Written for the Monthly Fic Exchange - Prompts: Characters: Bill/Hermione, Genres: romance, hurt/comfort, Prompts: "Well, that was weird", "No, we are not together, he/she is a special friend."

For Eriamaude.

Thanks to Raybe for betaing.

Hermione Moves In

Hermione sighed as she looked at the letter. How could her landlady evict her for fighting for the rights of House-Elves? Just because the sour-faced witch used house-elves herself - it would do her good to treat the poor helpless creatures better than she did.

But did she really have to evict Hermione out of spite? What difference did it make if Hermione stayed there or if she was kicked out? None whatsoever. The landlady just liked to hold a grudge.

And her day of looking up laws told her that she didn't have a leg to stand on. Her landlady was well within her rights to make Hermione leave if she wanted to.

With another sigh, Hermione walked over to the fireplace and flooed over to Harry's place.

...oOo...

"Would you like to stay here?" Harry immediately offered once he had read the letter.

Hermione shook her head. "Thank you, but you're getting married, you'll be having kids soon... I'm not sure this is the right place for me. I mean, if I can't find somewhere in time, maybe I could stay for a week, but no more."

"Well, I'll start thinking," he replied. "Maybe we know someone who is able to accommodate a room-mate?"

After a few minutes of trading names of potential people to contact, Hermione stood up.

"I'm going to start packing my books today," she said sadly. She had loved her flat. It wasn't that big, but it was the first place that was just hers and it meant a lot to her. She hated that she had to leave, but it was a matter of principals. She wouldn't beg the landlady to let her stay.

She hoped that the next tenants weren't reliable with their rent; that'd teach her!

...oOo...

The next day Hermione was finished organising all her books into order, and had gotten half of them into boxes when she heard the sound of the floo.

She got up from the floor and dusted herself off, before walking to the fireplace in the next room. She found Harry making himself comfortable in her comfortable brown chair, the one Hermione liked to curl up in with one of her books.

"Harry."

"I've found you somewhere to live."

Hermione stared at Harry suspiciously. He looked too happy and therefore she couldn't trust him.

"Where?"

"Well, a certain Weasley -"

"No, I am not living in the Burrow. Don't you think that'd be too weird since breaking up with Ron last year -"

"No," Harry interrupted. "That's like the last resort place. I was thinking Shell Cottage."

"Shell Cottage?"

"Yeah. I already spoke to Bill. Since Fleur left him last year, he's been pretty lonely there. He said it'd be nice to have a flatmate."

"I don't know," Hermione replied, biting her lip as she thought about the eldest Weasley brother. He didn't play pranks like the twins, he wasn't immature like Ron, nor was he pompous like Percy. She couldn't actually think of anything to fault him. "Alright," she said. "When is he expecting me?"

"He's going to take a couple of days to sort out the guest room for you," Harry stated. "You can move in any time after Wednesday. He said he'd key you into the wards so you can just go straight through."

"That's nice of him," Hermione replied, smiling. "Maybe it won't be so bad sharing... until I get back on my feet, at least."

...oOo...

Thursday came around quickly and Hermione had already sent an owl to Bill the previous afternoon to inform him of what time she was due to arrive.

Hermione looked around her old flat, checking everywhere to ensure nothing was left behind, before Harry and Neville turned up along with a few of their friends.

"Not too much to take," the boys stated, looking around the room.

"Well, I couldn't really have my furniture there, it's all shrunken into one of the boxes. The rest is clothes and books and things," Hermione stated.

The boys began to grab the boxes and walked over to the floo. A second trip was required, but they made short work of it.

Hermione said goodbye to her first flat, before stepping into the floo.

...oOo...

"Hermione, it's good to see you again." Hands steadied her as she stumbled through the floo, cursing it under her breath. So many years and she still hadn't gotten used to travelling by floo and it wasn't going to change any-time soon.

She glanced up, her eyes meeting Bill's for a moment, before she straightened.

"Thank you," she said. "It's good to see you too. I appreciate you opening your home to me like this."

"What can I say? I couldn't say no and leave a damsel in distress." He tried to look serious, but his eyes watched her in amusement.

"And I suppose you're my knight in shining armour," she retorted playfully.

"If the occasion calls for a knight," Bill stated. He watched Harry and his friends come back through the floo with more boxes.

"Well, we'll leave you to get settled in," Harry said, glancing between Hermione and Bill.

"Thanks for your help," Hermione said, turning from Bill and smiling at the Gryffindor boys. "Are you off home?"

"No, we planned to go to the pub," Seamus told her. "We thought we'd be moving a lot of things today and thought we'd need a pint to recover."

"We still need a pint to recover," Dean said, grinning around as the others nodded their heads.

...oOo...

