I am so so sorry it's been forever, I have been crazy busy since I got back from Australia and just haven't had the time to sit down and write, but I finally got it done - I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please leave me a review, I promise it will make me more likely to write the next chapter quicker!
-HermionesPolyjuice xo
Chapter 19
Hermione was curled up on the sofa reading a book that weekend when a loud rapping sound came from the window. Looking up she smiled at the sight of a large, tawny bird flapping its wings in an attempt to stay in line with the window in the gale. She knew exactly who it was from; Charlie had told her he would owl about seeing the reserve. She unhooked the latch and let the bird swoop in. Once she had taken the letter, it made no move to leave but rather watched her curiously with its large, amber eyes. Hermione unfolded the parchment and read the contents, struggling somewhat with the untidy scrawl inside.
Hermione,
I do hope your Saturday is going spiffingly, much better than mine I imagine as one of the young Hungarian Horntails escaped its nest and we spent well over 3 hours at 4 o'clock this morning trying to get it back inside! I am sure you know why I am writing – I need another recommendation for a book to read. I've managed to get through all of those excellent ones you made me buy a while back. Maybe something a little more upbeat this time though, with a bit of action? I seem to recall you saying you're working all day Tuesday, I'll pop in during my lunch break – maybe I could even persuade a delightful witch to accompany me for some lunch?
Anyways, I must fly (figuratively and literally as it's my turn to do the search over the top) and I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday.
All the best, as always,
Charlie
P.S. Tomorrow, 11 am, outside the Barnova Cafe
P.P.S Hero won't leave without a reply – a bit annoying sometimes!
Hermione smiled at the letter, evidently part of the Weasley clan with his jokes. She felt a pang in her chest at the thought of all the other Weasleys she was currently letting down so badly. She grabbed a piece of parchment, scribbled a response and sent Hero on his way. She curled back up on the sofa, her heart beating fast, already excited for the following day.
[-||-]
Hermione arrived at the café early on Sunday morning, her excitement level reaching boiling point, so Draco kicked her out of the house. Charlie didn't exactly say why they were meeting but she was fairly sure she knew why. She sat outside, a cold mug of coffee in front of her, her knees bouncing madly. She spotted the distinctive red hair and freckled face before he noticed her.
"Charlie," she nodded as he stood in front of her.
"Hermione, how are you on this fine morning?" he asked giving her a brief hug and planting a kiss on each cheek.
"I'm spiffing thank you," Hermione said with a grin, making Charlie laugh. It definitely was a fine morning, not a cloud in the sky and the bitter wind had finally subsided after weeks.
"We'll just head over there and then we can apparate," Charlie said nodding towards a deserted alley. He rested a hand on the small of her back as he guided her down the street. Hermione felt a shiver go down her spine at his touch, her heart beginning to race. There was so much more to Charlie than she could ever have imagined, hidden under layers and layers, like an onion, and all she wanted to do was unravel him and get to know him better.
Charlie looked around as they headed down the alley to ensure it was empty. He then held out his arm for Hermione to take.
"If you will, m'lady." Hermione grinned and took a hold of his upper arm, feeling the strong muscles tensing under her touch. Before she could even take another breath she was suddenly pulled through the tight tunnel of side-along apparition. A few seconds later she landed on her feet, stumbling slightly to the side. Charlie reached out and grabbed her to make sure she didn't fall. Only once he was sure she was steady did he let go.
"Welcome to the Romanian Dragon Reserve, more commonly known as the RDR," Charlie said turning around to face the entrance. Hermione's eyes opened wide; Charlie could feel the excitement radiating off of her. "Let's go." Charlie reached out and took her hand, leading her through the archway. Hermione could feel the magic pulsing around her as they walked through. Charlie led her down the path, pointing out the direction towards the tents the workers all lived in. It wasn't too long until they reached the main tent.
"So the canteen's over here. The medi-tent is that way and the on-call sleep rooms are just over there," Charlie explained but Hermione was no longer listening. She could feel the dragons. They were so near and it felt as though they were calling for her.
