A/N: Thanks for you patience! I've started working on this more for NaNo, so I should have the next chapter up shortly. From now on, it will split between Charlie and Hermione.

Chapter Five

Hermione woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. She'd napped for a few hours yesterday, took a shower and did some research, ate dinner, and then went straight to bed. The sleep was long overdue, and since Hermione didn't know when they'd leave to start their impossible hunt, she figured she should get as much sleep as she could now. She wouldn't be getting near enough soon.

She padded to her dresser to get ready for the day. She took out a pair of denim shorts and a dusty rose tank top. She ran her fingers through her hair, detangling her curls the best she could. After quickly brushing her teeth, she bounded down the stairs to join the others for breakfast.

They had all gathered already. Hermione slid into the empty seat right next to Charlie.

"Morning, love."

"Morning, Charlie."

He slid her a plate that was already made up for her. She smiled gratefully.

As they ate, Mrs. Weasley bustled about and talking about tomorrow. Everyone was excited for the upcoming wedding. Though the darkness loomed over them, the prospect of a little happy gave them something to look forward too. She smiles as Charlie placed his hand on her knee, rubbing small circles on her skin. She giggled, softly enough to where only Charlie could hear her. He leaned over, his breath tickling her ear.

"I want to talk to you, okay? Meet me by the tree in ten?"

"Yeah," Hermione whispered.

He nodded.

"Mum, may I be excused?"

"Of course, Charlie."

He slid out of his chair and walked out the kitchen door. After ten minutes had passed, Hermione excused herself as well. She slipped out the door and walked down to the tree. Charlie sat with his back against the tree. His head was tilted back and his eyes were closed. Hermione stopped for just one second to admire him. Charlie, unlike the other Weasley boys, was shorter and bulkier. Even Ginny was tall and lean like her older siblings, minus Charlie. Years of wrangling dragons did something for one's physique.

"You like what you see?"

Hermione looked away, her cheeks turning pink.

"It's okay. Come here."

She obeyed, sitting down next to him and leaning against his chest as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"What are you thinking?" she asked Charlie.

"I'm thinking, I'm glad to be spending time with you, Charlie."

Charlie laced his fingers with hers. He leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"I'm glad to be spending time with you too, Hermione."

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Hermione looked up at him, her deep brown eyes meeting his sky blue eyes.

"I know we haven't talked about what's happening soon, and that's okay if you don't want to talk about it right now, but, Hermione, I need you to know how important you are to me."

"You're important to me too, Charlie."

"I know. I'm glad. I just… I never expected you, ya know? There I was, sitting in my tent after a long day of being tossed about and burned and an owl comes for me with your scrawl on it. You introduced yourself as my youngest brother's best friend. You'd met all my family, except Bill and me. Said you were curious about me, thought you'd write. I didn't know what to think."

"I guess, looking back, it was rather silly," she said, looking down.

"Maybe, but, then again, if you hadn't, I never would have met my best friend." He lifted her chin with his finger.

His smile lit his entire face. It reached into his eyes and made the crystal blue sparkle.

"I'm so glad you wrote me, Hermione. I don't know what I would have done without you."

She smiled, her eyes tearing up. She could feel the pricking at the corners of her eyes. He leaned forward, grabbing her and pulling her against him. She snuggled into his broad, hard chest, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. They sat like that for what felt like hours. No talking, no complications, just each other.

oOoOoOoOoOo

The day of the wedding came, quicker than anyone thought it would. It was a gorgeous summer day, with the sun brightly shining down on them and a slight breeze blowing. The orchard looked absolutely stunning, with its vibrant colors in fully bloom. The Weasley clan and company were so busy with preparations for the wedding that there was no time for anything else. While Charlie helped the other men in the family work on the gazebo and setting the tents up, Hermione was forced to help Mrs. Weasley and Ginny in the kitchen. While she didn't completely suck at cooking, she didn't really enjoy it either. She'd rather be with Charlie by their tree, talking, or reading.

"Hermione, can I have a word?" Ron had apparently snuck away from the party outside. Hermione nodded and gave him a knowing look.

"Mrs. Weasley?" she asked.

"Yes dear?"

"I'm going to use the loo, I'll be right back."

"That's fine," she said, waving her hand over her shoulder, too distracted to even properly look at Hermione.

She walked quickly out of the kitchen and saw Ron and Harry at the staircase. Ron started to open his mouth, but Hermione shook her head at him. The boys followed her up the stairs to Ron's room, all the way at the very top of the Burrow.

