TBAY: Bill Weasley is Ever So Evil parts 1 & 2

[abigailnus]

No: HPFGUIDX 85799

The morning TBAY sun slants into a rather opulent stateroom on 
the Imperius!Arthur trimaran.  Abigail, acting captain of the 
trimaran, is curled up in her four-poster bed, attempting to 
ignore the rapidly aging day.  Her slumber is disturbed by a smart 
rapping sound on the cabin door.  Abigail turns over, attempting 
to cover her head with a pillow, and ends up tumbling off the bed.  

A deck hand gingerly cracks open the door.  "Ma'am?"  He ventures.  
"Are you decent?"

Behind the bed, a pile of sheets and pillows offers a tentative 
"Wstfgl?"

The deck hand clicks his tongue disapprovingly, and retreats into 
Abigail's dressing room.  He emerges carrying her much-abused, 
frequently torn and patched, many-pocketed overcoat, which he 
drapes, with much ceremony, over the acting captain's shoulders.  
She gets to her feet rather shakily and squints at him, trying to 
remember his name or, failing that, hers.

"Mphgrush."  She offers.

The deck hand sighs, and procures from the dumb-waiter a 
steaming mug of tea.  He waves it under Abigail's nose.  The wafting 
fumes seem to revive her.  She blinks, scowls, and rears over the 
impassive deck hand.

"What time do you call this, Mr ..."  She flails about helplessly for a 
moment.  "... sailor?"

"I call it 10 o'clock in the morning, ma'am."  Replies the deck hand 
promptly and, seeing Abigail about to burst into a full tantrum, 
quickly adds.  "And I'm sorry to have woken you at this ungodly hour, 
but something came up that I thought you'd like to know.  You see, 
Miss Erin hasn't come back."

"Come back from where?"  Abigail demands, gulping down her tea as 
she strides above deck, the deck hand hurrying to keep up.

"You remember, ma'am, don't you?"  He replies.  "You gave her some 
shore-leave last night.  She said she wanted to theorize about 
something other then Imperius!Arthur."

Abigail furrows her brow, and nods slowly.  "Yes, that's right.  Well, I 
certainly can't keep young, energetic theorists cooped up on this tub 
when there's a whole 'BAY to romp in.  That's where mutinies come 
from, you know."

"Yes, ma'am."  The deck hand answers eagerly.  "In that case, ma'am, 
might I also request..."

"Not you, Mr... sailor."  Abigail waves him off brusquely.  "You're not 
a theorist.  You are a TBAY denizen.  Now, what's this about Erin being 
missing?"

The deck hand counts to a sufficiently high number, and, in a 
remarkably calm voice, replies.  "Well, she left for the shore last night, 
and she still hasn't returned.  Don't you think we ought to see if she's 
in any trouble?"

"Trouble?  Pshaw."  Abigail waves expansively.  "Erin is a big girl, and 
there's plenty to see in the 'BAY.  She'll come back when she's good and 
ready."

Just then, a wave emanating from the shore causes the remarkably 
steady triple hull of the Imperius!Arthur trimaran to list.  Abigail's teacup 
leaps from her hands, dousing both her and the deck hand, and the 
force of the ship's movement sends them both sprawling on the deck.

"Mr... sailor!"  Abigail exclaims, getting to her feet.  "Do you know what 
that was?  Someone has Rocked the Boat!  Only a card-carrying member 
of the Imperius!Arthur trimaran openly questioning the theory's canon 
could do that!"  She rounds on the deck hand, who is just getting to his 
feet.  "Was it you?  I'll have you court-martialed if it was."

"No, ma'am."  The deck hand answers patiently.  "As you were so kind to 
point out only a few minutes ago, I am only a TBAY denizen.  I can't 
theorize.  It must have been either you or Miss Erin."

Abigail looks pensive.  "It wasn't me, was it?"  She asks.  "I didn't say 
anything..."

"In my experience, ma'am."  The long-suffering deck hand answers.  
"When you Rock the Boat, there's a lot more then just spilled tea to cry 
over."

