AN: Hello again! First of all, thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! I swear, nothing brightens my day more than the little ding on my iPod telling me that someone has something to say about my stories (although watching Once Upon a Time is pretty dang close... Charming...mmmm)! It really is amazing, and second, are you guys ready? Are you?
I don't think you are, but here's the next chapter anyway.
Dedication: Happy Birthday to my best Starkid buddeh! You. Are. SUPERMEGAFOXYAWESOMEHOT.
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.
"What do you mean I can't go with you?" Charlie demanded. His fists were clenched together tightly and he was surprised that his fingernails didn't cut through his skin. Molly looked anxiously at her husband before at her husband who had a determined look on his face.
The room was crowded with the other Order members who were all poring over the plans for the evening. Charlie stood off to the side with his parents, both of whom were attempting to convince him that it would not be a good idea to have him accompany the others on their search for Amy. They believed that he wouldn't be able to focus on keeping to their carefully laid out plans and that the moment they arrived, he would break away and search for Amy. They thought, and it seemed as though the others agreed, that his feelings would overwhelm him and possible set the plans astray.
Arthur sighed quietly. "Charlie, do you really think you'll be able to focus?" he asked, adjusting his crooked glasses. "You've been all over the place the last few days, do you think you'll be able to keep your emotions in check without compromising the mission? We have the chance to apprehend so many criminals and we can't take the chance of them slipping away."
"This isn't a mission capture Death Eaters," Charlie snarled, not caring that his voice was so cold towards his loving parents. "It's about finding Amy and bringing her home, and there's no way in hell I'm letting you do that without me."
"Charlie," Molly said softly, not taking her son's cold voice to heart. "I know Amy's important to you, but-"
"Mum," Charlie broke in, his voice cracking slightly with the emotion that flooded his body. "She's the most important thing to me, and not only that but I promised her family I would find her, and I'm not going back on that."
Moody coughed gruffly and stumped his way over to the trio. "We're not taking you with," Mad-Eye said firmly, taking the situation into his own gnarled hands. "We can't trust that you won't fall out of line, and we need our most dependable people on this mission."
"What about your fastest?" Charlie asked, his blue eyes flashing. "The one with best reflexes? I was the best seeker while at Hogwarts, and you don't get that title by not being quick, and my reflexes have only gotten better since then. It happens when you're around fire-breathing, monstrous creatures all day."
"You also lose sense of yourself when your emotions are all over the place," Mad-Eye argued. "And that includes whatever skills you have."
"Oh come on, Mad-Eye," Tonks broke in from across the table. Everyone's eyes fell on the witch, whose hair was still a mousy brown. She was still rather pale, but there was a slight flush of excitement in her cheeks. "Charlie's right. He's one of our best and it wouldn't be right to leave him behind." She smiled faintly at her old classmate.
"I'll keep an eye on him," she promised firmly. The witch looked Moody in the eye, and something flashed in her eyes as though she was daring him to argue against her.
Moody clenched his jaw and looked from the determined Tonks to the eager Charlie. He clicked his tongue in irritation before pointing a stern finger at the youngest Auror. "Fine," he agreed finally, "but he's your responsibility. If he so much as sets a toe out of line, he's back here in a moment, agreed?"
"I'm not a child," Charlie muttered, but his protests went unheard as Tonks smiled brightly and innocently at her mentor.
"Agreed," she answered cheerfully, and for a moment, a streak of pink raced through her hair, but it was quickly drowned out by her old brown as she turned to look at the group assembled in the kitchen.
Now that Charlie had officially joined them, there were six Order members, bundled up and ready to go. Kingsley and Lupin were settled off to the side, quiet as they surveyed the others around them, and Charlie was sure their minds were racing as the thought over every spell they knew, just in case. Mad-Eye and Tonks would of course also be going along with the group, as would Arthur. Bill had planned to accompany the group as well, but after much consideration (as well as nagging from his mother and fiancé) the wizard had decided it would be best to stay behind and wait up for the others to return. It didn't help that Molly was in a full-fledged panic mode, complete with spontaneous rounds of weeping, although that could also be related to the Percy Weasley-related events of the Christmas dinner the night before.
Since the return of Voldemort, Percy had turned his back on the family, basically disowning himself and refusing to speak to any of them, only to return on Christmas Day with the Minister in tow. Charlie hadn't thought much about it at the time, as his thoughts were focused on the mission to save Amy that had been in the works, but Molly had immediately thrown any concern for the Charms teacher to the wind the second her son had stepped through the door. Anyone could tell that he hadn't come voluntarily, but Molly ignored his blatant distaste and awkwardness.
