Making Us Work

There was no funeral. The family buried the two privately in the Burrow's garden. A public funeral was never mentioned; there was a silent agreement between all concerned that it was not appropriate.

Life after them was unfamiliar for Charlie. When asked about his family he had one simple answer, I have five brothers and a sister. Now things were complicated, messy. I had five brothers and a sister, now I just have four brothers.

People wanted to know what had happened, or if they did know, they wanted to extend their condolences. He didn't enjoy the attention it brought to his family.

"What are you thinking about?"

He looked up from his cup of coffee at her, sitting across the table twirling her spoon through her porridge, and shrugged, "Who said I was thinking?"

She was the only thing that worked anymore.

"Oh right, what was I saying, you thinking – never!"

He chuckled offering a small smile in her direction.

"Ron and Harry are moving out today."

Hermione turned her head looking out the window, "I know."

"Are you going to miss them?"

"They'll be back after training."

"That's a year Hermione."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Ok."

They went around in circles like that, his problems were fair game but Hermione refused to discuss how she felt.

"Wanna go for a walk then?" She asked, clearing the table with a flick of her wand.

Like most days, Mrs. Weasley wasn't likely to leave her bed so Hermione took over the menial household chores. Fleur and Bill had returned to Shell Cottage, the twins went back to their flat and Arthur was picking up as much overtime as possible. Most of the time Charlie and Hermione were alone in the Burrow.

He looked at the overcast sky, "Bring a jacket, looks nasty out."

Hermione nodded, "Meet you back down here in a minute."

He fell back into his thoughts as she went to retrieve her jacket. They had been dancing around one another for weeks now, doing anything to avoid a conversation that needed to take place. The others were busy putting their lives together the best way they knew how and Charlie found a constant companion in Hermione.

The term friends with benefits came to mind, he had had such relationships before but although the situation fit the description it didn't feel right to Charlie. He would wake up some mornings incapable of breathing properly until he heard her voice soft and soothing in his ear. He denied feelings for her at all turns, but the special attention his youngest brother lavished on her and the twins flirty jokes got under his skin.

"Ready to go?"

They walked past the pond and into the wooded area, following the well-worn dirt path. As a kid, Charlie and Bill would come out here to play. It was the only place they could escape from their large family. Being the oldest siblings wasn't easy on the two, they were built-in babysitters and stand-ins for the times their father couldn't be present. Bill was a natural but Charlie felt suffocated by the expectations.

Hermione shivered and Charlie instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her body flush against her. The move slowed their walk but it was worth it to feel her warm little body against his own.

"I miss her."

It was the first time either of them had spoken about it and to hear her say those words nearly broke Charlie's heart.

"Me too." His voice was tight as he willed himself not to cry, he would not cry in front of Hermione again.

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have brought it up."

"We can talk about it Hermione."

"What do we do now Charlie?"

He had no answer for her because Charlie had no clue as to what came next. He needed to get a new job of course, so did Hermione, but what else, find a place perhaps, but with who, Hermione? They weren't together, not technically. If they did move in what would they tell their families, Hermione was still a kid, they wouldn't understand.

"We live Hermione. What else can we do?"

"What about us? I know you've been avoiding it Charlie, but I need to know."

"Whattya' mean Hermione, we're friends."

She moved away from him, quickening her pace to put distance between them. Charlie had, apparently, given the wrong answer.

She stopped abruptly, spinning on her heel to face him, "I know you are hurting Charlie, but so am I and it isn't fair for you to keep stringing me along if you don't care about me. I don't want to be your friend Charlie!"

"How can you say I don't care about you? Do you think I would spend all of my time with somebody I didn't care about? You're my friend Hermione, my best friend."

"That isn't good enough."

"That's all I've got."

She sighed heavily, "Ok."

He hated seeing her look so defeated; he loved the strong-willed Hermione he had meant two summers before. This beaten down version of that beautiful girl was disheartening.

"We should get back."

He nodded in agreement, "Yeah."

The walk back was silent.

