"Luna, I thought you had said..."
"Not here, Charlie. I'm sorry but I don't trust Fred and George not to be spying on us with one of their Extendable Ears or something. Where can we talk privately? Like, complete privacy?" Luna was gazing at him with her eyes wide, the hood of her thick cloak drawn up to protect her hair from the wind and snow. She still shivered, despite the extra cloak Molly had spread around her while she was drying out.
"We could go to the orchard, to the clearing where we play Quidditch in the summer. There's a bench there which Bill charmed to be resistant to all weathers, so it should be free of snow. It's had other spells done to it, over the years. Fred and George charmed it to start playing some ridiculous love song if anyone kissed on it, Ginny added cushions to it, Ron hexed it so any magical person the family didn't know would be tied to the bench and stuck there until we next came to it. Even Percy chipped in and did this complicated little bit of magic which means the bench will heat up if its occupants wish it. Obviously he did that before he left home." Charlie talked as he led her to the orchard, twining his fingers with hers as soon as the trees obscured them from the Burrow.
"So basically you'd get in a lot of trouble if say a cold muggle came along and sat on the bench, in the rain, they'd suddenly find themselves dry and warm. And if they started kissing, some sort of love song would start playing."
"Yes, if we didn't have muggle repelling charms on ever inch of the land that belongs to us," Charlie said, chuckling softly.
"I guess that's alright then," Luna replied with a smile as they walked into clearing and over to the bench which had been subject to so many spells and was the current topic of the conversation. Luna gave a soft gasp as she sat down on the warm, snow free seat.
"Oh, it's so warm!" Her words turned from a cry of pleasure into a gasp of surprise as ropes shot out of the bench and secured her there. Charlie's eyes narrowed as he examined the ropes.
"Fred and George did this," he muttered, waving his wand once in Luna's direction, vanishing the ropes and then again at the bench. Two laughing faces appeared in front of them, one Fred and one George, both just laughing and laughing, silently. "Yeah. They've hexed the bench so that now any magical person the family doesn't know will be tied up, and so will Luna Lovegood. Gits." He flicked his wand and muttered something and the bench glowed once.
"What did you do?"
"I returned it to the original spell. Hang on, I'm going to do something that will surprise them the next time they sit down. You might want to stand up, the bench is going to get quite hot." Luna stood and made her way to his side, watching as he twisted his wand, his forehead slightly creased in his concentration. Luna watched as the end of his wand glowed blue, then the red-orange which was the hair colour of the twins, and then a clear substance flew from the end of it and coated the bench.
"You can sit down now, I covered it in glue which will become sticky again when they sit down. A stickiness close to a Permanent Sticking charm, but not quite as strong." Charlie sat down beside Luna and stretched his long legs in front of him, wrapping one arm around her thin shoulders and reaching for one of her hands with the other.
"Where did you learn that?" Luna asked, gesturing to the bench with her free hand.
"When you spend as much time with dragons as I do, you learn any spell which could stop an angry dragon. That's one of my favourites, it's especially good for slowing down nesting mothers when we need their eggs or something similar. I used it after the first task. Now, I thought you said you weren't coming for dinner?"
"Oh, quite a handy spell then. Maybe you could teach me sometime. I know, and I did indeed say that but then I realised I hadn't sent Ginny's present down and Skitchel is currently in Ireland delivering a package to my grandmother. I didn't want to come through the Floo in case I dropped the present and because I didn't want to burst in unannounced."
"So you walked all the way from your house, through the snow and the wind and the ice."
"So I walked all the way from my house, through the snow and the wind and the ice so I could deliver a present to a dear friend on Christmas Day," Luna confirmed.
"And...?"
"And what?"
"Luna, I know you. And I know that you would indeed walk in this weather to deliver a single present. But I also know that's not the only reason why you cane."
"Just how do you know that?"
"Because, if you hadn't had another reason, you wouldn't have asked if I was here, in fear of arising suspicion that something was going on between us."
