CHAPTER THIRTEEN:

(A/N: guess who's back... 😌)

Third Person P.O.V.:

"Charlie!" shrieked Hermione, panicked as he was ripped from her grasp and, soon enough, lost within the rambunctious crowd.

It all happened so quickly; something caught Charlie around the ankles and he fell spectacularly, skidding along on his front for six feet before coming to a halt. Someone behind him was laughing. He rolled over onto his back and saw Malfoy concealed in a niche beneath an ugly dragon-shaped vase.

"Trip Jinx, Hawthorne!" he said before whipping around to find Umbridge amongst the crowd. "Hey, Professor — PROFESSOR! I've got one!"

Charlie panicked, scrambling to his feet, but as soon as he moved, Draco tried to restrain him by holding him down.

"Piss off, Malfoy!" growled Charlie, trying to break free. "What the bloody hell are you doing?!"

"Read the badge, Hawthorne!" laughed Draco, pointing towards a tiny silver 'I' on his robes just beneath his Prefect's badge. "I'm part of the Inquisitorial Squad now. A select group of students who are supportive of the Ministry of Magic, hand-picked by Professor Umbridge to ensure order."

His eyes widening in shock, Charlie tried to make a break for it, but Draco had shoved his wand under Charlie's chin, taunting him with the idea of repercussion. With every intent of engaging in a fight, Charlie clenched his fists, but he quickly faltered when Umbridge came bustling round the far corner, breathless but wearing a delighted smile; Harry Potter was being dragged behind her, her fist clenched tightly on the hood of his robes.

"Ah yes, Mr. Hawthorne!" she said jubilantly at the sight of Charlie at Draco's mercy; Harry and Charlie shared a scared look. "Excellent, Draco, excellent, oh, very good — fifty points to Slytherin! I'll take him from here... come here, Hawthorne!"

With a hard push from Malfoy, Charlie was urged in Umbridge's direction, despite his intense glares that shifted between the two of them. He had never seen Umbridge looking so happy. She seized his arm in a vice-like grip and turned, beaming broadly, to Malfoy.

"You hop along and see if you can round up any more of them, Draco," she said happily. "Tell the others to look in the library — check everywhere, okay? Off you go — and you two," she added in her softest, most dangerous voice, as Malfoy walked away, "you will come with me to the Headmaster's office."

Charlie and Harry groaned simultaneously as they were dragged from the Room of Requirement. They were at the stone gargoyle within minutes. Charlie wondered how many of the others had been caught. He thought about Ron, George, Fred, and Ginny — Mrs. Weasley would kill them — and of how Elaina would feel if she was expelled during her first year at Hogwarts... and Neville had been getting so good... and it had been Seamus'a first meeting...

His mind panicked when thinking about Hermione. He prayed that she hadn't been caught. Charlie couldn't even imagine the look of disdain on her face if she was expelled before taking her OWLs —

I hope she's okay... please be okay. he pleaded in thought. If Parkinson lays one hand on her, I swear —

"Fizzing Whizzbee," sang Umbridge; the stone gargoyle jumped aside, the wall behind split open, and they ascended the moving stone staircase. They reached the polished door with the griffin knocker, but Umbridge did not bother to knock, she strode straight inside, still holding tight to Harry in one hand and Charlie in the other.

The office was full of people. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, his expression serene. Professor McGonagall stood rigidly beside him, her face extremely tense. Kingsley Shacklebolt was positioned at the side of the door like a guard, and the freckled, bespectacled form of Percy Weasley hovered excitedly beside the wall, a quill and a heavy scroll of parchment in his hands, apparently poised to take notes. The portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses were not shamming sleep tonight. All of them were alert and serious, watching what was happening below them.

All eyes were on Minister of Magic, Fenwick Hawthorne, and almost immediately upon realization, Charlie cowered in fear. Fenwick was rocking back and forth on his toes beside the fire, apparently immensely pleased with the situation.

As the door shut behind them, Charlie pulled himself free of Umbridge's grasp. His father was glaring at him with a kind of vicious satisfaction.

"Well," he drawled. "Well, well, well..."

Charlie replied with the dirtiest look he could muster. His heart drummed madly inside him, but his brain was oddly cool and clear.

"We found them — just as you wished, Minister," said Umbridge. There was an indecent excitement in her voice, the same callous pleasure that Charlie had heard as she watched Professor Trelawney dissolve with misery in the Entrance Hall. "The Malfoy boy cornered your son."

"Is that right?" smiled Fenwick appreciatively, though his gaze didn't shift from Charlie's eyes. "I must remember to tell Lucius. Well, Charles, my boy... I expect you know why you are here?" He finally shifted his gaze to Harry, who had also broken free from Umbridge, "You too, Mr. Potter."

Charlie fully intended to give a defiant answer: his mouth half-opened to form the word, 'yes', but he quickly lost focus when he caught a glimpse of his grandfather's face. Dumbledore was not looking directly at Charlie — his eyes were fixed on a point just over his shoulder — but as his grandson stared at him, he shook his head a fraction of an inch to each side.

Therefore, Charlie changed his answer:

"No."

Fenwick was taken aback, "I beg your pardon?"

"No," repeated Harry at once before Charlie got the chance. "We don't know why we're here."

Fenwick looked incredulously from the two boys to Professor Umbridge. Charlie took advantage of his momentary inattention to steal another quick look at his grandfather, who gave the tiniest of nods and the shadow of a wink.

"So you have no idea," said Fenwick, in a voice positively sagging with sarcasm, "why Professor Umbridge has brought you to this office? You are not aware that you have broken any school rules?"

"Broken school rules?" questioned Harry, his tone hinting at slight amusement. "I have no idea what you're on about."

"What about Ministry Decrees?" amended Fenwick angrily.

"No," said Charlie blandly, shrugging while resisting the urge to snigger along with Harry. "None that I'm aware of."

His heart was still hammering very fast. It was almost worth telling these lies to watch his father's blood pressure rising, but he could not see how on earth he would get away with them; if somebody had tipped off Umbridge about the DA, then he and Harry might as well be packing their trunks right now.

"So, it's news to you, is it," snapped Fenwick, his voice now thick with anger, "that an illegal student organization has been discovered within this school?"

"Yes, it is," muttered Charlie, hoisting an unconvincing look of innocent surprise on to his face.

"I think, Minister," said Umbridge silkily from beside him, "that we might make better progress if I describe what I was informed of by our source."

"Very well," snarled Fenwick, nodding, and he glanced maliciously at Umbridge. "Where is our informant anyway?"

"Unfortunately," began Umbridge, looking thoroughly disgusted, "Mr. Zacharias Smith, son of George Smith from the Department of Magical Transportation, has fell victim to a nasty boil jinx — the poor boy's face is currently disfigured by a series of close-set purple pustules!"

Charlie had to restrain himself from smiling as he felt a sense of pride in Hermione's jinxing ability —

That'll teach you... snitch, he thought proudly.

"Good lord," sighed Fenwick angrily as he continued to glare in his son's direction. "And we have yet to find a counter-jinx?"

"I have not yet managed to find one," Umbridge admitted grudgingly, clearly ashamed. "But it doesn't matter if he won't speak, I can tell the story from here."

"Very well then," said Fenwick impatiently, urging Umbridge to continue. "Go on."

"Well, Minister," began Umbridge sweetly, smiling proudly as she revealed her findings, "Mr. Smith came to my office after dinner this evening and told me that if I proceeded to a secret room on the seventh floor, sometimes known as the Room of Requirement, I would find out something to my advantage. I questioned him a little further and he admitted that there was to be some kind of meeting there."

Fenwick crossed his arms, looking thoroughly concerned now, "Right, and? Tell me what happened at this meeting. What was its purpose? Who was there?"

"You will remember, Minister, that I sent you a report back in October that your son and Mr. Potter had met a number of fellow students in the Hog's Head —"

"And what is your evidence for that?" interjected Professor McGonagall, trying to come to the two young boys' defence.

"I have testimony from Willy Widdershins, Minerva, who happened to be in the bar at the time. He was heavily bandaged, it is true, but his hearing was quite unimpaired," said Umbridge smugly. "He heard every word that was said and hastened straight to the school to report to me." She turned back to the Minister with a bright smile, "The purpose of the meeting was to persuade students to join an illegal society, whose aim was to learn spells and curses that the Ministry has decided are inappropriate for school-age —"

"I think you'll find you're wrong there, Dolores," interjected Dumbledore quietly, peering at her over the half-moon spectacles perched halfway down his crooked nose.

Charlie stared at him. He could not see how his grandfather was going to talk his way out of this one; if Willy Widdershins had indeed heard every word they said in the Hog's Head, there was simply no escaping it.

"Wrong, am I?" repeated Umbridge, with a horrible wide toad-like smile. "I've been having them followed for weeks! Only when we were finally tipped off from Mr. Smith did we manage to locate the Room of Requirement. They all scattered upon my arrival! It does not matter, however. I have all their names here — Mr. Smith checked to see if the culprits had left anything behind. We needed evidence and the room provided."

And to Charlie's horror, she withdrew from her pocket the list of names that had been pinned upon the Room of Requirement's wall and handed it to his father.

"Excellent," said Fenwick darkly, a smile spreading across his face, "excellent, Dolores. And... would you look at that..."

He looked up at Dumbledore, who was still looking at Charlie, and pulled out his wand, holding it loosely in his hand.

"See what they've named themselves?" growled Fenwick quietly. "Dumbledore's Army."

Dumbledore reached out and took the piece of parchment from Fenwick. He gazed at the heading scribbled by Hermione, and for a moment seemed unable to speak. Then he looked up, smiling.

"Well, the game is up," he said simply. "Would you like a written confession from me, Fenwick — or will a statement before these witnesses suffice?"

Charlie saw McGonagall and Kingsley look at each other. There was fear in both faces. The young boy, however, did not understand what was going on, and nor, apparently, did his father.

"Statement?" said Fenwick slowly. "I don't — ?"

"Dumbledore's Army, Fenwick," reiterated Dumbledore, still smiling as he waved the list of names before the Minister's face. "Not Potter's Regiment. Not Hawthorne's Brigade — Dumbledore's Army."

"But —"

Understanding blazed suddenly in Fenwick's face. He took a step backwards in disbelief and clenched his fists, prominent fury fuelling inside of him.

"You?" he whispered angrily.

"That's right," said Dumbledore pleasantly.

"You organized this?"

Dumbledore nodded, "I did."

"You recruited these students for your army?"

"Tonight was supposed to be the first meeting," said Dumbledore, nodding. "Merely to see whether they would be interested in joining me. I see now that it was a mistake to invite Mr. Smith, of course."

Fenwick looked to Dumbledore, his chest swelling.

"You've been against the Ministry all along, haven't you, Albus?"

"Not the Ministry, Fenwick," said Dumbledore with a knowing smirk. "But if that's the story you're willing to falsely accuse me of, then so be it."

"Wait, no!" shouted Charlie. "No, he had nothing to do with it! It was me! I did it!"

The entire room had turned to look at him. Kingsley flashed a look of warning, McGonagall widened her eyes threateningly, and Harry became alarmed. However, it had suddenly dawned on Charlie what his grandfather was about to do, and he could not let it happen.

"Please! It was me!"

"It's okay, Charles," said Dumbledore calmly, smiling in Charlie's direction. "What's done is done."

"But you can't —"

"Shut your mouth boy!" barked Fenwick, who was still ogling Dumbledore with a kind of horrified delight. "Well, well, well — I came here tonight expecting to reprimand my son and instead —"

"Instead you get to arrest me," beamed Dumbledore. "It's like losing a Knut and finding a Galleon, isn't it?"

"Weasley!" cried Fenwick, now positively quivering with delight, "Have you written it all down, everything he's said, his confession, have you got it?"

"Yes, sir, I think so, sir!" said Percy eagerly, whose nose was splattered with ink from the speed of his note-taking.

"The bit about how he's been trying to build up an army against the Ministry, and how he's been working to destabilize me?"

"Yes, sir, I've got it, yes!" beamed Percy, scanning his notes joyfully.

Pathetic, Charlie thought at once, his eyes narrowing at Percy. Absolutely horrendous — you little lap-dog.

"Very well, then," smirked Fenwick, now radiant with glee, "duplicate your notes, Weasley, and send a copy to the Daily Prophet at once. If we send a fast owl we should make the morning edition!" Percy dashed from the room, slamming the door behind him, and Fenwick turned back to Dumbledore. "You will now be escorted back to the Ministry, where you will be formally charged, then sent to Azkaban to await trial!"

"Ah, yes," laughed Dumbledore gently, "you seem to be labouring under the delusion that I am going to — what is the phrase? — come quietly. I am afraid that you're mistaken, Fenwick. You see, I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course — but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing —"

"Enough of this rubbish!" barked Fenwick, raising his wand. "You're coming with me, Albus!"

Suddenly, a streak of silver light flashed around the room. There was a loud bang, like a gunshot, and the floor trembled; a hand grabbed the back of Charlie's neck and forced him down to the floor as a second silver flash went off. Several of the portraits yelled, Fawkes screeched and a cloud of dust filled the air.

Coughing in the dust, Charlie looked up to see a tall dark figure fall to the ground with a crash in front of him; there was a shriek, a thud, and somebody cried, "No!"; then there was the sound of breaking glass, frantically scuffling footsteps, a groan... and silence.

Charlie struggled around to see who was half-strangling him and saw Professor McGonagall crouched beside him; she had forced both him and Harry out of harm's way. Dust was still floating gently down through the air on to them. Panting slightly, Charlie saw a very tall figure moving towards them.

"Are you alright?" came Dumbledore's concerned voice.

"Yes!" said Professor McGonagall, getting up and dragging Harry and Charlie with her.

The dust was clearing. The wreckage of the office loomed into view: Dumbledore's desk had been overturned, all of the spindly tables had been knocked to the floor, their silver instruments in pieces. Fenwick, Umbridge, and Kingsley lay motionless on the floor. Fawkes the phoenix soared in wide circles above them, singing softly.

"Unfortunately, I had to hex Kingsley too, or it would have looked very suspicious," mumbled Dumbledore in a low voice. "Now, they will all awake very soon and it will be best if they do not know that we had time to communicate — you must act as though no time has passed, as though they were merely knocked to the ground, they will not remember —"

"Where will you go, Albus?" whispered Professor McGonagall. "Grimmauld Place?"

"Oh no," said Dumbledore, with a grim smile, "I am not leaving to go into hiding. Fenwick will soon wish he'd never dislodged me from Hogwarts, I promise you."

"Professor Dumbledore..." Harry began, wanting to apologize for what he had done, but Dumbledore cut him off before another word left his mouth.

"Listen to me, Harry," he said urgently. "You must study Occlumency as hard as you can, do you understand me? Do everything Professor Snape tells you and practice it particularly every night before sleeping so that you can close your mind to bad dreams —"

Fenwick began to stir awake, causing Dumbledore to panic and seize Charlie's wrist.

"And you, my dear grandson," said Dumbledore shakily, wavering between happiness and sadness. "Continue to keep that mind of yours closed off... you've been doing it obliviously for years, but now with your father's paranoia, I fear that —"

"Grandad, please," pleaded Charlie, confused. "I don't kno—"

"You will soon enough, I promise," whispered Dumbledore, kissing the top of his grandson's head before releasing him from his grasp.

Taking a step forward to protest, Charlie was stopped when Fawkes circled the office and swooped low over Dumbledore. To Charlie's surprise, his grandfather raised his hand and grasped the phoenix's long golden tail. There was a flash of fire and the pair of them were gone...

Charlie stood, frozen with shock, as his father, Umbridge and Kingsley finally came to their senses.

"Where is he?" yelled Fenwick, pushing himself up from the floor. "Where did he go?!"

"No idea," shrugged Kingsley, jumping to his feet. "You know, Minister, I disagree with Dumbledore on many counts... but you cannot deny he's got style..."

"Well, he can't have Disapparated!" cried Umbridge, ignoring Kingsley completely. "You can't do it from inside the school—"

"The stairs perhaps," suggested Kingsley, and he flung himself upon the door, wrenched it open and disappeared, followed closely by Umbridge. Fenwick hesitated, then got slowly to his feet, brushing dust from his front. There was a long and painful silence.

"Well, Minerva," said Fenwick nastily, straightening his torn shirtsleeve, "I'm afraid this is the end of your friend Dumbledore."

"You think so, do you?" said Professor McGonagall scornfully.

Fenwick seemed not to hear her. He was looking around at the wrecked office. A few of the portraits hissed at him; one or two even made rude hand gestures.

"You'd better get those two off to bed," growled Fenwick, looking back at Professor McGonagall with a dismissive nod towards Harry and Charlie.

Professor McGonagall said nothing, but turned to march Harry and Charlie towards the door. When they got to the exit, however, Fenwick's voice called out once again, stopping them in their tracks:

"On second thought," he said darkly, "I'd like a word with my son."

Gulping slightly, Charlie turned back around to look at his father. Fenwick's face was now accented with a sinister smile as he narrowed his eyes in his son's direction. McGonagall and Harry had turned back as well, but only to look between Charlie and Fenwick with curiosity. With an approving nod from Charlie, however, they swept out of the room without another word.

There was a long and insufferable silence as the door swung closed, and Charlie shifted uncomfortably on his feet, avoiding eye contact.

"Strange, isn't it?" said Fenwick lowly, his eyes burning with fury. "Months of daily updates, and yet, no word whatsoever about this little... army."

Charlie said nothing. Instead, he tensed and his heartbeat quickened as Fenwick took a few steps closer, hovering over his son as if to taunt him.

"Makes me wonder," continued Fenwick, his tone becoming a harsh growl, "what other things you've been keeping from me... and here I thought that we had an agreement..."

Again, Charlie said nothing, and simply continued to look towards the floor, not wanting to give his father the satisfaction. The portraits had become silent now, but were listening very closely, trying to decipher what the Minister was insinuating by his comments. Growing annoyed with his son's lack of response, Fenwick snapped, lashing out by grabbing of fist-full of the boy's robes and pulling him closer.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you," he spat, his grip tightening; Charlie's eyes had now widened in fear as he was now held at the mercy of his father.

Charlie looked up finally, and Fenwick gazed into the boy's eye with deadly intent. Without even realizing it, Charlie had cleared his mind of anything, numbing himself subconsciously to his father's mental search for answers. Instead, the young boy quickly looked around the room for an escape to the state he found himself in. With his father's grip tightening around his robes, Charlie looked to the portraits around the room for much-needed assistance.

"Careful, father," he muttered shakily, nodding towards the curious portrait of Phineas Nigellus that was watching the interaction closely. "You have quite the audience."

Snapping his head to the left, Fenwick glared upon the intrusive portraits, but in contrast, Charlie was subconsciously thanking them. Ever so slowly, Fenwick released Charlie from his grasp, pushing him back harshly as if had not intended on the confrontation ending so rapidly.

"You're lucky," snarled Fenwick lowly, although his hands were shaking in rage. Turning back around, Fenwick towered over Charlie, radiating terror, "Consider this your last warning, Charles... you and I both know what I'm capable of — do I make myself clear?"

Nodding slowly as he adjusted his robes, Charlie muttered, "Crystal."

"Good," dismissed Fenwick with a disgusted look on his face as he pointed towards the door, "Now get out of my sight."

Taking a second to gather himself together, Charlie gave the portraits, who had now returned to their positions of solace, a discrete and final nod in attempt to show gratitude. He left the office without saying another word, although he could feel his father's gaze burning holes in the back of his head...

As the door shut behind him, Charlie let out a shaky breath, and crouched over, placing his hands on his knees. In truth, seeing his father was now a reminder of all of the pain and fear that Charlie had experienced in the graveyard, and the mere thought made him shudder. He shook his head, trying to rid it of all negative thoughts, and marched on, acting as though his head wasn't screaming at him.

His intention was to head back towards Gryffindor Tower and pretend his encounter with his father had never happened. However, when he stepped out into the main corridor, the gargoyle sealing up behind him, Charlie jumped at the sight of a worried figure pacing the hall, awaiting the eventual opening of the door. The figure, of course, was Hermione Granger, who perked up once she caught sight of her boyfriend.

"What're you doing here?" Charlie asked softly as he made his way towards her. "You weren't caught, were you?"

"No, no," sighed Hermione in relief. She took a step closer to him, raising her hand to his cheek and caressing it softly, "I bumped into Harry and he said you were still in there. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine," said Charlie shortly, and he backed up slightly to force her hand to remove itself from his face. This, naturally, caused Hermione to frown at the loss of contact.

