Chapter 5: Peeking

"No, absolutely not. I'll walk." Hermione said as they now stood outside with Junior Harpis. She had offered to take Hermione back to her cabin and Hermione, being the sensible witch she was, would absolutely not allow it. The girl couldn't even safely stop and Hermione was resolved not to die today.

The disheartened look on Harpis's face made a guilty feeling settle in the pit of her stomach. She was surely of age, at least 17 or 18, but the puppy dog eyes she wore made her seem childlike.

"I promise you, Miss Granger, I'm a fair flyer! I didn't play Quidditch in school or anything but Madame Hooch always said I was decent!"

Hermione pursed her lips, "What did she say about your landing?"

Harpis toed her boot into the ground, "Well... She said I need to work on that bit but we have flying lessons here, and Keeper Bullwark said I've gotten a lot better since I came here a few months ago!"

Hermione sighed and looked back to Charlie who was grinning at their conversation. She narrowed her eyes at him and his grin only widened. She sighed again and turned back to Harpis, who was still giving her puppy dog eyes and Hermione felt her resolve crack.

"Fine."

Harpis immediately perked up and mounted her CleanSweep. Hermione silently reflected on her life choices as she mounted the broom in front of the Junior Keeper and pulled her wand at the ready in case she fell off and a Bouncing charm was needed.

Charlie walked forward and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Have fun, if I don't get back too late, I'll come see you when I'm done."

He gave her a lopsided grin that made her stomach flutter before dropping her hand and stepping back. Harpis shot them into the air and Hermione let out a small yelp at the abrupt ascent. She gripped the broom handle in front of her for dear life and tried not to pay attention to how fast they flew over the landscape. It was such a different version of flying to Charlie's, and she realized she appreciated how carefully he had been flying with her.

"So how long have you and Keeper Weasley been dating?" She heard Harpis yell into her ear.

Hermione gave her an incredulous look over her shoulder regretting it as the movement made her head spin slightly, "What? We aren't dating!"

Harpis frowned, "Oh, I'm sorry! Just the way you guys were with each other on his broom earlier and he squeezed your hand when we left I thought..."

She trailed off and Hermione turned back around with pinched lips. What could she mean how they were with each other on the broom? She acted the exact same as she did now with Harpis! Although, she could admit maybe she leaned back a bit more into Charlie... But that was only because she was scared of flying! And he only squeezed her hand to reassure her because he knows of her fear!

After a short while, they neared the small cluster of cabins and Hermione gripped Harpis's willowy arms as they plummeted to the ground. Her wand dug into her palm and she ran every charm she knew through her mind should they be needed.

Surprisingly, Harpis came to a somewhat slow stop at the row of homes-though she did have to jerk her broom slightly at the end to avoid colliding with a tree. Hermione quickly hopped off and her knees gave out as she stumbled onto the dirt path. Harpis quickly helped her up and gave her a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, Miss Granger. Thought I had good control at the end there but that tree came out of nowhere."

Hermione only waved her off and quickly walked to her cabin to put as much distance as she could from that stick of death. She pushed through her door as Harpis flew off and turned to shut it closed with shaking hands. She leant against the rough wood as she tried to compose herself. Once her heart stilled she thought about what Harpis had said. She really thought she and Charlie were dating?

Hermione imagined for a moment what it would be like to be Charlie's girlfriend. To kiss him... To feel his hard body pressed against hers... He was so playful and she wondered if that would translate to the bedroom or if he was more serious with something so intimate.

She shook her head to try to clear the dirty thoughts from her mind. This was one of her best friends' brothers. She could not think like that.

She needed a shower. Yes. An ice-cold shower.

Hermione quickly showered and dressed in a pair of leggings and an overly large jumper that hung off one of her shoulders. She pulled on a pair of thick socks that Molly had knitted for her one Christmas and headed back downstairs. She plopped onto the couch and flicked her wand at the fireplace to start a fire. She picked up her sketchbook and pencil, intent on finishing her drawing of Lumi.

A few hours later as the sun started to set, Hermione finally placed her pencil down with a sigh. A sketched image of the dragon, wings widely spread as if to take flight, stared back at her from the page. She had to admit, this was probably her best work yet.

She flipped to a new page and began to sketch out a close up of Lumi's head, she wanted to get as much of the detail in her horns as possible.

By the time she finished this one, it was dark outside and it had to have been well past nine. Hermione set her sketchbook down and walked to the kitchen to find a snack to eat. She opened the small refrigerator to find it stocked to the brim with food. She spied an apple and pulled it out, biting through the thick skin with a crunch.

Charlie must have stocked this for her and she wondered what had become of him this afternoon. She glanced out the window that looked towards Charlie's house to find it still dark and she sighed disappointedly.

No, not disappointedly. She was here for work, that was all.

She chucked the apple core into the trash and walked back to the couch, summoning some parchment and a quill to pen a letter to Effie. She kept it brief, only detailing a few things she had learned about the dragon. Then she quickly scribbled another to Harry to make sure Crookshanks was doing alright without her.

Hermione stood and stretched her back out, she was exhausted and sleep was calling to her. She climbed up the ladder and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Noticing a light shining nearby, she glanced out the window to find warm light coming from Charlie's bathroom window. Her stomach fluttered at what she found and a deep blush crept onto her cheeks. She felt toothpaste dribble down her chin and she wiped it away as she stared at the sight in front of her.

He was naked.

Beautifully stark naked and Hermione felt unable to look away. He was facing her and her eyes unabashedly roamed over the chest she had become familiar with. Her eyes trailed lower, following the trail of dark auburn curls and her mouth dried at what she found. He spun around slightly to turn on his shower and the hormonal rage inside her quieted instantly.

Was that... a birthmark? She squinted and inched closer to the window to try to get a better look.

