The Laws of Love

Chapter 9

Harry walked across the lawn toward a small pond behind the Burrow. The soft grass was cool under his bare feet, and a gentle breeze eased the heat of the August night. The glow of fireflies provided the only light on this moonless summer night, and he could faintly make out the outline of a pale figure lying in the grass a few yards away.

Ginny was naked. Her porcelain skin held its own glow as he drew nearer to her. Her soft brown eyes lit up when she saw him and his heart skipped a beat at her seductive smile. He watched in awe as her arms reached up for him. Her brilliant red hair was spread out on the ground around her head.

"Come to me, Harry," she called in a low, rich voice that raised the hair on his arms.

He moved toward her without hesitation, kneeling on the grass beside her. His hand reached out, but he hesitated before it could make contact with her skin. There was something not right about this. Something he was forgetting.

A scream pierced the air, and he looked over to see Melanie surrounded by Death Eaters.

He felt a hand encircle his wrist and looked down to see Ginny tugging him closer.

"No, let me go," he said, yanking his hand away from her.

"Don't leave me Harry!" she cried her brown eyes turning scared.

"But Melanie needs my help..." he whispered, his gaze lifting to meet the terrified hazel ones of his fiancée.

"I need your help! Please Harry, I can't find..." But her sentence was cut off by another scream from Melanie.

Harry broke away from Ginny and ran toward Melanie.

The redhead's hand reached out and grabbed his ankle causing him to fall.

Harry landed hard on the stone floor of his bedroom in a tangle of sheets. He just sat there stunned for a minute before a real scream echoed through the wall.

He jumped to his feet and stumbled into Melanie's room.

She was thrashing in bed, caught in the throes of a nightmare and letting out shrieks of fear.

"Melanie!" Harry called, and ran to the bed.

He hauled her into a sitting position by her arms, and gave her a little shake.

Her eyes flew open, and she tried to shove him away.

"Melanie, it's me! It's Harry," he said, grabbing her wrists to keep her from hitting him.

She stilled.

"Harry?" she asked, squinting in the dark.

He nodded, and was surprised when she suddenly launched herself into his arms, sobbing into his pajama shirt.

Harry hesitated, waiting for the helplessness that always seemed to seize him upon having to deal with a crying woman, but it never came. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to wrap his arms around her and hold her close.

She quieted after a few minutes, but didn't move.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked after a minute.

She shook her head and tightened her grip on his shirt.

Harry racked his brain for something to say to her.

"Do you... do you want me to stay with you?" he asked finally, feeling the blush on his cheeks.

"Yes," she whispered, and lay back on the bed pulling him down with her.

Harry felt awkward for a moment as they tried to arrange their limbs so that they were touching, but not too intimately. Finally, they settled into a somewhat comfortable position with him on his back and her on her side with her head resting on his arm.

Knowing that his arm would lose circulation under her head like that, Harry resolved to stay just long enough for her to fall asleep. However, the terror from his own nightmare had left him rather tired as well and he ended up falling asleep before she did.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Charlie lay in bed trying to sleep, and failing miserably. He couldn't get Rachel out of his mind. The scent of her skin, the softness of her body pressed against his, and the sweetness of her lips filled his senses every time he closed his eyes.

It amazed him how quickly he'd taken to her, and for a moment he wondered if he might possibly be in love with her. He dismissed the idea almost as soon as he thought it though. He definitely cared about her and wanted to keep her safe and happy. He also lusted after her, especially when he was alone in bed at night, but lust didn't equal love. He also had a nagging suspicion that some of the emotions he'd felt for Ginny had automatically transferred to Rachel.

Charlie sighed and rolled over firmly pushing everything from his mind. He'd barely fallen asleep when the pounding on his door started.

Letting out a groan, he resigned himself to the fact that he would not get his requisite five hours of sleep before classes started in the morning.

He got out of bed and stumbled to the door.

Charlie flung it open to find a very distraught and obviously drunk Fred on the other side.

"Oh Char-lee! S'awful!" he wailed and pushed passed Charlie into the room.

He looked around in confusion for a moment before plopping down in a chair.

"What happened?" Charlie demanded. He was unnerved that something could upset his carefree brother so much.

"Wot 'append?! Jus the end 'o George's life," he slurred.

Charlie dropped to his knees in front of Fred, snapping his fingers to get his brother's attention.

"Fred! What happened to George? Is he hurt?" Charlie asked, fearing the worst.

"'e dun got 'imself trapped," Fred explained, sorrowfully.

"Trapped where?"

Fred didn't answer; he just swayed a little.

