Chapter 3

Monday, June 14, 1999

When Hermione woke, her first thought was of how warm she was. Wait, she thought. It wasn't just her body. It was her chest and her throat. The burning intensified and her eyes flew open. She bolted up and grasped the glass of water sitting on the coffee table. After swallowing the whole glass, the flames in her chest and throat subsided and she noticed where she was. She was on the sofa at the Burrow, tangled up in a deep blue knitted blanket. The afternoon light was streaming in and she could hear movement in the kitchen.

Her eyes traveled back to the coffee table where she saw a folded-up piece of parchment. She reached for it, opening it immediately.

Hermione,

I'm sorry to have left you there but you looked so comfortable that I didn't have the heart to wake you. I had to head back to the reserve as they just can't function without such a brilliant guy like me.

The water is for you. I added a bit of murtlap essence and pepper-up potion. I left a vial of each under your pillow. Figured you wouldn't want anyone asking questions. There should be enough for this week. If you run out though, Bill could get you more without telling mum. You know she'd have a fit if she found out you were hurt and didn't tell her.

I know you said you wanted to be alone, but I think we both know that's a bad idea. Please stay there. I also would highly suggest taking some time off work. You can't heal properly if you're stressed.

Merlin, I'm starting to sound like mum. I'll be going now but feel free to write.

Charlie

P.s. I noticed the blanket you had under your pillow but didn't think you'd want everyone there to see it. The blue blanket used to be my totem. Feel free to use it.

Hermione set the letter down and ran a hand over the blanket. There was definitely magic woven in. It was extremely soft, calming and comforting. For a moment she wondered if that was from magic or because it was Charlie's.

The door opened and Molly came into the living room with a tray of food.

"Oh good! You're awake. I was beginning to worry, dear. You've been asleep for a while. It's nearly lunchtime." Molly informed her while she set the tray down and felt Hermione's forehead. "You don't feel warm. Are you feeling sick?" She asked, handing Hermione a glass of pumpkin juice,

"No, Molly. I'm fine. I promise. I was just tired. I've been working quite a bit lately." Hermione sipped at the juice while Molly flicked her wand about, straightening up the room. The pillows began fluffing themselves and rags wiped at the shelves.

"You really shouldn't work yourself so much, dear. Taking care of yourself is much more important." She lectured her as she waved her wand at the blanket. Hermione grabbed the blanket as it started folding itself and Molly looked at her questioningly.

"I'm just still a bit cold." Hermione lied, wrapping the blanket around her.

"Poor, dear. It must be because you're so thin! Here, eat." Molly ordered as she put the tray in Hermione's lap and stood there, waiting for Hermione to eat. Reluctantly, Hermione picked up a piece of bacon to nibble on, satisfying Molly. She tried to force herself to eat more but she just couldn't. Instead, she summoned a few pieces of parchment and a quill and ink set.

The first letter she penned to her boss apologizing for the last notice but explaining that she would be needing a vacation effective immediately. She knew her boss would be upset, but she honestly didn't have the energy to go back to work yet. The next letter, she wrote to Charlie.

Charlie,

At the risk of inflating your already large ego, I'm sure that your job is a difficult one and not many would be qualified for it.

Thank you for the water. I feel so much better already.

I've written my boss requesting an indefinite vacation effective immediately. I'm not sure if I'd be able to stay at the Burrow though. As nice as everyone is, sometimes, I can't handle all the noise and everyone fussing over me all the time. It makes it hard to stay above water, so to speak.

Thank you for the use of your totem. I'll take good care of it while I'm here.

Hermione

An hour later, Hermione received a short response from Charlie:

Does that make me your favorite Weasley?

P.s. Please stay there.

She chuckled at his letter before writing two words on the bottom of the parchment:

Nice try.

A few hours later, Harry and Ron came through the floo and plopped down onto the couch on either side of her. Ron immediately noticed the tray of food.

"Thank Merlin. I'm starving." He exclaimed, pulling the tray towards him and digging in. Harry let out a chuckle.

"You're always starving." He told Ron.

"Oi. I work hard, you know." Ron said between bites.

