The Safe Wizards

5: Christmas

When Charlie woke up again, he was alone in Harry's room. A breakfast tray lay on the nightstand with a letter.

"I'm sorry to ask you to hold off on telling your family. I know Bill will be able to keep the information to himself, I hope he will be the confidant you seem to need.

I need you to give me some time, sorry. I hope it won't be too difficult for you later on.

I hope you can come back here soon to spend time with me.

PS: My Christmas present for you is in your bag, open it when you are alone after the party."

Charlie fell back on the bed after reading the letter. He already knew that he would give Harry all the time he needed, he was already very addicted to the dark-haired man, way too much for his liking. He had rarely been so attached to someone and certainly not after such a short time of relationship... not to mention the fact that they had barely seen each other because of the distance. Was he already in love? He preferred not to ask himself that question right now, but it was clear that he felt Harry had the potential to break his heart and that scared him. The secrecy that the dark-haired man was giving to their relationship made him feel like he wanted to keep up appearances in case they broke up. He huffed, he shouldn't let his thoughts go down that road. Harry had agreed to let him confide in his older brother, so he was worrying about nothing, the young man was not trying to hide their relationship, but just, as he had said, needed time.

A smile finally appeared on his lips, he was going to see Bill. His older brother had always been his confidant, the one he was closest to in his whole family. They communicated regularly through letters, but they didn't see each other as much as they would have liked. He couldn't wait to see him!

With his smile and good humor restored, Charlie got up and went to get some clothes from his bag. His glance fell on the package left by Harry, a small box of ten centimeters on ten and approximately five thickness. The redhead felt curiosity creep over him, but Harry had asked him to wait, so he would. Trust was something sacred to him, his boyfriend trusted him not to open it so he would wait. He reached into the bottom of his bag for his own package to pull out the gift he had planned for the dark-haired man. He laid it on the bed, wrote a quick letter and put it on top and got ready.

No sooner had he reached the Burrow than he found himself smothered in his mother's bear hug.

"Give him a rest, Molly," Arthur said, arriving at the door a few seconds behind his wife.

Then Charlie immediately found himself in his father's arms for a much less smothering hug. His parents released him and brought him into the mess that was the Burrow an hour before the Christmas celebrations began. George came over and hugged him. Charlie noticed that the inventor had been the shadow of his former self since his twin's death. With their parents, he was clearly the one who was having the hardest time accepting the death. Charlie wasn't surprised, the twins had an extremely close relationship... He could only imagine what he had felt and was still experiencing, with this loss. They looked at each other for a long time, not exchanging any words, but they didn't need to. Quickly George flashed a mischievous smile that didn't reach his eyes, grabbed a canvas bag and headed for the presents already set up in the living room.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny came over to greet him and ask for help setting up the dinner table. Percy joined them along the way and finally everything was ready after an hour when Bill and his family arrived. The two older Weasleys sat by the fireplace and chatted in a mixture of English, French and Romanian as they sometimes did. They talked about everything that had happened in their lives since they met in November, especially Bill's upcoming move. Bill was describing the town of Anchorage where their future home would be when Harry, Andromeda and Teddy arrived. Charlie's gaze was immediately drawn to the dark-haired man as he greeted everyone present. A tension settled in the shoulders of the redhead when Harry shook his hand to greet him, pretending that nothing had changed between them since the last time they had seen each other here... Harry exchanged a few banalities with Bill, under the absent gaze of the dragon rider.

"Okay, tell me what's going on with Harry," Bill whispered to him once Harry had moved away.

Charlie reconnected with his brother's words and led him outside. Once they were alone, still in their mixture of languages that only they understood, the young man told his older brother everything that had happened with Harry since their previous visit.

"Are you sure you're okay with him?" Bill finally asked once Charlie had finished confiding in him.

-I... Yes, I'm fine with him, but I'm afraid of the secrecy he brings to our relationship. I understand that he needs time, but...

-But, what if it's something else?" the spellbreaker finished for him.

Charlie nodded, thoughtful, an idea had just occurred to him. After a few moments of wondering if it was reasonable to say it out loud, he started.

-Bill, do you think Fleur is your soul mate?

He looked at him in surprise for a few seconds before softness and understanding came into his eyes.

-You're wondering if Harry could be your soul mate?" Bill asked in a whisper. He spoke again once Charlie had nodded. "I think she is. Just like I think Mom and Dad are. Finding your soul mate is about feeling complete when you're with her, knowing that your life would be meaningless without her and that she allows you to be the best version of yourself. You feel that by just being yourself you're giving her everything she needs and that together you'll be able to overcome all the obstacles and trials that come your way."

"That's how I feel about him, except the fact that he doesn't want to show it..."

"makes you feel like you're wrong."

"Yes, that's right," he concluded painfully.

"Give yourself time. You know, except for magical creatures, it's rarely obvious from the first minute. Despite Fleur's Vellan origins, it took us several weeks to feel that connection between us. Neither of you are magical creatures so it wouldn't be surprising if it took you months or even years to be sure. And Harry has been through so much, he's still dealing with situations that no one usually has to deal with at such a young age... I can understand why he needs time..."

Charlie smiled, reassured by the speech of his brother, the one who had always been his confidant, his best friend, the one who had always understood him best.

"Well, on the other hand, if he breaks your heart, boss or not, little brother of heart or not, I'll tell him my way of thinking."

Charlie laughed out loud.

"I believe that you held to me more or less the same speech at Hogwarts!" he said to him between two laughs.

"What do you want? You'll always be my little brother."

Bill drew his younger brother into his arms for a hug. Charlie didn't say out loud how much he loved his brother, but he knew that his brother knew it and that it was mutual. Words were not necessary.

The two of them continued to talk until Harry came to interrupt them.

"You should join us, the kids are getting restless, it's about time to open the presents!"

Both brothers smiled at him, but Bill's look made the dark-haired man blush. Without a word, but with a smile on his face, Bill went inside. Charlie was staring at Harry.

"They're waiting for us," said the dark-haired man, unable to turn away from the ocean-blue gaze.

"I know, but everything I want is right in front of me," Charlie replied, moving closer, leaving only a few inches between them.

Harry gave in to what they both wanted, closing the distance for a kiss that made them both moan.

"Revitalized to go?" finally asked the younger one with a small smile.

"One last one and I think it'll be good," Charlie replied as he closed his arms around his boyfriend to steal one last languid kiss before finally letting him go.

He took a deep breath to regain his composure and entered in turn, ready for the festivities.