"There's going to be a battle at Hogwarts," Mr. Weasley explained. "You're mother and I…we should all help." Rachael and Charlie exchanged terrified glances.
"Hey mum did you hear about the battle!" Ben asked brightly.

"Holy hippogriffs Ben!" Rachael exclaimed, "I'll stay here with you don't worry."

"Mum that's not what I meant. Aren't you going to go help?" he asked curiously.

"No of course not I can't leave you here alone," she told her son.

"Yes you can! You should go. I'm not that little any more," Ben told her indignantly. It was true he had turned eleven in the past week. "Im going to be starting school come September and I'll be all by myself then!" Rachael looked helplessly at Charlie and then at Mrs. Weasley. "I'll be fine!" Ben insisted.

"I can't leave you here," she said again. Ben frowned at her and opened his mouth to argue again.
"Molly we really need to start going," Mr. Weasley said urgently already opening the front door.

"Rachael I think he'll be ok," everyone turned to Molly in complete surprise.
"You're not serious," Rachael said in shock.
"They've got to be let alone some day. Plus today is the safest the burrow will ever be seeing as You Know Who will have all of his forces up at the school," Mrs. Weasley continued. Rachael seemed to be considering the truth in the statement. It was a very good point.

"We need skills like yours on our side," Arthur insisted.
"Ok fine!" Rachael exclaimed. She knelt down next to her son and gave him a hug. "Mommy loves you Ben…remember that. If you need me…you know what to do." Ben nodded and waved them out the door.

Charlie looked at Rachael hesitantly.

"I hope to Merlin above I did not just make a very big mistake," Rachael sighed nervously.

"Don't worry he's going to be ok," Charlie assured her.

"Yes I know he'll be safe…I just don't want to think about what would happen if he doesn't have a family come home to him," Rachael explained. Charlie understood what Rachael was talking about. She wasn't worried about Ben's safety but theirs.

"We'll get through this," Charlie said firmly grabbing her hand as they apparated into Hogsmeade and prepared to enter the castle.

Charlie, his parents, and Rachael rushed into the Hogs Head and joined the group sneaking into the castle. Charlie personally could not wait to see the resistance group. Fred and George had hinted that some of the students were involved. When they finally reached the room where the group was waiting Ginny came rushing over to them accompanied by Fred and George as well as surprisingly Percy. Charlie noticed Bill and Fleur rushing up to them but Ron was still the only Weasley missing.

"He's not going to be with us," Ginny said when she noticed her brother scanning the crowd of students.

"He's with Harry isn't he?" Charlie asked feelings slightly proud of his little brother. Ginny nodded solemnly. Fred, George, Ginny, and Percy all looked at Rachael with surprise now noticing her presence.
"Who's your friend?" Fred asked smirking at Charlie. A look of comprehension passed over Percy's face. He probably remembered sharing a particular Christmas with Rachael at Hogwarts.
"Rachael Serino. My um…" Charlie paused he didn't really know what to call Rachael. They had only just agreed to give their relationship another shot. He wasn't exactly sure what they were to each other at the moment.

"Girlfriend," Rachael supplied with a hint of a smile. Charlie had to suppress the huge grin that was threatening to emerge. The entire Weasley clan looked at Charlie with shock etched all over their faces.

"Well it's about time," George muttered. Charlie was sorely tempted to smack him over the head but didn't dare as long as his mum was around.
"You don't think you could have mentioned this before?" Mrs. Weasley asked sternly putting her hands on her hips clearly insulted that neither Rachael nor Charlie had bothered to tell her.
"It's a recent development," Charlie shrugged his shoulders.

"It was a long time coming," Bill said smirking. Charlie felt the urge to hit him as well.

"What?!" Mrs. Weasley asked again turning to glare at both Rachael and Charlie.

"As much as I would love to sit down and recount the seventeen years Charlie and I have known each other it's a rather long story," Rachael began.

"Seventeen years?" Ginny spoke up.

"Pretty much yeah. I don't see what the big deal is?" Charlie looked imploringly at his family.

