Part 4
Slightly longer as two separate chapters were too short for me, and it was annoying as hell.
The day following the departure of Marco was an awkward one. Charlie was the main driving force of their operation, but Marco had the money they were going to exploit during the next phase of the campaign.
The first part was easy as they grabbed the attention of the public by protesting and handing over the research to Luna Lovegood to print in the Quibbler. It was a smart move, as they spared nothing when handing over their intelligence so the Ministry will be shown as a bad sport; knowing the illegal hunt was happening. This could make it harder when they took their case to the Wizengamot if they had to, but the overwhelming public dedication should be enough to put this law right without having to get into a courtroom battle.
Charlie was in the kitchen with the team and a large pot of strong coffee as they tried to work out their finances.
"Ok, Marco was going to invest in this, he's the only one of us with a decent amount of money," Charlie said again as he scratched out a line he had written. "The sums aren't looking good right now, but we will work around it."
"I'm about a day away from selling my body right now, Charlie," Kurt said as he looked at the redhead through sleepy eyes.
"Save your time," Seb said, equally as sleepy. "No one would pay for that."
They shoved at each other, not energetic enough to take the conversation further as Charlie looked around, hoping a genuine suggestion would arise soon.
"What about a charity event?" Gus suggested.
"Only place big enough to have it is the Ministry, and we're not exactly their favourite people since we took over their atrium for a week without telling them." Charlie pointed out.
"Morning," Hermione said as she entered the kitchen as she searched the cupboards for something to eat. She had practically lived at the Burrow since she started school and everyone watched her move comfortably around.
"Morning Hermione," Gus called. He had seen yesterday the shaking she was trying to hide, but now she seemed to have restored a modicum of normalcy. Gus was surprised that she had spoken up to Marco but he plainly knew it had taken a lot out of her. Hermione grabbed a box of cereal and summoned a bowl, spoon and the milk from across the room without a care in the world. She sat and tilted her head to look at the papers spread over the table.
"Money making schemes?" she asked with her eyebrows raised. Charlie's hand was fidgeting with a stubby pencil, and Hermione sees a purple bruise and makes a mental note to ask Charlie about it later. "Sounds like a Fred and George idea to me."
"Fred and George," Charlie said with an amused scoff. "Fred and… Hermione you brilliant person!"
Charlie jumped from his seat, much to the confusion of his comrades and reached the stairs.
"FRED! GEORGE!" he shouted. "I NEED YOU FOR SOMETHING!"
He came back to the kitchen, smiling slightly. Hermione could sense his train of thought and gave a small smile of recognition. Fred and George knew how to make money out of practically nothing, and practically nothing was all Charlie had to offer. The others were still slightly confused, but all became clear when Fred and George entered the kitchen, half wearing their magenta work robes. Everyone knew those robes.
"It's seven in the fucking morning Charlie," George complained as he pressed a kiss into Hermione's cheek.
"The only thing you should do at this time of day is have a wake-up wank," Fred told him, placing a kiss onto Hermione's other cheek. She shook her head at the twins, wondering if they would ever get to lunchtime before they made a crude joke. "Hello to all of you who Charlie isn't bothering to introduce to us."
"Very funny," Charlie said flatly. "Gus, Seb, Kurt, Andrei and Caleb. Meet Fred and George." The men waved as their names were said and the twins saluted in reply.
"It's a pleasure," George said with a smile. "We've got to get to the shop, Charlie. What is it you needed us for?"
"Money," Charlie said outright. There was no point in trying to sugarcoat it for the twins. "We want sponsorship."
"And?" Fred asked; his head was one for business while George was one for creativity.
"Sponsor our charity event," Charlie started. "And you can take whatever money we don't use for our cause. Put it into the shop, or the Hogsmead extension and we put you down as our official sponsors. We put your logo on everything, your names on all the publicity material. People know your reputation already so they will trust what you invest your money in."
"Why don't you have money already?" George asked from where he was sat on the counter.
"I think that's my fault," Hermione said with a small voice.
"It wasn't your fault, Hermione," Gus insisted with a squeeze of her hand. "The bastard had it coming."
Sensing the confused looks on the twins faces, Charlie filled in the gaps.
