Chapter 4
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He didn't see her for the remainder of the evening and in truth had not expected to. As he had gone to bed that night, Ginny had poked her head around his door and told him that Hermione was asleep. She paused on the threshold for a moment, and Charlie to could see the questions burning in her eyes. "What is it, Gin?" he asked, knowing it to be better to confront her at times like this. The last thing he wanted was for her to tease Hermione.
"It's great you were there for Hermione and everything," Ginny said slowly, as if thinking carefully about each word. "I suppose I just don't understand how you came to be in the position I found you in earlier. Don't take this wrong, Char, but you've never struck me as the guy that ends up in the friendly confidante role."
"Honestly, I was just in the right place at the right time," Charlie told her, knowing that Ginny wouldn't be satisfied with that answer. "I felt a bit guilty. She spoke to me about Ron earlier on today. She knew that she wanted to break up with him, but she just needed someone to sound off against until she understood it fully. That person was me, because I happened to walk past at the time when she needed to talk things through. I was in the situation you found me in because Bill and I heard their altercation and Bill reached Ron first. When I pulled her away from him, she just collapsed against me."
"Why not just bring her inside?" Ginny
Charlie looked at her and, when he saw no judgement in her expressive face, had no problem with telling her the truth. "Because she needed me right then. I would have sat there all night if she had needed me to."
There was clear surprise showing in Ginny's eyes, but she didn't speak for a long moment. She gave a slight nod and Charlie felt as if he had passed some kind of test. "She's going to need some taking care of, you know," she said.
Charlie nodded. "I know," he agreed. A scheme came to him then, one that he wondered why he had not thought of before. "I've an idea, Gin," he said, smiling as her eyes suddenly shone. She always enjoyed being part of plans. "If Mum agrees, what would you say to coming to Romania for a few days? I've been meaning to head out, you know. I need to see if they've still got a job for me to go back to and I know you're always up for an adventure. We can get Hermione away from it all, until she's strong enough to face him. What do you say?"
Ginny's freckled face broke into a wide grin. "Oh Charlie, that's perfect!" she exclaimed. "She's only going to do something stupid, like go back to him, if we let her stay here while she's in this state. Could you speak to Bill about it tomorrow? You know Mum will agree if he thinks it's the right thing to do. Let me speak to Harry; see if he'll be OK without me, then we can tell Hermione she's going. If we don't give her a choice, she can't try to back out of it."
At that, Charlie frowned. "Do you think she won't like the idea?"
Ginny shook her head. "It's not that," she said. "She doesn't like being fussed over and will get the idea that we're going out of our way just for her, and that it isn't right. But I can make it so she's accompanying me, and if I stress that it might be educational, we'll snare her. I should get back," she added, the smile fading. "The last thing I want is Ron trying to sneak in to crawl his way out of trouble."
"OK Gin," Charlie said. "See you in the morning."
"Night," Ginny replied, getting up from her seat on the bed and heading to the door. At the last moment, she turned and that wicked grin sprang back into place. "Oh, Charlie?"
"Yeah?" Charlie answered, bracing himself.
"You two would be perfect for each other." She was out of the door before he could fully process what she had just said. He growled in frustration and he could hear her teasing laughter as she fled down the hallway.
The following morning, Charlie was up with the sun. It was a habit he was yet to break from his years on the dragon reserve as he found he enjoyed spending a little time to himself in the morning before the chaos began. But, this morning, he had a reason to be up. He needed to speak to his manager from the reserve and, unusually, the muggle way of doing this was the easiest. They were the only wizards he had met who used telephones. His house did not have one and so he needed to use the public one in the nearest muggle village. It was not a great distance from the house and Charlie decided to walk there, feeling the need to stretch his legs. As great as it was to be home, the combination of too much food and too little exercise could get to him at times. He resolved to organise a quick Quidditch game for later on that day. He'd still not had the chance to compete against Harry, the one who had inherited his Seeker position at Hogwarts', and was keen to see if he was as good as he had been.
Leaving a note for Mrs Weasley, just to be on the safe side, Charlie set out. The morning mist still enveloped the house, the air damp to the touch, and shrouded everything in an air of mystery. The sun was low in the sky and it was still too early for any warmth. To Charlie, it was beautiful. There were never mornings like this in Romania. In the winter it was fiercely cold and icy and in the summer it was warm by sunrise. This was something that he had only ever found at home.
The walk was peaceful and did a great deal to restore Charlie's peace of mind. By the time he had reached the phone and dialled the number to his manager's office, he was able to explain his plan without pause. When he said that, yes, he was hoping he might show Hermione Granger, Harry Potter's friend around, he was amused by the level of excitement on the other end of the line. It seemed that it was not only in England that her name was already being spoken with awe. Charlie wondered what Hermione would say if she knew. In minutes, the plans were made and Charlie was told a port-key would be owled to them ready for their departure the following day. He put the phone down, shaking his head slightly. Hoping that no major fuss was going to be made when they arrived, he headed for home.