"Listen," Hermione began shakily, feeling incredibly gutted about her boyfriend's sudden disinterest in affection, "I know you're probably upset with me about how I handled the whole Romilda situ—"

"Hermione, please," interjected Charlie, looking more uneasy than ever as he surveyed their surroundings, "can we talk about this later?"

Hermione furrowed her brows upon realization of Charlie's anxious state. He was avoiding eye contact and keeping a significant distance which, she thought, was very strange.

"What's going on—"

The words hadn't even had the chance to leave her mouth completely when suddenly, the gargoyle door opened again. Charlie's eyes widened as he turned to see his father exit the Headmaster's office. Before Charlie even had a chance to react, his father noticed him and Hermione, and a bone-chilling smirk appeared on Fenwick's face as he made his way over to them.

"Ah, Charles, haven't left yet I see," he said, faking a smile as he approached them. "Must've got caught up, I presume." He shifted his gaze to a confused Hermione and said, "And I can see why — my word, I can see why my son seems so smitten nowadays."

Charlie felt his stomach wrench as Fenwick's eyes narrowed down on Hermione with immense curiosity. A fear greater than anything Charlie had ever felt before suddenly overcame him. His body tensed uncontrollably and his heartbeat pounded in his chest. Before anything could happen, he stepped forward, placing a hand on Hermione's back to urge her towards the direction of Gryffindor Tower.

"We were just leaving," he said hastily, interrupting the conversation as quickly as possible. He leaned closer to Hermione, whispering lowly as he guided her forward slightly, "Come on, let's go."

As Charlie moved to take a step forward, however, he was stopped as his arm was quickly caught aggressively by his father, and he was yanked back in a swift movement.

"Now, now, Charles," scolded Fenwick lowly, being mindful of Hermione's presence. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Charlie gulped as he turned back around, feeling incredibly uneasy. Hermione watched him intently, trying to utilize the knowledge she had obtained about his body language to understand what was going on. Fenwick, on the other hand, had found amusement in the situation, toying with his son like it was all some sort of twisted game.

"No? Well, then I guess I'll have to do it myself," he began, shifting his gaze and extending a hand in Hermione's direction. "Fenwick Hawthorne, Minister of Magic. Now, forgive me if I'm wrong, but I do recall us meeting before.You were in the medical tent after my son's encounter with a dragon last year, weren't you?"

Feeling indifferent about Charlie's reaction, Hermione hesitantly took a step forward, linking hands with Fenwick and shaking his hand firmly; Charlie watched this interaction carefully, his stomach turning — it was as though a nightmare was coming true.

As she shook the Minister's hand, Hermione felt incredibly troubled. She would look to her boyfriend for reassurance, but found nothing hidden amongst his eyes, and his silence didn't help either. Noticing this, Hermione began to form horrendous thoughts in her head, for she knew of Fenwick's aggression, and her heart ached for the silent boy next to her. Nonetheless, she tried to remain as composed as possible, being mindful of tipping the Minister off about the truth.

"Yes, sir," she said politely before releasing Fenwick's hand, "I'm Hermione Granger."

All of a sudden, Fenwick's face had lit up like a Christmas tree. His malicious grin stretched from one side of his face to the other. He glanced to an uncomfortable Charlie, with a knowing smirk, and then back to Hermione.

"Miss Granger?" he reaffirmed, looking thoroughly intrigued. When Hermione nodded, he continued, "Ah yes, Professor Umbridge has told me all about you... and your relationship with my son. Quite close you two are, isn't that right?"

"Uh, I-I suppose so," stuttered Hermione, unaware of what Charlie had chosen to divulge to his father.

"We're friends," muttered Charlie, glaring up his father with the utmost dislike. Hermione stared at the side of his face immediately, almost as if in disbelief that he had been able to form a sentence.

"Right," smirked Fenwick, fully aware that he was beginning to irritate his son. "Well, I best be off. I should go and see if Umbridge and Kingsley were successful in their pursuit of Dumbledore." He looked to Hermione one last time, smiling wickedly, "Lovely to officially meet you Miss Granger. I'm sure we'll meet again sometime very soon."

Hermione smiled awkwardly, unaware of what the Minister had been insinuating. Charlie, on the other hand, felt an immense hatred fuel up inside of him as he took a step in front of his girlfriend, taking a protective stance.

Fenwick's lips curled up in amusement, and yet he shrugged coyly, adding, "That is, of course, if my dear son here is willingly to let our paths so graciously cross..." With one last taunting wink in Charlie's direction, Fenwick turned down the hall, waving, "Until then, farewell."

Charlie glared down the corridor until his father had seemingly disappeared from his line of sight. Hermione stood closely next to him as though she were waiting for him to turn and confide in her about what had just happened. When he didn't speak for several minutes, however, Hermione took it upon herself to ask the obvious question that loomed over her head.

"What's going on?"

"My grandfather's been fired," muttered Charlie at once, although he never seemed to explain further, nor did he meet his girlfriend's gaze. Instead, he turned and began to walk towards Gryffindor Tower, but not before he whispered, "And my father's an arrogant arsehole."

——————————————

BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC:

Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) has replaced Albus Dumbledore as Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-Eight.

Signed: Fenwick Hawthorne, Minister for Magic

The notices had gone up all around the school overnight, but they did not explain how every single person within the castle seemed to know that Dumbledore had overcome an Auror, the High Inquisitor, the Minister for Magic and his Junior Assistant to escape.

No matter where Charlie went within the castle, the sole topic of conversation was Dumbledore's flight, and though some of the details may have gone awry in the retelling, it was surprising how accurate the rest of their information was. Everybody knew, for instance, that Charlie and Harry were the only students to have witnessed the scene in Dumbledore's office and, as Charlie was known as the Headmaster's grandson, he found himself besieged with requests to give a first-hand account.

Charlie, however, was in no mood to entertain nosy students who wished to know the details of the story. In fact, he was more than content enough to forget that day completely, for the combination of his grandfather being fired and his father threatening Hermione in front of him, was too unbearable to reminisce over and over again.

Overcome with distress from the difficulties of his family dynamic, Charlie had yet to realize that the news of his and Hermione's relationship had began to spread throughout the school like a wildfire. Only when he entered the Great Hall the next morning, did the boy come to realize that everyone was looking to him for answers.

"Quite the popular bloke this morning, aren't you?" joked Fred as Charlie took a seat at the Gryffindor table in between Hermione and Harry while the Weasleys sat on the opposite side.

George nodded, sniggering lightly, "Even more popular than normal, if that's even possible."

"Loads of people are talking about your granddad," said Fred gently before trying to lighten the mood by wiggling his eyebrows between Charlie and Hermione, "Or about you two snogging in front of everyone."

"Really? Haven't noticed," said Charlie sarcastically, glancing over at Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, who were goggling at him and Hermione from down the table.

"It's really none of their business," muttered Hermione hotly, as she took Charlie's hand in hers under the table. Her boyfriend smiled softly, squeezing her hand in reassurance.

"Pretty sure you made it everyone's business," scoffed Ron angrily across the table, dropping his fork in a huff. "Nobody asked to see you two stick your tongues down each other's throa—"

He was cut off as Ginny leaned over and slapped him on the back of the head.

"You're so incredibly stupid, it's astounding," she said through gritted teeth, sending glares in her brother's direction. "What did you expect her to do? Stand back and watch as another girl blatantly flirted with her boyfriend right in front of her? For Merlin's sake! She has perfect liberty to —"

"It's alright, Gin. I suppose there were other ways of interjecting..." muttered Hermione guiltily, feeling incredibly uneasy. "I don't know what came over me, honestly." She turned to Charlie, adding, "I'm sorry."

And although Charlie knew that the revelation of their relationship was bound to cause more harm than good, he couldn't help but nod slowly for a part of him always wanted to experience the slightest bit of normality when it came to Hermione. He knew she deserved that much, despite not knowing how long it would last —

"It's alright," said Charlie consolingly, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb. "Everyone was bound to find out eventually."

Hermione smiled happily, feeling incredibly relieved that he wasn't upset with her for exposing their relationship without his approval. Although she would probably never admit it, Hermione was absolutely beaming about the fact that they didn't have to sneak around anymore. She was happy to finally be able to share their relationship with everyone else — it had been a long time coming to say the least.

"Well, I'm happy for you lot," came Neville's voice from his spot on the far end of the long table. "We all are," he added, gesturing towards Dean and Seamus, who were both sitting next to him, nodding vigorously.

'Not everyone,' thought Charlie, glancing over at a grumpy looking Ron.

But nonetheless, he answered with a bashful smile, "Thanks mate. We appreciate it."

"Anyways," chimed Harry, pulling the attention off of the newfound couple to which Charlie was ultimately grateful. "In terms of Dumbledore, I reckon he'll be back soon. He belongs here. They won't be able to keep him away. Besides, the Fat Friar told me —" he dropped his voice conspiratorially, so that his friends had to lean closer to him to hear, "that Umbridge tried to get back into his office last night after they'd searched the castle grounds for him. But she couldn't get past the gargoyle. The Head's office has sealed itself against her." Harry smirked, adding, "Apparently, she had a right little tantrum."

Charlie laughed viciously, "Bet she'd really fancy sitting up there in the Head's office. Corrupting it like the meddling, power-crazy old hag she is —"

"Now, why is it that I know exactly who you're talking about?"

Elaina Dumont had slid into a seat in between Harry and Neville. Her kind face was alright with bright amusement.

"Mind if I join you?" asked Elaina politely, making herself comfortable amongst the lot of them. When they nodded, she laughed, "Good, because I swear if I hear Malfoy boast about that bloody Inquisitorial badge one more time, I might be tempted to punch the daylights out of him."

"I've done that before," giggled Hermione, reminiscing on her third-year row with Malfoy. "It was really good fun."

"I bet it was," Elaina agreed, and Charlie smiled at the fact that the two girls had seemed to evolve since the evident dislike from last year. Elaina looked around the table before she glanced upon Neville, a smile curling on her lips, "You know, I've tried to make acquaintances with the lot of you, but forgive me, I don't think we've had the pleasure to officially meet — I'm Elaina."

Neville gulped from the attention, "I'm nobody."

"No you're not," said Ginny sharply in defence, and Charlie could've sworn he witnessed Neville flush a deep crimson. "His name is Neville Longbottom."

"Pleasure," beamed Elaina politely towards Neville and he smiled in response. "So," she drawled when silence fell over them again, "why were you lot speaking ill of our new Headmistress when I came over?"

"So many reasons," muttered Harry, frowning.

"It really sucks, you know," began Elaina consolingly to Harry, "that the DA can't be a thing anymore... I really enjoyed being taught by you."

Harry's lips curled upward in a bashful smile, "Thanks."

"It's the truth," shrugged Elaina approvingly before adding, "and it'll suck not getting to see you as often..." Realizing how that sounded, she continued quickly to avoid Ginny's jealous glance, "I mean all of you, of course."

Nodding slowly, Harry smiled, resisting the obvious urge to blush. Charlie and Hermione shared a glance as the boy with glasses lowered his head to avoid his girlfriend's raised brow from across the table. Luckily, the awkward tension was short lived as George spoke up.

"You know, Fred," he said with a smirk, "I reckon a bit of mayhem is exactly what our dear new Head deserves."

Fred's eyes widened and he grinned from one ear to the other, "Funnily enough, I was thinking exactly the same thing."

Ron groaned, "Don't do anything stupid, will you? Mum will go mad if she finds out that you two have landed yourself into trouble with the Headmistress."

George shrugged, unbothered, "We've decided we don't care about getting into trouble any more."

"Have you ever?" asked Hermione, her eyes narrowing in curiosity.

"Course we have," sniggered Fred. "Never been expelled, have we?"

George nodded vigoursly, "We've always known where to draw the line."

Ginny sighed, muttering, "A very fine line."

"But we've always stopped short of causing real mayhem," added Fred, grinning.

"But now?" said Ron tentatively, his arms crossed.

George smiled, "Well now, with Dumbledore gone —"

"— there's no reason to keep a filter," continued Fred, finishing the sentence with a smirk.

The table's reaction was a mixed bag. In typical Hermione-fashion, her eyes had widened in worry. Ginny and Elaina tried to stop amused smiles from curling on their lips. Ron had rolled his eyes while Neville, Dean, and Seamus looked up in amazement, and as expected, Harry and Charlie shared a laugh.

"Hell, count me in," sniggered Charlie, and Fred and George looked to him simultaneously with a look of pride.

"You mustn't," whispered Hermione warningly. "You really mustn't! She'd love a reason to expel you!"

Charlie shrugged, unbothered, "That foul, loathsome, vile, toad-like woman deserves —"

"I wouldn't finish that sentence, Hawthorne," leered a voice from behind Charlie. "Could get you into trouble."

The boy's head instantly whipped around, and he found himself almost nose-to-nose with Filch the caretaker. He leaned his head back immediately; Filch was best viewed at a distance.

Filch glared down upon the boy who sat at the table with his friends, "The Headmistress would like to see you."

Charlie's jaw clenched in immediate anger, and he felt the back of his hand tingle at the mere thought of any more detentions with that horrid woman. Not to mention, he could feel the concerned glances of his friends that had now fallen upon him.

"What did I do this time?" growled Charlie, looking thoroughly unamused. Filch's jowls wobbled with silent laughter.

"Must've been something," he wheezed. "Follow me."

Charlie glanced back at his friends, who were all looking worried. He shrugged, and brought the back of Hermione's hand to his lips before releasing her from his grasp, following Filch into the Entrance Hall, against the tide of hungry students.

Filch seemed to be in an extremely good mood; he hummed creakily under his breath as they climbed the marble staircase. As they reached the first landing he said, "Things are changing around here, Hawthorne."

"I've noticed," muttered Charlie coldly.

"Years... I've been telling Dumbledore for years and years he's too soft with you all," said Filch, chuckling nastily. "But now, you'll see. You filthy beasts will be reprimanded properly for your revolting behaviour. When Educational Decree Number Twenty-Nine comes in, Hawthorne, I'll be allowed to do things... and she's asked the Minister to sign an order for the expulsion of Peeves... oh, things are going to be very different around here with her in charge..."

Umbridge had obviously gone to some lengths to get Filch on her side, Charlie thought, and the worst of it was that he would probably prove to be an important weapon with his knowledge of the school's secret passageways and hiding places.

"Here we are," Filch said, leering down at Charlie as he rapped three times on Professor Umbridge's door and pushed it open. "The Hawthorne boy, as you requested, ma'am."

Umbridge's office, so very familiar to Charlie from his many detentions, was the same as usual except for the large wooden block lying across the front of her desk on which golden letters spelled the word: HEADMISTRESS. Not to mention, his and Harry's brooms were chained and padlocked to a stout iron peg in the wall behind the desk.

Umbridge was sitting behind the desk, busily scribbling on some of her pink parchment, but she looked up and smiled widely at their entrance.

"Thank you, Argus," she said sweetly.

"Not at all, ma'am, not at all," said Filch, bowing as low as his rheumatism would permit, and exiting backwards.

"Sit," said Umbridge curtly to Charlie, pointing towards a chair.

Charlie sat down even though he hadn't wanted to. She continued to scribble for a few moments. He watched some of the foul kittens gambolling around the plates over her head, wondering what fresh horror she had in store for him.

"Well, now," she said finally, setting down her quill and surveying him complacently, like a toad about to swallow a particularly juicy fly. "What would you like to drink?"

"Sorry?" said Charlie, quite sure he had misheard her.

"To drink, Mr. Hawthorne," she repeated, smiling still more widely. "Tea? Coffee? Pumpkin juice?"

As she named each drink, she gave her short wand a wave, and a mug or glass of it appeared on her desk.

Charlie shook his head, "Nothing. Thank you."

"I wish for you to have a drink with me," demanded Umbridge, her voice becoming dangerously sweet. "Choose one."

"Fine... tea then," shrugged Charlie, beginning to feel uncomfortable.

She got up and made quite a performance of adding honey with her back to him. She then bustled around the desk with it, smiling in a sinisterly sweet fashion.

"There," she said, handing it to him. "Drink it before it gets cold, won't you? Well, now, Mr. Hawthorne... I thought we ought to have a little chat, after the distressing events of last night."

Charlie said nothing. Umbridge settled herself back into her seat and waited. When several long moments had passed in silence, she said gaily, "You're not drinking up!"

He raised the cup to his lips and then, just as suddenly, lowered it, feeling slightly conflicted with the idea of drinking anything offered by a known enemy.

"What's the matter?" said Umbridge, who was still watching him closely. "Do you want sugar?"

Charlie shook his head, "No."

He raised the cup to his lips again and pretended to take a sip, though he kept his mouth tightly closed. Umbridge's smile widened.

"Good," she whispered. "Very good. Now then..." She leaned forwards a little, intrigued. "Where is Albus Dumbledore?"

Charlie furrowed his brows, confused, "No idea."

"Drink up, drink up," she demanded, still smiling. "Now, Mr. Hawthorne, let us not play childish games. I know that you know where he has gone. Surely, your grandfather wouldn't disappear without telling you where he was off to —"

"I don't know where he is," Charlie repeated.

She was watching him very closely, and when he went to pretend to drink once more, Umbridge stopped him.

"You know, it's very impolite to not indulge in such gracious gifts that are offered to you, Mr. Hawthorne," said Umbridge, looking at the boy suspiciously. "I must insist that you drink from that cup properly... I will not tolerate such a failed attempt at deception."

Charlie's stomach turned over, and his hand holding the teacup shook so much that it rattled in its saucer. There was no denying now that there was a potion of some kind that was mixed into his drink as Umbridge appeared to be waiting in anticipation.

Feeling like he had no other choice, Charlie tilted the cup to his mouth once again, allowing every last drop of the hot liquid to trickle down his throat. When he was done, he put the cup back on the desk, revealing its empty contents to Umbridge, who smiled in satisfaction.

"Very good," she beamed, though she looked displeased. "Now, moving on, you will kindly tell me the whereabouts of Sirius Black."

Fully expecting the truth to come spilling from his mouth, Charlie was quite surprised to feel no effect whatsoever. In fact, his mind was as clear as it had ever been, and he felt oddly normal despite knowing that there was something slipped into his cup.

Maybe it was a dud, he thought. I mean, there must've been a reason that Umbridge was never considered for a Potions Professor—

"Mr. Hawthorne," called Umbridge, pulling the boy from his thoughts. When he looked at her, she repeated, "Where is Sirius Black?"

"No idea," said Charlie with a non-suspicious shrug. "Haven't got a clue."

"Interesting... interesting, indeed," said Umbridge, sounding convinced. There was a small moment of silence in which Charlie thought he was in the clear, but his face had fallen when Umbridge leaned across her desk, smirking devilishly, "I've got one more question for you, Mr. Hawthorne."

Charlie gulped, growing uneasy, "Which is?"

"Your father and I are very curious to know," she began as her smile curled in amusement, "what your relation is to Miss Hermione Granger."

The brown eyed boy's eyes widened. He hadn't expected for Umbridge to find out so quickly. In fact, he thought he would at least be given a single day to relish in normality with his girlfriend. However, when Umbridge mentioned his father, Charlie knew that he was going to have to lie through his teeth to protect the woman he loved.

"I-I don't quite know what you mean," said Charlie, acting confused.

"Mr. Hawthorne," sighed Umbridge, sounding displeased, "let me remind you that I have been specifically instructed to keep tabs on you for months now. I know perfectly well that your little friendship with Miss Granger is a lot more than you make it seem... now, tell me, are you in a secret relationship with Miss Granger?"

"We're friends," said Charlie, a little too quickly.

Umbridge pursed her lips, unsatisfied, "Have you two ever kissed?"

Charlie furrowed his brows, "I thought you said you only had one more questi—"

"Answer me," interjected Umbridge, sounding annoyed.

'Well, yes,' Charlie thought, so many times. 'We've done things that'll make you blush.'

The truth filled his mind with every question asked, but each time it was as if Charlie had been given the power to refrain from divulging his secrets. Instead, he lied to the best of his ability despite being under the influence of an obvious Veritaserum.

"No."

Umbridge pressed on, "You've never divulged secrets to her that were meant to remain private?"

'About you and your blood quill, yes,' he thought. 'But about my father? Absolutely not.'

But Charlie shook his head, "No."

There was a long, intolerable silence in which Umbridge shifted irritably in her seat, yet her curious eyes never shifted from the boy in front of her. Charlie, on the other hand, tried his best to remain composed through his interrogation, although he could feel his palms beginning to sweat.

Then, the Headmistress narrowed her eyes. She leaned forward, watching Charlie's face carefully as she asked, "Are you in love with Miss Granger?"

