A/N: So, this is not my first fic, however, it is the first one that I have published. Just a little silly one-shot:) Be kind to me, I edited it, but I didnt have it beta'd. Anyway, I love Charlie. He is wonderful! Have fun and Review!
Charlie had always enjoyed the outdoors. It was a place of rest and beauty; when he was out in the fresh air, breathing in the smells around him, he felt at peace with the world. Today, as he lounged in the shade of the large oak behind the burrow, he felt anything by relaxed.
His blazing blue eyes followed the young witch in front of him with intensity. Was she purposely toying with him? Did she have any idea what effect she had on him?
'She is incredible.' he thought of her blonde locks cascading down her shoulders, her sundress just hinting at the body beneath, and her dazzling smile lighting up the lunch table. She stood now, with her hands full of plates—ready to be set for lunch—smiling and animatedly chatting with Percy and Neville. Her hearty laughter filled the garden.
Charlie's thoughts started to drift, when suddenly, a bludger collided painfully with his face.
"Bloody Hell! George, are you mental!" His brother stood a few feet from him, doubled over in laughter. Charlie sat moodily for a moment before jumping up and pouncing on him. "You bastard! Why did you do that?"
George, snickered from inside the headlock Charlie currently had him in. "You looked entirely too comfortable, and entirely too enthralled in our young friend Ms. Bliss."
Charlie felt his cheeks flare, "I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Like hell you don't! I saw the way you were ogling her. Char, if you like her tell her!"
"George, even if I did like her, she would never go for me."
"And you know this how? Did she say she would never be into you? Or are you just inferring so you can get out of it?"
Charlie looked at his feet; he wanted more than anything to let Laney know how he felt about her. He had loved her since he first met her at the Quiditch World Cup. He chuckled as he recalled the story.
"Hey, dad, I am going to go have a look around the camp ground. I'll be back in a while."
"Alright son, on your way back fill the water bucket, will you?"
"Sure thing, I will be back in a bit."
Charlie took off towards the middle of the camp grounds; he had just wanted a bit of time out of the chaos his family provided. He loved them all, but he was used to living in a small hut by himself. It took a bit of readjusting; spending time with his family.
Charlie meandered through the site, stopping every so often to chat with friends or teachers. When he reached the water pump he filled the bucket and turned to leave.
Unfortunately he didn't look where he was going and ran smack into her.
"Shite! I am so sorry…" He glanced up at her, she stood there completely drench and totally still. Charlie was just about to start apologizing again when she burst into laughter.
"Ha, Oh. Ha, My. Ha-ha God. This would happen to me!" She stated between guffaws.
"I am really sorry Ms.; I should have looked where I was going…"
"No, don't worry about it, seriously I am fine. Nothing a quick—" she leaned right up next to his ear, "—drying spell won't fix." She muttered the words, and she was immediately dry.
"Don't tell anyone, wouldn't want to be charged with improper use of magic." She rolled her eyes, "My name is Laney Bliss by the way."
"Charlie Weasley, nice to meet you."
"Charlie, I like it. Where are you headed?"
"Just back towards the south end of the field, you?"
"I am headed the same direction, come on, we will go together…Oh, wait, first lets refill the water buckets. Cant forget what we were sent out to get." The two of them refilled the water and started towards their camp spots.
"Here, let me carry that."
"Oh no, I can—"
Being the gentleman his mother raised him to be, Charlie deftly leaned over and grabbed the bucket from her hands. "Please, allow me, it is the least that I can do for you." He winked, watching the slight blush color her cheeks, and turned back towards their camp sites.
On the way back Laney was stopped by a woman of large stature, and by large Charlie thought Hagrid would look like a shorty in comparison.
"Laney, 'ow nice to see you again."
"Yes, hello Madame Maxime," she awkwardly hugged the huge woman, "It has been far too long."
"Eet certainly 'as. I presume you are 'ere weeth your father? Are you not?"
"Yes, father is here, somewhere. I was just on my way back, but I will tell him you said hello. We really must be going though."
"Of course, I weel see you this year though?"
"Absolutely, I will stop by and visit with you, goodbye!" She waved at the large woman, and turned back around.
"Who was that?" Charlie questioned.
"My headmistress, I graduated three years ago from Beuxbatons."
"Oh, gotcha."
They started walking towards the campsites, as they went Laney hummed to herself.
Charlie looked over at her, he had a good feeling about this girl, she was real and confident. He liked confidence; it was a trait he looked for in women. "So, you are here with your father?"