Of course, Percy didn't stay long thanks to the handiwork of Ginny and the Twins, but those few minutes in which Molly had her son back only to lose him again had set the witch off the edge. It seemed as though the Weasley Mother was now prone to sob at the drop of the pin, and it was probably best that she not be left alone, hence Bill's reasoning to stay behind.
"Now that we have that sorted out," Moody started gruffly, "we best head out. We want to surprise them and you can never be too careful. They may know we're coming so remember-"
"Constant vigilance," those in the room quoted blandly. They had heard this spiel one too many times. Moody glared violently at them before grabbing his staff and stomping back towards the door out of the Burrow.
The others also made their way towards the back door, careful so as to not make too much noise; the other Weasley kids and guests were asleep upstairs and it would be best not to disturb them. Charlie trailed after the others, anxious to get out of the house but at the same time, cautious so as not to upset Moody who would likely ban him from the mission if he stepped too loudly. Charlie stopped thought as his Mum shuffled across the wood floor to the door, her eyes wide and filled to the brim with concern for her second oldest son. Bill stood off to the side, watching his mother and brother carefully but not saying anything. Fleur also stood awkwardly to the side, but she made sure to stay in the shadows so as to hide herself and stay out of the family moment.
"Charlie," Molly began softly, her eyes wide and pleading. "Please, you don't have to go." She reached out and gripped his hand tightly in her weathered one. "They can do this without you."
Charlie's heart clenched together something terrible at his mother's begging inflection. He felt his resolve start to crack and he almost gave into his mother's perfected puppy-dog eyes, when his father popped his head back through the door. The wizard looked around before spying Charlie over his glasses.
"Charlie, are you coming or…" the father trailed off, looking between his wife and son. He noted the desperate look in Molly's eyes as well as the torn expression spread across Charlie's. Slowly, Arthur readjusted himself around the frame of the door, so you could only see the edge of his shoulder while he waited for his son's answer. He didn't want Charlie to go, but he understood why he was so adamant about going with them.
Charlie in turn swallowed tightly and glanced from his mother's woeful eyes to the edge of his father's shoulder. He totally understood his mother's need for him to stay behind with her, someplace where she could ensure he was safe and sound, but at the same time, the wizard knew he would go stir-crazy sitting around while knowing his friends and family were fighting for the love of his life. It had pained him long enough to sit around and do nothing since he had learned of her disappearance and he didn't think he could handle sitting back now when she was just within their grasp.
The dragonologist sighed and looked down at his mother with guilty eyes. Molly's own big browns welled up with tears as she recognized the look in her son's eyes and she opened her mouth to say something, anything to change his mind, but the wizard gripped her tightly before turning away and heading towards his father who was waiting for him expectantly.
He paused in the doorframe and glanced back briefly.
"Bye Mum," he said softly. His eyes were downcast and he glanced briefly back at the rest of his family before exiting the kitchen, his father in tow. The other Order members were waiting just outside the gates of the Burrow, with Mad-Eye at the front. He cleared his throat gruffly as the father-son duo made their way towards them.
"About time," the crazed Auror grunted. "What were you doing? Having a tea party?"
Arthur rolled his eyes at the man as he adjusted his weathered but warm robes. "We're here now," he told him simply. "So we best be off, yes?"
Moody grunted in reply, and the others all took this to mean that he agreed with the father. Mad-Eye stamped his staff a few times, and the others drew their wands from the depths of their pockets. They looked expectantly towards their 'leader' as his mad blue eye whizzed about.
"You all know the destination," he said gruffly. "Don't get lost and don't do anything rash before we're all there." He looked pointedly at Charlie who glared back at him. Charlie knew Mad-Eye didn't want him on the mission, but that sure as hell wasn't going to stop him.
"On the count of three," Mad-Eye started.
Charlie looked back toward the Burrow in the distance, and in the warm glow of the house he could see his mother and Bill silhouetted in the light of the kitchen. The taller figure has an arm wrapped around his Mum's shoulder comfortingly. It was the last thing Charlie saw before he Apparated into the night, his mind quickly switching from family to Amy.
'We're coming for you, love.'
…..
The witch shivered desperately and fought to keep her eyes open for just a minute more, and then a minute after that, and after that…She had been in the basement far too long, and it had been far too long since the last visit from one of the Dark Wizards. She wasn't complaining of course; a day without a Death Eater in the basement meant a day without torture, a day with limited pain. However, it also meant that the witch was left alone with her thoughts, starving and thirsty, sometimes freezing and sometimes burning. The entire length of her body was covered in bruises and cuts, and from the looks of most of them, her body was quickly becoming sick with infection, an infection to which her body was slowly succumbing. If Avery didn't kill her, the infection surely would, and she sincerely hoped that it would happen soon. She hated waking up, day after day, cold and shivering, while her stomach growled angrily for food. She hated how she flinched every time the ceiling creaked and how the faint skittering of rats in the corner reminded her of her nails scratching against the floor in pain.
