Man! It was so hot here.
Growing up in maritime Britain had in no way prepared Hermione for the dry, beating heat of Romania. But that was not enough to scare her away. I mean, she was Hermione Granger! She had faced down death eaters for Merlin's sake! If she could look the werewolf Greyback in the eye and hardly flinch as he menacingly approached her, then she could darn well deal with the scorching heat of the Romanian sun! But that did not make it any more enjoyable.
As Hermione wiped the sweat out of her eyes, she turned, and looking the angsty Swedish Shortsnout right in the eye, without a quaver in her voice softly said, "Ok Kira. Here's the thing. You have to, and I mean HAVE TO have this dose of reparative salve applied, and I am not leaving here until you calm your sniffly self down and let me help you to heal, you hear me!?"
With that, the Shortnout snorted a puff of grey smoke and glanced to the side as if weighing her options. Seeing no escape route, and assessing through this tamer's demeanor that perhaps she meant her no harm, the emerald beast exasperatedly hunched her massive shoulder blades, and looking straight into Hermione's eyes lowered herself down, curling up next to the witch, admitting defeat and opting to trust.
Seeing the beast's show of trust, Hermione inched closer, warily watching her charge assessingly, as she moved closer to the reptile in her care.
Slowly reaching out her hand, Hermione stroked Kira's snout, and then gingerly smoothed the salve on the dragon's forefront limb, smoothing the healing concoction into the infected gash.
Kira hissed, tensing and flinching from the initial sting, and then relaxed beginning to feel its healing effect. Her eyelids fluttered as the pain dissipated and a wave of sleepy peace took over and she laid her head down, pushing it up against Hermione's leg as if reveling in the assurance of her healer's presence until sleep took over completely.
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and backed away, leaving Kira to the healing slumber of rejuvenating, medicated sleep.
As Hermione exited the pen, she felt new eyes on her, and turned to find a familiar redhead assessing her intently.
"Charlie Weasly!? So you're back, huh?"
Charlie was caught in a slight daze at seeing Hermione again. Sure, it wasn't a shock to see her here, Ginny had after all mentioned to him that Hermione had taken a job at this Reserve. In fact she had pulled him aside and asked him specifically if he could keep an eye on her, and watch her back. Not having ever been able to deny Ginny anything (he had after all held his little sister in his arms as a baby, cooed at her when she cried, melted when she laughed with him, and she had quickly found that he could hardly deny his baby sister anything!) But actually seeing Hermione here, well it had definitely thrown him in a way he hadn't expected.
It had been years since he had seen this particular member of the Golden Trio. According to his last memories of her, she was the frizzy haired, bookworm, brains of the bunch. Yet here she stood, a collision of his worlds, home and Romania, and she looked nothing like he remembered. In their time apart, not only had her hair seemed to mellow out into beautiful soft curls, but she had cut it into a shorter, face framing bob, he assumed much more manageable in the surprising line of work she had chosen. She looked absolutely at home and natural in her tamer gear, as if this is actually exactly where she had always belonged. The mandated leather tamer suit fit her body as if it had been designed exactly, accentuating her long, slim legs temptingly, calling out to him.
Shaking this thought out of his head. Chastising himself, he thought, Get a grip Weasley! She's your brother's ex and she is 7 years your junior. Plus, she wouldn't be interested in you anyways.
Instead, Charlie beamed at Hermione and responded; "Well it looks like the buzz around town is actually true. Hermione Granger has made her way to our humble reserve."
With that she amusedly swatted his forearm, jokingly huffed and walked away.
"Wait! Where are you off to Granger? Don't leave me to the mercy of this emerald beasty!" he dramatized bolting after her.
At this statement, Kira suddenly twitched in her sleep, whined like a puppy dreaming of chasing its tail, whined pathetically and then snorted a quick bout of harmless smoke.
Looking from the dragon's comical outburst, to the burly Weasly, Hermione chuckled and continued on her way, "Oh, you're so right! What was I thinking? I should never leave a defenseless creature such as yourself to fend for yourself against such a wreckless monster!" she retaliated over her shoulder.
