Disclaimer: JK owns HP; Always.
1989
Chapter 21
"Caramel Cobwebs." Hermione said aloud.
The gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office promptly jumped aside, revealing the winding staircase she had come to know far too well over her time at Hogwarts. As she ascended it for her scheduled meeting, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Today had the potential to completely change her life after all, and in more ways than just one.
"Miss Walters." Dumbledore greeted her as she entered the room where he took his appointments. "It's been a few weeks. How have you been faring since our last meeting?"
"Very well actually." Hermione responded, wasting no time. "I think I may have discovered something worth looking into further, which is why I requested this meeting in the first place."
"That's wonderful news." He replied calmly. "How can I assist?"
"There is an island off the coast of Brazil inhabited only by snakes." She informed him. "Vipers mainly, each venomous enough to kill a human within a few hours. I need to go there."
Dumbledore stared at her in what was either shock, confusion, or a little bit of both for a moment before answering. "That is a very curious request."
"It has come up twice now in my research. I don't think that's a coincidence." She continued without revealing much. "Is there a way for me to get there and back without getting killed in the process?"
"I believe we can manage that." He nodded coyly. "I can make you a portkey that will get you there and back, but we will have to wait until Christmas Break. This is a sensitive matter, and we wouldn't want any of your new friends asking questions about your whereabouts. Since you will be here for the holidays anyway, we can use that as a cover."
"That's fair." Hermione agreed. "What about the snakes? How do I keep them from attacking me?"
"I believe there is a modified version of the bubble head charm that can protect your entire person from outside sources, but I will need to double check it. If I remember correctly it is a form of protection orb." The old headmaster replied thoughtfully. "Other than that I can make sure we have plenty of anti venom potion on hand and send a few vials with you on your journey."
"If the charm does exist and I can successfully learn it, that should suffice." She replied. "When specifically can I leave?"
"The train leaves Sunday the twentieth, so how about the following Tuesday?" He asked.
"Works for me." She nodded.
"There are a few hours difference in time, and I imagine daytime would be preferable when one travels to your desired location, so let's say meet at noon on that day?"
Hermione scoffed uncomfortably at the thought of what going to snake island at night would be like. "Yes, daylight is much preferred. Noon will be perfect."
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Guess who?" Hermione laughed as she covered his eyes from behind.
She had caught up to him as soon as her meeting with Dumbledore had concluded, and had found the opportunity to sneak up on him from behind.
"Hmmm? Let me think." He replied sarcastically from his sitting position on the bench she had found him at. "Is it my girl by any chance?
Her heart soared at the sounds of him calling her 'his girl', and she dropped her hands, making her way around in front of him with a grin. "How ever did you guess?"
"Oh, Jean it's you!" Charlie joked in return with a mischievous grin. "Could have sworn you were someone else."
Hermione backhanded him on the chest as she plopped down into his lap. "You're such a prat." She growled at him before pecking him on the lips. "Happy Birthday anyway though."
"Thanks. I'm much happier now that you've joined me." He replied, sliding his arms around her back to keep her upright. "How did your meeting go?"
"It was fine." She replied simply before kissing him again to try and distract him.
"Jean?" He scolded her, pulling his face away from her slightly. "You aren't keeping secrets from me again are you?
"No." She lied bashfully before catching the irritated look on his face. "Okay yes. I'm planning on doing something dangerous over Christmas Break, and I had to get Dumbledore's assistance with it, but I'd rather tell you the details about it when you get back from the burrow next month."
He leaned back further to stare at her and growled in annoyance. "I'm starting to think you're more of a troublemaker than either my brother or Harry Potter...Besides, what makes you think I'm even planning on going home for Christmas?" He asked, softening his tone a little. "I'd much rather spend it with you, especially now that I know you plan on getting yourself into more trouble while I'd be gone."
