New chapter

vjcappucci93 welcome :)

Forest of Deb welcome :)

And finally for this week Lizzyzav2 welcome :)

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After Harry's birthday party, Hermione and Fred had decided to spend the night at her house. They had not even stayed for dinner, partly because Fred wanted to stop by a McDonald. After listening to Hermione saying that they had chicken nuggets, he wanted to try those things and their bigmac too.

Their other reason for leaving sooner than the other members of the Weasley's family was the fact that the Burrow and Grimmauld Place were crowded and they needed a quiet place to talk.

Fred wanted to talk about Alicia and Charlie. He needed to know if Hermione had been hiding that information from him.

Also, he knew that if he had stayed for dinner, with just family around the table, it would have been impossible for him to control his fists. He would have ended up punching his brother which would have been a bit weird as Alicia had made clear that Charlie did not know that she was pregnant.

As for Hermione, she wanted to avoid the mess that Molly would make. She was ready to bet that Mrs Weasley would spend the entire dinner rambling about Alicia's pregnancy and ranting about that horrible man who had impregnated the young woman. Obviously, it would not take long for Charlie, Bill and Percy to put and two together and then dinner would turn into a melodrama. Yes, McDonald was a much better idea.

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As they were getting ready to go to bed, Fred asked Hermione, for the fifth time, if she knew something.

« I did not know Fred. I swear, I had no idea but yes, I am a 100% sure that Charlie is the father. It has to be him. Poor Alicia, she is madly in love with your brother and now she is going to have to raise a redhead, on her own. »

Fred shook his head. Alicia would not raise that child alone. He had to tell his brother. Charlie had the right to know and the obligation to help Alicia. He even said that Charlie would have to marry Alicia.

Hermione looked at her boyfriend. She was not surprised by his old school answers, this was how he had been raised. Most of the wizards still had an old tradition vision when it came to children and marriage. They were not modern people in that aspect, they were still living as if it was the XIX century and his parents, specially his mother, were very conservative.

...

She was trying to calm Fred down, making him understand that Alicia had been raised by two Muggles born, that her vision was different and most of all, she was trying to convince Fred to do not speak to his brother.

« It is not your decision to make Fred. Alicia is the one carrying that child. I know that it is hard for you to understand but for the Muggles raising a child alone is not that uncommon and if this is Alicia wants, we have to respect her decision. »

Fred said that he knew that. He was no stranger to Muggles' lives and their weird habits and he respected them but with Alicia, it was different. Alicia did not want to ruin his brother's life, this was the only reason why she had decided to do not tell his older brother.

Deep down, Hermione knew that Fred was right. She sighed and agreed. She added that it was unfair but again, it was not their decision to make. The only thing that they could do was support Alicia and be there for her.

« Sure and what exactly are we going to tell my mother. » snapped Fred

« Nothing, I don't see why we should tell her anything. None of her business. » she answered calmly even though she knew that Mrs Weasley was going to be a problem

Fred chuckled. As if this was going to be possible. His mother certainly had already spoken with everybody so at this point Charlie must know that Alicia was pregnant.

« And I am not going to let him escape. »

Hermione sighed again, what else could she do? She had been thinking the same thing since they had left the burrow so arguing with Fred was not making any sense.

She kissed him tenderly and then went to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

...

Fred jumped on Hermione's bed and laid on his back, looking at Hermione who was walking around her room. She was nervous, she did not know which side to take. She liked both, Alicia and Charlie.

Worried and upset, she said that they should have obliviate Mrs Weasley before to leave the party.

« I agree, we should have. You know what infuriates me the most, that my mother jumped to conclusions and thought that you were pregnant. Is the woman ever going to trust me? Besides, if it had been you, it would not be a bad thing. Doesn't she want to be a grandmother? My mother is insane» grumbled Fred

Hermione nodded and quickly went back to Alicia's pregnancy. She did not want to see their conversation drifting to a what they would do in that situation. Hermione wanted children, in a few years, not now, yet she knew that if she was getting pregnant, she would keep the baby and this was the reason why she was never forgetting to take her potion.

