Author: kaly
Rating: K
Category: short story, angst
Spoilers: none
Series: Brothers' Bond
Timeframe: Ron's ten. Charlie's 20.
Summary: The time comes for Charlie to leave home. Only first he has to say goodbye.
Thank you: To geminigrl11 for the beta. :)
Notes: Fourth in a series (of ten), Brothers' Bond, focused around Ron and Charlie. In it, Charlie is ten years older than Ron. Becomes AU after GoF canon.
Previous stories in the series (also on ff.n):
#1 - The Path of Thorns
#2 - The Lesson of Loss
#3 - Watching Over You
Disclaimer: JKR. Scholastic. WB. Their toys, I'm just borrowing the guys, I promise! Besides, I'd use Charlie more if they were mine. ;)
It's Never Easy
Looking at the clock, Charlie couldn't quite bite back his sigh. It didn't matter that it didn't truly tell time; all that was important was where his own image rested - staring impatiently up at the word 'late'. It was a long flight to Romania and he should have left already. Apparating would negate the travel time, but he preferred to fly instead. It was an odd quirk, admittedly - one that Bill gave him grief for every time he had the chance.
Since it was Charlie's last day before leaving, their mum had insisted they all have breakfast together. They would probably still have been at the table, Charlie thought with a smile, if the twins hadn't started making a fuss. He could hear them upstairs and from the sounds of things, they were tormenting Percy with some gag or another.
He could also hear their mother, muttering away under her breath while puttering around in the kitchen. Charlie had pleaded with her not to make a production of his departure and he had to admit that he was surprised she had obliged him, at least thus far.
As he stood there, turning around in the middle of the living area, Charlie caught the scent of his father's pipe. Judging by the small voice he heard from the direction of his father's study, it seemed that Ginny was with him as well.
It was like any normal day in the Burrow and he couldn't help but try and absorb it, straight into his skin. He was going to miss the constant movement and chatter of home, where someone was always underfoot. There were many nights he would have given anything just to make the twins shush their chattering and Ginny simply go to sleep. However, when faced with leaving, Charlie couldn't help thinking that maybe it wasn't so bad after all.
Not that any of these the reasons were why he was running late. And although he knew the weather over the Channel was liable to be difficult, and he needed to be on his way, he couldn't bring himself to leave just yet.
The last he had seen of Ron was at breakfast. His youngest brother had been quiet - too quiet - and as soon as breakfast was over he had disappeared from the room without a word.
Charlie had been looking all over the Burrow for over an hour with no luck. He would have sworn he knew all of Ron's hiding places - he had shown him most of them in fact - but after checking all of them and coming up empty-handed, he had begun to wonder. But bad weather or no, there was no possibility of leaving until he found him. He couldn't imagine leaving without telling Ron goodbye.
He smiled at his mum as he walked into the kitchen, dropping a kiss on her forehead. "Any idea where Ron might have gone off to?" Glancing out the window over the sink, Charlie did his best not to see the shine in her eyes. He knew how Bill moving away had upset her; he had been hoping it would be easier the second time around. He wished he knew if he felt that way for her sake or his own.
He couldn't quite quash his relief that, although he knew she was upset, she did her best not to let on. Instead, she jutted her chin toward the back door. "Try the grove of trees out past the fence. He's taken to them, of late."
"Thanks, Mum." He gave her a wink before swinging the old door open with a creak. When all else fails, he surmised, ask their mother. Little went on around the Burrow that she wasn't aware of - as annoying as that was, more often than not.
It was a warm summer's day, only a few puffy clouds dotting the sky. Not long, though, and it would be time for most of them to be returning to Hogwarts - autumn was fast approaching. As he walked over to the small grouping of trees, Charlie couldn't help tilting his face toward the sun. Sunshine was rare enough in England and he feared what the weather might be like so deep within eastern Europe. Such a nice day was to be cherished indeed.
He had a pretty good guess as to why Ron had disappeared. Because of this, Charlie walked as quietly as he could. He didn't want to give Ron too much warning if he could help it. It wouldn't do to tip him off and spend yet another hour searching for him.
Walking into the grove of trees, it didn't take long to search all the hidden corners and alcoves. He was turning back toward the house when he heard an odd noise... from overhead. Perplexed, he looked upward, and found himself staring at his little brother - who had managed to wedge himself into some of the uppermost tree branches.
