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Movement out of the corner of his eye drew Charlie's attention from where he was putting the final touches on the plăcintă cu mere he had made for tonight. Setting down the container of confectioner's sugar, he turned to face Hermione's Patronus.
"I tried to keep Draco with me," Hermione's voice floated from the open mouth of the silver otter, "but he told me he couldn't stay any longer. That he needed to stop by the office before joining you for dinner. I'm sorry I couldn't help any longer. Good luck tonight!"
Charlie cursed as the Patronus disappeared in a shower of silver. He had roughly ten minutes before Draco would be home, and he needed to finish dessert, shower, and hope that their guests showed up in time. Turning back around, Charlie resumed working on the apple pie he'd made. Once he finished, he set the dishes to wash themselves and made his way across their cabin. Flicking his wand, he penned a quick note to float in midair in front of the fireplace for their guests in case they arrived while he was in the shower.
After a quick shower, Charlie dressed and stuffed a small box into his pocket. He stepped out into their front room when the fireplace flared bright green.
"I'm so glad you were able to make it," Charlie said as he kissed Narcissa's cheek and shook Lucius' hand. "You're just in time. Draco should be here at any moment."
Narcissa smiled. "We wouldn't miss this for the world."
Lucius was quiet, but Charlie had learned early on that he was a man of few words. He also found out that while Lucius may be the head of one of the wealthiest families in wizarding Britain, all he cared about now was the happiness of his son. It was a drastic difference from the man Charlie knew when he was growing up, but it was a welcome change. There was even some comment about finally ending the Malfoy-Weasley feud.
Narcissa was filling Charlie in on the goings-on back home when the trio heard the heavy thunk of Draco's boots hitting the wooden boards of the front porch.
The door opened with Draco's voice preceding the blond wizard, "You would not believe what Krum kept trying to get me to do. I swear she was trying to keep…" Draco trailed off as he finally turned around. "Mum? Dad?"
"Surprise, darling!" Narcissa said as she walked over to where Draco still stood by the front door.
"Dad? Mum?" Draco asked in confusion.
"Eloquent as ever son," Lucius deadpanned.
Charlie was close enough to see the grin tugging at the corner of Lucius' lips. He bit the inside of his cheek so as not to spoil the older wizard's fun.
"What are you doing here?"
Kissing his cheek, Narcissa replied, "To celebrate your birthday, of course."
"I knew you hadn't seen your parents since Christmas, so I asked them to join us for tonight," Charlie offered with a smile as Draco returned Narcissa's kiss.
"You are a sneaky man, Weasley," Draco said, shaking his head before greeting Lucius.
"Ah, but you love me anyway," Charlie countered.
"That's debatable sometimes," Draco quipped with a wink in Charlie's direction.
Grinning, Charlie shook his head and decided to let Draco have this round. It was his birthday after all. "Come on, birthday boy. Dinner is ready."
"Whatever it is smells delicious," Narcissa said as she led the way to Charlie and Draco's small dining table.
"I can smell dessert too," Draco added, his eyes lighting up.
Taking a seat next to Draco and across from Lucius and Narcissa, Charlie chuckled, "Of course you do."
"What did you make?"
"You'll have to wait and see," Charlie told him. He bit the inside of his cheek as a pout flitted across Draco's lips before he eyed the spread Charlie had prepared for dinner. A platter was filled with a delicious-looking beef roast. Accompanying it were roasted vegetables and Yorkshire pudding.
Draco leaned over and kissed Charlie's cheek. "Thank you for this, Charlie. It looks delicious."
Watching as Draco served himself first, Charlie said, "I hope you all enjoy."
Once Draco finished, the other three dished up their own plates before digging in. The quartet talked quietly, catching up on what had happened on the reserve and back in England since they last saw each other. As they conversed, Charlie's left leg bounced nervously, the little box in his pocket burning a hole through the fabric. Or rather, that's how Charlie was feeling as they neared the end of the main course.
