Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Author's Note: Charlie is such an underused character that it's fun to characterize him from time to time. This was a little idea that popped up in my head one day, so I decided to write it. I hope I have done Charlie some justice.

Taming Dragons

by Romantic Silence

Charlie pushed open the screen door that led to the Burrow's back garden; the riotous chatter of the party inside slowly fading as he moved farther away from his childhood home. The early evening sun cast its orange light over the tranquil scenery, making the numerous plants and flowers glow a brilliant, sienna hue. He took in the sight before him with a gentle smile, always appreciative of the work his family had done to ensure that the garden never lost its luster. Charlie started along the path that led him deeper into the grounds, stopping to take a seat in one of the stone benches that his father or mother implemented a few years ago.

He opened his coat, pulling out a small, white carton from his inside pocket. Charlie flicked his thumb, opening the top of the rectangular box, revealing two small rows of fags. Without pausing, Charlie took out a single roll and removed a miniature lighter from his pants. He lifted the metallic device up to the end of his stick and lit it. After a few clicks, the fire finally managed to catch onto the end, effectively doing its intended purpose. Before inhaling, Charlie placed the items away and then took a long, relaxing drag. Charlie turned his head sideways to watch the Burrow from afar, taking the fag from his lips and exhaling a small puff of smoke.

Sometimes, it was a good to escape from his family now and then. Not that he didn't love them, Charlie would do anything for each and every single one of them, including some of the pseudo family members they took in over the years such as the twins' friends Lee something, and Ron's best mates, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. However, Charlie was well-aware of how boisterous the Weasleys could get when they're all together. Considering today was the Harry Potter's birthday party, there was no doubt that they would be louder than ever. So, Charlie took off to have some peace of mind before plunging headfirst back into his dysfunctional family.

Although no one would dare say it out loud, Charlie knew that out of all his siblings, he was the least thought of by his parents. Sure he was looked up to by his younger siblings, was close to his single older brother, and had the love of his parents to forever support him, but in the end, Charlie was the most distant from his family. It was not something intentional, but it had become that way due to the circumstances of his job as well as his personality. There was no question that he was fiercely independent, even during the days he was scampered around the Burrow. In a sense, his parents didn't need to worry about him all that much because he was fully capable of taking care of himself.

Charlie definitely didn't begrudge his parents for it nor did he resent the fact that his other brothers were much more well-known than him. It was a simple fact of life that Charlie accepted. Besides, it helped him establish an identity that wasn't just being a 'Weasley'. While he was proud of his heritage, Charlie could understand that in the eyes of their society, a lot of wizards and witches would look to the family name first. And considering the efforts the Weasleys had done in helping attain victory a little more than a year ago, it became synonymous with the epitome of an ally for the Light.

The best way to describe his role in the family was the observer. While Bill led the charge, Percy helping plan the efforts, the twins providing the audacity, Ron being the support, and Ginny the heart; Charlie was the one who looked over his siblings and ensure that each were well taken care of. Maybe his younger siblings didn't see it, but Bill knew that all the times one of them was upset, it was Charlie that picked up on it first and informed either his parents or Bill about it so they could take action.

"You know, smoking is bad for you." A feminine voice called out to him not too far away.

Broke free from his thoughts, Charlie craned his neck towards the direction of the sound. Standing a few feet away from him was Hermione Granger, his little brother's girlfriend and honorary Weasley. He carefully eyed her, comparing the fourteen year old version of Hermione to the young woman he was currently seeing. The difference was astounding, she had grown up absolutely beautiful. However, the only blight on her appearance was the puffy, red eyes that spoke of the tell-tale signs of her crying and the obviously guarded stance she took as she stood there gazing at him.

Charlie gestured her to take a seat next to him on the bench and breathed out another cloud of cigarette smoke, "It's a magical fag. All the benefits without the drawbacks. They're expensive though and hard to make, so I only use them once in a blue moon."

Hermione merely nodded at the explanation, not the least bit fascinated by the information; something uncharacteristic of her considering her character. Well, she was upset after all. She didn't take up him on his offer, slightly hesitating on doing so. Charlie, however, was not going to have any of that, "Hey. Come sit. It'll help you relax."

The girl finally acceded and quietly took a seat on the bench next to him. There was a huge enough gap between the two of them on the seat to be left to their own devices, but Charlie felt the tension slowly increasing as time went on. He had his own romantic relationships in the past, but he felt absolutely awkward sitting together next to his younger brother's girl. There was something bothering her, and from what he knew, the only thing that might have brought this young woman to tears lately was his brother. Sometimes, he just wanted to hit his little brother upside the head. Here he was, with a determined, gorgeous woman, and the only thing he could do was fight and make her cry!

"Hermione, if I'm not being too nosy, you want to talk about it? I mean, I know we hardly know each other, but it's good to let things out from time to time." Charlie offered as he placed his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. To him, Hermione was like another sister; she was part of the family now.

She sniffled lightly, but shook her head, "I don't want to say anything bad about your brother."

Charlie snorted, "Please, half the time I'm with him, we end up trading insults. It's perfectly fine. Ron could be a complete idiot. And if it makes you feel better talking smack about him, then great! I'll be happy to help."

Hermione expressed a small smile, even to the point of chuckling briefly. Charlie grinned, at least thankful that he had managed to cheer her up, even if it was only a little bit. His humor certainly helped as Hermione's body relaxed and she said, "A few months back, Ron asked me to marry him."

