Fic: Animal Lover [NC-17]
Pairing: CW/HG
Word Count: 4770
Summary: After years of successfully concealing her condition, it finally became too much to hide. However, she was surprised that Charlie, of all people, was the one to figure it out.
A/N: Wow, nearly a year working and fiddling with this before I worked out which of my ten alternative endings to go with. Written for 100quills prompt #39 passion. The rest of my prompt chart can be found here.
It was a secret she had kept quite well for many years.
No one had anticipated that following the incident with the Polyjuice potion in her second year that there would be long term effects. She had seemed fine in the few months following her stay in the hospital, but it wasn’t until the summer that she began to feel the effects of a partial potion induced feline transformation. A couple weeks into the summer she began to crave physical contact and felt her temperature rise. Not a feverish sort of hot, but more of a flushed feeling, like she had been out running. It had only lasted for two days the first time and she ignored it in favour of dedicating herself to catching up on studies missed while petrified before going on vacation with her parents. The same flushed feeling had returned during their holiday in France but she was still unsure as to what was causing it.
Once back at school she had consulted Madam Pomfrey the next time ‘the Flush,’ as she had dubbed it, returned. It had taken another incident for them to piece together that her Flush was somewhat akin to a feline’s estrus. She had been shocked and mortified initially to discover she was going into heat once a month, though her symptoms were not as noticeable as those of a feline. Initially she had been left to cope as best she could, but later in the year she had been called back to the infirmary to try an experimental treatment to reduce the effects. She hadn’t believed it possible to be more embarrassed than she already was about the situation, but that was before she learned that Professor Lupin and his more acute senses had noticed her condition himself and recommended further steps be taken to limit the effects of the Flush.
And so she had begun taking a hormone regulating potion daily. Initially it worked incredibly well. She stopped feeling so warm during those few days and the ache for physical touch became a mildly annoying itch eased by petting Crookshanks or cuddling a stuffed animal at night. She noticed she hugged people more often on those days, but nothing too excessive or noticeable. The potion had become less effective over time, however. During her fifth year, she began to take note of her quarrels with Ron and even Harry and found them occurring most often during the Flush. Near the end of sixth year she had returned to Poppy to try to find a better treatment, but only a marginal improvement could be made. In the end she left Hogwarts with an improved recipe for her to brew as well as a contraceptive potion in case her symptoms became worse and she lost control of her behaviour. It was a definite concern with the looming prospect of the Horcrux hunt with two boys, one of whom was possibly interested in a relationship with her.
Yet despite it all, her secret was not uncovered by one of the boys during the year they were living rough together. Her flush became more pronounced every month, but she managed to conceal it, with great effort, from them. No. It was now, at a birthday come victory party for Harry at the Burrow that her secret had been uncovered.
It was likely all the jostling of bodies that had caused her control to slip. People were bumping into each other at the tables with food and drink, sidling beside each other in the crowded house on the way to the loo and there were congratulatory hugs and slaps on the back. She had held on until after dinner, but the press of people was too much and she broke from the house and back garden to find someplace to be alone and try to collect herself. The twins were waiting until after dark to set off their fireworks and there was a lull in the party where she could slip away unnoticed.
Finding her way to the pond, she flopped down on the soft grass kept short near the edge of the water for the comfort of bathers. She rolled back and forth a few times and stretched out on her front, letting the blades of grass tickle her bare legs as she skimmed them along their tops. The light dress she had chosen for the occasion had helped ease some of the heat, but she was still cursing the Flush coming on sometime in the early hours of the morning while lying in the uncomfortable cot in Ginny’s room. She had found recently that some of the itch for touch could be scratched by herself and usually a bit of self-gratification and a relaxing shower was enough to settle her. A short, clandestine shower in the small hours of the morning had been the best she could manage, making her extremely edgy all day. She had hoped no one would notice, but she wasn’t that lucky.
A decidedly male voice spoke from behind her. “Enjoying yourself? You really look like a cat when you do that.”
Hermione’s head jerked up at the sound and she twisted around to see an amused redhead leaning a shoulder against the big oak tree and watching her. She did her best to shoot him an annoyed look. “Do I now? I don’t recall asking your opinion on the matter, nor do I recall inviting you along with me Charlie Weasley. What are you doing out here?”
“You looked a bit distressed when you left the party and I followed you. Are you alright?” he asked, the amusement on his face becoming concern.
“I’m fine. I just needed to get away from all those people. A whole day of it is a bit much.”
He flopped down on the grass beside her and appraised her critically in the slowly waning light. After a moment, he reached a hand towards her and she was torn between flinching away and leaning into the touch. It was only brief, however, and the back of his hand quickly left her forehead. “You’re a bit warm. I don’t think you’re fine.”
“It was hot today,” she gave as an explanation.
Charlie shook his head. “I think you forget what I do for a living, Hermione. I thought I saw it a couple months ago when you were getting advice about that snake, but I wasn’t sure.”
“Wasn’t sure about what?” she asked, attempting to sound sceptical.
He ignored her question and continued, “Then you were all out of sorts at breakfast and you were either brushing against or leaping away from people at the party. Then when you come out here you roll on the ground like a cat in a patch of catnip and your temperature is elevated. I can’t help coming to a rather interesting conclusion and be curious as to why it happens.”
Hermione winced, she knew her secret was out, though if it had been any of the Weasleys, she would have expected Bill to notice with his increased senses that had developed following his attack by Greyback. Sighing, she said rather unconvincingly, “As interesting as your conclusion might be, I am certain it is incorrect. It was stuffy last night and I got too much sun today. That’s all.”
