In my absence I think I have improved on my writing speed. Thank you to those who came back to read my story, and thank you for the reviews and the follows. The Unexpected Baby is going to be the longest story I have ever written, and I promise I will try to complete it. I hope this chapter is as well received as the previous one.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

The Unexpected Baby

Chapter 16: Aftermath

Charlie slammed through the kitchen door, his mind raging and his fists balled, ready to strike. There was a ringing in his ears and blood pumping through the veins in his temples. He never thought he could be this angry. As he stomped into the living area, a small table blocked his path and he kicked it out of his way, sending small bowls of peanuts flying.

"Charlie?" asked a small voice from the living area door. In his rage filled state, he couldn't comprehend who was talking to him, and he swung round to face them.

"What?" he yelled, sparks emitting from the wand in his back pocket. Hermione stood her ground, unfazed by his anger. A red flush had settled on her chest and collar bones, she was just as angry as he was, but was doing a much better job at hiding it.

"You need to calm down," she stated holding her hands up in front of her in a non-threatening manner.

"How can I? You heard what he said, or rather didn't say!" Charlie shouted throwing his hands in the air. He stood rooted to the ground as the pregnant witch moved closer to him. His chest heaved as he took deep breaths. It provided him with some form of control, but not much.

"I heard. Everyone in the tent heard. He shouldn't have made a speech like that," Hermione said in her most calming voice. She usually reserved this tone for her young patients, and it always worked when she was trying to tell them something particularly difficult. As she got up close to the enraged wizard, she placed her hands flat on his broad, chiselled chest.

Charlie gritted his teeth and hung his head. Several locks of hair fell to cover his forehead. Tears pricked his eyes and a raw, scratchy feeling had risen up in his throat. He never cried, he never had any reason to, other than when a dragon passed away. He didn't want to cry now, in front of Hermione. He had to be strong for her, but somehow, at this moment, he just couldn't muster the energy.

"Why?" he murmured weakly. This caught Hermione off guard and she had to steady herself before she spoke. Normally it was Charlie that was comforting her, but this time the roles had been reversed. She thought carefully for a moment before finally speaking what she honestly thought.

"I don't know. You may be surprised to hear this but I don't always have the answers. This type of thing isn't something you can read about in a book," she started to explain. Charlie peeked up at her and she rolled her eyes.

"This type of thing isn't something you can read about in a book that is not fiction," she amended, giving him a very light tap on the nose. A smile tugged on the corners of his lips. She continued.

"This is not a situation we ever thought we would find ourselves in, but look, here we are. I know I've been moping around for a few weeks after what happened in The Hogwarts View, and I'm sorry. Ron clearly has a problem, and he's going to have to work through it."

A shuffling noise came from the door to the living area and Molly, Ginny and Harry appeared. Molly was hurriedly stuffing a handkerchief into her pocket that she had clearly been using to mop the tears from her face. Ginny was scarlet in the face and Harry look drained.

"Oh Charlie!" Molly exclaimed, her voice watery as she looked at her son. Charlie groaned very softly and Hermione felt the reverberation in his chest through her hands. Harry looked at Hermione, who tried to communicate to him non-verbally that she and Charlie needed to be alone. He took the hint instantly and motioned to his wife.

"Ginny let's take your mum upstairs for a minute, let her sit down in the peace and quiet," he said as firmly as he could without sounding rude. Ginny threw a glare his way but then sensed the firmness in his tone. She looked to Hermione who ever so slightly inclined her head.

"I think that's a good idea, come on mum. Lying down for five minutes might help. We can talk to Charlie and Hermione later," Ginny said softly to her mum. She took the older witch by the elbow and led her past the pair standing in the middle of the room. Harry hung back for only a minute after his wife and mother-in-law had left the room.

"We're going to go home Harry. If anyone asks just tell them I got sick from eating something I shouldn't have," Hermione told her best friend of 17 years. Harry sighed heavily and looked at them both. Charlie avoided his eye contact.

"I'm sorry this happened. I'm going to have a talk with him. This can't go on," he said, running his hand through his already permanently messy hair. Hermione dropped her hands from Charlie's chest and then took Harry's hand in hers.

