A/N: This is just a filler to explain Charlie's stand in all of this, and sorry for the long pause in updates. Enjoy anyways!

Charlie loved Istanbul. He'd taken several vacations in which he didn't go back to England to travel with his fellow dragon-researchers to Turkey to experience culture. In the middle of summer, sunsets weren't until nine at night sometimes. And, they were almost always beautiful, silhouetting the onion domes of the ancient churches and mosques. So, Charlie had ordered two cheese sandwiches and a butterbeer and taken his dinner to the roof to watch the golden sun set in the direction of the west. He was just on a high right now. He was going to see his brother again, traveling with two wonderful women who were getting no less than they deserved: to see their husbands again after sacrificing so much for the Second War. He was experiencing something incredible: flying on a dragon to unknown territory, risking so much for what seemed like so little, but at the same time, seemed like the whole world.

The one problem was that he knew he wasn't the deserving one to be seeing Fred again. Somewhere in England, it was suppertime. Charlie knew that in England right now, George would be looking into his cup of tea and think of all the times he and his twin worked together to spike people's tea with their various experiments. He knew George was pining for his twin, his other half. And yet, why did Charlie, who Fred knew for the last half of his life as "the brother in Romania working with dragons," get the privilege? Before, Charlie had just seen Fred as a pesky little sibling. Charlie had no right to be the one going to the Borderland to see him again.

Charlie knew that it wasn't for no reason he got the honor. He decided to make the most of this journey that the Tonks women were giving him. It was a gift. If there was anything the Second War had taught Charlie, it was that every day was a gift. Sappy moral, true. But it got the job done.

Pondering this thought, Charlie took a bite of his cheese sandwich. But before he could swallow, he heard a door open and slam shut from below on the ground (the small Wizarding hotel was only 2 stories high, he could easily see and hear what was below). Charlie curiously leaned over to see who was slamming doors. He was surprised to see Tonks, knapsack slung over her shoulder, causally walking out the door. Her face was tear-stained and red. Neither Andromeda nor Teddy were in sight. Charlie smiled. Tonks, Tonks, Tonks. The girl who'd made him feel so much good and bad in his heart, and didn't even know it. She looked on both sides of her casually before walking on.

Charlie opted to quickly abandon his meal and dash back downstairs and out of the hotel to see where Tonks was planning on going. When he got out onto the street a few seconds later, he caught a glimpse of her reddish-colored hair walking southbound on a street with a few natives walking around, mainly teenagers enjoying the twilight hour.

Charlie was constantly worried that his crush on Tonks was transparently exposed for the whole world to see. It had begun what seemed like so long ago. It was during their final two years at Hogwarts. Of course, they only knew each other in passing, as Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs only shared Herbology and Arithmancy classes. But Charlie loved her spunky sense of fun and hr whimsical clumsiness. All of his friends felt he was mental, liking a girl he barely knew. But Tonks was nice to him when they did speak. She once confided in him her dream of being a star Auror, and he, in turn, revealed his obsession with dragons and his plans to move to Romania to work with them.

Then, of course, after they graduated and went their separate ways, Charlie felt he might as well move on. They'd never had anything during school, and what were the odds they'd ever see each other again? Charlie had to prepare to leave for Romania, and Tonks had to begin her Auror training, after she received all the N.E.W.T.s she needed on the first try (which surprised her, as she'd had some trouble in Potions and Defense that year). But then, during the holiday, Charlie, who wasn't departing until spring, got the shock of his life when Bill came in with 'a new girlfriend.' That girlfriend, of course, was Tonks. Charlie didn't know what to feel. At first, he was pissed out of his mind. Bill was the 'hotter' older brother, with his long hair and rock-star style. Naturally, Tonks would go for him.

But what pissed him off more was the fact that while Charlie was clearly displeased with the pairing, every other Weasley was. Young Ginny, who was ten at the time, was delighted by the shape-shifting woman. Fred and George were quite interested to hear about her scheming adventures during the years before they began at Hogwarts. Molly was delighted, always claiming that she smelled marriage in the air for them. Bill was always so open about their 'love' for each other too. Charlie had been the first person Bill told when he and Tonks had sex for the first time. It'd been the first time for Bill as well as Tonks(which surprised Charlie to find out and he wondered if maybe Bill was lying). Hearing the details made Charlie not only cringe, but feel the anger and boiling blood within him. How was it Bill got everything, including Tonks?

Then, when Bill announced that he and Tonks had decided to go their separate paths, and that while she was concentrating on training, he was going to Egypt to work at their Gringotts bank, nobody in the family could understand why Charlie almost seemed 'pleased' by the news. But he never saw Tonks after that until the Order reunited and he and Tonks were formally inducted, along with Bill. But by then, it was again too late. Tonks had already fallen for Remus Lupin, who married her and fathered her child. Luckily, this time, Charlie had come to accept the emotional dealings. Then, of course, another curveball was shot at him when Tonks was widowed and, quite literally, fell out of the sky into his life again.

