A/N: So this is the much awaited farewell chapter. I hope I did it justice. So close to the reunion now, we are getting there, I promise. Just about 4-5 chapters I'd say.

Disclaimer: JK owns HP

1989

Chapter 37

The day before his portkey was due to leave for Romania was filled with a vast array of emotions from everyone.

Excitement from their fellow seventh years, who knew quite well how much Charlie had always dreamed of becoming a dragonologist. Because even though his longtime school friends would definitely miss him, they had no qualms whatsoever about letting him go. Unlike Hermione, they knew they'd get to visit him from time to time, and vice versa. They were proud of him for following his dreams, and his departure was only a few weeks earlier than their own anyway. To them, saying farewell was just another part of this time in their lives.

For Hermione, on the other hand, it was a day that she had dreaded ever since the moment Dumbledore revealed that Charlie would have to leave before her. Sure, she was excited that Charlie was embarking on his dream job, but that didn't exactly seem to make him leaving any easier. He'd been the one constant thing in her life since arriving to the past, and didn't know what she was going to do without him in her last two weeks.

In other woes, she'd known very little about his dating history between now and 1998, and it made her worry that the definitive years without contact would end up taking their toll on him, and eventually he would give into his baser desires. A thousand different scenarios of him falling for some beautiful Romanian witch ran through her mind on a loop, no matter how many times she tried to remind herself how deep their love for one another ran. Though she knew she'd technically see him in two weeks regardless, it didn't stop her from worrying that he'd only show up out of obligation, and not because he was still in love with her after so long apart.

Charlie himself felt a bit conflicted, as his own emotions fell somewhere between the two; excited for the reserve and all of the dragons he was going to meet, but absolute dread as well. For this would be the very last night he'd get to hold Hermione in his arms for eight extremely long years. The last time he'd kiss her, smell her, touch her. The last time he'd get to look into her lovely brown eyes as he made her laugh. It would be the last night he'd get to make love to her, and he planned on savoring every last moment of it.

He spent the first few hours after breakfast with Devon and the other boys, saying his heartfelt goodbyes to his friends whilst promising to attend any yearly reunions they might want to plan in the future. His time before lunch was dedicated to thanking Hagrid and Professor Kettleburn for their encouragement and the ways they had helped shape his affinity for magical creatures over the years.

Lunchtime was spent with his three brothers that were here at Hogwarts. Somehow they had managed to keep the news from them the past few weeks, mainly because he knew Percy would probably rat him out to his mother, but the time had come to tell them he'd be leaving before they woke up the next morning. It was a bit heartfelt, but they all seemed to understand that this is what Charlie needed to do. At the end, he begged the twins to try and stay out of too much trouble, not no trouble persay, just not too much of it. To Percy, he passed on the reins of biggest brother at Hogwarts, and wished him luck on his finals. He hugged them all goodbye, and made them promise to pass more hugs onto Ginny and his mum when they returned home for the summer.

Just after lunch, he spent an hour with the quidditch team, bidding them farewell, and at the same time making sure he was leaving them prepared for the final match of the season without him. And after that, just as everyone else expected, he dedicated the rest of his time to her. Together and alone until the very last second.

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The clock chimed from midnight to one.

They were in the same room Hermione had summoned the day he'd arrived back after Christmas, when she'd shown him the Room of Requirement for the first time. Their hands were wandering over each other's warm and slightly sweaty bodies, trying to memorize every curve and plane as they cuddled close together on the thick and well cushioned rug. After several rounds of intense lovemaking, they had been rather quiet as they both attempted to catch their breath, but now they were down to their final few hours. For Charlie's portkey was due to leave from Dumbledore's office at six on the dot.

"I have something for you." Hermione finally broke the silence.

She sat up just enough to grab her wand, before summoning her beaded bag to them from across the room. Her wand was placed to the side as she unzipped it, and took out a pale blue envelope from the top. For the first time in nearly a year and a half her bag was somewhat organized, at least enough to find this important item among the junk.

"But don't open it until the morning after I've gone." She requested as she handed it to him.

