Charlotte decided on a January 15th for her wedding day. It was simple to plan actually. She wrote Charlie and asked him to check his schedule for two days off in a row. As it was a Friday, it gave Charlotte a better chance of appeasing her teachers for the afternoon off and permission to leave the school for the weekend.

Molly had been ecstatic when Charlotte accepted her invitation to the Burrow for the Christmas holiday. Even more ecstatic when Charlotte allowed her to help plan the handfasting. Arthur helped to reign in his wife. He knew both Charlotte and Charlie would not want anything extravagant. They managed to keep Molly in check with the promise of bigger and better when the couple finally had a wedding, once they knew each other better. For now, it was just a simple bonded handfasting.

Molly begged Charlotte to look for a wedding dress, at least, but again, Charlotte bypassed the request with a promise of when they got married for real. She was going to make due with her best set of school robes until Fleur stepped in and insisted on Charlotte borrowing a simple blue halter dress for the occasion. Molly changed out the simple gold belt for a wide satin ribbon of bronze for the Ravenclaw. Charlotte had actually smiled back in the mirror at the duo behind her when they insisted she try the ensemble on. Now the dress was safely tucked away in Ginny's closet at the Burrow waiting her arrival this afternoon.

Ginny sat next to her this morning, spooning porridge into her bowl. "You really should eat, it will be a long day. You did not have much yesterday after that Ministry official showed up at lunch."

Ginny was, of course, correct. Charlie arrived yesterday for his first day off. He and Bill went to the Ministry and completed the register request for the two of them to be married. He was not allowed to bring it to her, but Ms. Horton, not wanting there to be any issues or excuses, volunteered to bring the forms to Charlotte at Hogwarts. The whole castle was gossiping about Charlotte's pending bonding after the woman arrived in the Great Hall during lunch to have Charlotte sign the forms. People kept staring at her as she walked from class to class. Ginny and Hermione told her to hold her head high and ignore everybody. They knew how to handle the situation from long experience.

Gillian spooned honey on her porridge. "Eat up. Even if you throw it up later, at least you may get something out of it. Besides, if we get to Ginny's and that dress is too large again, her mum will have kittens."

Resigned, knowing Gillian was not kidding, Charlotte took a bite. The normally sweet concoction was like ash in her mouth. She had no clue how to get through the day. She did not known how she managed to get through the past few weeks. If it was not for studying for exams and making Charlie a leather vest for Christmas, she would have went mental, or at least more mental than already.

She thought back to the vest she had made for her fiancé. It had been the same vest the grandmother had made all the young girls learn to make as a child. The laced sides allowed for it to be sized for the person it was made for. She had taken the time to hand stitch the protection symbols of the Roma into the vest as well.

When Charlie sent her a letter asking her if she would mind going to Romania tonight after their ceremony, he thanked her for the gift as well. He also told her he didn't realize what the laces on the vest were for. It fit, but just. Leaving it unbuttoned, he wore it out with friends to the market one afternoon. While there, he ran across the mother and daughter of one of the Roma who lived on the preserve. The grandmother spoke no Romanian or English, but noted the vest on Charlie. She made her granddaughter ask Charlie where it came from. When Charlie explained about Charlotte, the grandmother asked to see the vest. She looked it over and shown her granddaughter several things on the vest, the stitching, the style, the laces and the embroidery. She then loosened the side laces, made Charlie put it back on and adjusted the vest to the proper size showing the granddaughter how it was done. Charlie was amazed.

The grandmother continued to tell the child something else. When Charlie asked, the girl told him her grandmother said the betrothal gift was well-made, his future wife had been well-taught and the grandmother thought she had been raised to be a proper housewife regardless of her parentage. Charlie was irritated, but the look from the old woman, daring him to speak his mind, made him hold his tongue. Best not to aggravate the natives unless it was warranted.

Charlotte had been equally shocked at her Christmas gift from Charlie. He sent her a marama, a traditional veil worn by the women in Romania. The handmade gift had an intricate lace patterns hanging off the edges in a cascade. She never had something so beautiful before. Molly suggested Charlotte wear it for her wedding and she quickly agreed. At Molly's insistence, the linen colored veil would be worn as a drape over her arms as opposed to the traditional head scarf the Romanian women used it for. Fleur insisted, it accented the dress and ribbon nicely.

