Disclaimer: Everything that sounds familiar? They belong to the genius JK Rowling. Not me. Unfortunately. But Winny? I can claim her. :)

A/N: In case you haven't noticed, I am not British. I am an American who even has a terrible fake British accent. Anything that you think I can improve on, or you can help me with, it is much appreciated! (Sorry it was kind of short this update. I'll have the next one soon.)

"She's really not looking any better, is she?" I could tell it was more of a statement than a question. It was true. But it was also true that she didn't look any worse either. "Gwen, you have to eat," he said quietly as he stroked her forehead. She shook herself and turned away. Charlie sighed before heading back to his tent.

"So?" I asked curiously. Charlie looked at me questionably.

"So what?"

"How were the rest of your years at Hogwarts?" I said, bouncing around behind him. I saw the rock just a second before I tripped over it. Quick as a flash, Charlie reached out to catch me.

I could feel my cheeks heating up with a blush and I let my dark brown hair create a curtain around my face to hide it the best I could. I chanced a glance up at Charlie to see a look of amusement, shock, and grief cross his face before he smoothed it back to normal. What was that about?

"They were good. Tonks was my best friend and when I needed back-up, I had her and Bill both. I remember several times when we snuck out. Tonks morphed herself once into Filch, telling Flitwick that she was escorting us to McGonagall's office. We got away with it that time. It was great!" he said, that old glint reappearing in his eyes as he reminisced on his glory days. I could tell that he had forgotten I was even there.

"Oh man, we got into so much trouble together. And, as odd as it was, she was the only girl I was ever interested in," he said, suddenly locking eyes with me. I stared into his blue eyes and my stomach flipped.

"You know that moment when you're hanging out with a friend, and suddenly, you look up, and see a completely different person standing there? I don't know what it was, but among our shenanigans, and Tonks' klutziness, and all the laughs, I realized I had fallen in love with her," he said, before glancing down at his shoes. I realized I knew exactly what he was talking about. I wanted to be the one who put that glint in his eyes, the one he laughed with.

Why these feelings? Why now?

"Charlie?" I heard someone say tentatively and a girl stuck her head in through the flap of the tent.

"Merlin's beard. What now, Ginny?" he asked and I felt my jaw drop slightly. This was Ginny? Granted, it had been six years since I'd seen her, but it was weird. She had grown up.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't realize you had company," she said, backing out. I grinned.

"It's fine, Ginny. Good to see you again," I said, standing up. She smiled brightly.

"Winny! It's great to see you!" she said. I knew that she was hoping I'd date her brother. She had said so the last time I visited the Burrow, and her eyes said she still wanted me to.

"I was wondering if you were going to come home to help reopen WWW?" she asked. Charlie sighed.

"Yeah, I guess," he said and I grinned.

"Can I come too?" He rolled his eyes and sighed again.

"I guess. Maybe you can quit asking so many questions then?" he suggested and I shook my head. Ginny clapped excitedly.

"Alright, then, let's go, Charlie. Mum's fixing your favorites tonight, to try to entice you back," Ginny said with a sly smile. I smiled back as Charlie headed towards the shredded wheels we had been using the last couple of months as portkeys. I jogged to catch up to him. Ginny grinned and apparated back ahead of us.

"Okay, a couple of rules," he started tersely. "One, don't mention the war. You're pretty ignorant about it, and it'll only lead to people getting upset. Two, be careful around George. He's going to be a mess. Three, don't make a big deal about coming with me. Mum will blow it all out of proportion and assume we're dating," he said. I nodded to show I understood.

"And Winny…" he said before he stopped to stare at me. I looked up into his eyes. "Please be careful there. They have yet to round-up all the Death Eaters," he said, bending down to gently kiss my cheek. He grabbed one of the tires and left. I stood there, my hand resting where I could still feel his lips. I was so shocked that I almost missed my portkey. I grabbed the piece of rubber just as it left the reserve.

A/N 2: If you read this, please review. I would love to hear anybody's thoughts, critiques, ideas, etc. Thanks! :)