Chains That Bind

Seventh Year: A balmy Thursday.

Iris was siting in front of the fire, reading a book with Murphy on one end of the couch, and Skye huffing near the fire trying to read hers.

“Iris!” A voice suddenly called, and she looked up to see Charlie coming in. “Can you come to the burrow with me?”

“Uh sure, when?”

“Tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“Yeah!” He nodded hastily, “great! I'll see you there!” And just as quick as he appeared he was gone.

“What on earth?” She said more to herself.

“That was odd, even for Charlie.” Skye quipped.

“Wonder what happened at the Burrow that he needs help with.” Murphy muttered.

“No idea.” She said, closing her book, “but it's early evening now. He didn't specify when.” Iris stretched and stood up. “I guess I'll see the two of you later.”

~*~

Iris floo'd into the Burrow, and dusted herself off, looking for Charlie.

“Charlie? Where are you?” She called but there was no answer, but she did hear some voices coming from outside. She followed them out to the front yard and smiled. “There you are- oh, Hello Mister and Misses Weasley.”

“Iris! This is an unexpected delight. You've come to see us off, I presume?” Mrs. Weasley greeted as Iris went up to stand next to Charlie.

“That is nice of you you to come see us off.” Arther nodded.

“I... Um.. Well-”

“That's right, Mum!” Charlie quickly interjected, cutting Iris off.

“Alright then, listen up the three of you.” Molly instructed.

“I'm being called away on an urgent assignment to retrieve a Muggle object.” Arthur explained to them. “It requires some undercover work.”

“And I'm going to be posing as his Muggle wife. We must leave immediately.”

“Oh that's exciting!” Iris exclaimed.

“Fred and George will remain at Hogwarts, Bill is on assignment at Gringotts. Ron and Ginny are already at your Aunts for the weekend.”

“And what about us? Charlie questioned. Iris gave him an odd look but he ignored her gaze.

“You're to look after the Burrow for us. There are plenty of chores to do, including de-gnoming the garden.” Arthur explained.

“And if you even think about doing something I wouldn't approve of, ALL of you will be held accountable... That includes you, Iris.” Molly warned, wagging her finger at Iris.

“Me?”

“That's right. If anyone can play peacekeeper between these two, it's you. And when we return, the Burrow had better be exactly the way we left it.” Molly warned. “Not a blade of grass out of place.”

“We're off, Molly, it's time to apperate.” Arthur prodded his wife. “Have a good weekend kids.” With that, Arthur and Molly apperated away.

“This is why I called you here, Iris.” Charlie almost immediately told her, “before us we have a golden opportunity most kids only dream about. An empty house, with no parents.” Iris nearly spluttered, not knowing where this was coming from. “Now that Mum and Dad are gone, let's talk about what we're going to do.”

“Hold on.” Iris put her hands up in a pausing motion. “It sounds like your Mum left us a lot to keep us busy here at the Burrow. We can complete chores, like de-gnoming the garden-”

“Or throw a party!”

“We can organize Mum's sock drawer.” Percy tried.

“Or, we can organize a party.” Charlie tried again.

“We can't throw a party, Charlie! We have to be careful!” Percy whined.

“Or, just spitballing here, what if we-”

“Let me guess... Throw a party?” Iris inquired sarcastically.

“Smashing idea, Iris! I knew there was a reason Mum wanted you to help!”

“I don't know Charlie. Your Mum was quite specific about not doing anything she wouldn't approve of.” Iris tried.

“But she never said anything specifically about not having a party.”

“Charlie, perhaps you could explain why you want to throw a party?” Iris asked him, “this is... Unlike you.”

“With pleasure.” He said in such a serious way that Iris felt... Odd. “Our friends know I love dragons and Quidditch. That's it, I'm just the Dragons and Quidditch guy. My parents won't mind as long as we clean up afterwards. We can get sweets from Honeydukes, and Butterbeer from the three broomsticks and throw a smashing party!”

“And Mum will likely find out! I'm not going to jeopardize my chances of being Head Boy because you want to throw a party!” Percy scolded.

“I'm kind of leaning with Percy, I love your Mum, she's the sweetest person I've ever met but I wouldn't want to be on her bad side.” Iris mentioned, and then said what was really on her mind. “Charlie, are you throwing a party just to impress our friends?”