Amy could tell that she wouldn't last much longer, not without food or water or some sort of medical attention, and the time spent alone in the basement only graced the witch with the opportunity to think back on her life, on all the things that she regretted doing and the things she regretted not doing. She regretted fighting with her parents during her teen years and how she had never really reconciled with them, deciding only to live as through nothing had changed since she was a kid. She regretted not spending as much time with her friends as a teen because she was too focused with her studies. Most of all, she regretted fighting with Charlie and keeping their relationship a secret for so long, and she regretted not trying to make things right with the Weasley like she should have.
Her thoughts grew hazy as she felt her fever course through her veins and the slightest movements made her nauseous as though she had been spun around incessantly for hours on end. Her leg in particular seemed to burn furiously, and Amy suspected that the open letters in her skin were now crawling with infection. It wasn't surprising seeing as her living arrangements weren't the slightest bit clean.
The witch's eyes dropped dangerously before shooting wide open as the door to the basement sung open. Amy tried to right herself so as to give the appearance of her being someone with some ounce of strength but her body moaned and screamed in protests, and she slumped against the cool wall of the cellar. As suspected, Avery descended the stairs at a leisurely pace, knowing that his slow steps were toying with the last bit of energy Amy had left.
The wizard paused at the bottom step and pressed his weight into the banister. He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at the witch who was shaking uncontrollably against the wall. Silence settled around the two for several minutes as Amy attempted to muster up some energy to glare at her captor but the days of starvation and dehydration were forcing her body to succumb to its own weakness.
"Well, princess," Avery finally started, his eyes gleaming in the light of his wand. "Do you know what time it is?"
"Time for you to get a watch?" Amy spat in a croaking voice. Avery's eye twitched in annoyance at the witch's taunt but he allowed a sneer to cross his face.
"Yes," he remarked with disdain. "Enjoy your quip. It's your last after all."
Amy's heart clenched tightly at his words and she was sure that panic shot across her face, but she swallowed and tried to compose herself before the Death Eater saw. Alas, her weakness was getting the best of her and Avery saw the emotion flit across her face. He smiled at her teasingly.
"Yes, princess," he said softly. He strolled casually towards her, one foot over the other while his head swayed back and forth in contentment. "Finally decided you're no use to us, and apparently you're no use to anyone else as well."
Amy looked curiously at the wizard, her eyes narrowed so as to display some of her obvious disdain while Avery continued to speak. "I mean, it's not like anyone has tried to find you have they?" He chuckled evilly. "Guess that blood-traitor Weasley realized he was better off without completely tarnishing his name. Blood-traitor is bad enough, he wouldn't want to add Mudblood-lover to the list. He's obviously forgotten all about you, because there's not even word that you're missing. It's like you've dropped off the face of the universe, princess, and not a soul cares."
He moved even closer to the witch until he was just a few feet away from her, and he bent over so his face was near hers.
"No one will care that you're gone, because no one cares now," he said softly. "Why prolong the inevitable when there's nothing worth living for because you are worth nothing." He clicked his tongue on the last syllable and Amy cringed as the words stuck in her mind, burning her thoughts.
He was right, wasn't he? Who know how long she had been down in this basement, and yet there was not a hint of anyone out there looking for her. It was like everyone had forgotten she had even existed… Maybe Avery was right…
The wizard straightened up and pointed his wand at the witch. He cocked his head as she sat there, staring blankly up at him. Amy didn't fully comprehend the look of pure joy in his eyes as he raised his wand a bit higher, and his mouth began to form the words. Words that were to be the last Amy ever heard.
…..
Charlie crouched down low in the bushes at the front of the seemingly abandoned house. It was snowing, and the sky was a dark, almost black, blue, the only light emitted was from that of his wand which was held low to the ground. Beside him, Charlie heard Tonks shuffled in the snow. Moody had put the two of them at the front of the house while he and the others went around back to look for possible exits and entrances to the building.
From his spot behind a rather large, frail bush, Charlie could see that the house was ragged and worn, and it looked as though it leaned eerily to the side. The front of the building was a dull gray, splattered with mud and the shutters of the window hung on an angle that was entirely off. Every once in a while, Charlie and Tonks would catch sight of movement through the broken windows, sometimes a flutter and sometimes large movement, all behind the torn curtains.