"Yeah, dad and I love Quiditch, though, I don't play. Beuxbatons doesn't have a team. My mum was a keeper back in the day. I'm not a very good flyer, but I love the game."
"That's great, my family and I used to have monthly matches."
"Why not anymore?"
Charlie glanced at Laney, "Well, um, after I graduated from Hogwarts I spent a summer abroad and wound up living in Romania."
Laney gave him an inquisitive look, "What is in Romania?"
"Dragons. I work as a tamer on the Romanian Reserve."
"Merlin! That sounds fabulous, I love dragons."
"You've been around dragons?"
"Yeah, my mum was a healer on a reserve when I was young. Some of my best memories are from the reserve."
Charlie stared at Laney in amazement, his mind was racing. 'This girl is fantastic!' He chuckled, "You are my kind of girl!"
She laughed, "And you mine, dragon tamer."
They looked around and realized they had arrived at Charlie's tent. "This is me; do you want me to walk you all the way to your tent?"
"No, I'll be alright. Thank you Charlie."
"Not a problem. Hey, would you and your dad like to join us for dinner tonight?"
"That would be wonderful, if it's not too much to ask."
"Absolutely not, I would be glad if you joined us."
"Well then, we will be over at six."
"Great, see you then."
Charlie fondly recalled the dinner. Laney fit in so well with his family; they had spent the entire night laughing and playing games together. Into the wee hours of the morning they chatted and Charlie found that she was a genuinely wonderful girl. From that moment, their friendship blossomed. During the war they worked together to recruit foreign allies.
Charlie had tried to tell her what he was feeling on so many different occasions. Throughout their time together in the war, it felt too trivial to declare love for someone; there were bigger things to worry about. Now, after the war, well he felt lame. He didn't want to say, 'hey, no big deal, but I have been in love with you for like five years.' It was underwhelming.
"Charlie, you can't go continue being afraid of it. She likes you, I guarantee it." George tried to convince him.
"Leave it alone George. I will do it when the time is right."
George sighed and mumbled something like, 'the time is right, you tosser.' He turned to rejoin the quiditch game he had deserted.
Charlie looked over towards where the subject of his racing thoughts sat; she was playing tag with Teddy; her dress flying up revealing more of her voluptuous body. He fell back against the tree with a groan; what in the bleeding hell was he going to do.
That afternoon when lunch had been served, Charlie sauntered over to the table to claim his seat.
As he pulled out his chair Fred shouted, "Charlie, don't sit there!"
"Why not?"
"Because, I, uh, I specifically modified that seat to only fit my adorable backside." Fred sprinted over and claimed the seat before Charlie could grasp what was happening. The only chair left unoccupied was next to Laney. Normally this wouldn't have bothered Charlie, but considering his earlier predicament and the tight space provided at the cramped table, he was less excited than usual.
He quickly moved around the table and sat between Laney and his brother Bill; both greeted him and he sat down. During lunch Bill started telling him about their mum barging into Shell Cottage, only to find him and Fleur in a rather compromising situation. He tried to keep up with the embarrassing tale, but Charlie couldn't keep from sneaking glances as Laney. He noticed Fred and George staring at him, and made a note to flog George for bringing Fred into this matter.
When Lunch had finished and the dishes were cleared, Fred and George clambered up onto the table and announced their plans to go for a swim.
"You all are required to come…" Fred began.
"There are absolutely…" George continued.
"NO EXCEPTIONS!" They bellowed in unison.
"Go for a swim; you can leave the Children with your father and I." Molly called from the kitchen window.
So it was decided that everyone would go for a swim. Bill, Hermione, Fred, Harry, Ron, and Ginny all took off for the water. George, Charlie, Laney, Fleur, Percy, and Neville ran inside to change. Soon enough they were all cannon-balling into the lake behind the burrow.
Charlie lounged against a rock near the shore; just watching the fun his siblings and friends were having.
"Now is your chance to lay some ground work." George appeared from the water behind him.
"Merlin, George, don't do that," Charlie waited for his heart rate to slow, "what do you mean, lay some ground work?"
George chuckled, "I mean flirt with her; go have fun. Play! Don't just sit here like a creepy old man."
Charlie rolled his eyes; he looked around and spotted Laney swing from the makeshift tire swing and land loudly in the water. Ron and Harry hollered their approval of her splash distance. He smiled, "Fine. I will go over there and top her splash. I don't know about the flirt factor."
"Do something; you are starting to weird me out, just sitting here."
