Chapter Four
Disclaimer: All of the characters belong to J. K. Rowling, except for Leila, Anna, Caitlin, Alex, John, Tony, and Bob who are products of my imagination.
A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since I updated . . . I'm on fall break now, and I've been really busy with school, work, and (God forbid) the SAT. Also, I was working on the chapter, and my computer messed up and I lost it. Well, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
The weeks seemed to fly by in Romania. As Hermione had expected, the girls were completely entranced by the relationship between Hermione and Charlie. Hermione herself was surprised by how smoothly it was going. Sure, she always knew that she cared about Charlie, but she never knew that she would ever consider dating her.
All in all, she was very happy and was slowly becoming accustomed to working with the numerous dragons, although her favorite was still the Common Welsh Green. In fact, she often was found in his pen, petting him or murmuring soft words.
"Hey, Hermione," Charlie said, walking up to her and entering the cage. He sat on the fence as she turned to look at him. She smiled softly, before slowly walking away from the dragon and joining Charlie on the fence. She looked at his arm and slowly touched a fresh burn.
"What did you do now?" she asked.
"Oh . . . just pissed Norbert off. Figure I'll call Hagrid up and ask him if he wants to visit. Might make Norbert happy to see his Mummy," Charlie said with a grin. Hermione smiled back softly, entwining her fingers in his.
"I haven't seen you in a couple of days. What have you been up to?" Hermione asked him.
"Not much. I've been making the night rounds. Tony had been doing it, but I took them over. Before him it was John. Bob's scheduled for the next shift. It'll be over in a couple of days," Charlie said, placing a kiss on her cheek. "I have been sleeping all day, today I just woke up early."
"Fun. Do you want to take a walk? Spend some time together?" Hermione offered. Charlie nodded, and the two got up and walked out of the pen and down by the lake. They sat down, Charlie lying back to look up at the sky, and Hermione lay next to him, putting her head on his shoulder.
"So, how are you enjoying Romania?" he asked.
"It's nice. I love the company. Leila and Caitlin and Anna are great. Of course, any time I'm alone with you, I get cornered until I tell them everything that has happened," she said with a grin. Charlie shook his head.
"Always intruding in everyone's business. I got a letter from Ron yesterday. Apparently Lavender is staying at the Burrow for a little while. Harry is staying with Sirius now, he finally got his own place. And, he managed to get himself a girlfriend," Charlie said.
"Really? Out with the gossip. I know that Ron told you everything," Hermione said with a grin.
"Of course. He's dating . . . get this one . . . Poppy Pomfrey. Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. She did go to school with him, I think she was a Hufflepuff, a year behind him." Hermione snorted delicately at this, curling towards him.
"I miss Hogwarts," she said out of nowhere.
"Oh, 'Mione, really. What's there to miss? Your time there . . . Well, the last three years couldn't have been all that great. You were prefect, Head Girl, all of that stuff, and you had to fight against Voldemort with Harry and Ron, and the prefects, and you managed to keep up your grades. It was all just stress, wasn't it? How can you miss it?"
"I don't know. It's going to be strange, that's all. It was . . . comforting. I always felt safe there, and I had a routine. And, I'm probably just really upset because I know that I won't be seeing Harry and Ron every morning," she mentioned.
"That could be arranged. Well, who knows, they could always ask you to teach at Hogwarts. You know, I haven't spoken to Albus in a great while. I hope all is well with them. I know that since the great Harry Potter managed to defeat Voldemort, there hasn't been much happening, but one has to wonder," he said.
"Well . . . maybe we could visit the Burrow and Hogwarts," Hermione suggested tenatively.
"Maybe. Not now though, later. Have you decided if you want to work here or not?" Charlie asked.
"Not really. I enjoy it, but I don't know if I could do this for the rest of my life. Was this all you were ever going to do?" Hermione asked.
"Maybe. I always did want to get back to doing stuff Quidditch related. I don't want to work at the Ministry, I've never been fond of the goblins like Bill, and practical jokes . . . well, I can't lie, I love 'em as much as the twins, but I couldn't do that stuff," he said.
"So, you've been out of Hogwarts for about six or seven years, and you know no more than me. You've changed, Charlie, whether you know it or not. I'm not sure you are suited for this anymore."
