Hermione wouldn't admit it aloud, but she had felt something when she touched Charlie. She thought it was a fluke the first time, but it happened again the second time they apparated. If Charlie felt it, he gave nothing away. Hermione Made for the quidditch shop, instantly, after already seeing a few people staring her way. She had planned on changing her appearance before apparating, but she had been so engrossed with Charlie that she had forgotten to do so. She went in to get Harry's present, a whole set of his own quidditch balls. It was really a surprise that he didn't already have a set. As soon as she was done she left the store and apparated them away from the Alley. She pressed her back to the brick in the muggle alley, they were now in and tried to calm her breathing.

"That was incredibly stupid of me." She moaned.

"No, you're allowed to go out as yourself and you have me there with you. It wasn't stupid at all." Charlie told her tilting her chin up so she would look at him. "There are a lot of people that are really proud of you and incredibly thankful. Most of the people who are upset about Voldemort being vanquished have been thrown into Azkaban."

"What about the ones that haven't been caught, yet?" She asked

"They're in hiding trying to continue to not be caught." He told her looking into her eyes.

Hermione's breath caught, he really was a beautiful man. He smelled amazing and she could feel the heat radiating off of him.

"Where are we going, now?" Charlie asked to change the subject.

"I need to get some muggle clothes. Socks, a couple pairs of jeans, shirts, lots of shirts, I have like seven." She rolled her eyes.

Shopping wasn't her favorite thing to do. They made their way to a department store and Hermione was able to quickly find a few pairs of jeans, lots of socks, and several shirts. The short sleeve shirts were comfy and mostly brightly colored. She was tired of the darkness of the last year. The long sleeve shirts were not only cute but most of them would be great for winter in the castle, thick, and tight enough she would be able to fit them under her button-up shirts when the weather turned. Of course, she also got a few oversized comfy sweaters, for her lazy days. She made her way to the workout section determined to try to keep working out, at the castle. She only grabbed a few pairs of running tights, a few loose t-shirts, and a good pair of running shoes, just in case, it didn't work out. Last, she just needed a few 'notice me' outfits, like Mrs. Weasley, wanted her to grab. She found a few dresses and a couple of skirt outfits. The last thing she went for was the heels. She found two pairs, one black and one red, that she would be able to charm to be comfy. She was done.

"We can go cash out, I have more than enough." She told Charlie as she led the way to the register. When she turned she was he had a few items, in his hands. "No, sir, you go put those back." She told him.

"No, ma'am." He mocked her a bit. "I like these and mum will be glad you got the extras," he said slipping them in with the rest of the items.

"Since when do you get to pick out what I buy or wear?" she asked him.

"Since today." His laugh sounded a bit evil to Hermione and put her a bit on edge.

"What is so funny?" She questioned nervously.

"Nothing, love." He smiled as innocently as he could.

"Tell me, old man." She tried to stare him down.

"Old man?" He questioned, "I'm not that much older than you, in case you forgot, woman." He leaned forward growling the last bit in her ear.

"Could have fooled me." Hermione snarked back with a slight shudder. Goosebumps popped up all over her and she could feel her body reacting in other ways, too.

When Charlie pulled back to look her in the eye she was sure hers were dilated, if she wasn't mistaken his were, too. He ran his fingers softly up her arm, from her wrist to her inner elbow. She knew he saw her shudder, this time, but she couldn't break the eye contact.

"I might have to teach you to respect your elders, then, love." His voice was deep and full of heat, but Hermione had chills. "They're done ringing you up." He winked at her, he had successfully distracted her so that she would buy whatever he had slipped in.

After Hermione paid she decided it was time to get something to eat, it was nearly two. They made it to the alley and Hermione put her bags in her purse before they went out the other side in search of food. They found a fast food place and placed their order, Hermione insisted on paying since she was dragging Charlie along, everywhere. She gave him their number and cut to the loo. Less than 5 minutes later she came back in a new outfit. She felt much better after finally putting on new underwear, trashing the other pair, and the matching bra. She put on a pair of skinny jeans and a pair of flats she had put in her bag before leaving the burrow. The last thing she donned was a burgundy shirt that matched the bra set she was wearing. She wasn't going to tell Charlie that the set on the top, that she had happened to grab, had just so happened to be one that he had picked.

"I told you that color would look good on you." He told her, a bit smugly when she found him and sat down.

"I bet you think you're always right, too." Hermione teased him.

"No, but I know what looks good on you." Charlie looked her in the eyes.

"Oh?" She couldn't say anything else.

"You'll see," Charlie sounded like he was warning her, but what could he possibly be warning her about?

A young teen came over and placed their order on the table while taking their number. After confirming they didn't need anything she disappeared. They both dug in without a conversation, it had been hours since breakfast. Hermione thought it was quite nice to have a greasy hamburger since she never actually ate them. Mrs. Weasley always fixed amazing homemade food and so did the house elves at Hogwarts. She would never complain but she was glad to get to eat something different every now and again. Less than twenty minutes later they were done eating. Charlie went and threw their trash away before coming to collect Hermione.

"You ready?" He asked.

