Just one dance. [Fanfiction - Hermione Granger and Charlie Weasley]

Chapter 5 ~ About last night...

"It's Charlie, isn't it?"

It had left her speechless, even though she had known he would guess.
She couldn't get a word out and George stared at her expectantly.
The silence between them was oppressive, but Hermione didn't manage to say anything.

Even if George had just joked about it, would it really be all right for him?Were the feelings even real and what were they?Could you tell after one evening?What would that be like for Ron?How would George feel about Ron?And the most important question, what does Charlie think about the whole thing?Maybe she's just like a sister to him or his little brother's ex-girlfriend...

She was so busy thinking about how she felt and how George would take it that she forgot to think about what Charlie thought about it or thought about it at all...

A painful lump had formed in her throat and Hermione swallowed it in agony. When she opened her mouth to speak, her eyes filled with tears. She didn't want to cry.But the thought that Charlie might not even be thinking about her, that he hadn't felt anything towards her yesterday, was something she couldn't handle. George would know, and the next time she saw him, not only would she have to live with Charlie treating her like a normal friend,  but she would have to live with George either teasing her or looking at her with pity, depending on how bad it was, if he didn't judge her for having feelings for the second of his brothers.She must have looked as pale as a corpse, she felt petrified as this realization crashed over her.She closed her mouth again without making a sound and the lump in her throat was back.Only this time it was even bigger and more painful.She could hardly breathe.Georges looked at her worriedly, he took her hand and then he spoke, carefully, almost in a whisper."Hermione, it's all right, it's not that bad..."Before he could continue, Hermione shook her head and then she felt the first tear leaving a trail down her cheek.

George pulled her into his arms without hesitation.Slowly, she relaxed a little, the lump in her throat gradually dissolving. She could breathe again and she could feel the blood flowing through her body again. "Thank you," was the first thing she could say. Even if it was more of a croak, because her throat still hurt.George let go of her slowly and she wiped the tear she had lost from her face. Hermione picked up her cup and stared at the surface of her tea. Her throat still ached slightly as she breathed. After a few sips of tea, she was finally ready to face the hopeless situation.

"Yes, it's Charlie," she couldn't look at George yet and went back to staring at her cup.
George had waited a little, but he must have realized that Hermione wasn't going to speak any further as he inquired cautiously, "It's no big deal, why are you so upset about it? Did he do something stupid?"
Hermione shook her head and took a few seconds before answering him with her head down,
"He's your brother, he's Ron's brother, Ron's my ex-boyfriend and I don't even really know how I feel, i'm not even sure if he feels anything at all, was it just in my mind, i don't know..."
As she tried to put into words what was going through her mind, she stared impassively at the brown surface of her tea.
She felt George's gaze on her as he tried to understand her.
"Hermione. Don't worry about me in any case, and don't worry about Ron twice. For one thing, he's got himself to blame for the dilemma and for another, he's got a new girlfriend. It doesn't matter what the rest might say.
What's important is how you feel and we'll find out what Charlie thinks," he put his hand on her shoulder encouragingly, which finally made Hermione look at him.

"Thanks George, but please don't tell anyone. And especially don't ask Charlie about it. I want to understand it myself first, please don't interfere and mess it up any more," she looked pleadingly at her best friend and hoped that he would comply with her request."First of all, I'm heartbroken that you're implying that I could mess things up and secondly, I won't interfere unless you want me to. If you ever need an Armor, just let me know," George winked at Hermione and she couldn't help but grin.