Chapter Five
Hermione opened the door cautiously. Charms or no charms she couldn't break the habit of extreme caution the war had instilled in her. Unseen behind her, Bill's body grew tense, her caution catching. In a matter of seconds he'd devised a plan of how to get between her and the visitor almost instantly, if needed, as well as alternatives if Plan A didn't work. Hermione opened the door and squealed loudly making Bill jump up. Before he could rush to her aid she leapt into the arms of the visitor.
"Hey 'Mione," Harry laughed, hugging her back tightly. He looked over her shoulder to see Bill looking like he was ready to kill someone. He raised his eyebrows as the older man relaxed upon seeing him. It was an interesting reaction, though the man himself was an enigma to anyone outside of the close Weasley family.
Bill narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms as the hug continued well past a simple greeting. He knew he would never have to worry about either of them even considering doing anything that would hurt Ginny. But he still found himself inexplicably irritated by the obviously loving hug.
Harry could see Bill's agitation, and was equally surprised and intrigued by it. He opted to file it away for later, instead focusing his attention on tightening his arms and nuzzling just below Hermione's ear, expertly maneuvering around his glasses. He knew Hermione would need a good, long hug when she'd squealed and jump into his arms. The more stressed she felt, the more touchy-feely Hermione became. He was glad he'd decided to drop by, because Hermione rarely let anyone see her in this kind of phase. The list of people she was willing to turn to full fill that need as even shorter with non-other than Crookshanks at the top of the list. He continued his ministrations, studiously ignoring Bill's blatant staring, well after the tension left her body.
"Finally," Bill thought when the two friends broke apart. "Good to see you again Harry," he greeted politely.
"You too Bill. It's a bit of a surprise though," Harry responded cheerfully.
"My baby sister didn't come too?" Bill asked purposefully maneuvering around using Ginny's name in a way that reminded Harry that Ginny's entire well-being was a very high priority for the extremely protective older brother.
"No she decided to stay home. I think she was hoping for some company of a more… familial nature," Harry hinted rather bluntly. The whole family knew it was Bill's first day today and Ginny had obviously been very hopeful to get some alone time with her favorite brother. She tried to hide it, but it was easy for Harry to see the hopeful shine in her eyes that grew steadily as lunch time drew closer and closer. It even further motivated him to come see Hermione so she could have a chance at that private bonding time without having to worry about him. It was a rather happy coincidence that the object of her attention happened to be here as well; now he didn't have to worry about the possibility of Ginny being let down.
"Okay… you'll be okay?" Bill turned to Hermione, his tone and the look he gave her making it clear he'd stay if she even hinted she wouldn't be fine.
"Absolutely!" Hermione answered immediately and firmly. Bill nodded and strode quickly to his office, undoubtedly to floo home.
Hermione handed Harry a bottle of water, and kept one for herself. They sat on the couch much like she and Bill had, eating burgers and fries Harry had bought from a muggle dive they frequented. She'd just finished telling him about the morning. Harry hadn't stopped grinning since she told him about how Bill and Grimbles had reacted to her demonstration.
"So I guess the first day was a success," Harry spoke around a particularly large bite of burger.
"Guess so," Hermione mumbled, knowing he was referring to her panic before leaving. "Although I can't believe I'm working under Bill!" She said emphatically, her eyes big. Unable to resist, Harry raised his eyebrows and teasingly shot her a lewd look. "Not like that!" She yelped, pushing his shoulder. They both laughed, struggling to swallow their food around their laughter. There was a moment of silence as both continued to scarf down their food.
"Not that you'd mind," Harry murmured, his eyes carefully trained on her. He hid a smile behind shaving a handful of fries in his mouth when she blushed an impressive shade of red. He nudged her leg with his toe.
"Maybe…" she shrugged evasively, looking to the side. Her blush grew impossibly deeper, much to Harry's amusement. She glanced up at him, rolled her eyes and push against his shoulder again at the shit-eating grin on his face. Harry just laughed and squeezed the hand on his shoulder. When they finally finished their lunch they turned see they both were sitting on the couch facing the other wall. Harry stretched his legs and patted his stomach in satisfaction.
"Getting a gut there, huh Potter?" Hermione grinned, poking his lean abdomen. She rested her head in his shoulder and curled her legs up to rest on the edge of his thigh. Harry chuckled good-naturedly and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"So are you gonna do anything?" He asked. Hermione looked up at him in confusion, until he gave her a significant glance. She looked down and held his free hand, blushing as she shrugged helplessly.
"He's my boss," she semi-whispered by way of explanation. Harry squeezed her shoulder silently in understanding. Out of all of her friends, she felt the freest talking to him. He never judged her, and never crossed the limit with teasing. He was protective, but not overly so. He was the brother she never had. Not a pseudo-family like the Weasleys… but true blue brother. The biggest difference was probably their lonely childhoods in the muggle world. Harry shifted a bit in his seat, and then twisted so he could reach in his back pocket.
"I was wondering what was poking me!" He exclaimed looking at the shrunken objects in his hands. Hermione leaned over for a better view as he quickly returned them to their proper size and let them fall into his lap.
