Work Text:
Charlie knew he shouldn’t be doing this, but the temptation was just too strong. With the two of them switching off to watch the new hatchlings round the clock, he hadn’t seen his girlfriend in days. And he bloody well missed her.
Besides, it was Valentine’s Day. Charlie wasn’t making his girl spend Valentine’s Day alone.
He had everything with him for a grand picnic. If the little ones would stay asleep for a few hours, they might even get time to do more than talk and eat. Merlin, he hoped the little buggers slept well tonight. He missed Hermione’s touch.
When he reached the hatchery, he smiled at the sight inside. Hermione was curled up on the one comfy chair the dragon handlers kept there — for just this kind of vigil — with a blanket tucked around her and a book in hand. Merlin, Charlie loved the look of concentration on her face when she read.
Really, he just loved everything about her.
He knocked softly at the door so as not to startle Hermione and, more importantly, to keep from waking the baby Fireballs they were trying to keep alive since their mummy dragon had abandoned them. She looked up from her book in alarm, glancing first to the babies, her wand flying into her hand before her eyes met his and she instantly relaxed. At her smile, he went inside.
“Charlie, what are you doing here?” she asked quietly.
He answered by tossing the picnic basket in the air and bringing his wand up to float it down — and the contents out — onto the blanket he had conjured. Hermione rolled her eyes at his antics, but couldn’t stop her returning grin.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she protested mildly.
“I couldn’t stay away,” Charlie told her before pulling her close and delivering what Hermione often referred to as a toe-curling kiss. From the way she responded, he knew he had gotten it just right.
“But the babies—”
“Are asleep. And you deserve to be spoiled tonight. It’s Valentine’s Day. And you deserve to be spoiled every day, so I’ve been remiss lately.”
She stared up at him with a smile that sent heat surging through his body. “You’ve been just as busy as I have,” Hermione reminded him.
“Maybe. Doesn’t change the fact that I want to show my beautiful witch how much I love her.”
Hermione blushed, lowering her head a little before he tipped up her chin with a finger and said, “It’s true, Draga.”
“I know,” she answered. “I love you, too.”
“Good,” Charlie answered. “Now let’s get some food in you. I know you just had a sandwich before you left the house.”
“What did you bring then?” she questioned. “Or maybe I should ask what didn’t you bring.” She laughed quietly as she looked at the picnic blanket full of delicious looking food.
With a wave of his wand, candles glowed in the dim lighting of the hatchery and the two of them sat down to enjoy the meat pies and crisps he had brought, veggies and fruits, and the biscuits she knew he must have spent hours making. They were her favorites, but she never asked for them because they were so complex.
“You didn’t need to do all this,” she told him. Before he could argue, she added, “But thank you. Having you here makes my whole day… well, night.”
They both laughed and then talked — about dragons and dreams and things they loved. Most of all, they talked about the future and spending years together. It was sweet and perfect. Charlie’s heart surged with contentment as they finished as much as they could eat and began to put the food away.
The moment it was clear, he cast a Scourgify on the blanket to clear the crumbs away and then gently pushed her down onto it.
“Charlie,” she giggled. “I should stay alert—”
“I’ll keep you alert,” he promised as he began to kiss along the column of her neck. He couldn’t get enough of the taste of her skin.
Hermione groaned at the contact, her breathing immediately becoming labored as Charlie worked her up just as he knew she liked it. He was just working her jumper up when he felt something heavy land on his back. Something heavy and sharp.
He screamed and Hermione, too, yelped in surprise, then started laughing uncontrollably. Charlie felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment as he reached back and pulled a Chinese Fireball off his back. The little thing was puffed up with anger, roaring a tiny, angry roar at Charlie.
Behind him, the nest they had built was a writhing mass of angry little creatures and when Charlie turned to look at it, he couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up. They were just so bloody cute when they were filled with righteous anger — like hissing kittens, but with scales.
“I’m sorry, little ones,” he apologized. “I wasn’t hurting your mum.”
“I’m not their mum,” Hermione protested, though she was still laughing.
“Closest thing to one they have. And they clearly claimed you.” As he said it, he held the one he had in his arms close to her so it could see for itself that she was okay. The little dragon nuzzled into her chest, making Charlie grumble. “That could have been me if you bloody cockblocks would have stayed asleep.”
He wasn’t sure, but he thought the dragon was smirking at him as Hermione petted its little head. “Charlie! Don’t talk like that around the little listening ears,” she scolded playfully. Then she sighed as her laughter finally ran out. “Well they’re all wide awake now.”
“I’ll help you feed them,” Charlie offered.
“I would like that,” she agreed.
So he helped her get the whole nest of them full so that hopefully they would go back to sleep. When that didn’t work, the two of them played with the little dragons for a while, hoping to wear them out. Then Hermione read to them from her book for a while. Charlie would never forget the sight of her reading and the little dragons listening so intently.
But he was still more than ready for them to go to bed. Finally, he Accio’d his guitar and sang to them until, finally, every last little dragon curled up in their big pile and went to sleep. When he finished the last note of the song, he set his guitar down and turned to Hermione… who was fast asleep on the picnic blanket.
Charlie chuckled to himself. He fetched the blanket she had been wrapped in when he arrived, cast a cushioning charm on the floor under her, and settled down next to her. They might as well all get some rest now. He was already asleep when the hatchlings slipped from their nest and draped themselves beside and over their mummy and daddy to sleep away the night.