Charley Rook sat upright in her squeaky bed. Sweat beamed across her forehead and as she moved a shaky hand to wipe it off, she found tears falling down her cheeks. She had been having a recurring dream about her father, out of Azkaban and hell bent on destroying her and the people she loved the most.
Charley didn't have many memories of her father, she was after all, only three when Harry had defeated You-Know-Who and her father had been arrested. The memories she did have were strong. He was cruel to her mother and on several occasions Charley witnessed the abuse and through it all, she still adored him. How she loved him, Charley never understood. He wasn't around enough to be bothered with Charley, but she knew that if he broke out of Azkaban, he would hunt her down. She had become a disgrace to the name Rookwood; her mother had made sure she knew that, before being carted off to St. Mungo's.
Just a few weeks ago, Harry had emerged from the third task claiming that You-Know-Who had returned. Charley had been in such shock when George told her she had actually blacked out. The last week and a half of school had gone by in blur. Nearly all the Weasley's had of course assured her that her father was still very much locked up, with no prospect of getting out. Charley wasn't sure how this was supposed to comfort her; she knew it was just a matter of time.
They had only been at Grimmuald Place for a week. The Weasley's were so involved in the Order of the Phoenix, that it had just made sense for them to stay there over the summer. Charley, had of course, been taken in by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, as she had nowhere else to go.
Charley sat motionless on her bed, listening to Ginny breath; it was just the two of them in the small room, until Hermione joined them. Charley shivered in the dark black night. She lay down again and pulled the blanket up over her head. She closed her eyes and tried to fall back asleep. It was no use however; images of her father's cruel face flooded her mind. She sat up again, resisting the urge to cry. There was a noise downstairs that made Charley jump, it sounded as though someone had dropped something. Charley decided that her mouth was dry and she needed a glass of water, also investigating the noise would probably give her something else to think about, even if it was only the rotten house-elf Kreacher.
She crept out of her and Ginny's room and down the stairs. The entrance hall as empty, drafty as well, Charley noticed as she wrapped her arms around herself for warmth. As Charley made her way down the stairs into the kitchen she heard voices. She reached the bottom step; there were definitely at least two people behind the door in front of her. She leaned forward pressing her ear to the door, but still couldn't manage to make out anything. The voices had stopped and Charley wondered if they had heard her.
She was ready to turn around and leave, when it happened. Charley lost her footing and slid on the floor beneath her. She crashed through the door into the kitchen and landed sprawled out on the floor. There were indeed people occupying the room, two in fact. The man, she recognized as Remus Lupin, the woman was Nymphadora Tonks, although Charley distinctly remembered she went by Tonks.
Charley scrambled to her feet, her face feeling rather hot, as the two looked down at her open-mouthed. She had caught them in a rather compromising position. Remus Lupin had his arms wrapped around her waist, hers around his neck.
"I am so sorry," Charley said with wide eyes.
Remus Lupin dropped his arms immediately from Tonks and backed away from her. Tonks on the other hand began laughing.
"Well, you caught us at quite an awkward moment, I won't lie," she said making her way over to Chuck, "You're Charley right? Part of the Weasley clan? We met the other day."
"Yeah, um, well, not really. I mean I am part of the Weasley clan, but only because they allow me to be," Charley rambled.
"I got that girlie, you're sort of missing some key Weasley family traits," she winked, "Namely the ginger hair."
"Right, yeah," Charley said with a forced laugh, "Well, I'll just be going then."
"Nonsense, you came down here for something, you should get it," Tonks grinned, "Besides, I've got to be going anyways."
"I'll walk you out," Remus Lupin said quickly, crossing to Tonks. She smiled at him.
Charley watched as Remus lead her out of the kitchen. It was definitely one of the more awkward moments in Charley's life. She walked to the cupboard and pulled out a glass, then filled it with water from the sink. Not quite ready to go back to bed, Charley sat down at the long table.
Minutes later Remus Lupin emerged again. He sat at the table across from her and folded his hands neatly in front of him.
"Can I help you?" Charley asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Actually yes," he began, then, as Charley raised her glass to her mouth, he looked at her concerned, "You are shaking."
Charley slammed the glass down onto the table harder than she meant to. He was right, she was still shaking from the dream.
"Is everything alright?" he asked, it was his turn to raise an eyebrow.
