Chapter 2—All that Sisterly Affection
"Charlie Weasley! You are a complete arse!" Ginny Weasley shouted to her brother over the noise of the shower. She stormed into the tiny bathroom at the Burrow, not waiting for him to finish. She was livid.
Charlie pulled the shower curtain open. Rubbing the water out of his eyes, he said, "What?"
"You are a total and complete arse!" She repeated.
Charlie grinned at her, infuriating her even more. He reached for a towel and wrapped it around his waist. "Yeah, I know. What have I done now?" He said lazily. The water automatically stopped as he stepped out of the shower. He moved her out of his way.
Ginny balled both hands into fists, trying to calm herself down. "How could you do that to Hermione?" she yelled. "How could you just shag her then just leave like that?"
"Why don't you say that a little louder, Gin, I don't think Mum heard you." He said calmly. "Hermione's a big girl. And it's none of your business what the hell I do."
"You broke her heart," she said, following Charlie into his old bedroom.
"I did not," he emphasized. "Christ, Ginny, take a breath." Charlie threw the towel on a chair and proceeded to get dressed. Ginny ignored his nakedness and continued to harangue him.
"You are such a prick." She said. "Don't you realize that Hermione has been in love with you since, well, forever? She's very vulnerable right now and you took advantage of her."
Charlie pulled on an expensive, but faded looking pair of jeans. "Hand me my shirt," he said pointing to the shirt Ginny was now sitting on. She grabbed it and threw it at her brother. "Thanks," he said.
"She's not in love with me," Charlie said flatly, pulling the tee shirt over his head. The shirt had his Quidditch number and his name on it. He smoothed it down over his muscular frame. "A little crush, maybe."
His utter calm infuriated her even more. She threw the first thing she grabbed, his hairbrush, at him. He dodged but was almost hit in the head. "Hey!" he said angrily. He picked up the hairbrush and threw it back at her, hitting her in the chest. "Fuck off."
She threw the hairbrush back at him, this time hitting him on the shoulder.
"What is going on here?" Molly Weasley said, walking into Charlie's room carrying a basket of his clean clothes.
"Mum, she hit me," he whined, falling into his seven-year-old whiny voice.
"Oh, grow up, shit head." She said, storming out of the room. "I'm not finished with you."
Charlie stuck his tongue out at her. "Prat," he said.
"What was that all about?" Molly asked, amused, but not surprised that two of her children were fighting.
Charlie shook his head and waved dismissively. "Nothing." He took the basket of clothes and kissed his mother on the cheek. "Thanks Mum."
"I'd better go talk to Ginny," he said, tying his hair into a pony tail. "She's a little pissed off at me."
He found her sitting on the swing he and Bill built when they were kids. Her eyes were closed, and he sneaked up behind her and grabbed the ropes, pushing her high into the air. Ginny held on tight and laughed. She pumped her legs to make her climb higher. It was almost as good as flying.
"Still mad at me?" he asked when the swing slowed.
Ginny dragged her feet on the ground, stopping herself completely. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Yes, dammit. Hermione is my best friend. You should have seen the look in her eyes when she realized you had left this morning without so much as a, 'Good-bye. Thanks for the shag.'."
"What'd she say?" he asked. "How'd you know we—"
"Charlie, please," Ginny rolled her eyes, interrupting him. "I tried to tell her how you were, but shit. You should have seen her face. She's very insecure, you know. Her break-up with Ron wasn't easy for her. I got the feeling she thinks the reason Ron broke up with her was her reaction in bed." She whispered the last two words. "She told me she thought she was doing something wrong because she didn't feel anything."
Charlie looked surprised. Hermione's response to him was incredible. She was passionate and responsive and he thought she was an excellent lover. If she was inexperienced, he sure couldn't tell. She was absolutely wild. "Really?" He said incredulously. "Ginny, I don't kiss and tell, but that was definitely not an issue with Hermione. She was incredibly responsive."
"Yuck. TMI," she said shaking her head. "I'm going to need to bleach out my brain for that one."
"You started it," he reminded her.
"But why did you just take off like that?" Ginny asked.
Charlie shrugged. "I told you both I would be leaving before you woke up. You heard me."
"Yeah, but that was before you shagged her." Ginny said. Clearly there was a distinction. "There's a certain protocol, you know."
"No, I wasn't aware of any protocol," he said, smiling. He sighed heavily. "I didn't just run out or I didn't mean to anyway. It's not like were engaged or anything; we're consenting adults. I could understand her being pissed at me if I left town without saying anything, but it's not like I'll never see her again either."
"I know, you're right," Ginny sighed, too. "But I was so pissed off at you. You should have seen her this morning. Like I said, I don't think she has much experience at this sort of thing." Ginny got up from the swing and punched her brother hard in the chest. "You're still an arse."
