Plus One (Charlie/Millicent, 1300 words)
Title: Plus One
Pairing: Charlie/Millicent
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 1300
Summary: "You don't need to worry. My brother's wedding is the perfect time to meet the whole family."
Author's Notes: Written for purelush in charlieficathon. First posted here.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Millicent asked, smoothing down her dress with both hands. "Everyone is staring at me."
"That's because," Charlie said, leaning close and kissing her cheek, "you look amazing." His lips were warm against her face, and she leaned into him for just a moment, breathing in his familiar scent.
He took her hand and led her closer to the vast white tent set up on the Weasleys' lawn. "You don't need to worry. My brother's wedding is the perfect time to meet the whole family."
Millicent didn't quite agree, but said nothing. She was already here; the point of no return had come and gone.
-----------
"Who's that with Charlie?"
George looked away from his niece's deceptively cherubic expression to take in his newly-arrived brother and his date. "She looks familiar," he said to Bill. "I think she was at Hogwarts."
"That narrows it down," Bill said dryly. "Think harder."
"Slytherin, I think. Erm... Bullstron? Strongbull?"
"Bulstrode?" Bill asked. "I knew a Bulstrode at Hogwarts. He never looked like that, though."
-----------
"Since when is my brother dating Millicent Bulstrode?" Ginny asked, peering down at the mingling crowd from her bedroom window. "And who designed these ridiculous corsages? They are the most hideous--"
Hermione set down her eyeliner pencil and looked at Ginny's reflection in the mirror. "Which brother?"
"Were you aware that any of my brothers were dating her?" Ginny asked dryly, in that tone of voice that meant she was laughing on the inside.
"Well, no," Hermione had to admit. "Are you sure it's her?"
"It looks just like her, only... kind of pretty. But why would he date someone so... Slytherin?"
Hermione shrugged, and returned her attention to the application of eyeliner, which was really much more complicated than it ought to be. "She was hardly the worst of them."
"A ringing endorsement, there," Ginny said. "Charlie could do better."
-----------
At the entrance to the wedding tent stood a pair of red-haired groomsmen in rather old-fashioned, stuffy robes. Millicent smiled before she could stop herself, thinking of the ridiculous bridal robes that her cousin had inflicted upon the family. The Weasleys might be loud and rather down-at-heels, but some Wizarding family traditions were inescapable.
"Hullo, Charlie," said one of the groomsmen, looking at Millicent with an expression of blank curiosity. She realized with a start that it was Ron Weasley, who she'd gone to school with for seven years. Well, six, really, since he was off with Potter for most of that awful seventh year.
Ron raised his eyebrows and looked from Charlie to Millicent for a moment with a question in his eyes, but Charlie just grinned at him. Finally Ron shrugged and offered her his arm. "I'd be happy to show you to your seats," he said, sounding as if he'd rehearsed that line several hundred times today.
Millicent slipped her arm through his and walked with him, but found that she couldn't keep up her initial amusement. "I'm Millicent Bulstrode," she said to Ron as they walked. "I recognize you from--"
"From Hogwarts, yeah," Ron finished, twisting awkwardly to look at her face while they walked arm-in-arm. "Blimey, you look different. I didn't even recognize you."
"It's been a long couple of years," Millicent said quietly.
"Too right," Ron agreed.
-----------
The minister conducting the ceremony was an old stoop-shouldered man, who Millicent recognized from the Hogsmeade chapel where her grandparents attended services every Sunday. He spoke in a soft, creaky voice, and even from the second row of seats his voice was hard to hear, but it was a familiar sound. Millicent smiled softly as he talked, recalling the days that she had heard this man speak while sitting beside her grandparents, feet dangling from the pews.
The bride and groom -- this brother's name was Percy, she reminded herself -- began to exchange their vows, and Millicent glanced around the audience at the assembled guests. She didn't know what she'd been expecting at a Weasley-hosted event, but the gathering was much the same as anything her own family might've hosted. There were Ministry functionaries, young witches and wizards she recognized from school, and a few prominent people here and there. She recognized Kingsley Shacklebolt in the back -- he'd certainly never attended a Bulstrode wedding. But she also recognized a few people she did know: a Greengrass cousin sitting with the Hogwarts crowd, a few of her old neighbors, and even Professor Slughorn, the Head of Slytherin.
Millicent turned her head just in time to watch Percy kiss his bride, and felt Charlie's hand clasp her own and give it a squeeze. She gave him a sideways smile, and he lifted their clasped hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
-----------
"Would you like some punch?" Charlie asked after they'd been ushered out of the tent and the entire crowd was milling about on the Weasleys' grassy lawn.
