Following the Horntail's escape, Charlie had asked Hermione about what had unsettled her that day. Telling him about what she had seen, Charlie was also concerned. Together the two agreed that they would have to keep a further eye out for clues as to what could be going on, unsure of what to make of the strange reaction from Gil.

Charlie had already been unsettled about the head of the Romanian Reserve since his transfer to the Wyvern Dragon Sanctuary. Word on the street was that the man had never worked at a reserve prior to coming here, but instead had been a researcher for the Ministry of Magic. It was highly unusual for the Head of a reserve to not come from within that same reserve, and even more unusual for them to come from a different field. Most tamers had assumed that the Ministry was trying a new, research based platform for growth or some such political reason, but he had never been much impressed with the man who in his time seemed not to accomplish much at all or made any significant push for change or development.

In fact, if asked, Charlie would have said that in Gil's time, the reserve had seemed to sink in efficiency or effectiveness. Luckily, the reserve already housed many strong tamers who through their hard work had been able to keep a general forward movement going, despite poor leadership.

Yet, the man had always made him uncomfortable. Perhaps it was not knowing what Gil was thinking or had envisioned for his time as the leader, or maybe there was something darker at play. Charlie was not sure which of these two options was more likely, but what he did know was that he definitely would be keeping a close eye on the suspicious man from here on out.

The next few weeks continued on in relative peace. Charlie and Hermione continued to work together closely, spend their meal times in playful conversation with each other, some days with Mel and Finn as well, enjoy visits into Wyvern together, and of course enjoying raucous nights jibing Sam at the Cantina with invigorating rounds of drinks. Life was good together for this band of comrades, but as time went on, Hermione could not help her further developing crush on her best friend and work partner.

Charlie had always been an intrigue to her, since the first day she had met him at the Burrow just before the World Cup in the summer before the start of her fourth year at Hogwarts. Though she had spent a lot of time with the Weasleys, up to that point she had not met Charlie or Bill yet. Upon entering the Burrow that summer, she had heard the loud sounds of mischief, wood cracking, and jovial laughing and taunting. As she rounded the corner of the Burrow's sitting room, exiting to the back yard, she had been surprised to see two tables mid battle in the air, and the two grown oldest Weasley brothers magically maneuvering them from below. As they threw witty banter back and forth, both looking to knock the other's furniture from its aerial position. As she watched the scene before her, what she noticed most was the spirit that encapsulated the two brothers in their antics, pure, albeit risky, brotherly fun. They were not trying to one up each other the way Percy might. They weren't just wreaking havoc for a reaction the way the twins would. They weren't trying to prove themselves the way Ron might. They were their own set of troublemakers. They were living in the moment, creating a memory, enjoying their time together, just being brothers. As she watched Bill brought his table around in a fancy dive bomb twirl, and Charlie implementing his lightning fast reflexes, honed she was sure from his school days as a noteworthy seeker and following dragon keeping years, Charlie managed to shoot his table up, flipping a full barrel roll over Bill's hulking oak furnishing, and then he did it… Charlie laughed… a deep, smooth, joyous laugh.

That laugh had sparked a flame in Hermione, igniting her longtime crush that she to this day had yet to get over. That laugh… every time, she still felt herself going gooey like a silly school girl. She had had to learn how to steel herself against it, working in such close proximity to him now, but every once in a while, it would sneak up on her, and she couldn't quite hide the feelings it sparked in her.

Tonight was no exception. It had been a long week. The newest addition to the reserve, a Welsh Green, had not been enjoying the transition to her new habitat, and had pushed them all to their brink. The band of friends had decided to come to the Cantina to drink away their tough week, and as she sat in the booth, nursing her Firewhiskey across from Mel, she had been surprised to hear that laugh wafting across the bar as Charlie bantered with Sam over Merlin knows what. Charlie looked across the room just at that moment, and seeing Hermione's gaze, shot her a teasing wink. Blushing Hermione looked back down at the ice melting in her drink, just as Mel cleared her throat at her. Daring a glance up at Mel, Hermione was shocked to see a knowing look in her friend's eyes.

Seeing as it was just the two girls at the moment, Mel, checking over her shoulder, decided to take the chance to have the conversation she had been dying to have with the fiery tamer.

"So. Hermione. When are you going to just take the plunge and tell him already?"

Hermione, becoming defensive, decided to try to back out of the corner she could see herself being dangerously backed into.

"What?! I have no idea what you mean Mel."

"Oh sure you do… you just are refusing to admit it to yourself. But we can all see it… well, most all I should say, since the man in question is never going to get his head out of his arse and see what's standing right in front of him."

Seeing no way out, Hermione rested her head on the table, and cracked. "Melllll… What am I gonna do…"

Mel chuckled at Hermione's quick surrender. "Wow Granger… I honestly didn't think you were going to break that fast. I had my whole strategy planned out… I was going to make a rock solid case to you about this!"

Hermione snorted inelegantly.

"But seriously Mi… Charlie is a great guy, but… well, he is going to be clueless about this… I truly think he is going to need a push to drive him to admitting it to himself."

"What, like you think I should tell him?" Hermione asked. For having been the brains of their Golden Trio days, Hermione honestly felt like she was clueless when it came to matters of the heart.

"No… I don't think the head on approach with Charlie. He looks tough, but deep down he is a huge softie, and you don't want to spook him. No. I think you are going to need to do the opposite actually. Ignore him. Not completely, mind you… but enough to make him realize what he is missing. Maybe flirt a bit with the other guys… they all have been trying to catch your eye anyway!"

"They have not!" Hermione threw back.

"Oh don't play coy. They totally have and with good reason girl!"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Mel's comment. She had never been good at receiving compliments. But she could see the sense in Mel's suggestion. Maybe she had been making herself too available to Charlie. Maybe he wasn't truly seeing her for her.

"Just think about it Hermione. There's the Reserve bonfire this weekend. Maybe loosen up a bit. Dress up. Let your hair down. Make the rounds. Socialize. Talk with the other guys. See how it goes. You never know…"

She didn't want to admit it, but Hermione could see that Mel had a point. The Bonfire seemed as good a place as any. This might just work…