Submitted for The Houses Competition Forum - Round 7

House: Ravenclaw

Subject: Transfiguration

Category: Standard

Theme: Travel

Prompt: 7. (Genre) Romance

Word count: 2,945

Warnings: AU No Voldemort, Canon Divergence

Dedicated to Ash; you know why. Hope this makes you smile!


Like lovers do

Hermione had had a crush on Bill Weasley ever since she had met him before the Quidditch World Cup. It was impossible not to be attracted to the older wizard; his long hair, freckled face and bright smile made her blush and her heart beat faster. Even an oblivious Harry lost all sense around Bill.

It didn't matter that he was older than her—by eight years and ten months, but who was counting? There was something about Bill that made Hermione want to ignore all the social conventions that screamed that she was being stupid by pining after him. She knew he would probably never look her way, but Hermione couldn't help but hold out hope that someday, he would see her.

At the end of her sixth year, Ginny said, "Bill's getting married this summer."

Hermione's heart broke.

Oblivious to Hermione's pain, Ginny went on, "Mum doesn't like her, but I guess Bill is happy, so I can't say much about it."

"That's good to hear," Hermione managed to choke out. "Is the wedding going to be at the Burrow?"

"Yeah, Mum's already going crazy with the planning," Ginny said in a disinterested tone of voice; Hermione wanted to be nonchalant but was unable to when Ginny continued. "You're going, right? Bill's fiancé wants me to be her bridesmaid. Can you imagine?"

"It's hard to imagine," Hermione said, tears starting to blur her vision. "I remembered I need to get something from the library. Meet you at dinner?"

"I'll save you a seat." Ginny dismissed her, and Hermione flew from the Common Room like she was being chased by a Cerberus.

Hermione ended up in the Room of Requirement, choosing a cosy room to cry in to her heart's content. She had always known she hadn't had a chance with Bill, but seeing her chance go out in a puff of smoke hurt. No matter how much she tried to change his views, Bill would only ever see her as another little sister. And now, she was going to lose him forever.

"I only wanted a chance to prove to him I could be someone he could love," Hermione murmured to herself, imagining Bill smiling at a faceless woman while Hermione stood in the background. "I guess I've lost my chance now."

Hermione ended up falling asleep in the hidden room, not knowing how drastically her life would change in just a few months.


In the end, Bill didn't marry Fleur Delacour. During a trip before the wedding, the two of them had a huge argument, which ended up with Fleur saying she never wanted to see Bill ever again.

Hermione tried to disguise it, but she was delighted with how things had turned out—even though Bill never demonstrated he had any feelings for her. It meant that she still had a chance to make him see she had grown up and potentially how she could be a better partner for him, more than Fleur would ever be.

After graduating with the highest N.E.W.T. scores in history, Hermione decided to become a curse-breaker. She started to research what it took to be a curse breaker after she discovered what Bill did for a living—her crush started to get out of hand when she thought about getting the same job as Bill—but after researching so much, Hermione figured that it might as well be the perfect job for her.

"I'm going to miss you," Harry said, seeing Hermione getting ready to take a portkey to take her to Egypt. "Why do you have to go to another country to get a job?"

Hermione giggled at Harry's pout. "You know I've wanted this job for more than two months, so why are you being this unreasonable? And it's not like I'll be going to another planet—we'll still be able to talk via Floo and owls."

"But it isn't going to be the same," Harry whined, and Hermione hugged him. "I'm going to miss having you by my side. You're my sister, 'Mione, and I don't want you to forget me."

"I'll never forget you, Harry." Hermione tightened the hug around him, glad to have Harry in her life. "When you have time, come visit me. I'd love to have you there with me."

"I'll visit you as soon as possible. Try not to study too hard, yeah? Ask Bill to show you around." Harry let go of the hug and smiled at her. "At least you'll have someone there with you."

Hermione smiled back, but she didn't reply. She tried not to think about what Bill being there with her meant; she was going to be there to study, expand and polish her skills… If Bill started to see her in another light, that would just be a bonus.

The portkey trip was tiring, but when Hermione's feet touched the Egyptian Ministry's floor, she couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face when she found Bill waiting for her.

"Ukhti! You're finally here!" Bill grabbed Hermione and hugged her tightly. Hermione tried not to feel defeated when he called her 'sister'; she would soon change his mind. "Are you ready to start working with the goblins?"

"I'm ready as I'll ever be," Hermione replied, inhaling Bill's scent discreetly. "I've been waiting for this for a month already, so I can't wait to start."

Bill's chuckle reverberated against her chest before he let go of her. "So you want to start working already, or would you like me to give you a tour?"

Hermione tried not to whine at the loss of contact, but she knew that she had to keep a cool head.

