7th, July, 1998

The days that followed Bernard's letter were excruciatingly monotonous and silent. Kate was confined most of the time to her study, reading about anatomy and spells, trying to find a definitive solution to Charlie's knee. He, on the other hand, was busy with the newborn dragons, and starting the program of reintegration into their habitat, always with a question burning in his throat regarding the letter from the ministry that he found hidden between the pages of a magazine.

The day of her departure, he found himself leaning against the doorframe of his room, waiting for Kate to close her backpack and the suitcase she had decided to take with her. He thought that perhaps with a smaller one and a charm extension she would be more comfortable, but he didn't comment on that.

"Ready?" he said as she adjusted the backpack on her shoulders. Despite how little he wanted to see her go once more, he offered her a half smile as he saw her brown eyes sparkle with emotion. It had been a long time since he'd seen her so excited.

"Yeah, let's go," she said in a low voice.

Charlie reached over to grab the suitcase and held out a hand. Kate interlaced her fingers with his, which immediately calmed his nerves. He watched as she tilted her head curious as to why they hadn't shown up in Bucharest.

Kate felt Charlie squeeze her hand, stroking her skin with his thumb, and looked up into his eyes. He was worried, she could tell, there was no need for legilimency. The reason for it escaped her.

She reciprocated the caress, trying to make the expression of pure sadness she suddenly saw on his face disappear.

"Let's go," he murmured. Kate nodded and braced herself.

As usual, as she crossed the gap between locations, her stomach flipped. The nauseous sensation lasted for an instant, exactly until her feet made contact with the floor of a shadowy alley. She glued her back to the stone and closed her eyes without letting go of Charlie's hand. For several deep breaths, she concentrated only on the sensation of Charlie's thumb caressing the thin skin on the back of her hand.

Opening her eyes, she met his, a shadowed expression on his face. Slowly, a wrinkle appeared between his brows.

"It's been a long time since it affected you like this," He commented quietly. Dropping her luggage to the floor, he brought his hand up to her cheek. Kate dropped some of the weight of her head on it for a moment. "It's never made you this pale."

"Out of practice." She averted her gaze to the alley entrance, glimpsing part of the columns that built the Bucharest train station. Her chest shrunk for a moment.

"Yes. Let's go." Charlie released her face so he could carry the suitcase, making them both miss the warmth of the contact almost instantly. Kate gave his hand a squeeze, preventing him from releasing it as well, and together they stepped out of the shadows.

Bucharest's North Station awaited them on the other side of the broad Avenue they were crossing. The imposing building of stone columns and huge doors hid behind its walls the departure point for multiple shuttles to all parts of the world, sharing space and time with the Muggle train station.

Without letting go of their hands for a moment, they crossed the veil that separated the two worlds and entered a wide gallery of red and black beams. The place was ablaze with energy; groups of people were coming and going, eager to get to their destination or excited to be back.

Charlie gave a gentle tug and pulled her closer to him as he saw that no one had any qualms about bumping into them as they passed.

Stay close.

He glanced at her, surprised again at the lack of response and, judging by Kate's concentrated expression as she searched for the meeting point, the message hadn't even arrived.

He saw her point towards a spot near the magical platform in the distance, where a sign hung that simply read 'Portkeys' next to the symbol for magical transportation. Shoulder to shoulder, they made their way, dodging as best they could the amount of people around them.

"You take care of yourself, okay?" said Charlie once near the inspector, pulling her suitcase closer to him, "Let me know when you get there."

Kate felt like her chest was going to burst. She was making a great effort to hold Charlie's sad look without breaking down. She just nodded.

"Last chance," she offered him a small smile, "Never mind your luggage, we'll buy you clothes there."

The redhead let out a laugh, his brown eyes turning glassy with each passing second. He grabbed her face with both hands, gently, a gesture asking her to please not pull away. Kate let herself be done when she felt his lips on hers, soft, unhurried.

It had been so long since they had kissed like that, slowly, simply enjoying each other. Nothing like the hurried, dusty and sweaty one in the middle of a ruined castle, death at their backs, not knowing if they would see each other again afterwards.

