Chapter Five

Charlie

With every passing day that he was forced to endure the torture, Charlie began to really hate his horrible job at the Ministry. How could he have been so foolish to accept the offer when it was presented? He regretted being so quick to sign a contract with a promise to stay for at least two years. It had been a rash decision he made when he wasn't in a state of mind of think clearly. In his desperation to get as far away from her and the mess he'd made of his life in Romania, he did the one thing he always swore he would never do no matter what.

He wasn't made to spend his life indoors. It was unnatural. There were others in his department and in various offices in the Ministry that actually seemed content to shuffle parchment and endure inane conversations with people he didn't care for about topics that he could not care any less about. His younger brother Percy thrived in that environment. As much as he truly loved his brother, that was one difference they had that he would never understand. He longed for fresh air and sunshine. The enchanted weather from the window on the wall was no substitute for the real thing, especially when the wizards in the Magical Maintenance Office were upset. One more day of fake drizzling rain and he feared he might go mad.

Another damned large stack of parchment was dropped on top of his desk by the clerk three desks down. It took all of his self-control to not set it on fire with a spell from his wand. Not for the first time he was tempted to run far away and never come back. He wanted to have a drink. Maybe the rest of the horrible day would go by faster if he was numb. He'd been trying to be good, trying to keep the drinking confined the appropriate hours of the day. The thought of being stuck with the reputation of being the drunk in the Department, no matter how accurate it might have been, filled him with dread. It would embarrass his mother. None of his family deserved that.

In an effort to calm his nerves and hopefully try to make it to the end of the workday without slipping out for a nip of the liquid he was relying far too much on those days, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could endure the day. It was nearly time for lunch. Half of the day was almost over. When it was half-past five, he could tidy his desk as neatly as possible and then run for the exits at top speed. There was a fresh bottle of fire whiskey he hadn't opened yet sitting in the middle of his kitchen table. He had had worse Friday nights before.

"Can't imagine your supervisor appreciates you sleeping at your desk."

The familiar sound of his older brother's voice tore him out of his thoughts. Charlie opened his eyes to catch Bill standing on the other side of his desk with a bright smile. What the fuck was he doing there? Since the war ended and he started a family, the eldest of the Weasley children didn't venture far from the Diagon Alley branch of Gringott's Bank. Though he continued to go on cursebreaking trips when he was needed, he lived a much less adventurous life than he did when he was single. How could he stand it?

"I wasn't asleep. I was merely trying to figure out how I could break my contract early and get out of this office."

Bill chuckled. It wasn't the first time he'd heard his brother complain about his new job. On the contrary, he'd chosen to find Charlie's misery hilarious. Every time he brought up something new he hated, Bill only laughed. It was annoying. Had his brother always been so frustrating?

"Can't help you there, I'm afraid, but I can buy you a sandwich. Let me take you to lunch."

Charlie didn't want to go have an entire meal with his brother. Unfortunately, Bill had a bad habit of sticking his nose in business that didn't belong to him. Since the engagement party, he had been avoiding every member of his family, especially his best friend. Maybe that was why Bill felt he had to corner him at the Ministry. Seeing no possible way to get out of it and needing at least half an hour away from his desk, he agreed.

There was a tea shop in Diagon Alley not far from Charlie's horrible flat that Bill insisted they go to. Based on the comments he had been making about his drinking since he returned from Romania, it wasn't a surprise he was trying to keep his little brother out of a tavern. Annoying really. Even just a pint would've been enough to keep the edge off for the rest of the afternoon. Seeing nothing but tea available on the menu, he settled for a bottle of butterbeer. He could pretend it had the same affect on a full-grown wizard as it did a house-elf.

"And then little Victoire cried and begged Fleur to take her back to France to see her other grandparents."

The polite small talk they engaged in while they waited for their sandwiches to arrive was awkward, even a little painful. Not that Charlie was much help in contributing anything interesting. He hated every moment he and and his brother acted like strangers or old friends who hadn't seen each other in years. Used to be there nothing in the world he couldn't talk to his brother about. Everything changed in his life as he got older and most of it wasn't for the best. His self-imposed exile from Romania hadn't helped.

"So I know you may not want to talk about it, but Hermione…"

Of course it wasn't a surprise when Bill steered the conversation to Hermione. Likely he was there on orders from his nosy, intrusive wife to find out everything he could. Their mother was probably in on it as well. When the war ended, Molly and Fleur become very close. By the time Fleur presented his mother with her first grandchild, they were thick as thieves.

