Disclaimer: Not mine, don't own it – I wish! Unfortunately, Harry Potter belongs to JKR and not to me; I'm just playing in her sandbox.

Author's Notes:

» This story is unbetaed, so I hope there won't be too many typos or other errors.

» This story is written for pfanna, who wanted a Bill/Hermione story and who gave me the idea for this. In actual fact, pfanna wanted a story with Hermione yelling at Harry for not showing her any consideration after they escaped from Malfoy Manor and I started writing this story with that in mind. Then I reread the relevant chapters and noticed that Harry did actually show her consideration, so I changed it slightly. Thanks to pfanna for looking over the story for me.

» Thank you to Ms. Anthrop for letting me snitch the idea of Hermione undertaking a Mastery in Magical Librarianship at the Library of Alexandria from her story, Mistress of the Stacks, although Ms. Anthrop takes her inspiration regarding magical libraries from Garth Nix's Old Kingdom series, whereas I look more to Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. I was probably influenced by Mistress of the Stacks as well.

.o.O.o.

MEETING AN OLD FRIEND

Bill Weasley walked into the Ancient Magical Library of Alexandria. He had been assigned to a project in Egypt by Gringotts and needed to use the resources of this library for research. Of course, this was not the new, modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina that the Muggles were building, but the Ancient Library of Alexandria, which the Muggles believed had been destroyed in ancient times. In fact, the Ancient Magical Library of Alexandria—indeed, the entire Musaeum of Alexandria, of which the ancient library was but one part—had been largely hidden from the Muggles long before the destruction of the last remaining section, which was wholly Muggle in nature.

Pausing at the information desk, Bill asked for assistance and was pointed in the direction of what he hoped would be the relevant section. This library was enormous and he did not fancy having to search through every section for the information he needed, as that could take weeks, which he did not have. Approaching the section to which he had been directed, Bill took note of a petite witch, who was dressed in robes which identified her as a librarian. The witch was busy shelving books and scrolls, so all Bill could see was a view of her rear, which seemed to be comprised mostly of thick, bushy brown hair, which had been wrestled into a hair tie and was falling in a long tail down her back. This immediately made Bill think of Hermione Granger, who he had not seen since the end of the Second Voldemort Blood War. Hermione had left Britain immediately after the war and had not stayed in contact with her friends in the British Wizarding World.

"Excuse me," said Bill in Arabic. The witch turned round and Bill gasped in astonishment. "Hermione!"

The witch's eyes grew large. "Bill," she said faintly. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" he joked in reply. "How are you, Hermione?" he asked, growing serious. "Why did you just leave? We've been worried about you?"

"We?" asked Hermione skeptically. "Who is we?"

"Well, all of us…" he faltered.

Hermione snorted in disbelief, much to Bill's surprise. Trying to change the subject, she asked, "Can I help you, Bill? I'm sorry to be so abrupt, but I'm afraid I'm quite busy. I'm happy to be of assistance, of course, but I don't really have time to chat."

"Well, will you meet me later? What time do you finish work?" he asked eagerly. "Please," he added, sensing she was about to refuse.

"All right," Hermione caved in, figuring that if she did not agree to meet Bill, he would simply come back again and again until she did. "Meet me outside the main entrance when the library closes. In the meantime, how can I help you?"

Bill explained what he was looking for and Hermione helped him find the information he needed. Leaving Bill engrossed in a large number of books and scrolls, Hermione went back to work, trying very hard to ignore the red-headed man sitting working at a reading table near her desk.

At the end of the day, as Hermione exited the building, Bill was standing waiting for her at the foot of the steps. With a quick farewell to her colleagues, Hermione headed over to Bill.

"Hi," she said shyly.

"Good evening," said Bill with an appreciative grin. Hermione had removed her work robes and was now clad in everyday clothes that flattered the curvaceous witch's figure perfectly.

"Would you like to go somewhere Muggle, or would you prefer to remain in the Magical Quarter?" he asked.

"I'd rather remain here, if you don't mind. It's been a long day, so it would be nice to go somewhere nearby, where I can easily floo home from afterwards. If that's all right with you?"

"That's perfect," answered Bill. "If you really don't mind not going Muggle, then I'd like to take you to a restaurant I used to go to frequently when I was last stationed here. It's not the poshest of restaurants but the food is excellent."

"Of course, I don't mind. I don't care if the restaurant is Muggle or Magical, as long as it has good food and is nearby. Lead on," Hermione replied.

Bill escorted Hermione to the restaurant, which he knew well from the last time he had been stationed in Egypt. He was given a warm welcome, which was extended to Hermione when Bill introduced her to the owners. Giving Bill a knowing grin, the owner ushered them to a table.

"This is nice," said Hermione looking around in appreciation. "I haven't been here before."

"Then you're in for a treat," Bill grinned. "Will you trust me to order for you?"

