Charlie really had things organized well. Looking at the papers in front of us, we decided to tackle the layout of the reserve first. Obviously, our home and office were already taken care of. The planning he had done was pretty sufficient on his own and after a lot of discussion we only made a few tweaks. On either side of our house would be seven huts for the ten other dragon trainers that would eventually join our team along with the staff that helped support the reserve like the gardeners and cooks. Instead of going out in a straight line, the buildings formed a "U" shape.
A mile from the mouth of the "U" was a small welcome building. This would serve the purpose of being a visitor center. The visitor center would serve as the place where visiting family can arrive. We are given the ability to make our own portkeys to prevent anyone else from having the coordinates, but this further tightens the security by not bringing them directly into the reserve and allowing us to scan in their signature before entry.
In the center of our homes would be a mini town. There was a building each for the mess hall, training facility, fitness center, medical building, and a supply center. Two large gardens would be made behind the huts to be able to grow the majority of our own food. Behind our own house was to be a path to the reserve itself.
About two miles beyond our home would be the entrance. Additional security measures would be in place here as well which Charlie had outlined in depth on one of his many papers. At the mouth of the reserve was a small building to hold basic supplies and the details of the day's assignments. Beyond that, our reserve was to hold, for now, twelve magically protected pens. I say pen, but these are massive open fields spanning tens of miles. Some would be able to house only one individual, others would house multiples if they got along well enough. There was also a smaller area for injured dragons as well as a large hatchery. I had to admit, I was a bit excited at the prospect of seeing dragon eggs hatch properly and told Charlie so including my brief experience with Hagrid first year.
He laughed loudly. "Hagrid is quite a character. Isn't he? Have some great memories of time spent with him. Anyways, I think you're going to become quite fond of the hatchery honestly. It's quite an experience to witness the little ones grow up. It's easy to become attached."
"I take it you have experience?" I raised my eyebrow curiously.
His shoulders raised and lowered. "There may be a lady that has had my heart since she was born." He pulled a picture from his wallet. He was standing next to a beautiful antipodean opaleye looking proud. "This is Kayda." He laughed a bit. "We have a Japanese trainer at the Romanian reserve. He was with me when she hatched. I scooped her up and told him, 'Well, it looks like a little dragon." and he told me they have a name that means just that, Kayda. So, that is what we called her. She was quite small for her breed. We weren't sure she was going to make it. Her mother had hidden the egg from us and by the time we realized there was one there, the egg had sustained some damage. We were able to watch over it and she hatched just fine, but she is smaller than most and very, very sweet and gentle."
It was fun to see Charlie beaming at the picture of the small dragon in his arms. He looked like a proud dad.
"You must miss her terribly."
He nodded. "I do. I think she will be one we receive from the Romanian reserve though. So hopefully you'll get to me her! She and I really bonded and she responds best to me. It makes it easier to help them when they have someone they have imprinted with."
"That makes a lot of sense. I hope she comes here and I get to meet her. She sounds lovely!" We smiled at each other for a few moments as a natural silence fell over us.
Charlie cleared his throat. "Anyways, what do you think about these building plans?
I picked up the papers and looked at them more in depth. "Honestly, we can spend more time discussing the reasoning for your layout, but at first glance it looks like you've nailed it. It makes logistical sense and I like how the center is set up. The only thing I might suggest is moving that visitor center further away. Once people portkey in, we are there to meet them to apparate. It could prevent poachers from finding it and doing a grid search to find the dragons."
He considered my words. "That makes a lot of sense. While it won't be all for the reserve, the Ministry owns a significant portion of land around our proposed building site. It will keep others from being able to build nearby. There's a spot here," He pointed on the map, "that is about a fifteen-mile distance that could be used."
I considered his proposal and decided it was an adequate solution.
We took one final look at the plans for the buildings and decided we were happy with everything else. Since that was done so quickly, we moved on to personnel.
I had done plenty of hiring for my previous department, but this was somewhat different. Charlie handed me the stacks of candidates. Most of the people were those that had reached out to the Romanian reserve at some point asking if they were hiring, or were overflow candidates from previous roles that were filled.
