Magical Catering: Hogwarts Feasts: Task #1: Write about trying to make multiple people happy
Title: 7 Rules To Dating Charlie Weasley
Team: Pride of Portree
Position: Seeker
Reserve: No
Theme: Incorporate the theme of 7 into your story.
Word Count: 2145
Beta: NerdGirl95
1. Be Honest
"Of course I will be there Char, I know how much this means to you," Draco insisted again (for the seventh time that day).
"I know how you feel about my family," Charlie said. "They mean a lot to me, and to Harry; we really want you to be there with us." Draco nodded reassuringly. Draco was dressed in his bronze Auror robes. He had paperwork that needed to be done from previous cases, and as soon as his lover left his office, he went over the seven case files lying on his desk, sighing heavily as he sat himself down behind his desk.
"I hope I get this all done in time, although I'm not really looking forward to having my house filled with seven Weasleys," Draco said to himself, as he scribbled on the first parchment, making sure all the details of the case file were filled in.
"Mister Draco here is coffee," the elf said in his high-pitched voice, setting down the mug of warm, strong black coffee on his desk, before disappearing again without a word. Draco enjoyed a moment of bliss, blowing the steam of the mug before taking a sip, sighing happily.
Dobby had taken to Draco since he had started dating Harry and Charlie, and soon became friends with both of Harry's partners. Draco had gotten used to the odd elf being around again, and bringing him coffee from home some days while he was working.
With the boost he started working, forgetting to check the time as he dove in, case by case, to get the parchments filled in and up to date. Kingsley was due to check on his files by tomorrow, and he wasn't planning on getting into trouble for that—again.
2. Keep Commitments
Harry and Charlie were decorating the table for the family lunch, and Harry was anxious to be entertaining the Weasley family in his home. The dinner would consist of seven Weasleys (Charlie not included), and Harry needed Draco by his side to manage juggling everything and to host the perfect party to make Charlie happy. "Perfection," Charlie insisted as he placed the carnation pink place settings on the table.
"Almost," Harry said, smiling and added the name tags of the same shade of pink strategically around the adult table. He made sure to place Ron and Hermione on the far end of the table, both so that they could be conveniently close to their brood, and also as far away from Draco's seat as possible (while keeping them in the same room).
Charlie and Harry spent the morning cooking, making sure to cater for every specific need, making sure the Weasley children weren't allowed any sugar or making sure that Bill's wife, Fleur, had vegan-friendly options as well. Draco's idea of a diet meant he only basically ate salad so that needed to be covered as well.
The bell rang as the first lot of Weasleys arrived; it was Mr and Mrs Weasley, her arms full with a big bowl of trifle. "Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley," Harry greeted them kindly. "I see Hermione's 'no sugar' rule is getting ignored," he gestured to the bowl, before taking it from Mrs Weasley. Charlie beamed at his parents. He was so happy that everyone was coming for this special day. "Harry dear, you know Hermione is being too strict on Rose, and we hardly ever see her, it is possibly only the sixth time this year," she insisted. "Seventh, dear," Mr Weasley corrected his wife.
Ginny was the next to arrive, and Harry was starting to feel the anxiety of making sure everyone was happy. When the last two came— George and Katie, with their son Fred — Charlie sighed dramatically- Draco was late. It seemed like he wouldn't be showing up for lunch after all.
The meal went off without any hiccups, and Harry could see the light at the end of the tunnel. He held Charlie's hand beneath the table, knowing he was upset that Draco never showed up after all. "Did you know our darling Rose got sorted into Ravenclaw?" Hermione said, blossoming with delight. Harry nodded: "Ron sent me an owl as soon as he found out," he said. George couldn't help butt in at this: "Oh that's nothing, our Fred got Gryffindor, and detention in his first week of school," George said, making Katie hide her face behind her hands. "George, that isn't something to boast about," Katie responded in a muffled voice. As much as the entire table agreed with this, it wasn't something they could convince George of. He firmly held onto the belief that his son was born to be the most mischievous child Hogwarts had ever seen, rivalling both his father and his lost twin brother. He was the namesake of Fred Weasley senior after all.
When the adults were talking, Fred snuck into the kitchen, he knew his cousin Rose wasn't allowed to have any sweets, but Granny Molly always brought with treats when she came over. He spotted the bowl of jelly in the kitchen, grabbing two bowls from under the sink. Fred had visited uncle Charlie enough to know where they kept things and two bronze spoons. He quickly snuck back into the lounge where the adults were busy discussing something about uncle Draco.
"Hey Rose," Fred muttered from behind the couch. When the girl looked up and saw the glint in her cousin's eye, she immediately dismissed herself from the children's table and went to sit with him behind the couch. "What are we doing?" Rose hissed at him. Then she spotted the bowls in his hands, and her eyes went bright. "Is that. . . Granny Molly's jelly?" Fred nodded and handed her the pink bowl, taking the lime green one for himself. She gave her cousin a grateful smile and dug in happily.
3.Take Responsibility
After the meal had ended, Charlie was furious that Draco had never shown up. Harry spent the afternoon cleaning up, finding the jelly bowls behind the couch and knowing that the kids had ended up having sweets after all. He cleared the table, tossing Draco's name tag onto the floor, before sighing and picking it up again. He looked out the window at their white picket fence, and the empty yard, and then continued to clean.
