Authors Note: GUYSSSS I have been SO excited to share this chapter. LIKE I CAN'T EVEN WAIT. **Cracks knuckles** LET'S DO THIS!
Saturday morning she had found herself at the Burrow.
She had stopped by earlier in the week to check on Ginny, but it had been a few days and she wanted to see her friend again. Especially after the eventful dinner she had enjoyed the night before.
After saying a distracted hello to the Molly and Arthur at the breakfast table, she climbed the creaky steps to her friends room and was surprised, as she pushed the door open.
"Ginny?" Hermione called, noticing that almost the entire room was packed into cardboard boxes.
"'Mione?" she heard a call from the far corner of the closet and walked into the back, "Is that you?"
"Yes,I was just popping by to say hello," she called back and started poking at the boxes, "Care to tell me what's going on?"
Ginny emerged, her skin tone back to its normal rosy hue and her eyes brighter than she'd ever seen them.
"I'm moving!" she beamed.
"Moving?! Where? Grimmauld?"
"No! Holyhead," she grinned, on the verge of manically.
"Ginny…" Hermione was treading carefully now, she could sense danger, "How… What…"
"Where, When… Yadda yadda, I've heard it from the whole family and Harry," she rolled her eyes.
"Are you… Are you leaving Harry?" she gulped.
"Merlin, NO! Holyheads not that far, I can Apparate only using 2 or 3 jumps! It'll take an hour at most, with rests."
"Why, Gin?"
Ginny ghosted a laugh and pulled her hair off her shoulders, "If I'm being honest? I didn't realize how much this… this pregnancy was going to affect me. I mean, I know how much having a kid would. But, here I was, staring down the wand at the rest of my life and all I could think of… is all the things I very much wanted to do before they were here.
Don't get me wrong… I will love being a mother, especially to Harry's babies. But, there's more for me first. And, bugger, I felt so guilty thinking that," she laughed again, her shoulders shaking hollowly, "But now, I just look at this experience for what it is. A wake up call. I'm sitting here, in my parents house, Harry Potter's girlfriend, second string Quidditch player… I'm waiting for my life to start. But, H… it has started and I'm going to miss it by waiting for a ring or a baby or someone to call me up to starting."
"Oh Gin…"
"No! Don't. It's good, H… It's so good. I have a chance to take my life by the bludger, so to speak," she winked, "I'm moving to Holyhead with some of my teammates, I'm throwing myself into Quidditch while I'm still young enough to play it. While I'm not married and pregnant and raising babies. This is our time."
She said it with such reverence… such wisdom, that it brought a tear to her eye.
"And that brings me to my next point… you and Charlie," she sucked in a deep breath and slapped her knees.
"Ginny, we don't have to talk about this," she flushed a brilliant scarlet.
"But we should," she sighed, "It's ok, Hermione."
"What is?"
"It's ok if you don't love him. It's ok if you don't pick him."
"Pick him?"
"Harry told me."
"Of course he did," she snarled.
"You should have told me," Hermione opened her mouth to protest and Ginny lifted her hand, "But I've been preoccupied. Hermione… I've been drowning. But I'm treading water now. Better, actually.. I'm slicing through these waves and my mind is clear. I don't want you to ever feel like you following your heart is going to cause a rift between the two of us. Ok? It never would; never could. I don't need you to give me an explanation or anything, I just need you to know where I stand. I'll always think Malfoy's a twit, but if he's your twit… then ok."
Hermione felt a knot of tears settle into her lower throat and she tried frantically to swallow it. There on the fringe of her consciousness was this nagging feeling again.
"Ok," she answered simply, tears welling in her eyes.
"And what's better? My mum knows nothing! She thinks you and Charlie are splendid friends… that's all."
A gush of air left Hermione's lungs, "Really?!"
"Yes, Charlie made it clear to Mum. When I asked him about it, he said he'd rather surprise her with good news than disappoint her with bad news."
Ouch.
That one hurt.
"So, Holyhead?" Hermione changed the subject with a smile.
"Holyhead," Ginny grinned.
Hermione and Ginny came down the stairs laughing and all the breath left Hermione as she saw Charlie standing eating a bowl of cereal, shirtless, over the kitchen sink.
Merlins sack, what kind of man was built like this?
Even Viktor had not been sculpted like this. Charlie had thick bands of muscle upon more thick bands of muscle with a thin waist and deep cuts into his hips where his sweatpants hung low.
His arms were, simply put, massive. Almost like he wrestled Dragons for a living or something…
"HERMIONE!" Ginny elbowed her friend sharply and she shook her head from her daze.
