So I just spent the last three hours at work staring at a pool (at freakin'
5 am in the morning, no less!) and thinking about the next few chapters. so
it's all planned out, and I'll try to get these chapters written as quickly
as possible! It got a little fluffy at the end of the last chapter, but
I've always wanted to use that rose thing in one of my stories (It was
begging to get out!!!) Anyhow, I'll try to remedy the fluffiness from here
on out. Enough of my babbling. read on! (And don't forget to review!!)
Disclaimer: Yeah, okay, if I owned these characters and the HP world, I'd be popping out the fifth, sixth, and seventh books instead of writing about Charlie's love life... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey, Hermione," said Ron.
"Yes?" she replied testily.
"Have you heard from Charlie lately?" he asked, oblivious to her edginess.
"No, I imagine he's too busy with - never mind."
"With what?"
"Never mind, Ron! I have to study, and so do you. We have midterms right before the Easter holidays!"
"Relax, Hermione, that's still two weeks away."
"Two weeks!" she shrieked. "More like a week and a half! We only have ten days, which is conclusive to only 70 hours for real studying time since we still have to go to class and meals!" Ron looked at her fearfully for several seconds and then his face broke into a grin again.
"Come on, what's Charlie up to? I know he's been writing you about Muggles still. I deserve to know, I'm his brother! And besides, you've been studying for the past month."
"If he wanted you to know, then he'd tell you on his own, wouldn't he? Why don't you let him have his privacy and let me study?" Hermione decided to ignore his last comment. Ron sent a look to Harry, who just shrugged. Neither knew what was going on with Charlie, nor why he was only writing to Hermione. Sure, both had their own secret theories, but both knew better than to mention them to Hermione, especially within a week of midterms.
Ron supposed that he'd simply have to wait until Easter holidays and then get on Charlie himself. Mrs. Weasley had made sure that all of her children, plus Hermione and Harry, were coming back this Easter. Ron wasn't quite sure of the reasoning of this minor family reunion, but he suspected his mother was realizing that most of her children were out of school or about to graduate. Even so, it'd be two years before he was out, and another three before Ginny was. Either way, it'd be great to see Bill and Charlie again.
"WOW! That was amazing!" exclaimed Charlie, having just walked out of his first cinematic experience. Ariane looked at him curiously.
"You act as if you've never seen a film before," she said.
"Well. I haven't seen any good ones in a while, that's all," he made up quickly. "We don't have many good cinemas in Romania." She nodded understandingly.
"So do you want to go get some ice cream?" she suggested. "There's a place right around the corner."
"Sure." They walked down the street, hand in hand, towards the ice cream parlor.
"Charlie?" Ariane squirmed a little.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "Is everything all right?"
"I'm going to my mother's house tomorrow - I'd like you to come with me. You know, meet my mother."
"I'd love to!" replied Charlie immediately.
"Really?"
"Of course. Any woman who brought you up must be amazing."
"Honestly, Charles Weasley, you can say the corniest things sometimes," she laughed.
"Not corny! Only truthful," he declared. "So what do you want?" he asked, as they finally reached the ice cream parlor, and were about to place their order.
"A small vanilla, please," Ariane told the server.
"And I'd like a large waffle cone with orange sherbet," said Charlie. He looked at Ariane and grinned. "You know, to match my hair."
"That one's getting really old, Weasley," she teased him.
"You know you love it," he shot back.
"Your hair or the joke?"
"Both." They sat down with their ice cream and continued to tease each other. They had become increasingly comfortable with one another in a very short period of time. Soon it became late, and ice cream was consumed. Charlie paid for the cab back to Ariane's house, and kissed her goodnight. She was about to close the door when a thought hit him.
"Wait!" he called out. "Should I just meet you here tomorrow morning?"
"Yeah, we can drive from here up to her place."
"I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Tomorrow."
Nervous as could be, Charlie stood outside of Ariane's door the next morning. She opened it promptly and let him in. She was still bustling around, getting ready for the two hour drive up to her mother's house. Finally, after putting the pudding and casserole into the back of her tiny car, they were off. Charlie, having only sat a couple of times in his father's old Ford Anglia, was very intrigued by the car driving on the ground as opposed to flying in the air. He didn't let on to this, of course, but it kept him entertained nonetheless.