"Oh, er, I just had a bad dream, it's why I came down here," she replied holding her hands in her lap.
Remus Lupin reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar, he unwrapped it and snapped off a piece, then handed it to her.
"Here," he said smiling, "I find chocolate always helps.
"Oh so you're the chocolate guy," Charley said biting her piece, "Thank you."
"Is that what the students have come up with?" he asked.
"Hey, it's better than, the with You-Know-Who's face on the back of his head, or the daft idiot who smiled all the time," Charley responded, "But then, that also makes you werewolf guy," she added.
"Ah, yes," he nodded, "I suppose it does."
"It's okay, I'm the girl with a death eater for a dad," Charley blurted out.
"Right, your father is Augustus Rookwood," he nodded.
"Does everyone know?" she sighed.
"Well, in all fairness Charley, it's sort of our job to know," Remus smiled kindly.
"Of course, gotta keep tabs on the convict's kid," Charley mumbled.
"That's hardly the situation," Remus shook his head.
Charley looked up at him, puzzled.
"Charley, no one blames you for having him as a father. No one here thinks you're going to betray us or Harry," he explained, "I'm sure the Weasleys have explained that."
"Of course they have, but I mean c'mon, there has to be a bit of worry," Charley shrugged.
"You know, when Professor Dumbledore hired me as a teacher at Hogwarts, he did so knowing that I had once been best mates with Sirius, who at the time, we all thought to be a murder," said Remus.
"That's hardly the same situation, Sir," Charley scoffed.
"Call me Lupin and why?" Lupin asked.
"Well, you weren't related to him,"
"Look, just because your father is a bad man, doesn't mean you are. We all make our own choices in life and it seems to me like you're doing just fine," Remus said finishing off his chocolate bar.
"Thank you," Charley smiled softly.
"Anytime," Remus replied, "Now, I think you'd better get back to bed. It's late and I should get going as well."
"Yeah," Charley yawned, "Oh but wait, you came back to say something."
"Oh right," he said, a faint blush rising in his cheeks, "I would greatly appreciate it if you kept what you saw tonight to yourself, it would be especially bad if Sirius found out."
"Why does he fancy her too?" Charley asked with a smirk.
"No, heaven's no, she's his cousin," Remus shook his head, "But he would mock me endlessly if he found out."
"I see, well, don't worry Sir…er Lupin, your secret is safe with me," she replied. She began to leave, then stopped and turned.
"Are you here often?"
"Yes, I am, why?" he asked.
"Well, the bad dream I had, it's sort of a recurring one, and well, I was just wondering if you'd be available for future late night chats?" she asked timidly.
"I'll be here whenever you need a chat partner," he replied.
"Thanks," she breathed, relieved.
She turned and walked back up to her bedroom, falling asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow.
The nightmares of her father began to happen less and less as the summer came to a close. Charley chalked it up to a few things. There was an air of excitement as Harry arrived at Number Twelve Grimmuald Place, he had cast a Patronus Charm in front of a muggle and was put on trial. Luckily he had gotten off. Then on the night of Harry's arrival, Mrs. Weasley, begrudgingly let Harry, Ron, Hermione, the twins and herself listen to some of what the Order was working on. Also, it did wonders talking to Lupin. He had been kind enough to stick around whenever she needed him too.
But the dreams hadn't disappeared completely and on their second to last night of summer break, she woke up shaking more than ever. The dream had gone beyond her father attacking her, in this dream he had gone for the person she cared for most, Fred. She couldn't breathe, the dream had felt so real.
Ginny and Hermione were both sitting up looking over to Charley; Charley could see their figures silhouetted in the light from the window.
"Are you alright Chuck?" Ginny asked, her tone concerned.
"You screamed," Hermione added sleepily.
"I'm fine, just a bad dream, sorry," Charley explained quickly.
"Okay," Ginny said.
Ginny and Hermione both lay back down. Charley waited until she was sure the two had fallen asleep again to crawl out of her bed. She crept into the hallway and leaned against the wall. She was shaking so violently she felt as though she was going to be sick.
There was a creak on the stairs and Charley looked up to see Fred climbing them. He had apparently been in the kitchen as he held a glass of water in one hand. He stopped dead and stared at her puzzled.
"Fred," Charley practically whimpered.
