Deciding to play it cool and look for her opportunity to dart away, Hermione looked at the man roughly directing her and said, "Steve. I didn't see you arrive. How long have you been here? Are you having a good time?"
"Stop with the games Hermione." Steve said aggressively. She could smell the alcohol on him. He had clearly been here long enough to down a heavy amount and this caused her to hone in even closer on her options for an escape route.
"Steve. Why are we out here? The Party's back there. Why don't we head back. You know I have been desperately craving a Fire Whiskey Sour. Let's head back to the warmth of the bonfire and mix some up, shall we?" She said, attempting to turn back.
Steve pulled her back forcefully, pulling her up against him, forcing her to look up into his face. With his free hand he held her arm in place, keeping her from reaching for her wand.
"Not on your life bitch. You humiliated me back at the pub. It's time you make it up to me."
Steve looked into her eyes, and in his Hermione could see a predatorial haze of deep anger, lust, and dark danger. In her years facing danger and especially her year on the run, Hermione had well learned how to mask her fear, putting on a stoic face of bravery, but in all that time, there was one thing she had not let on, and which was no different now; she was scared.
Trying to pull back, Steve grasped her harder.
"Steve, let me go. Please stop it, I want to go back, you're scaring me."
Steve paid no attention to her pleas, but instead pushed her up against a tree, and leaned forcefully in for a kiss. She tried to push away, but the more she pushed, the harder he held her.
"Steve, please Steve, let me go, you're hurting me." This caused him instead to push himself up against her more forcefully, holding her in place with his much larger body as she tried to wriggle away."
As Steve lunged in again to kiss her, Hermione managed to free one hand, and used it to forcefully push his face away from hers, clawing it with her nails in the meantime. Angered and turning feral, Steve whipped his head back and angrily hit Hermione with great force in the side, and, grabbing her throat, pushed her with even more force back up against the tree.
Hardly able to breathe, Hermione struggled against him to not avail, panic taking hold of her.
Suddenly, Steve was no longer on her, and she fell to the ground gasping for air. Looking up as she caught her breath, she saw Steve being hurled away by one very angry looking Charlie. He looked ferocious. Finn and Mel following swiftly behind Charlie, and Finn seeing Hermione on the ground gasping for air, quickly figured out the scenario, and grabbed Charlie's arm as he prepared to take a swing at Steve.
"Charlie! Get ahold of yourself. You're in no state to handle this right now. Go take care of Hermione, mate" and looking darkly at Steve said, "I'll handle things with my brother."
At the sound of Hermione's name, Charlie visibly came down, and with great haste, spun around, agily sprinting back toward where Mel was helping Hermione who was still on the ground, holding her side.
Without hesitation, Charlie scooped Hermione up, and as she leaned into him, he walked away from the scene of terror.
As they walked, Charlie hummed sweet nothings in her ear, and Hermione finally let her gaurd down and released a soft sob. This brokenness of the small witch in his arms, tore Charlie to pieces. He never wanted to see anything bad happen to her, and it broke him that it had and that she had been so treated.
Charlie kept walking, softly saying, "Mia. Its ok. I'm here now. Rest. I've got you. You are safe with me, I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here with you… always."
As he said this she curled closer into him and asked, "Charlie. Will you take me home please. I just want to go home."
"Love. You've been hurt. I think we should go to the infirmary and get you checked out."
"No Charlie. Please. I just want to go home. Please." She looked into his face with tearstained, pleading eyes.
How could he resist those eyes! Those beautiful wide brown eyes that melted him straight to his innermost being. "Ok Mia. But tomorrow if you are still hurting, please, let me take you to get checked on."
Hermione nodded into his shoulder, assenting to his wish, as she began to fall asleep on their long trek across the reserve.
As they got to her cabin, Charlie took a drowsy Hermione to her room, and gently laid her in her bed. Pulling the covers up around her as she slept. Leaning down, and brushing a stray curl out of her face as she curled up into the covers, he softly kissed her forehead and turned to walk out of her room.
Hours later Hermione woke suddenly in a cold sweat. She had been beginning to dream, a dream that she had successfully not re-experienced in quite some time and which she had hoped she would never have again. She was in a dimly lit Malfoy Manor. Lying on the cold marble floor she could feel the terror building as a dark figure approached. She was coming toward her. The monster was moving closer. Before the screaming would innevitably begin though, Hermione was startled awake.
She leaned back and sighed in relief, having not had to experience the pain and trauma of that day all over again. But what was it that had woken her? A noise… she remembered a noise…
Standing up and grabbing her wand, in a ready position, Hermione quietly stepped out of her room and toward her living room. As she stepped out of the hall connecting the two rooms, she looked out and with a sigh of relief, saw Charlie, feet hanging off the edge of the too short furniture, sleeping soundly on the couch, a book open on the floor where it had fallen.
Walking over to him, Hermione sat down gingerly, her injured side aching like none other, she pushed away the pain and gently stroked Charlie's hair calling out softly, "Charlie, Charlie, wake up."
Hearing her voice, Charlie awoke swiftly.
Seeing her staring down softly at him, he reached up and stroked her cheek, but was startled by how clammy she felt.
"Hermione, you're sweating and very pale. What's wrong? Are you hurting. Do you need help. Can I take you to the infirmary now?"
Hermione shook her head and hushed him, smiling at his outburst. Then, looking into his eyes, said in what was more a statement than a question, "You stayed."
Charlie nodded, and said, "Of course. I told you I wasn't going to leave you. I wanted to make sure you were ok."
Seeing his expression of sincerity, she curled up into him on the couch. Mumbling into his chest she softly replied. "Thank you."
As he held her close, he thought of her eyes, her beautiful, deep brown eyes that showed the depths of pain she had experienced, more than anyone her age should have to experience. The day had begun with him questioning how he could ever deserve this amazing woman, but at the end of the day, he was absolutely sure of one thing; he would protect the witch in his arms for the rest of his life, looking to keep this pain and suffering away from her to the best of his ability. He would give his life to keep her safe without a second thought. As she lay melted into him, he replied through her hair, meaning it with his whole heart, "always."