Games Are Afoot Chapter 35
Games Are Afoot Chapter 35
Charlie's Conversations
Disclaimer: JKR owns it all; I am just playing in her fabulous world.
Author's Note: I apologize for the delay. Life got in the way of literature.
The muddy footprints on the floor leading toward the kitchen led Charlie to Ron better than a treasure map. The quidditch game had ended an hour ago, but Ron and Harry had meandered slowly back to the Burrow discussing the upcoming school year. Charlie had waited impatiently for their return and when he heard the slam of the screen door, he bounded down two flights of stairs and followed the footprints to the kitchen where he found the two devouring one of Mrs. Weasley's chocolate cakes.
"Mind if I join you?" He asked as he grabbed a fork and took a bite.
Ron scowled and rolled his eyes. "Not at all. Please help yourself." Harry just laughed at the half-hearted sarcasm.
Ten minutes later, the cake a mere memory, Ron began to stand up. Charlie halted him with a hand to the arm.
"Do you have a sec?" He asked his younger brother.
"Sure." Ron shrugged and sat back down. Harry stood up.
"I think I will go jump in the shower." He said as he moved toward the stairs.
"I'd like you to stay, actually." Charlie muttered. This was going to be harder than he thought. Harry moved back into the kitchen and returned to his seat.
"What's up?" Ron inquired.
He and Harry shared a look and then turned curiously toward Charlie who was tapping his foot restlessly on the floor.
Charlie looked at Ron. "Does he know?"
"Know what?" Asked Harry. A feeling of dread had come over him suddenly as he wondered who might have died or been hurt.
Ron, instantly knowing the track Harry's mind had taken, quickly shook his head. "Chill, Harry, it's not what you think." Harry took a short but deep breath and nodded. Charlie was squirming in his seat.
"Yeah, well. Um…you see," he stammered.
"Just spit it out already!" Ron said sharply. Charlie looked towards the ceiling.
"Oh for Merlin's sake. Charlie and Hermione have been seeing each other for about a year." Ron blurted out.
"WHAT?" Harry jumped up. "I thought she fancied you?" Ron shook his head and laughed.
"We thought about it, but all we did was fight." Harry slowly slumped back to his chair.
"Wow. You think you know a person." He muttered. "First she gets all chummy with Viktor Krum and now she has been seeing Charlie." He shook his head as Charlie and Ron laughed.
"I felt the same way after I caught them snogging outside the hospital wing." Ron agreed.
Harry's eyes shot towards Ron's. "Snogging?" Ron just nodded. Then he smiled.
"Read them the riot act about PDA's too." Charlie snorted.
"We were NOT in public and you just happened to interrupt a private moment."
Ron shook his head and smiled broadly. "They were in the hallway—"
"Alcove." Charlie inserted.
"Fine. They were in an alcove in the hallway. And I heard a noise and I found them. Gave me nightmares for weeks." Ron ducked as Charlie threw an elbow toward him.
Harry laughed too. After a moment, Charlie cleared his throat. "Well, boys, I wanted to discuss Hermione." He looked back and forth nervously. They nodded at him to continue. "I don't want a repeat of last year. That ministry incident took years off my life."
Ron muttered something unintelligible, but Charlie continued. "I want you two to keep an eye on her. Look out for her safety."
"Do you think we let her get into danger on PURPOSE?" Ron yelled. "This is ridiculous. We always look out for her. We looked out for her before you even knew she existed. We saved her from the troll during first year. We make sure that Malfoy doesn't get to her. We—" Charlie held up his hand to stop Ron's rant.
"I am not suggesting that you don't. It's just that all three of you are sort of marked now. After the episode at the ministry, there may be a lot of ticked off Slytherin's. We all know that Hermione spends inordinate amounts of time in the library…alone. I am just asking that you be EXTRA cautious and keep an eye on her."
Harry studied the sincere, but worried look on Charlie's face. "You know she would hate that you even asked us to, right?" Charlie nodded.
"She can't know we are doing it." Ron added. Charlie nodded again.
"And you'll let me know if you suspect anyone is trying to get to her, right?" Charlie added hesitantly. "It's going to be hard enough to be away from her without being sure she is as safe as can be."
"Oi, Charlie. You going soft?" Ron asked making gagging noises.
Charlie leapt from his chair and pulled Ron into a headlock. Even though Ron was now several inches taller, Charlie was a lot stronger.