Two of the candidates were actually from the Romanian reserve that Charlie thought would be a good fit and might want a transfer.
We had only gone through a small handful of the files when our stomachs began to growl. Charlie made dinner as he had promised to do and we decided there would be no work talk during dinner. We needed to be a united front when it came time for staff to start showing up so it was important for us to learn more about each other.
Charlie said I had the unfair advantage of knowing more about him from his family and that I had my chance to ask questions over lunch so this was his turn.
"So, what should I know about you?" His gaze was curious as we began to put food on our plates.
"I guess that depends on what you already know about me." I was really quite curious.
"Mum has told me a bit in her letters. About how smart you are and what a good influence you were over Ron. I've heard your reputation through your work at the Ministry as well though. I have a few former house mates that worked in your department and they held you with a very high level of respect. They said you were knowledgeable and fair, but also thorough and persistent." He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. "Then there's what I've witnessed myself as well. I've seen you interact with creatures a time or two, but it's your passion to follow what you feel is right that really impresses me. It's exactly what we need here. Someone who cares about the animals and won't give up on them just because it's hard and involves a lot of uncharted territory. Aside from all that, I don't really know what makes you, you." He shrugged and began to eat again.
I finished my own bite as I thought that over a bit. "Well, I grew up as an only child. My parents were lovely people. They were around as much as they could be, but I was often in childcare or after school programs because they worked so much. Sometimes I would walk from school to their dental office instead and just set up in a quiet corner while they finished. That's where I developed my love of reading. It was a bit lonely and books took me to so many new places and introduced me to lovely people. I never got along great with the other kids because I was quiet and enjoyed learning so books became a bit of an escape. My parents weren't neglectful in anyway, just hard workers so our time together was limited. We took some great family vacations and my mother was lovely at baking when she had the time."
"Was? Are they still around?"
I shook my head sadly. "No, unfortunately. I had placed a memory charm on them shortly before Bill's wedding. They left for Australia with new identities and not knowing who I was. It was the only way I could think to protect them as my association with Harry placed them at great risk. Despite my best efforts to keep them safe, they were killed by a drunk driver shortly before the final battle."
Charlie's mouth hung wide as he processed my words. "Hermione, I am so sorry. I had no idea at all. That must have been a really terrible decision to have to make and it sounds like you did everything you could. No matter how hard we try though, sometimes life is out of our control."
Wasn't that the truth? As humans we can control our actions to the best of our ability, but there will always be outside factors that can alter our trajectory. My entire presence here is proof of that. I wouldn't have ever dreamed of my career taking this path, but I could already tell my direction has been altered completely.
"Thank you, Charlie. I've had a lot of time to come to terms with it. It's been really nice to have your parents take me in so completely as their own. Your mum will still pick the side of her own lot when something goes amiss, but for the most part she has been accepting of me. While I will always miss my parents, it's nice to have someone I can go and talk to like a mother still." We were finishing up our meals and I insisted on doing the dishes since he cooked, but he encouraged me to keep talking.
"The rest of my childhood you probably know most of. I spent my Hogwarts days keeping Harry and Ron out of trouble the best I could while studying hard to learn as much as my brain could hold. I've always had a thirst for reading, but growing up muggleborn I always had a hard time in school. Not only are children often unkind to those who are above average intelligence, and I don't say that to boast, it's just how it was, but on top of that I was always having weird things happen. Like the time Sally Jo teased me for my bushy eye brows and the next day she woke without any." I smiled to myself at the memory. She really was a jerk.
"There was never any proof of explanation but it served to further alienate me from my peers. When I got to Hogwarts I had a new problem. I had only known of magic for a few months and I was being thrust into an all-magical school with others who had known of it their entire lives. I felt a need to prove myself that I belonged so I was all the more determined to do well."
"That makes sense. You already had a thirst for knowledge, too and this was a whole new world."
"Yes! It was fascinating. Anyways, I never did much beyond studying and helping Harry and Ron stay on track. I didn't develop many relationships outside our small group except perhaps Luna Lovegood. Oh, and Ginny of course. The others in our year just had very different priorities. I wasn't much phased by quidditch and I had no desire to sit around and gossip like my dorm mates did."
"Were you happy there?"