He grinned showing a lot of teeth. "That's what makes me irresistible."
"Full of self, much?" She said. "Is there any way that you could suddenly turn into a responsible adult?"
Charlie pretended to think about that for a minute, and then shook his head. "I doubt it," he said finally. "Look, I respect your loyalty to your friend, but I really think you're making more of this than you ought."
Ginny gave him a sour look.
Charlie exhaled heavily. "All right," he said dramatically. "I'll go over there right now and shag her again and stay for breakfast this time. Will thatmake you happy?"
Ginny rounded him with punch to his nose. "Prick."
"Fuck, Ginny that hurt." Charlie said, holding his nose.
"You're lucky I didn't hex you." She said storming away.
Good point, he thought massaging his nose. He checked to see if he was bleeding. He went back inside the house.
Ginny was sitting at the dining table, drinking a cup of tea with Molly. She seemed to be in a better mood. She and her mother were laughing about something, but stopped when Charlie walked in.
"Gracious, Charlie, you're nose is bleeding." Molly said. She jumped up to take a look at it.
"I'm fine, Mum. No big deal." Charlie said grabbing a towel.
Ginny gave him the most satisfied look he had ever seen. She continued to drink her tea, giving him a smug look.
"Mum, I'm going to run an errand. I'll be back before," he looked at Ginny. "Breakfast," he said.
Ginny's face flushed a furious shade of red. She grabbed the mug so tightly that Molly was afraid it would shatter in her hand. "I'll go with you, Charlie," Ginny said, jumping up suddenly.
Charlie held her down. "No, that's all right. You stay here with Mum. She hasn't seen you in such a long time."
He kissed his mother and walked outside. He disapparated before Ginny could follow him. He thought he heard his sister swearing as he disappeared.
Charlie thought long and hard about what he was going to do. The first thing he did was go to a nearby pub and have a pint. He didn't realize he was still wearing his team tee shirt and that there were drops of his blood all over it. The bar tender seemed to be more concerned that he was wearing a Flying American Red Dragons shirt than the blood. He mumbled something about country loyalty and those damn Americans. Charlie just smiled. This was probably the one place in the wizarding world where he wasn't recognized.
He apparated to Ginny's and Hermione's apartment. Hermione looked surprised when she opened the door to find him standing there. She smiled a shy smile and invited him in.
She looked like she was on her way out, so Charlie told her he wouldn't keep her. She shook her head, confused and asked why he was there.
"I didn't want to you think I, uh," He blew out a breath noisily. He thought he knew what he was going to say to her, but now his mind was blank. "You look beautiful," he said.
She blushed but didn't say anything. He leaned toward her and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She blushed deeper. He touched her face and Hermione's heartbeat quickened.
"It's all right." She said. Her voice was no louder than a whisper. She put her hand over his, closing her eyes.
Charlie swallowed hard, trying to control his breathing. "You know you were incredible last night," he said, finally. "I loved the way you came alive in my arms. I just wanted to tell you that. You were wonderful."
Hermione blushed again. "You don't have to—"
"Yes, I do." He interrupted her. He kissed her. "Hermione, I do like you a lot and I'd like to be with you again."
"Seriously?" she said. He hadn't understood just how insecure she was. She had no idea what a passionate woman she was. Right at that minute, he would have murdered Ron if he had gotten his hands on him.
He grinned and nodded. "Absolutely." He pushed her hair away from her face and kissed her again. "Any time."
"Drunk or not?" she asked, needing to be reassured.
"Baby, I wasn't drunk last night," he reassured her. Well, that was a little white lie, but he wasn't all that drunk. He grinned and kissed her forehead.
Just then, Ginny apparated into the living room where the two of them stood.
"Oh, hello, Charlie. What are you doing here?" She asked casually but she was clearly out of breath. "Everything all right?"
Charlie gave her a smug look. "Everything's fine. I have to go, but I was going to invite you two to dinner tonight. I'm leaving in a couple of days and I was afraid I wouldn't get the chance to see you before I left. Are you free tonight, Hermione?"
Hermione smiled and nodded.
"Ginny?" he asked looking her in the eyes. He thought he saw a flicker of something, but her face remained stoic.
"Sure," she said, gritting her teeth. "Sounds like fun."
"I'll be by at nine." Charlie kissed Hermione's and Ginny's cheeks. He gave Hermione a look of pure pleasure. "I'm looking forward to seeing you again." He looked at Ginny, "Bye Brat." He mussed her hair. Before Ginny could say anything, he turned and disapparated.
A/N: I thought I was finished with the story when I posted it, but the more I thought about it, I thought Charlie was being a real jerk to Hermione and I needed Ginny to call him on it.--Rita