Charlie Remembers
The room was quiet with soft Christmas music playing in the background. The soft glow of the Christmas lights flickered in the room, reminding Charlie of candlelight. Muggles could imitate magic very well. It was no wonder his dad was so intrigued with their world.
He heard the sound of her fuzzy slippers sliding across the carpet and he squirmed on the couch as he put his hands back over his eyes. He was extraordinarily curious about what she had for him. Earlier that morning she had already given him several gifts, but she insisted that this one had to be given later. So, they had opened presents, had a lovely brunch, and had built a snowman outside in the snow that had unexpectedly fallen overnight. They had drunk hot chocolate with sticky white things Hermione called marshmallows. He was fascinated by the white fluff balls and Mrs. Granger spent at least twenty minutes explaining all the different uses for them. She promised to take him to a grocery store to buy some to send to his dad.
Hermione's footsteps drew nearer to him and he could feel the static electricity that was resulting from her dragging her feet across the carpet. When she touched his shoulder he had nearly jumped a mile because of the little shock it created. It was hard to look manly with your hands over your eyes and jumping up suddenly, but he didn't want to spoil her surprise.
He had gotten her a new charm for her bracelet. It was a ruby lion. Hermione's parents thought the bracelet was a wonderful idea and Mrs. Granger got a bit teary when Hermione explained the story behind it.
Charlie felt Hermione's hand graze over his shoulder as she moved around the sofa to come sit by him. With his eyes covered, his other senses were more aware of her. He could smell a light lavender scent that seemed to be her. He could sense her anticipation.
"Can I open my eyes yet?"
"No." She teased. "You just have to sit there."
"Very funny."
"Sarcasm is one of my talents."
"You don't say."
"Apparently that is something we have in common," she responded dryly.
"Okay. Open your eyes."
He moved his hands away from his face and looked into her eyes. "So…let me guess…you are my present! You want to snog me senseless and that's why we had to wait until your parents went to bed." He guessed.
Hermione grinned. "A worthy assumption. A tempting offer even. But…incorrect."
Charlie winked at her, "Wrong could be very very right," he sing-songed and then made little kiss noises.
"I would have to say again that it is very tempting, but I think you are going to want your present first. We can renegotiate after."
Charlie burst into laughter.
"Shh! Don't wake up my parents! If you do, you'll never get to open your gift."
Charlie got himself under control and then held out his hand expectantly.
Hermione rolled her eyes and chuckled. "You didn't honestly think it would be THAT easy did you?"
"Of course not, but a man can dream can't he?"
Hermione decked him with one of the throw pillows from the sofa. "If you are finally ready…" She looked over to him and he nodded. "Well then, here is the start." She handed him a scroll of parchment that he unrolled slowly.
Roses are red, violets are blue, you have to be clever to find my gift for you.
Games are very very fun, and this one will make you run.
He looked at her with confusion.
"It's a riddle." She said.
"Really? I hadn't worked that out yet." Charlie smiled. Run. Run. Run. Hermione could tell the moment it clicked in his brain. "So, I am supposed to go there next?" She nodded. He got up and went down the stairs to where Hermione's parents kept their treadmill. Dangling from the handle by a ribbon was another scroll of parchment.
Sunshine Daisy, butter mellow, don't you turn my fat cat yellow.
Crooks is here and likes his treat, you can find them where we like to eat.
Charlie headed for the mudroom, but a scroll in the kitchen stopped him. It was attached to Crookshanks like a bow.
Dragons can fly, and so can you,
Find the broom and you'll know what to do.
Charlie found his next clue in the broom cupboardin the mudroom. He chuckled as he pocketed the others and opened the new one.
You make me happier than I can say
Now come find me so we can play.
Quietly, he made his way through the dining room and down the hall to return to the lounge. He looked toward the couch but she was no longer sitting on it. Moving slowly into the room he glanced at the other chairs and didn't see her. Just as he turned to go look downstairs, he heard her clear her voice.
His eyes drifted up towards the vaulted ceiling and there, hovering near it was his bookworm. Her legs were draped gracefully sidesaddle over the handle of a broom. It was dark and shiny and now his curiosity was piqued.
"What are you doing up there?" He said with his hands on his hips.
She smiled demurely and replied, "Waiting for you of course."
She leaned slightly forward and lowered herself to his level and then silently invited him to join her with a curl of her finger. He didn't need to be asked twice.
