Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor do make money.

048. Happiness

"Where's Pansy?" Charlie asked stepping out to the back porch where the teenagers had gathered.

"Out by the lake," Harry replied seconds before Theo added, "Good luck. She's blocking us from approaching her."

"You too?" Charlie asked confused.

"Me too," Theo nodded. "You can give it a shot yourself but be prepared to be thrown onto your arse by Callum's blocking charm."

"Lovely. Still can't get away from that arse and he's been dead for nine years," Charlie muttered before heading off in the direction that Harry had pointed to earlier. It took him a few minutes to get moving because he had to shrug off Harry, Hermione and Ginny who wanted to know how Theo and Charlie knew each other. Pansy was more important to him at the moment then annoying questions from people who didn't need certain answers.

Charlie slowed his pace as drew closer to where she was sitting on the dock: her feet dangling off the side, inches from the ice that covered the lake. Anticipating Callum's nasty blocking charm to knock him off his feet at any second, he patiently waited as close as he dared to her but it never came. Calling out to the solitary figure swinging her feet, he tentatively asked, "Can I join you?"

Pansy didn't say anything in response, instead she just patted the empty spot next to her. Carefully he took his first step onto the dock and braced himself for the shock but it never came.

"I don't blame you for not trusting me."

"It's not that I don't trust you..."

"It's that you still remember that blocking charm of his when he wanted to be left alone."

"And obviously you do to," Charlie replied moving closer to Pansy, feeling more confident that he wasn't going to be thrown anywhere anytime soon.

"Except when it matters evidently," she replied quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"I can do this," she said waving her hand over her head. "But I can't seem to protect myself when I needed it the most."

"I imagine you did the best you could at that moment," he countered, finally reaching her and taking a seat. "I suspect your mind just shut down wishing for the end to come as soon as possible; zapping any hope of you even doing accidental magic."

The pair fell silent as they stared out over the lake both lost in their own thoughts.

"You know he loves you," Charlie whispered, taking her cold hand as his eyes looked straight ahead. "Granted that wouldn't take an unspeakable to figure that one out."

"I know," she whispered, causing Charlie to spin his head to stare at her. He figured that she would be just as clueless about how Ron felt about her as he had been about how she felt about him. "I just don't know why he does because Merlin knows I'm not good enough for him given everything."

"But you are good enough for him especially if you are the same girl I remember tagging behind Finny every chance you got."

"I hadn't been her in a long time."

"Then why do I see her now?"

Pansy just stared at him.

Charlie laughed at her reaction, tweaking her nose like he used to a lifetime ago he continued, "It's that little girl that makes him happy because I think you may be one of the few people to look at him and only see him – not the war hero or yet another Weasley or Harry Potter's mate..."

"And you happen to be the first person I want to see in the morning and the last person I want to talk to at nigh," Ron's voice came from behind. "No matter what happens."

Charlie watched as the little girl sitting beside him scrambled to her feet with tears in her eyes before throwing herself into his little brother's waiting arms. He found himself blinking back the tears as he watched him wrapped her up in his arms; holding her smaller body tight against his as they both cried, words being mumbled between the two that Charlie couldn't quite make out. Looking at the couple, Charlie wondered just when little Ronnie had become a man.

Climbing slowly to his feet, Charlie walked away as the couple clung to each other in desperation and hope that the other would be enough.