Chapter Fourteen

Hermione

Despite spending the better part of the previous day trying to figure out a way to keep from having to go on the official trip Kingsley had planned, Hermione showed up at the portkey office the next morning with her bag packed. She felt sick to her stomach. Going away was going to be a mistake regardless of where they were actually headed. Before she hurt him even more than he was already going to be hurt, she needed to make a clean break. A trip was only going to make it worse.

Why was she being such a coward? It was very un-Gryffindor-like of her to not face her problem head first. She laid up most of the night thinking how she could let him down easy before they went any further. He was still being a gentleman just as he promised. Would that change when they arrived at their location? Maybe it would be best to have an uncomfortable conversation before they touched their portkey. It might be easier to do it at the Ministry of Magic instead of wherever they were heading.

Shortly after Hermione made the decision she was definitely going to pull Kingsley to the side to talk before anything happened, the door to the office opened again. Kingsley entered with a bright smile, clearly in an excellent mood and excited for their adventure together. All of her courage to end it right there fizzled out with one look in her direction. Maybe it would be better to wait. She didn't want to upset him right before he went on an official visit. What if she was responsible for creating an international incident?

"You're here already. Excellent. I'm anxious to get going."

The Minister didn't seem bothered by there being an official with the Portkey Office in the same room. When he was close enough, he brushed his lips against Hermione's cheek. A cheeky wink from the wizard promised her there was more of that to come if she was interested. Under any normal circumstances and if she was a normal witch, she would be flattered and anxious for what might happen next. Unfortunately, much of her life had been far from normal. She felt dread and worry instead of the excitement she should have felt.

In the back of her mind she could hear the whispers from all of the well-meaning critics watching her life from the outside. How many of them were screaming that she should just be upfront and honest with Kingsley about why she wanted to break off their relationship before it got serious? She had to fight the urge to roll her eyes even just thinking about the imaginary people with their opinions. When had they become a society in which everyone just opened their mouths to let all of their private secrets and fears just plop out for those around them to hear? She resented the idea that she had to tell anyone about the abnormal functions of her own reproductive system. It was no one's business. Even just telling Charlie the day Ron's daughter was born had been far too humiliating to even contemplate repeating her sad tale any time soon.

No, it was no one's business. She would tell only those she wished to tell. It didn't matter if the rest of the world was so anxious to bring up every traumatic and private topic of their own lives to share with people who didn't give a single care. She would not participate in that sort of self-centered behavior. When it was time for her to end the budding relationship with Kingsley, she would only tell him what she felt he had a right to know. Everything else was for her alone. Despite knowing she was far from the only woman in the world with the same difficulties, she couldn't help that a part of her felt embarrassed that she was incapable of completing what was supposed to be a normal, natural part of everyone's life. It made her feel inadequate, broken. And even though they might have tried to hide their true feelings, she couldn't bear the pity she had seen in the eyes of those she was foolish enough to confess to in the past. Nor could she bear a single suggestion from another person how she should live her life. Wasn't there a time when everyone just kept their opinions and thoughts to themselves? Perhaps she had been born in the wrong era.

"Where are we going? I'm worried I didn't pack the right sort of clothes."

Any topic was better than the one swirling around in her own head. Anxious to stop stressing over the unpleasant, she tried to focus on something else. Their mysterious destination was a good enough distraction. Were they going to New York to see MACUSA in person again or was their portkey headed somewhere more exotic? Transfiguration spells could easily change a sundress into a heavy winter coat, if necessary, but she couldn't deny that she had been curious about their trip since the day before.

"We will be touring…"

The door to the office opened again before Kingsley could finish his sentence. Slightly annoyed by the person who entered, Hermione was surprised to see that it was Charlie carrying his own bag. Based on his facial expression, he wasn't expecting her to be there either. She might have been feeling even more intrigued by the possibilities of their intended destination, but she also couldn't ignore how strange it felt to have both men in the same room together. There were still some lingering feelings of guilt even if she wasn't sure they were entirely accurate.

"Just in time, Charlie. Look, the portkey has activated."

There was no time to spare to give Hermione any clue about where they were going before the portkey was pushed into her hand. Instantly she felt that horrible feeling of being hooked just behind her navel as they were hurled through time and space. Magic was impressive all right, but it could also be terribly uncomfortable. She had not yet gotten used to that sort of travel no matter how many times she had experienced it.

