Dragoste

Hermione

Hermione Granger had been born with the black-brown splodge just over her heart, under her clavicle. Her parents, being muggles, had merely written it off as a prominent birthmark and left it at that. As she grew, however, that splodge stretched and spread to reveal a more defined shape, though she could not yet distinguish what of. Despite the apparently plain mark - after all, everyone had birthmarks - she could not help but feel a certain attachment to it; it meant something, she just knew it did. Her gut feeling had proven right when a knock on the near-twelve-year-old's door had flipped her world upside down.

She was a witch... Magic existed and suddenly a whole lot of things in her life started to make sense. The stern lady - Professor McGonagall as she'd been introduced - had not yet said anything about that mark she'd been born with and Hermione couldn't stop herself, wanting all her questions answered now that so many already finally had been, as her curiosity spilled over.

She just had to ask, "What about marks? Like birthmarks? Do they mean something?"

McGonagall was taken aback slightly by the energy-infused question but quickly recovered. She moved her clothing out the way slightly to reveal the crook where her neck met her shoulder and a mark similar to Hermione's, albeit rather faded, rested and asked, "Like this?"

Hermione nodded vigorously. There was a sadness in McGonagall's eyes as her fingers brushed over the mark but only for a moment before she turned to the young girl in front of her, all traces of that sadness gone, "All witches and wizards have this kind of mark. We refer to it as a soul mark or soul bond. Every mark is unique to only two people. Those two people are, for lack of a better word, soulmates. Whomever holds the match to your mark is your destined partner."

There was a sharp inhalation from Hermione's parents; their daughter was far too young to be thinking about things such as soulmates. Hermione herself was sitting with her brows furrowed as she took in the information the professor had given her. Soul mark... Soulmate... She didn't know if she liked the idea of the universe deciding who she was destined to be with and she wasn't quite sure how to react so she settled with a simple, "Okay."

The professor had answered the rest of her and her parents' questions before taking her to Diagon Alley to pick up her school supplies. The knowledge of what her mark meant weighed on her but she refused to let it bring down the excitement of experiencing this whole new world so she forced herself to be happy that her curiosity had been sated and she now knew what that mark over her heart meant. She would deal with this whole soulmates business when she needed to. For now, though, she shoved it the back of her mind and tried to forget.

The first time Hermione met Charlie Weasley was not until the Quidditch World Cup. She had heard of him, of course, in their first year due to the whole situation with Norbert Norberta but she had not actually met the second oldest Weasley until the summer before her fourth year. When she had arrived at the Burrow, they had exchanged brief introductions and would occasionally exchange greetings. It was not until they were in the tent that Hermione was properly paying attention to him. She had already noted that he was tall and extremely attractive but what had now caught her attention was the mark on his forearm that had been revealed when he had rolled up his sleeves to help his parents around the tent. She would recognise that mark anywhere, having spent years memorising the shape and details of her own.

Blood rushed to her ears and she could barely hear the commotion around her as her heart pounded loudly. What was she supposed to do? Here, in front of her, was her soulmate and yet she felt so completely lost. There was a pull through her mark that almost begged for her to walk over to him and her heart stuttered when his gaze met hers. She spun on her heel and went over to her things to grab a book and settled into a quiet part of the tent - as quiet as it could get anyways. She couldn't do this. She was only fourteen! And he was... what, twenty-one?!

"What you reading?" Hermione jolted at the interruption, heart racing. She turned slowly to the voice, knowing already who had spoken to her, and looked into Charlie Weasley's coffee-coloured eyes. He was leaning over the back of the chair she was currently sitting on, looking down at her curiously. Shocked at this interaction that was a lot more than the simple greetings she was used to with him, the words lodged themselves in her throat and all she could do to answer him was close her book slightly to show the cover 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'.

He seemed slightly surprised at that but a grin quickly spread across his face, his eyes twinkling, "Not what I was expecting, Granger, I won't lie to you. You have an interest in magical creatures?"

The comment was enough to shake her from her daze as she was filled with indignation that he had any kind of preconceived perception of what she was or wasn't interested in. She didn't know why it annoyed her so and she couldn't stop the bite in her reply, "I will have you know that I have an interest in all things magical, not just magical creatures. And anyways, I'm not quite sure what it has to do with you."

She ignored the tug of pain in her chest at the harsh words that had tumbled out her mouth before she had had a chance to actually think. He would surely hate her now, her and her needlessly sharp tongue, and the thought stung (not that she would admit it). However, contrary to her expectations, Charlie's smile only grew wider and there was a mischievous shine in his eyes, something she recognised from the last three years she'd spent around the Weasley twins.

"Well, right now you're reading a book on magical creatures, something I happen to be very well-versed in." She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks at his teasing tone as he continued, "I don't want to brag but I was Kettleburn's star student during my time at Hogwarts. You have any questions you want answered, magical creatures or... anything magical, I'm free anytime." He threw her a casual wink before backing off to go back to helping his parents around the tent, leaving Hermione behind with a whole mental mess that she now needed to sort through. What was it with Weasleys and teasing her about her love for reading?

