Paparazzi by WeasleyForMe

This is a (belated) birthday story for Clover Bay! Thanks for your patience! And thanks to Prince Charming for beta reading!

With her new celebrity status after the war, Hermione finds it difficult to maintain romantic relationships. But what if she is thrown into one inadvertently? With Charlie Weasley? A birthday gift for Clover Bay :)

Hermione never dreamed how different her life would become once the war against Lord Voldemort had ended. The only focus had been ending the war as quickly as possible, a task on which Hermione had focused all of her energy as a member of The Golden Trio. But as it turned out, even if she had known how things would turn out, there was no way she could have prepared for it in advance.

After the initial shock, things started to become a little strange. Along with mourning for those lost during the war and enjoying new freedoms, Hermione had become something of a celebrity, much to her own astonishment.

"Why would anyone want to know which brand of clothing I wear?!" she had asked Ginny after having seen an article and set of photographs of herself in The Daily Prophet.

It only seemed to get worse from there. As much as Hermione wanted to move to Venezuela or just become a hermit, she tried to carry on with her life as normal. Unfortunately, her relationships suffered, namely those she tried to form with men.

She cringed when she thought back. She had tried dating Viktor Krum after the war, but the media buzz they attracted was unrivaled. After a very quick affair, they were finished, only to remain friends. After that, she tried to have a normal relationship with Oliver Wood, but the rumors of infidelity that were plastered all over the newspapers tore them apart.

From there, it was evident that any and all boyfriends would end up running for the hills the first time they saw themselves in the gossip column next to Rita Skeeter's article in the Sunday edition of the Daily Prophet.

So, twenty-one years old and completely single, Hermione stepped out of her flat just north of Diagon Alley and strode toward the shopping section of the city. As the sun beat down around her, she took her time, stopping to look at anything and everything that interested her. She needed to stop by Gringotts and cash her paycheck, and from there, the world was her oyster.

"Should I buy the new volume of Advanced Transfigurations for Transfigural Advancement or look for shoes to wear to Ron's wedding first?" she thought aloud as she exited the bank. She decided to focus on the shoes first; Ron and Luna would be married in just a few weeks, and she still hadn't purchased anything to go with her floral dress.

Happily, she left the shoe store wearing brand new strappy pink heels with her jeans and t-shirt. After all, it would be wise to break them in ahead of time rather than suffer the discomfort of new shoes at the ceremony. She turned toward Flourish & Blotts to purchase her book, but her heel caught between two cobblestones, and she ended up grabbing onto a complete stranger to keep her balance.

"I'm so sorry sir!" she gasped, regaining her footing.

"It's quite alright," he replied, grasping her by the elbows to assure that she was steady.

Hermione looked up into the stranger's eyes, only to realize he wasn't a stranger at all.

"Charlie?!" she gasped.

"Hermione," he nodded with a smile. "I would have never guessed that was you in those extremely high heels. So, how are you?"

She smiled brightly up at Ron's older brother and pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm doing fine," she mumbled into his muscled shoulder. She wasn't surprised to find that she could barely fit her arms around him; he had always been the strongest of the Weasley boys. And, Hermione had to admit, he was the handsomest as well.

"How've you been?" she asked, releasing him and looking into his deep blue eyes.

"Busy, but doing great," he answered as he pulled Hermione out of the way of some stray, running children. "Want to grab some coffee? You know, just to get out of the middle of the sidewalk." His smile was contagious, and his dimples were perhaps this cutest thing Hermione had seen all year.

"Mmhmm," she managed to hum in response as he took her hand and led her up a small path into a brightly coloured coffee shop. She claimed a table for them while Charlie bought two steamy mugs of coffee. Hermione had to contain a giggle as she watched the witch behind the counter practically drooling over the dreamy, ginger patron she was serving. Charlie apparently didn't notice as he grabbed the mugs and made his way to their table.

"So, what are you doing out and about in London?" he asked, stirring some sugar into his drink.

Hermione pursed her lips. "I actually happen to live in London. I believe the better question is what are you doing here? Why aren't you in Romania?"

Charlie took a sip of coffee and winked at her. "Moved back."

"You're back? Permanently?" she asked. She had to bite her lip, hoping her voice hadn't held too much excitement.

"More or less, but I'm still consulting and doing some dragon related research part time. I have barely had a moment to myself since I moved back, because I was staying at the Burrow. But, I just rented an apartment a few streets south of Diagon Alley."

Hermione absorbed his words as she watched him drink the last bit of his coffee. "That's very interesting," she murmured.

"And what have you been up to? Other than the continuous stream of articles informing me how I can dress just like Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, I haven't heard much about you two," he told her. She could tell by his tone that he was joking, but she blushed regardless.

"Well, I've been writing Transfiguration textbooks, actually, and the latest edition is available in stores today. I was going to pick up a copy and autograph it as a joke for Ron's wedding gift," she said, biting her lip and grinning as Charlie let out a booming laugh. "And… well that's about it," she finished lamely and took a long drink of her coffee.

"No social life?"

"Not really," she shrugged. "It's been… difficult, since the war that is, to make a lot of time for myself." She set down her empty mug and was once again captivated by the dimple displayed along with his half-smile.

"That's a shame," he nodded in understanding. "Well, if you're ever interested, send me an owl. I'd love to take you out sometime."

"Oh, yeah! I'd like that!" Hermione was a little excited and a little stunned. "I'll send you an owl," she promised as they stood to leave the café.

"Take care of yourself," he told her, and she smiled, pressing herself onto her toes to kiss his cheek. It was a little stubbly, and he was wearing intoxicating cologne. She let her hand rest on his chest to keep her balance in the new pink shoes as she took one more deep breath of his scent. He chuckled as she released him.

"You too, Charlie."

And they both headed in separate directions to finish their errands.

Charlie had a horrible night's sleep. He kept waking up after having dream after dream about Hermione Granger, and some of the dreams were enough to make him miserable that he was in his bed, alone, without her. She had been a sight for sore eyes. It had been a few years since he'd seen her in person, and she looked absolutely breathtaking. Which was probably why he'd had several rather hot dreams about the younger witch.

By the time the sun was rising, Charlie woke fully to find several owls perched outside his bedroom window hooting. He opened it and let them fly in.

"What the hell?" he asked as they dropped numerous letters on his bed along with the morning edition of the Daily Prophet before all flying back out into the brisk morning air.

He opened a pink envelope from Ginny and read a note inquiring as to whether or not he was dating Hermione.

Confused, he opened a piece of parchment from Bill asking if he was really shagging Hermione.

Nothing was making sense. He dropped that note on top of the others in favor of the newspaper. But when he saw the cover story, his jaw dropped and his eyes nearly bugged out. There he was, in several photographs under the article Granger Is At It Again!

He quickly scanned the pictures. Images of Hermione hugging him on the sidewalk, the two of them sitting together for coffee, and their goodbye kiss on the cheek were all displayed in 4 inch by 6 inch glory for all of the wizarding world to see. And worse, there was a notation that more pictures were available on page five!

"My sweet Merlin!" Charlie exclaimed, running his hands through his messy hair. As he eyed the pile of letters from friends and family members, he heard Hermione's voice calling him through his floo connection.

"Charlie! We need to talk!"

I hope you liked it! Please review! This story should be just a few chapters total.