Chapter Text
BOOM!
They had been grouped together, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Charlie, Fred & Percy. The two Death Eaters were at their feet, one Stunned, the other Transfigured; and in that fragment of a moment, when danger seemed temporarily at bay, the world was rent apart.
"Pulvinar Maxima!"
Hermione heard the spell called out from beside her, as the force of the explosion knocked her off her feet. All she could do was hold on tight to the thin stick of wood in her hand, and shield her head in her arms. She could hear the screams and yells of her companions without a hope of knowing what had happened to them, plunged into semidarkness.
A sudden blast of cold air told her that the side of the castle had been blown away, but the feel of cushions at her back and sides told a different story. It seemed Charlie's knack for quick thinking and his intuition had saved them yet again. As she struggled to her feet in the wreckage it was then that she realized that what should have been rock, stone and brick, had actually been turned into a pile of pillows. The biggest cushioning charm she had ever seen.
Harry climbed out of a shallow pile of cushions next to her, and together they stumbled over to the others, a group of three redheaded men who were digging through the wreckage frantically. Small cushions were flying in every direction imaginable as Charlie muttered, "No – no – no! No! Fred! No!" as he quickened his pace to get to his brother.
Harry ran over immediately to assist them, grabbing cushions and throwing them to the side, as the mountain of pillows was reduced to a hill. Hermione placed her hand on Charlie's back to attempt to calm him from his frantic movements
"Charlie, it's alright. You saved us. We'll get him out."
"No Hermione, shit, you don't understand!" He cursed, as he began to move faster instead of slowing down. "This may be a charm, but it still technically falls under the realm of transfiguration! We don't have much time!"
Her eyes widened in realization at those words, flashing back to her birthday with Charlie by the lake, and she too scrambled to join them in getting to Fred as fast as possible. There was no telling how long they had before the cushions would start reverting back into their original forms of rock and stone, and Fred would be crushed under their jagged weight.
It was Percy who found the first sign of their missing brother, as he moved a particularly large pillow out of the way to reveal a pale hand with long fingers. "Over here!" He called.
As the others ran over to that area to dig him the rest of the way out, a pop was heard, followed shortly by another. The pillows and cushions were changing back to their original forms now, and they would soon be dealing with large chunks of stone wall rather than the lightweight foam and fabric they'd been tossing aside previously.
Knowing there was no other choice to save Fred, Hermione cast a familiar spell for the second time that night. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The large pile of rubble, half transformed already, rose high in the air, revealing Fred's unconscious form on the ground beneath. Hermione held her spell confidently as Percy and Charlie lifted Fred up and out of the way.
"Look! He's breathing!" Charlie cried in relief, stemming from the worry that he'd cast his spell too late, but it was a relief that did not last long.
Ron released a scream, a terrified scream that caused the others to turn to where he was pointing. A monstrous spider the size of a small car was trying to climb through the huge hole in the castle wall: One of Aragog's descendants had joined the fight.
Ron and Harry shouted together: their spells collided and the monster was blown backwards, its legs jerking horribly, and vanished into darkness.
"It brought friends!" Harry called to the others as he looked out the gaping hole. More giant spiders were climbing the side of the wall, liberated from the Forbidden Forest, into which the death eaters must have penetrated. Harry fired Stunning Spells down upon them, knocking the lead monster into its fellows, so they rolled back down the building.
"Let's move, NOW!" Harry bellowed as a series of curses came soaring in directly past his head.
Charlie and Percy continued to hoist Fred's unconscious body under the armpits to haul him out of the way.
"Here," said Hermione as they placed him in a niche where a suit of armor had stood earlier. "Charlie, it's time! Get out the rest of the amulets and put one on him. Give one to Ron and Percy too! The acromantulas shouldn't be able to touch us if we are wearing them."
He did as she said, pulling three of them from his pack that luckily hadn't been misplaced in the blast and following scuffle. He passed one each to Ron and Percy, before looping the final braided cord around Fred's neck. It glowed silver just like the others had.
