Disclaimer: I own nothing. All Characters and names belong to J K Rowling.

Chapter 3

Hermione's New Brother

"Bill?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"What's wrong with Bill," asked Hermione defensively, trying very hard not to laugh.

"Bill is twenty-five, Hermione."

"And?"

"And you're sixteen."

"Ron is sixteen. I'm seventeen."

"But Hermione, that's still a seven year difference. Bill would never...," Ginny trailed off when she caught the pained look on Hermione's face.

"Well, I'll see what I can do," sighed Ginny.

Hermione's head shot up looking alarmed. And she wasn't acting this time. She was alarmed. Very alarmed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Hermione sharply. "I don't want you to do anything about it."

"Why not?" asked Ginny looking genuinely perplexed. "How else will you ever stand a chance with a guy who's seven years your senior?"

"That's my business, Ginny. I don't want anyone to interfere. If something happens, fine. If not, well ... I'll wait till it does."

"But Hermione," protested Ginny, "what could be wrong with a gentle nudge in the right direction?"

"No, Ginny." answered Hermione firmly.

Ginny sighed and shrugged.

"Promise me you won't say anything about it to him," demanded Hermione.

"Only if you promise that the next time you see him you'll ask him out." Ginny answered.

"Fine."

They shook on it.

Hermione was up early the next morning. It was Saturday. Harry, Ron, and Ginny had gone to Quiddich practice. Hermione figured she'd get them some toast for breakfast. She went down to the Great Hall, grabbed a large pile of toast off the table, and headed outside. She strolled leisurely across the grounds, breathing in the fresh morning air. She walked toward the stands, and paused just short of them, to watch Harry pull off a spectacular dive, that made her dizzy. She smiled, and still watching, she continued walking, not really looking where she was going. All of the sudden, a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Better look where you're going, or you'll drop all that toast," said an amused voice.

Hermione looked up and gasped. What was Bill Weasley doing here!

Bill frowned down at her. "Is there something wrong Hermione? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"What are you doing here?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

Bill raised his eyebrows? "Why do I get the feeling that I'm missing something?" he asked.

Ginny flew down, and landed next to them, a wide grin on her face. She hugged Bill, and laughed.

"Thanks for coming Bill. Have you been watching?"

"Watching what?" interrupted Hermione, narrowing her eyes at Ginny.

Ginny looked at her innocently. "Quiddich practice of course."

"Ginny, get back up here!" yelled Harry.

"Oops. Gotta go. Catch you later. Don't forget. You promised."

Bill had been following their exchange. He looked at her.

"Promised what?" he asked.

Hermione groaned, sank into a seat and buried her face in her hands.

Bill chuckled and sat down next to her. "Come on. Tell."

Hermione sighed. She immerged from her hands, her face still red. "First promise not to repeat anything to anyone, especially Ginny."

Bill laughed. "Come on, Hermione. It can't be that bad. But I guess Ginny must have thought it was important if she asked me to come."

Hermione snorted. "I thought you came to watch her Quiddich practice."

"Come on, Hermione. You think I believed that? I thought Ginny wanted to talk something out. But I guess she figured you needed to talk something out, huh?" He slung his arm over her shoulders and propped his feet up on the seat in front of them.

"Don't." hissed Hermione. "You'll have her thinking things."

Bill looked at her in confusion. Then his eyes widened. He removed his arm hastily.

"Whoa! What's going on, Hermione?"

Hermione shook her head. "You didn't promise," she said stubbornly.

Bill sighed. "I promise not to repeat anything you don't want me to," he said gently.

"Even if you think it's for the best," continued Hermione.

"Ok." agreed Bill

The silence stretched between them.

"Well?" prompted Bill

Hermione bit her lip nervously. "I don't know where to start," she admitted.

"Why don't you start with that promise you made to Ginny," suggested Bill.

"I promised Ginny that the next time I saw you, I would ask you out on a date," said Hermione bluntly.

Bill fought to keep his face neutral. But Hermione was pretty sure that if he didn't have such good control, he would be looking quite horrified right now.

She laughed softly. "I don't like you that way Bill."

