Thanks to everyone who noticed a massive flaw about Hermione's parents - that's the problem when I only write every few weeks or so, I forget what I've got already, anyways I've fixed that now and am about to add the next chapter!

- HermionesPolyjuice

Chapter 4 – Ward Tampering

Hermione awoke on Saturday morning with a splitting headache, severe nausea and to the smell of waffles. She let out a groan as she rolled over and became aware that she was still wearing the clothes from the previous night with absolutely no recollection of getting home, the journey back or even leaving the pub for that matter. She closed her eyes, trying to simultaneously ignore the thumping of her head and remember the previous night. Deciding that she was going to fail at both she kicked her legs off her bed praying she could at least make it to the bathroom before she threw up. Thankfully she caught sight of the vials on her bedside table accompanied by a piece of parchment.

If you wake in the night take the blue sobering potion. If it's morning I would highly recommend the green potion, it's a hangover cure don't worry, and the water. I didn't want to wake you up when I got you back to give it to you then so sorry if you're not feeling too great this morning! I'll come check on you for breakfast later.

Charlie

Hermione let out a sigh of relief as she grabbed hold of the smaller vial filled with some dodgy looking green potion and gratefully poured it down her throat. Almost instantaneously did she feel considerably better, the headache disappearing and the feeling of nausea being replaced by hunger. She drank the water and stood up deciding to have a shower first. On her way to the bathroom she heard the person in the kitchen humming to themselves. She distinctly recognised it as Fur Elise and smiled to herself, happy that it was just Charlie deciding to cook in her kitchen rather than his own.

After a quick shower, Hermione entered the kitchen wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top, her hair in a knot on the top of her head and her face flushed from the heat of the water.

"I'm assuming you're going to be letting yourself in here on your own accord for the entire time I work here," she said with a smirk helping herself to a mug of coffee and leaning against the work surfaces.

''Sounds about right. There's only so much of me Jack can take, I don't particularly fancy walking in on Lloyd and Mia shagging and you're the new meat so might as well get acquainted," Charlie responded with a wink. A simple gesture that made Hermione's heart flutter.

"I'm the new meat? What a lovely way of describing me," Hermione said rolling her eyes and following Charlie and his plate of waffles to the table.

"Take it as a compliment," Charlie responded with a wink piling some waffles onto the plat in front of Hermione.

"I will when you prove to me that it's a compliment," she sighed pouring maple syrup of the batter.

"Challenge accepted," Charlie laughed, kicking himself somewhat at how he was going to do that. The duo sat at the table in silence both enjoying the waffles, Hermione slightly more so as they helped cure the hangover even more. Once they had finished, Charlie banished the dirty crockery to the sink where they started to clean up on their own.

"So what plans does the fair witch have for this glorious day?" Charlie asked crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back comfortably in the chair.

"Not sure really. I was thinking of maybe going into Hoghilag to explore a bit and maybe get a present to send back to my parents. Other than that probably just reading," Hermione said thoughtfully. She hadn't really planned on doing anything much, mostly just taking it easy and enjoying have a weekend as she was well aware that within a few weeks she would be working most weekends with little rest.

"I am sure there is a certain wizard who would be more than happening to accompany you to the village if you so wished," Charlie said with a smile that made Hermione's heart flutter.

"Great, I shall go tell Jack we'll leave in 15," Hermione said standing up and preparing to leave. She was disappointed to see not even a flicker in his eyes. "Unless you're not too busy to join us."

"And that was the response I was waiting for," Charlie said with a chuckle. He stood up and walked towards Hermione on his way out of her yurt.

"I'll be round in 15 minutes," he whispered pecking her cheek with his lips before letting the door close behind him with a bang. Hermione stood there for a while; not moving as she took in how surprisingly soft his lips had felt against her skin. Oh, snap out of it Granger. He's Ron's older brother, nothing can and nothing will happen between the two of you so stop wishing. Slapping herself across the face, Hermione headed back to her room and opened her wardrobe with no clue what to wear.

Hermione wasn't in the least bit surprised when she emerged from her bedroom just over 15 minutes later to find Charlie lounging over her sofa, his nose buried in a book. She stopped in the doorway to see what he was reading.

"I'm surprised, Les Miserables really?" she said with a laugh.

"It looks like a very well read book so I was intrigued," Charlie said with a smile taking not of the page he was on before carefully placing it back on the table next to him.

"It is one of my favourites," Hermione muttered to the floor. Charlie was suddenly standing next to her and she could feel the heat radiating off of him, not an unpleasant kind of heat but something that was surprisingly calming.

"Shall we head then?" he asked lending his arm for her to take. With a girlish giggle that made her cringe Hermione took her arm in his and let her lead her out in the bright, Romanian sun and towards the village.

"The last Sunday of every month there's a big concert in the church, with music mostly being played on the organ. It's mainly traditional Romanian music and operas from composers such as Eduard Caudella, Theodor Rogalski and the likes. It's truly spectacular but I haven't been able to come for a long time. You should definitely go next weekend if you can," Charlie said as he pushed open the doors to the Hoghilag church that stood in the centre of the small village.

