Yours truly ; Charlie Weasley

Fifty-four

"Ember." I cut off her rambling and grabbed her hands, causing her eyes to flick up to mine.

"Why would you mention Brazier being there after saying it's bad news?" She asked and her face started showing the realisation when she saw my face and the way I teared up. "Is he— is Brazier..."

She closed her eyes and I realised what she was thinking.

"Oh god, no!" I told her. "He's not dead. Fuck, I'm so sorry that I made it seem like that."

She let out a breath of relief before she wiped her eyes.

"But he's in a coma." I told her. "Edison used some spell. I don't know which but Brazier hit his head like you did during the Battle of Hogwarts, and I guess they can't wake him up. They don't know if he ever will."

She looked at me as she processed what I said, then she let out a shaking breath and clamped a hand over her mouth.

Her reaction broke me.

The sound she let out against her hand was the mix between a scream and a cry.

"Ember—" I tried to reach for her but she moved away from me, got off the bed and nearly stumbled out of the room, keeping herself up by keeping a hand on the wall.

When I heard the bathroom door, I got out of bed and followed her out there.

She was on her knees by the toilet, throwing up. I walked over behind her and brushed her hair back, holding it for her so that she didn't get puke in it.

"We should never have left." She mumbled, crying softly. "I can't— I need to see that letter."

"Okay." I said, rubbing her back before she moved over to sit against the wall. She reached for some toilet paper to wipe her mouth. "I'll go get the letter."

She glanced up at me before she closed her eyes, and I left the bathroom to find the letter in the kitchen.

She wouldn't like what Crispus wrote. She wouldn't like that he didn't want me to tell her, but she asked for the letter and I wasn't gonna refuse to give it to her.

When I grabbed the letter, I looked at it for a minute, sighing. As I turned around, I caught the glimpse of Ember as she entered our bedroom, and I decided to follow her.

She pulled out one of the big bags from under the bed and walked to the dresser. I stood there, watching her as she grabbed clothes and threw in the back.

"Ember, we're not leaving."

I tried to stay calm, knowing the last thing she needed was for me to raise my voice or come off as just a little rough.

"Ember...."

She wasn't thinking clearly right now. She was panicking and I couldn't blame her. She loved her family more than anything and after everything that has happened, she now has to deal with her brother being hurt and perhaps never waking up again.

When she put some more clothes into the bag, I walked over and gently grabbed her wrist to stop her and make her look at me.

"He's my brother, Charlie." She said weakly, fighting her tears. "We need to go home."

"Even if we did go home, we wouldn't be able to do anything." I said. "I know that staying in Romania will be hard, but we're here for our safety and for our twins safety."

I handed her the letter and she looked at it, sighing as she sat down in the bed. She brought her hand up to wipe her cheeks before she unfolded the letter and started reading it, her hands slightly shaking.

While she read, I grabbed the clothes she had already packed, and I unpacked it, putting it back in the dresser.

"He's eighteen." I then heard her cry, which caused me to turn around.

She was full on sobbing again, her hands shaking even more as she stared at the piece of parchment.

"I can't lose my baby brother." She cried. "Charlie I can't—"

She dropped the hand to the floor as she placed a hand against her chest, trying to control her breathing.

I hurried by her side and put the letter aside before I crouched in front of me.

"Look at me, darling." I said, grabbing her hands to hold them in mine. "Remember, we've been in this situation before. You were in a coma and they couldn't wake you up because when it's the brain or severe head damage, magic can't do anything. They told us they didn't know if you'd ever wake up — told us to prepare to say goodbye, but you woke up, Emmy... and so will Brazier."

She closed her eyes.

"I want to go home." She sobbed. "I don't want to be here while my brother's hospitalised."

"I know." I said. "But going back to England right now can be dangerous and we need to stay safe for the sake of the family we'll be having in six months."

She looked at me for a moment before she got her hands away from mine and pushed herself further into the bed, grabbing one of the pillows, hugging it close to her body.

I wish I could promise her that he would be okay, but there was no way I could know if he would.

"Why was he even there?" She asked softly. "He shouldn't— he's eighteen! His life has just begun! His adulthood has just begun..."

I crawled onto the bed with her and wrapped my arms around her, feeling her lean into my embrace, resting her head against my chest.

Her crying increased again and I placed a hand against her head, rocking her softly in my arms. I simply let her cry, letting her get her emotions out.

"I'm so sorry darling." I whispered. "I know how you're feeling."

I did know how she was feeling.

I remember Ember having that seizure after we won the war and then she just didn't wake up afterwards and she stayed in that coma for months.

I was terrified.

Scared out of my mind.

I thought I was gonna lose her, and now she's going through that.

She has to worry about losing her brother, and losing your brother is painful. It's the worst thing that happened to me and I don't want her to experience that either.