The duo had been outside the building for almost twenty minutes now, and Charlie could feel himself growing more and more anxious by the minute. If this was the place that Amy was being held in, then what was he doing out here? Why wasn't he in there, finding her, protecting her, saving her? She wasn't normally one that needed saving, but on the rare occasion when she did, Charlie was the one that wanted to be her savior.
They say in silence for several more moments before there were heavy footsteps behind them and they turned with their wands drawn only to find Kingsley, Tonks, Mad-Eye, and Arthur making their way back towards them. Charlie's eyes lit up as they approached and he stood up, careful to remain in the shadows of the trees and bushes.
"Well?" he prompted eagerly. He looked from one to the other and hoped for good news.
"There's definitely someone in there," Remus told the wizard, rubbing a hand over his tired face. "Several someone's in fact and they don't exactly appear to be any of the good guys either."
"And what about…" Tonks trailed off as she eyed Charlie anxiously. She knew the wizard had been wondering the same thing, but she thought it would be better for her to ask – or at least attempt to ask – rather than to have Mad-Eye think he was going soft.
Remus shook his head slowly. "We didn't see any sign of Amy," he told the two, and Charlie's shoulders slumped noticeably. "But that doesn't mean she's not here," Remus said quickly, trying to raise the wizard's hopes. "It just means that they don't have her somewhere that she could escape from easily. She could still be somewhere in there, but we won't know until we actually get in there."
"Which is what we should be doing," Mad-Eye broke in gruffly. "Not sitting out here like ducks talking about your love life." The Auror brushed past the others so that the house was in his sights. Leaning against his staff, Moody pointed towards the house. "The main purpose of this mission is to capture as many Death Eaters as possible. We want them alive so we can take them in, though dead is an option as well." Kingsley shot the wizard a look while the others merely waited for him to continue. "Our best chance is to enter the house, wands blazing, and take as many down as possible."
"What about Amy?" Charlie asked forcefully. It seemed as though all of Moody's plans were focused around the Death Eaters and as though he had forgotten that Amy was out there and was the reason behind this mission in the first place.
"Miss Wyman is an afterthought," Mad-Eye said bluntly. Charlie's eyes narrowed furiously but the Auror took no notice. "We look for her after we've secured the house, and remember the deal. You step a toe out of line and you're gone." Charlie clenched his jaw to stop from himself from snapping furiously at the wizard, knowing that he wasn't kidding about sending him home.
"We all know what to do," Mad-Eye proclaimed, looking from one person to the other. "Don't fall out of line, because I have no qualms about leaving anyone of you behind."
"Yeah but Molly might," Arthur muttered. Moody ignored the wizard as he straightened himself up and drew his staff closer to him. He nodded at those gathered around him before stomping his staff and Apparating away with a snap. The others immediately drew their wands as well and turned on their heels, the image of the house just in the distance blooming in their minds.
Immediately, Charlie felt the air around him change as he Apparated into the house, and he opened his eyes only after the wind died down around him. His eyes grew alert and quickly became accustomed to the darkness that surrounded him. The wizard raised his wand cautiously as he sought out any movement in the area. From different rooms of the house, Charlie could clearly hear the sounds of the others fighting, obviously having Apparated into the middle of a fray, and the wizard would join them, but only after he had ensured no one else was in the room. He would be no help to anyone, particularly Amy, if he was killed with his back turned simply because he didn't check the perimeter of the room.
Charlie paused for a moment in the doorway of the room, his hand gripping the worn frame as he listened intently for a moment. He could have sworn…
The wizard's eyes went wide and he ducked as a bright green light shot over his head. He turned on his heel, still near to the ground, as his eyes sought out the source of the curse. All he could see though was the faint outline of a hooded figure towards the back of the room. Charlie's eyes narrowed as he saw the figure raise their wand again, and the Weasley lunged to the side as the wall next to the door exploded, dust, debris, and cobwebs showering down on him.
Charlie rolled up and onto his feet, pleased that his Quidditch skills had not in fact left him, and he threw a spell off in the direction of the curse. The spell crashed into the wall, and wood showered down around them. He smirked when he heard the sound of wood bouncing off someone's head, and hoping that the man would be dazed long enough, Charlie lit his wand and the room flooded with light. Immediately, the wizard's sights landed on a figure crouched on the floor, his hands gripped around his forehead where blood was streaming through his fingers, likely from a wood-induced cut.
The stranger blinked in the new light, and he looked up, his hood falling back, to reveal a large gash in his hairline where the blood was streaming from. The wizard immediately dropped his hands from his face and lunged to grab his wand that had rolled several feet away from him, but with a flick of his wand, Charlie had summoned the piece of wood into his hand. The bleeding man watched with angry eyes as the wand flew into Charlie's outstretched hand, and he fell back onto his knees, a grumpy look coming across his face.