Somehow she was able to manage to land on her feet. It was embarrassing to arrive at one's destination face first on the ground. Though she didn't know where she was, at first glance of her surroundings, she was impressed by its beauty. A loud roar behind her startled her enough to make her jump. When she spun around to see where it came from, she gasped at the sight of the massive dragon locked in its enclosure just a few meters away. She knew exactly where they were at once.

"We're in Romania."

Kingsley nodded. When she turned back around to face Charlie to see how he felt about being back in his old home, she was surprised to see how pale his face had gotten. Thinking at first that he was sick from the portkey, she was about to tease him until she saw the stunning woman he was staring at. He wasn't the only one ill at ease. Whoever the woman was, she was able to recover more quickly than he was with a bright smile that only made her even more beautiful, if such a thing was possible.

"Welcome. I'm so pleased you were able to make it."

Her English was perfect with only a slight accent that proved she hadn't been born in their native country. As the woman approached them closer, Hermione saw Charlie flinch and become even more uncomfortable by the second. Why? Shouldn't he be excited to be back in Romania even if just for a short visit? He had been anxious to return almost from the moment he left it. Who was the woman to him? He all but cringed when she was bold enough to kiss his cheek in greeting. If she noticed how her touch made the wizard feel, she hid it with another bright smile to the others in their group.

"My name is Anca, one of the dragon keepers. My husband told me to expect very important guests this morning, but I didn't realize…"

She was unable to finish her sentence. Evidently based on her throat clearing, she wasn't as comfortable with Charlie being there as she pretended. Hermione didn't like how suddenly distant Charlie seemed. It made her worried about him, but Kingsley didn't seem to even notice. Maybe he was charmed with the woman. He would hardly be the first. Maybe that was her purpose in being the one to greet them.

Another man soon joined them who Hermione immediately assumed must be the husband. A handsome man himself, he smiled at his visitors and greeted them not noticing the tension that had crept up at their arrival. After shaking Kingsley's hand and kissing Hermione's cheek, he threw his arms around Charlie for the sort of embrace one might expect between two brothers who hadn't seen each other in a long time.

"You've been gone too long."

The wizard didn't seem to notice how tense Charlie was even as he hugged him tightly. When they broke apart, he managed a smile, but she knew it was forced. She wished she knew what the history between the three of them were. Something happened. Something bad. And clearly, not something that Charlie was ready to talk to her about yet.

"Kingsley, Hermione, this is Mihai, the director of the reserve."

Once the introduction was made, Charlie cleared his throat and turned his gaze towards one of the dragons off in the distance. Hermione didn't miss how the witch Anca kept cutting her eyes in his direction when she thought no one was looking. Yes, something very bad happened there. The first chance she got, Hermione was determined to force the details out of the wizard. If he knew her secrets, it was time she knew some of his.

"This is not public knowledge yet, Hermione, but we will be building our own dragon reserve in Cumbria. I've offered the important job of running it to Charlie on multiple occasions, but he has yet to accept."

Learning about the dragon reserve in their own country made her very excited. Of course Kingsley would want Charlie to be in charge. He was a perfect fit for the job.

"Why haven't you said yes? It's a job that was made for you."

Though still uncomfortable with either the thought of the position or by the people standing around him, Charlie offered her a smile that finally felt genuine. At least with her he wasn't pretending. That meant more to her than she even realized.

"Maybe you can help me encourage him to accept the position while we are here."

She didn't understand why he would be so reluctant. Shouldn't he have jumped at the first offer? He was miserable behind a desk and everyone knew it.

"We are here to tour the reserve, see how it runs. I fear I overwhelmed poor Charlie with questions the other day. Each time he said that it would make more sense if he could just show me, I knew that I needed to come to Romania to see the reserve for myself."

Mihai clapped Charlie on the back.

"I would offer you a tour, but you already have the best guide there is. Charlie knows more about this refuge than anyone."

Moments later the man and his beautiful wife left with a promise that they would meet up again later in the day. Nearly all of the tension left with them. Charlie was certainly more at ease when it was just the three of them. As much as he tried to pretend like nothing was wrong, she knew him too well at that point to believe it. She also knew him well enough to know that pushing him wasn't a good idea. It wasn't her business. If she could get frustrated with strangers in her head telling her she should be dumping all of her secrets on anyone who would listen, then she had no right to be annoyed that he wasn't in a rush to confide in her about his.

