The Tale of the Wolf and the Little Witch

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On Saturday, Bill woke up feeling hungover from crying so hard during his cathartic moment the night before, so he decided to take a cold shower before Hermione arrived to help him. He had barely put the coffee water on to warm up, still wrapped in his towel, when the doorbell rang. He shouted that he would open the door soon, running to one of the boxes and fetching a pair of underwear and a pair of trousers, which he put on in a hurry. When he unlocked the door, he was caught by surprise by the blue eyes that stared at him.

"Hi, Bill" Ron greeted, looking puzzled.

His younger brother was, in fact, without any bruises or purple spots from the violence with which his older brother had beaten him. However, that didn't take away the guilt that Bill still carried on his shoulders. He waved for Ron to come in, and so the younger redhead did.

"I see you're already moving" Ron commented, looking at all the boxes strewn about the floor.

"Yes, Hermione will be by in a bit", Bill replied, nervously trying to put his hands inside his pockets, but realizing that those trousers didn't have pockets. "Ron, I'm sorry about Sunday. I shouldn't have..."

"I shouldn't have said what I said", Ron interrupted him and gave him a shy smile. "I was a complete idiot, Bill. And it was a full moon, I provoked you at the worst possible moment".

"Still... I feel really bad that I reacted the way I did".

"I think I would have reacted the same way", Ron reassured him.

Bill nodded and heard the kettle start to beep, so he ran to the cooker and turned off the fire, picking up the kettle carefully and pouring the water into the coffee filter. Ron watched everything in silence and made himself comfortable sitting on one of the counter stools. Bill offered him a cup when the coffee was ready and sat down in front of his brother. After long minutes of silence, the older man decided to break the silence and satisfy his curiosity on a subject that had been consuming his thoughts since Sunday.

"Does it bother you so much that I married her?" Bill asked, and Ron sighed.

"Yes and no", he replied, sighing. "I guess I think the news caught me by surprise. It made me feel... I don't know... irrelevant, maybe".

"What do you mean?" Bill asked, interested.

"Where do I start?" Ron answered, letting out a sad laugh. "I was never very important, you know? At home I was just another boy Mum had before she could get Ginny, at school I was just Harry's half-dumb friend".

"That's not true".

"It's true, Bill", Ron continued. "But after the war, she saw me, you know? Hermione, the smartest witch I've ever met, saw Ron Weasley, the donkey. And I felt good about myself. After all, I had won Hermione over, right?"

Bill didn't answer, just watched his brother and absorbed his words carefully.

"It didn't work out", Ron said. "I guess in the end we were too different. Please don't get me wrong, I love Luna and I'm happy with her like I never imagined I could be with anyone. And I love Hermione, she's my best friend, and I want her to be happy with someone just like I'm happy with Luna now. And to be honest, you're perfect for her. But... when I found out... I felt cast aside again. I felt like I was... just another Weasley again... an average Weasley traded for the most worthwhile one".

"I don't think you're just a Weasley", Bill commented, holding the cup between his hands. "Well... as for Ginny matter you are. So is everyone else. Mum wanted a girl since she was pregnant with me, and I was the first!"

They both laughed and brought their cups to their lips at the same time.

"But you're not irrelevant", Bill continued. "If you must know, I think Hermione only asked me to marry her because she trusts our family. And that is entirely to your credit, Ron. She trusts you and, consequently, she has come to trust me. You're her best friend, and you're not stupid. You were instrumental in destroying Voldemort, for Merlin's sake!"

"Thank you, Bill" Ron said, smiling appreciatively. "And I'm sorry for everything I said".

"And I'm sorry for what I did", the older man replied.

The two of them turned in fright to the door when they heard three knocks. Bill calmly stood up from the table and opened the door, revealing a smiling Hermione. The girl realized Ron's presence and looked from her ex-boyfriend to her husband, who smiled at her and nodded, assuring her that everything was settled. She then entered the flat happily and greeted them both.

"I've come to help your husband", Ron commented, but not in his usual jocular Sunday tone, but rather playfully, with a smile on his face.

"I see you've gotten a lot of work done", she said, pointing to the boxes on the floor.

"There are only a few boxes left to seal", Bill commented, and walked over to a few boxes that were still open, closing them with a wave of his wand.

Ron walked through the chaos of the room looking like he was searching for something, until he picked up an empty box and dropped it at Hermione's feet.

"You could make an extension charm, then we'll only need to carry one box", he commented, shrugging.

