September 26, 1999
When Charlie came through the floo for dinner, he stopped cold at all the somber faces staring back at him. He looked around for Hermione and when he didn't see her, his heart dropped, and his stomach turned to lead. Bill stood and stormed out of the room, the door slamming behind him. Harry turned away from Charlie, pulling Ginny into his arms.
"What's happened? Where's 'Mione?" Charlie asked, looking around.
It was Ron who stood up and went to Charlie. He placed a hand on Charlie's shoulder and squeezed lightly.
"Hermione's missing, mate. No one's heard from her since Sunday and…" Ron trailed off, looking nervous as he pulled his hand away.
"And what, Ron?" Charlie snapped.
"Well, you were the last one to see her."
"No. You're wrong." Charlie accused, shaking his head. "That was a week ago. She can't have been missing for a week. NO." He turned around, racing back through the floo to Hermione's cottage with Harry and Ron following after. When he came through, he stormed back to her bedroom and pushed the door open. The covers were still rumpled from their love making, her torn shirt and panties still on the ground, and her bra hanging off the side of her hamper. The letter he left was sitting on top of the bed. He went around the left side of the bed and moved her pillow. A tiny baby blanket was balled up underneath. It was cold, the last of her magic drained from it. He twisted his ring frantically and waited for a response. When nothing happened, he held the ring in his hand and squeezed it, trying to use it to go to her. When he wasn't immediately taken to her, he knew she was gone.
Harry and Ron barged in yelling at him not to touch anything.
"This is officially a crime scene, Charlie! You can't move anything." Ron warned him as Harry summoned Aurors to the scene.
"She's dead." Charlie whispered as he crumpled to the floor, holding the blanket. Ron and Harry looked at him in shock.
"She's not dead, mate. Just missing. We'll find her." Harry told him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Charlie shrugged it off.
"She's dead. She succeeded. I thought she was better. I thought I helped." He said softly, a tear escaping.
"What are you talking about, Charlie?" Ron demanded sharply.
"In June, she- she tried to kill herself." Charlie told them, hanging his head and fingering her totem. Harry and Ron looked at each other in shock as Charlie continued. "Mum sent me to get her for dinner and I found her outside. I watched as she walked right into the water fully clothed and let herself sink under. I didn't even realize what she was doing at first. Had I been even a minute later, she'd be gone…. she is gone. This ring is supposed to take me to her and it's not working, which means…" He trailed off, a sob escaping. "I tried to help her and keep her at the Burrow so this wouldn't happen. I left her here alone. I did this. I killed her." He told them, as another tear fell down from his face and landed on her blanket.
Hermione had now been locked in her parents' house for a week and she could barely lift her head. She tried everything to get through the shield and to her parents, but it was magicked to only open once she decided to kill them. Instead of taking that chance, she locked herself in the bathroom, hiding in the tub. The voices never went away and were excruciating.
She couldn't take it anymore. She was a terrible person and she knew she had to die if she wanted her parents to be safe. Hermione sat back slowly in the tub, holding the knife. As she lifted it to her left wrist, she thought of Charlie and how she defiled him with her filth. A sob escaped and she knew it was time. She took off her dragon ring and set it on the side of the tub, before slicing through her left wrist quickly and sharply. She cried out as the blade sliced deep and her left hand went limp against her thigh. She picked up the ring in her right hand and twisted it before using what little magic she had left to levitate the knife against her other wrist. As she began to get sleepy and cold, she laid her head back and she smiled, proud that she had finally accomplished something. The darkness took her, and her right hand fell limp outside the tub, dropping the ring onto the ground.
Charlie brough the blanket up to his nose and inhaled her scent. As he did, he felt something move on his thumb. When he looked down, the dragon ring was very slowly twisting around his finger.
"She's alive!" He exclaimed, jumping up and taking the ring off to show them the slow-moving dragon. "I have to go to her." He said squeezing the ring. He disappeared with a pop and Ron and Harry stood there, angry that they couldn't follow. Just a moment later, Charlie's dragon Patronus soared around them speaking.
Her parents' house. Bring medical. It said, with a sob following. Harry grabbed Ron's arm and the closest mediwitch before apparating away.
When they arrived in the living room, they heard Charlie's cries upstairs and raced up. Coming to a stop in her room, they heard him speaking softly in the bathroom and they made their way through the door. Charlie was kneeling in a puddle of blood, holding the top half of Hermione's body out of the tub. Her wrists continued dripping, leaving trails of blood on Charlie.
"No, baby. You can't sleep. You've got to wake up. I'm here. I told you I'd be here. No, please, Merlin no. Not when I've just found her." Charlie begged, squeezing her tight and peppering her hair and face with kisses. Harry, Ron, and the mediwitch watched in shock as a spiral of deep blue magic burst from Charlie's heart and struck Hermione in her chest. Her body seemed to jump like she had been shocked before falling limp once more in Charlie's arms as the light disappeared.
The mediwitch was the first to move, and she pushed Charlie away from Hermione. Ron held him back with tears in his eyes, silently praying as the mediwitch frantically worked on saving Hermione.
Harry's eyes were wide with tears as he sent a Patronus to the Weasleys giving them an update and asking for Bill and Arthur's help. He turned back to the scene and cried silently as the mediwitch tried to revive his sister.
Found her. Severely injured. Mediwitch trying to revive her. Need Bill and Arthur to her parents' house. Harry's voice wavered through his Patronus as it delivered the message to their family.
Arthur ran outside screaming for Bill as Molly and Ginny burst into tears. Fleur dabbed at her eyes while Fred and George went pale and held onto their significant others.
Bill and Arthur arrived almost instantly and barged up the stairs. Harry stopped them from entering the bathroom.
"You don't want to see. I promise." Harry said, his face still red with tears.
Arthur tried to comfort Harry while Bill looked around. He felt the hair on his back rise as dark magic washed over him and noticed for the first time that they were standing in a cursed house.
"The house is cursed." Bill informed them, looking for runes. "Someone put a curse on the house." He said, searching more frantically.
"Can you tell what kind, son?" Arthur asked, following Bill as he went out the room and down the stairs.
"It's new." He told them, finding the collection of runes behind the front door. "Someone must have created it specifically for her. Her name is embedded in it and the curse is split. It's embedded between two locations."
Harry sent another Patronus to the group of aurors at Hermione's cottage, letting them know to sweep for dark curses and asking for more to come to Hermione's parents' house. When he turned around, Ron was coming down the stairs.
"Is she-?" Harry started before was cut off by Ron slamming into him, giving him a tight hug.
"She's okay. She's okay." He told Harry as his breath hitched. Bill took a breath of relief as he blinked back tears. Arthur tried to inconspicuously wipe his eyes. Ron pulled away, swiping at his face. "Charlie went with them. They're at St. Mungo's now. Evidently, she sliced pretty deep and needs extensive healing. We're to meet them on the third floor."
Bill's eyes widened. "She tried to commit suicide? That doesn't make any sense."
"According to Charlie, this isn't the first time." Harry told him, hanging his head.
"She's tried this before and Charlie knew?" Arthur questioned, slightly angry.
"Let's get to St. Mungo's and we'll talk to Charlie and see why he didn't tell anyone." Ron reasoned as Harry turned to update the aurors that were just arriving.