Taken aback slightly, Charlie muttered, "I don't think that's any of your business..."

"I must insist that you answer me, Mr. Hawthorne," urged Umbridge, tapping her desk impatiently. "For this is the question your father is most inclined to know the answer to."

Charlie gulped, and he held Umbridge's gaze for so long that his eyes began to water. This was the only question that had left him speechless. He knew what his own truth was, of course, but this exact moment was one of the many reasons he had refrained from saying it for so long — no matter how much he loved Hermione, his desire to protect her from the demons in his life was exponentially greater, even if that meant sacrificing his own happiness.

"No," said Charlie softly, and a pang of guilt erupted in his chest. To continue with the charade, he pressed on, "She means nothing to me now, nor will she ever."

Umbridge's face faltered for a moment, as if she weren't expecting those words to leave the boy's lips, and then she smiled, satisfied as she leaned back in her chair. For a moment, she twiddled her thumbs contently before rising to her feet.

"Very well, Mr. Hawthorne," she sighed, "I'll take your word for it. Be warned, however, that the light of the Ministry stands behind me. Your father is watching, my dear boy, and he has made himself clear to you on multiple accounts, I'm sure — all channels of communication in and out of this school are being monitored. My Inquisitorial Squad is under strict instruction to monitor your every move. Rest assured, if I find a shred of evidence of your dishonesty —"

BOOM!

Suddenly, the floor of the office shook. Umbridge slipped sideways, clutching her desk for support, and looking shocked.

"What was — ?"

She was gazing towards the door. Charlie took the opportunity to stand, but remained as curious as Umbridge at the intrusion. He could hear people running and screaming several floors below.

"Get back to your common room!" cried Umbridge, raising her wand and dashing out of the office. Charlie gave her a few seconds' start, then hurried after her to see what the source of all the uproar was.

It was not difficult to find. One floor down, pandemonium reigned. Somebody (and Charlie had a very shrewd idea who) had set off what seemed to be an enormous crate of enchanted fireworks.

Dragons comprised entirely of green and gold sparks were soaring up and down the corridors, emitting loud fiery blasts and bangs as they went; shockingly-pink Catherine wheels five feet in diameter were whizzing lethally through the air like flying saucers; rockets with long tails of brilliant silver stars were ricocheting off the walls; sparklers were writing swear words in midair of their own accord; firecrackers were exploding like mines everywhere Charlie looked, and instead of burning themselves out, fading from sight or fizzling to a halt, these pyrotechnical miracles seemed to be gaining in energy and momentum the longer he watched.

Filch and Umbridge were standing, apparently transfixed in horror, halfway down the stairs. As Charlie watched, one of the larger Catherine wheels seemed to decide that what it needed was more room to manoeuvre; it whirled towards Umbridge and Filch with a sinister 'wheeeeeeeeee'. They both yelled with fright and ducked, and it soared straight out of the window behind them and off across the grounds.

Meanwhile, several of the dragons and a large purple bat that was smoking ominously, took advantage of the open door at the end of the corridor to escape towards the second floor.

"Hurry, Filch, hurry!" shrieked Umbridge, "they'll be all over the school unless we do something — Stupefy!"

A jet of red light shot out of the end of her wand and hit one of the rockets. Instead of freezing in midair, however, it exploded with such force that it blasted a hole in a painting of a soppy-looking witch in the middle of a meadow; she ran for it just in time, reappearing seconds later squashed into the next painting, where a couple of wizards playing cards stood up hastily to make room for her.

"Don't Stun them, Filch!" shouted Umbridge angrily, as though it had been his incantation.

"Right you are, Headmistress!" wheezed Filch, who as a Squib could no more have Stunned the fireworks than swallowed them. He dashed to a nearby cupboard, pulled out a broom and began swatting at the fireworks in midair; within seconds the head of the broom was ablaze.

Charlie had seen enough; laughing, he ducked down low, ran to a door he knew was concealed behind a tapestry a little way along the corridor and slipped through it to find Fred and George hiding just behind it, listening to Umbridge and Filch's yells and quaking with suppressed mirth.

"Impressive," Charlie said quietly, grinning. "Very impressive... you'll put Zonko's out of business, no problem!"

"Cheers," whispered George, wiping tears of laughter from his face. "Oh, I hope she tries Vanishing them next... they multiply by ten every time you try."

Charlie laughed, "How'd you do this so quickly anyways?"

"Oh, we've had this planned for ages," smirked Fred, his eyes watching the fireworks with immense pride. "But we figured that since the nasty old hag was too preoccupied with reprimanding you for whatever reason... there was a perfect opportunity to let the firecrackers loose without getting caught — and as promised, mayhem ensued."

"As expected," sniggered Charlie, sharing a brother-like high-five with both Fred and George, before he continued to watch Umbridge and Filch from beyond the tapestry — it was like a comedy movie come to life.

——————————————

The fireworks continued to burn and spread all over the school that afternoon. Though they caused plenty of disruption, particularly the firecrackers, the other teachers didn't seem to mind them very much.

"Dear, dear," said Professor McGonagall sardonically, as one of the dragons soared around her classroom, emitting loud bangs and exhaling flame. "Miss Brown, would you mind running along to the Headmistress and informing her that we have an escaped firework in our classroom?"

The upshot of it all was that Professor Umbridge spent her first afternoon as Headmistress running all over the school answering the summonses of the other teachers, none of whom seemed able to rid their rooms of the fireworks without her. When the final bell rang and they were heading back to Gryffindor Tower with their bags, Charlie saw, with immense satisfaction, a dishevelled and soot-blackened Umbridge tottering sweaty-faced from Professor Flitwick's classroom.

"Thank you so much, Professor!" said Professor Flitwick in his squeaky sarcastic voice. "I could have got rid of the sparklers myself, of course, but I wasn't sure whether or not I had the authority."

Beaming, he closed his classroom door in her snarling face.

Fred and George were heroes that night in the Gryffindor common room. Even Hermione fought her way through the excited crowd to congratulate them.

"They were wonderful fireworks," she said admiringly.

"Thanks," said George, looking both surprised and pleased. "Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs. Only thing is, we used our whole stock; we're going to have to start again from scratch now."

"It was worth it, though," beamed Fred, who was taking orders from clamouring Gryffindors. "If you want to add your name to the waiting list, Hermione, it's five Galleons for your Basic Blaze box and twenty for the Deflagration Deluxe..."

Laughing, Hermione returned to the couch where Charlie, Harry and Ron were sitting, staring at their schoolbags as though hoping their homework would spring out and start doing itself. She plopped onto the couch next to Charlie, snuggling up close to him without a care in the world.

"Oh, why don't we have a night off?" said Hermione brightly, pointing towards her unfinished homework as a silver-tailed Weasley rocket zoomed past the window. "We'll have plenty of time to do it later on, won't we?"

Charlie's eyes widened, and he looked down at his girlfriend in disbelief, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Now that you mention it," whispered Hermione happily, "I think I'm feeling a bit... rebellious."

Before Charlie could even react, Hermione leaned up, wrapped a hand around her boyfriend's neck, and pulled him down into a passionate kiss. This had been the first time they kissed in public since the DA meeting since, and the entire crowd that was circling around Fred and George stopped to whistle and tease them until they pulled away.

Flustered with the attention, Charlie buried his face into Hermione's hair while she giggled contently at her friends' reaction. In all honesty, Charlie did have a small lapse of fear swell up inside him at the possibility of Umbridge catching them, or being tipped off by one of the Gryffindors in the common room that night. That was quickly forgotten, however, as Hermione leaned her head against him, kissing his chest lightly over his robes as a form of endearment. Suddenly, all of his fears faded away, and Charlie let his guard down for a single moment to enjoy the normality of teenage romance as the crowd seemingly lost interest.

At the sight, however, Harry shook his head in disgust and threw the pillow from his armchair towards the happy couple.

"Oi!" he called when the pillow made contact with Charlie and Hermione's faces; they looked up at him instantly. "Get a room!"

Charlie simply let out a hearty chuckle and kissed the top of Hermione's head before smirking up at Harry. His girlfriend, however, shocked him when she spoke up once again.

"Maybe we will," she said at once, and Charlie could've sworn he saw Ron, who had been uncharacteristically quiet as of late, widened his eyes so much that it looked like they were bulging out of his face.

Giggling at her friends' reactions, Hermione sat up, smirking victoriously, "I'm joking, of course." She leaned over to kiss Charlie on the cheek, "Goodnight baby, I'm off to bed."

Charlie adorably groaned at the loss of contact and immediately reached out for her once again, whining, "Oh come on! Don't leave me hanging like that."

Shaking her head with a laugh, Hermione strolled around the couch, heading for the staircase leading to girls dormitories. At the bottom of the stairs, however, she stopped to turn back, winking in Charlie's direction.

"Well, come with me then."

And with that, she ascended the stairs, leaving Charlie on the couch to ponder her words. He glanced towards Harry, who shrugged in response, to Ron, who looked angrily into the fire. The brown eyed boy was too confused by his girlfriends proposition, however, to react to Ron's jealous state. Instead, he let his thoughts become words as he spoke to nobody in particular.

"D-Did she j-just — ?"

"Invite you up to the girls dorms?" finished a deep Irish voice from the other side of the room. "Yes, that is definitely what just happened."

Cocking his head to the left, Charlie saw Dean and Seamus sat one of the small tables under the window, playing cards in their hands, and yet, their focus was entirely on Charlie. Even Neville, who sat at the same table, but was tending to his Mimbulus Mimbletonia, appeared to be staring at the staircase up to the dorms in disbelief.

"Now, that's just cruel," muttered Neville consolingly. "She knows you can't get up there."

Charlie smirked, an idea forming in his head as he rose to his feet hastily and moved around the couch. Harry and Ron watched him curiously from their spots by the fire. The crowd surrounding Fred and George seemed to pay no mind.

"I'll take that as a challenge, Nev," said Charlie, taking a stance at the bottom of the staircase before removing his robes and rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt.

"There's no way," sniggered Dean, catching on to what Charlie was about to do.

Laughing slightly, Charlie bounded up the staircase quickly, hoping to make it to the top before the stairs transformed. He was on the sixth stair when there was a loud, wailing, klaxon-like sound and the steps melted together to make a long, smooth stone slide like a helter-skelter. There was a brief moment when Charlie tried to keep running, arms working madly like windmills, then he toppled over backwards and shot down the newly created slide, coming to rest on his back at the feet of his all of his friends, who had seemingly moved to watch his attempt from close-up.