"Ron?" Charlie knew Ron had seen him, but he wouldn't look at him. He waited a moment, and when no reply came, he tried again. "Ron, come down would you?"
He heard the noise again. Only then did he recognize it for what it was - a small sniffle, barely discernable from where Ron had buried his face into his shirt. Charlie smiled sadly and resigned himself to climbing the tree. It was a tight fit, trying to maneuver himself into the high branches. While the tree was perfectly sized for the average ten year old, it wasn't so easy when one were twice that.
"Hey, kiddo."
When Ron turned his face away, hiding it behind his sleeve, Charlie put a hand on his shoulder. "I can still see you, you know." The shoulders shrugged but Ron remained quiet.
Sighing once more, Charlie stared off into the distance for a long moment. When he'd received the news about his new job, he had been overjoyed. The only thing he had dreaded - ever since that moment - was saying goodbye. There had been little doubt Ron would be unhappy, possibly the most of any of them, when he found out. While leaving was never easy, Charlie knew that staying behind could be just as difficult.
"Please look at me," Charlie said quietly, ruffling Ron's hair gently.
Something in Charlie's voice must have worked, because a moment later a small face appeared from behind the cloth. "Why?"
Charlie couldn't help chuckling. "Because it's difficult to talk to the top of your head."
"Good."
Moving so that he was sitting more beside Ron than across from him, Charlie dropped his arms across his knees. "I am sorry, you know."
Ron sniffed again, looking at his brother through reddened eyes. "I know." The words were so soft Charlie was barely able to hear them.
"It's okay to be upset."
Ron looked at Charlie for a long time, not blinking. It lasted long enough that Charlie almost looked away. He could face down dragons - and would do so all the time in a few days - yet the searching gaze of a ten-year-old boy rattled him. That it was Ron, the closest of his brothers, never helped matters.
It was a few moments before Ron finally broke the spell of silence that had woven around them. "I don't want you to go."
Charlie nodded, finally looking away. "I know." He blinked quickly, cursing the moisture that burned his eyes - blaming it on too much sun. Turning his attention back to Ron, he tried to smile. "I'll visit."
Ron shook his head, scratching at the tear tracks on his cheek absently. "It's not the same."
"Yeah."
"You won't forget me, will you?"
Wrapping his arms around Ron, Charlie hugged him tightly. Resting his chin on Ron's head he swallowed roughly. "Never."
"Promise?"
Charlie opened his mouth, though no sound or even air wanted to come out. Eventually, he managed to force out a whisper around the lump in his throat. "I promise, little brother."
"You like working with dragons, don't you?" Ron asked, pulling away just far enough to look Charlie in the eye.
Smiling, Charlie nodded. "Yes, I do."
"And they like you too?"
Charlie laughed. "I suppose so. Some of them."
"Good."
Not wanting to risk the fragile peace they'd forged, Charlie said, "I'll write and visit. How about that?"
Ron looked as though he was considering the offer for a minute. "And send pictures?"
"And send pictures. Lots of pictures."
"Of the dragons, too?" Ron asked. Then he laughed, the first Charlie could remember hearing since Ron learned he was moving away.
"Of course of the dragons!" Charlie said with a laugh, tickling Ron for good measure. His heart lightened when Ron began laughing also. "You don't want pictures of silly old me, do you?"
Ron's smile faded somewhat. "Can I come visit?"
"Sure you can. Someday." 'When you're thirty and mum isn't looking', he left unsaid.
Ron leaned into his brother's side, curling up against him. Charlie watched as he stared off into the distance, the sun drooping lower in the sky.
"You're late, aren't you?" he asked without looking at Charlie.
"Yeah, I am." Charlie followed Ron's gaze, enjoying the quiet for a moment, before looking back down at him. "But it's okay. The dragons will still be there."
He felt the rise and fall of Ron's chest evening out just before he saw his eyes sliding closed. Part of him wanted to laugh, he had no idea how someone could fall asleep in a tree. But he didn't, wanting more to hold onto the moment as long as he could.
"I'll miss you," Ron whispered, just on the verge of sleep. Charlie smiled, returning his chin on top of Ron's head, somehow knowing when he had truly drifted off to sleep.
"I'll miss you too," he whispered, talking to no one but himself. "Every day that I'm gone."
He was running far later than he'd planned. Nor did he have any idea how he was going to get them both down from the tree. But for the moment, those were the furthest things from his mind.
fin