Another day, another chapter. I've had a feeling my chapters aren't as good
as they could be, but I carry on.
*****''
The months went by agonizingly slow for Hermione, and she found herself not paying attention in lessons because her thoughts centred on Bill. She could be asked a question in Transfiguration, one of her best subjects, and just look at McGonagall blankly and ask her to repeat the question.
Her friends knew of course why she was so distracted during lessons, but others didn't. Malfoy, for example. He kept pestering her about her boyfriend, until she one day blew up and hexed him, landing herself in detention.
She didn't care; it was worth scrubbing cauldrons to see Malfoy going to the Hospital Wing with so many hexes on him that he could barely stand. Snape had let her go early because he said he couldn't stand ´that goofy grin of yours, you silly girl´, and she'd come back to the Gryffindor Common Room, only to be greeted by whistles and applauds from her House mates for hexing Malfoy.
She had written to Bill about it, and he had written back, saying that she was not actually supposed to do that, but that he was proud of her for knowing so many hexes. And then he'd told her that Charlie was staying for Christmas, and that she needed to prepare her friend for an insane dragon- fancier for company. She wrote back saying that he shouldn't talk about his brother like that. He defended himself by saying that it was true.
******'
The last few days before the winter holidays flew by quickly, and soon she was standing on platform 9 ¾, waiting for her parents to come and pick her up. She had decided to go home and talk to Claire before Flooing to the Burrow.
The ride home was spent talking to her mother about how her friends were feeling, how her grades were, and why she'd hexed Malfoy. When they arrived at the house, she jumped out of the car and ran down the street, snow flying around her feet, to see Claire.
She rang the doorbell, and waited for Claire to open. The door opened, and there was Claire, looking angry, and with a boy at her side. Hermione gulped, thinking she'd interrupted something and that Claire was angry at her, but Claire was glaring at the boy, who seemed clueless.
"You get out of my house, and I don't ever want to see you again! We're over!" Claire hissed at him.
"Fine whatever. You're ugly anyway." The boy shrugged and pushed past Hermione and disappeared down the street.
Hermione turned to Claire, who was still looking angry, but the dark-haired girls face softened when she saw her friend.
"Hermione! I'm so sorry you had to see that, but I was just breaking up with him; he's a jerk anyway." She said, before hugging Hermione. "So when did you come back?"
"Right now, in fact. Um, Claire, I have something to tell you. It's kind of private. Could we go to your room; I don't want your parents to hear." Hermione hugged her back.
"Ooh, keeping secrets, are you?" Claire teased, and bounced up the stairs to her room.
*****'
They sat down on Claire's bed, and Hermione took a deep breath. It was now or never. Claire was sitting across from her, head to one side, looking curious. Hermione fingered her wand, which she kept in her pocket, and sighed.
"Well, this is going to be hard, so I'll give you some good news first. I wrote to Bill, and he said that Mrs Weasley thought it would be nice if you came." She started.
"Wohoo! I get to go to that Burrow place!" Claire exclaimed, "Now what was it you wanted to tell me?"
"Here goes nothing; I'm a witch, in the magical sense of the word." She said, looking Claire seriously.
Claire laughed and shook her head, throwing a pillow at Hermione.
"Really funny, Hermione, now tell me what you wanted me to know." She got out between bouts of laughter.
Sighing, Hermione pulled out her wand and wished fervently that the permission Dumbledore had given her that summer was enough to last for this occasion too. Claire looked at her strangely, but since she just pulled out a stick from her pocket, Hermione assumed that it was nothing more than right.
"Watch." She said.
She pointed her wand at the book on Claire's nightstand, a fantasy book about dragons, and clearly said the incantation.
"Wingardium Leviosa." The book rose slowly from the nightstand and hovered about a foot above the bed, with no means of support.
Claire squeaked, and fell off the bed. She sat up, and stared at Hermione, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, clearly shocked, but to Hermione's relief, she could detect no fear in her friend's eyes. That was what she'd been most afraid of; that Claire would fear her.
"You're telling the truth?" Claire squeaked, sounding like a mouse.
"Yes. I have no reason to lie, do I?" Hermione shrugged.
"Hermione, this is so awesome!" Claire exclaimed, jumping up and giving her friend a hug.
"You believe me? You're not afraid or anything?" Hermione asked in disbelief.
"Of course not silly!" Claire said, whacking her over the head, "I'm ecstatic! Now tell me more about you being a witch!" She commanded and sat down on her bed again.
