Hi guys, I decided to rewrite this story (we were only on chapter for so thankfully it was doable), because I just didn't like the pacing it had. I felt like I was forcing myself to go through canon and that's not the point of fanfiction at all. I thought that if it was boring for me to write, it should definitely be boring to read so I scrapped it all and only rescued the things I really liked.

The first half of this chapter you've seen before and everything else is new. I'll be slowly mingling bits and pieces of things that you might have read with new stuff. Only for the first few chapters though.

Right off the bat, know that the biggest change is that the present timeline of the story is Charlie's 4th Year at Hogwarts, not his 1st.

Charlie, Ron and Hermione dashed through the halls of a millennia old castle. In the darkness of the forbidden wing, against the stone floor, their footsteps were thunderous and their panting would've given them away to anyone close by –not that they cared. In the name of bloody Merlin... The 3 first years' minds were filled with running as far away from the three-headed monstrosity as possible. If anything, running into a teacher as they tumbled through the barely lit hallways would've been a relief.

Charlie tried to take the next corner wide, but as he did, he saw the entire floor decked in soapy water, all three of the children were going too fast to stop. Charlie felt it immediately as he slipped, felt Hermione's hand grab unto his robes and Ron crash into her as they went tumbling down. He saw them flying through the air, he braced himself for impact right as he recognized the floaty feeling in his belly from being levitated. In a moment, he was back on his feet staring at the unmistakable visage of Hadrian Potter.

His lungs expelled all breathe at once.

This was his first time seeing his brother from so close.

Hadrian was sitting on a clearly conjured arm chair. Aroun him dozens of sponges and mops danced to an imperceptible melody, walls and floors being scrubbed all along the hallway in a clear display of magic. Charlie looked around at the desolate hallway, and pondered at the fact his brother was apparently cleaning. Detention; despite being in the castle for less than 2 months, Charlie knew his brother was no stranger to those. Hadrian's posture was languid, and Charlie immediately remember the tiger in his children's book, the picture of the white and black beast. How surprised he'd been when magic brought an illusion of it alive right there in his bedroom. He'd been awed and terrified when he'd seen it, pretty much the same of how he felt right then. Hadrian Potter also felt larger than life. His brother's green eyes – their mother's eyes – pinned him down with the universal law of a predator before a prey.

His brother had a thick tome on his lap and a cup of tea in his side-table. It looked ridiculous, but at the same time fit everything that Charlie had ever heard about him. A marauder with a cunning streak a mile wide and no respect for the rules whatsoever. He decided to tell Uncle Sirius about this first encounter, his father's friend would be so proud. All three kids were speechless for different reasons, gawking at the fourth-year Potter.

Hadrian had been a continuously debated topic amongst the three friends.

Hermione was the first to recover.

"No magic is allowed during detentions!" She spouted. For the first time when it came to rules, Charlie felt her unsure. Whether that was because of her awareness of her hypocrisy or because of facing Hadrian Potter he did not know.

Either way, Charlie wanted to die of embarrassment.

His brother's visage contorted and then, he was laughing. He threw his head back showing a tanned neck, somehow looking dangerous in a very vulnerable move. His exposed jugular almost seemed to challenge them, I dare you. Charlie saw Hermione flush. Ron seemed to be fighting between being star-struck and disgusted by all things Slytherin. The laughter subsided after a few seconds.

"I know."

Charlie sits in the first aid tent, where a Mediwizard is fuzzing above him, an awe look on his face. It has nothing to do with Charlie having bypassed the dragon, he knows. That awe is a hollow kind of awe, an meaningless one, worth very little to the boy who does not remember defeating the Dark Lord. Not - he bitterly thinks - that the man is truly defeated.

He winces when the pressure of the burn intensifies and waves away the copious apologies, the man's just doing his job and Charlie has had a lot worse than this. He thinks he should be more please at his performance, but... he knows all this game is rigged. What is one more death defying stunt to him, really? When the closeness of the end of it all is but a matter of when? A decision between painful and peaceful and not a thing that can be stopped or control at all?

Death comes to us all, little brother, even the Dark Lord. Some men just like thinking the contrary. Don't ever be mistaken. Men do not want to live forever, they just don't want to be forgotten.

