Hi all! Not much to say about this one, except that I'll be interested to hear what you think. Enjoy!

Chapter Eight

Adair pulled the door to her flat open and grinned up at Charlie.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, bending down and kissing her gently, lingering for a few seconds.

"You'll have to throw your stuff down and then we need to get to Oliver's."

"Blasted dragons. I was hoping to have some time with just you before dinner," he said, heading for her bedroom. Adair trailed him and as Charlie tossed his knapsack on her bed and went into the bathroom to freshen up, she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"We're already late," she said against his back.

Charlie turned and grinned down at her. His arms twined around her before lifting her up and setting her on the counter, kissing her deeply.

ooooOoooo

"We weren't sure you two were going to show up," Katie said with a giggle when she let Adair and Charlie into Oliver's flat. She hadn't officially moved in and wouldn't until after their wedding on New Year's Eve.

"I got caught up in something at the sanctuary," Charlie said quickly, rubbing the back of his neck, a telltale sign that he was uncomfortable.

Katie just nodded. "Well Oliver is getting dinner out of the oven so we can go into the dining room."

Charlie and Adair followed and he pinched her arse as they went.

Oliver's flat was just as large as Adair's, if not bigger, but it had a little more life in it. There were photographs from his actual life and colors throughout.

The dining room was painted a rich burgundy and featured a large mahogany table that they all occupied the middle of.

Katie poured glasses of red wine for everyone and Oliver came in, ushering a roast and vegetables before him.

"Tell me you made that," Charlie said, looking at Katie.

She shook her head. "I'm afraid Oliver is the chef between the pair of us."

Charlie laughed and Adair swatted his arm.

"I'm surprised you keep visiting her even though you know you might starve," Oliver said as the roast was being sliced. He orchestrated the pieces of meat and vegetables onto everyone's plate along with a biscuit.

"Luckily, I can cook as well," Charlie replied. "Or we would be in dangerous territory."

Oliver laughed as he sat down next to Katie. "Dig in."

Knives and forks scraped on the plates.

"This is delicious," Charlie said. "How did this gene skip you?" He asked Adair.

She shook her head and popped a potato in her mouth.

"It might not have, she just doesn't want to apply herself," Oliver said.

Adair just shrugged. "Why would I try now if you're just going to do it for me?" she asked, looking at Charlie as she took a sip of wine.

Everyone laughed. "Fair enough," he replied.

The rest of dinner was spent discussing everything from the rest of the Quidditch season to the details of Oliver and Katie's wedding.

When the meal was over, Katie and Adair rose and guided the dishes back towards the kitchen to clean up. Oliver caught the look Charlie gave to the plate Adair had seemingly only taken a few bites from.

Charlie looked up and met her brother's eyes. "What is that about?" he asked. "She never eats. I've never seen her finish more than half a plate. How does she workout and train the way she does when she doesn't eat? Am I missing something?"

Oliver could tell the other man was worried. He shook his head. "She's always been like that. I don't know how she does it or why, but I can't remember a time before she was hyper conscious of food."

"I don't know if I can keep watching it without saying something. She could really hurt herself, especially with your guys' jobs."

"I know," Oliver agreed.

"Have you said anything to her?"

"When we were at Hogwarts. It didn't go well for me and I've never said anything else."

Charlie sighed.

"This is a little deep and if you ever refer to what I'm about to say I'll deny it and then kill you," Oliver began, taking a deep breath. "I think she does it because it's something she can control. You haven't met my parents yet and I'm sure she rarely speaks of them, but Adair didn't show as much promise with Quidditch as they thought I did and so from a very young age they had her schedule so full of training sessions and the like that she never really had time for what she wanted to do. Those sessions continued even after she went to Hogwarts so her days were full of classes, homework, team practice, and private sessions. Nothing has ever really been her own. Even in the professional world she's told what to do, when to do it, what to say, who to say it to." He paused, pondering what he said. "And then there's just the superficiality of what we do. She just did a photoshoot for Seeker Weekly. You can't very well show up to that looking out of shape."

Charlie nodded though he didn't quite understand it. "She really worries me sometimes." He ran a hand through his hair, mussing the bun he wore. "What she does is extreme, even for a Quidditch player. I've seen the other women who play."

"I know," Oliver agreed. "But she's a grown woman."

"So I shouldn't say anything?"

