• 1-Political Axes
• 2-Ch 1
• 3-ch2
• 4-Ch3
• 5-Ch 4
• 6-5
• 7-6
• 8-7
• 9-8
• 10-9
• 11-10
• 12-11
• 13-12
• 14-13
• 15-14
• 16-15
• 17-16
• 18-17
• 19-18
• 20-19
• 21-20

Another miserable week had passed with no further insight into the location of Avery, nor had the team been able to discover much about the Class 3 mole. The lack of progress weighed heavily on Charlie as he sat at Harry’s desk, at which he had been reluctantly installed since the younger man had been suspended.

The burly Auror lazily spun his wand around on the surface of Harry’s desk, his mind focused on just how fucked everything had become. A stack of paperwork was piled higher than hell on one side of the desk, while the other was strewn with the remnants of yesterday’s newspaper. He had to fight the urge to banish it all, or better yet, swipe it all onto the floor and walk over it on his way out the door. The last two weeks had been sheer hell. After formalizing Harry’s suspension, Kingsley had unceremoniously appointed Charlie as the interim squad leader. Charlie had merely nodded in agreement to the post, thinking the entire time: “what fucking squad?” One member was dead; another, their fucking leader no less, was suspended and under investigation. Rocco had gone dark due to his secret assignment back in his homeland, and Ron was becoming eerily like Mad-Eye—his paranoia at an all-time high as he obsessed about rooting out the Class 3 informant.

Which brought his thoughts to Emma. What a fucking cock-up that situation was at the moment. Emma had barely spoken to him beyond purely professional matters while in the office, which she remained in for such short periods of time that Charlie rarely saw her during the day. She had ignored all his owls and shut her Floo to all incoming calls. On top of all that, he couldn’t even have a proper wanking fantasy about her, which he was most assured was due to a hex the witch had cast upon him in secret. Whenever he tried—and he tried often, daily—the images of her would remain formless, like mist before evaporating completely. All the sexy images of her that he had purposely stored in his brain were as elusive to him as memories of his time spent in the crib as a babe.

Contrary to what he had done to push their relationship forward several weeks prior, he didn’t like showing up unannounced at anyone’s home. It was rude and screamed desperation. But fuck it, he was desperate; oddly enough, he didn’t feel at all ashamed of that fact. The witch had done him in good— he was hooked.

Charlie frowned at the mess of busywork on his desk and anger flooded him. This should not be happening, any of it, he thought, pushing himself up from his seat and storming out of the office. Like his mother always said, nothing ever got fixed by just sitting around. He couldn’t fix everything on his own, but he could damned sure try to fix one.

It took him less than fifteen minutes to make his way out of the Ministry and to an Apparition point. In a slow blink of an eye he was at Emma’s doorstep. Steeling his nerves and hardening his resolve to be heard, Charlie banged a fist on the door. When no sound emerged he banged again. It was late, nearing dinnertime. He couldn’t imagine that Emma could be out. She was pretty much a homebody, and in the current climate all of them were lying low. Deciding he’d wait inside, a sort of unwelcomed surprise for sure, he broke the locking spells on her door and entered the quaint cottage. He knew he was risking more than mere rejection by breaking into Emma’s house, but needs must. She’d either listen or kill him, he decided.

He inhaled deeply as he walked to the sitting room, savoring the scent of her, which lingered here and there in the air. It was a light, sweet scent, reminiscent of coconut and rose oil. His mind flashed to the last time they had made love, a rare occasion in which he had spent the entire night in her bed. The both of them had decided to take things slow, thus they slept in their own homes more often than not, no matter the hour in which they parted ways. The next morning, as Emma stepped out of the shower, passing him where he stood shaving at the sink, he had simply lost his mind.

The scene replayed vividly in Charlie’s memory. He could still remember how utterly sensual she looked, with her short, wet hair slicked back away from her face; that gorgeous mahogany skin glistening with beads of warm water, as the fresh scent of her wafted all around the steam-filled bathroom. As if under Imperious, he had snatched away the towel she had wrapped herself in, and before Emma could react, he had pushed the startled witch face first into the closed bathroom door, his larger form dwarfing Emma’s own. After lowering his boxer-briefs just enough to free his hardened cock, he had entered her roughly from behind, simultaneously sinking two fingers between her folds to quickly bring on her full moisture. Emma gave a panting cry once he was fully sheathed inside her; her voice denoted her surprise, but her body begged for more as she began to rotate her hips almost immediately.

Their coupling had been hot and urgent; their bodies slick with sweat and steam as he drove into her deeply, with near brutal force; her panting breaths and keening moans spurring Charlie into a primal claiming. Emma had reciprocated in kind, resisting just enough to enhance the experience, while managing to simultaneously fuck him as much as he was fucking her. Emma’s breathy, lust-laden moans of: “Oh, Charles…harder, Charles…more…” still echoed in his memory.

His orgasm had nearly blinded him, and Emma had climaxed so hard that when her vaginal walls clenched around him, he thought for sure she had broken his dick. And nothing, but nothing, could have prepared him for the way she tasted when he went down on her afterward, her thighs slick with both his juices and her own. He had nearly cum again from mouthing her cunt alone.

