In the end, Charlie left before Poppy could speak to him properly, barely sparing the time to give her a nod goodbye before he disappeared out of the kitchen door, apologising to his family and saying that he really needed to get back to Romania.

Ten minutes later, a dejected Poppy joined Bill in saying goodbye to the remaining diners, before they too made their way out into the fresh London air.

This time, Bill went back to The Burrow and Poppy made her way home on her own. She chose to Apparate a while away from her flat so that she could walk home slowly and wallow.

Half an hour later she crept into her dark flat, knowing Fleur would be asleep already.

She made it to the sofa before she noticed a shift in air. It felt as though she had walked into a small slither of cold amongst the warm of the flat.

She stilled, and slowly turned her head to scan the doors and windows leading to the balcony. They were all shut.

Then why the fresh air? she asked herself. Her eyes snapped to her bedroom door, which remained shut. Then to Fleur's. This also remained shut.

She decided to check on Fleur first, casting a spell to see how many people were in the room before she slowly opened the door. She hoped Fleur would forgive her for trespassing (if it really was Fleur).

Poppy let out a sigh of relief when she saw the silver haired witch lying under her silk sheet, her eyes covered with an eye mask, her chest moving infinitesimally, (but moving).

Poppy waved her wand to check the space and confirmed once more that it was only Fleur within the room. She exited slowly.

Then she crept towards her bedroom.

She opened the door as quietly as she could, and peered through the gap tensely.

She let out a long sigh and placed her hand on her chest.

Once her bedroom door was shut behind her, she sent up a silencing barrier and said, "You scared me. How did you break in?"

Charlie grinned and shrugged. He was sat propped up against her pillows. His broom stood by the open window. He held one of her Muggle fiction books in his hand.

"Charlie. Tell me. You didn't use the front door, and I'm sure you didn't use the balcony."

"I used your window. Quent keeps forgetting his keys so I have to break in for him all the time. Same principle here, just jimmy the lock a bit," he said happily.

"But I put a spell on it," Poppy said, raising an eyebrow, her hands fidgeting against the door behind her. She was sure the charm she'd used was strong.

Charlie smirked and tapped his nose. "Who d'you think taught Fred and George?"

Poppy smiled and nodded, letting out a whispered, "Of course."

They fell into silence for a moment, until Poppy ducked her head, moving her gaze to the floor as her smile dropped. "I know Dumbledore said it's what he expected, me not getting into the Auror track," she said quietly, "I was just… I really hoped."

"I know," Charlie replied, seriously.

"I didn't even want to go tonight, but-" she said quietly.

"You had to, I know," Charlie finished for her.

Again, there was silence, broken only by the bedsprings creaking as Charlie adjusted. Poppy didn't hear his footsteps and so was surprised when he was suddenly in front of her. She looked up at him and they stared at each other for a long moment.

"Come here," Charlie whispered, slowly sliding his hands around her waist, pulling her to him.

Poppy wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in his neck, breathing in deeply.

He swayed them from side to side for a few moments. Then she pulled back to look up at him once more, overly conscious that their faces were oh-so-close together.

"Do friends cuddle?" Poppy asked in a husky whisper, raising an eyebrow.

Charlie rolled his eyes but nodded. He stepped out of her embrace and took her hand.

"I heard friends can even snuggle if they're close enough," he said, leading her over to the bed.

Poppy couldn't help her loud laugh as she went with him. He lay down and she snuggled into his side.

"I'm glad… Hey, how did you get here before me?" Poppy asked once she had settled her head on his strong chest.

"Apparated," Charlie said proudly. "Good thing you've got a balcony to aim for."

"How many people did you fall on this time?" Poppy teased.

Charlie chuckled and tightened his hold. "I was actually here earlier as well. Can't believe Bill didn't catch me. I left just after he arrived. Didn't want to take the chance of getting caught and I told Mum I'd get to the meeting early to say hi to Ginny," he whispered into her hair.

"Wait… when you were here, did you make my bed?" Poppy asked quickly, her eyes narrowing.

Charlie shrugged, but the tips of his ears turned pink. "I've been working on a few new household spells."

Poppy closed her eyes and let out a long breath. "It was you," she breathed. "I thought Fleur had been in to clean or something. Thank you."

They lay in silence for a while and then Charlie said quietly, "I was hoping my note would change things." He sounded disappointed.

