Work Text:
1.
It started with what should've been a romantic dinner.
Not to say that it wasn't a romantic dinner. The food was delicious, the restaurant was lovely, and Hermione looked as stunning as she always did in Charlie's eyes. But what he quickly learned was that it was rather hard to be smooth when being supported by crutches. Holding doors open, pulling out chairs, stopping her for a surprise kiss was proving to be infinitely harder as he continued to try and stay balanced on the crutches his healer had insisted he'd need for another two weeks. Hermione, Merlin bless her, didn't laugh once as he fumbled his way through their first date. But it was still enough for him to curse Svetlana, the temperamental dragon that had left his leg in its current state of uselessness. He'd be having a stern talk with the Hebridean once he was back at the reserve. But for now he kept his attention on the pretty witch he'd finally decided to pursue.
She'd looked stunning when he'd shown up at her flat, the trip through the floo network going smoother than it had on his first attempt. With curls hanging loose and wild down her back and a pale blue dress that stopped just above the knee, he'd done little more than stare at her with all the tact of a teen who'd just discovered the opposite sex. He'd had the presence to look sheepish when she cleared her throat and gave him a pointed look but he had no intention of apologizing for the attention he paid her.
Hermione Granger had grown into a stunning woman and he wasn't quite sure how he'd managed to persuade her into giving him the time of day.
But he knew better than to look a gift unicorn in the mouth.
He'd be damned if he let this pretty witch slip away from him. No, he'd be happy to keep her with him for as long as she would have him. And thankfully, she seemed perfectly happy to have his company as well.
2.
The day the bandages came off and his healer gave him a clean bill of health, Charlie had barged into Hermione's office with the more excitement than she had rightly been prepared for. One moment she was working on the latest piece of legislation, promoting new programs for the inclusion of children suffering from lycanthropy, and the next her ginger haired dragon tamer was striding over to her desk and sweeping her up into his arms. She'd let out a squeal of surprise and delight as the strong arms scooped her up and spun her around. A loud peal of laughter echoed through her small office as she clung to Charlie until he finally set her back on the ground.
"What on Earth has gotten into you?" she asked, giggling through her words as she looked up at him. The bright grin on his handsome face was infectious, spreading to her own face as she looked up at him. He didn't answer her, instead leaning down and pulling the pretty witch into a bruising kiss, stealing all the breath from her lungs and sending sparks down to her toes. Without hesitating, her arms wound their way around his neck and she pressed up into the embrace. His lips worked against hers fast and eager and by the time he finally pulled back for air, she felt like her head was spinning. Taking in a deep gulp of air, she leaned into him, her hands holding the front of his shirt to keep her steady. "Charlie, what's - what-"
"I have been dying to snog you properly ever since I saw you in that pretty blue dress and I wasn't about to wait for the work day to be over to take my chance. Now, if you don't mind, Miss Granger, I'd like to go a second round before you send me off so you can finish taking the wizarding world by storm."
And just like that, he had her lips captured once more, a rough hand cradling her face with a gentleness that should've seem contradictory. Instead, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. Leaning into his embrace and letting herself get wrapped up Charlie Weasley for a little while longer was a marvelous feeling and she was certain she'd be happy to stay there for the foreseeable future.
3.
Bill was the first to find out about the newfound romance shared between his brother and the younger witch.
Charlie hadn't intended to spill the news as quickly as he did but Shell Cottage was only so large and, well, he'd never been particularly good when it came to hiding things from his big brother. The others, sure. He could keep plenty from them. But Bill had been the one he'd shared a room with for the first half of his life and there were some things that just couldn't be hidden from him. And it hadn't helped that Bill had found him, stumbling about the guest bedroom with one crutch as he'd tried to figure out just what he would wear for his first date. He'd lasted a whole minute under the stare of his big brother before he'd crumbled and confessed that he was taking Hermione out for dinner.
Fleur found out about five minutes after that and honestly Charlie was impressed it took that long for the information to pass throughout the house.
Harry found out next but that was entirely Hermione's doing. Apparently he'd asked her how her evening had been over coffee and scones the next morning and she'd turned a bright enough red to warrant a full interrogation from her best friend. Later that afternoon, a howler had been dropped off at the cottage by a Ministry owl, addressed to Charlie in the familiar handwriting of the younger wizard. The words had been calm as the letter spoke but the message had been clear. Harry was happy for them as long as Hermione was happy. If Charlie did anything that changed her feelings about him, well, Svetlana would be the least of his problems.