Monday came too quickly for the two boys, their bags had been packed for days thanks to Hermione and they knew exactly what to expect at training, but still it felt like the morning of their departure crept up on them. Harry hadn't been able to sleep the night before and paced the room annoyed that Ron seemed so peaceful.

At four, he woke Ron up and the two made their way downstairs, only Hermione and Mr. Weasley were waiting for them. The absence of the normally boisterous family was disheartening to the two.

"Good morning boys, nervous?" Hermione greeted with false cheer, ushering them into chairs and serving them breakfast in a very Molly Weasley-esque way.

Ron smiled in Hermione's direction but remained silent as he scarfed down his food. Harry's stomach was uneasy and he nibbled at the toast.

They had been waiting for this day for weeks. Today they would begin a year's worth of training comparable to nothing else in the world. Being accepted into the Auror program had been life changing for Ron, everyone had expected it of Harry but Ron was the wildcard.

Mr. Weasley sat on silently. His coppery red hair was illuminated by the flickering of the fire Hermione had started to heat up the unusually cool Burrow. Ginny had, in a moment of anger with her mother, set a freezing charm on the Burrow and nobody had the heart to take it off although it would have been easy enough.

"We better hurry Ron; our portkey time is almost here."

The taller boy finished his breakfast and stood hurriedly, brushing the crumbs off his robes. He had grown up so much in the last year and the weight of things was evident on his troubled face. Throughout their years at Hogwarts, he had been the embodiment of a good family and now he was as broken as the rest of them.

"Bye Dad." Ron leaned down to hug his father, staring up the stairs sadly, as they separated. His mother was nowhere in sight.

Harry bid farewell to Mr. Weasley as well and then the three made their way outside. Their steps were slow and heavy, this was the first time Hermione would not be a part of their great adventure.

"Well this is it then…" Ron shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, nearly toppling over when Hermione launched herself at him, hugging him tightly.

He responded positively, hugging her back with an affection he rarely showed. When they separated so she could lavish the same treatment on Harry, he wiped his eyes free of the tears welling up.

"Please be careful and write me. I know you don't have much time but whenever you can, please."

Harry smiled appeasingly at her, "We will Hermione."

"I won't." Ron instantly turned red at his outburst, "I'm no good at writing letters."

"I'll write for him." Harry assured her, hugging her again.

"Well get going then." She shooed them away before she lost it, her eyes blurring as they faded in the distance.

She didn't start back until they were sucked into space by their tennis shoe portkey. The portkey was a pair of brand new grey trainers; an odd choice for a portkey, Hermione took them in with her, Charlie's pair looked threadbare as of late and no use in these ones going to waste.

She left them at the front door to give him later and went back upstairs. She was staying in the twin's room for now. Nobody had entered Ginny or Percy's room and that sat frozen in time – a shrine to the lost children.

"No use going to bed, the days about ready to start." Charlie peeped his head out his door as Hermione passed it on the stairs.

She smiled at him, "Easy to say when you've just woken up. I need a few hours of sleep before I head into London."

"London? Why're you going there?"

"Oh, um, Seamus wrote me. He's staying in London and he wanted to meet for lunch."

Charlie felt his stomach lurch, "Oh."

She forced a smile in his direction, "Ok well see you later yeah? I left you a present at the door."

"A present huh?"

"Yes, so go look and let me get some sleep."

Muggle London was busy that Monday afternoon and Hermione had trouble finding the pub that Seamus had mentioned.

The Ship and Shovell was certainly a step up from the Leaky Cauldron or the Three Broomsticks. Seamus was sitting at a corner table by himself, nursing what appeared to be straight whiskey. A scar ran along his jaw and his right eye no longer opened quite as much as his left. When he saw her, he still managed a smile though and Hermione was instantly reminded of the young boy who blew everything up in potions.

"Good to see you Hermione. Glad you could make it." He greeted, his Irish brogue fading from his gruff voice.

She returned the greeting, joining him at the table, "How long have you been in London Seamus?"

"Eh, a month or so. Moved here with Dean. A lot of our classmates came here, Parvati and Padma live in the flat next to ours and Lav is a few blocks away. What about you?"

