AU!

Written for Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

House: Thunderbird

Class/Task Number: Ancient Studies. Elemental Magic: certain skill set.

Bonus Prompts:

(character) Bill Weasley

Word Count: 3600/4500

A Death Eater Attack or A Crazy Ex?

When Hermione is attacked by someone repeatedly, Bill is assigned to protect her, as they assume the attacker is a rogue Death Eater.

Bill Weasley had always been the calmest of the Weasley siblings. As he was the oldest, he often helped his mother with his younger siblings. Molly had never had any complaints about Bill as he was always the responsible one.

But then, Bill joined the Hit Wizards instead of choosing a normal profession, and Molly went berserk. She yelled at him that he was putting his life in danger for no reason at all, and Bill retorted that he wanted to serve the Wizarding World as best as he could.

Arthur helped calm his wife down, but Molly absolutely despised Bill's new job. She knew he would get hurt somehow — he even had his own regular bed at St Mungo's Hospital.

But Bill loved his job; he was able to train in both wandless and hand-to-hand combat to protect the Wizarding World. He learned how to respond to conflict situations using a range of tactical options, assessing the threat to determine a proportionate response. He also learned how to assess the immediacy and proximity of threat in order to make operational decisions for the protection of life. He had even learned how to gather and handle information and intelligence from a variety of sources, to assess threats in line with legislation, policies and guidance to take the appropriate action.

He was lauded for his performance many times over the years, and over time, Bill grew to be one of the best combatants in the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, only being surpassed by the leader of his team. He was often hired by the Ministry to oversee the protection of the Minister for Magic or the Ambassadors of different magical communities.

And then, Harry asked Bill to protect Hermione from rogue Death Eater attacks, and his decision to agree to Harry's informal request changed their lives.

"You can't just move into my flat, Bill! Your mum's going to call me a harlot again!" Hermione cried as she watched Bill carry his bags into her flat.

"When did she call you a harlot?" Bill scowled, annoyed at his mother's rudeness. He knew she meant well, but Molly often said the wrong things to express her displeasure. He looked at the bouquet of flowers on the table and asked, "Who are they from?"

"Ugh, that's McLaggen trying to win me back. And the answer to your first question is during the Triwizard Tournament… when people assumed I was dating Harry and Viktor at the same time," Hermione admitted weakly as Bill placed his bags near the couch. He walked through the house to check every single crevice, making sure there were no traces of Dark Magic in the little flat.

"That was ridiculous… Like you'd ever date two men at once," Bill said, rolling his eyes. "You're too innocent and sweet for that stuff. Oh, and throw these flowers out if you don't want them."

Hermione scowled and blurted out, "I am not! I dated the twins at the same time!" she picked up the flowers and tossed them into the bin.

"You — wait, what?" Bill stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her with disbelief.

"Forget I said that," Hermione mumbled, her cheeks red with embarrassment.

"You dated my brothers at the same time? Did they know?" Bill inquired, his interest in Hermione increasing as he gazed at her reddening cheeks.

"Yeah, it was their idea…"

"Hmm… Maybe you aren't as innocent as you look," Bill teased as he turned back towards the window. He waved his wand over the window to make sure it didn't have any Dark spells on it.

"You know I can protect myself, right?" Hermione muttered as Bill continued to look through her house.

"Sure, that's why you need my protection," Bill taunted, warding the house with several strong spells he had learned during his time with the goblins and the Hit Wizards.

"I didn't ask for your protection… Harry forced me to —"

"Harry's right, Hermione. I've seen the file he has on the Death Eater attacks. I'm not trained to track them down — only to take them down if they attack you. But you should never take your security so lightly," Bill said, placing his wand in his holster and sitting down on the couch.

Hermione walked over and sat down beside him. "It's not like I don't want to be safe, it's just that you must have something better to do than babysit me, that's all."

"To tell you the truth, I'm not here in a professional capacity. The Lieutenant General wanted me to take a holiday — and Harry wanted me to help him out, so I'm here."

"I feel so better now that I know you're ruining your vacation for me," Hermione grumbled, covering her face with her hands.

"I don't like taking vacations, you could say I'm a bit of a workaholic," Bill said sheepishly.

"Yeah, I got that… by all the times you've refused to come to the Burrow for Sunday dinner," Hermione teased, a small grin on her face.

"Ugh, don't remind me… By the way, give me your daily schedule so I know what to expect each day," Bill said, leaning towards her.

