Hi! Even though I have other fics and one shots that I should be working on at the moment, I decided to write a chapter of this instead.

Priorities.

Anyway, another chapter down, three to go!

This fic is much more lighthearted than my others, and I write it fast, so if there are any mistakes….oops!

oOo

Hermione pushed the stray curls out of her face, her eyes on the multiple stacks of folders that currently littered her desk. She was normally a very organized person, but there had been a lot of business lately and she was feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of paperwork she needed to finish by the end of the week. Hermione knew that as the head of the department, much of the important paperwork fell on her shoulders, but it was decidedly the part she liked least about her job.

She yawned, already tired even though it was only half an hour after lunch. Right at the moment she decided to head to the break room for a cup of coffee, there was a soft knock on the door, the sound causing Hermione to jump in her seat.

"Come in," she called out, hoping it wasn't Hannah bringing news of more incoming work.

Ron Weasley's head appeared in the now open doorway, a cheery smile on his face. "Hey, boss."

Frowning, Hermione sat back in her chair. "I told you before, Weasley- I don't want to be called 'boss'."

His smile widening, Ron stepped fully through the door, closing it behind him. He strolled towards Hermione's desk, a feeling of irritation taking hold of her when she noticed the large amount of manilla folders in his arms.

"Listen," Hermione said, not bothering to try and make herself sound friendly. "I personally showed you how to work on those papers yesterday. If you have any questions, there are a multitude of people who would gladly be able to-"

Whack!

Hermione jumped at the sound of the folders being tossed right onto the middle of her desk. Her mouth opened in shock, and she looked up to see Ron staring down at her with a smug grin on his face, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't need any help, boss," he said. "I'm finished."

"Finished?" Hermione squeaked. "That's impossible!"

Ron shrugged. "Go ahead. Check them. Though I assure you they are all done, and done the right way."

Hermione opened the top few folders, finding that they had, indeed, been done correctly. "Well, then- I…" she trailed off, still amazed at how fast Ron had finished the stack that she had placed on his desk yesterday morning, positive that it would take the rest of the week for him to finish them all.

He chuckled, causing Hermione once again to lift her head to look at him. "Impressed? I was hoping you would be. As I told you in our interview, I'm a fast learner, and also a fast worker." He winked. "I reckon it won't take me long to become your favorite employee."

She snorted. "Hardly." She paused, reluctantly adding, "Though I do have to admit that I'm impressed by this."

Ron smiled, a lopsided smirk that made Hermione's stomach give a little flip. "Ah, but this is only my second day, boss! Give me some more time and I'll eventually win you over."

"Have you always been so cocky?" Hermione asked, folding her arms in front of her as she stared up at him.

Chuckling, Ron shook his head. "Definitely not."

Hermione fought the smile she felt fighting to escape her lips and rolled her eyes instead. "I find that very hard to believe."

"Believe what you want, then." Ron eyed the unfinished stacks of folders on Hermione's desk. "Do you have any more work for me? I'll still be clocked in for the rest of the day, so I should definitely be able to help you out."

Hermione felt her face grow hot as she once again looked at the mess that was her desk. Lifting her arm, she pointed to her tallest stack of unfinished folders. "Take these, then. And stop calling me boss."

Leaning down to take the stack she had referred to, Ron met her gaze, his blue eyes sparkling. "I'm on it, boss."

Hermione opened her mouth to reprimand him, but seeing the delighted amusement on his face, she thought better of it and said nothing. Ron turned and started to make his way out of her office, whistling as he did so.

As he walked away, Hermione couldn't help but admire the shape of his bum under his snug dress trousers. As annoying as she found Ron, he was infuriatingly, very fit, and Hermione knew she wasn't the only one who thought so. To her annoyance, Ron Weasley had been the talk of the office since he'd shown up yesterday morning for his first day on the job, and Hermione could hardly stand the giggling and the not-so-subtle flirting coming from half the people who worked there. To her surprise, even though Ron had been extremely polite to everyone, he, so far, had not been flirting back, and was seemingly keeping his promise to Hermione not to date any co-workers.

As her gaze lingered on his backside, Ron turned suddenly, taking Hermione by surprise. Her face flushing, she hoped he hadn't noticed where she had just been looking. "Hey, I almost forgot! I'm going to run to the break room real quick before I get started on these. Would you like anything? A coffee, perhaps?"

Hermione's first instinct was to shake her head no, but she didn't. Instead, she pressed her lips together and studied Ron, who now had a friendly, expectant expression on his face.

"You know," she started in a slow voice. "You aren't going to win employee of the month by brown nosing."

Ron burst into laughter. "Not my intention, boss," he said in between chuckles. "I'm not really the employee of the month type."

"Could have fooled me."

"If you recall, you were always the teacher's pet at school- not me."

His words took her by surprise, and Hermione narrowed her eyes. "I'm surprised that you remember anything about me from school. Besides, you never knew me back then."

His smile didn't falter, and he shrugged. "I've always been good at reading people."

Hermione, unable to hold eye contact with him any longer, moved her eyes down to her desk. "I like my coffee with one packet of cream."

