**Author's note: Thank you to all who have been reading my story! Please leave a review if you'd like - I'd love to hear from you!**

Chapter 6

Since McGonagall had let them go early on Friday, most of the Burrow-dwellers had decided to head back there rather than spend another night in the Hogwarts dormitories. Charlie stayed behind; he was rather looking forward to a night of peace and quiet in the castle. He'd promised to come for dinner the following night, and that at least seemed to appease his mother.

He looked out the Gryffindor common room window. It was a wonderfully clear night, perfect for stargazing. He decided to head outside to take his mind off of things… things named Emily. He found himself wishing he had never met her, while at the same time wanting to be closer to her again. He didn't know what had happened when his hand had brushed against hers, and part of him wanted to see if it would happen again. But another part of him was angry; he had wanted to have an uncomplicated summer, and then return to Romania and resume his work. Now his thoughts were overrun with a girl he barely knew.

He tread sullenly through the grass, heading toward a spot near the lake he knew would be perfect. Light from the moon shone on the lake, and in that light he saw a silhouette that made him stop. It was Emily. One thing he had noticed about her (because he could help but notice things), was that she enjoyed being off on her own, and she seemed to like exploring the castle. Well, now she was in the spot he wanted to go. He felt like a grumpy toddler, but he figured there were other places he could go.

He hesitated for a brief moment, watching her. She was sitting with her knees curled to her chest, gazing up at the stars. Suddenly the wind blew in his direction, and she looked down, saw Charlie standing there, and quickly turned to face the other way. Charlie sighed. She had seen him, so now the only polite thing to do would be to go say hello. He couldn't keep ignoring her forever.

He made his way to the lake and sat down a few feet away from her. She didn't turn her head. She was probably angry with him for the way he had evaded her all week, and he supposed he couldn't blame her for that.

"It's a good night for star-gazing," he said, breaking the silence. What an idiot, he thought, she doesn't want to hear about the weather. And sure enough, she didn't respond except to look back up at the stars.

"I'm sorry I've avoided you these last few weeks." There - at least he got that out. No matter how annoyed he was at the situation, she didn't deserve to be treated that way.

Emily looked surprised. "You are?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, I wasn't sure what to do, but it wasn't right for me to act like a jerk."

"I suppose not," she said quietly.

Charlie let the silence fill the air for a moment. He had seen Emily chatting with Hermione this week; what did they talk about that got her to open her shell?

But this time it was Emily who spoke first. "Hermione invited me to your parents' for dinner tomorrow." She looked over at him, almost as if to gauge his reaction to this statement. "I might not - "

"They would love to meet you. In fact, Mum already knows who you are, through McGonagall. The Burrow is home base for a lot of people who aren't family." He hoped he was making it clear that it wouldn't be awkward for her to come. "Harry and Hermione are there all the time."

Emily nodded, but didn't say anything else. Charlie wondered where to take the conversation from here. All girls were confusing, and of course he would end up attempting to talk to a girl who was exceptionally difficult to understand. He wondered if they would ever discuss what had happened on that first day. He decided to go in a different direction.

"What's your family like? Do you have any brothers or sisters?" After all, she knew quite a bit about his family - the Weasleys were becoming very well-known, especially since the war.

"I, um, I don't have any family. My parents died," she said, rather bluntly, avoiding his eyes. Charlie was kicking himself inwardly - definitely not the right track to go on.

"Oh… I'm sorry," he said, rather lamely. But Emily actually had more to say.

"It's ok. I was very little, only 2. They were No-Maj - I mean, Muggles. They put me in the system."

"The system? What do you mean?" Charlie was confused - what happened to Muggle orphans if they weren't put in orphanages?

"The foster care system. People take you in, sometimes just for a few months, and then you move to another house. Sometimes they… well, they can be… not nice." She seemed to be struggling to explain this. Charlie thought it sounded horrible - no place to call home? With people who didn't care about you?

"That sounds like an awful system!" he blurted.

"Well, it is. Some families are nice, I've heard. But I didn't get any like that. I was lucky to get my letter to Ilvermorny." Charlie thought he was beginning to understand her a little bit more. No family, no constancy before Ilvermorny.

"It must have been a relief to go to school," he said kindly. It was really dawning on him now. If she had been relieved to go to school, she must have poured herself into her studies. It would explain her hesitancy in forming friendships now, and her love of work.

"Oh yes, I loved school. It didn't matter if I was lonely there, because I had so much to do."

"I hope you're not lonely here at Hogwarts," said Charlie.

"I've had fun getting to know Hermione. And…" she faltered.

"And?"

Emily blushed. "Well, I do like talking to you," she whispered. She looked up at him, making eye contact for the first time since beginning this exchange.

"I… I enjoy talking to you too," he said quietly. They looked at each other for a moment, neither one being sure of what to do next. He felt himself losing control of his well-ordered mind, and he wanted to resist it. None of what he'd said had been a lie, he did enjoy talking to her, but he couldn't shake the idea that this was becoming complicated. Romance, dealing with the feelings of another… he didn't want that. He wanted to get back to his dragons and live in peace. But Emily's light red hair and blue eyes and delicate features were not so easily banished from his mind.

Emily looked away, and she seemed embarrassed now. Charlie reached out to take her hand, without thinking. A part of him needed to know if they would feel that same sensation they had felt last time. As soon as their fingers touched, Emily gasped. There it was, that warm tingling feeling. But this time, Charlie didn't let go. He looked at Emily intently, wondering if they were going to talk about this. It didn't seem likely - the longer he held her hand, the less he could concentrate. In this moment, all he knew was that he wanted to be closer to her. She didn't object to his closing the distance between them. Instinctively, he cupped her face with his hands and then he was kissing her, and he had never felt anything like this before. Everything was a fog, the warm humming intensified and he could think of nothing else.

Suddenly Emily broke the contact. She looked upset, although she had been kissing him back with the same intensity that he had felt.

"I'm… I'm sorry, I need to…" and she stood up, seemingly unable to say anymore, and started walking quickly back to the castle. Charlie shook his head, trying to think straight, and called after her. But at this she broke out into a jog, and didn't look back.

Charlie was left to his thoughts, and they were confused thoughts indeed. He must have gone too fast; Emily was shy and easily scared, apparently, and he had pushed things too far today. Now that his senses were returning, he was starting to feel a hint of regret. Nothing about this was going smoothly, and wasn't he just setting them both up for heartbreak? What would happen at the end of the summer? It wasn't simple to apparate across continents, or get a portkey between countries, or connect to the Ministry's Floo Network from Romania. It would be insane to stay here for a girl he had just met, wouldn't it?