“That's … Not the only reason.” There was something he wasn't telling her and she almost called him out on it, “we deserve a break, and if we keep the party small and clean up afterwards Mum and Dad will never know. Though, it wouldn't hurt if people knew there was more to me than just the kid who loves dragons.” He batted his big brown eyes at her and Iris sighed, knowing she when she was defeated.

“Fine. Let's throw a party.”

“No! We should follow the rules so mother doesn't send us off to Azkaban!” Percy shouted.

“Well, Peacekeeper, any ideas on how to deal with Percy the party pooper?” Charlie asked, and Iris almost swore Charlie was acting... Flirtatious? She rubbed her head, thinking she was in the twilight zone.

“Percy, why not come to the party?” She asked.

“No one's ever invited me to a party before. That's very... Kind of you. I'll think about it.” He admitted, and Iris patted his shoulder with a soft smile. He was annoying, but she cared for Percy just like the rest of the Weasley's. “However, as long as the party is small, I won't stop you.”

“Thank you Percy.”

“Even though you're as fun as a Glumbumble, I do agree that we have to be careful.” Charlie nodded. “Mum may not be here, but she can read our minds.”

“Really?! Does she know Legilimens?” Iris asked quickly.

“She's a Mum, Mums know everything.” Charlie asserted. “This will require delicate planning. Let's get together later to discuss, we can head back to Hogwarts, but we can meet in the morning before classes.”

~*~

Friday morning before classes. Iris met Charlie in the courtyard, where he was chatting with Penny.

“Hi, Charlie. Have you thought more about the party?” Iris asked happily.

“Wait, we're throwing a party?” Penny asked excitedly. Iris wondered if they weren't discussing the party, what they had been talking about only because Charlie had been acting so out of character.

“That's why I invited you here, Penny. I knew you would be excited! Iris is helping me with the party. I couldn't do it without her.”

“Yeah, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are on a bit of a Holiday, and we're in charge of the Burrow.” Iris told Penny. “So Charlie wanted to throw a party.”

“And Percy's ok with this?” Penny laughed.

“Iris invited Percy to the party, actually. I'd be surprised if he showed up though.” Charlie admitted.

“We also said we would keep the party small.” Iris pressed.

“Sounds all right. It's not the amount of people that make a party, it's the amount of fun you have!” Penny encouraged.

“That's the problem. I don't know quite what kind of party to have.” He admitted.

“We could throw out some party ideas and see if we can narrow it down?” Iris offered. Charlie smiled brightly at her and once again she felt an odd sensation creep up the back of her neck.

“Great idea, Iris. I have so many ideas! We could play games, stay up all night, tell scary stories, torment Percy... Or it could just be a few friends gorging on sweets.”

“I love the idea of lots of sweets!” Penny agreed. “Can we have a dance party? I've always wanted to win a dance off!”

“Ok, if we keep it small, then how many people should we invite? Thirty?” Iris asked, noting Tulip lurking near the water fountain.

“I think that sounds good.” Penny nodded.

“Charlie, you were right though, you have loads of ideas. We'll definitely need enough sweets to put everyone in a sugar coma.” Iris started listing the things to do.

“And maybe even a dance off!” Penny chimed in.

“Thanks Iris. I knew you'd be able to organize all these ideas.” Charlie told her. Once again, Iris's radar went off. Charlie was always kind to, well, most of the time, but he seemed to be extra kind. It almost seemed forced, but she knew Charlie well enough to know he wouldn't do that.

“Well, thank you. There's a lot to be done, we'll have to split up the duties.”

“Perhaps you can handle the sweets Iris?” He asked. “Then either Penny or I can do the invitations.”

“Well, I think you should be in charge of the invitations, since it's your home, Charlie.”

“I was hoping you'd say that! I know exactly who to invite to make this unforgettable.” There was a glint in Charlie's eyes that kind of made Iris squirm, but also chuckle because he seemed so excited for this.

“Just remember, we have to keep it to a few guests.” Iris reminded him gently.

“Don't worry, Iris. I won't get you in trouble.” He winked. He winked, he actually winked at her. Iris wanted to ask who are you and what did you do with Charlie.