A tapping on her bowl brought her back to the present as Hermione's spoon was moving away. The intent was clear. Eat up. She tried to eat a couple more bites and gave up. Luna handed her a piece of toast with honey. She sighed and resigned herself to eating the toast. Her bridal party was being quite persistent this morning.

"You really need to eat, Charlotte. You will need your strength for the bonding," Hermione pointed out.

"And the afters," Gillian smirked.

"Augh, my brother. Don't like to think of that," Ginny shuttered, "Besides, if you are all clammy and pale from lack of food, it will take more of an effort to get your makeup righted."

"I don't know why you are bothering, I am not beautiful," Charlotte sighed.

All four girls gawked at her.

"What. Do. You. Mean. You not beautiful," Ginny asked sarcastically, "Have you ever looked in a mirror?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes. Gillian sighed, rose and walked over to the Hufflepuff table. She grabbed the hand of a handsome bloke Ginny recognized as a fellow chaser from the Hufflepuff house team. She drug him back over to the table and stood him in front of Charlotte.

She turned on the boy. "Martin, do you think Charlotte is pretty?"

Martin looked at Gillian as if she should be on the closed ward at St. Mungo's.

"I told you," Charlotte took another bite of the toast.

A look of confusion crossed Martin's face. He slowly turned to Charlotte and back to Gillian. "You're serious. She really doesn't know?"

Gillian shrugged. Martin looked at Charlotte and grinned mischievously, "You really do not realize that you are one of the most, if not the most beautiful women in our year?"

Charlotte looked up from her toast still chewing wondering if Gillian and Martin could be neighbors on the closed ward.

Martin shook his head, "Do you know how many blokes our age in this school hoped to be paired with you, Charlotte? You are have such an innocent beauty we are drawn to you."

Charlotte blinked and swallowed her toast.

Martin smirked evilly and leaned forward to prevent too many people from hearing the next comment,"If you really must know, Charlotte, blokes talk in the locker room. If a guy doesn't have a steady girl in his life, you are the one that most of us use for, ah, inspiration when we are alone and, ah, in need of some stress relief. If you follow what I am saying."

"Stress relief?" Charlotte repeated in shock trying to wrap her head around what he said.

"Wanking," Luna supplied in her usual dreamy voice still eating her cereal. Hermione choked on her juice.

Martin rolled his eyes and nodded his head in agreement. Charlotte took another bite of her toast in shock as Martin smirked and turned back to his table. After a couple of steps, he stopped and turned back. "Hey, Weasley. Let your brother know every single bloke in this school is jealous of him tonight, and he better hope he's as good as legend says, or we will be waiting in line if he bollocks it up."

Ginny rolled her eyes and replied sarcastically, "I'll let him know."

Martin grinned again and returned to his table.

Gillian turned her attention back on her friend. "Any questions. No? Good. Eat the rest of your damn toast. We have to get to class."

Charlie stood at the open window, blowing the smoke from his cigarette outside. "Do you know how they are coming?"

"Floo. Flitwick is sending them through," Bill replied watching the steps for his mother. She already rooted Charlie out of his regular spot behind their father's shed and hit him with a few stinging hexes for smoking. Now the brothers and Charlie's mate Jake were hidden in the attic with the ghoul. Charlie was half leaning out the window so his mother wouldn't smell the smoke. Bill was choosing to ignore the bad habit for the day in exchange for the calming effect it was having on his high strung brother.

Charlie flinched. Bill looked at him in concern. Something was off, more than just pre-bonding nerves.

"Do you remember standing up here before my wedding," Bill asked reminiscing.

Charlie grinned. "Yah, you were a wreck. I think you drank that whole flask of firewhiskey in fifteen minutes. Good thing I had that sobering solution. Mum would have went spare if you were pissed for the ceremony."

"If I remember, dear brother, your flask was empty as well," Bill retorted defending himself.