After that it was only a matter of time.
And really they weren't trying to keep it a secret. Charlie certainly didn't have any desire to hide how he felt from the rest of the world. But they hadn't quite intended for it to come out to the rest of the family the way that did when Molly stumbled upon them snogging on the second story landing at the Burrow after Sunday dinner a week after he'd gotten his clearance to go back to work from St. Mungo's. He'd behaved himself most of the night but once the table had been cleared and the family had migrated to the living room, he'd pulled her along upstairs for a moment of privacy after several hours of keeping his hands to himself.
The shout of surprise and excitement from Molly had echoed throughout the house and just like that everyone knew.
And it would've been fine if it weren't for the fact he suddenly found himself being pulled aside by his mother and being told that if he hurt Hermione in any way he would suffer the consequences at her hand as well.
Nothing quite like your own mum threatening you in defense of another woman's honor.
But then again, he wouldn't have had it any other way.
4.
Long distance was a strain neither of them had fully prepared for and, for the first time that he could remember, Charlie longed to be back home in England. But one thing that Hermione had been adamant about was that neither of their careers should suffer because of their relationship. Certainly not while things were still so new between them. They'd find a way to make it work regardless of how much distance there was between them. So, they wrote letters – long letters filled with everything from the goings on of the British Ministry to what was new at the dragon reserve to who she’d spotted at the Leaky Cauldron on a date with someone who most certainly weren’t supposed to be with. Hermione’s were always well thought out and paced, each paragraph going into beautifully structured details of what was happening in her life. Charlie’s were more haphazard, though just as long and detailed. Hers always looked like the final draft of an essay, no scratch marks or ink smudges. His were likely to be marred with rings from coffee mugs and doodles of whichever dragon was causing the most commotion. It took a bit longer for the letters to arrive – owl post between England and Romania was longer than either would like but it worked well enough.
Floo calls became common as well, the two of them meeting at their respective fireplaces at least once every few days as their schedules allowed. It wasn’t quite the same as having her there, but Charlie would settle for hearing her voice through the crackling green flames over nothing but the written word if those were his choices. It wasn’t that the letters didn’t provide him a connection to her that he craved. They did a fine job. But it wasn’t the same as hearing her voice, wasn’t the same as hearing her get worked over the legislation she wanted so desperately to pass or hear her laugh echo when he explained to her the antics that some of the other dragon tamers got up to around the reserve. Her voice was like honey to him, thick and sweet and offering a comfort he didn’t realize he had been missing in his life.
5.
Hermione hadn’t stopped fidgeting since she’d landed in Romania, stumbling into the lush grass of the forest where the international portkey had dropped her. It was still one of her least favorite ways to travel but it had been the quickest for this trip and she hadn’t wanted to waste what little time they had been stuck at half a dozen different apparition points. No, she’d deal with the queasy stomach of portkey travel if it got her to Charlie faster. An older witch with a thick braid of silver hair had been waiting for her with a warm welcoming. She’d introduced herself as Miriana, the chief researcher at the reserve who’d been the one to personally hire Charlie when he’d applied for the job before even graduating. She’d also been the one that Hermione had contacted when she’d concocted the whole plan.
“Hermione! Welcome! Everything went well with your travel, yes?"
She had only spoken to the older witch a handful of times as they arranged for Hermione to come visit the reserve but the two had quickly established a friendly rapport that Hermione had been grateful for. Charlie being in Romania was hard enough. She'd hoped not to add any additional obstacles to that by starting off on the wrong foot with his boss. "Everything went perfectly. Thank you so much for all your help. And for keeping this a surprise."
The two women fell in step together as they began the hike from the drop off to the edge of the reserve. "It was my pleasure. Charlie's a good man. Doesn't get enough people visiting this far from home. Besides, he hasn't stopped telling stories about you since he came back."
