Chapter 10: Romania

Welcome to our first long(ish) chapter! This feels like a big accomplishment for us, don't you agree?

The dining room was empty, beside me, as per Mrs. Weasley's request. Although the room was mostly sans-Weasley, she still often hovered in the doorway, ensuring that I wouldn't be interrupted. I did my best to ignore her somewhat unsettling presence as I sat at the dining table and studied Transfiguration. I had told Percy that I didn't need help with Transfiguration, which was a complete lie, although I ended up knowing more than I thought I would.

I saw Mrs. Weasley leave the doorway and the hyperawareness that had built up dissipated almost immediately. I loved Mrs. Weasley but her hovering was a bit nerve-wracking to say in the least. From the corner of my eye, I saw Charlie's unmistakable frame slip into the dining room while his mother was gone.

"Have you finished your studying yet, sweetheart?" Charlie asked close to my ear as he peered over my shoulder with a sudden but ersatz interest in my textbook, in case his mother returned.

"Depends on what you're offering," I answered aloofly without acknowledging his presence otherwise.

"I'll do anything to if you come with me," he responded and brushed by the table swiftly as if I had not been the reason he was in the dining room.

"Charles Weasley!" I jumped at Mrs. Weasley's exclamation. "Y/N is studying! Out! Out!"

I watched as she shooed him from the room and he begrudgingly made his way out while telling her that he wasn't disturbing me; he was just passing through.

"Mrs. Weasley, it's fine. He didn't interrupt anything. Besides, I'm all done for now anyway," I told her and stood from the chair. I stretched my arms over my head. "I need a break."

"Oh, alright, dear," she conceded and pulled a stray hair from Charlie's sweater as a peace endeavor. "You tell me when you want to study again and I'll find you a quiet place."

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley."

I followed after Charlie as he trudged his way up the stairs. As soon as he was out of earshot, he began to laugh.

"Stop laughing," I said. "It's not funny," I laughed. He laughed harder. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into his room and shut the door.

"You know, having my mother as a bodyguard isn't going to stop me from getting to you," he said and brushed his thumb over my cheek.

"I didn't ask her to bodyguard. She took it upon herself," I told him and tilted my head into his hand. He smiled at me and took a step back.

"You think anyone knows?"

"That we're murderers?" I exclaimed dramatically with wide eyes and pushed him back towards his bed. "I told you to keep quiet, Charles! They's got ears everywhere!" I spoke in an old-timey noir accent.

"Wha-"

"I'm tellin' ya'! Thems goons is inventive, with thems special listenin' devices!" Charlie's knees hit the edge of his bed and he involuntarily sat down. I walked over to his door and pointed to one of the twins' extendable ears, which was draped conspicuously over his door. "And they's better find a betta' hidin' spot for 'em!" I grabbed the ear and yanked it forward, hearing a thump from outside of his room.

"What is wrong with you? Why couldn't you have just dealt with that normally?" he laughed and watched as I opened the door and threw the extendable ear to Fred, who was giggling with George outside of Charlie's room.

"Not as fun," I sneered as the twins ran down the stairs to find their next victim. "I love being dramatic." I shut the door behind me and sat down next to Charlie. "Plus, I watched a bunch of old muggle movies with my dad. All the best characters talked like that."

"You're so weird," he muttered as his fingers brushed against mine.

"I thought you liked that I was weird," I pouted.

"Never said I didn't," he muttered and leaned in to brush his nose against mine. My eyes slid shut as his lips grazed mine. He placed a soft kiss on my lips before shifting to lean closer to me. I cupped his cheek with my hand as his hands slid to my waist. His kiss was harder than before, his tongue and his teeth doing as much of the work as his lips.

"Charlie," I mumbled, "what if someone comes in?"

"We'll hear them before they do," he assured me and tangled one of his hands in my hair. "Think I should put a sock on the door?"

"Charlie!" I scolded and pulled away from him. His eyes opened to look at me, a teasing smile growing to cover his face. He leaned into me until I was forced onto my back before nuzzling his face into my neck. "What are you doing?"

"Cuddling," he mumbled, and his hair tickled my neck. He was heavy on top of me in a comforting way, like a weighted blanket. I ran my fingers through his hair gently and listened as he hummed in satisfaction, "I could fall asleep like this."

Footsteps coming up the stairs alerted us of an impending visitor. He groaned quietly, but stood up and started digging through the luggage that he had brought with him. Someone knocked on the door.

"It's open," he called out and shot me a wink over his shoulder as Ginny appeared in the doorway.

"Hi," she said. "I was looking for you." Her eyes locked with mine.

"You found me," I said as she stepped inside of Charlie's room hesitantly. "What's up, Gin?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about something but if you're busy..." she trailed off, her eyes darting to her older brother, who was kneeled beside his bag on the floor.

"Yeah, sure, Ginny. What's going on?" I asked.

"I wanted to talk to you"-her eyes flickered to Charlie before back to me-"alone."

"Oh, yeah," I said and stood up, wiping my palms on my pants. "I'll be right behind you."

"Thanks, Y/N," she said and bounded down the stairs.

"Sorry," I said to Charlie quietly.

"It's fine," he said. "I'll get you back here eventually. Go ahead."