Sometimes she had the feeling that being with Fred meant living on a fast forward mood, as if they were in a hurry. It was odd, good and heady but odd.

...

A short while later, they fell asleep while brainstorming about what they could do.

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In the meantime at the burrow.

As Fred and Hermione had suspected, Fred's mother had blabbed. She was finding it absurd that a fine young woman like Alicia should raise a child alone because she did not want to ruin the father's life. She shared her opinion, at dinner, with her family.

She made her opinion very clear : that man was a less than nothing and he certainly did not deserve a woman like Alicia.

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Charlie had kept silence during most of his mother's speech but that last sentence had just been too much for him. He was terribly upset, learning from his mother's mouth that Alicia was pregnant , and he, surely, was the father, had been very hard to swallow.

« And what do you know about the father to be so sure that he is a bastard. Did not you say that Alicia hasn't told him yet and is apparently not planning to? So how can he be a bastard if he doesn't even know? » snapped Charlie

They all looked at him, in a curious way. Charlie was not the most outspoken person and he certainly was not the one who, usually, stood against their mother. He had left the country for joining the reserve in Romania and to be away from their's intrusive mother.
His siblings raised their eyebrows. Most of them were working at the Ministry so they had all heard the rumors yet none of them had really expected them to be true, apparently they had been wrong...

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Charlie could feel the intrigued gazes of Percy and Bill on him. He was very uncomfortable and wished that he had stayed silent. He had trapped himself without wanting.

He risked a glance at his mother, just to check if she was thinking like his brothers or not. Mrs Weasley was not working at the Ministry and Mr Weasley was not one to listen or pay attention to the rumors yet he could have told her about those rumors.

Mrs Weasley looked astonished and angry. She had, indeed, heard about those rumors at the Ministry but as she knew about Charlie's preferences, she had not bothered her mind with such absurdities, perhaps she should have.

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Minutes passed in complete silence. They were to shocked to say anything. Finally and for everyone's surprise, it was Mr Weasley who spoke first. He was sat across Charlie and staring confusedly at him.

« Well, Charlie, I think you are old enough to know what to do. »

Charlie asked what he meant even though the answer was quite easy to guess. Like with his brother, his father had given to him the speech, when he was a teenager.

« Those rumors at the Ministry were apparently true and I think that I have always been clear about what to do in those situations, what I expect my sons to do. » said Mr Weasley very seriously

He looked at all his sons, except Bill as he was already married, to remind them that the rules had not changed.

« So you expect me to marry her, just like that? »

« You will marry her Charlie. If that child is yours, you will and there is nothing else to add. Now, let's finish dinner and go to bed, we have a wedding to celebrate tomorrow. Oh, one last thing, no gossip please. Molly, I am saying that for you too. » replied Mr Weasley who did not wish to talk more about that situation

« I won't marry her. I have a life in Romania, I want to go back there. If it is my child, I will be a part of his life but I won't marry her. I am sorry to disappoint you Dad, and Mom, but I won't. It was just one night. »

« Yes and a night is enough and since you apparently did not bother to take any protection, you will take responsibility for your actions. » roared Mr Weasley

« I am gay, I can't marry her. I do not like women, I like men. I have a boyfriend waiting for me in Romania. I can't marry her. She won't be happy with me and neither would I. » shouted Charlie

They all gasped even though they had all known, unofficially, for quite some times already.

...

Mr Weasley asked everybody to leave the table, everybody but Charlie. Ginny, Ron and George complained, they had never seen their parents mad at Charlie. They did not want to miss the scolding.

George had a second reason to stay. He could not believe that Charlie had slept with a girl, that this girl was one of his best friend and above all he could not believe that Charlie had knocked her up. He was wondering if Fred knew something, probably not. His twin would have killed their brother.

Nevertheless, they did leave the kitchen in a hurry. They could deal with an angry mother but when their father was angry, it was better to fled.

...

Mr Weasley filled his glass with fire whiskey. He asked his son if he wanted one too. Charlie shook his head. He did not need a drink, he needed air.