"Here," she said, Accioing a diary and handing it to him. "My schedule's in there. Anything else you need?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll set up my bed in your room and —"

"Woah, woah, woah! You can't sleep in my room! It's my room!" Hermione protested vehemently, but Bill simply rolled his eyes.

"I'm here to protect you and I can't do that if I'm far away from you," Bill pointed out.

"I can protect myself at night!" Hermione cried, but Bill was adamant on sleeping in her room with her.

"Fine! Sleep in my room — sleep in my bed too, why don't you?" Hermione grumbled under her breath, her cheeks red at the implications.

Bill smirked and teased, "Hermione, we're adults, aren't we? We can share a bed then."

Hermione whimpered out a weak, "No, that's fine. You can sleep on your own bed."

Bill laughed and ruffled her hair lightly. "I'm kidding, relax! Merlin, you're so tense!"

Hermione nibbled on her lower lip and suddenly asked, "Hey, Bill? Could you teach me a few defensive spells? I know the basic spells, but maybe you could —"

"I'll teach you hand-to-hand combat tomorrow, Hermione. In the meantime, leave the worrying to me," Bill said, standing up and stretching his arms over his head.

Hermione agreed and they retired to Hermione's bedroom to get ready for bed. Hermione awkwardly sat on the edge of her bed and watched Bill set his mattress on the floor beside her bed.

She hadn't shared a room with anyone since her dreadful breakup with Cormac McLaggen a few years ago. She knew Bill rarely dated anyone as he was too busy with his job, but she also knew he was an incredibly handsome wizard — and she was going to be in close proximity with him for an indefinite period of time.

When she had first been attacked, she had shrugged it off as a one-time thing, but the frequent attacks had annoyed her to no end. She had finally complained to Harry, who was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and he had scolded her for not telling him earlier.

She hadn't wanted to bother anyone, but Harry was more annoyed that she hadn't taken her safety seriously. He had instantly asked Bill to protect her as he didn't want to make Hermione uncomfortable by assigning an unknown Auror or Hit Wizard to her.

"How many times have you gotten attacked at night?" Bill suddenly asked, inspecting the window's latch for the third time.

"Three times?"

"What's the attacker's modus operandi?"

"They usually attack when I'm alone — or busy working. It's usually with jinxes and curses. Sometimes, it's a stray AK too."

"Stray AKs? Merlin, you must have pissed them off bad if they're using the Killing Curse," Bill said, annoyed that she was still taking the situation too lightly.

"Yeah, I might have… I published an article about Pureblood hypocrisy a few weeks ago — it was in the Quibbler."

"I read that article. You pointed out most of the Death Eaters' flaws in it, didn't you? It was a good article," Bill complimented as he lay down on his mattress, his shirt slipping up a little bit.

Hermione was transfixed by the long expanse of flawless golden skin in between his short-sleeved shirt and the absurdly low waistband of his trousers. She didn't hear him, and Bill noticed her gaze, preening under her obvious appreciation.

"Turn off the lights, will you?" Bill asked Hermione as he rolled over onto his side to face her bed.

Hermione blushed and quickly turned off the light, scolding herself for acting so out of character. She closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep, but she felt on edge, knowing that Bill was just a few inches away from her.

She lay there in the darkness, staring up at the ceiling and trying to go to sleep. She felt Bill shift a little and called out to him, "Uh, Bill? You awake?"

Bill chuckled and said, "What's wrong, Hermione?"

"I can't sleep," she mumbled shyly. "Are you tired? Do you need to sleep or could you—"

"Fine, come on, I know you won't be able to sleep without learning something…" he teased as he sat upright. "I'll teach you a couple of moves."

Hermione nodded quickly and jumped off the bed. Bill waved his wand and pushed the furniture out of the way so that he could train her properly.

Turning on the lights but keeping the curtains drawn shut, he showed Hermione how to warm up first. And then, he stood gaping at her with his mouth open as she hopped on the spot, her hair tied in a messy bun.

"Is this right?" Hermione asked as she did some chest expansions by stretching her arms out and clapping her hands.

Bill swallowed as he stared at her and choked out, "Yeah, that's good. Try some shoulder rotations." He thought, 'Merlin, what have I gotten myself into? If she keeps doing this, there's no way I can —'

His thoughts trailed off when Hermione started her torso rotations. He couldn't take his eyes off of her; she looked breathtaking despite the sweat already forming on her upper brow.