With eager hands, he took it from her and flipped it over. It was sealed, but addressed to him on the front and center by his first name only, and in what could only be her delicate handwriting in black ink. He got the feeling that this was the one piece of her he'd be able to take with him.

He nodded in understanding as he sat up alongside her, figuring that inside it would be the picture Sarah had taken that day by the lake, but knowing it would have to be kept hidden inside his bag with the amulets and invisibility cloak. "Thank you, Hermione. I had hoped I'd have something to keep to remember you by." He replied as he sat it to the side in order to avoid the temptation of opening it early.

"You mean more than a priceless cloak, and an extremely difficult task that the fate of our world depends on?" She tilted her head toward him with a small smirk gracing her lips.

He snorted and wrapped an arm around her shoulder before placing a kiss to the top of her head. "I always want more when it comes to you."

The mood seemed to change to something a little more somber as she nuzzled her cheek against his chest. "Me too." She whispered.

They settled into another silence as they began to place soft kisses to different parts of each other's bodies, and their hands continued to stroke and trace patterns on the other person's skin.

"I need you to promise me something Charlie." Hermione eventually spoke up again.

He tilted his head down to look at her, and noticed that it looked like she was battling telling him something else. Charlie couldn't help but worry when she acted like this, and especially on today of all days, because he knew he wouldn't be here for her between now and her own departure if it was something bad. He ended up pulling her closer against him, lifting her up, and forcing her to straddle his lap. Wanting to be at eye level for whatever conversation they were about to have.

"You know I'd do anything for you." He assured her as she settled atop his thighs.

"This is going to sound crazy." She tried to warn him, as she also couldn't quite look him in the eye. "But I need you to try and forget about me from time to time over the next eight years."

His eyebrows wrinkled together. "What?"

Charlie was extremely confused. If anything, this was the furthest thing from what he had expected her to ask of him. "No. I can't, Jean. I won't."

"Not completely of course. That would be ridiculous." She forced a smile as she rested her hands against his face, looking him deep in his eyes to let him know what she meant. "I just mean that if the loneliness starts to get to be too much from time to time, that I give you permission to have a fling or two between now and then. You know, to keep it at bay?"

"Don't." He shook his head at her, not wanting this conversation at all, and especially not as one of their last. "I don't want or need anything like that."

Her bottom lip trembled, and she bit it between her teeth to keep herself from crying as she pondered what to say next. She quickly tried to wipe any tears away before they could form, not wanting their last moments together in the past to be filled with sadness and grief. It would be better for him to think of their time together as happy and loving, not of the dread, or foreboding that had formed into a tight ball in her chest. But she also needed him to live a happy and normal life without her until they could be together again, and not spend it worrying about what could have been had they met under different circumstances.

"I can't let you waste years of your life just because I can't be there to share them with you." She attempted to try and convince him. Even though he was the one leaving today, it was her who was going somewhere beyond the reach of communication, and she was sure any loneliness he felt would be because of her. "I keep trying to imagine what I would do in your shoes, and I can't let yo-"

"Stop it." He growled, covering her mouth with one of his hands to shut her up before she could say something she didn't mean. "Listen to yourself. Seriously. If things were switched between us, would you even consider cheating on me while I'm gone?"

He didn't move his hand, only watched her as she pondered his question for a moment. Eventually she shook her head no, and a stream of tears began to leak out of the corners of her eyes. Now that he had brought her to her senses, he used his thumbs to wipe the tears from the undersides of them before embracing her again. It looked like she was about to start sobbing now, and he almost felt bad for scolding her.

"I'm sorry, I hate this. I feel like I'm abandoning you." She wiped her cheeks furiously as he curled his arms around her back; holding her to him tighter than before. "I hate that I have to leave you here. Things are going to be so different when I get back, and I feel like I'm leaving you alone to carry this burden on all by yourself."

Charlie cringed at her words before pressing a deep kiss to her lips to hush her again. "I think I see what this is about, and I would love nothing more than to whisk you off to Romania with me, Hermione. I can't think of anything I want more than to spend the next eight years until the battle tucked away together." He tried to soothe her with his own feelings over their farewell. "But I also understand why it has to be this way. From what I understand about the Department of Mysteries is that they have top clearance, and they can set the DMLE on pretty much anyone they want to."

