TBAY: Romance on the Imperius!Arthur Trimaran (was: Bill and Fleur)

[abigailnus]

No: HPFGUIDX 80987

Having installed Erin, the newest crewmember on the trimaran, in her very 
own cabin, Abigail has now invited her to watch the sunset over drinks.  
They lounge about on deck chairs, enjoying some of Captain Veronica's 
finest Pina Coladas.  

"Those are some very interesting ideas you had about Bill and Fleur."  
Abigail says, accepting another tray of drinks from a passing deck hand.  "I 
especially like the comparison you drew between Bill's situation and 
someone with a family history of alcoholism.  It ties into something that 
Elkins wrote in one of her very first Imperius!Arthur posts."  Abigail claps 
her hands, and the deck hand straightens his shoulders, clasps his hands 
behind his back, and begins to recite in a clear, ringing voice from 
message #40168.

>>So is there any evidence in the text that Bill and/or Charlie are hip 
 to something about their father and his relationship to the past, 
 something that the younger children in the family do not know about?
 
 I think that there is. 
 
 At the end of _GoF,_ in Chapter 36, when Dumbledore announces his 
 intention of sending a letter to Arthur to enlist his help in 
 convincing other Ministry officials of the truth of Voldemort's 
 return, Bill immediately volunteers to go to him in person.
 
 "'I'll go to Dad,' said Bill, standing up. 'I'll go now.'"
 
 It's a fast response. It also has the feel of a preemptive strike. 
 Bill wants to convince Dumbledore not to send Arthur a letter at 
 all. "I'll go right this very second. It will be just as fast as 
 the post. Just please don't make my father learn this news from a 
 *letter.*"
 
 It's touching, that, but it is also really very suggestive. Why 
 precisely *is* Bill so concerned about Arthur's feelings when it 
 comes to this topic?
 
 I think that Arthur was an Imperius victim, and that Bill knows it.>>

"So you see, the idea that Bill knows about his predilection to mind-control 
magic has been suggested before, and I like your suggestion that Bill 
chooses to ignore Fleur because of that awareness."  Abigail puts down her 
glass and dismisses the deck hand.  "But I have to admit, I find the notion a 
little... icky."

"Icky?"  Erin repeats, confused.  "Why?"

"Well,"  Abigail settles more comfortably into her deckchair.  "If we follow 
your alcoholism analogy to its logical conclusion, then Bill has succumbed 
to the family curse.  You even suggested that he is now addicted to Fleur.  
Rather then the innocent romance suggested by the beginning of OOP, when 
Fred and George give the absent Bill a friendly ribbing, there is something 
much more sinister going on."

"Wait a minute!"  Erin objects.  "We covered this already.  Fleur isn't evil.  
She's used to men being capable of resisting her when they truly want to, so 
it may not occur to her that  Bill doesn't have the option of saying no.  And 
also, I don't think at this point that Fleur is harming Bill in any way.  She may 
not be something that he would have chosen if left to his own devices, but 
that doesn't mean she's bad for him.  She probably has genuine feelings for 
him."  

Abigail gives Erin a stern look.  "The fact the Fleur's intentions may be good, 
or that she is unaware of her power, doesn't make stealing Bill's free will 
excusable, nor does the fact that she has genuine feelings for him.  You said 
it yourself - Bill Weasley, when unaffected by Fleur's magic, chooses not to 
respond to  Fleur."  Abigail thumps the small table beside her for emphasis, 
causing drinks to go flying.  "He *chooses* it.  There's nothing romantic about 
their relationship if Bill's own choice in the matter has been overridden."

"Am I going to have to clean that Pina Colada?"  Erin asks forlornly.

Abigail smiles indulgently, and claps her hands again.  The deck hand 
reappears, wearing a long-suffering expression, and begins expertly 
swabbing the deck.  "He's had a lot of experience."  Abigail explains.  "Why, 
in the old days, you could barely hold on to your drink, the trimaran was 
listing so often.  Anyway, back to Bill and Fleur.  There's something else that's 
bothering me about this suggestion.  Where's Arthur in all this?"

"Arthur?"  Erin asks.  "What does this have to do with him?"