“Oh? So the fact that you are displaying several distinct signs of an animal in season is purely weather related?” he said disbelievingly as he ran a hand up her bare arm and cupped her cheek.
She was unable to control her reaction and nuzzled her face in his hand. She was startled from her actions by an amused snort. “Right, Hermione. Just the weather?”
She growled and pushed away from him. Moving closer to the water’s edge, she crossed her arms and turned away from him. “Will you leave me alone already? I have had enough difficulty with my willpower all day. I really don’t need you here trying it. I came out here to collect myself.”
Charlie didn’t leave though. He came up behind her and ran a hand along her hair then enfolded her in his arms. “And does running away from physical contact usually help?”
“No, but I have my own solutions to this problem,” she said, unable to hide the shaking of her breath or stop herself from leaning into the touch. It felt too good just now.
“Which are?”
“Not conducive to shared accommodations and crowded houses.”
She could feel him nod behind her. “No, the Burrow isn’t very conducive to such solutions. How long has this been going on?”
She turned and looked at him, “The Flush or my difficulties with it?”
“The what?”
“The Flush. That’s what I call it. From I’ve been able to discover, it was a side affect from my botched Polyjuice transformation in second year.”
“Botched Polyjuice transformation? Do tell,” he said, grinning and toeing off his shoes and socks to sit beside her with his feet dangling into the cool water of the pond.
She took off her sandals and sat down beside him, resigned now to explaining everything. It was better than him studying her like an animal research project to find the answers. “It was the year with the diary, except Harry, Ron and I thought it was Malfoy attacking people so we needed a way to sneak into the Slytherin common room to interrogate him. We brewed Polyjuice potion and chose three Slytherins to turn into. Harry and Ron were Crabbe and Goyle and I was going to be Millicent Bulstrode, but the hair I got from her robes wasn’t hers, it was her cat’s. I found out when I drank the potion and I spent weeks in the infirmary getting rid of the ears and tail and all the fur. Madam Pomfrey didn’t think there would be any after effects from the transformation, but I started getting the Flush during the following summer.”
“That long? You’ve had this for five years?” he asked, sounding shocked.
She nodded. “Yes, but it was pretty manageable at first and then Poppy created a potion for me to take that took care of most of it. It started becoming less effective a couple years ago and last year she tried to make it more effective but the Flush is becoming more and more difficult to control and hide from others. Though, you are the first to really notice.”
He smiled slightly at that. “What can I say, I’m observant. I doubt I would have noticed if it weren’t for the fact that everyone at the dragon reserve is an animal lover. The place is crawling with crups, kneazles and cats of all kinds. You see something often enough and it becomes more noticeable when it’s out of place. What’s the potion you take to control your symptoms?”
Hermione was past fighting the intrusive questions, mostly due to her increased distraction with the hand that was moving up and down her back. It was all she could do not to push him over and rub herself against him. As it was, she knew she was squirming noticeably. “It’s a hormone regulator. It’s supposed to help balance things so the peak is less pronounced. I’m almost ready to give up on it, though. It doesn’t seem to be helping much anymore. I worry about how bad things would be without it, though.”
“Have you tried a more natural solution?”
She turned and faced him, her brow raised. “What, pounce on the first unsuspecting male that crosses my path once a month? I’m sure that would go over well.”
“I’m sure some blokes wouldn’t mind,” he said, in a tone of complete innocence.
“Right. Letting aside the potential legal repercussions of such an action, I really don’t need the other natural side affect that comes with that solution. If my hormone balancer isn’t working properly, I have some doubts as to whether the other potion I’m taking is entirely effective.”
He smiled warmly at her. In fact, his gaze was several degrees hotter than warm. To her Flush addled senses, she was seeing desire in his eyes. His hand moved from stroking her back to around her waist and his other arm swiftly reached under her knees and scooped her up onto his lap. His hands began to caress her in a manner more satisfying to her body’s needs and she couldn’t stop the hum of enjoyment at the increased contact. Charlie leaned into her ear and whispered, “There are more ways of solving that problem than just a potion. I could show you.”
For a delicious minute, she savoured his touch before her brain caught up to her body. She leaned away from him as best she could without falling into the water. “Charlie, I’m not certain this is a good idea. Please. I... I have more willpower than this! I don’t run around shagging random guys just because my hormones tell me to.”
“You don’t want a meaningless shag?” he asked seriously, stilling his hands.
“No.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Hermione’s head jerked up at that. “Good?”
Charlie nodded. “Yes. I don’t do meaningless shags either.”
Hermione took Charlie’s hands and firmly removed them from their stationary position at her hips and shifted away from him. “One of us should leave. My willpower is failing.”
“This is biology not mental weakness, and I promise you it isn’t meaningless.”
She gave him the best sceptical look she could manage. Charlie gave her a self depreciating smile. “Would you believe me if I told you I’ve thought about asking you on a date before tonight?”
Hermione swayed slightly as if to move towards him, but wrapped her arms tightly around her middle and kept her distance. “I might if you were willing to tell your mother that.”
He grinned in response. “I’m not entirely sure how to take that. Either you’re referring to the fact that ever since Bill got married last year Mum’s been pushing for me to find a nice girl to settle down with and if I told her I wanted to ask you out she would hound me until I did. That or the fact that she still has ideas of you and Ron getting back together and the likelihood of her hexing me would save you the trouble. Which is it?”