Seeing him calmed her considerably and she was about ready to fling her arms around him, then she remembered. She and Fred were not on speaking terms and hadn't been all summer.
Fred moved towards her hesitantly. Charley thought for the briefest of seconds that he was going to say something to her, touch her, acknowledge her presence. Instead he sighed heavily, shook his head, and walked passed her climbing the stairs to where he and George had slept.
He was still mad, Charley thought as she made her way to the kitchen, and really, he had every reason to be. Their relationship had lasted the short week between the third task and the end of term. As Charley's nightmares began and subsequently progressed, she began to shut down to him. Without any kind of warning, Charley ended it. Fred begged for an explanation, but Charley had none, she herself couldn't figure out why. Fred had yet to forgive her.
Charley pushed the kitchen door and found Lupin sitting with Sirius Black, who had joined them on several occasions. Charley quite liked him, as he was good at lifting her spirits and making her laugh.
"Hello Charley," Lupin said smiling, "Tea?" he asked.
"Yes please," she nodded.
He poured her a cup and she took it gratefully.
"You look dreadful," Sirius said Charley.
"Gee thanks Sirius," Charley said with a laugh, "It seems my nightmares have reached a new level of terrifying," she added.
"Ooh do tell," Sirius said leaning forward.
"You're really insensitive you know?" Charley asked grinning.
"Oh, he knows, he's always been this way," Lupin said shaking his head.
"Can't teach an old dog new tricks Moony," Sirius winked.
Charley giggled as Lupin glared at his friend. He couldn't stay mad long, however, and began to laugh with Charley.
"Now, Charley, please tell us about your dream, I'm dying to hear," said Sirius.
"Right, well, I dreamed he killed Fred, and when I woke up I thought it was real," Charley explained. She became extremely interested in her teacup, running her finger around the brim.
"Fred, he's one of the mischief twins right?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah," Charley nodded.
"He must be the one who's constantly staring at you," Sirius smirked, "Are you two lovers?"
"Inappropriate Sirius," Remus sighed. Charley found it funny, however.
"We sort of dated, briefly," she said.
"And, what happened?" Sirius pressed.
"Well, it happened right before this whole You-Know-Who mess," she began, "I got scared, it was a lot for me to handle."
Remus and Sirius both nodded as she finished her reasoning. Charley thought on it a little harder, there was one other reason, the real reason.
"Also," she added in a small voice, "I didn't want to burden him. I'm a mess right now; he doesn't need to deal with that."
"Well, that is an abundance of reasons," Sirius concluded after a moment. "But Charley, anyone with eyes can see how he feels about you; I highly doubt you would be a burden to him."
"I think it's noble of you to not want to unload your problems on the person you care about," Remus said, disagreeing with Sirius.
"You would Wolfboy," Sirius sighed, "I'm going to explain something to you Charley that I have explained to Remus here countless times, it would do you some good to actually learn from it, unlike Moony. To the people who love and care about you, your problems are not problems. All they want to do is help you. Trust me, if you gave him a chance, Fred would be there for you, probably more than anyone," Sirius finished.
He had gone from playful to quite serious, and Charley thought on his words. She looked up at Remus, who was nodding defeated.
"He's right Charley, I hate to admit it because I hate when he's right, but he is," Remus said.
Sirius nearly dropped his cup of tea; he looked at Remus utterly shocked.
"I feel like I have been telling you this our entire friendship and now you're deciding I'm right?" he asked.
"Well, my problems are of a slightly different nature, I agree with you about Charley and Fred," Remus explained.
"Of course you do," Sirius rolled his eyes.
Remus' shoulders shook with laughter as Sirius pouted at him.
"You know, Fred hated me when we first met," Charley told them, remembering their last summer fondly.
"Doesn't surprise me, all the best relationships stem from hatred," said Sirius.
Remus smiled at his words, Charley got the vague impression she was missing something, but neither elaborated, so she didn't ask.
"Yeah," she nodded, "And I actually sort of fell for Charlie Weasley first," she laughed.
"Charlie Weasley, isn't he a bit old for you?" Remus asked.
"Are you really going there?" Charley asked raising an eyebrow.
Remus' eyes widened in horror at Charley's words, while Sirius looked between the two of them utterly lost.
"What are you talking about?" he asked Charley, and then he turned to Remus, "What is she talking about?"