Before long the man is finally done and as soon as he clears, thin arms are coming around him and Charlie realizes that he missed his mother coming into the room. His father, Hermione and a downcast Ron follow behind, eliciting some surprise. Her arms are strong as they hold his head to her bosom, all the while running a hand through his head and whispering.

"Oh my boy, we were so worried." She backs away to look him in the eyes, face less than a foot away from him and hands holding his face. "You did brilliantly!" Charlie immediately brightens. He doesn't remember being nervous when he went to face the dragon, he'd felt numb, but now, safe in his mother's arms he realizes just how terrified he'd been. He feels tears prickling at his eyes, but he refuses to cry, burying his face in his mother's embrace.

You've had things that your brother can't even imagine.

His hug tightens, but then he needs to let her go because his father's there, all relieved smiles and patting him in the back with the weight of pride and expectation.

"That was incredible, Charlie. I'm glad you got one of these things out of the way already!" His father tells him, and his tone is light-hearted but Charlie hasn't forgotten the thunder in his expression when Dumbledore proclaimed that Charlie needed to compete or possibly face dire consequences. (He'd privately thought that competing was already a dire consequence.) He knows his parents are not happy he just duped a dragon, no matter how well Charlie performed.

He knows they must be worried sick, otherwise he doesn't see them coming to such a public Hogwarts event, risking running into him. Charlie has never seen Hadrian and his parents in the same place, unless knowing that he's out there somwhere in the caste right now counts.

Before, many years ago, when Charlie had just arrived at Hogwarts, he'd had this dream where, he and Hadrian would become really close and his brother would come home with him. Those were the dreams of a child though, and now he knows better.

Whatever broke his family apart, Charlie has learned he cannot fix.

He's a monster, Charlie, and he is no child of mine.

After all, there's not a lot you can do to fix murder.

Hermione, as always, is bursting with energy, mouth running a mile a minute the moment she can get closed enough to throw an arm around him. After so many years, it's one of the things he's become fondest of when it comes to her. Though he knows it's one of the things that can make her easily dislikable to other people. Hermione is headstrong and stubborn and at times conceited, but Charlie knows her heart is unwaveringly in the right place, always has been. Against a quality like that Hermione can do a lot worse than just being chatty.

Ron is quick to interrupt the beginning of her analysis of the other competitors.

"I'm sorry, Charlie... I... Shouldn't have doubted you." Ron is about to go on, perhaps to explain his line of thought or just keep making excuses for himself, who knows. Charlie just doesn't have the energy to bother really. He loves Ron, they've grown up together and he knows what his friend is like. He's just eager to put this all fiasco behind him and keep trying to survive one more year.

"It's okay."

"But, I..."

"It's fine, Ron, really." Sadly, jealousy is something Charlie has had to deal with his entire life, and his friendship to the redhead, as real as it is, has always been a little strained. The whole "I'm rich and famous" always echoing a little in the background, the people around him too young to understand the dangers surrounding that idea and just how highly his supposed famed has cost him.

It's not a battle worth having.

"I'm glad, mate, I'll be right there with you for all the other events! I promise." Charlie smiles, and he does feel relieved that he has his friend back. Though he grows a little embarrassed when his mother starts cooing over them and Hermione joins in on the thesis.

Surprisingly, as he exits the tent, he's in a significantly better mood when he catches emerald eyes across the crowds, Hermione's hand clutches his arm. She sees him, too. There are hundreds of people around them, the vast majority of them wearing the exact same black robes but Charlie's eyes are immediately drawn to his brother. He sees the eyes examine him, and Charlie realizes Harry must have been worried. As soon as the tent ruffles, Charlie turns around to see his parents coming after him. When he looks back his brother is long gone.

Hermione's gaze is questioning, but Charlie shakes his head minutely. He's thankful Ron is quick to drag them into conversation as they all slowly walk back to the teacher's stands, avoiding the stares of the students trying to catch a glimpse of the Head Auror, who is a novelty compared to their resident Boy-Who-Live. He looks back once, but catches no sight of green eyes again.

I hope this was enjoyable. I should be updating weekly, but honestly this story is all about Pelirroja's interest and my own fancy, a lot of the final scenes are written which is why I sat down to write it out at all.

If you're a One Piece fan, I do have one finished fic for that called 'Who We Were Meant to Be' which is written out completely and posted on daily. It'd make me really happy if you'd like to check it out.

Much love and be safe during Quarantine.

xo,

Dana.