Spring came early to headquarters, a stark contrast to the dreary monotony of their lives. The fight for France raged on while Germany fell to the Death Eaters as well. Things were bleak as friends fell and innocent lives were lost by the droves. Muggles were scrambling as the walls between their worlds crumbled beneath the brutality of Voldemort's forces. Hermione joined Kinglsey and several other Muggle-borns in creating a new Muggle Safety sector in Order to assist them in a battle against which they were all but defenseless.

The night air was cool on her skin as Hermione lay in the grass of the backyard staring up at the sky after another long, torturous day. Remembering her Astronomy lessons, Hermione named constellations in her head and wished desperately for her telescope so she could watch the impending meteor shower. But it, like most of her possessions, had been lost in the original headquarters. So, she enjoyed the view from the soft spot in the grass and allowed herself a moment of reprieve from the cruel reality of her life.

Hermione looked up as light washed over the lawn and squinted at the outline of a figure making its way toward her. She didn't have to guess who it was, she was aware of his every movement, every breath. He had seeped his way into her pores and now she couldn't seem to breathe without his presence.

"Thought you could use a break from your brooding," he said, setting down the basket and blanket he'd brought with him.

"I wasn't brooding. I was trying not to think of anything, actually."

"A difficult task for you."

"An understatement."

Charlie chuckled. "Would you prefer I left you to your non-thoughts?"

"Not in the slightest."

He grinned and spread out the blanket, beckoning for her to join him on it. Hermione raised a brow when he began unpacking what appeared to be a picnic.

"Noticed you didn't eat much dinner. Thought I might tempt you with something else," he stated as he set out a spread of hummus, olives, and cheese. "And of course, the most important part."

"Of course," she smiled as he yanked out a bottle of wine and opened it with a tap of his wand. He poured her favorite vintage into two floating jars, one of which made its way into her hand, bumping against it until she took it with a laugh.

"Fancy stemware you have here," she observed, raising a brow at the plain mason jar that held the dark red liquid.

"Mum would skin me alive if she knew I brought her wine glasses outside. So, we get the next best thing," he explained, holding his own up. "Here's to another day survived."

"I can cheers to that," she agreed, clinking her glass lightly against his and taking a sip of the soothing drink. "This is lovely, thank you."

"You've been working too hard. Even you deserve a break occasionally."

Hermione took another drink rather than respond. It was true that she'd been working ungodly hours lately. But if she was working, she wasn't thinking. Anytime she slowed down her mind turned to a certain redhead who made her feel things she'd never felt before. Which, of course, made her think of a different redhead and filled her with insurmountable guilt…

"It's a beautiful night," Charlie said, breaking her thoughts in a way that made her believe he'd done it on purpose. He had a way of making her forget about everything but that very moment because every moment with him was unforgettable.

"There's going to be a meteor shower tonight," she stated, attempting detachment. "Should be starting any minute now, in fact."

"Speaking of," he replied mischievously, reaching back into the obviously magicked basket and pulling out the most beautiful telescope Hermione had ever seen. She gasped in reverent joy.

"Is that a Ptolemy 5000?" she asked jealously, reaching out to run her fingers over the gilded surface. Charlie snorted.

"It better be for what I paid for it. Bloke practically robbed me dry."

"But how did you afford it?" she asked incredulously, knowing funds were painfully tight.

"I bought it a while back when I was still in Romania. Astronomy was always my second favorite subject and the sky there is unlike anything you've ever seen."

Hermione looked at him sternly. "So, what you're saying is that you've been holding out on me for months?"

He grinned, making her belly flip-flop. "Maybe I've been waiting for a special occasion."

A smile broke out across her face, irrepressible. "Well, this certainly counts. May I?"

"Have at it," he waved. She set about immediately adjusting and situating it in perfect alignment just in time to see the first meteor shoot across the sky.

"Oh!" she gasped in elation. "Charlie, it's beautiful! You have to see, come look!"

"I'm enjoying the view from here just fine," he replied softly and Hermione turned at his tone, realizing he was watching her instead of the sky.

"Charlie…"

"I've never seen anything so radiant. Meteors pale in comparison."

Breathless, wordless, Hermione just stared at him, her lips slightly parted, her heart squeezing in her chest. He rose slowly and came to stand in front of her, his hand caressing her face softly. His breath was warm against her cheek, his scent filling her with longing, his touch the most sinful burn against her skin.

"Hermione…"

She barely breathed, his lips a whisper from hers, waiting for her permission, waiting for her to give in to the feeling he'd wrought inside her. But another feeling warred at the back of her head. One with the face of his brother and the look on it if he saw what they were about to do, the look on Molly's face and those of the rest of the Order if they knew that she lusted after her missing fiancé's older brother.

"We can't," she whispered brokenly. She thought it might actually be killing her, but she knew what they were doing was wrong. She couldn't betray Ron just to give into this feeling, not after everything he'd sacrificed for her.

Charlie took a deep, steadying breath, disappointment bright in his eyes as his hand fell to his side.

"You're right. I know… But I don't know what to do about these feelings inside me. Surely you feel it, too?"

"I…" Yes. "I don't know what I feel. But this…it's wrong. Ron…"

"Yeah," he sighed. "Ron."

"I'm sorry…"

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry about," he said vehemently, his hand coming back to her face to tilt it up to his. She could see her mirrored emotions swirling across his face. "Do you understand? Nothing. This is my burden to bear. And I will. I'll keep my distance until you consent."

"Charlie…"

"Let's not waste the night. You have a meteor shower to watch. I brought you a fancy telescope and everything."

She smiled sadly at his light tone as he stepped away, distancing himself. He sat back down on the blanket and popped an olive into his mouth, waving at the telescope. "Carry on my brainy friend. I won't be held accountable for you missing the show."