“She wants Ron and I to get back together!” she exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief. “Dating someone is the surest way of ruining a friendship. Hasn’t your mother noticed that we’ve barely managed to keep things civil between us?”
It was a rhetorical question, but Charlie answered her anyway. “That may be what gives her hope. With Ron, most of us expected a rather loud, angry debacle.”
“That would have put Harry in the middle again. At the time, he didn’t need to mediate our fight.”
“True enough. You still haven’t answered my question.”
“What?”
“Whether you want my Mum to hex me or harass me for wanting to ask you out.”
“I.. Well..” she stumbled, very conscious of the fact she was still sitting on Charlie’s lap. “I just figured if you would be willing to tell her, then it isn’t just a passing opportunity. I meant what I said.”
“So did I,” he said, holding her gaze for a long moment before closing the small space between them and capturing her lips.
His arms stroked gently up and down her back, tracing along the exposed skin of the back of her neck and toying with the hairs that had escaped her loose ponytail. Charlie gently nipped and sucked at her lower lip before tracing along her jaw and following the line of her tense muscles down from her ear. When he reached the base of her neck, he gave a firmer nip and Hermione found herself responding quite beyond her control. Her back arched suddenly and they nearly unbalanced into the pond. It was only Charlie’s quick reflexes that prevented them from tumbling into the water, and he picked her up and moved them away from the water’s edge.
When he let her feet touch the ground, Hermione felt some of herself come back, though she was now well past the point of discreetly slipping into the house for a shower. The sun had dropped below the horizon during their discussion turn kiss and grope, and the loud bang of the first of the fireworks managed to catch her attention. A bit breathlessly, she observed, “Someone is going to notice we’re missing. I don’t need a search party-”
“Impeturbus Weasley,” Charlie interrupted, moving his wand in a circular motion around the clearing.
“What was that?”
“Privacy is hard to come by in a family this big. I figured out that charm after my third year.”
“Clever,” she said, burying her face in his chest and nuzzling. It felt good to give in to the impulses, perhaps more so for having suppressed them for so long.
“You have no idea. I use a variation for observation shelters in Romania. It can keep out rain, wind, even insects. In fact, that’s probably not such a bad idea,” he noted. Charlie raised his wand again and cast a couple more spells in quick succession, though Hermione scarcely noticed.
When he finished, Charlie found insistent hands tugging at his t-shirt. Hermione’s small hands slid up his torso as he lifted his arms to allow the shirt to come off. As the garment was carelessly tossed aside, she rubbed her cheek against his bare chest and inhaled deeply. He smelled of grass and sweat with a strong undertone of musky male that nearly caused her to growl. Her fingernails scratched up and down his back as she pressed herself more closely against him, rubbing against the appealing scent. He hummed in pleasure, sending delicious shockwaves through her body.
Charlie’s roughened palm slid up her back, and made quick work of the ties of her sundress. In a matter of seconds, the dress was on the ground, bringing their bodies into direct skin contact. Letting out a delighted hum of pleasure, Hermione trailed a hand down to his denim clad arse and pulled him closer. The rough edges of his cutoffs rubbed against the soft skin of her inner thigh as she wrapped her leg around him and ground against the bulge that pressed the hard ridge of his zipper against her through the thin cotton of her knickers. Her other hand threaded itself through his hair and pulled him into a forceful kiss. Teeth nipped at swollen lips and tongues fought for dominance as their lower bodies ground against each other. Nearly overbalancing, Charlie pulled back and tugged off his denims. Kicking them to the side he dropped down onto the soft grass, pulling her down with him.
Laying back on the cool, soft grass, Hermione arched and writhed as the contrasting sensations of warm, calloused hands stroked her legs. Briefly, she noticed the fireworks display was continuing overhead, but the slide of fingers over her cotton covered mound distracted her completely. Moving up her body, he brushed the stubble on his chin against the soft skin of her stomach, grinning as she gasped. He trailed a line of wet kisses up from her bellybutton to between her breasts. For a moment he watched the round globes rise and fall with her heavy breathing before leaning in and capturing a nipple with his lips.
Hermione whimpered and groaned, raking her nails savagely up and down his back. Her hips thrust up off the ground, seeking greater contact. In a moment of frustration and need, she pushed him off and tore at her knickers, dropping to her hands and knees in front of him. Momentarily dazed, Charlie traced a gentle finger down her spine and caressed the firm backside presented to him. Irritated by the more withdrawn, gentle touches, she craned her head back to look at him and growled, “Now Charlie. Hard and fast.”
Charlie groaned as she arched her back and wiggled her arse at him. Frantically searching through their discarded clothes for his wand, he tried to still his shaking hands enough to control the delicate wand movement aimed at his twitching cock. With the charm successfully cast, he moved behind Hermione, shifting her knees further apart and settling between them. Giving her cheeks a firm pinch, he made her squeak before drawing a finger through her moist slit. She whined and whimpered as he toyed with her clit and moaned throatily as he pushed a thick finger into her dripping channel. He withdrew his finger and circled her clit again before thrusting his finger in again, drawing out more deliciously erotic sounds. When it became too much to bear, he positioned himself at her entrance and plunged forward.
