Chapter 3
Hermione awoke the next day rather early, she had slept well enough to not have moved at all during the night, but she still felt exhausted.
Jumping in the shower and then dressing in the clothes Charlie had helped pick out for her, Hermione made her way downstairs tying her surprisingly unfrizzy hair into a tight pony tail.
"Good morning, I didn't think you would be awake this early." Charlie was chipper and frying up bacon on the stove. "I only have time to eat breakfast but you're welcome to wander around the reserve any time you want."
"That sounds lovely. What do you suggest I start with today?"
Barking a laugh Charlie set a full plate in front of her. "Well I would say start out at the medical tent, talk with the healers and see what they have to offer. I'm sure they would be more than happy to let you know what really goes on around here. I've been romanticizing it a bit."
"Well to be fair, you've been romanticizing it for as long as I've known you." They locked eyes over breakfast sharing a laugh. "I think I'll take your advice, though I do want to see a dragon sometime while I'm here."
"I'll see what I can do."
Hermione had decided to stay at the reserve for two weeks to see what she could learn, and at the end of those two weeks she would reevaluate and decide if she wanted to stay longer.
After cleaning up the dishes for Charlie, Hermione left the house and stepped into the blazing sun. Normally she didn't wear jewelry, but Harry had given her a leather bracelet before she left and Hermione had made sure to put it on for her first day out at the reserve.
She found the healers tent and knocked while she entered.
"Hello?"
A small statured witch with black hair walked up. "Can I help you?"
"I'm Hermione Granger, I was considering possibly coming to the reserve to work and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about your work here?"
"Oh, of course! Charlie brought you didn't he?"
"Word travels fast."
The girls laughed and after she had introduced herself as Sheila, Hermione was taken around and shown everything in the tent. There wasn't anyone injured in there so Sheila had time. After a couple of hours talking Hermione decided she would let Sheila get to work, but right as she stood to leave someone rushed through the door.
"Sheila, Charlie got burned again."
"What? When will he learn…"
Hermione followed them out to the front where Charlie was seated holding his arm out.
"Uh oh." The murderous glare Hermione gave him was enough to rival his mothers. "I didn't think you were still here."
Sheila got burn salve and liberally applied it to Charlie's arm. "I'm going to give this to you," She handed the bottle to Hermione. "Could you reapply it again tonight and make sure the skin isn't getting too tight?"
Agreeing to take care of Charlie, Hermione thanked her again for spending the morning with her and followed Charlie back to the house.
"What happened?"
"I was helping do a perimeter check on one of the dragon enclosures and didn't realize how close I was and he jumped up and spit fire at me. I was quick and dodged it but my arm got hit. I just flew under the trees until I got out and went straight to the med tent." Noticing that Hermione's mouth was set in a firm line Charlie back tracked a bit. "I'm sorry, I really wasn't trying to get hurt and I don't want to scare you-"
"Charlie, I have seen worse things than a burn on someone's arm. The problem is that now I'm finding myself worried that you're going to get yourself killed while I'm here and I'm awkwardly going to have to leave and tell your mother."
"I've been doing this for a very long time Hermione, I will be fine. The staff here is incredibly talented."
It was about lunch time so Hermione found some food in the kitchen and prepared a lighter lunch than they were both used to.
"This is perfect," Charlie leaned back into the chair. "Mum always overfeeds me and I really can't work and eat as much as she provides. Thank you."
Charlie tried to clean up the dishes but Hermione grabbed his shoulders and forced him to sit back down. "You're not cleaning with your arm still burned." Groaning, the stocky red head acquiesced and sat back down but not before flicking his wand and watching as the dirty dishes flew out of Hermione's hands and cleaning themselves.
"I didn't do the cleaning."
The cheeky smile cause Hermione to laugh out loud realizing that she was being rather protective.
"Are you going back into the enclosures today?"
"Reserve policy is that if you're injured you have to take the rest of the day off, so I'm all yours if you wanted to do something crazy."
"Like what?"
"We could go get completely drunk and get tattoos?"
"I'm all for getting completely drunk but I would have to think about the tattoo thing."
They cleaned up and set out to a nearby bar where Charlie was (unsurprisingly) well known at.
"Get burned again Charlie?" Greeting the man behind the bar with a firm handshake Charlie laughed. "Who's your friend?"
"Hermione Granger, meet Kyle."
"Lovely to meet any woman who is willing to come here with Charlie Weasley especially one as well-known as you ma'am. Drinks are on me." Hermione tried to protest, but Kyle insisted and wouldn't hear another word otherwise.
"He never gives me free drinks." Charlie mumbled climbing into a booth. "Then again, I don't have the assets he's looking for."
"Assets?"
Charlie looked down to Hermione's chest and back up to her confused eyes watching as the realization hit her. Even though she was wearing a short sleeved shirt with a few buttons up top, Charlie realized that the shirt was stretched out across her ample chest. He was trying hard not to stare but as a man that was always the most difficult thing to do.
