all. Both Montana and Young were legendary NFL quarterbacks. You have to play a game today. Do you want one of the two of them or Tom Brady?

Jim

 

TheIllusiveOne: You're stereotyping cursebreakers exactly the same way that Bill says he despises. Cursebreaking, IMO, involves breaking deadly wards on tombs in Egypt. I bet he has seen plenty of overconfident partners get nuked, seen tons of other protections on the tombs that are more terrifying than burning a man's face and for god's sakes he sends little monkeys to their deaths at least ten times he breaks one ward! THE HORROR!

All I was saying is that Harry has seen one terrible thing at the end of each year, while Bill sees terrible things every time he's out on the job. And you saying that

Where else would you be a cursebreaker? Gringotts is the only canon place that we know of where they are cursebreakers...

 

I was refering to that one scene where Bill says to Harry to stop being such an angsty bitch about the money issue and let it go for the time being.

But you're right - that was just a personal peeve of mine showing; I just hate it when everyone starts gushing how Harry has suffered through his life like no one had ever before, how it's a mirracle he turned out the way he did etc... one of your comment just hit too close to home.

Heh, you have to take into account the aspect of children-friendly humor from the original books.

Also, JKR went out of her way to make Harry 'special', without actually making him smart, or good looking or powerful, etc... This is just one aspect in canon where reality was sacrificed in favor of Harry's wussy characterization.

That's why I'm perfectly ok with slight alterations to this bullshit.

 

I just want to add on this: In Egypt there're tombs older than 2000 years with plenty of gold and other valuable stuff inside (At least you can assume this. Why else would the goblins be interested in it?). If the wards are still intact after 2000 years and no one was able to breach them, Bill has to be pretty good to bring them down. It's like in sports: You may be the strongest, fastest or whatever else, but if you don't know the technique you'll still loose. Besides: Maybe Dumbledore has just something better to do than to travel to South America to search for an ancient city. And if I were Bill, I would ask too what exactly I had to retrieve from some ancient city.

 

Second Person was great!

I have been staying away from this fic because it's second person. Today I read the firrst chapter and it's great. I especially liked how you did the Ginny and Hermoine using love potion. That was brilliantly written. I also like how you fleshed out Bill's character. Keep up the good work!

 

After reading these anti-Bill posts I really don't see the Dumbledoreizing of Bill happening, almost the opposite of that. Bill is giving Harry some guidance by allowing him to learn some life lessons both by allowing him to make mistakes and then pulling him out of them (the sobering charm) and keeping him from making a big time mistake by directly interfering (behind the scenes with the MILF and the contraception charm and in front of him with the on the job training at ward breaking)

As for the Sirius's $$/Remus/Dumbledore issue. Bill gave Harry some very important information that he was lacking to make a good decision. Something that probably hadn’t happened for Harry, because pawns shouldn’t be capable of rational thought. If he (Harry) continues to throw a fit then the person who is set up to take the fall is not the one responsible for the actions. It is not a good situation to be in but what would be a better situation to be in? Bill tells him how to try to get them to treat him with some equality but due to his almost total lack of information about the subject decisions by him could be even worse.

To me Bill is being the big brother/father figure that Harry has needed and will do a little damage control with the teenager so he will not go and make a bigger mistake being a vengeful idiot. Bill is an adult that has been away from the bass-ackwards British(/maybe even European) wizarding culture. He has seen it is better to make sure that you are well informed enough so you can think through a situation then look outside the box for a way of checking to see if you have all the information and then act on any new information that you will discover. Bill’s gred and forge monkeys are a way of gathering this information. In this story he’s the one that Ron probably learned how to play chess from because it seems that not only is he intelligent, he is also has enough common sense to see that the justified reaction might not always be the best.

As for the Electrical Engineer/Electrician crack, I have to stand up for the EE’s out there. I could wire up a house, and it most likely would meet code. But I see your point, unlike some EE's that are just booksmart I do have some practical knowledge on what works and doesn't work in the real world. Bill’s experience is with the detailed art of cracking centuries old locks and if I was going to where something is stored and most likely has been protected by a sadistic evil wizard, a not only skilled but experienced and seasoned curse breaker might be an addition that I would include in my party.

 

What the fuck is up with your name? Cowboyweasel?

*looks at information and sees "Location: Oklahoma*

Oh...now I get it. Stupid Sooners...



All joking aside, you made some very valid points, and everybody who is arguing against me should read this hic...uh...gentleman's post.

 

No matter how you argue it Dumbledore was stealing from Harry. It doesn't matter if Harry would have done the same with the money. It wouldn't matter if it was used for a good cause. The point of the matter is that Harry was not told what HIS money was used for. If Dumbledore had sat down with Harry and told him, this is what I'm going to do with your money then it would have been ok. But to do all this without his knowledge constitutes as stealing. I know I would be pissed if I found someone accessing my bank account without my knowledge.

I agree with cowboyweasel on his comments. The way Bill's handling Harry is probably the best possible way to help him (Harry) grow. Instead of deciding FOR Harry what was for the best, like Dumbledore is doing, Bill GIVES him enough room to explore what is good for him and make mistakes. But at the same time he's nearby making sure the mistakes made aren't catastrophes. Considering Harry’s life before I think this is the best way for him to become an adult. And I salute you for your skill jbern, in writhing and the plot.

:cheers: