"So here we stand
In our secret place
Where the sound of the crowd
Is so far away
You take my hand
And it feels like home
We both understand
It's where we belong
So how do I say
Do I say goodbye
We both have our dreams
We both wanna fly
So let's take tonight
To carry us through
The lonely times
I'll always look back
As I walk away
This memory will last for eternity
And all of our tears
Will be lost in the rain
When I find my way back
To your arms again
But until that day
You know you are
The queen of my heart
So let's take tonight
And never let go
While dancing we'll kiss
Like there's no tomorrow
As the stars sparkle down
Like a diamond ring
I'll treasure this moment
Till we meet again
But no matter how far (no matter how far)
Or where you may be (where you may be)
I just close my eyes (just close my eyes)
And you're in my dreams
And there you will be
Until we meet
I'll always look back
As I walk away
This memory will last for eternity
And all off our tears
Will be lost in the rain
When I find my way back
To your arms again
But until that day
You know you are
The queen of my heart" Queen of My Heart- Westlife
She curled up a little tighter in Charlie's arms. He tightened his protective embrace and rested his chin on the top of her head. She breathed in the night air and tried to fight the tightness in her throat. She had always prided herself in her strength. She didn't cry tears of anger or grief and had only cried tears of happiness once. She couldn't cry now, she had to be strong because crying wasn't going to stop the inevitable. Charlie was leaving in less than twelve hours.
Neither of them would be getting any sleep so they opted to spend their final hours in the garden of the Burrow. Despite the fact that he was leaving her alone and without anyone, Talitha would not deny herself of these last precious moments with her Charlie. They had only just begun exploring this part of their relationship and now-now it had to end. Talitha couldn't go to Romania with him, as much as she would have loved to. She had work to do at home.
As she mused of a future without her best friend and the man she knew she was in love with, she turned her head to look into his brilliant blue eyes. She saw that they looked sad and she could sense that he shared her fear of appearing weak. He caught her staring and gave her a sad smile.
"Talitha- how am I supposed to go everyday without looking into those gray eyes?" he asked her earnestly.
"Charlie, our lives…it has to be this way," she choked back the hot tears that threatened to flow.
"Talitha, oh Talitha my darling," he took her face in his large hands and she looked away. She couldn't bare this pain. Even after everything she had been through in her life, no pain compared to what she was feeling at that moment.
"Charlie, I can't come with you. My place is here. I have to become and Auror and I have work to do for Dumbledore. This is my destiny, Charlie. You know I would come with you if I could," she braved a look into his eyes once more and almost cried out because of the pain she saw there.
"I can't leave you. I just can't. I'll stay," he told her and at that moment she knew if she would let him, he really would stay for her.
"Charlie, no. I won't let you. You have a path to follow, your own path. I can't be responsible for denying you your dreams. I won't," she told him fiercely.
At that moment she watched as one tear rolled down his freckled face and she took her hand and wiped it away.
"I was so stupid. I should've realized you were more than a best mate years ago," he started and she made to stop him but he silenced her with a quick kiss.
"No I have to say this. Not because I'm leaving, but because it's true. Truer than anything I've ever known. You are, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman alive. You are so brave and strong and intelligent. You are so special and why you've chosen to be with the likes of someone like me, I'll never understand. But I want you to know this- each night as I look at the sky I will think of you, Talitha, my beautiful star. And know that wherever I am, wherever you are, my heart is always with you. I love you, Talitha," and as he said this she gasped. He had never told her he loved her before. She knew he loved her as a friend, but she knew this was different. He loved her as she loved him.
"Oh, Charlie, I love you!" she cried and their lips met in a searing kiss mixed with passion and grief. The pair of them laid wrapped in each other's love for the rest of the night.
The next morning, Charlie bid his family a somber farewell; he knew it would be a while before he saw them again. Talitha had deliberately stayed away from all of the goodbyes. She knew this was the hardest thing she had ever done-letting him walk out of her life. But she knew it had to be. Charlie had hugged his mother a final time and was striding to where Talitha stood near the doorway in the kitchen. He wrapped her in his arms and she threw her arm around him.
"No matter what, you always have my heart," he whispered in her ear and she nodded.
"Be careful, Charlie," she told him as she touched his face- the face she had fallen in love with so many years ago.
"You are the one who needs to be careful. Goodbye, Talitha, I love you," and Charlie was no longer hiding behind the strong façade. His tears were now flowing freely.
"Goodbye, Charlie. I love you always," she walked him out the door and as she watched him Apparate away she crumpled her face in her hands. As Charlie Weasley left her standing in his family's house with a broken heart, Talitha cried tears of sorrow for the first time since she was five years old.
Talitha shuddered at the memory of her heart breaking. The pain and sorrow she felt back then was dull to the pain she was feeling now. This pain was mixed with fear. Charlie had left again, but this time he might not ever come back. She thought of how she had tried to move on without Charlie, but never forgetting him in her heart. She kept busy, that helped. But she couldn't deny that she was miserable without him. Then, Talitha remembered, she resolved to deal with another man in her life, a man who had haunted her for years. Talitha Weasley sat in a rocking chair clutching an old photograph and remembered the man who had broken her heart long before she knew Charlie Weasley.