Charlie thought Lavender was a crack hand at baking. The cake half-chocolate and half-coffee flavored that spiraled in the center layer making a delicious mocha that was somehow better than the two. Chocolate had always been his favorite but that title was swiftly up for grabs.

He was unsurprisingly pulled away by his brothers as soon as the cake had been cut and Hermione was pulled away by his mother, both of them red in the face as the elder witch handed her something. Surprisingly his eldest brothers had been replaced by Harry and Ron. Between them and the twins Charlie discovered that he was in for a rather creative future if he didn't take care of his new wife.

Wife.

That word again. Nattering Norlucks he was married. He looked over his shoulder, ignoring a rather anatomically impossible description involving his kidneys and toenails. She was sitting in the living room by the fire. Her dress had started off white but was now a soft blue that reminded him of the open skies of Romania. Her hair had been somewhat tamed earlier but he preferred it like this, blown out and as wild as the dragon he lived with.

That was another thing. He had to get back to the reserve. He still needed to work. How was he going to explain this to his boss? What were the requirements for his husband duties? Would he need to slip away from the reserve a few days a month or just until she was pregnant? Merlin what if he had to quit? Did she have a career that she couldn't give up? He knew nothing about her. Good Godric, what was he going to do about children? He wasn't ready for this. Any of this with anyone. Let alone a girl he barely knew.

"Mate," Charlie was snapped out of his thoughts by Bill's heavy hand on his shoulder. The rest of his brother's had cleared out, moving to join the women in the living room. Their wives. Merlin what a mess. Bill was frowning, the action pulling deeply at his scars. "It's time."

"For what?" Charlie asked, his eyes landing back on the curly haired witch who was laughing at something Katie had said.

"You know what," Bill said. Charlie felt the blood drain from his face. "Don't let her see you like that. This is hard enough for her as is."

"Right." Charlie coughed shaking himself and trying to take on the cool demeanor he used when bluffing against overaggressive drakes. He had faced down literal man-eating monsters, why was this so hard? Still he squared his shoulders, preparing to walk straight into the dragon fire. "Right… Could you distract them? I'm aware that everyone will know where we've gone off too but I doubt she wants to acknowledge that."

"I'm the one covering for you and your girl this time," Bill smiled lightly as he said it. "How the tables have turned."

Charlie flushed. She wasn't his girl. She was Hermione. She was… well his wife but still. Bill just laughed, taking joy in teasing his younger brother even after all these years. The eldest Weasley offered him a broad smile before striding into the living room, Charlie in tow. Charlie briefly wondered if he had picked the habit up from his wife.

Bill deposited him next to Hermione, pulling the witch to her feet under the guise of a hug, then nudged her toward Charlie. Bill grabbed a tea cup and a spoon, clinking the metal against his china.

"I'd like to propose a toast. To Charlie and Hermione. May their marriage be happy and fulfilling."

Cheers of agreement sounded through the room, making him shift uncomfortably. Hermione did as well, but she shifted closer to him. Almost without thinking, he rested his hand on her lower back.

"As the defacto best man," that statement resulted in an uproar of protest from his other brothers. Charlie took the moment to lower his voice and whisper to her.

"We need to go." He tried to sound as comfortable and kind about it as he could but she still stiffened under his finger tips. He hesitantly began to rub her small circles along her spine, hoping it would calm her.

"Should we say goodbye?" she asked finally just as Harry stood up to claim co-best man on Hermione's side, an action that had Ron blustering and shouting. Hermione shifted closer to him and he could just feel the tickling softness of her curls against his neck. Even as the shortest Weasley he was still fairly tall and he could just about tuck her head under his chin.

"Do you want to?" he asked lowly, fighting off the urge to do just that, to curl his large frame around her smaller one and hide her from all of this. He wanted to make this easier, to make it all go away. Part of it was the new, insistent thrumming of the bond urging him to take care of her. The other part was because it was just the decent thing to do.

"No."

"Alright then." Charlie applied a light pressure to her back, not far from what he would have done when cajoling a dragon back into its pen. You didn't want to push too insistently, otherwise they would get snappy.

Merlin man. She isn't a dragon! She's your wife!

"Okay," Hermione answered before moving. They slipped back into the kitchen, Hermione's eyes flicking cautiously to the stairs. He blanched but covered it by guiding her toward the door. No way this was happening in his childhood bedroom where everyone could hear. Way too weird. Instead he pulled her out to the garden, bathed in the early morning light.

Outside seemed like a bad idea too. He knew he was a wreck, still covered in sweat from the reserves and exhausted from staying up all night. Dirt didn't need to be added into the equation.

"Erm… I suppose I should ask if there is somewhere you'd like to go." he asked.

Charlie turned back to his bride, his face hot. He supposed embarrassment was a more understandable look than scared shitless. She looked beautiful in the early morning sun even with the dark rings under her impossibly large brown eyes. Her curls cast soft shadows across her face, highlighting fine cheekbones and an adorably scrunched nose as she thought. Her lip was nearly chewed raw and he made a mental note to be mindful of that later… now… whatever.