"That's brilliant, Ron!" she replied sincerely, rolled up her sleeves and enchanted the box with the spell that was already very familiar to her and had even helped a lot in the search for the horcruxes.

The three of them filled the enchanted box with all the others, taking a coffee break. The three of them were having fun with all that work, and Hermione was honestly very happy to see that the two of them had hit it off. The smile that took over Bill's face was calming, and she could once again see the playful man she had known.

When everything was duly in place, the witch asked if he had emptied the top floor of the flat or if he needed help. Bill looked visibly awkward, and Ron stepped forward saying that everything was already sorted and that there was nothing on the top floor. Bill gave him a grateful look and Ron patted him twice on the shoulder. The older man crouched down and picked up the one box in his arms. When the three of them reached the pavement, Ron said goodbye and Hermione apparated the two of them to her flat.

As soon as they entered the witch's flat, the two decided to start by tidying up his room. Hermione was conjuring up the belongings from inside the box and Bill was organizing them in place. After arranging all the clothes, shoes, decorative objects of the room and Bill's hygiene belongings, the two took a break for lunch. As they sat at the table, sharing their lunch, the red-haired man noticed that Hermione's bookcase seemed larger than he remembered, and yet it had several empty shelves.

"Is it just me or is your bookshelf bigger than the last time I was here?", he asked.

"I noticed that you have many books, so I enlarged the bookshelf so that it could hold your copies too" she answered with a shrug, and he smiled.

"I have many books that will interest you", he commented. "They are non-traditional witchy books".

"What makes you think I haven't read them already?" she asked playfully.

"Let me see", he replied, scratching his chin playfully. "The fact that you only devoured academic books in your time at Hogwarts? Or your insane workload at the Ministry?"

"Yeah, you got me" she said, crossing her silverware over her plate in a sign that she was already satisfied.

Bill collected the plates and cutlery from both of them and dumped them in the sink, washing them magically. Hermione smiled as she realised that he would be helpful in the house. Not that she doubted it, as she had seen his flat very well cleaned and organised, but she knew that sometimes living together was different and harder than just a few moments together.

As soon as he finished, the two went to the living room and followed the same method as in the bedroom: Hermione would conjure the books from the box and Bill would organize the copies on the bookshelf. The witch always looked at the cover and read the title before handing them to the red-haired man and asked him what they were about. He would then give a brief synopsis of the books. She mentally wrote down which ones she would read first, excited.

"And this one?" she asked, holding a book with a green leather cover, without a title or any indication of what it was about.

"This is a book of short stories about a little witch", he answered, smiling, and approaching her to take the book. "Who married a wolf because of an Marriage Act".

"I'm serious" she said, rolling her eyes.

"It could very well be about that…" he replied, stopping in front of her and taking the book from her hands. He was very close, and Hermione had to look up to meet his eyes, since he was a good inch taller than she was. "Since this is a diary".

"You keep a diary?" she asked interested.

"I like writing" he replied, shrugging. "It helps me get my thoughts straight".

"So you're going to write about us?" she questioned, smiling.

"Probably", he replied, lowering his face so that it was level with hers. "You're certainly a very interesting character, little witch".

She smiled at him, and he smiled back, moving away and dropping the diary on the sofa. Hermione pointed to the radio with her wand and turned it on to a random muggle station, and Bill stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

"It's more fun with music" she said.

"I like the music" he replied, asking for the next book, and Hermione reached for another copy.

In a few minutes Bill started dancing in a funny way while arranging the books on the bookshelf, earning giggles from Hermione. He didn't seem to mind and kept on shaking his legs and arms as he performed that activity. The red-haired man seemed to be having a great time listening to the random muggle songs that were playing on the radio, and the witch got carried away and started dancing too.

Sometime later, the radio started playing Elton John, particularly a song that Hermione liked, as her parents used to listen to it while cooking together when she was little. Bill seemed to have enjoyed the tune, as he took Hermione's hand and pulled her to dance with him. He jiggled his legs in a funny way and spun her on her own axis, pulling her closer as the song came out of the chorus. He rocked her from side to side and Hermione laughed. She was happy. Bill was fun, intelligent, helpful, sensitive, very handsome and a great friend. She blushed at the thought that he was, in fact, everything she had ever wanted in a mate, but was snapped out of her thoughts when he spun her around again.

"You are an accomplished dancer, Miss Granger" Bill remarked. "I mean, Mrs. Weasley?"

"It's a shame I can't say the same about you, Bill", she laughed, and he pretended to be offended.