"We've had Marco Valdez researching with us for a couple of years. He was going to fund the next leg but he said something to Hermione and I got rid of him. I won't have anyone talk like he did around us."
"Valdez? Val-dez… Marco Valdez?" George said, more to himself than anyone else. "Ring any bells Fred?"
"Not to me, sounds like a pureblood though," he said with caution. "Right?" He asked Charlie and he nodded silently.
"I looked into it last night. He's a distant Black relative by marriage. It's hundreds of generations back but he managed to keep their money and was going to use it for another research mission." Charlie looked to Hermione, shamed that he hadn't told her Marco's connection to Bellatrix in a more private way. Hermione now saw more clearly why Marco was pressing for details the previous day.
"So that's why he wanted to know," Hermione said quietly. "Charlie, don't blame yourself."
"Ok, we are officially late but we'll look at the books and see how it works out," Fred said. "Can we steal Hermione from you? She knows our accounts better than we do."
"I need to fill her in here. How about later tonight?" Charlie asked, hoping he could pick her brain about their situation.
"Be here at eight," Fred said as he and George Apperated to their shop.
"Nice to meet you all!" George added just as he twisted away.
After that, they sat down to business, working out the politics and financial situation of their campaign.
"Right then Boss, what are we to do with no money?" Gus asked.
"We need to get the Ministry to listen to us," Charlie said to the group. "We need to put together a proposal that they just can't refuse. We have supporters but they need to see we're doing something. If Fred and George come through with the funds we can get this charity event off the ground we need a place to hold it. We can't exactly waltz into the Ministry again."
"What about here?" Kurt asked. "The grounds are big enough, right?"
"The wards are too strong, and it's too far off the beaten track to be practical." He replied with a sigh.
"Hogwarts?" Seb asked.
"Too much for McGonogall to risk, she'll never allow it."
"Anywhere in Diagon Alley?" Andrei asked. He had spent the least amount of time in wizarding Britain so was just trying to kick start Charlie's mind.
"There's a few old empty shops, but they're too small," Charlie said rubbing his eyes. "It'll spill out onto the street straight after it starts."
"Why don't we cut out the middle man then?" Hermione asked. "We make it into a street party."
The others looked at her and they pondered her suggestion. It would be risky as hell, and too far in the open but people needed to see that the war was behind them and people should start living like it again.
"Hear me out, the very first time I went to Diagon Alley there were street performers and people all over the place," she insisted enthusiastically. "If you go there now, the people are still hiding in their shops instead of dealing from the pavements like it used to be. Hell, even Fred and George were Death Eater baiting just before the Ministry declared a state of war. If we have it in Diagon, it's a busy street and all those people who don't agree with the Ministry will see us if they didn't see you during last week. You'd need to let the Order know and set up some sort of security but we could do it. I think Harry and Ron are back tomorrow and we could ask them to be involved, at the same time as shouting about the twins' shop. It'll be a struggle to get it organized in such a short time though."
There was silence as Hermione finished pitching her idea. She was right that it would be a struggle. The cost would be huge if the twins did sponsor it, but the money that could be made back would outweigh that spent. The audience would be huge too, despite the amount of people walking through the Ministry, it wasn't a universally trusted establishment anymore so avoided by many.
"When would we do it? We have to get back to Romania in a few weeks," Seb pointed out.
"How about we let Charlie fill Hermione in on the research, Caleb and I can alter the flyers left over and Seb and Kurt get started with organizing?" Andrei offered. "Can we borrow your family Charlie? Your brothers and in-laws might want to help and we can get it ready for a weeks time."
Charlie had said little up to this point. He thought the concept was a strong one, but pulling it off would be too good to be true. Their stand in the Ministry had gone brilliantly, with the only down point being Marco's outburst the previous evening. There were a lot of people who knew about their cause but it wouldn't hurt to get their ideas out further.
"Ok, lets say we have it a week from today," Charlie said cautiously. "But I want to make it clear that it is a friendly thing. Make sure that it's known there will be no funny business. Are you boys ok to get started while I fill Hermione in?
Charlie led Hermione out of the kitchen and into the den where they could go over the research without interruption.