“Then I can start thinking of activities!” Penny chirped.

“As for sweets,” Iris began, “there's only one place I can find endless rows of candy. So I'll head to Honeydukes after classes.”

“Brilliant! Sweets are a must have for this party!” Charlie said excitedly. “I'll leave it to you to decide what to serve.”

“Allright, then I'll see what I can round up.” She nodded, “as for now, I need to head to Herbology. I'll see you two later.” Iris waved the two of them off but couldn't shake the feeling something else was going on... She just couldn't put her finger on it.

~*~

When Iris returned from Honeydukes later that afternoon, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Flyers were everywhere. No wonder Percy had been so angry with her at Honeydukes.

“Charlie! There you are, what on earth happened? There's flyers plastered everywhere.” She asked when she finally found Charlie in the Great Hall.

“I know! I don't know! This is bad.” He rubbed his hands over his face.

“Well you were in charge of invitations, and you did say you wanted to impress everyone, did you change your mind and want a big party?” She wondered.

“No. I know better then anyone what Mum will do to us if we get caught. It wasn't me.”

“Then who did it?”

“Well...” Penny said, her face turning red.

“Penny... What did you do?” Iris asked as Charlie was quickly loosing his color.

“I was so excited, I told Chiara about the party.” Penny began.

“Ok, but that's not too bad. I would assume Chiara would have been invited anyway.” Iris looked at Charlie and he nodded.

“But then Talbott overheard, then Liz, and she told someone, and they told someone... I felt bad telling some people they may not be invited... So I invited... Everyone. Are you upset with me?” Iris and Charlie exchanged looks and she could tell he was about to pass out so she quickly answered Penny before Charlie said something he would have regretted.

“Your heart was in the right place, as always, Penny.” Iris assured her as she grabbed Charlie's shoulder, where he was nearly slumped over, dry heaving.

“I just wanted this to be the best party ever.”

“Well intentional or not, we need to take these flyers down before a professor sees them.” Iris instructed, pulling the first few down that were hanging near them.

“Good idea.” Penny nodded, noticing just how ragged Charlie was beginning to look.

“So. Many. Flyers!” Charlie yelled to himself as he pulled them down. Iris looked over her shoulder towards him, and he seemed genuinely perturbed. Everything just seemed off about this entire thing and Iris almost just wanted to put her foot down and cancel the entire thing. Charlie was acting off and this was not ok.

“This party is going to be epic!” Tulip punched Iris in the shoulder lightly as she passed, pulling Iris out of her thoughts.

“I just hope not too epic.” Iris said under her breathe, continuing to pull flyers down. Within a few minutes, the three of them had armloads of fliers.

“Iris, we have all the flyers.” Penny said coming over with an armful, Charlie coming up behind her.

“Yes, but everyone already knows about the party and word is spreading fast.” Iris warned.

“At least no professor's saw them.” Charlie rubbed his forehead.

“Yes, but it will be impossible to shut down the party at this point.” She told him.

“I guess that means our small gathering has turned into...” Charlie started but couldn't bring himself to finish.

“A mega bash at the Burrow.” Iris finished his sentence.

“And if there's a mega bash at the burrow... We have to make it the best bash ever, Iris!” Charlie said seeming suddenly resolved to the huge party idea. Iris nearly wanted to slap him out of his silly state, because the quiet homebody she knew Charlie to be was somewhere in there.

“That's the spirit!” Penny said excitedly.

“We have loads to do to prepare! This needs to be a party for the ages! It needs to be beyond epic!” Charlie asserted, “it needs to be a party with style.”

What the fuck? Is what Iris wanted to say. “If you're looking for style then we need to talk to Andre.” Is what she said instead, choosing to be helpful.

“Brilliant idea Iris! Let's go and visit with Andre!” Charlie put his hand on Iris's back and directed her towards the doors to go looking for Andre.

“Charlie, are you alright?” Iris finally asked when they were alone, walking towards the Transfiguration classroom where Andre usually set up shop after classes.

“I'm fine! Just excited! This is gonna be great.” He told her, his hand still on her back. She didn't mind his hand there, it was just odd for him. It had been almost a month since the party in the Room of Requirement, when they had played spin the bottle, but neither of them had really ever talked or addressed the situation they had been in. Iris almost asked him about it, but decided against it.

