Chapter 8- Incident in Italy
A week after Ginny and Tonks had left, Charlie found himself busy de-gnoming the garden. It was a mundane task that none of the Weasley boys did until asked, but Charlie had nothing to preoccupy his time or, more importantly, his thoughts. Even with distraction, the thoughts of the letter still in the top drawer of his desk, the folds wearing from his nightly and morning readings. He hadn't decided what to do with the explanation that had been provided.
Now was too late to talk to Tonks in an acceptable manner. Owling her would be too impersonal, and Floo powder always had a way of twisting Charlie's words around in his mouth. Between that effect and the lack of knowing what to say in the first place, Charlie felt it best to figure something else out.
At this thought, Charlie wound one of the gnomes around until it was disoriented, and threw it as far as he could.
"That was more enthusiasm than I've seen from you the last month," Molly said, coming from the kitchen, her blue apron white with flour.
"Helps to be able to hurt something that deserves your aggressions," Charlie said, picking up another gnome and throwing it across the yard, listening to its yelps as it bounced off the ground two times, then landed the third.
"Why don't you have a seat," his mum suggested, taking her own advice by sitting on a bench, leaving plenty of room for Charlie.
Charlie did so, leaning back. "I thought I'd had all the planned parent-child lectures already."
"I have one to do this one impromptu," Molly said. "I thought if any of you would need this discussion, it would be Ron, but I suppose Hermione had things a bit more under control than Tonks."
Charlie scoffed. "Good thing too," he said. "I don't exactly respond to someone trying to boss me around."
"Shows how much you know yourself," Molly chuckled a bit. "It's not about being bossy, Charlie, it's about knowing how to get you to listen. You wouldn't be so upset if she could have gotten you to do so in the first place."
Charlie thought about this. "That's not true. She still lied to me."
"Yes, but you would be able to just get over with the anger and move on," Molly said. "Hermione told me about what had happened. Sometimes you make me wonder where Imight have gonewrong in this sort of thing."
"Me?" Charlie said defensively, standing. "Mum, I don't know what you've heard exactly, but Tonks had been going around pretending—"
"To be Nora," Molly said. "Well, not pretending, if you really think about it," she said to Charlie's silence.
He didn't understand why his own mother would be onanotherside here. He was clearly not in the wrong, in any case, and she should be sympathizing with him. "I'd rather not, thanks."
"We're still talking about this concerning Tonks," Molly said.
"I don't want to talk about either," Charlie said. "Tonks and Nora are the same, and they're both gone."
"Neither are," Molly said with affirmation. "Italy is only for the next few months while she's helping Ginny study. She'll be back."
Charlie didn't respond to this. She was right and he had to figure out what to do on the occasion that they even met again. On top of this, the guilt of not being able to tell his mother the real reason for Tonks being with Ginny started consuming his thoughts.
"I'm not sure if you're supposed to end up with Tonks, or even if there is 'the one' out there for every person," Molly said. "There weren't any large obstacles in the way with your father and I, but it still wasn't easy. One thing we had to learn was to not allow trivial things to get in the way."
"I'm not allowing anything—" Charlie started, but was stopped by his mother's hand raising in a signal for him to end his rant.
"You're allowing her to leave without forgiving her," Molly said. "There are going to be men in Italy too, you know, and she's not going to continue holding out hope for you if you don't respond to her at all."
Charlie had been thinking of this all week. "Then let her," he said without conviction.
"I know you don't mean that," Molly said, calm and sure. "Half of you probably would like to take a portkey there right now. You don't have to tell me that, of course, but I want you to bear mind of what you say and do. Tonks still cares for you, I'm sure, or she wouldn't have tried talking to you. I know you'll make the right choice," Molly said, standing. "I also wanted to bring you this," she said, handing a letter to her son. "It was delivered just after you came out. I gave the owl some rest and water before sending it back."
"Thanks Mum," Charlie said, slumping back onto the bench before opening the letter.
Charlie,
The health concerns have been taken care of and we need you back in two weeks.
See you then,
Demetre
Charlie ran a hand through his hair and pocketed the letter. He picked a gnome up by its feet, watching it squirm for a bit before winding up to take the throw.