They had spent the rest of that morning and a good chunk of the afternoon on the bathroom floor, where Charlie contented himself with bringing Emma off again and again, using only his hands and tongue; the dark-skinned beauty pleasuring him again as well, using those soft, full lips to wrap around his cock and milk him into a stupor.

Being late to Sunday dinner at the Burrow had never been so worth it, and if Ron smelled a familiar scent about him and caught him licking his lips a little too often, his youngest bother had been kind enough to not mention it.

Shaking off his trip down memory lane, Charlie took the liberty of raiding the fridge, nicking a beer before settling down on the sofa. He was only on his second sip when a muffled ‘thunk’ sent every self-preservation warning off inside him. He sat the beer down softly on the coffee table and then went still, listening for the sound again. Yet, it was his eyes that finally confirmed his suspicions. A single jade bead rested on the floor by Emma’s favorite leather chair. It was the precise color and shape of a ring of beads Emma wore on her ankle. No one else knew that, at least no one who had not seen her naked.

Something was definitely off. The more Charlie surveyed the cottage the more he realized subtle problems, things he had been too distracted to notice before. A mug sat on a nearby end table. Charlie walked over and wrapped a hand around it. Still warm. He noticed a low, almost smoldering fire crackled in the fireplace. Emma never would have left a fire going if she were leaving. Then there was another ‘thunk’.

Charlie pulled his wand and checked his robe pocket for his emergency Portkey. All field Auror’s carried emergency Portkeys, which proved useful if one was badly wounded or if imminent capture was evident. He prayed Emma had hers, but it was doubtful. Knowing Emma the way he did, he’d be surprised if the witch had remained dressed in her Auror gear for more than ten minutes when at home. Shit.

As he stalked slowly down the hall towards the sound, he thought of calling for backup, but there was precious little time and precious few he could trust. Besides, a Patronus would take too long and alert others who would no doubt see his pearlescent Dragon galloping through the Ministry in search of Ron. He also quickly lamented the fact that he didn’t know the password to open Emma’s Floo, as he quietly passed both the bedrooms as he came to the end of the hall, facing the closed door of the bathroom.

Thunk.

Unwilling to risk any attacking spells until he knew Emma would be out of the line of fire, Charlie shot a transparency spell at the door, revealing the two people beyond.

Avery.

Charlie had studied his picture long and hard over the past several weeks. The ginger-haired Auror narrowed his eyes and cocked his head curiously as he watched Avery tighten his chokehold on Emma, who was unfortunately in her bare feet, wearing only her standard close fitting T-shirt and a pair of dark red boy-short style panties. Charlie grimaced as he watched his lover struggle jerkily in the Avery’s grip. Emma was no match for the failed Auror candidate in their current pose, and Charlie could see that Avery was gripping her by the throat just hard enough to make her eyes bulge as she fought for oxygen. So enraged by the sight, Charlie nearly forgot to breathe. He wondered just how the hell Avery managed to get in and catch Emma so unguarded?

It was no secret to them that their home addresses had been discovered by the culprit when Max’s files had been compromised; it was how they’d gotten Syl, after all. But none of them would guess the asshole would try the same thing twice.

“You’ve got big fucking stones, Avery!” Charlie shouted, finally ready to make it known that he had discovered the intruder.

Charlie ended the transparency spell on the door. He heard a few more muted ‘thunks’ and a growling grunt, followed by a few slaps and scuffling, before the bathroom door opened. Avery shoved through the open door, using Emma as a body shield. The witch sported a bleeding lip and a bruised cheek, and Charlie could see the imprint of Avery’s fingers beginning to purple on the brown skin of her throat. Much to Charlie’s pleasure, Avery sported similar injuries, including a jagged looking cut above the left temple.

That’s my girl.

Emma met Charlie’s eyes, and Charlie could see the impotent anger there. Those hazel eyes, capable of melting him with one look, were now hard and dark, which made Charlie wonder if it wouldn’t just be more merciful to kill Avery on the spot, rather than risk Emma getting free and getting hold of him.

“Fuck, Em. What’d ya do to ’im?” Charlie asked jeeringly, his tone almost playful as he spoke, affecting a casualness that belied the circumstance.

Emma shrugged in Avery’s grip and rasped, “The shit-wad broke my anklet—”

Her response was cut off as Avery tightened his chokehold, pulling Emma further into him and up onto her tiptoes as she sought to relieve the pressure on her windpipe.

“Weasley, right?” Avery hissed at Charlie, an overly confident smile on his face.

“One of many, you’ll be sure to note,” Charlie shot back.

“Like the plague you lot are,” Avery mocked, making sure to keep Emma in front of him at all times, laughing when he saw Charlie’s wand flinch eagerly. “You’ll not risk hitting this one. Oh no, not this pretty little hellion. A right little bit of spit and fire isn’t she?

“Be a good little gent Weasley and lower your wand. Now! You don’t, I’ll Apparate with her and ride her all night. By the time you catch her trail she’ll be so well used she’ll be begging you to kill her,” Avery snapped maliciously.