When they reached the Transfiguration classroom, they saw boxes of decorations scattered about.

“Hey, Andre. So... I can see you may have already heard.” Iris said as she saw him arm deep in a box.

“Are you kidding? The party at the Burrow is all anyone can talk a out, I can hardly wait to go.” He told in his typical boisterous way. “But I'm even more excited to help plan, if you need it. Although I can't help if I don't know what you're looking for.”

“Let's discuss all the ideas Charlie had and you can help determine the vibe of the party.” Iris explained as she hopped up on one of the vacated desks.

“With the amount of people coming you'll have to use every inch of the Burrow.” Charlie explained to Andre.

“With that in mind, do you want to do pops of color everywhere instead of having ever square inch decorated?”

“I think that would be a good middle ground.” The boys agreed.

“What about food?”

“I already have that handled.” She nodded. “I've arranged it all with Honeydukes's.”

“Do you think we'll have enough sweets, Iris?” Charlie asked, and she nodded.

“Worst case scenerio we can just use the multiplying charm.” She assured him.

“Always a good idea to have a backup plan.” Andre agreed. “One thing I would suggest is live music if we can manage that on short notice.”

“Oh that sounds great! Penny was keen on a dance party.” Iris mentioned to Andre.

“If we could convince the weird sisters to play, that would take things to the next level.” He suggested and Iris nodded.

“I've met Myron and the Weird sisters, I may be able to talk them into it. What do you think Charlie?”

“That sounds perfect, Iris.” He smiled at her.

“I've got the decorations covered, but I could use your help with one thing.” Andre asked, batting his lashes at Iris as he conjured the decorations in a way to show them off. “What color do you two think it should be?”

“I think red would put everyone is a festive mood.”

“I agree, Iris.” Charlie nodded.

“Red is remarkable.” Andre nodded. “Festive, romantic, it will liven everything up.” With a flick of his wand, all the white and grey decorations turned into brilliant shades of red. “Great choice. These decorations would even put Professor McGonagall in a party mood.”

“Even Professor McGonagall what?” A voice tutted behind the three of them.

“Professor!” Iris quickly began to cover them, “what a wonderful surprise.”

“I don't see how it's a surprise at all. You're in my classroom... Now, Mr. Egwu had said 'even Professor McGonagall' well then?”

“Uhhh-” Andre fumbled.

“Perhaps Miss Rosewood can answer my question. What were you talking about?”

“Well... We were just saying, you would have fun at a party.” Iris decided the truthful tactic and both boys froze.

“I don't see how my extracurricular activities are any concern to you.” She chastised, then gave a grin. “Though I assure you, under the right circumstances I am no stranger to revelry. You may return to your activities, suspicious as they may be.” She leaves.

“That was a close one, Iris. Though, I don't know how I feel about Professor McGonagall and parties.” Andre told her taking a sigh of relief.

“We have to be more careful. Consequences from a Professor will be even worse than Molly.” She warned him.

“Don't worry, I'll keep working on these decorations.... Discreetly.” He winked at both of them.

“Good. I'll set off to find the weird sisters and see if they want to play a huge show at the Burrow.” Iris looked at Charlie, “I can do that before class, but then we have Charms, and I have Divination, but we could meet after classes and head to the Three Broomsticks to secure the butterbeer.”

“That sounds, perfect, I don't have Divination, but I have Apperition.” Charlie told her, “so I'll see you then, Iris.”

“Ok, I have to stop by the owlery on our way back too if you don't mind. I have a couple packages arriving.”

“No problem, I can help you carry anything you need.” He winked, again. Iris felt her brain short circuiting, but just waved him off and headed to to find the Weird Sisters.

~*~

Charlie got to Charms class late, and ended up having to sit across from her, Ben, and Tulip, when usually he sat with them. Again, it was something out of character because typically Charlie was always the first person to get to class. She had secured the Weird sisters for the party, and somehow he had disappeared after class before she could talk to him.

Something was off, and Iris was at the point that she wanted to confront him about it.

When she walked in the Three Broomsticks, she saw him already in by the bar, having a glass of butterbeer himself.