"What's up?" asked Hermione as she shut the door. "And make it quick. Molly won't let me be gone for too long. There's way too much to be doing."

"What's going on between you and my brother," said Ron, hotly.

"And this is important now because…?" She let the question trial off.

"Because we want to know." Ron pointed to himself then to Harry, who held up his hands in response.

"I didn't. He just dragged me along."

Hermione glared at the both of them.

"We're friends," she said, a little more harshly than she meant to.

"You spend all your time with him. We never get to see you anymore."

"You'll get to see me all the time. Charlie is only here for a little while. I want to spend time with him, why's that a bad thing?"

Ron's face turned red.

"I'm just trying to protect you, okay? Charlie's a player. He won't settle down and stay with one person. He never has."

"How is that relevant?" Hermione asked hotly.

"Well, you know, you're all over him. I'm just trying to keep you from making a mistake is all."

Hermione took a deep breath.

"Don't worry about me, Ronald. Worry about yourself."

Ron mumbled something under his breath, but Hermione had no patience to deal with him. Harry looked at her sympathetically.

"Get out."

Without another word, the boys walked out the door. Harry stopped to place his hand reassuringly on her shoulder. She smiled at him, assuring him she knew he wasn't really involved in Ron's shenanigans.

When the door closed, Hermione took a deep breath. It was hard to see Ron so jealous, so uptight. She'd had enough of his whining, his complaining, his rudeness. Charlie and Harry were the only reasons she stayed anymore. But how much longer could she go?

She sat on the floor against the wall, her mind spinning dangerously out of control. She could feel tears prick her eyes, but she refused to cry. She refused to show weakness. She had spent so much time crying over Ron and his insensitive arse, that she really didn't want to dedicate any more time to it. Instead, she stared blankly at the wall. She didn't know how long she sat there. After what felt like hours, she heard the door creek open.

"Hey, love, there you are. Mum says it's time…." He stopped talking after her unresponsiveness. "Love, what's wrong?"

She was barely able to register him talking when his shadow consumed her. She looked up into the panicked eyes of Charlie. She had been numb. Unable to stop thinking and unable to think at the same time. Her breathing came in very labored, very short bursts. Charlie sat beside her, pulling her into his lap and holding her closely to his chest.

"When you're ready, love," he said, his voice low and gentle, slightly muffled as he placed a kiss against her temple.

They stayed like that until Hermione was able to calm her breathing. When she finally settled, she looked at Charlie. His blue eyes were full of concern and a hint of something else, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Sorry about that," she said, lowering her gaze to the ground.

"Don't do that. You have nothing to apologize for. Wanna talk about it?"

Hermione sighed.

"I'm not even sure why I reacted like that. It wasn't a big deal." She looked back at him. "Ron threw a fit about how much time I've been spending with you. He demanded I tell him what's going on. I just explained that with the every impending doom, I really have wanted to spend my time with you, because, no matter what happens, Harry, Ron, and I will have to go and we'll be spending 24/7 with each other. And I love them, but that's just a lot."

"Would you like me to talk to Ron?"

Hermione shook her head.

"No. It's okay. He'll get over it. He always does."

Charlie rubbed his hand down her arm.

"Okay. Let me know if I need to kick his arse. Brother or not, he doesn't get to be mean to you."

Hermione gave him a wavering smile.

"Now, I think you said something about Molly?" she asked.

Charlie's face paled.

"Shite. Yeah, we need to go get dressed. See you at the wedding. Ginny's waiting in her room for you."

Hermione nodded at him.

"See you down there."

oOoOoOoOoOo

Hermione sat amongst the Weasley clan, waiting for the bride to make her entrance. Hermione couldn't tear her eyes off Charlie, who stood at the front of the gazebo as Bill's best man. He looked… well, she was slightly ashamed of her thoughts. She could feel the blush creep up to her cheeks, knowing full well she was starting to turn a slight pink color. She looked down, but not before she could catch a glimpse of the smile he flashed her. Harry nudged her, grinning madly behind his disguise. She smiled, more mortified than anything else. She listened to the rest of the wedding, trying to avert her eyes from the groom's side, focusing on Gabrielle and Ginny. When they kissed and everyone clapped, the room was automatically transfigured. Chairs were pushed back, tables full of food came floating in and setting themselves up, and the music started. Hermione half expected Charlie to show up at her side, but then remembered he was obligated to dance a few dances with others, including Gabrielle, the maid of honor. It was honestly so precious. Hermione watched the dancing with a renewed joy and hope in her heart.

