Hermione awoke to gold sunshine peering through the window, grazing her hip. She stretched and looked for Charlie, but only found a note on his pillow letting her know he'd gone off to get breakfast. She took the opportunity to use the loo, freshen up and throw her hair into a wild bun.

She took a lazy walk around Charlie's room, naturally drawn to the piles of books tucked here and there. All that was missing from his place was a library, she mused. She thumbed through his armoire. He owned only a handful of dress shirts and slacks and ties, several which she'd seen before at various Weasley weddings.

His daily wear was mainly thrown into a short dresser—t-shirts, flannel button-downs, jeans with blackened holes burnt through them. She wondered how high the turnover rate was for these. She dug around a little until she spotted his old Quidditch jersey from Hogwarts, softened and threadbare. She threw it on and flopped onto the bed with Dragonlore: A History.

She scarcely noticed when Charlie entered the room with a brown bag in hand. It was only when she heard the click of a camera that she looked up.

"Good morning," he said, grinning at her.

"What do you think you're doing with that?" Hermione asked, pushing herself up.

"Look," he said, sitting down beside her. She saw his photo playing on the screen: her, belly down on the bed, bare legs thrown up behind her, flipping the page of the book. The light had now settled across her legs and hair, and she could even see the spiral dance of flecks within it. "Look at how beautiful you look," Charlie added, so low that it was almost just a secret for himself. "I'm going to save this one. 'Hermione's first trip to Romania.'"

"My first trip, eh?"

"Yeah." He winked and picked up the bag. "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got a little bit of everything."

They settled back on the pillows and made their way through the eggs and sausages and croissants, both regular and, to Hermione's delight, chocolate.

"I'm cooking for you tonight," Charlie announced. "But be warned, I can only do one meal really well."

"Well, that's about one more than me," Hermione said. "Well, no. I can make the best pie in the world."

"Is that so?" Charlie said. "Well, I've got a fridge full of roarberries, dragonberries and huckleberries. If you'd like to prove it."

"You're on," Hermione said.

He cleared their plates and returned to the bed, plopping down beside her, the weight of his muscles causing her to bounce up with a yelp. He laughed and pinned her down on the bed, causing her breath to increase rather quickly. "Don't think I haven't noticed your thieving ways, Granger," he said, his voice so husky and raw, she instantly felt goose bumps prick along her arms. He pulled on the jersey she wore until her shoulder was exposed. He bent and left warm kisses all the way up her neck.

"It looks better on me than you," Hermione said breathlessly. She ran her hand down and stroked his cock through his jeans with her fingernails, something she knew she could do only through thick fabric. His breathing hitched. "Fuck," he said. Then he reached over and pulled the jersey over her head, revealing the nothing she wore underneath. "No. You look much better without it, I'd say."

It took them two hours before they could leave the bed.

XXX

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Hermione said, her voice breaking from the wobble. She was elevated maybe three feet or so on one of Charlie's old brooms at a the beginning of a flight trail in the woods.

He swerved around her, smooth as butter, Hermione noted. "You just have to ease back into it. When's the last time you've been on a broom?"

"Uhh," Hermione said, scarcely being able to recall.

Charlie chuckled. "That long, eh?"

"I'm not the biggest fan of heights."

"We'll stay low. In the woods. Well, there's one part that gets a little high but I'll warn you before we hit it."

"What do you mean, 'gets a little high'?" Hermione said through gritted teeth. Why did no broom she ever tried want to obey her? It was like they shared the same sentiment she had for them.

"You'll see, love." Charlie smiled and stopped in front of her. "Come on, let's go. Once we're moving, it'll get easier."

They started slowly, probably painstakingly so for him. As they went, it did get easier, as Charlie promised. Soon she glided almost as smoothly as Charlie, and this is when she let herself relax a touch.

Thick rays of light poured in the forest, creating a completely different, more welcoming feel than that of the Forbidden Forest. A few trees here and there bore leaves of red and gold, and even one sort shimmered in a pale lavender.

"That one's called the Maeve Blossom," he said. "Best not to get near it."

"Why?" Hermione called.

"Sacred to the fae."

Well, that was all the warning she needed. Hermione made sure to keep her distance from any unusual trees from then on.

"Oh!" Charlie said as a break in the forest loomed upon them. "This is the part, Hermione!"

"What?" she said. But as she flew into the open sky, she figured it out rather fast. Charlie had led them over an enormous valley, with snow-topped mountains on either side of them.

"The trail continues just over this ridge," he called behind him, but Hermione was no longer listening. Indeed, she wasn't even flying. Her hands shook as she stared at the ground several hundred feet below her. The broom wobbled as she started counting. One, two, three, four, five, six…

By the time she'd reached nine, Charlie had rounded back on her, grabbing her arm. "This way," he said, gently turning her around. When they were safely back in the forest, Hermione lunged off the broom, her knees and arms hitting the ground.