"Shut up, you wonker."
Charlie stood up from the rock and jogged over to where Harry now stood, grasping the swing.
"Come now Harry, let the big men show you how it's done." Charlie grabbed the swing and ran as far up the sloped ground as he could. With a scream to rival Tarzan; Charlie ran and jumped onto the tire. This was old news for him; he had grown up winning the splash contests off of this swing. He let go at the height of the swing and dropped down, lithely curling into a ball.
He hit the water with a huge crash; before he had even come up from the water he heard the cheering. He smirked, 'I still got it.'
He resurfaced and triumphantly shot his muscular arms into the air, fist pumping victoriously. He looked over at Laney, who had her arms crossed and her eyebrow cocked. He shot her a cheeky grin and shouted, "Top that Bliss!" Her eyebrows shot into her hairline and she immediately took off for the shore.
She climbed up onto the beach and grabbed the swing. Running up the slope, she quickly surveyed the scene before running and jumping into the air. It was a great swing, she let go and somersaulted in the air, before she came down. Unfortunately Charlie miscalculated her trajectory and found himself directly in her path. He quickly dove into the water. He heard a crash and the excited shouts of all of his family.
"Char, she beat you! That water clearance was huge!" Bill called towards his brother. It looks like we have a new champion! Laney! Laney! Laney! Laney!"
She laughed as they chanted her name; Fred and George picked her up and paraded her around on their shoulders. Charlie chuckled. No one had ever beaten him at swing jumping. He was impressed.
"Bill? Fleur? Victorie is calling for you!" Molly called from the house.
"Looks like it is time to head back. Dinner will be on soon anyways. Let's go guys." Bill called to the swimmers.
Charlie climbed out of the lake and looked towards the trees. He saw Laney leaning against a tree.
"So, you took the title from me. I don't know if I am okay with that."
"Hey, you lost fair and square, Weasley."
"Maybe, but I still don't like being challenged. You are in big trouble for that one!"
"Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?"
"This…" Charlie darted towards her; she squealed and took off into the orchard.
This was going to be fun. Charlie knew he was faster than her, but thought that maybe he should give her a bit of a head start.
After a few minutes jogging after Laney, Charlie felt like it was time for him to step it up. He started sprinting through the trees chasing after his prey. He reached the spot where he had last seen her and stopped. Glancing around, he didn't see her anywhere, but he heard her holding back her laughter.
"Ms. Bliss, I know you are here! Come out now and no one gets hurt." He heard a rustle and jerked around. His hand shot out and there was a muffled cry.
"Gotcha love." The two of them collapsed on the ground in a fit of laughter. "Oh, that was great; I haven't gotten to laugh like that in a long time."
She smiled, "I know, it's been too long." Laney turned over and lay on her side. Charlie glanced over at her and turned towards her.
"I've really missed hanging out with you Charlie. I feel like we haven't seen each other since the war ended."
"I know. The reserve was in chaos. I had to go back and set things right. I have a nine month sabbatical from work though. I will be here through next spring."
"Really? That's fantastic Charlie! You needed a break." Laney smiled at him.
Charlie couldn't form a coherent thought. All that he could think about was leaning over and kissing her. He wanted to, he really did. He just didn't want to risk their friendship; what if he did tell her how he felt and she rejected it. Would it ruin what they had? She was his best friend, he couldn't lose her.
He rolled back over and looked up at the clouds. "Yeah, I am glad I get to be here with my family for a while. It was really hard while we were all on the run."
He glanced over at her and thought he saw disappointment flash in her eyes, "I understand; I had no idea what was happening when we were recruiting." She sat up, "We should probably get back there. Dinner will be ready soon, and swimming left me famished." She stood and offered him her hand.
"You are probably right; lets get back." He grabbed her hand and pulled himself to his feet.
Dinner came and passed fairly quickly; the sun started to set and the family gathered around a campfire. It was a Weasley family tradition to have smores and tell stories around the fire. They all sat there and listened to the various tales half recited and half acted out by their friends and family.
As the night continued the crowd dwindled. Soon Charlie found himself sitting in a circle with Fred, George, Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny, Neville, and Laney.
Fred and George were speaking in hushed tones. They finished their hurried conversation and stood together.
"We have decided that it is high time for some quality entertainment." George quipped.
"Right you are Forge. Let's play Truth or Dare: Wizard edition." Fred interjected.
"Smashing idea, Gred. It just so happens that I have the materials in my back pocket!" George responded.
