Chapter 4
Hermione forced herself to keep it together until she got to the privacy of her room before freaking out. What the fudge was she thinking, acting like a wanton hussy, she didn't know what came over her. This internal fight was now familiar to her as she seemed to have it after every encounter with Charlie. He brought out her reckless side and she wasn't sure it was healthy. She did know one thing though, she had it bad for him.
She knew it wasn't a good idea to fall for a guy like Charlie, a well-known ladies man, player and general bad boy. He wasn't even her usual type although that in itself was a bit of a laugh, she didn't think she had a type going by her past passing flirtations with Victor Krum and Ron. But Hermione also knew that now was the time to live it up, be risky and enjoy her youth free of the stress that afflicted her school days while fighting in the war. Now it was time to make up for lost years of care free fun. With this new attitude she was determined to get what she wanted, and tonight she decided to go balls to the wall hard core flirting with Charlie.
She went in and decided to take full advantage of the free bathroom while everyone else was still outside. She took her time showering and was just leaving the bathroom clad only in a towel, when she walked straight into Fred and George, both looking mud drenched and happy. She tightened her grip on her towel, knowing the pairs line of thoughts and tried to dodge past the mischievous two. Unfortunately she was not successful. George jumped behind her and Fred in front of her effectively sandwiching her between the two. She was momentarily stunned into silence as she felt the twins wandering hands but soon came to her senses as she heard the rest of the gang make their way up stairs.
"BOYS! Behave yourselves, I wouldn't like to have to tell Molly about this..." she threatened.
Fred bent to speak quietly into her ear "You might make her day, letting her think one of us would settle down with you... but which one would you choose?" and with that comment he softly nipped her neck, in that perfect spot, and retreated, only to be replaced by George, who quickly but gently kissed her cheek and stepped back. The pair gave her a cheeky wink and ran off to top floor just as the others appeared on the landing. She realised she was standing in only a towel blushing furiously, and quickly scampered back to her room to get dressed.
Charlie watched her hurried leave and made his way up the next flight suspecting the twins had something to do with Hermione's flustered state. He found the pair grinning like maniacs in their room.
"What did you do?"
"Why Charlie, we were ambushed by a near naked Hermione! in our shocked state we did what was only natural... We flirted our hearts out" George answered grinning lazily.
"And I think Hermione rather enjoyed herself. I know I did." finished Fred.
Charlie left the pair feeling conflicted. He didn't like the thought of the twins vying for Hermione's attention, but he was also surprised to note that Hermione wasn't as shy as he had thought, all things considered. At least now he felt he could start really flirting with her without worrying about her being to innocent. Suddenly the prospect of the party tonight just became a lot more exciting.
Hermione quickly tied up her hair and threw on some casual clothes and went downstairs to start helping set up for the party. she thought it was better to keep busy and not overthink today's events so far. She also wanted to do her share of the work early so she had plenty of time to get ready. Suddenly looking good tonight had become very important to her.
Hermione was delighted with her work two hours later as she surveyed the garden. The marquee was up and her floating lanterns looked beautiful and would set a lovely romantic light as the night grew dark.
She made her way back to the room and set about getting ready for the night. She felt butterflies thinking about the evening to come. She made her hair into smooth loose waves, applied her make-up with an extra helping of good old muggle eye-liner, and finally stepped into her dress and heels. Ginny and Luna who were also now getting ready were full of compliments, not used to seeing Hermione in such a flirty dress and heels. The two girls headed down to the garden, eager to see Harry and the boys, just as people started to arrive. Hermione made her finishing touches and finally went down to join them. Tonight was going to be a great night no matter what happens, she thought to herself. Everyone's meeting up, possibly for the first time without having to worry about fighting and loss. She would get to catch up with all her friends she had so missed in the last few months and spend the evening in carefree bliss.
Just as she made her way down the last staircase carefully, in her new shoes, the twins came barrelling down behind her. she braced herself for an impact but only felt them steadily take a place either side of her, linking her arms and escorting her out to the party. She smiled at such a perfect entrance. She was already having a good time.
The twins escorted her to the make shift bar and insisted on making her drink. She sat with them happily, enjoying their banter and mischief and much to their shock and delight, eagerly joined in their drinking game. Soon the trio's laughter was gaining attention and they were soon joined by the rest of the Weasley siblings and friends.
Charlie had been watching Hermione since she arrived. This girl was something special, he realised. She was everything he would look for in a girl, but he was usually disappointed, always finding something missing when he met women who were interested in him. Smart, sharp as a whip and gorgeous, and now to see she had a great sense of humour, laughing raucously with the twins. Their fondness of Hermione was another thing he took note of. That the twins loved her was a sign of how special she was but he also worried about the depth of their feelings for her. Although he saw the beginnings of a romance between George and Luna, he wondered about Fred. He hoped he didn't hurt Fred's feelings but at this point he knew his only option was to make Hermione his.
