A Promise {C.W}

Confirmations

August 26, 1994
7:34 p.m.

"Are you sure your saw the Dark Mark?" Mrs. Weasley asks again for the hundredth time as they all sit in the living room.

"Yes," Harry says from his spot between Ron and Hermione in the couch. Athena leans against a wall. The twins and Ginny sit on the stairs, Bill and cuddle sit in chairs, Percy is redoing a book, and Mr and Mrs Weasley ate the only ones standing.

"Could it have been smoke left over from the fires?" Mrs Weasley asks and Mr Weasley shakes his head.

"The mark was green, dear," he answers, his voice soft yet loud in the silence of the room.

"Could," Mrs Weasley pauses, "Could he be back?" This question goes unanswered for several minutes. Everyone thinks of the Dark Lord and what he can do and what he did do when he was alive.

Athena pushes herself off of the wall and goes into the kitchen, wanting to get out of the tension filled living room. She gets a quick drink before walking out of the house and into the front yard, where the sun is starting to set.

She takes a deep breath, worry in her veins. What could that mark mean? Could Harry have dreamt it when he was knocked unconscious by the fleeing crowd?

"Leaving so soon, O'Connor?" An all-to-similar voice interrupts her thoughts. She turns to see Charlie approaching her. She smiles, her mind flying back to the kiss and she looks forward, a blush warming her cheeks.

She shakes her head before clearing her throat, "no, just came out here to escape the tension in there," she answers and he chuckles. She looks over at him, "did the mark really appear in the sky? She asks and he looks away.

"Yes," he answers after a minute of hesitation, "it was there," he looks down at her and sees the worry in her eyes, "But everything will be okay, Athena," he adds quickly, hoping to reassure her.

"How, Charlie?" She asks, voice cracking slightly, "how? For all we know, he-who-must-not-be-named could be back and there will be deaths upon deaths upon deaths,"

She was close to crying and he knows it. So he steps forward and hugs her, "I don't know how, But I promise you everything will turn out okay," he says, rubbing her back. They remain like that for about five minutes, her slowly calming down.

"The kiss," she speaks up softly and he looks down at her, "was it real? Or was it a way to stop me from following you?" He laughs at that for a second before going serious.

"Depends," he replies, "What do you want it to be?" He waits patiently for the first few minutes but as time ticks on, he gets nervous.

"The thought of being in love, in a relationship," she starts off slowly, "it  scares me. So many things could go wrong; lies, new people who you fall for, no communication-"

"Athena," Charlie interrupts her, stepping back from the hug, "You're focusing on the bad stuff, stuff that might not even happen at all,"

Athena sighs, "true, but what about the long distance part?" She says, "You're going to be in Romania and I'm going to be here, in England,"

"We'll work that out, Athena," he says, "and to answer your question; yes, that kiss was real and so is this one," he then bends down and captures her lips with his in a soft, gentle kiss.

She instantly returns the kiss, her arms finding their way to his chest while his goes to her waist and pulls her closer, deepening the kiss.

After a few moments, he pulls away from the kiss, staring down at her, "so," he whispers, breathe hitting her lips, "Do you want to give this a shot?"