Chapter four (Bill's POV)
Bill walked away from the table full of his family's shocked faces and went up to his room. He couldn't get the scent of Hermione off of his mind. It was glorious and hypnotising. The warm vanilla mixed with honey and spices made his heart rate increase rapidly. He couldn't help but stare at her, totally entranced throughout the entirety of the evening. His wolf remained unnaturally quiet but didn't dwell on it, too focused on thinking about Hermione.
She was the total opposite of what he usually went for in a woman, but then again, he usually went for the easy route when it came to women. Hermione was everything but easy. She was going to be hard to sway but Bill was convinced he would do anything it took to get her to like him, maybe even love him. He couldn't help but compare Hermione to his now ex-wife. Fleur was the total opposite of her. She was tall, blonde and willowy where as Hermione was shorter, with honey brown wavy hair and a curvy figure.
Fleur was loud and confident but Hermione was quiet and less confident. She was sure of herself in a less confronting manner that appealed to him. Bill had never really been very loud or boisterous in his youth nor had he changed with age. He had admired Fleur's outgoing and people person personality but he much preferred to observe than participate. It was one of the things that they had fought about before he was turned. Hermione though, seemed to be a keen observer much like himself as well as extremely intelligent.
She had helped Harry defeat Voldemort and he was pretty sure that the war wouldn't have been won without her. She was quite the witch and he couldn't help but want to know more about her. He had had the insatiable urge to pick at her mind and ask her all sorts of questions. What was her favourite book, what kind of food did she hate, what was her favourite colour, what were her family like, where did she see her future going and so many more things.
He cocked his head to the side, as he sat on his bed when he heard footsteps coming up the stair case. They made their way to his door and then there was a knock. It was her. He could tell by the way her scent flooded into the room and how his heart beat fast just at the thought of seeing her again even though he had only left the kitchen not ten minutes ago.
"Come in." Bill said and the door opened slowly to reveal the bushy haired beauty smiling sheepishly at him. He had the sudden urge to take her, right here right now and claim her as his. His wolf returned with a growl, demanding Bill to claim what was ours.
"Now, you foolish human. Take her. She is mine. Ours. " Raff demanded and Bill fought him hard to control himself. He didn't want to scare her away. He was determined to do this properly, take her out on dates, work his way up to a bigger commitment, she was only nineteen after all.
"She will hate us if we don't approach with caution. Do you want our mate to hate us?" Bill asked and his wolf huffed in annoyance and impatience but shut up.
"Hey Bill." She said and her voice was sweet and melodic. He couldn't help but smile slightly at the sound of it.
"Hi Hermione." He said and she gave a small smile in return.
"I just wanted to thank you for sticking up for Ron and I." She said quietly.
"Don't mention it. Mum's always had a problem with that kind of thing. She still doesn't understand why Fleur and I broke things of... not that she's unhappy about it mind you. She hated Fleur with a passion. Not particularly sure why though..." He said trailing off.
"Probably because she was a snob. And French." Hermione said and Bill looked up at her in amusement, raising an eyebrow at her candour. A look of shock came over her face as she realised she had in fact said that out loud.
"I- I didn't mean to sound so callous. I'm sorry Bill." she stuttered apologetically but didn't deny what she had said.
"Well I suppose it's true. She is a snob. We fought about that a lot. But I had no problem with the French part. I found her accent quite alluring." He said, watching her face closely to see her reaction to his words. Her cheeks tinged pink and she bit her lip nervously. Bill laughed at her awkwardness and she smiled at him warmly. Almost fondly.
"So, are you going to go back to Egypt?" Hermione asked after a moment of silence. Bill frowned at her question. He hadn't considered that as an option for the future. He hadn't really thought much about his future at all. He sighed in frustration and ran a had through his hair as he looked up at her once more.
"I haven't really thought about it to be honest. It's a possibility but I'm sure Mum will demand I stay close to home and I'm not exactly opposed to the idea as much as I was when I was younger." He said and Hermione leaned back against the frame of the door as she thought about what he said.
"Well, there is an opening at Hogwarts for a couple of teaching positions. Have you ever thought about that?" She asked and he smiled at her. It was a good idea. He had always been good at helping people with things. He used to tutor people at school for a bit of pocket money and he always helped Charlie with his homework. It would be fun to be back at Hogwarts too, it had been at least ten years since he was there last for any reason other that the war. He contemplated the option seriously and decided it would be worth looking into.
"I'll owl Minerva with an inquiry. Thanks for the idea 'Mione." He said and Hermione beamed at him.
"Well if you do get a position, then you'll be one of my teachers. I'm going back to finish my seventh year when the term starts." She said cheerily.
"What made you decide to go back?" He asked curiously.
"I want to get my N.E. . I've gotten a lot of offers for different ministry positions and Kingsley has been pressuring me to accept his offer to fast track straight to the auror academy like Ron and Harry are but I'm not exactly sure what I want to do so I thought that finishing my schooling while I decide would be a good way to spend my time." She said and Bill nodded in agreement.
"Sounds reasonable." He agreed. They sat and stood respectively for a couple more moments before Hermione spoke again.
"Well I had better head off. Ginny coerced me into going shopping with her tomorrow so I need all the rest I can get." She said and stood straighter as she moved out the door.
"Goodnight Hermione." Bill said and she smiled again at him over her shoulder as she walked back down stairs and to the floo.