"Oh, really, 'Mione? Well, I'm guessing that Caitlin has dinner cooked by now, do you want to go?" he asked. She slowly got up, holding a hand out to Charlie. He grasped it and she helped pull him up. Together, they walked slowly back to camp, hand in hand.
"Hey, Hermione. You got an owl. So did you, Charlie," Leila said, tossing them two envelopes. Hermione grinned, noting the Hogwarts crest, glancing at Charlie.
"Looks like you'll be hearing from Professor Dumbledore a little sooner than you expected," Hermione said, grinning impishly at him. Charlie simply shook his head at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. They read over their letters in silence, while Caitlin passed out the food.
"Um, Charlie, this is extremely odd, considering what we had been discussing earlier," Hermione murmured, looking at him. "They want me to replace Vector's spot and by the Arithmancy teacher," she said.
"Well, they want me to take Madam Hooch's place and be flying instructor," he said, looking just as confused as Hermione.
"What are you going to do?" Leila asked, voicing everyone's question.
"I don't know. I'm not really cut out for taking care of dragons, though. I'll have to think about it," Hermione said. Charlie simply shrugged.
"I'll contemplate it. Dumbledore didn't want a reply for a few weeks," he said. Hermione smiled as she started to eat dinner.
"So, 'Mione, what have you been doing all afternoon? I thought you were going to check in after you finished with the Welsh Green," Caitlin said with a smirk. Hermione could feel her cheeks slowly turn red.
"I was busy," she said nonchalantly. Caitlin simply raised her eyebrows slightly, glancing at Charlie with a knowing smile.
"Kate! Not like that, honestly. Dirty minded!" Hermione said in amusement. Leila and Caitlin quickly burst into giggles.
"Sure about that, 'Mione? Seem to be denying it a bit vehemently," Leila put in. Hermione simply scowled and glared at her, before shaking her head in submission.
"No, but I'll let you to think what you will. God knows no matter what I say . . ." she trailed off. Charlie was even getting slightly amused, but he just pulled her closer.
"Hermione, Hermione, Hermione," he murmured in her hair. She smiled up at him softly as they continued to eat.
Later that evening, Charlie had just started checking on the dragons.
"You're sure you don't want to come?" Leila checked as she fastened her earring and applied a coat of lipstick. Hermione grinned at the girl in front of her.
"You go out with Tony and Caitlin and Alex and have fun. Besides, Anna and John are going out tonight, and I want to be here when she gets back. Doesn't date my arse," Hermione said with a grin.
"But that means just Charlie and Bob are going to be here," Leila pointed out.
"Well, Bob must have something to occupy his time. And, we know what Charlie is going to be doing. I am going to be thinking what to do with my life. I need to decide about Hogwarts quickly, because school will be restarting in less than two months," Hermione pointed out. Leila nodded, waving at the other girl as she slowly left the room.
And, for the next few hours, Hermione did think about Hogwarts. Until, finally, she was dozing off to sleep still leaning on the couch. Not long after, however, a loud bang woke her up.
"What?" she asked fuzzily, wiping her eyes. "Who's there?" she called. She heard a slight cackle to her right, and she instantly turned towards the sound. Bob was sitting there, watching her with an amused expression.
Her face instantly relaxed, although she was by no way completely at ease. "Bob!" she exclaimed, a hand coming to rest on her chest. "You startled me." Bob grinned at this, reaching for her arm and pulling her roughly to him.
"Sorry," he muttered, before roughly placing his lips on hers. Hermione tried to push him away, but Bob was a large, heavy man. As his tongue forced its way into her mouth, Hermione managed to bite his lip. He jerked back, cursing.
"Charlie!" Hermione screamed, trying to push Bob back more, but he wrapped his arms around her and crushed her to him. One of his hands left her hips to travel to the top of her shirt. He yanked on it, ripping it off. Hermione was still fighting him, with tears running down her cheeks.
Praying for Charlie to come to save her, she looked him in the eye. "I'll be damned if you get away with this," she told him stonily. He simply smirked and grabbed for her. He roughly grasped her breast, kneading it, and trying to kiss her again.
