It was well after two in the morning when Lia slipped into the casualty ward. Her Ministry cloak always made people leave her alone, even in a hospital with visitor's rules. People feared the Cloak People. Or at least found them way too creepy, which Lia didn't mind right now; it served her purpose.
Charlie was laying on his stomach, his back covered in bloody bandages that made her close her eyes in pain. Breathing deep, she had to give herself a moment to handle the pain radiating off of him. It was physical, but...something else, something darker in him. All of the Weasleys had so much pain. Lia reached out and brushed a small lock of Charlie's hair from his forehead. Didn't they realize that, no matter how hard it was, they had each other? That their dark places didn't have to swallow them whole when their siblings were so willing to be their light?
She sighed. Reaching into her shoulder bag--the one that didn't have Bob the bunny in it--she pulled out several photographs, wizarding ones and everything. Pictures of his home. Pictures of the dragons that lumbered around the massive grounds of the preserve, an up close shot of the one he called Hercules that slept soundly just yards from Charlie's front door.
And one more photo: the Burrow, its lights on, waiting to welcome him home. Lia used Spell-o-Tape to put the photos on the side of Charlie's bed side table, perfectly in view of his eye line.
She didn't know where she would go next. For a little while, she'd stay here. When she felt his family near, she'd leave. This should be their time, when they came, not something they shared with a stranger, even a stranger who cared deeply about their family despite her every intention to keep her clients at a distance. Lia reached out and took his hand, holding it between both of hers. Billpercygeorgerongin. The thought hit her like a pile of bricks. So fervent, so fierce. Billpercygeorgerongin.
And Charlie, she added silently, watching him lie still on the bed. Charlie, who was constantly pulling away for reasons she didn't understand--and she bet he didn't understand, either.