Oliver shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you there. I know if you do say something, she won't take to it very well, but it's probably been a while since anyone cared enough to say something. This is going to make me sound callous, but if you do decide to say something can it wait until the season is over? She doesn't play well when other things are going on."

Charlie nodded, absentmindedly.

"What are you two gossiping about?" Katie asked, leading Adair back into the room. The women brought a fresh bottle of wine and the glasses were filled once more.

Charlie couldn't help but look over at Adair when she wasn't looking. He practically winced seeing her delicate hand and wrist that lifted the glass to her lips or the sharp cheekbones.

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly when she caught him looking. "You don't look very well."

He shook his head, feeling Oliver's eyes on him. "I'm fine. Just a long day."

Adair nodded and then turned back to the conversation they had been having about the possibility of going to the World Cup and who the siblings they thought they would have to beat in order to get there.

Oliver and Katie both walked Charlie and Adair to the door when they had finished the second bottle of wine and everyone was winding down.

"Thanks for having us," Adair said, kissing Katie's cheek while Oliver and Charlie shook hands.

The siblings still lived fairly close together and it was a nice August night, so Adair and Charlie walked back to her flat.

"I kind of hate that that's how we're spending your one night here," Adair said with a light laugh, wrapping an arm around his middle as they walked.

Charlie chuckled. "Agreed. There are more pleasant ways to spend a few hours." He draped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. He could feel her bony shoulders under his arm and he cringed again, but bit his tongue for the time being.

"What time do you have practice tomorrow?" he asked instead.

"In the afternoon. What about you? What time do you have to be back?"

"I have something right after our lunch break."

"So we can lie in bed all morning," Adair said with a smile.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Charlie replied as they walked through the front door. He made sure it was locked behind him as Adair continued toward her bedroom.

She stripped from her clothes and sent them to their respectives places before going into the bathroom to remove her makeup and get ready for bed.

Charlie stripped as well, having his clothes folded and on the bench at the foot of the bed before she emerged. He had learned quickly that things out of place irritated her.

He propped himself on an elbow and watched her as she settled next to him. "I have to come back in a couple of weeks for Louis' second birthday party," he said, playing with a strand of her hair.

"That's nice. Maybe you can stay here?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I was actually thinking that you should come to the party with me."

Adair was silent for a long moment. "But that's your family."

Charlie laughed lightly. "Yes and I thought it might be nice for you to be around them."

"Oh."

"It's a normal thing for couples to do. Meet the families."

"I'm sure it is," Adair said. "I don't want to intrude on anything though or make a fuss at a child's birthday party."

"Most of them know you already so it won't be like that," Charlie said. "Do you have any other feeble attempts to get out of this?" He raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly down at her.

Adair sighed. "I might have a match."

"You don't. I checked."

That was the feeblest of excuses as the season was winding down. England only had a handful of games left, spread far apart, as they were drawing near to the end of the season and closer and closer to the World Cup which they were still in the running for.

"Is there a reason you don't want to go?"

"No," Adair replied. "Just one of those things I've never done."

"It will be fine. Maybe even fun," Charlie said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tight against him, sensing her anxiety. "It's a second birthday party. You do scarier things every day."

"Well that's yet to be seen, but I'll take your word for it."

Charlie laughed once more. "There's still a couple of weeks between now and then. You don't have to worry about it right now."

"I'll pencil it in for later," Adair responded.

Long after Charlie had fallen asleep, Adair laid awake thinking about the birthday party. It was true that she knew most of his siblings and their partners. She had met his parents several times through Ginny and they had always been kind, but still something nagged at her.

In her personal life, she tried to avoid situations where she would have to prove herself. As a professional Quidditch player she did that when she played, when she took press conferences and interviews, and when she had her photos taken, consensually or otherwise. It was constant.

And then of course, this brought into play that whatever they were doing was getting more serious every time they saw one another. Meeting the family seemed so important. She'd never met anyone else's family.

After an hour of lying there, staring at the ceiling, she rose as gently as she could and went into the kitchen. It was the first time she had sought out Firewhiskey to help her sleep when Charlie had been there, but her heart wouldn't stop pounding.

She poured a full tumbler of the amber liquid and padded back toward her bedroom. She stood silently in the doorway watching Charlie sleep.

It had been just shy of a year since they had met at Ron and Hermione's wedding and she truly couldn't believe they were still seeing each other after everything that time had contained. She was glad he had stuck around.