"Not particularly." She shifted her weight, wrapping her arms around her small waist defensively. "A hotel maybe?"

Poor thing was shock scared. That upset him. She could be a lot of things he couldn't control right now but she didn't need to be afraid. Not of him.

Charlie wrapped his arm around her shoulders. When she didn't flinch away he exhaled slowly. He held up his wand thinking of the warm molten color of their magics melding together until he felt like he was drowning in it. There was no more powerful moment in his life than feeling that color wash over him, bathing him in the hues of the rising sun. It was the color of life, happiness, and her all rolled into one. If there was ever a time for a corporeal Patronus it was now.

An silvery occamy burst from his wand, twisting through the gaps between their bodies on feathered wings before coming to rest just in front of him. He blinked, trying to figure out what it meant while Hermione's fingers ran lightly over the spectral feathers, her eyes watching it in soft wonder. When the flying serpent looked at him expectantly he spoke.

"Marcy, I'm in London. There's this mad law passed and… well I am married now and using your flat for my honeymoon. I'll explain when I get back."

He ended the message and the occamy twirled once around the two of them before shooting away into the sky until it faded into the light. Charlie watched it disappear with a certain sadness. There would be a lot of explaining to do once he went home… if he could go home… if it was home anymore. He was so lost in thought he barely noticed the stiff witch under his arm.

"Who is Marcy?" Hermione asked with a shaking voice. He looked down to be greeted by wide eyes filled with horror. "Oh Charlie. Please don't tell me I took you from someone."

Charlie laughed before he could stop it. A large booming laugh filled with relief and stress of the day. The image of Marcy receiving his message and laughing her teeth out at the idea of him getting married at all, overlaid with Hermione's concern of a long time secret girlfriend was simply absurd.

"No, you didn't. Marcy is a fellow dragon handler. She is my best mate and most certainly nothing else," Charlie explained, feeling the tension leave her shoulders. "Marcy has a flat in muggle London she uses when she visits family. I figure it would be less impersonal than a room at the Leaky."

And just like that it was awkward again.

"That's very considerate of you Charlie," Hermione responded evenly. "You're sure she won't mind?"

"Naw, we do this all the time," Hermione flinched. "Er… for Christmas and stuff. The Burrow gets to tight for me nowadays so I stay at hers."

"Oh... alright then. Are we apparating?"

"If you don't mind side-along."

"As long as you don't splinch us," Hermione laughed weakly.

"I'll get us there in one piece." Charlie dropped his arm to her waist and pulled her a bit closer than strictly necessary. She was warm against his chest and so very soft. "Mostly."

She managed a quick squeak before there was a CRACK and they were gone.

000000000000000000000000000000

Marcy must have come from old money. Hermione reasoned as she stared at the spires of West Minster Abbey. Charlie led her from the apparition point tucked into a hollow of trees in a nearby park. Despite their rather providential outfits the doorman of the upscale apartment complex merely sneered and tapped at his computer when Charlie nodded at him.

The elevator opened without prompting and Charlie led them in. It went to a floor near the top and opened up into a short hallway. Charlie stopped outside door three and withdrew his wand muttering a quick unlocking spell. The door clicked open and he waved her in.

For all the grandness of the building the apartment itself was homey and comforting. It was wrapped in rich golds and dark woods with plants poking out from every available surface. The massive floor to ceiling windows let light fall onto the sunken bowl of the living room and gleam off the stainless steel kitchen appliances behind her. A spiral staircase led to a loft where she would guess the bed was. Her cheeks flared brilliantly at the thought.

"It's so big."

"Yeah," Charlie said shrugging off his dark green cloak and tossed it haphazardly over a nearby chair. He was clearly at home here. "Marce may have been a badger but she has always liked the sky. I joke that the only reason she took a job on the reserve is because she wasn't a good enough chaser and flying with dragons was the next best thing."

"Charlie!" Hermione admonished before she could stop herself.

"Yeah yea, I know. But it's our humor." He didn't seem bothered by her bossiness and stretched his arms over his head. "I know we're kind of on a time crunch here but I'd take a shower if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all," Hermione responded in relief. It would give her time to relax a bit and explore the place.

Charlie nodded and popped the first button of the too tight shirt off, drawing her eyes back down to where his tattoo shifted to race under his fingers. Her breath caught watching the flutter of a wing across his collar bone before it was gone again. It wasn't until he cleared his throat she realized she was still staring.

"Or I could just head up now if you keep looking at me like that," Charlie laughed as if it were an easy joke but Hermione thought his voice had dropped a bit lower than usual.

"Er, sorry. I just forgot you had a tattoo." When he frowned, she panicked a bit. "I can't wait to see it."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth she was cursing herself. She turned towards the kitchen with red cheeks and set about making tea. She purposely ignored the soft huffs of laughter from Charlie as he drifted down the hall.