"Do I feel soft?" Charlie demanded.
Ron laughed. "No. You are still the man with the muscles." He recited formally.
Harry laughed as Charlie released Ron. "Well, now that we have that settled. I am going to find Hermione. I have to leave soon."
"Bye Charlie. We'll keep an eye on her." Harry reassured him as he shook his hand. "Have a safe trip back."
Ron clapped Charlie on the shoulder. "We'll take care of her. Don't you worry that pretty little head of yours about a thing." He teased. Charlie playfully cuffed him by his ear before pulling Ron into a brotherly hug.
"You take care of yourselves too." He warned as he left the room.
"Mum? Mum where are you?" Charlie bellowed as he reached the fourth floor.
He could hear her moving about humming to herself so he moved toward the sound. The little songs she would sing and hum to herself never failed to make him feel comfortable and safe. He paused by the door listening for a moment. After a bit, he rapped lightly on the doorframe.
"Hi Charlie. Come on in. I was just tidying up in here." Molly said brightly as she fluffed the last pillow on the bed with a wave of her wand. Charlie moved through the doorway and sat on the plush chair by the window watching his mother flitting through the room dusting and straightening. When she reached the chair he was sitting in, she conjured another and joined him.
"Lovely breeze coming in the window isn't it?" She mused.
"Uh hum." Charlie responded distractedly.
Mrs. Weasley studied her son. She searched his eyes and the expression on his face. After a few quiet moments, she reached her hand to his cheek. "What is it Charlie boy? What's got you so wound up?"
Charlie smiled softly at her words. She hadn't called him Charlie boy in years. He placed his hand over hers and tried to figure out which words he could use to express what he was feeling. He started to say something several times but then lapsed back into silence. His mother was patient and waited for him to work it out in his head.
"Mum, tell me about when you turned seventeen." He finally uttered.
"When I turned seventeen?" She repeated in surprise. He nodded.
"Well, let's see. I was at Hogwarts." She paused. He nodded again encouraging her to continue. "Well, I received several lovely gifts." She spoke quietly looking out the window as she gathered her thoughts.
"What gifts?" Charlie prompted. Mrs. Weasley lowered her hands to her lap and a small smile tugged at her lips.
"Two things stand out in my memory," she began. "The first of course was a lovely silver locket from my parents. You know, the traditional coming of age gift for a witch. I plan to pass mine on to Ginny just like we passed on watches to you boys. As a matter of fact, I have one tucked away for Harry's seventeenth too."
Charlie grinned at his mother. She doted on Harry as if he was her own, and Charlie wasn't so dense that he didn't recognize that she had every hope of that becoming a reality someday. He forced his thoughts back to the present.
"What did Dad give you?"
Her eyes twinkled merrily. "Your Father can be quite romantic when the mood strikes him." She reminisced. "He got Professor Dumbledore to give us a special pass to Hogsmeade for the day. He somehow got a hold of one of those bicycles built for two, complete with a basket full of the loveliest bouquet of daisies I had ever seen…" Her voice drifted off as she got caught up in the memory.
"Did you ride the bicycle?" Charlie prodded gently.
"Of course. It was such fun. We laughed and laughed. We rode through town to the far side past the houses and we came to the picnic he had set up for us." She laughed. "Oh my, there were so many ants and Arthur was banishing them right and left. Unfortunately, some of the food left with them…" She chuckled merrily.
Charlie laughed imagining his dad waving his wand trying to get rid of the annoying pests only to discover he had sent some of the food away too.
"It was still a lovely spread and after we ate he suggested we take a walk by the stream. The weather was lovely and the trees offered some shade so we sat on the banks and let our feet dangle in the water." She continued.
"What did he give you?" Charlie prompted.
"Oh, he reached into his robes and pulled out a beautifully wrapped box." She remembered.
Charlie was very curious. "What was IN the box, Mum?"
She stirred from her thoughts and patted his knee. "Well, why don't I just show you?" She said as she stood up and moved toward her dresser. She opened the beautiful inlaid wooden treasure box that sat on top and removed the cherished gift. She walked slowly back over to Charlie and grabbed his hand placing the object in it. Then she sat back down and watched him to see if he recognized it.
Charlie looked up from his hand and gazed at his mother. In his hand he held her charm bracelet. Molly pointed toward the small black wizard's hat with a garnet at the tip. Charlie smiled. He remembered his mother wearing this bracelet often but had never taken the time to wonder how long she might have had it.
