AN: Okay, I am supposed to be a smart girl. I mean, I'm a straight A student, so I'm supposed to be smart right? Well no apparently not. Because for some god-forsaken reason, for the past three weeks I've decided it's a good idea to stay up until three a.m. only to get up three hours later for school, and tonight (well, today) was no exception. Even though I have finals in the morning. Finals. How smart am I?

Again, ignore any typos. I'm too tired to read through this and it appears my computer is too.

Dedication: Sigh... happy birthday sister. Only five and a half more years until you get to take me drinking. Unless I go out of state for college, but other than that... get excited.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize from the great J.K. Rowling.

The next week or so passed by in much the same way. Each morning, Amy and Charlie would go to the hospital to visit Alan for a few hours. Much of their time there was usually spent playing cards and avoiding any conversation on the Magical world, aside from Charlie's description of his old job in Romania. Alan, who was an avid animal lover, was fascinated at the prospect that there were actual dragons out there in the world, and the two men spent several hours showing off scars and telling every animal related story of their childhood. After leaving the hospital, with promises to return the next day, Amy took Charlie on a different tour of the city. She started with the basics: the Water Towers, Navy Pier, the lake front, all the things that one should see when in Chicago. It was only after he had seen all the tourist hot spots of Chicago that she moved onto places with more sentimental value. She pointed out her Muggle elementary school and the park she went to as a child with her siblings. She made him stop with her at her neighborhood library, and the two spent several hours seated in a corner of the building with a plethora of books spread around them.

Every step and crack in the street seemed to have a different story, and Amy was willing to tell them all, and Charlie was more than glad to listen. She had put up with all of his stories (not to mention that she was forced to teach his siblings- that was something even Charlie didn't think he could handle) and he felt he owed it to her to be as attentive to her tales as possible.

After each of their tourist affairs, the couple would return hand in hand to the Wyman household where usually one of Amy's siblings were waiting. Usually the duo would sit with whoever it was, but on the rare occasion that it was Rich with Michelle, Amy would find some excuse to leave the room, sometimes taking Charlie and other times leaving him with the other couple. While she loved both Rich and Michelle with all her heart, she was still very much unused to the idea of her best friend dating her brother. Richard had been the brother to tease Amy when she was younger, and he took no pity on her friends either. He thought they- meaning Georige, Michelle, and Katherine- were crazy to want to hang out with the likes of her, and he wasn't afraid to express these thoughts. It would have been impossible for Amy to count how many times she and her friends had complained and teased her brother during their routine sleepovers. She just could not fathom how all the dislike the girls had harbored for her sardonic brother could turn to anything romantic. Yet, perhaps the witch wasn't as upset by the fact the two were dating as much as the fact that Michelle had kept it a secret from her. After all, one couldn't help who they loved. Nevertheless, Charlie couldn't help but notice how all the light seemed to vanish from Amy's eye the second she caught sight of Michelle sitting on the couch. The past few weeks had been hard on the witch, and Charlie could tell she was beginning to feel worn from all the chaos of her life. He wished he could help her feel as though she were back in a state of normalcy, and it was one day after she had abruptly left the room that Charlie turned to Michelle, and the two began to devise a plan.

…..

"Are you sure you want to do this, Charlie?" Amy asked again, eyeing her wizard doubtfully. She was seated on her bed while Charlie was rummaging through his bag. The redhead sighed, looking up at the woman. She was sitting crosslegged on her bed in a pair of old sport shorts and one of his shirts. Her hair was mussed up and she was wearing her thick framed glasses. A book rested in her lap, the pages well-worn and dog-earred. She had been reading the novel before Charlie had come into the room, announcing that he had plans for them that night. "Muggle bars are a lot different than Wizarding ones. No butterbeer or firewhisky, and a whole lot of randy guys who like to scream nonsense at eachother."

"Doesn't sound too different from a Wizard one then, does it?" he shot back, before digging his hands back into his bag. He left out a noise of triumph as he pulled out a slightly wrinkled dress shirt. Stripping off his Weasley sweater, the wizard slipped the shirt on, rolling the sleeves up to his elbows. He was just beginning to button up the shirt when he noticed that Amy was staring at him, her face torn between desire and apprehension, as she eyed his chest and abs lustfully. When she noticed that Charlie had caught her stare, she blushed, dropping her head to look back at her book. She flipped a few pages absentmindely, her shoulders slumped. He sighed, dropping his hands away from his shirt before crossing the room so he was just in front of the witch.