"It's not going to work," said Harry, pulling Charlie to his feet and trying not to laugh.

"It's an old-fashioned rule, you git," muttered Ron, shaking his head. "Apparently the founders thought boys were less trustworthy than girls..."

"Well, aren't they?" giggled Ginny, who had just slid neatly onto the rug in front of them and was now getting to her feet. "Who's trying to get up there anyway?"

"I am," said Charlie happily. "I want to see my girlfriend."

"Yeah... I'm sure seeing her isn't all you'd like to do," smirked Ginny, wiggling her eyebrows. "I doubt it'll work though, but by all means, keep trying... it'll be good fun to watch."

"Oh, will do," said Charlie at once, taking a few steps back to get a running start. as Ginny and the boys conjugated in a group to watch.

With the same force as before, Charlie bolted up the slide, trying to pull his way up when just like before, he was thrown backwards. This time, he  landed hard on his backside, causing him to huff in defeat before rising to his feet once again, disregarding the loud laughter coming from his friends.

"Attempt number two," began Neville with a chuckle as Charlie took his running-start position again, "failed."

Charlie shook his head, but didn't appear discouraged. Instead, he pointed at Neville, smiling, "Yeah, best keep track, Nev. Rest assured though, I'll get it eventually."

"You won't," laughed Ginny, and Charlie narrowed his eyes at her as though he were using her words to fuel his desire to make it up the steps.

"Yes, I will." he said confidently and he took off again towards the spiral staircase.

As expected, he landed at the bottom of the stairs a few minutes later, making no greater progress than he had the first two times prior, but that didn't stop him. Instead, Charlie continued his pursuit, and each time, edged a little closer to success before it was pulled out from beneath him —

A little while later, Charlie was at the bottom of the stairs again, panting heavily. His tie had come undone, his hair was drenched in sweat and his dress shirt was unbuttoned to reveal his white tank top underneath; he looked as if he had just finished a twenty mile hike.

Not to mention, his continued failed attempts had caught the attention of the rest of the Gryffindors in the common room, and as expected, Fred and George found amusement in the whole thing. They even went as far as to orchestrate bets on whether or not their friend would be successful.

With his hands on his knees, Charlie was hunched over in fatigue as he turned to Neville, "How many is that?"

Stifling a laugh, Neville said, "This will be attempt number twenty-two."

Fred laughed, mimicking an announcer by raising his fist to his mouth as if he were holding a microphone, "BUT WILL THERE BE AN ATTEMPT TWENTY-THREE?!"

"WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE!" mimicked George, following along with his brother's joke. "RUNNER TAKE YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO!"

The crowd laughed as Charlie flipped the twins off before setting off once again. Up the stairs he ran, using the grips of his shoes for stability. His momentum had improved drastically since his first attempt and he used that to his advantage. He made it around the corner and could hear the intense silence of disbelief from the crowd below.

For the first time, Charlie smiled to himself as he turned his head. He could see the flat ground of the floor above, and he was all the more motivated to keep going. Using the walls to his advantage, Charlie swung himself forward, gripping the edge of final step tightly and holding on for dear life. With all of the upper-body strength he could muster, the boy pulled himself up and not long after, he rose to his feet at the top of the stairs.

Pleased with himself, Charlie punched the air in celebration, and even went as far as to yell, "Fuck yeah!" down the stairs, causing the crowd to erupt into applause.

Amongst the cheers, however, he heard the distant shouting of a shocked Ginny from below, "Last door on the right!"

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Charlie made his way down the hallway of dorm rooms before coming to a halt outside of the last door at the end, which he knew his girlfriend was on the other side of, thanks to Ginny subtle hint.

Knocking lightly, Charlie slicked his hair back out of his eyes just in time for the door to open, revealing Hermione on the other side who gaped in surprise.

"Hi," said Charlie, grinning.

"I-I didn't think y-you'd..." gasped Hermione, but she trailed off as she caught sight of his sweaty appearance and put the pieces together. She giggled slightly, shaking her head in disbelief, "You know, you're quite persistent when you want to be."

Charlie shrugged with a smirk, "I like a challenge."

"And I suppose I should reward you, shouldn't I?" hummed Hermione sensually, taking a step towards Charlie in the doorway to ghost his lips with hers. When their lips were about to meet, however, Hermione cocked her head to the left, speaking into the room behind her, "Lav, would you mind giving us some privacy for an hour or two?"

Charlie furrowed his brows in confusion, but his face quickly faltered when Lavender Brown appeared in the doorway, looking just as confused as he previously was.

"Give who some privacy? What are you on abou— oh! I see," she said upon realization of who was at the door. With a slight suggestive eyebrow raise, she said, "Well, hello, Charlie."

The boy gave an awkward little wave before Lavender and Hermione shared a knowing glance, making Charlie shift uncomfortably on his feet. He even went as far as to look to the floor to hide his reddening cheeks.

"Coincidentally," began Lavender with a smirk, "I was just about to leave to go and find Ginny." Hermione beamed in content as Lavender walked through the doorway, waving goodbye, "Have fun you two."

And as soon as Lavender disappeared from view, her footsteps distancing as she moved down the stairs, Hermione reached out, grabbing a fistful of Charlie's shirt, and pulled him into the dorm room.

————————————————

Getting out of bed the next morning wasn't easy. Throughout the night, Charlie and Hermione had seemingly became so intertwined that moving without disturbing the other was nearly impossible, their bodies practically melded together, all tangled limbs and sheets.

Charlie ended up pressed up against Hermione's back; one arm holding her tightly around the waist, while the other was commandeered by his girlfriend to use as a pillow, her hand in his as their legs wrapped around each other, feet touching. His head was nuzzled into the crook of her neck as he spooned her from behind, holding her naked body close to his under the covers, and Hermione melted into him as if she was destined to be in his arms forever.

Hermione was the first to awake the next morning. She opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings; the curtains of the four-poster had seemingly been pulled closed, enclosing the happy couple amongst their shared warm bed. Charlie's soft snoring filled her ears and the previous night's escapades had flashed into her head, making her blush a light pink.

Snuggling closer to him, Hermione allowed the scent of Charlie's cologne on the bed sheets to flood her senses; she felt so comfortable pressed up against him. Her movement made Charlie stir in his sleep, and he came to his senses just enough to place a warm, soft kiss against her flushed cheek.

"Good morning," she whispered at once, her heart fluttering as she felt Charlie smile against her skin.

"Hmm," he sighed into her hair, clearly contented to stay this way for a very long time. "I could get use to this."

"No time for that now, I'm afraid," said Hermione sadly, glancing over to the clock on her nightstand. "We've got to get up."

Charlie groaned, releasing Hermione from his grasp and rolling over on his back, "Just a few more minutes... please?"

Sighing, Hermione sat up, holding the bedsheet to her bare chest, and glanced over to Charlie just in time to watch his eyes flutter closed once again. The heat had already crept into the room, making even the light sheets feel heavy and cumbersome; lazily Hermione rolled over on her side, propping her hand up to rest her head upon it as she gazed down at her boyfriend.

His bare chest rose ever so slightly as he breathed, the bedsheet covering the lower half of his body; Hermione admired him, feeling overwhelmingly lucky to be able to call him hers. She raised her hand to his face, tucking his signature curl away for a better view; and she smiled to herself for there was no better view she wished to have.

(A/N: was gonna use a 'Colonia' gif... but wattpad doesn't allow me to upload gifs larger than 3 MB smh)

"You know, it's not polite to stare," muttered Charlie softly; although his eyes were shut, he could still feel his girlfriend's gaze on the side of his face.

"I'm not staring," Hermione corrected in a whisper, giggling lowly. "I'm gazing."

Charlie smiled, his eyes still shut, "It's creepy."

"It's romantic," corrected Hermione once more, before inching closer to him and placing a soft kiss on his lips, to which Charlie gladly reciprocated.

In fact, that kiss alone seemed to wake Charlie entirely. With one swift movement, he expertly flipped them, sprawling between her legs and Hermione slowly drew them up to wrap them around his hips. Entangled together, Hermione blushed as Charlie kissed all over her face as a form of endearment.

The kisses were innocent enough; gentle, slow, and loving. After such a long night of vigorous activity, slowing things down was all their tired bodies could muster. Charlie placed lazy kisses around Hermione's face, making her squeal at his affections. He was so enamoured in his love for Hermione that realization dawned on him at once, and he stopped his attack of kisses to ghost her lips with his own.

"Happy anniversary," he whispered, and a happy, little grin fell on his lips.

Hermione's heart skipped a beat at his words; her eyes trailing from his lips to his eyes as she whispered, "You remembered?"

"How could I forget?" questioned Charlie with a playful chuckle that ricocheted off of Hermione's lips.

"I-I thought that w-with everything goin—"

Charlie cut her off with a loving kiss on her lips, silencing her at once as she reciprocated the same pressure as he did.

"All the more reason to remember such a day, I reckon," said Charlie charmingly, as they pulled away from one another. "Nothing is more important than this, and nothing makes me as happy as you do." When she blushed up at him, he kissed her again, not being able to resist. Pulling away once more, he added, "With everything going on... I need every ounce of happiness I can get, and you just so happen to be my infinite supply."

"Lucky me, I guess," teased Hermione, giggling softly.

Charlie scoffed playfully, "Don't act like you don't love my cheesy words of affection, Miss Granger."

Hermione sighed contently, pretending to contemplate for a moment; Charlie stared at her, his eyes sparkling, until she spoke again.

"You're right, I suppose," sighed Hermione, not being able to resist. She lifted a hand to his face, caressing it as she added, "I love you so much, happy anniversary."

Charlie's face softened as he gazed down upon Hermione, his smile growing wider as the words processed in his head. Instead of saying anything, however, he leaned down, telling her he loved her too in the form of a kiss. Hermione's hand moved around to the back of his neck, pulling him closer in attempt to deepen the action.

"Alright lovebirds! That's enough!"

Before Charlie or Hermione even realized what was happening, Ginny had ripped back the curtains, and was now staring down at the couple intertwined on the bed. Registering the youngest Weasley's voice, Hermione leaned up, pushing Charlie off of her, looking incredibly flustered.

"Ginny!" she squealed, holding the bedsheet tightly to her chest, "Go away, we're indecent!"

"Trust me, what I'm seeing now," began Ginny with an eye roll, "is nothing compared to what I heard last night."

