Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.

Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter and the fluff it contains.

Letting People Know

Hermione woke early the next morning and Bill met her in the room of requirement at eight, as her note had requested. They spoke for a little while and finally agreed that they'd just walk in together at breakfast and confirm that they were dating when the inevitable question came.

Bill also told her the contents of his conversation with Sirius, Remus and Kingsley the night before. It had apparently been the usual sort of 'hurt her and we'll kill you' conversation and Hermione was just glad that they hadn't got violent. However, she was still wondering how long she'd have to undergo teasing from the three men over them catching her kissing Bill. Merlin, she couldn't think about that moment without cringing, it was just too embarrassing. She hated been caught in awkward situations and she thought that had to be one of the worst.

She had asked him in whispered tones what Sirius had said and he'd known that she wouldn't continue the relationship without his approval. Bill had described Sirius' words to him about how lucky he was and how he better not screw it up. He'd reiterated the warning about what would happen if Bill hurt her, making sure he knew that he'd respond with twice as much violence as the rest. But when asked whether he was ok with it, Sirius had softened and told Bill that Hermione would do well with him and that he approved.

Hermione had been incredibly relieved, but she also knew she was in for a lot of teasing from the animagus, if his wink at the scene he'd walked in on the previous night was anything to go by. That would get tiresome, Sirius just loved to tease and he'd be irrepressible now that she finally had a boyfriend.

She fidgeted the whole way down to the Great Hall, jumping slightly at every noise until Bill finally told her to relax, gripping her hand in his warm one and soothing her frazzled nerves with just a few whispered words. "But Harry and Ron," Hermione moaned out, "they're going to kill me, or you … or maybe even both of us. Damn it, remind me why we're not hiding this."

Bill just laughed, "relax Mione, we are telling them because we shouldn't have to hide it and all our friends have the right to know. Anyway, Remus, Sirius and Kingsley have already found out so it isn't like it would stay hidden long. As for Ron and Harry, they're your best friends and they will be happy for us, even if it takes some time to get used to it."

Hermione kissed him then, because what he said to reassure her reminded her of why she liked him so much. He could calm her in a way that only her very closest friends could, he was carefree and happy despite the evil looming over the horizon, yet he would always reassure her when she was worried.

He smiled again and she smiled back, though she began to frown when the reached the doors of the Great Hall, "you know it'll be really busy now Bill," she said to her amused boyfriend, "why don't we go somewhere else and come back later when there's less people, preferably no one."

She began to drag him away from the door, but he stayed resolute and since he was a good deal taller than her, not to mention his muscle, he easily stopped her escaping and just threw open the door, half dragging her in with him. Her protests soon turned to laughter and she leaned up to kiss him again, forgetting the fact that they were now in the Great Hall.

The pair broke apart when Hermione became suspicious about the lack of noise, only to be faced with a completely silent crowd, all of them staring at her and Bill in shock.

"Oh shit."

You could have heard a pin drop until the rarity of Hermione swearing seemed to bring everyone out of their daze. Mrs Weasley rushed up to the two of them and Hermione prepared herself for the onslaught she knew was coming, though whether it would be one of disapproval or happiness she was unsure of.

Ten seconds and a warm hug later she was overjoyed to discover that it was the latter emotion. The stark relief, mixed in with residue worry, must have shown on her face because as she looked over into a corner of the room, she could see Remus and Kingsley smiling, while Sirius outright laughed, at her worry.

She threw the trio of men a dirty look, which only served to make them laugh harder, before turning away from Mrs Weasley, who was now hugging Bill, towards Harry and Ron. Harry's mouth was curved upwards in a small smile, while Ron was gaping rather unattractively at her, but neither of them appeared to be shouting so she knew it couldn't be too bad.

She slipped past Charlie, who was patting his brother on the back, sidestepping Ginny before she could get too angry about not being informed of the new development and then she stopped in front of her two best friends. Harry seemed to be analysing her, while Ron continued spluttering and looking between her and Bill with confusion.

"Is it what you really want Mione?" asked Harry after a few moments, looking over her shoulder towards Bill. She didn't hesitate in her answer, "yes Harry, he's exactly the sort of guy I've been looking for and I just hope you and Ron are ok with it."

Harry nodded seriously, since Ron still seemed incapable of actual speech, "if you're sure Mione. We both know you well enough to realise that Bill's wolfish characteristics won't affect your view, but what about the age difference?" Hermione smiled at him, "yes, I knew that little detail might cause you concern but I am of age, in both the wizarding and muggle world. Anyway, you only have to look at a couple like Remus and Tonks, who are married and expecting a baby, to know that age difference doesn't matter if you are compatible."

Harry nodded again, "ok Mione, but just remember that Ron and I will always be around to hex him into oblivion if he hurts you, okay." She laughed then and turned to Ron, who had finally stopped muttering under his breath, "what about you Ron, what do you think?" She knew that this had the potential to be difficult, due to the fact that Bill was Ron's brother, but she hoped he would be ok with it.