"True enough."  Abigail replies.  "It must have been Erin, then."  From one 
of her many pockets, she procures a spyglass, through which she 
examines the shore.  "And do you know what?  That wave came from the 
direction of the Royal George Tavern.  There's no telling what amount of 
damage Erin could do there unsupervised."  Abigail snaps the spyglass 
shut with a satisfying 'thunk' and squares her shoulders.

"Mr... sailor, set course for the shore!"

------------------------------

The Royal George is doing a brisk breakfast business when Abigail 
shows up, wearing a tea-stained nightdress, rubber boots, and her 
many-pocketed overcoat.  She finds herself a stool by the bar and flags 
George down, ordering some eggs and a fresh cup of tea.  He brings 
her her food, and then leans against the bar as they watch Erin holding 
forth to a growing group of theorists, some of them old TBAY hands 
and a few green newcomers.

"What's the story then, George?"  Abigail asks between mouthfulls of 
scrambled eggs.

"That girl"  George answers testily, "Had me up half the night gallivanting 
in the forest."  He stops at the conspiratorial twinkle in Abigail's eye.  
"Not like that!  She spent the entire time on characterization!  Do you 
know what she's selling over there?  ESE!Bill, that's what."

"Hmmm."  Abigail answers, intrigued.  She picks up her food and tea, 
and moves closer to where Erin is sitting.  "What's this about Bill then, 
Erin?"

"Oh, hello, Abigail!"  Erin answers brightly.  "Isn't it exciting?  There've 
been some quite positive reactions so far.  Do you want to hear about 
it?"  Without waiting for a reply, she launches into a rather exhaustive 
explanation.  Abigail listens to the first two parts silently as she eats, 
but before Erin gets the chance to offer her concluding chapter, she 
interrupts.

"In general, I like the idea of the modern betrayer being a contemporary 
of Harry (relatively speaking), rather then a contemporary of his parents.  
For one thing, if there has to be a spy or a betrayer - and I'm in no means 
convinced that there is - then the selection of adult figures who might fit 
the job is rather disappointing.  Sure, Evil!McGonagall has its moments, 
and people have a lot of fun taking Evil!Lupin out for a ride, but none of 
them really...  Well, none of them really Bang.  Harry being betrayed by 
someone closer to his own age is a bit more interesting, and the choice 
of Bill is quite appropriate.  Bill is almost unquestioningly trusted due to 
his relationship to Ron, and Ron's obvious admiration of him.  On the 
other hand, he's not so far in Harry's inner circle that a betrayal by him 
would be seen as completely out of character, such as Evil!Hermione or 
Evil!Neville.  Plus, unlike Harry's exact contemporaries, Bill has had some 
time out of school in which to actually see the world and be corrupted.  
ESE!Bill doesn't require the betrayer to have been evil since pre-school age."

"However, I have to question some of your canon.  I think you may be 
casting too wide a net.  For example, take your analysis of Bill's clothes."

"That's right."  Erin replies, getting comfortable in her seat.  "Bill dresses 
like a disaffected teenager.  What kind of behavior is this for a man 
already in his twenties, with a respectable job?  No wonder Molly is always 
on his case to cut his hair."

Abigail frowns.  "Bill works for a bank, but he isn't a banker.  He's a 
curse-breaker.  He doesn't work out of an office, meeting with clients, but 
in the dusty Egyptian desert.  His job includes venturing into dangerous 
places. sealed against all who might encroach, seeking treasure."  Abigail 
turns to Erin with a smirk.  "Don't you see, Erin?  Bill is Indiana Jones."

Erin, who was taking a sip of her drink, begins to cough it up, and Abigail 
spends a few minutes slapping her back before she can resume talking.  
"Under these circumstances, it makes no sense for Bill to wear fancy 
clothes, or take too much trouble with his hair.  He does tend to overplay 
the 'cool' angle, but I suspect that's in the job description.  I imagine that 
people who work as curse-breakers have the same work dynamic and 
personality that we saw among the Aurors in OOP.  Harry describes them 
as an irreverent bunch, and if Tonks is any indication, being a bit punky 
won't disqualify you.  These are people who live on the edge, it only 
makes sense that their appearance and behavior would reflect that.  In 
fact,"  Abigail pauses.  "The only thing about Bill's work that strikes me 
as odd is the ease with which he was able to finagle a transfer to the 
London office.  I'd imagine that his qualifications are quite different from 
the ones required to work in an office all day."

