Written as a gift for Ashenrenee

Characters/Pairings: Charlie Weasley x Hermione Granger

Asking for Help

Charlie didn't know Hermione Granger so well. He had seen her, talked to her, knew that his brothers cared about her. Percy liked her because she took him seriously. Fred and George liked her because she was so easy to rile up. Ron liked her because there was a story about a troll, and punching baby Malfoy in the face… And of course, there was the whole Golden Trio thing…

So when the bushy haired witch who had become too thin for her own health during the war approached him with worry and squared shoulders he didn't know what could she want from him.

She bit her lip and took a deep breath.

"I know you are busy," she began talking, making his eyebrows rose up. "And with Fred injured, and… but I really don't know who to go to about this, you are actually the only person I know off that could have any idea about what to do… And I think it could wait, but probably it's not a good idea, I mean… Maybe there is nothing you can actually do…."

The poor girl was rambling so bad Charlie considered letting her finish, just for a laugh or two but he felt bad for the witch.

"Hermione," he gained her attention. "Just spit it out."

She sighed.

"There was an incident," she said, and Charlie nodded, meeting her eyes and prompting her to go on. "Well, during the war actually. An incident that involved breaking into Gringotts and escaping on a dragon…"

"What?" Charlie said dumbly; surely it wasn't a real story. It was… Surely she was joking.

"Well, the dragon that was protecting the vaults in the Bank… It was barbaric how they treated him. They conditioned him to expect pain and blinded him. It lived underground, and it's a dragon! A creature that is supposed to fly. So when we had no other option; Ron, Harry and I… Well… Long story short that dragon is free now, but I imagine after years of imprisonment and conditioning… I'm not sure if he could find food, or if it would be possible to rehabilitate it? I was thinking if there was anything I can do, you'd be first-"

"You… You want to make sure the dragon is fed and healthy… That's what you-"

He stopped and stared at the young woman before him. Had he ever met such a person? She was right in front of him, with jeans two sizes too big for her, bags under her eyes, her hair matted, her lips chapped… She had been on the run for a year and fought in a battle, and wasn't it just yesterday he overheard her making plans to help with rebuilding Hogwarts, and going to Australia for some reason that involved her parents… And among all that she still thought and worried about the dragon she already had saved. She already had the best she could possibly dream of doing. She had already managed the thing that people in the dragon reserve in Romania argued and dreamed about. She did it while saving the world.

She was nervously waiting for his response, worrying her lip with her teeth and probably thinking if her questioning was stupid and uneducated… Surely worried that she was bothering him. And Charlie Weasley was sure she had never seen such a beautiful thing in his life.

"I don't know if we'd be able to find it…" Charlie started, and she took it as him refusing by the way her shoulders sagged. "But we could definitely alert the Dragon Reserves around the world and find out where it ended up. There is a great chance that it is already found by someone works in one. And if not, we could track it down together. If… if you are interested? Or I could do it myself. Without you, if you are busy… But-," he stopped himself as he felt he was beginning to sound incoherent.

He instead focused on her face as it lit up and she smiled at him, making him wonder how she would look with healthy and full cheeks.

"I would love that…" she said with passion. "We would have to calculate where it could end up, considering it didn't have exercise, and we know its initial starting point. With your knowledge, arithmancy and a map… It can be possible to figure out possible routes…"

She was talking animatedly, her arms moving with excitement and Charlie found himself fascinated with her enthusiasm, her mind and her heart.

At that point, he knew he would find that dragon for her if it was the last thing he would have to do. For the first time since the war had begun he felt as though everything would be alright, as long as Hermione Granger was in the world.

And if he was very, very lucky he would be right by her side.