Chapter 4
"Albus," Severus said as he walked into the headmaster's office without an invitation. "This is completely unacceptable. Something must be done about this. I am not marrying this fool."
Albus closed his eyes and took a steadying breath. He had been expecting this visit since the visit this morning from Sirius.
"Severus, if you don't marry him you will loose not only your magic but all your memories related to magic."
"There must be something else that can be done," Severus said as he walked to the window by Albus' desk. "Someone must think they are extremely funny."
"Actually Severus," Albus said as he stood and walked over to stand next to the man. "This is one of the better matches that I have heard about."
Severus looked at the man with shock. "You have lost it, finally. Others said it must have happened years ago but I know you have now lost it. There is no way in hell this is a good match. We hate each other. One of us will kill the other within a month."
"I don't think so," Albus said stepping up closer to the window and looking out at the grounds of the castle. "He is the most loyal person you will ever meet, but no one gives him a chance anymore, because of his past. And you, you want people to believe that you are mean and angry but you're not. You're lonely and hurting but deep down under all that, you are a brilliant man who loves fiercely and unconditionally. That's the way you were with Lily and that is the way it will be with him, if you let him in." Albus turned and looked at the younger man. "I love you Severus, you are like the son I never got to have. Sirius will take care of you and protect you. You will finally have someone loyal to you. You are the only one who can make this a good thing, but you have to open up and let your heart thaw."
"But…" Severus was struggling to find words to argue with the man. "He tried to have me killed."
"He made a mistake," Albus put his hand on Severus' shoulder. "You know about those. You need to forgive him and then… You need to forgive yourself. I know this is not the ideal way for you to marry but I think that this is the only way to make you and Sirius see what it is that you each need. You need someone who will believe in you and who will be there for you, and he needs someone to love, someone who needs him."
"What about Potter and Lupin?"
"They love him," Albus said. "But they don't need him, especially now that they are getting married. Harry has had to grow up quickly and Sirius was not around for when Harry needed him the most so Harry learned to only need himself. As for Remus, he does his best to keep people at arms length; he wouldn't let himself need Sirius."
Severus looked away from his mentor; he saw the thestrals flying just above the tree line of the Forbidden Forest. He wished that his life could be that carefree.
"Okay," Severus conceded softly. "I'll marry him," he looked back at Albus before continuing, "but I don't need him. I have been doing just fine on my own, I just don't want to leave… you."
Albus pulled Severus into a quick, light hug before walking back to his desk.
"I will assume that you both will want to wait until the last possible moment?"
"Yes," Severus said sadly. "Will he be okay with this? He's not going to back out and leave me with Narcissa or something, is he?"
"He won't give up Harry and Remus," Albus said as he picked up his quill to return to writing the letter he had been addressing before Severus came in. "You should go and get your rooms ready for him."
Severus knew he was being dismissed so he nodded at the headmaster and left the man to complete his task.
"Harry," Sirius called for his godson. "It's time to go the Weasley's, they're waiting for you."
"I know," Harry said as he came into the room hopping on one foot while trying to tie his shoe. "I'm almost ready."
"They can't have a birthday party without the birthday boy, can they?" Emmaline had just walked into the kitchen from the living room with Remus behind her.
"Hey Em," Harry said as he continued tying his shoe.
"Hey kiddo," she said as she ruffled his hair.
Emmaline and Remus had married a week ago, since then she had tried to get better acquainted with both Harry and Sirius. She knew that they were very important to Remus. While their relationship did not begin with love, she liked him a lot. They had been friends for years and she wanted to make the situation easy on her and Remus, excepting the people he thought of as family was one of the ways to do that.
"You know Em," Harry said as he looked up with a smirk. "You are the only one who doesn't refer to me as some kind of animal."
Sirius let out a bark of laughter.
"He's right Remus," he told his friend. "You need to keep your wife in line. He is a pup." He tried to give Emmaline an evil look but couldn't keep the smile off his face.
"Ignore them Emma," Remus said as he stopped next to his wife. "I do." He rolled his eyes and shook his head in sardonic disappointment.
"Come on," Harry said as he stood from where he had sat down at the table. "Let's go to the Burrow," the four flooed over to a house bustling with activity.
"Harry," Hermione said as she came down the stairs. "Happy Birthday! Come on, I think Mrs. Weasley is trying to get everyone to go outside."
Harry followed Hermione out of the house trying to avoid the craziness that was the Burrow.
