Wow, I got reviews. I never expected I'd get any, since this is one of the
lesser known couples.
I have set Bill's age to be twenty-six. Hope that's alright with you.
******'
The next morning, Hermione woke up feeling happier than she had in days. Today she was going to tell her parents about Bill's offer. She got dressed and practically skipped down the stairs to the kitchen, where her mother was making breakfast and her father was reading the Daily Prophet. Her parents wanted to keep up with the wizarding world as well as their own, so she had lent them her copies of the newspaper. She gave her father a kiss on the cheek, hugged her mother and sat down at the table.
"Mum, Dad?" She said.
"Yes, honey?" Her father said.
"I met a friend of mine last night, and he offered me to go with him over summer to work for the same bank he works for. Can I?" She asked.
Her mother turned around and looked at her, while her father put down his newspaper on the table.
"Do we know this boy?" He asked.
"Well, he's Ron's older brother. His name is Bill." Hermione explained.
She knew they trusted Ron as well as Harry, and they were bound to at least give a brother of Ron a chance.
"Where will you be going?" Her mother wanted to know.
"I'm not sure; he said he'd owl me the details." Hermione admitted.
"But you do know what you'll be doing, right?" Her father asked worriedly.
"Yes; I'll help him do research for breaking curses. He works for Gringotts, and used to be down in Egypt. They have lot of old tombs and pyramids to hide treasures in there, you know, with all the Pharaohs and such. Anyway, I really, really want to go - can I?" She asked hopefully.
Her parents smiled; she was always eager to learn new things, and she adored research above all else.
"Of course you can, honey; we trust you not to do anything stupid. You're much too mature for that." Her mother assured her before her father could protest that she was much too young to go anywhere.
"Thank you!" Hermione exclaimed, gave both of them a hug and ran up the stairs again to write to Bill.
She sat down at her desk and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. After thinking a bit, she began to write.
*****'
When she was done, she put down her quill again, and inspected her writing.
Bill
I have asked my parents, and they said I could go. They were a bit hesitant at first, but when I told them you were a brother of Ron's, they agreed. For some reason, they believe that if you're his brother, they can trust you. Don't ask me where they got that ridiculous notion, since Ron isn't the most trustworthy person I know.
But I am rambling. I just wanted to tell you they'd agreed to let me go.
Sincerely,
Hermione.
Well, that looked about right. She got up and walked over to the birdcage in the corner. Inside was her owl Hettar, which her parents had bought for her last Christmas. She gave him the letter, and opened the window.
"Take this to Bill Weasley." She ordered.
The owl obeyed and flew out the window. Hermione watched him go, and then shut the window again and went back to her school work.
******'
She didn't even have to wait two hours before Hettar returned with a reply from Bill. She had just finished her Charms essay when the grey owl came back. She stood up and opened the window again, letting him in. She relieved him of the letter he was carrying, and after giving him and Owl Treat, she sat down to read.
(Dear) Hermione
I never write letters to anyone but Mum, so I was a bit unsure of how to start it, hope you're not offended.
I'm glad your parents allowed you to go; it'll be nice to have some company this summer. Besides, two minds are better than one, eh? Heck, with you there, I won't need to think. But I am rambling. Seems we both suffer from that, don't we?
Anyway, I promised to owl you the details, so here they are.
We won't be staying in England. We're going to Rome, Italy, because the Curse Breaker there has been forced to leave due to family emergencies. Apparently, they've found some old treasure chest in the cellars of a university, and can't break the curse on it themselves. Amateurs.
We'll be travelling the Muggle way, because you haven't got your Apparating license yet, and I don't feel comfortable Apparating over such a big distance with you. We'd be splinched. I'll come pick you up in two days, around noon. We'll go by airplane, if that's what it's called. I've never seen one, but it pays off to have a Muggle obsessed father.
I haven't got all the details of exactly what curse is placed on the chest, or where we'll be staying, I'll get those tomorrow, but hopefully, you now have some more information to placate your parents. If they're anything like Mum and Dad, you'll need it.
Oh, about that; I wrote to Mum and told her I'd be going to Italy with an apprentice, (I can't find another word to describe your position) and she was delighted. Somewhere along the way, I forgot to mention that it was you, and then I didn't have time. I don't usually keep secrets from her, but it just happened this time. If she ever asks, she's in for a surprise, and I'm not saying no to that. Been long since I had a good laugh at her expense.
But I'm not writing to mock my mother. I would have asked if you'd written to Ron, but seeing as you told me you'd had a fight and weren't talking anymore, that would be a rather stupid question. Have you written to Harry? It doesn't really matter; I'm just making conversation. Which is probably stupid, since this is a letter. Look, now I'm rambling again! I'll stop now.
