FIc: Matchmaker 2/2 (Charlie/Hermione)
Title: Matchmaker 2/2
Author: kalina_blue
Gift For: coonassblondie
Rating M
Pairing(s): Hermione/Charlie
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and I'm not making any money with this fic. This is purely for fun.
Summary: Desperate to avoid Molly Weasley's matchmaking schemes, Charlie and Hermione fail to see that another matchmaker has already targeted them.
Warnings: EWE and I refuse to believe that Fred is dead.
Author's notes: Here's the second and last part. Thanks go to the awesome ceirdwenfc who helped with this and beta'ed this part in record time.
Also, thanks to kath_ballantyne for the art and jo_ron for making the cool banner. I have to say that I loved the fact that Weasley_Fest gave out gifts for all their participants.
Reviews are love!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and I'm not making any money with this fic. This is purely for fun.
Matchmaker
Part II
Later that evening when the crowd began to quiet down, Harry and Ginny made their rounds, chatting with all their guests for a few minutes. By the time they reached Hermione and Charlie, Hermione was still sitting on Charlie's lap. She was comfortably leaning against his chest, her head nestling in the crook of his neck, and Charlie was unconsciously drawing lazy circles on the small of her back with his thumb.
An empty bottle of wine was standing on the table in front of them, and a second one had already been opened. The two were so engrossed in their conversation that they only noticed Harry and Ginny when the newlyweds sat down on two empty chairs and Ginny cleared her throat noticeably. Both Hermione and Charlie then looked up guiltily.
"I hope you're enjoying the wedding," Harry politely stated, raising an eyebrow at them while Ginny grinned.
Hermione straightened a bit on Charlie's lap, but didn't deem it necessary to get up completely. Charlie clearly seemed to be of the same opinion-he didn't let go of Hermione either.
"We're just trying to avoid being set up by Mum," Charlie explained, though, when Harry eyed him suspiciously.
"Of course, you are," Ginny agreed, sarcasm faintly noticeable in her voice.
"Are you looking forward to your Honeymoon in New Orleans?" Hermione asked, effectively changing the subject.
"Oh, yes," Ginny enthused. "I've always wanted to go there. There are so many things I want to see. The French Quarter, the galleries-"
"If you plan on keeping her in the hotel room the whole time, please don't tell me," Charlie begged Harry, who just smirked.
"We should get going. Still have many tables to visit. You two enjoy the rest of the wedding," Ginny got up.
"You're the one who wanted a big wedding," Harry reminded her good-naturedly, standing up as well. Eying the two bottles of wine at the table, one empty the other one well on its way to reach the same state, he flicked his wand to change the contents of the bottle and both glasses.
"You'll thank me in the morning for that one," he explained when Charlie and Hermione looked at him questioningly. Then he followed his bride to the next table where Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott were seated.
Charlie suspiciously sniffed the liquid in his glass, took an experimental sip, and then shouted after Harry, "Pumpkin juice! What are we? Twelve?" But Harry just winked at them and continued to chat with Neville and Hannah.
Charlie scowled first at Harry, who completely ignored him, and then at the bottle of pumpkin juice on their table.
"You know, I've got a really nice bottle of wine at my flat," Hermione suddenly suggested, surprising Charlie as well as herself. Charlie recovered quickly though and accepted the invitation before Hermione could change her mind.
Together they got their cloaks and Apparated to the secluded spot outside Hermione's flat. Hermione unlocked the door, took the magical wards down that provided additional protection to her flat and led Charlie inside.
"The living room is through there," she explained, pointing at one of the doors leading off the corridor. "I'll get the wine from the kitchen. Make yourself at home."
Charlie curiously entered her living room while Hermione went in the other direction. The first impression Charlie got from the room was that it would be more appropriate to call it a library. Three of the four walls were lined with shelves, all of them filled with books and books and books. More books were littering almost every available horizontal surface, including the floor. Charlie couldn't suppress a smile. This room was everything he had expected of Hermione.
The fourth wall was bare of any shelves or books, but clearly this was only due to the fact that it was largely dominated by a huge window that afforded a rather nice view over Chelsea. Charlie took a seat on the large, brown sofa, which mercifully was not buried underneath books.
Hermione joined him soon afterwards, carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses. She sat down besides Charlie, pushed a few books on the couch table out of the way and set the wine down. Using her wand to open the bottle, she demanded, "Go on, say it."