She and Harry went to go get food as they watched everyone else. They relaxed a bit, and talked about some ideas of where to start when their inevitable journey began. As they were talking, they didn't realize that the mandatory dancing had ended. Ron came up to them.

"Would you like to dance, 'Mione?"

She smiled at him.

"Sure, Ron."

He led her out to the dance floor and wrapped an arm around her waist, a little too possessively for her liking. They danced awkwardly, Ron gazing intently at her, and Hermione looking for literally anything else to look at. After a few minutes, Fred asked if he could cut in. Hermione said yes, and Ron stomped off.

"Thanks," she said.

"The whole thing looked really uncomfortable, so I went ahead and decided to show you some mercy."

They laughed.

"Well, thank you. I don't know what that was about. He's been acting weird."

"Oh come off it."

She raised her eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

Fred laughed.

"Anyone could see it. He's jealous of Charlie, and he's mad that you like him so much."

Hermione huffed.

"I have a lot in common with Charlie. A lot more than I do with Ron. The only reason we're friends is because of Harry."

"I know that. Everyone knows that. Even Ron knows that. But remember back in your fourth year, with Krum, and then again in sixth with McClaggon? Anytime a guy shows interest in you, he gets his knickers all twisted."

Hermione wrinkled her nose, looking at Viktor who was flirting with some of Fleur's cousins.

"What does that have to do with Charlie?"

Fred blanched.

"You really don't know?" he asked. "Charlie's crazy about you. Spends every waking minute either with you or talking about you."

"We're best friends."

Fred smiled.

"Oh love, you're more than just best friends. Some advice, admit it before this war really hits and you don't have the opportunity to do it again."

Fred spun her and sent her sailing into a hard body. Charlie righted her and smiled, pulling her against him in a dance as the music changed.

"Hey," he whispered as he placed his chin on the top of her head.

"Hey."

"What were you and Fred talking about?"

"Ron. He's been acting weird."

Hermione missed the flash of anger in Charlie's eyes.

"Do I need to take care of my baby brother?" he asked.

Hermione shook her head.

"And I don't want to talk about him while I'm dancing with you." He could hear the tease in her voice.

Charlie dipped her, making her squeal. They continued dancing, Hermione's arms securely around Charlie's broad, strong shoulders, and Charlie's arms around her petite waist. He played with the ends of her hair, rolling the ends of her long honey curls between his calloused fingers. As the music continued, she placed her cheek against his chest. She listened to the thrumming of his heart. He placed his chin on the top of her head, lost in thought, unaware of the looks being shot his way: a happy grin from Bill and daggers from Ron. He wanted nothing more to tell Hermione what he'd been thinking since she was fourteen, but he'd always been nervous and unsure. She was so much younger. Nevertheless, he felt something for her that went beyond word or reason. He'd talked to Bill about it before, and he'd encouraged him to explore the notion as she got older. Here she was, perfectly legal and perfectly his, and somehow, his famous Gryffindor courage failed him. He sighed. Tonight. He would do it tonight, after the wedding, and they would see what would happen. With that thought cemented, he looked up at Bill, noticing the staring, and winked. Bill laughed and turned his attention back to his wife, who was also looking on intently, her blue eyes glinting with mischief.

The music came to an end, and as it did, he spun her out, brought her back in, and finished with a flourished dip making her blush and laugh. As he righted her, Ron made his way toward them. Charlie geared himself up for a fight, but then a silvery figure appeared. Kingsley. It was a warning from Kingsley. At hearing that the Death Eaters were on their way, Hermione broke away from him, grabbing tight to Harry and calling for Ron. Charlie looked up in fear, as Ron reached for her hand. When his eye connected with hers, he saw fear mixed with anxiety, and finally when her brows furrowed as he called her name, regret. In a second, they were gone.

"No! Hermione!"

But there was no time to think about what just happened. He was jostled by Bill, who pushed him out of the way of a curse.

"Come on, Charlie," said Bill. Bill pushed Fleur toward her sister and parents, kissed her, and told them to apparate to Shell Cottage. Charlie focused, pushing up his sleeves, pulling out his wand, and running with his brother to his other family members. A few order members stayed, but most everyone made it out okay. Curses were being slung all over the place. As Charlie fought back with the others, the Death Eaters slowly started to disapparate. All he could think of was at least Harry, Ron, and most of all, Hermione, made it out of there.