Title: An Important Visit
Author: ANON
Pairing(s): Charlie Weasley/Draco Malfoy
Prompt: #106 for
alisanneWord Count: 1080
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: Enjoy! :D
Summary: Draco’s nervous about meeting Charlie’s family for Christmas.
“It’s going to be fine,” Charlie said again, smiling fondly as Draco checked and rechecked the hang of his robes in the full length mirror in their bedroom. He knew Draco would be mad if he said as much, but the blond was pretty adorable when he was nervous.
“You say that now,” Draco replied, “but I’m sure you’ll change your tune when they run me out of the house before we even get to Christmas pudding and I have to apparate home alone.”
Charlie rolled his eyes. “You are so over dramatic, has anyone ever told you?”
Draco just huffed and turned away, going over to the bedside table to pick up his wand and put it away in an inner pocket. From the back, Charlie could see the way his shoulders rose and fell as he took a deep breath. It made him want to go over to his younger lover, hold him and comfort him, but he also knew Draco wouldn’t want that, not right now at least. He needed to find that balance himself.
Finally Draco turned around and Charlie put out a hand, smiling when it was taken. “Are you ready to go?” Charlie asked, and Draco nodded. “Remember, give me about a minute before you come through.”
“I remember,” Draco said with a long suffering roll of his eyes. “Let’s just get on with it, yeah?”
Charlie squeezed Draco’s hands before dropping it and turning to face the large fireplace on the wall. He grabbed the jar of floo powder and and tossed a pinch into the flames. They rose high and green and he stepped in.
“The Burrow!” he said, making sure to get in one last comforting smile for Draco.
There was a disorienting blur of green light, which stopped after only a few moments, and Charlie stumbled out of the fireplace. He never really got the hang of landing even after years of practice. He would have preferred to just apparate, but he and Draco had decided this would be a better way for them to travel this first time. They’d leave the apparating for when they headed home.
“Charlie!”
Charlie barely had time to process before there were hands on either side of his head, pulling him down for his mother to kiss his cheeks. He could see Ginny, Ron, and Harry standing off to the side as they waited to greet him, their faces various levels of amused at his predicament. He didn’t mind, he was sure they’d gotten the same treatment when they got there.
“Hi, ma,” Charlie said, finally managing to pull away. “Does that mean you forgive me for not visiting in so long?”
Molly huffed, stepping away a little for Ginny and Ron to come and hug him. “You better not wait so long between visits again,” she scolded, though there was a happy smile on her face. “Now where’s this boyfriend you said you were bringing?”
“He’ll be along in a moment, ma. I just wanted to prepare you a little beforehand,” he said, giving her what he hoped was a soothing smile when she frowned at him, eyes narrowed.
She opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment the fireplace flared green again. A figure appeared in the spinning vortex and Charlie stepped back a little to allow Draco to come through. He was much more graceful than Charlie had been, but that was true of most things. It probably came with being a Malfoy.
“Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to my boyfriend,” Charlie said, smiling brightly as Draco stepped up beside him. The blond had a placid smile on his face, the kind he used for political events. Charlie hoped it would wear off, but that probably depended on how the other Weasleys reacted. “Draco, my family. Or, well, some of them at least.”
“A pleasure,” Draco said, inclining his head in Molly’s direction. “Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Weasley.”
Molly stared at him for several long moments, mouth open a little in surprise, and Charlie was a little afraid all his encouragements before were going to be in vain. The others didn’t look much better. Ron looked angry and Harry confused, though there was a light in Ginny’s eye that said she was highly amused by the whole situation. Finally, Molly shook her head, an exasperated yet fond smile growing on her face.
“Oh, call me Molly, dear,” she said, stepping forward to sweep Draco into a crushing hug.
His eyes widened, surprised at the exuberant welcome. He floundered for a moment, eyes twitching at his sides, before he tentatively reached up to return the hug. Charlie could see the moment he relaxed, letting himself enjoy the motherly embrace since it had been quite a while since he’d been able to have the same with his own mother, what with her still being in Azkaban.
When Molly released him, the other three took their chance to greet him with handshakes and careful smiles. Draco seemed a little overwhelmed at the attention, in a good way, and Charlie smiled happily, glad that the drama Draco had been expecting didn’t look to be coming. There was still the rest of the family to meet, but Molly and Ron had been the ones Charlie had secretly worried about most. He’d hoped time would dull hard feelings, and thankfully that seemed to be the case.
“Is dinner almost ready?” Charlie asked eventually, drawing the attention away from Draco so he could have a moment to breath. Draco smiled softly at him, obviously knowing what he was doing and glad of it.
“Oh, of course!” Molly exclaimed, clapping her hands. “We’ve got everything set up in the dining room, we were just waiting for you two to get started. Well, let’s get on with it!”
Molly led the way out of the kitchen, Ginny, Ron, and Harry following close behind. Charlie hung back for a moment, letting Draco get his bearings before being thrown in with all the rest of the Weasley clan. He pressed a kiss to the blond’s head, smiling when Draco let out a contented sigh.
“Alright?” he asked, voice pitched low as he heard excited conversation start up in the dining room. Apparently they’d already told everyone who Charlie’s mysterious boyfriend was.
Draco nodded, straightening his back. “Let’s get this over with then,” he said, a hint of a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “I’m starved.”