As much as Hermione loved the idea of spending Christmas with him, she knew deep down that it wasn't an option. He would have gone home if he hadn't met her this year, so he had to stay the course. She also knew he would attempt to go to the island with her, and she couldn't risk him getting hurt or killed. Not when he had at least another eight years of life ahead of him.
"If I wasn't here, in 1989, would you be staying?"
"Well, No." He looked confused. "I tend to spend the holidays at home."
"Exactly." She explained. "Because you should be with your family."
"I have spent every year with them, Hermione." He slipped his hands into the hair at the base of her neck. "This, however, is my only Christmas with you, and I want to make the most of what little time we have."
"Charlie." Hermione sighed. "I don't know what's going to happen once I get back to my own time. I know all of your family has survived up until the moment I left, but we were right in the middle of the biggest battle yet." She paused to gauge his reaction, which hinted her words were frightening him at least a little. "Their fate could change at any moment. One of your brother's, your parents, or Ginny could die not five minutes after I make it back. Don't you see that this could be one of the last times your whole family is together for the holidays?"
His body stilled beneath her, and she could feel his heart racing under her palms.
"Is this dangerous thing you are planning on doing over break going to help?" He asked after a small pause. "Will it give my family a better chance of survival?"
"Yes." She nodded, hoping that it actually would. They were practically family to her as well.
"Well I guess you better wait to tell me when I get back then."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
After their heavy topic of conversation, they had spent the rest of the day in each other's company, leisurely exploring the grounds between heavy snogging sessions. Currently, they were walking hand in hand, and giggling after getting yelled at after dinner by Filch. He apparently wasn't too fond of their public and very obvious displays of affection.
"That's about the reddest I think I've ever seen his face." Charlie chuckled once they had made it into the Gryffindor common room.
Hermione had been laughing so hard she had two tears leak out of the corner of one eye. "Oh I've seen it much worse." She claimed as she wiped them away with a single finger. "After dealing with Fred and George's shenanigans mostly."
"They're only going to get worse, aren't they?" He asked as he pulled her to the staircase on the left. The one that led to the boys' dorms.
Hermione laughed again while following after him mindlessly. "You have no idea."
Once they were all the way up to the seventh year dorms, Charlie closed the door behind them. It seemed that he wanted to get away from the bustle of the common room downstairs.
"You know you have just about the most adorable laugh I think I've ever heard." He said as he tucked a flyaway curl behind her right ear.
"Really?" She asked thoughtfully, trying unsuccessfully to picture what her own laugh sounded like.
"Yeah, it's a pretty funny sound actually." He grinned at the thought. "They start out soft and ladylike, and then the longer you laugh the squeakier it becomes. And if I can get a long string of giggles out of you, you end up snorting several times in a row. It's quite a sight."
"Well I've always been a rather serious person really." She admitted bashfully. "I don't think anyone has ever made me laugh like you do. You bring out the humorous side of me I wasn't even quite sure I had."
"I'm glad." He said before dipping his head down to kiss her enthusiastically.
Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck out of reflex; partly to bring herself closer to him, and partly to keep herself upright. She still wasn't used to losing her senses when he kissed her. She unconsciously felt his hands fumbling with something by her neck at the same time his tongue slipped its way past her lips. Seconds later two thuds were heard as she felt something heavy fall to the ground by their feet.
"It's too bloody hot for these things up here." He growled before kissing his way down the now exposed flesh of her neck.
It was then that Hermione realized that he had unfastened both of the winter cloaks they had been dawning just seconds earlier, and that the sounds she had heard had been them hitting the stone floor. She sighed breathily as he nipped a particularly sensitive spot just above her collar bone, which brought at least a few of her senses flooding back.
"Don't you want the gift I got you before we decide to take this too far?" She chuckled into his ear.
Charlie took a deep breath against her shoulder before lifting his head back up to meet her gaze. "Yeah." He smiled and returned her laugh. "I guess I do."
Hermione grinned and lifted the strap of her bag over her head; sitting gracefully down at the foot of the bed closest to them, which she assumed was his. She rummaged through the purse for a moment, as Charlie came to sit beside her, before pulling a pristinely wrapped package out of it.
