A/N: I'm going to fix them! I cant have them apart for too long. and of course I love you lot too much to do that to you. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I liked writing it. Also, i woke up to notifications for 6 new reviews! That's the most I have ever gotten in a day, much less a night. Thank you all so much. Much love- Bookworm.
Firewhiskey
Hermione was confused, she didn't know why Charlie had done what he had. She was sitting in their cabin, having a cup of tea and running over what had transpired in the infirmary when she heard a knock on the door. She jumped slightly, startled out of her thoughts. She stood and walked to the door, wiping her eyes quickly before opening it slowly. She stood to the side at the sight of Will.
"Hey Will." She said, her voice sounded raspy from crying. Will gave her a small smile before she led him into the small kitchen where she had been drinking tea. She quickly poured him a cup, though her hands were shaking. He took it with a nod and drank a sip before speaking.
"Hermione… What happened?" He asked, and she shrugged and shook her head, not trusting her words. "It's just… You both seemed so good." He said, and she nodded in agreement.
"He said.." She started, she paused to take a sip of her tea. "He said that it was because I distracted him right before he got burned. And in the outlines we got when we started dating, it said that if our being together affected our work then it would need to end." She said miserably. Will looked down at the table, she let out a sigh and drank some more tea.
"Will, why are you here?" She asked, curious. He looked up at her and suddenly looked very nervous. "Will..?" She asked slowly.
"Well… Charlie asked to… well he asked to switch partners." Will said, looking extremely uncomfortable to be the one to be telling her this.
"What?" She whispered, shocked. Will looked down at the table once more and became red in the face.
"And since you are switching partners… you will be switching cabins as well." Will mumbled, and Hermione slumped in her seat.
"This is ridiculous." She muttered, and looked up at will. He set his tea down and took a deep breath.
"And.. well I'm your new partner." He said simply, and Hermione nodded slowly. "I'm so sorry Hermione, but I've been told to help you move today." He finished, and Hermione closed her eyes tightly, this was all happening very fast.
"Fine." She forced out. She was mad now, Charlie hadn't even let her speak her mind. He had decided for the both of them. "Let's get it over with." She said, and Will nodded.
They made fast work of moving her things, and she claimed that she had long day and just wanted to sleep, so she shut herself in her room as soon as they had finished. She didn't sleep though, she was thinking over and over about that day.
She had been hurt before during work and they hadn't even spoke about ending things. Why was this time different? She had stayed here… for Charlie. She should have never stayed. With that thought in her mind, she quickly pulled on some boots and stormed out of the cabin. She paused as she passed Charlie's, but shook her head and continued to walk. She usually didn't get this upset, but she had done so much to stay here, to be with Charlie. She felt like he had just thrown that out without any thought.
She finally got to where she wanted, and knocked lightly on the door. It opened wide and there stood Eric, he paused for a moment before stepping out of the doorway.
"Come in." He said, and she stepped into the cabin. Eric, being the Head Trainer, had his own cabin. So Hermione wasn't surprised to find that he was alone. "Care for a cuppa tea?" He asked her, and she nodded.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She asked, and Eric laughed.
"If you had been Lass, I would never 'ave opened the door." He said, and Hermione forced a smile before accepting a cup of tea from him. "So." He said, sitting down at the table and gazing evenly at Hermione. "What brings you 'ere?" He asked, and she sat across from him at the table. She took a deep breath and traced the rim of her cup with her finger before answering.
"I want to leave." She said, and Eric sighed before rubbing his hands on his face. He shook his head slowly.
"No… I'm sorry. I know you're 'urting. But I can' let you leave. You are an amazing trainer." He said, and she felt tears fill her eyes.
"Eric… you don't understand. I stayed for him. I chose Romania for him." She said softly, and Eric nodded.
"Aye." He said, and he moved around the table so that he was sitting next to her instead of across. " 'Ermione, I know it's 'ard. Been through a lot, you 'ave. Don' let this… this one thing, ruin what you 'have worked so 'hard for." He said, speaking carefully. Hermione looked up at him, and let out a sigh.
"You won't let me leave?" She whispered, and he shook his head, giving her a small smile.
"No. I think you two will figure everything out." He said, and she nodded.
They sat in silence for a while, drinking their tea. Hermione looked outside, it was dark now. She set down her cup and stood, letting out a sigh.
"I should get. Work tomorrow." She said, and Eric nodded. She stood still for just a moment longer before leaving his cabin.
The next morning, Hermione was up early. She dressed quickly and made her way to the cantina. She didn't want to chance running into anyone that would want to talk to her, and she knew Will's dragons so she would be able to get a head start on their work for the day.
She sat alone for a bit, eating slowly, until Will and James sat down at the table. She quickly looked around, and James coughed. She turned back to him, one eyebrow raised.
"He is still in the infirmary." He said, and Hermione nodded. She didn't speak for the rest of the meal, and told Will that she was going early. He nodded and said that he would follow her shortly.
That was the quietest and most awkward day that Hermione had ever experienced. She and Will spoke only about what needed to be spoken about, and neither of them mentioned Charlie.
She had known that he was coming back to work, she had tried to be ready for it. Seeing him was just a whole other matter entirely. To make matters worse, Hermione's friends were his as well, they happened to see each other quite often. The first time she saw him, she hadn't been able to say anything. She just stood for a moment before turning away and leaving the room. The next time she saw him was at dinner, they were sitting at the same table.
