Innocence
Challenge: Picked this up from the Harry Potter Fan Fiction Challenge: 100 Prompts
Idea: I've been wanting to write a Bill/Hermione for a while and actually have another that is in the works but is very slow going because I have yet another fiction that has taken over my life because of how addictive the prompt is.
Title Idea: Came from the fact that before Deathly Hallows, although they had fought and trained with Harry some, Hermione (and Ron) where still innocent in what darkness lay out there waiting for them.
Stare
After her parents memories had been erased and she had packed up the last of her belongings that she had decided to take with her, Hermione Granger had arrived at the Burrow and it looked like the entire Weasley clan had been anticipating her arrival.
Harry was the first to sweep her into a tight hug before Ron gave her a one-armed hug before as usual mumbling something about food which made his mother shoot him a scathing look.
"Hermione dear, why don't you have a cup of tea and go lay down until it's time for lunch?" the Weasley matron recommended, noticing just how mentally exhausted Hermione was. "I'll have one of the boys come wake you when it's time for lunch." She said, as the tea pot floated over to the table on her adoptive mothers command before pouring Hermione's tea just the way she liked it, a little bit of lemon, a small amount of milk and no sugar. That was something that only Harry had figured out in the entire time they had been friends.
"Thank you Mrs. Weasley. That sounds amazing." She said, wanting to escape the looks she was receiving from the entire Weasley clan. Everyone, including Charlie, had returned for Bill's wedding and most would be popping in and out all summer to help with the preparations for the wedding that would be the grandest wedding the Weasley's had seen in generations.
Ginny, Ron, Harry, Fred, George, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley where all looking at her like she was going to fall to pieces in front of them at any moment and she assumed the only reasons Bill and Charlie weren't was because they were not currently in the room.
Hermione drank her tea in relative silence as those around her carried on a dulled conversation to Hermione's hearing even as Mrs. Weasley kept a close eye on the young girl in front of her. As soon as her tea was finished Mrs. Weasley's loud and commanding voice carried throughout the small kitchen.
"Ginny dear, why won't you show Hermione to Bill's old room since Fleur is bunking with you and Bill is now staying at Shell Cottage?" the red-headed mother asked, but they all knew that any request from her was just a thinly veiled command so her youngest child and only daughter jumped to obey, not wanting to make her mother upset when she was so happy about her eldest boy getting married as he was already twenty seven years old.
Hermione followed Ginny to the very top of the Burrow before entering the only door that was on the floor right below the attic where the ghoul slept.
"As long as you cast a silencing charm the ghoul shouldn't bother you; it's what Bill did when he was home before starting at Gringots. If you need anything just let us know, you know you're like a sister to me Hermione."
Once Ginny had left her alone for the evening Hermione pulled her trunk out of her pocket before turning it back into its original size and then falling onto the bed fully clothed intending on sleeping away her distress and feelings of dishonor from erasing her parents memory.
She had made the choice look easy on the outside; but it was by far one of the hardest things the smartest witch of her age had ever had to do.
Hermione woke a few hours to the feeling that someone was staring at her. Sliding her hand to her wand, which was thankfully under the covers she came up wand first, pointing it at whoever had been stupid enough to attempt to sneak up on her, a curse on the tip of her tongue.
"Expelli…"
Her assailant was much quicker than her with their wand work , and silent, as her wand flew into his hands just as she recognized the mop of red hair that was now holding her wand.
"Bill!" she said, attempting to catch her breathe from the fright of him showing up in the middle of the night. "Your mum said that you were staying at Shell Cottage…" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the fact he still held her wand.
"I am. I just had to come get a few things." He said, placing her wand back in her hand with his self-satisfied smirk as he heard her heartbeat pick up for another reason all together as she finally got a good look at the eldest Weasley since the Battle of Hogwarts.
The left side of his face was still raw from where Greyback had attacked him, and like all things done by dark creatures or dark magic, it was only repairable to only a fraction of what it was beforehand. When she realized that she had been staring she looked away, blushing slightly as it was his turn to raise an eyebrow in her direction.
"Sorry. I'm just glad to see you weren't as badly hurt as we originally thought." She said, as her blush crept further up her neck until the smirk across his face broke out into a grin.
"Good to know. I've heard enough about you to know that you aren't one for vanity." He said, adding under his breathe "Thank Morgana," which to Hermione seemed quite a bit odd. No one in the Weasley family had mentioned it, after he had started healing up from the attack of course.
"Of course not!" she said, laughing, attempting to keep her voice down as to not have the entire Weasley clan up the stairs as well as Bill's fiancé. "That's just shallow and vain. I can't stand people that stare because of something that's not their standard of 'normal'." She said, shaking her head at the image that train of thought had produced in her head.
"You are one interesting witch Miss Hermione Granger. I think I may have to get to know you and Harry better this summer." He said, staring into her eyes to make sure he hadn't scared her off.
"If you like." Was her reply, not really expecting him to follow through with his offer, even as he never broke eye contact with the witch that was in front of him. "Weren't you here to get something and then leave?" she asked, once again raising a challenging eyebrow in his direction as he only stared her down even more.
"Right you are Miss Granger." He said, wandlessly summoning the clothing he had come to get, glad when it flew rapidly into his hands at his request; glad to see that his use of wandless magic had caught her attention although he wasn't sure why. "I believe I'll be seeing you at dinner once I'm off. Have a good day." He said before he disappeared from her sight leaving the smartest witch of her age very, very confused.
