Hermione went to Romania and Charlie welcomed her, showing her around and introducing her to the people and dragons before getting her settled in a tent of her own. She'd been invited to work as a medi-witch and threw herself into that. At least until two weeks later, when she saw a new hatchling injured. She pushed through the dragon keepers to get to the little thing and though a few tried to hold her back she did her best to save it. For three days she nursed it, running spells and working a few mild potions as she researched day and night.

When it lived she spent days doing nothing but filling out her research on dragons and healing. The weeks that followed she worked only with the dragons and animals around the keep, she'd do a quick healing spell for the keepers out with her but never went back to the medi tent. The men and the few wives around were friendly and invited her to meals or for games of cards and always asked pleasantly how she and the baby were doing but Hermione preferred to be alone or with the dragons, she even slept some nights with the babies.

"Charlie?" She questioned as she felt the large wizard lift her.

"Sh, it's alright." He murmured. Hermione fell back to sleep and woke up in her own bed.

"How are you doing?" Charlie's voice started her as she made her way to the kitchen to make tea in the morning.

"I'm fine."

"Hermione?"

"I miss him. I miss him everyday and all anybody wants me to do is move on like it never happened like I never loved him!" She screamed at him.

Charlie let her let it out and when she dropped into a heap on the ground he pulled her into his arms and let her cry.

She cried for a long time falling asleep against his broad chest. When she woke up Charlie still held her.

"I know it hurts." He rubbed her back gently "but you aren't the only one in this position."

"You think I'm being selfish?"

"No." He snorted, "I think you've been through a lot over the last years, more than any young witch should have to and no matter how much you want to give up on the world you are here still trying to make it better and help people and animals. I think that you're trying to be brave and learn to be a good mother and stay healthy for your baby no matter how much you might want to just give up on life, to just curl in bed and be miserable. I just think that maybe it would help you to talk about it, to more than the hatchlings."

"I… I didn't know anyone else knew about that."

He gave a gentle smile, "They don't. I do."

"What do I do Charlie? I'm not ready to be a mother and now I'm doing it alone and I do want the baby, my last little piece of Kiril but I'm so scared and I don't think I can do this." She sobbed.

"I don't know." He whispered gently rubbing her back, "but I know someone who might help, someone who might know better than anyone what you're going through."

"Who?"

"Remus." He reminded her.

Hermione nodded against his chest sniffling and clinging to him just a little longer. Charlie didn't mind, he held her against him and began to hum gently like he did for the young dragons and just like it worked for many of them, especially his favorite, Lexie, he felt the tension ease from Hermione and her body relax in his arms. After a little while she even drifted back to sleep.

This time Charlie carried her to her bed and gently laid her down and covered her with the quilt before kissing her temple and leaving. She looked so little in the big bed, her round tummy the only hint he was pregnant, then again he'd missed the minor mood swings his family told him about and just made sure if she had a craving he found a way to get it. Besides that, it had been almost like she wasn't pregnant. She'd rub her tummy and he knew she talked to the baby or to the dragons about it but no matter how much the girls had tried to get her to talk about it or took her shopping, her pregnancy had been very private. His mother suggested it was part of her grieving, holding the last bit of Kiril to herself but listening to her talk to the hatchlings he knew how afraid she really was and if he'd learned anything about the witch over the war and through her stay, it was that Hermione did not like to admit when she was afraid or unsure of anything, she was supposed to be the one with the answers, the calm one to keep Ron and Harry flying off the handle while secretly she was drowning inside. He did his best to help her focus on life here, where there were less memories to haunt her but he hoped Remus might be able to help her fears of becoming a single parent.

Two days later, Hermione hugged Charlie thanking him for everything before heading off to find her former Professor, it being autumn now she knew he would be at Hogwarts, or he should have been but when she arrived on Saturday morning she found that his office floo was activated for him to live in his own home with his son. Thankfully though she was able to find out from Professor McGonagall or Minerva as Hermione had been instructed to call her after finishing her NEWTs.

Hermione knocked cautiously on the cottage door and blushed when he opened it.

"Hermione." He smiled at her, "Please come in."

'Hello Professor."

"How have you been?" He asked gently.

Hermione shrugged biting back tears, "Not very well." She admitted. "How's Teddy?"

"Good, he's with Andromeda today, can I get you some tea?"

"Please."

"I'd have thought you went to the wedding."

"Wedding?"

"Lara and Orin's."

"Lara married Orin Cassus?" Hermione gasped. "I thought you…" she blushed and let the comment drop.

Remus shook his head, hiding his own blush, "We just weren't right in the end."

"She wasn't Tonks." Hermione whispered instantly regretting her words.

"No." Remus agreed shaking his head and handing her a mug of tea. "She wasn't."

"I miss him so much."

"I know." They sat together a long time in quiet, drinking their tea until finally Hermione left.

She returned every other day and the pair said very little to each other, though each day it steadily grew from one question here and there to a full conversation. It wasn't until her third visit Remus asked her about the pregnancy and Hermione slowly opened up to him about how much she wanted it to be a boy that looked just like Kiril, how afraid she was that she'd fail him, how she wanted to pretend she wasn't pregnant because she wasn't ready for the baby to come out and she wanted to scream when people asked her about all the things she wasn't prepared for yet, like a nursery and if she'd breast feed. She then hated herself for thinking like that because it was her last piece of the man she loved and she wanted every piece of him.

Remus was incredibly good with all things about Hermione's pregnancy. She'd had very few symtoms but for a terrible craving for chocolate covered bacon, which Molly made for her every day until Hermione moved to Romania after which Hermione had cried when Charlie had discovered her strange craving and started popping plates of it by. They'd also banned peanut butter from the house as Hermione couldn't stand the smell. She ate almost everything covered in chocolate sauce but the bacon dipped was her biggest thing, not even Ron would touch a slice for fear she'd hex him or worse, cry.

Remus just laughed the first time he saw her cover her lunch in chocolate sauce and then ordered himself some as well which made her feel infinitely better about the odd looks she got for having a hawaiian barbecue chicken burger smothered in it.

Hermione felt herself beginning to slowly heal and as she focused more on the future she would have and the family she still had instead of the one she had been going to have with Kiril.

She continued to live in Romania with Charlie and the dragons, the pair would eat together and sit with the hatchlings or Charlie would take her to watch him play with the younger dragons. While he worked she visited with Remus and she also began to spend days he was working at first helping Andromeda and then taking Teddy out by herself, getting used to taking care of a baby. As each day passed she grew less afraid and talked to Andromeda and Molly about the birth and even went to her few girl friends and asked them for help preparing the nursery and clothes she'd need. Slowly she also began to revisit her notes on the werewolf project that had consumed her before Kiril's death.

It was the end of her second trimester and the day Hermione first felt her baby kick she knew, she was ok, she was a survivor and she would be happy again, she and her baby would be just fine.

Hermione began to live again.