"Molly," Emmaline said as she saw the woman come into the room looking for something. "Can I help?"
"Oh," Molly said joyfully as she looked up at the trio that was still standing near fireplace. "Actually, could you take that chair outside for me? I need to make sure the boys got all the food from the kitchen without eating it." Molly had pointed to a floral winged back chair that was in the corner of the room before she quickly turned and went back from where she came.
"I've got it," Remus said a he pulled out his wand and easily moved the chair outside with Emmaline and Sirius following behind him.
Harry was standing with the twins and his two best friends, laughing at something the twins were showing him.
"I'm glad he's smiling," Sirius told Emmaline who was still standing next to him.
"Yes," Emmaline agreed. "He is getting married in a month, at 15. I don't think I would have been smiling if I was in his place at 15."
"I know I wouldn't have," Sirius said.
"He's a strong kid," Charlie said as he walked up behind them. "It helps he is marrying someone his own age. My wife there, I think she is scared of me. Last night was…a disaster."
"Give it time Charlie," Emmaline said as she patted his arm. "She too is 15, she's scared but I don't think that it is of you. She was told she has to become a mother and she still needs her own."
"I know," Charlie said softly.
"Hey," Sirius said. "Even if she's scared of you, at least she's not Snape."
Charlie smirked.
"ALRIGHT," Molly hollered. "Time to eat."
"Charlie," Remus said as they approached the table that the family and friends were gathering around. "How is married life treating you?"
"It's starting slow," Charlie attempted to keep the disappointment out of voice. "Hopefully things will change."
"Have patience," Remus told him.
Several hours later Hermione found herself getting ready for bed in her new bedroom. A bedroom that she shared with her husband, something she was trying to get accustomed to.
"Hermione, dear," Mrs. Weasley called as she knocked on the door.
"Yes ma'am," Hermione answered as she walked over to the door to open it.
"Is there anything I can do for you sweetheart?"
Hermione looked down at her feet shyly. "No, thank you. Is Charlie still downstairs?"
"Yes dear, but I think the boys will be calling it a night soon. With Bill getting married tomorrow, they will be up early."
Molly knew this girl was scared, who wouldn't be. She knew her son was attractive but that didn't mean that Hermione was ready, at 15, to be married and perform all the wifely duties. Molly wasn't ignorant, she knew that teens today were sexually active a lot sooner that she had been, but she also knew that making the choice and having it made for you were two very different things.
"Hermione, if there is anything I can do please let me know. I know this is over whelming."
"I'm okay Mrs. Weasley, I know-"
"Molly, call me Molly."
Hermione smiled tentatively at the woman. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I know you are trying to help. I… I'll be okay."
"Mum?"
Molly turned to find her second oldest sons standing on the stairs looking at her.
"Is everything okay… Hermione?"
"I'm fine," Hermione told her husband. "Molly," she smiled shyly over at the woman. "She just came to see if I needed anything."
"Oh," Charlie said.
"Sleep well you two," Molly said as she leaned to kiss her son on the forehead. The forehead she could only reach because he was standing several steps down from the landing. "I'll see you in the morning."
Hermione watched as her mother-in-law went up the stairs to the next landing and looked back down at them before she went into her own room. As she looked back across the hall at her husband, she began to blush.
"Hey," Charlie said uncomfortably.
Hermione just smiled a little before she opened the door the rest of the way and gestured for her husband to come into the room.
Charlie followed her lead as he walked into the room and shut the door behind him. He looked around his childhood bedroom and smirked. He remembered many nights of wet dreams in this room, then his eyes landed on his wife's school trunk and reality set in. He looked up at his wife who was inspecting her feet.
"Listen Charlie," Hermione said softly. "I'm sorry about last night. I can't believe I cried like that, on our wedding night."
"Hey," Charlie said as he reached out one his hands and clasped onto both of hers. "Don't apologize. This is over whelming for both of us," she looked up into his blue eyes seeking reassurance that he spoke the truth. "It's just… I'm a guy," he said with a smirk. "We can't cry with a beautiful girl in the room."
Hermione let out a chuckle.
"I didn't peg you for the macho type."
"Well," Charlie said as he dropped her hands and made his way over to the nightstand next to the bed. "There's a lot you don't know about me." He pulled out his wand and set it on the stand before he emptied the rest of his pockets of sickles and such. As he reached for the hem of his shirt, he looked back at his wife and noticed that she was watching him. "Are you sure everything is okay?"
Hermione closed her eyes and shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of her nerves.
