Struggling to contain her tears, Hermione went to find Harry. She needed someone to talk to her. Someone that wasn't going to be furious with her, and Harry was her best friend.

She found him in the Gryffindor common room, in the middle of a game of wizard's chess with Neville. Apparently nobody had told him that Ron was in the infirmary otherwise he'd be with Ron.

Lavender and her girls were gossiping in the corner, as usual. They quieted when Hermione got anywhere near them. They were staring at her as she approached Harry.

"Harry." Hermione interrupted, after they hadn't noticed her for a moment. Harry looked up at her, his green eyes already filled with worry.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Harry whispered, standing. He moved away from the table and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. After several moments, Hermione led him to her room, ready to explain the whole thing.

When Hermione woke up the next morning, Harry was beside her. They weren't touching at all, but he was still there. It was a sign of unwavering support and friendship.

If either of them had truly heartbreaking or difficult news, Hermione and Harry tended to make sure the other made it through the night. Ginny knew about this small comfort, and she knew it was strictly platonic. They'd been accused of sleeping together once because Lavender had seen Harry leaving Hermione's room early one morning, but Ginny had said she completely trusted the both of them and hadn't believed it.

Hermione hadn't spoken to Ron yet. She hadn't even gone to check on him while he was at the infirmary. She knew Pomfrey had released him sometime last night as he wasn't suffering from serious injuries.

She groaned when she realized her first class of the day was with her 'husband'.

They weren't married yet. But the Ministry would make them wed.

Hermione couldn't keep her eyes of Charlie Weasley. She'd tried, several times, to tear her eyes away from him.

Ron was seated on the other side of Harry, which was unusual. Usually Hermione was between the two boys ready to stop bad behavior before it started.

In the middle of his lecture Charlie met her gaze. She could practically feel goose bumps forming in response. For no good reason, Hermione suddenly wanted this man. She was so inexplicably attracted to him. She felt as though she were Lavender Brown, constantly swooning over every attractive male around her.

After class, Hermione hung around until everyone else was gone. Harry had reluctantly followed Ron after he'd stormed out of the classroom after making sure Hermione would be okay. She stayed behind because she figured it would be good to clear the air between them.

"Miss Granger." Charlie was leaning against his desk, arms crossed. He was wearing short sleeves, a regular Quidditch jersey, and the bottom the tattoo on his arm was visible. His appearance was the opposite of her typical Hogwarts Professor.

"Professor," Hermione cringed at the word, "I think—"

Charlie grabbed her arm, gently but forcefully pulling her towards him. Hermione's eyes widened in surprise as she found herself pressed up against him. The next thing she knew, his mouth was on hers.

His tongue fought with hers, and her hands were already under his shirt. His hands were on her lower back, where her tattoo was. Her tattoo was practically on fire at his touch.

Slowly, he broke their kiss. His eyes looked heavy, almost sleepy. His red hair was messy, as it usually was.

"I've been wanting to do that all morning," Charlie whispered, smiling at her. She smiled back at him before sprinting out of the dungeons.

"He did what?" Ginny asked, later when they were all gathered for dinner.

"He kissed me." Hermione responded, glancing up to where Charlie was seated. Madame Hooch was flirting with him again.

"And you ran?"

"Can we change the subject?" Harry asked, tilting his head towards Ron, who was seated next to him and across from the girls. Ginny and Hermione had meant to be whispering, but they must've gotten louder as the conversation went on.

Ron and Hermione had only exchanged civil conversation, as if they had both agreed upon it. Hermione had wanted to lower the level of gossiping that was directed at her.

"Sorry!" Hermione answered, feeling heat spread up her cheeks. Ginny, unlike Ron, had eagerly welcomed the story. Apparently Charlie had been known as something of a ladies man during his Hogwarts days and Ginny was curious to find out if the rumors had any merit. He was probably one in Romania, too, and they just didn't know it.

After dinner Hermione and Ron decided they should privately discuss their new relationship. They were in her room, seated side by side on the end of her bed.

"Do you have to marry him, Mione?" Ron asked her, a disappointed expression on his face. Hermione just nodded in response. The Ministry had deemed it so.

"How do you have a tattoo I don't know about?" Ron asked, anger in his voice. Unable to meet his gaze, Hermione looked at the floor.

"I glamoured it every time we made love. I didn't want you asking questions."

"You mean you didn't want me to find out that you'd shagged my brother while we were still together," Ron sneered at her.

"I knew it was a mistake, Ron! I can't even remember how it all happened!"

Her words seemed to have tugged on one of Ron's heartstrings. She watched his expression soften as he looked at her.

"Hermione, did he rape you?" Ron asked, his tone completely serious.