"Charlie. In all honesty, I don't really care. I just want to see –"
"The dragons," Charlie cut in with a laugh. "So predictable you are." Hermione blushed.
"Well, I reckon we'd better go this way then," he said as he lifted up a tent flap. Charlie steered Hermione through the open flap, whose eyes opened wide. They were standing a mere 5 metres away from a large, black dragon, their beady eyes staring right at the newcomers. Hermione heard Charlie's chuckle from her right but didn't register it. She was in awe of the magnificent beast right in front of her.
"Norwegian Ridgeback?" she asked, her voice a hoarse whisper.
"Norberta," Charlie agreed.
"Hagrid's?"
"The same."
"Wow. She's magnificent," Hermione muttered.
"Yeah, she is. One of our tamer ones too, probably thanks to Hagrid raising her for a couple of weeks."
"She's very close, isn't she?" Hermione asked a few moments later after she had regained herself.
"It's our critical care enclosure so it's easier to keep an eye on her," Charlie explained as he led her past the dragon and down the path. Norberta didn't take her eyes off of them, her head turning to follow them, until they disappeared behind a clump of trees.
"What's wrong with her?"
"We're not entirely sure, some disease is affecting her nails – it's quite nasty actually," Charlie explained as they continued to follow the path.
"Hmm…you've tried primrose oil I assume?" Hermione suggested a little while later after a moment's thought.
"Yeah, we've literally tried everything, we're completely dumbfounded," Charlie said with a shrug. "But we've got her on a complicated potion that seems to be helping with the pain as she hasn't seemed to be overly bothered by them recently."
Charlie spent the next hour leading Hermione through the reserve, pointing out each of the dragons and telling her about them in depth. Hermione was in awe, not just at the gigantic scaly creatures flying around mere metres away but also from the love that was evident as he rambled on about his 'pets'.
"So, how long until I can persuade you to take that job of yours?" Charlie asked as the rounded the corner that brought them back in front of Norberta's enclosure.
"Not long I think," Hermione said with a grin. She had fallen in love with the reserve, with the dragons and with everyone they had met. Everyone had been so welcoming and friendly and Hermione's hands were itching at the thought of working there every day.
"Well, I'll speak to John this evening and find out when works with him," Charlie said with a grin. Hermione beamed. Little did she know it would be less than 48 hours until she was back on the reserve as a trainee tamer.
[-||-]
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?" Draco shouted at a teary Hermione as they stood opposite each other in their living room, just the sofa in between them.
"I…I…Draco please don't be mad," Hermione pleaded.
"But you can't just do this, Granger," he growled. Hermione flinched, he hadn't used her surname with that tone in a very long time.
"I can. It's my life, I get to chose what I want to do. I've wanted to do this since school, Draco," Hermione said, her voice softening.
"Last time I checked, I'm a pretty prevalent person in your life right now so normally you run these ideas through me first," Draco said sternly. Hermione frowned at her companion.
"What makes you think I have to run my future plans through you?" she asked completely stunned.
"I…I…look, Hermione, I really do like you, a lot, and I don't want to lose you. If you disappear off I'm going to be inclined to go back home, and I just can't do that. I'm not ready to face everyone back in England, and I'm certainly not ready to be leaving you and your company," Draco said, almost sadly.
"You're not losing me Draco. I'm working four days a week and will still be staying here for the next two months until I up my hours to five days when I'll move to the reserve. Don't worry, you've still got a bit more of me," she added with a smirk, completely ignoring the part where he said a certain l-word.
"But it's dangerous. You'll be back around wizards and they might find out," Draco pleaded, drawing on every last straw to persuade her against her new job.
"I'm ready for the risk though. As much as I've loved the time with you and in the bookstore I'm ready for adventure again and I'm ready to get back into the wizarding world. It was going to happen sooner or later and it just happened that it's sooner than either of us thought," Hermione said with a shrug, avoiding making eye contact with the blonde wizard.
"But is it really a good idea? You being out in the wizarding world?"