"Speaking of work," Harry mentioned, turning towards Hermione. "I hear you asked for an immediate and indefinite vacation."

"Wut? 'O 'id?!" Ron asked, his mouth full of food. Hermione grimaced in disgust.

"Ron, don't talk with food in your mouth. And yes, I did." She admitted, looking down at her hands. She knew she should tell them what happened, but she was so ashamed.

"Well, something major must have happened if you're willingly taking a break from work."

"Nothing, I'm fine. I promise." She said, pasting a smile on her face, looking at both of them. Surprisingly, Ron set down the tray of food and turned to Hermione.

"Don't lie to us, okay?" He told her. "We're your best friends and if you don't want to tell us, we can't make you. BUT. We are here for you and ready to listen when you're ready to talk." The complete look of sincerity on his face broke her and she began sobbing. Ron pulled her into a hug and Harry wrapped his arms around her from behind. They stayed like that until even as Molly came in to see what the noise was. Her eyes widened but Ron motioned for her to leave. Eventually, she cried herself to sleep. Ron laid her down on the couch and Harry covered her up with the blanket before they went into the kitchen to talk.

"Mate, I've never seen her like this." Ron began as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Me either." Harry echoed. "Any clue what's going on?"

"Not even a little. We've barely had time to speak these last few months with all the raids we've been doing." Ron admitted guiltily.

"I know, mate. Anytime I see her, we're always in a rush."

"One of you is going to tell me what's going on with that poor girl right now." Molly demanded as they both jumped at her voice.

"We don't know, mum, honestly. We haven't really had time to talk lately."

"You should have made time. That girl is your best friend and just look at her! Crying her eyes out and neither of you know why."

"We know, Molly. We'll talk to her when we get done with work tonight." Harry promised.

"You better." She said, pointing a finger at both of them. "Now, eat something. Your lunch is almost up." She noted, motioning to the food on the counters.

True to their word, when they left work, they both immediately came to the Burrow to talk to Hermione. They found her in the large garden reading a book.

"The Complete Dragon Textbook." Ron read from the book cover as they got closer. "Why are you reading a textbook about dragons?" He asked as he dropped to the ground on her right next Harry on her left.

"Isn't it wonderful? Charlie sent it to me. He knows I like learning new things and he even wrote his own notes in the margins!" She exclaimed, tilting the book so Ron could see.

"And you didn't blast him a new one for defiling a book?" Ron gasped, jokingly, eliciting a laugh from Harry.

"Oh, hush you two. It's perfectly acceptable if it's for academic purposes."

"What?! Do you even remember how mad you got when I used Snape's notes in the margins of his old textbook?" Harry accused.

"That was completely different. You didn't even know whose notes those were and had no way of knowing if they were safe. Plus- "

"I'm kidding, 'Mione! No need to chew my head off for it...again." He chuckled. They sat in a comfortable silence until Hermione finally spoke.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I'm fine. Truly. Sometimes the memories just get the better of me."

"I don't believe you for a second, 'Mione." Harry told her.

"Yeah, we're your best friends and we know when somethings wrong. This isn't just O.W.L. Or N.E.W.T. Stress." Ron agreed.

"I'm handling it." She sighed.

"No, you're not. That much has become clear. We thought if we gave you some time alone that you'd be able to heal on your own but clearly that's not working."

"Maybe it's time you talk to someone, 'Mione." Harry added.

"Boys, I don't need to talk to anyone. It was just a string of bad days. I really am feeling better." She promised as she smiled at them. The boys glanced at each other before nodding.

"Fine. We'll accept it for now, but if it gets worse- "

"If it gets worse, I'll come to you guys, I promise." She interjected, wrapping her arms around both of them. They stayed outside talking for hours. Hermione was surprised at how much lighter she felt here and was regretting all the time she spent away from the Burrow. She decided she'd stay at the Burrow for a while as she decided on her next moves.

Charlie and Hermione began writing to each other constantly over the next few weeks. The letters got longer each time and before long, his letters became Hermione's favorite part of the day. When Charlie came home on Sundays for dinner, neither of them mentioned the letters, though they were always together.