After talking to Bill for a few minutes, Hermione followed him to the surprisingly large bedroom that was to be hers.

"It's empty because I thought you'd have furniture, but I've only stored the stuff in the attic," Bill told her. "I've still got the furniture."

Hermione shook her head. "I don't need it, I've shrunk down my furniture," she told him, looking at the bare room. "I'll fit quite a bit of it in here - this room is twice the size of my old bedroom at least! It's great!"

"I'm glad you like it."

"I'm sure I'll be on my feet soon enough," Hermione informed him, not wanting to take advantage of Bill's hospitality.

"Are you that eager to get away from me?" Bill chuckled. "The room is yours for as long as you need it. It'll be nice to have the company; I'm in no rush to get you to leave."

"No rush at all," Hermione insisted. "I didn't meant to offend... I don't want to take advantage when you're being so nice."

"Offering a room that I don't use to a smart and beautiful girl," Bill replied, his mouth turning up into a smile. "I think I may be the one taking advantage of this opportunity, not you."

Hermione blushed at the compliment.

"I'll leave you to get settled," Bill said. "Anything you'd like for dinner?"

"Oh, you don't have to -"

"Don't be silly, I'm going to make dinner. The last time I had someone to cook for was when Charlie came over three months ago."

"No girlfriends to cook dinner for?"

"Girlfriends? As in plural?" He waved an arm around. "Yeah, hundreds." The smile faded. "Just an old, single bachelor."

"You're not that old."

"I feel it," Bill stated. "Do you like pasta? Shepherd's Pie? I could order in?"

"I do like pasta," Hermione admitted. "Though if your Shepherd's pie is as good as your mother's, I'm going to have to convince you to cook that for me another day."

"Yeah, sounds great," Bill said, folding his arms and biting his lip. "So, we could do these things on alternate days perhaps? Just write what you need on the shopping list and I'll sort it all."

"Okay, and how much is the room?"

"How much?"

"What do I pay you - room, utilities and food."

"Oh... that's fine, I have more than enough money -"

"Bill," Hermione said, narrowing her eyes and folding her arms. "There's no way that I'm staying here if you're not going to take any money. I prefer to pay my way."

"We'll sit down after dinner and work it out," Bill said, realising that Hermione was going to be stubborn on the matter.

...oOo...

It was strange living in the same house as someone else, now that she was used to living alone, but Hermione found that she enjoyed the company. They would take turns to cook dinner, but Bill insisted on ordering a takeaway every Friday night, because they deserved it after working hard throughout the week.

They quickly fell into a routine and for the first time in a long time, Hermione actually enjoyed coming home from work because there was more than an empty flat to return to.

But three weeks into her moving in, she returned home to find herself alone. Bill was usually in the living room, unless it was his turn to make dinner, then he was already cooking when she came in.

Hermione headed to the basement and over to the potion in the cauldron. She put some in a vial and headed up to send the vial to Remus, having been the one to learn the Wolfsbane potion after Snape had died.

Once she had finished, she looked around for Bill again, before heading up to his room.

"Bill?" she rapped on the door with the back of her knuckles. "Are you here?"

"Hermione? Are you back already?"

"A little bit earlier," she replied. "I'm about to start dinner - are you alright?"

"Just a bit worn out," came the reply. "I'm not sure if I'll be joining you for dinner tonight. Can you just put some aside for me, I may eat later or something."

"Okay, sure - any preference?"

"Uh... I... I have some steaks. That'd be nice."

"How do you like them?"

There was a long pause. "Quite rare," came his reply, sounding nothing like the friendly Weasley that had welcomed her into his home. As she considered it, she realised that Bill actually sounded disgusted.

"Okay, but if you need me..."

"Yeah," he replied. She heard something smash in the room and decided it was best to head to the kitchen and give Bill his privacy.

...oOo...

An hour later and Hermione had finished eating, washed everything up and put a large plate of food under a warming charm on the side. She had flicked through a book, but something was niggling at her mind, telling her something was up with Bill.

She headed back to his room, just to hear him pacing.

"Bill?"

"Hermione, this... this is not a good time. Whatever it is, can't it wait until morning?"

Hermione stayed by the door, thinking hard about that day. Bill had been a little on edge that morning, she realised. But she hadn't thought much of it at the time, more concerned with Remus having to go through the full-moon.

That was when it clicked. "Bill, how are you feeling? Do you need a pain potion or do you want me to leave your dinner outside of your door so you can bring it into your room when I leave?"

She was met with silence, and she tried the door, but found it locked.

Well, she was a witch.

"Alohomora," she said, quickly unlocking the door and pushing it open, only to find Bill sitting near the window. He turned to her, staring at her expressionlessly.

"Why are you locking yourself away? You don't transform."