"Yes," Charlie laughed back, "But I didn't have to be sober for the ceremony. I only had to stand there, look pretty and smile for the crowd. I could be half pissed and no one would care."

Bill rolled his eyes. "I still don't know how you managed. I couldn't have walked a straight line after the amount we drank that morning."

"High tolerance and I'm bigger than you," Charlie responded with cheek. "Besides we were in mourning, you for the loss of your bollocks and me for my hair."

Bill shook his head. "It's not bad, you know, being married."

Jake laughed. "Yah, just think. You're going to get your our personal bed warmer for those cold nights, buddy."

Charlie shutter again. Bill sighed. "Enough. What is going on with you, Charlie? I know you didn't choose this, but will it really be so bad. She is a wonderful girl."

Charlie grabbed the window sill and bowed his head. "I'm sure she is a wonderful girl. Charlie's child bride."

Bill looked at his brother's back in confusion and then at Jake. Bill had expected the same confused expression, but was shocked when Jake look horrified.

"Child bride?" Bill inquired.

Charlie moaned. He dropped the butt of the cigarette in the tin can he kept outside the window sill for just that reason, dropped his head on the sill and wrapped his hands over his head.

"You know we were fucking with you, right Charlie," Jake asked concerned. "We all know in England she is not a minor."

Charlie just shuttered again.

Bill looked between the two trying to catch up. "What are you talking about?"

Jake scowled at Charlie. "You seriously been thinking that. This is what's been running through that think bullheaded British skull of yours the past few weeks?"

Charlie pulled himself up, lit another cigarette and pulled a long draw. "Do you know the first time I ever met her, she was chatting with my baby sister about some crazy article in a magazine? They were laughing like the school girls they are. She walked through the door wearing her damn school uniform and all I could see was this little friend of Ginny's. They looked so young and all the crazy things you lot had said, and all the crazy thoughts my own mind created. My little sister's continued juvenile threats in those letters talking about school and classes, and what career she wants when she leaves Hogwarts, and knowing Charlotte is the some damn age, and probably thinks the same damn things. I feel like a right pervert, like I am stealing her childhood and her future."

Bill bowed his head. Charlie's attitude the past few weeks finally made sense. "She is of age, Charlie. From the conversations I have had with her, she hasn't been a child in a long, long time. She's basically been on her own since she was fourteen. Her mother wasn't much of a mother. She died driving home drunk, Charlie. Charlotte has been grown up for a long time. I don't know if she ever was a child."

"And yet, I'm going to steal what little childhood she has. Those three were sharing schoolgirl secrets together after dinner." Charlie took another drag in the calm himself.

Bill thought back to the dinner party and the conversation the girls were having. The laughing comments. Bill cracked and began to laugh. Jake looked at him like he was mental, Charlie looked frantic.

Bill tried to calm himself enough to speak. "You…you do realize…You do realize the girls were alluding to a conversation they had at breakfast about how to give a great jobbie."

Charlie looked at his brother and then blanched. "Why would my baby sister be discussing giving jobbies?"

Jake's American accent broke in. "Jobbie?"

"Blow…Blow job" Bill was still laughing.

Charlie ignored them. "Why is my baby sister discussing-"

"Because she grew up," Bill cut his tirade off, "Charlie, you have been gone for years, home only a few time for a few days. The kids, they grew up. Ron fought Voldemort. Ginny took on the death eaters at the school. Sometime, while we were gone, the babies grew up into strong adults."

Charlie looked across the attic at his brother. His mind worked out the math and remembered the letters and stories he had heard. Most people, especially young adults, would not have tried to go back, not after everything that Ginny, Ron and their friends had faced. But for one year, they had tried to go back and have a normal year. They really were all adults. Ron, Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and Charlotte.

Charlie had met, and dealt with, some very adult decisions at their age. He went to Romania alone and entered into a deadly career. He agreed to recruit order members in a country filled with Voldemort supporters. Charlotte made the conscious decision to stay and fight that night. None of them had really been children in a long, long time. So if the girls got silly and discussed the best way to pleasure a man, then they probably deserved it. Was it really any different then him, Jake, Nate, Louie and Katie going to the little dive pub in town and letting loose. Hadn't he spent a month of his life drunk like an immature arse? Could he put the memories away and try to make this work with her?

