Charlie kept true to his word, once he had settled in at the reserve and had unpacked his things he sat down at the oak desk in his bedroom and tried to write his first letter to Hermione. But as he brought his quill to the page all words disappeared, he had no idea how to phrase what he wanted to say. Fear and worry grew in the pit of his stomach at the thought of Hermione going back to Hogwarts, he knew he shouldn't be worried. Hermione was the brightest witch of her age and also one of the Golden Trio after all, if anyone could handle themselves it would be her.

What he was worried about though was if Hermione met someone else; granted he hadn't told her how he felt and she hadn't mentioned anything about her feelings towards him either so he couldn't really stop her if she wanted to. Charlie just hoped she didn't, she was going to be there for 2 years and he just hoped that he could always be there for her.

Charlie pursed his lips before inspiration struck him, he grabbed a book from his book shelf to include in the letter and began to write.

My dearest Hermione,

I'm at the reserve now, I've settled in to my flat and for now everything is quiet on the reserve. It's a lot different than Romania at the moment, I think that's because of the weather and because there's no dragons here at the moment. The reserve doesn't open for another week so for now we have peace and quiet before the real fun begins.

This may be brazen of me to say but I miss you. I miss hearing your laugh and I miss spending time with you being able to talk about anything. I've really appreciated your company this past while and you really are great company. Thanks for keeping this old bloke on his toes and entertained! Whenever we finally see each other again you'll have to teach us Weasley's some more of those muggle games you like to play.

I've also attached a surprise with your letter, think of it as parting and good luck gift for your return to Hogwarts, plus I don't think you may have read this one. It's the encyclopedia of Dragons. I'm sorry if it bores you but I do recall finding you reading a dragon book during the summer so I thought I would add one to your collection.

You're going to do wonderful at Hogwarts and they're very lucky that you accepted their offer to come back. You're also going to make a brilliant Head Girl. Just try not to dock too many points now, especially from Ginny, she's the only Weasley at Hogwarts now and both Fred and George have taught her well, she has to live up to her reputation.

I eagerly await your response,

Charlie

After Charlie had left Hermione had tried to busy herself with mundane tasks, but nothing seemed able to take her mind off the second eldest Weasley. She was worried knowing that he was back in the firing line, quite literally too. Although she knew that Charlie knew what he was doing, he was an expert after all, she couldn't help the fear that was pooling in the bottom of her stomach. Dragon Keeping was probably, if not one of the most dangerous jobs in the Wizarding world and now that she had developed feelings for Charlie her fear being intensified.

Hermione was pleasantly surprised to find a brown, smart looking Owl perched on the window sill in Ginny's bedroom while she was getting ready for bed. "Thank you" She smiled and stroked the Owl affectionately, making sure to give it some treats before taking the letter and large package off it in case of getting nipped.

As the Owl flew off back into the night Hermione opened the letter, a sudden warm fuzzy feeling spreading through her body as she read and reread Charlie's words. He certainly had a way with words, it would be interesting conversing with him now through letters rather than face to face. Hermione quickly checked the time on her watch, it was nearing 11pm, too late to reply to his letter now so she made a mental note to write a reply to him in the morning before she headed off to Diagon Alley.

The big surprise though was the book that had been accompanied with the letter, she had read many Wizarding books since she had started at Hogwarts but she hadn't seen one that looked this magical before. It was a blood red book that seemed to be covered in either dragon hide or dragon scales as when light hit it at a certain angle you could see the grooves and different textures. Charlie had been right of course, she was going to love reading this book and it was going to be one of her favourites.

She tucked the letter back into the envelope and slipped it into her extendable bag before climbing into bed and getting comfortable under the sheets. It didn't take her too long to drift off, the words of Charlie's words still swirling in her mind.

The next morning Hermione woke up early, she was eager to write her reply to Charlie and doing so while the house was quiet was the best time so no one would question her. She quickly grabbed her quill, ink and parchment before disappearing downstairs, taking place by the fireplace and curling up in the chair as she begun to write.

Dear Charlie,

I wish you could see how delighted I was to receive your letter last night, the owl who delivered it was quite lovely too! Was it one from the reserve or your own? It seemed quite friendly too and wasn't impatient while I got it some treats, unlike Hedwig who if you don't have treats there and then tends to nip you quite quickly.

Thank you for the lovely words, I'm glad for now that you have some time to yourself before the dragons are brought in, I'm sure once they're there it will take them some time to get used to the new enclosure. Hopefully they won't be too vicious, I wouldn't want you getting hurt.

I don't find it brazen at all. I find it rather touching and comforting to know that you're missing me just as much as I'm missing you. The Burrow seems to be a lot quieter now that you've gone, your Mother is certainly still getting used to it, she's been very quiet since you've gone but it's no different to when you were working in Romania and I'm sure once she realises that you're still in England it will soften the blow a bit.

Charlie Weasley you have certainly taken me by surprise, thank you very much for the book you've sent me. I don't think it's boring it all, I love finding new reading material especially if it's about a subject I don't know a lot about. I'm going to love getting to read about the different species and varieties of Dragon and the book itself is gorgeous! What's the cover made of? Is it dragon hide or dragon scales? I'm surprised at how soft it feels to touch even though it looks rough, does that make sense?

Sorry if this letter is quite long, I tend to ramble when I'm excited. I look forward to our next correspondence. I'm off to Diagon Alley today to get my books and ingredients for Hogwarts, it feels strange to be going back after the War. But i'm also looking forward to it, I couldn't imagine me not finishing my education at some point and with you going back off on your dragon adventures I thought it was about the right time that I took the leap and dove back into what I enjoy most: learning.

I hope your first morning on the reserve is going well as you learn the ropes again so to speak. I'll let you know how my trip goes during my next letter.

Just as eagerly awaiting your response,

Hermione

Hermione proof read her letter and after being satisfied that there were no grammar errors she used Errol to send her letter to Charlie, she made sure to give him some treats for the journey too to sustain him. After she watched Errol fly off into the morning sun, she retreated back to the bedroom to get ready for her day of shopping at Diagon Alley with Ginny.