I am so so sorry it has been forever, life has just been manic and I've had no time to myself for months let alone time to actually write anything but finally here we go. I hope you enjoy it and that you haven't forgotten what's happened (I had to re-read the whole thing to make sure I didn't backtrack on anything!). Let me know your thoughts, fingers crossed it won't be as long until the next update but apologies in advance if it is!

-HermionesPolyjuice xo

Chapter 20

"Have a good weekend off, relax and I'll see you Monday morning again," Charlie said as he and Hermione left the pub late on Thursday evening. She had just finished her first four days at the reserve and had blossomed. He had never seen someone become such a natural so quickly. He was excited to see where the job took her. It wasn't going to be long until she would be a full-time employee, and he wouldn't be surprised if she became the first female head tamer in a matter of years.

"Thank you so much for everything, Charlie. It was truly amazing. Better than anything I could have expected," Hermione gushed, a wide smile spreading across her face.

"You are most welcome. It's not often I get to teach such a natural," he added with a wink that made a blush spread up Hermione's cheeks.

"Have a good weekend, Charlie," she said before turning on her heel and heading back to her deserted flat. Charlie watched the witch walk away, a look of admiration on his face.

"She's quite a bit younger than you mate," a deep voice came from behind him. Charlie turned to see one of his colleagues watching him from a few feet away.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Charlie said, but he knew the tips of his ears were turning a dark read, a trademark Weasley indication he was feeling embarrassed.

"'Course you do," Jake said with a smirk. "Just be sensible, Char. You don't want to scare the wee lass off too quickly. She's got to be the best tamer I ever saw after 4 days."

"Oh, sod off, Jake," Charlie said. He turned around and headed back into the pub, ignoring the laugh his friend gave off.

As Hermione wandered down the street back to her flat he thoughts wandered over the past week. It has truly been a dream come true. It was better than what she was expecting, and she was already itching to get back there on Monday and be with the dragons. She had no regrets about any decisions she had made. She was just thinking about earlier that day when she had helped Charlie coax a young dragon into its new enclosure when she noticed something very odd. The lights in her living room were on, and she definitely hadn't left them on earlier that evening. She broke into a run and got to the front door in record time. She grasped her wand tightly under the jacket sleeve, just in case, and carefully pushed the door open. She didn't know what she was expected, but she definitely didn't think she would see him just lounging on the sofa. He looked over at the sound of the door opening and smiled at her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, a little more bitterly than she had intended.

"I came back," Draco replied.

"Yeah I noticed. Why?" Hermione asked shrugging off her jacket and hanging it up before making her way and standing above him.

"Because you asked me to," he replied. Hermione raised her eyebrows. "And I wanted to apologise for being a prick. And I may have missed you." His voice got quieter with each sentence.

"Right," Hermione said.

"Look, Hermione. I am so sorry about my outburst. I had no right at all. You were just doing what you wanted and what was best for you and I was just being selfish twat and reacted really quite badly. I didn't mean to upset you at all, and I certainly didn't mean to leave. I am genuinely so happy for you and that you're beginning to feel like you can fit in again. I guess I was just surprised," Draco said, standing up and taking her hands in his, looking straight into her eyes.

"It's OK, Draco. I definitely didn't say some very nice things either. You're forgiven. But I do have one question for you. Where have you been?" Draco let out a laugh as he sat back down and signalled for Hermione to sit down next to him.

"I just went to a hotel in the outskirts of Paris. Nothing flashy." Hermione raised her eyebrows at him. "OK nothing flashy on my level, but it may have been a 5-star one." Hermione rolled her eyes at her friend.

"I wouldn't have expected anything less." They sat in silence for a while, neither of them realising quite how much they had missed each other.

"There's something else I need to tell you," Draco finally said, sitting up a little straighter and facing Hermione full on. She frowned at the seriousness of the expression etched on his face.

"I bumped into…well that's not really it…he found me," Draco stuttered.

"Who found you?" Hermione asked concerned at what he was about to say.

"Blaise."

"Zabini?"

"Just the one."

