A new update, sorry it's been a while, I have the next chapters all planned and everything I'm just struggling to get it all written down, but finally got it done! Hope you enjoy it - one of my favourites so far! Let me know your thoughts please!
- HermionesPolyjuice xo
Chapter 21
Before Hermione knew it it was Tuesday afternoon and she was just about to head home from work when she bumped into just the person she was hoping she would meet. She felt a hand grab a hold of her upper arm and pulled her off the path and into the shadows of the trees.
"Really, Charlie? Are we not able to talk on the path?" Hermione admonished, her eyebrows raised as she looked up in his blue eyes.
"I don't want anyone to hear us," he admitted, scuffing his feet in the mud.
"No but we look way less suspicious hidden here," Hermione said rolling her eyes. Charlie ignored her.
"Tonight. Or more like tomorrow morning. I…I think I'd…I mean…if it's not a problem…it would be nice…" Charlie mumbled.
"Oh spit it out will you," Hermione grumbled, one more thing she had noticed with each full moon, her patience wore very thin in the days surrounding the full moon.
"Isitokifistayedwithyouaftertonight," Charlie said so quickly that Hermione took a few seconds to translate his request into understandable English. When she did, she beamed.
"Of course. I'm sure Draco won't mind," her face faltered. "Does that mean you're going to tell him?" Charlie gulped.
"He's going to find out at some point, isn't he?" Charlie asked but it wasn't a question for Hermione to answer. Hermione reached out and touched his arm.
"It's OK, don't stress. He already lives with a werewolf, knowing another isn't going to bother him," she said kindly. "Do you want to come around for some dinner before and leave some things? Then it also won't be as big a surprise for him when you're there in the morning?"
"Yeah, that would be nice. Thanks, Hermione. I'll…er…be round in an hour or so?"
"Sounds good, see you in a bit, Charlie," Hermione said with a warm smile before turning around and heading towards the apparition point.
[-||-]
"Really, Hermione? Tonight, of all the nights? Sometimes I really whether you have a common-sense part to your brain," Draco sighed as he lay across the sofa. Hermione rolled her eyes. She wanted to just tell him but that would be betraying Charlie's trust, he had to be the one to tell Draco, if only to actually put the words out there. She turned around and stalked into the kitchen ready to start making an early dinner for her and her guest.
"Are you actually going to want any food?" she called through to the living room.
"Nah, I had a large lunch, I'll eat later if I need," Draco's voice wafted back. So, Hermione made her way to make just two portions of spaghetti bolognese. She was starting to get all nervous and jittery. She knew what to expect from tonight, but she knew it was going to be weird being with Charlie the entire time. What was the transformation going to be like if he was there? How was her wolf going to react? Yeah, she'd taken all her wolfsbane but at the end of the day she was still a werewolf and she hadn't quite mastered being able to completely block out all wolfish attitudes and thoughts and on occasion she had found herself acting exactly like a werewolf, not a human looking like a wolf.
Forty minutes later there was a gentle knock on the front door and Hermione hurried to open it.
"Hi," she said with a beam stepping aside for Charlie to enter.
"Weasley," Draco nodded from the sofa, casting his eyes to the door only momentarily.
"Malfoy," Charlie responded.
"Food's almost done, do you mind laying the table while I serve it up?" The meal passed in relative silence, but it was almost awkward. Hermione was jumpy and anxious, her leg bouncing up and down throughout the entire meal and Charlie's stomach was in bits. Safe to say they were very much looking forward to the night being over. They cleaned up together and it was as Hermione was packing a bag that Charlie finally turned to her flatmate.
"How are you doing Malfoy?" Charlie asked. Draco frowned at the red-head.
"Why?"
"What, am I not allowed to ask a question?" Charlie questioned.
"Why Hermione?" Draco repeated. Charlie's eyes widened. What on earth was this boy about?
"I don't…what are you talking about?" Draco sighed and flipped his legs round so he was sitting on the sofa rather than being sprawled across it.
"Why are your intentions with Hermione?" Draco asked slowly enunciating each word.