"Man, Charlie," Jake shook his head, "I wish you would have said something earlier. None of us think that you are a creeper or a cradle robber. You're just doing what you have to do to satisfy some stupid law. Yes, she is young, but does it really matter? Just …Just try to be happy and look passed it."

Charlie look a deep breath and held it. He slowly exhaled and nodded his head. Bill and Jake smiled back at him.

At least until the door to the attic banged open. Arthur's loud voice carried up the stairs. "I'm sure they are up here, Molly. Bill said he was going to take him up out of the hall so the girls could get Charlotte into the bathroom when they got in."

Charlie flicked the cigarette into his tin and waved his arms around to get rid of the smell some. Bill tried to meet his dad at the door to keep him back from the area.

Arthur shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You better hope she doesn't come up here. If you thought she was bad when she caught you outside with them."

Charlie looked sheepishly at his father. Bill laughed, "Better than drunk, like I was."

Arthur clapped his oldest on the shoulder, "I have a few sobering solutions in my pocket. Didn't know what I was going to find when I got up here. Ginny has Charlotte back in her room if you boys want a crack at the bathroom, you may want to start now."

Jake grinned and walked to the stairs, "I'll start. Let the three of you have some time together."

Arthur nodded his appreciation. When Jake had disappeared, he turned back to his boys. "So, today is the day, Charlie."

Charlie took another deep breath. His stomach squirmed again. He grabbed the pack of cigarettes and tapped one out again, lit it, pulled a drag and exhaled out the window. He held his hand out the window to keep the smoke outside of the house.

Arthur shook his head. "Forever my wild child."

Charlie grinned awkwardly. Arthur looked at him appraisingly. "Do I have to give you the speech I gave your brother before his wedding, or do you remember the finer points."

"No, sir. I think I have it. Be kind, be a good provider, tell her she is beautiful at least once a week, tell her you care as often as you can. Kiss her goodbye every morning on your way out, kiss her hello when you get home, kiss her goodnight, and 'yes, dear' should be your usual response."

"I think I was a little more refined, but yes, that about covers it," Arthur chuckled. He looked at his son and became self-conscious. "There is one more thing, Charlie. Ginny was able to gather from Charlotte, and in particular her friend Gillian, Charlotte …she had never …been with a man before, son."

Charlie groaned and took another drag, exhaled and flipped open his flask and added a shot of firewhiskey as well.

"Not too much, you are going to need to keep your head about you tonight," Arthur admonished.

Charlie nodded and contemplated what he was facing that evening.

Arthur took pity and continued. "Now, I know you are well versed in what is happening in that respect, but maybe not with someone inexperienced. Be slow, and gentle. Don't rush anything. She is probably terrified. Molly had a little chat at Christmas when Ginny let her know, so she is not completely in the dark. Her mother must have said something at one time as well, because she was aware. You're a good man, Charlie and from the rolls of parchment I received from Dumbledore over your school years, a more than competent lover. You are going to have no options tonight other than to cause her pain. Resolve yourself to that right now and move passed it. Once it is over, it's over and neither of you will need to face it again. Just take care of her the best you can."

Charlie looked up into the concerned eyes of his father and nodded. Arthur relaxed.

"John's open!" Jake trooped back upstairs in his good clothes.

Arthur and Bill looked at him then Charlie not understanding the American.

"Loo." Charlie supplied.

"I'll go," Bill offered. "Wait until later. Remember this is a bonded handfasting. You're going to have your hands magically tied together until you consummate your fasting rites. You may want to spend a few extra minutes in the toilet so you don't have to later when you're attached to your new bride."

Jake laughed, "That would be a romantic start to the marriage."

Bill walked down the stairs only to be met with shouts of a French accent, "Charles, you dumbass, where are you?"

Charlie laughed, "Keep climbing the steps, Louis. About time the rest of you sorry lot got here."