Charlie felt his heart thud painfully and fear settle in his stomach as Avery flicked his tongue roughly against the shell of Emma’s ear while dragging the tip of his wand slowly down the length of her body, pausing suggestively at the apex of her thigh and groin. Emma jerked angrily and elbowed Avery, only to find herself losing consciousness as his grip tightened even more. Charlie lowered his wand, but tightened his grip around it all the same.

“I believe she might have more balls than all of your team put together,” Avery said huskily, his eyes trained on Charlie. “She’s a fine one, isn’t she Weasley. You’d know, eh? Oh, yes, I’ve been watching you all the while you’ve been tracking me. You see, that is the advantage of knowing where you lot live, while you lot know nothing about where I rest my head at night.”

Avery’s grip loosened a bit and Emma gulped in a deep breath of air, sagging in relief as oxygen flooded her system. She mentally berated herself; she was better than this. Avery should have never been able to get this close.

Think Emma. Think!

“What do you want Avery?” Charlie asked, all semblance of playful sarcasm gone and replaced with tightly controlled anger.

“I want an audience with Potter. You see, despite knowing where Potter is, I cannot get through those demonic wards his little man-whore has put up around Malfoy Manor. Can’t get even a hundred yards within spitting distance of the property line. Nearly lost skin trying, you know. I had planned for Malfoy to be in my grasp right now. The better to get his attention, don’t you agree? Still, this little lovely will have to do. And I do mean ‘do’,” Avery spat through clenched teeth, his wand hand palming the swell of Emma’s breast through her T-shirt.

As Avery molested her, Emma looked into Charlie’s reddened face. The helplessness she saw there infuriated her. Whatever they had, whatever they could have, they could not allow one or the other to be used to dismantle all the training they had compiled between them over the years. They were Aurors and as such they risked their lives. Pretending otherwise would be defeatist. She knew what had to be done and so did Charlie. The fact that he had not yet done it was proof to her that they had a lot of serious work to do if they were going to last. The delay in doing the necessary was costing them, and if Charlie wasn’t careful it would cost them both their lives.

“Charles,” Emma wheezed, immediately narrowing her eyes when he looked at her, willing her face to speak on her behalf. She saw Charlie pale, then in a heartbeat accept what had to be done. She smiled.

Before Avery could discern the secret code Charlie lifted his wand and shot a piercing spell at Emma. It bulleted through her right shoulder, passing through to Avery’s as well. Avery released Emma, who dropped to the floor with an ear-splitting scream of pain, which mingled loudly with Avery’s own.

Emma, fighting to remain conscious and block out the searing pain, caught the blurry outline of a series of colorful hexes flying back and forth overhead. She heard voices, manic laughter, and screaming. She shook herself. Gritting her teeth, she dragged herself a few feet to where she could see Charlie crouched around a corner, understanding that he was providing her cover so she could move. It was a struggle, but she gripped the hardwood flooring with a sweaty palm and managed to pull herself closer and closer with each passing moment. If she could just get to Charlie he could Portkey them out. She could feel darkness gaining a foothold and blood steadily poured from her shoulder wound. She wasn’t going to make it.

“Charlie…go,” she yelled over the din of flying curses and breaking objects.

“Fuck no! Get your ass over here,” Charlie hissed from his protected spot. “Come on, Em, baby. You can make it.”

The arm that worked trembled as Emma struggled the push herself upright. She leaned against the hall wall, fully aware just how exposed she was sitting there unguarded. Avery could take her out at any moment, but Charlie was quick firing to keep the criminal at bay.

Emma took in a deep breath, her lungs resisting the stretch.

“Charlie, listen,” she rasped. “I’m losing too much blood. Go, now. Avery won’t have a hostage. He’ll have a corpse,” Emma stated bluntly, her drooping eyes begging Charlie to listen.

Yet, the stubborn Weasley trait was well known, and Emma could see that stubbornness drape over Charlie like a shadow as his face screwed up in anger. Before she had chance to continue her convincing, Avery shot a bright pink beam of light towards her. Before she knew what was happening Charlie leapt out of his protected spot, flinging a rebound spell as he did so. However, whatever spell Avery used reacted badly with the rebound spell, for Charlie slammed against the wall as the two spells collided, his wand burst into flames, burning his hand. Emma could smell his flesh burning. She thought they would both die there, as neither was in any shape to fight off Avery, who almost as soon as Charlie landed sauntered from the opposite end of the hall towards where Emma and Charlie lay. His evil chuckles filled the air, making Emma’s blood boil. She looked over at Charlie, who lay conscious, but obviously hurt next to her. Their eyes locked and Charlie let a single tear escape his eye as he whispered to her, “I’m sorry.”

Emma would never get to ask him why he was apologizing, but she would know nevertheless, because just as Avery came to stand over them, Charlie reached over, clasped Emma’s hand in his, slipping a small metal disc into her palm. She knew it must have been a Portkey, but as Charlie spoke the activation word he let go, sending Emma spiraling to safety alone, her gut-wrenching screams of protest echoing in the void.

A/N: *Author disconnects email, runs and hides...*