"Okay, so maybe Bill doesn't go to work in a suit."  Erin concedes.  
"But why does he wear those kind of clothes to dinner with his family, 
especially when he knows they bug his mother?  He's just trying get a 
rise out of her.  And what's with the gratuitous swearing, anyway?  
None of the other kids say 'damn' in front of their mother."

At Erin's words, Abigail assumes a pained expression.  "Are you sure 
you want to do that, Erin?"  She asks, clearly hoping that the answer will 
be no.

"Do what?"  Erin replies quizzically.

"Walk into the Weasley Family Dynamics morass."  Abigail says, obviously 
hating the sound of the very words.  "Specifically, the unplottable depths 
of the Molly's Mothering Skills Swamp, now with extra quicksand!  Trust 
me, kid, you go down that road, there's no telling if you'll ever come back.  
Surely you've noticed that any discussion of Molly's relationship with her 
children inevitably gets bogged down in unresolveable differences of 
opinion regarding Molly.  It's the whole Mothering/Smothering debate.  
Don't do it."

"But I'm not talking about Molly here."  Erin insists.  "At least not yet.  
I'm talking about Bill intentionally dressing to upset her."

"Is he?"  Abigail's eyes are wide.  "Some people might see Molly's 
attempts to dress her twenty-something son, to *cut his hair*, for 
heaven's sake, as babying him.  They might conclude that Bill might 
indeed be dressing to annoy his mother, but that this is a reaction to 
her own behavior.  And then you've entered an infinite loop - Bill acts 
out because Molly stifles him because he acts out, and so on and so 
forth ad nauseum.  And the thing is, I don't even see that dynamic at 
play.  Bill's behavior at the dinner is completely calm.  He reacts to his 
mother's nagging with bemusement.  He is neither annoyed, nor is he 
actively trying to annoy.  I think that if Bill were truly oppressed by his 
mother's dress code, he'd either conform to it or make a big deal out 
of not conforming.  He does neither, and I think this behavior is 
supposed to tell us (and Molly) that he's a grown man, and this is how 
he dresses when he dresses casually.  He's not shoving it down his 
mother's throat, because he has no desire, like Percy and the Twins, to 
get into that vicious circle with her, and being an adult, he doesn't have 
to.  He's a grown up, and that's that."

But Erin is having none of it.  "Hang on, I'm not done with Molly yet."  
She says sternly.

Abigail sighs.  "I'm begging you here, kid."  

"Just one more thing!"  Erin cries enthusiastically.  "Haven't you ever 
wondered  why Molly always takes Percy as an example for the twins 
when she could impress them much more by taking Bill?  After all, he 
was  Head Boy too, and the Twins most certainly respect him a lot more 
than Percy."

"I don't believe that has anything to do with Bill, actually."  Abigail says, 
as she begins searching through her pockets.  "Tell me, have you visited 
The Stubby Boardman Modern Art Wing at the Canon Museum recently?"  
Finally, Abigail finds what she was looking for.  She hands Erin a slightly 
grubby, much folded and refolded, formerly glossy brochure announcing 
an art exhibit.

"The Next Generaional Parellels."  Erin reads.  "I heard about this.  What 
does it have to do with Bill?"

"Look at the artist's notes in the back."  Abigail prods.  "The bit about 
Ron right there."

