BLOND HAIR – Charlie has an obsession with blond hair. Then he meets Luna. What does he think?
A/N: Charlie Weasley! Get here and marry me NOW!
Ummm... beside that: I know this is a highly unorthodox pairing. But there's not really that many people to ship for this kind of fic if you leave out incest. But I suppose it is a highly interesting pairing which I have an urge to look into further now.
Chapter Two of ImPerfect is well on it's way but I suddenly had this idea which just HAD to be written.
Also, not HBP and/or DH compliant. insert joke about denial and Egypt here
Disclaimer: That people died is prove enough that I don't own anything.
Charlie frowned. Ron had been notorious for having friends at the burrow over the holidays. Harry and Hermione practically lived here even now, a year after graduation and had become part of the family. But for Ginny to have someone over was highly unusual, especially that she too had graduated.
But here she was, a slender girl with long straight blond hair. Charlie was a sucker for blond hair. On women, he mentally added quickly. Her large grey eyes seemed eerily wise although they didn't seem to focus on anything. Charlie frowned. He knew her from somewhere, that empty stare was familiar.
Suddenly it hit him, it was Luna Lovegood. He climbed down from the tree he was sitting in to walk to the house and greet the guest or his mother would scold him in front of the whole family for his bad manners. Being the oldest son to be home, that certainly wouldn't do.
At dinner that day, Charlie just happened to be seated right across from Luna. Politely, he started to make some conversation with her.
"So Luna, what do you want to do after graduation," he asked, munching away on a chicken leg.
Luna stared at him – or was it the wall above his head? – without reacting.
"Luna?" He tried again.
"What? Oh. You're Charlie, aren't you? Ginny likes you," she said dreamily. Charlie nearly choked on his chicken.
"Ginny is supposed to like me. She's my sister," he said, smirking.
"You shouldn't take things for granted like that. Only those who are grateful are able to find the Rigid Footed Howlid," she replied, clearly not catching onto the joke. Charlie decided to remain silent, not knowing what to say. She was certainly just as strange as her father.
He resorted to just watching her. She nibbled on some carrots carefully, as if they were about to explode. With her oddities, it wouldn't surprise me if she really thought they might, Charlie thought, scowling. He wasn't used to people being so, for lack of better words, odd.
Having finished with her carrots, she licked her lips clean of any gravy. She then proceeded to eat her potatoes – without any gravy at all. Charlie drifted off, talking to others and thinking his own thoughts.
"You work with dragons," said Luna suddenly.
"What?" exclaimed Charlie, completely caught unawares that Luna would suddenly decide to talk to him.
"I said," repeated Luna, as if talking to an elderly person, "You work with dragons." She probably does thinks of me as elderly, thought Charlie, an ironic smile twisting onto his face.
"Er. Yes. I do," I replied, a little unsure of what she was expecting. Luna though, stared off into space again, brushing her long blond hair out of face thoughtfully. Charlie found himself mesmerized by her hair, many girls would kill to have hair like that.
"Have you ever met a Green Spotted Fluxhorse?" she said suddenly snapping out of her reverie. "They tend to stay close to dragons, you know."
"Er. No," replied Charlie. "I haven't. Remind me again, what are Green Striped Fluxsheep? Or whatever it was," he added, clearly confused. He had been thinking about the girl he had asked out the other day, of her lovely blond hair and large eyes and her cute smile. Their date was tomorrow.
"Charlie!" exclaimed Luna. "Green Spotted Fluxhorses. Surely you must have heard of them," she added, clearly shocked. Fred and George who were sitting next to Charlie were snickering, clearly amused that their older brother was being lectured by a chit of a girl straight from school.
"Er. I haven't. I don't know much about magical creatures other than dragons," he tried to explain. Clearly that wasn't true, Charlie loved all animals. But he was trying hard not to offend their guest, as he repeatedly had to remind himself. Luna though, was staring at Fred and George now. Probably counting if they have the same number of freckles, thought Charlie, glad that her attention was elsewhere.
"You say er a lot, Charlie. Have you ever thought about getting therapy?" This time Charlie could only gape at Luna. "Surely it can't be healthy to stutter like that. Do you even get any girls? It's terribly unattractive." Luna continued. Slowly, Charlie closed his mouth. He could hear the twins laughing next to him but Luna didn't seem to be aware that she had said anything controversial.
"I –" Charlie swallowed the 'er', "I – I manage," he choked out.
