CHAPTER TWO:
Third Person P.O.V.:
'I've just been attacked by dementors and I might be expelled from Hogwarts. I want to know what's going on and when I'm going to get out of here.'
Charlie had reread Harry's letter to him, Ron, and Hermione about a dozen times. Up and down he paced, consumed with worry and frustration, casting troubled looks out at the empty, star-strewn sky every time he passed the window. Hedwig hadn't left 12 Grimmauld Place, and something told him that she was informed not to unless she got answers.
(A/N: RIP you beautiful bird 😪)
It had been two days since he and Hermione had arrived back at 12 Grimmauld Place, and the only instructions they were given were to remain calm as Dumbledore sent word to Harry regarding his rescue. Charlie had received two letters from his father in the meantime, each of them regarding Harry's use of underage magic.
The first one was more of a inquiry as to why Harry wasn't at The Burrow like Charlie claimed to be. The brown eyed boy simply replied with an answer of Harry's muggle aunt and uncle didn't approve of letting him visit.
The second letter, however, was more of a warning that stated that Harry would succumb to a trial for his behaviour. Charlie, pretending to be compliant, replied with a simple undertone of understanding, but behind the scenes, he had mentioned it to his grandfather who insisted that Harry would be okay.
Yet, that didn't stop the young boy from worrying. Charlie had no idea what would happen to Harry when he went to trial, but something told him that his friend was being testified against for something more than an unauthorized dementor attack...
Charlie's head was pounding, his brain was too busy for sleep even though his eyes stung and itched with tiredness. Hermione had tried to calm his nerves multiple times, but with the Weasleys hanging about, her platonic methods weren't the most effective — they hadn't shared an intimate moment alone since they got back.
The brown eyed boy was alternately filled with restless energy that made him unable to settle to anything, during which time he paced his and Ron's bedroom, furious at the whole lot of them for leaving Harry to stew in this mess, unaware. Charlie had a lethargy so complete that he could lie on his bed for an hour at a time, staring dazedly into space, aching with dread at the thought of his friend at the Ministry hearing.
How was Harry feeling?
What if the Ministry ruled against him?
What if his father did something drastic?
What would Harry do, where would he go?
Would Harry forever resent his friends for shutting him out at the time that he needed them most?
But the brown eyed boy was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of footsteps hurrying below him. Charlie quickly rushed downstairs. Molly and Arthur were in the kitchen; Ron, Fred and George were playing with gobstones on the kitchen table; Hermione and Ginny were talking in the parlour, but what caught the boy's attention the most was the arrival of nine wizards in particular:
Mad-Eye Moody, long grizzled grey hair and a large chunk missing from his nose.
Remus Lupin, his robes were more patched and shabbier than ever.
Nymphadora Tonks, pale heart-shaped face, dark twinkling eyes, and short spiky hair that was a violent shade of violet — a Metamorphmagus.
Kingsley Shacklebolt, a stylish, dark-skinned wizard.
Elphias Doge, who had the wheeziest voice imaginable.
Dedalus Diggle, an excitable wizard in a violet-coloured top hat.
Emmeline Vance, a stately-looking witch in an emerald green shawl.
Sturgis Podmore, a square-jawed wizard with thick straw-coloured hair.
And finally, Hestia Jones, a pink-cheeked, black-haired witch.
They were crowed around the foot of the stairs, gazing up at Charlie intently as the Weasleys and Hermione came barreling into the foyer to see what the commotion was about.
"Remus," Arthur called, making himself known as he stepped forward, "what's the reason for the sudden intrusion? What's happened?"
"We're going to get Harry tonight," Remus replied at once, and the faces of all of the Weasleys and Hermione and Charlie had lit up.
"What are you lot still doing here then?" Charlie inquired from the stairs, "Shouldn't you be on your way to Surrey?"
Mad-Eye had focused his magical eye on the brown eyed boy, "We've come to get you first."
"Me?" Charlie said apprehensively.
"No," Molly called at once, "you will not be putting another one of these children in danger! Especially not with Dementors running amuck!"
"'Fraid we have no choice," Tonks replied, sending a wink in Charlie'a direction. "Dumbledore's orders."
(A/N: my second fav female character in HP...)
"Albus wants us to bring someone who will be able to easily identify Harry," Lupin explained.
"I don't think any of us fancy bringing back some Death Eater impersonating Potter." growled Moody, "Hawthorne's coming with us." — he focused his other eye on Charlie — "Go get your broom, kid."
Without hestitation, Charlie turned to run back up the stairs, but Molly had caught his arm.
"Now hold on a moment," she scolded, but didn't take her eyes off of the wizards at the door, "surely there is someone else that would be better suited for this —"
"Let him go, Molly," Arthur dismissed which earned an angry look from his wife, "Charlie is the one person that Harry trusts the most. If anyone is capable of bringing Harry home, it's him."
With that, Molly's face had visibly softened, and she released Charlie's arm, "Okay... alright."
Charlie turned to go up the stairs once again, and this time he didn't return until he had his Nimbus 2001, the fastest broom in existence until the launch of the Firebolt; it was black and silver with revolving stirrups, and he had kept it in amazing condition over the years.
"Let's go," Charlie said at once as he held out his broom for Tonks to take it outside with the others.
One by one, the nine Order members filed back out the door while Charlie said his goodbyes. Arthur had given him a son-like pat on the back, Molly pulled him into a tight hug, Fred and George joked about the Dursley's reaction when ten wizards appeared on their doorstep, Ginny gave Charlie a quick wave and a smile, Ron wrapped his arms around him in a quick, brother-like hug, and then, there was Hermione —
Her arms were crossed and she was biting down on her lower lip. Judging by the way she stood, Charlie could tell that his girlfriend had been worried about him going on this mission to retrieve Harry. So, in attempt to reassure her, he snaked his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. Almost instantly, her arms found their way around his neck and she drew him in closer.