"Well it's not like we didn't see it coming," Percy sighed looking bored with the conversation already. "Who doesn't remember your fifth year at Hogwarts?"

"Me I don't!" Ginny complained.
"Was that year important I can't remember," Bill asked curiously.

"That's when you guys all were at school for Christmas," Rachael reminded him.

"Oh yeah," Bill remembered. He then remembered bewitching the mistletoe to appear over their heads and he smirked devilishly at the now very embarrassed Charlie and Rachael. "I remember that now."
"I want to know what happened at Christmas!" Fred, George, and Ginny all said.
"When you've all got twelve hours of free time I'll tell you," Charlie said hoping they would shut up already. Suddenly Professor McGonagall appeared and she started organizing everyone and telling them where to be stationed to be ready when the fighting broke out. The Weasley family all exchanged nervous looks. Molly and Arthur pulled their children towards them for one last hug. Rachael and Fleur hung back before Mrs. Weasley seized them by their clothes and practically screeched.

"Don't be stupid! This may as well be the last family hug! You two count just as much!" Fleur looked as if she wanted to cry. Charlie was grateful when the group hug broke apart and they all went their separate ways. Before Rachael went to join Fleur with the group who would be by the Great Hall Charlie pulled her aside. He was slightly aware of his hand shaking as the thought that he might never see her again.

"Be careful Charlie," Rachael told him.
"I always am," he laughed knowing full well that was an outright lie. She gave him a look that clearly told him not to make jokes right now. Charlie remembered she had treated his war wounds before and knew he often made rash decisions.
"Just don't do anything," she began.

"Rash," Charlie finished for her. Rachael nodded and he could have sworn a tear escaped her eye but she shook the hair out of her eyes with a determined expression. "You be careful too ok? I can't lose you now when I've just got you back." Charlie's voice was strained with emotion but he didn't care. The only thing that mattered right now was the safety of the person standing in front of him.
"I love you Charlie!" she said earnestly. "Always have always will." She gave him a shy smile. Somehow Charlie had already known this but hearing Rachael say it was a relief.

"Well that's good here I was thinking you only hung around me because you liked Percy," he replied laughing. Rachael half laughed half cried. "Stop worrying we'll see each other in a few hours ok?" he attempted to reassure her. Rachael just nodded. Charlie smiled at her despite feeling just as worried and just as nervous as she was. He grabbed both of her hands which were trembling slightly. He kissed her for the first time in ten years letting her know just how much he loved her. Charlie noticed that her hands finally stopped trembling and he too felt slightly reassured. "I love you too," he breathed before they both left for their separate area. Charlie made a silent promise that if they both made it through the war he would sell his house in Romania and buy a new one here.
He joined Fred and George who were covering the third floor. The three brothers looked at each other nervously. Charlie reached out on both sides and grabbed the twins. The three brothers shared a brief brotherly hug before Fred ruined the moment.

"So tell us about Rachael," he wanted to know. Charlie couldn't believe he was bringing this up now. But they needed something to take their minds off of the inevitable battle.

"We met in school," Charlie offered.

"And so did half the wizarding population," George laughed.
"Screw the beginning I want to know what Percy and Bill were talking about what happened at Christmas?!" Fred urged. Charlie laughed thankful for the distraction and told his brothers about the first seven years he knew Rachael.

"But then you left for Romania," George reminded him.

"Yeah," Charlie said frowning; it was not one of his greater moments.

"And you didn't come back for three years!" Fred pointed out.

"I didn't see Rachael for ten years ever since we said goodbye on the last day of school," Charlie admitted. Fred and George exchanged incredulous looks.

"She waited for you for ten years?!" Fred exclaimed.

"How the hell did you get so lucky?!" George wanted to know.

"It was only supposed to be six weeks but I never come back," Charlie sighed.

"So why is she still with you then?" George wanted to know.

"I have no idea…she is just incredibly forgiving I guess," he laughed now realizing how very lucky he was that Rachael did forgive him.

"When I came back she had a son…Ben. You know the boy mum sometimes watches," Charlie reminded the twins.

"Ben?" Fred asked, "Little blonde kid that was ten times smarter than both of us combined?" Charlie laughed.