Later that evening, he was sat in the living room with his parents. The couples had all tried to find the privacy and the twins were listening to Luna tell them about something. Luna looked quite serious, her eyes large and her posture quite stiff but the twins were laughing like they had the time of their life.
"So Charlie," said his mother. "When are you going back to Romania? You didn't say how long you'd be staying here."
"I don't know to be honest," replied Charlie. "For now, I've got three weeks holiday with a possibility of making it four but they've mentioned something about me transferring to Wales."
"Oh Charlie, dear! Wasn't there some girl you liked back in Romania?" said his mother, concerned. "Not that we don't want you here. We'd love having you closer again." Charlie laughed.
"No, there's no girl in Romania. Quit trying to get me to marry, mom."
"But Charlie. All your brothers –"
"Mom! I'll take my time, thank you." Charlie scowled.
Bill and Fleur were honeymooning in her native France, Ron and Hermione were an item as were Ginny and Harry. The twins would never settle down, there was no hope for them. All his mother's expectations rested on him now and he didn't like it one bit.
"But Charlie, you aren't the youngest anymore either! You're 27. At your age we already had three children," Molly continued. Charlie sighed and resigned himself to a long lecture from his mother.
The next day passed rather uneventful. Charlie and his siblings, as well as Harry, played some quidditch while Hermione was reading, trying her best not to snap at Luna who was occasionally asking her about some mystical animals.
As the evening drew closer, Charlie excused himself and got ready to take a shower. As he stood under the hot water, he closed his eyes and thought back to the day he had met Valerie. He had been at a muggle pub with some of his friends from Hogwarts. She had been there with some colleges from work and it had immediately clicked. She was pretty, just his type. Long blond hair, womanly figure but short.
He had been immediately entrance and bought her several drinks throughout the evening. When they had both been sufficiently drunk, they had gone outside for a short but passionate snogging session. Unfortunately, her friends had decided they must leave then, before any more could happen.
He felt himself harden has he remembered her small body pressed against him, her round breasts soft against his chest and her small hands against his shoulders. Her nipples had hardened under his fingers and her hands had expertly wandered down his body to grab his cock and fondled it through his pants.
He felt his own hand involuntary do the same as he leaned back against the wall. Grasping his manhood, he gasped softly, trying as always at the Burrow to be quiet. Slowly he moved his hand up and down –
"Shit," he cursed. He was trying to score tonight. No, he was certain to score tonight. No sense in out powering himself before that. He turned the water colder and soon got out of the shower.
His date went well. Valerie was wearing a short black dress showing off her legs and breasts to her best advantage. Charlie liked her curves, cat like eyes and full lips. Valerie liked his broad chest and large hands. It was a perfect match.
After dinner they went dancing at a local club. Valerie was a muggle and Charlie let her choose the venues to go to. Charlie defiantly liked dating muggles, no chance of them recognizing him as a Weasley and moderately famous dragon keeper. Sure, there wasn't much to talk about with a muggle women who didn't know he was a wizard, but neither of them had come to talk.
They were dancing closely, sharing the occasional kiss. Her body was warm against his.
"So Valerie, how 'bout we head to your place for a coffee or so?" he asked, starting to get bored by just dancing.
"Why mine?" she replied, eyebrows raised. "Why not yours?"
"I'm here on holiday only dear, so I stay with my parents. Not a good idea at all, I tell you," he replied, shuddering at the thought of what his mother would do if she ever found out he wasn't a pure and innocent virgin.
"Well, then my place it is," she replied softly, pressing her lips to his.
Soon enough they had walked back to her place. They hadn't been able to refrain from groping each other on the short walk there and they tumbled through the door, hands never leaving each other.
"Oh Valerie," moaned Charlie, as her lips slowly caressed his collarbone, her small hands deftly unbuttoning his shirt. "You're a dream come true."
"Glad to know that I can be of service," replied Valerie, looking up through her thick lashes suggestively. Charlie loved it when women looked at him like that, naughty pretending to be innocent.
Several hours later, Charlie left Valerie's apartment, thoroughly satisfied with how the evening had turned out. Making sure, he had all his belongings, he walked softly closed her apartment door behind him. It wasn't like he was going to come back.
Back at the Burrow, Charlie tiptoed up the stairs to his and Bill's room. Fortunately Bill wasn't there so he had a room all to himself. Harry bunked with Ron and Hermione with Ginny although he doubted the sleeping arrangements had stayed like that for long.
Undressing quickly he suddenly felt his stomach growl. Quietly cursing, he decided to go back downstairs for a midnight snack. Wearing nothing but his boxers he tiptoed back down the stairs again.
