The Bucket List (A Charlie Weasley Romance)

Of Secrets and Shadows

I am never touching alcohol again. I'm serious; whatever attraction I had to it is not worth the hangover. Or my ridiculous actions and the problems they bring. So, I had horrendous breath and a painful headache until I took some painkiller that knocked me out for another three hours. It actually worked, too. Inside my tent, I French braided my hair and brushed sand out of it. I took a water bottle and used it to splash my face and brush my teeth. I was still in my shorts and t-shirt but had taken off my sandals.

Cautiously, I peeked one eye out of the tent to make sure no one was out there. I tried to ignore the fact that someone had kicked sand over vomit to hide it. I assumed everyone was in their tents, so I stepped out of it. The cool air felt amazing, and I opened my tent to air it out. I walked over to the shore of the lake and sat down on a rock with my feet in the water.

I can't believe my first kiss was with Peter. Peter, of all people. I swallowed, and looked out over the water. I grabbed a stick and started drawing elephants in the sand. A big one, and a little one. Moments later, I heard sand crunching behind me, but didn't look up. Charlie Weasley sat beside me, but didn't say anything until after a few minutes of admiring sundown.

"How do you feel?" he asked me, glancing over me, his eyes trailing to where the elephants were in the sand.

I muttered something incoherent, and looked away. He snorted, and shook his head lightly.

"Why are you over here?" I asked, in a voice that sounded better than my own. Needless to say, I was pleased.

"You were sitting alone, and this day has been rather lonesome for me."

I vaguely remembered myself twirling him in circles, and dragging him around the fire to the sound of music that no one could hear but me. I looked away to prevent him from seeing my red face. I could feel my pulse quicken, as my chest began to rise and fall a little faster.

"You didn't wake up feeling bad?" I asked. He shook his head, and grinned lop-sidedly. How did I not notice him before?

"You like elephants?" he nodded to the drawing in the sand. Ah, the small talk used to feel silences. I've used this technique before to talk to weird classmates.

"Yeah. They're the only animals- besides humans- that can die of a broken heart. They have good memories, too." I said, drawing a circle around them with the stick.

"Why are there only two? A mother and a baby?" he asked, leaning over and squinting his eyes. My response was immediate.

"Father and dau- um, baby." I coughed. Oh Merlin, I did not just do that. Why do I speak? Just shut up. I need someone to put an arm around my shoulder and a hand over my mouth.

"The father caring for the young? How often does that happen?" he asked. His eyes wandered to the fading light.

"Often enough. Dads can do just as well as....mothers, I suppose." I said.

"But you don't have a mum, do you?" he asked.

"How do you know?" I asked, looking into his eyes. A dark brown. I'll remember that.

"Matt." I must have made a mortified face, because he quickly stated that it wasn't anyone else's business but my own, and that Matt had only said I lived with my Dad.

"Oh," I said in an exhale of breath, as I stretched my feet and dug my toes into the sand. "You didn't wake up feeling bad?"

"I didn't drink much. I figured if one of us were to wake up in the morning with some deadly hangover, one of us had better be sober."