I'm not playing with her

.

As expected, Hermione woke up early. The brown-haired girl put the coffee on and went to take a shower but decided not to wash her hair. She had checked to make sure it didn't smell of cigarettes and confirmed that her strands still smelled of her coconut shampoo. And anyway, it's not like she was going to wear her hair loose. After a relatively lengthy shower, in which Hermione, in good mood, even decided to shave her legs, she put on her ensemble of black elongated blazer and trousers. She composed her look with a white silk shirt and a simple thick-heeled sandal, taking advantage of the mild April temperature.

Hermione arrived smiling at the Ministry, greeting everyone who passed by her, and went straight to Shackelbolt's office, finding the current Minister sitting at his desk, surrounded by little paper airplanes that floated near his head. She entered the room after giving three simple knocks and the man merely lifted his gaze from the memo he was analysing, eventually sighing.

"Miss Granger, we've been over this…" he said, looking tired.

"I found a husband" she cut him off, and the man raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"In a week?" he questioned her.

"You gave me an assignment, and I completed it", she replied harshly. "I'd like to get back to work".

"Did you sign the marriage contract?" he asked, dropping the papers on the table and reclining in his chair.

Oh, yeah. The marriage contract. Many wizardly marriages went beyond the contract, either for love, or to maintain loyalty within forced pureblood relationships. Magic. Bond magic. Hermione was responsible, too, for convincing the Legislative Council to settle for a contract. She wouldn't know what she would do if she was forced to create an eternal bond, to actually bond her magic to someone else.

"Not yet, but I thought that..."

"Only with the signed contract", he answered. "As we discussed".

Hermione noticed the intonation used by Shackelbolt and felt her face getting hot with anger and clenched her fists, digging her own nails into her palms. She didn't like, and hardly allowed, people to test her boundaries by implying that she wasn't paying enough attention or that she had trouble understanding something. She took a deep breath and stretched and twitched her fingers a few times.

"I'll get the contract at the Contracts Department, I suppose" she commented, the smile already completely waning from her face.

"Precisely" Shackelbolt replied, straightening his earring with his fingers and forcing his eyes to the paper he was reading.

Hermione nodded positively and turned towards the door, placing her hand on the knob and pulling to leave.

"May I ask who the lucky winner will be?" he asked, but without showing any genuine interest.

"William. He works four floors below us, but you probably don't know that since you never take your eyes off this damn paper" she answered bitterly and slammed the door.

Imbecile, that's what she thought. Hermione ran to the lift and pressed the button that led to the Contracts Section and was initially surprised when she arrived at her destination and realised that it was almost empty. Normally the Ministry was always full, but that floor didn't seem to follow the rule. She took out a small ticket which marked her password and waited for only five minutes.

"And for you, what would it be?" a woman Hermione didn't recognise asked, leaning on the counter.

"I need a marriage contract... for me".

"Here is the form, fill in your details and the details of the wizard you intend to marry", the woman replied, pushing a clipboard towards the chestnut.

Hermione noticed that the woman kept her eyes on the clipboard, spying what she was writing, though she tried to disguise it. That drew a smile from the girl.

"Hermione Granger!" the woman exclaimed, as soon as she saw the name Hermione signed on the paper. "It is truly an honour to finally meet you in person".

The woman gave Hermione a sincere smile and completely changed her behaviour towards her. She introduced herself as Berta, offered her tea, biscuits - which the chestnut promptly refused - and engaged in a seemingly endless topic about affirmative policies for squibs. Hermione decided, finally, that she had loved meeting Berta. The woman, before putting the completed form in the filing cabinet for the contract to be drawn up, read out the name of the groom.

"William Weasley", she said. "Was William really his name? I thought it was something like Robert or Richard".

"Ronald", Hermione explained, feeling a little embarrassed. "Well... it's another Weasley".

"By Merlin, there are so many of them", Berta snorted and shook her head to the side, which made Hermione laugh. Suddenly, a small bundle of papers was 'spat out' through a crack in the counter, and the woman picked it up, straightening the papers, stapling it, and handing it to Hermione. "Here's your contract".

"Thank you, Berta" the girl thanked her, straightened her bag and walked towards the door.

"If and when you need anything, I'm here", she shouted in the distance. "Hermione for Minister!"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh before she left the Contracts Department.

Berta had, in a way, made Hermione's day better again. The chestnut had no idea that she had supporters within the Ministry, people who actually believed in her ideas and considered her for Minister in the future. A feeling of belonging and recognition flooded her chest, and she began to walk with her head held high.

As soon as she entered the lift, she saw Bill at the back of the cubicle, and he gave her a sincere smile. She smiled back and excused herself to the two wizards ahead of her so that she could stand side by side with the redhead.

"Having a nice day?' Bill asked.

"It started out okay, then it got a little bad, but now it's all good again" she replied amusedly.

"Sounds like a good day to me", he commented. "Are you back at work yet?"

"Argh, not yet", she sighed. "Shackelbolt made it clear that I can only return after the contract is signed. I'm coming home".

"I see you already got it" he said, pointing to the pad of papers she was holding.

The lift stopped at one floor and the two other wizards who accompanied them got off, wishing the couple a good day. The door closed again, and now only Hermione and Bill were in the cubicle.

"Yes... But you don't have to feel pressured or anything like that" she hurried to answer.

"Would you like some coffee?", he asked, cutting her off. "I have a break now".

"Sure" she replied. "Anywhere in particular?"

He looked thoughtful for a few moments, and the lift door opened, announcing that they were in the lobby. He stretched out his arm, holding the lift railing for her to pass through. The two walked side by side to the Ministry exit.

"As I introduced you to the restaurant…" he replied, "this time it's you who's going to surprise me".

She laughed and nodded positively. There was indeed a coffee place that she loved near the Ministry, but it was sold from a stall on the street, near a small square. The man selling the coffee had a surprising variety of flavours, and Hermione had tasted almost all of them. She led Bill down the street until they reached the stall and he, surprised at first, smiled as he looked at the menu.

"I'm definitely surprised", he commented, laughing.

"Whichever one you choose, you won't regret it".

Hermione realized that she hadn't eaten anything since she left the house and decided to order a cupcake with chocolate frosting. The redhead informed her that he was satisfied with just the coffee. The two of them looked for an empty bench and were lucky when a couple got up and walked away, leaving a small bench available right next to where they were. Hermione ran over to the bench to secure the seat and Bill laughed out loud at the way she ran around trying not to spill the contents of her cup. He walked calmly over to her and sat down beside her.

"So..." Bill began. "Let's sign this contract once and for all".

"Are you sure?" she asked, and he nodded his head in confirmation. Hermione held out the papers to him and moved closer so that she could follow the reading while she ate her cupcake. The coffees were positioned next to each of them on the bench seat.

Bill mumbled the clauses while Hermione followed the reading with her eyes, until the redhead glanced away and started to laugh. She didn't understand and stared at him with questioning eyes.

"You're all messy" he said, pointing to her mouth, and she looked embarrassed. He put the contract aside. "Come here, I'll clean it up".

Bill used his thumb to wipe the chocolate off Hermione's mouth, while his other hand held her chin. Hermione felt a tug at her navel as she saw the redhead's pupils dilate as he kept his attention on her mouth. As soon as he pulled away from her face, he brought his thumb to his own mouth and sucked on it, wiping the chocolate he had taken off Hermione's face with his tongue. The chestnut only realised she was staring at him with her mouth open when they were surprised by a familiar face.

"Hello" Luna's voice reached both of their ears, and they turned to the blonde. "What a coincidence to find you both here!"

Luna smiled sympathetically at them, and Hermione returned the smile.

"Hi Luna! Do you want to sit down?" Hermione offered, remembering that Luna was pregnant. The chestnut involuntarily turned away from Bill and indicated the seat between the two, causing her coffee cup to fall to the floor, spilling its entire contents. "Damn it", she muttered.

"No need to bother with me!" Luna replied. "I'm already on my way home".

"Are you alone?" Bill finally opened his mouth to join the conversation, arching an eyebrow.

"Ron went off on a mission with Harry", she explained. "Poor Ginny, she must be going crazy with two small children at home! Have you seen her?"

She asked Bill, which was to be expected as he was both Ginny and Ron's brother.

"I haven't seen her since the birthday".

"Ah, that's a shame" Luna replied, moving on to gaze dreamily at the treetops.

"Do you need any help?" Hermione asked, a little worried. Luna had always been flighty, but now she was pregnant and the chestnut had no idea about her health situation. She didn't know if she was as healthy as Ginny, her only friend who actually kept up with her pregnancies.

"No, no, don't bother" Luna turned her attention back to the two of them. "I've fetched everything I need and now I'm heading home. I'm making a repellent so that the baby has a safe sleep when it's born, you know?"

- Against wrackspurts?" Hermione asked uncertainly, and saw Bill shake his head and squeeze his eyes shut, as if he didn't understand what she was saying.

"Don't be silly! Against loser's lurgy, of course!" the blonde answered, laughing. "Anyway, it was great to see you guys! See you later!"

Luna disappeared among the movement of people on the street the same way she had appeared. When Hermione faced Bill, his mouth was open and he stared at her.

"Against what?" he spat, making Hermione laugh.

"Don't even want to know" she replied, still laughing. "Shall we?"

