Disclaimer: All characters and setting references to Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling.
The Last One There
As time passed since leaving Hogwarts and work obligations grew, Hermione spent less and less time at the Burrow. It was now rare for her to spend Sunday lunch with the Weasleys unless it was a special occasion; with nine Weasleys and their various accomplishments to celebrate, though, she thought of herself as somewhat of a regular and still felt welcomed. She even entered without feeling the need to knock. With Ginny's birthday was fast approaching, she knew it was almost time to trek the familiar path to the Burrow again.
Hermione wondered if it would seem strange to be around Bill, or Mr. Weasley as she had become accustomed to calling him. Since the night of his letter and that fabulous dessert, they spent much of the following week formally addressing one another in the presence of the goblins.
One aspect of their working relationship changed subtly that second week, though. It started as she gathered her cloak and brief case at the end of Monday's meeting. When she extended her hand across his desk to collect the file containing the Lawson family's inheritance papers, Bill purposely kept the file from her hand. Instead, he reached forward with his empty hand, quickly covering their grasped hands with the manila folder.
She was puzzled as neither had instigated a hand shake to end their previous meetings. But, this was different. Rather than moving their hands up and down as she anticipated, he slowly rotated them until his thumb rested atop her sideways hand. The gentle rub of his thumb was strangely intimate in the frigid atmosphere of Gringotts' Wizarding Bank. Almost as quickly as it had begun, Hermione found the Lawson file filling her now cold hand.
It had taken every bit of her willpower and silent chiding of herself to fight the blush that was threatening to overtake her cheeks. Until the other evening when she saw Bill having a night out with his friends, Hermione hadn't thought of him as anything other than one of the Weasley brothers. When their hands joined, the unintended image of his casual denims and black, open collar shirt flashed to the forefront of her mind.
Looking back, she had convinced herself that he was merely continuing to show her a certain amount of friendliness that couldn't be expressed openly. Yes. That's all it was. It couldn't have meant anything else. Except that it happened each of the following four days.
Pushing aside those thoughts, Hermione picked up the brightly wrapped gift and flooed to the Burrow. Focusing so intently on keeping Ginny's present from getting knocked around, Hermione lost her balance and stumbled into the living room. To her left, a pair of strong arms grabbed her shoulders to steady her. All at once she felt her heart start to beat more quickly, a pace that had little to do with traveling by floo. There it was again, that image of Bill with his hair let down and his earring that screamed rebel.
Slowly, she raised her eyes. Rather than seeing the cool blue of Bill's, uh Mr. Weasley's, no Bill's eyes, she saw the mischievous hazel eyes of George.
"Aw, Hermione, I knew you'd be falling into my arms one day. And a lovely day it is," George said with a cheeky grin.
"Yes, that's it," Hermione said with a smile. "Ginny's party was just a ruse. It's you I'm really here to see." She rolled her eyes and shook her head at George's antics.
She was both relieved that Bill hadn't seen her looking so gangly and uncoordinated and a little disappointed that another Weasley had met her when she arrived.
Bill stood on the stairs looking into the crowded kitchen. He'd gotten here early this morning to spend some time with his family before everyone else arrived. It was a tradition to have breakfast together, just their family. This morning left him reminiscing about the many times over the years that one of his siblings would get to sit in the 'seat of honor' while their dad would take a place along the side of the table. He remembered having all of their attention focused on him and waiting for him to take the first bite so they could begin, too. It had always been fun to be at the head of the table for that one morning each year.
While no one had ever brought a guest with them to breakfast, Bill secretly hoped that Hermione would be there. He knew his mum and dad thought as highly of her as they did Harry; yet, her face was noticeably missing. He wasn't sure what it would be like to see her away from Gringotts, but he'd secretly been looking forward to spending time with her again.
For that entire second week, he had tormented himself by continuing to hold her small hand. Her skin had felt so smooth and silky that first time that he couldn't resist another brief touch, and then another and another. He saw the faintest hint of blush warm her cheeks and that, coupled with her tentative but genuine smile, gave him hope that the unplanned, spontaneous action wouldn't completely blow up in his face. If the goblins hadn't been so nosy, he felt certain that they could have spoken beyond the daily business that brought her to the bank. As it was, those small touches had teased him and left him wanting to see more of her.
From his vantage point on the stairs, he was able to catch a glimpse of the green flames announcing the arrival of another guest. Even though he was far from the most knowledgeable about his sister's friends, he knew there was one face missing. It was the one that had him casually looking to the sitting room all morning. Actually, had anyone been paying attention, the glances were a bit obvious and occurring more often than he cared to admit.
