Lyra || Charlie Weasley ||

Oh, Merlin, We are going to die

I tiptoe down the hallway, keys clenched in my fist, headed for the garage. I'm nearly there when a sudden whisper behind me makes me freeze.

"Lyra?"

Cringing, I turn to find Charlie peering at me his eyes heavy with sleep as he rubs them, his hair messy like he just rolled off his bed, which he probably did.

"Go back to sleep, Charlie," I whisper dismissively, edging for the stairs again.

But he pads after me, frowning. "What are you doing up? It's nearly 3 am..." He whispers, "Nothing that concerns you," I whisper back. His gaze drops to the keys in my hand and he straightens sharply. "You are not going out driving that thing alone!" he hisses.

I huff defiantly. "Well come with me then!"

Charlie gapes, horrified. "What - no! Are you mental?" he splutters in an exaggerated whisper.

"Well then, go back to sleep and let me go," I say, and he gives me a sad smile. "You know I can't do that."

"Come on, Charlie! I'm going crazy being cooped up in here for three weeks," I whisper. "But it's for your own—" he starts, but I cut him off. "Don't you dare finish that sentence if it ends in a way I wouldn't like," I warned.

"Either you come with me or I go alone," I say.

Charlie drags a hand down his face before pinning me with those earnest hazel eyes.  "Lyra, please," he softly pleaded. "Just...give me the keys. We can do something else, anything else." I shook my head no.

"I can summon the keys right out of your hand, Ly," he said, concern etched on his face. "But I don't want to do that. Please, give me the keys." He reaches out beseechingly but I jerk the keys back out of reach. "I am not a child, Charlie! I don't need distractions, I need actual freedom!"

Hurt flashes through his gaze. "You know none of us are keeping you trapped for our amusement," he says seriously. "Please Lyra...don't do anything reckless."

His voice was gentle, and I slowly extended my hand, handing him the keys. Charlie's shoulders sag with relief. "C'mere..." He grabs my hand gently. Before I can react, I feel the horrible squeezing sensation of Apparition.

Moments later we stumble out under the dazzling spray of stars lighting up an empty meadow. I gape around in bewilderment. "Where are we?"

Charlie shoves his hands in his pockets almost shyly. "You wanted to breathe fresh air, right?" Charlie asked, looking at me. "We are in that field outside my house."

"Near the Burrow?" I asked, realization dawning. "That's my house, isn't it?" He crooked a smile.

"Will you stop sulking now and give me a smile?" he teased, and my heart did a backflip as I stared at him. "Ly—" he started, but he cut himself off as I Impulsively threw my arms around him in a fierce hug.

Charlie's hand rubs gentle circles on my back as I cling to him.

"Just know that all I - all we want is for you to be safe and happy," he murmurs.

I tense, pulling back slightly with a small huff. "Don't," I mumble. "I don't want to talk about it right now."

Charlie nods in easy acceptance. I plop down onto the cool grass and then, lay back to gaze up at the glimmering night sky. After a moment, Charlie stretches out beside me.

"You know, I love looking at the night sky. It's always so..." I say as he turns his head to look at me, "Beautiful?" He supplies as I trail off.

"Yeah." I say as I see his grin flash in my peripheral vision.