Erin screws up her eyes against the tiny letters, and reads out:

>>The Weasley children seem to fall into two camps.  The 
Charlie camp, which seems to include Fred, George and Ginny, 
is more rambunctious, less concerned with rules, more 
physical and has interests that lean towards the dangerous 
and irreverent.  The Bill camp, which includes Percy and Ron, 
tends to be more responsible.  They have positions of 
authority both in and out of Hogwarts, and tend to be more 
concerned about propriety.  (The two groups are also 
apparently divided by body types - Bill and his group are 
taller and thinner, whereas Charlie and his group are shorter 
and stockier.)>>

"Now, given your claim that Bill is Ever So Evil, we might as well retitle 
the two camps Molly and Arthur."  Abigail explains.  "Arthur is an 
intelligent, responsible man, but we all know that he's given to flights 
of whimsy, and is capable of being quite silly.  He thinks very little of 
appearances, and tends to have a more permissive outlook.  Molly, on 
the other hand, is quite concerned with propriety and the appearance 
of it, and seems more aware of financial concerns then her husband (but 
then, that may be more a function of her role in the home).  Each of the 
Weasley children show characteristics of both their parents, but to 
differing degrees.  Fred and George, for example, are super-Arthur, with 
very little Molly.  Ron, Ginny, Bill and Charlie are a rather even mix, each 
leaning a little bit towards one of their parents.  Of all the children, Percy 
is the only one who favors Molly completely - in fact, like the twins with 
their father, we might call him super-Molly."

Abigail takes back the brochure, folds it, and stows it in one of her 
pockets.  "Now, I know a parent is never supposed to play favorites. but 
can Molly be blamed for wanting to advance the one child that she truly 
sees herself in?  For wanting her other children to emulate that example?  
I'm not saying that she's consciously trying to change her kids, but she 
does feel that Percy has it right (at least until OOP), and she'd like to see 
them along the same path."

Abigail accepts another cup of tea from George.  "Not to mention that, 
being the only child who favors his mother completely, Percy is a bit of 
an outsider among the Weasley kids.  Molly sees this.  She knows that 
Bill doesn't need her help to be liked by his siblings, and she's trying, 
in her own rather hapless way, to place Percy in the same position.  
She's the mother who thinks that the cool kids are the A-students (and, 
given her older sons, who were A-students on top of being cool, it's not 
surprising that she'd believe this)."

"Well, what about the Goblins?"  Erin demands.  "Bill seems very tight with 
them, and we don't even know which side they're going to choose in the 
coming war.  They sound like dark creatures to me.  Probably a prime 
conduit for DE-dom."

"You think so?"  Abigail inquires.  "Because I got quite the opposite 
impression from OOP.  In GoF, we're introduced to Goblins strictly as 
money-grubbing, dangerous fiends.  We don't condone Ludo Bagman's 
actions in gambling with them, but we also don't feel that they deserve 
his money.  In OOP, we have a rude awakening.  Bill informs us that the 
MoM isn't hurrying to help the Goblins reacquire their lost funds, and 
suddenly we realize that these people have been swindled.  Bill is in fact 
the only person seeing the Goblins as people with rights.  If you gambled 
with someone and won, wouldn't you feel hard done-by if they just did a 
runner and left you holding an empty bag?  We hear from both Bill and 
Lupin that Goblins are mistreated in Wizarding World, just like 
house-elves and centaurs, looked down upon as a lesser species.  I don't 
think Bill's closeness with them is meant to have negative connotations.  
On the contrary, I think it's meant to shock us out of our predetermined 
perceptions, making us see the Goblins as good guys, deserving our 
support."

Erin looks exasperated  "Tell me, are you sure you actually like this theory?  
All you've done since coming here is tear down my canons."

Abigail looks hurt.  "Not all of them.  Only the ones that didn't make any 
sense.  Come on, let's hear another one.  I bet I'll like it."

"Alright, let's see what you think about this one."  Erin's eyes glow.  "Now, 
there's the scene after Voldemort's return at the end of GoF.  I think it more 
then a little suspicious that Bill is so eager to leave.  Dumbledore was 
saying that a 'message' would be sufficient, presumably sent by owl post, 
yet Bill seemed to feel Arthur *had* to be informed... in... person?"  Buoyed 
by her conviction in her theory, Erin had momentarily forgotten whom she 
was speaking to.  Now she falls silent as Abigail flushes and her eyes begin 
to glow.

"J'accuse!"  She cries, knocking her teacup over in her excitement and 
spilling it all over herself and Erin.  "J'accuse, ma petite fille!  You Rocked 
the Boat!  Not once, but twice now!  You're stealing Imperius!Arthur canon 
in order to build your new ESE!Bill!"