"Of course not, I would love to see the city with you!" Hermione smiled. "Can I leave my bags at my hotel room first?"

"What? No! You're family! You can't stay in a hotel room; you're going to stay at my flat," Bill said, picking up Hermione's bags. He missed her sharp intake of breath as he went on, "I live near the Gringotts branch, so I think you're going to enjoy it."

"Thanks, Bill. I appreciate it, but you don't have to do that," Hermione said. She nibbled on her lip and thought about how she wouldn't be able to handle her crush living with Bill. "I can stay in a hotel room; it's no problem at all."

"I can't allow that; it isn't in my blood." Bill winked at her, and Hermione almost tripped at the gesture. "My flat has two bedrooms, so you won't be intruding or anything. You probably won't even notice I'm there."

Hermione smiled at that, not wanting to tell Bill that she wanted him there with her. She had a plan in mind to make sure Bill realised that she wasn't his little sister—she was someone that he would want to ravish.


It took her a few weeks, but Hermione was glad that Bill seemed to see her as a grown woman instead of the teen girl he had initially met. She started with small touches and by wearing more daring outfits around him. She claimed it was because of how hot Cairo was compared to London or Scotland.

Meeting her coworkers was a bonus that Hermione didn't see coming. She used the opportunity to show Bill what he could have if he only received her hints.

A few months later, Hermione was getting dressed in her bedroom when Bill walked in.

"Are you going out with Isis again?" he asked, leaning against the door of her bedroom. "I thought you two went out two days ago?"

Hermione finished putting on her lipstick and smacked her lips, inspecting her reflection. "And we did. I'm going out with Aharon today." Hermione mentally cheered when Bill audibly swallowed when she mentioned Aharon's name. "Isis introduced us, so we're going to dinner."

"Aharon? On a date? I thought you weren't interested in dating anyone." Bill was getting uncomfortable, asking invasive questions, and Hermione was living for it, squealing on the inside. "When did you change your mind?"

"I didn't change my mind, Bill. You're the one who assumed I didn't want to go out with anyone—you never asked me what I thought." Hermione looked at herself once more in the mirror and turned to Bill. "What do you think? Too much?"

She wore a black tank top with spaghetti straps, and her red skirt stopped right above her knees. She didn't wear a lot of jewellery, but she did wear a metal choker and a pair of strappy sandals. Hermione felt powerful wearing the outfit.

Bill swallowed once more and walked towards Hermione. He tugged on one of her curls in his hand. "You look amazing, Hermione," he said in a rough voice, and Hermione looked up at him, startled by his proximity.

She would never know who took the first step, but before she realised, Bill's mouth was on hers, and they were kissing. It wasn't a sweet kiss; it was a battle for dominance. Bill fisted her curls, while she wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging him down, down, down.

Hermione squealed in surprise when her back hit the bed and she found Bill straddling her.

"I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me," Bill apologised, trying to get off her, but Hermione tightened her hold around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Do you know how long I've waited for you to make a move?" Hermione asked, nibbling his ear and rejoicing in the moan that escaped Bill's lips. "So don't try to be all noble with me now."

"But about Aharon? Didn't you have a date with him?" Bill managed to ask while nipping at her neck. "I thought you were getting ready to meet him."

Hermione giggled. "I was only tagging along on his date with Isis; they said it would be all right if I didn't show up." She looked at Bill with lust in her eyes. "I guess that me getting all dolled up made you finally pay attention to me, huh?"

"You're going to be the death of me, witch." Bill groaned and kissed Hermione again, making her forget all about her supposed date.


Hermione felt like she was walking on clouds. Although they hadn't mentioned what they were, she knew that she and Bill were together, and that was all that mattered. They hadn't talked about mentioning this to the rest of the Weasleys, but Hermione couldn't wait to tell everyone that she had finally got Bill to look at her.

When Charlie decided to visit, they decided they would wait before telling him about them. Hermione thought it was strange, but Bill said that Charlie was too nosy for his own good.

"What are you boys going to do today?" Hermione asked on the third day after Charlie's arrival. She was itching to touch and kiss Bill, to show him her affection, but she had been ignoring her urges.

"I thought about taking Charlie to Souq Al Sahr. He said he wanted to buy the others some presents," Bill replied, smiling at her, which made Hermione almost melt on the spot. "I have a feeling he'll like that pet shop near the bank."

"Bill mentioned they have mini-dragons!" Charlie exclaimed, making Hermione laugh. "Do you want to go with us, 'Mione?"

Before Hermione could reply, Bill answered for her, "I don't think Hermione will be able to. She mentioned something about meeting her friend Isis."

