Author's Note: This takes place shortly after my other one-shot, My Love Is LikeA Red, Red Rose. This has minor HBP spoilers.

Always and Always

Bill stretched luxuriously as he finally opened his eyes that Thursday morning. Fleur was still sleeping beside him, her breathing deep and easy. He watched her for a few minutes, a small smile barely curving his lips. She looked so innocent when she slept. He pushed her hair out of her face and dropped a light kiss on her earlobe. Not wishing to wake her, he slipped quietly out of bed and pulled on his jeans and favorite navy flannel shirt and threw his cloak on over it. Fleur woke as he was tying back his hair.

"What are you doing?" she said sleepily. "Eet ees only ten."

"I'm going to talk to Mum like I promised, remember?"

"Ah, oui. Mais, non--I mean..." Fleur shook her head, looking for all the world like she was trying to shake the French out of it. "Come back to bed with me. It ees cold."

"Well, maybe you need to get dressed, sleepyhead," Bill teased, hooking his earring in.

Fleur pouted.

Bill did an exaggerated imitation of her, sticking his lip out so far that it curled back and touched his chin. He saw a hint of a smile, but Fleur whipped around so that only her back faced him. "I am angry wiz you."

"Well, I can't have that," Bill said, striding over to his bed and pulling her into his arms.

"Zat was nice," Fleur said, smiling, a little while later.

"Nice? That's it? Now I have to get cleaned up and redressed and make myself presentable again, and all you can say is that was nice?" Bill pretended to be offended.

"Very nice." Fleur pushed a strand of hair behind his ear and kissed his nose.

"That's better." Bill kissed her soundly. "Now I really need to go. If I wait much longer, Mum'll be all distracted with making lunch."

"Okay." Fleur stretched and Bill kissed her one last time before heading off to get a quick shower. Fleur got up and found her robes from the previous evening piled unceremoniously in the corner. Smiling to herself, she hummed a little tune as she got dressed.

As she straightened her engagement ring on her finger, she grinned outright. It was still pretty unbelievable to her that she was getting married, and to Bill. Bill. Fleur knew she was beautiful, but it still surprised her that he had looked below the surface and still liked her. Loved her, even. And he was not so bad-looking himself.

Somehow, though, his looks mattered the least to her. It had always been important to her, the appearances and looks. But now... Fleur didn't know exactly when it had happened, this feeling. This love. Sometime when Bill had asked her favorite ice cream flavor, or maybe when he talked to her, instead of at her. Maybe when she saw him looking at her, and she realized he wasn't looking at her hair, or her body, but her hands. When he looked into her eyes, she knew he was looking at her soul. Not her long eyelashes, not her deep blue irises. Yes, maybe it was then.

But she was distracted from this line of thinking as Bill exited his bathrooom. "I love you," she said suddenly.

Bill looked at her curiously. "I love you, too."

She turned back to the mirror and busily brushed her hair. "I just thought zat you should know."

"Well, I love you, too," he repeated, this time with a warm smile. They locked eyes in the mirror. "Always."

"Always?"

"Always," he confirmed.

She smiled and continued to brush her hair, while he walked into his small living room. He threw the Floo powder into his fireplace, stepped in, and shouted "The Burrow!" before disappearing in the flames.

It wasn't so much that Molly disliked Fleur... well, maybe she did. The girl had no sense of propriety, she spoke without thought, and she went out of her way to make Molly feel out of touch. So what if she didn't knit her a sweater?

Molly swept at a bit of snow on the walkway with a bit of extra vengeance. After all, Molly continued silently, if that girl is going to be rude and ungracious to her almost family-in-law, why should I spend that much time on a sweater for someone who wouldn't even appreciate it? She would have just sniffed in that... that French way and probably have thrown it out the first chance she got. Molly swept particularly violently at the snow piled on the back step. I can't believe he's marrying her. Cannot believe it. She must be using her charms on him. Veela!

"Mum?" Bill's voice rang out.

Molly wiped her hands on her apron and stood the broom against the side of the house. "In the garden!"