The house was still quiet when he ducked in through the kitchen door. Aside from Arthur who was just finishing his breakfast at the kitchen table, and Bill trudging down the stairs yawning, it seemed everyone else was still asleep.
Arthur finished his breakfast in a rush, said a cheerful "Good Morning!" to his two eldest sons, and made his way out of the house to apparate to his office. It seemed that some things never changed.
"Still think you need to be up at the same time as the dragons?" Bill asked as he saw Charlie come in.
"I never needed the beauty sleep you did," Charlie retorted instantly, grinning. It was strange the way he and Bill could regress back to childhood taunts so easily.
Bill snorted. "I know; you gave up on your false hope of good looks years ago." He was too slow to avoid the playful tug Charlie gave his hair, but did not rise to the bait and simply pushed his younger brother away from him, heading for the kettle. "Why are you up so early, anyway?"
"I told you I'm planning to head back to Romania," Charlie said, nodding as Bill held up a tea cup with a questioning look.
"Well, yes," Bill murmured, frowning. "But I had an odd feeling you might stick around a while longer while you were making yourself useful."
"I am making myself useful," Charlie said, smiling as Bill's frown deepened. It was not often that he saw his only older brother confused. After a moment, he relented, filling Bill in on his and Ginny's plan.
Bill took his time to think about Charlie's words; making the tea in silence as he processed them. It wasn't until he handed Charlie a cup that he spoke. "Ron might feel quite hurt, you know."
Charlie bit back the sudden and unexpected wave of anger that flooded through him and managed a shrug. "If I take Ron, he'll feel like he's been rewarded. Then he'll convince himself that what he did was right. I think he's the one who should be at home suffering. Perhaps then he'll realise that he can't behave the way he did yesterday."
There was a smile in Bill's eyes, but Charlie was grateful to see that it didn't reach his lips. There was so much more being read into this conversation than Charlie cared to think about and he did not want to hear exactly what Bill thought of his behaviour. "So, how do we get this organised?" Bill asked.
"I just need to run it past Mum," Charlie said, grimacing. "This is where you come in, if you don't mind. You've always been able to handle her far better than I can. Can you help me to persuade her that it's not a dangerous thing to be doing? Obviously Hermione can choose what she wants to do, but I don't think she'll go on her own and we'll need Mum's permission for Ginny to come with us."
Bill sighed heavily, but he was smiling. "I thought that you'd have learned to manage Mum by now," he said. "Fine, if I must, I will. I just have to ask if you're sure you know what you're doing?"
"I don't, not really," Charlie admitted. "All I know is that I need to do something."
That made Bill pause, and he looked at his brother thoughtfully. "This isn't like you," he said. "Make sure you're watching yourself, Char."
Before Charlie could respond, Bill had poured another cup of tea for Fleur and headed back up the stairs. Frowning, Charlie took a seat at the long kitchen table and propped his elbows on the rough wood, leaning his chin on one scarred hand. Until Bill's leaving remark, Charlie had not really stopped to consider what he might be getting himself into. With all his time on the Dragon Reserve, he had spent a surprisingly small amount of his adult life around women. His protective streak had been roused by Hermione; that much was obvious, but what else? After a moment's fruitless thought, he shook his head in frustration and dragged one scarred hand through his unkempt hair. He had not been lying when he told Hermione that he was impulsive. While he appreciated Bill's point of view, he had never been one to thoroughly plan out every move that he made.
He hadn't heard the house coming to life upstairs, and jumped as a hand touched his shoulder. Turning round, Charlie's eyes met his mother's concerned gaze. "Morning, Mum."
Mrs Weasley seemed to relax at his normal tone and treated him to a smile. "You're up early," she commented moving into the kitchen to begin making breakfast.
"It's a habit" Charlie said, shrugging. "I can't give it up; it was such a nightmare training myself to get up at that time. I'm not doing it all over again." He felt a tug on his heart as his mother's smile faded. He knew that she had never been keen for him to work abroad in the first place. She had been so relieved when he had decided to stay on at home after the war had ended. The idea that he might leave again was one he knew she would not like.
He was saved by the onslaught of what would have been a painful conversation by the twins bursting on the scene. Fred and George, dressed in their hideous magenta robes ready for work, apparated into the middle of the kitchen. Their wide grins in the face of Mrs Weasley's automatic scolding made Charlie chuckle, shaking his head. They would never grow out of it. He found it strangely reassuring, in a world where so much had changed, that Fred and George could remain so wonderfully themselves. They both grabbed muffins from a large plate on the table, kissed their mother's cheeks, and dis-apparated with loud 'crack's.
Charlie took the opportunity to escape upstairs before his mother recovered, catching the smile creeping onto his mother's face as he did so, and shook his head. She would never admit it, but she had always doted on his daft twin brothers. He just had to avoid her now until Bill was there to support him. Bill was the only one who had ever managed to win an argument against their Mother.
