Hello again. Sorry for my slight delay in uploading, but it's national holiday time here in my country and I've been otherwise occupied. This chapter is shorter than previous uploads, however I think you'll be happy with its content. I have tried to keep it in lines with the T rating of this story, however it may get a little...raunchy!

The Unexpected Baby

Chapter Nineteen: Dreams and Memories

Hermione sat around an open fire with the Weasley clan and her own mother and father. Fred and George were passing out the marshmallows and skewers that Martha and Bruce had brought with them, and everyone was getting ready to roast them over the flame.

"So you just put the sweet treat on the end of this stick and hold it into the fire?" Arthur asked Bruce, who nodded his head and demonstrated. Bruce let the marshmallow roast until it had a slight golden burn to it, then pulled it back out of the fire, blew on it and popped it into his mouth. Arthur looked overjoyed.

"I can't believe you treated your brother like that for weeks. Weeks!" yelled Molly Weasley from inside the Potter household.

Hermione skewered her marshmallow and inwardly smirked. She'd made her peace with Ron in a very stress free, calm manner, but Molly and Ginny on the other hand could not contain themselves. Shortly after Hermione and Ron had re-joined the party, Molly had lit upon her son, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and dragged him into the house. Ginny had waddled in after them as fast as she could, steam practically shooting from her ears.

"Oh dear," mumbled Lavender from beside Hermione. Hermione glanced at her and then placed a hand on her knee and smiled.

"It's alright Lavender, he'll be fine. You know this is not the first, or the last time, this will happen to him," she explained sweetly. Lavender furrowed her brow at the Healing Consultant and then skewered her marshmallow.

"I feel like I should be in there, defending him, and scolding him at the same time!" she said, shoving her marshmallow into the fire.

"You'll get your chance. You forget, he is your fiancé and you have to go home with him," Hermione laughed, eliciting a small chuckle from Lavender.

"Do you know how hard this has been on the whole family?"

Hermione could see people around the fire pretending not to listen to the shouting but failing miserably. Percy was the most obvious in his eavesdropping. He had forgotten all about the marshmallow on the end of his skewer and it was now melting into the fire.

"You caused Hermione an undue amount of stress!"

The people around the fire went silent. Looks of confusion spread across their faces and then Bill turned in his seat and scratched his head.

"I can't tell if that was mum or Ginny," he said to the people gathered around him.

"That was mum," Percy said confidently as he kept a close eye on the kitchen window, which had a slight opening in the pulled blinds. Fred and George both gave identical snorts of derision. Percy did not move from his position, but Hermione could tell he was now glaring at the window.

"As someone who has been personally chewed out by mum over ten thousand times since entering manhood alone, I can wholeheartedly say that the voice you just heard was in fact our dear sister, Ginny," Fred explained confidently and then gave his twin a small fist bump.

"They sound so alike now," Bill said turning back to listen.

Hermione glanced at Charlie sitting to her other side. He was completely relaxed and reclining back in his seat. He had a soft smile on his face as he looked into the fire. Before had been whisked off by his mother and sister, Ron had been allowed to apologise to Charlie for his actions in the previous weeks. Charlie had thumped his brother hard on the arm, and then grabbed him into a bone crushing hug.

"I'm absolutely disgusted with your behaviour!"

"That was mum, for sure!" Percy said triumphantly, as he turned and gave Fred and George a gloating look.

"That was an easy one," George said with a snort.

"Saying she is "disgusted" is one of mum's trade mark phrases," Fred added as Percy's look turned sour. The third eldest brother grumbled something under his breath and then turned back to look at the window.

"Have you no shame?"

The group fell silent once again. Even Hermione was having trouble identifying who had just yelled. Her inner eye flashed an image of Ron sitting at the Potter's breakfast table, his head bowed, the tips of his ears pink, as Molly and Ginny towered over him.

"You know don't you," Percy shot at the twins. Fred and George gave identical smirks and skewered themselves another marshmallow.

"Let's ask the group shall we?" Fred asked suddenly, standing up from his chair, his marshmallow handed to his twin. The twinkle in his eye told Hermione that he was going to force everyone to guess who had just shouted at Ron, before he revealed the true identity. He pointed to his father and went around the circle anti-clockwise.

"Ginny," Arthur said confidently with a short nod of his head. Hermione's father was next to Arthur and simply copied his wizard friend.

"Molly," Fleur answered with some trepidation. Hermione's mother was next to Fleur and she copied Fleur's answer.

"Molly," answered Lavender with some assurance.

"Ginny," answered Hermione and Charlie echoed her. He glanced at Hermione and gave her a wink. Her face flushed but she smiled at him.

Bill, Audrey, and Percy thought that the right answer to the unasked question was Molly. Fred rounded on Harry, who gave the Weasley twin a confident smirk. Fred gestured for his answer and Harry claimed he knew that the person who had spoken was his wife.

