Chapter 1

This chapter has been reposted to sort out a kink kindly pointed out by JuliaKidlet. Any other help would be greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter, sadly. Anything you recognise in here does not belong to me.

The first time he heard the sniff, he cursed his curiosity. He knew, out of the rest of the family, he resembled the twins most closely. He shared not only their stocky build and love of jokes, but also the curiosity that got him into trouble more often than he would care to admit. Knowing he would likely not want to deal with what he found; he could not help but tread lightly on. He pushed his way through the overgrown bushes at the end of the garden to where they opened out to the lakeside. Nearly hidden from site, burrowed at the base of a weeping willow, was a crying Hermione Granger.

Pausing before he broke cover, Charlie stopped to think. He sensed this was dangerous territory and was not sure how to proceed. He was easily able to admit that he did not know her very well. She had been around when he had visited home, but their difference in age had precluded any sort of closeness between them. He considered going back the way he had come and tracking down Ron or possibly Ginny, but a sudden cessation of movement from the girl he watched told him he had left it too late. Knowing he had no choice, Charlie pulled himself together and moved into the fading sunlight.

"Hermione?" he called, keeping his low voice as soft as he could make it.

Clearly startled, Hermione's head snapped round to look at him, wide-eyed. "C-Charlie?"

Charlie's heart turned over in his chest as those tear-filled, miserable eyes met his. He was filled with an unexplainable need to gather the distraught girl to his chest and protect her from the world; a need he only just managed to fight down as he slowly crossed the distance between them, giving her the time to flee if she desired.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione managed, her voice thick with more un-shed tears.

Charlie managed a slight smile as he reached her and sat down on the bank of the lake beside her. "Investigating," he admitted easily. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Hermione shrugged, a frown marring her brow. "I'm not sure."

That was enough for Charlie to know he had done the right thing in following his instincts. From what the others had told him and from the little he had seen himself, Hermione always knew the answers. "I might be able to help," he suggested, eyebrows raising slightly as he studied her expression, judging whether or not he would take his comment as disbelief in her own abilities to cope.

Fortunately, she seemed to believe it wouldn't make it any worse. Sighing, she dragged a hand through her unruly hair and turned a little so she faced him. "I don't want to bore you," she said, a slight grimace crossing her face almost comically.

Charlie grinned. "My best conversationalists are usually dragons," he reminded her. "Trust me, I'm sure whatever you have to say will be more interesting."

Hermione managed a slight smile which fell again almost instantly. "It's your stupid brother," she muttered, a cross note creeping into her voice.

"I take it you mean Ron?"

Hermione nodded, screwing her nose up in a way that made Charlie want to laugh. "Has he always been so stupid?" she demanded, looking up at him suddenly.

Charlie realised that she was expecting an answer and had to think for a moment, wondering if he could say it tactfully. "Well, um, yes," he admitted, shrugging one shoulder. "He's not putting on an act. He has many good qualities, but he fails when it comes to being clever, especially on the emotional intelligence front. Sort of like Percy, but without the ability to learn school subjects either."

Hermione snorted. "I know," she agreed, then sighed. "Oh, Charlie, why did I ever let him kiss me?"

Charlie's eyebrows raised at that, suddenly finding himself on rocky ground. "Uh-oh," he said. "Relationship advice. You need Bill for this, not me. I'm not good at this sort of thing."

Hermione looked downcast and Charlie watched her for a moment before he relented. "I can give an opinion, if you want, but don't expect a perfect solution from me."

"I know you've got common sense," Hermione told him. "An opinion would be great, but I can understand if you don't want to talk about it. He is your brother, after all."

Charlie saw the sudden reddening of her cheeks and the way she suddenly avoided his gaze and realised that this conversation was not as easy for her as it had at first seemed. "Why don't you tell me what's bothering you?" He thought for a moment that she wasn't going to answer him but then she began to speak.

"It was during the battle at Hogwarts. I thought we were going to die; I had been thinking that ever since we first agreed to go with Harry. The mission he had been given had killed professor Dumbledore; how would it be possible for the three of us to finish what he could not? I suppose I didn't want to die alone. And so, I kissed him. It was a stupid thing to do, as it turned out. We survived and now it looks like I'm stuck. I…" she broke off, blushing. "I don't like him to touch me." The last was spoken as no more than a low murmur and made Charlie ache for her. He could hear the self-accusation in her tone and found himself wondering how it was possible for such a bright witch to be so blind to something. "You can't help how you feel, Hermione," he told her, capturing her hazel eyes with his, making sure she would understand him. "Have you thought, perhaps, that you might be better off just as friends?"

"But what's wrong with me?" Hermione burst out, seemingly exasperated. "Why is it all so…difficult?"