Charlie had no doubt that Bill told Fleur what he witnessed in the attic. And if Fleur knew, his mother did which meant his father also knew. His father would've told George who would've told Angelina. Then Angelina would've told Audrey who never kept anything from Percy even when she should. Percy might pretend he wasn't interested in getting involved in such gossip, but he would tell Ginny the first moment he saw her and Ginny would tell Harry who would also pretend not to care. She would then tell Mandy who was bound to reveal the secret to Ron.

Every member of their family would've learned Bill caught Charlie and a half-naked Hermione up in the attic during the engagement party in less than three days after the party. It was something of a miracle that so far only Bill had actually confronted him weeks later. Maybe there was a pact.

Likely the women in the family got together to decide how best to handle such a delicate situation and elected Bill as their spokesman. It was incredible what those women could get up to when they put their heads together. If only they used their power for good, how much better would the world be? He could only imagine how much more effective their little coven could be if Hermione joined them. As soon as he thought that, he put a stop to it. Those thoughts was a ridiculous waste of time.

"Audrey's cousin was at the Leaky Cauldron last Friday night."

"How lovely for her. Why would I…?"

Before he could finish his snarky question, Charlie understood. It had been a week since he and Hermione rushed out of the popular establishment to walk back to her flat. He felt the corner of his mouth threaten to curl into a grin. It had been a great night.

"Millicent said you two were sitting very close to each other and whispering and that as soon as Hermione finished eating you two all but ran out the door."

"She didn't happen to follow us, did she?"

"No, I didn't hear that she…"

Bill stopped mid-sentence to laugh loudly enough that some of the other patrons turned their way.

"What did you do, Charlie?"

"Something very inappropriate in front of the Magical Menagerie."

He shook his head at hearing mention of his brother's antics, but there was still a smile on Bill's face.

"Doors that lock. You should try them some time."

Briefly, Charlie allowed his mind to wander to the part of the night when they were in her flat and did take advantage of being behind a locked door. Sure, Bill had a point about the secure doors. They certainly enjoyed themselves when they didn't have to worry about being caught but he also couldn't deny it was a lot of fun to wonder if they were going to be caught too. There were some other fairly public places he wouldn't mind exploring. Would she be interested? He was able to lose himself in his increasingly debauched thoughts until he saw Bill's raised eyebrow.

Charlie cleared his throat and decided to get to the meat of their conversation. He was no fool. He knew the purpose of his brother's visit.

"Did the entire family elect you to be the representative in this talk with me or was this a decision you made all on your own?"

He knew the answer even before Bill shifted nervously in his seat. Of course his brother would try to deny it so he chose to cut him off before he could.

"Is this where you demand to know my intentions for Hermione? Because you're not her father."

As soon as Charlie saw how annoyed Bill became, he knew he had struck a nerve. He wished he said no to his brother to lunch. Nothing good could ever come out of their discussion. No doubt the entire family was eager for Charlie and Hermione to fall in love, get married, and add even more grandchildren to the growing Weasley family. It wasn't going to happen. They all needed to learn to live with their disappointment. He didn't have the ability to love another woman again. That wasn't fair to Hermione which was why he made it clear from the very beginning all he ever could offer her was sex. She seemed fine with that arrangement. It was no one else's business what they chose to do.

"No, I'm not her father but I care about her. We all do. She's become a part of this family already. After what happened to her parents…"

None of them liked to remember the lengths Hermione went to protect her parents during the war. She sacrificed so much to help Harry end the war and defeat Voldemort. Giving up her family couldn't have been easy. Sadly, the memory charms were irreversible. She had no one except her friends left. Because of that, his parents took her in like she was one of their own. Everyone assumed she would became an official Weasley when she married Ron, but then they broke up for reasons Charlie didn't know. It was none of his business.

"You two could be great together."

"We aren't interested."

"If you aren't going to be serious, you should walk away before you both get hurt."

Charlie scoffed. How did he get himself stuck in such a conversation? Bill really needed to learn how to mind his own business. Not everything was up for discussion.

"It's just sex. We're having fun. No one is getting hurt."

It was obvious Bill didn't believe a word he said. To Charlie's relief, he dropped the subject at least for the time being. He had no doubt that would only be the first of many conversations about Hermione. Breaking off his arrangement with her might be a good idea if it prevented him from being cornered like that again. He wasn't sure he had much more in him to remain polite. It had been years since he last crashed his fist against his brother's face. It would be a shame to break that streak.

