Hewwo, my fellow readers(and writers). This is a sweet little fic about Bill W. and a OC who has a bit of a problem...It's got a bit of Angyst, but it's mostly just fluff. =] Fluff, fluff, fluff. Have fun!

Disclaimer: Aw, how I wish it all belonged to me. Sadly, it's my best-friend-for-life, J.K. Rowling! (Except Ivy is all from my head.)

A sweet smell of coffee and butterbeer in the air did nothing to attract the senses from the fact that the formerly bustling bar held but a few occupants this early in the morning. The rusted old watch that Bill had gotten from Mum 8 years ago had yet not struck 7:30 A.M., and the chilled fog crept among the streets, forcing residents to safely hide inside their houses. The hard soles of his boots clomped softly against the hardwood floors and he draped his cloak over a chair halfheartedly.

"One firewhis-"

Bill looked down at his hands and remembered his Mum's face as she gave him the scratched watch now slung around his right wrist and her warm, warm hug.

We picked it out special for our Billy. I hope you like it, dear.

"Actually, a sweet tea. Whole milk and cinnamon." he told Rosmerta, still looking like his Mum makes. God, he missed his family. The constant bickering made for a good headache, surely, but there was no place quite like the Burrow.

Rosmerta disappeared into the back with a slight puzzled look, blond curls swinging, and he heard dishes clanking. He took this opportunity to observe the pub. Two thugs sat in the front, talking in angry voices and slamming their fists. A person(man or woman?) lay slumped in a booth alone, covered in a thick veil to the floor. That was it. All Bill had to choose from to talk to was a pair of goons and a veiled lump. He had to talk to someone. Wait, no. There in the far far corner was a young woman with long hair sitting with a steaming cup of coffee, an array of books, and the side of her head pressed against the window looked approachable, Bill thought, a bit more cheerful. He took the sweet tea from Rosmerta, which was emitting a luscious smell, and stood up, the creak of his chair loud in such a quiet place.

Creeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaak.

And he had not a moment to prepare himself before striding across the pub with the long, confident footsteps that has replaced awkward clumsiness since he'd turned 16.

"Er...hey." It had been a good idea when he'd been across the room, fantasizing about sweet tea. Now he was awkward and uncomfortable. The girl looked up, with huge eyes. She furrowed her brow for a second and then replied.

"Um. Hello." A sweet, soft lilting voice with a slight tendency to say thees instead of this.

"Can I sit here? I mean, there's not much company here." Bill said slowly, rubbing the back of his neck, impatient. He'd always been impatient.

"Um, sure. It does get a bit lonely sometimes." She agreed, looking down for a second.

He studied her for a second, sipping his tea, and concluded to the fact that she was pretty. He supposed. Completely average. You know, like an ordinary British citi....

Oh sod it.

She was beautiful. Well, in a quirky, odd sort of way that made you look twice but not necessarily like what you were facing. Messy blue black tresses reflected the light and wove in and out with dark sable curls that dusted a delicate frame down to her lower back. She was almost too delicate, the way her pale thin wrists so lightly masked the sharp bone inside and the high contours of her face. Huge, dark blue gray eyes fleckled with silver gave the world an curious look and were framed by vastly long dark eyelashes, hidden under the framework of her hair. She wore a floorlength cloak. Her hair was worn freely and loose. She gave an embarrased little cough, and tucked a curl behind her earl self-conciously. Bill realized in a start that he'd been staring, and he smiled in an attempt to loosen the tense feeling.

"I'm Bill. And you are...."

"Ivy."

"So, tell me about yourself. Childhood to now. 12 years or so, right?"

Ivy laughed and pondered, thinking about her life.

"Well...I wahs born een St. Petersburg, Russia. I leeved there with my parents, because I wahs an only child.I moved here when I was 12 years oldh. Erm...I went to 'ogwarts here but I was moved a'ead sume years because in Russia they already taught me most of the majick. I absolutely adored Care of Magical Creatures. So I went to Hogwarts, had my fair share of crushes and adventures and new things. My best friend was named Natalie, and she was the most loyal friend ever. She looked like a pug dog, and just as loyal." A smile grew on her face. "Then I graduated, got my own flat, and here I am today. I work with animals. I 'ave had a boring life." Ivy frowned slightly. "Simpel, I guess, but boring." She looked up at Bill again, who was looking slightly intrigued.

"Your turn." She said quiet and soft, fiddling with the handle of her coffee cup.

Bill stared at her for a second, then broke into a grin.

"Has anyone ever told you that you look like Cleopatra?"

"Sorry?"

"You know, the Egyptian princess."

"Erm...Alright."

She kept her hands tucked within her lap and her head bent, her face receded in the confines of her hair.

"Yeah, well, my life has been very interesting so far, due to the fact that I have 5 brothers and 1 sister." This drew a little gasp from Ivy, who nodded in envy. "Wow, you're so lucky. I woodh do anything to 'ave seeblings." Bill smiled but shook his head. "Uh-uh. Never. They're nothing but trouble. But..well, I still love them. So anyways, I lived here all my life with my parents and siblings. I, er, went to Hogwarts. Um. When I was 11, and, er. Went to school, and, erm....." Bill trailed off, not able to ignore those melted gray eyes boring into his face. Ivy looked surprised. "Deed I do something wrong?"

"Oh, no, not at all." He shrugged it off with a little, nervous laugh. Just the fact that I can't talk when you're looking at me with those scary eyes....Snap out of it, Bill! Concentrate!

"As I was saying, I went to Hogwarts and got through school. My best friend was Nymphadora Tonks. Crazy witch with neon colored hair. You'll be blown away if you meet her. We did this one hilarious prank where...."

So they talked, the two strangers meeting in a empty pub on an early Tuesday morning. They went through endless cups of sweet tea and coffee, and they talked. They talked till Bill's tarnished watch sounded 10:00, and still as Bill leapt up shouting about being late to work, there was something there. The soft smile in his goodbye, the way Ivy held herself that day, all through the next week, and grinned to herself at the most random moments. The way that they looked at each other, the way that Bill knew he had laughed more than he had in a year. And to a person passing by the Three Broomsticks on that chilly morning, they would've looked like something special too.

Enjoy it? It's still a little rough, so I'd love your suggestions. Thanks, guys!

You can go to my profile for pics of Ivy/Cleopatra! Actually, my avatar is how I really imagined her.