They had to be mindful, of course, as the Weasleys were watching them intently — especially Ron. However, Hermione seemed to get caught up in the moment for a second as her right hand began to play with the hairs on the bottom of her boyfriend's neck.
"Come back to me, okay?" she whispered in his ear, so lowly that only he would be able to hear.
Charlie nodded into the crook of her neck and when he pulled away after a few moments of sharing a tight embrace, Hermione spoke louder to break the suspicious silence that the Weasleys had heard, "Be safe."
The boy looked at her with a cheeky smile plastered on his face, but nodded once again to not raise any more inquiry from the red-headed family. Charlie then turned towards the door and walked out into the night with the members of the Order, 12 Grimmauld Place disappearing as he stepped off the porch.
"Clear night," grunted Moody, his magical eye scanning the heavens. "Could've done with a bit more cloud cover. Right, you," — he barked at Charlie — "we're going to be flying in close formation. Tonks'll be right in front of you, keep close on her tail. Lupin'll be covering you from below. I'm going to be behind you. The rest'll be circling us. We don't break ranks for anything, got me? If one of us is killed —"
"Uh, is that likely?" Charlie asked apprehensively, but Moody ignored him.
"— the others keep flying, don't stop, don't break ranks. When we get to Potter's, we wait for the signals in the sky that'll tell us that it's clear to come back, do you understand?"
"Stop being so cheerful, Mad-Eye, he'll think we're not taking this seriously," said Tonks sarcastically, as she moved next to Charlie, handing him back his broom.
"I'm just telling the boy the plan," growled Moody. "Dumbledore'll go ballistic if the boy gets hurt in any way, shape, or form —"
"He'll be fine," said Kingsley Shacklebolt in his deep, calming voice.
"Enough talking," Lupin dismissed. "Mount your brooms, lets get going."
Charlie flung his right leg over his broom before raising the hoodie of his sweater up — if they were to get ambushed in the sky by Death Eaters, it would be best to try and conceal his identity as much as possible, especially with his father being so suspicious...
Then, as Tonks took off into the sky, Charlie kicked off hard from the ground.
The cool night air rushed through the single curl that fell in front of his face as the patch of unkempt grass along the eerie and dimly lit scenery of Grimmauld Place, shrank rapidly into a patchwork of dark greens and blacks. Every worry was swept from his mind as though the rush of air had blown it out of his head.
He felt as though his heart was going to explode with pleasure; he missed flying more than he thought he did. With the emotional and cruel aftermath of the Triwizard Tournament, being in the sky on his broom was such a relief... for a few glorious moments, all his problems seemed to recede to nothing; insignificant in the vast, starry sky.
"Hard left, hard left, there's a Muggle looking up!" shouted Moody from behind him. Tonks swerved and Charlie followed her just as he was told. "We need more height... Give it another quarter of a mile!"
Charlie's eyes watered from the chilling air as they soared upwards; he could see nothing below now but tiny pinpricks of light that were car headlights and streetlamps.
"Bearing south!" shouted Mad-Eye. "Town ahead!"
They soared right to avoid passing directly over the glittering spiderweb of lights below.
"Bear southeast and keep climbing, there's some low clouds ahead we can lose ourselves in!" called Moody.
"We're not going through clouds!" shouted Tonks angrily, "we'll get soaked, Mad-Eye!"
Charlie was relieved to hear her say this; his hands were growing numb on the Nimbus's handle — the mere thought of soaring through the sky soaking wet sent a chill down his body.
They altered their course every now and then according to Mad-Eye's instructions. Charlie's eyes were screwed up against the rush of icy wind that was starting to make his ears ache.The guard around him was circling continuously like giant birds of prey. The young boy lost track of time. He wondered how long they had been flying, it felt like an hour at least.
"Time to start the descent!" came Lupin's voice.
Charlie followed Tonks into a dive. They were heading for the largest collection of lights he had yet seen. The light sprawled across the neat square gardens of Privet Drive, and almost instantly, a smile appeared on the boy's face.
He wanted to reach the ground very much, though he felt sure someone would have to unfreeze him from his broom.
"Here we go!" called Tonks, and a few seconds later she had landed.
Charlie touched down right behind her and dismounted on a patch of well-kempt grass in the small and familiar neighbourhood.
His eyes had fell upon 4 Privet Drive, and he smiled happily. The brown eyed boy even laughed at the sight of Harry's bedroom window, which had been repaired after him, Fred, George, and Ron had torn a chunk out of the wall out to save Harry from his prison during second year.
The ten wizards and witches made their way up to the front porch and knocked gently, despite the urgency and importance of their visit. Charlie stood at the front of the group and a cheeky smile appeared on his face as Vernon Dursley had opened the door.
"Dursley," Charlie beamed with a laugh, "long time no see."
Vernon's face fell into a scowl upon looking at the boy, but when his eyes shifted to the people behind Charlie, he raised a brow, "Who are you lot?"
Moody growled, "Quiet Dursley."
"Mind if we come in?" Charlie said with a smirk, but took a step inside the house regardless of the man's answer.
The rest of the guard had followed him into the house. Vernon fell back in disbelief at the intrusion. Petunia, who had come around the corner, shrieked at the wizards standing in the doorway, and Dudley, who had been watching tv in the living room, ran behind his mother and cowered in fear.
"Douse the lights," Lupin called, "We're exposed."
Moody was rummaging in his cloak, his gnarled hands clumsy with cold.