Millicent was tempted to say no, don't leave me here, I don't know anyone, but she had spotted a few familiar faces during the ceremony, and besides she didn't want to clamp on to Charlie like a lamprey. He certainly wasn't the type of bloke who might appreciate a clingy witch. "All right, thanks," she said instead.
"Millicent Bulstrode, right?" She turned and found Harry Potter standing next to her. Well, of course he would be here. He was practically a member of the Weasley family, after all.
"Harry Potter, right?" she asked, smiling. It was still strange to think that this boy who'd been at school with her, who was the bane of Slytherin Quidditch for years, was now a full-fledged Wizard celebrity.
He grinned back at her, his famous bright-green eyes crinkling up at the corners. "So, you and Charlie, eh?"
"Yeah," Millicent said. "And all because of a sick dragon." When Harry asked, she went on. "I'm in training to be a vetiwitch -- you know, a healer for creatures -- and I was supposed to do my internship at this niffler ranch, but instead one of his dragons came down with a pox and they shipped me off to have a look."
"Sounds romantic," Harry observed. His delivery was deadpan, but when she looked over she could see the corner of his mouth twitching in a suppressed smile.
"Oh, quite," she agreed. "Not what I had in mind when I went to school, though. Dragons can actually be quite meddlesome creatures, you know."
At that, Harry launched into a story about watching a baby dragon hatch in Hagrid's hut, and smuggling it out of Hogwarts in the dark of night. By the time that Charlie returned with a glass of punch and three purloined shrimp rolls, she was chatting with Harry as if she'd known him for years.
Which, in a way, she supposed she had.
-----------
The bandleader's voice rang out across the crowd, crooning out an old love song. Charlie's arms were wrapped around her waist, one palm pressing against her hip about two inches too low for propriety's sake. Millicent pressed her cheek to Charlie's and inhaled the spicy-sweet scent of his cologne.
"You want to get out of here?" Charlie asked, whispering it against her ear so that his breath tickled across her neck.
"But -- the party's still--"
"I have a better idea," Charlie said, cutting off her protests. "How about I show you my etchings upstairs?" He pressed a kiss to the edge of her jaw, sending shivers down her spine.
"Mmmm, I like the way you think."
-----------
"Did Charlie already leave?" Mrs. Weasley asked her husband. "I never even got to meet that girl he was with."
"Don't worry about it, Mollycoddles. I have a feeling we'll be seeing her again."
Pairing: Charlie/Millicent
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 1300
Summary: "You don't need to worry. My brother's wedding is the perfect time to meet the whole family."
Author's Notes: Written for purelush in charlieficathon. First posted here.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Millicent asked, smoothing down her dress with both hands. "Everyone is staring at me."
"That's because," Charlie said, leaning close and kissing her cheek, "you look amazing." His lips were warm against her face, and she leaned into him for just a moment, breathing in his familiar scent.
He took her hand and led her closer to the vast white tent set up on the Weasleys' lawn. "You don't need to worry. My brother's wedding is the perfect time to meet the whole family."
Millicent didn't quite agree, but said nothing. She was already here; the point of no return had come and gone.
-----------
"Who's that with Charlie?"
George looked away from his niece's deceptively cherubic expression to take in his newly-arrived brother and his date. "She looks familiar," he said to Bill. "I think she was at Hogwarts."
"That narrows it down," Bill said dryly. "Think harder."
"Slytherin, I think. Erm... Bullstron? Strongbull?"
"Bulstrode?" Bill asked. "I knew a Bulstrode at Hogwarts. He never looked like that, though."
-----------
"Since when is my brother dating Millicent Bulstrode?" Ginny asked, peering down at the mingling crowd from her bedroom window. "And who designed these ridiculous corsages? They are the most hideous--"
Hermione set down her eyeliner pencil and looked at Ginny's reflection in the mirror. "Which brother?"
"Were you aware that any of my brothers were dating her?" Ginny asked dryly, in that tone of voice that meant she was laughing on the inside.
"Well, no," Hermione had to admit. "Are you sure it's her?"
"It looks just like her, only... kind of pretty. But why would he date someone so... Slytherin?"
Hermione shrugged, and returned her attention to the application of eyeliner, which was really much more complicated than it ought to be. "She was hardly the worst of them."
"A ringing endorsement, there," Ginny said. "Charlie could do better."
-----------
At the entrance to the wedding tent stood a pair of red-haired groomsmen in rather old-fashioned, stuffy robes. Millicent smiled before she could stop herself, thinking of the ridiculous bridal robes that her cousin had inflicted upon the family. The Weasleys might be loud and rather down-at-heels, but some Wizarding family traditions were inescapable.