Poppy grimaced. Propping her chin on her hand on his chest so she could see his face, she replied, "I haven't read it yet… I was going to ask you tonight if you can just give me a clue."

"You haven't… you haven't worked it out yet?" he asked slowly.

Poppy shook her head, and smiled when Charlie's face transformed.

"I gave it to you three weeks ago!" he said with a relieved laugh. "I've managed to read that book already. Here I was thinking you were meant to be an Auror."

Poppy sighed, resting her cheek on his chest once more. "Well, I'm not, am I?" she asked quietly, though she shot him a smile when he started to worry.

"Sorry, it just came out," Charlie replied tentatively. "Do you want to talk about it or do you want a distraction?"

"Distraction," Poppy said, feeling the ache return to her chest from the disappointing news.

"Well, let's see… Bill told me off earlier for letting you go. Said I was missing a chance I wouldn't get again…" Charlie said. She could hear the emotion in his voice.

"He did not," Poppy gasped, sitting up to look at him.

"He did."

Poppy grimaced and rolled out of his hold, moving to stare up at the ceiling. "I told him we were just friends."

"It's the implication that it's my choice that threw me…" Charlie said, propping himself up on his elbow to look down at her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't clarify. It's my fault," Poppy said quietly. "I didn't think about it."

"It's fine. I would be more concerned if you'd gone into details," Charlie said, sending her a small smile. After a beat he added quietly, "He uh… he said his friend might be interested in a date if you're up for it."

Poppy blinked. She turned her head slowly to see his expression and then jumped up onto her knees to look at him, her eyebrows knitting together.

She knew the Weasleys were persistent, of course she did, but she hadn't banked on them being quite so… meddling.

"What? You could be. Maybe you just don't want to date… me," Charlie said, answering her unspoken question.

"Charlie, I told you, I'm avoiding us because Voldemort's back. We're both part of you-know-what, and it's dangerous as it is. You don't have to worry."

Charlie narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Poppy blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked slowly, trying to catch up. She frowned and tilted her head to the side. Had he been worried since they'd last spoken? "You said you wouldn't forget what I said. I just assumed-" Charlie blushed and Poppy sighed, the tension leaving her. "I didn't let you down because I regretted what I said, and I didn't think you were coming on too strong by saying that you would try to convince me. And I'm not avoiding your message, I just really just can't figure out what that knot is. Charlie Weasley, just to clear up any confusion, I'm hopelessly, embarrassingly head over heels in love with you. I'm not going to date anyone else. I just think it's too dangerous for us to be together right now."

Charlie blushed. "Cool," he answered.

Poppy narrowed her eyes. "Well?" she asked.

"Well what?"

"Do you not…" she asked slowly, "I mean, this will be twice that I've said that I love you now and-"

"Oh no, I do, I just don't want you to think I'm just saying it because you said it," Charlie replied quickly.

"I wouldn't think that," she said quietly.

Charlie shifted uncomfortably. "I just want to say it properly. First times count."

Poppy stilled. She knew he was her first love, but was she his? Or would it just be the first time he'd told someone? Or did he just me her first time hearing him say it?

Before she could think on it more, she remembered something else that he'd said.

"Were you… jealous? Of Bill trying to set me up?" Poppy asked, trying to gauge how giddy she should be feeling.

Charlie's ears tinged a deeper pink and he looked away. "I'm just jealous that Bill gets the living room while I'm confined to secrecy. I had a little snoop around earlier and that sofa is great. Comfy. Might get one for the house."

"Oh," Poppy replied, her excited feelings dampening.

She lay down on her back again, so that he wouldn't see the way her hopeful expression faded. It was selfish of her to want him to be jealous, and a little weird. He didn't need to be jealous to love her.

She placed her hands on her chest.

"You don't have to sneak around, you know that don't you?" Poppy asked eventually as she looked up at the ceiling. "They won't think anything of it. We have an established friendship."

"Yeah, but imagine this. Bill sees me, tells Mum, and suddenly I'm family pariah number two for not checking in the minute I get back to England," Charlie replied.

Poppy let out a breath of a laugh when she realised to 'family pariah number one' was.

"You could go home first," Poppy reasoned, turning her head to look at Charlie. She let her hands drop to her sides. "Then it wouldn't be weird if you came to visit me."

Charlie smirked, turning to her also. "Bounce, I'm coming to you first every time. It doesn't feel like home unless you're there."

"Same," she whispered.