"Give me five minutes to get it all together," Charlie said as he headed for the stairs. Less than two minutes later he returned with a crate full of bound up parchment and an empty box. He dropped them onto the coffee table with a loud clatter and tapped each one twice with his wand.
"I have it all over at the reserve, but I keep a copy here and a copy at Bill's so if something were to happen we wouldn't lose anything."
"It's a good idea," Hermione said quietly. "I did the same with my Hogwarts notes."
They shared an innocent smile as Charlie pulled out the first binder of parchment. He was never going to admit he got that idea from Hermione when they met before the Quidditch world cup.
"This is the first bit and the rest goes back chronologically," he explained. "If we take it out, then put it right back into the spare box, we won't lose the order of it."
Charlie placed the reams of parchment in front of Hermione and opened it to show a concise index while he explained further.
"This is the first bit of research I did at Hogwarts. It's just generic essay notes and some species profiles on rarer dragons." Hermione nodded at the modest man to her side. These notes were colour coded, dutifully ordered and written with expert penmanship. Hermione could easily see they were at a standard on par with her own, and used a similar ordering system. She turned a page and Charlie carried on. "It was one of those things I was just it a bit mad on at school and couldn't bear to throw away."
Charlie reached in the crate for the next bundle of papers while Hermione placed the school notes into the spare box.
"I was looking into how reserves like the one in Romania mark the dragons, and I learnt all the charms to check them over before I left so I could use the Ministry library. I took it further and looked at dragon populations and breeding patters when I left. Before I started working at the reserve, I was hanging around Eastern Europe and Western Russia and took those photographs," Hermione looked down at a series of black and white photographs of large bull dragons and their smaller cow counterparts. Some were badly injured but most were wild and free, unknowing of Charlie's presence. The photographs were humbling to look at as the large dragons looked calm and playful or were trying to shake off their pain.
"After I came across the injured ones, I hung around them to see if anyone came back. Eventually they did and they just killed it outright and started harvesting from it so I hit them with a few hexes and ran off. When I was trying to get out of there I ran into some of the older guys from the reserve and they thought I was a hunter. I convinced them I wasn't and they took me to the reserve where I showed the supervisors my research and took me on as a junior. I think it was to humour me, but I got doing what I loved. They explained that they knew about what I had shown them, but nothing could be done because of the laws set up hundreds of years ago."
Hermione looked on at the man beside her in awe. It was painfully obvious he was passionate about these great animals and willing to risk his own neck to keep them safe. Like Hermione with SPEW, he didn't want to see an animal being mistreated either. She tried to take in the detail of his research but the vast quantity of it made it impossible so she listened to his story and took her time to understand the reasons for wanting to change the law.
"Am I going on a bit?" Charlie asked, his cheeks mottled with a pink blush.
"Not at all," Hermione replied with a smile. "I just can't believe how much effort you put into this. There is years and years of data here, Charlie, and that's only half of the binders in that crate!"
"The rest is just tables of figures, sightings of the hunters and the like. All the research into wizarding law is the recent stuff. I had to get Andrei and Caleb to help with that; they were brought up to be lawyers but had a change of heart. It was their idea to get into the Ministry last week."
"And what about Gus, Kurt and Seb?" Hermione asked.
"Gus came with me once to find the poachers. Kurt and Seb overheard me getting put in my place by one of the more stuck up supervisors and asked what it was about. The rest is history, as muggles say."
"And Marco?" Hermione added quietly.
"He's from a pureblood family. He has contacts and money," Charlie said flatly. "Not a well known family, they've stayed hidden in Spain for the most part, weren't around much during the recent war. He worked as hard as the rest of us and seemed to be on the same page as us so I didn't think much of it. I'm sorry for how he spoke to you yesterday."
"You needn't apologize, Charlie. He knew what he was saying," Hermione unconsciously covered her scars with her hand. "If anything, I should say sorry for bringing up what your mother did, it wasn't my place to speak of it."
"I don't care that he knows. I'm proud of my family, and I'm proud of you Hermione. It's the first time I've ever seen that piece of shit speechless." The redhead said with a smile as he nudged Hermione's shoulder. She gave a small chuckle at his words but sobered quickly.
"What did you say to him when you and he went outside?" was the question as Hermione's eyes flicked to the bruises on Charlie's hand.
