Hermione settled into Charlie's chest as she tried to decide how to begin. She thought of starting by telling him what her role was in the grand scheme of things before deciding that what she really needed to do was start at the very beginning. She took a breath and, for just a moment, enjoyed the feel of his chest pressed against her back and the sense of his chest rising and falling in sync with her own. He didn't seem impatient but rather content to sit and wait for her to divulge what she wanted.
"What do you know about the history of magic?" Hermione asked, wondering just how far back she would need to go.
He seemed to contemplate her question for a moment before answering. "About as much as the next person, who struggled to stay awake in Professor Binns's classes. I know magic has been around since before time began, but if you want dates for Goblin Wars, I'm at a loss."
"Did you know that time was created by magic, or at least the idea of time in a linear fashion was developed by a wizard?"
"Well, I had assumed that time had always been time."
"Before the persecution of witches and wizards by muggles out of fear, muggles used to view those who could wield magic as gods. The Greeks believed that Chronos was, for lack of a better phrase, "father-time." He and his sister Ananke literally spun the cosmos, creating linear time with a past, present, and future. They believed he created a silver egg, the orphic egg, and from this egg hatched the first gods."
"So you are saying that Chronos and Ananke from this story were wizards?" Charlie asked, taking note of what she was saying and how it was relevant to now.
"Chronos was based on a real man, who was a wizard. His actual name was Kairos, but that is irrelevant. He believed that if he could linearize time, people would be able to evolve and develop faster. Before time was linearized, it was chaotic. He and Ananke created a spell that would be powered through earth, fire, blood, and sacrifice. Once the spell was sealed, a faction of wizards that thrived in the chaos from before the linearization came forward, calling themselves the children of Aion, desperate to undo what Chronos had done."
"And who exactly is Aion?"
"Aion isn't a person but rather an idea. The Romans believed in a deity named Aion who represented time, not as we see it with a past, present, and future but unbound and chaotic, known as aevum. They also believed in balance, and his female half was Aeternitas, the representation of eternity. Neither of them was based on real wizards or witches but what they represent is the time before linearization."
Hermione stood and began to pace, feeling that walking would help her get her thoughts in order.
"They have spent millennia trying to undo what he created, but to undo it, they have first to discover the original spell, but that spell is only ever held by two people, a descendant of Aether or Chaos and the other a descendant of the fates."
"Ok, you are losing me. I am unsure who in these stories are ideas and who are actual people."
"I'm sorry, I was trying to give you the story before giving you the names of actual people. In the myths, Chronos bore two children, Aether and Chaos, and according to the stories, Ananke bore the three fates. The reality is they did have children, and two of those genealogical lines hold the spell that created time. The children of Aion over the centuries have tried to work out which lines hold the secrets they need to unravel time."
"And that would make you one of the descendants?" Charlie asked, also standing up and stretching. Hermione watched Charlie make his way into the kitchen and began pulling items out of the icebox for sandwiches. Hermione followed and, for a minute, considered sitting at the counter before deciding to continue her pacing.
"I am a descendant of Aether whose name was Luca, and Draco is a descendant of Chaos or Adrian. Someone in our families holds half the spell, and if I had to guess, it's either Draco or my grandfather since he still holds the sight. Although that may be too easy so that it could be another."
"What exactly is the sight?"
"Pretty much a sixth sense, it allows him to stare into the well of Segis and see what is to come. It is a heavy burden, and my grandfather has struggled with it since my grandmother passed away. Whoever carries the sight must dictate the path we lead the world on. We can influence events and steer us on a path that will prevent the Sons from finding a way to end time."
"Where are the sisters that were considered the fates?"
"No idea. Chronos and Ananke went their separate ways and hid from each other to protect the spell. They figured it would be one more layer of protection if they did not know where the other half of the spell was."
Charlie placed two sandwiches down on the table before standing in front of Hermione to stop her pacing. When she stopped, he placed a hand on her cheek and pressed his lips to her forehead. Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling much of her tension leaving her body.
