Written for Defense Against the Dark Arts on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments).

Written for DADA

Prompt: (dialogue) "I'm not okay, and neither are you."

Pairing: Charlie/Fleur

Word Count: 794

Beta: Checkmate-13

She twisted and turned in the queen-sized bed, sleep eluding her. She felt so exposed, alone in the dark, and so suffocated by the weight of her thoughts. Guilt was eating away at her, threatening to swallow her whole. Her husband, Bill, had left earlier to do work for the Order, even though she had pleaded with him to stay. Fleur hated isolation, she'd hated it her whole life, Bill knew that. She was so used to company, so used to being noticed as part-veela. Her family in France. Her legions of friends and fans at Beauxbatons. When Bill left her to do work she had no one. That's why Bill had trusted his brother, Charlie, to come over and stay with her when he was gone. Bill couldn't have known that he'd made things worse rather than better.

Fleur sighed loudly before getting out of bed. Any need for sleep had left her, and she felt like it was pointless to continue trying. She needed fresh air to think more clearly, and put as much space between her and Charlie as possible. She felt a chill go down her spine and decided to grab a coat on the way out.

The suffocating pressure filled the house, despite the fact that she and Charlie were in it. The feeling made Fleur pick up her pace, and she hurried to the door. As she did this, she passed Charlie's room and hesitated. There were so many nights where she had gone and sought comfort. So many nights that went far past crying on his shoulder to making love to him. So many nights that she'd broken her vows with no regrets.

Until now.

As the guilt hit her again, she raced out of the house. The moment that Fleur opened the door, she was met with cold winds and the sounds of the ocean washing onto the shore. It didn't help her loneliness as she looked to see that there was nothing but water surrounding them.

She continued to walk farther away from her home, seeking more distance away from Charlie. He, and their relationship, were toxic to Fleur. The way he stared at her and kissed her and made love to her was better than anything Bill had done. It left her thinking that she had met the wrong Weasley. The instant connection that she'd felt with him was non-existent when it came to Bill.

Fleur pulled the coat closer to her body and sighed. She was such a horrible and unfaithful wife. Bill didn't deserve this type of betrayal from her and Charlie. He was such a nice and loving guy, but he wasn't for her.

"You shouldn't be outside by yourself."

Fleur wasn't surprised to hear that Charlie had followed her. This had become a normal occurrence the last couple of days for her. Her guilt wouldn't allow her to rest, and it was beginning to show. The lack of sleep left dark circles under her eyes, and her skin paler than usual. Even Bill had noticed that something was wrong.

"I couldn't sleep. How about you?"

"I'm not okay, and neither are you."

"How can I be?" Fleur asked. "I've been unfaithful to Bill since the day we got married. We've betrayed him so many times that I'm not sure that he can ever forgive us. You've been a terrible brother and I a terrible wife."

Silence filled the air as Fleur stared at the horizon. Tears began to fill her eyes and she tried to blink them away. The tears fell anyway, and pretty soon she started sobbing.

"You should have stayed in Romania."

Charlie knew that she was right about how wrong this was. She had married his brother, not him. Charlie could tell how torn she was about cheating on Bill and loving him. It hurt him to see her in so much pain and knowing that he was the cause for it. He wanted to do nothing but sit beside her and comfort her and tell her everything was going to be alright. But everything wasn't going to be alright, and he would make things worse if he comforted her.

"You're right. This can't go on any farther."

"What?" Fleur asked in disbelief.

"You're right, about us being terrible people. Bill doesn't deserve this, and it would be wrong to continue this."

Fleur nodded numbly, but couldn't help wonder if she was making the right choice. Her life, her love, her future. How would they be affected if she chose to sew together scraps of the past, rather than plunge on blindly forward?

Her hand subconsciously ran across a slight bump protruding from her midsection. No matter what path she chose, the road ahead was irreparably broken.