"That sounds like him."

"Are you-are you Ben's dad?" George wondered.

"I dunno. At first Rachael was worried Bill was but then we found out he wasn't-that was a relief. But according to her I'm not the only possibility," Charlie sighed.

"Bill?!" Fred and George both exclaimed at the same time.

"How come this is the first time we're hearing about this?" Fred asked indignantly.

"I dunno you never asked," Charlie shrugged his shoulders.

"How would that have happened? Do people normally come up to you and say Hey Charlie do you have a girlfriend that you left for ten years and slept with your older brother while you were away that just so happens to live two streets down from us?" Fred wondered. Charlie laughed.

"I guess I just never wanted to talk about it. I mean I wasn't exactly the best boyfriend when I didn't come back for ten years. And then I got back and found out she was with Bill. I was angry about that for quite sometime. I almost went back to Romania. I guess it was all just way too confusing at the time," Charlie concluded.

"Well at least we got the details before Ginny," George said happily.

The Weasley brothers were forced to stop their joking banter when Lupin came rushing towards them and informed the group that it was starting. The three brothers all tightened their grips on their wand. Then without warning the wall to the left of them collapsed and Death Eaters started pouring out with it. The resistance group ambushed the cloaked enemies but suddenly everywhere around Charlie was mass chaos. All thoughts were pushed out of his mind as he concentrated only on the spells he was casting and what he had to defend himself against.

Charlie didn't know when but he was eventually separated from his brothers. He didn't recognize those around him. Some of them were students so it made sense that he wouldn't recognize them. However he didn't care who he was fighting besides as long as those he truly cared for were safe.

Battles were being fought on all sides of him. The school was a blur of colors as spells and hexes danced around each other. Charlie could vaguely hear the shouts and screams of the various fights surrounding him. He successfully knocked his death eater out before moving on to assist an older looking boy wearing Gryffindor robes. The two sent the death eater flying backwards and against a wall where he lay slumped over and motionless.

The boy shouted his thanks over the noise and Charlie nodded. They split up to assist the others in their corridor. Charlie then noticed for the first time that the suits of armor were fighting on their side as well. He only allowed himself half a second to be amused at this before he kept on fighting. He noticed the battle was moving and the death eaters were retreating. The resistance group was gathering towards the Great Hall when Charlie noticed that Harry Potter was in the arms of Hagrid…seemingly dead.

His mouth fell open, wide with shock. It was impossible…it couldn't be. Harry Potter was the last chance in the eyes of many witches and wizards. Harry Potter was the pillar of hope that led many to believe that some day Lord Voldemort could be defeated. With him gone…well the fight would still have to gone on. He wanted to see the defeat of Voldemort just as much as the next person and he had to believe it could still happen even without Harry Potter.

The battle eventually moved inside to the Great Hall. The room was crowded with witches and wizards all fighting for their lives. As soon as it seemed like the resistance force was going to lose Harry Potter appeared again. Only this time he seemed to be alive. The battle seemed to halt as the boy who lived faced Lord Voldemort. It was as if Voldemort and Harry were the only people in the room that mattered. After some serious discussion between the two enemies none of which Charlie seemed to understand Harry Potter defeated Voldemort. Charlie almost didn't believe his eyes as he saw the snakelike wizard fall.

However, when the death eaters all started fleeing for their lives Charlie realized that it was truly over. Truly over. He could not suppress the grin that spread across his face or the happy bubble that formed in his heart. He scanned the crowd eagerly searching for his family. He saw a small group of red heads and sincerely hoped the group was only small because not everyone had spotted them yet. Both his parents were hugging each other but rather than looking elated they were both crying. This did not comfort Charlie. The bubble in his heart deflated at the sight of Ron, George, and Percy kneeling on the ground. Where were Bill, Fleur, Ginny, and Rachael?

"Charlie!" screamed Ginny running over to her older brother and hugging him. Charlie guessed he was the first one of their family members she had spotted. Charlie hugged his little sister back happy to hear her voice and see her alive.