"Let me know what happens," she said simply, and gave his hand a squeeze. Harry pushed his glasses further up his nose and then gave Hermione a chaste hug.

Hermione rummaged through the cupboard for a pair of mugs. Making hot chocolate was her way of distracting herself from the miserable Dragon Keeper sitting in the other room. She knew he needed space at the moment, but she was finding it hard to let him have it. She couldn't believe Ron hadn't acknowledged him in his speech. It was so petty, yet so hurtful at the same time. Who knew that one small action could have such a huge impact.

Flicking her wand at the two huge mugs she set on the kitchen counter, they started filling with a rich, creamy hot chocolate with all of the trimmings. As they were preparing, she sneaked a glance out of the kitchen door to the sofa. Charlie sat with his legs stretched out in front of him, his head lolling back so he could stare at the ceiling. His arms were raised so that his hands could stay firmly planted on his forehead. She could see a muscle working in his jaw and his breathing was short and quick. Shadow knew something was wrong and had chosen to sit at Charlie's feet, instead of on his lap.

"I made you some hot chocolate," she said as she levitated the mugs into the living area. Normally she would have carried them, but they were so laden with whipped cream and marshmallows she had been afraid of spilling them.

"Thanks," Charlie said flatly. Hermione set the hot chocolate on the table beside the sofa and then sat down beside him. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, the delicious smell of chocolate got the better of him, and Charlie reached for his mug. He took a long, deep drink.

"Oh my," Hermione said, her hand flying up to her mouth to cover her smile. She knew she shouldn't be laughing but she couldn't help it.

"What?" Charlie asked in a monotone. Hermione cleared her throat and then motioned with her right index finger to his upper lip and nose, which was covered in whipped cream.

Charlie blinked for a second and then licked his lips. A single laugh escaped his lips and then he smiled and wiped the cream away. Hermione sniggered into her hand, trying hard not to laugh out loud. He took another drink from his hot chocolate and this time he purposefully dipped his nose into the cream.

"Is there…something on my face?" he asked quizzically as Hermione burst into a fit of the giggles.

"Seriously, is there something wrong with my face?" he asked again, moving closer to Hermione and crossing his eyes to make him look more comical. Hermione had to set her mug down so she wouldn't spill any. Charlie leaned in and started poking her in the ribs, and this set her off even more.

"What, tell me!" Charlie said loudly as he too laughed, his dark mood almost forgotten. He continued to poke her lightly, causing her to laugh. It was a wonderful sound, like chimes in the wind.

"Stop it Charlie!" Hermione exclaimed as she tried to fight back, aiming for his ribs.

"Hey!" he let out a shout as she jabbed him rather aggressively. Hermione gasped and quickly put her hands on the area she had just poked.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to poke so hard," she said through laughter, trying to catch her breath. Charlie felt his face flame as he registered her hands on his ribcage. She looked up at him and was about to say something but stopped. They stared into each other's eyes, not blinking, barely breathing. Charlie quickly wiped the cream from his face and swallowed hard.

Slowly, he raised a hand up to settle on her cheek. He let his thumb stroke her soft skin and he felt a swooping sensation in his stomach, like he'd just missed a stair on a staircase. Hermione let her hands slowly fall down Charlie's body to rest on his powerful thighs. She could feel the tight muscle underneath the fabric of his trousers. She very subtly licked her lips.

Time seemed to slow as they continued to stare at each other. Neither of them dared to speak, for fear of breaking the moment. Carefully, Charlie started to lean closer to her, his eyes focused on her fully, pouting lips. Hermione remained still but felt her eyes sliding shut as she waited. The scene from 16 weeks ago flitted through her memory. This time was different however, she was not intoxicated, and she had a fresh batch of pregnancy hormones rushing through her body. Suddenly she was sick of the waiting and pushed forward so her lips connected with Charlie's.

Even though he knew it was coming, Charlie felt a shock rush through him as her lips met his. They were soft and sweet. There was an urgency there that he hadn't expected so he cocked his head to the side a little so he could get more comfortable. Hermione felt his tongue against her lips and she opened her mouth so she could meet it with her own. As their tongues entwined she realised that she already knew that he tasted like mint and cinnamon. She wanted more of him and as she put her hand behind his neck to pull him closer she felt something altogether unexpected.