Narcissa helped Charlie to clear away the dishes, and just before the duo returned to the table with dessert in tow, Narcissa squeezed Charlie's hand.
"No need to be nervous," she whispered as she took the dessert platter from Charlie's hands. "I have to say, Charlie, that this smells amazing. What is it?"
"It's called plăcintă cu mere," Charlie replied as he sat back down. "It's a kind of Romanian apple pie."
Lucius smirked. "You know my son well."
The sound of Draco's chair moving across the smooth wooden floor, pulled everyone's attention his way. When Charlie looked, he found Draco kneeling next to him.
Charlie's eyes widened. "What are you doing?"
Draco raised a blond eyebrow. "Trying to propose to my boyfriend," he replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Trying to keep from laughing, Charlie looked across the table to Lucius and Narcissa. "Did you two know about this?"
"Not at all," Narcissa replied. She turned to look at her husband. "Lucius?"
"Hm?" The glint in his eyes and quirk of his lips told Narcissa all she needed to know. "Yes, dear?"
"You are not as sneaky as you think you are, Lucius," Narcissa told him.
"What in the world is going on?" Draco asked as he looked from Charlie to his mum and then his dad.
Charlie dug in his pocket and fished out the small box. Holding it level with Draco's eyes, he flicked the box open. "This."
Grinning, Draco moved to sit back in his chair. "Well, since it's my birthday, do you want to do the honours?"
"Well, if you insist," Charlie replied with a grin. He dropped to a knee. "You know I'm not a very romantic man—"
Draco snorted before muttering with a smile, "That's one way to put it."
"Shush you," Narcissa said. A small smile softened her words.
Charlie continued on as if he hadn't been interrupted, "But I want to be your not very romantic man for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?"
Raising an eyebrow, Draco stared at Charlie for a few moments.
"You're not going to get anything better than that," Charlie joked. "Plus, you have enough romance in your body for both of us."
"This is true," Draco replied. He pulled Charlie towards him. "It's a good thing I love you, Charles Weasley."
"It is," Charlie replied. He raised an eyebrow. "And…?"
Draco huffed out a breath. "Yes, of course, you crazy man." He pulled Charlie the rest of the way towards him, kissing him.
"Thank Merlin," Charlie muttered against Draco's lips as they broke the kiss. He pulled the ring from the box and slipped it onto Draco's finger.
"Well, I'm not going to let a good ring go to waste," Draco said as he held the ring he had for Charlie at the tip of his finger. "I'm going to assume that the answer is yes, but I'll ask anyway. Will you also marry me?"
"As if there was ever a doubt," Charlie replied, cheekily, "yes."
Charlie returned Draco's kiss from earlier as the ring slid down his finger. Their kiss was short-lived as Lucius and Narcissa congratulated the couple.
"What about your parents, Charlie?" Narcissa asked as they returned to their seats once more.
"I actually have a Floo call scheduled for tomorrow afternoon to let them know how things went," Charlie explained.
"Good, I'd hate for them to be left out."
"Definitely not, my mother wouldn't stand for it," Charlie chuckled.
"Now, about my poor forgotten birthday dessert," Draco said, "shall we have a piece?"
"You first," Charlie told him.
Picking out the piece he wanted, Draco started to take a bite when Charlie's voice made him pause.
"Happy birthday, Draco."
Grinning at his new fiancé, Draco said, "Thank you, Charlie. For the best birthday, I've had in years."
"You're welcome," Charlie replied against Draco's lips.
Lucius and Narcissa shared a look. At the look in her husband's eyes, she nodded. Narcissa pulled out a tarnished spoon and held it out to Lucius. He grasped the other end and with a whispered, "Portus," Charlie and Draco were alone in their cabin.
The next morning, the older couple found a wrapped parcel and note on their dining table.
The parcel contained two pieces of Charlie's apple pie, and the note only contained two words:
Thank you