Poppy's breath caught in her throat when Charlie took her hand in his. He brought their entwined fingers to his lips and kissed the back of her hand, and then squeezed it, and smiled at her sadly.

Poppy sighed deeply, allowed her face to scrunch, and her eyes to water for just a moment, and then she snuggled back into his side to hide in his arms.

"I'm not coming to you first because I miss you too much, obviously," he said, holding her. "It's just my bed at The Burrow sucks. It's only a single and it's been mine since I was seven."

Poppy chuckled and wiped away her tears. "Fine," she said after she'd sniffed, and calmed her voice. "That's understandable… but tell me next time so I can at least… change my sheets."

"Nah, I already found where you keep them, I'll just change them for you," he said, sending her a knowing smile.

"Oh for- Fine. I need you to warn me so I can hide my dirty washing," she said, propping herself up on his chest.

"Just buy a basket," he said, seriously.

"I have a basket."

"Your floor doesn't count," Charlie replied, "and neither does your armchair."

Poppy narrowed her eyes. "Permission to use the house-warming money you gave me to buy a boring laundry basket?"

"You haven't spent that yet?!" Charlie asked, before he muttered, "absolutely ridiculous," and then confirmed that she could use his money to buy something that boring.

"I missed you so much," Poppy said.

Charlie didn't answer, instead he placed a kiss on the top of her head and squeezed her closer in his arms. But Poppy knew he felt the same. The way he held her confirmed it - she felt as though he never wanted to let her go.

"Tell me about the Sanctuary?" Poppy asked, feeling her stress eke away from her.

She wanted to know everything - from the condition of his front garden and the bulbs he'd been intending to plant, to whether or not Dragan the Elder had finally decided on his replacement - "He hasn't. He said he'll wait for you to figure out you hate hunting Dark Wizards. Then you'll take over and he'll retire."

It felt like the ultimate escape, finding out how his life was, how Romania was, and how her life could have been had it not been for this coming war.

They spoke, cuddled together, for half an hour before Charlie squeezed her tight once more, kissed her forehead, and said, "I have to go."

"Already?" Poppy groaned when he began to shift to the edge of the bed.

"I really was only meant to be back in England for the evening," Charlie said with a grimace. "I thought I'd be able to duck out of dinner and meet you back here, but then you stayed and it was too crowded to talk properly."

"Sorry. I thought you were staying and that I'd get to talk to you if I did too," Poppy explained sadly, watching him pull on his boots. "Does that mean you're not helping with Harry?"

The plan was to move Harry from his current home to Grimmauld Place on Sunday evening. Poppy wasn't in the Advanced Guard herself, but knew that whoever was on the team were due to have their own preparatory meeting in the morning.

"Nah," Charlie replied, "Dumbledore just needed my update. It seems like half the Sanctuary staff are on board with what Dumbledore's been saying. Dragan - the elder - fought against Grindlewald and he's been telling everyone they're fools if they're not at least prepared. And we've been hearing whispers of a dark force living in the forests of Albania for years. We just assumed it was some evil creature. Now people are saying it was-" Charlie paused for one beat, and then said, "Voldemort."

Poppy smiled. Even Bill hadn't mastered saying the evil wizard's name yet.

"Well thank you for coming to see me," Poppy replied honestly. "Really. If you could be here every time I get bad news that would be great. See you in… well… when will I see you next?"

Charlie frowned. "I'm not sure. I think I'm next back in September but it depends if I have any news for Dumbledore. Could be October… But there's another hatching then…"

Poppy tried not to let her disappointment show. It was unfair of her to be upset when he wasn't around, she knew that, but she couldn't help her feelings.

"I'm sorry," she said when she realised he could clearly see how affected she was.

"Bounce," Charlie said quietly, reading her expression, "I get it. You're looking at the person who spent a week at the start of the summer pretending that I didn't want to hold you every minute I saw you. I know why you're doing this. I won't hold it against you."

Poppy smiled and hugged him tightly. "Write to me?" she asked as his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Of course," Charlie whispered.

"And remember-"

"Keep it brief, non descriptive, and light," Charlie said, repeating Moody's instructions. "Uh… look. Figure out the drawing, okay? If you're really struggling I'll give you a clue, but it's important. It might change your mind on all this. And it'd be good to know if it does sooner rather than later."

"You could just tell me," Poppy said quietly, stepping back.

