The Meredith Series

Natural | 043

“Eet never came up in a conversation?! What kind of foolish argument eez zat?!”

Harry stared, wide-eyed. He had never before seen Fleur loose her temperament like that or heard her raise her voice.

“Um,” he said. “It never—”

“You 'ave never talked to Chalire about zis, zen, 'Arry?” Harry just shook his head, figuring the less he said, the better. The hole he was digging would otherwise be big enough to bury him in. “Zen you will do so now. March off, mister!”

Harry obediently stood and left the kitchen – his own bloody kitchen!

Fleur's words walked him out: “I don't want to see you until you 'ave discussed zis, you 'ear me?”

-x-

“Charlie?”

“Yeah?” Charlie wiped the sweat off his brow with his hand. He stared at Harry. Harry who was sort of pale and biting his lip and looking as indecisive as only his teenage self had ever managed. “What's wrong?”

“Why aren't we married?” Charlie blinked. “Meredith asked. Fleur just threw me out of the kitchen as if I had somehow committed the most offensive crime.”

Charlie cleared his throat. “Oh.” He shifted. “Do you...want to?”

Harry bit his lip, forehead furrowed. A few seconds later he shook his head. “No...no, I don't think so.” Harry looked suddenly stricken. “Do you? I mean, I'm not—”

“No, no, it's fine, Harry. Honestly. I, it's...no. No, I never wanted to get married. I reckoned...we're good, aren't we? I don't need a ring on my finger or your name next to mine on a piece of parchment collecting dust in the Ministry.”

“Ditto,” Harry laughed. Charlie smiled.

And they were good. They'd had over a dozen – almost two – years together by now: there had never been a need for a marriage. Charlie told him he loved Harry often enough. Harry, although having been difficult the first few – plus another few – years, now returned the favour as often as he felt comfortable doing, but Charlie had done a miraculous job opening him up and showing him what it was like to be human. Showing him love, warmth, happiness – of course, the variations Severus had never been able to teach him.

This relationship was second nature by now. Natural. They would go to sleep at night and it would still be there in the morning, as unchangeable and flexible as ever.

Still, Harry thought, a small token wouldn't be amiss. Just a little one, though, like a bracelet or a necklace or something.

“How about simple rings,” Harry murmured at the same time as Charlie suggested, “we could always exchange rings?”

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