It was what she asked for. Hard and fast and urgent and primal. His fingers gripped her hips so firmly there would certainly be bruises, while her own fingers clawed and tore at the grass in front of her. Skin slapped loudly and sweat beaded and slithered down flushed skin. Charlie grunted in counterpoint to Hermione’s keening. Pounding relentlessly into her, he felt the pressure of his release building and reached around to stimulate her clit. A firm pinch began a small tremor which grew until her whole body was shaking with an overpowering orgasm. She screamed her release as Charlie’s strokes became less rhythmic and more erratic. He came with a howl, arching and clawing at her as his body shuddered. Teeth bit down sharply on her shoulder, prolonging the clenching of her inner walls as he bucked and convulsed behind her.
Together they collapsed on their sides, still joined and gasping for breath.
***
Slowly the haze of passion began to slip away and Hermione began to notice her surroundings once more. The clearing was nearly dark now and the air was still. Even the fireworks, which had banged and sizzled through the sky above them, had stopped. She could hear Charlie’s uneven breathing behind her and feel the warm puffs of air moving tendrils of hair at the nape of her neck. A tentative finger traced a shape on her shoulder and she winced a bit.
Charlie asked softly, “Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” she breathed, “I think so.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What? Why?”
“I’ve hurt you.”
Holding back a groan from the unaccustomed soreness, she shifted to face him. His expression was one of concern. She shook her head. “Really, I’m alright. You didn’t do anything I didn’t ask for. Actually, it’s a bit embarrassing.”
“No. Don’t be embarrassed,” he said firmly, shaking his head. “There is nothing between us for you to be embarrassed of.”
“I went at you like a wild animal, Charlie. That’s a little embarrassing,” she observed.
“And how do you feel now? Not ... I mean your Flush. Is it better?”
Hermione paused for a moment before answering, doing a quick mental inventory of her body. Slowly she nodded. “Yes, actually. Aside from being a little sore, I feel more normal than I have in years. Which is funny, when you think about it.”
Charlie gave a half shrug, “Maybe not. You’ve been fighting against this thing for five years. Perhaps all you needed was to work with it.”
“Yes, but it’s sort of like winning the battle but losing the war. I feel better now, but in all likelihood I will be completely out of control again next month,” she said, feeling disheartened.
A gentle hand traced her cheek and rested under her chin, firmly lifting her gaze to meet his. “I meant what I said, Hermione. I don’t do meaningless shags and I expect you to let me take you on a date, or two, or several in the very near future. Not for sex, just a date.”
“Just a date, no sex, after this?!” she asked incredulously, gesturing between them.
“Well, not unless you want to, of course,” he grinned. “I just meant that we can go back and get to know each other better.”
“I don’t see how this solves my overall problem.”
Wrapping his arms around her, Charlie held her close. “I will be here for you. If you don’t hate my guts by the time this happens again, I will do everything I can to help you through it.”
Hermione shivered. “I hate being at the mercy of my body. I’m used to mind over matter.”
“You know, Hermione, I thought about how odd people are while I was working on the Reserve. We’re the only animal in the world that tries to completely suppress its biological functions. Just because we are self aware, doesn’t make our biology less valid. Losing control can be scarey when there are no limitations, but we could make it safe. This could be a liberating thing, if we controlled enough of it to make it safe,” he said emphatically.
She gave him a confused look. “How? How can losing my senses be safe?”
“Did you find any of this enjoyable?”
“Well ... yes, but-”
“And what part of it scares you the most?”
“I- I don’t know,” she said shaking her head and pulling out of his arms.
Charlie let her pull away and sit up, but kept a firm grip on her hand. “You’re worried you’ll go at some random bloke, right? Perhaps in some place less than entirely private? Those are things you do have control over. The time, place and partner are well within your control.”
Hermione shook her head and turned herself away from him. “What if I hurt you? Or hurt myself?”
He let go of her hand and moved to sit behind her. Arms encircled her firmly, but allowing her to keep her face hidden. “Then we help each other out, if that happens. We have potions and healing creams ready just in case things get too wild.”
“I still think losing control like that is embarrassing,” she mumbled.
“And I think it is sexy as hell. It was amazing to let go like that,” he informed her and placed a soft kiss on the bite mark he had left behind on her shoulder.
“You really aren’t bothered by this at all, are you?”
His kisses began to move up her neck and she shivered. “Only concerned that you might feel like I’ve taken advantage of you.”
“I feel like that’s more of a worry I should have,” she responded, humming softly as he released her hair from its ponytail and dragged his fingers through it.
Carefully combing out the wild tresses with his fingers, he whispered, “See, you worry enough
for the both of us.”
Just then a jet of golden sparks shot into the air and exploded with a loud bang into the shape of a giant golden snitch and began zooming around the sky. It was soon followed by glittering red Quaffles and smoky silver bludgers. They looked up at the sound of the explosion and Hermione shifted to get a better view. Charlie smiled and glanced around the clearing, once again searching for his wand. The cool grass tickling his bare balls was becoming irritating and once he found his wand, he conjured a couple large quilts to sit on and watch the show.
They sat together again, Hermione nestled between Charlie’s legs with her back leaning against his warm, muscled chest, and watched the brightly coloured display shift and change in the sky. The loud bangs and showers of coloured sparks continued for well over an hour. Their necks became tired from craning upwards to watch the display, and they shifted position to lay on their backs at some point. Hermione felt her worries about the consequences of her actions ease somewhat, and her eyes began to grow heavy as the hour became late. Eventually she gave up on watching the fireworks and curled onto her side and fell asleep, comforted by the presence of Charlie as he snuggled up behind her and held her close.
