A/N: You guys, I've got writing FEVER. There are six chapters left after this story and I hope you all are enjoying it! I have a whopping four more stories in the works! But I have a question. Do you have any favorite pairings that are a bit more unusual? I have a Dramione that is just about done and I will be posting next, but then I have another Dramione, a Fremione, and one I haven't explored before: Oliver Wood/Hermione. What would you like to see more of?

We got up early, but that was normal for us. Breakfast was already being made by the time Molly and Arthur appeared from their rooms and bid us good morning. We told them to have a seat at the table while we finished making the food.

Over our months together, Charlie and I had become quite adept at working together in the kitchen. My skills had improved dramatically under his careful instruction and it became enjoyable to work together to make our meals.

What I hadn't realized, was just what that comfort with each other would look like on the outside.

I went to go grab something off the counter at the same time Charlie reached over me to get a glass from the cabinet. His front pushed against my back as his hand came to rest on intimately on my hip to help stabilize me.

The move was completely natural to us, but to Molly, it was completely unacceptable.

"Charlie Weasley, what on EARTH are you doing?"

The pair of us froze at Molly's tone, our smiles fading quickly. My heart was racing and I could practically hear Charlie's brain working to come up with an excuse.

"Um, just reaching for a glass. We have fresh orange juice for breakfast." He waved said glass as if that explained everything.

There was practically steam coming out of her ears and I shrank even farther into Charlie for protection. Sure, I could face Voldemort no problem, enter a grown dragons cage without fear, but Molly Weasley when she was protecting one of her children was another story.

"You couldn't lie when you were five and you can't lie now! What is going on here?"

I was near hyper ventilation at this point.

Charlie let out a resigned breath and grabbed my hand. "Mum, we probably should have told you sooner. Hermione and I are seeing each other."

As expected, this did nothing to decrease her anger. "This is absolutely ridiculous. I hear from you out of the blue, find out you've moved back to England without telling me, and you tell us that you're shacking up with your brother's ex-girlfriend who, I might add, has completely vanished for the last six months?"

Really, the way she said it made it sound worse that it was. She knew I was taking a job and wouldn't hear from me. Charlie was bound by the same confidentiality agreement that I was and it's not like him being closer changed his ability to come home in that time. As for the ex-girlfriend thing, I saw her point a little bit, but that was ages ago and Ron and I were awful together.

This was not at all how I had hoped this conversation would go and I stood frozen, clutching Charlie's hand as if it were a lifeline.

Charlie, meanwhile, stared down his mother as he composed himself. "Mother, I have invited you as a guest into my home because I love you and I want to share my life with you. That being said, I am not a child anymore. I am thirty years old and my love life is my business. We didn't plan this. Neither of us knew we would be working together when we were presented with the assignment. As for Ron, quite frankly I don't give a flying hippogriff what happened between them for all of two seconds five years ago. As unlikely a pair as we may seem, we've fallen in love with each other and that's something you'll need to accept if you're going to stay."

Molly looked between the pair of us. I could practically see the steam still billowing from her ears and at this point I wasn't sure if it was from one of her children doing something she didn't like, or one of said children standing up to her.

"And what do you have to say for yourself about all of this."

My mouth went dry as I knew I was expected to answer. "I think Charlie summed it up pretty well, actually. This wasn't planned and I had no idea this was in the cards when I accepted the reassignment. I thought I was just coming to save dragons, which is definitely still the main goal. Charlie and I just sort of happened, but I don't regret it in the least. You've raised a wonderful man and I'm lucky he is choosing to share his life with me."

Charlie looked over and smiled at me. I returned the gesture but the sweet moment was short-lived.

"But you're LIVING together!" Apparently, Molly would not be swayed.

Charlie let out an exasperated breath. "Yes mum, and we share a bed too!" My jaw dropped as he nearly shouted the words. I could absolutely not believe he had just said that and my face flamed. "This is ridiculous. You harp on me for over a decade about not settling down. I finally am with the girl of my absolute dreams and it's not good enough for you? Hermione is an amazing woman and I know that you are well aware of that fact. I don't know why you are so quick to turn on her when it suits you, but I won't take any negative attitude towards her or our relationship in our own home. You can either accept it, or I'm going to have to ask you to cut your trip early."

Molly looked appalled that one of her children would give her such an ultimatum. For the first time, however, I noticed Arthur standing behind her. He was nodding his head at Charlie and smiling encouragingly. I had always thought Molly had the biggest impact on raising the Weasley children, mostly based on Arthur's sit back attitude. Now though I saw that this quiet attitude during confrontations was strategic. He encouraged his children to stand up to their mother when it was necessary while managing to go unseen from Molly. It was quite remarkable actually and explained quite well the strong nature of their children.

She continued to stare at her second eldest son until she finally slumped her shoulders in defeat. "I suppose it will just take some getting used to. I'm not happy you've kept us in the dark and I'm really unhappy you're already living together, let alone sharing a room, but I suppose there isn't much I can do."

