Just a Boy
Title: Just a Boy
Rating: PG
Genre: General
Length: 1339
Pairing: Harry/Charlie
Summary: Harry is very persistent.
Warning: Because I had completely messed up, Bill and Charlie's jobs are switched.
Note: Another late birthday fic. This one's for gestaltrose. Darling, sorry for missing your birthday, but hopefully this will make up for it. ♥ I hope first person doesn't bother you. I couldn't help it; Charlie wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Can't you work any faster?"
"Shush, Harry. Let him go; it's a difficult process."
I nodded at Hermione, not daring to halt my chants and address her. Ignoring Harry's whiny protests, I focussed on the curses around the house. They were very intricate and rare -- I didn't know what curses exactly they were. My wand was warm and vibrating softly between my fingers, straining.
A new set of chants, old ones, made an orange web of magic, bright enough to stop Quidditch matches, flicker around the crumbled, deserted building. My companions fell silent simultaneously -- this was what they had been waiting for, though I didn't know just what behind the reaches of the worn door interested them so much.
Sweat built on my brow, not helped by the intensely bright August sun. Of course the sun had to be blindingly bright when we would be outside breaking and entering. Not that I knew what we were breaking into. A house, of course, but why one in such shambles? Surely there couldn't be anything of interest in there.
Ron hadn't felt the need to tell me two weeks ago, when they'd recruited me from my short layoff from Gringotts, why I was to do what they wanted. It wasn't that I expected them to tell me everything. I wasn't stupid. I knew that if they wouldn't tell anyone else, why would they tell me? They had got quite conning in their few months out of school.
Though Harry had just got more demanding. They should never have let him in charge of the escapade. He had also got more persistent. Or maybe I'm the only one who had the unfortunate experience to witness that first hand.
Sighing, I shook the thoughts from my hand, returning to my work. The curses were difficult, more difficult than ones the ancient Egyptians had used. And they used good ones. I was sure it was Dark magic. Dark to a multitude I had never seen before.
My vision had gone tunnel-like. It was happening. I was entering 'the zone' as my mates at Gringotts liked to say. They said my eyes turned vacant, face chiselled as if out of stone. That my red hair turned a little brighter, my voice dropped a few octaves, and I didn't respond to them. I noticed nothing except for the curses I was breaking, the way they seemed to hiss and snarl at me, chastising for my trying to break them, tame them.
And tame them I did. Once I had mentioned to Bill that our jobs are similar: he tamed dragons; I tamed curses. He hadn't understood.
"You got it!" Hermione cheered as I came out of 'the zone,' the web of magic turning duller to a soft brown and then exploding in a multitude of spots.
"Bloody brilliant!" my brother said, clapping me on the shoulder. "I'm knackered. Let's go eat."
I turned and frowned at him. He hadn't done a thing. I had done it all.
"What you say?" he asked, looked at Hermione. She shrugged and smiled sheepishly at me.
She said, "We're very grateful for you doing this once again."
For the past week I had been breaking down curses and none of them had yielded results. This place they were unusually excited about, though. I hoped they found whatever they were looking for soon. It was getting harder to resist Harry.
"C'mon!" Ron yelped, tugging Hermione ahead quickly, no doubt hoping to steal a few moments to snog his new girlfriend. "Coming, Charlie?"
I waved my hand at him, though he wasn't looking at me, and sat on the stoop, resting my swimming head. I always felt like the pits after a particularly hard curse, and this had been more than one curse.
Harry called after Ron that he'd be there in a few and took the space next to me, staring after his friends. I waited wearily for the inevitable.
"Thanks," Harry said, surprising me. He craned his head, gazing at the door behind us with that longing, determined look on his face that I'm too acquainted with. It was a relief he wasn't using it on me.
Ever since Saturday, two days after they'd dragged me with, albeit not unwillingly for I was -- still am -- curious, he had started to come on to me. At first I passed it and him off as it being brought on by stress. But then I just passed him off. It wasn't that I would never think of a man in that context, but Harry is not a man. He's a boy.
Though I'd never in a thousand years speak those words to him.
I'm not trying to degrade him. He's done things I don't think I'd ever be able to. He's faced Voldemort multiple times, surviving each, not to mention all the other people who've tried to kill him. He's seen more death first hand than I ever had, and handled it. He's done things I don't know about because I don't know him. Not really.