"What are you two playing at?" questioned Hermione.
"We have acquired a bit of Veritaserum, my dear sweet Hermione. That is what makes this a game of Truth or Dare: Wizards Edition. To make sure that the truths are quite true."
"Who's in?" Every hand in the circle shot up; Charlie felt like this game could end badly for him, however, he wasn't one to pass up a challenge so he decided to play.
Fred continued on, "This game is just like the muggle game except—for obvious reasons—we can do much more with the dares."
"Does everyone have the gist of what we are doing?" George's eyes shot around the room. "Good. Everyone take a small drink of the veritaserum and let's get started."
The game started out quite tame; the dares that were thrown out weren't very exciting and the truths were simply boring. However, the waters were being tested and it picked up. Harry was, in his own nature, a funny guy. He loved a good laugh and decided it would be a good idea to dare Fred to give Neville a lap dance. Unfortunately for Harry, Fred dared Ron to return the favor.
Charlie felt the tense feeling in the pit of his stomach melt away as he laughed with his friends. This is what he missed about the burrow. The laughter; sometimes the dragon reserve, being a dragon reserve, was a bit too serious. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice when George called his name.
"Hmm. Sorry, what was that?"
"I said truth or dare you sod!"
"Ouch, no need for name calling. Did you really have to ask the question? Dare." Charlie puffed out his chest and beat his fists against it. Everyone started laughing, but Charlie was watching one specific person. Laney was shaking with silent laughter; the red tinge in her cheeks darkening because of it.
"Alright Char; since you are so apt for this, I dare you to run through the orchard."
"George, I don't know if you know this, but the point of the game is to dare something someone wouldn't normally do."
"That is correct my dear brother, you didn't let me finish. I dare you to go running through the orchard, buck-arse nude."
"You bloody tosser. Fine." Charlie got up and ran towards the orchard. As he was running he started stripping off his sweater and t-shirt. As he removed his cloths he heard his brothers' wolf-whistle behind him and quickly threw them the bird. Their laughter could still be heard as he ducked into the orchard and removed his pants. He slowly made his way to the edge of the orchard; careful not too show more than necessary. Didn't want the other boys to get jealous. He chuckled. He stepped out of the trees giving the entire party a glimpse of his toned behind, and took off at a dead sprint.
He took the perimeter of the orchard as fast as he could; wanting only to return to his cloths. He came around the last corner and dove behind the tree hiding his cloths. Quickly slipping into his jeans he walked towards the campfire. Breathing heavily Charlie slumped down into his seat; his chest gleaming with sweat.
"Happy you bleeding toss-pot? I knew you were attracted to me Georgie; I didn't realize just how much."
George threw his roasting stick at him and laughed deeply. "Yeah, yeah, just get on with it."
Charlie glanced around the circle. It occurred to him that Laney hadn't been asked anything. "Laney, Truth or Dare."
"Truth. I don't know what might come of a dare." She smiled mischievously at him.
"Okay, what are you afraid of?"
The entire circle waited for her to respond; she looked down at her feet and didn't answer.
She looked up with a look of terror on her face, "I, I—I am af-fr-fraid of… of… FLYING!" She wailed dramatically breaking into false hysterics.
Everyone sat silently for a moment; then Neville burst into laughter and the rest followed. The party sat for what felt like hours and laughed at the lunacy of her dramatic performance.
Wiping tears from his eyes Ron looked up at the rest of the group and said, "I guess it's my turn to ask then?" He looked around to make sure no one was objecting. "Right then; Laney, Dare or Dare."
"Ron, I don't think that is how the game works." He looked at her expectantly, "Fine, dare."
"I dare you to take my old clean sweep out for a spin."
Everyone stared at him. Hermione slapped him upside the head and shouted, "You prat! She just told us she was afraid of flying."
"No, Hermione, it's alright. I'll do it. It is a part of the game."
Laney moved towards the shed when Fred and George grabbed her arms. "Laney," they spoke in unison, "You really don't have to do that."
She chuckled, "Boys, I really do. Really, don't worry, I have flown before, I am just really bad at it." They released her and she jogged towards the shed.
Charlie went after her; he found her inside the shed staring at the wall filled with brooms. He leaned over her and grabbed two from the top shelves. "Here, this is Ron's Sweep." She slowly took the broom from his hands, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
She threw him an, Duh, I am not backing out of this, look, "Yes Charles, you know I wouldn't back out of any dare."
"No one will care if you do. Ron is a prat."