Erin cowers.  "I didn't think anyone would notice!  It's only a little canon, 
who's it hurting anyway?  Plus, there just has to be more to it then 
Elkins' claim that Bill wants to spare his father the pain of finding out 
about Voldemort's returns through a letter.  Look, only a few minutes 
later he cuts Dumbledore off mid-speech."

"I've often wished I could do that myself."  Abigail remarks.

Erin frowns, is it possible that Abigail is Ever So Evil?  "Be that as it may."  
She continues after a moment.  "I think Bill delivered the message to his 
father, and then went straight to one of those Death Eaters that Harry 
Potter had just so obligingly named a few minutes ago, and said 'I want 
to sign up.'"

"Alright, so the two theories can coexist."  Abigail concedes.  "In fact, I 
think ESE!Bill is strengthened by making it dependent on Imperius!Arthur.  
Bill's father, a man he's supposed to admire, was felled by Voldemort, 
made to act against his own will.  Maybe Bill figures a good way to 
prevent that sort of thing from happening to him is to ensure that he 
wants to do the things that his father was coerced into doing."

"Plus,"  Erin continues excitedly.  "This might be the solution to the 
mystery of Percy's behavior all through OOP.  Just picture it: Bill runs 
straight to Percy and says 'Harry's gone mad and killed Cedric Diggory.  
And Dumbledore and Mum have fallen for every word of his crazy 
story.  They actually believe Lord Voldemort has returned, and Dad and 
Mum are going to join this nutty Order thing of Dumbledore's'"

"And then Bill goes and joins the nutty Order thing himself, and Percy 
doesn't find that odd?"  Abigail raises an eyebrow.  "Sorry, but Percy 
isn't that stupid.  Even if he doesn't know about the Order's existence, 
he knows that Bill has suddenly relocated to England, and he can put 
two and two together.  No, I like the idea that Bill poisoned Percy's mind 
against their parents, but I think it was a little more subtle then what 
you're suggesting."

"Back when she first suggested Imperius!Arthur, Elkins was insistent 
that the older children - Bill and Charlie - knew.  After all, they had 
simply been too old to have been kept in the dark.  Even if they weren't 
let in on the details, they would have been able to figure it out.  Likewise, 
the younger children - Ginny, Ron and the twins - were completely 
clueless.  Even back then, however, Elkins felt that Percy was the 
question mark.  In my recent adaptation of Imperius!Arthur to incorporate 
the new OOP canon, I suggested that the real reason that Percy had so 
thoroughly distanced himself from his family, the real catalyst for his 
loss of respect for his parents, was that someone revealed to him that 
his father had been an Imperius victim.  I suggested that it was this 
legacy that Percy had been struggling against, and that Fudge, in an 
attempt to win the boy over, revealed Arthur's dirty little secret."

Abigail's eyes twinkle as she continues.  "But isn't it so much more 
delicious if the revelation comes from Bill?  He needn't even have spelled 
it out.  He could have simply dropped enough hints that Percy would 
make the connection himself, and believe that he had discovered 
something on his own that his parents and older brothers had conspired 
to keep from him.  In this case, Percy would believe Bill to be on 
Dumbledore's side, while still being manipulated by him.  Neat, isn't it?"

"You,"  Erin says crossly, "Are trying to usurp my theory by folding it 
into yours.  Knock it off!  I don't need Bill to have revealed Arthur's 
Imperius past for him to subvert Percy's allegiances.  Percy was ripe for 
the picking all through GoF anyway."

"True."  Abigail nods.  "But with or without Imperius!Arthur, you're 
going to have to explain to me why Bill felt it necessary to poison 
Percy's mind against Dumbledore in the first place.  What great victory 
has he achieved for Voldemort's side?  Surely a young bureaucrat 
couldn't make a significant difference.  Percy's support doesn't make 
a difference when it comes to Fudge's policy of burying his head in 
the sand - that's Fudge and Umbridge's project."

