A new chapter for you all - apologies it's been a while! I've moved to Australia for a year so it's all a bit hectic and updates may be few and infrequent so apologies but thank you to everyone sticking by me and reading it all! Please let me know your thoughts in a review

- HermionesPolyjuice xoxo

Chapter 25

Charlie awoke from his doze a few hours later from the voice he so desperately wanted to hear say his name. It took him half a second to register who had called his name but after his eyes adjusted to the lightened room and caught sight of her looking up at him his face broke into a smile.

"Everything OK?" he asked. Hermione began to nod her head but stopped suddenly and grimaced.

"You never got me that water," she responded with a slight smirk. Charlie chuckled but summoned a glass and jug filled with cold water. He took the glass and slowly leant forward and tipped it against Hermione's lips. But lying on her back caused some problems and soon the water had poured out of the glass but down her chest rather than into her mouth.

"I think a straw may help," Hermione said with a giggle bringing up her hand attempting to wipe at the stain. Charlie blushed slightly but nonetheless summoned a straw and topped up the glass. The second time was much more successful and after Hermione had slurped down two glasses she slumped back against the pillow, her eyes closed. Charlie put the glass and jug down on the table and resumed his place on the old, creaking plastic seat. A peaceful silence filled the room.

"You know you don't have to stay here all the time," Hermione said after a while, turning her head to look at Charlie with her dark brown eyes. There was no twinkle present but Charlie was convinced he saw some hope in them.

"I know, but that's not going to stop me," Charlie replied with a smile. He reached out and took her hand in his. "I've missed you, you know."

"I missed you more," Hermione said with a wink causing Charlie to chuckle.

"Not possible," Charlie said with a smirk and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"You know you have clean clothes at The Burrow right?" Charlie raised his eyebrows at his fiancé.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Charlie asked.

"It's just that they kinda smell quite a bit," Hermione smirked.

"I'll get mum to bring me something."

"No you can't. Charlie you need to go home and have a shower. You probably haven't eaten or slept in a while. Go home for a bit and eat some proper food and sleep for a while," Hermione said, her eyes filled with concern.

"I'm fine," Charlie said, a little harsher than he intended and watched as Hermione cringed at his tone. "Look, I've spent weeks without you –"

"And you've got years to come with me. I'm sure you can spare a couple of hours at home. It's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon either," Hermione responded, her voice strengthening as she contested Charlie's comments.

"Ugh, OK I guess it wouldn't do me any harm."

"That's more like it," Hermione said, the corners of her mouth twitching to a smile.

"I'll be back in time for lunch. If I'm going to bed you can sure as hell get some rest too," Charlie said getting to his feet, his legs stiff from sitting on such an uncomfortable chair. He made a mental note to transfigure it into something a bit more comfortable when he returned.

"Honestly, Charlie what else do you expect me to do?" Hermione asked exasperatedly.

"I can't say I would be surprised if you whipped out a book from under you pillow right now," Charlie said with a smile. Charlie bent down her give her a quick kiss on the forehead but he was stopped when Hermione shrunk further into the pillow, her eyes filling with tears and her body beginning to shake.

"Please don't. Just leave me alone, I beg of you. Go away, you can't do anything anymore." Fear was spreading across her face and tears started to spill more freely down her cheeks. Charlie backed away, confused but without saying anything he left the room and headed towards the fireplace in the main reception and flooed back to the Burrow.

{-/-} [-\-] {-/-}

"Charlie! What are you doing here?" Ginny asked from the sofa as she spotted Charlie emerge from the fireplace. But Charlie ignored her and went straight to the stairs and headed up to his room. He kicked open the door and collapsed onto his bed, every kind of emotion filling him to the brim. He pulled the pillows in frustration, he let out a shout of anger but then the tears began to spill. He had thought she was going to be fine, but obviously that was silly of him. She was never going to be fine, not after what she had been through. But why was she fine some of the time and not others? It didn't make sense that one second she was fine, almost smiling and then next she was terrified and scared. It didn't make sense.

There was a soft knock at the door. Charlie rolled over so his back was to the door and didn't say anything. Another knock and he was about to tell whomever it was to go away when he heard the door open and footsteps cross the wooden floor to his bed. Whoever it was didn't say anything but rather just sat down on his bed and rested a hand on his shoulder. He could tell by the size of the hand that it was Ginny who had followed him upstairs.

They stayed there in silence, Charlie letting his tears spill freely surprising himself at how much he appreciated his sister's company.

"I don't think I need to ask if you're alright do I?" Ginny finally asked breaking the silence that had built between the two of them. Charlie shook his head. He wiped his eyes and turned around to face his sister.

"And I don't think I'm going to waste my energy telling you everything will be fine because although I know it will be you're probably fed up by everyone telling you that," Ginny said with a smile. Charlie couldn't help but let a small smile escape his lips. "But are you going to tell me what's wrong because if I were you I would be ecstatic right now."