"What are my intentions? What are you on about Malfoy?" Charlie said.
"I mean, what do you want with her?"
"I…we're friends if that's what you want to know," Charlie almost stammered. Malfoy raised his eyebrow. "And why do you have to ask me such questions?"
"Hermione's my best friend. She's been through a hell of a lot since June. No, since before then. You don't know half her story. You don't know her as well as I do. I care about her a lot, I don't want to see her get hurt," Draco growled.
"I would never hurt Hermione. And I know her, just as well as you do. I know a lot more than you think I do," Charlie said. This struck Draco as odd, what on earth had the Weasley meant?
"I…uh…what?" It was the first time Charlie had ever seen Draco Malfoy lost for words.
"Yes, I know about her. I know what happened. And in case you had any interest, I am also a werewolf. I think I know how to take care of her better than you thank you very much," Charlie said with a fierce animosity laced in his voice. Draco couldn't believe it. The Weasley, a werewolf.
"So, you're the werewolf she saw a while ago?" Charlie nodded.
"Wow. I…sorry," Draco murmured. Charlie's ears pricked.
"Was that an apology I just heard from a Malfoy?" Charlie smirked. A silence fell between the two men, but it wasn't an awkward uncomfortable one that was the norm, it was almost…peaceful. It didn't last long, however as Hermione burst from her room and into the living room. She eyed the two men suspiciously.
"What happened here?" she asked tentatively.
"Just a good ol' chat between two men," Charlie replied. "You good? Shall we head?" Hermione smiled, he had finally broken out and told someone about him. She felt her heart bursting with pride.
"Yeah, let's go. See you in the morning, Draco," she called unlocking the door and heading out of the flat.
"Weasley," Draco's voice came from behind just before Charlie left. Charlie turned around.
"Just…look after her," Draco said, with an almost sad smile. Charlie nodded before locking the door behind him and following Hermione out of the building.
About half an hour later, two wolves both let out howls into the night.
"So, what's the plan?" wolf-Hermione asked.
"Wanna race?" Hermione had barely even twigged what Charlie had just said before the grey wolf had darted off through the thicket of trees. She rolled her eyes before galloping off after him, the wind whipping through her brown fur and stinging her eyes. Just like every other full moon she felt more alive than at any other point during the months. The feelings of freedom and of joy coursing through her, it just never failed to amaze her what it felt like. When she had first been bitten, she figured she would dread the full moon nights, and although she didn't enjoy the days before and after she night was just exhilarating. And this night was no different. There were all the usual excited emotions tonight, but something else. Something she couldn't quite put her finger one, something she didn't quite understand but she didn't care. She was free and she was with another wolf, a friend of hers. Something she never thought she'd be able to say.
Wolf Hermione chased off after Charlie, not caring about the branches that cut through her skin. It wasn't long until they burst out into the moon lit fields and slowed down to a slow walk, both wolves panting hard. Once they had caught their breath, wolf-Charlie stopped and lay down on the damp grass, looking at the patch next to him as if to tell Hermione to join him. So she curled up next to him, resting her head on her paws and looking intently into his eyes.
"What exactly do you know about pack-mates?" Charlie finally asked. Hermione's ears pricked, and her heart began to beat a bit faster.
"Not much other than the basics," she thought back honestly. The grey wolf nodded. Hermione struggled to hold in a laugh; it was an odd sight, a nodding werewolf.
"Do you know how you identify if another wolf is your pack-mate?" Hermione looked at him confused.
"Something makes me think it's more than just 'knowing'."
"You do know. Oftentimes you just know but there is a way to confirm it .Werewolves don't have any control over whose their pack-mates. Some have as few as 2 or 3, other may have 50. There's no known reason. But it's believed that they mean something to either the human or the werewolf form." Hermione sat there, her full attention on Charlie. She was fascinated. And she had a feeling Charlie was going to tell her something that she needed to know. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest; she wouldn't be surprised if Charlie could hear it, especially with the wolf's crazy hearing ability. If he could, he didn't make it seem it. He just continued.