Her eyes lifted first to Charlie's devilish smirk and then to Ginny.
"What?" she asked innocently, her brows perched.
"Yea," Ginny scoffed, "What?"
"I should go," Hermione laughed to herself.
"Don't go," Ginny rushed, "The boys are just about to play a bit of pickup and I could use the company."
"You're not playing?" Hermione asked with a furrowed brow.
"Not til next week," Ginny shifted uncomfortably but didn't offer much else. Hermione's eyes flashed up to Charlie who was looking at his baby sister with concern.
Maybe she couldn't count Charlie out.. Not quite yet.
"Come on, Hermione," Charlie smiled, wiping the milk from his lips and depositing his dish in the sink… his muscles rippling like he was on the front page of a magazine.
"Excuse me?"
"Let me take you for a ride."
"Oh, hoh hoh! No no… I don't, I um… I don't ride," she blanched and then blushed, "BROOMS!" she corrected and then groaned, "I don't fly brooms, is what I meant to say."
Charlie smiled wickedly at her and even Ginny blushed on her behalf.
"I know… I remember how terrified you were of Annie," he laughed, "I'll fly, you ride," he winked and Hermione felt a flutter in her belly.
Who was this? This forward, shirtless, flirtatious man.
"I should sit with Gin," she reasoned, turning to her friend.
"Oh no, please… Charlie could definitely use the warm up."
"Piss off, sis," Charlie challenged with a tick of his chin.
"Just speaking the truth, asshat."
"Ginny, what are you doing? You know I don't fly…" she hissed into her friend.
"Just because I understand if you don't choose him, doesn't mean I'm not still rooting for the asshat," she whispered and shoved her friend towards her shirtless older brother.
Charlie conjured a Gryffindor Quidditch shirt that was basically see through, it had been washed so many times. It displayed SEEKER across the back and as he lifted it over his head, his sweats dipped ever so slightly lower and she could see the start of his-
"You ok, Hermione?" Charlie interrupted and stalked towards her.
"Hmm?! Me? Brilliant, actually. Splendid," she tripped over her words and grimaced at her own ridiculousness.
"So, what say you? Can I tempt you for a broom ride?" Charlie invaded her space, Ginny just a step behind her on the bottom stair.
Hermione started coughing and hacking on her own saliva so violently that even Ginny muttered a 'Jesus', which was not only out of place but also out of her culture, as she whacked Hermione on the back.
"I shouldn't…" Hermione said between coughs.
"I insist," Charlie kissed the tip of her nose and grabbed her hand, leading her out to the back porch.
She flushed as he drew his wand and summoned his broom, which came flying into his hand.
"Charlie, I really hate heights…" she panicked.
He threw his leg over the stick and smiled at her.
"I know… but you can trust me. I won't let anything happen to you, Hermione."
She looked over her shoulder to Ginny who was leaning against the doorframe and watching the pair of them, a knowing smile on her face.
She drew on all this profound knowledge her friend had stumbled upon and decided to seize the moment. She threw her denim clad leg over the broomstick and leaned back into Charlie who wrapped a strong arm around her tiny waist, pulling her deeper into him.
"Ready?" his breath kissed her ear and she giggled and nodded as he kicked off.
He took them soaring through the air around the Burrow, over the unkept garden and the fields.
The difference between the Burrow and the Manor was striking.
She shrieked as he dipped and soared, and each time she threw her forehead into his cheek as he laughed into the sky.
He was an unbelievable flyer, not that she had much experience… but as he slowed their ride so they were hovering over the Burrow. She felt nervous in all the wrong ways but somehow, her fear of heights was diminished the further she sank into his arms.
His arm stayed around her waist and her head rested on his shoulder, a lovers embrace.
"So, you were a Seeker? That must mean you were a fair flyer," she mused.
"Fair?" he faked being affronted, "If you only you had seen me during my time at Hogwarts."
"Oh, I've heard… All about the infamous Charlie Weasley and all the girls who fell head over heels for you."
He laughed and she could feel his muscles tense against her back. She adjusted slightly so that she could see his face and he turned to look at her with unreadable eyes.
"Ah, but here I was… just waiting for you," his eyes fell to her parted lips and she had the briefest flash of guilt before his lips crashed on hers.
The kiss was so much different than the one they had shared at her front door the other night. She could feel his hand tighten on the soft flesh of her waist and pull her into him and she pulled away only to gasp before their mouths collided again.