Hermione could feel the heat flooding to her face and the bark of friendly laughter from Miriana was confirmation enough that she was blushing quite brightly. "Hopefully only good stories," she mumbled mostly to herself though the dragon tamer still heard her and another laugh echoed through the open space. The conversation tapered off as they walked, Hermione looking every which way to take in the sights of rural Romania. The area was gorgeous, lush and green and almost humming with a magical energy she'd never felt before. It was easy to understand why Charlie had chose to stay in this part of the world when he'd left school. She'd find it hard to leave a place like this.
But it wasn't until they crossed the barrier into the reserve that she saw just how magical the place was.
Her eyes went wide and she came to a halt as she took in the sight of a full grown Chinese Fireball about twenty meters away, surrounded by a handful of dragon tamers all performing a variety of tasks that she couldn't even begin to understand. Part of her had worried that when faced with her first dragon since the incident at Gringotts with the Ukranian Ironbelly she'd be terrified. But that wasn't the case at all. She stared up in awe at the beautiful creature, one that she realized perfectly matched the tattoo he had on his right shoulder, the one who would practically purr with contentment when she traced her fingers across the skin where it was inked.
And then she spotted him.
She'd never seen Charlie when he was working. Their paths hadn't crossed when he'd come to Hogwarts with the dragons during the Triwizard Tournament and there'd been no other chances for it to even come into consideration. Now, though, she understood just how well suited he was for the work. She could hear his voice as he called out instructions, words muffling across the open space but the familiar sound was enough to warm her heart. Charlie had always been a confident wizard. There'd never been a moment in the years that she had known him that he didn't seem completely sure of everything he said and did. That confidence seemed to triple here where he was clearly in his element. And in that moment, she knew she'd happily go wherever in the world it meant that he got to continue doing work that gave him that sort of assurance.
"Come. He shouldn't be too much longer. We can wait inside and take care of all that silly paperwork the Ministry insists on having for visitors."
6.
It hadn't quite been a peaceful morning but Charlie had been in good enough spirits when he come into the research center from the field. Alina, his beloved Chinese fireball that had been his charge since he was eighteen, had been a little temperamental lately and hadn't taken as well to coming in for her check up as she usually did. But there'd only been a few scorches, a few indignant huffs that had caught the grass on fire before they'd gotten her to settle down. He'd felt much better about it all when he'd gotten confirmation that she was in good health and he'd headed back in to file away the paperwork before taking her back to her corner of the reserve.
"Weasley! My office." He'd stopped mid-stride at Miriana's words, confused about what she'd need from him. The tone had been friendly enough and his boss had never had issue dressing him down in front of the whole stuff if he was actually in trouble for something. But he did as was requested and made his way to the small office that she kept. He was just about to ask what was going on when he spotted the pretty witch with a mess of curls sitting in front of the desk.
"Hi Charlie."
He'd crossed the office in three strides and pulled his witch up into his arms without a second of hesitation, his face burying itself in her neck as he held her close and breathed her in. He could hear the squeak of surprise and then a soft chuckle that followed as she wrapped her arms around him and held on just as tightly. Hermione was here. His witch - his pretty, brilliant witch was here in Romania and in his arms and he couldn't happier. "Merlin, I've missed you, love."
"I missed you too," he felt her mumble in reply, her voice quiet in his ear. He squeezed her tighter and breathed her in once more before pulling back just enough to catch her in an eager kiss. Her lips felt like heaven and he wasn't sure how he'd handle it when she had to leave but he let himself have the moment to enjoy her there in his arms.
And then his boss cleared her throat.
"Alright, Weasley, take her back to your cabin if you plan on carrying on like that." There was teasing in Miriana's words as the couple broke apart and he tried not to laugh at the embarrassment that was clear on Hermione's face. He offered the older witch a sheepish grin that had gotten him out of trouble before and was happy as can be when she'd sent them on their way, telling him that he could take the rest of the day to show Hermione around the reserve. He'd happily taken her by the hand and quickly led her out of the office, shouting a thanks behind him as he started them off, eager for her to see everything there was to be seen.
7.
"You sure you can't stay a few more days?"