"Why does you face make it seem like you told him something?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"I couldn't lie to my best friend, Hermione. I had to tell him the truth. And it meant that everything made sense to him, why I had left you and everything," Draco explained, not breaking eye contact with the witch.

"Does…does he know?" Hermione hiccupped. Draco gulped.

"WHAT THE HELL? Draco, I thought you were meant to be my friend. You can't go betraying me and telling everyone you see about me. I trusted you," Hermione exploded jumping to her feet.

"Hermione, no. You've got it wrong. I didn't tell him."

"Oh you didn't did you?" she snarled at him.

"No, I didn't. I would never tell anyone anything you didn't want me to. No, he overhead you and Lupin before you disapparated.

"Really?"

"Really. Hermione, I would never ever say anything about you. You should know me better than that," Draco said, standing up and wrapping his arms around her.

"Sorry," Hermione whispered into his chest as they stood there, seeking comfort in each other. They remained like that for a little while before breaking apart.

"Anyway. Enough about that. Tell me about how this week went. Was it amazing?" Draco asked, sitting back down. Hermione's face immediately lit up and Draco knew then that she truly had made the right decision to start one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet. Trust Hermione to not shy away from danger.

"It was incredible," Hermione said sitting back down and promptly relaying everything that happened the past week, not missing out anything.

[-||-]

Two weeks later, Hermione was just on her way from the cafeteria for her afternoon coffee when she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and was surprised to find her so close to Charlie.

"Hey," she said with a smile.

"How was your day? Sorry I couldn't be with you today, I was up all night with Zuri and obviously you're not allowed to work any more than 16 hours in a row," Charlie explained.

"No, I completely understand. What can I do for you now?" she asked.

"I was wondering if you would be up for grabbing some dinner tonight. There's something I need to talk to you about," Charlie said, shoving his hands into her trouser pockets and generally avoiding eye contact.

"Um…yeah of course. What is it?" she asked confused by this reaction of his.

"Oh nothing serious. Great, how does that Italian sound? About 7?" he asked, looking her in the eyes again.

"Sounds great, will see you later." They shared a brief smile before Hermione turned around and headed back to the reserve's potion lab.

"Bloody hell, I could cut the tension between you guys with a knife. What's happening with you two?" a voice came from behind Charlie.

"What? Oh nothing at all," Charlie muttered.

"Really? Not sure I would agree with you there Charlie mate," Jake responded, his eyebrows dangerously high up his forehead.

"Jake, sod off." Charlie turned around and walked away, his mind working at a hundred miles an hour.

3 hours later found Charlie and Hermione in the small Italian restaurant in Enisala, under some privacy charms Hermione cast so they could talk in ease.

"Is everything OK Charlie? You seem a bit off lately," Hermione asked once the food had been ordered.

"What? Yeah I'm all good, there are just a couple of things I needed to talk to you about that's all," he said with a smile, that didn't quite reassure Hermione. She smiled back at him and indicated for him to start.

"OK, so first up, obviously the full moon is next week. I've requested you get Wednesday and Thursday off so you can recover. No don't try and argue, Hermione. It's a no go. When you're doing something like this I am not going to let you be working around dragons when you're exhausted. That's just not going to happen. Something awful could happen so for the next few months you're having at least the two days after the full moon. End of story," Charlie said sternly.

"Do you take two days off then?" Hermione asked, a bit put out by the comment but at the same time very appreciate that Charlie cared about her that much. Something went off in her stomach and thoughts started whirling around her brain.

"That's irrelevant," Charlie shrugged it off.

"No. It's not. It's too dangerous for you to be around them. I saw your medical records the other day when I was helping Olivier and saw that your chance of getting injured increases significantly in the days after a full moon. You've got to look after yourself as well, Charlie. And I know what you're about to say, you've been working with dragons for years you know how to look after yourself. But if you're going to be so strict on me I'm going to be strict for you. At least take Wednesday off," Hermione said, her face set. Charlie opened his mouth to argue but couldn't even think of a suitable argument, so he closed it. He gulped but finally nodded his head in agreement. She was right, as per usual. It was always so silly of him to work the day after the full moon but he never wanted to raise suspicion.