His question caught me a little off guard as I dried the last of the dishes and we each took a glass of wine to the sitting room. "I think so. It was nice to fit in and be celebrated for excelling. That was a different experience. And there was just so many fascinating things to learn. I couldn't get enough of it, truly."
"Well, it definitely paid off for you. You have made an incredible name for yourself, beyond being a war hero. You're respected for your talent and your intellect as well as your kindness."
My face flushed. "You're too kind. Really, I just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I want to make a difference. You know? We fought for peace, but I don't feel like our fight is done. I want my life to mean something and to have the satisfaction of knowing I left the world a better place."
Charlie smiled warmly. "I think you've already achieved that, but I think you've still got an amazing future ahead of you. I understand though. That's how I feel about dragons. I have always had a connection to the creatures and I hate the injustices that they face. That's why I went into dragon training. Too many people fear them or see them as an item to profit from. Someone had to step in and make sure they are protected. Anyways, I was there when you filled in the family on your adventures after Bill's wedding, but I have completely lost touch with what you've been up to since then."
"Life settled quite a bit since then in a way. I took a few months to figure out what I wanted and didn't want as my next steps. You know Ron and I dated for a bit, but ultimately that didn't work out. I should have seen that from the start, but I was blinded by my own expectations from the crush I had on him in school. It just seemed like he was the only option because he was the only one who really took any interest in me. Even if he did forget I was a girl sometimes." I trailed off a bit, embarrassed.
Charlie was an incredibly good-looking man and he had a reputation for having a rotation of women at his call. Talking to him about my lacking romantic life was not a comfortable thing to discuss.
"I've stated this before, my brother is an idiot so don't hold back. You won't offend me."
He sipped his wine and I was grateful that he thought that's where my hesitation was. "Thank you. Anyways. We drifted apart pretty quickly. I was frustrated by his lack of drive and how he was just content to receive all the attention from being a member of the Golden Trio. He wanted to do all the interviews and press and just soak it all up and I just wanted to move on. I tried my best to put effort into our relationship, but we fought all the time. Our final row was when he was criticizing my want for a career when I was just going to end up at home with our children taking care of them and our house."
"He said that? Ron's a bigger idiot that I gave him credit for. That may have been a great life for mum, but that's what our parents chose. The wizarding community may be behind muggles in a lot of ways, but we aren't that backwards. Plenty of women have careers." He was shaking his head. "I wonder how that boy makes it through the day sometimes. He's just so lost in his own little world. How he could have ever wasted an opportunity with a beautiful, smart witch like yourself just baffles me."
I was taken aback. While I had grown into myself and could admit that I wasn't half bad looking after getting passed those awkward teen years (and finally learning to tame my massive ball of hair), I still wasn't the type of person I thought Charlie would consider beautiful.
I dodged the comment with a shrug. "It just wasn't meant to be, I guess. It was a long time ago."
"But surely someone has tried since?" I couldn't tell what he was thinking by his expression or where he was going with his line of questioning.
"Not really. I guess I haven't put much effort into it though. My career has been my focus these past few years."
He leaned back and finished off his glass of wine. "I can understand that. Being secluded on a dragon reserve doesn't give one much opportunity for a social life either. But I wouldn't change it for anything. Being able to be outside working with dragons for a living is plenty fulfilling."
I raised a brow. "That doesn't fit the stories I've heard."
His laugh was a deep rumble that sent a shiver down my spine. "All rubbish and over exaggerated, I'm sure. Yeah, in my very late teens and early twenties I had a bit of a streak, but it's been blown out of proportion. I think there was maybe three Christmas' that I showed up with different girls I was seeing from the reserve. None were very serious, but I had been with them for a few months at least. It was really just those three relationships though. I haven't seen anyone in years."
I tried to hide my surprise. It was plausible though. With what little the family saw of Charlie; It would appear as being with someone different more frequently than was actually the case.
Our conversation flowed to less serious topics after that. We learned more about each other in terms of what we like. We learned we are both very neat, have similar taste in foods, and share a love of reading.
As we headed to bed late that night, I was filled with happiness and relief as I realized life with Charlie Weasley would be better than I could have hoped for.