"Can I help you," she asked as she walked to where he was standing.
"You want to help me?"
She nodded.
"Hermione we don't have to do this tonight," Charlie told her. "We don't have to do anything for a few months if you don't want to. I'm a Weasley, I don't think we will have a problem conceiving. We don't have to do this until you're ready."
"I know," Hermione said. "But I need to. I am attracted to you, I know that much. I haven't done this before, and though I have tried, I don't think there is a book that can help me prepare for this."
Charlie laughed at that. "You looked in a book to what… Tell you what it would feel like, or how to do it? Hermione not everything is in a book, and even if you had found something in one, it would just be one person's opinion."
"I know," Hermione said. "That's what the author said. Sex is different for everyone."
Charlie shook his head at the girl in front of him. "You can help me get ready for bed, if that will make you feel better. BUT we will not be having sex tonight. I'll kiss you but I don't think that you are ready to have sex with me."
Hermione felt her inside warm at his words. She knew that things could be weird after she cried herself to sleep the night before but Charlie seemed to be tying to make her feel better.
With trembling hands, she reached up and began to unbutton Charlie's shirt. Charlie reached up and stilled the movement of her hands.
"Dance with me," he said.
"What?"
"Dance with me."
"But… I thought…"
"Look," he said as he pulled her hands down in between them and began to pull her from where they were standing next to the bed, out into the room. "You need to relax." With a wave of his hand, a small wizarding wireless began to play music in the room.
Hermione was impressed with the small bit of wandless magic but didn't have time to focus on it.
Charlie wrapped an arm around her waist as he put one of her hands on his shoulder, Hermione lifted her other hand and laid it on his other shoulder as he wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her into his body.
"Relax," he whispered into her ear.
Hermione took a deep breathe and closed her eyes as she listened to the music.
…Well you don't know me
No you don't know the one
Who dreams of you at night
And longs to kiss your lips
and longs to hold you tight.
Hermione felt her head lay itself against Charlie's shoulder as they swayed to the music. She felt wrapped in warmth, between the melodic strains of the music and Charlie warm embrace.
"Hermione," Charlie whispered. "We can make this work, I know we can. You have to trust me. I will do everything I can to help you through this… I always wanted a marriage like mum and dad's. They fell in love at school and married weeks after they graduated. Maybe this year while we're there, we can learn to love each other."
"I want to Charlie," Hermione said softly as she looked up into his sky blue eyes.
Charlie leaned down and softly pressed his lips to hers. They stopped moving to the music that was still filling the room with melodic strains. Hermione moved her hands that had clasped around the back of his neck while they were dancing. She slid them up into his red locks of hair and unconsciously pulled his head closer to her as she parted her lips to let his pillaging tongue into her mouth. She couldn't stop the soft moan that escaped her mouth and hummed through his.
Charlie pulled her body in closer to his and lifted her off the floor of the room. As he began to shuffle over the bed, Hermione let out another soft moan. Charlie pulled back, set her on the floor next to the bed as he looked into her eyes, glad to see her desire.
"Okay," he said, needing to clear his throat. "That's enough. I won't be able to stop if we keep that up. Climb in bed, I'll be right back." Charlie released her before dropped a soft kiss on her lips and turning and leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.
Hermione stood staring after her husband wondering why he had left so quickly. She shook her head and slid her shoulders out of her dressing gown before she laid it across the end of the bed. She climbed in between the sheets and stared at the ceiling, wondering when her husband would be back.
She had to wait several minutes before Charlie came back. As he shut the door behind him, he saw she was watching him and gave her a smile and a quick wink. He walked over to his side of the bed, pulled his shirt off without unbuttoning it and shucked the grey pants he had worn for dinner before pulling back the cover and sliding into bed next to his wife.
As he settled himself on his side, he reached out and pulled Hermione closer to him.
"Charlie," Hermione said once he had gotten settled. "Did I… Did I do something wrong?"
Charlie lifted his head so he could look at her.
"Why would you think that?"
"Well… You left."
Charlie smirked. "I had to take care of something."
"What?"
"Little Charlie had come out to play and I knew that I would not be able to sleep next to you if I didn't take care of him."
Hermione blushed as she realized what he had been talking about.
"Now let's get some sleep," Charlie waved his hand turning off the wizarding wireless that had still been playing and putting out the candles that had been lit around the room.
A/N: *Words from "You don't know me" – written by Eddy Arnold/Cindy Walker; I was listening to the Michael Buble version