When the uncomfortable lunch was over, Charlie returned to his office with a great deal of reluctance. There likely would never be a moment he looked forward to stepping back inside the Ministry to sit down behind his fucking desk. He was still annoyed with Bill's audacity when he picked his first file off the top of the never-ending stack. The confrontation had been unnecessary.

Having a large family was hard sometimes. They could drive him mad with very little provocation. Being away from them in Romania for so long made it easier to deal with them even if it was true he often missed them when he was away. For a moment he let his mind imagine what it would be like to not have his family. Immediately, he regretted letting his mind go down that horrible path. He loved his family. They were a part of who he was.

His eyes looked across the level to Hermione's office on the other side. It made him sad to think about being alone without countless family members intruding in on his privacy. He felt sorry for her that she didn't have the same. As much as he might grumble and be frustrated by the attention, he knew he couldn't make it long without them. It must be terribly lonely.

Hermione

No matter how tempting it was to do so, Hermione was resolved she would not look at the clock. What did it matter what time it was if she wasn't finished with what she set out to complete that day? It didn't matter it was Friday nor did it matter that most of her Department had already gone home. She had a job to do and it felt wrong to go home before she was finished.

Besides, what did she have to hurry home to? An empty flat? A half-eaten sandwich she'd saved for later? It was hardly an incentive to rush off.

She didn't have any plans outside of work. All of her friends were married or at least paired up. Any plans made with them inevitably made her feel like the odd one out or worse, they used the opportunity to try to set her up. She wasn't interested in any of the wizards she'd been introduced to. Angelina and Ginny once had the bright idea to invite one of their teammates from their respective teams along on the chance Hermione might be more interested in a witch than a wizard. Unfortunately, neither of her well-meaning friends considered the fact that the two attractive Quidditch players might be more interested in each other than they were the bookish bureaucrat who spent far too much time and energy talking about werewolves' rights. It was another dismal evening where she was the odd one out again.

A knock on her office door surprised her enough that she knocked over an entire pot of ink. Frozen for a moment watching the mess spread, she quickly grew annoyed. She didn't even know why she bothered to use quills in the first place when she knew how much more efficient and convenient Muggle pens were. She pointed her wand at the door to open it without getting up and then focused her attention and her magic on cleaning up the mess. It was easy to assume her visitor was Kingsley there to remind her again she was working too late. He was sweet, but she didn't need a reminder.

Looking up to see Charlie standing there instead was a pleasant surprise. He never worked late if he could help it. Her cheeks began to burn at the memories of the last time they were alone. She had been trying not to think about that night as it was far too distracting. How could she get any work at all done if she let her mind travel down such paths?

"You work too late."

Her eye roll was dramatic but she still smiled. As if that was a great secret to anyone who knew her at all.

"Not really any of your business, is it, Charlie?"

The wizard stepped just inside her office to lean his back against the doorframe. It really was annoying how handsome he was so effortlessly. She always felt as if she had to put in a great deal of work to not look like a troll. It was frustrating how well most men aged. Charlie just shrugged his shoulders at her question.

"Maybe it's not any of my business most days, but I've been sitting at my desk staring at your office door for nearly two hours waiting for it to open. If you didn't work so late, I wouldn't have gotten so bored."

Hermione felt her heart rate increase. There was only one reason she could imagine he would be willing to stay so late when he obviously hated his job. If he thought he was keeping that a secret from everyone, he was sorely mistaken. His misery was obvious. Not that she could exactly blame him. He'd been very happy working on the dragon reserve in Romania. Why would he give that up to work behind a desk? No one had been able to give her an adequate answer. It wasn't really any of her business.

"I don't recall scheduling a meeting with you."

She made a dramatic show of checking her calendar to his amusement.

"I see. So I should have scheduled a meeting with you through your assistant first?"

"It couldn't have hurt. Then you wouldn't have had to wait."

"And what should I have told her was the purpose of my meeting with you?"

"I suppose that would be entirely up to you as I don't know why you were wanting to see me at all."

Oh, but she did. There could be no question what he was after just based on the look in his eye. Had the room suddenly grown hotter or was it how he was staring at her, reminding her with one glance that he knew exactly how she looked naked?

Charlie stepped all the way inside the office closing the door behind him. The loud 'click' of her lock being engaged might have sounded ominous in any other situation, but not with him.

"I've recently been lectured to about the importance of locked doors and I wondered if they were worth all the hype I've been led to believe them to be."

"I'm not sure I want to know who lectured you."

"No, you probably don't, but I'm sure you could guess."