Not wanting to wake anyone – and get into trouble for being out so late – he didn't switch the light on but grabbed a sandwich and sat at the table in the dark. Slowly he ate one sandwich, then an other.
"Are you sure there's no Geterms in the bread?"
Charlie almost fell out of his chair. He spluttered and looked around. He didn't see much, it was still dark.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. But you really should be careful of Geterms. They're really dangerous," came the voice again. Charlie curse under his breath. It had be that Luna girl. No one else would say something that ridiculous. Geterms were imaginary creatures that were said to live in cookies. It was meant to frighten children from eating cookies in secret.
"Switch the light on, will you?" he said tiredly. "I don't like talking to people I can't see." As soon as he said this, he sincerely hoped she wouldn't go off about some odd creature that can only be found in darkness when you talk to it.
She didn't. But she didn't switch on the light either.
"Luna?" he ventured, wishing he'd brought his wand downstairs with him. When no reply came, he got up himself to find the light switch at the wall. When he found it and had switched on the light, he turned around. Luna was standing by the door to the garden, holding a glass of milk. She was wearing a long, white cotton nightgown and her long blond hair flowed down freely to her waist.
"Why are you up so late? Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Charlie asked. After all, she was just as old as his baby-sister. It never occurred to him that she too was grown up woman by now.
"I was watching the stars," Luna replied calmly.
"What? No mythical creatures?" Charlie replied, genuinely surprised. Luna smiled. That was the first genuine smile of her that he had ever seen.
"There's mystery in the stars too. Venus is bright tonight," Luna said, the smile had faded from her face.
"Er – and what does that mean?" asked Charlie. Astronomy or even worse Astrology hadn't been his strong point. To be honest, Luna sounded a lot like the centaurs and everyone knew they were crazy.
"Honestly Charlie. Ginny says you're smart," Luna said, sounding almost as if she was scolding him. "Venus is the planet of love and passion. It is a good night for lovers and romantics." Luna turned a little to stare out at the night sky.
"Er. I see. I never liked Astrology," replied Charlie. It had indeed been a passionate night for him. Perhaps there was something to Astrology after all. But that wasn't for this girl to know.
"You're doing it again," stated Luna simply.
"What?"
"The stuttering and stammering. You keep saying 'er'," stated Luna simply. Charlie blushed. Why was he blushing? Some chit of a girl was embarrassing him to the extent that he stammered. That was what was the matter. But really, Charlie scolded himself, it was her fault. She was just plain odd. No one would know what to say to her. A little voice in his head kept saying that everyone else seemed to manage but he successfully ignored it.
"Er." Damm, he cursed himself silently. "I'm going off to bed again," he said quickly, hoping to get himself out of this conversation quickly. "Good Night, Luna."
He quickly turned around and found himself millimetres away from the open door. Taking a step back, he cursed in his head. Quickly he headed back to his room.
That night Charlie dreamt of long blond hair. Valerie's cat like eyes mixed with large grey eyes that stared at him questioningly and Valerie's full red lips often became replaced with smaller, thinner pink ones. Charlie tossed and turned, not finding any peace. He awoke a few hours before dawn with a raging hard one.
Gee man, he thought. You had sex three times last night and still can't get enough? Charlie knew that feeling. No matter what he did, he just wasn't satisfied. He growled but moved to make himself more comfortable, his hands already sliding beneath his boxers.
The next day, Charlie was lying on the meadow beyond the Burrow, reading a book about dragon pests when Luna came out to join him. Oh dear, he thought, trying to pretend that he was sleeping. Luna, although she surely noticed that he wasn't really sleeping, just sat down next to him and watched him. Charlie could feel her presence despite his eyes being closed.
After a few minutes, pretending to be asleep got a little boring and Charlie opened his eyes slowly to find Luna reading his book, completely absorbed. Her hair was falling over her shoulders hiding her face almost completely from view. The book was resting on her knees, one of her hands was fingering the pages, the other vanished behind her hair towards her mouth, Charlie assumed she was chewing on her nails. Suddenly content, Charlie lay back again and closed his eyes. Soon he had drifted off to sleep.
When he woke up again, the first thing he saw was long blond hair on the grass next to him. I love blond hair, he thought dreamily. Suddenly, the person next to him stirred and Charlie found himself staring into large grey eyes. Memories from last night's dream came rushing back as did the feelings associated with it. He found himself grinning in what he believed was a very sexy manner when he felt his body respond.