"Got it," he muttered, raising what looked like a silver cigarette lighter into the air and clicking it.
With every click, a new light around them had went out with a popping sound, and soon enough, the the street succumbed to the darkness, and all of the lights in the Dursley's house had gone out which just caused them to panic further. The only remaining light came from the rising moon that peered in through the windows.
"Borrowed it from Dumbledore," growled Moody, pocketing the Put-Outer. "Now come on, quick."
Moody pulled Charlie, Lupin, and Tonks up the stairs while the other six wizards and witches kept the Dursleys calm on the ground floor.
"Which room is it?" Lupin asked Charlie, and the young boy pointed at the only door with a lock on the outside.
Remus nodded and gave Tonks a look which signalled her to walk up to door, raise her wand, and say, "Alohomora."
With that, the door unlocked itself, but before Charlie reached out to push it open, he noticed a light illuminating from the gap between the floorboards and the door; it occurred to him how scary this scenario would sound from beyond a locked door — the lights go out and suddenly there are an abundance of distant voices coming from downstairs...
So, in attempt to not startle his friend further, Charlie knocked quietly, whispering, "Harry? Mate, you in there?"
"Charlie?" Harry's voice whispered back, and almost instantly, the door swung open.
Harry blinked in the sight before him in slight disbelief. The wand in his hand illuminated their faces in the darkness. Charlie, Lupin, Moody, and Tonks were crowded around the doorway, gazing at him intently; Tonks was craning her head for a better look.
"Ooooh, he looks just like I thought he would!" Tonks beamed, "Just like his father!"
"Except the eyes," said Lupin with a wide smile, "Lily's eyes."
Charlie removed his hood as he and Harry stared at one another like two brothers reuniting after returning from war. Despite Harry's anger at Charlie for not responding to his letters, he had the strong urge to hug his friend just to prove that he was real.
The brown eyed boy, thinking the same, had even made a start to move engulf his friend in a hug, but Moody caught him on the arm.
"Make sure it's him, boy," he growled. "You ought to ask him something that only the real Potter would know."
Charlie thought for a moment until a certain memory flooded his thoughts.
"Five years ago, when we first met," he began, "we promised Hagrid that we wouldn't tell anyone about what?"
"The fact that he gave Dudley a pig's tail out of retaliation after my uncle insulted Dumbledore," Harry said instantly; Tonks snorted with laughter.
(A/N: why did I tear up recalling the second chapter of this book...? we've come so far...)
Charlie's ears had perked up and he wasted no time before throwing his arms around his friend, and pulling him into the tightest brother-like hug ever.
"It's good to see you, mate," Charlie said happily.
"Yeah," Harry said softly, "you too."
Charlie pulled back, "How are you?"
Harry still looked around in disbelief, "F-fine."
The boy with glasses could hardly believe this was real. Four weeks with nothing, not the tiniest hint of a plan to remove him from Privet Drive, and suddenly a group of wizards was standing matter-of-factly in the house as though this was a long-standing arrangement.
"What are you guys doing here?" Harry inquired as Tonks and Lupin had stepped into the room, already packing his stuff.
"We're your advanced guard, Harry," Lupin said at once. "Dumbledore sent us. We're taking you to safety."
"So, we're leaving then?" Harry raised a brow, "Soon?"
"Almost at once," explained Charlie. "We're just waiting for the all-clear."
"Where are we going? The Burrow?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Not The Burrow, no," said Lupin, throwing Harry's clothes at Tonks so she could put them in his trunk. "Too risky. We've set up Headquarters somewhere un-detectable. It's taken a while..."
Charlie motioned Harry out of the room so he could peer down the stairs. Harry's mouth fell open at the sight of the six other wizards and witches standing below them, and the brown eyed boy stifled at laugh as he introduced them all.
Harry inclined his head awkwardly at each of them. He wished they would look at something other than him; it was as though he had suddenly been ushered on-stage. He also wondered why so many of them were there.
"A surprising number of people volunteered to come and get you," said Charlie, as though he had read Harry's mind; the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
"Yeah, well, the more the merrier," said Moody darkly as he pulled the two boy's down the stairs. He addressed the room as they reached the bottom, "We've got about fifteen minutes before we are safe to set off."
"Listen," Harry said, looking specifically at Charlie, "what's going on? I haven't heard anything from anyone, what's going on with Volde—?"
Several of the witches and wizards made odd hissing noises; Dedalus Diggle dropped his hat, and Moody growled, "Shut up!"
Harry furrowed his brows, "What?"
Charlie sighed, "We can't discuss anything here, mate. It's too risky..."
"So what's the plan now?" Harry pressed on, "How're we getting — wherever we're going?"
"Brooms," said Lupin as he and Tonks descended the stairs with all of Harry's belongings.
Tonks made Harry's trunk hover across the room and down the stairs ahead of them, Hedwig's empty cage in her left hand. Lupin followed her with Harry's Firebolt.
However, what had caught everyone's eye was the fact that Tonks had changed her hair colour. Her violently violet hair was now a bubble-gum pink.
Harry's eyes widened, "How did she — her hair was violet literally thirty seconds ago!"
"She's a Metamorphmagus," Charlie said with a low laugh.
A puzzled expression took over Harry's face, "A what?"
"It means I can change my appearance at will," Tonks said happily as she appeared alongside him. "I was born one. I got top marks in Concealment and Disguise during Auror training without any study at all, it was great."
"You're an Auror?" said Harry, impressed; being a Dark-wizard-catcher was the only career he'd ever considered after Hogwarts.