She took a deep breath and finished the tumbler before moving back towards the bed. She would go to the birthday party and she would try to impress his family.

Adair gently set the tumbler on her bedside table before gingerly crawling back into bed, lying down with her back to Charlie.

He didn't wake, she could tell from his even breathing, but he reached around her waist with his huge arms and pulled her against his chest.

ooooOoooo

In the morning, Charlie woke to Adair's hand trailing up his inner thigh and her mouth hot on his neck.

"Quite the good morning," he murmured, not opening his eyes.

"Sshh." Adair ran her tongue up the column of his throat and then nibbled his earlobe, getting the response she wanted from him.

Charlie rolled toward her and began kissing her hungrily, enjoying the sensation of her hand on him.

Adair moaned against his lips, burying her hands in his hair and pressing the length of her body against his.

With the loss of contact, Charlie rolled onto his back, pulling Adair with him so she was straddling his hips.

He moaned when she raised up just enough to take him inside of her and began rocking back and forth.

His hands travelled up her thighs and over her hips and he opened his eyes to look at her. He wished he wouldn't have. The protruding hip bones, ribs, and collarbone drew him back to his conversation with Oliver the night before. The worry flooded him once more as he could see just how thin she was. His arousal disappeared.

Adair froze when she realized what happened. "What's the matter?" she asked, feeling extremely self-conscious as she sat atop him, naked and very aware that he was no longer interested.

Charlie sighed, remembering the promise he had made to Oliver about not talking to her until after their season was over.

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head. He reached up to pull her down next to him. "Nothing is the matter. It just happens sometimes."

Adair lay there silently thinking it most certainly did not just "happen sometimes." It had never once happened to her with any of her partners.

"It's not about you," he said, rolling on his side to face her. She stared up at the ceiling.

Charlie groaned inwardly. The last thing she needed was to be thinking that his lack of interest had to do with her body. Of course it did in some way and so he was stuck.

He took her chin in his hand and turned her face to him. "Seriously. I'm just getting old."

Adair cracked the tiniest of smiles at his expense.

"But that doesn't mean you should suffer," Charlie said, hovering over her and kissing her deeply.

His mind was still elsewhere as he trailed kisses from her collarbone to her hips and then up the inside of her thighs.

Adair's fingers went into his hair and tightened as he went to work. Still all he could think of was the conversation he'd had with Oliver, even has Adair's hips bucked against his mouth. His hands didn't touch her as he didn't want to feel her bones again.

ooooOoooo

Charlie arrived at the Burrow on the morning of Louis' birthday party. Most of the family was already gathered, helping Mrs. Weasley prepare the tent and the food and everything else.

"Charlie, dear," his mother called to him as he entered the house after helping Bill set up the tables and chairs.

"You're not cutting my hair, Mum," he said firmly, not stopping on his way to the stairs.

"Oh I've quite given up on that," she said with a sigh. "It's something else."

Charlie came back and paused in the kitchen doorway, looking at his mother.

"Bill said you invited Adair Wood to the party."

Charlie nodded.

"It's just, I'm not sure that's a good idea."

Her second eldest arched an eyebrow. "And why wouldn't it be a good idea?" He shook his head, not understanding. "She's known the family forever. She's Ginny's best friend and we've been seeing each other for a while now."

"I know all that, dear. I'm just not sure she's the proper guest for a child's second birthday party."

Mrs. Weasley rummaged around in a drawer, digging for something she had quite obviously hidden. She straightened and slid a tabloid across the kitchen table towards her son.

Charlie glanced down at it, but he had seen it before. It was the most recent edition of Seeker Weekly and Adair was on the cover.

She wore nothing but very short spandex shorts, a sports bra, which did more pushing up than keeping secure, with the English flag on it, and her knee high Quidditch boots with her broom slung across her shoulders, wrists hanging at either end. Her long blonde hair was slicked back from her face and hanging down her back and she had more makeup on than he had ever seen her wear. There was a stripe of scarlet that went from temple to temple and over her eyelids and the black eyeliner was thick. Her cheekbones looked like they could slice through butter. The headline read, "Does Adair Wood Have What It Takes to Take England to the World Cup?" The image of her turned slowly around so that the reader could see her from all angles and he imagined many were intrigued by the shot of her from behind.

Charlie sighed just as Bill and George came into the house to get ready.