"Listen," he started, looking down at the woman, who in turn stared up at him carefully. "Tonight is just supposed to be fun. A way for you to take your mind off of things." He softly brushed a stray curl behind her ear, hiding the shiver that wanted to run through him at the feel of her smooth skin against his. "It's not meant to get you all worked up, so if you really don't want to go, I'm okay with that, alright?" Though his words were sincere, his blue eyes were light and gentle, and he pouted slightly. Amy groaned for over the years he had perfected his puppy-dog look, and the witch found herself getting lost in the clear pools. She pressed her lips together, squinting her own eyes at the wizard, before her shoulders dropped and she sighed.

"Alright, alright," she agreed, throwing her hands up in surrender. Anything to stop his puppy-dog eyes. "I'll go." Charlie's eyes brightened considerably, and his face broke out into a wide, goofy smile.

"Yes!" he cried, pumping his fist into the air in victory. He did a bit of a victory dance, his shirt flying about him ridiculously, showing off his very much not ridiculous muscular stomach. She swallowed, an bravely continued.

"On one condition though," she broke into his chant, drawing the wizard's attention back to her. He dropped his hand, but his smile remained.

"Anything," he promised, dropping to his knees in front of the witch. He clasped her hands in his, squeezing them tightly. A smile of her own began to creep its way onto Amy's face, and she leaned close to the wizard until they were but inches apart. Her mouth was close to his ear, and several loose tresses of her hair fell onto his chest, causing him to shiver.

"Kiss me," she murmured, her breath washing over him, and goosebumps erupted across the man's body. He refrained from shuddering, before pulling away a bit until their noses brushed together. He looked her right in the eye, his lips twitching slightly as he stared at the pretty witch.

"As you wish," he whispered, before leaning in and kissing her. They started slow, their lips moving over the other's gently and softly. Eventually however, lust seemed to over take the two, and Charlie rose up from his kneeling postion and pushed the witch back onto her bed. With her lips still on the wizard's, Amy threw her forgotten book to the side before allowing her hands to roam freely. They started at his neck, caressing the curls on the nape of his neck, before slowly moving down to the his chest. Charlie bit back a groan as her soft hands grazed over his muscles in languid strokes. He pressed his lips harder against hers, nipping at her bottom lip, as his hands dropped to her hips, pulling her against him passionately. His fingers dug into the soft flesh of her waist, and the witch groaned slightly, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck to keep him as close to her as possible. One of Charlie's hands wound their way up the witch's body and into her hair. He pulled lightly on her hair, before pulling his lips from hers and placing them onto her neck, where they began to nip and suckle the soft flesh. Amy whimpered, pulling at the wizard's own hair as he placed lazy, fluttering kisses down her neck.

Moaning under her breath, Amy pulled at the lapels of Charlie's shirt, pulling his lips back up to hers. As she pressed her lips to his, her fingers began to pull back the sleeves of Charlie's shirt, lower and lower down his arms, until the shirt lay on the bed next to the forgotten book. While her hands continued to move curiously over his chest, Charlie moved his hands from her hair and back around her waist. His fingers slipped under her shirt, splaying across the soft skin of her back. The witch groaned, arching into him, and seizing his hair once again, Amy flipped them over with a small giggle, so that it was Charlie who now lay on his back upon a mess of sheets. She straddled his waist, pulling away from him so as to smirk tauntingly from above him, before Charlie growled and wrapped an arm around her neck to pull her down to his lips again.

She smiled against his lips, moaning softly as he deepened the kiss. His hand continued to make lazy circles on her lower back while the other hand played with the loose curls on her neck. Bravely, Charlie gripped the hem of her shirt in his hand, and began to slowly (almost agonizingly) pull the shirt up, up, up…

The door to Amy's bedroom shot open, and the couple pulled apart. Rich poked his head into the room, eyeing the two's position, before shaking his head. Amy swallowed while Charlie's face grew red, and he realized that not only was he shirtless, but Amy's legs were wrapped precariously around his torso, and her lips were swollen and a bright red. Richard, who despite having obviously walked in on a rather intimate scene between the two, merely looked at them nonchalantly.

"We're leaving in twenty minutes," he informed them casually, ignoring his sister's embarrassed look. He made to close the door, but paused looking at the couple again. "You may wish to put some clothes on." He eyed the two pointedly, before shutting the door with a snap.

Silence fell over the two and neither moved as their blushes slowly faded away. Swallowing, Amy turned to look down a Charlie, whose fingers were still hanging onto the hem of her shirt. She bit her lip as she looked down at him, smiling softly.

"Perhaps we should get ready."