It was about that time that Charlie Weasley walked through the doors. He quickly took in the scene, and drew his wand within seconds.
"Petrificus Totalus," he hissed. Bob suddenly stooded, falling over abruptly. Hermione was still crying, looking at him in horror. Charlie slowly made his way to her side, pointing his wand at Bob again, this time knocking him out and making ropes bind him. Charlie knew he was being overly cautious, but Hermione looked like she was ready to pass out from fear.
"Come here, 'Mione," he whispered, as he walked to her. Sobbing freely now, Hermione gratefully went into Charlie's welcoming arms and rested her head on his chest. He gently rubbed circles on her back as she started sniffling.
"Charlie, I can't stay here now," she whispered. "Don't get me wrong, I love everyone else. But, after tonight, I can't stay. I'm going to work at Hogwarts. And, I imagine I'll go back to the Burrow for the rest of the summer. Oh, Charlie, I do wish you'd come with me," she mumbled into the strong, muscled chest she was leaning against.
"Hermione, calm down, sweetheart. I don't nearly expect you to stay here, any longer," Charlie whispered soothingly. "And, I certainly doubt that Bob will stay either. I'll talk to the others as soon as they arrive. And, I was planning on taking the position at Hogwarts, also. So, we'll pack up tomorrow, and leave the day after. We can send Bob to Azkaban probably, or a regular prison without Dementors, at the least. Now, maybe you should go get into some . . . well, clothes," Charlie said, looking faintly uncomfortable. Hermione glanced at him, then nodded softly.
"I'll be back soon," she whispered, hurrying to her room. She had been in there for a few minutes, when Leila strolled in.
"Charlie? Why aren't you watching the dragons? You certainly didn't leave your responsibility to snog Hermione, did you?" she asked getting angry. She then notice Bob in a heap on the ground. "What the bloody hell happened?" she asked, aghast.
"Go get the others. I would assume that Anna and John are home now. Caitlin, Alex, and Tony were with you right? We need to have a discussion," Charlie said somewhat numbly. Leila simply nodded.
"Hermione! Everyone's back and Leila is bringing them here!" he shouted. Hermione appeared suddenly, wearing sweatpants and a long T-shirt. Her face was deathly pale.
"Do you want me to get you some water?" he asked, already heading for the kitchen.
"No!" she practically shouted. "Don't leave me here . . . not alone . . . not with him," she whispered. Charlie mentally berated himself, how could he be so stupid?
"I promise I won't, Hermione," he whispered, moving again to hold her in his arms.
"Charlie . . . you'll finish the story if I can't, won't you?" she asked. Charlie nodded, thinking back to the time they had the same conversation, a month before. Hermione apparently was thinking upon the same lines, for she looked up at him with a faint smile, before sitting on the couch, pulling Charlie next to her. She snuggled against his chest, closing her eyes softly.
"All right, we're all here, Leila. What did you want?" an exasperated Anna asked. She then noticed Charlie, started to say something, then looked down at Bob.
"Now, what the bloody hell happened?" Leila demanded. Caitlin was looking at Bob with wide eyes, and the men were staring unfeelingly at Hermione and Charlie. Anna had a hand covering her mouth, and Leila merely looked confused.
"Well . . . it didn't happen all that long ago. I was here, thinking about whether I would go to Hogwarts, trying to decide what to do. I had gotten a headache, from thinking so hard, but I decided I'd just lie on the couch and wait for Leila to return to find out what happened tonight. I fell asleep, but I was awoken a bit later by a loud noise. I was scared, so I immediately asked who was there.
"Bob made a strange laughing sound from my right. I turned around, and told him he had startled me. I had been very uneasy, but I relaxed slightly, since I did know him. That was a mistake. He forced himself on me, kissing me. I bit him, trying to push him away. I couldn't, how could I? Anyway, I started screaming for Charlie, even though I figured he wouldn't be able to hear me.
"That just made Bob grab me and pull me closer to him. He had pulled back when I bit him, you see. Anyway, he ripped my shirt off, and he . . . God, he hurt me. And, then, Charlie burst through the door, put the body bind on him, and then knocked him out, and tied him up. All by magic, of course," she added.
