Okay then, just updating in a rush here. Hope you all like this chapter and I'm sorry about not updating until now. I think I'll make either Friday or Saturday my updating day, so then I won't have school to worry about. Thanks for all the lovely reviews, please, keep them coming! I'm going to go back and just tidy a few things up, okay?

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I want to say a little something that's long overdue, the disrespect to women has got to be through. To all the mothers and the sisters and the wives and friends, I wanna offer my love and respect till the end
- Adam Yauch


10th March Part 2

"This is the girl Charlie knocked off her broom?!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed, her eyebrows raising dangerously high and her face began to redden, possibly in anger.

Bill sat next to Mrs Weasley, sheepish look set on his face as the guilt shone in his eyes. He looked scared, as surprisingly, did Percy who was still sat on the other side of Mrs Weasley, his fork frozen halfway between his mouth and the table.

Annie and Charlie shared a brief, panicked look that said everything. Both had been worried about how Mrs Weasley would react to finding out just who Annie was, but they had brushed it off, deciding it to be best to bury the matter. Bill, however, had not been told about this, and from the expression on his face, had unintentionally put his foot in it.

"What?" Charlie managed to stutter out. "I-I knocked Annie off her broom? Mum I'm….Shocked you would even think that!"

Mrs Weasley, who clearly saw through Charlie's terrible lie, sent him a look that quickly shut him up.

"Charlie," She said, dangerously low. "Is this the girl you knocked off her broom?"

"Well, Mum, it was fifth year and it's been quite some time-"

"Answer the question, Charlie!"

"Yes," Charlie said quickly, avoiding Mrs Weasley's eye. Annie, seeing Charlie's discomfort, slipped her hand into his under the table. He gave her a quick, grim smile, and they both turned to face Mrs Weasley.

The red haired woman seemed to be deep in thought, though her eyes were glued to Charlie. Every so often, they would flicker over to Annie, making the girl fidget in nervousness. Mr Weasley kept trying to catch his wife's eye, but was unsuccessful.

"I think," Mrs Weasley said dangerously slow. "Bill and Percy should go into the sitting room while Arthur and I have a chat with Charlie and Annie."

The two Weasley brothers did not need to be told twice. Bill shot the couple an apologetic look, before scampering out of the room behind Percy, closing the door behind him. Mr Weasley, looking rather grim, moved to sit next to his wife, shooting his son a brief look.

"So then," Mrs Weasley said, slowly. "I think we should start at the beginning. Charlie, would you like to tell me exactly what is going on?"

Charlie sighed.

"Mum, do we really have to do this?"

"Yes"

"Okay then," Charlie said. "I've liked Annie since first year, ever since I first met her. But I was a bit of an arse to her-"

"Language!" Mrs Weasley chided.

"Sorry, Mum," Charlie said quickly. "Anyway, I was a bit mean to her and she kind of hated me after that. But, I still liked her. The Quidditch thing was a complete accident, honestly, I didn't realise she had already caught the snitch and I was going faster than I thought I was, so, you know. The next week, I was doing patrols with Annie and she hit her head off the vanishing step so I took her to the hospital wing. After that, I thought that I might have a chance with her. But she got a boyfriend and I insulted him so she started to hate me again."

"In hindsight," Annie interrupted. "Chris was an arrogant, pompous idiot who cared about no one but himself."

The three Weasleys turned to look at her and she shrugged.

"It's just the truth."

"Okay, back to the story," Charlie continued. "So, we finished school and the World Cup was the first time we saw each other since. At the end of seventh year, we let bygones be bygones, but I still liked her. Seeing her at the World Cup brought it all back. So, at the Yule Ball, I kissed her."

"When I was still dating Chris," Annie added and Charlie nodded.

"Needless to say, she wasn't too happy. She avoided me for the next month."

"Then," Annie took over, giving Charlie a reassuring look. "Chris took me on the first date we had been on for years. Turns out, he had been offered a job in foreign affairs in the Ministry of Magic in Hong Kong. He wanted me to go with him…and he proposed. I said no."

"Why?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"Because," Annie sighed. "I didn't love him. And he didn't love me. I think, once over, he did, but not for a long time. I barely ever saw him, he was that busy with work. And, when I did, that…spark, that magic was just gone."

"Chris didn't react well," Charlie said. "He called her some awful things, and was convinced that Annie saying no had something to do with me."

"In a way, it did," Annie put in.

"What?!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed. "Charlie was the reason you broke up?"

"No!" Annie quickly said. "Merlin no. I was unhappy with Chris and kissing Charlie helped me to realise that."

"So how did all this happen?" Mr Weasley asked, motioning towards Charlie and Annie. The two looked at each other, smiling slightly.

"Bill and Tonks," Charlie said. "They pushed us together, literally."

"And that's everything," Annie said, Charlie giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah," Charlie agreed, turning to face Mrs Weasley. "That's everything, Mum."

Mrs Weasley was silent, as was her husband. While Mr Weasley was waiting for his wife's probable outburst, Mrs Weasley was sitting quietly, deep in thought.

"I would like to speak to Annie on my own," She said quickly, after a short silence.

Annie's eyes widened in nervousness and Charlie gripped her hand tighter. Mrs Weasley noticed this.

"Now, really, I simply want to talk with the girl, not hex her into oblivion!" Mrs Weasley cried.

