Greetings my dearest readers! Well, this seems to be turning into a bit of a monster! The plotline and the story length both... So, now this chapter, 'Ready', is, uh, ready and I shall get to work on 'Aim'... Still have no idea how many chapters this will end up being... But I might turn into a pumpkin if it doesn't finish soon. Big thanks to boostarryeyes, sjrodgers108, Erynia, dazzeling diamond (Forever greatful, my dear!), Midday Moonlight, dreamgirl93, African Titan (Your reviews defy nature, man! Wow. How Pan-esque.), Wheres boo and Ronin101 for reviewing the last chappie!
Anyway, I think I've gone a bit pairing crazy in this chapter... Ginny/Harry, Harry/Charlie, Charlie/OC, Ron/Hermione, blink-and-you'll-miss-it Seamus/Dean... And there is a tiny bit of slashy action in there... If things go to plan (and they rarely do) there will certainly be more than a 'tiny' bit of slash action in the next chapter! But, at the moment, that is beside the point. So: ONWARDS!
Time passed and Charlie didn't see Harry. He did try to settle back into his old routine that had felt so restful before, but now it felt uncomfortably small, like one of his Mother's woollen sweaters that had shrunk in the wash. Perhaps it was his disrupted sense of peace that made it so. Before he could spend silent hours at a time, staring off into some uncertain point in the distance, considering any thought or concept that sprang to mind and following the resulting random tangents. During his time with Harry the brunet often dominated his thoughts, yet other musings had still inhabited his wandering mind. But when he had strongly suspected and now, four weeks and two days after the 'incident', thoroughly believed that Harry would never return to him, he found that Harry Potter had complete monopoly of his thoughts. He found himself 'falling out of reality' with increasing frequency, which had resulted in him getting bitten by a particularly feisty young dragon.
This was why he was sitting sullenly at his kitchen table applying a foul-smelling poultice to his left forearm. He concentrated fiercely as he awkwardly wrapped the bandage over his wound, inwardly telling his errant mind that it could think about whatever it wanted to when he wasn't doing anything that required a basic mental capacity. Thinking back, he was kind of surprised it had taken him this long to sustain a serious injury. However, his shins now sported constant bruises from running into furniture, the knees of all his pants had grass-stains from his persistent, new habit of tripping and he hadn't been able to produce an unburnt dinner in days. He fixed his bandage firmly in place just as the familiar rush of the Floo sounded. He flew to his feet, banging his knee on the table in the process, and quickly stomped down upon the hope that had flared in his chest. He half-forced a smile onto his face as Ron ducked out from the fireplace.
"Hey there, little brother," he said, clapping Ron on the back heartily.
"Hi Charlie," Ron replied, a grin huge on his face. "Long time no see."
"Yeah, it's been ages. So, what brings you here?" Charlie asked, guiltily thinking of Harry.
"What? Aren't I allowed to just visit my brother?" Ron asked good-naturedly, "But I did come for a reason, to give you the invites to the wedding and my stag party."
"Merlin, I'll end up the spinster of this family the way things are going! Bill's got Fleur, Percy's with Audrey, Fred's dating Angelina, you and Hermione, and even Ginny and Harry..." He managed to say his name without choking, thankfully.
"Nah, I'm sure you'll find some nice girl, er, I mean guy," Ron looked slightly uncomfortable and Charlie fleetingly wondered how he would feel if he knew what was really going on.
"Thanks Ron," he managed, giving a smile that verged on grim. Ron turned down his subsequent offer of tea and made his relatively swift departure, leaving the invitations on the table. Charlie suddenly felt sorry for Harry. Coming out to Ron had been unsettling enough when he was his brother, coming out to him as his best friend was almost unthinkable. Almost.