"One time, I was in an unfamiliar area and managed to get myself caught in a rabbit snare. A while later another wolf freed me and know I'm almost 100% certain he's a part of my pack just from something as simple as that. And then there's obviously Bill, which would make sense because he's my brother and a semi-werewolf, and there are a couple of others as well," Charlie seemed to hesitate for a while.
"Can a human be in your pack?" Hermione finally asked. She had read about pack-mates and that you would feel an overbearing feeling of protection for them. Something she realised recently she had for two prominent men in her lives.
"Yes, they can be. But it's not common, in fact it's very rare. They must have a much stronger connection to you in their human form. Something much deeper down and –" but Charlie suddenly stopped. Hermione looked up and saw his eyes narrow, and almost the beginnings of a growl form – his teeth were bared and his shackles raised. Hermione shuffled back a bit, wanting to get away from the new Charlie.
"Is Draco Malfoy in your pack?" Charlie finally asked, his voice laced with anger. Hermione was so taken aback by the question, and the reaction that had been brought about by Charlie that she didn't answer.
"IS HE?" Charlie practically shouted. Hermione started to cower.
"I…I don't know…maybe?" she stuttered. "But why would that affect you?" Charlie seemed to relax a little but didn't speak right away.
"There's this theory, that one of the male wolves in a female werewolf's pack will be an alpha male, which can cause problems for any other male members of her pack. It's believed that the alpha male will…they'll…um…fight off any other males…to…to make sure they…um…that the female…that she…becomes his wife." Charlie's voice got very quiet as he stuttered through the explanation. "So, say both me and him were to be in your pack…well, there could be issues. But we won't know that for sure until we know who's in your pack. And it may well be different because he's a human." Hermione lay there stunned. She had not been expecting that. Neither of them thought anything for a long while, at least not telepathically. Hermione hoped that Charlie cut off the connection to give her some space to think over what he had just said.
"Hermione, I…you're in my pack…and something makes me think I might end up being in your pack too," Charlie finally said to break the uneasy silence
"How do you know for certain I'm in your pack though?" Hermione questioned quietly.
"I don't yet, can I have a look at your left foot?" Hermione hesitated but agreed. The grey wolf stood up as Hermione turned her front foot over so the pad was facing upwards. The wolf bent over and looked intently for a few moments before sitting back on its haunches.
"Yup, it's official," he smiled at her. The brown wolf must have looked confused because Charlie continued quickly. "Each wolf has an associated symbol I guess you could say, that forms on their right hand as a human and right foot as a wolf from about 6 months. It's normally very faint so it can barely be seen, and no one seems to know what the symbol means or why each wolf has their own one. But then their symbol will also be seen on the left foot of any pack-mates. My symbol is an acorn, and if you look very carefully just below your second toe you'll see you have an acorn, almost tattoo." Hermione did as he said and stared at her foot. It took her a long while to spot what he was saying but finally noticed it. It was small, about the size of a knut and wouldn't be visible unless you were really looking for it. And then she noticed the other one next to it: a crescent moon.
"There's another one!" she exclaimed. "So that must mean I'm someone else's pack-mate. It must be Remus, he mentioned something when I saw him back in June about me being in his pack. But he also mentioned something about ceasing the connection and the bond not forming," she added, confused.
"Interesting, so from what I'm aware that can happen. But really it doesn't mean anything. You're still be in their pack, but I guess your relationship won't be as strong. I'm not sure though." Hermione then turned over her right paw and examined it carefully.
"I don't have my one yet," she said, almost sadly.
"No, I suspect it will come in the next month or so," Charlie said.
"So, when I get it. Whoever is in my pack will also get it? But say Draco is in my pack, does that mean he will get the tattoo on his left hand," Hermione asked.
"I don't know. From what I'm aware we only show the symbols in our wolf form, so I would suspect not but as they never change maybe they do. Or maybe they just see it on the full moon," Charlie pondered.
"You said Bill was in your pack, how do you know? Surely you haven't had a conversation with him about it?"
"No, I haven't. But I just know. Like, you'll just know. It's weird." The two wolves lay there, doused in moonlight for the remaining hours of darkness. Hermione must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew a nose was nuzzling her neck.
