eldest.

” And there you were. Right among them. Looking like you knew exactly what was going on, looking like nothing was a surprise to you.. “      ——-      MEME      |      @lionfirst​​

HE’D FIND IT ODD ,       how quickly he had fallen into comfort around the other’s presence      ——-      that is, of course, had Bill not been a Weasley.

(    Like the way Missus Weasley had smoothed a hand over a feverish forehead, telling him to sleep more, telling him she’d be there when he awoke. Like Padfoot curled at his feet, warm and eyes alert for the next round of interrogations. Bill was there too, hand to his shoulder, encouragement for someone he barely knew.    )

——-      Harry’s body is still trembling, as though he is still in the cemetery. But he’s not alone anymore. And being that he isn’t answering to himself, he allows a short shrug to tell a story he can’t quite make sense of.

“      Honestly? Spend enough time as me and nothing surprises you anymore.      ”

       ‘  well,  i  can  promise  you  this,   harry ,  ’    bill  begins  with  a  small  smile.    ‘  as  long  as  your  life  is   consistently shit,     i  will  always  be  here  to  supply  little  boosts  of  wholesome unpredictability .   ’    his  comments  are  jovial,   but  the  way  bill  decides  to  deliver  them  is  riddled  with  genuine  tenderness    ;    his  voice  soft  and  low .      he  had  a  feeling  the  last  thing  harry  needed  was  another  string  of  words  oversaturated  with   sympathy .     ‘  can’t  have  you  sittin’  there  thinking  it’s  all  dull  and  gloom,   eh?   ’     he  continues,   before  gently  nudging  him  with  his  elbow .     the  eldest  weasley  knew  nothing  he  could  say  or  do  would  relieve  any  of  the  other’s  traumas,    but  what  he  did  know  was  that  this  boy,   as  broken  and  as  abused  as  he  was,   needed  frequent  reminders  that  he  wasn’t  alone.

   bill’s job entails identifying dark magic in ancient artefacts and retaining enough knowledge about counter curses to gauge how to reverse it.   breaking curses is a long and high risk process and unless the artefact is fairly small,  it is rarely done as a solitary task .   someone may initiate the breaking process but will be closely observed by a secondary .   when the primary requires a break, they will hand over the task to their secondary and swap places .  this is not only to ensure the task receives a consistent level of concentration, but many curses are built in such a way that it demands several different highly skilled people to hack at it.

the position does not require any specific uniform or badges. the goblins don’t care what you look like as long as you do your job well and don’t get killed in the process. however, it’s wise to take into account the climate you will be working in as well as the different cultures you will be spending long periods of time in. being respectful to the locals is just as important to the job as feeling comfortable. bill has worked in ireland  (  brú na bóinne  ),  scotland  (  orkney isles, callanis  ),  france  (  toulouse, brittany, normandy  ),  italy  (  rome, venice  ),  greece  (  athens, ephesus  ),  mexico (  yucatan peninsula  )  and finally egypt  (  giza  ).

in terms of what point the curse-breaking position serves, it removes danger from highly populated areas as well as recovering previously owned goblin treasures that had been taken from them across the centuries. curse-breaking does not, and i repeat, remove artefacts from the culture it belongs originally belongs to. the gold and treasure bill and his coworkers take belong to the goblins only.

when bill first joined at aged 19, he was assigned as the secondary but only remained in that position for a few months before he was considered skilled enough to commence the breaking .  to initiate you are required to not only know exactly which spell to start with, but you have to plan out the charms of the secondary and any other backups that may be there, as well as the protective enchantments in case it goes south.  one wrong move and you risk jeopardising the mission and the lives of those around you. it’s a job that requires immense concentration and stamina to complete .   it is not for the faint hearted .

qualified medics are not allowed on site especially if it is a high risk mission, so as a curse-breaker you have to be trained in basic first aid in case of any accident. this means that bill is not only skilled in anti-dark arts magic, but in basic emergency healing charms too. 

used a timeturner to attend all his classes in third year

decided on his career at aged 14 and worked damn hard to get there

was considered one of the most gifted wizards of his age by multiple professors

in his early 20s, offered up evening tuition for hogwarts students in defence against the dark arts between shifts at gringotts 

helped routinely reinforce the protective charms surrounding the school