Seeing how wound up she was getting, Charlie's hand reached out before he could stop it, closing over her small ones which were twisting together in agitation. The touch surprised her into silence and Charlie felt a disquieting tug inside him as those wide, trusting eyes met his again. "First of all, there is nothing wrong with you," he told her, trying to make her understand how serious he was. "Look, sometimes these things are just not meant to be. I have some experience in this," he added, his tone a little wry. He saw her mind spinning into action, trying to puzzle out his words.

"You've felt this before?"

"Not exactly," Charlie admitted, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck, suddenly the one who was a little embarrassed. He knew the tips of his ears were turning red but still met her gaze squarely. "When I was at school, I was friends with a girl who I fell for, hopelessly. I finally asked her out in my Fifth year, and it was just awful. We tried to make things work out, but it just wasn't…right. She never let me kiss her, and suddenly couldn't be around me by herself. We ended up spending no time together, and things were always strained and difficult. It took her a while, but she ended up breaking up with me. She just wanted to be friends. I couldn't understand it; I'd been in love with her for ages, I still loved her. But I have to concede, now, that she did the right thing."

"It must have been hard for you," Hermione said, sympathy shining in her eyes as she looked up at him.

Charlie managed a slight smile at that. "That's the understatement of the century," he admitted easily. "I was an emotional wreck for quite some time, but I got over it. I'm not saying your situation is identical, but you have to admit it's similar. I know it can't help that the general consensus has always been that you two would end up together."

Hermione covered her face with her hands. "What would your mum say?" she burst out suddenly. "I couldn't stand it if I made her unhappy."

At that, Charlie frowned. Reaching out, he tugged her hands away and held them both in one of his again, not letting her hide away from him. "Don't you dare stay where you are because you feel guilty," he told her sternly. "Hermione, you have given up so much of your life already to help others. Don't throw away everything else just because you don't want to upset people. Mum would be far less upset if you're honest about the way you feel."

"I love Ron," Hermione said, frowning. "But…I don't think I love him, you know, like a girlfriend should. We've got no interests in common; he's always treated me like I'm either his mother or his personal homework assistant. I don't know what it is that made me think it might be a good idea in the first place."

"You answered that yourself, you know," Charlie pointed out softly. "You didn't want to die alone. Don't regret the decisions you make. But, you can change what isn't working for you."

"But I've got nowhere to go!" Hermione burst out, suddenly close to tears. "My parents don't live here anymore: they don't even know that I exist. I've got no home, nothing."

"You think we wouldn't be here for you?" Charlie demanded. "You've been part of us for too many years for you to lose us that easily. Do you think Ginny would stand for it if Ron wanted you to leave? Or Mum, for that matter, not to mention the rest of us. It won't be easy for either of you at first, but you can learn to live alongside each other." He watched her as he spoke, making sure his words were sinking in. He couldn't stand the thought of her being trapped in a loveless relationship just in order to maintain the roof over her head. As far as he was concerned, life was just too short. He could see that her brain had kicked in and seemed to be whirring at a hundred miles an hour. He knew she was fiercely intelligent and wondered how it was that she couldn't see what she needed to do.

It was several moments before she looked up again and when she did, Charlie was relieved to see the darkness had faded from her sparkling eyes. "I know what I have to do," she murmured reluctantly. "Thank you Charlie, for listening. Sorry if I've ruined your evening."

Charlie snorted, shaking his head. "Don't be silly," he told her gently. "I'm always here if you need me." He wondered at the promise he had just made; why had it come to him so easily? That was a road he didn't need to go down, not right now. "Are you ready to face the world?"

Hermione took a deep breath, clearly gathering herself together. "I suppose so," she said; worry tightening the corners of her eyes as she attempted a smile.

Charlie squeezed her had gently. "Find me if you want to talk later," he said. "Or if you just need company."

"I will," Hermione replied, the smile reaching her eyes for the first time since their conversation started.

Charlie found himself returning it as he took her hand to pull her to her feet. He was surprised but pleased when her arms twisted around his waist. He hugged her back, realising for the first time just how small she was. She was nearly as tall as he, but so thin that he was scared she might break in his arms. The wave of protectiveness that flooded through him was both confusing and a little worrying, but he pushed those thoughts aside as he pulled back to give her a slight smile. "Ready?"

Hermione nodded, letting go and beginning to move away. "I'll let you know how it goes. See you later, Charlie, and thanks."

"Anytime," Charlie replied, waiting until she was out of sight before sinking to the ground again, rubbing his head with one scarred hand. He had not missed the disappointment he had felt as she stepped from his embrace, or the warmth in his stomach as she had smiled her first true smile at him. This was a new and, quite frankly, troubling development. He had to talk to Bill.