Her right hand came up and cradled the back of his neck, pulling him closer, their mouths parting and their tongues exploring each other the way never had. Her fingers sifted through his hair and tugged slightly and she could hear a groan from the back of his throat.
Her back arched and she forgot momentarily that she was sitting across a broom as the hand on his waist started to dip lower…
And then, her mind flashed with a vision of Draco and she pulled away quickly, sucking in a deep breath of air as her eyes studied him.
This was wrong. All wrong.
"OI! ARE YOU BLOODY KIDDING ME! GET THE FACK DOWN HERE!"
They jumped and Charlie grabbed ahold of the broom handle with the hand that had been previously scorching a bath down her belly.
"Fucking, Ron," Charlie bit out and Hermione who hadn't taken her eyes off him started chuckling, "Fuck…" his body went tense.
"What?" her eyes opened and she looked below them, "Oh… fuck," she mirrored.
Below them, was Ron, Harry… and a very blond, very pissed, Draco Malfoy.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
Charlie touched the broom down and Hermione could feel how very scarlet her skin was ablazed right now.
Her face was so tight and uncomfortable she felt like it had been spun through a washing machine.
"Hey, guys," she said and grimaced.
"You fucking kidding me, Chuck?" Ron spat.
"Don't be like that, baby brother," Charlie cooed, mockingly and ruffed his brothers overgrown hair.
"Don't call me that," a rage blush spread over his cheeks, "Hermione? Really?!"
Charlie rolled his eyes.
Harry was showing his teeth in the most awkward and uncomfortable manner. He clearly felt as god awful as Hermione did.
Ginny was laughing uncontrollably.
Draco… was unreadable. It's not that he wasn't pissed… that was easily readable. It just that there was a deep, darker emotion lingering underneath the anger.
"What's Malfoy doing here?" Charlie nodded with his chin.
"Well, Gin, couldn't play! So I popped by Malfoy's and asked if he could join. We need the numbers," Ron said innocently, his eyes shifting between the group.
"Oh, that's great. You're parents didn't mind him dropping by, Malfoy? No tea parties or anything this afternoon?" Charlie asked with a hint of amusement twinging his eyes.
"That's big talk, considering your mum is probably making your bed upstairs, Weasley," Draco's eyes narrowed.
"Ahhhh, my holiday bed, Malfoy. Big difference there."
"Is there?" Draco asked in a condescending sneer.
"I should go…" Hermione retreated.
She heard a few more pops of apparition and a more familiar faces appeared, Percy, George and Angelina.
Hermione didn't realize this was such an event.
"Oh good!" Molly's cheerful voice broke through, "Everyone's here! Draco, dear, you're playing for Ginny? Hermione! Come sit with us," she conjured a few chairs that lined that kitchen windows, facing the large field and Hermione wanted desperately to run.
"Yes, Molly, I'm here for Ginny," he walked towards the few chairs and lifted his hands above his head, lifting his sweater easily from his shoulders, his tshirt following it half way up his torso, revealing his thin, lean muscle.
Hermione gulped. This couldn't be real. It was a nightmare.
He threw a snarling, judging glare at her and she shrank into her seat.
Fuck.
Hermione didn't pretend to fully understand Quidditch, but she knew this mashup was disaster and they were missing a few players.
The teams stood at Harry as Seeker, Malfoy and Angelina played Chaser, and Percy, regrettably, as keeper.
The other team, was all Weasley's.
Charlie straddled his broom midair, cracking his neck.
There had been no question he would be Seeker… George and Arthur were Chasing and Ron was Keeper.
"Aren't they missing a few? Another character?" Hermione asked Ginny and Ginny acted straight affronted.
"It's not a bloody character, it's a position! Beater. And we don't play that position for pick up games… Mum's rule," she stuck her tongue out at Molly and Molly gave her a look.
The following hour was a hormonal, testerone driven roller coaster. It was actually far more fun to watch this pick up game than it ever had been to watch during school. She knew all the players and the game was in her face.
Her friends flew by her in quick movements, spiraling in and out of play.
She felt Draco's and Charlie's eyes on her often and they seemed to be playing far too aggressively. Weaving in and out of each other and during a water break she saw Draco check Charlie with his shoulder.
It was chilly in the October air and Hermione transfigured her sweater into a giant blanket which she lay across her and Ginny's lap. Molly was hooting for her boys in the air and it made Gin and her laugh uncontrollably.
Despite the chill, during the break, Charlie lifted his thin sweat soaked shirt from his shoulders and tossed it down towards Hermione, giving her a wink when Molly wasn't looking.