He smothered a chuckle at her graceful entrance, turning his head to lessen the temptation to laugh. It was his retreating form that Hermione saw once she readjusted the bow atop Ginny's jostled present.
Soon, everyone was milling around but Hermione hadn't had a chance to speak to Bill; it seemed as though there were always half a dozen people separating them. From across the room, she caught him looking in her direction a little longer than if he were just gazing about. She flashed him a small smile before being pulled back into a conversation with Harry and Ron.
Hoping to get a better look at him, Hermione listened as her two oldest friends continued talking but leaned just enough to the side that she could see Bill over Harry's shoulder. She stared a moment too long; a flash of excitement crossed his face as his blue eyes settled on hers. With a grin, he nodded in her direction.
Their staring competition was interrupted when Mrs. Weasley called them all to dinner. As usual, the meal looked and smelled wonderful. The table was surrounded by red-heads, Harry, and a few of Ginny's other friends. Because it was so crowded they were squished more tightly together, constantly rubbing elbows with neighbors to the left and right. Hermione noticed that, oddly enough, Mr. Weasley was sitting next to her rather than in his normal chair. Looking in his direction, she failed to see that Bill dropped into the seat on her other side.
"He always switches seats with the birthday person," Bill said quietly, correctly interpreting Hermione's confusion.
"Oh!" Hermione jumped, startled at his nearness.
This time, he did chuckle at her reaction.
Any nervousness she felt at being around him for the first time away from work dissipated with that deep laugh. "Well, that's really nice of him," she replied kindly, thinking it epitomized the Weasleys and the thoughtful and quirky traditions they held.
Throughout dinner, Hermione and Bill were constantly talking to one another. She found it hilarious that Elena had acted so brazen and flirtatiously with Bill when she resumed her own tasks at the Ministry. Apparently, Elena had pulled out all of the stops.
"She had this blue, sparkly make-up all the way to her eyebrows! She kept batting her eyes and leaning across my desk. I didn't want to look her directly in the eyes because she looked so much like a clown, but her robes . . I didn't think the zipper on Ministry robes stopped that low. So, I couldn't look away . . ." He gave a slight shudder but grinned when he saw Hermione set her drink back down, sputtering as she had just taken a sip and giggled at the same time.
"You couldn't look away?"
He paused for a moment, realizing that he hadn't finished his statement. "From her eyes I mean!"
"Um hmm." Hermione gave him a skeptical look, playfully bumping into his shoulder.
Shaking his head and looking down into his plate, he muttered "no, no, no" quietly.
Arthur almost spit his own drink out at hearing that last bit Bill and Hermione's conversation. It wasn't often that Bill spoke of his daily work at Gringotts. It had been a tense line he walked for the Order, learning everything that was going on with both the Ministry and the bank. And, Arthur couldn't blame him for wanting to discuss things other than work when the family got together, especially when several of them worked at said Ministry.
He was happy to see his oldest son so relaxed and at ease with Hermione. Chancing a glance at his wife, he saw the same pleased expression on her face. He sent a quick wink in her direction, saying everything and nothing all at once.
The party moved from the table back into the living room where Ginny opened her gifts, thanking each person in turn. With all eyes on the birthday girl, Bill sidled up to Hermione near the back of the room.
"It was nice having you at Gringotts. And, um, I really am sorry about that first week," he said quietly.
"You don't have to apologize about that. I understand, really." Hermione kept her face turned toward Ginny but continued to speak with Bill. "I must say, though, the dessert from Angelo's didn't hurt either."
When he laughed, she released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "That second week was nice, wasn't it?" she asked.
Bill let his hand brush against hers before answering. "Yes, it was."
Hermione wondered who had suddenly cast a warming charm on the room. Bill's hand against hers was doing a number on her concentration; it was subtle and discrete, yet the small touch was magnified by its absence over the last couple of weeks.
He cleared his throat, getting her attention and tilted his head toward the door. She followed him outside where they started walking slowly around the yard.
He reached once again for her hand, holding it in earnest this time. Bill had spent too much time lately thinking about the brunette in front of him to let this opportunity pass by. "Hermione, would you like to go out sometime?"
She wasn't sure what she hoped would transpire today, but she wanted to see if there could be something between. "Yes, I'd like that." She squeezed his hand lightly.
Before either of them could say anything else, the Burrow's back door swung open and the boisterous noise from inside flooded the air and they were joined by the rest of the party.