"No! Ron, I can't believe you'd assume your brother was capable of doing something so dishonorable." Hermione was surprised that had even crossed his mind, because it certainly hadn't entered her thoughts.

"You'd caught me kissing Lavender Brown." Ron admitted, almost so quiet Hermione didn't even hear him. She just stared at him waiting for him to continue.

"We were all celebrating Charlie's year with the Irish." Hermione had somehow managed to forget that Charlie had played Quidditch on the Irish team. That would also explain Hooch's fascination with him.

"And Lavender was dangerously drunk because George had just broken up with her." Yes, much to Hermione's disgust, George had really dated Lavender for several months.

"She said the only way she'd leave was if I kissed her. Looking back, that seems like a stupid thing to fall for. I kissed her right as you walked in. You went right up to the bar and ordered a really strong version of Firewhiskey." Hermione was surprised Ron had remembered so much about her foggy night with Charlie.

"I really hate that dumb Lavender Brown," Hermione muttered, "but how did I end up with Charlie?"

"Well, after a couple hours, Charlie told me he was going to take you home. I knew you wouldn't have let me take you, so I didn't volunteer. I don't know how you ended up in his bed... that'd be a question for Charlie." Ron summarized, looking at her with a calm expression on his face. She expected him to still be utterly furious with her. He had every reason to be.

She'd always assumed Charlie had been more sober than she had been, knowing that men didn't perform at their best while extremely intoxicated. But had he been drunk enough to ignore the permanent consequences of Wizarding tattoos? Especially one of such a feminine animal? He'd clearly thought he was sober enough to take her home safely.

"I'm sorry, Ron. I shouldn't have been so jealous... and I should've known you wouldn't have cheated on me," Hermione muttered, realizing all too painfully that she was the one who had been unfaithful. Ron had every right to be furious with her, but he was being supportive and calm.

"We all made a lot of mistakes that night, Hermione. Yours just had lifelong consequences."

"These damn tattoos keep causing trouble." Hermione added, thinking back to her sudden desires for Charlie.

"Can I see it?" Ron timidly asked. Hermione positioned herself so he could see her tattoo. Lifting up her shirt, she heard him gasp.

"That's bloody brilliant, Hermione." Ron exclaimed, and Hermione couldn't help but smile. She was startled by Ron's sudden movement away from her. Hermione also felt her tattoo tingling, a tame burning sensation.

"It's moving, Mione." Ron's exclamation startled Hermione. She didn't know her tattoo moved!

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, trying to crane her head so she could see it.

"The dragon's tail is flicking back and forth."

Where was the blasted wizard, for Merlin's sake? He wasn't in his dungeons. By some force, maybe female intuition, Hermione headed for the Quidditch Pitch. It occurred to her that he was probably still in the castle, but her mum always told her to follow her gut.

Hermione smiled when she saw lights coming from the Quidditch Pitch.

She quietly entered the Pitch just as the snitch fell in front of her face. Acting on instinct, Hermione reached out and grabbed it. The gold ball felt odd fluttering in her hand.

Hermione spotted her future husband fake dodging bludgers before throwing the quaffle into the hoop. She had never known his position as a player. It seemed to her like she was one of those players that could play any position they wanted.

"Charlie Weasley scores! Twenty points for Ireland!" Hermione screamed, cheering as if she were a fan watching a game in progress.

Hermione's eyes grew in surprise as she watched him nearly fall off his broom. His head whipped in her direction, but he smiled the instant he recognized her. He flew towards her, stopping right in front of her as he hovered in the air.

"Sorry I scared you," Hermione apologized, smiling at him. He shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal.

"What's going through that pretty head of yours, Hermione?"

"I talked with your brother," Hermione said, before she realized it was a stupid thing to say.

"You talked to Percy? Did you tell him he's still a git?" Charlie asked, grinning at her. She'd walked right into that one.

"Ron's not completely furious with me, even though he has every right to be mad." Hermione continued, before finding her way to one of the bleachers.

Tension left Hermione's shoulders the second Charlie sat down next to her. Brooms made her nervous.

"Did you tell him everything?" Charlie's blue eyes seemed to be very bright against the night sky.

"He ended up telling me more than I told him," Hermione stated, and Charlie tilted his head in confusion.

"I don't really remember much of the night before I ended up in your bed," Hermione admitted, blushing. Thank goodness it was dark and he wouldn't have been able to tell.

"I don't remember enough to help you fill in the blanks," Charlie responded, frowning at her.

Hermione was having trouble keeping in what she'd really searched him out to tell him.

"My tattoo moves!" Hermione exclaimed, covering her mouth after. She hadn't meant to be that loud.

Hermione and Charlie had hightailed it to his dungeons, eager to research. He said he had some book that mentioned bonding tattoos. He also said he'd borrowed it from another professor after their meeting with the Minister.

