Fire in the Storm by WeasleyForMe
This story is for my darling friend Kara! Happy Birthday, KaraSays!
Hermione and Charlie find themselves stranded together, and boredom quickly turns into heat! Thanks Mistymist for beta reading this for me!!
It was unseasonable for a snowstorm to come through the area this late into spring, but Hermione found herself worriedly looking out the window, hoping all of the Weasley's made it back safely. She had been alone at the Burrow after work on Friday when the crisp air turned colder and the sky darkened. Large snow flakes had been pummeling to the ground for an hour before Hermione realized that she might become stranded. It only took her another moment to realize that she was alone, and she began to worry. She was huddled next to the picture window in the den, when suddenly she heard someone burst through the front door.
Hermione was gripping her wand when Charlie came ambling into view, cloaked in a giant parka. "Oh, hey Hermione. The snow is really coming down hard now." She nodded in worried agreement as she replaced her wand in her pocket.
"Do you know where everyone else is?" she asked him, glancing back out at the falling snow. "I hope they don't get stranded."
Charlie pulled the parka from his broad shoulders and shook the snow out of his messy, ginger hair, causing Hermione's breath to hitch in her throat. "Well, I'm sure it'll be nearly impossible to apparate through this storm if it keeps up. I know Dad went to Aunt Muriel's house with Mum, Ron and Ginny after work." He turned to hang the parka next to the door. "And I guess the twins will just stay at their flat and fend for themselves for dinner," he finished, turning back and smiling at Hermione. "Speaking of dinner, I'm starving!"
Hermione's stomach growled at the mention of food, and she looked up at him, a slight blush staining her cheeks. "Let's see what's in the kitchen." Charlie led the way and held the door open for her before opening and examining the contents of the refrigerator.
"Looks like leftovers or sandwiches," he told her, his face hidden by the refrigerator door. Hermione was trying not to stare at his trim waist and rather fit rear end as he shuffled some food around.
"Uh, leftovers are probably our best bet. At least until the others get back." She managed to avert her eyes as she rose and pulled some glasses and plates out of the cupboard.
They sat side by side in companionable silence, eating their pot roast and potatoes, occasionally glancing at each other only to smile awkwardly before taking another bite. When they had finished their meal, they still had not received word from any of the other Weasley's.
"Do you think everyone is okay?" Hermione asked as she stood at the sink washing their dinner plates. "It's starting to get dark."
Charlie stood next to her, gazing out the window above the sink. "I hope we hear from them soon. The wind is picking up, too." They could both feel the cold air seeping in around the old windows each time the wind blew. Charlie turned away from the window and said, "Why don't you use a charm to wash the dishes?"
Hermione pursed her lips. "Well, I've never been all the good at domestic charms."
Contrary to her words, Charlie thought that Hermione looked adorably domestic and charming as she washed the dishes and dried them with a peach coloured towel. "Neither have I," he told her with a grin as he took the towel and finished drying the glasses that she had washed. He realized that the two of them had never had an excuse to spend any time together.
Hermione handed two forks to Charlie for him to dry them, but when their fingers briefly touched, an electric thrill ran up Hermione's back, causing her to drop the silverware. "Oh, it's my fault," she told him as they both bent to pick them up. Charlie reached for one fork while Hermione picked up the other one. He tried not to notice the way that her shirt collar gaped when she bent, revealing a bit of her lacy, pink bra or the way that her cheeks seemed to be flushed each time they spoke. Once they had straightened up, he took the fork from her hand, careful not to make contact with her skin, lest he feel another jolt of lust in his groin.
"I'll finish up," he managed to grunt. Hermione was about to turn away from the sink when she noticed an owl flying about just outside the window. Leaning forward on her tiptoes, she opened the window allowing Percy's owl to enter along with a blast of icy air. She slammed the window after the bird and giggled as she saw that Charlie's hands and the dishes were now covered with snow. "Sorry about that," she chuckled.