"Something's not right," he told Ginny as they walked over to their family. Bill and Fleur had joined the group in the time it took Ginny and Charlie to get there. Charlie peered around Ron, George, and Percy to see Rachael on the other side of Fred's motionless body. He felt the bubble in his heart pop and shatter as he looked at his brother lying stone still on the floor. He suddenly understood the reason for the tears in everyone's eyes.

"No," he moaned sinking to his knees next to Ron.

"I'm so sorry," Rachael said looking up and he saw that her eyes were filled with tears. His parents must have asked her if there was anything they could do. But he could tell by the look in her eyes that it was too late. Ron, George, and Percy were all silent with shock and thick tears were streaming down George's eyes so fast that Charlie was positive George couldn't even see.

Charlie was only vaguely aware of hugging the rest of his family members. He was only vaguely aware of everyone's presence later that night as they buried Fred. He couldn't, wouldn't believe it. But it was true. Fred was truly gone.

Back at the burrow it seemed that happiness would never again infiltrate the place. Despite the fact that Rachael was still living in his house Charlie hardly ever saw her. She was so busy at St. Mungos in the aftermath of the war. Treating the injured and consoling those who'd lost a loved one. Charlie was slightly glad for this semblance of space because at the moment he didn't know how to feel happy.

Ron's birthday eventually rolled around and to Charlie's surprise his entire family threw themselves wholeheartedly into celebrating. The burrow was crowded with guests that night and for once it was filled with happy chatter. Charlie found himself even managing to enjoy the presence of his family and friends. Charlie was talking to Hermione about how to heal a dragon inflicted bite, she was curious, when Rachael finally came home from work. He couldn't remember the last time they had spoken so he excused himself from Hermione and sprinted over to Rachael. He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her in front of his entire family. She laughed looking a little embarrassed but didn't say anything because this type of reunion was a long time coming.

"I was wondering if you were ever going to smile again," Rachael admitted.

"It did take awhile. I'm sorry about that," Charlie confessed.

"There is no need to apologize everyone deals with grief in their own way," she said wisely.
"I sold my house," he told her. Charlie had stayed true to the silent promise he made before the final battle.

"You what?!" Rachael asked confused.

"My house in Romania, I sold it. I'm going to buy one here and then we won't have to live with my mum anymore," he laughed.

"Well I have to admit I'm slightly relieved about that," Rachael smiled. Molly had been desperate for good news after the death of one of her sons that she constantly hounded with Rachael with questions about her and Charlie's relationship. "Where's Ben?" Rachael asked.

"In the kitchen," Charlie said as they walked that way. Rachael grabbed her son's hand and led both Charlie and Ben back outside.

"What's this about?" Ben asked looking very confused.

"I have something to tell you both," Rachael said biting her lip nervously.
"Okay," Charlie waited for her to explain.

"Ben. I know who your father is and I think it's about time you did too," Rachael began. Ben looked very excited at this news.

"Really?" he asked not daring to believe it.

"Charlie I don't know if this changes anything…I sure hope it doesn't," Rachael began. Charlie and Rachael had told Ben that they were together. It was one of the only times they had talked in the past few weeks. Charlie didn't like the sound of that though. He braced himself for the bad news. He had never really given up on the idea of being Ben's father. Even if he wasn't Ben's biological father that didn't mean he couldn't still be a role model for Ben. "Ben, Charlie is your father." Charlie wasn't sure he had heard Rachael correctly at first but when he saw the delighted look on Ben's face he knew that he was right.

"Of course this doesn't change anything," Charlie laughed as Ben grinned. Rachael smiled happily and walked over to him. He held Rachael's hand on one side and Ben's on the other. The three stared at the sunset feeling quite content. Charlie suddenly pulled them both in for a hug. He could hear Rachael's quiet laughter and he saw Ben's delighted smirk. The three couldn't wait to start their life together.

And they lived happily ever after…

(This is not the end of this pairing! I'm working on the story from Rachael's point of view. It doesn't jump ten years like Charlie's does and it covers what happens after this story. Thank you so much to yellow 14, sk8tergrl700, and boopotter! You guys are the best!)