Charlie had made her a delicious cup of tea as she read. He sat next to her, looking over an assignment from his first years. The whole scene seemed rather domestic to Hermione.

Hermione groaned, feeling a knot forming in her back. Her shoulders were killing her. She opened her eyes, and immediately recognized that she'd fallen asleep in a textbook again.

Realizing she'd probably be late to class, Hermione sat back in her chair and groaned. Looking around, she realized she'd woken up in Charlie's rooms. For the second night in a row. He was sleeping across from her, his face squished against a pile of papers.

Hermione jumped up in surprise when loud buzzing started going off. Hermione relaxed once she realized it was only a Muggle alarm clock. Charlie was a Weasley, after all. He was hard to wake up. Only the Weasley women got out of bed before they had to.

She watched as Charlie jerked awake, sitting up slowly. A smile grew on his face when he saw her. His eyes widened when he heard the noise of his alarm clock. It was the most annoying alarm clock Hermione had ever heard. He ran over to turn it off before coming to stand in font of her. Well, this was awkward.

"Shit! Class starts in two minutes," Charlie exclaimed, glancing at his alarm clock. He quickly ran over to his robes. Grimacing, he put on his professor robes.

"We have to dress like a grown up today, do we?" Hermione teased, and he glared at her in response.

"You, little girl, are going to be late, for the second day in a row. You're going to have explain why you're coming down from my rooms, so start thinking." Charlie grinned, realizing the situation Hermione was in.

Hermione had no way to get to her own room except through his classroom. Whoever had invented that setup was clearly a fool.

"I hate this blasted thing," Charlie muttered, straightening his robes. Charlie went to open his door, and he stood beside it, waiting for her. She just stood there, staring at him.

"How do I explain this situation?" Hermione hissed, walking up to him, poking his chest. Her breasts hit his chest. He raised one red eyebrow at her, looking down at her breasts. Hermione took a step away from him and he laughed at her movement.

"Tell them we were up all night shagging," Charlie winked at her, annoying her.

"Don't take all day, baby." Charlie whispered, tilting his head towards the door. Taking a deep breath, Hermione walked across the threshold.

The pre-lecture conversation and excitement silenced the second they saw Hermione. Charlie closed the door, bumping into Hermione's backside. He didn't step around her, though.

Hermione took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She took the first step, opened her eyes, and went and found her seat. She accio'ed her schoolbag, which she'd prepared the night before.

Ron sat beside her, still as one of the gargoyles on the castle's exterior. Hermione looked at Harry, who was grinning at her.

Charlie went on as if she'd didn't just come out of his rooms.

"At least all the buttons are still on your shirt, 'Mione," Harry whispered, struggling to contain his giggles. Hermione rolled her eyes, concentrating on taking notes.

"Is he as good as I was, 'Mione?" Ron asked, surprising Hermione. She'd nearly knocked over her jar of ink. After reading Charlie's notes on the board, Hermione's hand flew in the air.

"Yes, Hermione?" Charlie asked, not even turning around. Hermione narrowed her eyes, slightly annoyed. How had he known she'd had a question?

"Could polyjuice be used in that situation, Professor?" Hermione grimaced, hating calling him her professor. He was a Weasley. He was practically her family. He was going to be her husband. Hermione paled at the last thought.

"Depending on your access to the wizard, yes." Charlie answered after a moment's pause.

Someone on the Slytherin side of the room snickered.

"Would the Slytherin like to share his brilliant joke?" Charlie asked, walking over to the Slytherins.

"Granger had complete access to you last night, Professor!" Hermione wasn't able to place the voice with the person. The rest of the room broke out in laughter.

"I think we'll be done for today. You lot haven't been paying attention." Charlie announced, crossing his arms in annoyance.

Had he honestly expected the class to pay attention after her entrance?

Hermione decided to get back at Charlie for her embarrassing entrance into her Defense lecture.

During dinner in the Great Hall, Hermione sauntered up to Charlie. The professors at the High Table watched her walk down the aisle towards them. She made sure her hips swayed.

Charlie was engrossed in conversation with Madame Hooch. They were discussing the missing Snitch. Apparently he had never found his way back into the storage box. Hermione smiled, knowing the Snitch was sitting on her nightstand.

"Miss Granger!" Hooch exclaimed, finally noticing Hermione's presence.

"Excuse me, Madame Hooch. I just have a message for Charlie."

Hermione handed the piece of paper, and left before he had time to read it.

The note read as follows:

We're having dinner at my parents on Saturday. We'll be spending the day with them.

Hermione could hear him groaning in annoyance as she walked away. No wizard wanted to meet a witch's parents.