The first time he sees her is when he returns home for the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament.
She's jabbering excitedly with Ron, her bushy brown hair – so unlike his own ginger mop – flying in the wind.
She may not be the prettiest girl he's ever seen, but that doesn't matter much when he sees the light in her eyes.
But she's barely fifteen, and he's nearly twenty-two. There's too great of an age difference between them to cross right now, so he promises himself he will wait for her to grow up before telling her his feelings.
The next time he sees her is when he returns home for Bill's wedding.
She's in the centre of the war that's tearing their world apart, and he wouldn't have been surprised if she was a bit more haggard this time. But she's just as beautiful and lively as the last time he saw her.
And she's seventeen now, and he could have told her how he feels – but the moment he sees her, he knows it's too late. Because she still has that very same light in her eyes, only this time, it's reserved for his littlest brother.
He never had her, but he can't help feeling like he's lost his world all the same.
She grows up and marries his brother, but he never stops watching her. He knows he shouldn't, but he never quite falls out of love with her.
And there's a tiny part of his heart that hopes and wishes and prays that she'll leave Ron, that she'll decide that she's in love with him. He knows it'll never happen, that it's wrong of him to wish for that, but his heart will not listen.
And then, two years into their marriage, she turns up at his doorstep, tears streaming down her face. For a moment, his heart jumps in anticipation. Maybe she's actually left Ron.
But the sheer devastation on her face makes it obvious that that's not why she's here. So he gathers the broken witch in his arms and brings her inside the house.
Slowly, through hiccupping breaths, she tells him the story. How Ron had gone on an Auror raid tonight even though she had begged him not to. How she'd been woken in the middle of the night to Kingsley Shacklebolt knocking on her door, and how she had just known what had happened the moment she opened it.
Ron wasn't coming back to her.
And she'd never had the chance to tell him that she was pregnant.
Charlie Weasley has always hopedandwishedandprayedfor just one chance with the woman he loves. He's always said that there's nothing he wouldn't give for it.
But he'd never wanted that chance to come at the cost of his baby brother. If he could, he would happily return the boy who was Hermione's life back to her.
And now that he no longer can, he'd give everything to turn back time.
Because he's wanted a chance with Hermione for years, but if never getting it means he could have his brother back, he'd take it in a heartbeat.
Some things are just not worth the sacrifice.
For:
The If You Dare Challenge, Prompt 556. Broken Dreams
Character Diversity Bootcamp, Prompt 34. Light
HP Potions Competition, Dragon Tonic
Jigsaw Puzzle Challenge
Big Brother Competition