He let out a low growl, but Hermione didn't feel threatened at the sound. "Just because I don't transform, it doesn't mean I don't feel changes," he said. "That's why she left me - because I'm not the same Bill I was before Greyback."

"You aren't, you're different," Hermione replied. "You're more serious, you are more emotional and your temper comes out a little bit more. I've only been here a few weeks and I've seen how you've changed, but it doesn't mean you've changed for the worse. You're still sweet and kind and caring."

He turned back to the window. "I'd rather you not see this side of me," he murmured. "Please leave. I'll see you tomorrow."

Instead of leaving, Hermione shut the door and walked into his room, her eyes darting over the place as she took things in. "Why?"

"Fleur was scared of me," Bill confessed hesitantly. "I don't want to scare you away too. I need you here with me."

"Need?"

"I... care for you deeply," Bill admitted, before laughing hollowly. "Not that you'd ever see me in that light, I mean, look at me! The scar, the temper... I've got a bit of wolf in me -"

"I happen to like your scar," Hermione interrupted. "I think you're one of the kindest men I've ever met and I've... I've had a crush on you since I first met you. I was so jealous of Fleur, and though I hated seeing you hurt when she left... I... I never felt as though she deserved you."

Bill moved quickly from the seat and Hermione found herself in his arms. "You had a crush on me, or you have a crush on me?"

She could see the desire in his eyes and knew she wouldn't get shot down if she confessed. "It became much more than a crush within days of moving in," she boldly replied.

...oOo...

A sound from the living room awoke Hermione, and she smiled at the weight of the arm wrapped protectively around her. She carefully lifted the arm away, causing blue eyes to open and meet hers.

"We have company," she murmured, leaning in to press her lips to his. "The things you said last night..."

"I do still mean them," Bill assured her, understanding Hermione's fears. "I'm falling for you, Hermione. I want more than being just friends."

"I want that too," she murmured. "Let me get rid of the visitor and I'll..."

"Come back to bed?" he asked, grinning.

"Shower and get ready for work," Hermione replied, moving away and gathering up her clothes. She quickly pulled them back on, reminding herself it was only for a couple of minutes whilst she got rid of whoever was in the living room until she could go and shower. She left the room and headed down the hall.

...oOo...

"There you are," Harry said, his arms folded. "Not turning up for work, not calling in ill, I thought something was wrong." His gaze fell on her clothes and he raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, I was feeling a bit under the weather when I woke up, but I started to feel better," she lied, wondering what the time was.

"Oh, so you were sleeping?"

Hermione nodded.

"Where? I checked your room already," Harry said suspiciously. "Is there a reason why Bill's door was warded?"

"Warded?" Hermione replied innocently. "I don't know what you're -"

"You were in Bill's room last night," Harry stated, a smirk on his lips. "Making the most of having a room-mate, or has Hermione gotten herself a new boyfriend?"

"No, we are not together, he is a special friend."

Harry laughed. "Hermione, I've known you for years," he said. "I can see through each lie you make. You're mad about him, it's been obvious for a long time. I'm just glad you've done something about it. I'm going back to work to say that you were so ill, you were barely conscious and that you won't be in for the rest of the day and you're going to go back to bed."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but as she pictured the hours in Bill's bed before they finally passed out, she could only nod her head.

"Thanks Harry."

"Great. And Hermione, before I go..."

"Yes?"

"I'll get my speech prepared for your wedding."

"Shut up," she said, grabbing a cushion off the nearby sofa and throwing it at him. Harry caught it with ease and dropped it onto the armchair.

"Seriously though, I'm happy for you. You two are a nice fit together. I'll see you tomorrow."

She nodded, watching as Harry stepped into the floo. Seconds later, arms wrapped around her waist, and she was pulled tightly to Bill's chest.

"Well, that was weird," he said. "I thought Harry finding out would mean that I got a lecture about looking after you and treating you right, and if I didn't, he'd hurt me."

"Would you have listened?" Hermione asked.

Bill put his hands up. "Hey, I'm not someone to mess with the guy who blasted Voldemort into dust."

"Harry doesn't need to make threats," Hermione explained. "He knows that he wouldn't need to - if you hurt me, I'd hex you myself!"

"I don't doubt that, and I don't intend to ever find out how handy you are with hexes. Do you want some breakfast before we go back to bed?" he murmured.

Hermione nodded her head. "And you better let your work know you won't be in for a couple of days," she told Bill as he led her to the kitchen.

"A couple of days? I was thinking about having a week off," he murmured, taking the opportunity to press an inviting kiss to her lips. As she leaned in for more, he pulled away. "Not until you eat," he insisted, turning to get breakfast started.

Hermione looked up at the clock. "Better make that lunch," she told him.