"Hermione!" Charlie said. "Bloody hell. We're not that low."

But she closed her eyes and took long, chattering breaths until she finally calmed. When she looked up, Charlie crouched next to her, watching. She, once again, felt like one of his dragons. "Why didn't you tell me about, about, that?" she said, her voice high in alarm.

"When you said you weren't a fan of heights, I didn't know you meant actual terror." His arms were around her. "Gods. I'm sorry."

She eased into him and sighed. "I know. I didn't want you to know what a coward I am."

He leaned back, raising an eyebrow. "You. Hermione Granger who won us a whole bloody war against the darkest wizard to ever walk? A coward?"

She shrugged half-heartedly. "We had Harry, too."

He laughed and hugged her once more. "Well," he said, looking around. He reached for the basket in his bag. With his wand, he returned it to its normal size, opened it, and pulled out a bottle of wine. "This looks as good a place as any to have our picnic."

XXX

With a cushioning charm placed on the blanket below them, Hermione stretched lazily in Charlie's arms, staring up at the tree tops. The lunch of sandwiches and fruit had done wonders to help her mood stabilize. Also, Charlie's warmth as he traced circles over her arms certainly helped, too.

"It started after the War," she said softly. He waited. "My fear of heights." She took another long breath. "It's not just heights. I'm also frightened of Death Eaters breaking out of Azkaban and targeting Albus and James. I'm scared of bugs and dark corners and really high heels and travel and—and—well, there's quite a bit more. But that's a start. And none of it was a big deal until after the War."

He tightened his arms around her. "Think about what you've been through. That's all natural. And it will pass. It may take a while, but it will." He sounded so sure, she couldn't help but feel a wave of hope wash through her.

"How are your parents?" Charlie asked after a few minutes.

Hermione blinked. "Oh. They're great. Still in Australia. They complain I don't visit enough, naturally, even though I fly out several times a year."

"You ever invite them to the Burrow?"

"Yeah," Hermione said. "They came for my birthday a few months ago, actually. Your mother practically broke her back in preparations, but everyone seemed to get on well. They love you lot."

"My birthday's coming up soon," Charlie said. "A month and a half or so. You should tell them to come over. I'd like to meet them."

Hermione furrowed her brow, pushing up to look at him. "Really? Why?"

Charlie's face fell but he hid it with a smile and a shrug. "They're your parents, love." His voice was soft, unsure. "We could visit them, if that'd be easier."

"I'll see if they're free," Hermione responded slowly, sinking back into his grasp.

He seemed content with that, humming into her ear. At that moment, a wide-winged shadow in the distance flew above. Hermione gasped. "Was that—"

"Oh, yes it was," Charlie said, chuckling.

"But how do you control—"

"Well, we put a charm on them. One that leads them back to the sanctuary. They get bloody cranky if they don't get out every couple days." He nudged her up. "We should get back, love. I need to start dinner soon and you need to get to work on the world's greatest pie, yeah?"

Hermione smiled, knocked his torso back down and straddled him. She cup his face and bent to kiss him. He hadn't shaved in a few days and that scruff was making her all kinds of mad. His whiskers were soft, scratching at her in the most pleasing of ways when he kissed her neck or her breasts or… elsewhere.

He thrust up against her as their kiss deepened rapidly. His hand made its way up her shirt and under her bra and she broke the kiss to moan. He pulled his hand out and pulled up upright in a matter of seconds. "Come on, Hermione. Just thought of another task we need to complete as soon as possible."

"Is that right," Hermione said slyly.

"Get your gorgeous bottom on that broom," he said with a wink.

When they arrived at his place, he grabbed her and kissed her hard before ripping her top off. They barely made it through the door as he collapsed on top of her, thrusting inside of her as soon as he could rip her clothes off. She arched her back and gasped when the orgasm hit her quickly, his not far behind.

So sorry these updates are getting further apart! I've been putting in words like crazy on another project I'm working on. It's been hard this week to switch back and forth between worlds. But here it is! Lots of fluff. Next chapter will have a very hot, detailed lemon, dinner with the co-workers, and a visit to the dragons. I think we're about five chapters away from the end! Holy cow!

So now I have to ask you guys, what one dinner can Charlie Weasley make really well? I haven't figured it out yet. It'll only have one reference next chapter, so it's not a huge deal, but I can't think of something that's not completely cliche.

I've put up a Dramione two-shots that is also going to be delayed with its update, but if you're into that, you can go on and check it out!

Thanks so much for reading and reviews!