Things had been hectic after the whole situation with the Death Eaters and Dark Mark at the Quidditch World Cup. This meant that Hermione and Charlie had not had much more of a chance to interact properly before she was back at Hogwarts. So it was surprising, to say the least, when a parcel suddenly dropped into her lap during their first week back while she was eating breakfast with Ron and Harry. The parcel came with a letter attached which she quickly discovered was from the man who shared her soul mark.

Dear Someone Not Interest in Magical Creatures,

I've heard about how much you like to read and thought this might help change your supposed lack of interest in magical creatures.

From Someone Well-Versed on Magical Creatures

She rolled her eyes at his note before opening the parcel. It was a book titled 'Hoax and Dreams' written by Laura Thorn. Hermione had in fact heard of this book before and had been interested in reading it (with the author being a muggle monster hunter) and of course her soulmate would have known exactly what book to get her.

"Who's that from then?" Ron asked as he looked over the note and book.

"Just... a new friend I made." She didn't really know how to explain why his brother would send her something; she didn't fully know why he had decided to send her something either. Harry and Ron shared a look of confusion at her extremely vague response but decided to drop it knowing that you could not force information out of Hermione she was not already willing to share.

She placed the note into the book and slid them into her bag. Later, when she was done with all her lessons and homework and back in the Gryffindor common room, she deigned to write a reply to the address that had been scribbled discretely on the corner of the note.

Dear Mr Busybody,

I never actually said I wasn't interested in magical creatures. I merely stated that magical creatures weren't the ONLY things I'm interested in. Regardless, I am very grateful for the book. I've been wanting to read it for a while so you've saved me the effort of having to look for it. If you don't mind me asking, why do you want me to be interested in magical creatures anyways?

I heard from Ron that you headed back to Romania. I do hope the dragons are treating you well.

From Miss Bookworm

She quickly rushed to the owlery to send off her letter before returning to Gryffindor Tower and heading up to her room. Once ready for bed, she settled down with the book that Charlie had sent her, a small smile fixed on her face.

After that first week, Hermione and Charlie had been exchanging letters several times a week for several weeks. At first they had kept talk to magical creatures and he had sent her various more books - 'Dreadful Denizens of the Deep', 'Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland' and 'Men Who Love Dragons Too Much' to name a few (she tended to read through them quite quickly) - but soon they were talking about his work with the dragons in Romania and her lessons and school life. He would go on about his colleagues and tell her stories of when he had been at Hogwarts and she would complain about Fred and George's latest pranks and ramble about the newest thing she had learnt that had caught her interest. Their letters had rapidly grown from several lines to paragraphs to pages of writing. Her letters from Charlie had honestly been the biggest factor in helping keep her together while she was stuck in the middle of the stand-off between Harry and Ron. She was happy to say that she had found a friend in Charlie Weasley.

It was a week before the first task when she received her next letter from Charlie, the shortest it had been since their first few. She frowned with worry and quickly went to read it.

Dear Miss Bookworm,

I'm not going to be able to send or receive any letters for a while as I'll be travelling. No worries, though, because I'll be heading to you. I'm not really supposed to be telling anyone this so I'm trusting you to keep this a secret but I'm transporting some dragons to Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament. I'll probably be there two to three days before the first task. If you wanted, we could meet for a bit? I'll be quite busy keeping the dragons in check but I should be able to spare a few hours on the night before the first task. Now, I know how much of a stickler you are for following the rules but, if you want to, meet me at the edge of the Forbidden Forest before midnight. It's okay if not though; I'll just send you a letter when I'm back in Romania.

From Mr Busybody

Hermione didn't know how to feel about the contents of this most recent letter. It meant that dragons were going to be involved in the first task and that made her very worried for Harry. She was also excited, though, at the thought of seeing Charlie for the first time in a while - she told herself it was only because of their budding friendship and nothing to do with their soul bond whatsoever. However, seeing him would involve breaking the rules, something she was adamantly against (unless in a perilous situation), and she was scared at how willing so was to break those rules just to see her friend for a few hours. She told herself that it was because she knew she wouldn't get as many chances to see him as he lived in a whole other country... She had a lot to think about.

Hermione was pacing back and forth in her room. It was already eleven in the evening on the day before the first task and she still hadn't decided if she was going to go meet Charlie or not. She felt like she should still be in the common room with Harry trying to think of some way to counter a dragon; thankfully, he had managed to figure out that dragons were part of the first task without her telling him and so she had technically kept Charlie's secret. Harry had lent her his invisibility cloak when she had asked - he had been a bit concerned about her request but he trusted her and lent it without asking any questions - and it was currently in a pile on her bed that she glared at as she continued pacing. Okay, so she'd practically already decided to go meet Charlie; she was just stressed about that fact that she was about to willingly break the rules for something that was not an emergency in the slightest.

