Take These Broken Wings and Learn to Fly

“I’m sure you’ll find everything here to your liking, or at least I hope you will. It’s a small team here, but just enough to get the job done. Ahh, there it is, Miss. Naughton,” Simon stated as pointed ahead to the campsite. Simon was the head archaeologist and expedition leader at the Gringotts site in Egypt.

I was fresh out of school, with bright eyes and my mind on seeing the world. I wanted everything. I wanted to fall in love. I wanted to travel everywhere. I wanted endless friends and a world of opportunity. I was so confident after gaining my job at Gringotts. I graduated at the top of my class; on the fast track with no brakes to hold me back.

Simon had generously shown me around the apartment complex where the team was staying and let me put my things in my own apartment. I was excited to meet my team mates, seeing as though Simon was young himself, probably only 35, and the others were said to be young as well. The weather was getting increasingly warmer as we walked; it was something I’d have to get used to. The sand was blowing around, creating a thin dust. Those two combined made it hard for me to make out the site in the first place, but once the wind died down, I saw him.

I couldn’t tell you my first thought when I saw him, but I’m pretty sure it was along the lines of: “Oh, hot damn.” Or “Who are you? McJagger?” or “Let me love you.” In all honesty, he was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen. Given, I was 18 when I met him, and my teenage girl hormones were getting the best of me.

Simon gave a reassuring smile as we approached the group, who seemed to be gathered eating lunch. The group was seated in a circle under the shade outside a large tent. As we walked up to them, they were all laughing hysterically at something said before. They were all guys. The boy I was eyeing was sitting atop a large crate, eating a sandwich and joking with the man next to him as Simon cleared his throat to let it be known we were there.

The group settled down as all eyes shifted toward us. One guy blew a low whistle our way, eyeing me up and down as another guy to his left laughed, hitting his friend in the arm. I raised my eyebrow and crossed my arms at the demeaning gesture.

“Everybody, I told you already that we’d have a new addition to the team. This here is Liana. She’ll be joining Bill and Damien at the northern tombs,” Simon stated, placing a hand on my shoulder.

It was pretty silent, the only sound being the wind against my ears. The red-head that I had seen before put his sandwich down next to him and gave me a face that I couldn’t read. He was judging me, I could see it in his eyes. He then opened his mouth to speak. “Simon, you didn’t say we’d be getting a girl. Are you sure she can handle this?” he asked, almost as a punch to my stomach.

“I don’t know, carrot top. Seems like you already know you can’t handle me since you’re asking,” I threw back at him before Simon could answer. He looked taken aback, as the guys in the group relayed with ‘ooohs’ and ‘fiesty.’

“Well, looks like you and Bill will get along just fine…” Simon muttered under his breath as he walked into the tent behind us. I shifted awkwardly as the guys didn’t say anything. Bill seemed to be the red head that I’d been eyeing before. He was wearing black jeans with a fake denim button up and black boots. He looked like a freaking rock star and I was a groupie that wanted to follow him around like a lost puppy.

Simon came out of the tent moments later and turned to the group. “Well, then, you’ve had an hour to eat. Let’s get back to work, yes?”

The boys packed up their lunches and started heading off to their work fields. Simon gave me a pat on the back before walking off himself. Bill and Damian shared a look before heading in the opposite direction. I stood there, almost angrily, as the two didn’t even take notice to me. A few steps later, Bill looked over his shoulder and called out, “You coming, blondie?”

---

“So, who gave you the job? Last I checked, this wasn’t an easy job to get,” Bill said as he led me into the tombs.

“Turns out, you just have to be easy to get it,” I said. I was going to mess with his head, whether he liked it or not. He was being pretty rude to me.

Bill stopped dead in his tracks and gave me a look, eyeing my smug, little grin. “You’re kidding…”

“I am,” I replied curtly as I walked ahead of him, looking over my shoulder. Bill was checking me out, and I knew it. I turned my head forward and kept walking down the narrow passage.

“How old are you?” he asked as he caught up with me.

“Eighteen, and yourself?”

“Twenty. Where did you go to school? You’re definitely not from Hogwarts, or I’d have noticed you,” he said with a wink.

“Down, boy. Beauxbaton, actually…or I’d have noticed you as well,” I replied with a wink, mocking him. He grinned and cleared his throat a bit.

“You don’t sound French, though.”

“I’m not. I grew up in London with my parents until they died in a car accident. I was sent to live with my aunt in France and then she decided to send me to Beauxbaton.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your parents,” Bill said quietly. I shifted my eyes to look at him for a split second and then averted my eyes forward again.

“Yeah, well, shit happens,” I replied. Bill was staring at me me, like he knew I wasn’t okay. I could see him judging me out of the corner of my eye. But he didn’t press the matter, which I was thankful for. I don’t usually tell people about my parents, and I most definitely wasn’t about to tell someone I just met. It was quiet for a bit as the two of us came to an opening in the tomb. I turned to the right and admired the ancient hieroglyphics on the walls, taking in every bit of culture I could. I took the liberty to hum one of my favorite songs: Blackbird, by the Beatles. I’d been mildly obsessed with their music for a while and couldn’t get the tune out of my head.

Bill chuckled from the other side of the clearing as the sound of my song echoed in the tomb. I smiled lightly back at him, our eyes locking in the process. His chuckle became one of the most comforting sounds I’d ever want to hear. “You know, you’re not as half bad as I thought you’d be. You’re a tough girl, funny, and you listen to the Beatles. It’s kind of hard to hate you now, I suppose…” he stated with a grin. I giggled and walked back over to where he was. “So, I guess I’ll formally introduce myself. I’m Bill Weasley, pleasure to meet you Miss Liana-“

“Naughton,” I replied as I shook his hand. He smirked. “What?” I asked.

“You’re last name. Sounds like ‘naughty.’” He slipped his hand out of mine and I rolled my eyes.
“How mature of you to notice,” I replied before shoving his shoulder away from me, giving him a swift grin in the process. He smiled back before we continued deeper into the tomb. I knew at that moment that I wanted him in my life, for good.