******'
Claire was nearly dying with excitement when Hermione informed her they would be Flooing to the Burrow. The girl was practically jumping up and down in glee. Hermione couldn't help but laugh at her.
She'd warned Claire that she would probably go off with Bill and not be seen for the rest of the holidays, but Claire had told her it was alright, and that Hermione needed a good shag. Hermione had then proceeded to smack her over the head and said that there would be no shagging, and that Claire needed to surgically remove her mind from the gutter.
The day came when they were going to the Burrow, and Claire said goodbye to her parents, and stood with Hermione by the fireplace. Hermione threw some Floo-powder in the fireplace and called ´the Burrow´. She gestured to Claire to go in first, and then headed after her.
They reappeared in the Weasley living room, sooty and laughing, dragging their trunks behind them. George stuck his head in the living room and spotted them, and grinned like a madman. Then he turned and called up the stairs.
"Oi! Bill! She's here now!" He called, loud enough to wake the dead.
Seconds later, Bill came running down the stairs, jumped over the banister and caught Hermione in a hug strong enough to crack bones, all the while kissing her like there was no tomorrow.
Claire watched them with an eyebrow raised, stifling giggles, when Charlie came in, and stopped at the sight of his older brother. He made a gagging sound and shook his head.
"Bill! Do you want me to go blind?" He whined.
"No, I want you to leave us alone you pervy dragon-fancier!" Bill snapped and went back to kissing Hermione.
"Dragons? Hermione, why didn't you tell me dragons existed?" Claire whined.
Hermione broke the kiss to glare at her friend, who took the hint and disappeared to the kitchen together with Charlie, who was still complaining that Bill was trying to blind him. Hermione chuckled and kissed Bill again, not intending to stop anytime soon, but they were forced to, when Mrs Weasley came into the living room.
"Hermione, Bill! You shouldn't leave your friend with Charlie like that!" She snapped.
"Oh, that's right. Hermione, we need to go and save your poor friend from the dragon-fancier." Bill said very seriously, and dragged her to the kitchen.
"Bill!" His mother shouted, but Bill only laughed and dragged Hermione into the kitchen.
In there, Claire was sitting at the table, talking with Percy about the wizarding world in general and dragons in particular. Charlie was standing by the counter, staring at her.
"...So, I believe dragons are the most fascinating creatures in the world." Claire was saying.
Bill crept up beside Charlie, who had a stunned look on his face, and his eyes were glazed over. Bill got a mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and with a glance at Hermione, who winked, he leaned down close to his brother's ear.
"See something you like?" He whispered.
Almost automatically, Charlie nodded, not taking his eyes off Claire. Bill burst out laughing, scaring his brother so much he jumped three feet into the air, and spun around, glaring. Hermione quickly grabbed Bill and proceeded to drag him out of the room.
"We have some snogging to catch up on." She explained quickly.
"Eww, now I'm going to have nightmares!" Charlie exclaimed, but soon forgot his night-time activities and went back to stare at Claire, an activity he took very seriously.
******'
They sat down on the couch in the living room, and stared at the fireplace for a few seconds, before kissing each other again. They had been apart for what to them seemed like ages, and were desperate not to waste a single minute of their time together.
Unfortunately, Ginny Weasley had other ideas, and came running into the living room, grabbed Hermione and dragged her out from under Bill's nose. Bill threw up his hands in desperation, and walked up the stairs to his room, slamming the door shut.
He lay down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Why did his family always interrupt him when he was with Hermione? He wanted so desperately to be alone with her that he dreamed of it and woke up sweating every night.
He sighed and rolled over. Charlie seemed to have gotten himself a crush, at least, he thought with a smile. It was about time too; he had started to think that his brother would never settle down. And Claire didn't seem like she would protest all that much to a relationship with the dragon-obsessed Weasley.
That meant that he had, with he help of Hermione, probably gotten Charlie a girlfriend. The only Weasley who needed a girlfriend now was Ron; he had seen Ginny throw glances at Harry when she thought no one was looking. He was pretty sure Harry didn't mind those glances.
"William Oliver Weasley, we can make a matchmaker of you yet." He mumbled to himself.
Deciding to distract himself until Hermione had escaped from his evil little sister's clutches; he picked up the closest book, which turned out to be a book Hermione lent him; The Sandman, Book of Dreams. It was rather interesting, but he still had a hard time believing that a Muggle could have such a vivid imagination.