"Do you reckon she'll like me?" asked Charlie, about an hour and a half into the trip.
"Even if she doesn't, I still like you." This wasn't the answer Charlie was looking for, but he let it go.
"Umm, well, I know this is kind of parallel to what we're doing this weekend, but Easter is next weekend.. Do you want to come? It's going to be like a small family reunion, and all of my brothers and sister are going to be there. My younger brother Ron is bringing his two best friends back from school, too. It'll be a big crowd, but you'd be able to meet everyone." Ariane looked delightedly at Charlie.
"I was hoping that you'd remember that. You mentioned it on our first date, remember?"
"Of course I remember. They're going to love you, darling."
"I hope so." Both had butterflies in their stomachs at the prospect of meeting the other's family. Charlie was about to tell her his 'secret' when she pulled up into a driveway. He figured now would not be the best time to tell her, but he had to figure out how before Friday.
His legs like jelly; he stepped out of the car, reached into the back and grabbed the casserole and pudding. He followed Ariane through the front door as she called for her mother.
"Mum! We're here! Just leave the food on the table, through that door," Ariane said to him, nodding to a swinging door that presumably led to the kitchen. Charlie got a glimpse of an old Asian woman coming through to the living room, supported by a cane. She didn't look terribly old; more worn out than anything.
When Charlie re-entered the living room from setting the food down, he saw that Ariane was seated on a blue couch, and her mother was on a rocking chair adjacent to the couch. Charlie followed suit and sat down next to Ariane. Ariane took his hand in hers, and beamed at her mother.
"Mum. this is Charlie. He's the one I told you about." She watched her mother's expression carefully, which was difficult to read.
"Hello, ma'am. it's good to finally meet you," said Charlie, extending a hand to the older woman. She took it lightly, as if Charlie had some sort of disease transferable by touch.
"He's taller than you said," stated Ariane's mother, finally speaking for the first time. "And his hair is orange, not red." Charlie noticed a slight accent. Ariane looked down at the ground, embarrassed. Here she was, in her twenties, with a career, and her mother was treating the first serious boyfriend she'd had in years as though they were both still in secondary school. Charlie seemed unfazed, however.
"Yes, ma'am," he confirmed. "I guess I might have sprouted a little in the last few weeks. That and the orange hair would describe the whole of the Weasley clan." Of course he hadn't grown at all, being past the age of unannounced growth spurts. Charlie felt, however, that it would be best just to agree with the woman. She didn't look like someone to be in an argument with.
"Um, Mum, why don't we show Charlie around the house?" suggested Ariane, in an attempt to shake off the awkwardness of the conversation. She stood up, and led Charlie down the first hallway, her mother following slowly after. There were pictures lining the wall, mostly of Ariane as a baby, Ariane in her various years of schooling, her graduation, a picture of Ariane and her mother. Charlie noticed at the end of the hallway, there was a picture of Ariane as a very young child, perhaps three years old, with her mother and (Charlie assumed) her father. He walked over and studied the picture.
"Ariane, is this your father?"
"Yes. He died a month after that picture was taken," Ariane said sadly.
"Killed," corrected her mother.
"Excuse me?" said Charlie.
"He was murdered. He didn't just die. The doctors lied to me. They lied!" said the old woman.
"Dad died of a heart attack. Mum likes to think he was killed; it is dishonorable to die so young without just cause." Charlie was confused. "Japanese belief; Mum and Dad emigrated here from Japan thirty years ago," Ariane explained. Ariane's mother was shaking her head in protest to everything Ariane was saying. Charlie looked back at the picture; the man looked familiar, yet not. He couldn't describe why the face brought back a glimmer of something told to him before. He shook the feeling off. It probably wasn't important.
The three continued around the house, looked at Ariane's old room, which looked as though a thirteen year old girl still lived there. One of the rooms was done in an old Japanese traditional style, with a Zen Buddhist shrine in the middle. Ariane's mother shooed them out of the room quickly, not wanting to disturb the ancestors. In the tiny backyard, Charlie noticed a small rock garden.