Mr Weasley stood up, and after giving his wife a pat on the back, headed towards the door, where he waited for Charlie. Said boy was still hovering around Annie, possibly thinking that in fifteen minutes time, he may not have a girlfriend.

"Come on, Charlie," Mr Weasley said.

Sighing, Charlie rose from his seat and solemnly walked towards the door, his eyes flickering from Annie to his mother. Annie shot him a reassuring smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. She would rather go up against a Hungarian Horntail than face the wrath of an annoyed mother.

The door shutting left the room in silence. Annie looked anywhere but at Mrs Weasley, while Mrs Weasley looked straight at her. Feeling nervous – and very self-conscious – Annie began to fiddle with her sleeves.

"You're muggle-born, aren't you, Annie?" Mrs Weasley said, breaking the silence.

"Yes, Mrs Weasley," Annie quickly replied. Mrs Weasley smiled.

"Don't look so frightened dear," Mrs Weasley said. "I just want to talk."

"What about?"

Mrs Weasley sighed and smiled at Annie.

"You remind me of someone, Annie," Mrs Weasley said. "She was unsure about her feeling for another boy, while she was dating another. She was scared, scared of rejection, of loneliness, of what everyone else would think. But in the end, she chose the other man.

And she was happier with him. He made her feel safe, loved…whole. The other man eventually found happiness with another, and while he was bitter about the break-up, he moved past it."

Mrs Weasley took Annie's hand from across the table and smiled.

"What I'm trying to say, is that you remind me of myself."

"The girl was you?" Annie asked, eyes widening in surprise. Mrs Weasley nodded.

"I wasn't always with Arthur, you know. Back in the day, I was quite the heart-breaker in Gryffindor Tower, or at least, that's what my brothers used to call me."

Mrs Weasley stopped abruptly, hand shaking slightly. Annie saw this, and squeezed it.

"Mrs Weasley, I know what it's like to lose someone you're close to," She said quietly. "The heart-ache, it never goes away, does it? You've just got to face it, head on."

"And make sure you have someone by your side," Mrs Weasley finished, smiling at Annie. "I don't think I need to ask you if you love Charlie, I can see it in your eyes. Not like those other girls he's brought home, they never fully understood my son. But you, Annie, you're different. You don't love in halves, you truly love those close to you."

"Jane Austin," Annie smiled.

"Yes, I'm quite the fan of her books."

"So was my Mum," Annie said quietly. Mrs Weasley nodded in understanding.

"So that's who you lost," She said and Annie nodded. "Annie, dear, just know, you can talk to me at any time. Charlie and the others may not fully understand; they've never lost someone like that. I have. If you need any help at all, someone to talk to or even just someone to be a mother, I am here."

Annie sniffled, and brushed away a stray tear.

"Thank you," She whispered.

…..

Charlie paced across the living room while Percy had his head buried in a book and Bill and Mr Weasley chatted in the corner. How could they be so calm? His mother could be murdering his girlfriend at this point and they were talking about bloody Quidditch!

"Excuse me?" Charlie said loudly, catching the attention of the other Weasleys present. "I'd appreciate if you didn't discuss whether or not the Appleby Arrows will win the semi-finals when Mum could possibly be turning Annie into a toad!"

"Calm down, Charlie," Mr Weasley said. "Your Mum's not going to do that. I think she likes Annie."

"What makes you think that?" Charlie asked. "She barely said a word before!"

"Believe me, Charlie, it's better that way," Bill told him. "Remember when I brought Annabel Hopkins home? Mum was shouting at her before we'd even had pudding."

Charlie sighed and flopped into an armchair and ran a hand though his hair.

"I really hope this works out," He said.

"It will," His father reassured him. "Don't worry."

Knowing his father was probably right, Charlie relaxed slightly. You're just being stupid, he told himself. Mum'll love Annie, she will. She is NOT hexing her into oblivion.

The sound that rang from the kitchen did not put his mind at ease.

Shooting up, Charlie ran into the kitchen, ignoring his brother's and father's protests. Mum's killing Annie! Oh Merlin, I should have never left them alone!

Bursting into the kitchen, nothing could have prepared him for the sight that greeted him.

Annie and his Mother were sat next to each other, looking though a photo album. It was open on his baby photos and they were both laughing at them.

"And this one is when he decided wanted to fly so he jumped off the top of the shed, broom in hand, shouting 'I can fly'!" Mrs Weasley laughed. "And this one was when-"

"What's going on?" Charlie exclaimed, causing the two women to look up at him, both with Cheshire cat grins plastered on their faces.

"Oh Charlie, we were just talking about you," Mrs Weasley said, looking back at the book.

"Your Mum was just showing me some photos," Annie smiled mischievously. "And may I say, you looked especially cute when Ginny decided to dress you up as a fairy princess."

Charlie felt his face redden, partly from embarrassment, and partly from relief.

Even though his mother and girlfriend were going through photo albums of Charlie in his younger days, it was a millions times better than them killing each other.

"Oh, isn't he so cute in this one?" Mrs Weasley cried.

Okay, maybe not that much better.

Annie seemed to sense his discomfort so got up and walked over to him. She kiss him and wrapped her arms around him.

"If it makes you feel any better," She began. "You still have to meet my Dad. That's something you should be scared about."


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