"That's because you didn't see me waltz", he retorted.

The two of them spent the whole day sorting through Bill's things, chatting about amenities. Hermione settled some of his decoration items, such as cushions, a sofa blanket and some paintings. By late afternoon, the flat no longer looked the same. It had a bit of the identity of the two of them, and that caused Hermione strangeness, but also comfort. She finally positioned his ashtray on the small table on the balcony.

"Do you mind if you just smoke here?" she asked shyly.

"It's perfect here" he replied, approaching the small table. "You can rest assured that I won't be smoking inside the flat".

Hermione was grateful, as she didn't like the smell of cigarettes. However, within the first few days she realised that she was willing to put up with the smoke just to have his company. At night, she would join him on the balcony and the two of them would share a bottle of wine while he smoked. He always turned on the radio and she noticed that he had even learned to sing a few muggle songs. Hermione, always so diurnal, found herself having the night as her preferred time, since she could share these moments with him.

It was good to come home with someone and have someone to talk to about the day, someone to share a wine with, someone to sit with at the little table she had inherited from her grandmother under the yellowish light of the clothesline that she had installed with Bill's help. The red-haired man had also been positively surprised by how much he was enjoying his new routine. With a few days, he had realized that Hermione was not only very intelligent, but also very funny and a bit clumsy, especially in the kitchen. The two of them shared a good laugh and he took over the preparation of dinner almost every night.

It wasn't a few times that Hermione had to stay late at the Ministry and would come home to find Bill on the small veranda reading some of her books and smoking a cigarette. That Friday night was no different. He noticed her approaching, and, without taking his eyes off the book, pulled out a chair for her to sit beside him.

"You muggles aren't as progressive as I thought you'd be", he remarked.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"You never told me that you, muggle women, are bred for marriage", he explained.

She leaned over to see the title of the book he was reading and giggled. It was Pride and Prejudice.

"That book was written two centuries ago, Bill" she explained. "Fortunately things don't work like that anymore. Today, people marry, in theory, for love. Marriages are no longer a financial transaction".

"Financial transaction?" he closed the book and stared at her curiously.

"At the time this book was written, women were bred for marriage and the groom paid the bride's family with money or possessions. It was called a dowry".

"That's horrible!" he exclaimed, and she laughed.

"Yes, it was horrible. But, as I said, that has changed".

"And how is the issue of the muggle divorce?" he asked, trying to sound unpretentious, putting out the cigarette he had just smoked and pulling another one from the packet on the bistro table.

Hermione took off her shoes and coat and made herself more comfortable on the chair, being watched by Bill's scrutiny.

"It's quite common" she commented. "When two people no longer want to be together, they get divorced. It's only natural. As natural as never getting married at all".

"The wizarding world has a lot to learn from the muggles" Bill commented, puffing on his cigarette. "But I must confess I'm particularly enjoying my marriage now. Besides, I think the last name Weasley suits you".

Hermione felt her cheeks warm, and Bill smiled, taking his eyes off her and staring at the sky while smoking his cigarette.

"Me too", she merely replied. He wondered countless things, though: did she like the marriage too? Did she also agree that the Weasley surname suited her? Or was she also enjoying her husband? He preferred to throw those thoughts away.

She never gave any sign that he might move in that direction and, to be quite honest, he didn't know if he wanted to and he hadn't given any sign either since the fateful day she proposed to him. At the time, he enjoyed teasing her. Now, knowing her better, he didn't want to tease her or make her uncomfortable. He had found in her a companion, a friend, a family to call his own, even if they were not, in fact, a family like his mother and father were to each other.

"It's good to know I've written the new chapter accurately", he remarked.

"Chapter?"

"Of the tale of the wolf and the little witch. The two make a good pair. They are friends, companions, and the witch ordered two pizzas for the two of them to dine on the veranda".

"I never ordered pizza for us!" she replied.

"You have about forty minutes to do it then and I don't have to rewrite the whole chapter!" he said smiling, and she laughed.

"You're impossible!" she commented, getting up from her chair and reaching for the phone on the kitchen counter.

Hermione called the only pizza place she knew in the region and ordered two pizzas, after a long time on the phone quoting flavors to Bill, who chose and then changed his mind in the blink of an eye. Finally, she ended up choosing all of them and he gave in. As soon as she hung up the phone, the red-haired man walked over to the bookcase and pulled out something she didn't immediately recognize.

"I've been meaning to ask you for days, but I kept forgetting" Bill approached her with the object in hand. "How do you read this book? There are several like it on the bookshelf and I couldn't read any of them".

