AN: Chapter 3 is in progress.
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Wygirl9
CH 2
Charlie awoke the next morning to the sun shining through the little window in the attic. He turned over toward the bed across the room to find it empty and already made, but the house was unusual quiet for, he looked at the clock, ten in the morning.
He groggily reached for his wand on the bedside table and removed the silencing spell Hermione must have placed on the room. A cacophony of noises reached his ears, there that's better, he thought, placing his wand back on the table and pushing the faded maroon quilt off of him he got up. Charlie walked to his trunk and pulled out a pair of faded blue jeans and a gray t-shirt. He slipped them on as well at his old black trainers and a light blue button up.
He made his way downstairs to the kitchen, the noise getting louder as he progressed. He could hear the voices of his youngest brother and his new wife, Luna, talking with Fred's fiancée Alicia. He passed them with a smile and turned into the kitchen where his mother was sitting at the table with her tea.
"Well it's nice to finally see you up and about this morning!" She said with a smile.
"Did I miss breakfast?" He asked as his stomach growled.
"Yes, but Hermione saved you a plate, it's over on the counter, I believe she placed a warming spell on it as well." His mother said with a sly wink.
He quietly took the plate full of food and sat it on the counter with a cup of tea his mother had just handed him.
"So how is Hogwarts treating you Charlie? I'm so glad you have chosen a more sensible line of work than working with dragons. I honestly can't believe how silly you were to take that job in Romania anyway. What in the world were you thinking Charlie? You could have been killed. Now Hogwarts, that's a smart job for you!"
Charlie rolled his eyes at his mother, but answered none the less.
"Hogwarts is treating me fine mum, and don't forget I still have Ming."
"ooh your dating?" His mother asked with a look of glee
"No mum, my dragon, you know, the miniature fireball, Ming." He replied rolling his eyes.
"Oh, yes yes yes, I remember now, horrid little thing, but speaking of girls, who's the lucky girl for now?"
"No girls mum, I work at a school, not really a great place to meet a girl unless I want to be fired, which I don't."
"Well, Hermione is always there, she is a nice girl Char. Why don't you ask her out, you know I always thought she would be with Ron, but now he is with that Lovegood girl, but they seem happy. I believe she will be having a little one as well, she has that glow, I wonder if she knows…. Surprises me after we almost lost her in the war, we thought she was dead you know. "
Charlie rolled his eyes once again and ate the rest of his breakfast in silence. Once he was done he charmed the plate clean and walked out the front door of the burrow to the lake. The now green Crookshanks was chasing gnomes in and out of their little dirt holes in his mother's garden. Charlie chuckled at the sight, knowing that the cats color must have something to do with his two mischievous brothers. Knowing Hermione she hadn't been happy about it. He wished he had been there to see that explosion on the twins. She was a right sight when angry, even he didn't dare cross her, dragons he could handle, an angry Hermione that's another story.
As he reached the lake he saw his siblings and their friends playing Quidditch above the lake. All save for Hermione, who was sitting on a small blanket by the bank reading the same book he had placed on her bedside table last night. Her wavy brown hair hung with small ringlets today, reaching to the middle of her back. The light blue shirt clung to her now skinny figure, too skinny if you asked him. She had her legs crossed in front of her with a pair of white shorts on. She was smiling into her book, I ringlet of hair wrapped around her finger.
Charlie took long strides toward where she sat.
"Mind if I join you Mrs. Granger?" He asked, his blue eyes twinkling.
"Not at all Charlie, come sit." She said, enlarging the blanket that she sat on.
He lowered himself to the blanket and pushed up the sleeves of his light blue button up shirt.
"Thank you for saving me breakfast, no one else would have." He said running his hand through his hair.
"No problem, I snatched it up before Ron got his hands on it. We all know how he is around food. Besides I figured you needed a good lay in…." she said looking down.
"If you are feeling sorry about last night Hermione then stop, we all have dreams from the war; all of us are haunted in some way. Don't let it bother you, I'm just glad you didn't have to keep dreaming it. You asked last night how we deal so quickly, the truth is we don't, it still bothers most of us the things we did and the things we saw. I have no idea everything that happened to you guys while on the run, but I know that life couldn't have been a picnic in any way and it wasn't some grand vacation. I know things happened to all of you. Awful things, Bill won't speak of what he knows, he only says that it's a great burden on all of you. So don't you dare feel sorry it's because of you most of us are here today, Harry and Ron wouldn't have made it without you." He said evenly looking her in the face, His green eyes never leaving her brown one as he spoke. Finally she looked away.
Not even Bill knows all of my troubles. She thought, no one knows I took my parents memories, no one knows that they died regardless of my effort. No one has cared to ask where they are. She brushed her curly hair behind her ears. It was no longer bushy and unmanageable, but hung in ringlets that reached just below her shoulders. She liked it this way, after the battle so much of her hair has been singed by the flames she cut it so short it barely touched the bottom of her ears, but it had grown out in the last year. Her scars from Malfoy manner still showed despite the care of the best healers, they refused to fade and were as dark and foreboding as the day they were made. She had developed a crème to get rid of lighter scars from the battle and the ministry, it had worked wonders and she considered marketing it, but hadn't found the time yet to do so.
"Hermione…." He said waving his hand in front of her face. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you."
"No, you didn't upset me Charlie, Its fine."
"Then why do I feel like there is something hurting you right now?"
"I… I can't talk about it Charlie, I just can't, not right now, give me some time, ok?" She said returning her eyes to his.
"Ok, its ok, you don't have to tell me anything, I just don't want to see you or anyone else hurt." Charlie said brushing a stray curl from her face.
"HEY CHARLIE!" Came a voice from behind them, "Come play, Ginny's bailing out on us… something about pregnancy cravings, I dunno come on!"
Bill tossed the broom to Charlie and rose back into the air.
"I'll see you later Hermione, oh and don't let that pretty little head of yours worry. We can't change the past." He said getting up to mount the broom.