Charlie's voice was soft, muffled thanks to his face being buried in her hair as he nuzzled his nose through her curls. The pair of them were curled up in his bed, a tangled mess of limbs as they refused to part from one another. It had been a week and a half since Hermione had first arrived at the reserve and it had been ten days filled with more excitement and new sights than she'd been able to dream of. She'd met more dragons than she'd ever hoped to see in her life - including the Norwegian Ridgeback she'd helped to hatch as a first year - and the magic of the reserve was more than enough to understand why Charlie had spent so much of his adult life away from his family. It was thrilling to be there and see the creatures so close, see all the details of their bodies and track their behaviors. And the people he worked with had been lovely as well. It had been years since she'd gone this long without someone bringing up her history as a war heroine or her connection to the famed Boy Who Lived. But while she was here she got to just be Hermione. That was possibly her favorite part.
Well, second favorite.
Her true favorite came when they would head back to Charlie's cabin at the end of each day, locking themselves in the cozy space and just getting to be together for hours on end. She'd worried the first couple of nights that it would test both of their patience. While they had spent the night together a few times before he'd left to come back to Romania, they'd never exactly cohabitated. At least, not without the rest of Weasley clan in the house as well. It had been a surprisingly pleasant turn of events when they fell into a comfortable routine. He didn't mind if she'd rather spend an hour or two lost in one of his books as they sat on the couch. She wasn't bothered when he treated her to some of key renditions of muggle songs he liked as he made dinner in the small kitchen. They'd developed a routine of sorts despite how little time they had before she was expected back in London for work and it gave her hope that this was meant for more than just a short affair.
"I wish I could," she replied quietly, her fingers reaching up to card through his messy ginger hair, twisting the long hair loosely around her fingers. She could feel him pulling her tighter to him when her fingers gave a little tug and she couldn't hide the gasp as his warm hands moved across her back.
"What if I just keep you here, Mia? I've been told I can be quite persuasive when I want to be."
"Oh that I don't doubt one bit, Charles Weasley. But I don't think even you could be that persuasive. My boss was rather insistent on when I come back to the office."
"That's because he wasn't dealing with me."
Her scoff quickly shifted to a low moan as his teeth scraped at that sensitive just behind her ear. And without another word all thoughts of travel and leaving were pushed to the wayside as she enjoyed the heaviness of his strong body stretched over hers.
And in the end, he did manage to get her an extra day in Romania that they both took full advantage of.
8.
"I told you Harry, I don't want any sort of fuss. Just a quiet dinner, either somewhere in Diagon Alley or even just at Grimmauld. I really don't want any kind of fuss. Certainly not the kind of fuss Molly would insist on going to. My birthday - it doesn't need to be some kind of grand affair."
She'd had this argument with Harry at least three different times over the past month and she still wasn't sure why her best friend kept trying to insist on some sort of party for her upcoming birthday. Birthdays had never been particularly grand affairs for her growing up - usually just a nice dinner out with her parents and a collection of new books to add to her already overflowing bookshelves. Most years, Harry had respected that and went along with whatever it was that she wanted to do. And for the last few years she'd managed to hold Molly off from planning some kind of extravagant at the feast at the Burrow. She was happy for a quiet dinner and nothing more.
"Fine, Mione. If that's really what you want. But just think about a party maybe. Even just a small one."
She rolled her eyes at his continued persistence, following him up the front step of Grimmauld Place and stepping into the narrow entryway. She was shrugging out of her jacket when she heard a clatter coming from upstairs that sent the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. She glanced at Harry with questioning eyes, feeling more confusion than fear when she realized he wasn't alarmed by the noise. But before she could ask him anything about what was going on, a familiar voice echoed down from the second floor landing.
"Harry? That you? Had a bit of an accident in that study. Think you might have a few doxies still hiding up there. Easy enough to deal with if-"
Her beautiful, burly, ginger wizard stopped halfway down the staircase, frozen when he seemed to realize that it wasn't just Harry in the house. And he may have even looked apologetic if it weren't for the large grin spreading across his handsome face once he spotted her.
"Surprise?"
In the blink of an eye, Hermione had bolted across the room and launched herself right into Charlie's arm, legs wrapping around his waist as he stumbled back a step and did his best to keep them both upright. He was here. He was here in London with her. He'd just told her two nights earlier how as much as he wanted to be with her for her birthday that he couldn't get away. That there was a new hatchling that needed to be looked after and how it had been left in his care. And now he was here, holding onto her just as tight as she was him. She breathed him in and tried not to let out a sob of relief. He was here and that was all she wanted in the world. All the birthday present that she needed.