"Fred! Where is George!" Charlie yelled.

"Damn, Char-lee! Ya don't hafta yell at me," he whined, holding his hands over his ears.

Charlie took a steadying breath then repeated his question gently, but firmly.

"Where is George?"

"'ospital wing," Fred muttered then slumped over in the chair.

Charlie hastily threw a blanket over his snoring brother, and made a mad dash for the infirmary, praying that George was okay. He couldn't stand the thought of losing another brother.

The hospital wing was dark, and he could just make out two bodies on two of the beds.

He crept close to them, lighting his wand so that he could see them more clearly.

George was in the first bed, sleeping like a baby. Charlie felt an enormous wave of relief wash over him as he watched the steady rise and fall of his brother's chest. Whatever had happened to him, George seemed fine now.

The figure in the second bed had jumped slightly when Charlie lit his wand. He turned to see a young woman with wavy hair staring at him warily. He frowned when he noticed the dark bruise on her jaw.

"Charlie?" she asked, hesitantly.

He nodded and sighed as he was once again faced with a pretty girl who knew him, but he could not remember.

"I'm Katie Bell. I was on the Quidditch team with Fred and George," she explained, "You're sort of a legend in Gryffindor," she continued with a small smile.

He grinned back and held out a hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Katie. Would you mind telling me what's going on with George?" he asked, politely.

The smile left her face and she glanced at the sleeping man beside her.

"George volunteered to help me, and I think the shock was too much for him," she said, frowning.

Charlie was confused.

"Help you how?"

"He submitted a marriage contract for me, but I don't think he realized what he was doing until it was done."

Charlie snorted. Everything was finally starting to make sense.

"How did you manage to get him to do it? Just the other day he was telling me how there was no way he'd ever consider submitting a contract for anyone," Charlie explained, looking at her in awe.

Katie's frowned deepened, and her eyes grew bright with tears.

"Marcus Flint submitted a contract for me last week. He's the one who did this," she whispered, pointing to her bruised jaw.

Charlie felt anger rising within him as she explained her situation. He realized that any one of his brothers would have done the same thing George had, he'd just run into her first.

Charlie gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about George, he'll be fine. He's just a little commitment-shy, but he'll get over it. In fact I think you might be very good for my brother."

He was pleased to see her small smile.

The clock chimed two am.

"You should get some rest, Katie. I'll come check on you tomorrow," he said, turning to leave.

Katie nodded at him, but her eyes filled again as she turned to look at George.

Charlie turned back and gently took her hand.

"Welcome to the family, little sister," he said, and gave her hand a slight squeeze.

A couple of the tears slipped out as she whispered, "Thank you."

Charlie walked to the door of the infirmary, but doubled back when he noticed the light coming out from under Poppy's office door.

His pulse quickened at the thought of seeing Rachel again.

Charlie knocked lightly on the door, and after a minute with no answer, slowly pushed it open.

Rachel was sitting at the desk; her head resting on her folded arms as she softly snored.

He winced at the angle of her neck. The candles around the room had almost completely burned out, telling Charlie that she must have been there for quite some time.

Charlie walked over and gently shook her awake.

"Rachel?"

She groaned and a hand reached up to massage her neck.

Charlie smiled and batted her hand out of the way, replacing it with his own. He gently kneaded the stiff muscles, and reveled in her sighs of pleasure.

"What time is it?" she asked with a yawn.

"Just after two," he responded moving his hands down lower to work on the tight muscles of her upper back.

"My patients..."

"Are sleeping soundly," he finished her sentence.

He lowered his head to whisper in her ear.

"You've been working too hard," he chastised gently.

Rachel shivered at the feel of his warm breath on her ear. She bit back a moan when his lips touched the bare skin above the collar of her robes. He placed little kisses all the way up her neck until finally claiming her mouth.

Charlie suddenly realized the she was no longer kissing him back, and pulled away only to have her fall forward onto his chest.

He laughed silently as he realized that she must have fallen asleep while kissing him.

He gently shook her awake again, then scooped her up into his arms.

"Where's your room?" he asked.

She blinked at him, taking a moment for his words to sink in.

She pointed to a bookcase on the other side of the room, and when Charlie lifted his hand to touch it. He was surprised to see his arm go right through it.

He felt around for a moment and his hand suddenly grasped a knob. It turned easily, and he stepped through the bookcase, carrying her over the threshold.

It was a small room compared to the ones the Professors had, and it only consisted of one room with a connecting bathroom.

He carried her over to the four-poster on the far side of the room, and gently lay her down.