“Charlie!” Iris called, walking over to him, “the Weird sisters are in for the party!”

“Smashing! Well done, Iris!” He told her, and slid a second glass of butterbeer her way.

“Oh, thank you. All that's left is to decide on the drink, let's talk to Madam Rosemerta.”

“About that... We have a problem.” Charlie admitted.

“What's that?”

“That,” Charlie pointed over her shoulder and into the corner where a very distinguishable person sat. “Professor Snape is here. If he sees us carrying out a barrel of butterbeer or whatever, he'll catch on straight away. Bit odd to see a Professor out in the wild.” His little quip caused Iris to laugh, and he smiled at her laughter.

“He does seem as dour as ever.”

“Yes, even relaxing irritates him.” He said, eliciting another giggle from the blonde. “The only problem is we can't wait for him to leave. We have to get the Burrow ready for the party, tonight.” Iris thought for a second and then gave Charlie a grin.

“Perhaps there's a way to speed up his exit.” She smiled devilishly.

“Oh, I like the way you think.” He grinned back. “You have something in mind?” He rested his cheek on his knuckles, and wagged his eyebrows up and down.

“What annoys Snape more than students in class?”

“Students outside of class!” Charlie chuckled. “Let's pepper him with questions until he's fed up and leaves.” The two teenagers approached where Snape sat and Charlie was the first one to break the silence. “Hi Professor! That's all, just saying hi!”

“We don't mean to intrude, but we rarely get time with you outside of class.” Iris added.

“I do not want you to look at me, let alone speak to me outside of class. I can't imagine what compelled you to approach me.” Snape replied in his typical deep distressed voice.

“Sorry to bother you, but we have a few questions for you.” Iris tried and then was absolutely blown away by what came out of Charlie's mouth.

“Are you allergic to smiles?”

“Mr. Weasley...” Snape warned, and Iris did her best to stifle her laughter but only succeeded in letting out this weird snort/cough/grunt that made her choke.

“What are the ingredients in a Blemish Blitzer? I know a few people who need it.” Charlie asked him loudly as Iris was still trying not to fall over.

“You're standing too close, and talking too loud.” He stated, standing up. “You're lucky you caught me in a good mood. Otherwise, I'd be forced to do something I'd enjoy but would regret when I was fired.” He told the two of them, looking down his pointy nose. “Like gluing your tongues to the roof of your mouths.” With that, he walked away, taking the gloomy cloud with him.

“We did it! Great thinking Iris!”

“We? You did all of it! Are you allergic to smiles? That was hilarious!” Iris praised him, and Charlie practically glowed. Madam Rosemerta walked up to the pair,

“I shouldn't be saying this, but thank you for opening up that seat.” She told them honestly. “Don't get me wrong, Professor Snape is respectable but as a customer, he leaves something to be desired. He orders one butterbeer, then glares at the fire for hours.”

“Well,” Charlie started. “Perhaps we can parlay that kind gesture into a favor...”

“We're looking for a special drink, something delicious that will have people talking for days.” Iris told Madam Rosemerta.

“Well you happen to be in luck, I sell three different drinks by the barrel. House Butterbeer, Gillywater, and pumpkin juice.” Charlie and Iris needed only to glance at one another,

“Butterbeer.” They said in unison.

“Our friends will go mad for it.” Iris smiled.

“Can't go wrong with a classic. How many?”

“Three barrels?” Charlie asked Iris, who nodded in agreement.

“I'll get those ready for you.”

“Thank you, Madam Rosemerta.” Iris looked at Charlie happily. “We have music, sweets, and a drink. All that's left is to decorate.”

“Next stop, Burrow for party prep.” He smiled at her. “Are you hungry? We can grab something to eat real quick while we finish our butterbeer.”

Iris had planned to confront him about his behavior the last day, but after watching his quick tongue with Snape had put her in such a good mood, and the offer of dinner was just... Sweet.

“I think that sounds great.” She told him.

“Feel like splitting a scotch egg?”

“Oooo, yes, that is the perfect savory delight to be paired with a butterbeer.” The two of them chatted while eating their early dinner, and it was full of laughs, and jokes. It was the kind of relaxing beginning to the weekend that Iris needed, and Charlie just seemed to know how to make her smile.