****
Word Count: 4770
Summary: After years of successfully concealing her condition, it finally became too much to hide. However, she was surprised that Charlie, of all people, was the one to figure it out.
A/N: Wow, nearly a year working and fiddling with this before I worked out which of my ten alternative endings to go with. Written for 100quills prompt #39 passion. The rest of my prompt chart can be found here.
It was a secret she had kept quite well for many years.
No one had anticipated that following the incident with the Polyjuice potion in her second year that there would be long term effects. She had seemed fine in the few months following her stay in the hospital, but it wasn’t until the summer that she began to feel the effects of a partial potion induced feline transformation. A couple weeks into the summer she began to crave physical contact and felt her temperature rise. Not a feverish sort of hot, but more of a flushed feeling, like she had been out running. It had only lasted for two days the first time and she ignored it in favour of dedicating herself to catching up on studies missed while petrified before going on vacation with her parents. The same flushed feeling had returned during their holiday in France but she was still unsure as to what was causing it.
Once back at school she had consulted Madam Pomfrey the next time ‘the Flush,’ as she had dubbed it, returned. It had taken another incident for them to piece together that her Flush was somewhat akin to a feline’s estrus. She had been shocked and mortified initially to discover she was going into heat once a month, though her symptoms were not as noticeable as those of a feline. Initially she had been left to cope as best she could, but later in the year she had been called back to the infirmary to try an experimental treatment to reduce the effects. She hadn’t believed it possible to be more embarrassed than she already was about the situation, but that was before she learned that Professor Lupin and his more acute senses had noticed her condition himself and recommended further steps be taken to limit the effects of the Flush.
And so she had begun taking a hormone regulating potion daily. Initially it worked incredibly well. She stopped feeling so warm during those few days and the ache for physical touch became a mildly annoying itch eased by petting Crookshanks or cuddling a stuffed animal at night. She noticed she hugged people more often on those days, but nothing too excessive or noticeable. The potion had become less effective over time, however. During her fifth year, she began to take note of her quarrels with Ron and even Harry and found them occurring most often during the Flush. Near the end of sixth year she had returned to Poppy to try to find a better treatment, but only a marginal improvement could be made. In the end she left Hogwarts with an improved recipe for her to brew as well as a contraceptive potion in case her symptoms became worse and she lost control of her behaviour. It was a definite concern with the looming prospect of the Horcrux hunt with two boys, one of whom was possibly interested in a relationship with her.
Yet despite it all, her secret was not uncovered by one of the boys during the year they were living rough together. Her flush became more pronounced every month, but she managed to conceal it, with great effort, from them. No. It was now, at a birthday come victory party for Harry at the Burrow that her secret had been uncovered.
It was likely all the jostling of bodies that had caused her control to slip. People were bumping into each other at the tables with food and drink, sidling beside each other in the crowded house on the way to the loo and there were congratulatory hugs and slaps on the back. She had held on until after dinner, but the press of people was too much and she broke from the house and back garden to find someplace to be alone and try to collect herself. The twins were waiting until after dark to set off their fireworks and there was a lull in the party where she could slip away unnoticed.
Finding her way to the pond, she flopped down on the soft grass kept short near the edge of the water for the comfort of bathers. She rolled back and forth a few times and stretched out on her front, letting the blades of grass tickle her bare legs as she skimmed them along their tops. The light dress she had chosen for the occasion had helped ease some of the heat, but she was still cursing the Flush coming on sometime in the early hours of the morning while lying in the uncomfortable cot in Ginny’s room. She had found recently that some of the itch for touch could be scratched by herself and usually a bit of self-gratification and a relaxing shower was enough to settle her. A short, clandestine shower in the small hours of the morning had been the best she could manage, making her extremely edgy all day. She had hoped no one would notice, but she wasn’t that lucky.
A decidedly male voice spoke from behind her. “Enjoying yourself? You really look like a cat when you do that.”
Hermione’s head jerked up at the sound and she twisted around to see an amused redhead leaning a shoulder against the big oak tree and watching her. She did her best to shoot him an annoyed look. “Do I now? I don’t recall asking your opinion on the matter, nor do I recall inviting you along with me Charlie Weasley. What are you doing out here?”
“You looked a bit distressed when you left the party and I followed you. Are you alright?” he asked, the amusement on his face becoming concern.
“I’m fine. I just needed to get away from all those people. A whole day of it is a bit much.”
He flopped down on the grass beside her and appraised her critically in the slowly waning light. After a moment, he reached a hand towards her and she was torn between flinching away and leaning into the touch. It was only brief, however, and the back of his hand quickly left her forehead. “You’re a bit warm. I don’t think you’re fine.”
“It was hot today,” she gave as an explanation.
Charlie shook his head. “I think you forget what I do for a living, Hermione. I thought I saw it a couple months ago when you were getting advice about that snake, but I wasn’t sure.”
“Wasn’t sure about what?” she asked, attempting to sound sceptical.
He ignored her question and continued, “Then you were all out of sorts at breakfast and you were either brushing against or leaping away from people at the party. Then when you come out here you roll on the ground like a cat in a patch of catnip and your temperature is elevated. I can’t help coming to a rather interesting conclusion and be curious as to why it happens.”
Hermione winced, she knew her secret was out, though if it had been any of the Weasleys, she would have expected Bill to notice with his increased senses that had developed following his attack by Greyback. Sighing, she said rather unconvincingly, “As interesting as your conclusion might be, I am certain it is incorrect. It was stuffy last night and I got too much sun today. That’s all.”