Charlie was indeed the best guide they could have asked for. Once he took a deep breath of the fresh air of the Romanian countryside, he seemed rejuvenated. He led them around the refuge, stopping frequently at every enclosure to take a closer look at the dragons within. It was obvious that he was in his element. Again Hermione wondered why he would ever choose to leave somewhere it was obvious made him happy. She decided it had something to do with that woman.

Charlie

Being back in Romania felt like coming home, but Charlie wished he hadn't let Kingsley talk him into returning for a visit. What was he thinking? It was stupid to return when he wasn't ready to be back. Anyone with half a brain would be able to see that he wasn't comfortable there.

His plan had always been to wait until he was well and truly over Anca completely before he returned. He wanted to come back and show her how unaffected he was by her presence. Clearly he failed miserably at that the first moment after his feet landed on the soil. He should have known she would be the one to greet them. As beautiful and knowledgeable as she was about the reserve and its dragons, she was often the dragon keeper charged with showing the most important visitors around. Her personality was much friendlier than the other keepers who spent so much time with their dragons they were half-dragon themselves. And of course since she was elevated to the wife of the reserve's director she would be put into a much more important role than just feeding and cleaning up after the reserve's inhabitants.

As much as he knew to expect her to be there, actually seeing her again felt like a punch to the stomach. He was certain that both Kingsley and Hermione recognized his odd behavior. It was imperative that for the rest of his time in Romania he had to remain perfectly calm. It would do no one any good for him to overreact. He especially didn't want Anca to know what sort of effect she still had on him. If he could take that with him to his grave, he would.

Focusing on the tour of the dragon reserve became easier with each second that passed. Glad to be back in the one place in the entire world he loved the most, he was able to push all thoughts of Anca and her new husband out of his mind for the time being. Later, unfortunately, he knew he would be unable to ignore what he was choosing to avoid. Until then, he promised himself that he would put his full attention on showing Kingsley and Hermione why the reserve was so special to him.

He loved being back in Romania. The dragon reserve was really one of the only places he had ever been where he felt like he could really breathe. Even back home at his family's house there never seemed to be enough space for him to really relax. Or maybe that was just that he had too many family members bumping into him and making it impossible to have a few minutes to himself. Breathing in all of the familiar scents of the surrounding area and the dragons themselves, even the less than nice ones, made him wish he could be back there every single day. He wished even more so that it had never been necessary for him to leave in the first place.

Seeing all of his former coworkers was just as good as seeing the dragons he missed so much. Spending so much time in a secluded area with the same people meant that they were far closer friends than most people were with those who sat at the desk next to theirs. Many of the men and women he greeted and happily introduced to his companions had been in literal life and death situations with him on more than one occasion. It was difficult not to feel like family when he relied on them to keep him from being burnt to a crisp or trampled by an angry nesting mother.

Finding friendships like he had in Romania at the Ministry proved to be rather fruitless. Several tried to invite him out for drinks after work or for a friendly game of Quidditch at the park. He'd even gone a few times. None of them were destined to be lasting friendships or relationships he would miss if he disappeared the next day to return to Romania or accepted the job to run the new reserve. Only Hermione really came close to what he used to have, but he had done things to her he never would've dreamed of doing with his mates at the reserve. Maybe that didn't count.

Both Hermione and Kingsley had a number of questions about how the reserve was set up. Once he realized how different the questions Hermione had were, he thought perhaps she wasn't invited just because the Minister wanted her to travel with him abroad. Between the two of them, they were able to get far more information out of him than just one would. It was obvious that they made an excellent team. He tried not to think about how well that could possibly translate into a more personal relationship if she would ever be honest with the poor bloke and allow it to happen.

At the end of the tour when they had seen all that there was to see, Charlie led them over to where he knew guests, especially the important ones, were housed. Near the administration building where all of the offices and meeting rooms were there was a collection of canvas tents close by. Nestled between the buildings that made up the lodging for the permanent residents, he was so used to walking in that direction that he almost led them to his former front door. He wondered who was the poor soul cursed to deal with the perpetually leaking sink he never could seem to charm correctly. His London flat might have been much nicer, but he felt more at home with the primitive, simple hut he'd called his for over two decades.

"Charlie, you're on the end. Miss Granger is in this tent and this one is specially reserved for Minister Shacklebolt."