"Say what?" Charlie looked at her in confusion.
"That my flat looks like a library, and that I'll one day end up as Madam Pince's replacement as Hogwart's librarian," Hermione clarified, pouring the wine into the glasses, handing one of them to Charlie. "Everyone visiting my flat feels the need to point that out to me."
Charlie took the offered wine, smiling at her.
"Well, you do own a lot of books."
Hermione shrugged. "I like reading, though it's hardly the only thing I'm interested in."
"Really?" Charlie teased. He comfortably leaned back on the couch, sipping his wine, his body half-turned to Hermione. "Do tell. What else you do, when you don't work or read. Don't your books get jealous when you cheat on them?"
His teasing was accompanied by a broad smile and laughter in his voice. Hermione couldn't help but smile back.
"If you must know, I have a lot of other hobbies."
"Such as?" Charlie prompted, genuinely interested.
"Well, I love the theatre and going to museums and art galleries, I like rollercoasters-"
"Really, rollercoasters?" Charlie interrupted. "I didn't think you'd be the type for fun fairs."
"Oh, I love them," Hermione enthused. "Harry and I usually ride a rollercoaster together at least once a month. It's kind of our thing. I think, he just wants to have a bit of his childhood back. I doubt the Dursleys ever took him on any rides." She paused briefly, frowning, but continued before Charlie had the chance to say anything. "And I just love the feeling in my stomach when you reach the highest point and the carts slowly drop down."
"Yeah, it's almost as good as flying," Charlie agreed.
"You think so?" Hermione asked. She was slightly flushed, but whether it was due to the wine or their conversation, Charlie couldn't tell. "We took Ron and Ginny with us once. They both absolutely hated it. Ron believed that Harry and I had been angry with him and wanted to kill him for weeks afterwards."
Charlie laughed. "My dear baby brother has always been something of a wuss," he stated. "I expected more of Ginny though."
They both laughed. When they quieted down some, Charlie slung one arm around Hermione's shoulder pulling her closer.
"Say, Hermione, how come we haven't done this before?" he asked.
"This?" Hermione asked, leaning her head onto his shoulder, enjoying the closeness.
"Spend time together. Going out." Charlie rested his head on top of hers. "I'd never thought it'd be so much fun to talk to you."
"Likewise," Hermione replied. "But it would have been a bit strange if we'd have gone out while I was still dating your brother."
Hermione could feel Charlie's body vibrating as he laughed.
"Yeah, Ron might have had a bit of a problem with that."
"And then there's the fact that you work in Romania and only visit England while you're on holiday."
"True," Charlie reluctantly agreed. "Although…" he trailed of.
"Although?" Hermione asked when he didn't continue.
"You can't tell anyone," Charlie insisted. "But Hagrid owled me last month. He's been thinking about giving up his job at Hogwarts. Apparently, it's not been the same ever since Dumbledore died. He's considering going to Eastern Europe with Grawp, tour the countryside-Madam Maxime would come along as well, it seems."
Charlie stopped and Hermione patiently waited for him to continue, using the time to snuggle closer to his body.
"Hagrid says, McGonagall is going to offer me the position as Care of Magical Creatures professor," he finally announced.
"Oh, Charlie. You'd make a great teacher," Hermione said.
"You really think so?" he asked, sounding unsure.
"Of course," Hermione confirmed without hesitation. "You love the subject. But wouldn't you miss the dragons?"
"Yeah," Charlie sighed. "That's why I haven't decided yet. On the one hand I can't work with dragons all my life, it's very demanding physically. But on the other hand, I just can't imagine not to. I love working with those oversized lizards."
"You'll figure it out," Hermione assured him, and Charlie tightened his hold on her shoulders.
******************************
There was a little boat, seesawing in the water. Hermione was lying on deck, basking in the sun's warmth…
Then Hermione woke up, slowly realising that there was no boat, no ocean and no sun. There was, however, Charlie, whom she was using as pillow and whose even breathing accounted for the rocking motions. Also, her head felt like it had expanded to twice its original size over night.
Slightly disoriented, Hermione tried to get up, but couldn't because Charlie had one arm draped around her back and was holding on quite tightly. Hermione realised that they were lying on her living room couch still in their dress robes. Carefully twisting in Charlie's grasp, she took a look at the couch table where an empty bottle of wine and two glasses stood.