"I would love that. Caudella's Dochia is one of my favourites. Hopefully you'll be able to get some time off and come with me. No doubt you'll know so much more about Romanian music than me and you'll be able to tell me all about it," Hermione said in awe as she took in the church. It wasn't overly large but very traditional with a large spire at the end where an old organ sat, the pipes spreading all the way to the top.

"Somehow I doubt I'll know more than you but I would very much like to accompany you," Charlie said with a smile.

"Great, I look forward to it," Hermione said as she took a few steps to where she could light a candle. She placed 5 Romanian Leus in the jar and took a candle. She lit it by hand and placed it next to one that was also shining brightly in the dingy corner of the church.

"I love you," she whispered quietly. "I miss you every day." A lone tear trickled down her cheek but she quickly dried her eyes before turning around to Charlie, not aware that he had heard her.

"What's next?" she tried to ask as cheerfully as she could but Charlie knew something else was going on.

"Ice cream," he responded trying to sound excited but couldn't escape the worry that was seeping through him.

"Suits me," Hermione said with a smile before allowing him to lead her out of the church and towards a small ice cream parlour down an alley opposite the church.

"Oh, Charlie this is wonderful," Hermione said excitedly as she licked at her ice cream a while later. They were sitting atop a large hill looking out over the small village and the countryside a far. Charlie didn't answer but rather looked over at the beautiful witch sitting next to him. The setting sun was catching her hair making it look more golden as it fell around her face, her skin getting darker by the day. She was radiant and all week he had watched excitement, admiration, love and so many other emotions fill the large, round chocolate eyes. Every time he caught sight of her, his breath hitched and his heart fluttered, something that had only ever happened to him once before. They sat in silence for a while, both going over their own thoughts and happily eating away at their ice cream that was 'even better than Italian gelato' according to Charlie.

"Hermione?"

"Hmm," she responded not looking at him.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You mean can you ask me something else?" she asked with a smirk. Charlie rolled his eyes.

"Don't feel you need to answer it but who was the candle for?" Charlie's voice faltered as he asked the question, feeling that perhaps he didn't know her quite well enough to ask such a personal question.

"My parents." Charlie had suspected it was for her parents but was confused as she was only just talking about sending them a present the day before, but his curiosity was soon answered.

"Not out of memory or anything but just love. We had such a good relationship when I was younger, I couldn't hide anything from them. And now, after what I did to them, I think there's just a bit of, I don't know, just something lacking. Maybe they don't trust me or something. Obviously, I still love them, and I would like to think they'd still love me, but I just want it to go back to what it was, you know?" Hermione sighed and Charlie looked over at his companion and saw the tears spill down her cheeks more freely now. He reached out and grasped her hand.

"Of course they still love you, Hermione. What you did was out of pure love and believe me when I say that you are the bravest witch I know. I don't know anyone who would have been able to do that. They're so proud of you and it's just taking a bit of time, but trust me before you know it everything will be back to how it was." Hermione looked over at Charlie and smiled weakly. She nodded, unable to form any words before turning her head back to watch the sunset, her tears glistening in the golden light. They sat there for a while, Hermione's hand still in Charlie's, both watching the sun get lower in the sky.

It didn't take Charlie long to realise that Hermione was beginning to shiver in the cool wind that was blowing their way on the top of the hill so he shook off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. He swiftly shuffled in next to her and wrapped his arms around her slight body trying to block away some of the wind.

"Thanks," she muttered looking up at him. Their faces were so close together their noses almost touched and Charlie could see every single freckle adorning her nose and cheeks. Charlie had to try so hard to not reach down and press his lips to hers. They were just friends, that was all. Plus she was his brother's ex, and that was a no-go. So instead he reached his hand forward and brushed away a stray curl from her face and tucked it behind her ear. He felt her breathe out softly before turning back to watch the sky turn from yellow to red and finally to a deep indigo. But as they watched this time, Hermione rested her head on Charlie's shoulder and he rested his on top of hers, both very much at peace with the world.

However, the calm didn't last long and just as the sun fell behind the forest in the distance there was a deafening bang down to their right, right where the reserve sat.

"Oh my," Hermione whispered her neck snapping to see what the cause was. It was obvious within a second as a large, copper coloured dragon appeared in the sky. Charlie and Hermione both jumped to their feet, pulling out their wands relieved there were no muggles around them at the time. Charlie grabbed Hermione's hand and together they disapparated with a pop.

Hermione wobbled ever so slightly when they landed just outside the reserve but was held upright by Charlie. As soon as she was balanced they took off towards the reserve, their wands at the ready for anything that may need to be done.

"What happened?" Charlie panted as they reached the main tent in the centre of the reserve.

"Dunno but the wards broke and Eilidh got free. She's flown over towards the forest. We're sending a team out to get her." Charlie immediately summoned a broom and was about to jump on when Lloyd put his hand on his arm to stop him.

