Chapter 3

Charlie almost dropped his mug of tea at his mother's words. Bill hid his laughter by pretending he had a coughing fit. Ginny looked just as shocked as Charlie felt. He knew that his mum had made all about this Holly being his girlfriend up to protect her. Holly was operating as a spy for the order and if too many people knew who she really was someone may say the wrong thing to the wrong person and Holly would really be screwed. And obviously Holly wouldn't be able to stay with Ginny and Hermione whilst she was still suffering from that whatever it was spell. Snape had filled in Mrs Weasley and Sirius after talking to Holly for ages in her room this morning and Charlie had overheard them talking. But by allowing Holly to stay in a room with him whilst Bill's girlfriend wasn't, his mum had made it look like she already saw her as part of their family. Before Charlie was able to really think more about the implications of this his mother flicked her wand once more and the mugs floated lazily towards the sink.

"Right, I think this day has been long enough. Ron, Hermione and Ginny, off to bed you go."

The three teenagers stood up reluctantly and left the kitchen whispering to each other. As soon as they left Mrs Weasley pointed her wand towards the door and Charlie saw it vibrating slightly with the effects of the silencing charm his mother had cast. Charlie dared a glance at Holly but the young witch was staring into nothing, obviously lost in her thoughts. His mother sat down next to Bill across from them. Remus and Sirius were talking quietly at the other end of the table, sharing a bottle of firewhiskey that had appeared in front of them. Charlie wouldn't have been opposed to having a glass himself.

"Bill, stop snickering!" She scolded her eldest. His mother looked at Charlie and Holly.

"I'm sorry my dears to have sprung this on you. But with Holly being ill, she wouldn't have been able to stay in the girls' room."

She smiled at Holly apologetically. Holly just looked at her, her expression unreadable. Charlie was not surprised that Holly was able to work as spy for Dumbledore. The girl's face was like a mask.

"And Charlie, you will have to keep an eye on her. The last thing we want is for Holly to bleed out. Remus knows a spell that will wake you if her cuts open again."

Charlie nodded resolutely. Apart from trying to recruit wizards abroad he hadn't yet been of much help to the order. Keeping one of Dumbledore's spies alive was at least contributing somehow. Charlie hadn't noticed Sirius walking up towards their end of the table until the wizard pulled out a chair next to his mum and sat down. He looked at Holly intensely. Charlie felt himself tense up but Holly seemed nonplussed.

"So you are Alexander Burr's daughter?" Sirius asked with a slight note of disgust carrying in his voice.

Holly seemed not to notice or at least wasn't giving away that she had. "I am. I think he was in his final year when you started?"

Charlie was unpleasantly reminded of Snape's emotionless voice when she spoke. Must be a Slytherin thing.

"Yes. My cousins, well Bellatrix and Narcissa anyway, kept raving about him. He was captain of the Slytherin quidditch team, wasn't he?"

Holly nodded. "He played for England with Ludo Bagman. But only for a year. My mother found it too dangerous so he stopped and starting working for my grandfather's business."

Charlie was looking back and forth between Holly and Sirius. They were having a completely normal conversation but there seemed to be a lot of underlying communication going on that Charlie was not able to work out. Before the two purebloods were able to continue with their talk Remus joined them.

"Charlie, why don't I show you the alerting spell for Holly?"

He mentioned for Charlie to follow them and begrudgingly he got up to follow the older wizard. He did not really care for having to leave Holly with Sirius but his mother and brother were there too. And it was not like Holly was completely defenceless. And surely Sirius would not blame her for the family she was born into. Charlie closed the kitchen door after him and quickly walked up the stairs. The door to the small bedroom Holly had been sleeping in stood open but any trace of her ever having been there was gone. Ron was sitting on the floor with Ginny and Hermione and they seemed to be deep in conversation. Charlie walked up to the second floor and to one of the main bedrooms that his mother had set up for him yesterday. Remus was already in there looking out of the large window. He turned around when Charlie entered the room and looked at the large bed with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you want me to conjure a spare bed or?" Remus asked, sounding way to cheerful for Charlie's liking.

"I can sleep there." He pointed at the sofa on the other side of the room. He sighed and sat down on the bed.