*****'
Hermione was sitting on Ginny's bed, glaring at said redhead, arms crossed over her chest. Ginny smiled hesitantly, and turned around to greet Claire as she came in, finally having escaped from the kitchen and Percy's constant questioning. She threw Hermione a glance and raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you here, Hermione? I thought you would be off shagging Bill." She commented, resulting in a pillow throw at her head.
"I would be, if Ginny hadn't interrupted us." Hermione shot back, blushing slightly.
She wouldn't have been shagging Bill; more like snogging, but why bother with petty facts when it could ruin a perfect retort? She watched as Ginny turned slightly green.
"Urgh, that's my brother you're referring to!" She exclaimed.
"Oh? Well, if you didn't want me to tell you about it, then why interrupt me?" Hermione said.
"Whatever! I wanted a girl to talk to; it's not easy living in a house full of boys!" Ginny rolled her eyes.
"I know I wouldn't be complaining." Claire said dreamily.
Hermione lobbed another pillow at her, and snorted.
"Of course not; Charlie is only inches away from drooling at you!" She said.
Now Claire seemed interested; she leaned forward and grinned.
"Charlie's the one with the scars on his hands, right?" She asked.
"Yeah." Ginny nodded. "He's the second eldest one."
"How come he's so interested; I've barely talked to him."
"You haven't talked to him, no, but you've talked to Percy, about dragons." Hermione grinned. "And that is the best way to get Charlie's attention; Bill has a reason to call him dragon-fancier. "
"What? He seriously likes dragons? Hermione, you've just found my dream- guy! You know how much I love dragons!" She squealed.
She hugged Hermione and Ginny and then bounded down the stairs again, presumably to find Charlie and give him the same treatment. The two remaining girls looked at each other, and were suddenly overcome by giggles.
"That was so funny! I can't believe Charlie was drooling over her like that!" Hermione gasped.
"I can't believe she drooled over Charlie like that!" Ginny snorted.
They would have laughed further, but Mrs Weasley called them down to dinner. Ginny jumped up immediately, and dragged Hermione down the stairs. Bill was just coming out of his room when they came down the stairs, and glared at Ginny.
"Hey! Unhand my girl!" He called after his sister.
His sister only stuck out her tongue at him and held onto Hermione. Bill followed them, muttering about ´interfering family members who should know better´.
******'
All members of the Weasley clan, together with Harry, Hermione and Claire, were gathered around the dinner table. Due to some unfathomable circumstances far beyond their control, Bill was seated next to Hermione, and Claire was seated next to Charlie. Charlie was definitely not complaining, and neither was Bill.
Hermione was having a hard time keeping a straight face while listening to Charlie and Claire's conversation about dragons. It seemed Charlie had finally found someone who understood him, and didn't complain when he talked about dragons. Ron was blushing and looking down t his plate because of something Harry said, Percy was involved in a discussion about magical laws with his father, and the twins were holding a whispered conversation, as if to not be overheard by their mother.
Bill pushed his plate away and put an arm around her shoulders, holding her close. He glanced at the calendar at the wall, and then turned to his mother, who was talking to Ginny about something important, or not.
"Mum?" He asked.
"Yes, dear?" Mrs Weasley answered.
"Can we all go to Diagon Alley tomorrow? I've still got some presents to buy." He said.
"Of course you can! It would be a perfect opportunity for Claire to acquaint herself with the wizarding world!" Mr Weasley exclaimed happily.
"Alright then." Mrs Weasley nodded, and went back to talking to Ginny.
Bill grinned and dropped a kiss on top of Hermione's hair, and watched as she ate her dinner. It was one of the better moments in his life; peaceful, happy, warm and content. He wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life like that. If he could, he would freeze this moment and save it, so he could take it out and look at it in years to come.
It wasn't until after inner, when he once again was cooped up in his room reading, that he realized what he had thought. He then put down the book, calmly and slowly, stood up, walked out the door and down the stairs, nodded to his mother where she was standing in the kitchen, and walked across the backyard to the broom-shed. He took a broom, walked to the place where the twins and Harry and Ron always played Quidditch. Well there, he mounted the broom and kicked off; he needed to think.
He hovered just low enough not to be seen by the Muggles, and found himself stargazing. Even from this high up, the stars seemed so tiny, as grains of sand on a piece of cloth, almost. They didn't twinkle, as described in fairy-tales, but shone steadily, as if they could go on doing so forever. And maybe they would; it would be nice to know that the same stars would shine over his grandchildren.