“Oh? So the fact that you are displaying several distinct signs of an animal in season is purely weather related?” he said disbelievingly as he ran a hand up her bare arm and cupped her cheek.
She was unable to control her reaction and nuzzled her face in his hand. She was startled from her actions by an amused snort. “Right, Hermione. Just the weather?”
She growled and pushed away from him. Moving closer to the water’s edge, she crossed her arms and turned away from him. “Will you leave me alone already? I have had enough difficulty with my willpower all day. I really don’t need you here trying it. I came out here to collect myself.”
Charlie didn’t leave though. He came up behind her and ran a hand along her hair then enfolded her in his arms. “And does running away from physical contact usually help?”
“No, but I have my own solutions to this problem,” she said, unable to hide the shaking of her breath or stop herself from leaning into the touch. It felt too good just now.
“Which are?”
“Not conducive to shared accommodations and crowded houses.”
She could feel him nod behind her. “No, the Burrow isn’t very conducive to such solutions. How long has this been going on?”
She turned and looked at him, “The Flush or my difficulties with it?”
“The what?”
“The Flush. That’s what I call it. From I’ve been able to discover, it was a side affect from my botched Polyjuice transformation in second year.”
“Botched Polyjuice transformation? Do tell,” he said, grinning and toeing off his shoes and socks to sit beside her with his feet dangling into the cool water of the pond.
She took off her sandals and sat down beside him, resigned now to explaining everything. It was better than him studying her like an animal research project to find the answers. “It was the year with the diary, except Harry, Ron and I thought it was Malfoy attacking people so we needed a way to sneak into the Slytherin common room to interrogate him. We brewed Polyjuice potion and chose three Slytherins to turn into. Harry and Ron were Crabbe and Goyle and I was going to be Millicent Bulstrode, but the hair I got from her robes wasn’t hers, it was her cat’s. I found out when I drank the potion and I spent weeks in the infirmary getting rid of the ears and tail and all the fur. Madam Pomfrey didn’t think there would be any after effects from the transformation, but I started getting the Flush during the following summer.”
“That long? You’ve had this for five years?” he asked, sounding shocked.
She nodded. “Yes, but it was pretty manageable at first and then Poppy created a potion for me to take that took care of most of it. It started becoming less effective a couple years ago and last year she tried to make it more effective but the Flush is becoming more and more difficult to control and hide from others. Though, you are the first to really notice.”
He smiled slightly at that. “What can I say, I’m observant. I doubt I would have noticed if it weren’t for the fact that everyone at the dragon reserve is an animal lover. The place is crawling with crups, kneazles and cats of all kinds. You see something often enough and it becomes more noticeable when it’s out of place. What’s the potion you take to control your symptoms?”
Hermione was past fighting the intrusive questions, mostly due to her increased distraction with the hand that was moving up and down her back. It was all she could do not to push him over and rub herself against him. As it was, she knew she was squirming noticeably. “It’s a hormone regulator. It’s supposed to help balance things so the peak is less pronounced. I’m almost ready to give up on it, though. It doesn’t seem to be helping much anymore. I worry about how bad things would be without it, though.”
“Have you tried a more natural solution?”
She turned and faced him, her brow raised. “What, pounce on the first unsuspecting male that crosses my path once a month? I’m sure that would go over well.”
“I’m sure some blokes wouldn’t mind,” he said, in a tone of complete innocence.
“Right. Letting aside the potential legal repercussions of such an action, I really don’t need the other natural side affect that comes with that solution. If my hormone balancer isn’t working properly, I have some doubts as to whether the other potion I’m taking is entirely effective.”
He smiled warmly at her. In fact, his gaze was several degrees hotter than warm. To her Flush addled senses, she was seeing desire in his eyes. His hand moved from stroking her back to around her waist and his other arm swiftly reached under her knees and scooped her up onto his lap. His hands began to caress her in a manner more satisfying to her body’s needs and she couldn’t stop the hum of enjoyment at the increased contact. Charlie leaned into her ear and whispered, “There are more ways of solving that problem than just a potion. I could show you.”
For a delicious minute, she savoured his touch before her brain caught up to her body. She leaned away from him as best she could without falling into the water. “Charlie, I’m not certain this is a good idea. Please. I... I have more willpower than this! I don’t run around shagging random guys just because my hormones tell me to.”
“You don’t want a meaningless shag?” he asked seriously, stilling his hands.
“No.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Hermione’s head jerked up at that. “Good?”
Charlie nodded. “Yes. I don’t do meaningless shags either.”
Hermione took Charlie’s hands and firmly removed them from their stationary position at her hips and shifted away from him. “One of us should leave. My willpower is failing.”
“This is biology not mental weakness, and I promise you it isn’t meaningless.”
She gave him the best sceptical look she could manage. Charlie gave her a self depreciating smile. “Would you believe me if I told you I’ve thought about asking you on a date before tonight?”
Hermione swayed slightly as if to move towards him, but wrapped her arms tightly around her middle and kept her distance. “I might if you were willing to tell your mother that.”
He grinned in response. “I’m not entirely sure how to take that. Either you’re referring to the fact that ever since Bill got married last year Mum’s been pushing for me to find a nice girl to settle down with and if I told her I wanted to ask you out she would hound me until I did. That or the fact that she still has ideas of you and Ron getting back together and the likelihood of her hexing me would save you the trouble. Which is it?”