Reaching mid-afternoon, Ariane put her casserole into the oven to heat it up, and Charlie began setting the table. He had been practicing at his own home without the use of his wand. He knew he would be unable to just throw out a charm and have the table set itself here. He chuckled to himself; it'd be a surefire way of giving away his secret to Ariane at any rate.
By five o'clock, the three had sat down to dinner. They ate in silence, unable to think of anything to say. The tension was thick, as Charlie got the distinct feeling that Ariane's mother disliked him for some reason or another. He couldn't put his finger on it. He helped Ariane clean the dishes when they were finished, and load everything back into the car.
Ariane hugged her mother goodbye, promising to visit again in a couple of weekends. She headed to her car. Charlie put out his hand again, for Ariane's mother to shake, but instead she pulled him over, out of earshot and eyesight of Ariane.
"I know what you are," she hissed in his ear.
"What?" gasped Charlie.
"If you ever use any of it to hurt my daughter, you will regret it, wizard," she whispered furiously, before letting go of his shirt and making her way back inside of her house. Charlie watched her limp inside and slam the door before he turned and got into the passenger seat of Ariane's car. He didn't say anything for a while until he looked over at Ariane and saw two tear streaks down her cheeks.
"What's wrong?" he asked with his voice full of concern.
"I'm so sorry. My mother, I thought she might be different with you," she cried, letting it all out. "She's always hostile towards any guy I bring home, but that was the worst she's ever been. I thought she'd see you and not just some guy I'd brought home. I'm so sorry, Charlie. I shouldn't have put you through that."
"No, it's okay, darling. I have an idea as to why she doesn't like me, but I'll have to think about it some more first. I promise you that I'll do all in my power to help her come to like me more, okay?" It broke his heart to see her cry, especially when it wasn't her fault.
"Charlie?"
"Ariane?"
"Will you stay the night with me? I don't want to be alone feeling miserable."
"Are you sure?" Charlie didn't want her to make a rash decision just because of a bad day. Ariane bit her lip.
"Absolutely."
*No worries!! He will reveal his powers soon enough!!!!! I'm going to try and write the next installment before my next class, so hopefully it'll be up by tonight. If not, definitely by tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for still reading and reviewing!
Disclaimer: Yeah, okay, if I owned these characters and the HP world, I'd be popping out the fifth, sixth, and seventh books instead of writing about Charlie's love life... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey, Hermione," said Ron.
"Yes?" she replied testily.
"Have you heard from Charlie lately?" he asked, oblivious to her edginess.
"No, I imagine he's too busy with - never mind."
"With what?"
"Never mind, Ron! I have to study, and so do you. We have midterms right before the Easter holidays!"
"Relax, Hermione, that's still two weeks away."
"Two weeks!" she shrieked. "More like a week and a half! We only have ten days, which is conclusive to only 70 hours for real studying time since we still have to go to class and meals!" Ron looked at her fearfully for several seconds and then his face broke into a grin again.
"Come on, what's Charlie up to? I know he's been writing you about Muggles still. I deserve to know, I'm his brother! And besides, you've been studying for the past month."
"If he wanted you to know, then he'd tell you on his own, wouldn't he? Why don't you let him have his privacy and let me study?" Hermione decided to ignore his last comment. Ron sent a look to Harry, who just shrugged. Neither knew what was going on with Charlie, nor why he was only writing to Hermione. Sure, both had their own secret theories, but both knew better than to mention them to Hermione, especially within a week of midterms.
Ron supposed that he'd simply have to wait until Easter holidays and then get on Charlie himself. Mrs. Weasley had made sure that all of her children, plus Hermione and Harry, were coming back this Easter. Ron wasn't quite sure of the reasoning of this minor family reunion, but he suspected his mother was realizing that most of her children were out of school or about to graduate. Even so, it'd be two years before he was out, and another three before Ginny was. Either way, it'd be great to see Bill and Charlie again.
"WOW! That was amazing!" exclaimed Charlie, having just walked out of his first cinematic experience. Ariane looked at him curiously.