"Draco, if I remember rightly, you've been spending a fair amount of time since we met in the woods persuading me to stop hiding and now you're saying to carry on hiding? I don't get it," Hermione groaned inwardly.
"But you're taking a very large step and I care for you, I don't want it to push you back so much further. You've come along leaps and bounds since that first day, I would hate for it to all go to fail."
"But it's my life, I know what I want to do and when I'm ready to do it."
"That's not the point though, Hermione."
"Well, what in Merlin's name is the point then Draco?" Hermione asked her voice getting louder as she began to lose her patience with him. Draco didn't answer for a while, he just locked eye contact with her. Without saying a word he walked around the sofa until he was standing just in front of her. He took her face in both of his hands and pressed his lips to hers. Hermione reacted almost instantaneously this time, however, wrenching her face out of his grip and staring at him.
"Draco stop it. You're like a brother to me –" but Draco interrupted.
"It's that Weasley man isn't it?" he spat, his voice thick with jealousy.
"What?" Hermione asked shocked at the comment.
"Don't play the fool, Hermione. I've seen you meeting him very regularly recently. You obviously like him and getting rather close to him," he said through gritted teeth.
"What on earth are you talking about Malfoy?"
"Save your breath, Granger." Draco flicked his wand and suddenly there was an onslaught of his possessions from around the house into a bag by his feet.
"Just remember who it was that rescued you from the woods and helped you see a new lease of life," he said. And just like that he picked up the bag and with one last look that was full of emotion he disappeared with a loud pop that seemed to reverberate through the air. Hermione stood there at a complete loss at what just happened, trying to register the sudden absence in her companion. Once she realised that he had left her she crumpled to the floor, heavy sobs shaking through her body. Draco was right, he really had helped her through her darkest days in the past months. But he was so wrong to assume she was disappearing from him and leaving him. She had simply accepted a new, yes perhaps much more dangerous, job. But she was going to be truly leaving their flat for another couple of months. And then to bring Charlie into it all was just plain wrong. There was nothing to their friendship, at least she didn't think there was.
[-||-]
Charlie had just got out of the shower and pulled on a pair of old pyjamas, ready for some pre-bed reading before turning in early in preparation for Hermione's first day, when he heard a loud knock at his door. He hurriedly pulled on an old Quidditch t-shirt before opening the door, surprised to see the bushy haired witch standing in front of him, her eyes red and puffy.
"Hermione?"
"Can I come in?" she asked thickly. Charlie nodded and pulled open the door wider to let the witch in. He watched as she just stood for a while, sniffling as she stared into his small house.
"Hermione? What's the matter?" he asked, reaching out and touching her shoulder.
"He…he…left" she sniffed. Charlie frowned at her.
"Draco, he just upped and left. I told him about the tamer training and he basically just lost his shit," she said almost inaudibly. Charlie wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, not saying anything but just holding her as she cried.
Once Hermione has stopped, she stepped out of his arms and looked up at him.
"Sorry, I just…need some company," she said, a small smile twitching at her lips.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Charlie asked, leading her to the sofa.
"I…I just don't get why he left. He wouldn't even let us have a civil conversation about it all," Hermione then relayed the conversation she and her friend had exchanged a few hours previously. "It hurts, him leaving. He helped me through those first months, even if he didn't know exactly what was going on he was always there. He made me see sense and realise it's not the end of the world. I see him like a brother, a confidant, just everything I needed and now I feel guilty about everything. He just disapparated, he doesn't know how much he means to me and how much he helped me, and I miss him," Hermione rambled on.
"He'll come round. He's not an idiot. From what you've said recently, he needed you as much as you needed him. Just you wait and see, he'll apologise and be back," Charlie consoled, squeezing her hand.
"I don't think so, though, Charlie. He seemed to think something was happening between us. He obviously thinks he's not needed. But I need him, Charlie. He keeps me sane and puts everything into perspective," Hermione said, a lone tear trickling down her cheek. Charlie's heart hitched at her comments, but he didn't say anything – no need to assume anything yet.