It took a second for Ginny's word to process, but when they did Hermione's eyes widened in horror, while Charlie looked completely disappointed with himself.

He groaned, clapping a hand to his forehead as he fell back onto the bed, "We forgot to put a bloody silencing charm on the door..."

"Right you are, Charles," smirked Ginny, giggling slightly. "Quite the ruckus you two were making up here by the way. Hell, at one point, I thought the bed might've put a bloody hole in the wall —"

She was cut off as Hermione threw a pillow in her direction, making contact with her face.

Hermione shouted, her cheeks feverishly pink, "Gin, get out!"

"Oi, this is my bloody dorm room! And it's bad enough that the lot of us had to wait for your sexual escapades to be over before we could come to bed!" frowned Ginny, pretending to get offended. "So, if anyone has to leave, it's your bloody boyfriend who snuck up here for a shag!"

"I didn't sneak up here for a shag!" defended Charlie at once, sitting up and glancing to Hermione in reassurance. He spoke softly towards her, "I just wanted to see you."

Ginny scoffed playfully, crossing her arms as she looked to the state of the messy bed, "Right... and I bet you saw a lot of her last night, didn't you?"

With no rebuttal, Charlie leaned back against the bed frame, defeated. Noticing this, Hermione grabbed his hand consolingly, caressing it.

"If you must know," she began, looking up to Ginny with a glare, "I was the one who initiated it."

"And he was just gladly along for the ride, I'm sure," laughed Ginny, failing to keep her composure. She turned to Charlie, shrugging, "Seriously though, best if you scurry off. I don't think anyone fancies explaining to McGonagall why your in the girls dorms when she makes her morning rounds."

"I suppose you're right," sighed Charlie, moving to grab his clothes off the floor.

"I'm always right," grinned Ginny, pulling the curtains closed once again. She stopped halfway through, however, and poked her head in one last time, "I'm serious, if I hear so much as a smooch coming from behind these curtains, so help me Merlin —"

"Okay, okay," dismissed Hermione, shooing Ginny away; the redhead smirked before disappearing behind the closed curtains once again.

Sighing in annoyance, Hermione turned to look back at Charlie, who was in the process of slipping his jeans and boxers on under the covers, shielding his privates from view. She leaned over, wrapping herself around his arm and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I don't want you to go," she whispered, pouting.

"So, you're willing to tell McGonagall what we did last night, are you?" joked Charlie, turning his head to give her a kiss on the nose; Hermione shook her head immediately.

Instead, she began looking around for her disregarded clothes, suggesting, "Let me come with you then."

"No, it's okay. Stay here and get some rest," whispered Charlie, stopping her at once with a single peck on the lips. "We'll have plenty of time to celebrate later."

As they pulled away, Hermione's ears perked up, intrigued, "Oh? Is that right?"

"Yes, it is," hummed Charlie contently, leaning his forehead against hers. "How would you feel about meeting me at the Astronomy Tower tonight after your Prefect rounds?"

"I'd be delighted," smiled Hermione brightly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Grinning from one ear to the other, Charlie leaned forward, cupping her face and kissing her lightly. Before they could go any further, however, Ginny pushed opened the curtains again, screaming;

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU —"

And with a laugh, Charlie collected his shirt and shoes from the floor, and got up out of the bed, running from the room before Ginny could catch up with him. What he didn't realize, however, was that Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were perched upon a bed, gawking as they watched him disappear.

As expected, Hermione had a lot of questions to answer that morning.

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The day went by in a blur as Charlie was too preoccupied with planning his one year anniversary date to notice anything else. In fact, only when he was back his dorm room later in the evening, was he pulled from his thoughts.

"Quite the night you had, eh?" laughed Harry, asking the question that everyone was dying to know the answer to. "Ginny told me about what happened this morning... not that she had to since we all —"

"— heard us, yeah, I know," finished Charlie, fixing his jacket as he stood in front of the mirror. "Sorry about that, by the way."

"It's alright, mate. It happens," said Dean from his side of the room; Seamus nodded beside him. "Back in second year, I walked in on a seventh year couple on the common room couch —"

"And we don't need to hear the rest," dismissed Neville, looking horrified from his bed; all of the boys laughed... well all except one.

"It was revolting," grunted Ron, as he walked into the room from the on-suite; the laughter immediately turned into an uncomfortable silence.

Charlie tried to resist the urge to clench his jaw, but failed miserably, mumbling, "What? The couple of seventh years or Hermione and me?"

"Take a wild guess," said Ron, sending a glare in Charlie's direction.

"You know, I thought we were past this," sighed Charlie, rubbing his eyes in annoyance. "Or was punching me in the face not enough?"

"I should've done a lot worse," growled Ron so lowly that it was almost inaudible. He fell onto his bed with a huff.

Fists clenched, Charlie took a step towards the ginger's bed, ready to start a fight, but stopped once Harry moved in front of him, pushing him back.

"It's not worth it," muttered Harry, wanting to avoid conflict.

Sighing, Charlie unclenched his fists and turned back around, looking at his date outfit once more to calm his anger; he wore a black jacket overtop of a grey button up shirt paired with dark jeans and black shoes. Suddenly, nervousness overcame him as Hermione filled his head once again; he wanted tonight to be perfect, and Ron wasn't going to ruin that for him.

"What're you so dressed up for anyway?" inquired Harry, eyeing his friend with a raised brow.

"Hermione and I's anniversary," whispered Charlie bashfully, and his friends howled in celebration.

"Bloody hell!" beamed Seamus, thoroughly excited, "Has it been a year already?"

When Charlie nodded, Neville asked curiously, "Where are you taking her?"

"The Astronomy Tower," said Charlie simply, fixing the cuff of his shirt with a smile.

"It's past curfew," grumbled Ron, sitting up as his ears perked up at the mention of the date.

"And?" smirked Charlie, eyeing the ginger through the mirror. "When has that ever stopped me before?"

"Hermione's a Prefect," said Ron matter-of-factly. "If you two get caught, what's going to stop Umbridge from taking the position away from her?"

"If Hermione's not worried, then neither am I," shrugged Charlie, unbothered. "And last time I checked, it wasn't any of your business, was it?"

Ron scoffed, shaking his head before he let it fall back down upon his pillows, giving up. Smiling victoriously, Charlie headed for the door. He pulled it open and took a single step out of it before he stopped in the doorway, waving goodbye.

"I'll see you guys later," he said with a smile, and he pulled the door closed behind him, setting off down the stairs.

Charlie wandered through the corridors, empty but for the occasional ghost. Nevertheless, he tried his best to remain unseen for the fear of being caught by Umbridge was exponentially great. There was no Astronomy class scheduled for tonight, and so it was assumed that Professor Sinistra left the tower vacant.

Travelling via hidden passageways, Charlie arrived to the Astronomy Tower shortly after his departure from the Gryffindor common room. Such structure was the tallest tower in Hogwarts and Charlie stood by the parapet with a perfect view of a starry sky; he gazed at the sight. The daylight never did the Astronomy Tower justice, but now, under black sky dotted with stars, the room was magnificent.

The crisp big air paired with the star-shimmered sky was almost comforting as Charlie looked on, awaiting the arrival of his beautiful girlfriend. In the meantime, he conjured a beautiful bouquet of flowers to surprise her with, that was complete with daises, baby's breath, and sunflowers. He stood there, flowers in hand, and shook with nervousness for he had decided that today was the day —

It wasn't long after, when Charlie heard the approaching footsteps of Hermione as she stepped into the room. He turned instantly, and his mouth gaped at the sight before him. Hermione wore a short, thin-strapped red dress which hugged tightly to her skin, accenting her body. Her hair was loose, like it normally was. They made eye contact for the first time, and the two of them reciprocated giddy, little smiles as they took in the sight of one another.

Charlie stepped forward, meeting his girlfriend halfway, and took her hand in his, kissing it gently.

"You look breathtaking," he whispered as he leaned back up, grinning widely. Handing her the flowers, he added, "These are for you."

"You got me flowers?" blushed Hermione; Charlie nodded bashfully. She held them in one hand, as the other reached up to settle on his chest, "You look incredibly handsome, by the way."

"I like to think so," sniggered Charlie, and before Hermione could roll her eyes at him, he kissed her lightly on the top of her head, whispering, "Thank you."

When he pulled away, Charlie took her hand back in his, urging her towards the parapet. Hermione stood in front of him, gaping at the beautiful starry night sky on full display in front of her.

"It's beautiful," she whispered softly, aghast.

"Yeah... it is," said Charlie at once, although his eyes weren't on the sky at all, but instead fixated on the side of his girlfriend's face.

Having noticed this, Hermione blushed feverishly under his gaze, before turning to him, muttering, "Stop that."

"Stop what?" asked Charlie coyly, but an amused smile fell onto his lips.

"Looking at me like that," explained Hermione, her cheeks reddening. "You're making me blush."

Charlie chuckled softly, leaning closer to her to whisper, "As I recall, I've been making you blush for years now, Granger... so, that isn't exactly saying much."

"Prat," said Hermione, rolling her eyes playfully. She turned to face him, adding, "And if I recall, you took your bloody time to act on such a clear indication that I fancied you."

"Oh, but I did act on it eventually, didn't I?" rebuttals Charlie at once, a smirk forming on his lips. "And here we are — a year later."

Hermione smiled widely, repeating, "A year later."

"Crazy how time flies, isn't it?" hummed Charlie contently, caressing Hermione's hand. He laughed, reminiscing on the past year, "It seems like it was just yesterday when you were ready to kill me for spending time with Elaina Dumont."

"She fancied you," mumbled Hermione guilty, "and so did I... and it didn't help that you were being an oblivious spanner."

"Hey!" defended Charlie at once, making Hermione giggle uncontrollably. Shaking his head playfully, he pressed on, "But you two seem close nowadays."

"Well, since we're not fighting over the same guy anymore," began Hermione matter-of-factly, "I don't really have a problem with her... Ginny might, however, as I think Elaina fancies Harry."

"Oh absolutely," agreed Charlie, recalling the small hiccup in the Great Hall the previous morning. "Poor girl... she always seems to want what she can't have."

Hermione's ears perked up, her eyebrow raising in intrigue, "Are you implying that she couldn't have had you last year?"

Charlie nodded obliviously, "That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Oh? And why is that?" smirked Hermione, trying to trick her boyfriend into divulge his early feelings for her.