"Sit and eat some lunch; you can finish telling me the story later," Charlie suggested.
"No. I've started, and now I need to finish."
"Fine, but sit and eat."
Hermione sat down but didn't pick up her sandwich and opened her mouth to continue her story, but Charlie beat her to it.
"Take a bite, or I go outside and refuse to hear another word." Hermione gaped at him, but he just stared at her and waited. Finally, she huffed before picking up her good and taking a bite. "Good, now what does all this have to do with the present?"
"The sacrifice part of the spell was a sacrifice that will last as long as time continues; my family is plagued with the responsibility to carry the burden of sight and influence humanity. Mostly it means collecting items of importance made by wizards that can be used to time travel or see the future so that the Sons never get the upper hand."
"And for you specifically?" Charlie asked.
"Currently, it means I am here looking for something. What, I don't know. Eventually, sometime shortly, it will mean having to take the sight from my grandfather and carry a burden I never wanted." Hermione's entire demeanor had changed from one of professor to troubled acceptance. "Without Jane, the sight is slowly killing him; if he were to die before I take it, who knows where it would go."
"Would it just disappear?" Charlie asked.
"I don't think so; the way I have heard it, the stories have always made it out as if it would find a new host."
"Perhaps it would find another bonded soulmate pair if that is what is needed to sustain it," Charlie said thoughtfully. Hermione just stared at him. "What, just deductive reasoning, most magic that is around long enough develops a sense of self-awareness and strives to maintain itself."
"The Sons have a bonded pair; we saw them," Hermione said. "There have to be others in the world, though."
"If there are, it's not many. Like I said yesterday, most don't take the risk of a bonding ceremony because if they are wrong, it will kill them both."
"I really don't want to consider the idea of the Sons acquiring the Sight."
"Then don't, at least not right now." Hermione let out a squeal of surprise as Charlie picked her up and set her on the counter.
The plates crashed to the floor, and Hermione found Charlie standing in front of her and arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her against him. She felt a flush run up her chest as his other hand ran up her thigh.
"What I don't understand is how you thought all of this would mean I wouldn't want you to stay the night with me," Charlie asked as he pressed his forehead against hers.
"Because a life with me will always be dangerous and never just about us." She replied as she naturally wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him closer.
"My entire life is full of danger, and I rather like it that way. Besides, I am sure we can find plenty of time to let it be just us." Hermione shivered as his fingertips brushed against her sides when he lifted her shirt over her head and attacked her skin with his mouth.
Just as he latched on to her nipple, there was a banging on the door, and Hermione's head fell back with a loud groan.
"Oi, Charlie opens up!" The banging continued, and Charlie stepped back, clearly disgruntled.
"You were saying about us having time for just us," Hermione said with a raised eyebrow as she pulled her top back over her head.
"Oh, we will finish this" Charlie leaned down and locked her in a searing kiss that had her reaching up on her toes and digging her fingers in his shoulders to get closer to him.
"Come on, man; I know you're in there. The Opaleye is hatching" They heard what Hermione finally determined was James' voice come through the door again.
Charlie pulled away, and Hermione could see in his eyes the struggle to not already be running full tilt towards the hatchery.
"Go; I'll clean up lunch and head home. You better hurry." She said.
"Stay; we will finish this when I get back, Darlin" He kissed her again light and quick, and then he was sliding into his boots and out the door.
When Charlie was gone, Hermione took a seat at the counter. She couldn't believe it; the Opaleye was hatching. That had to be why she was here. The pool of Segais hadn't been very forthcoming with details, but maybe this was why. Technically the Opaleye wasn't here yet; it was just starting to hatch; that would make the future of the item gray if it wasn't hatched yet. Her family held detailed records, and she knew that once upon a time ago, they had an Opaleye that protected the Pool of Segais, but she wasn't sure how long ago that was. Long enough that there weren't any records as to why the pool had been protected or what had happened to the dragon, she was sure.