"I can't believe mum did that. Surely Ron, Ginny and Hermione are responsible enough not to go blurting out that Holly is on the order's side."

Remus crossed his arms. "I am sure they are. But they are not trained to shield their minds. And like I said before, Holly is able to move amongst Voldemort's followers without arousing suspicion. As a young witch she is often underestimated and overlooked so many speak more freely in front of her. A lot of the information she has provided us with has been invaluable. We can't risk losing her."

Charlie, who admired Remus immensely, did not like how the wizard spoke about Holly.

"Even if she is risking her life? Aren't we meant to protect others?"

Remus regarded him for a moment. "Charlie, she knows about the risks she is taking. Holly is not walking into these situations blindly. Yes, she at times acts reckless but she is still young."

"But why is she doing this? Surely her family has nothing to worry about with you know who around? Are they death eaters?"

Before Remus could answer him, Holly and his mum entered the room. Holly looked ruffled and his mum did not look too happy either.

"Remus, have you shown Charlie the spell?"

Remus jumped up from the bed and shook his head.

"Well, I don't want to rush you, but I'd appreciate if you could show him now. And then talk to your dear friend Sirius. I do not like the way he has been interrogating poor Holly here."

Remus frowned and quickly explained to Charlie how to perform an alerting spell before rushing out of the room to speak to Sirius. Holly had wandered towards the window and was staring out of it. Charlie did not quite know what to say. He looked at his mum who was regarding Holly worriedly.

"How are you feeling, Holly? I'm sorry about Sirius' behaviour, he's been through a lot." Mrs Weasley said feebly.

"It's okay Mrs Weasley. I wouldn't trust myself either." She turned around and smiled at his mum meekly. The smile did not reach her eyes.

"Right. Erm. Charlie, do you have some pyjamas Holly can borrow? I can't really go and ask Ginny." Mrs Weasley started rummaging through Charlie's clothes in the wardrobe.

Before Charlie could answer his mother, Holly spoke. "That's okay, Mrs Weasley. Wanda."

Charlie and his mother shared a concerned look and both jumped a little when a small house elf appeared in the room. The tiny elf was wearing a light green pillow case that was much cleaner than the usual attire of house elves.

"First of all, I forbid you to tell anyone of this place, nor write or communicate its location to anyone in any shape or form." Holly's voice had taken on a commanding tone that dripped with entitlement and snobbery. Charlie hated it. The house elf, Wanda, nodded rigorously. "Good. Now go and fetch me the small black bag at the back of my wardrobe."

Instantly Wanda disappeared. A few moments later Wanda appeared again clutching a leather bag. Holly took it from the elf and dismissed her. She looked at Charlie and his mum.

"I've got everything I need in here. And please don't worry. Wanda is mine, she will not be able to tell anyone of this place."

Mrs Weasley nodded. "Of course my dear. Right. I better finish tidying the kitchen."

She took one last worried look at Holly and Charlie. And then her gaze fell on the large bed in the room. Mrs Weasley opened her mouth but before she could say anything that would probably embarrass him, Charlie said "There's a sofa."

Mrs Weasley nodded and Holly gave him another one of her unreadable looks. His mother wished them goodnight and left. Charlie awkwardly stood up and started moving his belongings towards the sofa.

"Don't be stupid. You are not going to sleep on the sofa." Holly said and stood in his way.

Charlie felt his cheeks blushing again. For the hundredth time today he wished he'd know a spell to stop that from happening.

"You are much taller than me. I can sleep on the sofa." Holly said, a hint of amusement in her voice. She had obviously noticed that he had thought she'd suggest them sharing the bed.

Holly smirked at him and went to sit on the sofa. She started pulling all sorts of things out of her small bag and deposited them around her. Charlie watched her with interest. When Holly looked up and saw him looking at her, he blushed again.

"Is there a bathroom where I can get changed?"

Charlie cleared his throat and pointed to a door behind him. "There's an ensuite in there. We've only cleared it last night, so be on the lookout for doxies."

