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Tweak says, "Triumph, Galatea!"

Hermione Jean Granger (dh_hermione) wrote in darkesthour_rpg,
@ 2008-02-17 21:05:00

Entry tags:

charlie weasley, february 2008, hermione granger

RP: Broken Dreams
Date and Time: 17 February 2008 Afternoon
Characters: Hermione Granger, Any- Jump right in!
Private/Public: Public
Location: Flourish and Blotts (Diagon Alley)
Rating: PG
Warnings: TBA
Summary: Hermione surveys the damage, finding it to be too much to take
Completion: InComplete

Hermione stood outside Flourish and Blotts, blinking back tears as she stared at the broken window, and the graffiti on the sign. Mudblood. Would she never escape that word? Since the war was over, she thought that she might have heard the last of it. She wasn’t delusional enough to think that type of thinking had gone from the world forever, but people had pulled together so much these last few years.

She looked around the street; there were so many people walking around, some she recognised and some that she didn’t. How many of these people are thinking the same thing? She wondered what it was that kept people from saying it to her face. Malfoy never had any trouble saying it, not to mention a few dozen more people at school.

Why bother when you can say it with mindless vandalism? Shaking her head, she pushed the door open. It wasn’t even locked any more. What would be the point? It’s clear my spells and wards weren’t powerful enough to keep these people out, why bother locking it now?

Letting the door swing shut behind her, she stood in the middle of the room, looking around at the mess. It looked like someone had set off a bomb in the middle of her shop. Walking over to the nearest bookshelf, she let her fingers trail over the spines of some of the books, feeling the stain of the dried paint that had ruined half of her stock.

Sinking to the floor, she leaned her back against the front of her desk, pulling her knees up to her chest, holding her head in her hands and letting the tears fall.

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dh_charlie
2008-02-17 09:12 pm UTC (link)

Having been practically forceably removed from St. Mungo's Hospital by its staff, and nearly by Oliver and George combined at one point, Charlie had to admit that all he could do for Penelope was to continue living his own bloody life - and let the Healers do their jobs.

As he left The Leaky Cauldron after finishing his lunch and chatting with Tom, he decided he should go take a look at the damage done at Flourish and Blotts. Tom had told him what had happened, as Charlie was rather in his own world since Wednesday.

When he reached the vandalized store, Charlie's jaw set in anger. Who the bloody fuck would do such a disgusting thing? He had a mind to take out his wand and scourify that word from oblivion, but it was clear by the Ministry tape still around that the site was still being investigated.

He was about to leave, when he saw the door had been jarred away from its sealing parchment to note it was a Ministry investigation. Charlie immediately took out his wand and turned the knob.

"Hello? Is there anyone here?" he called out through the door as he opened it a crack. "There'd better not be any one thinking their going to bloody lift anything here," Charlie warned.

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dh_hermione
2008-02-18 05:43 pm UTC (link)

Looking up at the door, Hermione could see the outline of a person stood on the other side, obscured by the patterned glass and paint. Her hand reached instinctively for her wand as the figure dawdled by the door.

In the back of her mind, she knew it wasn't the vandal coming back- there was no way they'd be so stupid as to come back in broad daylight, but her guard was up nonetheless.

Her eyes widened, blinking away tears as the mystery person pushed the door open. She wrapped her free arm tighter around her knees, wand pointed shakily at the door.

She thought she reconised the voice, but she was in such a state that she couldn't place it. "Who's there?" Her voice came out little above a whisper, and fresh tears began to fall as the door opened a little further.

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dh_charlie
2008-02-19 06:18 pm UTC (link)

Charlie stopped moving as he heard a small, quavering voice come back to him through the depths of the book store. It was barely discernable but it asked for him to identify himself.

It sounded like...

"Hermione? It's Charlie. Weasley. Is that you?" he asked back, waiting for her to answer. Charlie still kept his wand ready in case it was a ruse to catch him off guard.

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dh_hermione
2008-02-19 07:11 pm UTC (link)

Hermione felt relief wash over her as Charlie identified himself. She let her head drop back against the desk, unable to find the strength to get up.

"It's me Charlie. Come on in." She flicked her wand at the few remaining candles on the wall, shedding at least a little light on the room. Rubbing her eyes, she cursed herself for being such a mess, willing herself to stop crying.

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dh_charlie
2008-02-19 07:30 pm UTC (link)

"Good gods, luv. What in the bloody hell are you doing here by yourself?" Charlie asked, relieved that it was in fact Hermione but still concerned for her.

The room brightened as Hermione cast light into the room, and Charlie saw the tear tracks down her face and his heart softened towards the young witch. "Not that I don't think you can hold your own against some git, but...well, it's worrisome. Then, I think I inherited that from mum," he tried to joke lightly.

Stepping through some rubbish from the vandalism, Charlie closed in the distance between himself and Hermione. "I'm sorry about what those bastards did to your shop. I don't blame you for crying, luv. I'd probably do the same," he sighed, shaking his head.

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dh_hermione
2008-02-20 08:10 pm UTC (link)

Looking around the room, Hermione thought absently that she should probably clean up, but she wasn't sure if the Aurors would let her yet. Shrugging at Charlie's question, she turned to face him. "I wanted to see the damamge for myself. Ron showed me photos but...I just had to see."

She managed a weak chuckle at Charlie's joke, wondering if he though she was a bit daft for siting on the floor when she had a perfectly good chair on the other side of her desk. "Your mother worries enough for all of you, but I must say that you've all inherited that particular trait."

Hermione watched him as he moved closer, smiling at his reassurances. "It just goes to show that people still haven't gotten past the 'Purebloods are best' phase." She sighed, surveying the damage once more. "I just wish the Aurors would finish up soon so I could clear the mess up."

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dh_charlie
2008-02-20 08:26 pm UTC (link)

"It's a bit of a shock to see it right in front of you," Charlie agreed with a small sigh. "Tom over at The Leaky told me about what had happened after I had lunch. I'd been at the hospital back and forth since Wednesday, so reading the Daily Prophet hasn't been high on my list of priorities," he admitted with a small shrug of his own. "Wait a tick - Ron's on the case? Do they think dark magic is involved?" Instantly Charlie became more worried and he looked around as if a Death Eater was going to pop up right then and there.

Catching Hermione's tiny laugh, Charlie nodded. "I'm surprised she hasn't given herself a stomach full of ulcers - particularly since she's got as many boys as she does," he observed wryly. "But I will admit, I worry about everyone." More so since Fred died

Saddened by her statement, Charlie reached and put a hand on Hermione's shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "Don't clump all of us in that mind-set, luv. There's more of us that think the term pureblood is complete bosh than you realize," he said with conviction.

"They'll finish up soon, I reckon. Your shop is the biggest one in Diagon Alley and it's needed. If you need a hand cleaning stuff up, you just holler at me. I know a few things about scouring charms," Charlie smiled.

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dh_hermione
2008-02-20 08:41 pm UTC (link)

Hermione's eyes widened at Charlie's statement, worry clearly written on her face. "The hospital? Is something wrong? What happened?" She pulled herself to her feet at last, stepping closer to Charlie and looking over him curiously to see if there was any obvious damage. "The Aurors took the case because of the nature of the vandalism. All of this 'Mudblood' graffiti." She waved a hand dismissively, fighting to keep her voice steady. "Ron came to Africa to make sure I was alright, and he told me what had happened."

Smiling softly, she covered his hand with her own. "I know that you don't think like that. None of you do. Those of you that think that way are the ones that remind the rest of us just how ridiculous those kinds of statements are in the first place."

She moved backwards, perching on the edge of her desk as her gaze drifted to the nearest bookshelf. Dozens of books had been ruined by the paint, and she sighed, knowing that replacing all of the damamged stock was going to cost her a fair amount. "I might hold you to that. I may ask George and Ginny too. What better to cheer me up than an army of Weasleys?" She smiled, knowing that even if none of the others could make it, Percy would be there to help.

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dh_charlie
2008-02-20 09:37 pm UTC (link)

Charlie wanted to laugh as Hermione looked him over as if trying to assess damage, but the truth of why he was at the hospital wasn't very funny. He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

"I suppose you hadn't heard yet. Last Wednesday...Penelope was injured while at her clinic. Slashing hex to the abdomen. She's at St. Mungo's...and the Healers have determined it was dark magic. But I haven't been getting any answers as to what exactly happened. George found Penny, thank gods," he told Hermione, his face very solemn and filled with anxiety. "They've been having problems keeping her stable and...well, they don't know why."

When Hermione mentioned that Ron had gone to Africa after her, Charlie's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Gods, he went all the bloody hell over there? Well, I'm not surprised since he cares about you so much," Charlie said, rubbing the back of his neck. He wouldn't be surprised if Ron was still nutters about Hermione. Charlie himself had his own crush on the witch shortly after the war.

Giving her a sheepish grin, Charlie grabbed Hermione's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "No, we don't. But you're right in that all it takes is one person to remind us of the ones who still do. Bloody tossers," Charlie grumbled, shaking his head.

He then grinned and stood up straight. "You bet your arse we will. I'll drag anyone who gripes about it by their ear too. We'll help you get this sorted out, Hermione-luv. I'm going to talk to Ron and make sure there are proper Ministry wards created as well, if he hasn't already talked to you about it."

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dh_hermione
2008-02-21 09:51 pm UTC (link)

Brow furrowed as she listened to Charlie speak, Hermione reached out to rest her hand on his arm, unsure of what else she could do. "A slashing hex? While she was at the clinic...how in hell did someone get in and manage to do that?" A lump rose in her throat as he mentioned dark magic. That phrase seemed to be cropping up a lot these days and it was unnerving. "Dark magic? Did George see anyone? Gods, I'm so sorry Charlie, I hope she's alright."

She sighed at Charlie's reaction to her mention of Ron, fidgeting with her hands, suddenly nervous for a reason she couldn't pinpoint. "He was worried about me, he wanted to be sure that I was ok."

Managing a smile at Charlie' statement, she looked around the shop, knowing it would take a lot of work. "Well if they won't listen to you, I'm sure we could get your Mother to have a word." She paused, thinking about the long chat she'd had with Ron in Africa. "He didn't mention anything about the security, he just told me about the damage and promised me he would find whoever it was that did it. We had a lot of other things to talk about too."

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dh_charlie
2008-03-06 11:39 pm UTC (link)

Charlie reached up and putting his work-roughened hand over Hermione's, he squeezed it - grateful for her comfort. "I don't know. The Ministry's saying cock-all about it," he sighed, shaking his head. His eyes stung, thinking about Penelope fragile and weak at the hospital and there was nothing he could do. "George only got there in time to bring Pen to St. Mungo's. If he hadn't, it's probable that she..." He swallowed thickly, then gave Hermione a brave smile. "Thanks, luv. I hope she is too."

Hermione's reaction to the mention of Ron made Charlie frown, his eyebrows knit together in worry. "That's a bloody long way just to see if you're okay. Gods, he and Percy didn't get into it did they?" Ron could be a hot-head, but then all Weasley men could. Especially when it came to women.

Charlie chuckled and put up his hands. "Bloody hell, I wouldn't sick mum on anyone without a good reason." He nodded, rubbing a hand over his head and scratching his scalp. "I'm sure you did. Everything alright there?"

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dh_hermione
2008-03-07 08:41 pm UTC (link)

"I expect there's a limit to what they can say when Dark Magic is involved. Personally, I think they might be a bit worried. This isn't the first case involving Dark Magic lately." Hermione sighed, watching as Charlie fought back tears. She knew that he and Penelope were close, and she couldn't imagine how he was feeling. "Then it's a good job George was there. Don't dwell on what could have happened, Charlie. Just concentrate on Penelope getting better. She will get better, she's made of strong stuff."

"That's pretty much what I thought when he turned up, but it was good to see him." Raising her eyes to the ceiling, she huffed a laugh, before looking back at Charlie. "If Ron punching Percy twice counts as 'getting into it', then yes, they did." Hermione sighed, wondering why life couldn't be easy, at least once.

"Now now, your mother is a delightful woman, don't speak of her like that." Hermione smiled at Charlie's obvious concern, running her own hand through her hair. "Obviously it's an awkward situation, but we're all adults, we'll work through it. Ron and I have been through much worse together. I just wish we'd been able to tell him ourselves, before Ginny did."

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