He pulled her even closer still, so that their bare bodies were fully flush against one another, angled just so that it wouldn't take much to be connected again. Hermione gasped at the intimate feel of it, still so unused to how intensely their bodies reacted to each other, even while they were arguing.

"They know all about you, and I have no doubt they'd hunt us if we tried to run away together." He continued to explain, as his appendage grew hard again from the feel of her against him. "If that were to happen, it would ruin all the hard months you've spent planning and researching for your return. They'd learn about me. About us. I wouldn't be able to finish the amulets, and we'd be sitting ducks come the final battle. As much as I'm going to miss you, I know that it has to be this way for a reason." He gripped her chin with his fingers in order to angle her eyes up to look at him, even though their faces were barely inches apart.

"You aren't abandoning me, Hermione, you are saving the world."

His lips captured hers again in a demanding kiss before she could even attempt to argue back. Her fingers wound themselves into his hair as she kissed him back through a series of wet sniffles. He shushed her against her lips, and with barely any effort, he was able to shift her forward and down. The movement caused her to keen into the kiss as he impaled her upon him yet again. It instantly forced her to lose focus of anything that wasn't what he was doing to her body. She didn't resist as his strong arms took charge of her hips, using his grip to force her up and down on him at a steady pace.

"Besides, I'm going to be too busy spending the next eight years dreaming up new and exciting ways to make you come, you hear me?" His growl was primal in her ear, as he forced his hips up sharply with every forced shift downward she made. They were done talking about their unfortunate situation, and had replaced it with thrilling promises for their future. "More positions than you've ever dreamed existed." He continued to talk dirty into her ear, as he kept firm control over both of their movements. "And once the war is over, I'm going to spend every available moment enacting them on you." He nipped her earlobe to reinforce his promise. "One, by one."

He abruptly flipped them over, causing her to release a small shriek from the force of it. He drove into her harder and deeper with every thrust of his hips. If she thought he'd been unrelenting earlier, it was nothing compared to the way he'd taken control of her now; holding her in whatever position he wanted underneath him as he gave them both what they needed. Giving her exactly what she needed to know that there really would never be anyone else.

Even though they'd already done it several times that night, Hermione could quickly feel another orgasm approaching. She was pretty sure he could feel it too when his head dipped down to suck and nibble on her chest; his teeth embedding into her soft flesh as they both fell over the edge once more.

The room seemed to spin, and she began to feel a bit dizzy from the intensity of it all. When her head finally began to clear she could still feel his arms caging her in against the floor as his body continued to spasm above her. Eventually he regained his senses as well, and released his usual series of expletives into the humid night air before kissing her deeply again.

Hermione opened her mouth to him, as his tongue swept past her lips in order to memorize every centimetre of her. How he was already working her up again, she wasn't sure, but she also wasn't complaining.

As she felt him grow hard inside of her yet again, he confused her by releasing a small laugh against her neck. It was a farcry of a difference from the intense argument they'd just had.

"What is it?" She shifted to raise an eyebrow up at him, unsure what about their situation he had found amusing.

He chuckled again before placing a single kiss to the tip of her nose. "Just how much I fucking love you."

"Oh. I love you too." She finally smiled again.

His hands traveled up her arms. Tracing her skin before he maneuvered them above her head, and pinned her wrists to the ground. It was clear that he wasn't done with her yet.

"Good. Just promise me you wont ever make that atrocious suggestion again." He demanded before moving his hips against her once more.

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They hadn't slept more than a half an hour at a time before going at it again. They didn't want to waste their final moments together asleep, but at one point, after all of their physical exertions, they found they could no longer keep their eyes open.

Shortly after, Hermione was awakened to the feel of his firm hands lifting her up and onto him. Where they made love slowly and deliberately until neither of them could move again, knowing it was their last. When they finally separated, it was because the clock had struck five, and they knew they couldn't put off saying their goodbyes any longer. Their time together was officially at its end.