"And the person who actually shouted the phrase "Have you no shame?" is…" Fred said in an enthusiastic, rather dramatic tone.

"Ginny!" the twins shouted in unison.

Hermione wandered into the living area from the kitchen and plonked herself down onto her sofa. She made herself comfortable and took in her surroundings. She and Charlie had finally decided it was time to go back to the flat. Charlie had dropped the cats off before the barbeque and they were now sleeping peacefully, Socks in the climbing tree and Shadow in Charlie's lap. Charlie sat beside Hermione on the sofa and he was scratching Shadow behind the ear as he slept.

"Can you believe your mum and Ginny shouted at Ron for an hour?" Hermione asked him with a chuckle. Charlie smirked and turned to look at her.

"I can believe it. He was a prat for so long and they were good enough to hold back while we tried to deal with it. They had so much built up anger and frustration at him that I am surprised neither of them exploded," he told her as he continued to scratch the kitten. Shadow stretched and flexed his little claws in his sleep.

"I'm just glad I talked to him," Hermione said humbly as she absentmindedly rubbed her swollen belly. She hadn't felt much movement from the baby today, but she wasn't worried. Her big check-up was next week. At the 20 week check-up a witch could finally be told with one hundred percent clarity what gender her baby was. In the muggle world an expecting mother could also be told what gender her baby was at this point, but there were very slight chances that an error could be made and the wrong gender revealed. In the wizarding world a mix-up in gender at this stage was impossible.

"Charlie?" Hermione asked quietly. Charlie gave her a sleepy look and laid his head back on the sofa as he watched her.

"Do you want to know what gender the baby is?" she asked.

Charlie blinked at her a couple of times as he thought. He had been very curious to know when he found out Hermione was pregnant, but as the weeks had progressed he'd changed his mind several times.

"I think I want to know. What about you?" he asked as he stifled a yawn. Hermione paused for a moment before she answered.

"I think, at this moment in time, I would like to know," she started, and as Charlie gave her a dashing smile, she continued, "but who knows how I might feel next week. I might change my mind."

"Do you have any inkling as to what we might be having?" the Dragon Keeper asked sleepily. His eyes were starting to droop and Hermione could tell it wouldn't be long before he drifted off.

"I've been having dreams of a baby boy," she replied as she looked down at her stomach. Charlie raised a hand and placed it gently onto her stomach. He rubbed gently and suddenly Hermione felt something a little stronger than the popping corn sensation she had been feeling. Charlie gasped and raised his other hand to her stomach, moving as quickly and carefully as he could so he wouldn't disturb Shadow.

"Was that a kick?" he asked hurriedly, his face bright and awed, all traces of fatigue missing.

"It was," Hermione said, her voice filled with wonder. The baby kicked again and she couldn't help but laugh. It was the most unusual, yet most wonderous thing she had ever felt. Charlie laughed as the baby gave one final kick right under his left hand.

"I think that's a sign. I think we're having a boy!" he said enthusiastically. Shadow woke at the sound of Charlie's excited voice and jumped off his lap and trotted over to Socks on the climbing tree.

Hermione felt her heart swell with pride and she placed a hand over one of Charlie's. Feeling their baby kick like that told her that everything was fine, everything was normal and progressing properly. Charlie continued to rub a hand gently on her stomach, and she knew he was trying to entice the baby to kick again. She smiled as she watched him. He finally lifted his head and looked at her. The look of wonder on his face was just as evident as her own.

"Time for bed?" Hermione asked, her hand still on his.

"Sounds like a plan," he answered, looking at her stomach once again.

"Will you sleep in with me?" Hermione asked him innocently. Charlie removed his hands from her stomach and stood up from the sofa. He then held out a hand for her to take and he grinned.

"I was going to anyway."

The dream was vivid. It was a memory rather than just random images floating around in her head. She and Charlie were kissing in the living area of The Burrow. Charlie had a hand fisted in Hermione's hair and a hand on her lower back, under her top so his skin was on hers. Hermione had her arms around his neck and was pulling him closer to her, so they were practically lying on top of each other.

"Oh Charlie!" she moaned as his mouth left hers to move onto her neck. He nipped and sucked at all the tender places across her neck, leaving her wanting so much more. Just as he started to lift up her top, she pushed away slightly and looked deeply into his mesmerising eyes.

"Let's go," she said in a voice laden with sultry passion. Her voice was also slightly slurred, showing her intoxication. Charlie nodded furiously and grabbed her by the hand. He pulled her to her feet and they both made their way quickly towards Ginny's room.

