Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Demons	By : StephBlack Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 1208 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or the Potter-verse characters (except my OC Jade). I made no profit from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter Two ~ Don’t Want to Let You Down, But I Am Hell-Bound

     Jade hums as she arranges a rose and peony floral centerpiece for the wedding. With Fleur’s family so far away, Jade and the Weasley women filled in and have been assisting with the majority of arrangements. It was a family affair, after all.

    The sun had only just risen, bathing the large yard in warm sunlight. Jade paused and inhaled, as if she could ingest a burst of sunshine. No one else was awake yet and she decided to get a head start on completing the last-minute preparations, as the big day had finally arrived. She had fallen asleep last night on an empty stomach, as the music lulled her to sleep. She wasn’t really up to facing Charlie again, anyway. There was already an instant- and mutual, it seemed- attraction, and that was treading dangerous territory.

     She was so consumed with her work, grateful for another distraction, that she didn’t notice the ginger of the hour approaching from behind.

     “Morning, early bird,” he calls out loudly.

     Jade jumps, startled, and turns to face the culprit who caused her to ruin her arrangement. “Don’t. Do that. Ever. Again.” She exhales deeply to steady her heart rate and turns away, determined to avoid his blue, soul-penetrating eyes.

     “Oh, I am so sorry. Really. I didn’t realize you were working. May I help? To compensate for being a childish arse,” he stands next to Jade and sheepishly grins forgivingly.

    “Alright. Use your wand to snip the stems of those roses so they’ll fit in the vases. And watch out for the—“

    “Ouch!” Charlie, grimacing, sticks his left thumb in his mouth to prevent bleeding.

     “Thorns,” she exhales, but then laughs it off. What else did she expect when a male Weasley worked with flowers? “Wrangles some of the world’s most dangerous creatures for a living, yet he’s no match for rose thorns...” she jabs jokingly.

     He removes his thumb from his mouth with a pop. “Hey! That is completely different. You can barely even notice these nasty little buggers. Dragons, on the other hand, are a little hard to miss. Now stop bruising my male pride and give me the damn flowers.” His lips curl into a grin, gladly subjecting himself to self-deprecating humour if that’s what it would cost for her to open up and elicit a few laughs.

     Jade laughs her musical laugh, goosebumps decorating his arms. “Alright then, show me what you got, Weasley,” she playfully declares as she finally turns up to look at him, momentarily forgetting about upholding her barrier. “All you have to do is—whoa. That’s brutal.”

     Charlie’s smile vanishes as quickly as his hand leaps to his head, self-consciously running his hands through his hair- what’s left of it, anyway. “Mum got a little carried away...” he murmurs.

     Jade slightly shakes her head and erases the look of shock from her face, not wanting him to feel worse. “You know, it’s really not that bad,” she offers with a small smile.

     “Yeah? Thanks for saying that. Even though it was a total lie,” his hand falls back to his side. Any fraction of a smile elicited from this woman is enough to make him feel totally at ease.

     Jade giggles. “You know, hair does have this ability to regrow rather quickly when you really want it to. It’s as if it’s magic or something,” she winks mischievously before returning her attention to her centerpiece.

     “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” He continues to watch her, as she tries to ignore his gaze and focus on her task. She bends to retrieve a few more blooms from the basket at her feet, causing her top to rise up, exposing a portion of a tattoo Charlie is effortlessly able to recognize as the tail of a dragon. He smirks. He hadn’t pegged her for the type. Then again, he didn’t know much about her. But that was about to change.

     Her long black hair had been pulled back in a messy bun, and, as she rights herself, rebellious ringlets spring loose and frame her alabaster oval face. He can’t stop himself as he instinctively reaches out and sweeps a few whorls back, causing her to stiffen. The backs of his fingers gently brush against the apple of her cheek; now she’s the one who develops goosebumps. She tentatively veers her gaze towards him.

     “Have dinner with me.” He knows better than to leap over obvious boundaries. Slow can be good.

     She breathes a sigh of relief. Wasn’t as bad as she was expecting, but he’s still moving too quickly. Shouldn’t be moving at all. She turns away from him, picks up her completed arrangement, and moves to the adjacent table to place it in the centre. “Well, we are having dinner with 68 other people tonight.” She uses humour to deflect his thought process.

     He’s not going to give up just yet. He’s a firm believer that persistence will always win in the end. He begins to move closer to her. “I was thinking something a little more intimate; just you and I. Tomorrow perhaps?”

     “I don’t think so.” The walls are back up and more impenetrable than ever.

     “Breakfast and lunch are viable options as well.”

     “Charlie, I—“

     “Brunch more to your liking? Those who brunch are rather pretentious, but I’d be willing to make the exception for—“

     “No, Charlie. I don’t want to have any meal with you. I’m sorry but, please just drop it.” She returns to her working station.

     Charlie keeps his distance. “Could you at least give me a reason why not?”

     She sighs. “It’s just... I don’t think... It isn’t the right time.” She fidgets with her fingers. “There’s a war going on and we’re supposed to be focused on keeping our loved ones safe and, you know, trying to accomplish a little thing called surviving. Beginning a relationship now would be foolish.”

     He moves forward but rectifies this and snaps back into place. “If anything, that’s all the more reason to start a relationship. You’re right, it’s a crazy and terrifying time right now and, of course, I’m worried about protecting my family. But we can’t actually submit ourselves to that fear and let it consume us and our lives. We don’t know how much longer we have; nothing is certain anymore. But I, for one, know that I don’t want to spend my remaining days alone and scared. We need to embrace and relish in every opportunity of true, genuine happiness that comes our way, not run away from it. I mean, that’s the reason for all this, anyway!” He extends his arms and waves them around, indicating the tent, decor and, of course, the wedding. “Bill and Fleur have the right idea. Why should they waste any more time if they’re in love? They’re creating some light in a time of such engulfing darkness. We can’t let it get too dark. We can’t let the darkness win.”

     After a few moments of silence, Jade speaks, choosing her words carefully. “I appreciate the speech, Charlie; it was... Nice. You are right.”

     His face lights up at the prospect of getting through to her. He takes a few steps forward but she raises her hand to stop him. Any evidence of joy rapidly dissipates without a trace.

     She meets his eyes. “It is important that we can’t let darkness win. However, it is also important that we don’t begin something knowing that our days are numbered. It wouldn’t cause you to love more; that love would be bred out of fear. Nothing close to genuine. You’d already be living in fear, not knowing when it’s going to end. Because it will. End, that is. Just like everything else.”

     “Is this about your father?” he asks before he could even think about it.

     “Excuse me?” her tone is harsh and biting. He knew he had gone too far. Before he can apologize, she gets the physically closest she’s ever been to him, yet miles away emotionally. “How dare you speak of my father. You didn’t know him; you weren’t there. I watched my father die while you were safely tucked away in Romania from all this.” She mirrors his previous actions and waves her arms, this time indicating the war. “Your family is fine. Mine is broken. Shattered. Eradicated.”

     He opens his mouth, but no sound comes out. She was right, after all. He had already dug his grave. He closes his mouth and looks at her with pleading eyes, hoping it’ll suffice in translating how sorry he is.

     Her chest rises and falls quickly as her breath quickens, laced with fury and sadness. She steps around him and heads back for the house. He remains rooted to the spot and doesn’t notice she turned back around until he hears her speak again. “Here’s a little more advice for you, Charlie: do not speak of things of which you know nothing about.”

And then she was gone.

Gone from his sight.

Gone from his future.

“So they dug your grave

And the masquerade

Will come calling out

At the mess you made...”
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Demons