Disclaimer: Please, I don't own anything other than the plot and three minor characters.

Author's Note: I know you guys must be getting tired of me, but oh well. A lot of people have been asking me that all-important question, is Hermione pregnant? And I would like to say that you are getting ahead of yourself people. Let us turn back to what had to be done to fulfill the law. 1.) The couple had to be married within six months of the law's creation. 2.) The couple had to sleep with each other before or on the marriage night. 3.) The couple had to have a child within two years of getting married. 4.) The couple had to be married at least ten years. The potion that Hermione took in the last chapter was for number 2, not 3, that's why Charlie had to spit into it. But now, that's all I'm saying. Thanks!

Chapter Eleven- Truth and Trust

Hermione and Charlie apparated outside of the Burrow with a loud pop. Charlie smiled and announced, "And we're back."

"Thank you, I hadn't noticed," Hermione commented, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Charlie hugged his wife and whispered into her hair, "Ah, come on, love, it won't be that bad once they find out. You've survived worse, you've been married to me for the past week after all."

Hermione laughed. "Charlie, you have no idea how easy it is being your wife. I don't think I've opened one door in the past week; you're neat, and actually use the manners your mother taught you. You're handsome, sweet, and good-natured. You're the picture perfect husband, and to tell you the truth, it's actually starting to scare me."

"Well, if it will make you feel any better, you can open the door to the Burrow. Besides, I've only been treating you as a gentleman should treat his lady," Charlie grinned.

"Yes, well, just do me a favor. Whenever you're around a large population of women, make sure they see your wedding band."

"Hermione, I wouldn't cheat on you."

Hermione shook her head and answered, "I know that Charlie, I just want to make sure that none of them get any ideas. Which reminds me, what are we going to do about our wedding bands?"

"We're going to wear them, of course. No one is going to notice, have you met the people in my family? Bill's the only really observant one and he already knows."

Hermione thought back to the time it had taken Ron an hour and a half to find his favourite shirt, which he had been wearing the entire time, and laughed. "You do have a point there, love."

"Good. Now, I say we go in before you start thinking about running."

"Too late for that, Charlie, I've been thinking about running since we returned from the test."

Charlie nuzzled her neck. "Ever since we returned?"

"Well, maybe not all the time," Hermione whispered into his ear.

"That's good to know."

Hermione allowed Charlie to kiss her before she pulled away and said, "We best be getting inside, Charlie."

"Really? And why is that? I happen to like it very much out here," he retorted.

"Because, Mr. Weasley, your brothers happen to be watching from the window, and I would prefer not to scare them too much."

That caused Charlie to whip around so that he could barely catch the flash of red in the window before it disappeared. He mumbled something under his breath that sounded closely like, "No good lousy brothers, always got to kill the mood."

Hermione laughed at this and began pushing Charlie towards the door. "Might as well go inside now, they know we're here and they know that we know that they know that we're here."

"Err…could you repeat that, love? I didn't really understand you the first time."

"I said that we might as well go in now, they know we're here and they know that we know that they know we're here. Got it?"

"Uhh…no, I still have absolutely no idea what you said," Charlie confessed as he shook his head. "Guess it's a good thing that you're the smart one in this marriage. It'd be really sad if I was."

Hermione smiled and patted Charlie on the head before she opened the door and forced him inside. It was ironic that earlier she had been the one panicking and now he had to be led as though a small child. Mrs. Weasley pulled her into a hug as soon as they were through the door, saying, "It's so good to have you two back, dearie."

"Hello, Mum," Hermione replied when she was finally able to breath again. Then she greeted everyone in turn, "Dad, Ron, Fred, George, Olette, Nancee, Luna, Bill, Fleur, Ginny. Strange thing, I thought I saw some redheads peeking as us as we stood on the lawn. You four don't have idea who might do such a thing, do you?"

Ron, George, Fred, and Bill all knew the question was directed toward them though none of them chose to answer it. Finally, George broke the silence with, "How was your trip?"

"Very good, thank you. We had time to talk things out and think certain things over. I believe that it has done a world of good."

"And how about you, Charlie?" Fred questioned.

Charlie laughed. "Fred, I just got off the couch, and I would really prefer not to return to it, so I'm just going to agree with whatever Mione says."

Hermione slapped her husband's arm playfully. "Thank you for your opinion, Charles Lawrence."

"I don't care about my arm just so long as it's not my back, the couch is not the most comfortable thing in the world," Charlie answered with a cheeky grin.

Mrs. Weasley ushered them to the living room to sit before she began her questionnaire. "So, where did you two go?"

"Charlie actually took me to this little inn run by the Michaelsons. They were extremely kind, even let us make the waiter run about with the tray balanced on his head," Hermione replied.

"Really? The Michaelsons? How are they doing, Charlie?" his father asked.

"Very well, Dad. Johnny is still fawning over April, and April is still her sweet self. Hermione's telling the truth about the waiter too, he really did run about with the tray on his head, must be really flat headed though, didn't spill a drop."

"Either that or he used a balancing spell on the tray," Hermione quipped.

Charlie seemed to ponder this for a moment before commenting, "That would explain why my biscuit throw wasn't able to knock it off."

"Charles Weasley! You threw a biscuit at the poor boy's head?" Mrs. Weasley gasped.

"Course, he was the one that wanted me to, though I can't say that I didn't think it was fun."

Molly shook her head at the boy's antics but continued, "What else did you do?"

Hermione quickly glanced at Charlie before answering, "We, ah, slept a lot."