"I'm more than ecstatic and there are moments when I feel like I'm getting the old Hermione back. But there's just as many moments when I'm reminded what she's been through and I just don't think she's ever going to be the same," Charlie responded with a sigh.

"Of course she's not going to be the same, Charlie. You and I both know that. We have no idea what she's been through and of course she's not going to be the same. It's like saying Harry would be exactly the same after everything he went through in killing Voldemort or Bill after his attack by Greyback. But we've just got to be there for her, make sure we can get her to trust us again. We'll get there, it may take time but we'll get there. She knows who we are, she's comfortable with us we just need to work out what's going on in her head so we can help her," Ginny said.

"I get that, and I keep trying to tell myself the same thing but it's just hard you know. We're going to be together for the rest of our lives and it's tough to see her struggle like this," Charlie sighed.

"Talking about which. When were you going to tell us about your engagement?" Ginny asked, raising her eyebrows at her brother. Charlie just shrugged.

"I dunno, probably when we knew she was all fine. In the grand scheme of things it's not such a big deal is it though?"

"I would probably disagree with you there, it is a pretty big deal," Ginny huffed. "And mum will flip when she finds out you've kept this from her for so long."

"I kinda want to do it properly though, it was a little rushed the first time and then maybe I guess I could tell everyone. I'm assuming you're the only one who knows. And mentioning that, how did you know? I thought I agree with Hermione not to tell anyone," Charlie pondered.

"I have my ways," Ginny winked.

"But no, Hermione didn't tell I just worked it out," she added when she saw Charlie open his mouth.

"You always seem to know everything," Charlie said with a chuckle. "How's the wedding planning coming along?"

"It was quite slow because of everything but we've got a date now for 3 weeks on Saturday. No doubt I'll sit down with mum in a bit to work it all out. Although I won't be surprised it her wedding planner's already full with all the details," Ginny finished with a laugh.

"Oh, I reckon she's had it all planned since before you could walk."

"You're probably right. Well I'm going to leave you now to catch up on some sleep, after you have a shower, because something makes me think that's why Hermione sent you back," Ginny said standing up and heading over to the door.

"Ginny," Charlie called out as Ginny reached the door. Ginny turned around to face her brother. "Thank you." Ginny smiled and pulled the door shut behind her. Charlie slumped back against his pillows and closed his eyes. Within seconds he was asleep, dreaming of his future life with Hermione.

{-/-} [-\-] {-/-}

A few minutes after Charlie left Hermione, Healer Tonnishin entered her room to find her sitting up staring blankly into space.

"No visitors? I don't think I've ever seen the room empty," he said with a little chuckle as he made his way to Hermione's bed. She shook her head, still not taking her eyes away from a spot by the door.

"I made them all go home," Hermione replied simply. Healer Tonnishin nodded his head.

"Alright if I check you over?" he asked. Hermione just nodded but now closed her eyes and leant back into the pillow. She lay there motionless as Healer Tonnishin got to work, muttering words and waving is wand in odd patterns, various lights appearing and disappearing in different forms.

"So everything seems to be looking much better. There's no reason why you can't be heading home by this weekend I reckon," Healer Tonnishin said with a smile.

"Really? Not even this?" Hermione asked her eyes opening in surprise. She pushed down the covers and lifted up the gown exposing a nasty green and purple gash spreading down her right side. It was oozing some kind of orange sap that did not smell very healthy.

"Hmm…there was no indication of this from the spells nor from our initial assessment," Healer Tonnishin said thoughtfully as he slowly leant in closer to examine the wound. He waved his wand in an even more complicated pattern than before but nothing seemed to happen. The elderly healer then summoned a small vial and by resting it next to the gash he was able to fill it half up with the fluid.

"I'll get this analysed by our pharmacist Healers and let you know what they find. I won't do anything to heal it quite yet as I have no idea what it is to do with. Are you in any pain or anything?" he asked.

"Yes, a bit," Hermione admitted. Healer Tonnishin nodded. He took the few steps over to the table that was laden with potions and pulled a small, round vial filled with a pink fizzing liquid.

"Here, have some of this. It should help take off the edge. You may feel a quite sleepy though," he said handing Hermione the vial. Hermione took it gratefully and drank it quickly. Almost immediately she felt her eyelids go heavy. She managed to hand the healer the vial and thank him before her head hit the pillow and she was asleep.

"Good, that should help," the old healer muttered to himself. He put the empty vial back on the table and left the room to hand the vial of sap to the analysts to find out what that nasty gash was all about and why it hadn't been there the day before or why it didn't come up with any diagnostic spells.

