This is a Songfic to Josh Groban's Awake. I do not in anyway shape or form own the lyrics to this song, nor do I own the characters written about. The fantastical J K Rowling has that. Lucky...
Enjoy.
A beautiful and blinding morning
The world outside begins to breathe
Charlie Weasley sat on the grounds of what was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A new era was dawning. The defeat of Voldemort had finally arrived. The children, the future of the wizarding world, would be able to sleep safely at night. But at what cost?
See clouds arriving without warning
I need you here to shelter me
Harry Potter, the hero of their world, lay dead next to Charlie. He sacrificed himself, which was his plan all along. Harry would no longer be there to shelter them, to shelter Charlie. They had been lovers for almost three years, since Harry was fifteen. Now, Harry was gone.
And I know that only time will tell us how
To carry on without each other
At Grimmauld Place… Ron and Harry switched rooms, leaving Harry with Charlie. The two sat on one bed together, talking until dawn, learning more about each other in those hours than they had learned in all the years Harry had been a part of their family. They kept those room arrangements for the rest of the month of August, before Charlie had to head back to Romania, and Harry to Hogwarts.
Their first kiss was hesitant, slow and curious. Charlie knew he never wanted to be away from Harry from that point on. He felt magic pull at his heart, and somehow, he knew Harry felt it too.
So keep me awake to memorize you
Give me more time to feel this way
Please… He didn't want it to be true. Harry's lifeless form was proof, but he didn't want to see it. Charlie held the cold hand in his, tears streaming silently down his dirty face. Just under three years… It wasn't enough time. They fought side by side the entire battle. Why was it Harry that died and he that lived? Charlie would give anything to be the one dead. Harry deserved life, he was still young.
We can't stay like this forever
But I can have you next to me today
The lazy days and nights, all of the hours and minutes they spent together… All of that used to seem normal. They planned the future. They wanted children, a family for both of them. They had seen enough death to last them a lifetime, they wanted to see new life. They both knew they wouldn't have forever, but every day made them feel as if they had eternity together.
If I could make these moments endless
If I could stop the winds of change
Would a Time-Turner be able to bring him back? Be able to keep Harry with him for a few more years? Charlie wanted to stop time, just stop change, and live in a single moment, one single moment where he and Harry would be together.
If we just keep our eyes wide open
Then everything would stay the same
Why didn't he see it? He could have stopped Harry. Harry always said it had to be him that defeated Voldemort, but never that he'd have to die doing it. If only Charlie saw… Harry would be there, with him, in his arms, where he was meant to be.
And I know that only time will tell me how
We'll carry on without each other
How? He'd never be able to live. Not now, not after this.
Everyone he loved was dead. Fred, George, Bill, his father… Ginny lived, Ron and his mother were alive, barely. Hermione was alive. Fred and George each had two children, they were alive. All the children were alive. Hermione and Ron had a set of twins, Bill's daughter, Luna Lovegood's son- who would have a father, and Colin Creevy's three sons- who were orphaned. They were all alive.
The great Albus Dumbledore was gone, Minerva McGonagall was gone. Severus Snape was alive, just hanging on. The students, most of them anyway, at least fourth year and below, would be able to see a world without a Dark Lord. But Harry was gone.
So keep me awake for every moment
Give us more time to be this way
To hold Harry one more time, feel his breathe in his ear, feel his skin with his. To joke and laugh, to smile and live. That's all he wanted.
The time they broke the news to everyone… Only Ron and his mother were shocked. Everyone else saw it coming.
The long letters, pages and pages long, that were sent between Romania and Hogwarts. Every word written with the promise of tomorrow.
We can't stay like this forever
But I can have you next to me today
Did good have to die along with evil? Was it meant to be this way? Charlie couldn't see it. The magic that wrapped around him every time he thought of Harry, touched him, loved him. It was every bit as real as he thought.
Charlie had gone with Harry one day to Albus, asking what the magical pull meant.
Soul mates… That's what the Headmaster said. They were soul mates. Hearts and bodies made perfectly for the other. It explained why the moment they kissed, neither wanted to be with anyone else
We'll let tomorrow wait, you're here, right now, with me
All my fears just fall away, when you are all I see
All he had to do was look in Harry's direction, see though sparkling green eyes glow with love, and everything was alright. There were no Dark Lords to defeat, no battles to win. There was just time, endless time for them to be together. They would marry, somehow conceive, and live long happy lives. That's the way the story was written, that's the way it should have ended.
Charlie's body racked with sobs. He couldn't contain it. Harry, his soul mate, his lover, his friend, his advisor, was dead.
We can't stay this way forever
But I have you here today
The first time Harry told him… I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. It was Christmas. They had been together over a year. Harry would be turning seventeen that summer. But it was Christmas morning. They woke up at the same time. They didn't bother using separate beds anymore. Harry laced their hands together, kissed him, and then looked him in the eye. He said it. I love you, I love you, I love you. Nothing ever sounded so right. Charlie said it back to him. Nothing ever felt so right to say.
And I will remember
He would never be able to forget…
Oh I will remember
Remember all the love we shared today
Charlie went to stand up, and face those who were still alive. He had to tell them. Harry was dead. There was no changing that. They had to build tomorrow. He bent down and placed a tender kiss on Harry's bloodied forehead.
"I love you, Harry Potter."
His heart tightened in his chest and he heaved himself up, turning to the ruins on which they all had a part in making, the ruins that would be the foundation of everything.
Charlie squeezed his eyes shut, standing, blocking out everything, still crying softly. His whole body ached. He couldn't placate his tired mind. Just then, a warm breeze found its way to Charlie, wrapping warmth and comfort around him.
Harry would never truly leave him.