"What are we looking at?" George asked, sliding the tabloid away from Charlie. "Oh I saw this. It's fantastic!"

"Fantastic?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Bill was peering over George's shoulder.

"She looks great and she's had a hell of a season," George said, glancing at Charlie. "Not sure what she sees in you."

Charlie hit him lightly on the shoulder, his heart not in it.

"Is there a reason we're looking at Adair?" Bill asked, looking between his mother and brother, sensing something was off.

"Mum doesn't think she's a suitable guest for Louis' party. I guess because she's half naked on the cover of a magazine," Charlie said wearily.

"I didn't say that!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.

"Mum!" Bill shook his head. "It's my son's birthday and if I would've thought there was someone who shouldn't be here, I would've made that decision."

"Do you think she's going to show up in that outfit?" George asked. "I mean, I wouldn't turn her away, but I bet she'll wear something a little more appropriate."

"Who wouldn't you turn away?" Angelina asked, coming through the door with Hermione and a pregnant Audrey. She caught a glimpse of the magazine and smacked George lightly on the back of the head. "You're disgusting." But she was smiling to herself as she headed upstairs, following the other two.

"Admit it, Mum. We were all starting to think that Charlie might be gay, so really this is a blessing. I mean he's with a girl who is not only good looking, but can you imagine how much money she made on that photoshoot alone?"

"I'm going to kill you," Charlie said murderously to his younger brother.

"I know we didn't have enough when you all were growing up, but I would hope that wouldn't have caused you to be with someone for their money," Mrs. Weasley said, exasperatedly.

"I'm not with her for the money!" Charlie thundered. "And I'm not with her because she looks good in spandex shorts and a sports bra!"

"Those things don't hurt though," George whispered. Bill shoved him.

Charlie looked pointedly at his mother. "Are you going to be civil to Adair or should I tell her to forget about the party because my family is rather narrow-minded?"

"I am not narrow-minded, Charles," she replied sharply. "But the photo isn't the only thing that concerns me."

"By all means, tell me more," he replied sarcastically.

"Surely you know what's written about her?" Mrs. Weasley prompted. Charlie remained silent so she continued with a sigh. "She's photographed with a different man at least once a month."

Charlie swiped a hand over his face. "The reporters don't have to write about things that are true, Mum. They want to sell magazines to people like you who believe everything they see and read."

Without another word, he clumped up the stairs to change.

"I'll just hide this so the children don't get their hands on it and ask questions," Charlie heard his mother say before he slammed the bedroom door.

ooooOoooo

Half an hour later, he came downstairs and the house was deserted, everyone else under the tent to escape the last rays of afternoon sun.

Charlie looked out the sitting room window and saw Adair walking up the lane to the house. With a smile, he went to greet her away from the prying eyes of his family in the backyard.

"Hi," she said with a pleasant smile, wrapping her arms tightly around his middle.

Charlie kissed her softly, smiling against her lips. He pulled away and laced his fingers through hers. He couldn't help but smile down at her.

Adair had opted to wear a black cotton t-shirt dress that hit just above her knees with flat sandals. Her hair was worn loose and wavy around her shoulders. There wasn't anything overtly sexual about the outfit and for that Charlie was glad, though he had known she would know exactly the right thing to wear.

Before they came around the side of the Burrow to join the others under the tent, Charlie stopped. "So this might be a little rough," he said quietly.

"Rough? How so?"

"My mum can be tough on people," was all he said before they were off again towards the tent.

Adair was greeted warmly by Ginny and George first and then the rest of them.

"Adair! Adair!"

She just had time to register the platinum blonde hair flying towards her before it collided with her. Victoire grinned up at her. Adair was surprised she remembered her name. It had been a very long time since they'd seen one another.

"I've been listening to all of your games!" the little girl exclaimed.

"She's positively obsessed with you," Bill confirmed as he joined the group.

"Not too obsessed, I hope, Victoire," Mrs. Weasley said, approaching. "Very few people can make their living playing a silly game."

Adair heard Charlie begin to speak behind her, but she spoke over him. "That's true. Always have a plan B," she said, smiling down at Victoire. "You're smart. You could do anything you wanted to."

Just as quickly as she had appeared, Victoire darted off to join Teddy in the orchard.

"It's good to see you, Mrs. Weasley," Adair said with a smile, despite the older woman's initial comment.

