Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling
A/N: In my little world, Charlie Weasley lives in America, plays professional Quidditch for the Flying American Reds Dragons, and during the off-season he works at the on dragon preserve in North America. Oh, and he also fights dark wizards.--Rita
Hard to Get
After the final practice of the day on Friday afternoon in Pennsylvania, Charlie and his friends, beaters Lee and Jason were preparing for a night on the town. The team had been away for three weeks and after the game on Saturday afternoon, they would be traveling back to Texas.
Lee and Jason loved to go to Quidditch bars, but Charlie liked muggle clubs because he was totally anonymous among the muggles, and as a celebrity in the wizarding world, he was constantly being harassed by fans, groupies, and the press. Charlie promised his friends that he'd go to the Quidditch bar with them after losing a variation of 'paper, rock, scissors'.
A Quidditch bar in the away city is not exactly the place for the rival team, but Lee and Jason loved the sports' bar atmosphere. The Pennsylvania Pats' beaters, Jeff Burleson and Hamilton Prescott were in the bar when they walked in and although they were fierce rivals on the Quidditch pitch, they were actually good friends of Lee and Jason's. They took turns buying rounds and after a couple of hours everyone was pretty well lit.
There was some good natured ribbing and Charlie found these fellows to be good sports. Hamilton was from England and played for the National team before being lured away for more gold than the lad had ever imagined. He liked America as much as Charlie did, but still kept a residence in Wales during the off season.
"When do the girls show up?" asked a very horny Lee.
Jeff laughed, "You'll not get one of the Pats' fans. They're loyal to the team."
"I'll bet you our man Charlie will tag and bag one tonight," Jason boasted.
Charlie gave his drunk friend an odd look, but before he could say another word, Hamilton slapped him on the back and said, "It's a bet. And you even get to choose the woman."
"Look," Charlie began, "I'm not sure I…"
"What's the matter, pussy?" Jeff said, "You're such a studly stud, I read the celebrity papers, you have to beat the witches off with a broom. Surely you can, what was that expression, oh yeah, 'bag and tag'."
"Come on, Charlie," Jason said, "do this for the team."
He was almost drunk enough to take the bet, but he had one fleeting moment of good judgment which he washed away in his last gulp of tequila.
"Why the fuck not?" he said. "Okay, boys, point her out, and sit back and watch a real man." He rubbed his hands together briskly.
Hamilton and Jeff roared with laughter. They looked around the room and spied a group of witches walking into the bar together. There were six of them, and they were all pretty nice looking. "See anybody you like?" they asked him.
Charlie watched the women stroll in confidently, they looked toward the bar and a look of recognition crossed they faces. They knew Jeff and Hamilton, and recognized Charlie's red hair. They whispered to each other and giggled.
There was only one witch in the group that caught Charlie's eye. She was a blond and she was voluptuous, having curves instead of angles and Charlie thought she was the most beautiful woman in the room.
"Do you know the blond?" he asked. "She's pretty."
The other men looked at her critically. "Yeah, she's all right," Hamilton said. "I know her." He grinned in a way that made Charlie think he knew her in the Old Testament sense.
"What's her name?" he asked, smiling at her when the witches looked at them again.
"I have no idea," he told him.
"Why don't you invite the girls to this table and I'll take that bet," Charlie said.
"You're on," Jeff said, and starting waving the girls over. The leaders of the girls nodded and smiled and all of them made their way over to the bar with Charlie and the rest.
"You girls want to join us?" Jeff asked, a little unsteady on his feet. "There're some empty tables we can put together and we can get acquainted. How does that sound?"
The girls giggled and nodded. "Are you from the Pats?" one especially giggly witch asked. "You're the beaters, right?"
Jeff and Hamilton nodded. "Yeah, and these are our friends from the Reds, the beaters Jason and Lee, and the seeker Charlie. They're old friends of ours. They don't' mind taking a beating Saturday." He laughed unnecessarily loud at his joke.
The girls were less than enthusiastic about talking to Lee and Jason, but after a while they loosened up, determined that talking to a Reds' player wouldn't doom them to eternal damnation.
Charlie sided up to the blond. "May I buy you a drink?" he asked politely. The woman looked at him a little skeptically.
"I'm not going to bite you," he kidded at her look. "Promise. I'm Charlie, by the way. What's your name?"
"Elizabeth Poe. My friends call me Beth."
He leaned into her and whispered intimately in her ear. "May I call you Beth?" he asked His warm breath was on her neck and she shivered slightly. She nodded shyly.
Charlie poured on the charm as only a Weasley could do. He was attentive and flattering and listened to everything she had to say like it was the most important words in the universe.
Jeff and Hamilton were getting a lot of action, but Lee and Jason were going nowhere with the ladies. And neither was Charlie. It was true, the women were fiercely loyal to their team and any fraternization would have been considered an act of treason.
As the even progressed, Jeff and Hamilton became smugger. They were so sure that the great Charlie Weasley was going to strike out. Charlie was thinking that his best bet was to get her pissed if he was going to get any action.
He tried flattery, but Beth was not the kind of girl to be bullshitted. What she didn't realize was that Charlie really did find her attractive. He wasn't just trying to win a stupid bet, he genuinely liked her. She had a good sense of humor and chided him gently and the Reds.
"Are you coming to the game tomorrow?" he asked.
"Wouldn't miss it," she said with a hint of a smile.
"Would you go out with me after the game?" he asked suddenly.
She laughed. "No," she said plainly.
This was very vexing to Charlie. "Why not?" he asked.
She shrugged. "You're not my type," she said.
"How do you know until you've gone out with me? I'm actually a nice guy."
"I'm sure you are, but I am not interested in you." She couldn't have gotten any plainer than that.
"Seriously?" he asked. "You know who I am right?" That sounded so arrogant that he winced after he said it.
She chuckled. "Yes, I know who you are. You seem like a nice guy and all, but I'm just not interested."
"Is it because I'm a Red?"
She laughed even louder. "Lord, no."
"Are you a lesbian?" he asked, getting more frustrated.
"No," she laughed even louder.
"Are you really a man?"
She snorted. "That's pretty pretentious, isn't it? Maybe I just don't like you. You think you're so charming that I should be dropping my panties for you."
"No," Charlie said, his face and neck turning a bright red.
"You're real cute and all, sincerely, but you're just not my type. Sorry. I'm sure any one of these girls would appreciate you. Now, would you please excuse me?" Beth turned and walked away from the table and Charlie.
He sighed. Was he going to let her just walk away from him? He sighed and then he began to laugh at his own self-importance. He raised his glass to his new friends.
"Well, you got me," he said. "Shame, too, cause I really liked her."
Jeff and Hamilton raised their glasses, but Lee and Jason were upset. They had lost a great deal of gold betting on what they figured was a sure thing..
"To Pennsylvania women," Charlie said toasting the remaining ladies at the table. He threw back the drink, slammed it on the table.
"Good luck tomorrow, boys," he said to Jeff and Hamilton, "I'm going back to my room. I'll see you later," he told Jason and Lee. "Don't keep my boys out too late. Big game tomorrow."
He walked outside of the bar and apparated back to the hotel where the team was staying.
A/N: This story's for Katy, it was all her idea. Frankly I don't think she thought I'd ever write it, knowing what a stud I think Charlie is. Thanks, Katy!