"Oh," she said suddenly, breaking apart from Charlie, her hands finding her stomach. Momentarily dazed by the sudden loss of her lips, Charlie looked down.

"What's wrong?" he asked, instantly worried as he realised she was holding her bump.

"Nothing's wrong it's just," she started but then stopped as she concentrated. Charlie looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to calm his fear.

"I think the baby is moving," she whispered as she reached for his hand to place on her bump.

"Moving?" Charlie asked, a rush of emotion making him light-headed. He waited to feel something, but couldn't feel anything. "Are you sure, I don't feel anything."

Hermione shook her head and rubbed her own hand on her bump. She then giggled and tried to move his hand to where she could feel it. Still Charlie felt nothing and he grimaced. Was he doing something wrong.

"Maybe only I can feel it," she murmured, seeing the look of worry on his face.

"What does it feel like?" he asked as he continued to move his hand around the bump. His child was in there, growing and now moving. This was what true pride must feel like.

"It feels like…popping corn," Hermione said with a laugh. Charlie gasped and then laughed with her. Her smile was radiant and she looked the happiest he had ever seen. He caught her eyes and then leaned in and kissed her again. This time it was different. It was tender and loving, filled with the pride he was feeling for both her and his unborn child. She kissed him back with the exact same feeling.

Molly busied herself in the kitchen as Harry, Hermione and Charlie sat drinking tea around the table. It was the day after the engagement party and Harry looked as drained as he had the night before. Hermione and Charlie hadn't forgotten what had happened between them the previous night, however things seemed to be on hold now as they prepared to discuss the proverbial elephant in the room.

"I talked to him shortly after you left," Harry said as he swirled his tea in his cup. Hermione rested her hand on her bump and frowned a little.

"And?" she asked expectantly. Charlie stared fixedly at the table, like he was trying to burn a hole through it with his eyes.

"He was quite drunk, but he knew what he was doing," Harry explained finally after taking a steadying sip of the brown liquid. The tea heated his insides but did not make him feel any more comfortable about the situation.

"I asked him why he had left Charlie's name out, and he basically said that he didn't have a brother named Charlie." Molly dropped a cup into the sink behind Harry and he knew she was listening to every word he said. He continued, forcing his way through what he had to say.

"I told him to stop being a prat, and that he was just being petty. I told him there had been no need whatsoever to publicly humiliate his brother and that Charlie had done nothing wrong. He then threw his own drink on the ground and said "you want to talk about humiliation? Charlie humiliated me first, I'm only paying back the favour!" Then he stalked off and spent the rest of the evening at the bar with Lavender." Harry finished his story and pushed his half drank cup of tea away from him. He didn't feel like finishing it any more. Molly had gone perfectly still at the kitchen sink, the dishes forgotten about.

"I humiliated him?" Charlie said finally, trying to digest what he'd just heard. Hermione glanced sideways at him and could see the tension in his shoulders.

"That's what he's thinking," Harry confirmed, fidgeting with his hands.

"I don't know what to make of that," Charlie said dumbfounded. He looked at his mother, who was staring out of the kitchen window at the tent that still hadn't been taken down from the previous night. He was finding it hard to believe she was holding her tongue at this moment.

"He must still have some leftover feelings that he's not dealt with since you two broke up," Harry said, voicing a thought he'd been having since he'd spoken to Ron.

"Leftover feelings?" Hermione mumbled.

"If you think about it, you two had a thing from school. You may not have dated in school, but there were still feelings there. You were then in a relationship for a long time. You had some pretty great times during that relationship, but sadly it ended because, at the end of the day, you drove each other crazy and that wasn't a good environment to be in. You remained friends. Ron moved on, and for a while it appeared that you never did Hermione," Harry explained his reasoning behind what he was thinking. Hermione merely blinked at him and Charlie looked confused.

