Charming Charlie

Charlie Weasley wandered through the streets of Diagon Alley. He had just stopped by Fred and George's joke shop, and was surprised to see that it was doing awfully well. He hadn't been around much the past year, being busy with his dragons and the Order. While he was gone, so much had happened. He couldn't believe what had taken place to his older brother, Bill. Bill was the handsome one in the family, and now his face was ruined by those scars. If he ever caught Greyback, he would kill him.

Ron and Ginny had changed a lot too, besides growing taller. Ever since Dumbledore's death, the two of them were very quiet and looked worried all the time. Ginny spent most of her time moping around in her room, and Ron did the same. They both wrote numerous amounts of letters to people, but as to what they said, Charlie didn't have a clue.

His parents had also changed. They were quite happy about Bill and Fleur getting married, but what happened to Dumbledore hit them hard. They too, were being evasive.

It was time to face the facts. The Weasley clan wasn't the happy, cheerful bunch they had once been. This thought was the saddest thing Charlie had ever heard of.

Charlie ambled into Flourish and Blotts. He was distracted by his thoughts that he ran into someone, knocking their large pile of books to the floor. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said. He bent down and started to pick up the books.

As he picked them up, he couldn't help but notice some of the titles. The Young Dragon Breeder's Guide, How to Plan a Wizard Wedding, Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland, Weird Wizarding Dilemmas and their Solutions, and Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland. Interesting choices of books, Charlie thought to himself.

He stood up and handed the five books to an astonishingly beautiful girl. She looked no more than twenty-two, and was very petite. Her long blonde hair was sleek and straight, and she had piercing blue eyes.

The girl's cheeks blushed a light pink. And, in perfect French, she said, "Je suis si désolé, monsieur. Je suis désolé, je suis désolé." She blushed even deeper. "I mean, uh, how you say, apologies? It was my fault."

"It's okay," said Charlie. He smiled at the beautiful, not to mention sexy, woman. He eyed her as she gathered her remaining few books up. She was nicely tanned, and had longs legs, which you could tell from her short skirt...

Charlie shook his head, and felt himself blushing a little bit. Normally he didn't think like that. Actually, that was a lie. He always thought about things like that. He always wondered what it'd be like to have a real girlfriend. Someone to cuddle with and to kiss in the rain. Someone who would be his best friend. Someone who would care for him. Someone to start a family with.

But so far that hadn't happened. Charlie was naturally shy. He had gone out on a few dates, but they hadn't turned out so good. He had been unlucky and hadn't inherited Bill's good looks or charm.

Charlie was a hopeless romantic. Bill had once told him that girls liked that kind of stuff, but only when the relationship was getting more serious. Charlie didn't understand that. But he vowed to follow Bill's advice. The problem was, there never was an opportunity to use it.

Back to the woman. Charlie smiled at her brightly. She looked a little dazed and confused. "You're uh, not from, uh, around here, right? Do you need any, um help? You know, finding where you're staying and stuff?

The girl smiled back at him. "Oui. I mean, yes. I am Cheri LeBlanc. Mon ami, my friend, Fleur Delacour is to be married. She asks me if I would like to be the Maid of Honor. She says I shall come to the Weasley's and stay the summer. I think it is called the Burrow?"

No way. No flipping way. This girl, the most beautiful, hot, sexy, attractive looking woman he had seen yet, was going to be staying with him. At his house. All summer. How lucky could he get?

Charlie faintly remembered when his mum told him that Fleur's parents and little sister were going to be staying at the Leaky Cauldron the summer. He remembered her mentioning that Fleur's friend might end up staying with them. Well, it looked to him like she would be.

Charlie stuck out his hand. "Well, I'm Charlie Weasley. And I'll be taking you to the Burrow. Because, after all, that is where I live. I'm Bill's younger brother."

A look of excitement overcame Cheri's face. "That is merveilleux! I had no idea of what to do. I knew to apparate, but I was nerveux to, because, well, I didn't know if you would be expecting me this early. But I sent my trunks and my pets earlier today. Because I had no place for them. I hope it was all right. Oh look at me now. I'm not shutting up, as you put it. I do this when I get nerveux." Cheri took a big breath.

Charlie smiled again. He was feeling bolder and more confident now that Cheri had admitted she was nervous. "It's perfectly okay." He reached out and took some of her books.

He touched her arm. "Come on, let's apparate home."

They landed softly, smack in the middle of the Burrow's kitchen. The house was very quiet, until a shriek was erupted from the sitting room. Fleur ran in the room and grabbed Cheri in a huge hug. It was a very unlike-Fleur thing to do, but obviously she missed her best friend.

The two girls hugged and shrieked and jumped around, until Molly ran into the kitchen. "What's going on? Is everyone okay? What happened?"

Fleur laughed. "Everything is fine, Molly. We are just excited because the Maid of Honor is finally here! Please, meet my best friend, Cheri LeBlanc!"

The worried look disappeared from Molly's face. She reached out to hug the tiny girl. "Welcome, Cheri. I am Molly Weasley." Molly smiled.

Cheri returned the hug. "It is bon, good, to finally meet you. You have a famille charmante so far. I have yet to meet the rest of this large famille."

Molly blushed slightly. This attractive young girl who she didn't know a bit had just made her day. After all the problems the Weasley's had gone through in the past few years, it was nice to know that someone thought they were a lovely family, even if that someone had never met them before.

"Well, Cheri, your trunks and your owl and cat have arrived. I put them up in Charlie's room. I'm sorry, but we don't have enough room for you to have your own room, or to stay with Ginny. I hope you don't mind staying with Charlie."

Charlie's mouth opened. Cheri was going to be staying in his room! "Um, well, yeah, I transfigured Fred and George's beds into one big one, but I can make it into two again."

Cheri smiled. "Oh, that is okay. You do not have to go to the trouble. I do not mind sharing a bed with you, Charlie." Charlie turned beat red.

He was saved from saying something by Bill, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny entering the room. Cheri hurried over to great Bill, and also to meet the others. Eventually everyone trickled out of the kitchen and onto their own tasks, and Charlie led Cheri up to Fred and George's room.

Charlie was extremely surprised that his mum was letting Cheri stay in his room. Normally she had strict, no boys/girls in the same bedroom policy. Of course, she made exceptions for Fleur and Bill. But Charlie understood that his mum was busy with the wedding and at that point, she didn't really care who slept with whom.

Cheri was relatively quiet as Charlie cleared out a drawer for her, and showed her wear she could hang her clothes in the wardrobe. He warned her that lots of Fred and George's pranks still lay around, and then proceeded to show her the rest of the house.

He left Cheri to chat with Fleur, and then went to find his older brother. He needed girl help. Bad.