"Can you do a spell against nargles on me please?"
"Er -," replied Charlie, suddenly back in reality, "I don't know any spells against nargles." His mind was racing, I really shouldn't think about Valerie that much, she was only a fling. As his body cooled down enough to allow him to think more rational thoughts, he realized that Luna was still staring at him questioningly.
"Er – you could show me and then I'd do it?" he said hesitantly, not sure if being taught a spell against imaginary creatures made one self a little insane too.
"You don't believe in nargles," said Luna, completely unaware of his question. "That's quite okay, I'm used to people thinking me odd." Despite her cheery voice, Charlie didn't think that she was as unaffected as she let on.
Something was working in Charlie's mind. These things she was saying, he'd heard them before. And then he remembered. Harry had been telling them about Luna some summers ago, about how people hid her things and about how she didn't seem to mind that much. Charlie didn't think anyone could take bullying like that and be unaffected.
"Luna, I –" Charlie began, unsure of what to say. He wanted to say something helpful and nice but couldn't get around the fact that he just didn't believe in nargles. To his surprise, Luna was suddenly smiling again. It lit up her whole face and brought a sparkle to her eyes. He shook his head. He shouldn't think about a girl like that, should he?
"You didn't start a sentence with 'er', that's a really good thing," she said, explaining her smile. Charlie was gaping again. Once a conversation, Luna always seemed to say something so odd, that there was no response to it. While he was still trying to find a suitable response, he didn't notice that Luna had gotten up and was starting to walk towards the house.
"I'm going back and help your mother with dinner," she said, turning back, "I used to love preparing dinner with my mother." And with that, she had left him alone with his thoughts.
That evening, Charlie sat in the living room with his whole family, musing that afternoon. He reasoned with himself, that he only thought about Luna that much because she was different and he wanted to help her. It wasn't natural to be treated like she often was.
"Ginny, can I speak to you for a moment please?" he said to his sister who was sitting on the floor with Luna, both reading some magazines. I'll never understand those girly magazines, he thought.
"Sure, let's go outside," replied Ginny. She looked puzzled. Probably thinking I need girlfriend advice or something, thought Charlie, amused.
Once outside, Ginny sat on the grass.
"So, you seem so serious, brother mine. What do you want to talk about? Is it that girlfriend of yours? The one you went out with the other night?" she said, looking up at him.
Charlie almost laughed out loud. Instead he bit back a grin. You were right again, mate, he thought to himself.
"No, no, Valerie wasn't something serious, Gin," he said, biting his cheek to keep from laughing. His sister was so naïve, a naïve romantic. "It's about Luna actually. You know her well, don't you?" Charlie just hoped that Ginny wouldn't get any wrong ideas about his interest in Luna.
"Well, I'm her best – only rather – friend," replied Ginny, surprised. "Why do you ask? Please don't tell me you think her weird and are going to say nasty things about her."
"WHAT?" Charlie almost shouted. "Why would I say nasty things about her?" he continued, a little more quiet but still outraged. How can Ginny think that of me? he wondered. To her credit, Ginny did look a bit abashed.
"Sorry. It's just that people always do and I'm rather sick of it. She says she doesn't mind but – well. I would if I were her," said Ginny. Charlie sat on the ground next to her rather unceremoniously, burying his head in his hands. So it was true. Luna had been bullied at school. Charlie didn't even know why it bothered him that much.
"She said something to that effect this afternoon so I was wondering – well, I was wondering some things. She said lots of people thought her odd, that she was used to it. And then I remembered Harry talking about Luna once, saying how people hid her things but that she never seemed to mind. How can anyone not mind something like that?" Charlie was quite surprised at himself. He hadn't meant to talk so much or so passionately. He was glad it was dark because he could feel a blush creeping up the back of his neck. What would Ginny think if she saw that? he thought. She'd think I was a pervert. And this time, I haven't even done anything!
"Oh," said Ginny. "I'm sorry. I should have known you were a decent guy."
"No need to apologize Gin, you meant well," said Charlie, wrapping his arm around his baby sister. "Now tell me, is Luna really that unaffected as she pretends?"
"Well, Luna's pretty tough I suppose, but honestly, I think it does get to her. She just doesn't want to show everyone that they upset her. Doesn't want to give them that satisfaction," replied Ginny thoughtfully, leaning into her big brother. Charlie was convinced that he was her favorite big brother.
"Doesn't she have anyone to stick up for her? I mean a boyfriend or something?" Even Charlie, didn't know where that had come from. Ginny laughed slightly but quickly caught herself.