"You said you wouldn't say anything," Remus said through gritted teeth.
"Technically I didn't," Charley said looking down guiltily.
"You're shagging Tonks aren't you?" Sirius asked excited.
"No!" he replied horrorstruck, "I have done nothing of the sort."
"Not yet anyway, am I right?" Sirius winked.
"Sirius, I, you," Remus sputtered, he let out a long sigh then, "Fine, yes, I am sort of seeing her."
"Moony you sly dog," Sirius said elbowing him in the ribs.
"I think I'm going to go to bed, let you men talk this one out," Charley said standing quickly.
"Goodnight Charley!" Sirius practically sang.
"Goodnight," Remus grunted miserably.
Charley laughed as she left the kitchen.
"Oh c'mon Moony, this is the most excitement I've had in weeks!" she heard Sirius screech as she walked up the stairs.
Charley made it to her bed, but couldn't fall asleep right away. She lay awake thinking about Fred, she missed him something dreadful. All she could do was hope that he would forgive her.
It was the last day of summer and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Chuck, and Ginny scurried around Grimmuald place collecting their things. George was busy packing up his and Fred's newest products. Being of age had given them considerably more time to work on Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and they had had an extremely productive summer.
He glanced over at Fred, who was rolling up socks and tossing them into his trunk. To everyone else Fred had still been his loud, rambunctious self, but George saw the truth. He missed Chuck. The lack of Charley had taken its toll on both of them. George missed her too, but she had made it clear she didn't want to talk to either of them. She'd avoided them all summer, having hardly said a full sentence to them.
There was a knock on their door and Fred looked up, thoroughly uninterested. George sighed; clearly he would have to get it. He walked over and opened the door; Charley stood looking up at him somberly.
"Chuck?" George asked, he was surprised to see her.
George heard Fred stir on his bed behind him.
"I just, wanted to say something," she said softly.
"Of course, come in," George said, opening the door wider.
She entered their room and smiled awkwardly at Fred, he looked away. She turned to George and smiled half-heartedly.
"I came to apologize," she said, "I've been acting like a complete git."
"But Chuck why?" George asked after a moment.
"I just thought I'd be doing you both a favor, I've been going through a lot and I didn't want to burden either of you," she shrugged.
"That is why you ended us?" Fred asked incredulously.
Charley stiffened at the sound of his voice and looked at George nervously.
"I'm going to go, but I'm glad you're no longer avoiding us," said George.
He hugged her and gave her an encouraging smile as he left, closing the door behind him. Charley had of course been being ridiculous all summer, but George felt that Fred would say enough for the both of them.
Inside the bedroom Fred was still sitting on his bed. His arms were crossed across his chest and he was glaring down at his shoes, too angry to look up at Chuck. After a few moments of silence Charley crossed the room and sat down on his bed next to him.
"Fred, I am so sorry," she said softly.
"Charley, how could you possibly think you'd be a burden?" Fred asked angrily.
"You don't understand how scared I am Fred, if my father gets out, I don't know what he'll do," Charley said in a shaky voice, "But it is it literally all I can think about."
He looked up at her, eyes full of concern.
"I'm so mad at you," he said shaking his head.
"And you should be, I've been a complete idiot this entire summer," Charley said quickly.
"No, I'm not mad at you for that," Fred said waving her off, "I'm mad that you didn't recognize how much George and I care about you and that you could never ever, not in a million years, be a burden to us."
Charley allowed the tears to fall down her cheeks; she was done hiding from Fred, done denying how much she needed him.
"Chuck, don't cry," he said gently. Cupping her face in his hands he began to thumb her tears away.
"I'm sorry," she sniffed.
Fred smiled, then pulled her into him. He stroked her hair, glad to have her back in his arms. She pulled away after a few moments and looked up at him apprehensively.
"Fred, where does this leave us?" she asked. "Because, Fred, I messed up, I still want to be with you."
He looked at her seriously.
"I want to be with you too Chuck, but I'm not going through that again," he replied, "If there is a single shred of doubt in your mind, if you think for even the slightest second that you don't want this, then don't ask me to be with you again."
Charley smiled up at him, then kissed him gently on the lips. When she pulled away Fred was smiling too.
"I was hoping you'd say that," he smirked.
She laughed and pulled him down into another kiss.