Sorry about the late update! On the bright side, Happy Halloween! She says a day late. Oh well, props for trying. Yay! Annie meets Mrs Weasley. In advance, the endings a bit rubbish, I had to write it in a rush. Sorry!

Okay, I'll leave you with this. Probably update in about a week? Back to school on Monday and ~I have so much homework to do.

Read, review and enjoy!


God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers
- Rudyard Kipling


10th March 1995

Charlie stared at the cheery, tomato red door in front of him. He had been stood there for the past five minutes but had yet to pluck up enough courage to knock on the door. He was nervous. Did he look nervous? That would be a great way to start the night.

Did he look alright? Merlin, he hoped he did. Although it made him sound like a teenage girl, but he was really worried about how he looked. He had went for smart casual, not wanting to overdress for a simple meal with his family. He didn't look too underdressed, did he?

Enough, Charlie scolded himself. You look fine. Anyway, it's too late to change now.

He fiddled with the sleeves of his long navy jumper as he continued to stare at the door. In his hand, he held a bouquet of sunflowers. It's not too early to give her flowers, is it? We have just be dating a week. Then again, she is meeting my parents quite quickly.

Charlie hoped his family would be alright tonight, or more specifically, his mother. He did not want her scaring off the girl he had spent eleven years going after. He knew his father, Bill and Percy would be alright. Hell, they adored Annie.

It was just his mother, Charlie was worried about.

Whenever a Weasley brought a girl home, their mother would immediately quiz them on…well, everything. Their job, their lifestyle, their prospects for the future, everything. Even how many children she wanted.

Needless to say, not many girls had lasted the visit to meeting the Weasley parents.

Charlie sincerely hoped his mother would tone it down slightly, just for tonight. Just enough to not send Annie screaming for the hills.

He sighed.

He was simply over reacting. His father knew how much he liked Annie and probably had already told his mother about it. That, however, made Charlie even more nervous.

That's it, Charlie thought. Time to man up.

Charlie raised his hand to knock on the door, when a loud crash rang out from inside Annie's flat, followed by a string of loud cursing. Charlie didn't bother to knock as he burst into the flat. He could see Annie's leg peeking out from behind the kitchen counter and he ran round to help her.

Annie was laying on the kitchen floor, dazed look on her face. Beside her, lay an overturned cooking book, sprawled out on the last page read.

"Annie, are you okay?" Charlie asked, kneeling down next to her. Annie groaned.

"Bloody cat…"

Charlie looked up and saw Jasper sitting on the kitchen bench, with an almost smug look on his face as he watched the redhead. Charlie rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around Annie's shoulder, helping her to her feet. When she was stood up, Charlie smiled.

"So, what happened?" He asked, picking up the book for Annie and giving it to her. She smiled.

"I was reading and I wasn't looking where I was going. Didn't see Jasper and I tripped over him," She replied, placing the book on the bench.

"Are you alright?" Charlie asked, slightly worried about his girlfriend – that feels so weird to say.

"Yes, I'm fine," Annie quickly brushed off. "Anyway, do I look alright like this?" She asked, extending her arms so that Charlie could see her outfit.

"You look great," Charlie grinned. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, just give me two minutes," Annie smiled. "Just have a sit down."

Charlie nodded as she walked off in the direction of her room, her boots clicking against the wooden floorboards. He grinned and went to sit on the couch, Jasper appearing next to him.

"Hey, boy," He murmured, stroking the cat between the ears. The cat purred in content, curling up against Charlie's leg. Charlie's free hand drummed against his knee, nervous for what would happen today. Jasper, as though he could sense Charlie's nervousness, brushed his head against Charlie's hand and meowed, almost reassuringly. Charlie managed a smile.

"Okay then," Annie said from the kitchen. She had her head in the fridge and from what Charlie could see, was pulling something out of the fridge.

"What's that?" Charlie asked as he stood over and walked over. Annie turned round to face him, smile on her face and in her hands was a foil covered dish.

"Banoffee pie," She said simply. "Could you please hold it for a minute?"

Charlie nodded and gently took the dish out of her arms. Annie walked over to the kitchen counter, picked up her wand and waved it in the direction of the sink, where dirty dishes instantly became clean. Smiling, she slipped her wand into her boot, so the handle peaked out of the top.

