Epeolatry - ✔️

Twelve

"Pleasure of love lasts but a moment.
Pain of love lasts a lifetime."
- Bette Davis

The snow glistened in the moonlight, and their breath crystallized in the air. It was a winter wonderland, all beauty, and goodness. But instead of enjoying nature, Athene and Charlie were knee-deep in painful silence. The two had vacated the Burrow as soon as the food had been cleared from the table, and the dishes had been washed. They had ignored the suggestive looks that the twins had given them or the questioning glances from Charlie's parents. Charlie had taken hold of her hand and dragged her out into the fields behind his childhood home. Dinner seemed so far away and so little compared to the conversation that was to come.

"I used to come out here when I got into fights with Bill when I was little," Charlie glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "Before Percy came, we fought about everything."

Athene was silent.

"After he came, we swore to protect our little brother with everything that we had," Charlie gestured to the ground that they were standing on, "We made that pact here - on this very ground."

Silence.

"I should have told you," Charlie turned himself completely to look Athene in the eyes, "I couldn't bring myself to-"

"Say it out loud?" Athene chuckled, though it was more like an airy scoff, "I know the feeling."

"I should be honest with you," Charlie looked up at the stars, "I should have been honest with you since the beginning." The young woman closed her eyes and thought of the worst: another woman, different interests, or something of the sort? Athene's mind raced from one explanation to the next in the split second that it took for Charlie to take a breath. "I liked you-" liked me? "-back in school."

Athene's mind reeled.

"Even before Enya brought you up in that stupid argument," Charlie laughed and rubbed a hand over his face, "But I was too scared to say anything about it. When I saw you that day in the Forbidden Forest during the first task, I couldn't believe that you had somehow walked back into my life."

"You're saying that you didn't really need that book on dragons?" Athene laughed and Charlie smiled at the sound.

"No, I didn't really need the book."

Athene smiled, then frowned, "I suppose if we're uncovering untruths, I should go next. I don't put up with Rita Skeeter because I want to, it's because I don't have anyone else." The woman shivered. "My parents were good, honest people. My mum, Rita's sister, was a pureblood from one of the most prestigious families. My father, however, was a muggle-born. When they got married, my mother's parents weren't happy campers. They disowned her, and they moved to the United States-"

"You're from the States?" Athene shot him a glance and he put his hands up.

"I was born in New York. They were good parents. They loved me, unconditionally. Between the tidbits of information that I get from Rita and my foggy memories, that's all I really know. They were murdered on Christmas when I was five by You-Know-Who, and I was shipped off to live with my only remaining family-"

"Rita," Charlie stared in horror at the woman bathed in moonlight.

"Rita Skeeter was the only family that would take me in. My mother's parents said no, of course, and my father's parents were long gone. She was as nice as Rita Skeeter could be and I was raised mostly by the house elves that she kept around."

"I don't know what to say," Charlie pulled Athene into his chest and wrapped his arms around her wait.

"Then don't say anything," Athene breathed in his scent. They let the silence envelop them, and they stood under the stars. This was a peace that Athene hadn't had in her life. It was the most calming experience that she had ever had, and she never wanted to let that feeling go. Charlie, a man that she had only really begun to understand, was the only person that allowed her mind to be at ease, and he was going to be in Romania in less than three weeks. "What am I going to do without you?"

"It won't be forever," Charlie rested his hand over Athene's heart, "and I'll be right here. And we'll owl all the time, and maybe you could come to visit me in Romania."

Athene mulled over his proposition, but, seeing as it was her only real option, she nodded her head in agreement. "Alright."

"Let's go back home, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Author's Note:
I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter... Please let me know what you think!

Question of the Chapter:
Do you believe in love at first sight?