Charlie didn't want Hermione to know he had threatened the other man, but lying to her wasn't an option either. They were working together now so keeping secrets was out of the question.
"We had a chat. I told him not to threaten you, or any of us ever again," he said, eyes not meeting Hermione. "I told him not to come back after that."
"That's too one sided for a conversation." Charlie inwardly flinched at how Hermione could read people so easily.
"He said that if he didn't ask, someone else would. That someone else would ask about the war. He's a pureblood, and you know what that kind is like. If one doesn't threaten you, another will." Charlie took Hermione's hand and looked her in the eye. "I promise he won't touch you. I asked you to work with us so I'll make sure you're safe."
"Do you think it'll come to that?" Hermione asked.
"He's a pureblood, I knew what I was getting when I got him working with us," Charlie admitted. "We needed money, so I put a bit of faith in him. He was always seemed to be on our side during the war; he fought with us over in Romania. My fault for thinking someone like that could change really."
"Don't you dare blame yourself, Charlie Weasley," Hermione said in good imitation of Molly. "You did what you had to, anyone would."
"We'll all keep an eye on you, and if Gus catches wind of what he said, I wouldn't want to wait and see what happened." Charlie said with a wry laugh. "Are you ok reading over this? I'm going to check on the others."
"Of course," Hermione said, enthusiastic as ever. "So long as I have a steady stream of biscuits I'll be good until the twins are back."
With that Charlie left Hermione to it. She read over ever sheaf of parchment and copied down every table of numbers. The further into the research she got, the more awestruck she was by Charlie's research methods. He was an old-school researcher, using books and essays to back up his hypotheses but still gathering first hand information. It was clear that Charlie was intelligent. Every Weasley was smart in his or her own way, but Charlie was a thinker; a strategist who planned ahead. He had a folder just for hypothetical planning of research and drafts for essays. Hermione smiled as she recalled having a very similar folder of her own in her Hogwarts days.
The hours passed quickly. The men were in the kitchen for the most part and joined Hermione for a break every now and again. Gus brought her food when she forgot to eat and they spoke amicably together about the research.
"So, Hermione," Gus started as he held a plate for Hermione to take. "How goes the number crunching?"
"It's not too bad," Hermione said with a laugh as she accepted the food. "It's like being back at school but I enjoy it."
"I'll bet the teachers are bit easier on the eye though," Gus teased which caused Hermione to blush.
"Not by much," she replied flatly, but Gus' wide smile made sure her faux-seriousness didn't hold for long. "Ok, you guys are easier on the eye than the teachers at Hogwarts."
"That's what I like to hear!" Gus almost sang around a loud laugh that took a moment to sober up. "How well do you know the Boss then, Girl?"
"Well, I've known this family since I was eleven," she smiled. "I've been best friends with Ron since then, and stayed here during the holidays. Bill and Charlie weren't around too much, but we got on well at the Quidditch world cup. I didn't realize he'd started this work back then."
"He's a good man, is Charlie," Gus said as he bit into his pasta again. "He knows what he wants and won't stop until he gets it. It's why this has worked out so well so far."
"What's he like to work for?" she asked shyly.
"He's the best boss I've ever had," Gus stated plainly in his deeply rich baritone. "He's one of us at heart. Doesn't take himself too seriously and is always open for a chat. He really cares, you know?"
"I know," she said with a smile as she remembered the end previous night. "This whole family is like that. Have you met them?"
"Only the twins today and Bill a few months back. They're a good family from what I've seen."
"They are the best family I've ever known," Hermione stated simply. Her own family was amazing, but there was the Weasley charm that Hermione simple couldn't dismiss. They were the happiest, most courageous group of people she had ever had the pleasure to meet.
Hermione and Gus sat in silence for a moment, quietly eating their pasta and falling into their memories for a moment. Hermione was bloody lucky to have a family like the Weasley's love her; she knew that there were always families like the Dursley's who didn't care.
"I best be getting back. Charlie may be a good boss, but he'll have my bollocks on toast if I don't get back to it." Gus said with a cheeky smile to break the silence. Hermione laughed and shook her head slightly, Charlie certainly knew how to pick them.