Hope this letter finds you in good health. See you in two days.
Sincerely
Bill.
She smiled. They were indeed alike in the matter of rambling on about nothing in particular, until someone strangled them to shut them up. She put down the letter, and walked out the door and down the stairs again. She had to tell her parents about this; Bill had been right about giving them more information.
*****'
The two days crawled by so slowly it made Hermione want to rip her hair out. Her parents kept asking whether she had packed and whether or not she knew when or how she would be picked up, driving her crazy, slowly but surely.
The second day of waiting dawned, and Hermione rose early to start packing. She got around the problem of not being allowed to use magic over the holidays by packing only the most important things, such as clothes, a few books and her CD-walkman. She stuffed a few of her favourite CD's in the bag as well, and just managed to close it afterwards.
When she was done packing, she at down and explained to Crookshanks that she would be gone over the summer. This would have been considered insane, had it been anyone else, but Hermione was convinced that he understood what she was saying. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, but either way, she explained it to him, I nothing else then to make time pass a little faster.
After explaining to her cat, she wore a hole in the living room carpet with her pacing. She had never been more nervous in her whole life. No, scratch that, the only other time she had been this nervous was the first time she took the train from platform 9 ¾ to Hogwarts. But this was a good second. She didn't really know why she nervous either. Bill was a Weasley, and therefore nice by default, but maybe it was because no matter how much of a Weasley he was, she didn't know him personally. At least not that good.
She managed to sit down long enough to eat lunch, but was up and pacing in a matter of minutes. Her parents were growing tired of her constant pacing when someone rang the doorbell, and she jumped and ran out in the hall. She opened the door before the doorbell stopped ringing, and came face to face with Bill, who was grinning, probably at how fast she'd answered the door.
"Hello, ´Mione, ready to go?" He asked.
"You bet!" She grinned. "I just have to get my bag, and we're can leave."
"Alright."
"Why don't you come in and sit down? It'll only be a moment, but I fear my cat will latch himself onto my leg to keep me from going." She offered.
"Yeah, he was rather vicious, wasn't he?" Bill smiled and entered after her.
She showed him to the kitchen, where her parents were sitting, still finishing lunch, and gestured to one of the chairs.
"Have a seat and make yourself at home. Mum, Dad, this is Bill." She introduced them quickly.
Her parents stared at Bill as if they'd seen a ghost, and he smiled nervously back, and sat down on the offered chair.
"Hello." He said. "Nice to meet you."
"Hello, Bill, was it?" Her mother said, getting over her shock faster than her father.
"Yes."
"So, Hermione tells us you're a brother of her friend Ron?" Her mother continued, trying to make conversation.
Hermione smiled and left them to it. She knew that in a few minutes, Bill and her parents would be talking like they'd known each other forever. Bill had a way of making people trust him without even thinking about it.
She raced up the stair and quickly found her bag, petted Crookshanks, and surprisingly managed to get away without too many scratches. She dragged her trunk down the stair and to the kitchen, where Bill was now explaining to her parents what he'd done in Egypt. She knocked him on the shoulder, to remind him that they had to leave.
"Oh, right. We should be going. It was nice to meet you, Mr and Mrs Granger. And don't worry; I'll take care of your daughter." He smiled, and followed Hermione to he door.
"Bye, Mum, bye Dad." Hermione called, and walked out the door.
The door slammed shut, and her parents looked at each other helplessly.
"I can't help but be worried about her; no matter how nice Bill is, accidents happen." Her mother said.
Her father could do nothing but agree.
****'
As soon as they out the door, Bill took hold of her trunk and took out his wand. A quick spell later, it was light as a feather. She took it back again, and gripped it tightly to prevent it from floating away.
"How do we get to the airport?" She asked.
"Well, we Apparate." Bill answered.
"Where from? We can't exactly do it on my front lawn, you know; this is a Muggle neighbourhood." She reminded him.
"Come on, then." He said, holding out his hand.
She took it, and they walked away from her house. Soon, they reached a hill, surrounded by trees. After a short climb, they were at the top of it. Hermione looked around, smiling to herself.
"Something funny?" Bill asked, seeing her smile.
"No, this hill just reminds me of the time when we went by Portkey to the Quidditch Wold Cup." She explained.
"Yeah, but that was Stoatshead Hill. Now come on, we have to leave unless we want to miss our flight." He said.
She stepped closer, and since she'd never Apparated before, she was a bit unsure of what to do. Bill wrapped his arms around her, making her start and stare at him.
"Don't worry ´Mione; I've tandem-Apparated before. There's nothing to worry about." He assured her.
She nodded, and a second later, the world around her twisted madly, and she felt herself falling, the only solid thing to hold onto being Bill.