"Likewise Adair," she said, before leaving to go back into the Burrow to fetch the food.

Ginny sidled up to Adair with James on her hip. "George mentioned that she's not very impressed with the Seeker Weekly feature."

Adair's cheeks immediately colored. "It's part of the job," she said quietly, watching as Charlie was drug away by his nieces and nephews. He glanced back at Adair apologetically.

"I know it is. We all know it is. George and Bill staunchly came to your defense. And Charlie of course." Ginny sighed. "She's just rather traditional is all. If you stick around, she'll have to get over it."

Adair nodded, smiling at James who had a lock of his mother's red hair in his chubby fist.

They were all called to the long table to eat before Louis' was presented with his cake and gifts.

Charlie sat on Adair's right midway down the table and Fleur was on her left, Molly and Arthur occupying the heads of the table and everyone else filling in.

Adair put a little food on her plate and pushed it around more than she ate it. Charlie watched her out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing.

"Adair, is the food not quite up to your standards? I suppose it's not at all comparable to the fancy restaurants and such you're used to," Mrs. Weasley said loud enough to stop the conversations all down the table. "I can't say I've ever had anyone not eat my food, isn't that right, Harry dear?" she asked her son-in-law who was sitting next to her.

Harry flushed scarlet and shook his head, mumbling something no one could understand which earned him a sharp elbow from his wife.

"But then again, eating food like this won't get you on the cover of a magazine."

Everyone was silent, but Adair was used to hearing such things from people who didn't understand her life or job.

"I'm sorry if that feature offended you, Mrs. Weasley," Adair said as lightly as she could manage, though she felt her temper flaring. "I don't get to choose the shoots I'm a part of or how they dress me."

It was Mrs. Weasley's turn to flush. "Oh I was just teasing," she stuttered out.

"I'm sure you were," Adair said, taking a long drink from the Butterbeer in front of her, signalling an end to the exchange.

Conversations tentatively started back up around her.

"I wish I had handled her half as well as you did when she was giving me ze heat," Fleur said with an admiring smile.

"Well it's taken years of dealing with reporters," Adair replied.

"Are you okay?" Charlie whispered on her other side. Worry was etched on his face as she pushed her plate away, only having taken two or three bites.

Adair nodded. "I'm fine."

The sun sank as Louis was opening his presents. Charlie had gotten him a lifelike dragon toy that crawled around and smoked from the mouth and nostrils, making a realistic roar for such a miniature toy. It was by far the favorite. He had signed Adair's name with his.

As everyone chatted when the presents were opened and the children playing or falling asleep, Charlie realized that he had lost Adair.

He quickly found her with his father.

"I find Muggle sports so interesting," Mr. Weasley was saying. "There are two footballs. Did you know that. The British Muggles also call theirs soccer and the American Muggles just call it football."

Adair was nodding along. "I actually went to an American football game when I played in Texas."

"Oh how fascinating!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed. Just as he was politely demanding Adair to tell him every last detail about the experience, Charlie swooped in.

"Dad, Adair has a really early practice. I think she was hoping to be out of here by now."

"Unfortunately, he's right," Adair agreed. "But I have enjoyed this immensely. Thank you so much for having me."

"Of course! Of course! I was so happy to have you!" Mr. Weasley took her hands and squeezed them between his own.

Charlie gently had to separate the two.

"Good luck with the rest of your season, my dear! I'm rooting for you."

Adair smiled and waved over her shoulder as they walked back around the house.

"Bloody hell, Adair. I don't know what to say. Sorry isn't nearly enough."

She shook her head. "It's alright. Everyone else was lovely."

"But she was awful."

"She's your mum. She wants what's best for you and on paper what's best for you probably isn't the half naked girl on a tabloid cover."

Charlie rubbed the back of his neck. "Can I go home with you?"

"You'd probably better stay here with your family. It wouldn't look good if you left."

He knew she was right. "Can I take you to lunch after your practice and before I go back to Romania tomorrow?"

"I'd like that."

"I'll meet you at your place."

Adair got on her tiptoes and kissed his lips gently. "I'm tough. It's alright," she said before she turned and headed down the lane to Apparate back to her flat.

Charlie sighed and watched her disappear.

Mrs. Weasley didn't say a word to him the rest of the night.

There you have it! I hope you liked it. Let me know your thoughts and opinions! I appreciate everything but hate comments and flames!

Happy reading,

Avonmora