His look of immense relief was immediate. Hermione laughed harder. Bill gave her a rueful grin.

"So why does Ginny want...," he trailed off.

Hermione sighed. "I'll start with Ron." Hermione told Bill everything that happened from the time Ginny approached her about asking Ron out, to the dare, Malfoy, and finally her having to take up the dare, and how she got out of it. Bill listened quietly, smiling now and then, scowling at Malfoy, and laughing at his sister's enthusiasm.

"Well," he said, his eyes twinkling, "which brother of mine do you like?"

"Don't you start now," Hermione groaned.

Bill laughed. "It's fine. You don't have to tell me." he said mischievously, "but aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?"

"Your promise to Ginny."

Hermione froze.

"But - but - I just told you everything," she sputtered.

"Is that what the promise was?" He looked at her with dancing eyes. "That you would tell me everything?"

Hermione stared at him in disbelief. Bill just grinned at her.

"Well?"

Hermione could see she wouldn't get away with it, and it was obvious he had something up his sleeve.

"Will you go out with me?" she asked grumpily.

"With an invitation like that, who could refuse," he joked, looking amused. "When and where?"

Hermione stared at him. "You can't be serious. Bill, you're twenty-five years old. This is going to look very odd."

"Hey! You asked me out on a date. It's not my problem."

"Why are you doing this, Bill?"

"So I can pry more information out of you of course," he answered candidly.

Hermione sighed. "If you knew that one of your brothers dated a girl, while you and this girl liked each other, would you date her afterwards?"

Bill pondered the question for a moment. "I guess that would depend on how much I liked her." He paused. "Are you saying that Fred knows you like him?"

Hermione shrugged miserably. Then her head shot up. "How did you know it was Fred?" she demanded.

Bill laughed. "I guessed, but you just confirmed it for me."

Hermione moaned again, buried her face in her arms. Bill ruffled her hair. "Come on, Hermione. I can keep a secret. Cheer up. I'll tell you what made me guess it was Fred."

Hermione looked up at him hopefully.

"He hasn't dated anyone since he left Hogwarts." said Bill, smiling down at her. "What happened between you two anyway?"

Hermione shrugged again, and muttered, "nothing much."

"So when are we going on that date again," asked Bill casually.

Hermione glared at him. "Fine," she snapped.

"We became pretty good friends, a few weeks before he left school, and the night before he left ..." she broke off, the lump in her throat making it difficult to speak. She looked down at her hands. "He left the next day," she whispered.

Bill looked at her sympathetically.

"Have you seen him since?"

Hermione shook her head, still not meeting his eyes.

"Fred is not the type of guy to take advantage of a girl," he said softly. "If he," Bill paused not sure how to put it. "touched you," he finally continued, "he must like you."

"He didn't really do anything," she admitted with a sigh.

"So what happened the night before he left?"

He was going to kiss me on the cheek, but I moved my face," Hermione answered, red in the face.

Bill's mouth twitched, but he managed not to laugh. "On purpose?" he queried.

"Of course on purpose," she answered impatiently.

"Did he kiss you back?"

Hermione closed her eyes, and leaned back, remembering the feel of his lips on hers. "Yes," she whispered almost to herself. "He kissed me back." She touched her lips. Then she opened her eyes, and sighed. "That's the last time I've seen him. He's been avoiding me. He could have seen me loads of times over the summer. But every time I was around, he wasn't. So even though I keep hoping..." she trailed off, paused, and tried again. "I kind of know that I stole that kiss, and it makes it harder to hold on to."

Bill was quiet as he processed this information.

At that moment three broomsticks came whizzing up, and Ron, Harry, and Ginny, dismounted and joined them.

"Hey Ron, Harry" Bill greeted them as he shook their hands, and pounded them on their backs, as they all grabbed some toast. "Hey Ginny," he greeted her again. He kissed her on the cheek. "Great practice," he said casually, as he stood up to walk with them back to the castle.

Ginny eyed Bill and Hermione curiously. "So ... had a nice chat?" she asked.

Hermione smiled at Bill, and he smiled back at her.

"I think I'm going to adopt him." she told Ginny. "I don't have any brothers."