With that final statement, Kira huffed in her sleep, as if subconsciously offended at Hermione's facetious jab, bringing a sparkle of joy to Charlie's eyes.
Those deep, cerulean blue eyes. Hermione still had not noticed just how beautiful those eyes were. To her, Charlie was still the lesser known Weasley, brother of two of her best friends. She had yet to discover that this was the Weasley upon whom Bill most relied for strength and support. Whom Percy, prat that he often was, secretly most admired and looked up to. Whom the twins most emulated and in fact from whom they had received the most guidance, inspiration and nudging inspiration of all things pranking, even from as early a time as when they began to walk! This was the Weasley to whom Ron had always looked, and whom Ginny most admired as her all time favorite brother having always experienced the feeling of being cared for, watched over by this brother who had especially taken her under his wing from her earliest days, playing with her, braiding her hair, inviting her into his downtime and shenanigans, while always ensuring that no harm came to her under his charge. These were all still factors unknown to Hermione about the man in front of her.
Standing at a respectable 6" 2', Charlie was no trial to look at. Though he was the shortest of the Weasley men, what he lacked in lanky height, he had gained in natural bulk and brawn, further built up in his years wrangling dragons. Looking at Charlie, it was easy to understand why the twins had often referred to their second oldest brother as the heartthrob of Devon. Charlie had an easy ruggedness to him, one that wasn't overly prepared or primped, but instead just naturally appealing. His beard was perfectly trimmed, while his hair was long enough to pull back with a manly leather band, without being overly outgrown. He was everything manly in a natural and understated way.
Charlie sprinted after Hermione, catching up to her in far fewer steps than it had taken her to get this far.
"But seriously Hermione, where are you off to now? Are you done with your shift?"
"Yep." she replied shortly. "I've finished my rounds for the day, and I gotta say, I need a stiff drink."
With that Charlie perked up. "Oh thank Merlin! I just finished up with Gil, and let me tell you, I am in desperate need of some firey amber goodness myself!"
Hermione nodded in understanding. In her short time here, Hermione had already discovered this truth. It was no secret that dealing with the head of the Romanian Dragon Reserve could be trying on the best of days, so she did not question Charlie's frank statement.
The two walked silently toward the reserve's pub Cantina. Entering together the two approached the bar in comfortable singularity.
A young bartender exited from the back office and upon seeing some of his favorite customers called out, "Hermione! Good to see you unsinged! The regular post-Kira beverage I assume?"
"Thanks Sam! Yeah, that'd be great. That melodramatic beast definitely made me work for my keep today, so I desperately need!"
Turning to Charlie, Sam nodded toward Hermione and said, "Weasley! Glad to see you're back and that you've found our favorite new recruit! I'll grab yours as well."
With that, he enchanted liquor bottles down from the shelf and began tipping heavy pours.
As they waited for their drinks, Hermione made small talk turning to Charlie asking, "So… how's life at the Burrow been this past month?"
With this question, Charlie hesitated, unsure of how Hermione had left things with his baby brother. The two had always seemed like they were dancing around each other, and he had assumed that Ron & Hermione would end up together post war, which had left him confused when he found out during his time at home that Hermione had moved to a whole different country and that Ron was happily dating a girl named Ellie from his Auror program.
"Well. The family all seems good. Dad's been promoted within his department, so he's been making some good system changes… I think he even has half his department using muggle pens instead of quills… not sure what good this does, but it has him beaming!" This brought a smile to Hermione, remembering the Weasley patriarch's love of all things muggle made.
"The twins are going strong with their joke shop… driving Mum mental actually. Just before I left, they switched out her pepper grinder for their newest creation Aviary Exploders… basically you can set it to look like whatever household item you want, and when you try to use it, it will suddenly explode with a loud bang and lots of sparks into a rubber long necked chicken! Let me tell you, the fish was under seasoned that night, but the entertainment was on point watching Mum chase after the two rascals yelling at them about acting their age and staying the hell out of her kitchen!" At this point, Hermione was in stitches, holding her side with the pain of uncontrollable laughter.