She thought Draco might splinter his broom as tight as his grip was on his broom.
He broke his posture and rubbed his palm over his face, twice over his chin, which she noticed had the stubble she adored, his thin shirt sticking to his lean abdominals.
Merlin. Had Quidditch always been so… so hot?
The game started up again and Charlie and Harry circled the small makeshift pitch again and again, while the rest of the players batted the quaffle back and forth towards the goals, attempting to gain ground with goals.
Harry was high up, maybe too high and he seemed almost bored as he looked down on the scene below.
Draco's long arm reached out and flexed as it grabbed ahold of the Quaffle and whipped it back toward Ron who blocked it at the very last second, eliciting a curse from Draco's' lips.
It was crazy how much she enjoyed watching him play, she had never done so before. But he was precise, quick and smart in his movements. There were times she would have probably have moved that he didn't, knowing it wasn't worth it.
His eyes twitched over his shoulder and before she could fully understand what he was doing, he had twisted round on his broom and was darting off over the gardens, before hitting the boundaries and barreling back towards the pitch.
Charlie's eyes narrowed and then caught a glimpse of what Draco was chasing, the snitch. He tore away on his broom and weaved through the players still passing the Quaffle back and forth as the snitch approached yet another boundary and rebounded again.
This put them on even footing as Draco reared his broom back towards the crowd. They were insanely close and Hermione couldn't see the object of their race. It was barely a flutter but the two of them were battling for inches as they came up close.
Hermione's heart was batting nervously around her chest, not even knowing who she was rooting for until Draco sliced up, his hand extended and his palm closed in midair.
She clapped her hands together and gave a victory hoot for him.
A smile spread across his face as he did a corkscrew on his broom before landing on the grass below.
"Bull-fucking-shit, Malfoy!" Ron shouted.
"RONALD WEASLEY!" Molly reprimanded and Ron blushed.
"You're not the Seeker, Malfoy," Charlie bit out.
"Well, I caught the snitch," he shrugged and opened his palm, a small golden snitch hovering over his palm.
"Well, you fucking shouldn't have! Fucking prick-" a shirtless Charlie touched down and charged towards a growing epicenter of tension.
"CHARLES WEASLEY!" Molly shouted, her eyes wide at her son's uncharacteristic behavior.
"It wasn't your fucking snitch," Charlie growled.
"Well, it's mine now, Weasley, in case that's not glaringly obvious," Draco chuckled and plucked the floating snitch from the space between them. He reminded her then of his arrogant, younger self and it was part adorable, part irritating.
"You're a fucking prat, you know that?" Charlie hissed.
"Fully aware, thanks for the update. I knew you were a bit older than the rest of us, but damn, out run by a chaser, tsk tsk tsk," Draco clucked and tossed the snitch up in the air and snatched it again quickly, then turning towards where he had deposited his sweater.
"You know, Malfoy, I'm getting a bit sick of your bullshit," Charlie's large hand grabbed Malfoy's shoulder and whipped him back around, "You had your chance. Bully for you, you fucking blew it. Do us all a favor and piss off."
"Charlie!" Hermione reprimanded as she approached the altercation, she yanked on his elbow but he ripped it out of her grasp as he shoved Malfoy hard in the chest.
"Blew my chance? I wouldn't be so worried about me, mate. You've always been playing for second," he sneered, his eyes tight with anger and jealousy.
"Is that so? The girl was on my broom this morning, in case you missed it."
"CHARLIE! What has gotten into you?" Hermione hissed, still reeling from him snatching his elbow from her hands.
She would never even imagine Charlie capable of saying such things, regardless of how hyped up on testerone he might be.
"Go on, Weasley… be more of a man than your brother ever could be. Even Granger hit me a time or two… once was in third year… the other was last time we rolled around the-"
"Draco," Hermione whined, "Please don't do this."
Hermione hurried to Draco's side trying to also tug him away from the impending fight. Draco's arm wrapped around her waist and moved her swiftly behind him out of harms way.
Charlie's fist shot out while Draco was distracted and clocked square in the jaw.
Hermione couldn't wrap her head around it and the sound it made against Draco's jaw made her cry out in pain.
Draco's head snapped back quickly and his tongue lapped up the blood pooling at the corner of his lips, while Charlie wrung his injured knuckles out.
"Big mistake, Weasley," and Draco flew through the air and caught Charlie around the middle, tackling him to the ground and landing fists in his torso while Charlie's huge arm came up and wrapped around Draco's neck.
"What in the world! DRACO! CHARLES! ENOUGH!" Molly screamed into the air as Ron and Harry attempted to drag them apart.