"No. No, there's no boyfriend. Luna doesn't really have any good friends. I like her but it's difficult. Most other people don't like her and I don't want to sacrifice everything for her either. But I stick up for her when people say things. Harry did too and Neville when he could work up the guts," said Ginny slowly. Charlie pondered this for a while.
"She said something else that I thought was odd. When she left to help mom in the kitchen, she said she used to like to help her mom in the kitchen. Do her parents think her odd too?" The thought disturbed him. He was used to his family's unwavering support.
"No," said Ginny quietly. "It's rather terrible." She paused for a while, snuggling closer to her big brother. Even when they had both been children, she'd liked to do that, mused Charlie. She liked
cuddling people for comfort. For Ginny to call something 'terrible' though, it really must be awful. "Her mother was a researcher. She – she died," continued Ginny. "When Luna was nine."
Charlie's heart clenched. The thought of losing his mother made him, a grownup, come close to tears. He couldn't imagine what it must have done to a nine year old. He held Ginny closer, sensing that the thought disturbed her even more than him. Family was everything for the Weasleys.
After a while, Charlie focused his thoughts back on Luna. Visions of blond hair and big, sad grey eyes flashed through his mind. His body reacted in a thoroughly unexpected way – Charlie felt his heart clench and his arms tightened around Ginny, trying to hug all the pain in the world away.
"Well, is she at least looking into a career where she'll be respected by her co-workers? She could always work for the Quibbler, she reads that a lot, doesn't she?" he mused.
"No. She doesn't want to work for the Quibbler. Her father's the editor and she doesn't want people to think she couldn't get a job for herself, you know," replied Ginny.
"Oh. I guess that makes sense," replied Charlie.
Both siblings were lost in their own thoughts for a while, both wanting to help the blond girl.
"But Charlie, I don't know how you did it, but I really gotta thank you. Somehow you got her interested in real animals. She's been reading old copies of A Dragon Keeper's all evening," said Ginny suddenly. Charlie looked up, startled.
"Well, she started browsing one of my dragon books this afternoon but I didn't give it to her or anything," he said, slowly. Blond hair AND dragons, now that is something, he couldn't stop himself from thinking. Resolutely, he added brown, cat like eyes to the image.
A little while later, having just sat there in comfortable silence, Charlie felt Ginny shiver a little.
"Come on, little sister. Let's go back inside," Charlie said, getting up. He extended his hand to her and, like the true gentleman he was, walked her back to the living room.
After sitting, chatting to Ron and Hermione a while, he noticed that the two would rather be alone now. Dammit. I'd rather not be alone right now, he thought. Harry was visiting Sirius for a few days, so he was sure that Ginny wouldn't just leave Luna. With nothing to feel guilty about, he said his good byes and left the Burrow. He needed some distraction.
On a spur of the moment, he aparted to the street Valerie lived. Couldn't hurt to see what she was up to tonight, could it? He walked towards her flat, seeing lights on. He hoped that she was alone but wanting company. He rang the doorbell.
"Charlie! What are you doing here? Come in!" Valerie said. Charlie though, found it hard to move. She was wearing only a towel, her long blond hair damp. She must have just taken a shower. Walking into her flat slowly, he closed the door behind him, his eyes never leaving her.
"Well, I was wondering what you were doing tonight, my dear," he said, grinning. "Personally, I was looking for a bit of company." Valerie smiled, looking up at him through her thick eye lashes. Suddenly, with no warning she let go of her towel.
Charlie got the idea immediately and quickly discarded his clothes. Valerie just stood there, waiting although he noticed a red flush creeping up over her body. I wonder if she does this with many guys? I suppose I do this with many girls, he thought. He liked knowing what his girls did but he didn't care.
Then he stood in front of her, in all his glory. His cock was jutting out, painfully hard. But he moved slowly. By Merlin, he wasn't going to go back home unsatisfied again.
In the end though, he did. Valerie was good but it seemed like she wasn't good enough. They'd shared an evening of wild, passionate sex and Charlie had found some release in her soft warm body, his face buried in her long blond hair for as long as possible. But even 4 orgasms a night didn't leave him satisfied. They just left him tired.
As Charlie stumbled into the burrow just before 4am, he noticed that there was a light on in the kitchen. Quietly moving through the corridor, he opened the kitchen door slightly to find Luna sitting at the kitchen table, browsing through some magazines he now noticed to be old editions of A Dragon's Keeper.
