"Do you have everything?"
"I think so," I said, double checking the bag I had packed. We were only going to be at the burrow for one night, but I was paranoid I was going to forget something essential.
"Alright then! Grab on!" He held his hand out to me.
"Are you sure we have to apparate?"
"I'm sorry, (y/n). I know you hate it but it's the only way we won't be late!"
"Fine," I sighed. I held tight onto the handle of my bag and held out my other hand. Charlie's calloused fingers intertwined with mine and pulled me a bit closer to him.
Suddenly everything went wonky, and I felt dizzy. I shut my eyes tight. The ground seemed to be shaking underneath my feet. I could feel my stomach lurching. There was a loud crack, and then everything was silent.
"It's done, (y/n)." Charlie said in a soft voice. "We're here. You can open your eyes."
I let my eyes open, and he was right. We were standing outside of the Burrow. "I'm never going to get used to that," I said. I felt seasick.
"Thank you for doing that." I nodded. His expression softened.
I looked down at the way our fingers were still tightly laced together. I released my grip and tried to laugh away my nerves.
"C'mon. Let's head inside." He started walking. I took a moment to breathe before following behind him.
I didn't completely understand why I was feeling as nervous as I was. I'd first met the Weasley family over two decades ago. I'd been to the burrow plenty of times before. Birthday parties, weddings, and a funeral. But this time felt different. This was Christmas. All of the other Weasley siblings were bringing their spouses. And Charlie was bringing me.
The door to the burrow opened and my nose was assaulted with a variety of delicious smells. We entered together and Charlie shut the door behind us. I could hear muffled conversation from the other room.
"Hello?" Charlie called cautiously.
"There they are!"
"They?" Ginny asked. That answered the question I had of whether or not everyone knew that I would be tagging along.
Seeing Molly made me smile wide. She pulled Charlie into a hug before doing the same to me.
"Shove off, Charlie! Let me see (y/n)!" George pushed past his older brother to wrap me up in a bear hug. I laughed and held him back as best I could with our height difference.
"I guess I should've just sent her here on her own. Clearly, I'm not wanted," Charlie said, trying to sound hurt. Molly slapped his arm.
"Oh please, Charlie." She kissed his cheek. "'Course we all missed you too."
We were greeted by everyone else, and I caught up a bit with each family member. Most of the family was indeed very surprised to see me. Molly seemed to be the only one who had known.
"Supper should be ready in just a bit," Molly said. "Charlie, why don't you go ahead and show (y/n) up to your room." Charlie just simply nodded before taking my bag from me and starting towards the stairs. I followed behind him. As I watched the back of his head, I couldn't help but wonder where he'd be sleeping if I was going to be in his room.
We kept going up for a while until he stopped at a door and shoved it open. A smile crept across my features as I looked around his childhood bedroom. Quidditch posters covered the walls. He had a shelf full of trophies, medals, and photos along with his books about dragons that I recognized from our school days. He set our bags down in front of the bed. I finally then looked at the bed, a smallish mattress with a handmade quilt stretched across it.