"Yeah," said Tonks, looking proud before gesturing towards Shacklebolt. "Kingsley is as well; he's a bit higher up than me, though. I only qualified a year ago. Nearly failed on Stealth and Tracking. I'm dead clumsy."
"Can you learn how to be a Metamorphmagus?" Harry asked her, straightening up.
Tonks shook her head, "Metamorphmagi are really rare, they're born, not made. Most wizards need to use a wand, or potions, to change their appearance —"
"Moving on," said Moody in a deep growl, interrupting the conversation, "We've got about a minute, I think. We should probably get out into the garden so we're ready."
Everyone shared a nod and started for the back door, Charlie gave one last glance around the house, and could see the huddled Dursley family shaking in the dark from the illuminated wizards and witches standing before them, wands out.
"Come here, boy," said Moody gruffly, beckoning Harry towards him with his wand. "I need to Disillusion you."
"You need to what?" said Harry nervously.
"Disillusionment Charm," said Moody, raising his wand. "Lupin says you've got an Invisibility Cloak, but it won't stay on while we're flying; this'll disguise you better. Here you go —"
He rapped him hard on the top of the head and Harry felt a curious sensation as though Moody had just smashed an egg there; cold trickles seemed to be running down his body from the point the wand had struck.
"Nice one, Mad-Eye," said Tonks appreciatively.
Charlie looked down at his friend, or rather, what had been his friend, for it didn't look anything like Harry any more. He was not invisible; he had simply taken on the exact colour and texture of the back door behind him. He seemed to have become a human chameleon.
"Come on," said Moody, unlocking the back door with his wand.
They all stepped outside on to Vernon Dursley's beautifully kept lawn. Lupin and Tonks were quick to secure Harry's belongings to the back of their brooms.
"Alright," growled Moody before he singled in on Harry, "keep a tight formation, will you? You'll fly in between me and Hawthorne. We'll be entirely surrounded, and we don't break formation under any circumstances do you understand me? Even if one of us dies —"
"Wait, what?" Harry said, his eyes widening.
Charlie laughed before raising a brow towards Mad-Eye, "You know, I'm starting to think you like instilling unnecessary fear in people."
Moody tried to hide a smirk, "Our job's to deliver him safely to Headquarters and if we die —"
"Mount your brooms, that's the first signal!" said Lupin sharply, pointing into the sky.
Far, far above them, a shower of bright red sparks had flared among the stars. Charlie recognised them at once as wand sparks. He swung his right leg back over his Nimbus, gripped its handle tightly and felt it vibrating very slightly, as though it was indicating that it was ready to go again.
"Second signal, let's go!" said Lupin loudly as more sparks, green this time, exploded high above them.
They all kicked off hard from the ground. Charlie raised his hood again before taking the lead in front of Harry. He remained behind Tonks just as before; the cold air consuming his warmed-up body again.
"Turning southwest!" yelled Moody. "We want to avoid the motorway!"
Charlie was now so instantly chilled he thought longingly of the snug, dry interiors of the cars streaming along below, even more longingly, of travelling by Floo powder; it might be uncomfortable to spin around in fireplaces but it was at least warm in the flames...
Kingsley Shacklebolt swooped around him, bald head and earring gleaming slightly in the moonlight... Emmeline Vance was on his right, her wand out, her head turning left and right... then she, too, swooped over him, to be replaced by Sturgis Podmore...
Every now and then, Charlie would glance back at Harry, just to make sure he was alright. Although he couldn't see him with the Disillusionment Charm, he knew that Harry was following closely behind him.
The trip back towards 12 Grimmauld Place seemed shorter for Charlie, and maybe it was because his body had become so frozen that it overcame his ability to tell the time. Nonetheless, his ringing, frozen ears could still hear the distant screaming coming from behind him.
"We ought to double back for a bit, just to make sure we're not being followed!" Moody shouted.
"ARE YOU MAD, MAD-EYE?" Tonks screamed from the front. "We're all frozen to our brooms! If we keep going off-course we're not going to get there until next week! Besides, we're nearly there now!"
"There!" Lupin yelled, "Descend now!"
Tonks dived just as she had done before, and both, Charlie and Harry, followed closely behind. Grimy and shabby-looking Grimmauld Place came into view once again as Charlie and Harry touched down onto a patch of unkempt grass in the middle of a small square.
Tonks was already unbuckling Harry's trunk. Shivering, Charlie took in the sight of the fronts of the surrounding houses... they were not welcoming; some of them had broken windows, glimmering dully in the light from the streetlamps, paint was peeling from many of the doors and heaps of rubbish lay outside several sets of front steps — welcome to headquarters, Harry.
"Where are we?" Harry said through chattering teeth as he stood next to Charlie.
"In a minute," Charlie said quietly.
Moody was searching for the Put-Outer once again. When he found it, he held it in the air once more and began clicking — the nearest streetlamp went out with a pop. He clicked the unlighter again; the next lamp went out; he kept clicking until every lamp in the square was extinguished.
"That'll take care of any Muggles looking out of the window, see?" growled Moody. "Let's go. We got to get inside quick."
He took Harry by the arm and led him from the patch of grass, across the road and on to the pavement; Charlie walked behind them, taking his hood off once again, Lupin and Tonks followed, carrying Harry's trunk between them, the rest of the guard, all with their wands out, flanking them.
The muffled pounding of a stereo was coming from an upper window in the nearest house. A pungent smell of rotting rubbish came from the pile of bulging bin-bags just inside the broken gate.
Repeating the steps that he had done three days ago when he returned with Hermione, Charlie said the Order of the Phoenix location over and over in his head, until eventually, much to Harry's amazement, the building parted and, just like before, 12 Grimmauld Place emerged from out of nowhere.