After an hour of mulling over the possibility, Hermione got up and cleaned up lunch. She waited another hour after that before getting anxious and beginning to pace. There was no telling when Charlie would be back; she had no idea how long it took a dragon to hatch. Her curiosity was clawing for more information, and the possibilities were running in circles in her head.
Charlie still hadn't come home by nightfall, and Hermione had made a strong attempt at pacing a hole in his rug. She was no longer thinking about the dragon but about whether she should stay or go. She didn't want to spend her first time staying at Charlie's, sleeping alone in his bed. That didn't feel like a very good omen.
She also didn't think it would be a good idea to leave. She knew Charlie was paranoid and protective of his space; no one was allowed in his house, so she knew the wards were probably strong. She also knew she would be safe inside the sanctuary wards, but after last night she didn't think walking back on her own after dark would be the best idea.
Finally, she settled on sleeping on the couch so as not to taint the idea of being in Charlie's room with being alone. She knew she needed a good night's sleep before getting back to work tomorrow. She was sure she was here for the dragon, but until she was positive, she needed to maintain appearances.
In the morning, when Hermione realized Charlie still wasn't home, she began to worry. What if something happened to the Opaleye? What if the biome wasn't set suitable for survival. Hermione quickly made herself some breakfast as she fretted about it. At least she had another week of shadowing Charlie, so she had a good reason this morning to go find out what was happening.
By the time she had finished breakfast and made her way out the door, she was radiating nervous energy. She decided to stop at a local bakery and pick up something for Charlie and James as she was sure they hadn't eaten since the afternoon before.
When Hermione stepped into the hatchery, Charlie appeared from a door near the end of the hall, still in his clothes from the night before. He looked positively vibrating even though he had obviously been up all night. He then stepped back into the biome.
When Hermione reached the viewing window for the area Charlie had stepped out of, she was shocked not to see a mother dragon in with the pup, a surrogate stand-in.
She also immediately noticed that Charlie seemed to be struggling with the little dragon whom she could only catch glimpses of over Charlie's shoulder. James also was standing next to Charlie as they talked over what to try.
"What do you think it is, man? It won't eat, and it has barely moved off the nest." James said.
"I don't know; we are lucky it hatched at all. We were guessing at the type of environment the egg needed. No one has seen one in hundreds of years, and there isn't much information to go on." Charlie responded.
Charlie shifted his weight, and when he did, it opened up Hermione's view of the dragon. She was breathtaking. Hermione wasn't sure how she knew it was a she but was positive the little dragon was female. The scales seemed to shine like a freshly polished pearl. The dragon looked thin, and Hermione guessed it had not eaten since coming out of the egg.
When Hermione's eyes latched with the dragons, she instantly understood, its opal eyes were solid white. Hermione assumed the eyes would change colors the way the opal in her hair did, except the dragon, seemed to be so unsure and confused it could not feel any one individual emotion. After a moment of staring at Hermione, the dragon's eyes started to swirl with browns, pinks, and blues. Its wings stretched out as if it had been waiting for this moment.
"What is happening with its eyes?" James asked. Hermione was already rushing through the door towards the dragon. When she opened the door, she immediately knew the first problem was the sweltering hot inside the bio-dome.
Hermione zipped passed Charlie before realizing what had happened and was on her knees in front of the little dragon with her hands reaching out when Charlie yanked her back.
"What are you doing? It may be small, but its flames will still burn hot as Hades." Charlie said. Hermione gave herself half a heartbeat to enjoy the feel of Charlie's arms before she snapped back to reality.
"I expected better common sense out of you, Charlie Weasley. Why is it like 40' C in here? I know most literature says that the Opaleye lives in valleys, but New Zealand isn't this hot even then. With those beautiful scales, I would assume she would blend in better in the mountains; you should cut the temperature here by half." Hermione scolded the dragon tamer.
Charlie chuckled, and Hermione felt his chest rumble against hers and realized she was still tightly wrapped in his arms.