Besides that, he's still a seventeen year old boy and I'm a twenty-four year old man. And he's my brother's best friend. And my sister is in love with him. It would just be wrong.
But I've always wondered.
"What do you say we sneak in now and have a look around?" Harry asked eagerly, turning his longing look my way.
"They'll be mad."
A pout grew on his face, but he settled back down, his attention on me, and I really should have let him go ahead.
"Charlie..." he started. I knew what was coming but I chose to not interrupt this time. Maybe if he realized how much of a catastrophe it would be, he'd give up.
He wasn't saying anything else so I tilted my head to look at him properly. That seemed to tell him something I didn't mean because he leaned closer, pressing his soft, warm lips against mine. I could feel the traces of the magic curse-breaking had left on me through his kiss.
He pulled back quickly, looking me in the eyes. His were green -- so very green. Why hadn't I noticed that before? It should have been a green of innocence, of mischief, but instead it was a green of heartache, of desire, of determination. It was a shame.
"Er--" Harry hesitated, and then he kissed me again, his tongue wriggling against my mouth. I didn't try to stop him. Not this time. I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm suicidal, maybe I've grown soft, but I let him, encouraged him. I opened my mouth and sucked on his tongue the moment it entered.
He tasted sweet, as if he'd been sucking on some while I was working. Probably was; Ron always carried candy with him. He wrapped his arms around my neck, pressing our chests together and practically sitting in my lap.
Wrong. Wrong. Shouldn't be happening. I was sinking in the kiss, slipping my fingers through his belt loops and trying to gain contact, shifting my hips up slightly. So good.
Something short of an explosion reached my ears and I shoved him away so he landed on the ground, splayed out and glaring at me. "T'was just a twig," he said.
However, I was worried. My senses had come back. No doubt Ron and Hermione would return soon to find out what had happened to us. I didn't fear them or anything, but Ron would tell the whole family. I couldn't deal with Ginny's face of betrayal, the angry hiss from my mum. It shouldn't have happened.
"We should go eat," I said, stepping around him, not offering a hand. I couldn't. For sure a touch by him would make me forget all the reasons why we couldn't. I had to store my energies up for his next try.
He didn't answer, and I didn't look back to find out why. Quickly, I crossed the lawn, overgrown grass tickling my bare ankles.
Rating: PG
Genre: General
Length: 1339
Pairing: Harry/Charlie
Summary: Harry is very persistent.
Warning: Because I had completely messed up, Bill and Charlie's jobs are switched.
Note: Another late birthday fic. This one's for gestaltrose. Darling, sorry for missing your birthday, but hopefully this will make up for it. ♥ I hope first person doesn't bother you. I couldn't help it; Charlie wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Can't you work any faster?"
"Shush, Harry. Let him go; it's a difficult process."
I nodded at Hermione, not daring to halt my chants and address her. Ignoring Harry's whiny protests, I focussed on the curses around the house. They were very intricate and rare -- I didn't know what curses exactly they were. My wand was warm and vibrating softly between my fingers, straining.
A new set of chants, old ones, made an orange web of magic, bright enough to stop Quidditch matches, flicker around the crumbled, deserted building. My companions fell silent simultaneously -- this was what they had been waiting for, though I didn't know just what behind the reaches of the worn door interested them so much.
Sweat built on my brow, not helped by the intensely bright August sun. Of course the sun had to be blindingly bright when we would be outside breaking and entering. Not that I knew what we were breaking into. A house, of course, but why one in such shambles? Surely there couldn't be anything of interest in there.
Ron hadn't felt the need to tell me two weeks ago, when they'd recruited me from my short layoff from Gringotts, why I was to do what they wanted. It wasn't that I expected them to tell me everything. I wasn't stupid. I knew that if they wouldn't tell anyone else, why would they tell me? They had got quite conning in their few months out of school.
Though Harry had just got more demanding. They should never have let him in charge of the escapade. He had also got more persistent. Or maybe I'm the only one who had the unfortunate experience to witness that first hand.
Sighing, I shook the thoughts from my hand, returning to my work. The curses were difficult, more difficult than ones the ancient Egyptians had used. And they used good ones. I was sure it was Dark magic. Dark to a multitude I had never seen before.
My vision had gone tunnel-like. It was happening. I was entering 'the zone' as my mates at Gringotts liked to say. They said my eyes turned vacant, face chiselled as if out of stone. That my red hair turned a little brighter, my voice dropped a few octaves, and I didn't respond to them. I noticed nothing except for the curses I was breaking, the way they seemed to hiss and snarl at me, chastising for my trying to break them, tame them.