Following her now, Charlie couldn't help but notice her unnaturally quick pace (he had to almost run to keep up with her). He wanted to catch up with her. The sky grew darker, and many of the streetlights came on, making the shadows and angles hard for Charlie to track Tonks by. Finally, he had to call out. Maybe he could make her stop?

"TONKS!" Charlie called, somewhat awkwardly. "TONKS! WAIT FOR ME!"

Tonks flipped her head around and found Charlie in the crowd. She quickly stopped, an odd look on her face. She seemed to mouth something, but Charlie couldn't decipher it. Instead, he just ran to catch up to her, almost knocking over and elderly women, who scolded him in Turkish before moving on, flustered. He finally reached Tonks, who stood outside what looked like a Muggle music store.

"Tonks, where are you headed?" Charlie asked.

"Home," said Tonks, quickly blankly. Charlie then understood the sadness in her eyes. "I'm not moving on with you."

Charlie almost didn't know what to say next. "W..what? Why?"

"I saw the light tonight, Charlie," she answered. "I realize that this has all been a useless, hopeless dream, and that seeing Remus' and my father's ghosts in the Himalayas would be more painful than it would be helpful. There's no point in dwindling in the past. I have a son to raise on my own, and a job as an Auror to go back to, so I might as well face reality and grow up."

"Grow up?!" Charlie asked, a hint of worry and concern in his voice. "Tonks…am I hearing you right?"

"Looking back on this past year alone, I realize how childish and stupid I am, and this trip finally proved it to me. I fell in love with Remus, who was in his third year at Hogwarts when I was BORN, and no matter how much he tried to convince me that we would only end up hurting each other, I ignored him, and I pushed on! And I finally had him cave and become my husband. But he had been right, Charlie. Sometimes I wondered if Remus only died for me because he felt he'd been wrong in marrying and impregnating me, and he felt he OWED it to me to die for me. But…but I'm right now. I do need to grow up."

"I still don't follow where you're going with this," Charlie said.

"I've been risking my son's and mother's life for an illusion. I've been living under the idea this whole time that if, by some MIRACLE, I find the Borderland, I could bring Remus back WITH me, when I very well can't!" Tonks moaned. "Lately, I've been wondering if miracles even exist anymore, or if they all died with him."

Charlie actually gasped at this. "Tonks? You can't really mean that! It's a miracle that you're here right now! I mean, Dolohov could have easily killed you while you were lying there unconscious after he did Remus in! Teddy could easily be an infant orphan like Harry Potter was! The French Aurors could easily have locked you away for life! You and your Mum could have easily been killed in that storm! Yet, here you are, alive, well, and on a journey to accomplish what millions of widows around the world would sell their souls to do…see your deceased loved one again. And you're pushing all that aside in order to 'grow up'?"

Tonks looked at Charlie, hurt. "You're extremely nosy. Please go back to the hotel."

"Are you Apparating home?"

"I'm too tired to Apparate. I'm going to send a Patronus to Arthur Weasley and ask him to fly the car down here."

"He'll take days to get here," Charlie said. "What do you plan to do until then?"

"Wait," was Tonks' meager answer.

"Not to mention, you're in such bad spirits now, how can you possibly expect to make a decent enough Patronus to travel thousands of miles with a message if you can barely even make a smile?" Charlie asked.

Tonks looked around. She had half a mind to SHOW Charlie what kind of Patronus she could make right now, but there seemed to be too many Muggles on the street right now, and it would be unwise and unsafe. She was cornered.

Charlie lightly patted her shoulder. "And, if for nothing else, please continue the journey for my sake. It took a damn lot of convincing your Mum to allow me to come along. If you drop out now, Andromeda's going to abandon me here and follow you right home."

"You think so?" asked Tonks.

"She's as stubborn as her sisters," Charlie noted. "She will. And I should think that the prospect of seeing Remus, Fred, Sirius, and Ted again should be more than enough to give you the strength to move forward!"

Tonks looked down at her feet, then up at Charlie again, silent.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Remus awaits you and Teddy," he said. Tonks bit her lip and turned her gaze back to the sidewalk. After what seemed like ages, she nodded and looked into Charlie's eyes again.

"Fine," Tonks consented, dropping her shoulders and letting her knapsack drop with her arm. "You've convinced me, you nosy git."

Charlie laughed casually upon hearing this, rolling his eyes up to the sky and putting his hands in his pocket.

But when he looked back at Tonks, he could plainly see what she was not smiling or laughing. She was entirely serious.