"Hermione, it's almost light. We'll want to get back to the clearing before transformation." Hermione jumped up and started to run after Charlie. She could see the sky lightening quickly now. They really didn't have long to get to their bags or else they'd be in for a very long, very awkward naked walk back to them.
Fortunately, they just made it back in time before the agonising transformation. Hermione made sure she was hidden behind a large tree to keep some of her dignity as she transformed. She quickly pulled on leggings and hoodie before reappearing into the clearing. Charlie was pulling on a t-shirt as she appeared, giving her a fine view of his muscular, tanned back. Even in the middle of November, the remnants of his summer tan was still evident and made the view all the more glorious. The muscles glistened somewhat with a slight sheen of sweat and she could see the outlines of them all as he tugged the t-shirt down, unfortunately hiding the view from her. He turned around and grinned at her as he tucked on a jacket. Hermione must have had a look of awe on her face as he smirked.
"Liked what you saw, eh?" he asked. Hermione rolled her eyes and ignored him as she started to walk back towards the town. She could hear his snigger behind her before he caught up and match stride to stride with her.
[-||-]
Hermione rolled over in her thick duvet and let out a sigh as her eyes fluttered open. She had slept through most of the day and judging by the dull glow from under her curtains it was nearing nightfall. She lay there for a while, content in her bed, wrapped up to her chin. She was just about to fall asleep again when the door creaked open and she looked over.
"Ah, you're up. Good, you should probably stay awake for the next hours so you actually sleep tonight," Charlie said walking over and sitting on the end of her bed. Hermione shuffled around and sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"You been here all day?" she asked through a yawn.
"Yeah, Draco let me sleep in his bed when he left for work. I've been up for an hour or so but promised I wouldn't leave you asleep until he was back." Hermione nodded.
"He's back then?"
"Yeah, just five minutes ago or so, figured I'd come say bye before I left." The duo sat there for a while before Hermione kicked off her burgundy duvet and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.
"Thanks for last night, Charlie. I enjoyed it, and it was good to –" but she suddenly stopped talking. Charlie looked over and saw her staring at her right hand.
"I…I have it," she whispered. Charlie jumped up and hurried around the bed to her side and took her hand in his.
"A flame, interesting," he muttered, tracing his finger over the tattoo that spread down her palm. His touch sent a shiver through Hermione.
"Sorry," he mumbled letting go of her hand and looking at her. They locked eyes and in that moment a flame was lit inside both of them. And they knew. They knew they had something special, something bigger than co-workers, or friends. Charlie slowly reached out and traced her cheek with his thumb, before lifting her chin up ever so slightly. He leant down and pressed his lips against hers. The flame seemed to turn into a fire and they both began to act instinctively. Hermione reached up and wrapped her arms around Charlie's neck. Charlie wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her flush against his body, the other hand reaching up and tangling itself in her bushy hair. Hermione gasped at the contact, and Charlie used the opportunity to push his tongue into her mouth, deepening the kiss even more, all the emotions pouring out. They remained like that, their mouths locked for a while until they finally broke apart, gasping for air. Charlie lent his forehead against hers, his blue eyes looking deep into her brown ones as they caught their breaths.
"I'll see you at work on Friday," he whispered, before planting another kiss on her lips and stepping back. He smiled at her as left her standing completely stunned in her room. He almost walked straight into Draco as he entered the living room.
"I'll be off, thanks for everything, Draco. Maybe we could get a drink at some point?" Charlie asked as he threw on his jacket. Draco frowned but then nodded. He was meant to be changing. He was going to have to accept he was going to be spending an awful lot of time with the Weasley, especially judging by the look in his eye as he had left Hermione's room.
"Look after her, she's a special one," Charlie said and with one last smile he left the flat, his smile broadening to fill his face as the door shut behind him. He had snagged his girl, at least he hoped he had.
(Woo, it finally happened - I've been trying to figure out the best time for the first kiss, hope it didn't disappoint - I'm not very good at writing that kind of thing. Ah well, pleaseeee review!)