"What now?" Hermione gasped as she placed her hands on her hips and faced him, her chest heaving.

Bill Transfigured her blanket into a punching bag and said, "Now, let's see if you can throw a punch at this. Go on, show me what you've got!"

Hermione closed her fists, placing her thumbs on the bottom, and turning to Bill with her fists raised. Before she could do anything, Bill shook his head and said, "First of all, your fist is perfect — your thumb should always be on the outside — but your stance is crucial. You need to make sure that"–he stepped up behind her and placed his hands on her waist to correct her stance–"your dominant hand and leg are to the back."

"Now what?" Hermione stammered, her cheeks already pink at his close proximity to her.

"Bend your legs first and then let the energy from your feet course through your muscles. Twist your hips"–he twisted her hips for her–"and swing your upper body to—"

Hermione let her fist fly forward at the punching bag, using the flat of her fingers to hit the target. The punching bag flew back at her and she squealed, stumbling back into Bill's chest.

Bill guffawed and said, "Never be impatient, Hermione. Make sure you protect your face with your other arm. Try again." He stepped away from her and motioned for her to throw another punch at the bag.

Hermione was small in stature, but she was stubborn as hell. She tried again and again until Bill agreed that her punch had become almost perfect.

"Now, punch me," Bill ordered her, raising his own fists.

"Are you sure?" Hermione hesitated.

"Yes, try to knock me down. Go on."

Hermione looked over his stance and pulled her fist back to punch his face. But at the last second, she punched him in the ribs instead. Bill blocked her easily, but his grin showed her that he was pleased with her quick thinking.

"Let's see how well you can kick," Bill said as he stepped back and motioned for her to kick the punching bag.

Hermione hesitated and replied, "I've never kicked before…"

Bill said, "Show me what you'd do if you were to kick McLaggen in the—"

"Please don't finish that sentence," Hermione said, laughing at the mental image; she had to admit it was a satisfying thought.

"Go on, show me," Bill prompted her. He stood back and watched Hermione pull her leg back and kick the punching bag, but she stumbled and fell backwards. Bill wrapped his arms around her waist to steady her, smirking as he realized he rather liked the position.

"That was terrible, wasn't it?"

"Honestly, yes. Your stance was all wrong, your kick didn't have much force behind it — if you'd tried this on someone, you'd fall over and hit yourself," Bill said, shaking his head and helping her stand upright. "Here, watch me carefully."

As he went through the motions, he explained patiently, "You're going to start from the side. Step out, create momentum with your hands, turn your hips, push off the ground with your back leg, pop your hips with the movement, lead with your knee. Remember that — your knee should point to where you want to hit, so if you hit low, keep your knee low, if you're gonna go high, knee high."

Hermione watched him demonstrate his technique and said, "Okay, that sounds simple enough…"

"It's simple if you know what you're doing. The roundhouse kick can knock anyone down if they're not trained in hand-to-hand combat. Okay, so then, you're going to throw your hand back at the point of impact to create a sort of counterweight, add momentum, add speed. Now, once you're here, you can't see the target anymore… So, you're going to pivot around, bring your foot to the ground, pivot around quickly so you can get your eyes right back on target — and keep your legs supple so you can stop your rotation and get good stability."

Hermione was silently memorizing his technique so she could try it out herself. "Okay, may I try it now?"

Bill helped her get into position and corrected her stance by placing his hand on her leg. "Remember… turn back around at the end."

Hermione bounced on the balls of her feet in excitement and waited for him to step back. She pulled her hand up, creating momentum, as she twisted her hips to the left and swung her leg up to roundhouse-kick the punching bag. It flew back a few feet and came back towards her. She pulled her arm back and punched it with full force.

Bill grinned when he saw her successful actions, thinking to himself, 'This could be interesting. I might be able to teach her a few more things.'

"Can we go to sleep now? I'm a bit tired," Hermione said, yawning quietly. Bill nodded and waved his wand to revert the bedroom to its previous state. Hermione plopped down on the bed and was asleep in a matter of seconds.

In the middle of the night, Bill felt someone trying to force through the wards he had placed around Hermione's flat. He immediately stood up and whipped out his wand from his holster, his senses on high alert at the presence of the threat. He glanced at Hermione who was sleeping peacefully and climbed into her bed beside her, ripping his shirt off and throwing it behind him.