I have set Bill's age to be twenty-six. Hope that's alright with you.
******'
The next morning, Hermione woke up feeling happier than she had in days. Today she was going to tell her parents about Bill's offer. She got dressed and practically skipped down the stairs to the kitchen, where her mother was making breakfast and her father was reading the Daily Prophet. Her parents wanted to keep up with the wizarding world as well as their own, so she had lent them her copies of the newspaper. She gave her father a kiss on the cheek, hugged her mother and sat down at the table.
"Mum, Dad?" She said.
"Yes, honey?" Her father said.
"I met a friend of mine last night, and he offered me to go with him over summer to work for the same bank he works for. Can I?" She asked.
Her mother turned around and looked at her, while her father put down his newspaper on the table.
"Do we know this boy?" He asked.
"Well, he's Ron's older brother. His name is Bill." Hermione explained.
She knew they trusted Ron as well as Harry, and they were bound to at least give a brother of Ron a chance.
"Where will you be going?" Her mother wanted to know.
"I'm not sure; he said he'd owl me the details." Hermione admitted.
"But you do know what you'll be doing, right?" Her father asked worriedly.
"Yes; I'll help him do research for breaking curses. He works for Gringotts, and used to be down in Egypt. They have lot of old tombs and pyramids to hide treasures in there, you know, with all the Pharaohs and such. Anyway, I really, really want to go - can I?" She asked hopefully.
Her parents smiled; she was always eager to learn new things, and she adored research above all else.
"Of course you can, honey; we trust you not to do anything stupid. You're much too mature for that." Her mother assured her before her father could protest that she was much too young to go anywhere.
"Thank you!" Hermione exclaimed, gave both of them a hug and ran up the stairs again to write to Bill.
She sat down at her desk and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. After thinking a bit, she began to write.
*****'
When she was done, she put down her quill again, and inspected her writing.
Bill
I have asked my parents, and they said I could go. They were a bit hesitant at first, but when I told them you were a brother of Ron's, they agreed. For some reason, they believe that if you're his brother, they can trust you. Don't ask me where they got that ridiculous notion, since Ron isn't the most trustworthy person I know.
But I am rambling. I just wanted to tell you they'd agreed to let me go.
Sincerely,
Hermione.
Well, that looked about right. She got up and walked over to the birdcage in the corner. Inside was her owl Hettar, which her parents had bought for her last Christmas. She gave him the letter, and opened the window.
"Take this to Bill Weasley." She ordered.
The owl obeyed and flew out the window. Hermione watched him go, and then shut the window again and went back to her school work.
******'
She didn't even have to wait two hours before Hettar returned with a reply from Bill. She had just finished her Charms essay when the grey owl came back. She stood up and opened the window again, letting him in. She relieved him of the letter he was carrying, and after giving him and Owl Treat, she sat down to read.
(Dear) Hermione
I never write letters to anyone but Mum, so I was a bit unsure of how to start it, hope you're not offended.
I'm glad your parents allowed you to go; it'll be nice to have some company this summer. Besides, two minds are better than one, eh? Heck, with you there, I won't need to think. But I am rambling. Seems we both suffer from that, don't we?
Anyway, I promised to owl you the details, so here they are.
We won't be staying in England. We're going to Rome, Italy, because the Curse Breaker there has been forced to leave due to family emergencies. Apparently, they've found some old treasure chest in the cellars of a university, and can't break the curse on it themselves. Amateurs.
We'll be travelling the Muggle way, because you haven't got your Apparating license yet, and I don't feel comfortable Apparating over such a big distance with you. We'd be splinched. I'll come pick you up in two days, around noon. We'll go by airplane, if that's what it's called. I've never seen one, but it pays off to have a Muggle obsessed father.
I haven't got all the details of exactly what curse is placed on the chest, or where we'll be staying, I'll get those tomorrow, but hopefully, you now have some more information to placate your parents. If they're anything like Mum and Dad, you'll need it.
Oh, about that; I wrote to Mum and told her I'd be going to Italy with an apprentice, (I can't find another word to describe your position) and she was delighted. Somewhere along the way, I forgot to mention that it was you, and then I didn't have time. I don't usually keep secrets from her, but it just happened this time. If she ever asks, she's in for a surprise, and I'm not saying no to that. Been long since I had a good laugh at her expense.
But I'm not writing to mock my mother. I would have asked if you'd written to Ron, but seeing as you told me you'd had a fight and weren't talking anymore, that would be a rather stupid question. Have you written to Harry? It doesn't really matter; I'm just making conversation. Which is probably stupid, since this is a letter. Look, now I'm rambling again! I'll stop now.