"There," She smiled, turning back to Charlie. "I'll take that."

As Annie went to take the dish back, Charlie moved away.

"It wouldn't be very nice of me make you carry this heavy thing, now would it?" He grinned, causing Annie to give him a questioning look.

"I'm more concerned about you eating it, than my wrists giving way," She replied, taking the dish from him. "Anyway, I don't trust you."

Charlie put his hand over his heart and pretended to look offended,

"I'm shocked that you'd even say that," He said. "But, it's probably true. I'd only take one bite though."

Annie raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe two."

Annie laughed.

"More like the whole thing," She said. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Good thing I made two."

Charlie laughed and offered her his hand, which she took immediately. Her small hand was warm against his, and the touch made his heart flutter.

"Your hands are freezing," Annie commented. "Where have you been, Alaska?"

"You know what they say, cold hands, warm heart," Charlie smirked down at her.

"And what do they say about warm hands, then?" Annie asked.

"Warm hands, even warmer heart," He replied. "Though those people do seem dislike Banoffee pie…"

Annie mockingly slapped Charlie's arm as he grinned.

"It's not just for you!" She cried, but was smiling.

"Okay, okay, it's for everyone," Charlie said. He checked his watch. "Okay, time to go."

Annie nodded and the two left the flat, Annie locking the door on the way out.

"Ready?" Charlie asked.

Annie nodded, and although she had a cool demure, he could see a flicker of nervousness in her eye.

"Yep," She said, nodding her head. I'm ready."

"Hey," Charlie said, as he looked down into her brown eyes. "They'll love you. And anyway, it's only really Mum you have left to meet."

Charlie could see Annie biting her lip slightly.

"Annie, listen to me, she'll love you," He told her firmly.

Annie looked up at him, still unsure.

"Positive?" She asked.

"Positive," He agreed. "The fact that you made pie also gives you quite a good standing, since none of us have ever brought food home. So thanks for making us look bad."

Annie slapped his arm again, but was smiling. Charlie grinned and the two disapperated.

. . . . .

Annie was nervous.

Scratch that. She was more nervous than she had ever been in her life, and that included O. , N.E. , healer exams and her muggle driving test – the latter not going too well.

Annie had barely slept the night before, and had stressed the entire day over what to wear. She had ended up wearing a grey jumper, dark jeans, a red scarf (to tie in a bit of Gryffindor – well, she was seeing an entire family of them), and her long brown boots.

Oh, Merlin, she hoped she looked okay.

Tonks had told her not to worry when she had stopped by the day before. According to her, Mrs Weasley was a lovely woman who, if aggravated, could be scarier than a fully grown Hungarian Horntail. To this, Annie replied by throwing a handful of flour at the Metamorphmagus, causing a food battle in the kitchen – Annie was thankful she was a witch because when it happened when they were thirteen, it took four hours to clean up.

Annie making the Banoffee pie was partly due to the hope of impressing Mrs Weasley, who apparently was 'the best cook in the World, well apart from my Mum,' according to Tonks. In truth, Annie was stressed about meeting the matriarch of the Weasley family.

Annie took Charlie's hand, Charlie giving her a wide grin before they Disapperated.

With a loud CRACK, the young couple appeared in a small yard, the Burrow towering over them.

Annie gasped in amazement as she looked at the house with wide eyes, it was exactly how she thought a magical house should be. The building looked like it had several extra floors added over the years, and the number of chimneys led Annie to believe that there was a fireplace in every room. Annie concluded that the building must have been held up by magic, as there was no way a building like that could stand without.

"Come on," Charlie said, nodding his head towards what must have been the kitchen door. "They'll be waiting."

He led the wide-eyed girl through the jumble of wellington boots that lay in the yard, as well as trying to avoid the roaming chickens, that were clucking away peacefully. Something moved in the corner of her eye, grabbing her attention. She turned and gasped slightly.

"Charlie, what's that?" She asked, pointing at the little bald headed figure.

Charlie turned and laughed.

"It's a gnome, silly. Don't they have gnomes in the muggle world?" He asked.