…..

Exactly twenty minutes later, Amy and Charlie found themselves walking down the street, following in the wake of Michelle and Richard. Amy hadn't realized at first that Michelle would be coming with them, but she should have assumed so when Rich had announced he was coming with them. It only made sense. Amy attempted to ignore the couple ahead of her instead choosing to point out different things to Charlie as they walked down the moonlit street. Though Charlie did listen to everything Amy was saying, the witch noted that he did seem a bit distant and wrapped up in his own thoughts. She paused mid-sentence, turning to look at the wizard.

"Is something wrong, Red?" she asked, surveying his face as he looked over at her. His eyes were bright in the moonlight, and to Amy, there appeared to be a hint of anxiety in his eyes, although over what she had no idea. He shrugged, mumbling something under his breath which Amy couldn't quite hear. They continued to walk closely behind Rich and Michelle, and Amy watched him from the corner of her eye. Something seemed to strike her, and she stopped in her steps.

"This isn't about Rich walking in on us earlier, is it?" she inquired, tugging on Charlie's arm so that he would stop too. Immediately, Charlie's face turned red at the mention of their interrupted moment. "Because if it makes you feel any better, he's not going to say anything-"

"Damnstraight, I'm going to say something!" Richard broke in, turning around to face the duo. "Mom's gonna kill you."

Amy whipped her head around to face her brother coolly. "And what about all the times I walked in on you, Rich?" she demanded, her eyes flashing. "I mean, the number of stories I have about you and your numerous exploits-"

"Alright," Rich protested, his eyes widening at the prospect. "Neither of us says a word." He turned back to face forward, but didn't miss the look Michelle was giving him. He blushed, rubbing the back of his sheepishly. "It wasn't that many," he assured the shorter girl. She pressed her lips together in amusement.

"You must have forgotten," Michelle teased the man. "Amy and I are best friends, so any and every dirty secret she had on you was told to me." Rich's ruddy expression slipped from his face into one of horror, and he began to sputter in indignation. Michelle caught Amy's eye over her shoulder, winking, and the two woman dissolved into quiet giggles. Charlie shook his head, squeezing Amy's hand tightly.

"These women are going to be the death of me," Rich muttered repeatedly under his breath. He kept up this mantra until the group reached the neighborhood bar. Politely, as though in an attempt to regain some dignity or perhaps points from his girlfriend, Rich opened the bar door, allowing Michelle to enter, before following after her, but not before shooting a dirty look at his sister. Amy tugged on Charlie's hand, stopping him from following the other couple into the bar. He paused, looking back at the witch with a raised eyebrow.

She smiled softly, pulling him so that he was facing her full on. "Don't worry about Rich," Amy assured the wizard, squeezing his hand tightly. "I know how to keep him in line, and in all honesty, he knows that I'm a grown-up and that I can make my own decisions, so he doesn't really care." She urged him a bit closer to her, the witch's arms slipping around his waist. "Alright?"

Charlie eyed Amy's hopeful face before leaning down to kiss her gentle. Her eyes fluttered shut and she deepened the kiss everso slightly. He pulled away after a moment, and the witch groaned, wishing for more. Her eyes slowly opened in a hazel haze, meeting Charlie's clear eyes.

"Alright," he whispered, kissing her lightly on the nose. He smiled down at her, before wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder as he pulled the door open. It still amazed him how perfectly she molded into his body, but this thought was quickly shoved from his mind as squeals filled the bar.

"AMY!" Charlie barely had enough time to release the witch before she was bombarded by two giggling women in a flash of long hair and color. No one in the bar noticed the embrace between friends, two of who were giggling and chattering away while the third tried to grasp her surrroundings. Amy finally managed to pull away from the two enough to place faces to the voices, and a smile spread brightly across the witch's face.

"Georgie? Kate?" she asked, her eyes bright and surprise evident in her voice. She was answered by the loud combination of twittering voices as her best friends tried to make themselves heard over the other. From across the trio's head, Charlie could see Michelle sitting next to Rich, with her head resting on the man's shoulder. She caught Charlie's eye and smile softly.

"Thank you," he mouthed to the woman. While it had been his idea to get Amy and her friends together before the couple left, it had been Michelle who had done all the leg work, not to mention helped him to keep it a secret from his witch. It was nearly impossible for the wizard not to notice how Amy's eyes lit up every time she told a story about the girls' escapades, and he wanted to give her at least one night of uncontested joy for they would soon be returning to the lives' in England. This trip to Chicago, though emotionally rough, had been a great escape for the witch, and Charlie was thrilled to have been a part of it. If there was one thing he truly wanted in the world, it was for Amy to be happy, because he… he really did love her. There was no doubt in his mind or his heart about that. It wasn't until he met Amy that he finally understood just what it meant to feel unconditional love for someone outside of his family. He wondered if every man in love felt the same way he did. The rapidly beating heart, the sweaty palms, the flurry of thoughts every time she walked in the room. He doubted that a man could ever be as in love as he was with Amy.

