Chapter 2
Gretchen was still asleep when Charlie got up the next morning. He kissed her and she smiled. He was glad she didn't wake up because he didn't want another fight with her about a subject that was in his mind permanently closed. He had no idea what came over her, but whatever it was, she probably wouldn't be too happy about his next bit of news. So it was better he not tell her, that way she couldn't get upset.
Charlie promised his best friend, Joanna Morgan-Kingsley that he would spend the weekend with her and a couple of other Quidditch players at an all-girls Quidditch camp in Salem. He'd agreed to it before Jonas finally relented and let him join the research team. The idea of spending three days with a bunch of silly, giggly girls didn't appeal to him at all, but he missed Joanna and was interested in seeing how her and her husband, Jordan's reconciliation was going. He was surprised when she told him that Jordan wasn't going to be participating; he'd stay home with the kids, Kayleigh and Brandon while she ran the camp.
Minnie, the house elf greeted Charlie warmly when he came down the stairs and sat in his favorite kitchen chair. She poured him a large cup of coffee and stood back eagerly waiting for his breakfast order.
"Just coffee today, Minnie," he said stretching lazily. "Is Ingrid awake yet?"
Immediately Minnie disappeared and reappeared holding a very sleepy Ingrid in one hand and her dog Hercules in the other. Hercules growled and yapped at Charlie. He ignored the tiny dog and reached for his daughter.
"Good morning," he said kissing her forehead.
"Morning, Daddy," she yawned as she wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled. "You're warm. Can we go shopping today?"
Charlie laughed. "Shopping? Why do you want to go shopping?"
"Christmas shopping, I want to buy Minnie and Hercules and Gretchen presents. Gretchen's already been shopping. I want to go."
"Shit," he swore. "I forgot about that. I'm sorry, sweet heart; I'm going to Salem this weekend."
"I want to go!" she said very grumpily.
"Shit," he said. He hadn't wanted to mention the trip to Salem at all. "Minnie, I don't want you to say anything about this to Gretchen, okay? She's already pissed at me about the expedition. You can bring Ingrid Sunday and we can spend the day together. I want her to get a look at the school. I'm still trying to get her in when she's six. Maybe if I donate a new library or Quidditch pitch they'll accept her; that's one of the reasons I'm doing the Quidditch camp with Joanna."
The Salem School for Young Witches and Wizards was the most prestigious wizarding schools in America. Many prominent wizarding families had their children's name on the list to attend before they were born. The board of directors of the school frowned on celebrities and the fact that Ingrid's mother was a muggle didn't help his cause any. The Salem witches were quite snobbish when it came to half-bloods. Charlie's only advantage was that the headmistress, Griselda Hopgoode liked him, but she had very little input
That was another thing he and Gretchen argued about. Gretchen and her sisters attended the Birmingham School of Magic in Alabama. She thought Ingrid should attend that school; it was a perfectly fine institution, but Charlie's mind was already made up. Ingrid would either go to SSYWW or Hogwarts in Britain.
Nan and Granddad Weasley wanted Ingrid to attend Hogwarts. Their argument was that it was Charlie's alma mater and all the Weasley's had gone to Hogwarts. Molly was certain that Ingrid's name had already been added to the list of future students. Besides they would see a lot more of Ingrid if she went to Hogwarts.
Hogwarts classes began when the witch or wizard was nine; students could attend SSYWW at the age of six. SSYWW taught reading, writing, and ciphering to the younger children, as well as introductory age appropriate classes in magic and flying.
Minnie swore on her life that she wouldn't mention the side trip to Salem. She was extremely loyal to Charlie and although she loved Gretchen, she wasn't about to take sides against her master. She didn't like the idea of Ingrid going away to school, but Charlie explained that she could go with her to keep an eye out for her. Master Charlie Weasley never went back on his word, so she knew he was telling her the truth and finally stopped being so melodramatic about the thoughts of losing her precious Ingrid.
"Well," Charlie said standing up and handing off Ingrid to Minnie. "I have to go. Remember, nothing to Gretchen, right?"
Minnie nodded.
"And Ingrid don't tell Gretchen; just tell her I'm taking you and Minnie Christmas shopping but don't say where. We'll get her a nice gift, okay?"
Ingrid nodded, excited that she was going to spend some alone time with her daddy. She liked Gretchen, probably even loved her, but she always considered her time with Charlie special and she didn't like it when Gretchen tagged along with them. Charlie kissed his daughter again and walked outside his back door and disapparated.
He apparated to the Quidditch pitch at the school. It was still very early, but he wanted to get a feel of the place before the mass of girls hit the field. He spotted Joanna standing at the entrance of the players' area. He called her name and she waved.
"Joanna!" Charlie said, wrapping his arms around her in a big bear hug. "You're looking good."
Joanna laughed and hugged him back. She pushed him away to get a good look at him. "God, you've gotten fat!" she joked. "Married life must agree with you."