Taking his offer of levity, Hermione turned back to the scope and watched in amazement as meteors shot across the sky, lighting the night. She eventually dragged Charlie away from his wine long enough to watch a bit of it himself, mostly because she could feel his eyes on her and it was breaking her resolve.

The shower ended spectacularly, and Hermione flopped onto the blanket and enjoyed the fare Charlie had provided. They talked about astronomy, both of them aware of what they were purposely skirting, even though the conversation was quite enlightening. Hermione was pleasantly surprised to find her knowledge well matched by Charlie's and had the first intellectual conversation she'd had in longer than she could remember.

The night grew colder, so Charlie fished another blanket from the endless depths of the enchanted basket and wrapped it around her shoulders, his hands lingering momentarily before he set himself back at a safe distance. The wine whirled in her head and Hermione wanted nothing more than to lean against his shoulder and melt into his warmth. Instead, she wrapped the blanket tighter around her shoulders and drank her wine in silence, wondering if it was her penance for failing Ron and Harry to fall for someone she could never have.

…

"This isn't the right door," Hermione hissed, checking that the Invisibility Cloak draped over her and Charlie was covering their feet.

"I'm sure it is," Charlie replied, and she tried to ignore how the timbre of his voice slid over her skin like silk.

"And I'm sure it isn't, they're meeting at 654, not 645!"

"It's 645, I'll bet you a Galleon."

"This is not the time for betting! These men could very well be the head of the attack on the French ministry!"

"I'm well aware, which is why I paid attention during the briefing in which we were told they would arrive at 645 Pilkington Square at exactly 22:05 to meet with their head financer, one monsieur Boucher."

"Well, you got one part right, at least," she huffed, trying to ignore his immediate proximity and the effect it was having on her nether regions.

"Well, in a little over two minutes I shall be one Galleon richer and you one answer wronger."

"Wronger is not a word, Charlie."

"I just made it so, Hermione."

She rolled her eyes hearing the amusement in his voice. She never should have agreed to this mission. Being this close to him was agonizing. True to his word, however, he'd yet to make a single move on her since the night of the meteor shower. Even now, as proximal as they were shoved underneath the cloak like this, he kept as much distance as possible. She knew it was for the best, even if it hurt.

A snap sounded across the street and several houses down, two dark figures appearing before 654.

"Ah, well, I suppose I could have heard wrong," Charlie muttered.

"You couldn't have been wronger if you'd tried!" she whispered exasperatedly, gripping his arm to move him closer to their targets as they tapped on the door of 654,not645.

"Alright, alright, you win this time, but –"

His voice faltered as Hermione snapped to a halt mid-step. One of the men had glanced up at their commotion and the sight of his face made her blood run cold.

"Hermione, what –"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The words left her lips before she could even comprehend her intentions. Fury rose within her such as she'd never felt and she whipped off the Invisibility Cloak to better her aim when the two men dodged her curse.

"Hermione!"

Throwing up a hasty Protego! to her adversary's counter, Hermione quickly retaliated with another Killing Curse, this one hitting 654 and instantly igniting it. Undeterred, Hermione dueled with the frenzy of a madman, her every instinct to murder the man standing before her.

She was only vaguely aware that Charlie had taken up fight with the other wizard, her entire being focused on bringing down the vile Death Eater who had destroyed her life.

She was so focused on her battle that she hadn't realized a third had joined the fight until Charlie was flying back, hitting the ground with horrifying force.

"No!" she cried, terror ripping through her as she threw a Shield over him, protecting him from the onslaught where he lay motionless on the cobblestone. "Charlie!"

She struck out at the man who had felled him and he hit the ground, swallowed in flames. Quickly replacing her Shield over the redhead, Hermione hurried toward Charlie, her bloodlust forgotten in her terror.

"Charlie!"

He groaned, rolling onto his back and relief cascaded over her as she skid to his side.

"Charlie! Are you al-"

"Sectusempra!"

Her words were lost with her breath as pain tore through her, more intense than anything she'd ever felt. She had one wild thought, that she finally knew how Draco Malfoy had felt in their sixth year, before she crumpled to the ground, stunned.

"HERMIONE!"

Lights sparked above her as spell met spell, the duel continuing while her world narrowed down to a haze of pain. A high-pitched ringing filled her ears as she looked down to see her blood flooding over her, seeping into the cracks of the ground below. So much surged that she couldn't quite tell where it stemmed, her shaky hands red with it as she tried to find the source. Her vision blurred; the pain all-consuming. Her head and arms fell as the strength left her body and she could do nothing more than stare at the twinkling stars above her. She wondered vaguely if this had been how Ron had died; if he'd poured his blood onto a village street, staring up at the sky, scared and alone.

"Hermione! Gods, Hermione, stay with me!"

She turned her head to a frantic Charlie, his wand hovering above her, his brow narrowed in concentration, his mouth murmuring charm after charm, words she couldn't hear above the ringing. His face distorted as the world grew dark, the pain taking hold and dragging her down…

"No! No, damn you, stay alive!"

Her eyes fluttered open when he shook her, his face desperate. She wanted to say something to soothe him, but her tongue was glued to the top of her mouth and weariness seeped into her bones. She knew he was talking but she couldn't understand, her world nothing but pain and exhaustion.

She cried out, agony ripping through her when Charlie lifted her into his arms. She wanted to tell him to leave her, to let her die as Ronald had, but he was already turning, the familiar squeezing sensation that accompanied Apparition enveloping her.

She was barely aware of his movements, unsure of how he got her to their makeshift hospital. All she knew was that one moment she was staring up at the grey tent she'd helped to erect, and the next she was screaming in pain as hands held her down.

Blackness swirled at the edges of her vision until blue eyes pierced through.

"I've got you, Hermione. You're going to be alright. I've got you."