Chapter 4

Julia sat there in shock. "I'm sorry Mia, did you say you wanted to go get a tattoo?" The brunette nodded. "Of what exactly?"

"What do you think Jules? A dragon of course." It had seemed so obvious to Hermione that she had wanted a tattoo, and even though she had been almost killed the day before she wanted one of her beloved creatures inked into her skin.

"Have you thought about what kind of dragon? Where you want the tattoo? Colors? Size?" Hermione had expected Julia to try and talk her out of this, but it was something she wanted.

"Chinese fireball, red and black obviously, I'm thinking down my side." Jules shook her head. "Please Jules, I really want this and I think I'm going to need you there to hold my hand."

"Hold your hand for what?" Matt had taken that time to enter her area looking as dirty as ever.

Jules smiled sweetly to him. "Mia wants a tattoo."

"No way, of what?" The blonde smacked his arm. "I mean, have you thought about this?"

Hermione nodded her head. If one more person tried talking her out of this she was going to scream. "Where's Charlie?"

A swift change of subject left her friends with nearly no memory of their previous conversation.

"He went to write a letter before he left." The hurt look in Hermione's eyes was something the pair had never seen before. "I can go see if I can catch him before he leaves, I'm sure he would want to say good bye to you of all people."

"No," Hermione shook her head. "He doesn't need to know about my plan anyway."

The healer walked over to the group with a chart and a smile. "Miss Granger, you're ready to be released. If you could just sign these papers and take one last potion for us."

"Matt you have no idea how much that hurts right now," Mia's sharp intake of breath wasn't something that stopped him.

"Oh, sorry." The boy ran a hand through his jet black hair sheepishly.

It had been three days since Charlie left for Egypt and two days since Hermione got the tattoo. Her winning argument was that she wouldn't be working with fully grown dragons for awhile, so the tattoo could heal while she was making sure the eggs were warm enough and the babies were fed.

"Really Jules, I don't regret it even if it hurts like a blast-ended skrewt." The girls had been walking out of the hatchery towards the mess hall and Hermione was wearing a white tank top. Her tattoo was visable and now everyone wanted to see it, for most of the day she was lifting her shirt up to either show someone her new work or to have Jules put the cream on it for her.

"I wonder what Charlie's going to say about it when he comes back." The blonde would mutter indignantly.

"I wonder if he's having a good time."

"Bill it was absolutely the worst moment of my career. I mean what would mum say if I told her that Hermione got hurt under my watch? She would kill me!"

Bill's flat in Egypt was small, but nice. He didn't need much space because it was just him, but when Charlie came to visit it was like being back at the Burrow.

"But you said she's fine now." The eldest Weasley had only seemed worried when Charlie mentioned the dragon incident, but hearing more about it he became more aware of why his brother was freaking out. "I bet you'll go back and she'll be just like the Hermione we watched grow up, fiery and stubborn. I'll bet she's back working with the full sized dragons by the time you leave here."

Charlie shook his head. "There's no way they would let her go back in just a week. She was hit really hard Bill. The healers said they had to get pressure taken off her brain and there was a crack in her skull. Her spine was broken!"

Sighing, Bill shook his head. There really was no denying it anymore. "Charlie, just admit that you care for her and stop worrying so much."

Shock was written all over Charlie's face as he listened to his only older brother. Admit that you care for her… "Yeah, I care for her we all do! She's a part of the family."

"And that's why you keep stopping yourself!" Bill had a unique ability for knowing how people were really feeling. "She's Ron's best friend and she's been a part of the family for so long that you think it would be weird to actually have more than platonic feeling for her!"

"Well, don't you?" There was almost sadness in Charlie's voice as he spoke. He realized now that he had been dumb and that he had been holding himself back because of his baby brother.

"No, I don't. Besides Ron's with Parvati now and we all know that crushed mum's dreams of having Hermione become a full-fledged Weasley." Bill drank the rest of his beer down. "I think the entire family would be ecstatic if you actually made a move and finally showed her how you felt."

There was silence for only a few moments as Charlie thought the advice over. "But how do you know that she's even interested in me? And how did you know that I was interested in her?"

"The last few Christmas' when we're all together, haven't you noticed that you two always sit next to each other at meals and while we open gifts. She's always right there with you." Bill shook his head, sometimes his brother was just plain oblivious. "I noticed right away her seventh year when you came home and she started asking you about the dragon reserve, you realize she took your offer to see it right then. She's didn't hesitate one bit to come to a different country and come see you."

"But, then why hasn't she said anything to me?" Charlie's voice and almost panicky now.

"Hermione's a traditionalist, she always waits for the guy to make the first move and sometimes that leaves her a little sad because it might have ended up, had you not come to see me that this would have gone on for a much longer time than it already has."

Fidgeting in his chair Charlie smirked, "And what makes you think that this has been going on for a long time?"

"Didn't I just tell you I noticed it her seventh year of Hogwarts? Since she was seventeen!" The color started draining from Charlie's face. "She's twenty-two now, it's been five years that she's been in love with you!"

"Wait, how do you know she loves me?"

"BECAUSE IF SHE WASN'T SHE WOULD HAVE LEFT ROMANIA YEARS AGO!"

Jumping at the volume of Bill's voice Charlie realized finally, how much of an idiot was had been.

"I need to get back there." Without another word Charlie ran through the small flat and packed his bag, throwing the strong arms around his brother he activated the portkey and was taken back to Romania.

He was back in his tent. Throwing everything on his bed except his wand Charlie ran out in search of Hermioine. First he checked her tent but she wasn't there, then the mess hall where everyone was gathered for dinner. Matt and Julia spotted him and waved him over.

"Where's Mia?" He asked quickly.

"I think she's still in the hatchery, is something wrong?"

Smiling Charlie clapped Matt on the back. "Not anymore." Running out Matt smiled.

"What was that all about?" Julia asked, worried.

"He's finally figured it out."

"Figured what out?"

Hermione was watching the baby Chinese fireball that was her muse for the tattoo, fly around above her. The serene moment was something Hermione loved about working in the hatchery, something she never would have experience if she hadn't been hit with the dragon's tail.

Suddenly hurried footsteps were heard outside the tent and in an attempt to stop short whoever it was outside, fell.

"Shit, that hurt."

Hermione eased the grip on her wand as the baby fireball balanced himself on her shoulder. "Charlie?"

The flap opened revealing the stocky red-head with dirt all down his back and arms. "Hi."

"Hi." She replied. "I thought you were visiting Bill?"

"I was, and then I realized something I should have a long time ago." In that moment blue eyes met brown and they both smiled, forgetting the pain in her side and the dragon on her shoulder Hermione let Charlie pick her up and kiss her with the most passion she had ever felt.

It wasn't until he set her back on her own feet that she winced at the pain. "Did I hurt you?" Charlie asked worriedly. "Here let me take a look."

Hermione lifted up the side of her shirt for Charlie who sat hunched on the ground, stunned. The tattoo he saw was beautiful, but what really caught his eye was the single baby dragon claw dangling around a silver chain on the dragon's neck.

A/N: I'm sad to say this is the last official chapter. (Crying, sobs, wails of lovely readers) However, there will be an epiloguethat I am already started on and hopefully will be posted not long after this! Thanks for all the great memories and reviews from you all, I truly hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did.