True Love is Blind (A Charlie Weasley Love Story)

Chapter 4

I heard heavy footfalls coming up the stairs; from what I could tell, there were multiple pairs of feet. Mrs. Weasley's distinct voice filled the corridor, "I want you all to go straight to bed, no talking. We've got a busy day tomorrow. I expect Ginny's asleep," she added and I almost laughed. Ginny was most certainly not asleep, as I had heard her complaining only moments ago, "so try not to wake her up."

Silence filled the hall as I heard the others trudge towards their rooms. Then, in a soft voice, she added, "Has anyone seen Katrina? Is she alright?"

Charlie spoke up, "I don't know, Mum. She refused to let me into the room. She's locked herself in the room at the end of the hall," his voice cut out then, and I struggled to catch his next words, "I think I'll be going back to Romania now. She needs space, she said."

"Oh. Charlie, don't get too frustrated with her. The poor thing is confused. She's going through a hard time, but if she wants space, I think it'd be best to give it to her. Will you be stopping in anytime soon?"

"Not sure. It was hard enough to get off today to come here. With work on the reserve and these extra Order shifts, it's been difficult to even find time to sleep," he said, a bit ruefully, "Just…let me know how she is, alright?"

I could tell he was concerned, and that touched me. If only I weren't such a coward. I didn't know why I even cared. I was so sure that he wouldn't like me, so why did it matter to me if I was convinced? I knew the answer, of course; hope. I was stupid and hopeful that maybe he wouldn't care, as unlikely as that was.

"Of course. Be safe," Molly said, more quietly this time.

"I will. Bye, Mum. Tell everyone I said bye," he replied, walking down the stairs. I heard a 'pop' and knew he was gone. I sighed. I should have felt relieved, but instead, I felt even more alone. Pushing my love away only made my world seem all the more dark and desolate.

"Asleep, yeah, right," muttered Fred right after Hermione had said goodnight to them, "if Ginny's not lying awake waiting for Hermione to tell her everything they said downstairs then I'm a flobberworm…"

I had to laugh at Fred's comment, despite my dark mood. I couldn't help it, the word 'flobberworm' was funny enough in itself, but when Fred said it, it just sounded all the more amusing.

"All right, Ron, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said from right outside the door to the room in which I was currently hiding, "Off to bed with you both."

"Night," called Harry.

"Sleep tight," replied George. I could hear the humor in his voice. I only hoped for his sake that Mrs. Weasley did not pick up on it, or he would be in for an earful.

Thankfully, she must have been too tire to notice, or too tired to pick a fight with the twins, the latter being most probable. I heard her leave, going downstairs to join her husband and the others currently staying the night. Though I was not sure exactly who would be staying, I was certain that I did not want to risk going downstairs to grab a bite to eat. I was in no mood to face Mrs. Weasley, despite how kind and caring she was.

I had hoped that Fred and George would just leave me alone and go to the room I was supposed to share with them. They'd probably be up working on new experiments for items to sell at their shop.

I should have known that they wouldn't. I loved them both; they were brothers to me. Despite the fact that they were years younger than me, they often acted as older brothers to me, giving me advice about Charlie when he and I fought, threatening to murder my ex after he had told me he was only dating me for my breasts. I know girls like to be told that they are pretty, but to me, that was a major blow to my confidance. Were my breasts the only thing that he liked about me? I went into a downward spiral after that, and as my parents provided no support whatsoever, I probably would have resorted to desparate measures if it weren't for Charlie.