"I uh- I want to, I just…" Charlie paused and closed his eyes for a moment. "I know you'll do it when you're ready. Just write your answer, keep it brief, and send it to me at the Sanctuary."

He leant in and kissed her on the cheek. His lips brushed the side of her mouth and Poppy's eyes fluttered shut. After a long moment he stepped away, his cheeks turning red again under his freckles.

"Like I said," Charlie said, moving to the window, "I read the book and what I wrote in that note still stands." He paused, halfway out the window, his broom in his hand. "And I think my uncles would agree. And hey, maybe you'll change your mind now that…"

He didn't say it, but Poppy knew he meant maybe she'd be more open minded now that Auror training was off the table.

Poppy watched him leave, and then waved her wand, shutting and locking the window. She moved to the corner of her room and levitated her dresser. Then she carefully pulled up the loose floorboard hidden underneath the wooden drawers.

Moving the remaining capsules of Veritaserum antidote to the side, she removed the little drawing. Replacing everything, she walked back to her bed and fell backwards onto it as she stared at the note.

It was interesting to her that her heart now ached more for Charlie than it did for the Auror programme.

True to his word, Charlie wrote to her. His letter arrived just a few hours after he'd left, and joined a small pile of correspondences from Allette - who Poppy had met in France last Christmas -, Mathieu, and surprisingly, Esther.

Poppy took advantage of the empty flat on Saturday mid-morning - Fleur was out with Bill - and decided to catch up while she had a cup of coffee. She read Esther's letter first.

Hey Poppy,

How's your summer going? Did I hear you started a job at Gringott's?

Thank you for your letter. I was going to write anyway. I'm so glad you've started to think about it all properly, and I have to apologise as well. I wasn't thinking about what you'd been through when I was so dismissive of your worries on the train. I was talking to Mathieu and he said you were probably all bent out of shape because of your injuries, especially that head bump. I'm just sorry I didn't think of that when we had that chat on the train. I could have been nicer.

Anyway, I'm going to be in Diagon Alley in a couple of weeks. Fancy a coffee?

Miss you,

E

Poppy felt her stomach drop at Esther's letter and sighed deeply. She felt like she was lying to one of her oldest friends. In fact, she knew she was lying to one of her oldest friends. But like Moody had said - Esther would realise the truth at some point. And until that point, it would help Poppy's cover to pretend that she, too, didn't believe Harry or Dumbledore. She groaned and began to reply.

Mathieu's letter gave her some hope. It simply said;

Poppy,

Esther finally told me about what happened on the train. Is that why you haven't written to me?

From what E said, I think we should talk.

Now's not the time to cut people out. I've spoken to E and I think she'll come round.

Focus on getting better, but don't forget we're here for you too.

Go to coffee. Cass will be there too. E said she'd ask her. Act normal, and hear what they have to say. They're scared too.

I'm back in France now, but hoping to visit before Christmas. Let me know if you're free. I'll be popping over to see E before that but she's my girlfriend so don't be jealous.

See you around.

Mathieu

She grinned and felt her heart swell. He had always known what to say. While it didn't say if he definitely believed her and Dumbledore or not, she felt it in her heart that he wasn't the type to just dismiss Dumbledore's warnings. Especially not after what his dad had gone through during Grindlewald's war.

Allette's letter was an update on her life which Poppy responded to quickly, and finally, Charlie's letter was a simple reminder to think harder about the knot, and reminding her that it was important.

She was halfway through her replies when there was a knock at the door.

At first, Poppy ignored it, but it repeated a moment later. She thought about hiding behind the sofa, but the knocking became more insistent and she threw her head back and groaned. It was probably the old lady who lived next door – Fleur had befriended most of their neighbours already.

"This is why you don't lend people milk," she muttered to herself as she walked to the door.

But when she opened the door, she found that it wasn't the woman, it was someone worse.

"Hey Percy," she said, plastering on a broad smile. "It's Saturday."

"I know," he replied, moving forwards slightly. When she didn't move, he raised his eyebrows and nodded towards the living room.

"It's Saturday," she repeated.

"I know," he repeated, nodding into the living room again.

Poppy sighed and reluctantly let him in.

"What's up?" she asked, closing the door behind him.

"Well," he said, walking to her little kitchen area, "I was sent home from the office as the Minister is off to a brunch with a delegation from Spain, and I thought I might see how you are," he said, smiling brightly as he placed a large bag onto the kitchen counter. "I brought something to cook, and I thought we could have a little feast and uh… catch up."

