Royally Tripping

Chapter Four

HBHB

Harry laid back in the covers of Ron's bed, as the older boy snored and tried to snatch them away. Harry let him, the room was burning up, he was sweating, not much but enough to leave his skin sticky and uncomfortable under the bed covers.

Though the heat wasn't the only thing leaving Harry hot and uncomfortable, it was embarrassment and upset and what he'd walked in on earlier. What he'd done back at the second task.

He should have known that he wouldn't stand a chance. He was too young, little, immature, he was a child in Bill Weasley's eyes. The curse-breaker probably had a little gorgeous blonde girlfriend waiting for him back in Egypt.

Harry felt his cheeks flush, the heated blush moved down his neck and he felt a little sick at what a fool he'd made of himself. He hated that it was so hot here, but he wasn't sure if it had more to do with the heat trapped in the small room, the body heat stuck between he and Ron in the sheets, or if it had to do with Bill. Or all three of them.

Harry decided to get out of bed. It was too stifling in Ron's room. He needed to get out.

Harry crept down the Burrow's small hallways, trying not to bump into any of the moving family portraits of nick-knacks hanging on the walls. He got to the kitchen and was a little shocked to see Charlie there, for a moment he'd convinced himself that it was Bill.

"Hey, you. What're you doing up?" Charlie asked pouring himself a cup of warm tea. The room was a lot cooler than Ron's had been by far.

"I couldn't sleep," Harry said as he tugged at the hem of his long night shirt.

"Well come on then," Charlie said congenially as he motioned for Harry to sit down at the table. Harry took the offered seat with a small smile.

"Want any?" Charlie asked pointing to the tea, Harry gave a nod of his head.

"Thanks," he said when the tea was pushed across the table and left in front of him.

Silence hung between them, Harry not sure what to say, and Charlie not sure if what he wanted to say was appropriate. Charlie noted that Harry took a large gulp of the tea, with a smile. He was suddenly reminded of all the times that he'd sat like this with his father, needing advice in the middle of the night, drinking tea. It was nice actually.

Charlie scratched at his scalp before giving Harry a smile that reminded the young boy a lot of his mother, "Anything on your mind?" he asked, noticing that Harry looked a little red and flushed under the dim lights of the kitchen.

Harry tried not to say anything, but it was so hard, when someone like Charlie Weasley asked you a question like that you just couldn't stop yourself from speaking. He had this way about him, he was so trusting, and he just seemed to be so honest and kind. Harry pulled his lip out of the tight hold his teeth and he nodded his head.

"Do I…Do I seem like a little kid to you?" he felt instantly stupid asking this question, but it had just came out, there had been no stopping it.

Charlie didn't hesitate in his answer, "No. Harry you're anything but a 'little kid.' You've gotta give people time though, they hear a number, and age and they assume things about you. You might only be fourteen but you're more mature than at least half the people that I know. Don't cut yourself short, Harry," the only surviving Potter got some comfort in the ease with which Charlie had answered him.

For now he'd said some of what Harry had needed to hear. He wasn't sure how the older male had known just what to say. But he had, and Harry was grateful for it.

He didn't want to ask the next question that was on his mind. He especially didn't want the answer to that question. If he wasn't a kid, then why did it feel like Bill thought that he was? Harry dropped his head down onto the table and yawned, Charlie smiled.

"Why don't you go to bed, Harry. You're tired," Harry shook his head, but his eyes closed anyways, and he yawned again.

The teenager felt himself drift off to sleep and Charlie couldn't help but grin. Whenever he had trouble sleeping he always added the tiniest amount of dreamless sleep potion.

The dragon breeder sat his own hot mug down, (which he hadn't sipped from yet) he then moved to the other side of the table. He pulled Harry's chair out and lifted the boy into his thickly muscles arms, Harry was about his height, but the boy was half his size in muscle- if that, so Charlie had no problem lifting him up.

He carried Harry to the large and worn, yet comfortable couch in the family room, he laid the boy on it and pulled a warm blanket over him. His mum had made it, anyone could tell that she'd knit it. It had a large 'W' on the front.

"Good night, Harry," Charlie said before he took the boy's glasses off and then lit a small fire so Harry didn't freeze during the night before he went back to his own tea.

HBHB

"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley, I've got it," Harry said smiling as he took his own trunk to the family's newest (old) muggle car. He lifted it up and put it in the magically enlarged trunk. She fussed about the weight and insisted on using spells to make them lighter but Harry turned the bustling woman back inside the house.

"You're going to freeze out here. Go on, I hear Ginny form here, she needs your help," Harry said smiling at the motherly woman. She smiled down at Harry and pulled him into a warm hug, she pulled away after a few moments and kissed his cheeks.

"You be careful now, Harry dear, I don't want you to hurt yourself," Harry waited as she gave him a quick look over running her hand over his forehead to push his bangs away before she made a noise like she was going to cry. She blinked a few times and then let him go before moving quickly to the sounds of Ginny's screaming about her lost something or another.

Harry took Ron's trunk next and moved to the car with it, it wasn't too heavy so he got it in just fine. He did the same with Fred's, but then for whatever reason George's was a little heavier. He was probably sneaking back experiments, and WWW products.

Harry grinned at the thought but that grin faded as he tried to actually lift the trunk. His feet slid back a little in the snow and he almost dropped it.

"Probably smuggling something if I know George," Harry really did loose his grip on the trunk this time and it dropped in the snow, Harry shouted when it almost landed on his foot, and groaned when the dropped trunk splattered a little mud and snow on Harry's pants.