"You know me too well."
"I don't think it's possible to know someone too well, especially if you love them. But yes, I know you very well. And it's just as well Ginny knows about us, or she would have called you out about your bluff."
"My bluff? And since when does Ginny know?""
"'I didn't even know you were here until Ginny owled me this morning'," Charlie quoted and she blushed softly. "Luna, if you don't want my family to know about us, then you need to be more careful. As for Ginny finding out, I got back yesterday morning, very early morning, to find Ginny in the kitchen with Fred and George who had told her everything. Fortunately, Ginny took my side and won't tell anyone. You know she wouldn't, because she wouldn't want to do anything to hurt you."
"Maybe I do want that."
"What?" Charlie was confused. Luna's eyes were unfocused and pointed in the direction of the Burrow, even though it was completely hidden from them. The clouds overheard were a dark grey and completely full of snow, Charlie thought. His suspicions were proven correct a few minutes later when small white flakes began to fall quickly, covering the higher branches of snow-free trees in a few minutes. After a while there was at least an inch more added to the white blanket covering the clearing, and Charlie realised with a jolt that it was snowing so heavily he couldn't see the trees on the other side of the glade. He also became conscious of the fact that at least fifteen minutes had passed and Luna hadn't answered his question yet.
"Luna?" He prodded gently and she blinked, turning her head to face him.
"I want to tell them Charlie, your family. I'm fed up of hiding this, of hiding us. Ginny knows, Fred and George knows, so the rest of them might as well know. I don't think Bill will be all that surprised, he's seen me watching you the times you both come home and I'm over, plus he must have been suspicious about where you disappear when you come to me, but he's not like Fred and George in that he doesn't nose about in your private affairs if he realises you don't want to share."
"Luna..."
"And I mean, Ron probably wouldn't care, he's got so much on his plate at the moment, and hell he probably wouldn't mind being able to watch another couple so he can make Lavender happier. I've seen the way he watches Bill and Fleur and it's obvious he's wanting to pick up tips. Maybe it's not even Lavender he wants to use them on anymore, maybe he's finally realised that he actually likes Hermione and that she's liked him for ages..."
"Luna..."
"Of course, Percy wouldn't even be around to find out. And if your mother and father are anything but happy for you, then I'm seriously questioning your parents because what mother and father can honestly say they aren't happy with one of their children having a relationship when it's their relationship that has bought their children into the world in the first place..." Luna was suddenly shut up by another pair of lips on top of hers, silencing her quite efficiently and stopping her babbling until Celestina Warbeck suddenly began to warble 'You Charmed the Heart Right Out of Me' at the top of her voice.
"Ah shit," Charlie cursed, pulling Luna off the bench to sit in the snow-free, warm area of grass at the foot of a tree right beside it. "I forgot about that. What's the counter curse?" He pulled out his wand again, frowning as he muttered to himself about turning the song off before the family came running. Luna pulled out her own wand.
"Finite Incantate," she muttered and Celestina was cut off in the middle of a long, very high-pitched note which would have surely given any nearby dogs a headache. Charlie blushed and pulled her off the ground and onto his lap.
"I was just testing you," he mumbled and she laughed and swept some snow out of his hair. In return he gently reached up and tucked some loose strands of her blonde hair behind her small ear which was pink-tipped due to the cold. She pulled the hood of her cloak fully down, removing it from its position halfway off her head.
"Are you sure you want to tell them?" His hand rested on her cheek and she leaned her face against him with a sweet smile.
"I'm completely sure. We've hidden our relationship from everyone for two years now, that's such a long time to keep such a big secret. I'm actually quite surprised we have managed to keep it secret for so long, and in fact I wonder if the events of the past few days are a sign that it's the right time to tell everyone. What do you think? We don't have to do anything you don't want to do," she echoed his words from that night and he chuckled.