“She wants Ron and I to get back together!” she exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief. “Dating someone is the surest way of ruining a friendship. Hasn’t your mother noticed that we’ve barely managed to keep things civil between us?”
It was a rhetorical question, but Charlie answered her anyway. “That may be what gives her hope. With Ron, most of us expected a rather loud, angry debacle.”
“That would have put Harry in the middle again. At the time, he didn’t need to mediate our fight.”
“True enough. You still haven’t answered my question.”
“What?”
“Whether you want my Mum to hex me or harass me for wanting to ask you out.”
“I.. Well..” she stumbled, very conscious of the fact she was still sitting on Charlie’s lap. “I just figured if you would be willing to tell her, then it isn’t just a passing opportunity. I meant what I said.”
“So did I,” he said, holding her gaze for a long moment before closing the small space between them and capturing her lips.
His arms stroked gently up and down her back, tracing along the exposed skin of the back of her neck and toying with the hairs that had escaped her loose ponytail. Charlie gently nipped and sucked at her lower lip before tracing along her jaw and following the line of her tense muscles down from her ear. When he reached the base of her neck, he gave a firmer nip and Hermione found herself responding quite beyond her control. Her back arched suddenly and they nearly unbalanced into the pond. It was only Charlie’s quick reflexes that prevented them from tumbling into the water, and he picked her up and moved them away from the water’s edge.
When he let her feet touch the ground, Hermione felt some of herself come back, though she was now well past the point of discreetly slipping into the house for a shower. The sun had dropped below the horizon during their discussion turn kiss and grope, and the loud bang of the first of the fireworks managed to catch her attention. A bit breathlessly, she observed, “Someone is going to notice we’re missing. I don’t need a search party-”
“Impeturbus Weasley,” Charlie interrupted, moving his wand in a circular motion around the clearing.
“What was that?”
“Privacy is hard to come by in a family this big. I figured out that charm after my third year.”
“Clever,” she said, burying her face in his chest and nuzzling. It felt good to give in to the impulses, perhaps more so for having suppressed them for so long.
“You have no idea. I use a variation for observation shelters in Romania. It can keep out rain, wind, even insects. In fact, that’s probably not such a bad idea,” he noted. Charlie raised his wand again and cast a couple more spells in quick succession, though Hermione scarcely noticed.
When he finished, Charlie found insistent hands tugging at his t-shirt. Hermione’s small hands slid up his torso as he lifted his arms to allow the shirt to come off. As the garment was carelessly tossed aside, she rubbed her cheek against his bare chest and inhaled deeply. He smelled of grass and sweat with a strong undertone of musky male that nearly caused her to growl. Her fingernails scratched up and down his back as she pressed herself more closely against him, rubbing against the appealing scent. He hummed in pleasure, sending delicious shockwaves through her body.
Charlie’s roughened palm slid up her back, and made quick work of the ties of her sundress. In a matter of seconds, the dress was on the ground, bringing their bodies into direct skin contact. Letting out a delighted hum of pleasure, Hermione trailed a hand down to his denim clad arse and pulled him closer. The rough edges of his cutoffs rubbed against the soft skin of her inner thigh as she wrapped her leg around him and ground against the bulge that pressed the hard ridge of his zipper against her through the thin cotton of her knickers. Her other hand threaded itself through his hair and pulled him into a forceful kiss. Teeth nipped at swollen lips and tongues fought for dominance as their lower bodies ground against each other. Nearly overbalancing, Charlie pulled back and tugged off his denims. Kicking them to the side he dropped down onto the soft grass, pulling her down with him.
Laying back on the cool, soft grass, Hermione arched and writhed as the contrasting sensations of warm, calloused hands stroked her legs. Briefly, she noticed the fireworks display was continuing overhead, but the slide of fingers over her cotton covered mound distracted her completely. Moving up her body, he brushed the stubble on his chin against the soft skin of her stomach, grinning as she gasped. He trailed a line of wet kisses up from her bellybutton to between her breasts. For a moment he watched the round globes rise and fall with her heavy breathing before leaning in and capturing a nipple with his lips.
Hermione whimpered and groaned, raking her nails savagely up and down his back. Her hips thrust up off the ground, seeking greater contact. In a moment of frustration and need, she pushed him off and tore at her knickers, dropping to her hands and knees in front of him. Momentarily dazed, Charlie traced a gentle finger down her spine and caressed the firm backside presented to him. Irritated by the more withdrawn, gentle touches, she craned her head back to look at him and growled, “Now Charlie. Hard and fast.”
Charlie groaned as she arched her back and wiggled her arse at him. Frantically searching through their discarded clothes for his wand, he tried to still his shaking hands enough to control the delicate wand movement aimed at his twitching cock. With the charm successfully cast, he moved behind Hermione, shifting her knees further apart and settling between them. Giving her cheeks a firm pinch, he made her squeak before drawing a finger through her moist slit. She whined and whimpered as he toyed with her clit and moaned throatily as he pushed a thick finger into her dripping channel. He withdrew his finger and circled her clit again before thrusting his finger in again, drawing out more deliciously erotic sounds. When it became too much to bear, he positioned himself at her entrance and plunged forward.