That explained the headache.
Hermione's squirming caused Charlie to wake up, too. He blinked rapidly, clearly as confused about his whereabouts as Hermione had been just a few seconds earlier.
"Looks like we fell asleep," he stated the obvious, to which Hermione only nodded-very carefully because her head really felt like it would explode any second. Charlie then realised that he was still holding onto Hermione and let go rather quickly. A slightly awkward silence filled the living room as both of them got off the couch.
"Er, you want some breakfast?" Hermione asked, more for the sake of breaking the silence than being a good host.
"Sure," Charlie agreed, his mood clearly brightening. Despite feeling awful, Hermione had to bite back a grin. Weasley boys were always happy when there was food. They both went into Hermione's small kitchen where she got two vials of hangover potion, handing one to Charlie, before getting started on cooking their breakfast.
The potion took effect within minutes, and as her headache subsided Hermione's mood brightened up exponentially. Humming to herself, she went to collect the ingredients from the fridge. Charlie, meanwhile, was trying to knead the kinks out of his neck.
"Has somebody ever told you that your couch is bloody uncomfortable?" he asked.
Hermione grinned at him over her shoulder. "I don't know what you're talking about. I had a rather comfy pillow."
"Well, I'm glad to have been of service." Charlie grinned back. Hermione redirected her attention to the stove and pondered how weird it was that spending the morning with Charlie Weasley was suddenly turning out to be not so weird after all.
"You can take a hot shower while I cook breakfast if you want to," Hermione offered, and Charlie gratefully accepted. While Hermione scrambled the eggs, she listened to the water run in her shower, very much trying not to think about how Charlie looked right then-naked, that is.
Before long Charlie returned, wearing the slacks from the other night, his dress shirt half unbuttoned, running a hand through his still wet hair.
"I can finish up breakfast if you want to take a shower as well," he suggested.
"You cook?" Hermione eyed him sceptically.
Charlie laughed at her. "Of course, I cook. How else do you think I feed myself when I'm in Romania?"
Hermione surrendered the spatula and went to take a shower, too. When she returned to the kitchen, wearing a pair of comfortable jeans and tying her wet hair into a messy bun, Charlie was just setting the table.
"Smells delicious."
"Don't sound so surprised," Charlie teased, and they both sat down to enjoy their breakfast. The silence wasn't awkward anymore. In fact, they were both quietly enjoying each other's company.
When they were done eating, Hermione got up to clean the dishes, and Charlie took the towel to dry them. Having breakfast together felt eerily natural, almost as if they had been doing it for years. Both of them were surprised by the familiarity and ease they felt around each other.
Hanging up the wet towel after the last plate had been put away, Charlie bent down towards Hermione, giving her a small peck on the cheek. "Thanks for breakfast." Hermione smiled up at him, and Charlie forcefully became aware of how close together they stood.
Intuitively, he leaned forward to kiss her cheek once more. Then he brushed his lips against hers.
"Charlie?" Hermione stared up to him with wide eyes. Charlie took a step back, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Er, sorry. I didn't mean to-" He started to take another step away from Hermione, but Hermione grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him towards her. She crashed her lips to his in a passionate kiss.
Charlie took hold of her waist, pulling Hermione's body closer to his, as he returned her kiss with just as much fervour.
He walked her backwards until Hermione's back hit the fridge. Pushing her up against the cold surface, Charlie ground his hard body against hers, making Hermione gasp. Slipping her hands into his half-opened shirt, Hermione ran them over Charlie's muscular chest and his nipples, causing him to moan in return.
Charlie broke their kiss; nibbling his way down her jaw, to her throat and to the side over her neck, making Hermione tilt her head to give him better access. All the while Hermione was letting her hands roam freely over Charlie's upper body. When his shirt got in the way of her exploration, she unfastened the buttons with trembling fingers, sliding the shirt over his shoulders as soon as it was open.
The kitchen was filled with the sounds of their heavy breathing as they continued the onslaught on each other's bodies.
"Maybe we should move this to the bedroom," Charlie suggested breathlessly. Not trusting her voice, Hermione only nodded.
She led the way to her bedroom, with Charlie following close behind and somehow still managing to lick her neck while walking at the same time. He stopped, however, once he entered her bedroom.
