Written for Weasleys, Witches, & Writers' Wheel of Death Wednesday.
Many thanks to my beta iwasbotwp.

I chose the Anarchy option and was given the following prompts:
Weasley: Charlie
Trope: Marriage Law
Location: The Three Broomsticks

Charlie slouched in his seat at The Three Broomsticks and wished for the third time in as many minutes that it wouldn't be impolite to order himself a stiff drink before his date arrived. He took a small, disappointing sip of his butterbeer and glanced around the pub, cursing himself for showing up so early. The situation was strange and stressful enough without the added time for self-reflection.

Although having time to think was, at least in part, the reason he had returned to Britain in the first place, he had underestimated just how much of it he was likely to have when he took over as the gamekeeper at Hogwarts.

He'd barely been there six months now, only enough time to get properly acquainted with his duties. It had been a bit lonely to completely immerse himself in his new job, but he'd figured he had plenty of time for socialising and finding companionship later.

Until the marriage law had been announced.

Every eligible witch and wizard in Britain was expected to marry within the space of a month; those that didn't would have a match appointed for them. Charlie wasn't opposed to settling down, especially since he now had a less dangerous job. But a month really didn't leave him with a lot of time to meet witches, and marriage was a serious endeavour to jump into with a stranger. He had done the only sensible thing he could think of at the time and turned to his siblings for help. Although they were all happily paired off themselves, he was sure they had friends who would be in a similar predicament to his.

Which was how he found himself sitting here waiting for a blind date Ginny had set up.

"Hello, Charlie."

The soft voice of the woman standing beside him brought him back to reality with a bang. He scrambled to get out of his seat, nearly knocking her over in the process. He reached out to steady her, gently grabbing her elbow, and found himself staring down into bright blue eyes he thought for sure he had seen before. She stood so close to him they were nearly touching. He shivered and reluctantly took a small step back.

"Um, hello," he muttered, his face flushing red. "Not exactly the first impression I wanted to make, sorry about that."

The young woman tilted her head to the side for a moment, almost as if she were studying him, and then smiled.

"It's a good thing this is hardly my first impression of you then, isn't it," she said, sliding past him to sit in the bench opposite his. "I'm Luna, it's nice to meet you again!"

"Luna Lovegood?" Charlie asked, somewhat gobsmacked. She nodded. The last time he could remember seeing her had been before she had started at Hogwarts, she'd been nothing more than his kid sister's friend. His mum had told them all to be extra nice to her since she had lost her mother. The stunning witch across from him looked nothing like the wide-eyed, peculiar child he remembered.

She was still staring at him, a lovely smile on her face and Charlie suddenly felt like he'd eaten a ton-tongue toffee laced with veritaserum. "You're beautiful! I mean, you look nice today! Er, I'm sure you always look nice, but especially now..."

He groaned quietly, scrunching his eyes shut as though to obliviate the last few minutes. The infuriating goddess before him had the nerve to giggle. Her laughter was so infectious, he couldn't help but laugh with her.

"Thank you for the compliment. You're pretty handsome yourself," she said, still smiling sweetly as her cheeks pinked. "Ginny and Hermione told me we had a lot in common, too."

"In that case, why don't I get us a couple more butterbeers?" Charlie asked. There was something about her that drew him in. It made him want to stay for as long as she let him. "We can talk and get to know each other a little better?"

"I'd like that!" She answered, and he quickly turned so quickly to head to the bar that he almost missed the quiet words that followed. "We've only got three more weeks to sort ourselves out, after all."

Shaking his head fondly without slowing his stride, he grinned. "I don't think I'll need that long."