"That's not a book", she laughed. "It's a movie".

"What's a movie?" he asked, twisting the DVD case between his fingers, looking interested from cover to back cover, as if trying to figure out how it works.

"A movie is like a book, but in images", she tried to explain. "It's when you tell a story through image and sound. Like a theatre play, but you can watch it as many times as you want in your own home".

"I know theatre", he commented, still staring at the little box.

"I'll show you", she said, and pulled him by the wrist to her room.

The redhead followed her without understanding, feeling a sudden nervousness as she led him into the bedroom. It was the first time he had seen his wife's room, and he began to absorb every detail of it. His own room was extremely comfortable, there was no doubt about it, but hers was more so. She took the DVD from his hands and motioned to a large black apparatus fixed to the wall in front of the bed, much like a painting, but with no picture and a dull frame. He pressed a few buttons that Bill knew he would have to note the order of if he wanted to use it again and inserted the contents of the little box into a small tray that came out of a funny rectangular device just below the television.

He jumped in fright when a picture appeared on the set and a very loud instrumental song started playing. Hermione ran to the small table next to the bed and picked up another smaller device, pressing another button and suddenly the sound became lower.

"I'm sorry", she asked bluntly. "I haven't watched television in ages, I didn't know the volume was at maximum".

"I didn't understand half of what you said, but I don't think you need to apologize", he replied, smiling.

"You chose a good movie" she commented. "It's one of my favorites".

"The title sounded interesting" he shrugged.

She seemed to think for a while, she knew from the sound that the opening credits had already started and decided to invite him to watch the movie. She was a little nervous. After all, watching Dirty Dancing with Bill, in her bed, was something she hadn't expected. Hermione walked around the bed and sat with her back against the headboard, beckoning Bill to sit beside her. He looked, too, a little nervous, but he settled himself against the pillows beside her. He watched the film intently, and constantly the witch had to situate him of a few things, such as how a holiday camp worked and the fact that the muggles also had class prejudices. Approximately twenty minutes after the start of the film, the intercom announced the arrival of the pizza and Bill and readied himself to pick it up, but not without first exclaiming "awesome" when he saw Hermione pausing the picture.

The redhead returned with the two pizza boxes in hand and the two of them ate sitting on the bed while watching Baby and Johnny's love story. Bill had eaten most of the pizza and in the end, there were only two slices left. He explained that during periods outside the full moon he felt the urge to eat food other than rare meat, but that he didn't innovate the menu as much out of habit. But the truth was that he had been nervous and regretted having chosen a film with such sensual scenes to watch with Hermione and in her bed.

When the movie was over, Bill took the pizza boxes to the kitchen and came back with another DVD in hand, asking them to watch another movie. He had chosen one with a very colorful cover and funny elements, hoping that this new movie would take his mind off the images of Baby rubbing herself against Johnny to the sound of a song with suggestive lyrics. Except that, in his mind, Baby was Hermione, and Johnny was himself. I'll have to check the calendar, it can only be near the full moon, he thought.

The puppy dog eyes he directed at the girl made her, though very tired, agree. And so the two of them began the first chapter of the Star Wars saga. Hermione explained, between a yawn and another, that this was a story in a fictitious universe and that none of the objects and beings "besides humans" actually existed in the muggle world.

Bill was so absorbed in the film that he didn't even notice when Hermione threw her head to the side and started to sleep. No doubt this new story scared away any mental images involving him and the brown-haired girl. Only after a while did he find her silence strange and saw that she was all crooked propped up against the headboard and with her mouth slightly open, breathing heavily. He couldn't restrain a giggle. Did he find her... cute? Not quite that word, but she was something between graceful and funny. He carefully got out of bed and stopped in front of the television, confused not knowing which button to push. He decided to press the biggest one and sighed with relief when the screen simply went black and his face appeared in the glazed reflection of the screen.

"That should do it", he commented to himself.

The redhead turned back to the bed and decided to tuck Hermione in so that she wouldn't wake up with a sore back. Carefully, he slipped his left arm under her knees while his right supported her back. He lifted her up just enough so that he could get her to lie down. He adjusted the pillows and faced her. He decided to remove one pillow so that her head wouldn't be too high. He removed a few strands of hair that were falling across her forehead and covered her with the blanket.

He watched her for a few seconds, unable, for some reason, to get out of there. After some internal conflict, he finally decided to place a goodnight kiss on her forehead and stroke her brown curls before leaving the room, closing the door.