Earning Interest by WeasleyForMe

Hermione is trying to win the affection of Bill Weasley... but he seems to be immune to her advances. Bill/Hermione!

This is a gift for my friend Shiva'sGirl who requested a Bill/Hermione story! Thanks to Grande.Vanilla.Skim.Latte for beta reading!

Bill growled as he turned back to the Burrow, muttering as he walked. "She was just trying to be nice, and you had to go and be a complete wanker." He didn't know why it was so difficult for him to be friends with Hermione, but it probably had something to do with the tight feeling that he got in his stomach when he looked at her. He wasn't quite sure why, but Hermione had suddenly become very attractive to him. He had to find a way to get her out of his mind.

"Are you sure you don't want more dessert, Bill?" his mother asked as he walked back inside.

George poked Fred and whispered, "I think he just had some dessert with Hermione."

Fred snickered. "I would have rather had that than the pie. What a lucky bastard," he said as he looked at Bill.

Bill shot the twins a nasty look; it bothered him that they would talk about Hermione that way. Sure, she was entirely physically lovely, but she was better than that. "I did not have any dessert with her, so why don't you just grow up."

"Oh no," George replied. "Bill doesn't like it when we talk about his girlfriend like that."

Bill rolled his eyes and quickly kissed his mother before heading to the fireplace to floo home. He landed hard in the living room of his cottage and sighed. If Hermione really were his girlfriend, he imagined he would be much more cheerful than he had been lately.

Hermione spent the entire weekend analyzing what she could have possibly done wrong during dinner on Friday. She thought she had done well with her outfit and makeup, but perhaps she'd read Bill incorrectly; maybe he didn't like her new clothing. She spent the day on Sunday snuggling with Crookshanks and trying to come up with a new game plan.

"What do you think, Crooks?" she asked her half-cat half-kneazle. He looked up at her with an annoyed purr. "What will help me win Bill Weasley?"

Crookshanks jumped off her lap and sauntered over to his dinner, giving Hermione an idea. Of course, food was the way to win all men.

Bill had a headache. Not just any old headache, but the kind that made you want to crawl into the darkest, most silent cave in the world and hibernate. And to make matters worse, it was only Monday. In a fit of complete frustration, he told his receptionist to cancel the meeting he had scheduled for noon; he was going to take an extra long lunch.

As he made his way into Gringotts' cafeteria, he made a beeline for his usual seat as he waved distractedly to a few coworkers who called his name. His stomach growled as he walked, and he suddenly wished he'd taken the time to pack a lunch.

"Bill!" he heard someone call. He looked up to see Hermione seated across from his usual seat, and his heart lurched from his chest down to his groin and back up again. She was wearing another suit that Bill deemed extremely sexy, although she had more skin covered than half of the other women around them. He slipped into his chair as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Hermione," he croaked out with a nod. She smiled at him and tossed her long hair over her shoulder. Her lacy white blouse was peeking out from her plain grey suit, causing Bill to have a flashback to Friday; honestly, where was this woman buying her fantastic clothing?

"You look like you've had a long morning," she commented. Earlier in the morning, Hermione had heard from one of the secretaries that Bill was being rather grouchy, which made Hermione look forward to lunch even more. She was going to make it her mission to cheer him up. After all, Hermione was nothing if not persistent, and she knew she wanted Bill.

Bill massaged his temples. "You have no idea. Does it ever seem to you like half of the people around here never do their jobs?"

"Absolutely," she assured him. "However, I for one pride myself on my work." She smiled brightly as he cracked a small smile. "Oh, speaking of which, I'm nearly done with the paperwork for those cases you gave me last week."

Bill looked gobsmacked. "I just handed those to you on Friday."

"I know," she responded as she opened a large, brown, lunch bag and pulled out a huge lunch. Bill's stomach began to growl, and Hermione put on a look of innocence. "I think I packed too much for my lunch. Say, would you like to share it with me, Bill?"

He looked at the numerous sandwiches, mixed nuts and home-baked cookies that she set out. She passed him a carton of juice, evidence that she had made up his mind for him. "Thanks, Hermione. I seemed to forget to pack a lunch this morning."

She smiled as they ate and chatted about anything but work. Bill shoved five cookies in a row into his mouth as he listened intently to a funny story about the day Hermione moved into her apartment and realized that all of the wallpaper was peeling off. He then told her about the work he was doing to his cottage.

"You're redecorating the den?" she asked. "Let me know if you need help. I think I can sew curtains."

Bill laughed heartily. "You think you know how to sew curtains?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes playfully. "Ok, so I'm not exactly 'Susie Homemaker', but how hard could it be to make some curtains?"

"We'll find out, I guess, because I definitely want to see if you can do it!" he told her. "My room is blue and white," he told her with a grin.

She pulled out her day planner with a wicked grin. "I believe I have time on Friday evening to take measurements," she joked as she flipped through the week.

"Sounds good to me," he agreed. His eyes met hers and his heart stopped. "Maybe I can cook dinner for you while you take measurements?" he blurted before he had time to think.

Hermione's eyes went wide before she blinked several times. "I'd like that a lot," she told Bill, who was looking like he might pass out. He was trying to process the fact that he had just asked her over for dinner and the fact that she agreed.

Bill nodded slowly as Hermione stood. "Well, I should get back to my office. Will you stop by and pick up the paperwork later, or should I drop it off?"

Bill cleared his throat and muttered, "I'll stop over later. Thanks for the lunch."

She nodded and smiled as she sauntered away, tempting Bill to the edge of reason with her black stiletto heels. As she disappeared from sight, he realized that his head was no longer pounding and he felt rather relaxed. Then he remembered that he had to learn how to cook a proper meal by Friday evening. A very anxious Bill returned to his office with a bounce in his step.

Hermione managed to get to her office and close the door before erupting into a fit of giggles. She jumped and bounced around for a few minutes before finishing Bill's paperwork and planning another shopping trip.

Thanks for reading this chapter! Sorry it took me so long to finish it! I hope to update the next part quickly :)

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