A week and a half had passed much faster than any other time of the summer. Charlie had spent every morning trying to start a letter only to crumple the parchment and burn it, so no one else would be able to read. Each day's letter varied. The first proclaimed how much she had hurt him, the second told a story of how he was trying to forgive her, and the one had had penned the night before had the three dangerous words: "I love you". Right after he had written each letter, though, Charlie destroyed them until he had nothing but a dustbin full of ashes.
Charlie was almost packed and was about to pick up his quill again when a commotion could be heard down the stairs. He opened his door to hear Fred and George talking to their mum, who seemed distressed in turn. "We're not sure how it happened, Mum," one of the twins could be heard.
"Why wasn't I told?" she asked through sobs. Charlie started down the stairs soundlessly.
"Shhh, Molly," Arthur could be heard, his own voice sounding tight with a forced calm. "Where is Tonks?"
Charlie froze on the last stair before the living room. "What?" he asked.
"St. Mungo's," George answered. "They took her straight there.AMuggle witnesssaid that she tried to fight them off on her own once Ginny was gone, but was hit with a couple of curses that didn't mix well. Not their exact wording, but that's all we have right now."
Charlie looked between George and his feet, his breath caught. "What about Ginny?" he choked out.
Molly's sobs became clear again as the others were eerily silent.
"They got her?" Charlie asked, not sure who 'they' were exactly, though he knew it was bad.
Arthur nodded. Molly cried. "Oh my baby girl," Molly said.
"I'm sure Dumbledore will be at Mungo's," Fred said. "Kingsley hinted that a few Order members would be there to come up with something."
All seemed to be in agreement to go, though not one of them said another words. They all apparated to the wizarding hospital and made their way to the emergency ward. There, several people were already gathered: Ron, Hermione, Harry, Kingsley, Bill, Percy, Emmaline Vance, and Dumbledore.
The last seemed to be filling in Kingsley and Emmaline while the others looked as dumb-struck as Charlie felt. "What are we doing to get her back," he immediately demanded.
Dumbledore—who was beginning to look much older than Charlie had remembered—turned around and addressed Charlie. "Ginny will not be harmed so long as she doesn't pass on what she knows."
"She wouldn't," Harry interjected.
"So I know, Harry," Dumbledore said, sadness in his eyes as he turned back to Charlie. "We have a few ways to find the location of those who have taken your sister and we are investigating these. We should have a couple members of the Order ready to try and get her back—"
"What about us?" Charlie demanded.
"Charlie," Bill said in a warning tone, but Charlie didn't listen.
"We'll go get her," he said, pointing to his other four brothers and Harry.
"You are all to stay here," Dumbledore instructed.
"You're insane if you think we're going to sit here and let this happen without a fight," Charlie almost shouted. He felt his father put a strong hand on his shoulder.
"We can't," Arthur said solemnly.
"Why not?" Charlie demanded, rage flowing freely through him.
"Because," Dumbledore started in a manner reflecting trust and dignity, "if they took one of you, they might have actual leverage over Ginny to get what they wanted."
Charlie looked down as he thought about this. "How can we help then?" he asked. He noticed Harry looked as angry about their useless state as he was, and for the first time felt true brotherhood towards the younger man.
"I would like you to wait here," Dumbledore said. "Tonks will need someone here when she awakes, I'm certain," he added, looking into Charlie's eyes.
Charlie broke the contact and simply nodded, sitting on a bench in the hall as the others discussed plans and strategy. He watched in a daze, wondering why Tonks hadn't done better… why she hadn't stopped them, as a fully trained Auror should have been capable of.
The only reason he entered the hospital room an hour later was because that's how Dumbledore said he could help. Charlie didn't know what he would actually say to Tonks when she did wake up. His parents were in the room as well, waiting worried and patient near the window. Harry was pacing the hallway where Ron and Hermione were sitting in a manner quite like Arthur and Molly. Bill and Percy had left, saying they would help their wives get dinner together and bring it down so the family wouldn't have to eat Mungo food. Fred and George weren't anywhere to be seen, but since the opening of their Joke Shop, they had been holding supplies for the Order among their stockpile to avoid it all being in one place.