"Yeah, but muggle gnomes tend to have pointy hats and beards. And, you know, they're ornaments," Annie explained. "A few of them look like they fish, too."

Charlie frowned.

"Ours know a few swear words," He replied.

"Let me guess, Ron and the twins?" Annie asked, eyebrows raised in question.

"Got it in one," Charlie laughed. "Let's go."

They left the bald gnome, who waved his balled fist at them, and Charlie led Annie into the kitchen of the Burrow. Instantly, they were hit with the smell of freshly baked bread. If the exterior of the house wasn't outstanding enough, the interior was.

The kitchen was small and crowded, with a large, wooden table in the centre taking up a lot of the room. The furniture – the chairs, in particular – where mismatched, but they seemed to fit in at the same time. The clock on the wall was unusual, only having one hand and no numbers. Instead, written around the edges was things like 'You're late,' and 'Time to feed the chickens'. Annie assumed it was what Mrs Weasley used to keep everything in check.

"Through here," Charlie said, motioning to the door on the other side of the room.

This time, they entered a cosy looking living room, where plump couches sat and a large fireplace stood. Various photographs decorated the room, as well as another clock, but this one had multiple hands.

"Charlie!" A voice cried. On the couches sat Mr Weasley, Bill and a red haired woman, Annie identified as Mrs Weasley. Mrs Weasley set down her knitting, stood up and walked over to her son and his girlfriend.

"Hi, Mum," Charlie grinned. He let go of Annie's hand to hug his mother. Annie smiled but began to fiddle with her sleeves from nerves.

"And this must be Annie!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed, turning to face the girl in question, who smiled slightly unsurely. Mrs Weasley must have picked up on Annie's nerves as she smiled widely and pulled her in to a back-breaking hug.

"Oh, I've heard so much about you!" She said, releasing Annie. "Lunch is almost ready, we're just waiting for Percy."

"Typical Percy," Charlie grinned. "Always making us wait."

Mrs Weasley told him off, but from the small smile on her face, Annie could tell she wasn't angry.

"Annie made pie, Mum," Charlie said, pointing to the dish in Annie's hands. "She wouldn't let me eat any, though."

"I made two, didn't I?" Annie replied. "It's just Banoffee, it probably won't even be that nice…"

"I'm sure it will taste lovely, dear," Mrs Weasley reassured her. "I'm going to check on lunch, should I take that through for you?"

Annie nodded and smiled as the older woman took the dish from her and left the room. Charlie went to speak to Mr Weasley, leaving Annie standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"Did my brother just bugger off and leave you?" Bill said, walking over to Annie, who laughed.

"Yep. He's left me in the belly of the beast," She smiled.

"Aw, it's not that bad. Food's pretty good," Bill reasoned and the two laughed. "Charlie was right, though. Trust Percy."

"Be nice about your brother," Annie jokingly chided him.

Mrs Weasley's voice echoed through the house, calling them to lunch. Annie exchanged some brief words with Mr Weasley, as well as being informed by Charlie that she would get quizzed about the muggle world.

Percy was already sitting table, reading the Daily Prophet. He said a quick hello to Annie before she was swept away by Mr Weasley's questions. Sitting in between Mr Weasley and Charlie, Annie began to answer Mr Weasley's questions.

During this, Bill sat opposite Charlie, leaving Mrs Weasley to sit opposite Annie, on the other side of Percy. The soup was served, with Mrs Weasley repeatedly offering Annie more bread and tea.

"You never do this for us, Mum!" Charlie grinned.

"Yeah, and we're your own flesh and blood!" Bill followed.

"Oh, hush now boys. Annie is a guest," Mrs Weasley said.

They ended up splitting up into separate conversations, Mr Weasley and Percy discussing the Ministry, Charlie and Annie discussing the Triwizard Tournament and Bill and Mrs Weasley talking about the younger Weasleys.

"No, the Second Task was way harder!" Annie argued. "The First Task-"

"This is the girl Charlie knocked off her broom?!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed.

Annie and Charlie slowly turned to look at a sheepish faced Bill and a slightly scary looking Mrs Weasley.

Oh god, Annie thought. Just my bloody luck.


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