And there he went again; thinking in terms of children and grandchildren, the rest of his life and whom he would share it with. Maybe he had finally grown up, as his mother had been begging him to do since he was out of Hogwarts. The most terrifying part was, he knew whom he wanted to spend his life with, and that someone was Hermione Granger.
That realization nearly knocked him off his broom. He wanted to marry Hermione Granger; he wanted her to be his, for the rest of his life. Glancing at his watch, he decided he had been up in the air long enough, and descended again. He would have to think this over, he decided, and walked back to the house.
*****'
Hermione was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking out the window, and she saw Bill both as he walked away from the house, and when he came back. She wondered what he had been doing, but decided it wasn't important, and crept back under the covers of her bed.
Claire was already asleep on the mattress on the floor, and she could hear Ginny snore softly from her own bed. There was a calming atmosphere in the room, making her relax and calm down. She hadn't been this calm in over a year. The ´battle-nerves´ as she called them had made her jumpy and quick to draw her wand. At times, she was nearly as bad as Alastor Moody.
If someone had told her a year ago, that she would be staying at the Burrow with her best Muggle friend, as the official girlfriend of Bill Weasley, she would have laughed in their face and asked them whether they were escapees of St Mungo's or not. But here she was, falling more in love with him for every passing day, and finding herself wondering how she ever lived before she met him.
She sighed, and pulled the covers tighter around her, trying to escape the slight chill in the air. Indoors temperatures dropped come winter, even in the wizarding world where heating charms could be applied to houses as well as clothes, and the Burrow with all its leaning walls and creaking floorboards was perfect for letting cold air in.
She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, but she found that it was impossible, due to all the thoughts centring on Bill. Not that she minded, thinking about Bill was a very pleasant activity, but it was somewhat distracting. Hopefully, she'd wear herself out and fall asleep anyway. She would have to get up early to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow morning, and she didn't want to look like a zombie when she did, so some sleep would do her good.
******'
Ending Notes; I would have made the chapter longer, but it seemed like a good place to stop, and I've got some other fic-ideas I'd like to scribble a bit on, so see you next time.
*****''
The months went by agonizingly slow for Hermione, and she found herself not paying attention in lessons because her thoughts centred on Bill. She could be asked a question in Transfiguration, one of her best subjects, and just look at McGonagall blankly and ask her to repeat the question.
Her friends knew of course why she was so distracted during lessons, but others didn't. Malfoy, for example. He kept pestering her about her boyfriend, until she one day blew up and hexed him, landing herself in detention.
She didn't care; it was worth scrubbing cauldrons to see Malfoy going to the Hospital Wing with so many hexes on him that he could barely stand. Snape had let her go early because he said he couldn't stand ´that goofy grin of yours, you silly girl´, and she'd come back to the Gryffindor Common Room, only to be greeted by whistles and applauds from her House mates for hexing Malfoy.
She had written to Bill about it, and he had written back, saying that she was not actually supposed to do that, but that he was proud of her for knowing so many hexes. And then he'd told her that Charlie was staying for Christmas, and that she needed to prepare her friend for an insane dragon- fancier for company. She wrote back saying that he shouldn't talk about his brother like that. He defended himself by saying that it was true.
******'
The last few days before the winter holidays flew by quickly, and soon she was standing on platform 9 ¾, waiting for her parents to come and pick her up. She had decided to go home and talk to Claire before Flooing to the Burrow.
The ride home was spent talking to her mother about how her friends were feeling, how her grades were, and why she'd hexed Malfoy. When they arrived at the house, she jumped out of the car and ran down the street, snow flying around her feet, to see Claire.
She rang the doorbell, and waited for Claire to open. The door opened, and there was Claire, looking angry, and with a boy at her side. Hermione gulped, thinking she'd interrupted something and that Claire was angry at her, but Claire was glaring at the boy, who seemed clueless.
"You get out of my house, and I don't ever want to see you again! We're over!" Claire hissed at him.
"Fine whatever. You're ugly anyway." The boy shrugged and pushed past Hermione and disappeared down the street.
Hermione turned to Claire, who was still looking angry, but the dark-haired girls face softened when she saw her friend.
"Hermione! I'm so sorry you had to see that, but I was just breaking up with him; he's a jerk anyway." She said, before hugging Hermione. "So when did you come back?"
