wandmaker | charlie weasley

19

She groaned. Her sleep schedule was just starting to return to normal, and here she was wide awake at four in the morning. "Tea?" she requested, and Charlie complied, lighting the hob beneath the kettle with a silent charm. When the water reached boiling, he summoned two cups and saucers that flew from the cupboard across the room, along with the rest of a tea set. The mismatched china danced around the kitchen, as Charlie waved his wand, filling the pot with tea leaves and a bowl with sugar. She laughed quietly as it all landed on the table with the flourish of his wand, and he dramatically bowed while pulling out the high-backed wooden chair for her to sit. She did so, covering her mouth with her hand as to muffle her laughter at his antics.

"I didn't mean you had to make an entire pot!"

"I'm not tired, are you?" He smiled, joining her at the table. "Oh! I forgot." He waved his wand again and a tray of biscuits flew from the cupboard. "We're hungry."

She grinned and took a biscuit, balancing it on the edge of her saucer and reaching for the sugar. Before she could get very far, Charlie had already dumped two spoonfuls of sugar in her cup, winking. To distract from the blush that overcame her, she said, "You seem better."

"I feel better," he sighed, grin fading. "Obviously, not entirely. It's been days and days that I've been wallowing. But I think it helped to talk about it with someone."

She reached for his hand, then thought better of it, and took a sip of her tea instead. "I'm glad."

"I'm glad that you had the sense to drop by. Who knows how long I'd be holed up in there!"

She choked on her tea. She assumed that Mrs. Weasley has mentioned it to him at some point before she arrived, because he hadn't really seemed all that surprised to see her sitting at the foot of his bed. Maybe he just thought that because he often stopped by, she did the same? Which would make sense, except that he was living at home with his family, who were already becoming increasingly suspicious of the two of them. Charlie looked up from his own tea at the sound of her spitting hers back into her cup.

"Er, I sent an owl to your mum," she confessed, avoiding looking at him.

There were a few moments of silence before Charlie burst out laughing, causing her to look up at him, he was doubled over, loudly guffawing at what she'd admitted. "Shh! You're going to wake the whole house!"

He quieted down, but was still laughing when he managed to get out "You! Ellie! Sent an owl to my mum!" between bouts of laughter.

"Yeah. But I was also asking for a recipe, so it was casual," she tried to excuse it, making him laugh harder. When he'd calmed down a bit, he reached over and flicked her on the nose.

"You're quite something, Ellie."

"I should go!" She suddenly realized. What was she doing here? Eating biscuits at the kitchen table of the Burrow at four in the morning with Charlie. She had indeed sent an owl to his mom, and then promptly showed up at his house the next morning. She was acting crazy! He was probably just entertaining her until she came to her senses and left.

"What?" Charlie reached for her as she stood, but he missed her hand as she frantically looked around, trying to remember if she had left her shoes at the front door or in Charlie's room.

"It's late! Or early, I suppose, but really, what am I even doing? I have to open the shop up in five hours and here I am eating biscuits!" She had started to back away, panicking that he might start to realize that not only did she care about his well-being, but that she cared for him, when Charlie stopped her by hooking a grabbing her around the waist and spinning her back to face him. When she tensed, he took a step back, but something flashed in his eyes.

"Ellie," he breathed, "What's wrong?"

She slowed, trying to catch her breath, managing to get out one word. "Boundaries."

He looked puzzled. "Did I cross one?" he asked gently.

"Uh, no," she mumbled. "I did."

"No, you didn't." He reassured her, making her finally look at him properly. The glint in his eye gave away his confidence, and she really wanted to believe him. "I think at this point, we're close enough that I'd tell you if you overstepped. Which you haven't."

"You're sure?" she questioned, biting at her thumbnail. His worry seemed to dissolve, and he smiled down at her.

"Positive. Can we go back to bed?"

Right when she'd nearly calmed down, he had to go and say something like that.

"I can stay down here, take the couch?" she said hesitantly.

"Ellie," the reassuring smile disappeared, and he seemed almost exasperated. "You hopeless witch." He cleared the table with a silent charm, sending the dishes away to wash themselves before grabbing her hand once again.

"I'm just saying, if you're uncomfortable—"

"Shh! You'll wake someone," he chuckled.

Once they were back in his childhood room, he closed the door gently behind him and tugged on her hand, collapsing on the twin bed and causing her to crumple against his chest.

Was he trying to kill her?

"Sorry!" She tried to straighten herself out and sit up, but he wrapped both arms around her and held her in a tight bear hug.

"No, sorry, I'm quite comfortable. You can't move!" He laughed, and she choked for the second time that night, but this time on air. She couldn't even think of anything to say, it's as if the proximity to the man caused her mind to go completely blank. After a moment, and once she'd stopped fidgeting, his grip slackened and he allowed her to fall to his side, so that her full weight wasn't on top of him, but his left arm was still behind her.

"Are you sure I should stay?" she asked worriedly. He nodded silently, and she finally resigned to the fact that she was going to stay the entire night. She'd just have to wake up in a couple of hours, bright and early so as not to run into any of the other Weasleys on her way back to the shop.

Honestly, she wasn't even really sure what caused her to panic. Obviously, Charlie wanted her there, he told her so. It was probably the stupid crush. Since she'd realized it, she felt like she was reading into every conversation, every touch, and every interaction they had. She couldn't help it, and as much as she enjoyed his company, she couldn't help but think that he knew, and it was all some big joke to him. Which was perhaps why his teasing killed her so much.

As they settled in, she tried really hard to move as little as possible, not wanting to be even more disruptive.

"Are you sure this is alright? Your arm—"

"Actually," he started, and she braced herself for the worst. "My arm is falling asleep. C'mere."

He shifted her back so she was lying against his chest like before. He sighed in contentment, and after a few moments, his breathing began to slow and she could tell that he was beginning to drift off to sleep. She sighed quietly, wide awake. It was going to be a long few hours. 

~

A/N:

Hey everyone. I know it's been a while, but I'm back! Thank you for all of your lovely comments and messages during my extended hiatus, your support means the world to me. I hope you'll all continue reading. I'll try to respond to any comments and messages!

Much love xx
Kath