Luckily, Hermione hadn't been paying attention to Charlie's gaze and instead was looking around the bar and sipping her pint.
"It's probably more crowded at night, yeah?"
Nodding, Charlie took a large drink from his glass. He had spent many nights here with the guys from the reserve celebrating one thing or another. Some guys had even had their stag night's here ending is near chaos and stupidly flying into an enclosure.
"This is kind of the place to be after a bad day or for celebrating. We come here all the time."
"That sounds like a lot of fun, what do you celebrate here?"
"Lots of things," Draining his glass Charlie motioned for 2 more pints. "New dragons, hatchlings, birthdays, engagements, stag nights, hen nights, pretty much everything."
"And I thank them for their money all the same," Charlie reached in his pocket. "But not to day Charlie Boy."
"I should bring you here more often."
Hermione laughed. She liked the way Charlie smiled, he was genuinely happy about the world and it showed from his straight white teeth. All the time he spent in the sun had tanned his skin, lightened his hair to a softer shade of red, and made the blue of his eyes pop. Being the daughter of dentists, Hermione was always a sucker for people who had good dental hygiene.
"I'd like that." The answer had shocked Charlie to say the least, but he was happy she had agreed. "What else is there to do around here?"
"Well there's always the muggle village, it's close by considering but it's still a long drive away. Here obviously, some of the guys host card games, and there's always the odd diner party people throw. Speaking of which, Rory and his fiancée are throwing one this weekend."
"But I don't have anything to wear to it. I only brought clothes for wandering around the reserve and what you told me to bring."
"Don't worry, we can take a day to go to the muggle village and pick you out something nice."
"I'm gonna go ahead and say Charlie probably isn't the best person to tell you what looks good." Sheila walked up to the table. "Amy and I would be happy to take you out shopping Hermione, you can't always trust men with what looks good or what's appropriate for certain situations."
Hermione laughed. "Are you speaking from experience?"
"My boyfriend very kindly bought me a dress once for a small dinner party his parents were holding. It turned out to be a sequined little number with no back and not enough fabric to sit down comfortably in."
Laughing at the situation, Sheila waved her good bye and met up with someone else in a booth.
"Yeah, she's probably right."
"I have seen the fashion sense your brothers have."
For the rest of the night Hermione and Charlie sat in the booth drinking their beers and snacking on the chips Kyle had brought them, until Hermione's cheeks were flushed and she was giggling at everything she said.
"We should probably get you back now, maybe feed you something to soak up all the beer."
The pair walked out into the chilly night, Hermione wavering with each step and Charlie keeping an eye on her. He couldn't help but also notice her bum which swayed nicely from her walking, the shorts she was wearing riding up each time her leg stepped forward and showing the curve of her bum. When the brunette tripped on her own feet Charlie ran forward and wrapped his arm tightly around her small shoulders.
"Let's get you some food there drunky."
Depositing Hermione in a chair Charlie went to the kitchen and started fixing them both a hearty sandwich which the mousy girl ate quickly.
"Did you even taste that?"
Giggling Hermione leaned on her hand staring at her housemate. "Tell me something I don't know about you."
It took a moment to think of something about himself that Hermione didn't know. "When I was little, Bill and I would crawl around in the garden trying to make our way into the gnome holes and see what little world they had under there. Turns out garden gnomes are fiercely protective of their homes, which seems a little hypocritical, and bit Bill right on the nose."
The memory came flooding back to him, he wasn't sure why he wanted to share more stories of his childhood with her, but Hermione seemed really interested in him.
"What about you?"
"Your brothers always said 'ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies.' Ask away Charlie, I'm an open book."
"What's your favorite color?"
"Purple, but green is a close second."
"Favorite meal?"
"Fettuccini alfredo."
"Favorite book?"
"Do you have all night for the list?"
"Something you miss most about the muggle world?"
"Football."
"Isn't quidditch close enough?"
"Not even a little bit."
"What happened between you and Ron?"
The question almost startled her awake. "Uhm, well…" It had been a difficult time for both of them, but it was awkward to discuss with his older brother. "I always thought I liked him, and we even kissed once. During the final battle we went down to the Chamber of Secrets to get a basilisk fang and it was just the heat of the moment and all the adrenaline, but it really was nothing. The kiss was too awkward, everything was awkward afterwards."
"Well," Charlie had taken a rather large bit of his sandwich while she was talking. "I'm kind of glad that things didn't work out."
"And why is that?" Hermione's heart raced, she could feel her pulse quickening in her wrists. The alcohol had heightened her miniscule feelings and she wanted so badly to hear Charlie say something positive about her.
"Because then you wouldn't be here exploring the reserve, I really think that if you stayed you would find a place here."
Does she look sad that I just said that? The disheartened look on her face was practically her crying. What did I do?!
"Thank you, I should go to bed. Good night." And without another word Hermione was walking up to her room and closing the door behind her. Meanwhile, Charlie sat on the couch cursing himself.