Harry gaped at it. The stereo in number eleven thudded on; the Muggles inside hadn't felt anything.
"Come on, hurry," growled Moody, prodding Harry in the back.
Charlie stifled a laugh as he took the lead, and walked up the worn stone steps, staring at the newly materialised door. Its black paint was shabby and scratched. The silver doorknocker was in the form of a twisted serpent. There was no keyhole or letterbox.
Lupin pulled out his wand and tapped the door once. Charlie heard the familiar loud, metallic clicks and what sounded like the clatter of a chain. The door creaked open.
"Get in quick, Harry," Charlie whispered, "but don't go too far and don't touch anything."
Harry stepped in front of his friend and over the threshold into the almost total darkness of the hall. The scent of a damp dust and a sweetish rotting had filled everyone's nostrils. Charlie looked over his shoulder and saw the others filing in behind him and Harry, Lupin and Tonks still carrying Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage.
Moody was standing on the top step releasing the balls of light the Put-Outer had stolen from the streetlamps; they flew back to their bulbs and the square glowed momentarily with orange light before Moody limped inside and closed the front door, so that the darkness in the hall became complete.
"Here —"
He rapped Harry hard over the head with his wand, and Charlie squinted into the darkness as the Disillusionment Charm lifted off of his friend.
"Now stay still, everyone, while I give us a bit of light in here," Moody whispered.
The hushed voices were provoking odd feelings of foreboding. Charlie heard a soft hissing noise and then old-fashioned gas lamps sputtered into life all along the walls, casting a flickering insubstantial light over the peeling wallpaper and threadbare carpet of a long, gloomy hallway.
Soon enough, the hurried footsteps of Molly Weasley emerged from a door at the far end of the hall. She was beaming in welcome as she moved towards them, a sense of relief was shown in her eyes.
"Oh, Harry, it's lovely to see you!" she whispered, pulling him into a rib-cracking hug before holding him at arm's length and examining him critically. "You're looking peaky; you need feeding up, but you'll have to wait a bit for dinner, I'm afraid."
She turned to the gang of wizards behind him and whispered urgently, "He's just arrived, the meeting's started."
The wizards behind Charlie made noises of interest and excitement before they began filing past him towards the door through which Mrs Weasley had just come.
Molly then beamed up at Charlie, reaching up to hold his face endearingly, "I'm glad you're alright!"
"So am I," Charlie chuckled, but his laugh trailed off as he saw Harry try to follow Lupin. The brown eyed boy caught his friend on the arm. "No, Harry, the meeting's only for members of the Order." — he pulled him back towards the stairs — "Come on, Ron and Hermione are upstairs."
Mrs. Weasley nodded in agreement, "You have to wait with them until the meeting's over, then we'll have dinner. Remember," — she looked at Charlie before speaking in an urgent whisper — "keep your voice down in the hall,"
"What?" Harry questioned, "Why?"
"I'll explain later," Molly added quickly, "Charlie, go show Harry where he'll be sleeping will you?"
Nodding slowly, Charlie pulled Harry past a pair of long, moth-eaten curtains, as Molly retreated back down the hall. After skirting down an eerie and shabby hallway, they started up the dark staircase, passing a row of shrunken heads mounted as plaques on the wall.
A closer look showed that the heads belonged to house-elves. All of them had the same rather snout-like nose. Harry's bewilderment deepened with every step he took — what on earth were they doing in a house that looked as though it belonged to the darkest of wizards?
"Charlie, what's going — ?"
"Ron, Hermione, and I will explain everything," Charlie whispered distractedly as he was mindful of the sound they were making.
When they had reached the second landing, they crossed it, turned the bedroom doorknob, which was shaped like a serpents head, and opened the door.
Harry caught a brief glimpse of the room before there was a loud twittering noise and a growl-sounding bark followed by an even louder shriek, and his vision was completely obscured by a large quantity of very bushy hair. Hermione had thrown herself on to him in a hug that nearly knocked him flat, while Pigwidgeon zoomed excitedly round their heads, and Ludo had barked excitedly from Charlie'a bed.
"HARRY!" Hermione beamed, "Ron, they're back, Harry's here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you two alright? Have you been furious with us, Harry? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless — but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh, we've got so much to tell you, and you've got things to tell us — the Dementors! When we heard — and that Ministry hearing — it's just outrageous, I've looked it all up, they can't expel you, they just can't, there's provision in the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life-threatening situations —"
"Let him breathe, Hermione," said Ron, grinning as Charlie closed the door behind him.
Still beaming, Hermione let go of Harry, but before she could say another word there was a soft whooshing sound and something white soared from the top of a dark wardrobe and landed gently on Harry's shoulder.
"Hedwig!"
The snowy owl clicked her beak and nibbled his ear affectionately as Harry stroked her feathers.
"She's been in a right state," said Charlie, "Pecked us half to death when she brought your last letters, look at this —"
He showed Harry the index finger of his right hand, which sported a half-healed but clearly deep cut.
"Oh, yeah," Harry said softly. "Sorry about that, but I wanted answers, you know —"
"We wanted to give them to you, mate," said Ron in a slight panicked tone. "Hermione was going spare, she kept saying you'd do something stupid if you were stuck all on your own without news, but Dumbledore made us —"
"— swear not to tell me," said Harry flatly. "Yeah, I get it."
The warm glow that had flared inside him at the sight of his three best friends was extinguished as something icy flooded the pit of his stomach. All of a sudden, after yearning to see them for a solid month — he felt he would rather Charlie, Ron and Hermione left him alone. There was a strained silence in which Harry stroked Hedwig automatically, not looking at either of the others.