"Hermione." He said, giving her a nod in greeting.
"Weasley." She said through gritted teeth. Will and James looked at each other, both having uncomfortable looks on their faces.
It went on like that for a couple weeks, little was said and they tried to just avoid one another. Until one Friday night, when Will and James said that they were going drinking in town that night. They invited both Hermione and Charlie, but both declined. Hermione made sure to leave the table before the other three, not wanting to be alone with Charlie at that moment. She entered her cabin and went to the kitchen, intending to make some tea. Something else caught her eye however. Will had left a bottle of firewhiskey on the counter, and note laying next to it.
H-
Seems like you might need this. Relax.
-Will
She sighed and stared at the bottle, she didn't usually enjoy drinking to forget, but this seemed like an excellent exception to her rule. She grabbed the bottle and twisted the top off roughly. She took a deep breath before filling her mouth with the spicy liquid.
She finished the bottle rather quickly, and she was dancing around the cabin to music. She was rather enjoying herself until a love song started on the radio. She glowered at the set, as though it was trying to hurt her. She grabbed the bottle, unaware that it was empty. She tilted it and when only a drop came out, she hurtled it at the wall, crying. She sat down heavily on the floor.
"Why would he do that?" She sobbed. She desperately wanted to know why. "I should talk to him." She said, suddenly clam. She stood up and stumbled to the door. She leaned against it for a moment before wrenching it open and stepping into the night. It took her quite a while to make her way to her old cabin, well to Charlie's cabin. But when she did, she knocked heavily on the door.
"Charlie Weasley, open this door!" She said loudly, she heard a thud inside and took a step away, plastering what she thought passed as a smile on her face. The door opened, revealing Charlie, who had obviously just woken up.
"Her- Hermione?" He said, looking confused. "Are you alright?" He asked, and she nodded.
"Can I come in?" She asked, and he stepped to the side. She tripped a bit as she walked in and sat down in a chair.
"Are you… you drunk?" He asked, and she grimaced.
"A bit." She mumbled. "But never mind that. We need to talk." She said, and Charlie began to shake his head. "Don't you dare. I want to talk." She said sternly, and he sat down heavily.
"Okay, go ahead." He said, gesturing for her to speak.
"Why did you do it?" She blurted out, and he looked pained for a moment before answering.
"Hermione I told you why." He said, and she shook her head vigorously.
"No. I've been hurt loads since we had started up and we never discussed breaking it off." She said, standing up in front of him. "Now, tell me the real reason." She said. He let out a sigh, and gazed at her. Her hair was wild, a complete mess. Her eyes shined in the light, and her cheeks were bright red.
"Hermione.." He thought of telling her but decided against it. "That is the real reason." He said, and she stepped closer to him.
"Not buying it Weasley." She said, and he shrugged at her.
"I don't know what you want me to say." He said, and she glared at him.
"I want to know the truth." She said. They stared at each other for a moment before she moved closer. "Just tell me." She said, bending down to say it in his ear.
"Hermione." He said, he voice sounded strangled.
"Tell. Me." She said, kissing his jaw with each word, and he let out a deep sigh.
"Hermione. Don't do something that you will regret." He forced out, and at that she sat herself on his lap.
"Well then, just tell me." She said, looking him in the eyes. He broke off the stare first and looked across the room.
"I have already told you Hermione." He said, and she shook her head.
"Well fine, but you didn't let me speak." She said, and she pecked him on the lips when he opened his mouth to speak. "But you're going to let me now." She said, and he nodded.
"Charlie, I didn't want to end what we had. We've both been hurt before, I don't know why this time was different. I've never distracted you like that before. Why now? You know, I'm the one that got you out?" She asked, and he shook his head. He knew he had heard someone, but he hadn't quite remembered who it had been. He couldn't have been sure that it was her. "Charlie I… I love you." She said, and he stared at her. That was the first time she had said that to him. And he had never said it to her. Sure, he called her love, but that was a term of endearment.
"What?" He said, and she pressed her mouth against his.
"Charlie I love you." She whispered when they broke apart, she rested her forehead against his. She kissed him softly once more. "Charlie, just tell me." She said, and he shook his head.
"I can't." He choked out, and she kissed him again, tangling her fingers in his hair, and hand rested on his scarred cheek.
"Charlie?" She asked, forcing him to look into her eyes. He stayed silent. Her eyes had tears in them, and he could smell the firewhiskey on her breath. But he couldn't help it, he pulled her to him and kissed her. His hands tangled into her hair, holding her to him, and her arms wrapped around his neck.
"Hermione." He gasped, pulling away. "Hermione, we can't.." He said, and she sighed.
"We can't do anything." She said in a huff, and Charlie couldn't help but chuckle. "Can't even be together because you-" She jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "-are too stubborn to tell me why you don't want to be with me." She said, and she started to stand. Against his better judgement, Charlie pulled her back and buried his face into her hair. He had always loved how her hair smelled, a mix of vanilla and lavender.
"Oh Hermione…" He sighed. He held her for a long time as she cried into his neck.
"Please… Charlie… Please tell me?" She asked, hiccupping. Charlie chose to remain silent. They sat like that, until Hermione fell asleep.
"Oh Hermione…" He whispered, picking her up and taking her to his room. He covered her with a blanket and that id when he finally noticed her tattoo. A Peruvian Vipertooth. The dragon that had first burned her. He smiled. She really was an amazing witch, he thought as he made his way to the couch for the night.