"Great, well glad that one's sorted. And if you want, you could come over to mine. I'm sure Draco could look after you as well, he does do a very good job," Hermione said with a smile. Charlie frowned.

"Have you told Draco about me?" he asked, his stomach dropping at the thought of Hermione confiding his secret in a Slytherin

"No, I haven't said anything. But he's going to find out at some point isn't he, so no harm in him knowing now," Hermione shrugged. Charlie surveyed the witch sitting opposite him. Her relationship with that Malfoy boy baffled him beyond belief. She talked about him as if he was her lover or something, but she always insisted her was a friend.

"What's going on between you two?" he suddenly blurted out.

"What?"

"Like are you in a relationship or something?" Hermione's eyes widened in shock and then she completely surprised Charlie by bursting out into laughter.

"Oh god no absolutely nothing. He's like another brother to me. He's kissed me a few times, but it's always felt so wrong," she said once she controlled her laughter. Something exploded inside of Charlie when he heard they had shared a kiss. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Charlie responded, almost a little tartly, surveying her for a while longer. They sat there in silence for a while, an odd sort of atmosphere filling between them. Fortunately, before it all got too awkward, the waiter arrived with their food and so they both started to eat without saying anything for a while.

"What was else did you want to talk to me about?" Hermione finally asked as she reached the end of her meal. She noticed Charlie hesitate for a few moments, slowly making his way through his mouthful and finally swallowing.

"I…um…I'm going back to The Burrow in a couple of weeks for an early birthday celebration for Bill. And I thought you could come with me," Charlie said rather quietly and to the table rather and avoiding eye contact with Hermione. Hermione didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. It was the last thing she had been expecting. And truth be told she most certainly was not ready to face the Weasleys quite yet.

"I don't think I can, Charlie. I'm just no ready for it," she finally sighed.

"Think about it. You don't need to make a decision yet. It would be big step forward in helping you. And if you joined me, I would be inclined to potentially start opening up to them," he added as an afterthought. Hermione looked into his deep blue eyes and considered it. Her heart let out a flutter when he mentioned he would potentially talk to them. He owed them that much and she would be so proud of him. She cared for him and didn't want him to feel he couldn't talk to his own family. It wasn't fair to them, and it wasn't fair to him either only having Hermione to talk to, and even then she didn't feel he properly spoke with her.

"OK. I'll think about it. But don't get your hopes up," she finally admitted. Charlie beamed at her. He could tell something was up with her though so reached across the table and took her hand in his.

"Everything's going to be fine, I promise," he muttered quietly, his eyes portraying all the emotion that made Hermione's stomach lurch with her own emotions she wasn't used to. She smiled at him, a stray tear leaking from her eyes.

"Yeah, it will be." And it was the first time she actually meant it when she said it. "But Charlie, you shouldn't depend on me being there when you tell your family. If you're thinking about it, it's best to just bite the bullet. Maybe even just speaking to Bill or Lupin or someone and slowly get it out. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Yeah, I know, and I genuinely am beginning to think about opening up, I guess I just don't know how. And I don't think a birthday meal is going to be the right time for it," he added with a slight laugh.

"It's never going to be the right time. You and I both know that. If there ever was it would be a thousand times easier. But there isn't. There's just a time," Hermione said with a sad smile.

"You always say the right thing, Hermione," Charlie said, finally letting go of her hand and sitting back in his chair. They sat in a peaceful silence whilst the waiter cleared their plates. Charlie was just on his way to order some dessert when Hermione stopped him.

"I made a pretty mean apple pie yesterday and we've still got some left over if you fancy that instead," she said remembering his favourite pudding was sat in her fridge. Charlie's eyes lit up brightly and it was less than five minutes until they were outside Hermione's flat eager for homemade pudding.

"Bloody hell, Hermione. This is fantastic, almost better than mum's," Charlie exclaimed ten minutes later as he shovelled spoonful after spoonful into his mouth.