"Oh." Charlie gasped shocked. He certainly hadn't expected that. But, it didn't seem like it was happy news considering Hermione's state at the moment.

"I told him to wait for my answer. So, just then, he confronted me about it. I told him I was still thinking about it. He got angry and then I got angry, and then we both started yelling. Eventually, he said some hurtful things and I came down here." Hermione confessed with a heavy sigh.

"What a git." Charlie muttered underneath his breath, "You can't just do that to a girl."

"What was that Charlie?"

"Err, just talking to myself." Charlie admitted sheepishly, "Anyway, Ron's just being an asshole. Marriage is a big deal, you can't just jump into it. But, you have me curious, why are you waiting so long to give him an answer?"

Hermione turned away, her body shifting to resignation. Charlie cursed in his mind, thinking he had crossed the line. He should have realized that was a sore spot, and he shouldn't have pried into it. Much to his surprise though, Hermione decided to answer him, "I'm not sure if I love him. I mean, when your boyfriend of a year or so finally pops the question, shouldn't I have just said yes right away? But...when he did ask, my mind was a blank and I – well – I really couldn't see myself being together with him like that."

"Well, then, isn't that your answer?" Charlie said simply. While he fully realized that what they were talking about could potentially leave his brother hurt in the end, Charlie certainly didn't want him or Hermione to be in a loveless marriage, "If you don't really love Ron, then why are you even together with him?"

"It's because...it's because...isn't it what everyone expected? Everyone has always been saying we're great together. That he was the one meant for me? Besides, if I tell him this, I won't only hurt him, but your family as well. I don't want that."

Charlie was absolutely astounded. That was her reason? He always wondered how Hermione and Ron had gotten together considering all he had ever seen them do was argue; he had assumed that although they fought, they were completely in love with one another. Not to mention that the whole proposal issue was just cold feet on Hermione's part. But to think, that her entire basis for her relationship with his younger brother was some form of obligation towards his family and what others thought? It was stupid.

"That is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard." Charlie announced bluntly, "Hermione, I thought you were the smartest witch of your age. If you're unhappy with him and don't really love him, then save yourself the trouble and just break up. In the end, if you decide to marry him, you're going to subjugate yourself to a loveless marriage, and it's just going to get worse."

"But, what about your family? They've done so much for me. I don't want to lose that."

"Don't insult my family. We're not so petty." Charlie hissed, "I don't think mum, dad, Bill, Percy, George, Ginny, and Ron will happy to know that you're practically being forced to be with someone you're not sure you love."

"But -"

"No buts." Charlie interrupted, "Let me tell you a story. When I was in Hogwarts in my final year, my mum and dad wanted me to follow in dad's footsteps and work in the Ministry. They even help set up a job interview so that I could start off well. But, the thing was, I didn't want to be a Ministry worker. While I would always look up to my dad and how well he does his job, what he did wasn't something I wanted to do. So I helped convince Hagrid to set me up with a job in Romania.

"On the day the job interview was to take place. I was gone. I basically ran away from home and went to Romania with the money I saved up. I left a note for my parents that my dream was to become a Dragon Tamer and that I left Britain to pursue my dream job. Fortunately, Hagrid is actually pretty famous in the Tamer circles, so with his recommendation, I was able to land the job with a really good Dragon Taming team.

"Of course, my parents weren't happy, mum especially. She sent me Howlers after Howlers after Howlers. Errol was ran ragged. For a long time, I also followed my family's expectations. I worked hard in school, trying to get good grades, playing quidditch, and all that. I even told McGonagall I wanted to be a Ministry worker during my future career interview. But I wasn't happy. I wanted to be a Dragon Tamer. It took all the courage I had to take that step forward.

"I was basically cut off from any support of my parents for about a year or so. Eventually, Bill and dad calmed mum down enough and helped me reconcile with her. In the end, they saw how happy I was doing what I loved and forgave me. I'm not going to lie to you, you're going to hurt Ron and you may think you're betraying this family, but the truth is, you will only hurt us worst if you go along with it all.

"Like what Dumbledore used to tell me when I was in Hogwarts and I told him about my aspirations, 'do what is right, not what is easy'. So if you want to run off and start Dragon Taming and that's what makes you happy, I say go for it."

Nothing was said further. The two remained sitting on the bench as the sun slowly settled underneath the horizon. As day became night, Charlie took the final drag of his cigarette before flinging it away. He got up, staring at Hermione's silenced form, her brows creased with thought. Charlie turned towards the Burrow and started his journey back inside. As he continued down the path, Charlie spotted Harry coming out of the house, walking swiftly towards him, his face alight with worry.

"Charlie! Have you seen Hermione?" Harry had frantically asked him.

Charlie pointed his thumb over his shoulder, "Yeah, she's back there. She's up -"

Before he could finish, Harry dashed away, drawing closer to his best friend. Charlie quietly observed them from afar, taking careful note of Hermione's sudden embrace into Harry's arms as she wept. Their relationship had always been close; their intimacy being on levels that could be considered crossing the boundaries of a platonic friendship. As they wrapped their arms around one another, Charlie thought how fitting they looked together and wondered how the two of them never had gotten together during their school years. Charlie simply shrugged and went back inside to enjoy the party.

A year later, much to his surprise, he was asked to be the best man to Harry's and Hermione's wedding.