"Hullo, Charlie," said one of the groomsmen, looking at Millicent with an expression of blank curiosity. She realized with a start that it was Ron Weasley, who she'd gone to school with for seven years. Well, six, really, since he was off with Potter for most of that awful seventh year.
Ron raised his eyebrows and looked from Charlie to Millicent for a moment with a question in his eyes, but Charlie just grinned at him. Finally Ron shrugged and offered her his arm. "I'd be happy to show you to your seats," he said, sounding as if he'd rehearsed that line several hundred times today.
Millicent slipped her arm through his and walked with him, but found that she couldn't keep up her initial amusement. "I'm Millicent Bulstrode," she said to Ron as they walked. "I recognize you from--"
"From Hogwarts, yeah," Ron finished, twisting awkwardly to look at her face while they walked arm-in-arm. "Blimey, you look different. I didn't even recognize you."
"It's been a long couple of years," Millicent said quietly.
"Too right," Ron agreed.
-----------
The minister conducting the ceremony was an old stoop-shouldered man, who Millicent recognized from the Hogsmeade chapel where her grandparents attended services every Sunday. He spoke in a soft, creaky voice, and even from the second row of seats his voice was hard to hear, but it was a familiar sound. Millicent smiled softly as he talked, recalling the days that she had heard this man speak while sitting beside her grandparents, feet dangling from the pews.
The bride and groom -- this brother's name was Percy, she reminded herself -- began to exchange their vows, and Millicent glanced around the audience at the assembled guests. She didn't know what she'd been expecting at a Weasley-hosted event, but the gathering was much the same as anything her own family might've hosted. There were Ministry functionaries, young witches and wizards she recognized from school, and a few prominent people here and there. She recognized Kingsley Shacklebolt in the back -- he'd certainly never attended a Bulstrode wedding. But she also recognized a few people she did know: a Greengrass cousin sitting with the Hogwarts crowd, a few of her old neighbors, and even Professor Slughorn, the Head of Slytherin.
Millicent turned her head just in time to watch Percy kiss his bride, and felt Charlie's hand clasp her own and give it a squeeze. She gave him a sideways smile, and he lifted their clasped hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
-----------
"Would you like some punch?" Charlie asked after they'd been ushered out of the tent and the entire crowd was milling about on the Weasleys' grassy lawn.
Millicent was tempted to say no, don't leave me here, I don't know anyone, but she had spotted a few familiar faces during the ceremony, and besides she didn't want to clamp on to Charlie like a lamprey. He certainly wasn't the type of bloke who might appreciate a clingy witch. "All right, thanks," she said instead.
"Millicent Bulstrode, right?" She turned and found Harry Potter standing next to her. Well, of course he would be here. He was practically a member of the Weasley family, after all.
"Harry Potter, right?" she asked, smiling. It was still strange to think that this boy who'd been at school with her, who was the bane of Slytherin Quidditch for years, was now a full-fledged Wizard celebrity.
He grinned back at her, his famous bright-green eyes crinkling up at the corners. "So, you and Charlie, eh?"
"Yeah," Millicent said. "And all because of a sick dragon." When Harry asked, she went on. "I'm in training to be a vetiwitch -- you know, a healer for creatures -- and I was supposed to do my internship at this niffler ranch, but instead one of his dragons came down with a pox and they shipped me off to have a look."
"Sounds romantic," Harry observed. His delivery was deadpan, but when she looked over she could see the corner of his mouth twitching in a suppressed smile.
"Oh, quite," she agreed. "Not what I had in mind when I went to school, though. Dragons can actually be quite meddlesome creatures, you know."
At that, Harry launched into a story about watching a baby dragon hatch in Hagrid's hut, and smuggling it out of Hogwarts in the dark of night. By the time that Charlie returned with a glass of punch and three purloined shrimp rolls, she was chatting with Harry as if she'd known him for years.
Which, in a way, she supposed she had.
-----------
The bandleader's voice rang out across the crowd, crooning out an old love song. Charlie's arms were wrapped around her waist, one palm pressing against her hip about two inches too low for propriety's sake. Millicent pressed her cheek to Charlie's and inhaled the spicy-sweet scent of his cologne.
"You want to get out of here?" Charlie asked, whispering it against her ear so that his breath tickled across her neck.
"But -- the party's still--"
"I have a better idea," Charlie said, cutting off her protests. "How about I show you my etchings upstairs?" He pressed a kiss to the edge of her jaw, sending shivers down her spine.
"Mmmm, I like the way you think."
-----------
"Did Charlie already leave?" Mrs. Weasley asked her husband. "I never even got to meet that girl he was with."
"Don't worry about it, Mollycoddles. I have a feeling we'll be seeing her again."