"It sounds like there was some major mis-communication, Hermione. You need to send him an owl and just say everything you've just told me. He'll see the right soon enough." Hermione sighed, she had been through far too many emotions for one day.
"Go home, have a shower and go to bed. Get a good night's sleep and I'll see you bright and early for some training," Charlie said. That one sentence seemed to shake Hermione from her apparent reverie.
"Crap. Yes of course, tomorrow's Monday. Right, OK, I'll be off. I'm really sorry Charlie for disturbing you. See you tomorrow," Hermione blurted in a hurry as she jumped to her feet and practically ran out of the door. Charlie barely registered what had happened as he heard the door bang shut. It was apparent, this witch was confusing him more and more every time they met. There was something so fascinating about her, and yet terrifying and amazing. He felt like a completely different man whenever he was in her company, and it was certainly in a good way.
[-||-]
Draco sat in his hotel room staring as the small blob in the sky got larger and more distinctive. He let out a sigh at the familiar shape. It was the fourth owl she had sent in less than a week apologising and begging for him to return. He opened the latch at let the owl enter. He read through the letter and rested his head into his hands, letting out a sigh. As he finished scanning it, he crumpled the parchment and threw it into the bin.
He was frustrated, annoyed, pissed off and every emotion in between. But he was also angry at himself. She had done nothing wrong and he had completely overreacted, not letting her explain anything, or just having a reasonable conversation about it all. And now he was just making it worse. He was doing everything he told her not to do.
There was a tentative knock on the door to his hotel room.
"Enter," he called. As he turned around in his chair he almost let out a shout of surprise to see his childhood best friend standing right in front of him.
"I thought I'd find you here at some point," Blaise Zabini said as he walked over and sat down on the large double bed.
"What? Where? Why? How?" Draco stammered at a lost for words.
"Draco, you went missing for weeks. You really didn't think I'd get the top hotels across the continent to let me know if you ever checked in," Blaise drawled, a twinkle set in his dark eyes.
"You…you twat," Draco finally spat out. Blaise look aghast.
"Me? A twat? Mate, I wasn't the one who deserted their mother to…do…what exactly have you been doing?" Blaise said, looking over at his friend for 18 years.
"I…let's order room service, this is a long story," Draco sighed.
Ten minutes later, with plates of sandwiches in front of them, Draco settled next to his friend and told him his story, right from the moment he disapparated to London to the witch he met in the woods to them moving to Romania to even him falling in love with her, he made sure he left out the werewolf part.
"So that's where the famous Granger went then," Blaise said as Draco finished over a half hour later.
"Please don't go telling anyone, Zabini. She's become a proper friend and I care about her. She has her reasons, please don't go spurting it out you know where she is," Draco said harshly. Blaise raised his hands in defeat.
"Any friend of yours, is a friend of mine. Although it may take a little longer to warm towards…her," Blaise responded. "So it sounds like you really buggered it though."
"Tell me about it. I don't know how I can rectify this. I've been a dick and done everything I've told her not to do. how can she ever forgive me?" Draco groaned, leaning back in the large, soft pillows.
"You go back to Romania and beg at her feet to accept your apology and to take you back," Blaise said, stuffing another sandwich into his large mouth.
"But she doesn't like me, Zabini. She's obviously found something with that Weasley git. What am I to her? I've served my purpose, she has no need for me."
"By the sounds of it you saved her, and I reckon she knows it. You're going to have to do a lot more to get our of her life. This is Hermione Granger we're talking about. She's the most forgiving, thoughtful woman out there. She will get over it, and so you have to get over it. She may not like you like that but that doesn't mean you no longer mean something to her. She'll need you, she'll need you so much more than either of you realise," Blaise explained. Draco looked over at his friend, shocked to hear such sense coming out of his mouth. He narrowed his eyes at the look on Blaise's face.
"What do you know?" he asked suspiciously.
"I overheard her and that Lupin man arguing before she disapparated," Blaise replied sheepishly.
"So you know."
"That she's a werewolf? Yeah, I do."
(A/N: hope you enjoyed it, don't forget to follow/favourite/review!)