A month or so passed. By no means did it pass quickly, instead Time dragged like it was weighted by a ball and chain attached to it's skinny ankle. Then, one overcast day in March, Charlie packed a small bag; his mother had assured him she had dress robes waiting for him, and Flooed to an International Fireplace in the Ministry of Magic. After a quick security check, he passed out of the Ministry and Apparated to the Burrow. It was a mad whirlwind of activity. Molly dashed about, almost seeming to be everywhere at once, assisted by an excited Fleur, a prim woman who he assumed was Percy's wife, Audrey, who hadn't met before, a bored and annoyed Ginny and a rather frantic, bushy-haired, bride-to-be in the shape of Hermione Granger. He swiftly joined his father and brothers, who stood in an out of the way spot, drinking tea and Butterbeer, eying the madness warily, as if it could suck them into a vortex that would never release its hold. They were all absurdly grateful as the time for Ron's stag party, the perfect escape, drew nearer.
"So, Ron," Bill asked with a grin as they walked up the lane to a road where the Knight Bus could pick them up. "Who's coming to this party? Besides us..." Charlie immediately made a point of listening to his youngest brother, who shrugged before answering.
"Some old school friends, couple of work mates. Harry, of course." Charlie allowed himself to release an imperceptible sigh. He had known it would be practically impossible to avoid seeing his brother's best friend tonight. And, Merlin knew, he wouldn't get conveniently ill to save Charlie what he expected to be a very long night. They reached the main road and his father lifted his wand to signal. Charlie felt so suddenly weary that he didn't even flinch when the rollicking purple bus banged out of nowhere, rushing past him with inches to spare, before shuddering to a stop. He and his brothers clambered aboard, looking for seats, while Arthur dealt with tickets. Within twenty minutes they were in Wizard London in a street called Rhytanga Lane. Located perpendicularly to Diagon Ally, it was the centre of the wizarding nightlife in London.
They stumbled off the bus in a milling group, until Percy took the lead and they managed to find the designated club. Outside, a boy Charlie vaguely remembered as Neville Longbottom met them. There was also a guy with sandy hair, a loud mouth and an Irish accent and, as quite a polar opposite, a shy, dark-skinned boy, who watched the other with protective glint in his eye. Harry, it seemed, was late. He ran up, completely out of breath, a few minutes later. He breathlessly explained and apologised, not noticing Charlie, who was blending in with the collective group that was Ron's older brothers. Charlie cursed himself for finding that flushed face so alluring still. It was only as they entered the club, with everyone shuffled into randomness, that Harry noticed Charlie standing behind him.
"Charlie?" he exclaimed, almost sounding breathless. Charlie raised an eyebrow and gave a small shrug.
"What would you expect? I am Ron's brother," he replied quietly, his tone neutral, to the implicit question. He watched closely, curious to how he would react.
"I... I didn't think..."
"You don't often think, do you Harry?" Charlie interrupted, surprised at himself. Harry's face darkened and he turned his back to him, quickly striking up a conversation with the shy boy, Dean. They were soon ushered into the club full of roaring men and scantily clad women. Charlie sighed and swiftly made his way over to the bar, might as well get comfortable.
"What'll it be, love?" asked a busty barmaid with overly glossed lips.
"Just a Butterbeer, thanks," he muttered, sliding himself into one of the seats near the end of the bar. Something told him that getting blind drunk wouldn't be a great idea tonight.
He was staring at the dregs of his second glass of Butterbeer when he felt someone sit on the chair next to him. He looked up, expecting to see Bill or Percy and hoping for someone else entirely, but instead he clapped eyes on a complete stranger. And a gorgeous stranger at that. Spiked, dirty blond hair, a fitted shirt and jeans that clung in all the right places. Completely unlike Harry... Charlie considered for only a moment, it was better than wallowing in his misery for the rest of the night.
"Hey," he said with a warm smile, "I'm Charlie. Did you get dragged here by your mates too?" He silently held his breath, hoping he hadn't made a huge mistake. He relaxed as soon as his smile was returned.
"Yeah, kind of," he replied, "And I'm Jake, by the way."
"Nice to meet you. How 'kind of'?" Charlie asked, quirking an eyebrow. Jake chuckled.
"Well, I wasn't entirely dragged because I get to take them to a gay bar next time," he explained, grinning wolfishly. Charlie smiled at the implied question.
"Now that is a good idea," he replied in kind, "My brothers would never be the same!"
"You're here with your brothers? Not got a twin, have you?" Jake asked, grinning suggestively.
"No, that's-... That was Fred and George... But, well, Fred..." Charlie trailed off, trying to find the right words. "The War," he surmised grimly.