They dressed in close proximity to one another, and Charlie tucked the pale blue envelope into the freshly charmed pocket of his bag before pulling the invisibility cloak out of it. The plan was for him to walk Hermione back to Gryffindor tower to kiss her goodbye before leaving for Dumbledore's office, the cloak now in his possession for the next eight years; until May 3rd, just after midnight.

He escorted her out into the hall, his arms pulling her in close so he could memorize her scent before it was too late. They each tried to take in as much detail of each other as they could in their last few minutes together. The walk across the seventh floor to the portrait of the fat lady went far too quickly for both of them, and before they knew it the journey was over. In more ways than one.

Though the air felt thick and suffocating around them, Charlie forced himself to face her as his arms circled her waist. His hands planted themselves on the small of her back, and even though he was aching at the thought of leaving her here, he mustered up a smile. He wanted her to remember him happy, and the cheesy charming grin that had won her over in the first place all those months ago.

Knowing that there wasn't much time left until he was needed in Dumbledore's office, he leaned down slowly in order to kiss her for what he was sure would be the very last time for eight long years.

With no intention of rushing it, he slid one of his hands up her back until it reached her neck, and he cradled the side of it; his thumbs brushing against a spot he knew made her particularly sensitive. "I love you more than anything Hermione Granger." He said, his lips a breath width away from hers. "With all my heart, I do."

"And I love you Charlie." She replied, her eyes wide and mournful as she looked up at him. "Just as much."

His mouth finally descended upon her flushed and slightly swollen lips. It was just a brush at first, a kiss that was long, slow, and gentle as they held onto one another. But soon enough, it turned into hot open mouthed kisses full of teeth, and tongue. They pushed and tugged against each other's mouths as they gripped each other tighter in their embrace. It was clear they were trying to pour all their feelings from their separation into one kiss.

Eventually, after several minutes, Charlie finally found the courage to pull away. He detached his lips from hers, and placed a single kiss to her forehead instead.

"Remember to have some fun, alright?" She urged him, still hoping he'd be able to live a happy life between now and their reunion. "Make some friends, and tame some dragons."

"I will, I promise. I'm going to miss you, but I'll be alright." He whispered, as he hugged her tightly against his chest. "I'll see you in eight years."

Hermione half snorted, half sobbed as she rested her chin against his chest; her fingers raking down his abs. "And I'll see you in two weeks."

He sighed as he slid his hands down her sides and to her stomach. "You better believe you will."

And with a last farewell against her ear, and one last kiss to her cheek, he forced himself to step away. He still needed to make it down five flights of steps to Dumbledore's office before his portkey took off to Romania without him.

Hemione's eyes filled with tears as he turned toward the staircases, and began to walk away. As much as she knew this had to happen, it didn't feel right. She didn't feel as if she had proved her love for him enough, and before he even made it half way to the stairs she was calling out his name; running the length needed to reach him again.

Charlie turned at the sound of her voice to see her coming at him. With a dull thud, her bag had been tossed to the ground as she jumped up into his arms, her legs wrapping themselves around his waist as she pressed her lips to his again. He caught her easily, as her arms and hands were busy wrapping themselves around his head so she could kiss him hard on the mouth.

Though he was more than happy to have her in his arms, and get a second kiss goodbye, he didn't let it last long; forcing himself to pull away again after only a short while. "Hermione, you know I hate this too, but I really have to go now." He said, his tone confirming how much that thought was killing him inside.

"I know." She nodded as she hugged him around the middle. "I just needed to do that one more time before you left, and I wanted you to know that I changed my mind."

"Changed your mind?" He asked for clarification; patting her spine. "About what?"

"Please don't forget about me." She pleaded, smiling at him even as tears streamed down her face. "Not even for a second."

He hugged her to him for a final, final time as he snorted into her hair. "That wasn't even a possibility in the first place, you silly witch."

And with one more short kiss, and two more whispered exchanges of 'I love yous', Hermione finally let him go; watching him until he was well out of sight.