Sunlight slowly begins to creep through the darkness. Highlighting the sleeping forms of a couple strewn across the bed, the blankets twisted haphazardly around them.
Hermione moans softly as she wakes, her mouth feeling gritty like she had been licking the floor. She swallows gingerly, as she tries to open her eyes. They feel glued shut and she has trouble focusing once she does manage to pry them open. Her head begins to pound as she lifts it, pushing herself up off her hands.
She looks confused as she realises her hands are resting on a bare, muscular chest. Her eyes quickly move to rest on the unruly red hair, she sighs in relief thinking to herself that it is only Ron, however at that moment her companion turns their head, showing her the unmistakable face of Charlie Weasley.
Hermione pulls back as though burnt, glancing down at herself as she does so, she pulls the sheet up quickly as she realises she is naked. She slowly remembers the previous night, where herself, Charlie, Ron, Harry and Ginny had spent the night in Hogsmead drinking at the Three Broomsticks. Thinking of Ron a blush spreads across her cheeks at the situation she has now found herself in.
Glancing around the room she recognises it as Charlie's room at the burrow, she blushes even harder as she notices her clothing thrown around the room as though removed in a hurry, her bra hangs precariously from the corner of the mirror. 'Oh they didn't really do that did they?'' She covers her face as though to block out the reality.
Charlie begins to stir, causing Hermione to look down at him, he pulls her against his hard body, before smiling sleepily "Good morning cute stuff" he nuzzels his lips into her neck as he slowly opens his eyes. Which she had to admit wasn't exactly unpleasant. Recognition dawns in his eyes as he focuses on her silent form beside him. "Oh shit!" he pulls back in shock. A small smile plays across her lips "Oh shit indeed."
Back in Ginny's room Hermione pulls her dressing gown on tightly, glad that Ginny had apparently spent the night in Harry's room. At least she didn't have to explain to her where it was she had spent the night.
Her thoughts were unfocused as she dressed after a quick shower, looking up guiltily as Ginny puts her head around the door frame tentatively. The red head sighs in relief, plopping down onto her bed "Oh good I thought Ron might have still been in here." She raises her eyebrows as Hermione shakes her head, carefully. "I haven't seen him since last night." She winces as she says this, deciding to get a hang over potion from Mrs Weasley as soon as she gets downstairs.
Ginny shrugs her shoulders "I would say he could be in Charlie's room, but he had company last night." She grins, wickedly, not noticing Hermione paling considerably. "Should have heard the moans coming from in there, Harry and I had to cast a silencing charm so mum and dad wouldn't hear the commotion. Whoever he had in there was quite a screamer." Hermione blushes scarlet as Ginny turns to get changed, she mumbles something about getting a potion and scrambles out the door, nearly knocking Charlie over as she reaches the stairs. He puts a hand on her shoulder to steady himself, winking at her cheekily before heading down the stairs. She follows slowly, fighting the butterflies swirling around in her stomach. 'Its just the after effects of too much alcohol, nothing else' she tells herself sternly, however she was having a hard time convincing herself of this as her eyes stay glued to his broad shoulders and rather nice butt.
Ron staggers in the kitchen door later that day, his shirt torn and covered in lip stick kisses, Hermione shakes her head, it cant be lipstick, she looks closer her stomach dropping like a lead balloon. Mrs Weasley glares at her son, "Ronald Weasley, where do you think you've been all night?" She asks her voice high pitched. Everyone in the room looks up, deciding whether to stay to watch or clear the room. Ron stares at her in confusion as he hears his name, swaying on the spot. "And what happened to your shirt? Is that lipstick?" She shrieks, not giving him a chance to reply she shoves him into a seat before forcing a phial of sobering potion down his throat, he coughs and splutters trying not to choke.
As the potion takes effect Ron stares down at his shirt before back up at Hermione, looking defeated. She shakes her head wordlessly before moving quickly out into the garden. She needed time to think, her logical side was pointing out that what she had done with Charlie was much worse then Ron spending the night with some nameless female. As she reached the middle of the orchard she pulls a book out of her pocket, tapping it with her wand to return it to its normal size, before conjuring a cushion and settling next to a beautiful big shady apple tree to read.