Charlie wiped away a tear of laughter, saying, "Yeah… I've got to say, I have always encouraged their feisty side, even given them guiding strategies for their mayhem over the years, but this tops anything even I could have come up with! I'm rather proud of them, actually. I honestly didn't know Mum's voice could actually reach that decibel, and Bill and I pushed her limits our fair share in our days."
Smiling with the fond memories of days gone by Charlie continued, "Gin's finishing up Hogwarts and has already been drafted by the Hollyhead Harpies for after her graduation, so that is pretty cool!"
Months back, while Hermione was training in Minsk at the Ophidian training Facility notable for their crash course in all things dragon, she had heard that Ginny had been approached by some scouts, but she had not heard a final outcome due to her crazy course schedule, so she was pleased to hear that this opportunity had panned out for Ginny.
"Harry and Ron have just about finished up with their Auror training, and I would stake my ponytail that Harry will probably propose to Ginny within the month." Hesitating slightly, Charlie continued on, "And Ron proposed to Ellie just before I left."
Charlie looked nervously at Hermione to gauge her reaction. In his time at home, he had not been able to gauge what the situation with Hermione and Ron had been or to get a read on how they fared now that they were not together.
To his relief, she nodded genially at this news. She was actually very happy to hear this last bit of information. Though she had always thought that she and Ron would end up together, and even though they had shared a kiss during the chaos in the Battle of Hogwarts, they had quickly found after the war that the pair of them were much better suited as friends than as a couple. Thus they had not made a big deal of this to his family, and so when Ron had brought a new girl home, the Weasleys just assumed that they had misread the friendship between Ron and Hermione and welcomed Ellie warmly into the brood.
When Ron had befriended Ellie at the start of their auror training, Hermione was overjoyed, especially because she had truly taken to Ellie the instant they met. She was a sweet yet snarky girl who somehow seemed to know how to curb Ron's immaturities without belittling or minimizing him. With Ellie Ron truly seemed like the best version of himself, thus allowing Hermione and Ron to be even closer as friends. Hermione and Ellie had even shared a flat for a bit before Hermione left for her training in Minsk, and along with Ginny the three had become fast friends and even bonded as if sisters.
"Mum's also been badgering Fluer about prenatal care and baby prep now that she is in her second trimester, and I swear, Bill is about ready to hex her into oblivion constantly harassing his wife!"
Hermione snorted at this statement, remembering full well the days leading up to the oldest Weasly's nuptials to the strong minded veela, positing similar stubborn conflicts between the two headstrong women to the impending approach of Molly's first grandchild.
"Well, I guess that probably saved you from the harrowing experience of Molly's typical fixation on rectifying the length of your hair, right?" Hermione retorted snarkily.
Charlie feigned hurt and pressing the back of his hand to his forehead, dramatically whined, "What?! Not you too! Does no one appreciate my luscious locks?!"
Sam returned at that moment, and chiming in stated, "you call them lucious one more time Weasly and I swear, I'll start watering down your drinks" sliding their drinks to them and drawing an inelegant snort from Hermione and an exasperated eye roll from Charlie.
"Oh that's right Sam, yuck it up! But just remember who your best customer is!"
"Oh don't worry Weasley, in your time away, Miss Granger here has definitely risen to the challenge of giving that steel clad tolerance of yours a run for its money! I gotta say, she has clearly shown that she can put 'em away like none other and still walk outta here with a level head." Sam said with big brotherlike praise gesturing proudly toward Hermione, who playfully bowed at the affable bartender's praise.