Hermione frowned at how Bill had so quickly dismissed her, but instead of making a big deal out of it, she decided to play along.

"Hum, yeah, Isis said she wanted to meet up so we could chat about our lives." Hermione forced herself to smile at Charlie before she went to her room to think of what had just happened.

Bill had claimed he didn't want to tell others because he didn't want to put a target on her back, that people would think she was too young for him, but Hermione didn't care. She just wanted to be able to be around him.

Hermione waited for the two of them to leave the flat before she decided she didn't want to be cooped up in the flat all day. Grabbing her purse, she headed to Souq Al Sahr, the Egyptian version of Diagon Alley. After all, it was a big market, and it was highly unlikely that she would run into Bill and Charlie.

Hermione could have Apparated, but since the weather was so nice, she decided to take her time. Sitting in the cab, she looked out the window. The shops on the Muggle side looked inviting, like they were built into the story of Cairo.

Hermione arrived at the market and walked around the wide street, looking at all the different trinkets the sellers tried to catch her attention with. She was most fascinated by the magic bracelets that helped keep the wearer safe from minor hexes, and the necklaces charmed to keep the wearer cool—a necessity in Cairo—were pretty, too.

Hermione was enjoying window-shopping and the cool weather for once. One of the shops grabbed her attention, so she entered it. To her surprise, she found Bill and Charlie in the next aisle. Before she could say anything, she heard Charlie mention her name, and she decided to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"And how's it been living with Hermione?" Charlie asked, a teasing lilt in his tone. "She has grown up since I last saw her."

Hermione smiled at what Charlie had said, but Bill's answer erased the smile on her face. "I guess you can say that, but I still see her as a little sister."

"Are we talking about the same Hermione Granger? She looks nothing like a sister to me," Charlie said with disbelief. "Are you blind?"

"I'm not blind. I don't see her like that." Bill snapped, and Hermione's heart constricted in her chest. Her entire world was crashing down on her. "Stop bothering me."

"Bill, I've known you my whole life. I can see the way you look at her," Charlie said softly. "Do you like Hermione? You can tell me; I won't judge you."

"She doesn't mean anything to me!" Bill yelled at Charlie. Hermione ran before she started crying in the middle of the shop in Souq Al Sahr.

Trying to be as discreet as possible, Hermione hurried down Souq Al Sahr towards the Apparition point, tears welling up in her eyes.

How could she have been so wrong? She had thought they had something going on, but apparently, she had been reading the signs all wrong. Sighing, Hermione wrapped her arms around herself and Disapparated.


Hermione stayed in her room for the rest of the day. She didn't want to leave it; she felt hurt and betrayed, but she didn't even know why. Bill had never said they were a couple or were in a relationship. But hearing him say that she didn't mean anything to him hurt more than she cared to admit.

Sighing, she decided to make herself a cup of tea. Hermione hoped she wouldn't see Bill, but thanks to Murphy's Law, as soon as she opened her door, she found herself face-to-face with Bill.

"Oh, it's you," she deadpanned, leaving the door open and walking towards the kitchen. "I didn't think you remembered I existed."

Bill frowned before following her into the kitchen. He waited for her to turn around, but when she didn't, he asked, "Are you alright? You haven't left your room since Charlie and I came home."

"Oh, you noticed, huh?" She could afford to be a little curt as her heart was broken. "I thought that I didn't mean anything to you."

Bill winced, and Hermione felt a little vindicated. "What are you talking about? Of course, you mean something to me!"

"That's not what you said to Charlie." Hermione opened a cabinet to retrieve a teapot before slamming it shut. "You know... I get it. You don't want to be in a relationship with me. I should have seen the red flags: all those things you said to justify not wanting people to know about us. But I thought I at least meant something to you."

"I said that to Charlie because I was scared!" Bill cried out, and Hermione stopped in her tracks, staring at him without blinking. "You mean so much to me that I get scared at how much I care and feel for you. I didn't say that we were in a relationship because I didn't know if you wanted one with me."

"I told you I've wanted you for years, and you thought I didn't want a relationship with you? I love you, you idiot!" Hermione cried. It was Bill's turn to stare at her without blinking.

All of sudden, Bill was in front of her, his hands were on her face, and they were kissing.

It was everything Hermione had ever wanted, and she was glad that she had finally told Bill how she felt about him.

"I love you too," Bill panted out when they pulled away, gasping for breath. "I fell in love with you a while ago, but I never thought that I would have a chance with you."

"If you continue to run away from me, I don't think you'll have any other chances," Hermione said breathlessly, smiling at him. "Don't do that to me again, Bill."

"I don't think I'll ever want to," Bill said. He kissed her again, and she felt like she had finally found her place in the world.