"Charlie, its fine. Come on, let's get this over with."
Charlie followed her out of the shed his own broom in his hand. Laney brought the broom out into the middle of the yard and tossed her leg over it. She slowly lifted off of the ground and gave the group a nervous nod before rising up into the sky.
The group of friends watched her nervously. Laney made a few laps around the leaning house, and it looked like she was on her way back towards the fire, when sparks started shooting out of the broom.
Hermione gasped and Ginny screamed, "She is still 100 feet up! Charlie; that broom is going down! Help her!" Ginny finished her statement as Laney yelped and fell from the broom.
Charlie leapt onto his broom and shot off into the air. He moved with finesse and grace; had he not been so worried he would have enjoyed the memories brought back from his days as the Gryffindor seeker.
He caught Laney with fifteen feet to spare and she immediately clung to him. He landed on the other side of the house and they tumbled to the ground. Charlie noticed that she was shaking and he pulled her into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his bare torso as her body was wracked with sobs. He could hear his friends shouting while they ran around the house towards where they landed.
"Hey, they are on their way, do you want them to come over here?" Laney quickly shook her head no. Charlie pulled out his wand and sent his Chinese Fireball patronus with a message. She is fine, don't come back here, she doesn't want to be around anyone right now. I am going to take her to bed.
He lithely lifted her up and carried her, cradled to his chest, through the back door and up the stairs.
Once Charlie had climbed the stairs to his old room—where Laney was living at the moment—he quickly opened the door and entered the room. He silently shut the door behind him and went to place the shaking girl in his arms on the bed.
He could tell that she was still terrified. Her body, though she was no longer sobbing, was frozen. Even when he leaned over to deposit her on the bed she didn't let go.
"Ch-Charlie, I c-cant move m-my arms." She hiccupped.
He slowly moved one arm to the back of his neck and unlocked the vice grip she had on him. "Laney, don't worry, you are safe now. I've got you."
"Thank you so much Charlie." She took a long shuddering breath, "I would be dead had you not jumped on your broom." Tears started to slip down her cheeks.
Charlie reached out his hand to brush the tears away with the pad of his thumb. "I wouldn't have liked it very much had you died."
Laney let out a watery chuckle, "Of course you wouldn't have liked that. If I was dead who would entertain all of you boring sods?"
Charlie's throaty laughter spread to Laney and she giggled uncontrollably. Her laugh sent shivers down Charlie's spine.
Charlie who had been cradling Laney's upper body too himself lifted her up and sat down on the bed with her on his lap.
"I am really, truly glad that you are okay. You were right; none of us know what we would have done without you." Charlie inhaled deeply and steeled himself for his next words, "I don't know what I would have done without you."
Laney looked up at his face, her eyes shining, and gave him a cheeky grin. "I hope that means what I think it means."
Charlie was frazzled for a moment, "What do you think it means? More over, what do you want it to mean?"
She pondered that thought for a second, not wanting to voice her desires. Instead she brought her hands up to Charlie's broad all encompassing chest and repositioned herself so that she was straddling his lap.
"I would rather just show you what I want it to mean." She leaned in and kissed him. Nervously at first, and when she felt Charlie still sitting motionless, she pulled back to apologize. "Charlie, I'm sorry, I don't know wh—" He grabbed her face and pulled her back to him. His lips came crashing down on hers and she let out a contented whimper.
After a few long moments of snogging, Charlie started, "Laney, I have loved you since we ran into each other at the World Cup, and I have been trying to find a way to tell you that."
She looked up at him amazed by what he had just revealed to her. "Well it's about bloody time that you told me! I have been waiting for a good five years!"
"You're kidding me!"
"No Charlie, I am most certainly not kidding you. When we met at the Cup, I knew too. You were always it for me Char; you are always it."
Charlie couldn't contain his utter joy; he let out a loud whoop and flipped Laney onto her back. Her shock offered him the perfect opportunity to find her lips again.
He kissed her passionately, pouring all the love that he felt into the kiss.
"You know what, love, I am glad that you fell off of that broom stick. Had you not, I don't know that this would have happened."
"I know, that's why I charmed the broom to splutter and fall. I knew you would be there to catch me."
Charlie stared at her, eyes wide, and burst into laughter. He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose and then her forehead, "You minx!" She giggled. "It's a good thing I love you or I wouldn't forgive you! You nearly gave me a heart attack with that stunt!"
"I nearly gave myself a heart attack! But I am glad that I did."
"I am too."
Fin.