Charlie was pulled from his thoughts as the trio of girls finally pulled apart amidst their giggles and chatter. Amy looked over her shoulder, catching his eye. She gave a small jerk of her head, her smile bright, as she urged him forward. He shrugged before shoving himself off the wall and into the fray of strangers and drinkers. He appeared unnoticed by the other two women at Amy's side, his hand slipping almost naturally into hers. Several moments passed before the two woman seemed to notice his appearance and they fell silent, blinking owlishly at the man, before noting their friend's hand clasped in his. Slowly, they turned to Amy, their eyes wide with questions.

"Guys, this Charlie," Amy began swiftly, ignoring the looks she was receiving from her friends. "Charlie, this is Georgie Kotas and Katherine Russell, two very good friends of mine." Charlie raised a hand in greeting, drawing the attention of the two women who stared up his, their mouths opened slightly. He waited a moment, but when he received no response from the two, he allowed his hand to drop awkwardly to his side, nodding slightly. He had suspected that Amy's friends may be a bit… quirky, but this was simply strange.

"You witch!" the brunette proclaimed loudly, pointing accusingly at Amy. "You did abandon us at Christmas for some guy!" Though her tone may have suggested that the woman was angry, the brunette was oddly gleeful . Charlie raised an eyebrow and was about to say something when the blonde broke in, shaking her head disdainfully.

"And here we were thinking about buying you a chicken to keep your lonesome butt company," she complained, huffing at the thought that her friend had the audacity to get a boyfriend when she had been so willing to provide one for her. It didn't matter that the blonde's idea of a boyfriend for the witch had feathers and clucked. Amy rolled her eyes at her friends, who continued to huff and complain a few minutes longer, before turning to Charlie. The blonde was the first one to speak directly to him.

"Well, seeing as you've taken the place of Amy's chicken," she started, sniffing slightly, "I guess I better get to know you, huh?" She held out a hand, a smile crossing her face immediately and all semblance of indignation leaving her. "Kate." Charlie shook her hand, before turning to the brunette- who he now realized to be the infamous Georgie- who was still gapping and shaking her head at Amy.

Georgie, noting that everyone had turned to her, held out a hand to the wizard. "Georgie!" she proclaimed, winking at the guy. Amy rolled her eyes at her friend as she plowed on. "I'm basically that only compeition you'll ever have with Amy-Boo here! I am also the keeper of all of her secrets, so if you ever need to get some revenge on her-"

"How could you be the keeper of all of her secrets if she didn't even tell you she was dating?" Kate broke in, blinking at the brunette, who held up a finger.

"I'm sorry, but uh maybe I did know," Georgie exclaimed with an obvious 'duh' tone to her voice. Kate turned to Amy, her eyebrow raised.

"Did she?" she asked, her skinny, skinny arms crossed over chest. Amy merely looked at the blonde, not saying a word, and Kate turned triumphantly back to Georgie, who now looked downtrodden.

"Amy!" Georgie whined. "We've been over this! I am your best friend. Whatever I say goes." Amy snorted, smiling at the frowning woman.

"Georgie, you've been saying that since we were three," Amy reminded the brunette, placing a hand on her shoulder. "When has that ever happened?" Georgie pouted a bit, before brightening instantaneously. She always was one to bounce back quickly.

"Drinks!" she cried, turning away from the group in search of the bartender. "We need drinks!" Georgie skillfully manuevered her way through the crowd of people in search of drinks, while Kate led the witch and wizard to the table where Rich and Michelle were seated. This was honestly one of Charlie's first real Muggle experience, and Amy did not fail to notice how he fidgeted a bit in his seat, and his fingers anxiously tapped his leg, just below the pocket which Amy knew concealed his wand. She shot him a look, smiling softly just as Georgie returned with beers in hand. She passed them out to those at the table before sitting down next to Amy.

"To friends!" Georgie cried, raising her mug to the center of the table. The others laughed before raising their own mugs in cheers.

"To friends!"

…..