"You act as if you've never seen a film before," she said.
"Well. I haven't seen any good ones in a while, that's all," he made up quickly. "We don't have many good cinemas in Romania." She nodded understandingly.
"So do you want to go get some ice cream?" she suggested. "There's a place right around the corner."
"Sure." They walked down the street, hand in hand, towards the ice cream parlor.
"Charlie?" Ariane squirmed a little.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "Is everything all right?"
"I'm going to my mother's house tomorrow - I'd like you to come with me. You know, meet my mother."
"I'd love to!" replied Charlie immediately.
"Really?"
"Of course. Any woman who brought you up must be amazing."
"Honestly, Charles Weasley, you can say the corniest things sometimes," she laughed.
"Not corny! Only truthful," he declared. "So what do you want?" he asked, as they finally reached the ice cream parlor, and were about to place their order.
"A small vanilla, please," Ariane told the server.
"And I'd like a large waffle cone with orange sherbet," said Charlie. He looked at Ariane and grinned. "You know, to match my hair."
"That one's getting really old, Weasley," she teased him.
"You know you love it," he shot back.
"Your hair or the joke?"
"Both." They sat down with their ice cream and continued to tease each other. They had become increasingly comfortable with one another in a very short period of time. Soon it became late, and ice cream was consumed. Charlie paid for the cab back to Ariane's house, and kissed her goodnight. She was about to close the door when a thought hit him.
"Wait!" he called out. "Should I just meet you here tomorrow morning?"
"Yeah, we can drive from here up to her place."
"I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Tomorrow."
Nervous as could be, Charlie stood outside of Ariane's door the next morning. She opened it promptly and let him in. She was still bustling around, getting ready for the two hour drive up to her mother's house. Finally, after putting the pudding and casserole into the back of her tiny car, they were off. Charlie, having only sat a couple of times in his father's old Ford Anglia, was very intrigued by the car driving on the ground as opposed to flying in the air. He didn't let on to this, of course, but it kept him entertained nonetheless.
"Do you reckon she'll like me?" asked Charlie, about an hour and a half into the trip.
"Even if she doesn't, I still like you." This wasn't the answer Charlie was looking for, but he let it go.
"Umm, well, I know this is kind of parallel to what we're doing this weekend, but Easter is next weekend.. Do you want to come? It's going to be like a small family reunion, and all of my brothers and sister are going to be there. My younger brother Ron is bringing his two best friends back from school, too. It'll be a big crowd, but you'd be able to meet everyone." Ariane looked delightedly at Charlie.
"I was hoping that you'd remember that. You mentioned it on our first date, remember?"
"Of course I remember. They're going to love you, darling."
"I hope so." Both had butterflies in their stomachs at the prospect of meeting the other's family. Charlie was about to tell her his 'secret' when she pulled up into a driveway. He figured now would not be the best time to tell her, but he had to figure out how before Friday.
His legs like jelly; he stepped out of the car, reached into the back and grabbed the casserole and pudding. He followed Ariane through the front door as she called for her mother.
"Mum! We're here! Just leave the food on the table, through that door," Ariane said to him, nodding to a swinging door that presumably led to the kitchen. Charlie got a glimpse of an old Asian woman coming through to the living room, supported by a cane. She didn't look terribly old; more worn out than anything.
When Charlie re-entered the living room from setting the food down, he saw that Ariane was seated on a blue couch, and her mother was on a rocking chair adjacent to the couch. Charlie followed suit and sat down next to Ariane. Ariane took his hand in hers, and beamed at her mother.
"Mum. this is Charlie. He's the one I told you about." She watched her mother's expression carefully, which was difficult to read.
"Hello, ma'am. it's good to finally meet you," said Charlie, extending a hand to the older woman. She took it lightly, as if Charlie had some sort of disease transferable by touch.
"He's taller than you said," stated Ariane's mother, finally speaking for the first time. "And his hair is orange, not red." Charlie noticed a slight accent. Ariane looked down at the ground, embarrassed. Here she was, in her twenties, with a career, and her mother was treating the first serious boyfriend she'd had in years as though they were both still in secondary school. Charlie seemed unfazed, however.