"He seemed to think it was best," Charlie said softly as he stood next to Hermione. "My grandfather, I mean."
"Right," Harry said rather coldly as he watched Charlie, Hermione, and Ron all share uneasy glances.
Ron tried to cut the tension, "I think Dumbledore thought you were safest with the Muggles —"
"Yeah?" said Harry, raising his eyebrows. "Have any of you been attacked by Dementors this summer?"
"Well, no — but that's why he's had people from the Order tailing you all of the time —"
Harry felt a great jolt of anger in his guts. Despite his immediate cheerful reaction at seeing his friends, he looked at them with great disgust.
"Didn't work that well, though, did it?" said Harry, doing his utmost to keep his voice even. "Had to look after myself after all, didn't I?"
Charlie, Hermione, and Ron were at a loss for words. They fell into silence as Harry looked at them with an expression they had never seen before.
"So, why's Dumbledore so keen to keep me in the dark?" Harry asked, still trying hard to keep his voice casual. "Did you three even bother to ask him at all?"
"Of course we did," Charlie said at once, slightly taken aback by Harry's accusation, "But he's really busy now. I've barely seen him since I've been here. He just made us swear not to tell you important stuff when we wrote, he said the owls might be intercepted."
"He could still've kept me informed if he'd wanted to," Harry said shortly. "You're telling me he doesn't know ways to send messages without owls?"
Hermione glanced at Charlie and Ron and then said, "I thought about that, too, but he didn't want you to know anything."
"Maybe he thinks I can't be trusted," said Harry, watching their expressions.
"Don't be thick," said Ron, looking highly disconcerted.
"Or that I can't take care of myself."
"Of course he doesn't think that!" said Hermione anxiously.
"So how come I have to stay at the Dursleys' while you three get to join in on everything that's going on here?" said Harry, the words tumbling over one another in a rush, his voice growing louder with every word. "How come you three are allowed to know everything that's going on?"
"We're not!" Ron interrupted. "Mum won't let us near the meetings, she says we're too young —"
But before he knew it, Harry was shouting.
"SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU? YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER —"
Charlie tried to intercept, "Hermione just got here a couple of days ago —"
"I'VE HANDLED MORE THAN YOU THREE OF YOU HAVE EVER MANAGED AND DUMBLEDORE KNOWS IT — WHO SAVED THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE? WHO GOT RID OF RIDDLE? WHO SAVED YOUR SKINS FROM THE DEMENTORS?"
"That was a bit of a team effort, I reckon —"
"WHO WATCHED LORD VOLDEMORT RISE AGAIN? WHO SAW HIM COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM HIM?! ME!"
Charlie clenched his jaw, stopping himself from lashing out on his friend, who was clearly not in his right mind. Ron was standing there with his mouth half-open, clearly stunned and at a loss for anything to say, whilst Hermione looked on the verge of tears.
"BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?"
"Harry, we wanted to tell you, we really did —" Hermione began, but Harry kept yelling, this time getting in the girl's face to which Charlie had to exhale slowly to control his anger.
"YOU TRIED DID YOU? WELL, APPARENTLY NOT HARD ENOUGH! OR YOU'D HAVE SENT ME AN OWL, BUT DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU SWEAR —"
"Oi," Charlie snapped, trying to be calm, but seeing Harry go after Hermione made him lose all control. He shoved his friend back slightly, "watch your tone, will you? You have no idea what you're on about —"
"WATCH MY TONE? FOUR WEEKS I'VE BEEN STUCK IN PRIVET DRIVE, TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON! WHILE YOU THREE WERE HERE, HAVING A REAL LAUGH, ALL HELD UP HERE TOGETHER —"
"That's not what —"
"MUST BE NICE NOT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT FINDING OUT INFORMATION! MUST BE NICE NOT WORRYING ABOUT VOLDEMORT —"
"In case you forgot," Charlie spat angrily, his fists clenched as he got in Harry's face, despite Hermione's tug on his arm to hold him back, "I've done my fair share of worrying about You-Know-Who when I nearly died last year, fighting along side your ungrateful ass. Don't you dare stand here and patronize us, chatting nonsense about all the things you've done when in reality, you wouldn't have accomplished half of what you have without us! You're being an absolute tosser right now, coming in here yelling at us, getting in Hermione's face like that —"
"That's enough, Charlie, please," Hermione pleaded, stepping in front of the two best friends who sent daggers at one another. Her boyfriend's face immediately softened upon her interruption, and he bit his tongue as she spoke to Harry, "We're sorry, Harry. You're right, I'd be furious if it were me."
Harry glared at her, still breathing deeply, then turned away from them again, pacing up and down. There was a long pause, broken only by the mournful creak of the floorboards below Harry's feet.
"What is this place, anyway?" he shot at his friends.
"Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix," said Ron at once.
"Is anyone going to bother telling me what the Order of the Phoenix — ?"
"It's a secret society," said Hermione quickly, sending a worried glance in Charlie's direction as he tried to calm down. "Dumbledore's in charge, he founded it. It's a group of people who fought against You-Know-Who last time."
"Who's in it?" inquired Harry, coming to a halt with his hands in his pockets.
"Quite a few people —"
"Charlie and I have met about twenty of them," said Ron, "but we think there are more."
Harry glared at them.
"Well?" he demanded, looking from one to the other to the other.
Ron furrowed his brows, "Well what?"
"Voldemort!" said Harry furiously, and both Ron and Hermione winced while Charlie's head fell into his hands out of frustration. "What's happening? What's he up to? Where is he? What are we doing to stop him?"
''We've told you, the Order doesn't let us in on their meetings," huffed Charlie. "We don't know the details, just the general idea."