"Hermione . . . Oh, are you all right?" Leila immediately asked, coming to sit by the other girl. Hermione shook her head, looking over at Bob.
"No. Charlie said that he could go to prison," she whispered.
"Of course he can. Give me a few minutes, I'll Apparate to the Ministry," Tony interrupted. He was instantly off, and Hermione felt slightly better.
"You ready to deal with them, 'Mione?" Charlie asked carefully from beside her. Hermione shook her head.
"I think I'll take that water now, though," she said weakly. Charlie simply nodded, kissing her cheek and going to get a glass of water. When he came back, he noticed to Ministry officials demanding details. Hermione told them the limited version, being interrupted with questions many times. He could tell from her posture that she was slightly annoyed, and most likely tired.
"Here, 'Mione," he said, sitting next to her and handing the water to her, eyeing the officials. She took it thankfully, before looking as though she was about to pass out.
"I think that's enough for tonight," one said, looking at Hermione. "We may be back tomorrow." Hermione nodded wearily, resting her head on Charlie's shoulder. She felt relieved when they took Bob with them, but she was still scared.
"We're not staying," Charlie mumbled, feeling he needed to tell them.
"What?" Anna asked, obviously shocked.
"We're going back to the Burrow, the day after tomorrow. 'Mione wants to be a teacher at Hogwarts, and before this whole mess got started, I decided that I wanted to teach kids to fly," he replied, still slightly unsure.
"I didn't decide until after Bob," Hermione told them.
"We understand," Caitlin said. "It's just that it'll be strange. We missed you like hell the first time, Charlie. But, this is forever," she continued, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Aw, Kate, you know I'll visit. I managed to during the war, didn't I?" he asked with a slight grin. Caitlin grinned at him.
"You'll come to, won't you, Hermione?" she asked hopefully.
"Of course. I love you all to death. I plan to visit quite a bit," she said. "Probably before I go back to school. I just . . . I couldn't stay here. It's going to be hard for the next few days, I couldn't stay for any long period of time," she said sadly.
"It's okay, Hermione," Leila said from beside her, as she went to hug the other girl. Hermione still looked as though she could burst into tears any moment, and she looked downright exhausted. "Now, I think you should go to bed." Hermione cast a frightened look around.
"Charlie," she murmured, moving closer to him. Slightly red, Charlie put his arm around her again.
"Yeah, 'Mione?" he whispered.
"Please, stay with me?" she asked.
"Go ahead, Charlie. I'll watch the dragons tonight, and I hardly think she'll feel safe, without you," Alex spoke up. Caitlin nodded her agreement, and Charlie finally turned to look at Hermione.
"Give me a few minutes. I'm not sleeping in this," he told her with a smile, as he headed to his tent.
"You two are so adorable together," Leila said with an amused grin. Hermione looked at her darkly.
"Oh, stuff it, Leila," was all she said with a faint hint of a smile.
"Is this turning into girl talk? Because, if it is, I'm out of here," John said.
"No, girl talk lasts for hours, I'm too tired to engage in it," Hermione said. They next few minutes were spent discussing who would cover Bob and Charlie's shifts. Hermione didn't really have a shift, just helped the others out.
"All right, I'm back. Come on, Hermione," Charlie said. Hermione looked up and saw Charlie wearing an outfit similar to hers. She nodded in agreement, and they headed to her bedroom.
"Night, Hermione," he whispered as they both got comfortable on her bed and he pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead.
Two days later, she and Charlie were sitting by the fire, ready to Apparate with their bags.
"I'll miss you, Hermione. Owl me, damn it, or I'll fly up to that school and kick your arse," Leila threatened. Hermione smirked at her, but nodded.
"You know I will, Leila. Keep me updated about what's going on," she said, hugging her tightly. She said her good-byes to the rest, hugging them all, then turned to Charlie. He also hugged everyone.
"I'll owl you guys," he said, before stepping back to his things. They both Apparated at the same time, landing in the backyard of the Burrow, with four pairs of eyes focused on them.
A/N: I wanted to write more, but it's 3:32 in the morning, and I'm unbelievably tired. I promise it won't take as long to get the next chapter out. ~Steph