Charlie looked proud of himself. "No there isn't. Now sit down. The food is getting cold."

And just like that, things attempted to return to normal.

Charlie and I still had to work, but we were still able to show them around and at one point left them with Luna in the hatchery for a tour so we could get a few minutes to ourselves. Luna would most definitely keep them occupied for quite a while. We claimed some paperwork needed to be taken care of detailing our process and headed back to our home office for a few minutes of privacy.

My arms were around Charlie as soon as the door was shut. "This morning was awful." I buried my head in his shirt while he stroked my hair.

"I told you they would come around. It was a bit of a shock, that's all."

I glared at him. "That may have been, but you can see she doesn't approve."

The hesitation was clear and I knew he agreed with the statement. "It's a good thing I don't require my mother's approval then."

He leaned down and kissed me hard. I wanted to be accepting, but I had to be clear about something and pushed him away for perhaps the first time ever.

"Hold on, Charlie, I just need to make sure. This isn't some desperate attempt to placate your mother by settling with someone, is it?"

The instant the words left my mouth and I saw the hurt cross his face I had my answer.

"How could you ask such a thing? Haven't I proved to you over our time together that I love you?"

"I'm sorry Char. That was an awful thing for me to say. I think my nerves are just fried and there's a part of me that is insecure and doesn't feel good enough for you."

Charlies features softened. "Well, that says a lot more about what you think about yourself than what my mother does. 'Mione, love. You know how I feel about you. There is no ulterior motive. Just genuine care for you. I am with you because I want to be. Because you make me happier than I ever thought possible." He seemed to be thinking carefully about what he wanted to say next. "I really wanted to do this in a more romantic way, but I think now is as good of time as any to prove that this is what I really want."

He fished around in his pocket for something before dropping down to one knee. "Hermione Jean Granger, you have taken a man that thought love was a lost cause. Someone who had ever only connected with dragons and always felt awkward around humans and turned him into a doting boyfriend who now wants nothing more than to be your husband. You've brought out a side of me that I didn't know existed and made me feel comfortable in my own skin. Beyond everything you have done to improve my life, I find that I want to continue to improve to be the best version of myself for you. I live to make you smile and help you relax. To be your brick when you are stressed. I can't imagine spending my life with anyone but you. Would you do me the honors or marrying me?"

My hands rose to my mouth in shock as I nodded my head in agreement. Charlie had brought out the best in me these last six months. He challenged me both physically and mentally and I couldn't imagine myself ever loving another the way I love him.

Charlie rose and placed the simple princess cut diamond ring on my finger. He leaned down and kissed me properly, swinging me around in his strong arms.

When he set me back down again, I looked at my hand. "Did that really just happen?"

"Yeah, it did."

I beamed at him. "I love you, Charlie."

"I love you too 'Mione."

To avoid any further confrontation from his mother, we placed a concealment charm on the ring. I could feel its weight on my finger, but no one else could see it there.

It worked and we got through the rest of the weekend without further confrontation. I would say Molly was even a bit accepting by the time she left. Still, it was a relief to walk them back to the visitor center to catch their return portkey.

When we were finally left alone at our house that night, the reality of what we had done began to really sink in.

"Charlie, we're getting married." I beamed at him as we finished cleaning up dinner.

"I know!" His smile faded for a minute. "That's still ok. Right? You still want to marry me?"

I flicked a bit of dish water at him. "How could you even suggest I would want to back out? I'm just as excited as you are." I hesitated a moment. "I was thinking though. What type of wedding do you want?"

Charlie gave the question some consideration. "I definitely don't want it to get out of hand like Bill and Fleur's wedding."

"I was hoping you'd say that. I don't want a big to do like they had."

"Well, here's an idea. Percy is authorized to perform ceremonies. How would you feel about telling everyone we have an announcement to make at Sunday brunch so all the family is there and then having Percy perform the ceremony right then and there?"

My eyes lit up. "Charlie, that is brilliant! The only part that terrifies me about getting married is the actual ceremony and planning. I'm not one who enjoys the attention all of that brings. This would take away all that stress and we could just skip right to being married."

"That was my thoughts too. I'm not marrying you for a party. I'm marrying you because I love you and I want to be tied to you in every way possible."

I dried my hands and wrapped them around Charlie's neck. "We're really doing this. When do you want to do it?"

"Why wait? The team is up and running well enough that we could go home any time for a meal like that. It would likely take a week or two to coordinate with Percy."

It took a moment for me to catch up. Was I being crazy for committing myself to this man for the rest of my life after such a short time together? It didn't take more than a second for me to answer my own question. "Two weeks sounds wonderful."

"I'll make the arrangements."

"I'll find a dress." My smile was so wide my cheeks hurt.

Charlie couldn't take it anymore. He closed the distance between us and led me to the bedroom.