"Catch up?" she asked slowly, thinking that this was probably the first time Percy had ever said those words in his life. "Are you… okay?" she asked. In the past few weeks, he'd not once asked how she was, he'd been too focussed on his work issues and worries about, 'Harry getting away with it all'. And now here he was, asking to catch up?

"Fine, fine," he said, nodding and taking out a small container filled with eggs.

"Are you… sure?" she asked, frowning as she moved towards the breakfast bar.

He frowned at her, and then looked back down at the loaf of bread in his hand. "Fine," he repeated.

"You're not just bored because now that you don't have your siblings interrupting you every two minutes, you've managed to do all of your work?"

His cheeks reddened and he raised his chin. "No," he replied. "If you must know, I've met someone. At work. Perhaps." He adjusted his glasses, looking a little uncomfortable at Poppy's surprised look. "Well, it means that I've been trying to learn to cook and… well, apparently there are some things I may need a hand with."

"A hand?" Poppy asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes, well, I invited Audrey over for lunch, only… well… I'm not sure exactly where to start," he admitted.

"So you brought things here so that I could help you?" she asked, her frown deepening.

"Or make for me," he said, smiling happily. "I thought you might take pity on me, since you know how busy I am at the moment."

"You want me to make you food that you'll take back to your flat for your date?" she asked, eyeing up the on-the-stem cherry tomatoes he was now placing down.

"Well," he replied, completely unabashed, "yes."

"Why?" she asked, building her case, and trying to dampen her anger.

"Because I remember you made a lovely lunch at the Quidditch World Cup last year," he said, still unashamedly happy.

"I didn't," Poppy said slowly. "Charlie, Ginny and your dad did."

Percy's face reddened. "So you can't cook?" he asked.

Poppy narrowed her eyes. "I can. But Percy, how do you know how I know how to cook?"

He shrugged, "Don't all… well, you know," he said, waggling a finger at her. "Don't you?"

She tilted her head. "Are you implying that you think I can cook because I'm a Muggle-born?" she asked, gauging how offended she should be.

"No-" he said quickly, his ears reddening.

Poppy could barely believe his cheek. "You assumed I could cook because I'm a woman?" she asked outright. When he didn't answer, she glared. She wanted to say, 'You have spent too much time with Minister Fudge,' but she didn't. Instead, she said, "I can cook, but only because I taught myself because I lived on my own last summer. So," she said, walking to the coffee table to pick up her wand, "you," she waved her wand and all of the ingredients he'd taken out zoomed back into his carrier bag, "should learn," she walked over and took him by the arm, pulling him to the door, "by buying a book on the subject from Flourish and Blotts. They have a great selection."

She opened the front door and pushed him through. He spluttered and tried to object, but she shook her head.

"No. I am offended, and after the past two weeks, I don't have enough patience to deal with this," she said, over his protestations.

"Well… I'm sure you cook for that friend of yours. Tom," he said when she looked puzzled.

"Oh," she said, remembering Tonks' cover. "Well, no. I don't see him anymore."

"So that's why you're in a bad mood?" he asked, adjusting his glasses again.

Poppy closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She wanted to say, 'Percy, one day you'll take your foot out of your arse and stop being a dick,' but she didn't. Instead, she said, "Percy, not today, okay? Just… not today," and slowly closed the door, taking in the look of shock on the gangly bespectacled wizard's face.

Then she spent the rest of the day in the flat, alternating between cleaning and relaxing, until that evening's Order meeting, which was going to be, by all accounts, an important one, as Harry would be arriving at headquarters that night.

She ignored the bouquet of flowers and apology note which arrived from Percy later that afternoon.

That evening, Harry arrived midway through the Order meeting. Everyone was rather excited to catch a glimpse of Harry, unless they knew him, when they sat unbothered in their seats.

Though Poppy was disappointed that she didn't get to do more than wave when she saw him through the doorway as Moody, Tonks, Lupin and more joined their meeting, having helped safely delivery Harry to the safehouse. She'd been hoping she could check on him, and see if he was okay.

She was also excited to ask him what shape his corporeal Patronus took. She'd been practising hers, and so far could only make out some sort of winged pattern, but no discerning features.

She also knew that she wouldn't get a chance after the meeting, as she was expected home.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs Weasley, but I can't stay," Poppy said later, shaking her head sadly as she backed out of the kitchen, joining the small line of Order members headed towards the front door. "I'll come by another day?" she offered.