And yet, even though he was taking his time, even though she was letting herself be carried away by his caresses, even though she was tangling her fingers in his red curls drawing him closer to her, even though she let out a sigh when his tongue brushed her lower lip, that kiss tasted like goodbye.

Again.

With one last chaste kiss, they stopped their love show when they heard the last call for the portkey. Forehead to forehead and nose to nose they shared a rueful smile for a moment until they parted completely. Kate saw Charlie's expression change almost imperceptibly, even if he couldn't do legilimency, she knew he wanted to tell her something.

"What?" she murmured only to him, her hands still on his neck.

He simply shook his head, forcing a smile.

"Have fun, it's your chance to disconnect from... everything. Give my regards to your grandpa."

"Will do." She released him reluctantly before grabbing her bag and starting to walk towards the portkey. Before she could get very far, Charlie placed his hand on her elbow, tugging it once more until they were impossibly close.

"I love you."

"I want you to come with me." She said at once, breathlessly.

Charlie didn't respond. He didn't say he wanted to accompany her. He didn't say he wanted to ask her about the letter from the Ministry or about the book. He didn't say that he wanted her to send him letters from Ireland, or that he hoped with all his heart that she would retrieve whatever she had lost there.

Can you hear me? asked Kate into his mind. Her eyes travelled quickly across his face to identify any reaction, any indication that the message had arrived. However, nothing signalled he could hear her.

Can you hear me? She tried to shout again, but try as she might, Charlie only broke eye contact to glance over her shoulder, unaware of her desperate attempts at communication.

"You should get going," he said, handing her the suitcase.

He simply left a kiss on her forehead and watched her march towards the golden statue where several wizards and witches were standing around.

With her backpack slung over her shoulder and squeezed between two witches chattering incessantly, Kate searched the crowd for Charlie's gaze, hoping irrationally that he would walk in her direction and touch the statue with her.

He offered her a smile that tried to be encouraging, but she perceived it as melancholic as she felt. A deep voice announced the impending departure, and that was her cue to touch the metal of the statue.

And from one moment to the next, with no time for a final farewell, Kate disappeared into thin air.

Charlie watched as the people around the portkey twisted in a swirl until they vanished. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked out of the station, dodging the crowd. When he reached the street, he hesitated about returning to the cabin and, with a glance at the clear sky began to wander down the avenue.

The intention was that the walk would clear his mind, distract him from the thought that he would be alone in the cabin for two weeks. It wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last, but the fact that he hadn't told Kate everything he wanted would fill him with anguish. He could already feel the lump forming in his throat.

A sense of frustration suddenly came over him, and he let out a snort. Unconsciously, he began to walk faster, shaking his head at Kate's stubbornness, reproaching himself for not knowing how to handle these past few months.

Overwhelmed by the crowds of people crossing the avenue, he detoured through the narrower streets, meandering through the alleys, guiding himself by stores and food stalls he recognised so as not to lose orientation.

He came to a park he used to frequent with Razvan early in their friendship. After walking for a while, she sat down on one bench under the shade of the trees and plopped down on the backrest.

What was he supposed to do? Pack up his things and move into a sanctuary tent? That might delay Kate's decision to move back to London.

He tsked. Why hadn't he mustered the courage to talk to her sooner?

His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp shriek from his right. A family approached down the road, a couple of children hopped about trying not to step on the lines of the pavement and a man hoisted a baby onto his shoulders with ease.

With his heart pounding, several images came to mind; his mother scolding him and his brothers for trying to climb onto the roof, the Twins' shop, he and Ron playing chess on the sly, teaching Ginny to play quidditch, pulling gnomes with Percy, the smoking towers of Hogwarts, Tonks laying lifeless under the rubble, the image of his family crouched over Fred's body.

Staring blankly at the spot where the small group had passed, Charlie reached into his pocket and, for a long moment, stayed there, tears silently running down his cheeks and his throat constricting with the thought of everything falling apart.