Hermione went back to work the very next day, brushing off any questions on her holiday with a smile and a bright, "It was great!" Once the door to her office was closed, leaving her alone inside, she spent much of her morning gazing out the window. To match her mood, dark clouds dulled the sky and rain slicked down the glass. If she let her mind wander toward Charlie, she could feel a distinct breaking in her chest. But no, she wouldn't cry. She'd done enough of that last night.

By afternoon, she was fully absorbed in her paperwork. And after several hours of processing forms and returning correspondence, things felt almost normal again. She was alone, yes. But technically, that was normal.

At home, she shut off her floo completely to visitors and calls alike. She knew the only folks who'd contact her would be Charlie, Harry, or Ginny. She didn't want to see any of them.

After a pleasant dinner of Japanese takeaway, Hermione took a bath and got to bed rather early. Thus began her new schedule. It more or less resembled the old, pre-Charlie one, and that was fine by her. At least, so she fiercely reminded herself constantly.

On Thursday, Clarisa notified her that she'd had a visitor.

Hermione's stomach fluttered, as she hoped it was— and wasn't— Charlie. "Who might it be, Clarisa?"

She could hear some scuffling through the Message Quill. "Oh, let me in, already," a voice commanded. "Hermione bloody Granger, you've some explaining to do." Hermione rolled her eyes. Of course Ginevra would be the first to try and break through to her.

"Clarisa, would you please tell my visitor that appointments need to be made f—"

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Ginny scoffed.

"Mrs. Potter," Clarisa's voice warned. "I must insist—"

The door flew open and Ginny flew inside, slamming it shut on Clarisa. Hermione sighed and reached for her coffee mug while Ginny spoke.

"You just up and left him? While he slept. Like a bloody coward!"

Hermione sipped her coffee. "You needn't remind me, Gin. It was only a few days ago."

Ginny stopped pacing, her breath heavy. "Why?"

"You mean he didn't tell you why?" Fuck, Charlie was more vindictive than she thought he'd be.

"Well, no. That was the part I missed, 'cause Bill noticed I was eavesdropping by then."

"Ginevra Weasley," Hermione said, standing up. "You mean to tell me that you came all the way here to assault my assistant and yell at me, without knowing the reason why I did what I did?"

Ginny wrinkled her nose. "Well, when you put it that way."

"Ginny! What the fuck?"

Gin sat down, sighing. "Look. I'm really invested in you and Charlie, alright? When things didn't pan out, I felt completely out of control—"

"Out of control?" Hermione said. She glared at Ginny. "What do you mean, out of control?"

Ginny gave a look of such guilt that Hermione immediately stood. "You did this," she said. "You. You set me and Charlie up. Making sure I'd go up and get him myself that first time, at Albus' birthday party—"

"Well—"

"And talking to your mum, making her think I was playing psychotherapist for him—"

"Actually, that was Mum's idea."

Hermione froze. "Excuse me?"

"The whole thing, really. Her idea." Gin glanced up. "Oh, don't give me that look, Hermione. We thought you'd be good together. Mum's been pushing it for years, but when I saw the way Charlie looked at you that day, I realized, hey, maybe she's onto something. Maybe Hermione could be bloody happy for once."

Hermione sighed, rubbing her temples. This was too much. "Ginny," she finally said. "You told Charlie I had a drinking problem?"

"What? No! That was ages ago. I mean, it's something Harry and I noticed, that, when you're feeling down and, and lonely, you tend to—"

"Get out."

"Hermione."

"I'm not speaking to you on this matter any longer. And you can tell your mum to sod off, too. Fuck, Gin. You spend half your days complaining about her meddling, when you're no bloody better."

"It was only because—"

"You wanted to see me happy, right? Well, mission failed. Out."

Ginny sighed. "I'm sorry, Hermione."

"Out, Ginny. Maybe in a couple weeks I'll be ready to talk, but right now…" Right now she could use a bloody drink, that's what. But she didn't dare mention it. She continued to glare as Ginny left, shutting the door a bit loudly.

x

Less than a week later, while making a dent in the enormous amount of paperwork on her desk, Clarisa notified her of another visitor. "Who is it?" Hermione asked.

"It's—it's someone on the no bloody way list, Ms. Granger," Clarisa whispered.

"Which one?" Hermione's spirits lifted. Charlie was the first on that list.

"It's—ah—a Mrs. Molly Weasley."

Godric fucking Gryffindor. Although she didn't know Molly as well as she knew Ginny, it was clear where Gin got her stubbornness from. Hermione was certain Molly, though a bit more polite than her daughter, would find a way to speak with Hermione, even if it meant sitting in the waiting area all day. She sighed. "Send her in."