Hermione pointed to the contract, and Bill picked it up again, resuming his reading from where he had left off. Hermione approached again to follow, and he held out his own coffee cup for her to drink, since hers had fallen on the floor. She accepted and continued reading with him.

"Damn" he exclaimed.

"What is it?"

"We need two witnesses to sign the contract in person at the Contracts Department" he explained, and she snorted.

"Well... I suppose I could talk to Harry and Ginny as soon as Harry gets back" she suggested.

"That's a good idea", he replied. "Which brings me to the following question: when are we going to tell the family?"

"After we sign it, don't you think?" she asked. "I'm not sure I want to get ahead of the bombardment of questions".

Bill smiled weakly, letting the air out through his nose, and held out the contract to Hermione.

"You're right", he replied. "It's probably best that we wait to sign. If Harry and Ginny agree to be witnesses, that's already two people we have to back us up when it all comes out".

"I'll talk to them as soon as possible" she said, and he rose from the bench. She followed his gesture, straightened her blazer and wiped the spilled coffee cup with a discreet wand wave.

"Great" he exclaimed. "Now I must get back to work. Talk to you later?"

"Sure" she replied, and he pulled her closer and kissed her cheek, leaving her blushing. He turned away and walked to the phone box that gave access to the Ministry, but not before turning to her and giving her a wink. Hermione remained frozen, her feet stuck to the floor.

.

Bill spent a relatively quiet day at work after coffee with Hermione. He ate a sandwich he'd bought in the Ministry's own cafeteria completely alone, answered a few memos, and gathered his belongings to go home. He intended to "clean" some boxes with stored junk in order to filter what would go to Hermione's house and what he would leave forgotten at his flat. However, after hitting the spot, and before reaching the exit door, he was approached by his father.

"Bill!" Arthur exclaimed. "It's a good thing that I found you. What do you think about dinner at The Burrow? It's been a madhouse. Harry is away and Molly is helping your sister with the boys. Angelina has gone to dinner with some friends and George is picking up Roxanne, who is also with your mother".

Mr. Weasley machine-gunned Bill with questions and happenings, and the younger redhead even got dizzy, which made him accept the invitation only to have his father stop talking. When he appeared at The Burrow and heard the screaming and childish cries coming from the house, he bitterly regretted not denying him the dinner and following through with his original plan of going home to filter his belongings.

"Bill, darling!" Molly exclaimed as soon as the redhead crossed the door frame. She was with James on her arms, and the boy was crying.

Molly approached her firstborn and gave him a crisp kiss on the cheek, then moved on to the traditional complaints about the length of his hair. Bill rolled his eyes and, on an impulse, took James in his arms and started talking to the boy, who stopped crying.

"Hi, Bill" Ginny appeared in the kitchen, with a cloth nappy slung over her shoulder. "Albus finally slept".

She cracked a smile when she saw her eldest son playing with the feather from Bill's earring, and he shrugged.

"WHERE IS MY PRINCESS?", George appeared in the doorway, shouting, and Roxanne came running into the kitchen and leapt onto her father's arms.

"By Merlin, this house is a mess", Bill commented, sighing.

"You mean everything is completely normal" Ginny replied, taking her son from Bill's arms. "Shall we have your little soup, little James?"

The younger redhead placed her son in a highchair and conjured up a bowl and a child-sized spoon, serving a thick pumpkin soup. Molly motioned to the sink.

"You know, Bill, Luna commented on something strange to me today" Ginny said, as she fed her son the soup and stared at her older brother.

George, curious as only he was, sent Roxanne out to hunt for gnoms in the backyard and sat down at the table. Bill remained standing and put his hands in his pockets, twiddling his leg uncomfortably.

"Oh, really?" Bill tried to sound calm.

"Yes, she said she bumped into you and Hermione today near the muggle entrance to the Ministry" Ginny continued talking unassumingly, but her eyes burned Bill with that glint the older man knew only came when she was eager for a response. "She commented something about you two sharing an intimate moment".

"WHAT?" George shouted and grinned from ear to ear. "Little Bill, little Bill, your own brother's ex? You're wild!"

"Shut up, George!" the older brother scolded.

"What do you mean intimate moment?" Molly also seemed very interested in the subject, and questioned, approaching the table as she dried an iron pot with her wand.

"We just had coffee together, for Merlin's sake" Bill snorted. "You have lunch with her every week and I don't accuse you of having a thing with her, George".

"It's different", the younger redhead man replied, nonchalantly. "Hermione's been my friend for a long time, you've gone years without speaking to each other and now you're having coffee together?"

"And what's the problem, George?" Ginny asked this time, and George raised his hands in surrender.

"Is there something between you two that we should know, Bill?" Arthur asked, approaching the table and pulling up a chair beside George.