Once in the bedroom, Charlie placed a silencing charm on the door and turned to look at Hermione. She didn't give him any time to get a proper look as she launched herself into his arms, kissing him passionately. He hurriedly removed her top, as she tried to remove his. She paused when she got to see his naked torso for the first time. His body was lean and muscled from his years of physical activity. He also had some improperly healed wounds, which had resulted in scarring. She traced her fingers along a particularly long scar that went from his collar bone down to the middle of his ribcage. This caused him to shudder and capture her mouth with his again.

The memory shifted. It was almost like someone had sped it up and blurred things out. When the memory focused again, she and Charlie were in bed together.

Charlie's mouth was roaming all over her body, kissing her in places she hadn't been kissed in a very long time. She tingled from head to toe and clutched on to his hair and she forced him to go ever lower on her body. He spent a long time in a particular area, so long in fact that Hermione felt a blissful tightening, then sweet release as he finished. He hovered above her again and she smiled up at him. He had the most intense eyes. She cupped his cheek with her hand and kissed him slowly. He moaned against her lips and let his calloused hand glide down her naked form.

"Are you sure?" he asked against her lips.

"Yes," she breathed. She then bit his lip gently, producing a deep, seductive growl from the man who worked with dragons. In that moment she thought of him as a dragon, powerful and alluring.

The memory shifted again, but this time it was not as sped up, but much blurrier. The sensations were still there however as were the sounds of panting breath and moans of pleasure. Hermione felt herself squirming, wanting to see more, but couldn't. She could feel herself getting hot and sweaty with frustration.

"Hermione?" echoed a voice from far away. She swatted at the voice, trying to focus on the blurred memory. The sensations were still there and she shuddered at the ghostly feeling of a hand gripping at the back of her thigh.

"You're dreaming Hermione," echoed the voice again. Hermione groaned, frustrated, wishing she could just be left alone. The blurred images were gone, but the ghost of the sensations still remained.

She opened her eyes slowly, trying to remember where she was and who she was with. The bedroom was completely dark, but she could make out the outline of Charlie, who was gently shaking her shoulder.

"You were having a dream. You were moaning so I assumed it was a nightmare," he said soothingly. Hermione said nothing.

Her heart was hammering in her chest, her breathing was shallow and she had a thin film of sweat on her brow. Charlie had stopped shaking her but his hand was still on her shoulder. She tried to even out her breathing, but found her mind was surprisingly clear.

"Are you alr-," Charlie started to ask but was cut off as Hermione's mouth found his in the darkness.

She kissed him with fire, and with passion. Charlie felt his mind blur as he wrapped his arms around her. Her hands gripped the bottom of his t-shirt and started to pull. He raised his arms, never letting their mouths part. Once his t-shirt was on the floor, Hermione found the long scar on his torso and ran her fingers down the length of it. He shuddered, and as he did she took her opportunity and bit his lip gently. His growl was instant and deep.

She awoke in his arms just as the morning sun started to creep through the window. She sighed deeply as she nuzzled her face into his bare chest. She smiled against his skin as she remembered their night. A hand rested on top of her head and she knew he was awake too. She looked up into those intense, blue eyes and felt her heart squeeze.

"Morning," Charlie murmured as he ran his fingers through her hair. Her scalp tingled at his touch.

"Morning," she said sleepily, running her own hand lightly over his chest.

"How're you feeling?" he asked softly.

"Satisfied," Hermione said with a chuckle. She felt Charlie's chuckle rumble in his chest and she found the scar at his collar bone and ran her finger down it once again. He shuddered underneath her.

"You'll be in trouble if you do that again," he warned her with a low growl. She couldn't help but let a giggle escape her lips as she repeated her action.

"That's it, you only get one warning," Charlie said with a laugh as he rolled her over and started kissing her neck.

Hermione towel dried her hair and sniffed the air. Charlie was cooking breakfast in the kitchen, and the sound of sizzling bacon was making her mouth water. He had seen it only fitting to join her in the shower after their eventful night and morning. He had then insisted on cooking her a full breakfast. A barrier had certainly been removed between the two of them, and she could now remember, vaguely, how it had all started.

"Breakfast is served," Charlie said in a stately fashion as Hermione padded into the kitchen in her bare feet. She grinned at him and sat at the small kitchen table.

Hermione tucked into her plateful of poached eggs and bacon and savoured every bite. Charlie sat with her and looked to be enjoying his food just as much as she was. Once they were finished, they sat in perfect, comfortable silence. Charlie reached over and took Hermione's hand in his own. She felt the familiar warmth spread throughout her body, and she swore she felt the baby move too. They stared into each other's eyes, and Charlie ran his thumb over Hermione's knuckles. Hermione felt her heart beating faster and her brain kicked into gear.

"Charlie?" she asked quietly. He smiled and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Please don't go back to Romania."

A/N: I hope this was an enjoyable chapter! Sorry for any spelling or grammar errors. I will admit I've been a bit distracted by a film whilst editing this. Let me know what you thought in a review, and don't forget to favourite and follow.