Mrs Weasley smiled and nodded kindly. "Absolutely fine. Please don't trouble yourself. I'm sure Harry won't mind, and I'm sure you won't miss anything," she reasoned.

Poppy gave her a quick hug and then waved at Bill, who was staying. "Say hi from me?" she asked, smiling when he nodded.

Poppy had wanted to stay. She did. But Fleur had insisted she get home by nine-thirty.

She'd tried to tell her silver-haired friend that she had dinner plans already, but Fleur wouldn't listen, insisting that she was already planning to make Poppy a little feast as a, 'Hope you're okay,' comfort evening for the two of them.

No excuse seemed enough to convince Fleur, who believed she'd been neglecting Poppy since she'd started seriously dating Bill.

Due to the lateness of the guard who'd gone to pick up Harry, Poppy was already almost ten minutes late for dinner, and was therefore in quite a rush. As Fleur didn't know about the Order, she would just think that Poppy was being rude, and not that she had somewhere important to be.

Poppy waved up the stairs in Grimmauld Place to Harry on her way out but he didn't wave back. Instead, his gaze was fixed behind her.

It was only when she was about to Apparate from the top step that she jumped and realised who was behind her – Snape.

Poppy couldn't get home fast enough.

Dropping her keys into the little bowl by the door, Poppy smiled a bemused smile at her roommate, "Sorry I'm late…"

"No need to apologise," simpered Fleur, who was wearing a light pink dress, her hair glowing faintly, greeting Poppy with a broad smile. Poppy thought for a moment that she looked dazzling. "I am very proud of your lateness. I had thought you to be picking up French quickly. But to adhere to le quart d'heure de politesse? Bravo."

"Le quart de…?" Poppy asked, shaking her head to stop herself from being attracted to her quarter-Veela best friend. "Sorry, I er- You're not-" She collected herself, reminded herself who Fleur was, and who she was to her, and then the effects of Fleur's beauty began to ebb away. "What's all this?" she asked once she was unaffected by her friend.

She allowed Fleur to pull her over to their little table and chairs and sat down as instructed. A napkin settled itself across her lap and Fleur swept into the kitchen area.

The table was decorated with a silver cloth, and there were tall candles which floated above them. The flat lights had been turned down, and Poppy couldn't help but think that the whole thing looked incredibly intimate.

"Fleur? Are you sure this is for me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the soft piano playing from the radio.

"What? Of course," Fleur asked, bringing over a bottle of wine, a pair of glasses floated along with her and settled themselves on the table as she removed the cork from the bottle. "I wanted to do something nice. Why? You do not like steak now?" Fleur asked, summoning over two plates of steak and fries.

"I love steak," Poppy said, laughing as she poked hers to make sure that it was medium. (Fleur hated that Poppy didn't take her steak rare, but put it down to Poppy being hopelessly English and said that it was allowed.) "But I think you should do this for Bill, not me."

"Non," Fleur replied, smiling as she threw her hair over her shoulder, its glow adding to the light of the room, "c'est tout pour toi."

"This is all for me? Even the candles?" Poppy asked, pouring glasses of wine for herself and Fleur.

"They are for the ambience. Do you not like them?" Fleur asked, looking up. "I can make them small?"

"Fleur, I love you too, but this is very romantic," Poppy replied with a laugh, looking up at her friend who was still standing by the table. "And if I didn't know better I'd think you were coming on to me. And you're gorgeous, you are, but you should know that I'm not really interested, and I'm quite close to your boyfriend…" she teased.

"Non. It is not, it is just- Is it romantic?" Fleur asked, her eyes widening as if she was finally seeing the setup in a new light. "My Mama sets the table like this for us for when we are sad. She says that the lights being small, it helps to concentrate on the flavours of the food and that our hair provides the light."

"It's romantic," Poppy confirmed with a laugh. "Don't worry, it's okay, Bill knows he had a good ride. He'll be distraught but I'm sure he'll understand."

A moment later, the lights began to spring on one by one, and Poppy couldn't stop herself from laughing - the look on Fleur's face was just too funny.

"You can not tell him," Fleur said quickly, looking stricken as she waved her wand around. "It was a mistake, and-"

"Oh my gosh, it's fine!" Poppy said, placing her hand on Fleur's forearm and guiding her into her seat. "You're my best friend. And he's not the jealous type, especially not of me."