Charlie stands off to the side watching her from a distance before making his way over silently. "Are you mad with Ron?" he asks standing directly in front of her, Hermione looks up, pushing a wayward strand of her hair back behind her ear as she contemplates his question, her eyes wandering across his chest, wishing his shirt wasn't covering it, a blush creeps up her cheeks as she thinks this, he chuckles softly, plopping down next to her. "I cant be mad at him, hurt yes, but what he did is no worse then I did, I mean you're his brother…" She twists her hands in confusion refusing to look up at him. She tries to pull back her hand as he grabs it, holding it firmly between his two large rough ones, smiling as she looks up at him.
He places a small kiss on the palm of her hand "I might be his brother but something about waking up next to you this morning felt right. And from what I can remember you were quite the wild cat in bed last night." She blushes a deep red as he says this, pulling her hand away firmly, she stares into his eyes as his fingers under her chin force her head up. "My stupid brother has no idea when he's onto a good thing. What guy would throw away a beautiful, intelligent girl who is a minx in the sack, for some drunken fling?" His smile falters as she chews her lip in thought. "Ron and I…we… we never slept together." She mumbles embarrassed. He smiles again "You mean I was your first?" His smile gets even wider as she nods her head wordlessly, her mind processing the fact that he had just told her she was beautiful and intelligent.
She begins to protest as he pulls her up off the ground, but he silences her with a finger against her lips. "Shh just trust me." Before she has the chance to say a thing, she feels the familiar sensation of apparition.
Hermione falls against Charlie's chest as they arrive at their destination, she looks around mesmerised by the beauty of the spot. Tall trees surround them on either side parting in the middle to reveal a beautiful waterfall, its rushing water pounding violently against the rocks at the bottom, before calming to flow in to a serene lake. She glances up at him but she could tell from the look on his face that he was enjoying the beauty like she was.
He grabs her hand pulling her over to the lake, tapping her with his wand as they go "Let's go for a swim to cool off." Glancing down she notices that he has transformed her clothes into a tiny bikini. "Charlie!" she exclaims hitting his arm, he turns raising his eyebrows "What?" his eyes wander slowly up and down her body, enjoying the sight of her milky white skin, he grins wickedly in a way very reminiscent of Ginny "I could have forgone all clothes, its not like I haven't seen you naked before now is it?" Hermione blushes crimson, why did he always have that effect on her? Stripping off his own shirt and jeans he jumps into the crystal clear water in just his boxer shorts. She follows tentatively, pleased to find the water nice and warm.
The afternoon passes quickly, the shadows begin to lengthen and the sky begins to shine with the radiant glow of the setting sun. Charlie conjures a cloak as Hermione begins to shiver, wrapping her tightly before they settle on a smooth rock to watch the sun set. She lays her head against his chest, her chocolate brown hair falling in damp ringlets down her back. Charlie pulls her tighter as she lets out a quiet sigh. "Are you worried about what happened between us?" he asks quietly, his hand running gently up and down her arm, she lifts her head slightly to look at him, chewing on her bottom lip as usual when she is thoughtful. "Yes and no. I feel so comfortable with you that I don't feel bad about what happened last night. I'm just not sure now where things stand between us. You have your work in Romania and I'm still trying to decide what to do with my life since the end of the war. I've worked hard the last few months since it ended to get my NEWTS, but now I don't know what I should do. Everything that I wanted to do before the war doesn't seem nearly as appealing now." She shrugs her shoulders, Charlie smiled, it was so unlike Hermione not to have her life planned out. But the war had changed many people.
He linked his fingers through hers quietly. "Before the war I didn't think of you as anything other then the intelligent best friend of my brother, then once you came through the war I saw how beautiful you had grown up, I was envious then of just what Ron had. I guess last night I let the alcohol do what I never had the guts to do." He kisses her finger tips before continuing. "Although I have to say if I had been a little more sober it wouldn't have gone quite so far, your first time is something I'd have preferred to make extra special." Hermione smiles at this, squeezing his fingers gently. "I really would like to see where this could go. Of course we couldn't parade it around just at the moment. No matter how nice my family are, they would still see it as our betrayal to Ron. We can get to know each other better and you can have time to work out what you want to do with your life, without feeling that I have to factor into it just yet." He smiles nervously at her, waiting for some kind of reaction. Hermione turns herself around to face him, before gently kissing his lips. He pulls her closer, deepening the kiss, one hand resting on the back of her head.