"Oh, I totally forgot," Hermione laughed seeing the intercoms.
"Wanna set them up now?" Harry offered. Quickly they both jumped up and got to work. There was a simple one that would be placed outside to act as a doorbell. It connected directly to the larger one on Hermione's desk. A smaller one was also placed on Bill's desk. The ones on their desks were charmed so only Hermione and Bill would be able to hear what was said through them. Essentially, they were for added security, privacy and efficiency.
Bill stepped through the fireplace and was greeted by the comfortable familiarity of the Burrow. Silently, he walked to the kitchen and peeked around the door to see Ginny, seated so she could see out the window to the pathway to the front door. He smiled at the adorable, hopeful look on her face; she was so distracted watching the lane she didn't notice that the family clock was now indicating he was home. He was glade Harry had come by and told him she was waiting, he knew she'd never admit to it and he didn't like even the possibility of making Ginny sad. In a way, he supposed he owed the boy wonder.
"Expecting someone?" His voice was laced with humor as he crossed his arms and leaned against the door jam. Ginny jumped in surprise, he eyes darting over to him.
"Bill!" She screeched. She leapt up so quickly she knocked her chair over. Squealing happily, she leapt into Bill's arms, hugging him tightly. "Here, come sit. I'll make you something to eat." Ginny pushed him toward the table and began to pull out the makings of a sandwich. "So how has the first day been? You know, I realized that you never told us what your new position was." Bill leaned back and watched his sister.
"Pretty good Gin… being the new Head of Foreign Affairs isn't easy. I guess I'm lucky Hermione's such a big help," Bill spoke deceptively casually.
"Head of Foreign Affairs? That's great!" Ginny spoke excitedly as she hurriedly made Bill's sandwich by hand, just the way he liked it. He watched as her fluid movements faltered slightly as she finally processed the rest of his statement. "Hermione's helping you? But that'd mean that…"
"She's my new PA? Yeah," Bill cut her off. Ginny turned at his sharp tone.
"So … I don't understand. You said she was helping but… you're upset." Bill cocked an eyebrow at her.
"I never said anything about being upset with her or her work," Bill said pointedly.
"Was it because Harry went to see her?" Ginny gasped. Bill shook his head, and fixed a hard gaze on her. His eyes appeared icy blue, like they often did when he was in a foul mood.
"Why didn't you tell me she was coming to Gringotts? Or for that matter, why did she come to Gringotts in the first place?" Bill spoke evenly, careful to not raise his voice. Ginny turned back to the sandwiches to finish making them.
"She didn't want me to. When she told us about the job she immediately followed up by insisting that no one told you. Especially since we knew you would be working at a higher level job right here in the country. She didn't want any undue benefit from you or some sort of pity work friendship just because she's mine and Ron's friend. It's hard enough for her to be treated like a normal person just because of who she is. If that were paired with having you take her under your wing…" Ginny trailed off with a shrug. She finished off the sandwiches and could hear Bill sniff the air expectantly.
"But that still doesn't explain why she came to Gringotts. As a PA no less," Bill pointed out as Ginny placed a plate in front of him. She sat across from him with her own plate. His stomach grumbled as he eagerly snatched up the sandwich and moaned after the first bite. Roast beef marinated just right and sliced h-so-thin with equally thinly sliced honey baked ham, and a ton of melted provolone cheese all on perfectly toasted whole wheat toast. An absolute favorite of his. Ginny laughed into her own bite as he all but inhaled some homemade cucumber salad and potato chips made from their mom's secret recipe.
"You're right," Ginny conceded. Bill looked up, not dropping his impressive rate of consummation. "Hermione's… over qualified for her job. Anyone with half a brain could see she's probably over qualified for the mass majority of jobs out there. She's had job offers from every job you could imagine. But they wouldn't have made her happy. She didn't want prestige or over the top paychecks… she's set for life as it is. She wanted a job that was close to home and satisfying. A challenge too."
Bill polished off the last of his lunch, considering everything Ginny had said. Everything seemed to fit. Ginny took the silence as a chance to gulp down the rest of her sandwich and gather their plates together to send levitating to the sink to wash. Bill was so preoccupied he hadn't even noticed that she'd skipped chips and salad. She was glade to not have to worry about him teasing her for watching her figure for Harry. But it was pretty out of character for him to be so distracted; Ginny wasn't able to decide if the change was suspicious or just plain curious.
"So, are you still mad at me?" Ginny asked him, a hint of a challenge in her tone.
"Sorry," Bill gave her a sheepish look. Ginny stared at him for a moment, just to make him squirm. Finally relenting, she stood and pecked him on the cheek.
"Shouldn't you be heading back to work?" She called carelessly over her shoulder as she exited the room. Bill glanced at his watch and cursed under his breath. He should have been back in the office ten minutes ago. Shaking his head, muttering about it being one of those days, he sprinted in to the living room and stopped just barely short of barreling into Ginny. She held out the pot of floo they always kept handy.
"Thanks Gin," Bill kissed her cheek, tossed the power in and disappeared into the green flames.
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