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"Charlie, would you consider taking Alicia on a date? She's smart, she's interesting and she is very interested in dragons. I think you two could become very good friends. And maybe something more." His mum looked very hopeful as she glanced at him before turning back to where she was brewing two cups of tea.
Charlie sighed. He loved his mother, he did, really, but the good thing about being in Romania was that he did not have to deal with these sorts of questions all the time. It was hard to figure out a way to say that he wasn't interested in women. Or men. Or anybody really. He wished he was, it would be so much easier and he wouldn't get strange looks from his friends when he said he wasn't interested or dating anyone when they were all married or engaged or dating.
"Mum, I don't think it's going to work out between Alicia and me," Charlie plucked up the courage to say, rather than taking the usual, easy way out of going on a date with Alicia and having to gently break it off with her later.
"Why not? Charlie, you haven't even given her a chance!" Molly looked upset and she put the tea cup down in front of Charlie with such force that some tea slopped over the edge. She sat down beside Charlie and there was silence between them apart from the gentle clack of the dishes in the sink as they continued cleaning themselves.
"Because I already know what's going to happen," Charlie finally said, ready to go all out. "Mum, I'm not interested in Alicia. I'm not interested in any woman."
Molly looked pale and shocked. "Men?" She asked and Charlie realised what she was asking.
"No, not men. Not anyone. I've met loads of people but I didn't want to have a relationship with them. I didn't even want to have sex with them!" A part of his mind recoiled at the idea of talking about sex with his Mum. He knew how he came to be but he most definitely did not want to think about it. "Mum, I'm not attracted to anyone. I don't want to get married, I don't want to have kids. I have friends and I love working with dragons and I love you guys. I don't want anything else."
He felt drained. He had never properly vocalised what he had known for years, his friends back at the Dragon Preserve had guessed more than anything else and, with people he had dated, he had come up with other reasons for breaking up with them that didn't sound like he just wasn't attracted to them personally.
"So, you're happy?" Charlie looked up at his Mum and blinked in surprise. She was smiling, a small smile, but she was relaxed nonetheless.
"I am. Now that You - Voldemort's gone, I'm as happy as I think I can be." He would be the happiest if Fred was able to join them for Christmas lunch but that just wasn't possible.
"Well," Molly put her hand over his where he was gripping the tea cup, "then that is what is important." Charlie felt stunned. All these years of trying to put off his Mum's hints and pushes towards the opposite sex, the fact that she was accepting this so easily seemed impossible to him.
"But what about what you said about marriage and grandkids?" Charlie asked. He was just tempting fate here.
"But I didn't know what you wanted then," his Mum said as if it was obvious. "And between your brothers and sister, I definitely have enough grandkids."
"Thanks, Mum."
Silence filled the kitchen again, but this time it was comfortable and warm. "I still think working with dragons is too dangerous though," his Mum added and Charlie laughed.