Ginny stood at her door, knocking slightly.
"Hermione, please let me in, I'm sure he wasn't mad at you." She said through
the door. Hermione had locked the door magically, and Ginny was worried. She
finally gave up, and went downstairs. As she descended, she thought.

Hmm, I think I should floo-call Charlie. Hermione seems extremely comfortable around him, much more lax. I'm positive he'll make her feel better. And, of course, if Fred needs beating up, Charlie's
going to want to do it.
Ginny got downstairs, and smiled at Mrs. Weasley. "Mum,
I'm going to floo call Charlie. He'll make Hermione feel better, because she is
currently hiding in her room, thanks to my brother the meathead." Ginny said as
she knelt in front of the fireplace.

"I resent that!" Fred cried as she dropped
in floo powder. Ginny rolled her eyes as she stepped through. After several
minutes, she reappeared completely, with a promise from Charlie that he would
be there ASAP. Somewhat satisfied at how she was handling the situation, she
went to sit with Harry, Ron (who was looking extremely pissed) and Luna (who
was Ron's fiancée) in the living room.


Charlie had just walked through the door when Fred and Ginny started their fight. "No,
Frederick, you may not go see her!" Ginny, who was standing at the bottom of
the stairs and blocking Fred from going up, yelled. "She's my fiancée!" Fred
retaliated. Ginny was about to say something else when she noticed Charlie.

Charlie grinned. "I know I'm probably intruding on something extremely
important here, but I'm going to go see if I can cheer poor Hermione up." he
said, and Ginny smiled at him, letting him up the stairs, then continuing her
fight with Fred. Charlie took the steps two at a time to his old room that had
become Hermione's after the war, as he rarely visited, and when he did, he took
Bill's old room, because it was bigger. He listened through the door. He could
hear Hermione sniffing every few moments, and she seemed to be
hyperventilating. He knocked on the door. "Hermione, it's Charlie, can I come
in?"


"Hermione, it's Charlie, can I come in?" said the voice on the other side of the door. Hermione flicked her wand slightly, and the door unlocked. Charlie stepped in, shut the door behind him, and walked over to her. She was sitting on the floor, leaning against her bed. Charlie smiled, and sat beside her. "Now," he started, "I know you're upset and all, Mione, but what are you doing on the floor?" She gave him a weak smile. "I started on the bed, but I slid off after hearing a knock on my door about a minute after I got in here."

He scrunched his nose. "Are us Weasley's that terrifying?" he asked, and she nodded. "Fred is. The look he had on his face. He looked as if he wanted to murder me. I'm ruining his life." She said, her smile fading, and a tear slipping down her cheek. Charlie shook his head. "No, Hermione, you're not. If anything, he's ruining yours. And of course Fred was mad, he hates being told what to do." She glanced at him, smiling. "Maybe so." Was all she could force out.

Charlie pulled something out of his pocket. "This is yours, right?" he said, holding out an iPod. She nodded, grinning, and snatched it from him. "I've been looking for this! Where'd you find it?" she said excitedly, unraveling the earbuds. He grinned. "You left it in the pocket of my jacket." She smacked herself in the forehead. "Duh! Why didn't I think of that?" she said, putting one of the earbuds in, and turning it on. It began playing a song, and she smiled happily. She began bobbing her head back and forth to her music. "You wanna go back downstairs?" Charlie asked, and she nodded.

"Do I have to talk to Fred?" she asked, and he shook his head. She pondered it. "Do I have to put my iPod away?" she asked, and he again shook his head, so she stood up, smiling even bigger, and she followed Charlie out, putting her other earbud in. She followed him down the stairs, and bounced over to the fire, where Ginny was reading a magazine. Ginny shot him a look of thanks, before starting a conversation with the bookworm, who had re-taken one earbud out so she could talk. They stayed like that for a few hours, just chatting amongst themselves.

The sun had just set, and a grand summer storm just started, when Charlie walked into the kitchen, and sat on the table. "Mum, I think I'll stay here for a few days. The Reserve has been slow lately, and I've been given leave. Anyways, I think Hermione will need more than just Ginny." He said, and Mrs. Weasley nodded. "That's fine, Charlie." He grinned and was about to ask if there was any food left from dinner when the door slammed open. Fred, who had obviously left, strode in, yelling at George, who was right behind him. "How can you say everything is going to be fine, George? You get to stay with Katie, I have to break up with Alicia because of this stupid thing! This is an awful predicament, nothing good can come out of it! Just look at who I have to marry!" George was about to say something, when they heard a sniffle.

But Fred kept going. "I'm not marrying the little bookworm. She's too smart and conceited for her own good. She thinks she's perfect, and I'm not marrying a boring piece of shit like her." Fred heard a gasp, and spun on his heels. Hermione stood in the doorway, with Ginny right behind her. "I'm sorry then," Hermione said quietly, "I'll just leave you to it." Charlie saw a few tears run down her cheeks before she darted out past both of the twins and then out the door, into the cool night.

"Good going, Fred." Charlie said coldly, before running out after her.