Mr Weasley observed the ambar liquid for long seconds. He was not even sure that this talk was a good idea, Charlie was a man, not a teenager yet as a father he was feeling obliged to speak with his son.

« Charlie, your situation is no different than many others. There was a time when marrying the woman that you had impregnated was a law and many, like your mothers, still think that the law should be restored. I do not share that opinion but it doesn't mean that I am going to let you fly out of the country while your brothers and I will have to face Alicia everyday at the Ministry. »

He paused briefly, waiting for an answer that never came. Calmly he carried on.

« Have you thought about what George and Fred are going to think or do? Alicia is one of their best friends, they do care about her, very much. And what about your mother, deep down, we all know that Bill and Fleur might never have children, your mother wants to be a grandmother, do not take that away from her, please. »

« But I won't, I told you, I am going to be a father but that is all I can be. » answered Charlie angrily

« Living miles away from here, in another country that is not being a father. » retorted Mr Weasley

« Whatever Dad, we are not going to agree on anything tonight. I am old enough to decide what to do with my life. »

Mr Weasley nodded nonchalently and said:

« You are almost 26 years old, I can not tie you to a chair until you change your mind but allow me to understand, how did this happen? And please, I beg you do not make a Fred and George's like comment. »

« I don't know Dad. I guess a part of me is attracted, aroused when I am with Alicia. I am not going to deny that. I haven't stopped thinking about the night that we had spent together. It was amazing and yes, I have been thinking about doing it again. I have restrained myself from getting close to her because I do not want to hurt her. Dad, I do care about her but unlike her, I am not in love with her and I can't marry her because she deserves to be loved. » explained Charlie whose cheeks had turned red

« How can you be so sure about her feelings for you. I do remember that she used to be madly in love with you, how Bill used to make fun of you for keeping the love letters of a thirteen years old girl after you had left Hogwarts but that was many years ago. »

« She did not say it but I know. I am not being corky, I just know. » affirmed Charlie

« And are you sure that, hum, you can not fall in love with her? There are people who like both, men and women, Muggles call them bisexual. You could be one of those.»

Charlie rolled his eyes. If the matter of that conversation was not that important, he could have almost laughed and made fum of his father, almost...

« Dad, please don't push any further. I wish I had the answers but I don't and I am not going to try to find out. I have already done enough, I guess Alicia knows it too, otherwise, she would have told me about the baby. I know this is going to be hard for you and Mom to accept but believe me, Alicia will be happier without me around all the time. »

Mr Weasley finished his glass and left the table. The conversation was over. Just like Fred had told him to get lost, not long ago, when he had tried to have a serious conversation with him about his relationship with Hermione, Charlie had, in his own way, rebuffed him too.

Mr Weasley sighed, his sons were adults and free to live their lives as they wanted. He and his wife did not have much choice but to accept that.

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When I started to write, almost two years ago, Hermione and Fred were supposed to first have a friends with benefits, sort of, relationship. Hermione was supposed to fear of being pregnant after Harry's birthday, this is what would have forced them to confess their love for each other.

I changed many details in my story and when I started to post the first chapters, I decided to have them together from the start.

As I did want from the beginning to have something happening between Charlie and Alicia, I kind of adapt a bit what Hermione and Fred's relationship could have been for Charlie and Alicia.
Why those two together? No idea. Charlie is one of my favorite characters even though we don't know much about him. Like many I do tend to think that he is gay or bisexual and that he fled to leave far away from Mrs Weasley.

With Alicia, it is a bit the same, she is in six of seven books, yet she never had any storyline while her two besties did. Katie and Angelina always seemed to be more mentioned than her which is weird as they are always together. They even came back together for the battle of Hogwarts.

Since we don't know much about them, it was easy to pair them together and work on a backstory for them. And if you are wondering : no, the story won't become a Charlie/Alicia fanfiction. It is just the last arc before the epilogue. The last scene before the epilogue is a conversation, at the Ministry between Charlie and Hermione, which will be in the next chapter so this storyline is just here to get to that scene.

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