It was what she asked for. Hard and fast and urgent and primal. His fingers gripped her hips so firmly there would certainly be bruises, while her own fingers clawed and tore at the grass in front of her. Skin slapped loudly and sweat beaded and slithered down flushed skin. Charlie grunted in counterpoint to Hermione’s keening. Pounding relentlessly into her, he felt the pressure of his release building and reached around to stimulate her clit. A firm pinch began a small tremor which grew until her whole body was shaking with an overpowering orgasm. She screamed her release as Charlie’s strokes became less rhythmic and more erratic. He came with a howl, arching and clawing at her as his body shuddered. Teeth bit down sharply on her shoulder, prolonging the clenching of her inner walls as he bucked and convulsed behind her.
Together they collapsed on their sides, still joined and gasping for breath.
***
Slowly the haze of passion began to slip away and Hermione began to notice her surroundings once more. The clearing was nearly dark now and the air was still. Even the fireworks, which had banged and sizzled through the sky above them, had stopped. She could hear Charlie’s uneven breathing behind her and feel the warm puffs of air moving tendrils of hair at the nape of her neck. A tentative finger traced a shape on her shoulder and she winced a bit.
Charlie asked softly, “Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” she breathed, “I think so.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What? Why?”
“I’ve hurt you.”
Holding back a groan from the unaccustomed soreness, she shifted to face him. His expression was one of concern. She shook her head. “Really, I’m alright. You didn’t do anything I didn’t ask for. Actually, it’s a bit embarrassing.”
“No. Don’t be embarrassed,” he said firmly, shaking his head. “There is nothing between us for you to be embarrassed of.”
“I went at you like a wild animal, Charlie. That’s a little embarrassing,” she observed.
“And how do you feel now? Not ... I mean your Flush. Is it better?”
Hermione paused for a moment before answering, doing a quick mental inventory of her body. Slowly she nodded. “Yes, actually. Aside from being a little sore, I feel more normal than I have in years. Which is funny, when you think about it.”
Charlie gave a half shrug, “Maybe not. You’ve been fighting against this thing for five years. Perhaps all you needed was to work with it.”
“Yes, but it’s sort of like winning the battle but losing the war. I feel better now, but in all likelihood I will be completely out of control again next month,” she said, feeling disheartened.
A gentle hand traced her cheek and rested under her chin, firmly lifting her gaze to meet his. “I meant what I said, Hermione. I don’t do meaningless shags and I expect you to let me take you on a date, or two, or several in the very near future. Not for sex, just a date.”
“Just a date, no sex, after this?!” she asked incredulously, gesturing between them.
“Well, not unless you want to, of course,” he grinned. “I just meant that we can go back and get to know each other better.”
“I don’t see how this solves my overall problem.”
Wrapping his arms around her, Charlie held her close. “I will be here for you. If you don’t hate my guts by the time this happens again, I will do everything I can to help you through it.”
Hermione shivered. “I hate being at the mercy of my body. I’m used to mind over matter.”
“You know, Hermione, I thought about how odd people are while I was working on the Reserve. We’re the only animal in the world that tries to completely suppress its biological functions. Just because we are self aware, doesn’t make our biology less valid. Losing control can be scarey when there are no limitations, but we could make it safe. This could be a liberating thing, if we controlled enough of it to make it safe,” he said emphatically.
She gave him a confused look. “How? How can losing my senses be safe?”
“Did you find any of this enjoyable?”
“Well ... yes, but-”
“And what part of it scares you the most?”
“I- I don’t know,” she said shaking her head and pulling out of his arms.
Charlie let her pull away and sit up, but kept a firm grip on her hand. “You’re worried you’ll go at some random bloke, right? Perhaps in some place less than entirely private? Those are things you do have control over. The time, place and partner are well within your control.”
Hermione shook her head and turned herself away from him. “What if I hurt you? Or hurt myself?”
He let go of her hand and moved to sit behind her. Arms encircled her firmly, but allowing her to keep her face hidden. “Then we help each other out, if that happens. We have potions and healing creams ready just in case things get too wild.”
“I still think losing control like that is embarrassing,” she mumbled.
“And I think it is sexy as hell. It was amazing to let go like that,” he informed her and placed a soft kiss on the bite mark he had left behind on her shoulder.
“You really aren’t bothered by this at all, are you?”
His kisses began to move up her neck and she shivered. “Only concerned that you might feel like I’ve taken advantage of you.”
“I feel like that’s more of a worry I should have,” she responded, humming softly as he released her hair from its ponytail and dragged his fingers through it.
Carefully combing out the wild tresses with his fingers, he whispered, “See, you worry enough
for the both of us.”
Just then a jet of golden sparks shot into the air and exploded with a loud bang into the shape of a giant golden snitch and began zooming around the sky. It was soon followed by glittering red Quaffles and smoky silver bludgers. They looked up at the sound of the explosion and Hermione shifted to get a better view. Charlie smiled and glanced around the clearing, once again searching for his wand. The cool grass tickling his bare balls was becoming irritating and once he found his wand, he conjured a couple large quilts to sit on and watch the show.
They sat together again, Hermione nestled between Charlie’s legs with her back leaning against his warm, muscled chest, and watched the brightly coloured display shift and change in the sky. The loud bangs and showers of coloured sparks continued for well over an hour. Their necks became tired from craning upwards to watch the display, and they shifted position to lay on their backs at some point. Hermione felt her worries about the consequences of her actions ease somewhat, and her eyes began to grow heavy as the hour became late. Eventually she gave up on watching the fireworks and curled onto her side and fell asleep, comforted by the presence of Charlie as he snuggled up behind her and held her close.
****