Ginny's mouth dropped open. Hermione leaned against Bill, and he slung his arm over her shoulders and squeezed. "Glad to have you as a sister," he said, winking at her. He turned slightly away from the group, leading Hermione towards the lake. "We'll be up soon," he called over his shoulder. "I just have something I need to discuss with my uh - 'sister'." Ginny gazed after them in astonishment. Bill and Hermione laughed quietly into their hands.

"Ok Hermione. What's the plan?" asked Bill, when they had managed to stop laughing. He stuck his hands back in his pockets.

"What plan?" asked Hermione suspiciously.

"The plan of what each of us is going to tell Ginny when she asks what happened. Obviously, we're both going to have to say that you asked me out. The rest is up to you."

"If we say we're going out, Ginny will stop bothering me, but then Fred will think we're going out." Hermione mused. "If we say you declined and we've talked it out and decided that for now we would be "just friends", then Ginny will still want me to go out with Ron." Hermione threw up her hands in frustration. "It's a lose - lose situation," she complained.

Bill smiled. "I have a third option that you haven't thought of," he grinned. Hermione looked at him curiously. He threw his arm around her again. "We could really go out, and let them all rot." He smiled down at her innocently, as she gaped at him. He laughed. "Joking!" he said waving his hand in front of her face.

Hermione made a face at him. He laughed. "You wanted a brother," he said with a grin. "But really, I do have a good third option. We can tell Ginny that I accepted your invitation to go out on a date with you, and I can tell Fred and George that you and I are playing a joke on Ginny, and pretending we're dating, so that Ginny won't make you date someone else."

"Hmm," Hermione reflected. "It sound like it could work. Are we really going to have to go on a date?"

"It will definitely make the story more believable. Besides there's an added bonus to that. It will help Fred wake up."

Hermione looked up at Bill. "Bill?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do you think he's avoiding me?" Hermione's voice was small and uncertain.

Bill sighed. "I honestly don't know, Hermione. But if you stop being so stubborn about my repeating anything, I can try to find out."

Hermione looked horrified at the thought. "I'll be mortified if you say anything to him! What if he doesn't feel the same way?"

"I wasn't going to tell Fred," he said. "I was thinking that maybe Charlie and I could get it out of him, by pestering him about why he hasn't been dating."

Hermione thought this over to herself. "Ok," she said slowly. "As long as you make Charlie promise not to tell anyone."

Bill pulled her into a hug. "It'll be ok Hermione. You'll see."

Hermione smiled at him, as they started back towards the castle. "Thanks Bill."

"You're welcome, Hermione. When's your next Hogsmead weekend?"

"Next week."

"What time should I pick you up?"

"Whenever it's good for you."

"10:30 then."

"Ok." Hermione paused. "This is so weird."

Bill laughed. "If you think it's weird, imagine what my girlfriend is going to say."

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks and looked at him in horror.

"What?" asked Bill innocently.

"We can't pull this charade if you have a girlfriend," she scolded, scandalized.

Bill laughed. "I was just joking."

"Grrr."

Ron and Harry sat across from Ginny, Bill, and Hermione, in the Gryffindor common room. Hermione noticed that Bill seemed to be getting a lot of glares. Her heart sunk. "I hope his doesn't mean what I think it does," she thought to herself. She shot a look at Ginny. Ginny had noticed too. She seemed to be deep in thought. Finally she seemed to come to a decision.

"Bill," she said sweetly. "I think this sister needs a turn too." She hauled him off the couch, as he grinned at her fondly. He looked back at Hermione with a grin. "These sisters!" he joked as he was led away.

As soon as he was gone, Ron turned his glare onto Hermione. "What's going on?" he demanded.

Hermione gave him a confused look. "Huh?"

"What did Bill want to talk to you about?"

"Oh. I guess you'll have to ask Bill," Hermione answered calmly.

"Why won't you tell me?" asked Ron, looking more annoyed by the second.

"Because I don't know if Bill would want me to," answered Hermione shortly. "I'm going to the library to do my potions essay." And she escaped, Ron glaring daggers after her.