The Curse Breaker's Apprentice

The Curse Breaker's Apprentice

By Cindale

Hannah Abbott had never been particularly courageous and she had always been fairly average at everything. She was sorted into Hufflepuff at Hogwarts, which, unfairly, seemed to be known to outsiders for its mediocrity.

Her first four years at Hogwarts were fun, if not remarkable. In fifth year she was made a prefect, but that was also the year the Ministry sent Umbridge to try to take over the school. Hannah had tried to keep her head down, do her prefect duties, and stay out of trouble, but Susan and Ernie had talked her into going to that first DA meeting, anyway. Susan seemed enamored with the rebellion, but Hannah always felt a bit uncomfortable with it, despite her fascination with the defense skills taught by Harry Potter.

In sixth year her mediocrity disappeared forever when they began to study curse breaking in Defense Against the Dark Arts and actually had a decent teacher. Hannah was fascinated. She quickly researched the number of N.E.W.T.s she would need and redoubled her studying efforts in those subjects. Her marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts improved dramatically, and after her Outstanding Defense N.E.W.T. score, she landed a plum apprenticeship with Gringotts in Egypt.

Hannah was a bit taken aback the first time she met her assigned mentor. He was rather wild looking with long red hair held back with a cord, Muggle jeans and a T-shirt, dragon hide boots, and an earring in the shape of a fang. His smile, however, was warm and his eyes friendly, and her trepidation disappeared almost immediately. She shouldn't have been surprised to learn that he was a Weasley, the oldest of Ron's brothers. She remembered that Ron had been almost as good looking as Bill once he had grown into his limbs, though he had never had eyes for anyone besides Hermione Granger.

For the next six months her love for her chosen career blossomed under the tutelage of Bill Weasley, his enthusiasm for curse breaking only barely surpassing her own. She loved patiently untangling the layers of spells as if she were untying a particularly difficult knot. "Your skill will soon rival mine, and that's saying something," he told her once without a trace of conceit, and Hannah had beamed at the praise.

After a few months she found herself wondering what Bill did when they weren't working. She knew she wasn't likely to find out; Bill was always warm and friendly, but completely professional. Even on the occasions when he had instinctively caught hold of her to steady her when they had been stumbling through a pyramid or underground cavern, there was no lingering touch, no flicker of desire in his eyes, nothing that could have been considered "improper" between a mentor and apprentice. Hannah forced these thoughts out of her mind whenever she had them. Why would he ever look twice at her, anyway? He was an older man of the world, and she was ... just Hannah. As the end of her apprenticeship drew near, however, she felt in ache in her heart every time she thought of her departure.

The final day arrived too quickly for Hannah. As she was finishing the last of her reports at a make-shift desk in Bill's office, he said, "Hannah, you can go as soon as you finish that. I know it's a little early, but you probably want to get your things moved and settled in."

His tone was friendly and helpful, but the words stung. He was certainly eager to be rid of her. Tears filled her eyes as she added the last words to the parchment and signed it with an unusual flourish. As she rose to leave, a crazy thought crossed her mind, crazy because it required courage. However, she knew she would never see him again, and she thought, what the hell?

Her heart pounded frantically as she walked around his desk to hand him the report. He stood as she reached him and smiled. "It was good working with you, Hannah. I know you'll do well in Giza."

If she had thought about it, she wouldn't have done it, so she didn't allow herself to think. She reached up and put her hands behind his neck, pulled him toward her, and pressed her lips to his. At least she would have this one small kiss, this one fond memory of him and what might have been.

However, before she could pull back, Bill's strong arms wrapped around her waist and his lips opened to deepen the kiss. Her heart soared as she felt the unmistakable passion in his embrace. She had expected shock, annoyance, possibly even horror, but not this. Was it possible ...?

Finally, he pulled back slightly and gazed at her for a long moment. Still locked in his embrace, she stared in wonder at the fire in his eyes.

"God, Hannah," he whispered, raising one hand to brush back her hair and cup her face. "You don't know how much I was hoping you would do that." He kissed her forehead, each cheek, and then her lips once again.

Hannah was stunned for a moment, hardly able to believe his words, but she finally found her voice. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"It would have been inappropriate. You were my apprentice."

"I'm not your apprentice any more," she said with a small smile.

"Thank God!" Bill said with feeling. "But I still needed for you to make the first move. In case you haven't noticed, I'm quite a bit older than you, and I didn't feel comfortable ..."

"That sort of nonsense belongs in the pyramids with the other ancient artifacts," Hannah interrupted.

"Perhaps you're right," said Bill. He kissed her again, tightening his grip on her waist to pull her even closer. Hannah's breath caught as Bill's lips left hers and began to travel down her throat. "Stay," he murmured against her neck, so soft Hannah wasn't sure she had heard him correctly.

"Mmmm?"

He stopped and looked into her eyes. "Stay."

"I have to go to Giza."

"Not until Monday. We have the whole weekend."

"I've already turned in my room key."

"There's plenty of room at my flat."

Why was she protesting? Isn't this what she had wanted? She loved everything about Bill: his passion for his work, his friendly, easy manner, and his good looks.

That was it - she loved him. A weekend just wasn't enough. A kiss had been one thing, but she didn't think she could stand to have Bill only for a fleeting moment.

She looked into his eyes and was surprised to see nervousness there. He was afraid she was going to say no! Should she take the chance? She had never been much of a risk-taker - that required courage.

She pulled out of his arms, took a step back, and said, "What happens after the weekend?"

"I don't know," he said with a shrug, "but I'd like to find out. Giza is only three seconds from Cairo by Apparation." He reached out, took her hand, and pulled her toward him. "Stay," he whispered against her lips just before he kissed her again.