"Right now, in fact. Um, Claire, I have something to tell you. It's kind of private. Could we go to your room; I don't want your parents to hear." Hermione hugged her back.
"Ooh, keeping secrets, are you?" Claire teased, and bounced up the stairs to her room.
*****'
They sat down on Claire's bed, and Hermione took a deep breath. It was now or never. Claire was sitting across from her, head to one side, looking curious. Hermione fingered her wand, which she kept in her pocket, and sighed.
"Well, this is going to be hard, so I'll give you some good news first. I wrote to Bill, and he said that Mrs Weasley thought it would be nice if you came." She started.
"Wohoo! I get to go to that Burrow place!" Claire exclaimed, "Now what was it you wanted to tell me?"
"Here goes nothing; I'm a witch, in the magical sense of the word." She said, looking Claire seriously.
Claire laughed and shook her head, throwing a pillow at Hermione.
"Really funny, Hermione, now tell me what you wanted me to know." She got out between bouts of laughter.
Sighing, Hermione pulled out her wand and wished fervently that the permission Dumbledore had given her that summer was enough to last for this occasion too. Claire looked at her strangely, but since she just pulled out a stick from her pocket, Hermione assumed that it was nothing more than right.
"Watch." She said.
She pointed her wand at the book on Claire's nightstand, a fantasy book about dragons, and clearly said the incantation.
"Wingardium Leviosa." The book rose slowly from the nightstand and hovered about a foot above the bed, with no means of support.
Claire squeaked, and fell off the bed. She sat up, and stared at Hermione, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, clearly shocked, but to Hermione's relief, she could detect no fear in her friend's eyes. That was what she'd been most afraid of; that Claire would fear her.
"You're telling the truth?" Claire squeaked, sounding like a mouse.
"Yes. I have no reason to lie, do I?" Hermione shrugged.
"Hermione, this is so awesome!" Claire exclaimed, jumping up and giving her friend a hug.
"You believe me? You're not afraid or anything?" Hermione asked in disbelief.
"Of course not silly!" Claire said, whacking her over the head, "I'm ecstatic! Now tell me more about you being a witch!" She commanded and sat down on her bed again.
******'
Claire was nearly dying with excitement when Hermione informed her they would be Flooing to the Burrow. The girl was practically jumping up and down in glee. Hermione couldn't help but laugh at her.
She'd warned Claire that she would probably go off with Bill and not be seen for the rest of the holidays, but Claire had told her it was alright, and that Hermione needed a good shag. Hermione had then proceeded to smack her over the head and said that there would be no shagging, and that Claire needed to surgically remove her mind from the gutter.
The day came when they were going to the Burrow, and Claire said goodbye to her parents, and stood with Hermione by the fireplace. Hermione threw some Floo-powder in the fireplace and called ´the Burrow´. She gestured to Claire to go in first, and then headed after her.
They reappeared in the Weasley living room, sooty and laughing, dragging their trunks behind them. George stuck his head in the living room and spotted them, and grinned like a madman. Then he turned and called up the stairs.
"Oi! Bill! She's here now!" He called, loud enough to wake the dead.
Seconds later, Bill came running down the stairs, jumped over the banister and caught Hermione in a hug strong enough to crack bones, all the while kissing her like there was no tomorrow.
Claire watched them with an eyebrow raised, stifling giggles, when Charlie came in, and stopped at the sight of his older brother. He made a gagging sound and shook his head.
"Bill! Do you want me to go blind?" He whined.
"No, I want you to leave us alone you pervy dragon-fancier!" Bill snapped and went back to kissing Hermione.
"Dragons? Hermione, why didn't you tell me dragons existed?" Claire whined.
Hermione broke the kiss to glare at her friend, who took the hint and disappeared to the kitchen together with Charlie, who was still complaining that Bill was trying to blind him. Hermione chuckled and kissed Bill again, not intending to stop anytime soon, but they were forced to, when Mrs Weasley came into the living room.
"Hermione, Bill! You shouldn't leave your friend with Charlie like that!" She snapped.
"Oh, that's right. Hermione, we need to go and save your poor friend from the dragon-fancier." Bill said very seriously, and dragged her to the kitchen.
"Bill!" His mother shouted, but Bill only laughed and dragged Hermione into the kitchen.