I smiled at him and pressed a chaste kiss on his jaw before following Ginny's trail down the stairs to her room.

"I'm sorry that I interrupted," she apologized as I shut the door and crossed the room to sit beside her on her bed.

"You didn't interrupt anything," I assured her with an easy smile.

She gave me a skeptical look before she spoke. "It's kind of embarrassing."

"I can promise you that whatever it is, it's not as bad as you think."

"I like Harry," she blurted out before her eyes widened. "I really like him but I don't know what to do. I feel so awkward around him... and he's older than me, and famous."

"Ginny, first of all, you're only a year younger than him," I scoffed, "and he'd be lucky to have you. I know that you might not see it yet, but you're awesome. I mean, you've got boys chasing after you left and right. Harry'll pull his head out of his ass soon enough and I'll bet he'll be all over you too."

"It feels like he never notices me," she said.

"Well, you didn't hear it from me, but he tends to stare your way quite often," I told her and watched her face grow red.

"You're the best, Y/N," she gushed and pulled me into a quick hug. "Now spill."

"What?"

"I told you about my crush," she said. "It's only fair if you fess up about yours."

"Ginny, I don't have a crush. I'm too busy for that," I dismissed with a wave of my hand.

"That's gonna be really upsetting to Charlie," she said.

"What? Ginny, are you on crack?" I wildly accused.

"Come on, Y/N," she groaned. "Maybe everyone else here ignores it or doesn't notice but you two have always been different... you know! But especially this year. You guys are always staring at each other and he always happens to be wherever you are and when one of you guys disappears, the other is always gone too. Have you guys kissed?"

"Merlin, Ginny, you're delusional," I said and buried my head in my hands.

"I won't tell anyone," she said. "I just want you to know that it doesn't bother me. I would actually really like to have you for a sister, officially."

"You're a piece of work," I said and stood from her bed. She looked up at me innocently.

"I promise I won't tell," she begged.

"I used to have a crush on him, maybe," I said, "and that's all I'm saying."

Ginny squealed and threw herself back onto her bed. "I knew it!"

I rolled my eyes and slipped out of her door. She sure knew how to make me want to study. I would rather do anything than discuss my love life with Ginny, especially if said love life had a lot to do with her brother.

***

I woke up, again in the dead of night. The house was still, yet buzzing with a reluctance to be silent. I stared at the ceiling, wondering if Charlie was doing the same. I sighed and looked over at Percy. He, once again, was sound asleep. I carefully climbed over Percy and left his room. I leaned against his door after I was in the hallway and vacillated between going down to the living room or up to Charlie's room.

Finally, I decided to go to his room. When I got to his room, the door was open and his light was on. He looked at me as I hovered in his doorway, seated on his bed.

"I heard you coming," he explained. "Couldn't sleep?"

I shook my head and obliged when he beckoned me forward. I closed the door behind me.

"Come here," he said and patted the spot beside him. "You can stay in here if you want."

"For a little bit," I said and sat beside him.

Charlie pushed himself back and laid down on the bed to look at the ceiling. I mirrored him.

"When I was a kid, Bill snored," Charlie started quietly, his voice gentle enough to put me to sleep had I not fought it. "I would lie here, awake, and try to count the holes in the ceiling."

I looked up at the ceiling, which was made up of standard sound-absorbing tile.

"What's the highest you ever got?" I asked.

"147," he answered, glancing over at me. "That was just short of two tiles, I think."

I laughed and scooted closer to him so that I could feel his arm pressed against mine.

"Your turn," he said, unknowingly echoing his sister from earlier. "Tell me something weird."

"Okay... when I was younger I used to bite my hair in half and my mom accused me of cutting it. She said that it wasn't possible for someone to tear their hair so consistently," I told him. "She was so mad, yet so impressed."

"What do you mean you bit it?" He asked, bewildered. He looked over at me as I sat up and pulled a strand of my hair in front of my face and bit it in half.

"Here you go," I said and handed it to him. "A gift."

"Thanks. I'll cherish it forever," he said and dropped it on the floor. At my offended look, he laughed. "Sorry, princess."

"I don't want to be a princess," I said and looked down at him.

"You don't want to be a princess?" He repeated. I shook my head.

"It's not badass enough," I said.

"Oh, makes sense," he humored me, "although I do think you'd make a badass princess."

I laid back down and pressed my head into his chest. Firm and warm. With each breath he took his chest would steadily rise, and then fall.

"Are we doing this wrong?" I asked quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I feel like we're doing things too fast and in secret... Should we be doing this?" I set my chin on his chest to look up at him. He inhaled slowly through his nose as he thought.

"I'm so happy," he said shortly, "even if we do things this way... it's what I want." He sat up, which in turn made me sit up beside him. "But if you don't want this, you have to tell me now, before I get any more smitten. It's not fair for me."

I sighed and pulled my knees to my chest. "I do want this. It's hard though."

"It'll get easier," he promised. "Come to Romania. When you get to pick where you study abroad, come to Romania. I'll set it up if I have to. I'll send a letter to McGonagall."

"Charlie..."

"I'll set up accommodations. I want to see this through. Come to Romania."

ah yes, romania, the land of fictional dragon reserves and sebastian stan.