"You know why," muttered Charlie, moving to lean over the balcony in attempt to avoid confrontation. When Hermione said nothing in response, he pressed on, "My heart belonged to you way longer than I cared to admit at the beginning of last year."

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" inquired Hermione, genuinely curious.

"Because you had already rejected me in our third year," said Charlie amusingly, cocking his head towards her to smirk.

Hermione sighed, moving to join him as she leaned her head against his shoulder, "You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"

"Probably not," chuckled Charlie, turning slightly to kiss her on the head. "Besides, so much happened last year with the tournament, Elaina, the Bulgarian bastard —"

"Be nice," said Hermione softly, although her lips curled with amusement at the thought of Charlie's jealousy.

"It was hell watching you with him," admitted Charlie, referring to the Yule Ball.

"Which is why you so eagerly swooped in to steal me for a dance," added Hermione, smiling as she reminisced.

"That I did," smiled Charlie proudly; he captured Hermione's hands in his, whispering, "Just like this."

Before Hermione could react, Charlie pulled her close and twirled her. Pulling her back into his arms, they swayed together under the stars among the cool night air. They danced for a moment, basking in the silence; the tranquility and serenity of being so tightly held by the one another was deafening.

When Charlie brought her in for a dip, he pulled her up seconds later and their noses touched. He could see the smattering of freckles across her cheekbones, how her hair had gold and copper highlights that shone in the moonlight, and how her lips pouted on her exhale; he admired every bit of her that his eyes could capture... she was breathtaking.

Similarly, Hermione watched as his golden brown eyes danced across her face before settling on her lips. As they sparkled, his decision became firm in his mind. His hair was loose, a single curl had fallen in front of his perfectly sculpted his face, almost in his beautiful eyes. She leaned forward, just a little bit, and closed her eyes. She would let him make the decision, just like he had done at the Yule Ball over a year ago... Charlie didn't disappoint, his lips quickly connected with hers.

Slanted together, their kiss was soft and sensual. Emotion poured into each other. They devoured one another, savouring the taste like it the best thing they had ever come across. Teeth nibbled and clashed, tongues danced and swirled, lips melded and brushed. Their hands explored. Hermione brought her hands to the nape of his neck and gently pulled, before running down the length of his broad shoulders.

Charlie grazed his hands across her waist before sliding one up, getting his fingers tangled in her wild curls. They each battled for dominance, but neither of them won against the other. It was chaotic, yet controlled; it was lovely, magical, wonderful and everything in between.

Too soon, they seperated. Her cinnamon breath swept across his face, while she brought her hands up to touch her lips. She could still taste the spearmint that lingered... and she loved the sensation.

In the next moment, Charlie moved to wrap his arms around her, settling into the crook of her neck as they stared off into the starry night sky once again. Silence overcame them, but this time, their hearts pounded rapidly in response to their kiss moments prior. Hermione leaned into him, loving the feeling of him pressed up against her. She wrapped her arms around his, that were situated around her waist, and blushed as she could feel Charlie smile against her skin.

"If you could change one thing in your past, what would it be?" she asked in a soft tone, making conversation, as she gazed dreamily somewhere into the distance, their bodies against one another basking in the shimmering moonlight.

There was a peaceful minute of silence, and Hermione took advantage of their stillness to enjoy Charlie's warm breath weave into her hair.

"Nothing," he announced eventually.

The brief answer was unexpected, and for a moment Hermione just listened to Charlie' brisk voice ring in her ears as she tried to comprehend how one could have not a single regret.

"Nothing?" Hermione echoed him with a frown of surprise. "Why?"

"Because a change in the past can change the future too," Charlie told her, and she sensed his face press closer at the back of her head, "and I fear that too much."

"Change isn't a bad thing," Hermione reminded him, tracing circles on the back of his hand.

"It is when I already have everything I want," said Charlie at once, placing a lingering kiss on her cheek. Pulling back, he whispered in her ear, "And I don't want anything to jeopardize the future I have planned for myself. It's all coming together perfectly the way it is."

"Your future," repeated Hermione, feeling her insides swooning at the possibilities of the word. "D-Do you think I could be apart of it...?"

Charlie smiled, his heart skipping a beat.

"I think," he began honestly, tightening his grip around her waist, "that you're going to be the biggest part of my future. Our future," he added, correcting himself with a little grin.

"I like the sound of that," admitted Hermione, blushing feverishly at the thought.

"So do I," agreed Charlie, kissing her skin gently.

"Have you given it any thought?" inquired Hermione, growing curious as to what he believed their lives together would entail.

"We'd finish school," began Charlie at once; Hermione's heart skipped a beat at the fact that he didn't even hesitate. "Then, I reckon you'll find a job at the Ministry, while I stay here at Hogwarts, working for my grandfather. One day, I'll ask you to marry me, and hopefully you'll say yes," he added so effortlessly with an amused smirk, and Hermione's heart swooned. "Then, maybe we'd start a family."

"I want three kids minimum," added Hermione, imaging their perfect little life in her head.

"Whatever you want," chuckled Charlie, smiling at the possibility. "It's your body after all, I'm just along for the ride."

Hermione giggled, teasing, "Precisely what ever girl wants to hear."

"I tell it like it is," shrugged Charlie, blushing.

"I can't wait to tell them about us," whispered Hermione, referring to her and Charlie's future children. "About our story, and all of our memories."

As Charlie nodded happily into the crook of her neck, Hermione turned her head ever so slightly to peck his lips. Her hand reached up to caress the side of his face lovingly, and when they pulled away from one another, they stared romantically into each others eyes, resting their heads together.

"This is a future memory, you know," whispered Charlie, growing nervous for what he was about to do.

"Hmm?" hummed Hermione against his lips, thinking nothing of it.

"A memory of when your boyfriend," he began slowly, and Hermione smiled up at him, waiting in anticipation, "tells you that he's in love with you for the first time."

Hermione froze as the words left his lips; it was almost as if her heart had erupted in her chest. Her breath became shaky, her eyes wide, as she pulled away from his embrace, turning to face him.

"W-What did you just...?" she stuttered in disbelief.

"I'm in love with you," Charlie breathed out once again, his nervousness subsiding as if a weight had been lifted from his chest. "I didn't know how to tell you at first, but I know that I'm in love with you, Hermione Jean Granger. I love you. I always have. It's always been you. It was you yesterday, it's you today, and it will be you tomorrow. And for the rest of my life, it will always be you." He babbled on, and when tears of joy began to fall from Hermione's eyes, he added, "I love you... did I mention that? I love yo—"

Charlie was cut off as Hermione had pressed her lips to his eagerly. The kiss was deep, beautiful, and passionate. Their lips met gently, and it seemed as though their bodies had connected more than ever before. They met perfectly together, and in perfect synchronization, they moulded together. His hands found rest just below her jawline, and her hands had moved to cover his, stroking them with her thumb. Hermione's heart fluttered dangerously, and Charlie's veins were pulsing with love.

And just like that their lips parted, now both open and gasping for breath. They leaned their heads against one another again, and Hermione looked up into his eyes; they were soft with love and clear adoration. His features radiated with pure happiness, a smile fell on his lips as though his revelation brought a newfound energy into his body.

"It took you long enough," whispered Hermione teasingly, and yet, she smiled widely as she caressed his cheek.

"Better late than never, I suppose," smirked Charlie, feeling overwhelmingly happy.

(A/N: this parallel *chefs kiss* — if you understand where this is from, comment the chapter 😉)

"I suppose," beamed Hermione, matching the happiness that now radiated within the Astronomy Tower. She placed another peck on his lips before whispering against them, "I love you."

"I love you too."

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It was safe to say that Charlie and Hermione took their time relishing in their intimate moment up in the Astronomy Tower that night, as it was well past two in the morning when they headed back towards the Gryffindor common room.

They hadn't stopped smiling at one another since Charlie's revelation, and therefore, walked through the dark, deserted corridors cuddled together, sharing various kisses along the way without a care in the world. When they reached the Fat Lady portrait, she was snoozing soundly in her picture frame.

Charlie opened his mouth to say the password, but was quickly cut off as Hermione wrapped his arms around his neck, standing up on her tip toes to reach him.

"Wait," she said adorably, rubbing her nose against his. When Charlie raised a brow at her, she looked to his lips, whispering, "Just one more."

Gladly, Charlie leaned down, connecting their lips once more before their ultimately bittersweet farewell at bottom of the staircases leading up to the dorm rooms. It was a short and sweet kiss, but somehow left them wanting more.

Pulling away, Hermione groaned, sexually frustrated, "Can't you just sneak up to my dorm again? I'll make it worth your while," she added, teasing him with a low, sensual whisper.

"As much as I would love to," smirked Charlie, seriously considering it for a moment, "I think that me sneaking up there two nights in a row, might be a bit of a problem for your roommates."

"To hell with them," giggled Hermione, trying to persuade her boyfriend to join her in a late night escapade.

When Charlie shook his head, Hermione took this as a challenge. She leaned up once again, pulling Charlie down by the neck, and kissing him so passionately in attempt to make his head spin. As much as he didn't want to admit, Charlie lost himself slightly, drawing her in closer and holding his hands firmly on her hips as they snogged. The two of them completely unaware of their surroundings —

"Hem, hem," came a high-pitched, revolting voice that caused the happy couple to jump away from one another at once. "Back from a little late night date at the Astronomy Tower, I see."

As Charlie moved away from Hermione, his head snapped to the left. Much to his horror, Professor Umbridge stood, staring at them with a nasty, wide grin as though she had become victorious in a battle.

"Tut, tut," she taunted, lips pursed. "What are we going to do with you two?"

Charlie gulped. He was done for...

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banner creds: phonehabit (she's incredibly talented!)

Author's Note:
*this chapter has not been proof read*

Hope this LONG chapter made up for my absence! Thank you for all your support on this story while I was away! Your love for this story is unmatched!

How'd you like the chapter?! Lmfao did you guys enjoy the dorm scene as much as I enjoyed writing it?! WAS CHARLIE'S CONFESSION WORTH THE WAIT? tbh... still fangirling over my own story... let me know!

Can't wait to see your reactions! I've missed you guys so much! Much love always <3

xo, Selena

p.s. anyone wondering who tipped Umbridge off about Charlie and Hermione sneaking around after curfew...? 👀

p.p.s. no heartbreak in this chapter because after three weeks of no updates that would just be incredibly cruel... so enjoy this fluff for now 😈