November 6th 2005 PT2

Charlie watched with his fists clenched at his sides as Hermione fled from the garden. Ron turned round, shaking his head in amusement until he saw Charlie and his face turned to one of shock as Charlie began to walk slowly towards him. Once he reached touching distant he reached his arm out and grabbed Ron by the neck of his shirt, turning and dragging him back into the Burrow and shoving him down on the sofa before taking a step back and crossing his arms.

"Would you care to repeat what you just said to Hermione?" He asked and Ron looked around at their confused family before his wide eyes fell on Charlie again and he shook his head.

"Alright," Charlie nodded before turning to look directly at his parents but raising his voice so that everyone could hear, "Ron just saw fit to tell the mother of my child that it was hilarious that she slept with two Weasleys and wasn't worth enough for either of them to stick around."

"That's not what I said!" Ron said desperately and Charlie snorted.

"No, sorry, I'll quote you correctly shall I? What was it Ron? 'You've fucked two Weasleys and not kept either of them', is that about right?"

Ron's mouth opened and closed in a very convincing impression of a fish as his family turned to him, glaring. Charlie sighed and shook his head as Molly began to cry again and was thankful that the children were playing outside on the other side of the house and didn't have to witness any of this.

"I should break your nose for what you just said to her," Charlie growled, "the whole reason we slept together in the first place is because you made her feel like she was worth nothing, and here you are doing it all over again."

"I'm going to go and find-" Ginny started but Charlie shook his head and interrupted.

"No, I am," he said decidedly, "she needs to know just how wrong this idiot is."

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Just inside the glade, Hermione fell to her knees and sobbed into her hands, knowing that whoever's fault it was Ron had been telling the truth. What had happened between her and Charlie had been a one time thing, yet somehow they had created a beautiful life in that moment. But that didn't make what Ron had just said any less true or hurtful. Now that Charlie was back, she was beginning to find things that she could easily fall in love with in him. Seeing him with their son made her emotional and made her heart race with happiness. It was almost painful how much she wanted things to be different. Maybe if he had been around when she was pregnant it would have brought them closer.

Not that she would use Arty as an excuse to be with him, she would never do that. But having a baby with someone brings up all sorts of emotions and intimate connections, and when he had been out of their lives it was easier to ignore how much she felt for the father of her child. Even though it hadn't been a grand love affair, for that one moment they had been together she had felt adored and, just as he had promised at the time, she truly had felt beautiful.

Her sobbing increased in its intensity as the memory of those few hours flew through her mind and she recalled how loving and gentle he had been with her, almost as though he was making love to her all those years ago under the stars in this very glade. It had been the most romantic and brilliant moment in her life, and Arthur had been the result of it. Hearing a noise behind her, she whipped her head around to see Charlie himself coming towards her.

"You know he's wrong, right?" He called as he stepped closer and Hermione sniffed, unable to speak as he stopped above her, "what he said, it's not true."

"Of course it's true," she choked, shaking her head, "what he said was completely truthful."

"Well he didn't lie," he sighed, sitting down heavily beside her, "but that doesn't account for the fact that one of those Weasleys didn't get the chance to keep you."

"What are you talking about Charlie?" She sighed, "Ron dumped me and we both said that what happened with us was a mistake."

"How can it be a mistake when we made Arty, huh?" He asked, chuckling, "besides, I'm a guy, we're known to change our minds sometimes."

"Charlie…" she sighed again, exhausted, "will you just talk sense?"

"I regret saying it was a mistake," he blurted, leaning his elbows on his knees and looking at the floor, not seeing Hermione stare at him in shock, "I think we could have been good together."

Wait what? Her thinking that in her messed up, emotional mind was one thing but hearing him saying it, hearing him agree with her out loud was a different thing all together. And why was he talking in the past tense? Had his regrets passed? Maybe she was the only one who was thinking this way now. Realising her mouth was hanging open in shock, she snapped it shut and shook her head.

"Charlie…" she started and he groaned, falling onto his back and closing his eyes.

"I knew it when I got back to Romania, you know. I realised that I bloody well missed my brothers ex girlfriend! Not like how I miss Ginny when I leave but how I miss someone that has taken a little bit of me with them," he snorted, shaking his head as she gawped at him, tears pooling in her eyes again, "I guess you did take a bit of me, although he's not so little now is he? And I wanted to write and tell you what I was thinking but when I never heard from you I assumed you regretted it."

"Charlie, I never…"

"But the more I remembered about that one night with you, the more I just wanted to talk to you, about anything. And the longer I went the harder it seemed to write so I pushed away and feelings I might have had for you, and I got on with life. Then I come back and find out you've been raising my son! On your own!"

"Charlie." Hermione whimpered and he shook his head to indicate he wasn't finished.

"I should have been there, holding your hand through everything. Getting you ridiculous foods at 3am because Arty wanted it like dad used to to for mum, or rubbing your feet when you couldn't reach them any more. I should have been holding you and feeling our baby move inside of you and I should have been next to you when he was born," his voice was getting louder and louder as he spoke and Hermione could see water leaking from under his eyelids, "I should have been doing the night time feeds and helping you to teach him to walk. I should have been with you!"

His last sentence was shouted towards the sky and Hermione choked out a sob as he brought his hands up to his face, breathing heavily as he sat up and looked tiredly at her.

"Why are you crying?" He asked quietly and she shook her head.

"It's all past tense!" She cried, "Why is it all past tense? What you've come back and figured out that your feelings don't exist any more? Because mine haven't! They've grown! And I've found myself adoring you and my stomach flips when I see you with Arty! And now you're telling me this in the past fuc-"