Charlie looked incredulously at the tiny witch, unsure whether to believe Sam or not. That is until she tipped back the amber Fire Whiskey, downing it without even the slightest flinch, and signaled Sam for another. Who was this witch, and how had he not truly seen her this entire time?! Sure he had known her since she was 14, but to him she had been the frizzy haired, know it all bookworm who would rather die than risk expulsion or even a poor grade on her assignments. But now, assessing her more closely, he could see that this petite witch held more life in her than her 5" 2' frame would initially suggest. This one had a side of fire to her, and this intrigued him. He was definitely going to have to get to know her better, and he was sure that in her he would find a fast friend.
When their second round arrived, Hermione, picking up her drink, turned and stalked away toward a booth by the window. Charlie downed the remainder of his first drink and, thanking Sam, followed, sliding into the booth across from Hermione. It was here that the rowdy band of trainers found them, fast in conversation by the later evening.
"Well… if it isn't our long lost Weasley, finally gracing us with his auburn presence!"
Looking up Charlie and Hermione were pleased to see the group of three tamers who had entered the pub and joined them.
Standing Charlie swiftly embraced his friend saying, "Finn! Hey! It's bloody good to be back, yeah!"
Finn smiled and pushed Charlie off of him, "Oy! That's enough! I know we're best mates and all, but give me some space to breathe you big softie!"
Laughing at the antics of the two best friends, Mel, the female tamer rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and work partner Finn, gave Charlie a warm welcome back hug and sat perched on Finn's knee as he sat on one of the stools he had summoned for them and his younger brother Steve, the final tamer in the group.
Nodding politely to the young man, Charlie slid back into the booth in his spot across from Hermione just as Steve surprised the group by ignoring the procured stool, instead sliding in very close next to to Hermione on the already short booth, and swinging an arm across her shoulders said in a silky smooth voice, "So tiny Minny, how did it go today with our Keeks-ma-geeks? Did the feisty beast give you any trouble. Shall I rough her up for you sweets?"
"Oy! Little brother. Leave the lass alone! We all know our spitfire here does not need your help in that arena." Finn said, shaking his head in amused exasperation at his brother's attempt at game.
Charlie wasn't quite sure what it was about Steve, but something had always rubbed him the wrong way about the guy! Sure he was the little brother of his best mate, and thus Charlie had had to put up with him, but the kid seemed to think he was god's gift to women, and walked around as if he was king of the world. This had only ever been a slight irritation to him, as he could pretty well avoid too much interaction with Steve, but something about seeing him this close to Hermione had his insides burning with rage. Ignoring Finn's warning, Steve smirked smugly at his brother and then winked at Hermione. This had Charlie balling his fists under the table, focusing all his energy on keeping himself from slugging that slimy smile right off the his smug face.
Luckily, Hermione was having none of it, though Steve was a little slow in picking up on this.
She turned in her seat, smiling with a wickedly flirty smile, and spoke in a voice laced with lethal danger, "Oh Steve… you would do that for me… you must truly be the strongest, most skilled tamer on the Romanian coast!"
Steve puffed out his chest unwittingly rising to the bait, "Well, I don't know that I would say the strongest, but I definitely…" but before he could finish his statement, Hermione leaned up against him, placing her hands on his chest seductively, "I mean, Steve, the fact that you would be willing to face such a ferocious beast for me is just too immensely beguiling. You know... what do you say…" she inched closer and Steve eyed her hungrily, "that you..." again she moved closer, "and I…" he licked his lips from his spot perched dangerously close on the edge of the booth as Hermione came full flush against him, batting her eyelashes until her eyes suddenly became as cold as steel as she finished saying, "never revisit that idea again."
With that he fell backward out of the booth landing ungracefully on the pub floor as the group laughed at his unceremonious dismount from the booth. Hermione slid back to her seat as he struggled to right himself amidst the group's raucous guffaws.
Looking miffed and put out, Steve smoothed his ruffled hair, and shooting an annoyed glare at the group, he huffed away to the bar to procure a drink from Sam and try to regain some of his lost dignity chatting up a more amenable flirtatious partner.
The group calmed from their riotous outburst, and Charlie wiped the tears of laughter out of his eyes beaming at Hermione. Yep! This one was a spitfire and he could not wait to get to know her better.