And tame them I did. Once I had mentioned to Bill that our jobs are similar: he tamed dragons; I tamed curses. He hadn't understood.
"You got it!" Hermione cheered as I came out of 'the zone,' the web of magic turning duller to a soft brown and then exploding in a multitude of spots.
"Bloody brilliant!" my brother said, clapping me on the shoulder. "I'm knackered. Let's go eat."
I turned and frowned at him. He hadn't done a thing. I had done it all.
"What you say?" he asked, looked at Hermione. She shrugged and smiled sheepishly at me.
She said, "We're very grateful for you doing this once again."
For the past week I had been breaking down curses and none of them had yielded results. This place they were unusually excited about, though. I hoped they found whatever they were looking for soon. It was getting harder to resist Harry.
"C'mon!" Ron yelped, tugging Hermione ahead quickly, no doubt hoping to steal a few moments to snog his new girlfriend. "Coming, Charlie?"
I waved my hand at him, though he wasn't looking at me, and sat on the stoop, resting my swimming head. I always felt like the pits after a particularly hard curse, and this had been more than one curse.
Harry called after Ron that he'd be there in a few and took the space next to me, staring after his friends. I waited wearily for the inevitable.
"Thanks," Harry said, surprising me. He craned his head, gazing at the door behind us with that longing, determined look on his face that I'm too acquainted with. It was a relief he wasn't using it on me.
Ever since Saturday, two days after they'd dragged me with, albeit not unwillingly for I was -- still am -- curious, he had started to come on to me. At first I passed it and him off as it being brought on by stress. But then I just passed him off. It wasn't that I would never think of a man in that context, but Harry is not a man. He's a boy.
Though I'd never in a thousand years speak those words to him.
I'm not trying to degrade him. He's done things I don't think I'd ever be able to. He's faced Voldemort multiple times, surviving each, not to mention all the other people who've tried to kill him. He's seen more death first hand than I ever had, and handled it. He's done things I don't know about because I don't know him. Not really.
Besides that, he's still a seventeen year old boy and I'm a twenty-four year old man. And he's my brother's best friend. And my sister is in love with him. It would just be wrong.
But I've always wondered.
"What do you say we sneak in now and have a look around?" Harry asked eagerly, turning his longing look my way.
"They'll be mad."
A pout grew on his face, but he settled back down, his attention on me, and I really should have let him go ahead.
"Charlie..." he started. I knew what was coming but I chose to not interrupt this time. Maybe if he realized how much of a catastrophe it would be, he'd give up.
He wasn't saying anything else so I tilted my head to look at him properly. That seemed to tell him something I didn't mean because he leaned closer, pressing his soft, warm lips against mine. I could feel the traces of the magic curse-breaking had left on me through his kiss.
He pulled back quickly, looking me in the eyes. His were green -- so very green. Why hadn't I noticed that before? It should have been a green of innocence, of mischief, but instead it was a green of heartache, of desire, of determination. It was a shame.
"Er--" Harry hesitated, and then he kissed me again, his tongue wriggling against my mouth. I didn't try to stop him. Not this time. I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm suicidal, maybe I've grown soft, but I let him, encouraged him. I opened my mouth and sucked on his tongue the moment it entered.
He tasted sweet, as if he'd been sucking on some while I was working. Probably was; Ron always carried candy with him. He wrapped his arms around my neck, pressing our chests together and practically sitting in my lap.
Wrong. Wrong. Shouldn't be happening. I was sinking in the kiss, slipping my fingers through his belt loops and trying to gain contact, shifting my hips up slightly. So good.
Something short of an explosion reached my ears and I shoved him away so he landed on the ground, splayed out and glaring at me. "T'was just a twig," he said.
However, I was worried. My senses had come back. No doubt Ron and Hermione would return soon to find out what had happened to us. I didn't fear them or anything, but Ron would tell the whole family. I couldn't deal with Ginny's face of betrayal, the angry hiss from my mum. It shouldn't have happened.
"We should go eat," I said, stepping around him, not offering a hand. I couldn't. For sure a touch by him would make me forget all the reasons why we couldn't. I had to store my energies up for his next try.
He didn't answer, and I didn't look back to find out why. Quickly, I crossed the lawn, overgrown grass tickling my bare ankles.