"Of course, Ms. Granger."

"Molly," Hermione said when the door opened. She gestured at the chair in front of her desk. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Her tone was saccharine, and she knew Molly would see right through it. But it was either that or hex her, and she wasn't about to do that. With Molly, a tiny part of her would always feel like a child next to her best friend's mum, and she couldn't bring herself to disrespect her like that.

Molly took a breath. "I believe—" she coughed. "I believe I owe you an apology, Hermione."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"

"But before I extend it, I'd like to tell you something. A story, if you will."

Hermione nodded. "Certainly."

Molly took a deep breath. "Do you remember what you were doing after the Battle of Hogwarts?"

Hermione furrowed her brow. "Well. I mean, we stayed at the Burrow for a few weeks before I went to Australia to—"

"No, I mean, directly after. Immediately after. When we were all still at the school, counting the living and the—" She didn't finish her sentence.

"I—uh." Hermione narrowed her eyes, looking off. "I can't recall, exactly. I remember hugging people, making sure folks found their loved ones."

"You had your little purse with the extension charm on it. And you were administering calming droughts. Remember?"

"Yes…"

"And you had tissues. The sort that continuously dry. I still have the one you gave me, dear. I must've cried hundreds of thousands of tears into it, but—but it's still dry." Molly's eyes misted some now, but she quickly blinked it away. "And you had blankets, remember? Self-warmers. They were weighted, too. You explained—"

"Weighted blankets make you feel calm and safe," Hermione finished. "Gods, I'd forgotten about those."

"I remember very clearly, Hermione. More than I should've, having just found out—" She took a shaky breath. "Do you know why?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Charlie sat next to me, comforting me. And it was very peculiar. He couldn't keep his eyes off you."

Hermione furrowed her brow once more. "Oh?"

"Finally, I asked him about it. And I'll never forget the way he looked at me, dear. There was something in his eyes, something beyond grief. Something sparkling and wondrous. And he said—I will never forget this—he said, I'm going to marry her."

Hermione froze. "Marry her? As in, marry—"

"You, yes. Marry you."

"I'm afraid I don't understand—"

"When Charlie saw, you, dear. Doing what you do—taking care of your friends. He fell in love. I was there, I saw it with my eyes. Of course, not a month later, you were with Ron. Which was good at the time. Charlie respected it. He kept his distance until... well, you know the story." She chuckled and took out a handkerchief and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. "I admit, in my mind, I immediately saw you both at the altar, reciting your vows. I can get carried away at times with ah, matchmaking."

Hermione barely stifled her snort.

"But, I admit, I pushed you two too far. It wasn't time. And for that, I apologize. I won't say anymore about it, for both your sakes." Molly stood, straightening her skirt. "But before I go, Hermione." She shuffled in her large purse. "I've got a new beast registration form for you, from the Romanian reservation. As well as an additional package." She placed each on the desk. "I hope to see you at the Burrow soon. We've got the gender reveal for George and Angelina this weekend."

"Right," Hermione said. "I got the invitation. I'll see what I can do."

"Good day, darling." Molly gave Hermione a sad smile on her way out.

x

Hermione waited all of five minutes to see what Molly had delivered. First, she glanced at the registration form for Rama. They were all filled our properly, though not in Charlie's handwriting, she noted. She took them out of the folder to place in her to file later heap, when she noticed an extra form with a note attached.

Hermione, read the note. I completely forgot to give these to you the night at the laboratory. If you're still interested, owl them directly back to me before the end of the month. Paolo.

Hermione lifted the message and saw a job application for potioneer. Specialty: reductive/subtractive potions. Location: Romanian Dragon Reservation, Moor Mountain. She sighed and pushed them aside.

The second package was a small and square-shaped, wrapped in plain brown paper and tied in twine. She tore it open, lifted the lid of the dark blue box and gasped.

There, nestled in silk, was the dragonite pendant she'd gone mental over in Romania, strewn with a matching chain. It twinkled in the bright lights of her office, but she turned them off with the flick of her wand. She held the pendant up in the window, through the light filtered by the dark rain clouds. There, it glowed, in that wild, bright teal that reminded her of the ocean.

She pulled the seafoam-green silk scarf from the box, checking to see if there was anything else there. A note slipped out, written in Charlie's handwriting.

Please let the light that shines on me, shine on the one that I love.

Props to lareepqg for predicting that Molly was the "mastermind" behind it all ages ago!

Sorry for the shorter chapter this time 'round. Sometimes I wonder if it's better to do shorter chapters/more frequent updates or longer/less frequent. But since we're nearing the end, I figured why not draw it out just a little, especially for those of you enjoying it.

Next chapter, we will see our favorite dragon tamer once more!

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing.