Disclaimer: JK owns HP; Always.
1989
Chapter 19
Hermione was alone for a change. Charlie and half of her dorm mates were at quidditch practice while Laura and Sarah were off on dates with two Hufflepuff boys. She was currently going through her bag, trying to find a gift for Charlie out of the mass quantity of items inside it. Since the room was currently empty it was likely her only opportunity to do so.
Piles of her things were currently laid out in the open on her bed. Harry's cloak had been placed to the far side of the mattress, with the map folded carefully underneath it. The books she'd stolen from Dumbledore's office after his funeral last year were stacked up next to that, and most of her clothes directly in the center.
Next, she pulled all of Harry and Ron's clothes out to sit beside her own, but the smell of them caused her to miss them more than usual today. Her heart felt heavy as she stacked another one of Ron's sweaters onto the growing pile. He was going to be so angry with her when he discovered that she was with his brother now, and she just hoped that their friendship could survive it. He would likely hate both her and Charlie after this. She was sure of it due to the way he had acted after finding out she had kissed Viktor, though this was going to be much much worse.
Hermione sighed gloomily as she organized her belongings. One by one she stacked several books into a growing pile as her thoughts turned to the boy who should have been her boyfriend instead. It wasn't until a particular book caught her eye that the dread of the oncoming confrontation was forgotten, and replaced by excitement over finding Charlie the perfect birthday gift.
A small book, titled The History of Animals with Magic sat in her hand. It was the book she had tried to distract Malfoy and his goons with as she attempted to hide the diadem from them. She must have tossed it into her bag out of reflex before running away.
Hermione brought it closer to her face to look it over. As Charlie was an avid animal lover, she wanted to make sure that it was both informative and something he would appreciate. It was also a book she had never read after all, and her curiosity was piqued. The cover was a pale green in color, with a gold title and little yellow drawings all over it. Most of the drawings were thin lines that made up different creatures, a snake with barred fangs caught her eye in particular.
After thoroughly studying the cover, she finally flipped to the inside. The first two pages were about how owls are able to know who and where to deliver letters to. It seems they have a bit of magic of their own to be able to do this with so little instruction. The book itself seemed to be about normal animals with rare or unintended bits of magic more-so than about actual magical creatures.
The book had metaphorically pulled Hermione in, so she continued to read on, picking up interesting facts along the way. It wasn't until she was almost a third of the way in that she came across something noteworthy. A small passage about something called a Maledictus.
A Maledictus is not actually an animal at all, but a witch with a rare blood curse. A curse that allows them to turn into an animal at will; sort of like an animagus, but with the added risk of one day never being able to return to their human form. The curse is passed down generation to generation, from mother to daughter, as only women are affected. Over the course of the past century many of these women have chosen not to reproduce in order to save any offspring from suffering the same fate they themselves were in store for.
In the late 1800's to early 1900's there were several known Maledicti in Europe, most of which permanently ended up as snakes, specifically a very large variety of Viper. It is rumored that once the final stage has set in, these vipers travel to South America to live out the rest of their cursed lives.
"Vipers?" Hermione asked herself out loud with wrinkled brows.
That was twice now that the subject of vipers had come up in her search for how to defeat Nagini. And maybe, she thought, it was time to take her research to the next level.
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It was another Saturday. Chilly this time, as it was now early December.
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked as she bundled her scarf around her neck with her free hand, the other held tightly by Charlie as he dragged her along the treeline of the forbidden forest.
"It's a surprise." He grinned as he continued to drag her along.
"You aren't taking us into the forest are you?" She asked nervously. "I've been in there more than enough to last me a lifetime."
"No. Not into it." He chuckled as they passed by Hagrid's hut. "Maybe next week though."
Hermione scoffed as she continued to follow him along. He had joked months ago about taking her in there on his own birthday, which was only a week away now.
Eventually they curved around the other side of the treeline where there was a small set of stables known to temporarily house some of the injured creatures Hagrid and Professor Kettleburn tended to look after.
"You are familiar with Hagrid in the future, if I remember correctly from your story of the Norwegian Ridgeback?" Charlie asked as he held the front stable gate open for her.
"Very." She confirmed. "He's the one who fetched Harry from his aunt and uncle's house to get him ready for Hogwarts. He will practically become family to Harry, Ron and I."
"Oh." He looks a little surprised. "That's good to hear actually. I tend to help him out when needed, so I'm glad there are others who will be there for him once I leave."
"He always did speak highly of you." She informed him. "...though Fred and George not so much."
Charlie snorted as he escorted her to the stall that was in the farthest back corner. "No surprises there, but Hagrid needing someone to step in today is actually why we are here."
Hermione heard a swish as they approached, and upon peeking her head over the side of the wooden gate she noticed what appeared to be a young pure gold horse laying down with its hooves propped out in front of it. Upon further inspection, she noticed a tiny, silver, cone shaped object protruding from it's forehead.
"A unicorn?" She asked rhetorically as she slid the latch to the gate open.
"Yes." He confirmed as she slipped into the stall with it. "Hagrid had to make a run to Knockturn Alley today to get some particular supplies, and asked if I could look in on this little fellow today."
"What's wrong with him?" She asked, as Charlie followed her inside and re-latched the lock behind them.
"Hagrid saved him from an Acromantula web last night." He explained. "His back leg must have broken in his attempt to free himself."
"Oh, poor thing." Hermione grimaced as Charlie approached it slowly.
Hermione watched as he unwrapped the bandages on the foal's leg. Unicorns usually preferred females and seemed to shun anything that exuded testosterone, but the display in front of her made her realize why exactly everyone had always praised Charlie for his way with animals.
"Yeah, you're doing just fine aren't you?" He asked as he scratched under its chin.
The young unicorn let out a small nicker in response, and nuzzled it's nose against the palm of Charlie's hand. He smiled as he stroked its snout with the backs of his fingers. Once he knew the golden foal was calm to his presence, Charlie began to squirt a large amount of ointment onto the damaged leg and massaged it slowly into the skin.
"Good boy." He cooed at it. "Good boy."
Hermione watched him in awe as he continued to try and soothe the small beast while the ointment worked its own magic. Charlie was completely in his element and she couldn't help but smile at the sight of it. Helping animals and other magical creatures was clearly what he was meant to do.
As she continued to watch the interaction between Charlie and the tiny unicorn, she could almost feel herself falling more in love with him.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"So I know we got off topic a few weeks ago." Charlie broke the long silence. "But how did you and my brother become friends again?"
They were snuggled up together in front of the fire. As the common room was mostly empty due to the late hour, they'd had their pick of seating, and Hermione was currently resting her head against his shoulder.
."Ron and I started out almost enemies actually. I was constantly showing him up and trying to correct him." He gave her a knowing look that made her smack him, as he was clearly insinuating that she was a bit of a know-it-all again.. "Yeah I was a bit of a swot, but I meant well."
Charlie laughed as he slid his hand down her arm. "I can picture it clearly." He teased her. "So how did you get past your personality differences?"
"Him and Harry saved me from a mountain troll Halloween of first year."
He glared at her in shock. "Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a long story that's going to freak me out, and then guarantee that I'm going to have to keep to myself in Romania so I'm not tempted to change the past?"
Hermione grinned devilishly. "Because it is. Now do you want to know how everything is about to play out or not?"
"Yes." He sighed and pulled her a little closer against him.
"Well technically they locked the troll in with me in the first place, but they didn't realize it was a girls bathroom, or that I was inside it until they heard me scream." She explained. "As will become the norm for us, they rushed into danger to save me. Turns out you can't really go through something like that without it bonding you for life."
Charlie looked both mortified, yet still curious. "Okay, so that brought the three of you together, and you then went on to get into lots of dangerous trouble over the next seven years." He nodded. "But how did you end up almost falling for my brother, instead of the boy who lived? Don't get me wrong, I love my brother, but Potter seems a more obvious choice."
Hermione snorted. "First off, Harry and I are both only children so our bond is more brotherly and sisterly than the adolescent crushes Ron and I developed. And second, Ginny would have bat-bogey hexed me into the next millennium if she even thought Harry and I had a connection that went past platonic."
"Ginny what?" He sat up abruptly in shock, looking not unlike a guard dog who had just heard the mailman at the door.
In an attempt to not stoke the fire of brotherly rage, Hermione held back the laugh that she really wanted to let loose at the look on his face. "Yes, Ginny and Harry dated for a bit in her fifth year. In fact, he only broke it off because he was worried she would be targeted by death eaters in an attempt to get to him if they stayed together."
"As an older brother I feel conflicted." He commented, trying to relax again. "I kind of want to beat him up for dating my baby sister, but his nobility is hinting that he may also deserve some respect."
"Well he does actually love her very much." She tried to assure him. "It really troubled him to have to break things off with her, but I think they are both hoping to pick back up where they left off once the war is over."
Charlie wrapped his arm back around her shoulder as he leaned back against the cushions again. "That's fine...Just as long as he keeps his hands to himself."