Work Text:
“Foul! Incomplete pass of the quaffle,” Hermione yelled up into the sky.
“What!?” Ron screamed down at her. “There’s no way you know that! You’re bloody reading.”
Hermione looked up from her book with a sigh. “And? You had an incomplete pass of the quaffle, did you not?”
“He certainly did!” Ginny said with a smirk. The twins, Harry, and Bill all agreed in the background. Charlie watched avidly as he nodded, too.
“But it’s not bloody fair!” Ron argued, landing next to the little witch.
“It’s not fair that I know the rules and am making you follow them?” Hermione asked with an eyebrow quirked. “Sounds like someone was looking forward to cheating.”
“This is just a game of pick-up,” he said. “We don’t even have full teams!”
Shrugging, Hermione said, “That’s a good point. Perhaps you should tell me how that changes the rules so that I’m not calling erroneous fouls.”
“You’re not,” Charlie spoke up. He was pulling the hem of his shirt up to wipe his brow, exposing so much of his hardened abs that Hermione almost forgot what she wasn’t doing. Fortunately he continued, “Ron just doesn’t like that someone is calling him on his fouls.”
“She called some on you and Fred and George, too!” Ron protested.
Charlie nodded. “She did. And we accepted them because that’s what happens when you ask someone to referee for you. They keep everyone in line following the rules of the game.”
“But she’s reading,” Ron said.
“That’s what really has your knickers in a twist, isn’t it?” Bill stated, rolling his eyes at his youngest brother. “There’s nothing wrong with reading.”
“There is when she’s supposed to be paying attention to what we’re doing!”
“Oooooh. Does Ickle Ronnikins—”
“—want Hermione to watch him fly?” the twins asked.
“Well it doesn’t matter what anyone wants,” Hermione stated, heading off their teasing and Ron’s inevitable explosion, “I’m refereeing just fine while reading and if anyone has a problem with it, I’ll just go sit under the tree and read instead and you can find someone else to referee. I would prefer that option, actually.”
“Ah, come on, Mione,” Harry urged. “We like having you a part of things.” He paid no mind to the faces Ron was making behind him, though Hermione knew he was aware of them by the way Harry rolled his eyes.
That’s just how her boys would always be. And that was fine. They were boys. She had agreed to referee so she could watch the men. Bill and Charlie, Fred and George. They were worth watching in the sky. Even Percy wasn’t bad to look at. But she could never think of Harry and Ron as anything but boys. She was just too close to them.
Ginny leaned in to whisper, “Besides, the view won’t be as good from under the tree.”
Blushing hotly, Hermione tried not to look at the men gathered around her. “Fine, I’ll keep at it. Now you’ve had your break,” she said, shooing them away from her. “Didn’t you want to play some more?”
“Eager to see us?” Charlie asked, his eyes full of laughter. Merlin, Hermione loved the way they sparkled when he was teasing.
“I’m sure—” Fred began.
“—she is only looking forward—” George continued.
“—to seeing Georgie and I,” Fred finished.
Bill rolled his eyes at all of them and took to the air with Ginny and Percy. Ron was looking at Hermione petulantly. The two of them had been struggling ever since she explained to him that their kiss during the battle was just a kiss not a contractual obligation to be with him forever. It had been three months and he was still upset about it.
Soon, Hermione would be headed back to Hogwarts for a special eighth year and the boys would be starting Auror training. She was looking forward to a much calmer learning environment — and to some of the new professors — especially one Professor Weasley who had taken the Care of Magical Creatures position when Hagrid declared he was moving to France to be with his Olympe.
“Come on, Ron,” Harry said. “We need you as Keeper.”
“But Percy has to be Keeper or he won’t play,” Ron grumbled.
“Nah, Bill did some switching around and Percy’s on his team now. You can be our Keeper.”
Grinning, Ron took to the sky, making Hermione breathe a sigh of relief that another fight had been avoided.
She laid back on the ground with her book above her, perfect for watching the boys flying above her while looking like she was paying no attention at all. Of course, she was the referee, so she had a reason to look, but it wouldn’t explain her ogling only certain ones.
Her spell dinged and she called out, “Foul! You know better than to hit the bludger at the Keeper’s head, Frederick.”
“But it’s Ronnikins,” Fred pouted.
“I’m calling double foul,” Hermione declared. “Charlie gets to take two shots.”
“You’re just doing that because Charlie has more muscles than the rest of us,” Fred complained.
“I’m doing that because you’re cheating,” Hermione laughed. “Stop cheating and I’ll stop giving Charlie’s muscles a workout.”
“Oh, don’t stop on my account,” Charlie called to Fred, “I’m happy to give the lady a show.”
They continued making jabs at each other as they raced to the goal, where Charlie scored, twice. The points were now high enough that their team would win even if Harry caught the snitch, which he of course did, ending the game just before Molly called them all to dinner.
“With your spell, I think you’re the best ref we’ve ever had,” Bill commented as he poured water over his head to beat the heat of the day.
“Is that all you’re going to do?” Charlie asked his older brother. “Let’s go for a swim!”
“Mum’ll have our heads,” Bill argued. “She just called dinner.”
“Go ahead then,” Charlie taunted. “I’m going in for a dip. Who’s with me?”
The twins and Ginny immediately began heading for the pond, while Ron and Harry looked at one another and followed Percy and Bill inside.
“Come on, Hermione,” Charlie said. “You must be hot watching us fly around like that. Come get wet with me.”
Merlin, was she ever! She blushed at his words — was he teasing or flirting?
“Don’t make me throw you in,” he threatened. “Though I wouldn’t mind having you in my arms.”
At that pronouncement, Hermione wondered if she ought to refuse, but she didn’t want her book to get wet. Though Charlie would probably make sure she put it down… Even as she contemplated it, she was setting the book aside and getting up to follow him.
He offered his hand to help her up but then surprised her by scooping her into his arms. “I won’t throw you in, but I wasn’t joking about wanting you in my arms,” he said, his voice low and gravelly in her ear.
In the distance she could hear the others shouting and carrying on. Part of her realized she should find being pressed to his sweat-soaked body gross. But the rest of her loved his manly smell and being right next to him, in his arms, their faces close together.
Charlie waded out into the water, still carrying her bridal style all the way into the pond until the water was up to their shoulders. “Are you wet yet?” he asked.
Gathering her courage, Hermione answered, “In more ways than one.”
With a grin, he moved even closer to her, “Would you mind if I give the best ref a kiss for helping me win the game?”
“I suspect that’s against the rules,” Hermione said.
“New rule: You’re allowed to kiss the winners if you want.”
“I like this rule,” she agreed as Charlie leaned in for the kiss he had asked for.
If they had been standing, her knees would have buckled as she swooned for him. But Charlie’s arms were still around her and she was floating, both in the water and metaphorically.
Their first kiss was interrupted by a mighty splash over both of them. “Oi, get a room, you two!” George called.
“But do it later!” Fred added.
“Right now we have a water war to win!” Ginny declared, splashing them again.
“Later indeed,” Charlie said, looking down at her. Then he spun, causing a great wave to hit his three siblings.
Hermione laughed and dove at Ginny. She felt high on that kiss and the knowledge that there would be more later. For now, she would enjoy this slice of fun and later would come the reward for being Charlie’s best ref.