All she could think of was Bill. It would be just like him to confront his brother about what he witnessed in the attic weeks earlier. She knew that it was very likely that every adult member of the Weasley family knew what they were up to. It was something of a miracle no one had come to talk to her about it yet. Probably it would happen very soon. She wasn't sure she had the energy to deal with the deluded excitement of any of the women who might tell her how much they hoped she would become their sister-in-law. They were bound to be disappointed. If she didn't marry Ron when he was begging her on bended knee, why would she marry Charlie? Her reasons for turning down the wizard who loved her so much hadn't magically disappeared or changed.

With all of the confidence Hermione both admired and resented him for, Charlie crossed the office to come back around her desk and sat on the edge. He was close enough his muscular thighs brushed against her arm. Her mind struggled to remember what it was she had just been annoyed about. What a delightful effect the wizard had on her.

"We were seen at the Leaky Cauldron last week."

But then she remembered her frustration all over again. With a family as large as the Weasleys and seeming to grow even more so by the minute, it was nearly impossible to not inadvertently run into one of them or their close associates no matter where in the wizarding world one went.

"Only at the Leaky Cauldron, I hope, and not at the Magical Menagerie?"

He smiled, clearly proud of himself for the shocking bit of debauchery she still couldn't believe she agreed to. But, she had to admit it had been a great deal of fun. She hadn't been able to go long without thinking about it all week.

"No, we weren't seen there as far as I'm aware, but considering how fucking gorgeous you looked coming on my face, any potential witness was probably too stunned to speak."

She shifted in her chair, suddenly uncomfortable. It should be illegal to speak like that. Where did he get his confidence?

"That tongue of yours is going to get you in serious trouble one day."

Charlie grinned.

"I don't recall hearing any complaints."

"No, I never did complain. You never told me what the purpose of your visit to my office was."

She was far from stupid. His intentions were written all over his face. From the moment he shut and locked the door behind him she understood what he wanted. He wasn't known for his subtlety. Gryffindors rarely were. Charlie ran two fingers down her cheek, across her chin, and then brushed them against her lips.

"I've been unable to think about anything all afternoon but your mouth."

The sudden urge to be reckless again couldn't be ignored. As much as she knew she should be ashamed, Hermione couldn't bring herself to care all that much. Still clutching her wand in her hand, she lifted it enough to cast a one-sided silencing charm on the entire room. She wanted to be able to hear anything outside the office but didn't want anyone to hear what was about to happen inside because she very much hoped it was about to get noisy. Realizing what she was doing, Charlie grinned again.

Just the simple act of moving her chair over slightly so she could slide between his legs made the man groan. She hadn't even touched him yet and she was already liking what she heard. The height of the desk and the height of her chair were both almost perfect to allow her to return the favor from their trip to the Magical Menagerie. His excitement was evident already. She both hoped and feared he wouldn't last long. It was a compliment to know she could make him lose control so quickly, but she didn't want to put a premature end to their fun.

She ran both of her hands up his thighs as he stared down at her with an intensity that threatened to steal the very breath from her lungs. Something about Charlie always set her a little bit on edge. If there was anyone else she knew who did the same, she couldn't recall. To keep her mind from venturing down trails it was best to avoid, she moved her right hand straight over the bulge in his trousers. Another throaty groan was her reward.

"I hope you haven't been sitting at your desk these past two hours with this."

He smirked again.

"Even longer than that, I'm afraid. I started thinking about you as soon as I returned from lunch."

"How perfectly miserable you must've been. Let me see if I can help."

Part of her wanted to tease him a little bit as a small punishment for encouraging her to be so reckless in Diagon Alley a week earlier. To even just imagine the sort of scandal that could've come out of that moment of pleasure was nearly enough to keep her locked away at home for the rest of her life. Wouldn't Rita Skeeter have a number of nasty names to call her? It could've been humiliating.

But it wasn't. Teasing wasn't necessary and she would only be punishing herself in the process too. She made short work of unzipping his trousers to release the poor swollen captive within. Another of his proud smiles crossed Charlie's lips when she dared to look up again. He certainly had nothing to be ashamed about. One sensual lick of her lips while meeting his eyes was all it took to wipe the smirk away. The heat from his eyes was undeniable.

She used her right hand to help guide his full length straight into her mouth without delay. For a moment or two she stayed perfectly still just holding him there. An almost pitiful plea of a moan escaped his mouth. He wanted more and so did she. Swirling her tongue around him as she slowly moved her head up and down drove him nearly mad. His hands clenched the edge of her desk so tightly his knuckles were almost white. A conversation they had a week earlier while they were in her bed about the degradation of men who used their partners' mouths like it was just another hole to fuck must have been playing over in his mind. He knew what she would put up with and what she wouldn't. One harsh move and she would be done.

