True Love is Blind (A Charlie Weasley Love Story)

Chapter 6

The following morning, I woke up earlier than everyone else, carefully making my way downstairs, trying -and probably failing due to the fact that I could not see where I was going- not to make too much noise. I hadn't been sleeping very well lately; my dreams had been plagued with nightmares about Charlie. It seemed that every single time I closed my eyes, I saw increasingly more horrible visions of him. Some were of him being tortured, being held prisoner, and the worst yet, being brutally murdered by You-Know-Who himself. Ever since he had left to go back to Romania, I had spent every moment worrying about him. I knew he was acting, essentially, as a foreign spy on his days off from work at the reserve and that unnerved me. Being a spy was a risky buisness, and with one wrong move, he could be discovered.

What if something horrible happened to him? I hadn't even let him into my room, even after he had begged me. I hadn't spent time with him in months, for the majority of which, he believed me to have disappeared, or be dead. I knew then that I had to do whatever it took to see him again, well, not see him again, but to talk to him, to make things right. Though I was still afriad about what he would think of my appearance, my desire to be with him again was too great to let something like anxiety get in the way. I just wanted him back in my life. We had never gone this long without talking before, even when we were in completely different countries, and it was hurting me. I wondered if it hurt him too.

As I made my way down to the kitchen, I heard voices speaking softly. It sounded like Sirius, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, and if they were there, then Harry must have been there also, or at least on his way down, as his trial would be held today.

"Breakfast, Harr—oh, Katrina. You're up early. What's the matter dear?" she asked, clearly surprised to see me. I'd never gone downstairs after waking up early during my time here. Instead, I usually just sat in bed, trying to calm my racing mind. I couldn't read, as I could no longer see the words on the pages, or the book, or anything else. There were no Braille books to be found here either, so I was resigned to just sitting there, trapped in my own darkness. During my self-induced seclusion, I had learned to read Braille from a few books that were lying around the study in my old house. Why there were there, I could not say, but I was glad to have them nonetheless. I could understand parts of it, but I was by no means proficient.

"I couldn't sleep. I've had…a rough time sleeping lately," I admitted shakily, images of my dreams rushing back into my mind. I shuddered involuntarially.

"Have you been having nightmares?" she asked, concerned.

"Well, yeah, I have. They're always about the same thing, too. They seem so real," I whispered.

"I think I know what this is about," Mrs. Weasley came over to me, engulfing me in a motherly hug. I stiffened at first, not used to this kind of contact, but relaxed in her arms. So that only I could hear, she whispered, "He's fine. I can't say that I know when he will come back here, but if you can't wait, I can always apparate you to the Reserve, or you can try to apparate yourself."

"Thank you," I whispered.

"It's no problem, dear." I was so grateful to her. She had always been the mother that I had never had. My mother would never have done something like this for me; she would have called me weak for loving a "blood traitor," but Mrs. Weasley actually cared for me. There were times I wished that I had grown up with them, part of their family.

She let go of me just as Harry entered the room.

"Breakfast," she said, handing him a plate.

"M-m-morning, Harry," Tonks yawned, "Katrina. Sleep alright Harry?"

"Yeah," said Harry. Clearly he didn't want to elaborate.

"I've b-b-been up all night," Tonks said, yawning again. "Come and sit down you two…"