In there, Claire was sitting at the table, talking with Percy about the wizarding world in general and dragons in particular. Charlie was standing by the counter, staring at her.
"...So, I believe dragons are the most fascinating creatures in the world." Claire was saying.
Bill crept up beside Charlie, who had a stunned look on his face, and his eyes were glazed over. Bill got a mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and with a glance at Hermione, who winked, he leaned down close to his brother's ear.
"See something you like?" He whispered.
Almost automatically, Charlie nodded, not taking his eyes off Claire. Bill burst out laughing, scaring his brother so much he jumped three feet into the air, and spun around, glaring. Hermione quickly grabbed Bill and proceeded to drag him out of the room.
"We have some snogging to catch up on." She explained quickly.
"Eww, now I'm going to have nightmares!" Charlie exclaimed, but soon forgot his night-time activities and went back to stare at Claire, an activity he took very seriously.
******'
They sat down on the couch in the living room, and stared at the fireplace for a few seconds, before kissing each other again. They had been apart for what to them seemed like ages, and were desperate not to waste a single minute of their time together.
Unfortunately, Ginny Weasley had other ideas, and came running into the living room, grabbed Hermione and dragged her out from under Bill's nose. Bill threw up his hands in desperation, and walked up the stairs to his room, slamming the door shut.
He lay down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Why did his family always interrupt him when he was with Hermione? He wanted so desperately to be alone with her that he dreamed of it and woke up sweating every night.
He sighed and rolled over. Charlie seemed to have gotten himself a crush, at least, he thought with a smile. It was about time too; he had started to think that his brother would never settle down. And Claire didn't seem like she would protest all that much to a relationship with the dragon-obsessed Weasley.
That meant that he had, with he help of Hermione, probably gotten Charlie a girlfriend. The only Weasley who needed a girlfriend now was Ron; he had seen Ginny throw glances at Harry when she thought no one was looking. He was pretty sure Harry didn't mind those glances.
"William Oliver Weasley, we can make a matchmaker of you yet." He mumbled to himself.
Deciding to distract himself until Hermione had escaped from his evil little sister's clutches; he picked up the closest book, which turned out to be a book Hermione lent him; The Sandman, Book of Dreams. It was rather interesting, but he still had a hard time believing that a Muggle could have such a vivid imagination.
*****'
Hermione was sitting on Ginny's bed, glaring at said redhead, arms crossed over her chest. Ginny smiled hesitantly, and turned around to greet Claire as she came in, finally having escaped from the kitchen and Percy's constant questioning. She threw Hermione a glance and raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you here, Hermione? I thought you would be off shagging Bill." She commented, resulting in a pillow throw at her head.
"I would be, if Ginny hadn't interrupted us." Hermione shot back, blushing slightly.
She wouldn't have been shagging Bill; more like snogging, but why bother with petty facts when it could ruin a perfect retort? She watched as Ginny turned slightly green.
"Urgh, that's my brother you're referring to!" She exclaimed.
"Oh? Well, if you didn't want me to tell you about it, then why interrupt me?" Hermione said.
"Whatever! I wanted a girl to talk to; it's not easy living in a house full of boys!" Ginny rolled her eyes.
"I know I wouldn't be complaining." Claire said dreamily.
Hermione lobbed another pillow at her, and snorted.
"Of course not; Charlie is only inches away from drooling at you!" She said.
Now Claire seemed interested; she leaned forward and grinned.
"Charlie's the one with the scars on his hands, right?" She asked.
"Yeah." Ginny nodded. "He's the second eldest one."
"How come he's so interested; I've barely talked to him."
"You haven't talked to him, no, but you've talked to Percy, about dragons." Hermione grinned. "And that is the best way to get Charlie's attention; Bill has a reason to call him dragon-fancier. "
"What? He seriously likes dragons? Hermione, you've just found my dream- guy! You know how much I love dragons!" She squealed.
She hugged Hermione and Ginny and then bounded down the stairs again, presumably to find Charlie and give him the same treatment. The two remaining girls looked at each other, and were suddenly overcome by giggles.
"That was so funny! I can't believe Charlie was drooling over her like that!" Hermione gasped.
"I can't believe she drooled over Charlie like that!" Ginny snorted.
They would have laughed further, but Mrs Weasley called them down to dinner. Ginny jumped up immediately, and dragged Hermione down the stairs. Bill was just coming out of his room when they came down the stairs, and glared at Ginny.
"Hey! Unhand my girl!" He called after his sister.