"Wh—" Bill interrupted her by covering her mouth with his palm.

Bill straddled her and hissed in her ear, "Shh, don't make a sound. I'm going to lower the wards a bit and let the attacker in. Act surprised when you see them."

Hermione nodded, her eyes bright with anger, and Bill let go of her. He quickly climbed off of her and hid behind the door, motioning for her to pretend to sleep. He let the wards fall for a few seconds and heard the door of the flat slowly open.

He waited patiently for the attacker to enter her room, but he didn't hear any sounds yet. Hermione squinted at him and mouthed, "What do I do now?"

Bill shook his head and placed his finger over his mouth, having a feeling the attacker was waiting for him to reveal his presence first. But Bill was a patient man — and incredibly stubborn too. He stood as still as a statue, waiting for the attacker to come into the room.

Hermione was getting antsy as she tried to stay still for too long, and Bill knew he needed to keep her in her place. Before he could cast a spell on her, the door slowly swung open and a man's heavy footsteps could be heard as he entered the room.

Bill waited for the right moment and watched the masked man raise his wand towards Hermione's form. Before the man could say anything, Bill shot out of the shadows and slammed his fist into the side of the man's head. The man screamed out in pain and tumbled to the side, his wand clattering to the floor.

Hermione shot out of her bed, rushed forward and, without hesitation, brought her leg up to roundhouse-kick the man in the face. Bill was in awe of her perfect technique and almost cried with delight when she pivoted at the end and kicked him in the groin too.

The man screamed in agony as he fell to his knees, covering his groin with both hands. Hermione brought her foot down and broke his wand before he could try to get to it. Bill looked impressed with her thinking and barked at the man, "Start talking! Now!"

The man ripped off his mask and sobbed, "I swear I just needed the money! I don't even know Miss Granger personally!" He screamed in pain when Bill pressed his thumb in the spot between the man's shoulder and armpit. "I swear! Please don't hurt me!"

Bill snarled, "Who gave you the money? Tell us everything — or so help me…" He put pressure on the spot again and the man shrieked with terror.

"I don't know who he was! He had a mask on! He said he wanted me to attack Miss Granger and —"

"What did he call her? Miss Granger?" Bill asked suspiciously.

"No, he called her Mine," the man replied nervously.

"What did you say? He called me Mine? That's not— Bill, this can't be… I can't believe McLaggen would stoop so low!" Hermione cried, tears forming in her eyes.

Bill stiffened and growled, "McLaggen? You sure he's the one? He's the only one who called your Mine?"

"Yeah, hold on." She looked down at the man and demanded, "Describe the man to me."

"Uh, he was wearing a mask, but he was really tall. He had this — this weird bracelet on his hand too… It always jingled when he waved his hand — and he did that a lot!" the man quickly answered her when Bill flexed his fingers.

"It's Cormac…" Hermione sighed, shaking her head as she plopped down onto her bed. Her shoulders fell as she realized Cormac had completely lost his mind; they had broken up a few years ago due to Cormac's possessive nature, and Cormac had tried to get her affections back but she had flat-out refused.

Bill stood up and cast a Patronus, asking it to get Harry here. He cast a few spells to stop the man from escaping and sat down beside Hermione on the bed, wrapping his arm around her. She dropped her head onto his shoulder and sobbed, "Why does he want to kill me? Can't I live my life like I want to?"

Bill patted her back and said, "Of course! You deserve to live your life on your own terms. By the way, great job on the kick. I love how fast you pick up skills. Would you like to learn something else in the morning? You could use it to take down McLaggen yourself."

Hermione sniffled and nodded weakly. "I felt… powerful, Bill. I'm not physically strong, but the kick you taught me made me feel like a—"

"Like a warrior princess?" Bill teased, lightly kissing her temple.

Hermione beamed up at him and nodded excitedly. "Yeah, exactly!"

Bill smiled and drawled, "I've got a few moves I know you'll like…" He trailed off for a few moments and then said, "That came out wrong, didn't it?"

Hermione blushed at his implication and said, "Sort of… It's fine. I understood what you meant, so it's okay."

Bill grinned, relieved she wasn't mad at him for accidentally flirting with her. Although… he did have a few moves he thought she might like. Maybe if things went right for him, he might be able to show her his moves. Maybe he could impress her with those too… He knew he couldn't see the future so every decision was a risk. Only time could tell him if it was a risk worth taking.

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