"Why would he not be jealous of you?" Fleur asked, seriously.

Poppy shrugged. "Not much competition am I?"

Fleur frowned. "I believe you to be most beautiful. You would be even more if you decided to dress a little better or-"

"Okay, okay, Miss Romance," Poppy said, feeling much more self conscious than usual. She didn't dress that badly, did she? she wondered. "Let's just go back to your boyfriend knowing this isn't a date, okay?"

Though Fleur acted as though she believed her, and made sure that the rest of the evening was perfect by bringing out dessert and chocolates followed by music and a long chat, the moment Bill knocked on the door Fleur jumped up, threw the door open, and flung her arms around his neck, covering his face with kisses.

Poppy roared with laughter at the concerned look on Bill's face and then called, "She's mine now!" as she walked into her room.

Before the door closed behind her, she heard Bill chuckle and say, "I told you it would be too romantic."

Poppy let the smile drop from her face once her door was shut, and she crawled into bed as what had happened over the past weeks and months finally began to hit her full force.

As did the reality that that night, despite Fleur's dinner, she felt more alone than she had when she'd lived on her own the previous summer. She rolled to the side and lay in the spot where, just two nights previously, she'd been in Charlie's arms.

"It has to get better, right?" she asked out loud, imagining that he was in Romania, in bed, asking the same.

Luckily, it did get better.

Some two weeks later, a box was delivered to Poppy's desk at Gringotts.

"Needs authentication," said Sarah, an older witch who delivered the Cataloguer's boxes to them throughout the day.

Opening it, Poppy began to remove the contents, looking at the treasure one piece at a time, using her appraisal book to carry out her assessment.

A few hours later - there was that much in the box - she removed a small necklace and catalogued the silver chain automatically, before she dropped the pendant on her table in shock.

"Poppy?" Tom, a young wizard she'd been hired alongside asked, leaning over from the desk beside her. "Need any help?"

"Do you know what this is?" Poppy asked quickly, holding up the pendant for him to see.

"Uh, sure. I've seen that before," he replied, nodding.

Poppy's eyebrows raised. "What does it mean?"

"One second…" Tom pulled out his handbook and flipped through some pages. "This looks like the right one," he said, comparing the pendant to the illustration in the book. "Page seven-hundred-and-eighty-four. Looks like a Dragon Love Knot. It symbolises 'an unbreakable bond and eternal connection between two lovers'. I wouldn't bother taking it to Gornuk unless it's solid silver or gold though. The sentimental value's high but it probably won't be worth too much. But that ruby would," he said, nodding to another pendant she'd set aside.

Poppy stared at the knot for a moment, before a smile spread across her face.

At lunchtime she ran home and inspected Charlie's drawing. It was the same as the pendant.

"A dragon love knot? Really Charles?" she asked aloud.

At her words, the drawing shone gold and began to rearrange itself into a series of words which glowed brightly before settling into black ink upon the parchment.

You can't predict the future, Bounce, and don't pretend you can. I know you failed Divination.

We don't know what's coming, and I don't want the whispers of war to stop us from being together.

Think about it this way (if you're really worried about me dying) - I'd rather spend my final moments in your arms than alone. And I'd rather show you know how much I love you now, than find out I was too late.

Poppy smiled sadly.

It shouldn't have changed things. She should have stayed strong and stuck to her choice. But she couldn't. Not now. Not anymore.

She smiled and placed her hand to her mouth. For the first time in weeks, she thought through her position properly.

She wasn't going to be an Auror. That removed a layer of her worry.

And not being an Auror meant that there wouldn't be a Death Eater target on her back. She might be able to go through the war under the radar…

And didn't she owe it to her fourteen year old self to go after the crush who so obviously liked her back now.

And, she agreed with Charlie's letter completely - if the Death Eaters did end up coming for her, she'd rather remember good times with Charlie than missed moments.

Poppy spent the rest of her lunch hour thinking it all through, until finally she came to the conclusion that Charlie knew her better than she really knew herself. He couldn't have known that she wouldn't get into the Auror programme, but he did know that giving her time and space to re-evaluate everything would change her mind.

Poppy returned to work via the Owl Post Office, where she sent a quick letter to Charlie;

Charles,

Yes.

See you in October.

She signed off with a drawing of a bouncing ball.

Poppy then went back to Gringott's, smiling, with a skip in her step.