"What, no books?" He asked bewildered, looking around the bright room, which held Hermione's bed, a nightstand, a wardrobe and little else.
"Focus, Charlie," Hermione ordered laughingly, pulling him down for yet another kiss.
Charlie gladly fulfilled her request, releasing her hair tie and burying his hands in her half-dried curls while exploring her mouth with his tongue. Hermione slowly pushed him backwards until they reached the bed. The couple tumbled onto the mattress without breaking their kiss.
They were rolling around on the mattress, kissing, each of them trying to be the one on top and playfully fighting for control. Hermione finally managed to get Charlie on his back, quickly straddling his hips to keep him in place, smiling down at him smugly. Charlie raised an eyebrow, grudgingly acknowledging her victory-she may have won the fight, but not the war-before using the opportunity to slip his hands underneath her shirt to take it off.
While Charlie ran his hands along the sides of her body, Hermione bent down to kiss his chest. Kissing, sucking, biting-she was working her way down his torso, until Charlie was moaning deeply and holding onto her hips tightly. Reaching the waistband of his slacks, Hermione traced a path of wet kisses along the edge of the trousers.
"Hermione," Charlie breathed, urging her to touch him.
Opening his belt, Hermione got rid of his trousers first before cupping his hardness through his boxers, eliciting a loud moan from Charlie.
Smiling, Hermione slipped one hand into his boxers, sliding it slowly up and down his length. The slow pace was driving Charlie mad, and when the teasing became too much, he grabbed her arms, pulling her up until their faces were level again.
Kissing her deeply, Charlie slid his hands around her back, unfastening the clasp of Hermione's bra and slipping it off. His hands found her breasts, kneading them until Hermione sighed into the kiss.
Flipping them over quickly, Charlie settled himself between Hermione's legs, bending his head to suck one of her nipples into his mouth while his hands continued their massage. Hermione forgot all about wanting to be on top.
Charlie then kissed his way down Hermione's body, mirroring her earlier actions. When he reached her jeans, he quickly unfastened them. Hermione raised her hips, and Charlie slid both the jeans and her knickers down her legs, taking them off and throwing them onto the growing pile of clothes on the bedroom floor.
Taking his time now, Charlie kissed his way up her legs until he reached Hermione's thighs.
Sucking the inside of Hermione's left thigh hard, Charlie marked her. Turning to the other side, he repeated the process with Hermione's right thigh. Hermione's breath came in irregular gasps.
"Charlie, please," she begged. Knowing what she wanted, but ignoring her demands for the moment, he instead moved to the spot where her leg joined her body, biting the tender skin roughly. Hermione's hips bucked up involuntarily.
"Please."
Charlie finally relented. Kissing his way towards her centre, he gave her clit a flick with his tongue, before closing his lips around it and sucking. Hermione moaned.
Looking up from his spot between her thighs, Charlie saw Hermione's sweaty hands twisting into the sheet at either side of her body. Her head was thrown back and her eyes closed tightly-her expression one of pure ecstasy.
The sight of her made Charlie lose what little self-control he had left. Quickly crawling up her body and getting rid of his boxers on the way, he entered Hermione in one swift motion.
They moaned simultaneously, finally getting what both of them had wanted since the previous night.
Charlie set a fast pace, slamming into her willing body, while Hermione let go of the sheets, clawing at his back instead, trying to draw him as close as possible.
Too worked up to last very long, they both tumbled over the edge far more quickly than either of them would have liked.
Careful not to crush her, Charlie rolled on his back, and Hermione snuggled up to his side. As he was struggling to get his breathing under control, Charlie idly wondered how an innocent peck on the cheek could have possibly escalated to all this.
"I'm really glad you were at Bill's office when I had that meeting with him," Hermione mumbled while tracing patterns on Charlie's chest.
"Wait. That meeting was scheduled?"
"Yes. Why?"
Charlie groaned. "We've been set up."
"I don't think Molly planned on getting us together."
"Not my Mum. Bill! He told me to come over at exactly that time. He must have known you'd be there."
"Oh."
"There'll be no living with him after this."
Hermione smiled. "I'd say it was well worth it though. Wouldn't you?"
Charlie spent the rest of the day showing her exactly how worth he thought it was.
The End
A/N: Please review.