"I didn't have a lot of options since I've been stuck here at Hogwarts the entire time I've been in the past." She said as she handed it to him. "But I hope you'll like it just the same."
Charlie grinned like a small child on Christmas as he tore the wrapping paper off. The festive parchment dropped to the floor seconds later in his haste to uncover what she had picked for him. The small, pale green book she had come across by chance stared up at him.
"The history of animals with magic." He read aloud before flipping it to the first page. "Looks just up my alley."
He wrapped his arm closest to her around her shoulders before placing a kiss to the top of her head. "Thanks Hermione."
"Of course." She grinned, proud that she'd been able to find something he liked. "Happy Birthday."
He pressed another kiss to her cheek. "Though there is one more thing you could do that would make this birthday even better." He hinted slyly.
Hermione snorted at him. "Oh, and what's that?" She asked skeptically.
"You could agree to accompany me to Hogsmeade next weekend." He grinned confidently.
"There's a trip the day before everyone leaves for the holidays?" She asked; most likely unaware since she'd been focusing so much on her meeting with Dumbledore the past few days.
"Yeah. A week from today." He said. "To give everyone the opportunity to shop for Christmas."
"Sure." She agreed happily. "I'd love to."
Last time he had asked, she'd felt obligated to keep him at a distance and had rejected his offer with a lie. Now that she had finally given in to their undeniable chemistry and told him the truth, there was nothing standing in her way.
"Yeah?" He asked excitedly.
"Of course." Hermione confirmed. "Now that you know where I come from, I don't have to hideout anymore."
"Thank Merlin for that." He whispered under his breath.
"It sounds fun to pick out gifts for your family together." She added excitedly. "Especially since I probably know them just as well as you do anyway."
Charlie snorted. "You know, I keep forgetting that." He said. "Have you spent a lot of time with them? Other than with Ron I mean."
"A fair amount." She nodded. "I mean, except for Bill, I've now attended school with all of you Weasley children." She laughed. "I also stay at the burrow a lot during the summer, in Ginny's room. She's by far my best female friend." She added looking down, now getting sad at the thought of her. "I miss her."
"I bet." He said solemnly, looking like he missed his little sister as well. She had only been two when he left for his first year of Hogwarts after all, and barely got to spend any time with her afterwards.
They sat in silence for a moment, both thinking about his family and hoping they would all make it out of the war alright.
Charlie's left hand slowly slipped it's way against the right side of her neck, his head dipping so he could look into her eyes on her level.
"I love you." He whispered before claiming her lips with his again.
The kiss started off gentle and tender, as if he meant to comfort her without words. One of Hermione's arms wrapped itself around his neck, to hold herself close to him while her free hand rested against his chest. She loved him too, but didn't feel like breaking the kiss just to reiterate what he already knew.
It wasn't long before his mouth opened slightly, his tongue tracing it's way across her bottom lip to hint he wanted access to the rest of her mouth. Charlie held her head in place with the hand against her neck, while the other braced itself against the mattress.
Hermione mewled as his mouth dominated hers; his lips and tongue demanding to be met touch for touch. As soon as her mouth opened to his request, it was as if a flip had been switched.
Slowly, she felt herself being tilted backwards; inch by inch, until she felt the softness of the mattress at her back. Her heart skipped a beat from the unanticipated impact, and she felt a gasp escape her mouth; going straight into his. His body covered hers, as his lips continued their control over her.
Usually, her instincts would have told her to push him away at that point, but this time it felt right. As if everything would somehow be better if he just kept doing what he was doing. Slowly his right hand made its way to her knee; massaging it gently before moving up to her thigh. He groaned against her lips as he settled further between her legs, and she could feel something hard brush against her hip bone. Her knickers suddenly felt far damper than normal.