"Luna! What are you doing up so late?" he asked, both shocked and worried.
"More like 'so early', isn't it?" she replied without looking up. She sounded tired. Cautiously, Charlie walked over to sit opposite her at the big kitchen table.
"Well, what are you doing up this early? Are you alright?" Charlie continued, the worry evident in his voice. Merlin, why do I even care if she gets enough sleep?
"Actually, I was reading these and lost track of time. You don't mind me reading your magazines, do you?" she said. This time she looked up and Charlie noticed that she also looked slightly worried. He growled, angry that she should be so insecure. "It's just that Harry came back and I was a bit bored," she continued quickly. Charlie cursed the couple silently. Leaving Luna alone although she was a guest! Outrageous! He opened his mouth to say something but Luna interrupted him again. "And I finished all of these that I could find," she rushed on, holding up the magazine, "so I was waiting for you to ask you if I could borrow a book on dragons or so." He noticed that she blushed a little.
Merlin, she waited up for me. Blond hair waiting up for me. Charlie himself found a blush creeping up his neck at these thoughts. She's my baby sister's friend! Merlin's pants. I really should get a bit more sleep, then perhaps I'll be thinking a bit more clearly.
He noticed Luna still staring at him, obviously waiting for a reply.
"Er –" No! I will not be reduced to a blubbering fool in front of this chit, "Sure you can. But listen, it's 4am. You should get some sleep. I'll find you some books tomorrow, okay?" He smiled, hoping she wouldn't notice his awkwardness. Since when did he feel awkward around women anyhow? Let alone girls!
"Sure, sounds great," replied Luna, a big smile spreading over her face, again lighting up her face and making her big grey eyes sparkle. She got up, waved at him while mouthing goodbye and was out of the door.
Charlie leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples. Luna sure seemed glad to get out of his company. How odd, she never used to mind my company before. Perhaps she was just tired, thought Charlie, but his thoughts were a blur, his eyelids were dropping and he couldn't get rid of the fear that Luna didn't like being around him.
Slowly he headed for bed. Again, his dreams were filled with blond hair but this time there were only grey eyes. He woke the next morning in a mess. Groaning, he pushed the dream far away in his thoughts and for a while successfully forgetting it, as he waved his wand to clean his bed and turned around to sleep some more.
The next time he awakened to a knocking at his door. He quickly made sure he hadn't soiled his sheets again and shouted for whoever it was to come in.
"Luna!" he croaked, sitting up in bed, blinking at the light streaming in through the door. He'd expected it to be one of his brothers or perhaps his mother, nagging for him to finally get up.
"Hi Charlie," the girl replied, standing in the door. "You said you'd find some books for me to read this morning. It's 1am." She smiled, probably at his incredulous look. "Actually, your mother send me to tell you lunch will be ready in twenty minutes."
Charlie let himself fall back onto the bed with a loud 'thump'.
"Sure. I'll be down in a few," he said, placing his hands over his face in a desperate attempts to block out the light. You just don't want to look at her, you think she's yummy, a nasty voice in head said. No! the more rational part of his brain shouted. Nevertheless, he removed his hands from his face only when he had heard the door shut.
Where did that come from anyhow? Luna Lovegood is not yummy. I'm tired and her hair reminds me of Valerie, that's all, Charlie continued to reason with himself while he dressed.
True to his word, he dug out a few more simple books about dragons for Luna and over the next few days, she even asked him occasionally if she didn't understand something.
Charlie visited Valerie regularly, mostly coming back around 2am to find Luna sitting in the kitchen. They'd have a cup of tea or hot chocolate while she bombarded him with the questions that had accumulated throughout the evening. Most nights, they only headed for bed around 3am.
One night, Charlie was lying next to Valerie in her bed. She was breathing heavy, exhausted from his attentions. He glanced at the clock, 2:10 it read. I'm late tonight, he found himself thinking. But his cock had a mind of it's own it seemed, still hard. Well, let's make this one quick, he thought to
himself and turned. He reached out to trail his hand over Valerie's stomach and up to fondle her breasts as he kissed her earlobe.
"Dear Lord, Charlie," groaned Valerie. "You can never get enough, can you?" She sat up, causing his hand to fall back to her stomach. "We've been at it like rabbits, four times already tonight. I'm done. I need rest," she said, avoiding his eyes. "Perhaps you should find yourself a new fuck buddy."
Charlie just stared at her, shocked, his erection fading just slightly. Without words, he got up and dressed. Without words, he left her apartment. This time he was sure he wasn't going to come back.