"This is the seventh time he has done this," Charlie had said sadly to Harry. Harry felt helpless, watching his lover so upset.
"We don't have to walk away," Harry said. "I know you're mad right now, but we love him- faults and all. I never knew where we would be now. You know my history with our Dragon from school. We were enemies, we hated each other, and now I can't bear to imagine a life without either one of you," Harry continued, taking Charlie's hand within his own.
Charlie had then locked himself in the bedroom, refusing to speak to Draco when he eventually came home. He insisted he would never forgive their Dragon for letting them down again.
4. Apologize
Draco woke up with a fright- his neck was sore, and he didn't recognize where he was. Draco groaned when he realized he had fallen asleep at his desk, then jumped up as he spotted the time on the clock on the wall- it was past midnight! He missed lunch with the Weasleys, as well as the deadline for handing in his paperwork to Kingsley. "Oh no, no no no," Draco muttered to himself as he shoved his papers into a pile. He knew that Charlie wouldn't believe what had happened. He had a lousy record with not showing up to special family events, in his defence, he was an Auror, and things just seemed to go wrong whenever he was involved in a case. He noticed a note scribbled on his door from Kingsley. "Malfoy- I saw you need an extension on the paperwork. Hand it in when you ready."
So, one less thing to worry about, at least he wasn't fired, but he wasn't entirely sure if he still had a home. When Draco arrived at Pansy's door after midnight, it was clear her friend was in a bad space, and she let him crash on her couch until he could work out what he was going to say to his lovers.
"Draco, just tell the truth, say you are sorry, and that's that," Pansy said diplomatically.
"Since when do Slytherins apologize?" Draco asked her, eyeing her curiously.
"You know you drool when you sleep," Pansy said, and Draco saw she was looking past him to her guest pillow on the couch.
"What if I said I was kidnapped?" Draco debated.
"Draco, don't lose your head!" Pansy snapped at him. "You messed up, own up and be a man. You love them, don't you? Then swallow your pride and go get them!"
5. Thoughtful Gestures
Draco went and bought a bouquet of flowers and various chocolates and gifts that he knew Charlie adored, and while he was at it, he found a beautiful display of rings. He got one engraved with a dragon, his tail wrapped around two sleeping male lions. He knew both Charlie and Harry's sizes and had been thinking about getting them something like this for a long time.
He had hoped it would be under different circumstances because he knew that the two of them didn't believe he was as committed as they were.
He entered his home gingerly, looking about to see that everything from the party had been cleaned up, and Harry was sleeping on the couch. He awoke with a fright, almost cursing Draco as he walked in the door.
"Where on Earth have you been?" Harry said furiously.
"I think we need to talk, don't we?" Draco said in response. When Charlie heard that Draco was finally home, he swung the bedroom door open dramatically.
"Do me a solid and go take a nap face down in that dirt over there," he said, pointing outside to the flower beds, muddy with rain from the previous night. It was clear he was furious.
6. Listen
Draco knew he had to convince them he was in it for the long haul.
"I'm never letting you go," Draco said, his grey eyes focusing on Charlie's brown eyes, but making sure to glance over at Harry as well. He smiled at those loving emerald eyes, and he knew that Harry wasn't furious with him.
"Char. . . " Draco tried, but Charlie cut him off.
"I don't care about your excuses or who you were with," Charlie said, and Draco noticed how it appeared, his bronze auror robes were dishevelled, his perfect blond hair was tousled and it was clear he had bags under his eyes.
"It's not what it looks like," Draco insisted, horrified that Charlie believed he had been disloyal.
7. Love
When Harry saw the look on Draco's face he instantly knew that Draco hadn't cheated, yes, he made a mistake, but he was here now, trying to make a stand and prove his love to them.
"Charlie, I think you should hear him out," Harry said sincerely.
The furious look that Charlie gave him made him flinch, but he stood firm, taking Charlie's hand in his right hand, and Draco's hand in his left.
"I know I messed up, Char, but I would never cheat on you," Draco said, his expression so sincere it confused the redhead. "I fell asleep at work, I only woke up after midnight, so I went over to Pansy and spent the night on her couch, so I didn't get back late and woke you up," he explained.
The flowers in his arms showed how much more he noticed that he let on, it was a bouquet consisting of both Harry and Charlie's favourite flowers. He squeezed Harry's hand before letting it go, handing Harry the flowers. Harry took them, smelling the fragrance. "What… what's this?" Harry said, spotting a small box engraved with an infinity symbol.
"This is my proof of how much I love you- both of you," Draco said. They both gasped. Draco had been the one that had never said the l-word before. When they opened the box, the symbolism left them breathless.
"Charlie, Harry, I am so sorry I missed lunch," Draco said. He used their momentary surprise to remove the rings from the box, first taking the titanium one and placing it on Harry's ring finger on his left hand, then taking the gold one and doing the same with Charlie, only then did they spot the same ring- in emerald green, Draco was wearing on his own ring finger.
"Please forgive me," Draco finally said.
"Yes," Charlie said, "of course I forgive you."
Harry just nodded, happy for the peace in his home once again.