He pulled off her boots and stockings while she watched him with half-closed eyes.

Rachel sat up and shrugged out of her outer robe, then pulled the blankets back and crawled under.

When she had settled he kissed her, but pulled away before she could fall asleep again.

"Goodnight, Rachel," Charlie whispered, and turned to go with a sad sigh.

He grimaced as he thought about trying to sleep in the same room with a drunken Fred. The distraught twin owned the title of loudest snore-er in the Weasley household.

"Charlie?" Rachel's soft voice stopped him before he reached the door.

He turned back to look at her questioningly.

"Stay with me?" she asked, sleepily.

She didn't have to ask twice.

Charlie, already in his pajamas, quickly dove under the covers and pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair.

She snuggled against his chest and was asleep in seconds.

Charlie stayed awake for quite a while, marveling at how good she felt in his arms. When sleep finally did claim him, he dreamed of her.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Hermione stirred and opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was the warm weight of Severus's arm that was resting across her bare stomach.

She looked up to study her husband in the early morning light. She'd never seen him asleep before. He always fell asleep after her at night and woke up before her in the mornings.

He looked much younger with his long face relaxed in sleep. His hair was not hiding the scarred half of his face, but Hermione had become so accustomed to it that she barely registered it anymore.

She lifted a finger to run along one of the longer gashes in his face, but his hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her wrist preventing her from touching him.

Severus's eyes flew open and he glared at her, releasing her wrist.

"What are you doing?" he hissed, absently pulling his hair back over his scars like a curtain.

At his action Hermione felt an odd sensation in her chest. It was almost as if her heart was expanding and contracting at the same time. She blinked at him oddly, then leaned forward and kissed him.

Severus jerked back, startled.

Hermione looked away, not quite sure why she had kissed him.

"What are you hiding from me?" he asked, remembering what had happened the night before.

"Nothing," she muttered turning pink and slipping out of bed.

He was distracted for a moment as he watched her naked form disappear into the bathroom, but when the door shut behind her he returned to his senses.

He jumped out of bed, put on his robe, and then grabbed hers. He hesitated at the bathroom door, wondering if he should knock first but decided against it. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen all of her before.

"I wasn't fini-" he was saying as he barged in, and stopped in shock.

Hermione was retching into the toilet.

Severus watched her in disgust.

"What's wrong with you?" he demanded when she'd finished.

Hermione groaned and leaned back against the bathroom wall putting a hand over her eyes.

"I'm sick," she muttered, then shivered.

He tossed her robe to her then turned to leave.

"I'll get you a potion," he said.

"NO!" she shouted.

He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her.

"Why not?" He asked slowly.

"Because, I-I don't want one," she said, lamely.

Severus lifted an eyebrow in disbelief.

"You don't want one?"

She stood up and wrapped her robe around herself.

"I feel fine now, see? It was nothing! Probably just something I ate..." she broke off and put a hand to her mouth as she was overcome once more with nausea.

She ran back to the toilet and threw-up again. When she finished he was glaring down at her with his arms crossed.

"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing," he said sarcastically.

Hermione just stared at the floor, her eyes filling with tears.

Severus frowned when he realized she was crying and gave a helpless sigh.

"If you don't want a potion, what do you want?" He demanded.

Hermione leapt to her feet in a surge of anger and pushed him out the door.

"I want privacy! Just leave me alone!" She yelled and slammed the door in his perplexed face.

Severus just stood there for a moment, replaying the conversation in his head. It didn't make any sense.

He sighed and headed to the closet to get dressed reflecting on his wife's odd behavior. The night before she'd practically jumped him as soon as they had walked in the bedroom. She also seemed to savor their lovemaking more than she had before. It had almost seemed like she was afraid that it would be their last time together.

Severus caught his reflection in the mirror and snorted. Of course that wasn't the case. Who could possibly want to continue to sleep with him every night? No, she must have been eager last night in an attempt to quickly get pregnant so she wouldn't have to subject herself to him anymore. That had to be it.

Maybe she really wasn't hiding anything. Maybe she was just sick and it was making her act weird. IF that was the case, he really hoped that she wasn't contagious.

He walked over to the bathroom door, and gently knocked.

"What?" she called through the door.

"Are you ready to go to breakfast?" he asked.

He grimaced when he heard her start retching again.

"I think I'll skip it today, thanks. Go ahead without me," she called a few minutes later.

Severus opened his mouth to say something else, then changed his mind and left for the Great Hall. Poppy would be back on Sunday, he'd ask her about Hermione symptoms then, if she was still sick.

End chapter 9