He looked up at the tall red head standing above him and he took in a cold gulp of frozen air, worried about why it had suddenly gotten so hot.

"Hi, Bill," the taller male gave Harry an apologetic smile, as he tried not to laugh.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he moved closer to Harry and then bent down to pick up the trunk, Harry walked to the other side and they both lifted it to get it in the trunk, Harry grumbling at the still chuckling other male.

"That it?" Bill questioned after they'd both calmed down and lifted the trunk into the back, Harry shook his head and looked back at the closed front door.

"Still have to wait on Ginny. I think Fred got Ron to steal one of her favorite jumpers or something," Bill shoved his hands into his jacket pocket's and heard himself laugh, puffs of visible air left Bill's mouth.

"Sounds like him. Ron can get suckered into anything," Bill leaned against the side of the car, facing the Weasley's front yard, and the large expanse of snow and trees in front of it.

Harry moved to the other side of the car and leaned against it much like Bill was doing, he didn't look up at the older male though for fear that his face would give something away.

It got a little quiet after that, they could hear inside the house as the rest of the family of Weasley's ate and chatted. Dishes clinked and Ron burped leaving Percy to lift the morning paper to smack the back of his head, sending their brothers into fits of laughter while their mother tried to quiet them all down again. Not that they were really quiet in the first place.

"Christmas was nice," Harry said, finally turning to look up at Bill. The older male smiled and then looked back down at Harry.

"Yeah, thanks for the clippers Harry. I'm sure mum appreciated it," Harry couldn't help but grin.

"Hey, I didn't buy them, she put me up to it. Offered me an extra jumper for my birthday. I think she figured though if I could get you to cut your hair, you could get me to cut mine," Bill let out a loud and genuinely amused laugh, Harry couldn't help but join in.

"Well I like our hair," Bill said after he'd stopped his laughing. He turned more to face Harry and then lifted and hand to take a few of Harry's shaggy locks into his hand.

Harry didn't know how to respond, but as the laughter died completely and everything around them seemed to still and quiet, he lost his ability to think straight. He looked up into Bill's lighter than usual brown eyes, he couldn't help but be attracted to them. He knew he could get lost in them, and without even trying.

He didn't realize that it had happened until it actually had. Harry was standing on the tips of his toes, his eyes were closed, and his chest pressed against Bill's as Bill leaned in and pressed his lips against Harry's.

Bill's lips moved against his, leaving them hot and numb against the cold. Bill had his hands buried in Harry's shaggy hair, pulling him further into their kiss. Bill's mouth opened his own as Harry did something he hadn't done before in his life.

Bill's hands moved from Harry's hair, and down his neck, shoulders and then arms to rest on Harry's hips, the touches that he left on cold bare skin leaving hot trails behind. He felt Bill's tongue touch onto his own, and move against it, Harry gasped a little at the feel of it and Bill pulled his body even closer.

Harry wrapped his arms around Bill's neck and kissed Bill even harder. But the need for air came sooner than either of them would have liked and they were forced to slow the kiss down and then totally stop it.

Harry mourned the seemingly early end to his first kiss.

Bill was staring at him now, in the same intense way that had first caught Harry when he was in the lake dangling the little garden gnome by his ankle. He took in even more of the cold, crisp air into his aching lungs.

Bill smiled at him, that half-smile that all the Weasley men had mastered, especially Bill. Harry felt his heart leap and he had to lean closer to the other male for support.

Bill lowered his head once again to kiss Harry but the front door opened and both Ginny and Hermione came out shouting back at the boys inside picking at their packing habits. Harry and Bill practically jumped apart, looking guilty as hell. Bill took a few steps farther into the front yard, while Harry, blushing like crazy stuck half his body in the truck pretending to situate the trunks.

"Hey, Harry. Bill," Ginny greeted as she dropped her trunk on the front steps, same as Hermione.

"Hi," Harry called, trying not to give anything away by his voice. He had to stay calm, it didn't seem like they'd seen them. They must've been facing the inside of the house, talking to someone, they had gotten lucky.

"Bill what're you doing out here?" Ginny asked seeing her brother finally turn around, a little red in the face but otherwise calm, he must've been cold.

"Helping Harry out. Getting some air," Ginny went to speak again but Hermione cut her off.

"It can get a little stifling in there this time of the year," Hermione smiled and then took Ginny's wrist.

"Well we've got to do a quick double check of the room. We'll see you guys in a few," she hurried to go back inside but Ginny didn't want to leave just yet.

"Hermione, we've double checked the room like thirty times," she protested practically whining, but Hermione was persistent. She'd vowed to herself to protect Harry's secret and she would continue to.

"Please, just one more time? I don't want to leave anything," Ginny sighed and let herself be dragged back inside.

"Fine, fine. But you know if we leave anything mum'll just owl it back to us," Harry heard her say before the front door closed again.

Harry sighed and almost fell into the empty space of the trunk with relief.

Getting caught had seemed though to shatter the mood for Bill. He gave Harry an apologetic look, something he seemed really very good at, and then he turned to leave.

"Bill?" Harry asked as he turned to see the man's back. Bill turned back around and he resisted the urge to run his hand over his face tiredly.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I can't do this. I shouldn't have…" he trailed off with a sigh. "I think I should go," he didn't wait for a reply from Harry before he turned around once again to go back inside.

BHBH

A/N: Poor Harry.

I hope you decide to review!

-Bloody