His sister only stuck out her tongue at him and held onto Hermione. Bill followed them, muttering about ´interfering family members who should know better´.
******'
All members of the Weasley clan, together with Harry, Hermione and Claire, were gathered around the dinner table. Due to some unfathomable circumstances far beyond their control, Bill was seated next to Hermione, and Claire was seated next to Charlie. Charlie was definitely not complaining, and neither was Bill.
Hermione was having a hard time keeping a straight face while listening to Charlie and Claire's conversation about dragons. It seemed Charlie had finally found someone who understood him, and didn't complain when he talked about dragons. Ron was blushing and looking down t his plate because of something Harry said, Percy was involved in a discussion about magical laws with his father, and the twins were holding a whispered conversation, as if to not be overheard by their mother.
Bill pushed his plate away and put an arm around her shoulders, holding her close. He glanced at the calendar at the wall, and then turned to his mother, who was talking to Ginny about something important, or not.
"Mum?" He asked.
"Yes, dear?" Mrs Weasley answered.
"Can we all go to Diagon Alley tomorrow? I've still got some presents to buy." He said.
"Of course you can! It would be a perfect opportunity for Claire to acquaint herself with the wizarding world!" Mr Weasley exclaimed happily.
"Alright then." Mrs Weasley nodded, and went back to talking to Ginny.
Bill grinned and dropped a kiss on top of Hermione's hair, and watched as she ate her dinner. It was one of the better moments in his life; peaceful, happy, warm and content. He wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life like that. If he could, he would freeze this moment and save it, so he could take it out and look at it in years to come.
It wasn't until after inner, when he once again was cooped up in his room reading, that he realized what he had thought. He then put down the book, calmly and slowly, stood up, walked out the door and down the stairs, nodded to his mother where she was standing in the kitchen, and walked across the backyard to the broom-shed. He took a broom, walked to the place where the twins and Harry and Ron always played Quidditch. Well there, he mounted the broom and kicked off; he needed to think.
He hovered just low enough not to be seen by the Muggles, and found himself stargazing. Even from this high up, the stars seemed so tiny, as grains of sand on a piece of cloth, almost. They didn't twinkle, as described in fairy-tales, but shone steadily, as if they could go on doing so forever. And maybe they would; it would be nice to know that the same stars would shine over his grandchildren.
And there he went again; thinking in terms of children and grandchildren, the rest of his life and whom he would share it with. Maybe he had finally grown up, as his mother had been begging him to do since he was out of Hogwarts. The most terrifying part was, he knew whom he wanted to spend his life with, and that someone was Hermione Granger.
That realization nearly knocked him off his broom. He wanted to marry Hermione Granger; he wanted her to be his, for the rest of his life. Glancing at his watch, he decided he had been up in the air long enough, and descended again. He would have to think this over, he decided, and walked back to the house.
*****'
Hermione was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking out the window, and she saw Bill both as he walked away from the house, and when he came back. She wondered what he had been doing, but decided it wasn't important, and crept back under the covers of her bed.
Claire was already asleep on the mattress on the floor, and she could hear Ginny snore softly from her own bed. There was a calming atmosphere in the room, making her relax and calm down. She hadn't been this calm in over a year. The ´battle-nerves´ as she called them had made her jumpy and quick to draw her wand. At times, she was nearly as bad as Alastor Moody.
If someone had told her a year ago, that she would be staying at the Burrow with her best Muggle friend, as the official girlfriend of Bill Weasley, she would have laughed in their face and asked them whether they were escapees of St Mungo's or not. But here she was, falling more in love with him for every passing day, and finding herself wondering how she ever lived before she met him.
She sighed, and pulled the covers tighter around her, trying to escape the slight chill in the air. Indoors temperatures dropped come winter, even in the wizarding world where heating charms could be applied to houses as well as clothes, and the Burrow with all its leaning walls and creaking floorboards was perfect for letting cold air in.
She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, but she found that it was impossible, due to all the thoughts centring on Bill. Not that she minded, thinking about Bill was a very pleasant activity, but it was somewhat distracting. Hopefully, she'd wear herself out and fall asleep anyway. She would have to get up early to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow morning, and she didn't want to look like a zombie when she did, so some sleep would do her good.
******'
Ending Notes; I would have made the chapter longer, but it seemed like a good place to stop, and I've got some other fic-ideas I'd like to scribble a bit on, so see you next time.