"You're not the right person for this Charlie, you and I both know that. You're too attached to her. You need to be here. You're the best person to find out what happened to the wards and make sure you fix them so it doesn't happen again. That's what you need to do, not going after Eilidh and burning down the entire forest in frustration and anger." Charlie looked like he was about to argue to Hermione stepped in.

"Charlie, I've only known your relationship with Eilidh for less than a week but I already know it would be reckless for you to go after her. You would end up doing something silly and get yourself, another tamer or even her killed. You won't be in the right frame of mind to ensure she made it back safely. Let's go and inspect the wards to find out what happened, it'll be better for you," she said soothingly as she absentmindedly brushed away his hair away from his eyes. Just by looking at her he knew she was being serious and wouldn't let him go after his favourite dragon.

"Alright," he mumbled and started walking to her enclosure. Hermione and Lloyd exchanged a look before Hermione hurried off after Charlie, eager to both learn more about the wards and barriers and also to keep Charlie's attention away from the endangered dragon.

A very long 40 minutes later and Charlie and Hermione emerged from the Regal Copper's enclosure, muddy and sweaty but smiling.

"That was amazing, how did you learn that?" Charlie asked beaming at his co-worker. He could have kissed her after what she had done. He had never seen magic like it and knew no one and no dragon would be able to escape the barriers she had set up. Hermione just shrugged.

"Just by reading some books," she muttered to the ground, blushing a little. She hadn't thought it was that impressive, but apparently Charlie thought differently.

"Well, it was bloody brilliant. You're one amazing witch," he said giving her shoulder a squeeze that sent a tingly feeling down her spine at the contact.

"How do you think she got out in the first place?" Hermione asked, trying to change the subject. Charlie's face turned grave.

"I don't know but she didn't get out by herself. Someone broke the barriers for her and the only people who know what they are and how to damage them work here and not even everyone here knows," he said grimly. Hermione knew exactly what he was saying. Someone, here, who worked on the Balaur Reserve had intentionally let a dragon out into the wild, whether that was so she could get freedom or for her to cause damage Hermione didn't know but it made her feel sick either way.

"Who would do such a thing?" she asked as she followed Charlie towards the main tent where they would wait with everyone for the team to bring her back to safety.

"Only the person who did it will know but it's sickening and I bloody well hope they get punished. One of the first things any tamer, or worker for that matter, is told when they arrive is that they are not to interfere with any of the wards and barriers and there would be severe repercussions if you did. Who ever it was did it intentionally and I'll bet my mother's life Dan had something to do with it," he finished with a growl.

"Charlie, whatever you think is fine just don't say it too loudly," she whispered quietly. Charlie didn't comment but his eyes narrowed in anger as he caught sight of the man so many workers disliked.

"Someone tampered with the wards. But they're fixed now and stronger than before, she won't be getting out soon," Charlie told the room, but mostly towards the head tamer, John. The faces of all the tamers in the tent mirrored Charlie's, even Dan, who was genuinely surprised or extremely good at acting, Hermione thought.

"Well, let it be known that whoever it was will not be getting away with it," John said harshly to the room.

They only had to wait another 20 minutes until they saw the large dragon strapped to a number of brooms and being flown towards her enclosure. Everyone in the tent quickly hurried over to the enclosures to watch as the tamers got the dragon safely to the ground in her own area. They quickly undid all of the ropes tying her up and left the enclosure, making sure the wards remained up.

"She was hiding in the caves before we were able to get to her, just a little coaxing a few spells and we managed to get her back, she's heavier than we thought though hence why we were so slow," the tamer, Hermione identified as Matthew said, wiping his brow clear of sweat.

"Good, well thank you everyone for being here so fast, even those not on duty," John added with a look towards Charlie and Hermione. "Now, I'm sure you lot want to know what happened. Charlie has told me that someone tampered with the wards and barriers to allow Eilidh to get out. We all know that the only people who know the ins and outs of the wards are standing in the room so until someone comes forward everyone will be questioned until this solved." John's eyes turned dark as he talked, and Hermione knew that despite people not liking him he was still going to solve this problem the proper way.

"Everyone, off to their yurts. People still on shift stay here so I can talk to you about what needs to happen now." John didn't need to repeat himself before everyone not on duty hurried out of the main tenet and down the path towards the yurts. Hermione found herself pilling into Charlie's yurt alongside Lloyd, Jack and Mia.

"It's got to be Dan," Charlie erupted before Hermione had even managed to shut the door.

"Don't be so quick to conclusions, Charlie," Hermione said walking over from the door and sitting down on the spare armchair.

"You don't know him Hermione," he said through gritted teeth.

"He is the only one who's done something like this before," Jack added.

"Why would someone do that though?" Mia asked interrupting Charlie before he could go on a rant about it definitely being Dan. Everyone shrugged.

"Maybe they wanted to scare the muggles?" Hermione suggested.

"Shit, the muggles," Charlie and Lloyd both shouted jumping to their feet and running out of the yurt, leaving the other three confused until it dawned on them a few moments later. Hermione, Mia and Jack leapt to their feet and followed the two boys towards the main tent.

(A/N: there you go - hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to review :)) )