Bill felt cornered and irritated and decided to spew the news at once. Some things are like bandages, best ripped off at once, he thought.

"Hermione and I are getting married", he confessed loudly, and Molly dropped the pan on the floor. There was silence in the kitchen for long minutes.

Ginny exchanged disentangled glances with Molly and Bill, Mr. Weasley was white as paper, completely in shock, and George's chin almost dragged on the table top. The only noise was James banging his spoon on the soup bowl and scattering the orange contents everywhere.

"Are you serious?" Ginny asked incredulously, breaking the silence.

"As serious as I can be" Bill replied.

When their eldest redheaded son confirmed it, each had a different reaction. Molly awkwardly ran up to him and showered his face with kisses, exclaiming something like 'finally my little Bill with a woman worth his salt'. Ginny undid her shocked expression and flashed her brother a complicit smile. Bill knew his sister was aware of Hermione's condition and seemed to connect the dots very quickly. The girl's gaze conveyed sympathy to him, she knew he would look after her friend. Mr. Weasley remained white, and George gathered his chin from the floor and cracked a mocking smile.

"Your brother's ex, you bastard!" George grinned. "Since when has this romance been going on under our noses?"

"There is no romance" Bill sighed. "You know her situation with the Ministry. She needs a husband, and I'm single".

"That's absurd!" Mr. Weasley finally spoke up.

"Why absurd?" Bill asked in a defiant tone.

"Besides the fact that she's Ron's ex?" George remarked, debauched.

"Fuck Ron, George!" Ginny intervened, covering James' ears with her hands. "Ron was stupid and immature and lost her years ago! YEARS!"

"This whole idea is absurd!" Mr Weasley continued speaking. "Why you? Why her? A marriage without any affection? Didn't we teach you well?"

"Not everyone has your luck to spend their lives with the love of their lives, Dad" Bill replied, clenching his fists.

"I know you're still shaken up about Fleur…"

"This has nothing to do with Fleur, Dad!"

"You can't just play with someone's life like that, Bill. Especially when that person is part of our family like Hermione" Mr. Weasley remarked, his voice lower this time and trying to make sense of his eldest son.

"I don't intend to play with anyone's life" Bill replied, still angry. "I know how important she is! Would you rather she married someone else? A pureblood who would make her life a living hell? Or even a muggleborn who just wants the Golden Girl? Do you honestly think she has time to marry for love with the deadline knocking at the door?"

"Billy, darling" Molly said, stroking her son's arm. "I know you'll look after her, I know the son I raised, but isn't all this impulsive?"

"We've talked a lot, Mom".

"And you know you're going to have to make a pup out of her, don't you?" George asked, and Bill wanted to punch him in the face.

"You talk as if she's a sheep", Bill spat the words. "And yes, I know we're going to have to have a child eventually".

But the truth was Bill had completely forgotten that fact. They had been so busy with the contract, with getting witnesses, arranging where they would live and how they would arrange things that Bill had simply forgotten that the two of them would eventually have to consummate the marriage and make a child. And all that in less than three years. The redhead was suddenly nervous, and urgently needed to smoke a cigarette.

"Well, I don't think we're in the mood for dinner anymore", Bill said. "I'll let you absorb the news".

The redhead turned his back and left the house, under Molly's protests. He left, too, George and Arthur talking loudly about the subject. Bill nervously reached into his pocket for a cigarette and lit it with his wand. He puffed with his eyes closed, feeling his muscles relaxing.

"Bill!" Ginny called out and ran up to him.

"Look, Ginny, I'm not in the mood for arg…"

"I didn't come to argue with you", she assured him. "I wanted to thank you".

"Thank me?"

"Yes. You're an amazing man. Ron was a jerk his whole life with Hermione, and I don't need to start talking about what I think of Fleur. I really think you're the best choice for her. I think that, as absurd as it may sound, you're perfect for each other".

"Thanks for the trust", he sighed, relieved. "Really".

"Just don't hurt her, okay?"

"I don't intend to hurt her, Ginny".

"I know you don't..." she hesitated, seeming to choose her words. "It's just... I know you've dated a few women since the divorce, and I think you have every right to do so. But once you marry Hermione, you can't let it come out. It would tarnish her reputation at the Ministry, and you know how much she wants to be Minister".

"I must confess I hadn't thought about it", he said defeatedly.

"I know it's not a love marriage and I can't expect you to be faithful", she continued. "But I also realise that you care about her enough. Just... be discreet, okay?"

Bill swallowed. He had thought about the subject of fidelity as much as he had thought about the subject of children. He was making a commitment to get married! Would he be an unfaithful husband? Only Merlin knew how much he needed physical contact on full moons, he would need a body to warm his, like he always had. He would have to talk it over with Hermione.

"I will" he assured her, even though he wasn't sure what he would do.