"All your reasons and your adorable babbling and your apparent need to tell my family has just made me love you even more, and I thought that wasn't possible," Charlie admitted, smiling down at her because even perched on his knee, she was still small enough he had to look down at her. "Of course I want to tell them, I've wanted to tell them since the very day we decided we would even start a relationship. You're the most amazing person I've ever met, you're beautiful and you're kind. I just want to parade you around the entire country and make sure everyone knows that you're mine. Besides, it's probably best we tell everyone ourselves and give them our reasons, rather than having to sit through Fred and George explaining it in the way that they see it. Now, come on, we've been out here for a couple of hours and Mum will probably be worrying that we got lost in the storm and fell into a ditch or a pond."
Luna stood up, smiling and then took his hand and pulled him up. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close as they set off through the snowy woods and back towards the white mass that was the Burrow.
"Oh Arthur, what if the storm disorientated them and they left the safety of the orchard and are just wandering about the countryside without a clue as to where they might be? What if Luna fell in a pond and Charlie fell in after her while he was trying to get her out? They could just be blocks of human shaped ice floating in a distant pond now! Or what if the storm was so powerful that a tree fell down and injured them both so that neither could walk or send a message for help? And they managed to miss lunch as well! What if..." Molly Weasley's worries were cut off as the backdoor swung open to reveal Luna and Charlie standing there, both smiling and unhurt but covered in snow. Arthur Weasley decided not to comment on the fact that his son's arm had been securely wrapped around the small girl's shoulders as Molly flew forwards and began dragging the two of them towards the fire, at the same time ridding them of their sodden cloaks and shoes. However, Charlie did not miss the look his father gave him and he moved the slightest bit away from Luna.
"Oh, you two could have injured yourselves so terribly! What on earth were you thinking, going outside when the clouds were just so full of snow? We were so worried, what would we have done if you'd both hurt yourselves and not been able to send for help? Honestly, I was in half a mind to send everyone out looking for you but what would be the point in losing more people? And you managed to miss the entire of lunch as well, including the minister visiting, and bringing Percy with him! Oh Luna, you're completely soaked, Ginny go upstairs and fetch some spare clothes, bring at least two jumpers down." Molly fussed around the two, giving them mugs of hot chocolate and making sure the fire was as hot as it could be and performing those hot air charms that she was so good at so she could dry Luna's hair for the second time that day.
"You two must have had a nice long chat, did you go up to the bench?" Bill asked, smiling from his place at the table beside Fleur. Luna wondered if either of them had even moved since she and Charlie had left.
"Yes we did, the charms are still working thankfully and we chatted in comfort. Mum, seriously we're both fine. If either one of us was hurt you'd have realised by now and you'd be having a go at me either for not looking after myself or for not watching over Luna closely enough to make sure there wasn't even a stray leaf which could attach itself to her shoe and cause her distress by not coming off. Now if you'll just stop fussing, Luna and I have something to say."
"Would this something have anything to do with the music that suddenly came pouring from mine and George's wands?" Fred asked, looking at Luna and Charlie closely. Ron, in the middle of clearing various dishes from the table, stopped and gazed at Fred and George in confusion.
"But I thought that would only happen if... Ow! What was that for?" Ginny had pinched the back of Ron's neck quite fiercely and Charlie glimpsed two red crescent marks as his youngest brother turned to glare at Ginny.
"Shush, Charlie's trying to say something." She sat back down on the counter as Charlie stood up and placed a hand on Luna's shoulder, trying not to show his nerves. It would be that his entire family, plus Fleur, Harry, Lupin and Fred and George's shop assistant Verity, were present. Charlie found himself wondering how they were all managing to fit into the kitchen without the Burrow exploding. He took a deep breath.
"Fred and George's wands play Celestina Warbeck's 'You Charmed the Heart Right Out of Me' whenever there is a couple sitting on the bench in our Quidditch clearing, kissing. The bench also plays it, at a volume that's almost deafening with its loudness. Luna and I are dating and we have been for two years."