{-/-} [-\-] {-/-}

Charlie woke with a start a few hours later. It took him a few minutes to work out where he was and what he was doing at home. He then remembered the events of last night and that morning and heaved himself out of bed. He was feeling a lot better after sleeping for a good amount of time and in a bed. It was the first night in a few weeks that he hadn't been troubled by nightmares and he felt considerably more refreshed than before. He trudged down the stairs to the kitchen ready to satisfy his grumbling stomach with a large plate of his mother's chilli con carne he could smell wafting up the stairs.

"Good sleep?" Ginny asked as he appeared in the living room. Charlie nooded not making any effort to say anything but rather headed straight for the kitchen, where he found his mother, father and Bill sitting at the table bent over something that was laid out on the table. Charlie felt his heart sink as he caught sight of the bold title that headlined The Daily Prophet.

Minister injured, Aurors dead, Hermione Granger near-death in attack on Death Eaters.

"Looks like they found out about the fight then?" he asked from the doorway. The trio looked up with a start and Charlie was able to examine their faces. His mother's face was full of concern; his father was worried whilst Bill was merely confused.

"We can't work out how," Bill admitted.

"It's The Daily Prophet, what else do you expect? They manage to find out everything," Charlie admitted pulling out a chair and sitting down. "What does it say?"

"Not much, they obviously don't know much about what happened. They just mention that Kingsley was injured but appears fine, there were deaths of some Aurors, many Death Eaters defeated and that Hermione is very ill and probably going to die soon," Mr. Weasley said pushing his glasses further up his nose and wiping away the beads of sweat from his forehead.

"But Hermione's not going to die," Charlie pointed out, spooning some food onto a plate.

"No she isn't but if you saw her yesterday morning you would probably assume she would," Mrs. Weasley added. She wiped her hands down her apron before turning to the oven and pulling out three large loaves of garlic bread.

"I should probably head to the office, try and clear as much of this up as I can," Mr. Weasley announced.

"Stay for some lunch, dear," Mrs. Weasley tried to argue.

"I can't Molly. The sooner I find out what's going on and sort it out the better and the fewer owl's we're going to get from Order members and public interrogating us and Harry about Hermione." Mr. Weasley added the second part as he caught sight of a number of owls heading towards The Burrow.

"I'll come with you," Charlie said standing up, ignoring his food. "I need to speak to Kingsley." Charlie no longer felt hungry but rather in the need to see the Minister of Magic, not just to check that he is ok but also to ask him some questions." Neither Bill nor Mrs. Weasley made to stop Charlie, who followed his father from the kitchen, heading straight outside to apparate to the ministry.

Less than 10 minutes later, Charlie found himself standing outside the all too familiar doors that would allow him to enter Kingsley's office. He reached out his hand and knocked loudly. A few moments of silence and just as Charlie lifted his arm up to knock again the door opened and he found himself standing face-to-face with a heavily bruised and heavily scratched Kingsley Shacklebolt who was leaning on a cane.

"Charlie! Do come on in," he beamed flinging the door open wider and beckoning for Charlie to take a seat at one of the sofas. Charlie took a seat on the one nearest the door and waited to the minister to limp toward the sofa opposite. Kingsley lowered himself with grimace.

"How are you doing?" Charlie asked once the minister had made himself comfortable.

"I've been better but I was very lucky," Kingsley admitted. "I hear Fred took another nasty spell to his leg, how's that?"

"Oh it's fine, he's just milking it quite a bit, would expect nothing else from him though would you," Charlie responded with a laugh.

"And everyone else doing well?"

"Yes, apart from a few scars and probably quite a few mental ones everyone seems OK."

"And Hermione, how's she doing?"

"Well, I guess," Charlie shrugged nonchalantly. The two just sat there as silence filled the room until Kingsley broke it a few minutes later.

"Something's on your mind, Charlie. What is it?"

"The truth is there's so much I don't really know where to begin," Charlie confessed.

"Start with what's troubling you the most," Kingsley offered as he leant back against the sofa and looked carefully into Charlie's eyes.

"When Hermione first woke up she seemed OK, she knew who she was, who I was and it seemed fine. And then all of a sudden she didn't seem herself. She was scared and told me to leave her alone and not to do anything. I don't know it just seemed as if she thought I was him but we'd just had a conversation. And then the next time she woke it up she was fine and then it happened again. It's almost as if her brain's in some kind of cycle or something," Charlie said thoughtfully. It felt odd to say it all out loud but as he did it was beginning to dawn on him that really her actions weren't entirely surprising.

"Judging by that look on your face I think you're realising something," Kingsley said with a slight smile.

"I guess just voicing my thoughts has made me fully realise that maybe there is a part of her that does genuinely think I'm him. I think I just need to work out what I'm doing to make her so scared," Charlie responded thoughtfully.

"See, you didn't even need to come and see me."