Since she'd only had her meeting with Dumbledore that morning, she was still wearing the same outfit she'd chosen to meet him in. She had wanted to look a little more professional than her normal Saturday attire, and because she'd had very little clothes with her when she arrived to the past, she ended up choosing her normal school skirt with an added pair of tights and leg warmers underneath. The weather had also been quite cold that week, so she'd ended up pairing that with the warmest jumper she could find.
Hermione slowly realized how heated she was getting. Her skin was on fire, and her face felt flushed, but she also felt as if it wasn't enough. She didn't want him to back off, or stop touching her. She in fact wanted more; much more.
Hermione slid her hands to his shoulders and pushed up. Not enough to push him off her completely, but just enough so she could look him in the eyes again. "Why are we on your bed Charlie?" She whispered.
"Devon said he was going to clear the dorm for an hour or two after dinner, and I honestly thought it might be nice to snog somewhere a bit more private for a change." He claimed, leaning up off her slightly. "He said it would be his birthday gift to me... but we can go right back downstairs if you feel uncomfortable."
"No, Charlie." She shook her head. "I don't want to go back downstairs."
"You don't?" He looked surprised, but also extremely pleased.
"I'm not saying I want to go all the way." She faltered nervously before pressing on. "But what if I said I wanted to go further? Would you want that too?"
Charlie coughed slightly in the back of his throat, obviously surprised by her question. He had to postpone his answer in order to recover, it was obvious he was trying not to grin. "I don't think you could possibly know just how much I would want that too."
She shuddered nervously from underneath him. While he'd been kissing and massaging her knee earlier she'd felt so sure about it, but now that he was excitedly staring down at her she felt less so; not knowing exactly what he might expect from her.
"So what do you want to do?" She whispered self consciously. "How do we start?"
Noticing her mixture of nervousness and uncertainty, he stroked the back of one thumb against her cheek. "We go back to kissing." He replied softly. "We let things progress naturally, and if at any time you want me to stop, you only have to say the word."
His words seemed to calm her, and she felt a sense of excited anticipation creep up in her chest. She nodded in response to give her consent before relaxing comfortably against the mattress again.
For the third time since entering the room that night, Charlie's mouth descended on hers. His lips soft and slow to keep her calm, but his right hand went back to rest on her knee almost immediately. His left hand slowly made its way to her neck, where his thumb began to trace patterns behind her ear.
It was obvious he was holding himself back. He wanted to make sure she was comfortable before pushing further. He was being so understanding and gentle with her that it instantly soothed any second thoughts she might have had.
He started to try and kiss his way to her neck, but Hermione stopped him, gripping his face between both her hands to keep his lips against hers. He complied easily, only smirking as he continued to snog her silly.
Gradually, things began to heat up again. His tongue slipped it's way into her mouth, and he used his grip on her knee to push it further up the bed. Her new position gave him the space he needed to nestle his hips between her thighs. They both groaned at the feel of him grinding against her in the process.
"What are you doing to me?" She asked as he finally broke free to kiss his way down the column of her throat.
He grinned as the fingertips of his left hand slid their way underneath the hem of her sweater. "Nothing you won't like." He whispered in confidence.
Hermione's fingernails pressed themselves into the skin at the back of his head as he nipped and sucked on the flesh of her neck. His hand was now making its way up her side, causing her to shudder in anticipation. She knew he was taking things slow for her sake, but at the same time it felt like she was being teased.
"Take your shirt off." She demanded in his ear before giving his jumper a bit of a tug.
She had seen him shirtless before; both that day in the prefects bathroom, and once as he had de-gnomed the garden at the request of his mother, but she was eager to see him bare chested now. She had time to study and explore his muscles at her leisure and was excited to take full advantage.
Charlie snorted at her eagerness, but did as she requested. He leaned up off her just enough to throw the offending garment off over his head. It landed precariously on one of the ornate carvings of the headboard.
Once he was free from the confines of his heavy knit jumper, he leaned down to reattach their lips; resting his left side against the mattress beside her instead of nestling himself back between her legs. Hermione's hands went straight to his pecs where they began to study every ridge and plane of his muscles. 'Hopefully he will still be interested enough in me when I get back to the future that I can compare notes' she thought as she kissed him back.