It was definitely a birthmark. In the same spot as hers. In the shape of a dragon.

Charlie Weasley had a matching, dragon-shaped birthmark on his left arsecheek.

Charlie Weasley was her soulmate.

Hermione stumbled back from the window in a panic and quickly rushed down the ladder, nearly falling in her haste. She started to pace back and forth in front of the dying embers as her mind raced. This was impossible. Charlie couldn't possibly be her soulmate - that was ridiculous. Her mind must have been playing tricks on her, it was impossible! Right?

She sat briefly on the couch and pressed her hands together but stood back up in an instant to continue pacing. She didn't know what to do with herself. She had so many questions but no way to answer them. Is this why she felt so drawn to him? She let out a cry of frustration as she flopped back onto the couch. Before she could even settle she sat up abruptly as she had an epiphany. She could write to Luna! Luna had found her soulmate in Ron, and she was one of the only people she knew that had.

Hermione started to scribble out every question she had. What was it like when she was around Ron before she knew they were soulmates? Was there an undeniable pull? What did it feel like? Did she feel extremely attracted to him? She made no mention of Charlie, should Ron read her message as well and quickly sealed the letter, sitting back with a sigh.

The rush of adrenaline she had was now gone and she felt even more tired than she had before. Grudgingly, she climbed back up the ladder and risked another glance out of her bathroom window. Charlie's house was pitch black again and she let out a sigh of relief. She quickly readied for bed and climbed under the warm fleece blankets as she looked up at the skylight.

Hermione wondered what Charlie was doing right now. Was he lying in bed, exhausted but mind reeling like her? Or was he fast asleep? Did he suspect at all that she was his soulmate?

Good Godric, it felt so weird to say that.

What did this mean, and was she supposed to tell him? Was she supposed to wait? And what happened if she did tell him? How did she tell him?

Hermione turned over on her side and squeezed her eyes shut to try to quell her racing thoughts. She laid like that for a few minutes before she gave up with a huff and sat up. She opened her bag and rifled around for a few minutes to grab a pair of boots, quickly slipping them on.

She needed a walk to calm her jumbled mind, to be able to work through her questions somehow. She walked downstairs and crept outside, gently closing the front door behind her. She headed towards the woods a small distance away from the cabins and crossed the treeline. The moon was full and had lit her path, but the canopy of the trees darkened it instantly.

Hermione cast a Lumos as she walked further into the woods and carefully stepped over gnarled roots as she tried to push all the questions she had to the back of her mind. She was able to keep most of them at bay except for one.

Should she tell him?

What would be the best course of action? Would he even believe her? She supposed she'd have to show him her birthmark as well... Merlin, she'd have to show him her arse cheek.

She stumbled over a thick root at the jarring thought and scraped her hand against the rough bark to catch herself from falling. She hissed out a curse at the sharp pain and pulled her hand away to inspect it. It wasn't anything major but must have nicked a vein because blood started to pool in the cuts.

"Hermione?"

Hermione whirled around to see Charlie a few feet behind her, bare-chested and only wearing a pair of thin cotton trousers. His hair was pulled back into a low bun and a few strands fell forward to frame his face as he leaned down to look at her hand.

He reached out to grab it but Hermione quickly backed away and looked to him with wide eyes. She felt guilty as his face fell but she had so much to process that she was not ready to deal with yet. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to stop herself from spewing out every question that ran through her mind that night if he tried to touch her. His presence alone was making her mind a bit foggy with desire.

He dropped his hand to his side and frowned, "Are you alright?"

Hermione nodded her head but kept her lips pressed together as she continued to put space between them. He took a few steps towards her with a look of concern on his face and she stumbled over another root. Her back knocked into a tree and she let out a small squeak, keeping her eyes on Charlie as he came to stand closer to her.

He was blocking her path and she glanced over his shoulder back towards the cabins. If she could just manoeuvre around him and make a run for it she'd be able to get back to her cabin where she could curl up into a ball under her quilt...

Charlie had moved closer while she was lost in thought and she could feel his body heat radiating on her side. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her breathing ragged as she flicked her gaze to his briefly before putting it back to the ground.

He furrowed his brow and his frown deepened as he took in her state. She probably looked insane but if he knew what she knew, he would probably feel the same way.

"Hermione, what's going on? Did something happen?"

She tried not to laugh at the question.

He was close enough now that all he had to do was reach out slightly to touch her but he kept his hands at his sides. Hermione kept her gaze to the forest floor and he finally reached out to take her hand. She allowed him this time, she told herself it was only because she had nowhere else to run.

The rough skin of his hand left fire in its path as he pulled her hand to his face to inspect her cuts. The bleeding had stopped and left dried blood trails on her palm. She let her eyes trace over the contoured planes of his freckled torso to his face.

He was looking at the scrape on her hand but his eyes flicked to her as she came upon his face and she sucked in a breath at the emotion they held. Hermione had never seen him so serious, it made her heart race and her stomach flip.

Charlie lowered their hands but kept a hold of hers and took a step closer. "Hermione. What is it?"

She took a deep breath to try to calm her racing heart and looked up at his concern-filled face. She had so many unanswered questions and she couldn't chance telling him just yet. What if she was wrong? She could have easily mistaken his birthmark shape.

"I'm fine," she told him in a clipped tone and pulled her hand from his. "I just needed a walk and you startled me is all."

He frowned again but only nodded and offered to walk with her back to the cabins. She readily agreed, wishing more than anything to hide away from the shame and guilt she was feeling. They walked back in silence, Charlie trailing behind her as they stepped through the thickets.

When they finally came to the backside of their cabins, she quickly mumbled goodnight to Charlie and rushed towards her door. She risked a backwards glance as she went to shut it and felt a small pang of disappointment at finding he had already left.