9.
It had been hours since they'd come up to bed and a while since Hermione had fallen asleep curled up into his side. Charlie should've been sleeping as well. Merlin knew the pretty witch had tested his endurance more than any ornery dragon he'd dealt with. But he was still wide awake, a nervous excitement radiating through him as he laid there with her. His fingers gently played with one of her curls, wrapping it loosely around his finger before letting it slip off and repeating the process. Even in just the faint bit of moonlight coming through the window, she was beautiful. And it was taking every ounce of his self control not reach down into the pocket of his trousers and dig out the ring box that had been there for the past two days.
Coming back to England for her birthday had been a joint effort between him and Harry, the pair of them wanting to give her the best birthday possible. But the ring shopping had been solely his idea, sneaking off to a jeweler he'd heard Bill mention a few years back around Fleur's birthday as soon as he was back in the country. The little box had been burning a hole in his pocket since the moment it had been placed there but he wasn't about to spring that on her in the middle of the night when she was sleeping soundly. He may not have been one for grand romantic gestures but he could do a bit better than a proposal in his pajamas.
But it wouldn't be a long wait.
Distance makes the heart grow fonder was phrase he'd heard a fair amount of times over the last year that they'd been living in different countries and he'd found there was some truth to it. He'd been smitten with Hermione before they'd had their first date. Safe to say after the months of writing one another, of sharing more about himself than he'd ever shared with another person, of wanting nothing more than to wake up beside her that he was completely gone for her. Hermione Granger held his heart in the palm of her hand and he'd gladly let her do whatever she liked with it.
"You're still awake?"
Her voice was heavy with sleep as she stirred, eyes staying closed as she pressed her face closer to his chest and nuzzled into his shoulder. He held her tighter, pressing a kiss to the top of her curls and keeping her tucked against him as he let his own eyes close.
"Can't help it, love. Too excited to be back to sleep just yet."
"Better sleep now before you're shanghaied into family business when your mum finds out you came home and didn't see her first."
He just chuckled softly and held her close, listening as her breathing evened out and slowly followed her lead to sleep.
10.
The ring stayed tucked in his pocket for a whole four more days before a nosy little girl found it.
They'd been sitting around the living room at the Burrow and Victoire had been poking around in the pockets of his jacket in search of whatever goodies he may have had on his person while the adults talked. Her little hands had fumbled with the black velvet box and then her squeal of excitement had caught the attention of all the adults present. He'd tried to snatch it back but the four year old had already slid off his lap and run across the room to show her mother the shiny bauble she'd found, not knowing the significance.
He could feel all the eyes in the room on him but the only pair he was worried about were the honey colored ones to his right. Turning with a sheepish grin and scraping a hand across his face in a bit of embarrassment, he was relieved that at the least she didn't look scared off by the ring he'd had on him. Surprised, yes. Maybe even a little shocked. But she wasn't running from him so it was a start.
"Well, this isn't exactly how I'd planned to do this but, well, I suppose now is as good a time as any. Mia, love, I -"
"Yes."
The answer was soft but it echoed in the quiet room. He couldn't help but chuckle at the fact she hadn't even let him get the words out. "Let a man pop the question first, love. I need to do some part of this right."
"Would you rather I say no?"
There was a snort of laughter across the room that he knew was Ron and he'd have a smack for his little brother later. For the time being, he kept his focus on her, one hand reaching up to cup the side of her face.
"Marry me, Hermione Granger?"
"Yes."
He leaned forward, capturing her lips in an eager kiss as he felt sparks coursing through his blood. Somewhere in the background he could hear the mixed reactions from his family, ranging from excited to jeers for him to get a room. He couldn't care less about any of that at the moment, his entire focus staying on his witch as he held her close, pulling away after a moment to press his forehead to hers. A happiness filled him that he'd never imagined before and he hoped it was a feeling that would stick with them.
And then she mumbled to him, "Good luck getting that ring back from Victoire."
A laugh rumbled through his chest as he pressed another quick kiss to her lips. And then he was up and chasing after his niece, the room filling with laughter and excitement and more happiness than either of them had imagined to come after the war.