Chapter 14

Bill explained what he and Fleur had witnessed that Saturday morning. The twins stared at him throughout the story, a mixture of emotions playing on their faces. They sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking over everything. Finally, they parted way, the twins g=downing some sober-up potion before apparating back to their flat.

Bill walked up the stairs, all around exhausted and concerned. After making sure to thoroughly brush his teeth and rid all scent of firewhisky, he slid into his room. Careful to not wake Fleur, he slid into bed and settled down staring at the ceiling.

"How is he?" Fleur rolled over to rest her head on his shoulder and rest her hand on his chest. Bill looked down, startled to see she was still awake.

"Hanging in there… with a little help, I think they'll both be fine." Bill answered while wrapping his arms around her.

"Good," she answered. She burrowed her head against him and dozed off. He ran his fingers through her hair amazed at his luck. Fleur loved him and his family so much; she'd do anything for them. Minutes later he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Throughout the week the twins had been busy. They had visited all of the Weasley children, even the honorary ones, and explained what they thought was going on. That Wednesday, they all met and came to the conclusion that they would have to help long their friends by gently pushing them together. The only hitch was they would have to be careful to not push too hard or things would blow up in their faces.

The day after their dinner with the twins, Charlie and Hermione woke up feeling the best they'd felt all week. The difference wasn't lost on them or their family and friends. They couldn't deny how much of an effect the other had on them. But since they were still oblivious to each other's plight, they didn't bring the issue up to each other. Instead, they spent the rest of the week finding excuses to stay up late with one another and usually ended up falling asleep together on the couch in the basement.

The set up worked decently for Hermione, who was almost back to her normal self. However, Charlie was still having trouble. His control was stronger but his emotions were still making things difficult. He found himself looking at Hermione in an entirely different light. More often than not his thoughts were innocent enough, just of a romantic nature, but they were growing more sexual by the day. He just couldn't seem to forget her disbelief that sex could bring as much pleasure as Lavender seemed to display. He couldn't help but feel anger that no one had ever bothered to give her such pleasure; he also couldn't help but wanting nothing more than to give her screaming orgasm after screaming orgasm. And to top it all off, her parents were coming for dinner tomorrow night.

Hermione had been full of nervous energy all day. Thankfully, she only working half a day, and the other half was going to be devoted to getting ready for her parents' visit. Charlie had been kind enough to take half a day so he could lend a hand.

By four o'clock the entire house had been thoroughly scrubbed and dusted and dinner was cooking. While cooking, they took turns to shower and dress. Hermione had put on a conservative black dress that fell to her knees, covered everything and left plenty to the imagination. Her hair was pulled into a strict, sleek French twist, she wore plain black flats and forgone any jewelry, Following her lead, Charlie wore simple black slacks and loafers and a deep, dark green button-down that made his green eyes pop. He pulled his long hair back into a ponytail at the nap of his neck. He also removed his earrings. But despite his best efforts, he still looked like a rugged alpha male. At first glance, all Hermione could do was gape while her heart skipped more beats than was healthy. She shook herself out of her trance and double checked all of their preparations. The dining room was elegantly set, the wards were down so her parents could fins the house and dinner was ready and being kept warm by charms.

At seven o'clock the doorbell rang making Hermione jump. Her eyes dilated and breathing increased as panic took over. "They're here…and early! Oh Merlin, they're early!" She gasped out speaking rapidly. Charlie grabbed her shoulders and leaned in so their noses were barely an inch apart.

"Deep breaths 'Mione. It's all okay… you can do this. I'm right here with you, okay? Just take a few deep breaths and answered the door." Charlie coached her, his voice low and soothing. Hermione listened, successfully stealing her nerves. Still nervous, she opened the door with Charlie a few paces behind her.

"About time Hermione," her mother said by way of greeting. She and her father walked in, handing their coats to her. Charlie narrowed his eyes in annoyance, both at how they treated Hermione and how Hermione just took it. He watched as Hermione took the coats and placed them on the rack near the door.

"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Granger," he strode forward with his hand extended. "I'm Charlie Weasley, Hermione's new roommate."

"Oh… Charlie," Mrs. Granger looked him over, not bothering to hide the disapproval in her voice. "Nice to meet you." She extended her hand as though expecting him to kiss it.

"Yes, you'll have to excuse Hermione. Her manners seem to be lacking this evening, or I'm sure she would have properly introduced us." Her father shook his hand roughly, shooting a pointed look at Hermione who averted her eyes, turning pink. Charlie's anger flared again.

It was nearly eight o'clock and Charlie's patience was beginning to wear thin. They were barely through the first course and the Grangers had spent most of the time shooting thinly veiled insults at their daughter, and even a few at him. However, things finally reached their peak when Charlie stepped out of the room to retrieve the forgotten salt. He could hear Hermione's parents begin to berate her for her new living arrangements - calling her a gold-digger and pathetic for not buying her own place, and a slut because they were sure she was sleeping with him to cover their so call no rent deal. It was then that Charlie's control finally snapped.

Sorry I took so long to upload this. I kept getting distracted. Anyway, the next chapter is written and ready to be typed, so the more reviews I get the faster I'll post it! Going back to college tomorrow, wish me luck :)

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