The bright, lime green colored flames leapt in fireplace number 29 in the Ministry atrium. Charlie Weasley, all 6 feet of him stepped out of the floo and strode in great, purposeful steps across the smooth marble floor to the elevators. He drew a great deal of attention, his size, and his dragon's skin clothing, his long, tied back, red hair and of course the determined expression on his face. However, as a man on a mission, Charlie didn't pay any attention to the stares, but made his way to Hermione's office.
The Department of the Regulation and Care of Magical Creatures was located on level 25 of the ministry, so the lift ride was rather lengthy what will all the stops to either pick-up or let off wizarding traffic. When he finally reached the floor, Charlie was glad to be rid of the bloody thing. The reception desk for the office was vacant and so he strode right past not bothering to check in. He supposed that it would be helpful in finding the office he was looking for if he would only wait, but he was not patient and didn't wish to let the little witch to his presence.
It took only a minute to locate her in any case. Hermione's office was a corner one on the far left of the back of the department. Hermione was bent over a yellowed, stained and crinkled parchment which easily reached 15 feet. Her hair was messy and held a feathered quill in its curls. Her robes were open and somewhat fell of her shoulders revealing a blouse that dipped low and showed the curves of her breasts. He caught himself staring when she had yet to notice his presence and knowing it was not a good thing he moved his gaze to take in her office.
Her desk and chair sat directly in front of a wall of books. Five rows lined the whole of the wall and were filled in their entirety tidy books. The carpet was a cream color and set off the otherwise dark furnishings in the room. To the left was a coat closet and to the right a small window. He felt a pair of eyes looking at him and moved his head back to the witch. She had sat up straight in her chair and folded her arms across her chest a blank look on her face. The only thing that betrayed her… curiosity was a single raised eyebrow.
"Hermione," he rumbled with an apologetic grimace. Hermione only pursed her lips in acknowledgement.
"Charlie," she bit out, "why are you here?" Her chocolate eyes flashed angrily at her sharp tone.
Why was he here? This made no sense to him. "We should talk," he decided. It was a safe response, he thought. Obviously they should talk, but he didn't know what caused him to leave the fresh, open air of the dragon reserve to stand in a stuffy, overcrowded ministry department just to talk.
"We have nothing to talk about," Hermione replied shortly. She lowered her gaze back to her work effectively shutting him out. Irritation and anger swelled in him at her obvious dismissal of him. He did not come all this way for her to ignore him, so he stepped into her office and slammed the door shut behind him, before crossing to loom over her desk in a foreboding stance.
"Listen here Hermione!" Charlie exclaimed wildly, his eyes darkening in his fury. "I did not come all this way to witness you act this childish. Grown-ups talk about what is upsetting them, so we damn well are going to do that."
Hermione looked up long enough send a scathing glare at him. "I have nothing to say to you Charles Weasley. I don't know why you bothered to come, it will only be a waste of your time and mine."
Charlie realized that the speech was intended to be firm and abrasive, but her shaky voice an unshed tears betrayed her. Damn it all to hell, he thought, I have no idea what to do with a crying witch.
"Bloody hell," Charlie muttered, when she turned her back to him. "Don't lie to me Hermione. You have plenty to say to me and you know it."
"What else could I possibly say? Haven't I already humiliated myself enough?"
Charlie slumped his shoulders and furrowed his brow. Humiliated? How had she humiliated herself?
"What makes you think that?"
"What makes me think that?" She repeated. "What Makes Me Think That? Fuck you Charlie."
He growled at the insult and stomped around her desk to look her in the eye. Few people dared to be so direct with him. Most knew him well enough to know that he was quick to temper when insulted and that he was wild when he was mad. Without a word h reached down to grip her arm and pull her out of her chair and looked into her rich orbs.
"This is fucking ridiculous! You can't show up out of the blue on my dragon reserves, announce that you going to become a tamer without any explanation and then just storm off and now refuse to talk to me. Tell me why you feel you humiliated yourself!"
Hermione scoffed, "You really want to know. Fine. I show up, or well rather I fall down onto the reserve, which was and enough. Then I tell you why I'm there, and before you even let me explain fully you laugh at me and tell me I don't belong. Right there, out in the open, where anyone could see you couldn't show me enough respect to bring me into the head tamer, well your, office and talk to me, you just assumed I was joking. Well, as I said fuck you Charlie!" Hermione wretched her arm free from his grip and spun out, storming out of the office. Charlie sighed deeply and marched after her. This conversation was far from over.
Hermione, made it to the elevator, furious at his nerve. She didn't want to talk to him, she didn't want to see him. She wanted to have cried her last tear over him and move on, but no, he just had to show up and demand she talk to him. She felt rather than saw his presence behind her before the lift opened.
"What now?" she hissed.
"It's more than that. There is something in this you are not telling me, and I want to know."
"We don't always get what we want."
"No, but I'm not leaving until I do. So, just make it easier on yourself."
"Why do you care?"
The lift opened, and Hermione stepped through intent on pushing him away but he only stepped in with her.
"Why wouldn't I? You are my brother's friend, an extension of our family even if you didn't marry the git."
"If you actually believed that, I'd think you would have shown me more respect."
"Shit. I'm sorry okay, I was a ponce and I embarresed you. Can we move past it and talk about this please?"
Hermione glanced at him, her contempt fading into resignation. She didn't want to talk to him, but he wouldn't give up until she did. Better to just get it over with. "Fine," she sighed. "Let's talk. But not here."
The rest of their excursion out of the Ministry was passed in uncomfortable tense silence. Hermione's emotions were battling inside of her for which feeling would be most dominant in the moment, irritation, anger or heartbreak and pining. Charlie was notably exasperated. Outside the place of her employment and at a designated aparation point, Hermione grabbed his arm and disappeared.
Landing safely on a cream colored, plush carpet in a simple yet comfortable room, Hermione dropped his arm and began to bustle around the room.
"Where are we?" Charlie asked.
"My flat," she replied a tad stiffly. "Not much, but its home." Standing in the small kitchenette she put a kettle on for tea, needing the comfort the hot beverage brought her if this conversation was to take place. Hermione knew Charlie, he wasn't much of a talker, he would joke around a bit and throw out orders well enough, but when it came to face to face communication he avoided it. Therefore, she knew that for him to seriously talk to her now, meant this was going to go deeper than just the issue at hand…
But ready or not.
"Hermione, look at me," Charlie instructed calmly. She lifted her head and met his blue gaze.
"You want to talk, so let's talk."
"Help me understand, why you want to be a tamer. I mean from where I'm standing I can't imagine what would possibly possess you to have such a notion."
"Is it so hard to believe that maybe I just wanted to try something new, something wild and freeing and daring? My job is dull and my life is even less noteworthy, I want something more."
"A Tamer though? Are you serious. Hermione you don't have what it takes, I'm not saying it to dismiss you, but it is the truth. I know you know it, and I don't think you really want it either. So why did you really show up on the reserve?"
There it is, she thought. Charlie always was good at weeding out the roots of a problem, and he knew when someone was lying…