Holly tilted her head, obviously not sure whether to believe him but eventually she stood up, grabbed her bag and left through the door he had indicated. A few moments later Charlie could hear the shower being turned on. He used the time alone to change into his pyjamas. Not sure what Holly would think of a 23-year old sporting pyjama bottoms with dragons printed on them but at least he was wearing a plain white t-shirt. Maybe Holly wouldn't notice. He went to sit down on the bed and opened his book on dragons of the Americas when Holly reappeared. She was wearing light blue silky looking shorts and a matching top, that Charlie found very interesting to look at. It took him a while to notice that she had removed the bandages. Light pink cuts covered Holly's arms, upper chest and legs.

"Do you think I should bandage them again?" Holly said and Charlie stopped staring.

He hadn't meant for her to think it bothered him to see them. He had plenty of cuts and scars of his own.

"Well, I don't think you should. It's always good to let them get some air."

It was suddenly very important for him that she knew he was not bothered by her cuts.

"You're probably right. It's also more pleasant to not have the gauze rubbing against them."

Holly walked to the sofa and with a flick of her wand a duvet and pillow appeared. Charlie put his book away and went over to the sofa.

"We need to…"

Holly turned around and Charlie lost his train of thought. Her hair had started to curl where it had dried and she smelled faintly of daisies and chamomile tea.

"We need to do what?" Holly said gazing up at him from underneath her eyelashes.

Charlie swallowed. Before he could say something there was a sharp knock at the door. Bill entered the room and Charlie thought his brother's eyebrows would disappear into his hairline when he saw him and Holly stand so close together. And Holly was practically wearing nothing. Charlie turned towards his brother, standing slightly in front of Holly to shield her from Bill's view.

"Sorry to interrupt", he winked at Charlie, "but mum wanted to know whether you need anything?"

Charlie felt Holly move around behind him and the young witch stepped around him, now wearing his jumper again.

"No, thank you. I'm just tired. Charlie was just about to cast the alerting spell on me." Holly said, and Charlie thought she sounded a little shaky.

Bill beamed at them. "Excellent. Well, Charlie, I think it'll work a lot better if you'd use your wand. You know, the wooden stick currently laying on your bedside table."

Bill left again and they could hear him laughing all the way back to his room. Charlie stumbled back to his bed and grabbed his wand. Stupid Bill. His mum had already said goodnight, his brother was just being a nosey git. He repeated the words Remus had taught him. Then he said goodnight to Holly and crept under his duvet. With a quick wish to Merlin to at least not let him snore tonight on his mind he fell asleep.

Charlie woke with the uneasy feeling of being watched. He opened his eyes and sat up. Holly was sitting on the couch, dressed in a pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt, and looking at him with her head in her hands. Her hair was hanging down her head in waves. She didn't look embarrassed to have been caught watching him. Even though he had no reason to, Charlie thought he was blushing again. He threw his blanket back and stood up, trying his best not to look unnerved by her staring.

"Morning." He said and yawned.

"You snore." Holly said matter of factly.

Charlie swore under his breath. "I'm sorry."

He ruffled his hair, not quite sure what else to say. To his surprise Holly gave him a weak smile.

"It's okay. It was quite soothing actually."

Charlie grinned back at her and disappeared into the ensuite to have a quick shower. When he came back out again Holly had her hair up in a bun and was wearing his jumper again. Charlie considered commenting on it, but decided not to in the end. He didn't mind her wearing it. And she probably was just wearing it to keep up the lie of being his girlfriend.

"I can smell coffee. Shall we go to breakfast?" Holly said pulling on her, no his, jumper almost nervously.

"Yeah, I'm starving."

Charlie lead her downstairs and when they entered the kitchen he realised what may have caused her to feel nervous. As well as his siblings and Hermione, Tonks and his dad had shown up for breakfast. The chatter stopped abruptly when the two of them went to sit down on the large table. Bill was winking at him again and Tonks gave him a downright suggestive grin. His father was blushing furiously and Charlie now knew where he had it from. At least the twins hadn't arrived yet. Thinking that Holly most be feeling even more awkward than him he gently grabbed her arm and lead her to two free seats next to each other at the far end of the table. He looked up and everyone seemed to be looking at him and Holly.

"Good morning everyone. Dad, I don't think you have met Holly yet." He said, looking at his dad pleadingly and hoping that he wouldn't make this embarrassing.