"Oh, sorry," he apologised softly, avoiding Charlie's eye, and the conversation lapsed into silence.
"Look, it's okay," Charlie said haltedly after a while, "You didn't know... I mean, we're here to have fun, right?"
"Fun is definitely a plus," Jake said, looking a little less upset.
"So," Charlie began, flashing his sexiest smile and wondering if he would regret this, "How about I buy you a drink and then we ditch this place?" A sultry grin and warm hand smoothing up his thigh were answer enough.
"I'd like that," he replied.
*
They chatted about inconsequential things as they sipped on their respective drinks; music, Quidditch, work, coming out...
"It was so clichéd!" Jake exclaimed, his hands as animated as his face. "Because we were making out in my wardrobe for some really good reason. I can't even remember now! Anyway, we were leaning against the door and my sister came into my room looking for a belt or shirt, something like that, and she opened the wardrobe and we basically fell on top of her! Literally came out of the closet. Once she knew I felt so much better about everything, so I ended up telling everybody." He shrugged, grinning almost sheepishly.
"My story's nothing nearly as exciting," Charlie said, "It was the Christmas break during my final year at Hogwarts and I knew I wanted to tell my parents and some of my brothers. And my birthday is about a fortnight before Christmas, which was convenient because the whole family would be there. I was turning 17. We were sitting around the table after dinner and my youngest brother and sister had gone to bed, so I told them. I said 'Mum that dinner was great... And I'm gay.' A bit overdramatic, but it all worked out," he trailed off, thinking about Harry and his closeted state.
"Have you ever been with someone who's been in the closet? While you were out, I mean." Charlie babbled, feeling slightly awkward. Jake wrinkled his nose, surprising Charlie when he found it strangely endearing.
"Yeah, hard isn't it? All the secrecy that you thought you were done with comes back. Gets old fast." James said. Charlie nodded sympathetically. "It didn't last long for me either. I think he ended up coming out a year or so later. What about you?" Charlie sighed heavily.
"It's sounds so terrible out loud, like one of those Muggle soap operas or something. Well, apart from being in the closet he also happens to be best friends with my little brother. Plus, he's engaged to my sister, of all people. And he's kind of well known, so I reckon that makes him a bit more paranoid."
"Wow," Jake murmured, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head, "That's... Well, that's shit!" Charlie laughed loudly, glad for Jake' bluntness, wondering if he had noticed that he had unconciously used present tense.
"It most certainly is," he concluded, downing the rest of his drink. "You ready to go?" Jake nodded and rose.
They wove through the crowd, holding hands so as not to lose each other. Charlie found himself subconsciously scanning the passing crowd for one face and nearly missed Bill as they passed him, taking the opportunity to explain that he wouldn't be coming home that night. Soon after, Charlie and Jake stumbled outside, still holding hands and grinning at each other for no reason at all.
"So," Jake began, "My place then? As much as I'd love to see Romania, I don't think that the Ministry would let us borrow the International Floo at this time of night." Charlie was instantly reminded of Harry and his impulsive cross-country Flooing that was totally unaffected by the time of day.
"Yeah, your place," he replied.
"Charlie?" He turned sharply at the voice that came from behind him. Harry pushed off the outer wall of the club, his face partially illuminated by the coloured lights. His eyes immediately flicked to Jake.
"Who's this?" he asked, his voice deepening dangerously.
"Why do you want to know, Harry?" Charlie asked in return, keeping his tone neutral. He heard Jake suck in a breath behind him as his connected the shadowed face to the name.
"Do you want me to leave, Charlie?" he whispered in his ear, sounding slightly nervous.
"Stay," Charlie insisted in the same, calm manner, "He gave up any control of me when he decided to stay shut up in all that damn secrecy."
"Well, if it's him... It's a little more understandable!" Jake whispered, sounding slightly awed.
"Yeah, totally understandable. Him getting married to my sister and keeping me hanging." Charlie didn't try to shield the bitterness that was creeping into his voice. Jake' mouth twitched and his expression darkened a fraction as watched Harry cautiously.
"I'll stay."
"What are you saying to him?" Harry demanded.