Her other best friend screwed his face up before smiling, "it's ok Mione, I'm not gonna start screaming … though I might have if this had happened a year or two ago. It's a little weird because he is my brother but I suppose it could have been worse and you could have got with Fred or George," he told her, ignoring the twin cries of indignation. "if that had happened then we wouldn't just have mayhem, but it would be intelligent mayhem." He shuddered at the thought, while she and Harry laughed along with him.

"But seriously Hermione," he told her, "you're one of my two best friends and it's like with Ginny, there's never going to be a guy good enough for you. Harry comes damn close for Ginny, at least I know he's a decent bloke … and I guess the same can be said for Bill, he's a great person and he'll be good for you, maybe even get you to let loose occasionally." He winced as she whacked him for that comment, muttering something under his breath about bloody women and their obsession with hitting him (after all, Hermione and Ginny did it practically every day).

She couldn't help but throw her arms round both Harry and Ron to pull them in for a hug, so ecstatic that they were accepting her relationship with Bill without too much fuss. They slipped away after a few minutes and she was momentarily worried when she saw them talking to Bill, but relaxed when she saw smiles on the faces of all three.

However, Hermione's expression turned from one of contentment to fear when she saw both Ginny and Tonks stalking towards her with expressions of anger. Before she could escape, they both grabbed an arm each and wrenched her down onto a bench in between them. "Why didn't you tell us?" were the first words out of Ginny's mouth, before Tonks added her bit, "yeah Mione, I mean if there is anyone who knows about lycanthropy and older men then it's me."

Hermione smiled at the two of them sheepishly, "I know you feel left out, but honestly I didn't do it to annoy you. I didn't think my fancies would ever get me anywhere in reality, never dreamed that he might actually like me back and so I didn't want the two of you to get your hopes up or get mine up."

Ginny sighed, "yes but we would have helped you, I know practically everything about Bill, he is my favourite brother after all, and like Tonks said, she knows about older men with lycanthropy so that would have helped." Hermione laughed and shook her head, "Gin, I know what your version of helping would be. You and Tonks would come up with a ridiculous plan that I would have refused to go through with and that would result in you persuading Tonks to morph into me to put the plan into action yourselves and then she'd do something ridiculous and I would have been humiliated and unable to look Bill in the face for a month."

The two looked vaguely shamefaced for a minute, unwilling to admit the truth of Hermione's statement, until Ginny spoke flippantly, "I'm sure it would have worked out in the end, these things always do in the end." That just caused an outburst of laughter among Hermione and Tonks at the all-knowing tone Ginny used, making her sound more like her mother than the girl would ever care to admit. Soon Ginny was laughing along as well and once Hermione had suitably apologised for not sharing her crush, she was allowed to leave the table.

She passed by the twins, who both asked in wounded, yet joking tones, what their brother had that they didn't. She answered them in an equally jovial voice, telling them that Bill had sanity, which was sadly lacking in both of them. They merely ruffled her hair, much to her annoyance, and told her that she'd realise that they were so much better than Bill in the end, before walking off laughing. She shook her head at their antics and walked over to Luna, who was standing with Blaise. Both offered congratulations, Luna predicting a good future to their relationships because the Marklops were in season. Hermione just nodded, pretending she actually knew what Marklops where, until Blaise cut Luna off with his own smile and quiet best wishes.

She passed by Draco, who actually hugged her, a rarity for him, before cheerfully telling her that if "the older weasel hurts you then I'll happily hex him for you." She supposed that was rather nice of him, though she did wish he'd quit referring to the Weasley's as 'weasel', but at least he'd stopped doing it to their faces unless he was angry. Snape, who had quietly materialised behind her and Draco as they were talking, offered her any poison if Bill displeased her, even going so far as to offer his services to administer it. She quickly told him that it wouldn't be necessary and he seemed a little too disappointed, but she knew he was happy for her.

Warm best wishes came from the rest of the Order, even Moody, who approved of Bill due to his curse-breaking experience until she finally reached the man himself. He ignored the catcalls (mostly from Fred, George and Sirius) to lean down and kiss her soundly and in that moment her mind forgot Voldemort, her heritage, the war and everyone around her. In that moment her only thought was Bill.

Thank you to all those who reviewed the last two chapters; kk1999, Readerforlife and .sarah (again sorry about the username not showing up right), it was much appreciated. Also thanks to , who reviewed chapters 20 and 21.

You may notice that while Bill mentions the conversation he had with Sirius, Remus and Kingsley about Hermione, she doesn't actually talk to them herself, except when she sees them laughing. However, she will have her talk with the three of them, not in the next chapter (which is an interlude from Molly Weasley's POV), but in the chapter after that.

For anyone who is interested, in my story Ginny's favourite brother is Bill and it is hinted at in the book series. In this story Bill is her favourite, closely followed by the twins and Charlie, then Ron. However all of them are close and the difference in her favouritism is minimal. As for Percy, he was always her least favourite, but now he's hit rock bottom because of refusing to believe Harry and Dumbledore even after the battle at the Department of Mysteries and because he is still working for the Ministry, not helping the Order.

For the record, Marklops are my own creation and I haven't made up anything about them, I just wanted a new, strange creature that only Luna understands and made up a random name for it.

Next chapter should be up in a few days as normal and I hope everyone had a merry Christmas (I know I did).