Me after You | Charlie Weasley COMPLETED HARRY POTTER

Chapter Nine ✔

Rory was back to the Leaky Cauldron a quarter til three, and upon her arrival Charlie glanced up with a cocked head, a clearly perplexed look on his face. Ron, to his left, said something, and he wiped it away, his eyes flashing back to her one more time.

Pip barked excitedly running up and greeting her happily. She leaned over and greeted him, scratching behind his ears and then he scampered back over to the bar, where Tom leaned over and snuck him a scrap of some sort of meat. Tom's wife gave him a pointed look before walking into the back.

"Rory, is it?" Suddenly a plump redhaired woman in her late 50's walked up and grabbed Rory's hands. She smiled kindly, as if she could sense her hesitation. Behind her trailed two small children, a beautiful little girl with silver blonde hair, and and an equally as small boy with a swatch of unnatural blue hair.

"Yes, hello. I'm sorry, I don't think I've met you before." Rory stated sheepishly as she shook the plump womans hand.

"I'm Molly Weasley, Charlie's mother. Dear why don't you take a seat, you look exhausted!" Then she was rushing her towards the long table and pushing her towards a chair. Rory sat down quickly, relaxing into the mother hens motions.

The two children were Victorie and Teddy, they were four. Victorie was the daughter of Bill and Fleur, and Teddy was the godson of Harry, who was dating Ginny who was on the quidditch team, The Holyhead Harpies, that they were going to see. Ginny was the youngest and only daughter and sister of the Weasley's, and also close to Harry and Ron's best friend, Hermione, who was coincidentally, dating Ron.

The whole family dynamic was crazy chaos, with the mixture of Weasley's by name and honorary Weasleys.

Rory loved it.

By the time they reached the quidditch pitch by portkey, Victorie had become particularly attached to Rory. She held onto her hand and chattered softly to her, gripping a small stuffed dragon in her arms, a gift from Uncle Charlie, she said proudly.

This Uncle Charlie was his old self around his family. Or, atleast the old self she had seen years ago. He smiled and laughed, joked with his brothers and father. Rory noted that she truly did love the sound of his laugh.

They seats they had were amazing. She had never been much of a quidditch fan, but today, cooped up in this small VIP box in the dying light of late afternoon, she couldn't have loved it more.

"Charlie says you were a hufflepuff?" Molly Weasley said conversationally as she sat next to Rory. Victorie was curled up on the brunette's lap, flying her stuffed dragon around with wooshing noises.

She gapped at the mother, perplexed at how she or Charlie knew about her house. But then that feeling grew into astonishment. He really did remember her. Rory glanced over at Charlie, who was smiling as he talked to his older brother, Bill, and the remaining twin, George.

She turned back to Mrs Weasley to soon, and missed his own eyes flicking in her direction as he watched her talk happily to his mother.

"How is your family, dear? Are you going to visit them before you go home?" Molly inquired polietly as Teddy ran past, closely followed by his godfather who swooped him out into his arms despite a fit of giggles.

Rory felt her smile falter. "Uhm...my birth mother died when I was 5, and the rest of my family didn't make it." She didn't elaborate. It was a story that was told often now. Orphans were left and whole families obliterated during the war. She was no different.

Molly gave her a sad smile and reached out, squeezing her shoulder. "We too suffered our fair share of loss." And then her eyes darted to George.

How hard it must be to be the one remaining. To have everyone looking at you and seeing someone else. To be a constant reminder of all the pain your eyes held for everyone.