Hope this letter finds you in good health. See you in two days.
Sincerely
Bill.
She smiled. They were indeed alike in the matter of rambling on about nothing in particular, until someone strangled them to shut them up. She put down the letter, and walked out the door and down the stairs again. She had to tell her parents about this; Bill had been right about giving them more information.
*****'
The two days crawled by so slowly it made Hermione want to rip her hair out. Her parents kept asking whether she had packed and whether or not she knew when or how she would be picked up, driving her crazy, slowly but surely.
The second day of waiting dawned, and Hermione rose early to start packing. She got around the problem of not being allowed to use magic over the holidays by packing only the most important things, such as clothes, a few books and her CD-walkman. She stuffed a few of her favourite CD's in the bag as well, and just managed to close it afterwards.
When she was done packing, she at down and explained to Crookshanks that she would be gone over the summer. This would have been considered insane, had it been anyone else, but Hermione was convinced that he understood what she was saying. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, but either way, she explained it to him, I nothing else then to make time pass a little faster.
After explaining to her cat, she wore a hole in the living room carpet with her pacing. She had never been more nervous in her whole life. No, scratch that, the only other time she had been this nervous was the first time she took the train from platform 9 ¾ to Hogwarts. But this was a good second. She didn't really know why she nervous either. Bill was a Weasley, and therefore nice by default, but maybe it was because no matter how much of a Weasley he was, she didn't know him personally. At least not that good.
She managed to sit down long enough to eat lunch, but was up and pacing in a matter of minutes. Her parents were growing tired of her constant pacing when someone rang the doorbell, and she jumped and ran out in the hall. She opened the door before the doorbell stopped ringing, and came face to face with Bill, who was grinning, probably at how fast she'd answered the door.
"Hello, ´Mione, ready to go?" He asked.
"You bet!" She grinned. "I just have to get my bag, and we're can leave."
"Alright."
"Why don't you come in and sit down? It'll only be a moment, but I fear my cat will latch himself onto my leg to keep me from going." She offered.
"Yeah, he was rather vicious, wasn't he?" Bill smiled and entered after her.
She showed him to the kitchen, where her parents were sitting, still finishing lunch, and gestured to one of the chairs.
"Have a seat and make yourself at home. Mum, Dad, this is Bill." She introduced them quickly.
Her parents stared at Bill as if they'd seen a ghost, and he smiled nervously back, and sat down on the offered chair.
"Hello." He said. "Nice to meet you."
"Hello, Bill, was it?" Her mother said, getting over her shock faster than her father.
"Yes."
"So, Hermione tells us you're a brother of her friend Ron?" Her mother continued, trying to make conversation.
Hermione smiled and left them to it. She knew that in a few minutes, Bill and her parents would be talking like they'd known each other forever. Bill had a way of making people trust him without even thinking about it.
She raced up the stair and quickly found her bag, petted Crookshanks, and surprisingly managed to get away without too many scratches. She dragged her trunk down the stair and to the kitchen, where Bill was now explaining to her parents what he'd done in Egypt. She knocked him on the shoulder, to remind him that they had to leave.
"Oh, right. We should be going. It was nice to meet you, Mr and Mrs Granger. And don't worry; I'll take care of your daughter." He smiled, and followed Hermione to he door.
"Bye, Mum, bye Dad." Hermione called, and walked out the door.
The door slammed shut, and her parents looked at each other helplessly.
"I can't help but be worried about her; no matter how nice Bill is, accidents happen." Her mother said.
Her father could do nothing but agree.
****'
As soon as they out the door, Bill took hold of her trunk and took out his wand. A quick spell later, it was light as a feather. She took it back again, and gripped it tightly to prevent it from floating away.
"How do we get to the airport?" She asked.
"Well, we Apparate." Bill answered.
"Where from? We can't exactly do it on my front lawn, you know; this is a Muggle neighbourhood." She reminded him.
"Come on, then." He said, holding out his hand.
She took it, and they walked away from her house. Soon, they reached a hill, surrounded by trees. After a short climb, they were at the top of it. Hermione looked around, smiling to herself.
"Something funny?" Bill asked, seeing her smile.
"No, this hill just reminds me of the time when we went by Portkey to the Quidditch Wold Cup." She explained.
"Yeah, but that was Stoatshead Hill. Now come on, we have to leave unless we want to miss our flight." He said.
She stepped closer, and since she'd never Apparated before, she was a bit unsure of what to do. Bill wrapped his arms around her, making her start and stare at him.
"Don't worry ´Mione; I've tandem-Apparated before. There's nothing to worry about." He assured her.
She nodded, and a second later, the world around her twisted madly, and she felt herself falling, the only solid thing to hold onto being Bill.