"But you made me voice that and make me realise. Although Bill and Ginny, and everyone really, have been so supportive and helped with it all but I don't think I would have fully realised it with them," Charlie admitted.

"Sometimes you just need someone a little older and a little wiser," Kingsley said with a chuckle, that reminded Charlie all too much of his headmaster.

"I guess," Charlie muttered, looking down at his feet.

"What is it Charlie?" Kingsley asked, his eyes now losing their spark and looking serious.

"I just feel so guilty and like she just doesn't deserve someone like me," Charlie mumbled, his voice quiet.

"Charlie, don't be so ridiculous. I know that you've had this conversation with your family and if you need me to reiterate what they've all said then so be it but everyone knows you are not at fault whatsoever. You've done everything you could possibly have done; right from the very beginning when you were the one to help her before it all began. You were always there from her and she knows it, I promise," Kingsley said, a fierce look in his eyes. He was right, Charlie had heard those words many times before but it hadn't stopped him from feeling some kind of guilt. She had still suffered because of him.

"I should never have left her in the first place. I knew he was after her and I shouldn't have left her," Charlie said.

"How were you to know he would take her while she was in St Mungo's? How were you to know he would use the Imperius Curse on healer? How were you to know any of this was going to happen? Charlie, you didn't know what would happen so really stop blaming yourself, you've done nothing wrong," Kingsley said beginning to sound fierce. Charlie nodded. He was beginning to understand the fact he didn't do anything wrong but knew it would be a while until he fully accepted it.

"Also, how did The Daily Prophet find out about it all?" Charlie asked after a few moments trying to change the subject.

"Now that is a good question. I'm not entirely sure but I reckon someone may have bugged my door and overheard my conversation with Amelia Bones. Something wasn't quite right with the lock and I just had an odd feeling that entire meeting but nothing I could do. I guess they were going to find out at some point," Kingsley added with a shrug.

"I didn't read the article, but I'm going to assume it wasn't entirely accurate."

"I can't say I read it either, I gave up after the first paragraph of nonsense," Kingsley said with a chuckle. Charlie smiled and then sat there in silence. He had one more question but wasn't entirely sure how to go about asking it. Thankfully, Kingsley solved his problem.

"You have something else?" Kingsley questioned, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

"The marriage law –"

"Ah, yes. That thing. Unfortunately I haven't been able to overturn the decision despite trying everything I could," Kingsley said his voice saddening.

"That's OK, I'm sure you tried everything you could have done. I assume the Ministry got my letter?"

"Hmmm…I do recall something coming up. Ah yes, you and Hermione. I must offer my congratulations," Kingsley reported, a smile spreading across his face.

"Thank you. I know the time to get married is…well, very soon. And so I was wondering, given everything –"

"You would like an extension of some sort?" Kingsley asked.

"If that would be possible," Charlie said wishfully.

"I can't say I can guarantee it but I'll see what I can do," Kingsley said with a smile.

"Thank you, Kingsley."

"Your welcome, Charlie. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Not right now, thank you. No doubt something will come up though," Charlie smiled. Charlie stood up from the sofa and made his way towards the door. "I hope you heal up soon and really thank you, for everything."

{-/-} [-\-] {-/-}

Charlie went via Oxford Street on his way back to St Mungo's to pick something up for Hermione. He pushed open the door to her room and was glad to see her sitting up in bed, reading a book no less.

"I knew you couldn't stay away for too long," he said with a chuckle. Hermione looked up from the tome and beamed when she saw who it was.

"It's actually a fiction book this time," she said with a smirk as Charlie walked over to the bed where he was able to see that she was reading Little Women.

"Again? You must have read that at least a hundred times," Charlie pointed out.

"And? It's such a classic," Hermione responded marking her place. Charlie just laughed as he sat back down onto the uncomfortable plastic chair.

"Let me guess, you've never read it."

"You would be correct," Charlie responded hanging his head a little.

"Well I've got another copy you can borrow," Hermione said, a slight twinkle appearing in her eyes. Charlie chuckled.

"I look forward to it." The couple sat there for a few minutes, each mulling over their own thoughts.

"Charlie?" Hermione finally asked breaking the silence.

"Yes," Charlie responded from the chair, his eyes almost closed in peace.

"Can you lie here with me please?" Hermione asked tentatively, shuffling her body across the bed.

"I would love to," Charlie said, his eyes opening and filled with excitement a bit like a young child on Christmas day. Charlie stood up and climbed onto the bed next to his fiancé. He rested his arm on the pillow and Hermione nestled into his chest.

"I've missed this," she whispered.

"Me too," Charlie admitted and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. The couple lay there for a while unmoving, slipping in and out of consciousness. And to no one's surprise it was how the Weasley's found them later that evening.

(A/N: I hope you enjoyed it, definitely not my favourite, quite a bit of a filler chapter - just a few more chapters left :( please leave a review!)