Charlie just rolled his eyes and turned on the hot water to warm his fingers. "What did Percy say?" he asked, placing the dishes and silverware in their proper place.
Hermione skimmed through the letter before answering. "Apparently he's just going to stay with Penny for the night until the storm lets up," she replied. Percy and Penelope had been s sickeningly sweet couple for a few years, so it was no surprise that she would have him stay over and fuss over him.
"I figured as much. Want a cup of tea?" Charlie asked. Hermione nodded, and a few minutes later, she found herself curled up in the loveseat in front of the fireplace, with a cup of Earl Grey. Charlie was stretched out on the floor at her feet, reading Dauntless Dragons Quarterly and sipping his own cup of tea. Hermione smiled slightly as she noted that they both liked to read and they took their tea the same way: lemon and a heaping spoonful of sugar.
Sighing quietly, she picked up the Transfiguration journal that she had been reading and tried to find the spot where she had left off. There was a problem with that, however; Hermione found that she was becoming distracted with the way Charlie's shoulder muscles flexed through his white t-shirt each time he turned a page in his periodical. She also couldn't help but become very aware of the way Charlie chewed on his lower lip and nodded slightly in agreement with the article he was reading. "I never really noticed it before, but Charlie is rather fit!" Hermione thought, much to her dismay, as she realized that she'd been staring at him long enough for her tea to get cold.
She quickly forced her eyes back down to the page in front of her and read the same line about a hundred times, trying to calm her pounding heart. When the wind roared particularly loudly, Charlie turned to glance up at her. "Are you too cold? We can make the fire warmer," he said, pulling out his wand in the process.
"No, no, it's fine," she assured him, realizing that if it were warmer, he might be temped to remove his t-shirt and give her a heart attack. He shrugged and tucked his wand back into his pocket just as the floo connection turned the fireplace emerald green. Charlie immediately knelt in front of the flames, and Hermione leaned forward in the chair, waiting to see who would emerge.
Mrs. Weasley's face and voice appeared in the fireplace. "Charlie! Hermione! Are you alright, dears? This snow storm is really getting rather violent!"
Charlie nodded before he glanced at Hermione. "Yup, we're fine Mum. Are you all coming back from Aunt Muriel's cottage now?"
Shaking her head sadly through the flames, she responded, "No, I'm afraid not. Ron, Ginny, your father and I arrived just in time to be exposed to Muriel's bad case of scrofungulus! We didn't even know she was sick when we decided to visit her."
Hermione slipped off of the loveseat and knelt next to Charlie. "Isn't scrofungulus contagious?" she asked, worriedly.
"Yes, I'm afraid it is, dear. It would appear that the four of us are stranded at the cottage for a few days," she told them. Charlie and Hermione exchanged an awkward look as she rambled on. "I just feel so terrible that I won't be there to make food for you! But there are new groceries in the pantry. Will the two of you be able to manage without me?" she asked, nearly hysterical.
"Mum, Hermione and I are both adults… I'm sure we can look after ourselves," Charlie appeased his mother.
"Glad to hear it, because believe me, it could take days for us to return. We need to wait until the fevers and itching stop!" she exclaimed. "Please stay indoors, and keep tabs on Percy and the twins."
Hermione and Charlie reassured her that everything would be fine in her absence, and before long, Mrs. Weasley's head was gone from the floo. Hermione and Charlie eyed each other for a moment, both realizing that they were now stranded together for an unknown amount of time.
Charlie ran his fingers nervously through his hair. He couldn't deny his growing fondness for the witch kneeling next to him, but he'd be damned if he would act on it. "So, Hermione, how do we entertain ourselves for the next few days?"
Hermione had a few unspoken ideas which caused her to blush. Thinking quickly, she managed, "Um, fancy a game of chess?"
Could it be that there are already some feelings on both ends?!
I hope you like it enough to leave a review! This story will last for a few chapters.