"Yes, ma'am," he confirmed. "I guess I might have sprouted a little in the last few weeks. That and the orange hair would describe the whole of the Weasley clan." Of course he hadn't grown at all, being past the age of unannounced growth spurts. Charlie felt, however, that it would be best just to agree with the woman. She didn't look like someone to be in an argument with.
"Um, Mum, why don't we show Charlie around the house?" suggested Ariane, in an attempt to shake off the awkwardness of the conversation. She stood up, and led Charlie down the first hallway, her mother following slowly after. There were pictures lining the wall, mostly of Ariane as a baby, Ariane in her various years of schooling, her graduation, a picture of Ariane and her mother. Charlie noticed at the end of the hallway, there was a picture of Ariane as a very young child, perhaps three years old, with her mother and (Charlie assumed) her father. He walked over and studied the picture.
"Ariane, is this your father?"
"Yes. He died a month after that picture was taken," Ariane said sadly.
"Killed," corrected her mother.
"Excuse me?" said Charlie.
"He was murdered. He didn't just die. The doctors lied to me. They lied!" said the old woman.
"Dad died of a heart attack. Mum likes to think he was killed; it is dishonorable to die so young without just cause." Charlie was confused. "Japanese belief; Mum and Dad emigrated here from Japan thirty years ago," Ariane explained. Ariane's mother was shaking her head in protest to everything Ariane was saying. Charlie looked back at the picture; the man looked familiar, yet not. He couldn't describe why the face brought back a glimmer of something told to him before. He shook the feeling off. It probably wasn't important.
The three continued around the house, looked at Ariane's old room, which looked as though a thirteen year old girl still lived there. One of the rooms was done in an old Japanese traditional style, with a Zen Buddhist shrine in the middle. Ariane's mother shooed them out of the room quickly, not wanting to disturb the ancestors. In the tiny backyard, Charlie noticed a small rock garden.
Reaching mid-afternoon, Ariane put her casserole into the oven to heat it up, and Charlie began setting the table. He had been practicing at his own home without the use of his wand. He knew he would be unable to just throw out a charm and have the table set itself here. He chuckled to himself; it'd be a surefire way of giving away his secret to Ariane at any rate.
By five o'clock, the three had sat down to dinner. They ate in silence, unable to think of anything to say. The tension was thick, as Charlie got the distinct feeling that Ariane's mother disliked him for some reason or another. He couldn't put his finger on it. He helped Ariane clean the dishes when they were finished, and load everything back into the car.
Ariane hugged her mother goodbye, promising to visit again in a couple of weekends. She headed to her car. Charlie put out his hand again, for Ariane's mother to shake, but instead she pulled him over, out of earshot and eyesight of Ariane.
"I know what you are," she hissed in his ear.
"What?" gasped Charlie.
"If you ever use any of it to hurt my daughter, you will regret it, wizard," she whispered furiously, before letting go of his shirt and making her way back inside of her house. Charlie watched her limp inside and slam the door before he turned and got into the passenger seat of Ariane's car. He didn't say anything for a while until he looked over at Ariane and saw two tear streaks down her cheeks.
"What's wrong?" he asked with his voice full of concern.
"I'm so sorry. My mother, I thought she might be different with you," she cried, letting it all out. "She's always hostile towards any guy I bring home, but that was the worst she's ever been. I thought she'd see you and not just some guy I'd brought home. I'm so sorry, Charlie. I shouldn't have put you through that."
"No, it's okay, darling. I have an idea as to why she doesn't like me, but I'll have to think about it some more first. I promise you that I'll do all in my power to help her come to like me more, okay?" It broke his heart to see her cry, especially when it wasn't her fault.
"Charlie?"
"Ariane?"
"Will you stay the night with me? I don't want to be alone feeling miserable."
"Are you sure?" Charlie didn't want her to make a rash decision just because of a bad day. Ariane bit her lip.
"Absolutely."
*No worries!! He will reveal his powers soon enough!!!!! I'm going to try and write the next installment before my next class, so hopefully it'll be up by tonight. If not, definitely by tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for still reading and reviewing!