"Fred and George have invented Extendable Ears, see," explained Ron. "They're really useful."
"Extendable — ?"
"Ears, yeah," Ron finished, "Only we've had to stop using them lately because Mum found out and went berserk. Fred and George had to hide them all. But we got a good bit of use out of them before Mum realised what was going on. We know some of the Order are following known Death Eaters, keeping tabs on them, you know —"
"— and some of them are working on recruiting more people to the Order," added Charlie, trying to unnoticeably shrug off the mention of Death Eaters; the words alone sent a chill down his spine.
Harry nodded in understanding. He walked around the room again, looking anywhere but at Charlie, Ron and Hermione.
"So, what have you three been doing, if you're not allowed in meetings?" he demanded. "You said you'd been busy."
"We have," said Hermione quickly. "Charlie spent most of his summer renovating and decontaminating this place. Ron and I have helped him since we got here —"
With two loud cracks, Fred and George had materialised out of thin air in the middle of the room — the twins had recently passed their Apparation tests.
Pigwidgeon twittered more wildly than ever and zoomed off to join Hedwig on top of the wardrobe. Ludo began to bark again, and Charlie moved over to his bed where the dog jumped about in attempt to calm him down.
"Stop doing that!" Hermione said weakly to the twins. "You know your mum hates that!"
"Hello, Harry," said George, beaming at him, ignoring Hermione. "We thought we heard your dulcet tones."
"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out," said Fred, also beaming.
"But, when you're done," George smirked, "we thought you'd maybe like to hear something a little more interesting — like what's going on downstairs."
Ron's eyes widened, "If Mum sees those damned ears again..."
He trailed off, however, as the door opened and a long mane of red hair appeared.
"Oh, hello, Harry! Charlie, you're back!" said Ginny, brightly, as she walked in the room. "I thought I heard your voices."
Turning to Fred and George, she said, "It's a no-go with the Extendable Ears, she's gone and put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door."
"How d'you know?" said George, looking crestfallen.
"Tonks told me how to find out," said Ginny. "You chuck stuff at the door and if it can't make contact, the door's been Imperturbed. I've been flicking Dungbombs at it from the top of the stairs and they just soar away from it, so there's no way the Extendable Ears will be able to get under the gap."
Fred heaved a deep sigh, "Shame. I really fancied finding out what old Snape's been up to."
"Snape?" said Harry quickly. "Is he here?"
"Yeah," said George, carefully closing the door and sitting down on one of the beds; Fred and Ginny followed. "Giving a report. Top secret."
"Git," said Fred idly.
"He's on our side now," said Hermione reprovingly.
"Being a Death Eater with a conscience doesn't stop him from being a git," Charlie snorted from his bed which earned a scolding look from his girlfriend.
They spent the next several minutes discussing the members they knew from the Order.
Bill Weasley had returned from Egypt, and got a job at Gringotts so he could work with the Order. He didn't mind, however, because of the fact that he and Fleur Delacour have gotten fairly close after she began working at Gringotts as well.
Jack Weasley was still in Romania because Dumbledore wanted as many foreign wizards brought in as possible — Jack was trying to make contacts on his days off.
"Why couldn't Percy do that?" Harry inquired as he recalled Percy working in the Department of International Magical Co-operation at the Ministry of Magic.
At Harry's words, all the Weasleys, Charlie and Hermione exchanged darkly significant looks, all of them torn as to what to say.
"You see, Percy got a promotion at the Ministry," said Charlie softly, "and he and his dad got into a bit of a row..."
Fred sighed, "Every time Percy's name gets mentioned, Mum starts crying."
"It's been awful," said Ginny sadly.
"I think we're well shot of him," said George, with an uncharacteristically grumpy look on his face.
"How did he get promoted?" Harry asked, completely taken aback. "I thought he got into lots of trouble with everything that happened last year with Crouch?"
"No one knows," Ron sighed, "he came home one day really pleased with himself — even more pleased than usual, if you can imagine that — and told Dad he'd been offered a position in Hawthorne's own office. A really good one for someone only a year out of Hogwarts, Junior Assistant to the Minister. He expected Dad to be all impressed, I think."
"Only Dad wasn't," said Fred grimly.
"Why not?"
Charlie sighed, already dreading what was going to come out of his mouth.
"My father has been storming around the Ministry checking that nobody's having any contact with Dumbledore," he said flatly, and everyone looked at him intently. "My grandfather's name is mud within the Ministry these days, you see, they all think he's just making trouble saying that You-Know-Who's back."
George nodded, "Dad says the Minister has made it clear that anyone who's in league with Dumbledore can clear out their desks."
''Trouble is, the Minister suspects Dad now," Fred added, "he knows he's friendly with Dumbledore, and he's always thought Dad was a bit of a weirdo because of his Muggle obsession."
Charlie put his head down, ashamed of his father's actions. He knew why his father was so suspicious, of course, but the truth could never come from his mouth, not unless he wanted someone he loved to get hurt...
Hermione, who seemed to be the only one who noticed her boyfriend look to the floor, walked over next to him and leaned down towards Ludo to make the action look harmless to the Weasleys and Harry, while she discretely sent Charlie a glance to make sure he was alright. As expected, he said nothing and instead, gave her a fake reassuring smile that Hermione had every intention of questioning once they were alone can but for now, she let it go.
"But what's that got to do with Percy?" asked Harry, still confused.
"Dad reckons Hawthorne only wants Percy in his office because he wants to use him to spy on the family — and Dumbledore." George explained. "Percy went berserk at these 'accusations'. He said loads of stuff. He said having the Weasley name was always a struggle as he was tied to Dad's lousy reputation. Called us idiots for running around with Dumbledore. Called us traitors to the Ministry..."