"That's understandable, with everything you two have been put through. I don't know if any relationship could take that attack well, and right after a fight too. There's always the wedding to think of too. When is the date exactly?"

Bill started coughing, though everyone dismissed this. Carefully, Charlie answered, "We're not exactly sure about the wedding, Mum. There's still a lot of work to be done."

"Of course there is, this is going to be the most important day of your life. Just can't go out and get married in some random place. I'm glad you see that your idea about next week was terribly impractical," Mrs. Weasley retorted.

Bill was coughing throughout her lecture, though to someone paying close attention, it sounded as though he was trying to cover a laugh. Mrs. Weasley turned her attentions to her eldest son for a moment, "Are you all right, honey?"

"Perfectly fine, Mum, perfectly fine. Just carry on with what you were doing," her first son answered.

Hermione began to pat Bill on the back, trying to help him, though it only caused Nancee to scream. Everyone's attention was whipped toward the young woman who was now jumping up and down, screaming along with Olette. Mrs. Weasley asked, "What is wrong with you two?"

Harmoniously, the pair answered, "Charlie and Hermione got married!"

Next there were shouts of "What?", "Charles Lawrence Weasley!", and "Hermione Jane Granger!".

"Actually, her name is Hermione Granger Weasley now," a voice commented.

And two people answered, "Shut up, Bill!"

It took a full forty-five minutes before everyone was calm again and the couple was given a chance to explain. Charlie started, "It's not like we were rushing into this. I mean, I've been in love with Hermione for two years now."

"Two years? How come I never heard anything about this? I was the one dating her for a time," Ron butted in.

Charlie looked as though he might be sick for a moment. "Ron, we were discussing that before the wedding and we both agreed that we never wanted to here that brought up again. Besides, it was partially your fault that I fell in love with her."

"What are you talking about?"

"You and Mum kept on sending me letters about her, and pictures too. It was through those letters that I was able to track her, make sure everything was all right. At first I thought my feelings were that of a brother protecting another sister, but then I realized it went much farther than that. I found that I hated you; because you could see her everyday and hold her any time you wanted, while I was alone in Romania."

Hermione smoothed Charlie's hair as she stated, "But that's all right, because I've loved him since fourth year. While I didn't see a lot of him, I liked what I saw; I mean he was handsome and talented. But I thought that I would never have a chance, I mean, he's seven years older than me, that would have made any relationship at the time illegal, and besides, I was Hermione, his little brother's best mate, which meant that I was not datable."

"Were you using me to get to Charlie then?" Ron asked, not caring that his current girlfriend was standing right beside him. Luna understood what was going through his head; Ron had always been last choice with his brothers, even to his girlfriends, apparently.

Hermione shook her head. "Of course not, Ron. The truth is that I just saw you as a brother though, but people were always saying that I was meant to be a Weasley, which is why I accepted when you asked me out. We had so much fun on our dates, it seemed like it was the trio without Harry, that is until you tried to kiss me, then I knew things had to end. They were right in a way, I was meant to be a Weasley, they just thought the wrong one. I'm sorry, Ron, please tell me you understand."

In truth, Ron was hurt, but he took one look at Luna and decided that it didn't matter any more, everyone was better off the way things were now. He nodded and said, "Yeah, I understand. Best of luck to you and Charlie, Hermione."

Hermione smiled, though it was gone quick when Ginny asked, "So how did the test go, Hermione?"

Olette grinned, "You decided to take a pregnancy test? Well, what were the results?"

Ginny laughed and replied, "Not a pregnancy test, Olette. I wanted to know how Hermione's marriage test went. You know the one every couple under the marriage law must take within a week after their marriage."

No one said a word, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stared at their daughter, Fred, George, Ron and their girlfriends looked clueless, Charlie and Bill looked ready to kill their sister, Hermione looked ready to die, while Ginny looked very pleased with herself. Finally, it was Nancee that asked, "The marriage law? What are you talking about? Charlie and Hermione aren't under the marriage law."

"Actually, yes, they are. You see, everything that they have been feeding you has been a lie. Charlie and Hermione never dated, the only reason they even thought about getting married was because Mum wanted it. Hermione didn't have anyone, and Charlie certainly didn't, so it only took one little shove to get them together."

Hermione blanched while Charlie turned a color that would put a strawberry to shame. He began looking for his wand in his pockets, only to remember that he'd given it to Hermione so that he wouldn't be tempted to use it if anything happened. So he grabbed George's and stood up. He began muttering spells under his breath, ones that caused Ginny to lose her voice and her body to stiffen in its place.

"Charlie, let your sister go," Mrs. Weasley demanded.

"Why should I? It won't help things, the girl's already ruined everything," Charlie replied to his mother. Then, taking Ginny's chin in his hand, he added so only she could hear, "Why, Ginny, why? Why couldn't you keep that big mouth of yours shut? You cannot possibly think that I resent my choice or that I hate Hermione. I love her and the only person I hate right now is you. Why couldn't you just allow me to be happy? My lies weren't hurting anyone, Mum and Bill were fine with the marriage, and everyone else was perfect not knowing. But now, everyone is hurt. I'm hurt because I couldn't trust you, Hermione's hurt because for some unknown reason you hate her, and my family is hurt because they think that I thought they weren't trustworthy. I don't care if you had stab me in the back, Ginny, but stay away from my wife and my family."

With that, Charlie pulled away and was gone with a pop. Leaving everyone to stare at the frozen girl.