It was after several rounds that Charlie found himself surrounded by quite a few drunk people. While he wouldn't say Amy was full out wasted, she was certainly much more tipsy and clumsier than usual, that was for sure. Amy's friends and brother however were undeniably rowdy and Charlie doubted it was because of the bar nuts. Their words were beginning to slur together, and he was surprised that Georgie hadn't fallen from her seat yet in her stupor. While Charlie had been keeping up with their drinking, the wizard found that he wasn't as affected by the Muggle liquor as he was by his usual Firewhisky, something he found he was rather happy with. Getting drunk in the Wizarding world was one thing, he could always Floo home, but in the Muggle world? Getting home would be an adventure in itself.

Amy leaned over precariously, her mouth close to Charlie's. "I think it's about time to start heading home," she whispered, her words quiet over the ruckus of the bar. She pulled back a bit, and Charlie noted her drowsy eyes and how she moved side to side as if of her own accord. He smiled a bit, nodding at the witch. Amy reached into her cardigan to pull out her wallet. When Richard noticed her doing this, he looked at his watch, before nodding and pulling out his own wallet. Together, the two gathered up enough money to pay for the tab which had been built up over the night. As Rich went to pay the bill, Amy wobbled to her feet and began to gather up her drunken friends. Kate and Michelle were rather easy to round up, but Georgie was a bit more rambunctious and alluded capture as she flitted around the bar, giggling manically the entire time. Amy remembered once vowing never to go drinking with Georgie again, especially after an incident at Michelle's 21st birthday party, but apparently the witch had assumed Georgie would get over her liquor-induced party attitude.

She had not in the slightest.

Amy was about to give up hope of ever gather Georgie up when Charlie appeared, seemingly from no where. He grasped the drunken brunette's arm in his hand, and together, Amy, Rich, and him led the other girls out of the bar and to the chilly sidewalk. From there, Rich was able to catch and cab, and once he had assured Amy and Charlie that the girls would get home safe and sound, the couple began their walk back to the Wyman house. Every few steps, Amy would stumbled and giggle, and Charlie would sigh, before finally he wrapped an arm around the witch's waist to ensure that she would not fall flat on her face.

When they reached the dark house, Charlie fished Amy's keyes out of the depths of her cardigan and carefully led her up the stairs, the witch tripping and wobbling up every step into the house. It wasn't until they were actually inside the sleeping house that Amy decided to allow sleep and her drunkenness to overcome her, and she collapsed. She would've landed face first into the scratchy carpet if Charlie hadn't caught the witch around the waist. Sighing grumpily, Charlie shut the door behind him with his foot, waiting for it to close with a reaffirming snap, before daring to try and help the witch. Keys still in hand, Charlie shifted Amy until he was able to get her in a somewhat standing position, and from there he scooped the woman up from under her knees. She fell comfortably against his chest, and Charlie carefully manuevered his way through the maze of books, efficently avoiding Ollie the cat who tried to entangle his way between Charlie's feet, and into the witch's bedroom.

Gently, he dropped the witch onto her bed before turning to shut the door to her room behind him. Despite the darkness of the house, Charlie was still able to make out the shapes of his witch in the room, the streetlamps outside acting as his guide. Quietly, he slipped out of his shoes and when he made his way across the room to change out of shirt, Amy groaned and rolled over.

"Charlie?" she murmured into the darkness. She opened her eyes blearily, straining to find the wizard in the din. He straightened up from his position over his bag, and shuffled across the room.

"Yes, Amy?" he whispered softly, brushing a curl behind her hair. The witch shivered at his light touch, before reaching up to grasp his hand in hers. She tugged him a bit closer until he was leaning down over her, bracing himself with his arms pressed against the pillow on either side of her head. She smiled softly up at him, and he noticed that sleep was beginning to overcome her again.

"I think I love you," she murmured as her eyes fluttered shut, her hand still wrapped around Charlie's wrist. The wizard froze, allowing the words to sink into him before a smile of his own broke out across his face. He looked down at the sleeping witch.

"I think I love you too," he uttered gently to her sleeping form. His lips twitched ever so slightly as she snored a bit, before he pulled himself from her grasp and continued to change. After pulling on a pair of pajama pants and removing his dress shirt, Charlie pulled off Amy's shoes before climbing into bed with the witch. He wrapped an arm around her waist, tugging the still sleeping witch as close to him as possible. He pressed his face into her mellifluous curls, and he smiled as sleep began to overtake him as well.

"I think I love you too."

...

AN: Hope you enjoyed! You've got plenty of Charlie/Amy and Amy's wacky friends, so... yep.

GOOD NIGHT.

Signing off,

WiseGirl