CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
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July 26th 2006
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His first work day at the Ministry had been interesting, to say the least. His predecessor had obviously been very good at his job at one point, albeit a point that must have been a very long time ago if judging by the pile of unfiled and unfinished paperwork on his new desk. However good he might have been, though, he had left Charlie with a veritable nightmare that needed to be rectified, very quickly, if Charlie was ever going to be able to do a good job in his new role.
As soon as Charlie had been introduced to the rest if the staff in the DRCMC, he had closed his office door and dived into the mission he was faced with, organising the chaos that was masquerading as paperwork, littering his new desk. Each new piece of parchment was half finished at best and completely untouched at worst, leaving him to wonder precisely what his predecessor had done during the work day. Sighing deeply, he suddenly remembered Kingsley's words about doing a better job than the previous guy and snorted as he wondered whether it was even possible to do a worse job.
As he finished what must have been the hundredth form, having apparently not even made a dent in the pile on his desk, he glanced up at the clock and swore as he realised that it was more than halfway through lunch. Throwing his quill down and leaving his jacket discarded over the back of his chair, he lept up, left his office and, only just remembering to ward his door against intruders, sprinted towards the lifts. As he stepped into the first one that arrived, he gasped as he came face to face with just the man he was hoping to see.
"Harry!" He exclaimed, grinning, "I'm so glad to see you."
"It's nice to see you too, Charlie," Harry chuckled, frowning slightly, "is everything ok?"
"Absolutely!" Charlie smiled, "have you got a minute? I need your advice."
"She's pregnant, whatever she wants just do it." Harry said seriously and Charlie laughed, shaking his head.
"He's right, you know," said a man that Charlie had never met before, "never question a pregnant woman, it's just not worth it."
"Thanks," Charlie said, laughing when a very obviously pregnant ministry worker tutted and he turned to Harry, "it's not that. I want to take her away this weekend, to do something she loves, but I wanted your advice on what to do."
"Well, I have a few ideas," Harry said, frowning in thought as they stepped out of the lift and walked together towards the cafeteria, "what's the occasion?"
"I'm proposing."
"What!" Harry exclaimed, causing everyone around to turn and look at them, which in turn made Harry blush as he cleared his throat and continued, "that's amazing!"
"You think she'll accept?" Charlie asked uncertainly and Harry snorted, shaking his head.
"Of course she will, don't be an idiot," he chuckled, "I would suggest dinner and a West End show."
"What show?" Charlie frowned and Harry hummed in thought until his eyes lit up.
"Wicked."
"What's wicked?" Charlie frowned and Harry laughed.
"No, the show is called Wicked," he informed and Charlie nodded, "it's one of her favourites."
"Ok, sounds good," Charlie muttered, a deep frown forming on his face, "uh… Harry? How do I get tickets?"
"You're useless," Harry laughed, rolling his eyes, "I'll get the tickets for the show, probably a matinee, so you just worry about dinner in the evening, alright? Make it some time after seven."
"Have I ever told you that you're the best brother-in-law in the world?" Charlie grinned and Harry rolled his eyes, laughing as he shoved Charlie away.
"Don't push your luck."
Charlie chuckled, shaking his head as he hurriedly grabbed a sandwich and headed back towards his office, greeting the other workers as he passed. It did not escape his attention that some of the female workers seemed to do a double take as they noticed him, nor did it bother him, as he imagined Hermione and what her reaction would be when he knelt on one knee and asked her to be his wife. He would never understand why the urge had suddenly hit him to propose, but he knew that it was absolutely the right thing to do. Just as he entered his office, immediately walking around to his desk and putting his sandwich down, preparing for a working lunch, he heard a knock at the door and called for whoever was there to entire, smiling as he looked around and found Kingsley entering the room.
"Hello, Charlie," he said in his deep voice, "how are you getting on?"
"Aside from the fact that I've got at least a decade of unfilled paperwork to catch up on, you mean?" Charlie huffed, rolling his eyes as he sat down and indicated for Kingsley to sit opposite him, "nothing else to report, I'm afraid."
"I'm sorry, Charlie," Kingsley sighed, shaking his head as he leaned forward and picked up a pile, slowly flicking through it, "I had no idea that the backlog was this bad."
"I'll catch up," Charlie muttered, eyeing the huge pile, "eventually."
"Perhaps Hermione would be willing to help?" Kingsley suggested and Charlie hummed, wondering if she might, "either here or at home. I'm sure there's nothing confidential in here."
"I'm sure that…" Charlie picked up a form and rolled his eyes as he read if, snorting, "who the hell calls a dragon Tim?! Anyway, I'm sure that Tim won't mind if Hermione knows the last time he fathered any hatchlings."
"Ask her if she feels up to helping, obviously we'll pay her an assistants wage if she wants it," Kingsley said and Charlie nodded, making a note to mention it when he got home, "anyway, what I really wanted to tell you is that Maximus Foster has put in an application for your old position as head of the reserve in Wales."
"Excellent," Charlie grinned, nodding, "I'd give it to him if I were you, I don't think you'll find anyone better."
"Well, I guess I don't need to ask for a reference, then," Kingsley chuckled, grinning as there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," Charlie called out and he grinned as Arty came bounding into the office, "hey buddy!"
"Daddy!" He shrieked, jumping into Charlie's arms as an out of breath Hermione appeared in the doorway to his office, leaning against the door frame and rubbing her bump.
"Arty!" She exclaimed breathlessly, "what have I told you about running off in crowded places!"
"Hermione, sit down," Kingsley said, standing from his chair and offering it to her, kissing her cheek as she passed, "you look well."
"Thanks," she snorted, smiling up at him, "you too, Kingsley. How are things?"
"We were just talking about you actually, love," Charlie said, leaning down to kiss her after Arty left to explore his office, "do you think you could manage to help me sort through this mess?"
"Filling out paperwork and stuff?" She asked and Charlie nodded, "I don't see why not, it's almost time for the summer holidays anyway, so I was thinking of taking a break from Arty's homeschooling."
"You'll be paid, obviously," Kingsley put in and Hermione snorted, shaking her head, "I won't take no for an answer on that point."
"You spoil all of my fun, Kingsley," Hermione chuckled, "I was so desperately hoping for a good negotiation."
"Aren't you always?" Kingsley chuckled, bowing mockingly as he turned to Charlie, "I will leave you with your family, come and find me if you have any problems."
"Will do," Charlie said, waving to Kingsley as he left the office before he checked on Arty, finding him engrossed in a book about dragon species, which allowed him to kneel before Hermione, frowning, "everything ok?"
"Arty was running riot at home," Hermione sighed, shrugging, "it's usually not a problem, but with this bump getting bigger it's hard to chase after him."
"Have you thought about asking mum to take him a couple of days a week?" Charlie asked and Hermione rose her eyebrow, "you forget that she home schooled all seven of us. I mean, I know she wouldn't be able to teach him all of the muggle stuff, but basic Maths and English will be fine, plus she can teach him all of the traditions of the wizarding world."
"Do you think she would?" Hermione asked, sighing, "I feel so guilty, being so worn out all the time."
"You're growing a whole new human being, I think being tired is excusable," Charlie chuckled, kissing her stomach and then standing up, kissing her forehead on the way up, "as for mum, she'd love it. Seriously, ask her."
"I will," Hermione smiled, nodding and glancing over at Arty to make sure he was still occupied, "alright, hand over some paperwork. Let's see what we're working with."