"STOP!" it was Hermione's voice that rang out now and she felt the tears stain her cheeks, "BOTH OF YOU STOP THIS INSTANT!"
They didn't listen.
Not until Molly's wand violently separated the two men who were panting and writhing in testosterone fueled anger.
"Someone had better explain and explain NOW!" Molly's face was a bright red and her wand arm still drawn.
Malfoy turned abruptly and snatched his sweater off the ground, sneering at Hermione as he turned towards the treeline.
Molly had cornered Charlie, yelling and questioning him. He seemed to be trying to get past her and to Hermione but she was gone, chasing Malfoy.
Always, chasing Malfoy.
"YOU. INCORRIGIBLE. ROTTEN. PRAT!" she poked him in the chest with her pointer finger at every word.
"Oh, you want to put this all on me? Like your boyfriend didn't throw the first punch? Like you weren't being felt up by Weasley just an hour and a half ago!"
"I wasn't… I wasn't doing anything wrong," she stuttered, knowing in her belly that she didn't mean that. It had felt wrong… "I didn't say he was blameless, I'll deal with him later. But you knew what you were doing! You completely instigated that fight!"
"Oh… I did?! I DID?! Deal with your fucking boyfriend Granger, I'm done here," he turned and stormed past her, determined to leave the Burrow as soon as possible.
"No, no," she grabbed at his thin shirt, "You don't walk out on this. Not again. You are completely shirking responsibility for the fact that you are the one that left me. You choose her and I moved on. Now you want to me to completely forget everything? Just move past it all like nothing happened?"
"Fucking shit, are you going to punish me for that for the rest of my bloody life? I'm sorry. I'm sorry that sometimes I make stupid, life altering decisions. I get it. I'm a fuckup. So get on with your Weasel and forget about me. Is that what you want to hear me say? You knew what a huge step last night was for me...You think I just bring anyone to meet them? And I get that it's not that big of a deal for you, but could you have at least waited 24 hours before letting that fucking prick into your knickers?" his face was twisted in anger as he spoke.
Hermione's hand acted of its own volition and slapped Draco squarely across the face.
She wished she could take it back.
She saw the look of hurt on his face before it morphed into anger, an emotion he was far more comfortable in the realm of.
"Maybe this was a mistake," she gulped thickly, tears springing to her eyes.
Stop, stop talking. You don't mean that...
"Yea, maybe it was," he returned thickly.
No...
They sat there in uncomfortable silence for too long. Both wanting the other to apologize or make a move or give a hint.
Anything.
Anything that would make the next part easier.
Her mind was screaming so loud that she couldn't even hear her heart. She knew it was shouting something at her. If she could only make the rest of the noise die down.
This was what their life would be. They would be yelling and screaming for the rest of their lives. Constantly questioning, challenging, pushing and pulling. His parents would always think of her as a step below and she'd be bored in his socialite way of life.
But losing him… losing him would be far past what she could ever imagine.
That would be too painful. Too much to bare.
She couldn't survive it. Not again.
She started sobbing and his resolve softened for an instant, his hand lifted as if to reach out to her, to offer her some comfort.
"MALFOY! I think it's time you go, you're clearly upsetting Hermione," it was Ron who was speaking to him now and Draco's eyes hardened again, his hand shooting back to his side.
"Do you want me to go?" he swallowed, he took one step closer to her as the Weasley gang descended.
Hermione panicked as Ron's arm draped across her shoulder, trying to comfort her from some unknown argument.
"I said, do you want me to go?" he said again, his eyes waiting. Waiting for her to make up her damn mind and say something.
She gulped and Charlie was there, suddenly. Wrapping a giant sweater around her cold arms and rubbing his palms up and down them for warmth.
He glared at Malfoy with a smugness that made Hermione's blood run cold.
"Mate, I don't think it's the right time for whatever the hell is going on here… Chuck is all sorts of bent out of shape…" Ron spoke lightly to him.
"Charlie, what's gotten into you?" she moved from his hands, her eyes hurt and disappointed.
"Don't worry about it, Granger. Point taken. I'm gone," Malfoy sneered.
Draco turned on his heel and she took a step to stop him.
"Draco! Don't go!" she called but Charlie's arm caught her by the elbow gently.
"Let him go, 'Mione…"
For some reason she listened. For some reason she let him walk away from her… and damnit, it hurt like hell.
Authors Note: WELLLLLLLL?! Don't worry, we are heading swiftly to a resolution. Please, tell me your thoughts friends!