"You are the only person that has ever successfully gotten me to ride a broom. You are the only person I ever want to ride with." She kissed his nose. "You deserve to ride in style. Merry Christmas, Love." She hopped down and moved to the side so he could look at the incredible piece of would floating gently in front of him.
He had no words for how he felt. He could only stare at the broom and then he looked at her.
"What the—How--why?"
"You know I love you for the way you use words." Hermione teased.
"This is for me?" Charlie finally sputtered.
"Of course. You don't see any other gorgeous red heads in here do you?" Charlie inadvertently looked around, much to Hermione's amusement.
"I don't know what to say."
"Then shut up and kiss me."
Electricity zapped through the air creating small electrical shocks that pulled Charlie from his memories. He smiled as he steered his new broom through the storm back to camp. He glanced to his left and noticed Royce putting his wand back in its holster with a smug smile firmly in place.
The truth hit him like a bat bogey hex. "Hey Royce, what'd ya hex me for?"
"I can't stand seein' a grown man look all dreamy like a thirteen year old witch with her first crush."
"Ha. Ha. You are so funny."
"Charlie, mate, you have been a million miles away ever since ya got back. You've been letting yourself get as distracted as a rookie and I am guessin that yer little sweetheart just isn't gonna want ya ta get yer lips burned off."
Charlie cringed as he remembered last weeks near miss with the Welsh Green. She had been hiding behind an extremely large tree and his mind was definitely not on the same continent as the dragon. When he flew by her, she snorted a thirty-foot blast of flames at him that singed his hair and burnt a hole in the back of his protective gear. It was a rookie mistake and the tamers and taken great joy in harassing him for it.
"Royce, I know. I just can't seem to focus here lately. I've been thinking that-----"
"CHARLIE WEASLEY! REPORT TO JACK'S OFFICE AT ONCE!" the sonorous charmed voice came roaring through the wind.
Charlie and Royce both veered to a new course and laid forward on their brooms for speed. In just a few minutes they reached the office and Charlie ran in, gasping to catch his breath with Royce panting and muttering behind him.
"Like to give an old man a heart attack. You can't bellow for a bloke like that in this day and age. I think you gone and given me a gray hair Jack."
Jack smiled, but his eyes were serious. "Charlie."
Charlie's fists clenched. The bottom dropped out of his stomach and his chest tightened uncomfortably. This was more than being razzed about focus. He could tell by the expression on Jack's face that there was bad news. Charlie said nothing and stared at Jack intently until he spoke again.
"I have just received an emergency message about one of your brothers."
Charlie tensed further and braced for the impact of whatever Jack was about to tell him. He flinched as he felt a hand on his shoulder. But it was just Royce offering his unspoken support.
Charlie nodded at Jack to continue. He thought his lungs were going to explode because he just couldn't breathe until he knew.
"It seems that your brother at Hogwarts—"
"That's Ron!" Charlie shouted as the air left him. He gasped trying to get control of himself. He never panicked but Hermione was always with Ron and if something was wrong with Ron…."
"Yes. Ron. It seems that he was poisoned---"
Charlie fell to his knees. Jack knelt right in front of him and grabbed his shoulders. Royce was right behind him making sure he didn't completely fall over.
"Charlie. Charlie." Jack called until Charlie pulled himself out of his despair to look at him. "Charlie. He's going to be okay. Apparently Harry Potter gave him a bezoar in time."
"A bezoar." Charlie mumbled. Relief tried to flood his system but then his thoughts returned to Hermione. "Was anyone else…"? He drifted off but everyone in the room knew exactly to whom he was referring.
"No. No one else. A Professor McGonagall is expecting you to floo call for more details." They helped Charlie back to his feet. "He's okay. You can use my office for the call."
"Ya want me to stay with ya Charlie?" Royce asked quietly.
"No. Thanks. I think I am okay now."
Jack moved toward the door. "We will be just outside if you need anything."
Charlie nodded but didn't move until after the door was shut. He shuffled numbly to the hearth. Would he ever know peace? Would there ever be a time where he could feel as though his world wouldn't come crashing down on him at any second. Royce had been right. He was a million miles away. Well at least a couple of thousand. His heart was at Hogwarts.
He knelt on one knee before the bricks of the fireplace but as he reached up for a handful of floo powder, he rested his head against it and took a deep shaky breath. "Whoever said that war is hell was right." He thought to himself.
Certain that he was again in control, he dropped the floo powder, stuck his head in the green flames and said, "Minerva's Office. Hogwarts."