A little voice in his head though wouldn't shut up. You weren't even this bad when you hit puberty hard, Charlie. You need something more.
When Charlie got back to the burrow it was 2:25. Predictably, Luna was still sitting at the kitchen table, two steaming mugs of hot chocolate set out. Inwardly he smiled. She was waiting for him. But he wasn't in the mood tonight. He was frustrated, still had a slight erection and couldn't handle all this blond hair tonight. He leaned against the doorframe and sighed. Luna looked up at him and smiled invitingly. Damm those sparking eyes of hers.
"Not tonight Luna. Your questions will have to wait till tomorrow," he said, surprised how tired and resigned his voice sounded. He turned and walked towards the stairs, not wanting to see the disappointment on Luna's face. He feared that he had hurt her, rejected her like all those other people. He couldn't bear that. Perhaps he should leave and find a job somewhere the next morning. Get away.
Charlie had just reached the foot of the stairs when a small hand touched his arm. He froze.
"Are you alright?" asked a small voice next to him. Great work mate, he thought, you refuse to talk to her and she comes and worries about you. "Did your girlfriend ditch you?" continued Luna quietly. Her hand was still resting on his arm, soft and warm. Charlie slumped and gave up his defences. He was just so exhausted for no reason he could fathom.
"Yes. No. There was never a girlfriend," he mumbled. "Just let it be Luna." He could feel her hesitating. She was about to pull her hand away and leave him but she wasn't quite doing it.
"I'm sorry Charlie. Sometimes I get a little tactless." she whispered. He could hear her voice trembling. She was scared to have said something wrong. He felt anger welling up at him but quietly turned, taking her hand in his and squeezing it.
"Don't be. You can ask what you like. Good Night Luna," he said quickly and disappeared up the stairs.
Charlie didn't want to admit it but Valerie's rejection had hurt him. Not because he was emotionally attached to her but because he had started to doubt his attractiveness on women. Why couldn't I turn her on? he kept wondering. I'm fit right? But then he would remember that he was almost 30.
That he was old. He stayed in bed for the whole day, looking his door and mumbling at people to go away. Luna turned up twice but he ignored her completely.
As day turned to night, Charlie tossed and turned. He was getting hungry. Finally, in the late evening he got up. Everyone was downstairs so he had a quick shower and headed back to his room. He didn't want to talk to people so he just waited, idly leaving through some old Quidditch magazines.
As midnight came and went, he could hear most people going to bed. Ginny had come and knocked again but again he had ignored her. Slowly, his hunger was getting almost painful. When at last all sounds in the house had died down, he tiptoed down to the kitchen. It was dark but he was familiar with his surroundings so he grabbed an apple and sat down on his normal seat. Opposite where Luna would sit, he thought and sighed. It had actually been fun to talk to her about dragons.
His apple was finished far too soon and he got up and walked to the counter again. Perhaps his mom had left him something to eat. Drawing out his wand for a bit of light, he looked around and sure enough he found a plate of sandwiches with a note.
Dear Charlie,
Ginny told me about your girlfriend. That girl sure doesn't know what she's pushing away.
I figured you'd come for food later so I left you this.
Love,
Mum
With a smile, he picked up the plate, extinguished his wand and sat back down in his usual place. For some reason the darkness soothed him. He kept staring at the place opposite his, where Luna would sit. He shook his head.
"Feeling any better?" With a yelp Charlie toppled from his chair. "Lumos," came that same voice again. A voice Charlie knew oh so well. He muttered to himself while drawing himself back up. Slumping back down on his chair, he smiled a little.
"Good evening Luna," he said. He resigned himself to his fate. While he didn't really feel like talking to anyone, he had missed his nightly conversation with Luna. He took another sandwich and ate in quiet. Luna just stared at him. She was fiddling with her wand. Normally she would sit perfectly still. "What's wrong Luna?" he asked, waiting for the next question he wouldn't feel like answering.
"What – oh, nothing," she stopped fiddling. She waved her wand at the ceiling and then extinguished it. With one swift movement, she tucked it back behind her ear, pushing her long blond hair away. "Well, are you feeling better?" she repeated, "it's not like I'll tell anyone". Charlie resigned himself to his fate.
"No," he sighed. "It's not about Valerie herself, you know. I just feel old." He didn't meet her eyes, not wanting to see the confirmation in them. He was old, just another old, lonely man. Wait, where did lonely come from? said that little voice in his head. I'm not lonely. I have a very fulfilled life.
