Chapter Four

"Did you just get a coffee or something?" Bill asked suddenly hit by the delicious smell.

"My coffee!" Hermione gasped and ran over to a strange looking machine on one of the tables, he high heels clicking merrily. She removed a steaming cup of coffee, and began to fix it.

"That coffee came out of there?" Bill asked as he sat on his knees on the couch, facing the machine. He leaned over the arm to examine it closer.

"What is it?" Grimbles asked standing on the opposite side of the machine.

"It's called a Kureg. Try it – go ahead and pick one of the little drink cups." Bill looked thorough the spinning display of the drinks and choose hazelnut coffee, just like Hermione's.

"Good choice," she grinned at him. She pressed a button on the top of the machine and it opened to reveal he used drink cup placed in a carefully formed holder. She laughed as the men initially jumped back, and then leaned closer in anticipation. She removed it and tossed it into the trash. She then placed the new drink cup in its place and closed the top. They could hear the soft foil lip being pierced as she closed the compartment. She then opened another part of the machine, took out her wand, and let steaming hot water flow from the end of it into the compartment. Bill could see a little window showing how much water there was, and saw her stop at the line marked 'max'. She grabbed a mug from the handful present and placed it on the metal rack at the bottom of the machine, and pressed a large button in the center of the panel. They heard the machine begin to make a whirling noise, and a few seconds later steaming hot coffee began to stream out, into the cup. Hermione fought back a giggle when the men's eyes grew wide as they watched the steady stream of coffee fall. When it finished, she reached out and handed Bill the warm mug. She struggled to fight back a blush when he reached out to take it from her, his large hands easily wrapping around the oversized mug and her own hands. They were warm and soft, except for a few sporadic, old callouses the seemed neither hard nor soft.

"Thanks," the warm timbre of his voice pulled her mind back to the present.

"No problem. Now you can come make some whenever you want," Hermione watched transfixed as she slide her hands from beneath his. "Are you sure you don't want to try one?" she turned toward Grimbles, Startling him from his curious observation of the two humans.

"Oh yes, actually I have to get going. My family will be wondering where I am," Grimbles smiled. He's worked the night shift, and the lack of sleep was beginning to catch up to him rather quickly.

"Okay, maybe next thin. It was very nice to meet you Mr. Grimbles," she once again extended her hand. Grimbles swallowed a lump in her throat at her gentle mannerisms. He shot a glance to Bill, who saw the emotion of his face. A look of approval was on his.

"Yes, it was a pleasure to Miss Granger," he gripped her hand.

"You can use the floo network in my office," Bill said around sips of his perfectly fixed coffee. "Tell everyone 'hi' for me."

"Thanks, I will," Grimbles promised as he walked to Bill's office.

"You really did do an amazing job here. Those charms are impressive," Bill focused his green-blue eyes on her. Hermione's mind went blank for a moment; she's always had difficulties with compliments.

"Oh yeah, I meant to ask you!" she yelped, grateful for the new topic. Bill blinked, startled by her sudden outburst. "I was just reading over the files on our job descriptions… not that I haven't learned them already," she hastily added as she grabbed the filed, a clipboard and quill-pen from the desk. "And I had a few questions."

"Okay, go ahead," Bill said watching her every move as she returned and sat sideways in the center of the couch. He turned and mimicked her, leaving less than a foot of space between them.

"Well, you're job description is detailed. It seems to cover quite a lot as well," she trailed off thoughtfully, them quickly picked up her train of thought. "My description, though, seems a bit obscure.

"Yeah. Unfortunately, although there's a lot listed in my job description, a lot of it isn't very specific either. Which, unfortunately means we're both kind of left in the dark. One thing I know for sure is I'll probably have to do a bit of travelling, and I'll need you to come with me. Smaller, more local groups will probably not require much travel but it's impossible to say for sure without knowing the exact circumstances.

Otherwise… well ideally I need a second me running around, but my sister claims that she can barely handle one of me, much less two," Bill chuckled remembering Ginny's dry comment. Hermione snickered, easily imagining the interaction. Bill continued, "I have just two priorities – my family and my job. In that order. I need to know that you're there taking care of all the little stuff so I can get my work done and be with my family. That's everything from paperwork to tidying up to keeping track of appointments, both here and in my personal life. I was worried before, but I know I can trust you with my personal matters as well."

Throughout his explanation, Bill had been looking to the side, thoughtfully while Hermione hunched over her clipboard concentrating on writing down what he said. But at his concluding thought, she heard a change in his tone. His voice went from thoughtful and detached sounding to warm with something else she couldn't identify. That's what made her eyes dart up; she was surprised when they were met by his warm gaze. Clearing her throat to distract herself from the man in front of her, she looked down to quickly san her notes.

"Well you're right… you don't have to worry. Betraying my employer would be rather idiotic… and betraying someone part of what I consider my second family is just plain unthinkable." Hermione looked back up to meet Bill's gaze straight on. He was surprised to see a sudden fire in her eyes. He knew he was looking at the determined witch that'd help his brother and Harry survive the odds and withstood untold tortures never once considering giving into the Death Eaters for half a chance of a reprieve. He was pulled from his thoughts when Hermione continued. "I'll take out a few ads to find some sort of full time housekeeper to keep everything at your place clean and orderly. I'll try and find one who can cook for you too… and stipulate that shopping and house errands are a must. Let's give it… oh no more than a week. All applications can be addressed to me here so I can review them. Then interviews… I'll give you the applications and results of the interviews that seem best for the final choice. That'll be a huge help and make your spare it so your spare time can be used to de-stress and see you family." Hermione planned out loud, drafting the ad already.

"Sounds good," Bill nodded relieved to have the task in Hermione's capable hands. He glanced down at his watch and was surprised to see it was already well after eleven. Thoughtlessly, he rested his hand on Hermione's bent knee. When her leg jumped a little he realized he'd surprised her. "The morning's already past…" A knock at the door cut him off. They looked at one another then the door. Pressing her hand to his own leg, Hermione stood and walked to the door ready to greet the unexpected visitor.

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