She sent the cloak one last glare before snatching it from her bed and throwing it over herself, going to follow through with the decision she had basically made as soon as she'd read Charlie's last letter. She quickly made her way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest where Charlie had told her to go, keeping the cloak on as she looked for him. It hadn't taken her long to find the tall redhead but she waited for him to finish his conversation with, what she assumed to be, another dragon keeper before going up to him and poking his arm to alert him of her presence. He looked around confused when she remembered she was still under the invisibility cloak. With a mental forehead slap, she took the cloak off and gave him an awkward smile as she saw the shock in his features.

It was silent for a few moments and she was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable, "Should I not have come?"

That seemed to wake him from his stunned state, "What? Oh no, I'm glad you did. I just... I wasn't actually expecting you to come."

Oh. Hermione's heart ached as she realised she had probably misread his intentions in his letter. He had probably offered to meet out of some kind of obligation. He didn't actually want her there. "Oh, umm. I'm just going to... I'm gonna go-"

Charlie quickly reached out for her wrist, stopping her from backing away (something she hadn't realised she had been doing), "No, wait." He sighed and she flinched. She felt suddenly aware of how much older he was; when they were writing their letters, it had felt like they were on even standing, talking as equals. In that moment, however, she had never felt more like she was some immature young girl with a silly crush on her best friend's older brother... Oh and now she'd acknowledged it, the fact she'd been denying for several weeks: she had a crush on Charlie Weasley...

She couldn't be more glad for the interruption to her thoughts as he continued, "I didn't mean that as you shouldn't have come. I'm really glad you did. I just thought that you wouldn't want to break the rules to come out here... I'm happy you did, though." He whispered the last part and she barely caught it, she probably wouldn't have if the forest hadn't been as quiet as it was.

"Well, considering how many rules I've broken these last three years trying to keep Harry and Ron safe, what do a few more matter to see a friend?" Her body relaxed as she heard him chuckle, a low rumble that she could feel through the hand still gripped around her wrist. She let out a small laugh of her own in response, quickly cut off as the redhead enveloped her in a brief hug, "Well, it's nice to see you too, friend."

Just like that, Hermione felt at ease, happy to push her earlier revelation into the depths of her mind and settle into the banter she was used to from their letter exchanges, "Oh, are we not friends, Charles Septimus Weasley?"

She couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her lips as she watched him splutter at the use of his full name, "How do you even know my full name?"

She simply shrugged, "I've heard your mum's rants about you."

He shook his head in disbelief, "You're evil. Do you even know what my middle name means?"

Hermione hummed, trying to bite back the smile that threatened to break out on her face, "Seventh-"

"Seventh! It makes literally no sense to give the second son a middle name that means seventh! I love both my parents dearly but what in Merlin's name were they thinking?!"

"So middle name's a bit of a touchy subject..." She trailed off as she saw him teasingly narrow his eyes at her while she grinned cheekily back at him.

After a few moments, Charlie sighed in defeat and gave another shake of his head, muttering under his breath, "Evil, I tell you. Evil."

She stuck her tongue out at him before speaking up, "So you said you could spare a few hours. What do you wanna do?"

It was his turn to grin at her, the look in his eyes worrying her slightly, "You wanna come see the dragons we've got?"

Yeah, she was right to be worried. Before she had a chance to actually reply, Charlie took her hand and led her to some cages where she could see several dragons sleeping. Merlin! They were massive.

"You don't have to worry about them waking up. We've taken measures to make sure they're well-rested for tomorrow." He winked at her.

Some of her worries alleviated, she dared to venture closer to a lizard-like dragon with black scales. Charlie walked with her, stopping before they got too close, "Be careful, love. That one's a Hungarian Horntail and, as I'm sure you know, she's pretty dangerous."

Hermione nodded in understanding; Hungarian Horntails were one of the most dangerous breeds of dragon. She studied the Horntail's side profile, fascinated.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Charlie smiling as he asked her, "So, what do you think? Magnificent, isn't she?"

Hermione couldn't explain the feeling that welled in her chest as she watched these striking beasts. The best she could do was nod in agreement as she breathlessly commented, "She's beautiful."

He practically beamed at her, "Isn't she just?"

"What are the breeds of the other dragons?" She asked, not taking her eyes of the majestic creatures.

"We've also got a Chinese Fireball, a Common Welsh Green and a Swedish Short-Snout."

They spent some time walking around as Charlie showed her the other dragons. Hermione listened intently as he told her all sorts of stories about the dragons he had brought and Charlie happily answered all the questions she asked. Eventually, they moved to an area where they sat for several hours and talked. They talked about dragons and magical beasts, about the books he had sent her and caught up on the things they hadn't been able to fit in their letters. Hermione was slightly surprised at how easily the conversation flowed between them and she couldn't deny the disappointment she felt when she knew she had to leave.

"I'll write to you when I'm back in Romania." Hermione relished the tight hug Charlie gave her as they bid their farewells. She threw Harry's cloak back over herself as she made her way back to the castle.

She had greatly enjoyed her time with Charlie but it had made something very apparent to her, something she desperately wanted to ignore. So, as she quietly snuck into her bed, she came to the conclusion that she needed to find something to keep her mind off a certain redheaded dragon keeper.