"Arthur has famously refused to look at Veelas head-on."  Abigail explains.  
"At the QWC, he removes his glasses as soon as he recognizes them, 
ostensibly to clean them, but Elkins suggests that his purpose was to avoid 
the Veelas' mind-control.  Now Arthur's oldest son is involved with a 
part-Veela - wouldn't you expect a strong reaction from Arthur?  He knows 
that Veelas use mind-control.  If he is an Imperius victim, he's connected 
Veela magic to Imperius magic and surmised that the two operate on him in 
the same way.  Since Ron and the Twins know about Bill's new relationship, I 
find it hard to believe that Bill's parents wouldn't - Molly in particular strikes 
me as the kind of mother who would consider it her duty to wheedle out such 
information."

"Arthur may not know that Fleur is part-Veela."  Erin points out.

"True, but Ron does know it."  Abigail says.  "And more importantly, he 
assumed as much the very first time he saw her.  Was it because of Fleur's 
beauty?  Perhaps, but Hermione's reaction to Ron's awe suggests that the 
matter may not be clear-cut.  I suspect that Ron felt drawn to Fleur in the 
same way that he was drawn to the Veelas in the QWC.  If Arthur and Molly 
had met Fleur, he may have deduced her lineage even if Ron hadn't 
enlightened him.  And if Arthur finds out, I can't imagine him letting the 
matter go."

"That's not necessarily a strike against my suggestion."  Erin says.  "There's 
precious little of Bill in OOP - in fact, the most important thing we learn about 
him is that is dating Fleur.  Perhaps Arthur hasn't yet discovered the entire 
truth about Fleur, and when he does, in book 6, all hell will break loose."

"As the battle for Bill's soul begins."  Abigail muses, still not entirely convinced.  
"It's true that the older Weasley boys got very little exposure in OOP - 
surprisingly so, in fact, when you consider the massive changes that took place 
in the lives of the younger children.  Each of the five younger Weasleys spent 
OOP coming out from under some sort of subjugation.  For Percy it was the 
perceived shadow of his father's reputation and political opinions, and in a 
physical sense, his last strings of dependance were cut as he left home.  The twins 
chose to leave the structured environment of school, first by escalating their 
pranks, and then by leaving entirely, and repudiated their mother's chosen 
profession for them by finally opening their joke shop.  Ron got out from under 
the twins' thumb and Harry's shadow, and became both a Prefect and the 
Gryffindor Keeper.  Ginny finally overcame her crippling crush on Harry, freeing 
herself to pursue other romantic relationships, join the Quidditch team, and 
become a valued member of Harry's circle.  Maybe book 6 will be Bill's turn to 
come out from under someone's thumb."

Abigail takes a sip from her Pina Colada and swills it in her mouth.  "You do 
know what this means, though, don't you?"  She says.  "Fleur is inescapably cast 
in the role of a villain, no matter how unwitting.  And in fact, I'm not sure that 
she is unwitting.  Doesn't it strike you as rather a large coincidence that Fleur 
just happened to end up working in the same place as Bill?  When she last saw 
him, Fleur was about to return to France and Bill was working in Egypt.  That she 
managed to get wind of his transfer and to get herself a job in the same place is 
either a massive stroke of luck or the result of serious planning."

"So you think Fleur is a bad guy?"  Erin asks.

"It seems like the inescapable conclusion of your theory."  Abigail says with a 
sigh.  "Which is sad, because I never got a sinister vibe from Fleur.  Oh, she was 
spoiled and vain, but not ultimately a bad person.  Still, I seem to have a bit of 
a blind spot when it comes to her - I never would have guessed that she'd make 
an appearance in OOP, or that she'd strike up a relationship with Bill."

"I still don't think Fleur is necessarily a bad person."  Erin insists.  "Why can't she 
just be infatuated with a guy?  For all we know, Bill might like Fleur as a person.  
He could have tried to stay out of her way because he saw that she was 
part-Veela, but he didn't know her then.  He might be truly happy with her."

"So was Roger Davies."  Abigail says calmly.  "Your remember Roger, right?  He 
took Fleur to the Yule Ball, and looked as though he couldn't believe his luck.  But 
when Harry overhears them talking over dinner, he repeats everything she says 
with a stupid expression and dribbles food over himself."  Abigail raises an eyebrow.   
"Is that what you want for Bill?"

Abigail