"You threw yourself into your work and that paid off for you. You became the youngest ever Healing Consultant at St. Mungo's. Ron got together with Lavender, and because you never had a relationship with anyone else, I think Ron thought you still held a candle for him. Then Charlie comes home, and suddenly you two sleep together and are now having a baby together. The only thing Ron can really see here is that instead of you getting together with a someone we don't know, you instead chose to jump into bed with his older brother. That's where I think this humiliation thing is coming from."

The kitchen was completely silent. Nobody moved, or even breathed. Hermione tried to process this information and the more she thought about it, the more she could understand where Harry's thought process had come from. Who knew Ron better than Harry and herself? She looked at Charlie who had a deep frown on his face, she knew he was having a hard time getting to grips with this.

"Was he the same when you starting dating Ginny?" Charlie asked. Harry sat back in his chair for a moment and scratched his head. Charlie had a hopeful look on his face, and Harry could tell that he wanted him to explain that the exact same thing happened to him.

"He was weird to start out with do you remember Harry?" Hermione piped up, clearly thinking along the same lines as Harry. He however, did not want to lead the second oldest Weasley brother into a false sense of security.

"He was but it didn't last long. Ginny basically put him in his place. Maybe that is what is needed here," he said thoughtfully.

"Ginny verbally bashing Ron? I'm good with that," Hermione said with a laugh. Charlie grinned, and kept a close eye on his mother, who was still listening to every word being spoken.

"That, and you two putting him in his place. It worked for Ginny and myself, why should it not work for you?" Harry said as he reached for a biscuit on a plate in the centre of the table.

Molly finally moved from the sink and turned to look at the three people sitting at her kitchen table. She placed a hand gently on Harry's shoulder and smiled at him. He looked up at her with mild surprise, but then smiled back, a little confused as to what was happening.

"Thank you, Harry, for talking to Ron last night. I think I can also understand your train of thought. My only concern is when will you two be able to speak to him again. I don't think it should look like something that has been orchestrated. You know how Ron is, it'll put his nose out of joint and he'll blow up even worse than before," Molly said, finally voicing her own worries. She knew her son, and while she knew he needed a firm talking to, she knew she couldn't be the one to do it, and it needed to be done in a way that didn't make it look like he was being ganged up on.

"What about a barbeque?" Charlie chimed in, looking at his mother. Molly's eyes lit up. Hermione turned to Charlie and eyed him suspiciously.

"One final, end of the good weather barbeque. We could do it at your house Harry if that would be okay? Plus, you're the only person with a muggle barbeque," Harry nodded his head and motioned for Charlie to keep talking.

"Barbeques are innocent affairs. Just family getting together to enjoy the weather and eat burgers. If we so happen to get to speak to Ron then that is a bonus," Charlie finished, taking a victorious sip of his tea.

"Just one thing though, I'm not really available for a while," Hermione said solemnly. Charlie turned in his seat and gave her a puzzled look, but then realisation struck.

"That's right, you're working flat out for a couple of weeks. You're going to be really tired," he muttered, and then something else occurred to him.

"I also leave for Romania in 4 weeks."

A dead weight dropped into Hermione's stomach. She had forgotten all about Charlie needing to leave to go back to his job. A large lump formed in her throat and her mind started to race. He was leaving soon, and, where were they? They'd kissed last night and it had felt like it might go on to bigger things, and they hadn't even talked about. Would they talk about it? Could she talk about it? Millions of questions raced through her mind and she felt overwhelmed for a moment. Then a hand on her knee brought her back to reality.

"Hermione? Did you hear me?" Charlie asked gently.

"No, sorry, what did you say?" she asked.

"Would three weeks from now suit for the get together? Harry suggested it could be a going away party for me too, as well as a chance for us to speak to Ron," he explained slowly. Harry looked at Hermione too, an expression of mild concern on his face. Hermione gave her best smile and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Sure, a going away party barbeque sounds great!" she said, a little too brightly.

Ginny,

Come to my office next Thursday at lunch time. Bring Fluer and Audrey if they're free.

Hermione.

A/N: Hopefully another decent chapter that leaves you wanting more! Let me know by leaving a review, or by following the story :) *Also apologies for and spelling or grammar errors.*