"You don't have the right to ask that. I'm quite sure you remember when you gave that up," Charlie pointed out.
"I... Charlie, I didn't mean to... Please!" Charlie bit his lip hard, finding Harry's begging nearly impossible to resist.
"Let's go Jake," he whispered, his voice sounding slightly strangled as he slipped his arm around the blond's waist. Jake nodded and Apparated. Charlie's heart clenched as Harry's face dissolved into black. In any other circumstance, he would have described that expression as heart-broken.
*
The room they appeared in seemed to be a living room, lit only by a small, magical lantern in the corner that spilled honey-hued light. He turned to face Jake, not bothering to relinquish his hold on his waist, marvelling at how attractive he was in the soft light. But that's all it was, simple, physical attraction, nothing more. With Harry it had always been more, still was more. He bent his head to capture the blond's lips that were just as soft as they looked. He noticed for the first time that Jake was about a head shorter than him and that his neck was bent quite awkwardly. Harry was only about an inch shorter than him, which was a lot more comfortable. He mentally shook himself, determined to banish all comparisons of Harry from his mind. Jake broke the, as of yet, chaste kiss, concern clear on his face.
"Are you sure that this is what you need, Charlie?" he asked sincerely, "I know that you're not together, but that doesn't mean..." he trailed off, swallowing noticeably as Charlie's fingers began to creep under the hem of his shirt, tracing the warm flesh beneath.
"I'm fine," Charlie whispered as he began to mouth at Jake's neck, making a little noise of frustration as the path he was tracing was suddenly obscured by fabric. He divested the shorter man of his shirt in moments, attacking the joint between his neck and shoulder with renewed vigour. Jake tilted his head back with a breathy moan and grasped the other's hips, swiftly jerking them together to collide deliciously with his own. They began to grind against each other in earnest as Charlie's mouth migrated back towards Jake's and they shared a hot, open-mouthed kiss.
"Come on," Jake somehow managed to murmur between it all, and began to drag Charlie towards his bedroom. After all, the springs in his mattress were definitely superior to those in the couch.
Charlie woke wrapped around a delectably warm body.
"Harry?" he muttered sleepily and unintelligibly into the smooth skin his mouth was pressed against, someone's shoulder blade to be precise. Something wasn't quite right.
"Morning," the yawning voice wasn't Harry's. Jake, he remembered.
"Mornin'" he murmured back, voice rough.
"I cannot believe that Harry Potter gave up that to be with some girl! No offence to your sister, of course," he said, carding his fingers through Charlie's hair. Charlie chuckled, but couldn't help noticing that his heart wasn't really in it.
"Thanks, I think," he said, before grimacing slightly, "I should probably get back. Little brother getting married and all."
"Yeah," Jake whispered, pausing for a moment, "You're in love with him, aren't you?"
"I'm sorry," he whispered, his avoidance of the question an answer in itself.
"S'ok," Jake shrugged, "You reckon a one-night stand's what you need and I'm really not objecting here." He grinned infectiously, before dragging himself into a sitting position.
"Do you want some breakfast? Or do you need to go," he asked, looking like he already knew the answer. Charlie shrugged.
"Mum makes enough, there'll probably be heaps left still."
"Right, owl me if you need anything," he offered, slipping on a pair of boxers and sending him one last smile at him as he exited the bedroom.
Charlie felt guilt rise within him as he saw the hidden hurt in those soft, brown (not green) eyes. He sighed, rolling out of the bed and dressing speedily before Apparating back to the Burrow. He winced at the change from the dimly lit bedroom to the sunny front yard. He could already hear Molly screeching inside. He crept into the kitchen, but was spotted immediately.
"Charlie!" she exclaimed, "Where have you been? Do you know what time it is? You were meant to be helping Bill with the tables! Go on! Get going!" She began to shoo him out of the kitchen.
"Yes mum," he grumbled, grabbing a piece of toast on his way out, trying not to notice that it was dry and stone cold. Today was about Ron and Hermione, his issues didn't matter.
Oh, Charlie... I think he needs a hug... What do you guys think? I know! All your reveiws equal hugs for Charlie! Yipee! I'll even let you hug him yourself...