Hermione nodded and Bill summoned over the owner. After a brief, rapid conversation, the owner departed kitchewards and Bill turned back to Hermoine. "I asked Basim to bring us his pick for this evening. He's never steered me wrong yet."

It was not long before Basim brought out plates of aromatic, spicy, moist and tender roast lamb. This was accompanied by crisp salads, various dips and steaming hot pita bread. Hermione tasted the lamb and hummed in appeciation.

"Oh, that's good," she moaned in pleasure. "I'll have to come back here again."

"So, what are you doing in Egypt?" Bill asked as they ate.

"It's a long story," Hermione warned.

"I have all the time in the world."

"Don't you have to get back to Fleur?" asked Hermione in surprise. "Or is she back in Britain?"

A shadow crossed Bill's face, but he replied cheerily. "Oh, no. I asked first."

"Boys!" muttered Hermione rolling her eyes, and Bill laughed.

"So are you going to tell me?"

"All right," Hermione sighed. "The short version is that I'm undertaking a Mastery in Magical Librarianship at the Ancient Magical Library of Alexandria. My parents moved to the States during the war…"

"I thought you hid them in Australia?" Bill interrupted.

"That's what I told everyone," Hermione agreed. "I was worried about the connection between Harry and Voldemort. We didn't know what it was, or how much Voldemort could glean from Harry's mind—Dumbledore conveniently kept that information to himself—so I lied to Ron and Harry about where my parents were. I had to tell them both the same story, you see."

"That was probably a wise decision," Bill concurred.

"Anyway," Hermione continued with a nod of agreement. "After the war, I went to the States to be with Mum and Dad. I needed to get away for a while and, quite frankly, I missed my parents. I'd spent most of my time in the wizarding world over the previous few years because it was safer for me to be behind wards during the war, which meant I hadn't spent very much time with Mum and Dad, and I wanted to make up for lost time. You know my parents are Muggle Healers?"

"Dentists, right?"

Hermione nodded. "My dad is teaching at the Harvard University, and my mum is working at Boston Children's Hospital. We figured that Boston has a large enough population that they wouldn't stand out, so they'd still be able to continue practising as dentists under their own names, as it was too complicated to set up false identities for them that would include their qualifications and work history—it's doable, but none of us knew how to do it, especially at reasonably short notice. They didn't want to open their own practice, though, as they felt that hanging a shingle on the door saying Granger Dental Surgery would be asking for trouble. They have an unlisted home phone number, so their home address can't be found in the telephone directory, and without a dental practice in their name, anyone looking for them would either have to go into every single dental practice and hospital across the States and ask for the names of the partners, or else contact every state or local dental society and ask for a list of registered dentists."

Hermione flushed in embarrassment. She knew what she was about to say would not go down well with Harry or Ron, and she was not sure if Bill would react in the same way as her erstwhile friends would. "I asked Professor Snape if the Death Eaters knew how to navigate the Muggle world. I explained my parents would be going into hiding, though I didn't tell him where or when, and he told me that he was the only one familiar enough with the Muggle world to be able to find someone who wasn't where they were expected to be. He was quite sure that as long as we didn't make it obvious where they were, then if they were found by Death Eaters it would be due to bad luck rather than design."

"Yes…" said Bill slowly, as he considered what Hermione had said. "It was probably a good idea to check that with Professor Snape."

Hermione nodded and continued her story. "Mum and Dad moved during the Christmas holidays in my fifth year. Harry and Ron thought my parents were going on a skiing holiday but the plan was that they would be moving and I would go with to help them. Then your Dad was attacked by Nagini and I ended up going straight to Grimmauld Place instead. It was probably safer that they leave on their own without me, anyway, just in case anyone was watching me," she mused.

"Once I joined them after the war, I contacted some of the American schools of magic to see about finishing my high school education. The schools weren't surprised to hear from me," she said wryly. "I wasn't exactly the first Brit to have contacted them during or after the war. One of the schools was happy for me to study from home, and let me portkey in a couple of times a week to use the library and meet with the professors if I needed to. The librarian was very helpful and I spent a lot of time talking to her. Did you know that it's necessary to have a Mastery to become a magical librarian?"

Bill shook his head and Hermione smiled. "Neither did I," she replied. "Perhaps if Madam Pince had been slightly more approachable… Never mind, it's not important now. Mistress Curtis was much more informative. If you ever went into the Restricted Section at Hogwarts, did you happen to notice how the books can get restless? Or perhaps hear a whispering coming from them? Or did they ever react to your presence? Magical books absorb a certain amount of magic from the spells contained within them, from the ambient magic in the atmosphere around them and even from each other, which is why the books in the Restricted Section are the most.. sentient, I guess would be the best way to describe it. Those are the books in the Hogwarts library with the strongest magic in them. Magical books have to be kept under rigid control, and it takes training and power to do so. Not everyone is skilled or capable enough to constrain a large collection. What Mistress Curtis told me about magical libraries fascinated me, so I started looking into it. I'm sure you know you normally have to apply to a Master years in advance if you want to undertake a Mastery? Well, Mistress Curtis explained that to obtain a Mastery in Magical Librarianship or Curatorship, you're usually apprenticing with the institution rather than with an individual Master, so you have a better chance of being taken on at shorter notice if it's a large enough institution. I applied to a number of libraries and was actually offered apprenticeships by all of them. I couldn't resist coming here, though, because it's such an ancient collection."