Charlie could feel a cut of his own bleeding from his jawline but he ignored the trickle of blood that was making its way down his neck. Instead, he focused his energy on the wizard in front of him. A wizard that looked too familiar for his own good… Charlie knew him from somewhere, but at the moment he could care less. All he could focus on was finding out where Amy was. Screw Mad-Eye, he had the chance to find her and he was taking it. They would be fine without him.
"Where is she?" Charlie demanded, keeping his wand trained on the other wizard's movements. "Where the hell is she?"
The other wizard cocked his head like an innocent child as he looked at the redhead in front of him.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he hissed, wincing as the blood continued to track its way down his face. Charlie would have believed him if it weren't for the smirk that crossed his face and the chuckle that he emitted deep from his chest. The Weasley glared and took several steps closer to the wizard, pointing his wand directly at his face.
"Liar," he snarled. His blood was pumping angrily under his skin. "Where is she?" He twitched his wand threateningly. He was pleased to see the other wizard's eyes follow the movements of his wand before looking up at him.
"What's it to you?" he countered. "Why does it matter where she is?" Charlie's eyes narrowed even further as he forced his wand a little closer to the wizard's face.
"She is everything," Charlie forced out through clenched teeth. "That's why. Now tell me where she is, or so help me…" He trailed off, hoping the wizard understood the threat. The man obviously did as he straightened his back, leaning back slightly so as to distance himself from the redhead's wand. He trailed his eyes from Charlie's wand up to his face, and realization seemed to dawn on him.
He smirked and nodded.
"Ah, Weasley," he said lightly. "Almost didn't recognize you without the Mudblood on your arm." Charlie's grip on his wand tightened further and he felt his hand shake with fury at the derogative term. The wizard obviously noted this for his smirk grew larger into an almost leering grin.
"Oh, does Mudblood hurt your poor, little traitor heart?" he cooed like a mother to a baby. "Are you going to cry?"
Charlie leapt forward and grasped the wizard by the collar of his robes. He forced him up and pointed his wand so close to his face that the other man's eyes went cross so he could keep his sights on it. Charlie could feel anger and hatred burning in his veins like fire as his normally cool eyes blazed with fury. He leaned down so his face was near the man's.
"Where. Is. She?" he spat furiously. He could still hear noises from the other rooms of the house, but he couldn't focus on that now.
The other wizard smiled evilly and he leaned forward, his sour breath reaching Charlie as he whispered one word that broke Charlie's heart into millions of pieces.
"Dead."
Charlie's grasp on the man's robes went limp and he stumbled backward, his hands falling to his side. He felt his breaths grow shorter and shorter as the other man laughed evilly and without sympathy.
"Amy," Charlie breathed desperately. He felt tears prickle at his eyes as the man's words were seared in his mind. A few tears rolled down his face and the other wizard continued to laugh.
"That bitch is dead," he cackled, obviously taking pleasure in Charlie's pain. Charlie looked at him through watery eyes and he laughed again. "And the world is better for it! The Dark Lord is stronger with it!"
Charlie continued to stagger backwards as his mind went from one memory to the next. The night he met Amy with that very distracting summer dress, 'saving' her from Karkaroff at the Yule Ball, their first kiss in the shadowy hall at Grimmuald Place… he could almost feel her lips against his for a moment and his tears continued to well up in his eyes as he realized that the kiss he and Amy had shared just before the Katie girl's incident at Hogsmeade was their last.
"You should have heard how she begged," the wizard sneered. "Each time that we tortured her, she sobbed like a baby and begged us for mercy." He spat at the ground. "So pitiful, but not surprising for a Mudblood whore. I swear her screams were the most amazing thing-"
Charlie moved faster than he thought he could, lashing out. He whipped his wand out and pointed it at the wizard. The power of the curse sent him man flying backwards into the wall behind him. Charlie felt no regret as the wizard slumped to the floor as dust and debris settled around him. All the wizard could think of was what he had said.
That Amy was dead.
…..
AN: I'm not even going to address what happened in this chapter, but I will say, I think I like this update once a week on Sunday thing. It doesn't get in the way of my work and it gives me time to write on the train... plus it's a nice way to end the weekend... OH, and thanks for the reviews encouraging me to calm down about my grade. You were right. By some miracle, it's up to a B now, and I really shouldn't have been freaking out. Anyway, please don't forget to review... I think I'm going to enjoy what ya'll have to say...maybe..
Signing off,
WiseGirl