"But Percy must know Voldemort's back," said Harry slowly, "He's not stupid, he must know your mum and dad wouldn't risk everything without proof."
"Percy takes the Daily Prophet very seriously," said Hermione tartly, and the others all nodded.
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, looking around at them all. They were all regarding him warily.
Charlie raised his head, "They think you and I lied about seeing You-Know-Who that night. Tabloids say we're just a bunch of attention-seeking kids who want to be seen as heroes." — he chuckled bitterly — "My father isn't helping either. He would rather ignore the mere idea of the Dark Lord's return than face the backlash he'd face through admittance."
"But you're his son!" exclaimed Harry in disbelief, "And you nearly died last year, surely he's got to believe —"
"I'm afraid that doesn't mean much anymore," Charlie muttered sadly and Hermione watched him intently as his head fell again, "he doesn't care, and I'm done wasting my breath on something that isn't going to change."
The room fell quiet once again. They were back on the topic of his father and Charlie did not want to think about that. He cast around for another change of subject, but was saved the necessity of finding one by the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. Seconds later, Mrs Weasley appeared in the bedroom doorway.
"Meeting's over now," she beamed, "you lot can come down for dinner."
The Weasley children all grimaced at one another before rushing out of the room. Harry and Hermione didn't move, however, and Charlie remained still on his bed as Molly spoke once more.
"Come now, Harry," she nudged the boy with glasses forward, "everyone is dying to see you!"
With that, the only two left in the room were Charlie and Hermione, and he could feel the questioning eyes of his girlfriend upon him. Not wanting to engage in conversation about his father, he stood up and walked to the door.
"Come on," Charlie said softly, holding the door open for Hermione to walk passed him.
And she did so, but very reluctantly, taking the hint that her boyfriend didn't wish to talk about such heavy topics right now. As she walked out the door, Charlie followed closely behind her, but to his confusion, Hermione came to a halt in front of him which made him stumble into her slightly.
He watched her with furrowed brows as she peered over the balcony that overlooked the bottom floor, as if making sure the coast was clear.
"Mione," he whispered, "what are you —"
Charlie was cut off as Hermione spun around abruptly, pushing him up against the wall in the dark corridor, and placing a passionate kiss on his lips. Her hands founds their way around his neck as she pulled him down further to deepen the kiss.
Despite his immediate shock, Charlie melted into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist instantly — his problems and worries fading away. It was by far the most sensual kiss they had shared as Hermione had pushed her tongue into Charlie's mouth, and soon enough, they battled for dominance.
As crazy as it sounded, the risk of anyone coming up the stairs while they engaged in a heated snog at the top was invigorating. Charlie groaned in pleasure quietly as Hermione ran her fingers roughly through his hair.
In that moment, he had every intention of skipping dinner, and instead whisking Hermione away to a secluded area so that they could snog more comfortably, but Mrs. Weasley's voice coming from downstairs had caused his girlfriend to pull away abruptly, and yet Charlie couldn't stop. He simply disconnected himself from her lips, and kissed down to her neck instead, causing her to let out a low moan.
Despite the amount of pleasure she was feeling, Hermione channeled every bit of self-control she had and pushed his head back, covering his mouth with her hand.
"Wait, wait," she breathed out, trying not to look into Charlie's darkened brown eyes because if she did, she was a goner. Instead, she narrowed her eyes towards the stairs once more, so she could focus on Molly's voice.
"Charlie! Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley called, "The food's getting cold!"
"Coming!" Hermione yelled back, and she could hear Molly's footsteps retreating back into the kitchen below shortly after.
In the next moment, Hermione removed her hand, and Charlie, disregarding Molly's request, had instantly went back to what he was doing before he was so rudely interrupted. However, just like before, his girlfriend pushed his head back.
"We've got to go," she said with a quiet squeal.
"Do we have to?" Charlie groaned as he let his head fall back against the wall, "Come on, you can't just kiss me like that and expect me to be worried about the roast dinner downstairs."
Hermione let out a breathy laugh as she rested her head against his, "Yes, we have to. They'll get suspicious."
"Let them get suspicious then," Charlie smirked, before leaning back in, but Hermione moved her head to the side with a giggle.
"I'm serious," she scolded playfully, "that kiss wasn't supposed to go that far anyway... that wasn't my intention."
Charlie raised a flirty brow, "Yeah? And what was your intention then, Granger?"
"I missed your kisses," Hermione admitted bashfully. "And I thought that with the Weasleys so focused on Harry, this might be my only shot to steal a kiss or two."
"Or three. Or four," Charlie teased, placing a few more quick pecks on her lips, before he rested his head back on hers with a sigh, "you're going to be the death of me one day, Hermione Granger."
"Is that right?" Hermione whispered lowly, smirking victoriously which caused Charlie to nod slowly as he captured her lips again. When she reluctantly pulled back, she spoke against his lips, "We'll finish this later — wait five minutes, then come down, okay?"
Before Charlie could protest, his girlfriend had untangled herself from around him, and swept down the stairs. He could've sworn he could hear a playful giggle as she descended the stairs — that girl knew exactly what she was doing.
Charlie rested his head against the wall with a exasperated sigh, but soon enough, a smile formed on his lips as his mind began to replay what had just happened. He slicked his messed-up hair back with a breathy laugh, his heart beating rapidly fast —
"CHARLIE!"
"Coming!"
—————————————
Author's Note:
*this chapter was not proof read*
Is it just me, or is it hot in here? 🥵
LMFAO I'm too much for myself sometimes...
ANYWAYSSSSSSS
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xo, Selena