By the time she pulled the kettle off she heard the water kick on somewhere in the flat. She exhaled slowly, giving herself time to collect her bearings. She could do this. It was just sex. Charlie was perfectly handsome and kind. Her body would do what it was supposed to, there was no concern about that.

She just wasn't sure about the rest of it. They were married now and what if he didn't like her scars or how inexperienced she was? He was stuck with her for life or at the very least until they had a child together. That was another thing, she had been prepping herself for motherhood ever since the law began to pick up steam, knowing she had a limited time before it would go in full effect but now…

One thing at a time. She had to worry about right now first. There were barely three hours before she defaulted to Dolohov and she imagined the monster was counting the seconds in his cell. She was a Gryffindor damn it. If she could face down Bellatrix Lestrange's wand she could enjoy a handsome man.

Hermione stomped up the spiral staircase feeling much more herself than she had in the past twenty-four hours. She resolved that being a shrinking violet was unfair to both herself and Charlie. As it was he was probably horrified at the thought of having to have sex with a girl he knew when she was still a bucked tooth know-it-all. Thank god he was gone for most of her schooling or else this would be impossibly weird.

Hermione's heart leapt when she saw the massive bed in the center of the room. The black satin sheets caught the sun glinting in from the windows shining like liquid obsidian. Before she could panic too much the water shut off downstairs. She wrenched open a wardrobe door thankful for the mirror she found.

Ginny and Lavender had done their best but the magic wave after her and Charlie's bonding had stripped it all away. Hermione frowned and swirled her hair back into a precarious knot, the curls already straining to be released. Her hands shook as she cast a weak healing charm on her abused lower lip along with a breath freshening charm. She wasn't quite bold enough to just throw herself on the bed so instead she sat delicately on the edge, setting her always-present extended bag on the nightstand. She swallowed tightly as Charlie called for her, his voice echoing in the apartment.

"Up here," she called slightly shocked to hear her voice waver. She snatched at her bag, pulling out the pale pink potion Molly had given her right after the wedding. The color was soothing as it rolled in her hand.

"What've you got there?" She jumped at Charlie's voice, suddenly at the top of the stairs. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

She offered him a small smile. He had a towel slung low around his hips, his muscular chest on full display as he walked forward. She instantly relaxed about her own self image seeing the multitude of scars marking his skin. Curving over his right hip and skimming low across the 'v' of his hips were three thin silver lines that could have only come from a claw. The discolored burn marks were obvious and scattered over his skin like swatches of paint. Little droplets of water fell from his hair and Hermione had to keep from tracing the path they took down his broad shoulders.

"See something you like?" Charlie asked, when he came to a stop in front of her. Hermione was not ashamed to be caught staring, it was what they were here for after all. Still something was missing.

"Where's your dragon?" Hermione asked, using the excuse to run her eyes over the subtle ridges of his stomach. She followed the trail of hair until it disappeared into the towel. He was just a foot or two away, if she reached out and grabbed the towel she could-

She shook her head to clear it and looked up, wondering why he hadn't answered. A pleased little feeling bloomed in her chest when she saw him staring at her thighs where her dress had bunched up. His right hand twitched.

"Charlie?" she asked her voice a bit breathless.

"Sorry what?" he asked, drawing his eyes back to her.

"Your dragon?"

"That's a hell of a name for it," Charlie quipped with a laugh. Hermione rolled her eyes and swatted at his ribs. He jumped back just in time for her hand to long graze his skin lightly. God he was so warm.

"You're tattoo you arse," Hermione grumbled.

"Oh she's-" Charlie's hand ran over his shoulder and he looked down only to find the expected in missing. "Where in the devil's snare?"

Hermione laughed as Charlie did a quick check for his wayward tattoo. "Ah ha! Stop that! What are you hiding for? She said she's been waiting to see you, you vain creature."

Hermione flushed deep red even as he turned, the thick muscles of his shoulders bleeding into his back and pulling tight down his spine. And there, dead center and just above the hem of his towel, was a dragon the size of her splayed hand. She blinked at the thick black silhouette with brilliant yellow eyes. It was curled tight around itself, poking its head out from under a wing to glare at her.

"She seems shy," Hermione laughed. She reached out to run her hand over the skin only for the drawn dragon to snap testily at her fingers. Hermione doubted she would feel anything but still diverted her hand to land on Charlie's hip instead, slowly dragging them closer to the bristling creature. Charlie stiffened but the tattooed dragon slowly uncurled, reaching its neck out cautiously until her fingers were running over the ink. She knew it wasn't a real animal, that it was just a compilation color and magic, but her heart still fluttered as it curled around her hand. Suddenly it spread its wings wide before leaping up Charlie's spine in what she supposed was a depiction of flight. Her finger's followed the assent until she couldn't reach anymore and she let her hand drip back down his spine while the creature disappeared over his shoulder.

"So," Charlie cleared his throat, spinning around to face her. His tattoo had curled against his neck, resting there in a happy doze. "What have you got there?"

Hermione glanced down at the potion in dread.