"Are your parents back in Britain now?"

"No, they decided to stay in America. They're happy there. And I'm thinking of applying for a position in the magical section of the Library of Congress when I've finished my apprenticeship. If I get the job, I won't be far from Mum and Dad, but we won't be in each other's pockets either."

"Why haven't you been in touch, Hermione?"

"Oh, no. I answered your question. Now it's my turn," Hermione laughed, deftly changing the subject. "Why are you in Egypt? I thought you were firmly settled in Britain these days."

Bill made a face. "Fleur and I split up. I decided to transfer back here when I needed a break from Mum."

"I'm sorry to hear that. What happened—no, that's none of my business. Was it amicable, at least?"

"What do you know about Veela and werewolves?"

Hermione sat back in her chair. "Not much about Veela. As for werewolves… I thought you didn't transform?"

"No, I don't," replied Bill with a sigh. "But I have more werewolf traits in me than I realised at first. Veela and werewolves have one significant thing in common: while most of us meet our partners and fall in love in the same way as any other human being, a spontaneous mating bond occasionally occurs. Once that happens, we're mated for life and can't be with anyone else. Our inner wolf or veela won't allow it. Fleur went to visit her family in France after the war and, while she was there, she met an old childhood friend and they bonded."

"Why didn't they bond earlier, if they're old friends?" asked Hermione skeptically.

"She hadn't seen him since they were young. The bond won't happen until after puberty, when the body is physically ready for it."

"How are you? Are you all right? I don't suppose I need to ask how Molly took it, given that you needed a break from her?"

Bill snorted a laugh. "No, you really don't. Mum hasn't stopped nagging me about finding someone else—she keeps trying to set me up with people, all of them as different to Fleur as she can find—but I'm not ready for that. I've seen Fleur and Boniface together and I want a chance to try and find that for myself."

"Surely Molly can understand that? No matter how desperate she is for grandchildren!"

Bill shook his head wryly. "She keeps telling me not to be ridiculous, that I'm not a werewolf. She doesn't want to accept that Greyback's attack had greater consequences than merely giving me a few scars and a liking for very raw steak. I couldn't cope with the nagging, so I put in for a transfer. I did a couple of other projects in different countries before Gringotts finally transferred me here, but I'm hoping this will be my home base from now on, even if the goblins need me for other projects elsewhere from time to time."

"So, you're going to be here for a while?"

"Indefinitely, I should think."

"So… would you perhaps like to spend some more time with me?" asked Hermione coyly.

"I'd love to," replied Bill warmly.

The two returned their attention to their meal as Basim smiled genially upon the young couple. 'Young love,' he thought to himself.

"Will you tell me why you haven't been in touch since you left?" asked Bill again.

"It's no big mystery. I simply realised at the end of the war that my friendship with Harry and Ron had run its course, and as I wanted to spend time with Mum and Dad anyway, it came to a natural end."

Bill sat back and looked at Hermione appraisingly. "Why would you think that? What aren't you telling me?"

Hermione opened her brown eyes wide. "What do you mean?" she asked ingenuously.

Bill snorted. "Hermione, remember who my brothers are. If I could always tell when Fred and George were trying to bluff me, what makes you think I can't tell when you're doing the same?"

Hermione blushed. "Crap," she muttered under her breath. Nevertheless, Bill heard her. A likeness for very raw steak was not the only werewolf trait he had developed since being bitten by Fenrir Greyback, depsite Greyback not having been transformed at the time. Better than normal reflexes and senses were also on the list of werewolf traits.

"Bill, it's really not important," Hermione protested.

"If it's not important, then there's no reason why you can't tell me the whole story," he pointed out reasonably.

"Must I?" Hermione whined. "I'd really rather not."

"Please," said Bill persuasively.

"All right," Hermione huffed. "Just after the war, Harry and Ginny got back together, as did Ron and Lavender."

"Yes, I know," said Bill, wondering where this was leading.

"During the Horcrux hunt, after Ron ran away and left us, when he came back he was jealous that Harry and I had spent so much time alone together. Harry reassured Ron that he saw me as a sister and I began to hope that Ron might actually see me as a woman. When we were captured by Snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor, Ron was frantic about me, and so caring of me after we escaped to Shell Cottage."

"I remember."

"During the Final Battle, we kissed. With everything that had happened, I really thought we had a chance. But Lavender was badly injured during the Final Battle, when she was attacked by Greyback…"