"Fuck you," he said lightly. "Speaking of wedded bliss, how's it going with you and numb nuts?"
"Jordan" she corrected. "One day at a time. He's really trying." She flashed a huge diamond ring in his face. She looked at her ring closely and sighed. "Maybe he'll cheat again and I can get the matching diamond band."
Charlie rolled his eyes. He hugged her again and released her. "So, boss, what's the game plan?"
"Shit load of screaming pre- & teenage witches show up in forty-five minutes and we show them how to play Quidditch. The camp runs through Sunday at noon; we'll have a little tournament, lots of squees and all round goofiness; it's a big PR thing mostly."
"Press will be here?" he asked, suddenly panicked.
"Yeah, of course. The big guys are always trying to promote the game. Why? What'd you do? Forget to tell Gretchen you'd be here."
He reddened quickly.
"No shit? What's the matter? Trouble in paradise already?"
He shook his head. "No, well, I didn't tell her about this weekend because I'm going to an expedition for the preserve and she was kind of pissed off about that. She wants to have a baby."
"Oh."
"Oh, what?" he asked.
Joanna chewed on her thumbnail. "Nothing."
"Come on, Joanna, you have an opinion about everything," Charlie said.
"Did you talk about having children before you got married?"
"Of course we did. I was very honest with her, and I thought she was cool, but now, we have the same fight every time I'm home. It's getting on my nerves."
Joanna was about to say something, but several other staff and volunteers walked up to her, so she was diverted. She organized the volunteers and told the staff that she would assign them to a particular player who would be in charge of a group of girls.
A few members of the press showed up and began taking candid pictures of everyone. Charlie flinched when a group of them started taking his picture. They looked like they were going to ask him questions, but Joanna told them to bugger off and wait on the campers. "There'll be plenty of time for pictures then," she promised.
Several other popular Quidditch players from various teams around the league showed up. Most of the players were females, but Jeremy Shaw was the only player to represent the home team, the Salem Cats. Mary Jane Fiske of the Florida Everglades showed up, along with Piper Carter of the Chesapeake Bay Falcons, the Maceachran sisters, Veronica and Benevolence from the Seattle Salamanders, and the New York Wings was well represented by chasers Acanthia Wright & Zinnia Cherkesov and seeker Sara Cole. Acanthia volunteered when she found out that Charlie would be attending the camp because she'd had a major not-so-secret crush on him since she was a school girl. Zinnia Cherkesov, the former Russian star, heard the rumor that Viktor Krum might be attending, and backed out of her sister's wedding for the chance to meet her hero.
By nine-thirty, the place was crawling with girls, fans, and the press. The headmistress of the school, Griselda Hopgoode made the opening remarks; Charlie made sure he was standing on the dais next to her. The girls were divided into age groups ten/twelve; thirteen/fifteen & sixteen/eighteen. Most of the players volunteered for the youngest and oldest age group, leaving the silliest age. Joanna chose that group and picked Charlie as the other coach.
The group dynamic changed when Viktor Krum showed up to help out. Viktor had retired from Quidditch and had been recruited by the USA Quidditch League as a coach. He originally wanted to coach the Florida Everglades' reserve team, but got talked into head coach for the California Spinners instead. Zinnia fell over herself to volunteer as Viktor's assistant, but he was determined to stay with Joanna. Charlie raised an eyebrow when Viktor insisted in coaching "the little ones," as he called it; in reality Charlie knew (or at least suspected) that he still was love with Joanna. Viktor was too much of a gentleman to act on his feelings while Joanna was still married, but Charlie was certain that he'd be waiting in the wings in case things didn't work out for Joanna and Jordan. The funny thing was, Joanna was totally oblivious to Viktor's feelings. It was as if she couldn't believe anyone might think of her as a sexy desirable woman.
The players worked the kids hard; it wasn't a fluffy exercise; it was real Quidditch. The players, especially the women were determined to see the next generation grow up playing the game. They did manage to make the drills fun and by the end of the first day, most of the girls were too exhausted to cause a ruckus.
After the girls were locked away in the school's dorms, all the coaches decided to go for a night on the town. Salem was the oldest wizard community and there were plenty of shops and bars. Charlie, Jeremy and Viktor were the only men, surrounded by a bevy of very beautiful and slender Quidditch players. Everyone was on a high after the day and they let off steam at the local bar. They were noisy and funny and Charlie found himself enjoying the company. Acanthia was all over him and she was thrilled when he threw his arm around her shoulder and bought her drinks. Pretty soon, Acanthia was very drunk and tried desperately to kiss him. He politely nudged her away, but as he turned his head to talk to Joanna about something, Acanthia landed a wet, passionate kiss on his lips. He struggled for a moment, but then relaxed. He began to kiss her back. Unfortunately this was the exact same moment that reporter Linda Martinez walked into the bar.