"No, I don't think I've had the pleasure." His dad replied.

To Charlie's surprise Holly stood back up and went to shake his dad's hand.

"Good morning Mr Weasley. Very nice to meet you." She said and Charlie could not detect any nerves in her voice. She was back to being Holly, the spy. Whatever nerves he had seen upstairs in their room she had hidden now. Charlie was not sure how he should feel about her letting her guard down in front of him.

His mother entered the kitchen with a hungover looking Sirius and Lupin in tow.

"Found them! Right, now we better have breakfast."

She waved her wand and toast, sausages and eggs floated over to the table. Holly ducked under a jug of orange juice and made her way back to sit beside him. Tonks and Bill were now sitting right across from them.

"Well who would have thought we'd see each other again, Bu-ouch!"

Bill had elbowed Tonks into her side. Tonks bit her lip when she realised what she had almost said. The four of them looked around but luckily his dad was shouting across to his mum who was still busy waving her wand and directing more breakfast goods towards the table. Holly stood up.

"I better help your mother." She joined his mum organising tea and coffee.

"Sorry! Bill filled me in this morning." Tonks said sheepishly.

"It's okay, Tonks. The twins are arriving this afternoon and I have the feeling they'll see right through it all straight away." Charlie said defeatedly.

"Well, the way you are acting now, you are not helping the situation. Every time you accidentally touch Holly you turn bright red and pull your hand back as if you got burnt. You can't be afraid of touching your girlfriend, Charlie." Bill said and helped himself to a piece of toast.

Tonks rolled her eyes at Bill but nodded nevertheless at what he had said.

"He's right. You look downright uncomfortable with the whole situation. And I can't see why you would be! She's a pretty girl. Enjoy it!" Tonks smiled at him encouragingly.

"Well I can't just fondle her, it's erm well it's impolite."

"What's impolite?" Holly had joined them again and, once again, Charlie felt himself turning red.

"Fondling you." Tonks said matter of factly.

Holly faced Charlie, nibbling on a piece of toast whilst seemingly considering something. "I guess you are talking about keeping up this charade in a believable fashion?"

The word charade stung but Charlie nodded. "I see. Well, even if you consider it impolite or unpleasant, you'll have to put in a bit more effort, Charlie. Seeing as it could be endangering the mission Dumbledore has tasked me with."

Charlie wanted to tell her that he would not find it unpleasant (at all) but before he could say anything Holly had moved down the table to speak to his parents. Bill snickered into his tea.

"Unpleasant? Charlie, you love cuddling with fire breathing monsters but draw the line at a former Slytherin?" Tonks asked incredulously.

"I don't. I erm it's not that it is unpleasant but well I don't really know her and well."

Charlie did not know how to express himself properly. He had the creeping feeling that he would actually quite like to touch Holly but not under these bizarre circumstances. He finished his breakfast in silence whilst Tonks and Bill were talking animatedly about the newest developments in curse breaking.

"Charlie, I need you to go and meet Fred and George in Diagon Alley this morning." His mum called to him from down the table where she was sitting with his dad and Holly.

"Sure. Erm, Holly will you be okay to stay here?"

Before she could answer his mum was talking again. "Of course she will be. Holly's volunteered to help Ron, Ginny and Hermione detoxifying the attic."

She gave Holly a warm smile which Holly, to his surprise, returned with a real smile. Seeing it made Charlie's toes tingle in a funny way. Everyone started to get up and Charlie, who intended to go to Diagon Alley straight away to run some errands before meeting up with the twins, ended up standing in front of Holly.

"So, erm, see you later?" He said, ruffling his hair.

Holly smiled at him, not the same kind of smile she had blessed his mum with, but a smile nevertheless. Charlie could feel everyone watching them. Determined to prove to Tonks and Bill that he was in fact not afraid of Holly and quickly before he lost his nerve he bend down and placed a light kiss on Holly's lips. At first Holly looked like she was about to slap him but then she smiled.

"See you!" Charlie said again and rushed out of the door past Snape who had apparently just arrived and was standing in the doorway. He could not get out of the house quickly enough, determined for nobody to see his red face this time.