Charlie, still feeling bitter towards Tonks for failing him once more, looked over at her face, seeing how pale it looked. Paler than it had moments before. Yet… it wasn't in a peaky fashion. Curious, he took her hand in his, laying his first two fingers across her wrist to feel for a pulse. As he did so, he noticed freckles appearing on the back of the hand almost in rhythm with the pulse coming from her circulation. He looked up at her face again, and the normally short, strangely colored hair was now long and ginger in color, and the nose had formed itself in a very Weasley manner.
Charlie took in a deep breath, looking around to see if anyone else had seen this. If they had, they didn't think much of it. He wondered if he was seeing things. Before alerting the rest of the group, he decided to confirm a thought that had immediately come to him. Beside the bed were a box of Tonks's things, or so everyone had thought. Because of this, no one had gone through it.
Quickly, and quietly, he went through the pockets of her robes, then her cloak. Within a pocket hidden on the inside of the cloak was a vile with muddy-looking potion. Large enough to be one dose, he noted. He pulled off the cork and smelled it, then looked back down where his little sister was laying. "Ginny," he said soft, though the others took notice.
Harry stopped pacing in the hall, standing right in front of the door. Molly had pulled her face from Arthur's shoulder and looked at the bed in shock. "Ginny," Charlie said again, grabbing her hand and sitting while holding it in relief.
A new set of tears emitted from Molly, this time tears of relief. "Is it possible?" Ron asked, his head peaking in from the hall on Harry's right.
Charlie held up the vile. "Polyjuice," Hermione declared, looking at Ron to give him the answer. "She was using Polyjuice!" she proclaimed.
Arthur had risen, walked over and was giving his daughter an awkward embrace. Charlie moved so he could do so, comforting his mother instead.
"What about Tonks then?" Ron asked as the others were still allowing their relief to go.
An intense sensation fell over Charlie. "She was pretending," he said quietly, then looked up. "Oh Merlin, they think she's Ginny."
"I'll go get Dumbledore," Harry said, looking as though it were difficult to pull himself away, even through the relief.
Charlie felt a sudden anxiousness as the others fawned over at Ginny, examining her closer than they had before. Instead of following this trend, Charlie pushed past Ron and Hermione, exiting the doors.
Down the hall he saw Fred approaching, looking more serious than either of the twins had right to do. "Where do they have her?" he asked, grabbing Fred by the arm to stop him.
"Dumbledore didn't tell us," Fred said. "He doesn't want us going."
"But you know," Charlie said, taking a shot on his instinct. Fred looked doubtful about saying anything. "They don't have Ginny," he said, hoping for it to be convincing.
"What?" Fred said. "Who do they—"
"Tonks," Charlie said, not wanting to waste time with the endings of already understood statements.
"Do you remember the place in the woods we had to invade last summer? Just outside of Surrey?" Fred asked.
"I'll be back," Charlie said, moving briskly down the hall to the lift.
A/N: Another chappie! They're coming a bit closer to each other now that school is done. This is coming to a close (a couple more chapters) so get in your reviews while you can! Please? ;) Hope you enjoy!
Thanks:
Unlucky-duck: Unfortunately, yes. One or two more chapters after this, me thinks, though I'm never good at guestimating that. Thanks for reading and reviewing! I appriciate your comments.
Countess Mel: That makes sense. I actually like Harmony at Hogwarts best out of all the things I've written (if I had to pick a favorite at least...) Guys and Dolls has been fun (though I need to finish it) too. Thanks for your comments. It helps to have a little critisism in there now and again, and it makes me consider the style when you mention it lol.
Pedagogie: Glad you enjoyed!
spacemonkeylover: Yes, she did... then again, she never thought anything would happen between the two of me... and she was probably waiting to tell him. I mean, really, they had only been dating for one day (if that) when Chris told Charlie. Anyway... I'm glad you like this :D
So Desperately Obvious: How cute! Your names even match! lol hahaha. Sorry... I'm sure it was fun for her until Charlie started the kissing deal. From there, it was her friends having fun with it, and her very little. Which is why she eventually called it off. I'm glad you're enjoying. Hope your sister is reading still too!