Hermione studied her hands, "Oh, I'm staying at the Weasley's. My parents decided they didn't want to leave Australia and Harry and Ron started auror training so I didn't have many options."

"It's hard to get out on your own. Have you thought about a job yet? I'm working for the ministry, some desk, pencil-pushing shite, but its work."

"I have a meeting with the minister in a week; I'll probably end up in the cubicle next to you."

The two laughed mirthlessly at this, the brightest witch of their age and the resident mess-maker becoming equals.

They lapsed into meaningless conversation and the rest of the afternoon passed quickly. It was nearly six when Hermione realized the time and she rushed to get back to make a late dinner for Charlie and Arthur. Seamus helped her with her coat and walked her to the apparition point.

"It was nice seeing you Seamus; I hope we can do this again sometime."

He was shifting nervously on the balls of his feet, "I was thinking we could go to dinner, tomorrow night, like a date, yeah know?"

Hermione felt her face twinge pink and her stomach warmed in a pleasant way. He was no Charlie Weasley but Seamus had matured into his looks and she hadn't had this much fun since before the war.

"Yes that'd be nice. See you tomorrow then?"

"Eight sound good?"

"Perfect."

One awkward hug, a pat on the back and a clumsy apparition later and Hermione was walking into the Burrow ready to start dinner, what she saw surprised her. The twins, donning their mother's flowery pink lace aprons, were concocting what could only be described as the best smelling food Hermione had ever seen.

"Oi! Hermione's home." George bounced towards her swooping her up in an over exaggerated hug.

When he released her, Fred sauntered over, leaning one elbow on his brother's shoulder, "So how was your date?"

The two wiggled their eyebrows suggestively laughing when she spluttered out her indignation and then resorted to pushing them both off balance.

"Nobody beats up my brothers but me!" Charlie exclaimed, bounding into the kitchen in a mock attempt at protecting the twins.

Hermione shook her head at the three's identical boyish grins, "So what's for dinner?"

"Roast, our –"

"own recipe!"

The twins were obviously proud of their expertise in the kitchen and even Hermione had to admit it smelt delicious.

"Now you lovebirds get out of our way." Fred shooed them out of the kitchen, slamming the door behind them for effect.

Charlie fell back onto the well-worn sofa, stretching out across it. He watched Hermione as she moved across the room, sitting down on a nearby armchair.

"How was it?" He asked, trying to sound bored with the conversation.

"How was what?"

"Your date, does he kiss better than I do?"

Hermione worried her lip between her teeth, throwing him a frustrated glance, "I didn't kiss him and you can't ask me that."

"Why not?"

"I'll let you know after tomorrow. We're going to dinner."

That hit him hard, he had been teasing about the kiss. Until now, he had seen their meeting as purely platonic.

"Got the boyfriend you wanted than huh?"

"Charlie." She warned, meeting his stare.

"Come walk with me."

She could never say no to him, "Ok."

They walked around the pond to a patch of earth hidden from view and sat shoulder to shoulder. Charlie slipped his arm around her waist, gently squeezing the tender flesh of her hip. She in turn rested her head on his shoulder.

"This is nice."

He nodded his agreement as he massaged the skin exposed between her jeans and her blouse. From there it was easy enough to maneuver her onto her back, Charlie following closely behind, supporting his weight on his elbows. This was a position they found themselves in often.

The first kiss was soft and sweet, but they gradually grew hungrier as they always did. Charlie kissed her as if his whole life depended on it and Hermione loved it. She brought one hand up to grip his shirt, pulling him flush against her. She never minded the weight; she loved the feeling of his heart beating against her chest.

"Hermione, we should stop…" It always got to this point, the point when they either had to chose to stop or push past even more boundaries.

Charlie always made it her decision, but the telltale bulge in his pants and the tightness of his voice betrayed him.

"Why?"

Another boundary crossed. With shaky hands, Hermione helped him remove her shirt, shivering when the night air assaulted her newly exposed skin.

"Hermione, are you sure? Are you ready? If you aren't…"

"DINNER!"

The twins always had impeccable timing.