"You know, you'd probably enjoy it more if you ate it a bit slower," Hermione laughed watching her companion next to her as she flicked on the TV. Charlie pouted but slowed down, much to Hermione's relief as his way of eating made her feel a bit sick and reminded her of Ron and his lack of manners when eating.

"What are we watching then?" Charlie asked thickly through a mouthful of pie.

"Not sure, there's nothing good on. Hmmm…looks like we'll have to watch a cooking show," she said finally settling on a programme. She put the remote on the coffee table and tucked her legs under herself whilst Charlie finished his pudding.

She didn't know when or how it happened, but it wasn't long until Hermione found herself leaning against Charlie as they watched the abysmal celebrities attempt to cook. Her head rested against his chest as he ran his hand through her thick curls. They were both very content, laughing and chatting through the show, neither inclined to move, and before they knew it, they were on to their third episode of the cooking show.

"Where's Malfoy tonight?" Charlie asked when he realised that they hadn't been interrupted by Hermione's housemate.

"He had to work late tonight to finish a potion at work. But I would have thought he'd be back by now," Hermione muttered, casting an eye towards the clock on the mantlepiece.

Charlie wasn't in the least bit bothered that he wasn't back. It meant that he was getting more alone time with Hermione, which he would never say no to. Every time he spent time with her, she intrigued him even more and all he wanted to do was get to know her more. He felt so content and so comfortable just lying there watching TV, talking about random things. He loved it when he said something to make her laugh, the most delightful sound filling the room, her eyes glistening with mirth. He knew he was treading on very thin ice, but he couldn't seem to stop himself from developing feelings quite a bit stronger than friendship with the witch that was currently wrapped in his arms.

Charlie was brought abruptly out of his thoughts when the door burst open with a bang. He and Hermione jumped apart, but shocked at the sudden loud sound and also perhaps a little embarrassed to have been in such a compromising position.

"Draco! You're back, how was your day?" Hermione asked, a smile spreading across her face. Charlie's stomach lurched at the look she gave the pureblood. He didn't like it. She may have told him nothing was going on between the two of them, but he couldn't help but feel jealous at the thought of all the time they spent together.

"Rubbish. A bloody customer interrupted me at the most crucial point even though I had a sign on the door to tell them not to interrupt and so –" but Draco stopped abruptly. He had just noticed a certain Weasley sat on the sofa, not a few centimetres away from his housemate. His silver eyes narrowed at Charlie, who didn't exactly smile at the Slytherin.

"Weasley," he nodded curtly heading into the kitchen.

"Malfoy," Charlie responded with as much animosity in his voice.

"So what happened, Draco?" Hermione called into the kitchen.

"The potion got ruined so I had to redo it all again," Draco shouted back.

"Oh you poor thing. That's so rough, it's annoying when people can't read simple instructions," Hermione said collapsing against the back of the sofa. Charlie noticed that it wasn't back to the position they had just been in.

"I had better go, Hermione. Thank you so much for the pie and I'll see you on Monday bright and early. Have a good weekend and rest up," Charlie said getting to his feet. Much to his surprise however Hermione also got to her feet.

"Thanks, Charlie. And don't forget what I said earlier, it's never going to be the right time," she said with a sad smile. She then wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug, surprising Charlie so much that he didn't react for a few moments. They stood there for a few moments, holding each other in a hug, more emotions being exchanged between them than there had been.

Hermione pulled away and looked up into Charlie's eyes and felt something set off inside her. Something she was no familiar with, something that excited her yet terrified her. Something that she just wouldn't be able to explain.

"See you Monday, Charlie," she said quietly before standing on tiptoes and placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. She then walked into the kitchen, leaving Charlie standing there by himself in shock. He would never have placed Hermione as someone to willingly give him a kiss, albeit on the cheek, but a kiss nonetheless. Smiling, he let himself out of their flat and made his way to a deserted alley, a slight spring in his step. For the first time in five years, his life was looking to make a turn, and a major turn in the right direction.

(A/N: thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it - let me know your thoughts in a review! Have a merry christmas!)