"What are these?" Percy asked curiously as his own rune glowed and faded to black again.
"Protective amulets." Hermione explained quickly. "Dark creatures won't be able to touch or harm you while you are wearing that."
"Where'd you get them?" He asked Charlie, still clearly confused by his sudden appearance from Romania.
"It's a rather long story." Charlie grimaced awkwardly. "How about I tell you it later once we've all survived the night, yeah?"
"Right." Percy agreed wholeheartedly with a nod.
Even though she knew they'd be given odd looks from their companions, Hermione didn't hesitate before hugging Charlie around the middle. Now that they were in a semi-safe place she was able to re-evaluate the worsening situation around them, and knew there was only one real solution.
"I'm sorry Charlie, but I'm afraid we are going to have to split up." She sniffled, and wiped her face on her torn and singed sleeve.
Charlie's face turned dark and his fingers dug into her shoulders to push her back in order to look her in the eye. "No! Are you kidding me? I just got you back!"
"Fred needs medical attention from Madame Pomfrey, and Percy can't get him there all by himself. Not with this many Death Eater's around. Plus, someone's got to hang back and pass out the rest of the amulets." She stood her ground, understanding his dilemma, but knew it was the right course of action anyway. "And Harry, Ron, and I have to reach the snake. We're the only ones who can end it!"
Sadness crossed his features, along with a hint of fear. "Hermione, I have spent the past eight years prepping for and dreaming of this night, but if we split up I can't protect you from whatever you come across next."
"I know, but –"
"No, Hermione, you don't. I can't lose you again!" Charlie bellowed out his frustration.
"You won't!" It was Harry instead of Hermione who spoke up in her defense. "I can feel him. He's in the Shrieking Shack. The snake's with him, it's got some sort of magical protection around it. He's just sent Lucius Malfoy to find Snape."
"He's not even fighting?" Hermione commented in outrage.
"He doesn't need to." Harry shrugged in annoyance. "He knows I'm going to have to come to him if I want to end it."
Hermione sighed and turned back to Charlie. "There isn't time for us to do it all together Charlie. Fred, Percy, and all the others are sitting ducks without you; and the amulets we worked so hard to make will be for nothing if you can't get them to our friends and family." She tried to reason with him. "And Harry needs me. You know how long I waited to make it back with everything, how much I yearned to be here beside him when he ends this."
Charlie sighed, frustrated but clearly admitting defeat. Instead of admitting his compliance though he rounded on Harry. "You better make sure she gets back to me safely Potter." He growled. "If you ever want my blessing dating my baby sister that is."
Harry's eyebrows raised up high underneath his bangs at the insinuation, but he nodded in agreement. "We have the cloak. If we get caught, or if there is any sign I won't be making it out, Hermione will be the priority. She'll come back under its cover."
Hermione looked a little annoyed at being left out of that important decision, but chose not to argue over it. If Charlie was actually agreeing to the plan, she didn't want him to change his mind and lock her away in some cupboard to keep her safe if she refused.
Charlie leaned down and placed a long languid kiss against her lips, pouring all the emotion he was feeling from their premature departure into it. "Maybe I should have locked you up in Romania with me eight years ago after all." He commented.
"Too late." She smiled sadly. "Plus, that wouldn't have been the right thing to do anyway."
"Promise me you'll listen to Harry." He whispered pleadingly, pulling her in close and sounding like he was trying not to panic. "If he tells you to hide, you use the cloak and hide. If he tells you to retreat, you come back immediately; Do you hear me?"
Hermione didn't like the idea of the boys prioritizing her over Harry, who was clearly the one who needed protecting above all else, but she also knew how she would feel if their roles were reversed, so instead she stayed silent and nodded her head in compliance. A deal for a deal.
Quickly, as they both knew prolonging it would only make this farewell worse, Charlie kissed her on top of the head before pushing her backward to her two best friends. His hand slid down her arm and then her fingers as she joined them under the cover of the cloak. Until at last all he could feel was the warmth her hand had left behind in his.