His eyes scanned the various charms on it, stopping when he reached the amethyst. "He gave me my first one." She said anticipating Charlie's thoughts. Charlie knew how much his mother loved this particular gemstone. "Arthur said I was more precious than any gemstone but that he wanted me to know that I deserved beautiful things." She sighed.
Charlie watched her eyes sparkle. "He gave me a different gemstone at each milestone of our life. Our engagement. Our wedding. At the birth of each child." She reached over to remove the bracelet from Charlie's hand. She pointed to a dragon with a blue sapphire eye. "He gave me this one when you were born." She smiled softly and ran her fingers lightly over the dragon. "This gift has come to represent our life together." She said simply.
Hermione was in her favorite spot at the burrow. She was hidden behind a bizarrely hung curtain in the small nook next to the window on the top floor. She had her book propped open on her lap as she sat on the sill, but her eyes were focused outside as she thought about what was coming in the next few months.
Voldemort's return would inevitably change things, but the students whose parents were now known death eaters would be the reality she would have to face. In particular, she was dreading running into Draco Malfoy. She shuddered involuntarily despite the warm afternoon.
Hermione returned her focus to her book in front of her, but her eyes merely glossed over the same words again and again. She couldn't concentrate. Hermione sighed deeply.
"Pining away for me already?" A deep voice rumbled behind her. Hermione's book crashed to the floor as she leapt to her feet in surprise. If Charlie hadn't caught her as she stumbled, she may have crashed too.
"Hi." She gasped breathlessly, her hand clutched to her still racing heart. "You startled me."
"Did I?" Charlie said quietly in her ear.
She flashed her best-annoyed look at him, but he just laughed. "I am not Ron or Harry. That look won't work on me since I know you are really happy to see me." Hermione couldn't help but smile. He was right.
He pulled her into his chest to hug her tightly. "I have to leave in a little while." He murmured into her hair. Her arms wrapped around his waist as she held herself closer to him, but she didn't speak. She couldn't trust her voice. Being able to spend so much time with him had been wonderful and she didn't want to let him go.
After a time, Charlie spoke. "It's not goodbye."
"I know." She said sadly. "But it still means we'll be apart."
"You'll see me before you know it." He said suggestively.
Hermione pulled away and studied his face. "What are you up to?"
"Me? Up to something? How could you think such a thing?" He teased.
Hermione quirked her eyebrow at him. "Charlie, you look frighteningly like Fred and George at the moment."
Charlie's laughter filled the small space until Hermione couldn't help but laugh too.
Charlie suddenly stopped and reached for her face, brushing his thumb across her cheek. "I really will miss you."
"I'll miss you too." She whispered as he leaned toward her.
It was a very dark and moonless sky when Charlie finally arrived at Bill's flat.
"You're late." Bill observed as Charlie scowled darkly.
"Harder to leave than I thought." He muttered.
Bill's eyes danced. "Aw. Poor Charlie. Feeling so sorry for himself."
Charlie's arm shot out with seeker-like reflexes punching Bill in the arm.
"No need to get violent." Bill teased rubbing his arm.
"I am very…frustrated." Charlie said through gritted teeth.
Bill just laughed.
"Oh lighten up. It's not like it's forever. You are going to see her in a few weeks. Did you tell her?"
"No." Charlie answered looking glum. "I figured it would be better as a surprise in case something comes up and it falls through."
Bill struggled to withhold his chuckle at the forlorn expression covering Charlie's face. "Now, Char, hang in there. Go wrestle a few dragons for a while and soon you'll be with her again." His condescending tone earned him a steely glare from his brother.
"I would like to know how well you'd take it if Fleur was gone." Charlie hissed but stopped immediately upon noticing the look on Bill's face. "What?"
"She's going to France to visit her family in a couple of weeks. She will be gone a whole month." Bill complained. This time it was Charlie who fought the laughter.
"We are a couple of pathetic lovesick sots aren't we?" He commented wryly.
Bill only nodded. Suddenly, Charlie's eyes lit up with enthusiasm.
"I know what will help us!" He exclaimed. Bill looked up, his eyes asking his unspoken question. Charlie stared back, his eyes blazing with excitement. Comprehension registered on Bill's face.
"Knight Bus." They said together.