"There was no doubt about the Magic this time."

From The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

Chapter 30: Charlie is Back

"I'm grateful that you agreed to come, Charlie," said Alastor as he remotely poured the tea with his wand.

"Alastor, I don't know what use you think I could be," said Charlie as he leaned one arm on the little table in Moody's kitchen and fidgeted with a teaspoon.

"Charlie, you've known Madeline for a long time. You know her mind, how she is. Charlie, she can't take care of herself. She won't take care of herself. If something should happen to me..."

"She can take care of herself just fine." He looked up. "Alastor, is everything ok with you?"

The auror took a slurp of tea and considered before speaking. "I'm not as young as I was during the first war. After the incident with Crouch Jr., I realized that I don't have the reflexes I once had. There's a good chance I won't survive this war."

"War? You think we're in all out war?"

"Damn! What do ya think we've been doing with the Death Eaters, playing 'Dodge the Griffin'?!?!" boomed Alastor. "People are getting killed!"

"Then, you're saying I should move back to England?" asked Charlie.

"No. Stay put in Romania, only take Madeline back with you," said Alastor.

Charlie shook his head. "In case you haven't noticed, Madeline no longer wants me." Charlie surprised himself by no longer feeling intimidated by Alastor the way he used to be.

"Stupid boy," spat Alastor. "Of course she does! Why do ya think she's been making an ass of herself ever since you left her?"

"Left her?!?! I didn't, you've got it backwards. She left me," said Charlie.

Alastor looked hard into Charlie's face. Charlie felt his mind being probed.. "You should tell her how you feel," said Alastor in a low rumble.

Presently, they heard a motorcycle engine outside. Alastor stood up. "Oh, and there she is now," he said with all the innocence of a bear with its paw in the bee hive. He left a stunned Charlie and met his sister at the front door. "I'm going out, dear. You have a visitor."

Madeline furrowed her brow and whispered, "Who?" Her brother just winked, stepped onto the porch and disapparated with a Pop.

Madeline Dropped her bag and jacket onto the floor and kicked off her boots before tip toeing to the kitchen. She peeked her head around the corner.

"Charlie!" she shouted. He stood up and looked sheepish. She ran at him and threw her arms around him in a hug while lifting her feet of the floor. When she let him loose again, she stepped back a pace to look him over. "How are you?" she asked.

He didn't answer but instead asked, "How are you?"

"Fine," she said noncommitally.

"Yeah?" he inquired. "I heard what happened to your friend, Sirius," he said quietly. Charlie hadn't gotten a letter from her since before Sirius died. He only heard about it through Alastor and Bill.

She nodded and looked down. "I'm ok. So, how about you?" she changed the subject as she refolded a teatowel and avoided his eyes. "How's Romania?"

"I miss you," he said.

"That's what happens when you move far away from people," she said flippantly as she picked up some dishes from the table and took them to the sink as Charlie silently wished he could read her thoughts.

"You sure found plenty of people to take my place." He didn't know why he said it, except maybe it had been stored up inside him for a very long time.

"Men, you mean?" She looked at him sideways with her hands on the edge of the sink and wondered why they were having this conversation.

"From what you've told me in your letters, most of them were right pigs," said Charlie.

She couldn't figure what got into him, but she was getting a bit annoyed. "So what if I decided to make friends after you left me? What's it to you?"

"Friends," he snorted. Then he looked at her as the proverbial lightbulb clicked on over his head. "Leave you? Madeline, I left, but I didn't leave you."

"It's the same thing," she said with a cold laugh.

"No, it is not. Of course I expected...," he paused. "Madeline, what would you have done if I hadn't left?"

"What does it matter?" She glared hard at the dishes in the sink.

"I need to know. What were you expecting?" he asked.

"This is a stupid theoretical supposition." She hastily wiped tears from her eyes. "You're being cruel," her voice cracked.

"Madeline, I expected you'd come join me in Romania, once I got settled. I had hoped you would marry me," said Charlie. "You knew that, didn't you?"

She turned to face him, one hand still clutching the edge of the sink to steady herself. "No," she squeaked. Her lip was beginning to quiver.

"Yes." He was rooted on the spot, unable to cross the abyss between them.

"Why didn't you say so?" Her voice was almost inaudible as she looked down at her feet.

"You should have known. I always wanted you, loved you," he said. "How could you not know that?"

She shook her head. "For the life of me, I don't know why you ever wanted me. I'm a loser, Charlie." She wiped away more tears with her sleeve.

"That right there is the problem. You always put yourself down. I wish for once you could see yourself the way I see you. You'd never doubt me again." She remained silent so he continued. "But when I thought you didn't want me anymore, I tried to remain content to just being your friend."

"Not want you anymore!?!?" she said. "That's not true."

"What about the other guys?"

"None of them mattered."

"Not even the one from that band."

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "No. Of course not." She gave a damp little laugh and sniffed.

"What about," he hesitated, "Sirius Black?"

She bit her lip. "He was my friend, but just my friend." She buried her face in her hands. "Charlie, I'm such an idiot."

Charlie crossed the kitchen and gently took her hands away from her face and leaned down to look into her eyes. "I'm the idiot. Oh, what a lot of wasted time!" he blurted up at the ceiling. Charlie was not often given to acts of spontaneity, but without another moment's hesitation, he kissed her passionately on the lips. Madeline was stunned and the tears stopped flowing.

Then, he smiled at her. "This is yours." He removed one of the two matching rings from his finger and put it on hers. It magically shrunk to fit her finger. She looked down at the little dragon on it and then up at Charlie. She was puzzled. "I had them made," he shrugged. "I still had hope," he said simply as he wiped the last tear from her cheek. "Please don't doubt me again, Derry-dol."

She smiled at the nickname taken from one of her favorite verses. "I won't," she whispered. "And you don't doubt me again."

He smiled. "I won't. And if ever I say or write something that could mean more than one thing, just assume I mean the good one, ok?" he said with a half-grin. Madeline giggled and it was as if the sun shined a little bit brighter for Charlie. He hugged her tightly. "My Madeline," he sighed. "How silly we have been. Maybe we're better off not talking at all."

She gave a sly grin. "I can think of a much better use for our lips." He scooped her up and sat down with her on his lap. They kissed.

"Mmm, the unspoken language of love," she laughed. Then they settled down to just silently holding each other.

Soon it was time for Charlie to return to Romania, but this time they were both full of hope and happiness. He was to buy a house for them. (He was still living in the little house with his room-mate.) And he had to do the necessary paperwork to get permission to bring her over to live. And there was a wedding to plan.

But all that seemed like a lifetime ago as he stood beside the lake in the cave and cursed himself for his drunken boasts, lack of good sense in his choice of friends, and general stupidity.