"Why's that?" asked Luna. Charlie couldn't figure out what it was in her voice. Probably pity. Never mind though, I certainly won't discuss my love life with his woman. Er – girl.
"It just is," he replied instead, knowing that especially to the inquisitive Luna, that wouldn't be a satisfactory answer. "Perhaps I'm just having my midlife crisis ten years too early," he continued with a half-hearted smile, trying to lighten the mood. When Luna didn't reply, Charlie resorted to staring at his hands instead.
"You haven't lived a quarter of your life and you feel old?" replied Luna, a bit astounded. "And anyhow, age is nothing but a number." Charlie chuckled slightly.
"That's youth's folly," he replied gradually. "You never realize what age is until you're old." They sat in silence for a few more minutes. Oh Merlin, I need a fuck, thought Charlie. A good fuck to take those thoughts away. Again, images for blond hair and sheets flashed before him and he suppressed a groan. Yes, those images always aroused him. He was a sucker for blond hair.
"Well, good night Luna," he said quietly, wanting and needing the privacy of his bedroom. He waved his wand to extinguish the lights again and quietly left the kitchen.
The next day, Charlie forced him to face the world again and had lunch with everyone. He refused to answer any questions and pretended nothing had happened.
"Luna dear, are you helping me with dinner again?" he heard his mother's voice dimly.
"I'm sorry Mrs Weasley. I actually have a date this evening and have to leave at five," replied Luna. "I hope that's not a problem."
"Oh of course not dear," gushed his mother. Dates always exited his mother. Charlie's mind though had gone blank. Luna on a date, blond hair in the moonshine, who is the mystery man? he thought, incapable all of a sudden to form a complete thought.
After lunch, he headed down to the lake with everyone, still in a stupor. His stomach clenched and he had barely managed to eat anything. Why do I even care if Luna dates someone? She's my baby sister's friend. My only worry should be telling her to be careful, he thought.
He lay on the grass away from the others who seemed to think his need for privacy arose from the fact that his 'girlfriend' – more like his fuck buddy, he mused – had ditched him. He stretched out and listened to the other's talk.
"Well, who is your date anyway, Luna?" asked Ginny after a while. Charlie listened more closely. That was an important piece of information. If he found out who it was he could find out how to beat him. Wait. Why do I want to 'beat' Luna's date?
"Well, you wouldn't actually know him, Ginvera," said Luna only to be shoved over by Ginny, outraged at that name. When they had finished laughing, Luna continued. "It's Owen Cauldwell. He's a Hufflepuff."
"Oh. I remember him!" squeeled Ginny in delight. "He's gorgeous. He's still at Hogwarts though, isn't he? Didn't he play on the Quidditch team too?"
"Yes," replied Luna. "He's a chaser." From there, their conversation wandered to clothes and hair.
Charlie had heard enough though and headed back to his room without a word to anyone.
There, he lay on his bed thinking. A nice, considerate Hufflepuff. A toned gorgeous young Quidditch player. And I'm just an old man. Eventually he started pacing, not even realizing that he had gotten himself quite the obsession with one blond Luna Lovegood.
When five o'clock came around, he stood by the window, waiting. Eventually, Luna left the house with Ginny. Luna was wearing a short muggle denim skirt and a low cut black top. She was obviously dressed for a night out. Her long blond hair had been curled and tied into a loose bun. Charlie could feel all rational thought leaving him as his blood rushed to his groin. There was only one thought left. She can't go out like that! His protective instinct stirred. Despite the little voice in his head telling him otherwise, he blamed it on her being so close to his baby sister.
As he watched Luna aparate away, he was left with his thoughts again. He wondered when she would come back. Perhaps she'd even spend the night with this Owen. Charlie frowned. That'd be another midnight talk missed.
Suddenly it occurred to him. I'm nothing but a bitter old man. A bitter, perverted, lonely old man, lusting after my baby sister's best friend. It was only the little voice in his head that told him that what he was feeling wasn't lust. He decided to ignore it because what it suggested was even more wrong.
He took some sleeping pills he kept around. Even they tasted bitter. He growled in frustration. The thought though, remained with him. Worth nothing. Just a bitter old man.
A/N: This is definatly by new baby. I've got a whole bunch story lines planned out in my mind and can't stop writing. So tell me what you, my dear readers would like. Do I upload more? Where should it go? Is Luna good for Charlie? Or is Charlie good for Luna? Or should Luna hit of with that Owen guy? (Ick!)