Erin, taken aback, decides to ponder this question quietly.  Abigail 
orders another cup of tea from George, and spends a few minutes 
examining Erin's BB GUN.  It has a nice heft.

"Hey, Erin?"  She calls out finally.  "Where did you say you got this idea 
anyway?"

"Why, it was Errol and yourself who first put the idea in my head."  Erin 
replies.  "Remember last spring when you were both arguing over who 
would be the OOP death?"

"Don't remind me."  Abigail smiles.  "We were both so far off base.  I 
thought that Lupin was a goner, and Errol suggested Bill instead."

"That's right."  Erin nods.  "He wondered why Bill was given so much 
screen time in GoF, and concluded that it had to be because he was 
going to die in OOP."

Abigail grins.  "I knew there was reason I liked this theory.  Do you 
remember what my chief objection to Errol's suggestion was?"  Before 
Erin can answer, Abigail procures a dusty scroll and begins to read.

>>Killing off a Weasley brother moves the focus from Harry to Ron.  I 
don't care how much a member of the Weasley family Harry feels 
himself to be.  If Bill, whom he hardly knows, dies, the people most 
affected would be Ron and his family, and as we don't have direct 
emotional access to Ron, we wouldn't feel the full emotional impact of 
this death.  I might think differently if we were talking about a Weasley 
that we know, such as Molly or Arthur, or any of the younger children, 
but I can't imagine that Bill or Charlie's death, even if we get to know 
him better throughout OOP, will have a sever influence on Harry or on 
us.>>

"Errol disagreed with me at the time, but I think OOP bore me out."  
Abigail rolls up the dusty scroll.  "Short of actually being in the room, 
Harry couldn't possibly have been more involved in the attack on Arthur.  
And yet he describes himself and Sirius as 'intruding on the family grief' 
when waiting for news of Arthur's condition.  A wall comes up between 
the actual family members and the adopted son, and I believe this 
would be the case if Bill were to die.  However, a betrayal to Voldemort 
would almost have to be a betrayal of Harry, directly or indirectly.   
Harry would be intimately affected, deeply hurt, and possibly imperiled 
by any betrayal of a Weasley family member.  He wouldn't be at an 
emotional remove because at some level, it would all be about him.  
Plus, Ron's feelings won't be opaque to us as they would be in the case 
of a death, because those feelings would involve Harry.  You remember 
how personally Ron took the true identity of Scabbers in PoA.  Just 
imagine how he'll react if his brother turns out to be a traitor."

"How did we get to Ron?"  Erin asks.  "This isn't about him."

"Who is it about, then?"  Abigail replies.  "It certainly isn't about Bill, a 
minor character at most, and definitely not about Percy.  It's all about 
Harry, of course - to some extent, every plot thread that runs through 
the series come back  to Harry.  But Ron, unlike his older brothers, is 
important to Harry.  He's one of the most important people in his life, 
in fact.  Harry's other best friend, Hermione, has her own plot line - 
her struggles in an anti-muggle world, and her civil rights crusades.  
What's Ron's deal?"

"I've suggested several times that Bill and Percy are Ron's role models 
(in fact, Bill is clearly Percy's role model).  If ESE!Bill pans out, then Ron 
has been following the wrong brother.  To quote Jane Austen (although 
probably not accurately), one has all the goodness, and the other has 
all the appearance of it."

Erin objects.  "It's not that clear-cut.  Even if Percy was influenced by Bill, 
he's still made some bad decisions of his own.  Under ESE!Bill, neither 
brother is perfect."

"Then I guess it's up to Ron to take only the best from each of them, and 
surpass them both."  Abigail glances outside and notices the sun climbing 
in the sky.  "Goodness, look at the time.  Thanks for the talk, Erin.  I think 
I'm going to stay on shore for a while, see what else you have to say about 
ESE!Bill.  Let me know, won't you?"

Abigail

TBAY posts referenced in this post: 

ESE!Bill parts 1 and 2: 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/85610

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/85729

Imperius!Arthur:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/40168

Imperius!Arthur post-OOP:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/77654

Generational Parallels:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/78098

Bill is Ever So Dead (discussion with Errol):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/55224