"Oh, I see. You've saved the nicest one for him."

He was only teasing the witch that greeted them in front of the tents. Of course Kingsley would be offered the tent that was less likely to collapse on top of his head while he slept. Seeing Hermione disappear into her own tent made him far happier than he wanted to admit to. He didn't like the thought of his traveling companions being in the same tent, especially since he knew Hermione was trying to figure out a way to let the Minister down. If he was completely honest, he was just glad that his own tent was as far from the office as possible. Connected to the director's office was a large flat reserved for his family. Charlie wanted to avoid Anca as much as it was conceivable to do so while he was still in Romania.

Inside the tent he was glad to see that it was fairly comfortable. For a tent, at any rate. He never did need luxurious linens and fine furnishings. As long as he didn't have to sleep in a puddle on the hard ground, he was usually satisfied. Magical tents were far superior to the flimsy pieces of canvas Muggles crawled into when they were sleeping rough. Glad to see that his tent came with his own bathroom, he went straight there to splash some water on his face.

After spending several hours already traipsing through the reserve, he was able to wash most of the dust off of his face. He wanted to look respectable. Being that close to his ex meant he had to make an effort to keep Anca from knowing how far he'd fallen after she callously broke his heart. It was embarrassing, definitely something that she would be cruel enough to hold over his head if given the chance.

As he stepped outside into the main room of the tent, he was startled to realize he was no longer alone. Seeing Anca standing in front of the flap that was his only exit from the terribly awkward, uncomfortable situation, he could just freeze in place. Why was she there? Though she was smiling at him, there was no warmth behind it. Had her smiles always been so cold and he never noticed? He hadn't felt that nervous in a long time. What was he going to say to her? He didn't trust himself around the woman.

"It's lovely to see you again, Charlie."

Hearing her speak those words he wondered if she was even telling him the truth. She had a bad history of lying. Once she claimed she loved him, but she was very quick to move on when she was given a better option. Maybe she never really loved him.

"What are you doing here, Anca?"

There was a hardness to his tone he didn't expect to hear. Neither did she. Anca was used to always getting her way and no one ever dared to be rude to her even when they should have. Another smile was offered in an effort to hide her surprise. Once upon a time that grin would fill his stomach with butterflies, but Charlie only felt annoyed. He knew it was a bad idea to go when Kingsley invited him.

"I wanted to see how you were. When we last spoke, it did not go well."

He actually laughed. Her English was perfect due to good schools, lots of traveling, and strict parents who wanted more for her than what could be found in their village. Though her words made sense, he still wasn't sure of their true meaning. Why was she standing in his tent less than a meter from the bed he was supposed to sleep in? Why would the Universe be so cruel?

"No, it did not go well."

That was an understatement. She'd come into his room in the middle of the night wearing another man's engagement ring to tell him she was ending their relationship. It was all very sudden with no warning whatsoever. Apparently he wasn't the only poor fool on the reserve she'd been able to convince to keep their relationship a secret in order to 'remain professional'. There might have been several. He hadn't liked agreeing to keep their romance a secret, but at the time he could understand her reasoning. It was only after his heart was shattered that he realized her true motivation.

As far as he was aware, only he, Anca, Bill, and likely Fleur knew about their relationship. He never wanted to keep her a dirty, little secret. It always felt wrong. If she hadn't told him not to, he wanted to shout from the tops of the mountains how much he loved her. It had been hard to respect her wishes. How was he to know she was sneaking around with their boss at the same time?

"I just wanted to make certain you were okay."

Charlie laughed again. She had a lot of nerve. The light in the room caught the sparkle on her diamond ring when she moved her hand to push her hair behind her ears. Seeing that made him stop laughing immediately. How many times had he wanted to slide a ring on that same finger? He'd even gone into the nearest city to look in a jewelry shop. The reminder made him feel like an idiot all over again. How could he have been so blind to the sort of person she really was? Could he ever forgive himself?

"You have no reason to worry about me. I'm perfectly fine."

Except he wasn't and damn it, she knew it too.

"Congratulations, by the way. I never said anything about your marriage."

The slightest flush to her smooth cheeks proved that maybe she possessed something of a conscience. Irritated and wanting her to leave, Charlie was done being polite.

"You never told me. Was Mihai the only one? Or were you slipping into beds all over the refuge? Maybe just the ones who had enough galleons?"

He wasn't surprised by the slap across his face.