"Definitely," She confirmed, "I won't forget, this time." They made it to the alley and were able to hide away long enough for Hermione to change her facial appearance enough to pass for someone else. She changed her hair color to black, her eyes to a pale blue, covered her freckles, and changed her nose a bit. "How do I look?"

"I like the normal Hermione," He told her stubbornly.

"Okay, but would you ever think I was Hermione if you didn't know?" She was nervous her spells wouldn't be enough.

"No, I wouldn't." He said, "I still don't like it, I feel like I might lose you in the crowd."

"Then you can hold my hand." Hermione rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"Maybe I need to," Charlie gave her a sarcastic look back.

They apparated to the alley and, for the third time, Hermione felt the same energized feeling when she touched Charlie. She looked around and decided to get her school uniform out of the way. She was confident Charlie was right, McGonagall would send her a letter. As she started to take a step toward Madam Malkin's she felt Charlie grab her hand, her breath caught and she felt butterflies in her stomach. She never in a million years really thought he was going to hold her hand, especially not over a silly joke. She tried really hard not to look at him, she knew her face had to be a bit pink.

"Something wrong, love?" Charlie asked lowly

"Nothing at all, babe." She could play his game… sort of. She was having a hard time concentrating on anything other than Charlie. The way he smelled, clean but very manly, the way his rough hands rubbed against her smooth hands. Soon, all she could think of was what they would feel like everywhere else and she felt a hard pull in her stomach. She knew her heart rate was increasing with the way her thoughts were going. All too soon they made it to Madam Malkin's and the next thing Hermione knew she was being measured and fitted. She missed being close to Charlie, already. Sure he was in the shop, with her, but he was no longer touching her. Thankfully the fitting was fast and they were on their way.

"Where else do we need to stop, today, love?" Charlie didn't know where else to head at this point.

"Well I need to get a couple of books that I know will be on my list but that is it…" Hermione trailed off. She didn't want her day with Charlie to end, just yet, and she had been thinking of doing something crazy.

"I know that look, love. What is it?" he asked her quietly, leaning in close.

"It's just…" Hermione wasn't sure if she could even do it. "Did it hurt?" she asked

"When I fell from the sky, no." He was a cheeky thing, "Did what hurt, babe?"

"Your tattoos." She asked, averting her gaze. "I've been thinking of getting one for months but at the same time I want to be prepared if I actually do it." Her stare came back around to him and she could tell that she had really surprised him.

"Let's go get your books and then we will hit up my shop." He told her, "I'll let you watch me get one and you can make up your own mind." He told her. He had been wanting to add to his collection but having the chance to show Hermione that they didn't, hurt the way muggle tattoos did, and laying around shirtless, in front of her, was right up his alley. Maybe he would get the chance to see if she really had checked him out in the dark, early that morning.

"I don't want you to just get a random tattoo just because I asked about them," Hermione squeaked.

"Love, I've been planning on getting more for ages. I love my tattoos and piercings," He told her.

"Piercings?" She asked automatically.

"Yes, I have more than just my ear." Charlie grinned suggestively at her.

"I don't even want to know," Hermione decided quickly.

If she hadn't seen any other piercings she knew where they most likely were and she couldn't be thinking like that, right now. Charlie held her had as they walked to Flourish and Blotts and, this time, kept a hold on her while in the store. She grabbed a couple books she had been wanting and also her standard book of spells grade 7. After that, she was officially done shopping. It was only half past three and they didn't need to be home until just before six. Charlie led her down the street and through to another Alley. They came upon the shop, quickly, and made their way inside.

"Hullo Charlie." A heavily tattooed man said, "What can I do for you, today?"

"Ready for another tattoo." He told him "Anything dragon related, of course, if you have something you want to do." Charlie told him

"Actually, I drew one up yesterday that turned out pretty well." He told Charlie "What about you, ma'am, are you getting one, too?" He included Hermione.

"Maybe, I want to see how bad it hurts first." She told him sheepishly.

"You must be muggle born." He said. "Muggle tattoos can hurt like crazy but wizard tattoos tend to tickle, more than anything. We put a numbing spell on you to keep you from squirming anyway. Do you have something in mind?"

"Actually, yes," She was a bit hesitant to pull out the picture. "I want this on my ribcage." She told the man unfolding the paper. It was the Ukrainian Ironbelly that had saved them from Gringotts. She had magically drawn it up using her wand and her memories. It was going to look like he was climbing up her ribs as he had climbed out of the building.

"Well, that's a really good picture." He commented and looked her in the eyes. "This is the picture I drew up. He flipped a paper around for them to see and it was the same dragon, however, it was newly freed in his rendition. The eyes were still the white, milky, colour but the cuts were healing over. "He was just located and brought to the Romanian sanctuary a few weeks ago and is healing quite nicely. He was a pivotal part of the war, from what I hear." He was still looking her in the eye.

"He was, it's cruel what happened to him but I'm glad he's free." Hermione waved her wand and her façade faded.

A/N: Let me know your thoughts, please. I would love some feedback. I'm trying to update as quickly as possible.