To his credit, he stayed as perfectly still as it was possible to be when one was being lavished with silent praise from a practiced mouth and skilled tongue. Hermione was no novice, no terrified little prude afraid of men and what their bodies were capable of. No, quite the contrary really. In the right mood she could suck the wits out of a man from the one head he used the most. With the right partner, it was even enjoyable to do so.

Feeling Charlie start to tense up, she knew he was close. Determined to speed up her movements, she became quite annoyed when he abruptly stood to his feet, knocking her mouth away. On the verge of demanding he answer for his rudeness, she could only gasp when with a rapid series of movements, he had her on her feet, spun around, and her stomach on top of her desk. The sound of fabric ripping as he tried to remove her knickers in a rush nearly made her laugh. Perhaps she would've if he'd allowed her any chance.

The ruined remnants of her knickers fell to the floor. His strong hands pulled her legs apart. A short tease of his tip almost drew a frustrated scream out of her mouth. She didn't want to wait another second. Thankfully, one determined thrust filled her up completely. It was her turn to grab onto the edge of her desk with white knuckles for a very different reason.

He showed no mercy. She wanted none. Over and over again he slammed into her from behind, sending her across the top of the desk only to be pulled back down with a squeeze on her hips with his rough hands. Holding onto the edge of the desk was all that kept her grounded to reality in those blissful, too-short minutes. It was very fast, but very, very passionate. She couldn't believe what she was doing while she was in her office. It was depraved. What was wrong with her?

There wasn't time to think too long on her sins. Charlie released his grip on one of her hips to reach down between her legs. Truthfully, she should've been embarrassed how swiftly she came with just a few swipes of his fingers. Her screams of pleasure could've been heard all over the building if she hadn't employed a silencing spell. Still nestled deep inside her trembling body, he found his release with a deep moan of his own. Before he slipped out, he leaned down to whisper into her ear.

"Let's go back to your flat, drop all of our clothes at the door, and spend the weekend making each other scream."

As far as suggestions for how to spend the next few days went, she couldn't think of anything better. Of course it was very tempting to do so, especially when her body still tingled everywhere he touched. More of that might have been the exact antidote for the sour mood she'd had earlier or it might kill her. Either way, she was interested.

"That sounds like…"

A knock at the door of the office interrupted her sentence. Remembering that she wasn't in the privacy of her own home, she became very nervous. She didn't want to be caught alone in a locked office with Charlie. It would be obvious what they were up to. It was inappropriate and unprofessional. Frozen in temporary fear, the second knock would've been enough to encourage her to get moving. Hearing Kingsley call out her name on the other side of the door only made her more frantic. She pushed Charlie off of her to stand up and readjust her clothes.

"You have to hide."

"I'm not hiding under your desk if that's what you're asking."

"Kingsley can't see you in here. He'll know what we've been up to. He's not stupid."

"I'm not ashamed."

"Well, I am."

And she really was as the reality of being caught became ever more possible.

"This is where we work. We shouldn't have done that."

Charlie was annoyed. Whether it was by the interruption or what she just said, she didn't know. With a great deal of reluctance, he moved across the office to be able to hide behind the door when she opened it. When she felt presentable, Hermione opened the door. There was a look of concern on Kingsley's face. She only hoped her face wasn't giving anything away.

"Kingsley! What can I do for you?"

"Is everything all right? You don't normally lock your door."

She sighed, worried that her secret was on the verge of being exposed. What could she say to explain in a way he might actually believe what she said?

"I kept being interrupted while I was working on an important report."

"I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to…"

He started to leave embarrassed until she stopped him with a gentle touch of his arm.

"It's all right. Is there something you need?"

He cleared his throat, still clearly ill at ease. It might have been adorable if she wasn't in such a frantic state to have him leave.

"No, nothing urgent. We just hadn't spoken since last week and I thought I would invite you to dinner to tell you about my trip to MACUSA."

"Oh, that does sound fascinating and I would love to hear all about it, but I was just about to go home. It's been a long day and I'm exhausted."

"Another time then."

He smiled before turning around to leave. Watching him walk across the Level towards the lifts, she waited a few moments to close the door. As soon as it shut and they were alone again, Charlie stepped out from behind the door laughing.

"So the Minister for Magic is in love with you."

Hermione felt both confused and annoyed.

"You're being ridiculous. No, he's not."

"Oh, but he is. And you should run after him. Let him take you to dinner. Forget me. I can't offer you what he can."