The spinning seemed to last longer for the international floo call and it took his eyes a minute to refocus before he noticed Minerva McGonagall sitting on a plaid chair sipping some tea.
"Well, Mr. Weasley. That didn't take long."
"Yeah, well, bad news can be very motivating. How is he?"
"He is recovering in the hospital wing. Your parents are with him now. They asked if I could update you so they could be with him."
Charlie nodded for her to continue, not sure of the strength of his voice. After last year's near miss with his dad, he wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.
"Your brother was opening his birthday presents this—"
"It's Ron's birthday!"
"Yes, well, as I was saying," she looked at him for permission to continue.
Charlie nodded sheepishly at her, embarrassed by his outburst, but he had sent Ron's present so long ago that he nearly forgot today was the day.
"Mr. Weasley was opening his gifts and apparently a gift of chocolates that had been given to Mr. Potter some time ago ended up in the stack."
"So was the poison meant for Harry?" Charlie interjected.
"Mr. Weasley. Please allow me to explain. When I have finished you may ask question." Professor McGonagall said sternly. Charlie immediately felt as if he were a third year in her classroom.
"Yes ma'am."
"Thank you. Now as I was saying this box of chocolates ended up in the pile and Mr. Weasley being, well, Mr. Weasley, he imbibed. Apparently they were laced with a strong love potion. That love potion was initially intended for Mr. Potter. The box had remained in Mr. Potter's trunk for some time and as a result they had grown more, er, potent."
Charlie hung his head. "Please tell me that they weren't from Ginny."
Surprised at the snort, Charlie raised his eyes to watch Minerva trying to regain control of her features.
"No. They weren't from Miss Weasley, however, as Mr. Weasley is currently, er, um, attached to another paramour, the love potion was creating a problem. Mr. Potter took him to see Professor Slughorn in an effort to remedy the situation, which he did."
Now Charlie just looked confused.
"So it wasn't really poisoned then?"
"Oh it was real enough. After Professor Slughorn helped nullify the effects of the love potion, he offered to toast Mr. Weasley's birthday. As is custom, Mr. Weasley took the first sip. It was the mead that was poisoned. After realizing what was happening, Mr. Potter grabbed a bezoar from the store cupboard and shoved, er, used it properly." She finished.
Charlie was pondering the story when a light rap on the Professor's door called her away for a moment.
"Sorry that it took me so long to get here. Peeves was wreaking havoc on the stairwell."
"Not a problem Miss Granger. I just thought you might like to be here for my floo call."
Charlie's head snapped up and he choked on some ash.
Hermione's eyes glanced to the fire and she squealed happily. "Charlie!"
"If you'll excuse me then…" Professor McGonagall said as she discreetly left the room.
Hermione knelt in front of the hearth on the fur rug in front. "Oh Charlie! Is it really you?"
"It's me, Bookworm."
"Ron's okay. Harry saved him." She said quickly.
"Professor McGonagall was just telling me about it. Will there be any lasting effects?"
"Madame Pomfrey doesn't think so. But he has to stay in hospital wing for the rest of the week so she can keep an eye out for any nasty side effects. He's had quite a day."
"Happy Birthday, eh?" They both chuckled.
"Oh Charlie, I miss you." Hermione sighed longingly.
"I miss you too. I find my mind here more often than it should be."
"That sounds dangerously flattering."
"Well, yeah." Charlie admitted.
Intuitively Hermione scanned his face. "Are you hurt?"
"Just a little singed and they've been taking the mickey out of me pretty good." He shrugged. "You're still worth it."
"Charlie, be safe. I already worry."
"Me too. I thought my heart was going to stop before I knew what was going on. I am thinking of coming back to England. Maybe working for the order—"
"Ahem." Minerva announced her return. "You will stay put Mr. Weasley. You are needed where you are. Now, I know Miss Granger has a class starting soon."
Hermione nodded. "I love you, Charlie. Be safe."
"I love you too. You keep yourself safe and watch out for the other two dunderheads."
Hermione laughed. "Now you sound shockingly like Professor Snape."
Charlie winked and then pulled out of the fireplace. He sighed heavily wondering how long it would be until another emergency. With the prophecy, the order and the growing power of Voldmort, he knew if was when not if.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I apologize for the long delay. I originally intended to update this chapter at Christmas, but with computer problems, job changes, and writer's block, it is only now ready. I hope to have the next chapter ready by next week!
JKR owns it all! I just like to play.