"Let me go this instant; that sweet girl needs me," Hermione said, and Charlie's body instantly stilled, and his face grew serious.
"We had the temperature this high because that was what it took to get the egg to hatch and didn't want to shock it after it came out of the shell. Also, I am serious. You can't get too close; you don't have on any dragon hide, and dragon fire isn't like normal fire. You could get seriously hurt." Charlie still hadn't let go of Hermione, and she was looking up into his eyes as she spoke.
She placed her hands on his chest and stepped back, hoping some space would help her words sink in.
"Of course, the egg needed heat to hatch. A mother would have been sitting on it, but now it needs a normal temperature. Also, stop giving it dead things to eat. It may not be able to fly yet, but she still needs food that will interest her. Give her a flightless bird to chase like a kiwi." Hermione said to both Charlie and James. Before turning back toward the dragon, whose eyes were taking on more colors the longer it looked at Hermione.
Hermione reached her hand out towards the dragon, and when Charlie went to pull Hermione's hand back, the little dragon lunged and snapped at Charlie's fingers. Charlie yanked his hand back, just narrowly missing being bitten. Satisfied, the dragon tilted its head to rest against Hermione's palm.
"That's it, Huka; I'll protect you, love." As James and Charlie looked on, Hermione coo'd at the dragon, baffled. Charlie shrugged and went about changing the temperature in the room, and James went to find a bird or some other small animal for the dragon.
"Huka?" Charlie asked as he watched Hermione with the dragon. When Hermione looked up to respond, her breath caught at the intensity in Charlie's eyes, sending a rush of emotions through her body at such speed that her fingertips tingled. "You know when you look at me, that thing in your hair changes colors the way that little one's eyes do."
Rather than responding to Charlie's attention on the opal in her hair and what the colors might mean, she focused on keeping her words on the dragon.
"Sugar in Maori, I have spent a lot of my childhood in New Zealand," Hermione said as she sat crosslegged near the nest. The dragon stepped out of the nest and curled into a ball in Hermione's lap, snout across her knee before closing her eyes.
"Huka sounds like an excellent name to me. You are just full of surprises. I feel I won't have very many dull moments in my life with you in it." Charlie stated. Hermione just lifted an eyebrow at him; after yesterday's conversation, which was an understatement.
"Ha, I doubt you had very many dull moments to begin with working on a dragon reserve," Hermione responded, unable to pull her eyes from her dragon. It startled her how quickly she felt possessive of the Opaleye. Hermione also saw out o the corner of her eye all the people in the observation room watching and taking notes.
"If all my dragons take to you like this one, I will be out of a job," Charlie said, though he seemed to be mostly talking to himself.
"They won't," Hermione said matter of factly. Before Charlie could ask what she meant, James came back in with a chirping crate. Huka's head popped up instantly on alert, eyes swirling with oranges and flecks of yellow. As soon as James had the lid off the box, the birds took off into the foliage with the dragon hot on their heels.
Hermione let out a squeal of joy that drew the eyes of both Charlie and James. She saw James shake off whatever thought he had, but Charlie's eyes seemed to smolder with a fire she hadn't expected. She stepped up to them and lowered her voice so those in the other room wouldn't hear her as she watched to dragon chase its food.
"Is there any way to block the observation room?" Hermione asked.
"No. These officials have been here for weeks waiting for this moment. The only reason they haven't all put up massive fights to try to get jurisdiction over the opaleye egg was because of the observation agreement." James said. Charlie just stared at her questioningly.
"I would suggest someone from the reserve always being present and only people you trust beyond a shadow of a doubt," Hermione said.
"The reserve is protected; no one could steal her," James said with such confidence that she chuckled a little at the naïvety.
"Spells are always capable of being broken," Hermione said as she scanned each face in the observation room, trying to remember who was there. Maybe she could find files on each of them if she asked Jane. Finally, her eyes landed on Julian, who was the only one staring at her and not the dragon.