The fingers of his right hand dipped underneath the layer of waistbands holding her knickers, tights, and skirt in place. "Is this alright?" He asked, his intentions clear.
"Yes." She answered through heavy breathing; nodding as her hands continued their exploration.
His hand slipped down even further; the pad of his middle finger pressing itself against the place she most ached to be touched. A yelp of pleasure escaped her throat involuntarily at the sensation; her head thrown back against his mattress out of reflex.
Hermione's hands froze as he began to rub her sensitive clit around in circles. She bit her bottom lip in order to keep herself from moaning out loud.
"That's it." He whispered as he peppered kissed over her throat and jawline; his finger still playing with the sensitive bud.
She could feel his erection throbbing against the outside of her thigh, and the combination of that and his fingers were making her much too hot. For a second she considered reaching down to stroke him through his pants in an attempt to even the score, but his hand dipping even lower caused her to lose her train of thought.
A whimper escaped her from the sudden change in contact. His middle finger was now slowly embedding itself inside her, touching her places she hadn't even dared to touch herself; his thumb taking its place on her clit.
"It's going to feel so good." He whispered as he began to thrust his finger in and out of her.
"What is?" She gasped as she tried not to moan out too loud. It felt incredible, and she didn't want anyone downstairs to hear them and come to investigate.
"When I'm inside you for real." He answered, taking a deep breath before claiming her lips again.
Hermione moaned softly again as he continued to pump his fingers in and out of her. He was making her feel so good and it made her realize just why everyone else her age was so obsessed with sex.
It didn't take long for him to bring her to her first orgasm; adding another finger inside her as his thumb kept rubbing in circles. He kissed her hard as the first wave hit her, swallowing her scream as she rode it out. Her eyes scrunched shut as she nearly blacked out from the pleasure.
After several deep breaths, Hermione opened her eyes to see him looking rather proud of himself. He was grinning at her in a way that instantly made her cheeks turn red.
"Wow." She gasped as she brushed a bead of sweat that had formed on her forehead away with the back of her hand.
A deep chuckle erupted from him as he sat back up. "That's one way of putting it." He said as he held his hand out to help her back up into a sitting position.
Hermione shifted nervously in the afterglow of what they had just done. She straightened her rumpled clothing in an attempt to calm her nerves. She didn't regret letting him touch her like that, but she wasn't really sure what to do in the aftermath.
She watched him as he trekked his way to the headboard and grabbed his sweatshirt from where it had landed earlier. The way his muscles stretched when he slipped it back on over his head almost made her request a repeat performance. Especially when she could still see the outline of his very hard erection through his pants.
"You didn't want me to return the favor?" She asked before she could stop herself.
She wasn't entirely sure what she would do if he said yes, but it felt wrong to leave him with that; especially on his birthday of all days. It wasn't that she didn't want to; he had been so gentle and patient with her that she knew she wouldn't regret that either. It was just that she had no idea how or where to even start.
Charlie paused, his proud grin turning to shock in an instant. To her relief he shook his head as he straightened his own clothing. She'd make sure to look up books on the subject later so she would be better prepared for the next time.
"Although I appreciate that, and fully plan on taking care of it myself; later and in the shower." He smirked again unabashed; sitting next to her on the bed to be close to her again. "I wanted tonight to be about you. I wanted to show you how good it can be, and hopefully entice you into a repeat performance in the not too distant future."
Hermione blushed at his insinuation. "Are you sure? I wanted to make you happy today. Just like you made me on my birthday."
"Trust me love." His grin firmly back in place. "What we just did made me very, very happy."
He pinched her chin between his thumb and forefinger before placing a gentle kiss to her lips.
"Best birthday you've ever had then?" She joked; reminiscent of her birthday in September.
"Definitely the best birthday I've ever had." He agreed before kissing her again.