She heard Ron chuckle, but he said nothing else as he left her office, Hermione letting out a sigh of relief as soon as she heard the door click shut behind him.

oOo

"I'm telling you, the man's driving me barmy," Hermione complained as Hannah set down more stack of paperwork onto her desk the following day.

Hannah looked confused. "He's been a gem, though, right? He seems to really know what he's doing, and everyone here just loves him."

Hermione resisted the urge to groan.

Hannah gave her another concerned look. "Is there something else going on? If he's driving you this crazy, I'm definitely missing something."

"I…I don't know how to explain it," Hermione admitted, feeling foolish.

To her surprise, Hannah giggled. "Actually, I think I know exactly what's going on. You are just like the other women in the office, Hermione! You want him!"

Hermione's eyes grew wide, and she waved her hands at her assistant. "SHHH!" she hissed. "That's not it!"

Hannah giggled again. "I don't blame you at all. Ron is very…charming, isn't he? So tall and manly." She sighed. "If only I were a bit younger." She frowned. "And single."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "Hannah! Don't say that! Your husband is lovely!"

Hannah nodded, a smile on her face. "Yes. Of course you know I love Neville very much! It's just that Ron has that way about him, you know? That kind of strength that makes you think he's more than capable of grabbing a woman and lifting her up before shagging her right on her desk."

Hermione's face flushed. "That's- that's not appropriate," she said in a weak voice, the mental image of Ron taking her the way Hannah had just described causing her body to feel uncomfortably warm.

Hannah gave her a knowing smirk. "Go for it, Hermione. He seems to really like you."

"I seriously doubt that," Hermione argued. "Besides, I don't date my employees. And even if I did date employees, I don't fancy Ro- Mr. Weasley in the slightest."

"Of course you do. Which is why he's driving you barmy," Hannah exclaimed, taking Hermione's word choice from earlier.

"Not going to happen," Hermione insisted.

"You're due for a good desk shag, Hermione," Hannah said with a giggle as she backed out of Hermione's office.

Laughing, Hermione took off her shoe and hurled it, Hannah laughing and ducking out the door, avoiding being hit at the last moment.

oOo

"Hey, boss. Got any more?"

With a sigh, Hermione gestured to her desk. "Take your pick."

Ron walked over and took the largest stack of folders in his hands. "Are you having a good day? Need me to get you anything?"

"I'm fine," she replied curtly.

"Right. I'll leave you to it, then."

Ron turned to leave, and just as his hand settled on the door handle, Hermione called out.

"Ron?"

He turned, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "Yeah, boss?"

"Thank you," she said, shooting him a grateful smile.

Looking stunned but pleased, Ron smiled back before nodding and walking out.

oOo

"Let's go get a drink after work. Or we can grab dinner. Or both."

"Like a date?" Hermione asked, not lifting her eyes from what she was working on.

"Only if you want it to be."

"I'm not really the dating type."

"Fine. As friends then."

Hermione finally sat back and looked at Ron, who was casually leaning against the side of her desk. "We aren't exactly friends," she said.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Okay. As co-workers then."

"With the exception of holiday office parties, I don't usually see my co-workers outside of work."

He chuckled. "Damn, boss. You're not making this easy for me, are you?"

She smiled. "Where's the fun in that?"

"Come on," he urged. "I know of a great restaurant."

Hermione scoffed, but couldn't help but smile. "Give me one good reason that I should go out with you?" She countered, waiting for Ron to answer. She expected him to remind her of how helpful he'd been the last week, to brag about what an outstanding employee he'd been, but he didn't.

"Because I want to get to know you better," he said simply.

Hermione was taken aback by the admission. "But why? I know for a fact that there are several women here who have been practically throwing themselves at you."

Ron laughed. "Yeah. But that doesn't matter, because I want to take you out- not them."

"But why?" she pressed. "I haven't exactly been the most welcoming or friendly person to you. So why me?"

Ron looked as if he were truly contemplating her question before he answered. "Because I know there's so much more than meets the eye under all that no nonsense persona, Hermione. I want to get to know that part of you."

Hermione swallowed, trying to keep herself from flinging herself at this man. "Fine. We'll try this," she started in a stern voice. "Once. But if your intentions aren't-"

He laughed. "There you go again! Always doubting my intentions."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh as well. "I have a right to do so, you know. I had to comfort poor Lavender for weeks after your breakup!"

Ron tilted his head. "How's good ol Lav these days? Haven't heard any news about her in years."

"She's married with two kids."

"Oh. That's nice. I'm happy for her."

A thought then occurred to Hermione. "How do you know I'm not married or seeing anyone? You didn't even inquire before asking me out on a date."

Ron grinned. "I may or may not have asked Hannah about your current relationship status."

"That's rather sneaky."

Ron looked proud. "I was pretty proud of myself for that one, yeah."

Hermione bit her lip, hoping she didn't look as pleased as she felt. "Oh, alright!" she scolded. "Get back to work! I don't pay you for this."

"Of course, boss." Hermione rolled her eyes. "See you tonight," he added as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"I can change my mind, you know," she reminded him.

"Yeah. But you won't."