"Oh, hullo." Bill strode out confidently. "Oh, wait, um... what was my favorite toy when I was six?"

Molly smiled. "The king on your grandfather's chess set." Molly's smile fell slightly. "Are you going to make me ask a silly question?"

"Nah," he grinned. "I know it's you."

"Your father delights in this, you know," Molly said, rolling her eyes. "I'll make us some hot chocolate, you just sit down at the table. Is Fleur here?" she asked casually.

"Nope," Bill replied.

Molly perked up considerably. Bill twisted his lip a little, somewhat annoyed. Fleur was going to be his wife, after all.

Molly sat two mugs of hot chocolate down on the table, one in front of Bill, and the other on the other side of the table. They sipped their hot chocolate in easy silence for a few minutes, and chatted about Christmas yesterday, before Molly, even more casually than before, asked

"So how are things, dear? Everything going all right, with the, er, wedding?"

"Well, that's actually what I was coming round about," Bill began, stirring his hot chocolate determinedly.

"Yes?"

"I want to talk to you about how you're treating Fleur."

Molly stiffened slightly.

Bill's ears turned slightly pink, though he continued steadily. "She's my fianceé, Mum. And I do love her, and I would appreciate it if my mother could at least be civil to her."

Molly tightened her lips. "It would help, son, if she would also be civil to us."

He sighed. "I've already talked to her about it, Mum. She agreed to try harder. Could you please do the same?" He looked her straight in the eye. "I'm not... whatever you think, I'm not under some sort of spell. It's been two years, Mum. I think you would know by now whether or not I was."

"Bill, I've never said any such thing," Molly replied indignantly.

Bill merely raised an eyebrow. "I'm a cursebreaker, Mother. I know how avoid that kind of thing. And I do know what Veela charms can do to people and how they look."

"I know!" Molly burst. "I know. I just... Bill, I do know."

"Then you also know that I am in love with her," Bill said gently.

"Yes. Yes, I know that you're in love with her." Molly stood up and went to the window and looked at the snow. She sighed deeply.

"Mum." Bill stood as well, and gave her a hug. Molly held onto him, closing her eyes and wishing he was just a little boy again. She didn't like to admit it, not even to Arthur, but she did miss having little boys running around her house, playing with the clock, and accidentally breaking things and running to her, crying, with scraped knees, knowing she would heal it up right away. She missed her boys dependence on her. Ginny still depended on her, to some degree, but they were nearly all grown up.

Bill vaguely understood this. He never could've put it into words or coherent thought, but he understood.

Molly let go of him and sniffed loudly. "I wish you'd cut your hair."

"No, Mum," Bill answered automatically. He paused. "Look. Are we... do you still want me and Fleur to come over Sunday for dinner?"

"Of course, of course," Molly replied. "I'll... I'll try harder, Bill. I will. For your sake, anyway."

"That's all I want," Bill replied, sighing inwardly. "I'm going to get back to the flat. Fleur'll be waiting."

Bill had carefully avoided telling his mother that, though Fleur did have her own flat, they were practically living together. He knew Molly was going to deal with the wedding, but he wasn't sure that she'd put up with them living together beforehand, and he didn't want to test her limits, and especially not today.

"All right, dear." Bill gave his mum a quick kiss on the cheek and then walked outside and disapparated.

Fleur had gone shopping while Bill was gone, and when she'd returned, he was still gone. She sighed and put her new clothes in 'her' drawer of his chest of drawers. As she was carefully folding her new robes, she heard Bill's door open and her heart leaped.

"Fleur?" he called.

"In here!" she replied. She hurried tossed the last of her clothes into the drawer and stood as he entered the room. "'Ow did eet go?"

Bill twisted his mouth slightly in the corners. Fleur had begun to recognize that twist as a signal that he didn't know what to say. Her heart sank. "She doesn't want us to marry," she supplied quietly.

"No, no. That's not it. Mum said she'll try if you try. I just... Never mind. It's not important." Bill shook his head and smiled at her. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Always."

"Toujours."

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