by Kenovay
"Oh, yeah." Harry pushed a handful of hair back from his sweaty forehead. "Your family doesn't give quarter."
Charlie laughed. "Yeah."
Silence descended. Harry gulped orange juice and felt slightly awkward. Charlie had always seemed too far above him to bother trying to find topics of conversation. On the rare occasions he'd been seen at the Burrow, he'd brought friends with him, or blown in and out with what seemed to Harry a staggering amount of coolness. Now that Harry was sixteen, he thought he should be able to talk to him. After all, Harry himself was an adult now, wasn't he?
"So� you here for the whole summer?" Charlie glanced up from his book towards Harry, one eyebrow quirking up, and Harry's breath caught in his throat. Shit. Charlie was shirtless, of course. None of the boys had kept their shirt on for more than two hours after arriving, but it hadn't really registered on Harry before. Now it did. Skin.
"Huh? Oh, me. Yeah, for a while. Might have to go back to Romania, though."
"Romania?" Harry repeated slightly dazedly, still staring at the clean line of Charlie's jaw.
"Yeah. We're at a bit of a critical point in this job we're doing."
"We � you are?"
Charlie's mouth quirked. "You don't really want to know. Don't worry."
Harry dragged his attention from Charlie's upper arms. "No, tell me. Job you're doing?"
"Trying to breed the Lesser Striped Hebridean."
"Oh?" Harry tried his best to sound truly interested in anything beyond the movement of Charlie's mouth.
"It's fascinating." Charlie turned towards Harry in his chair and his face crinkled with enthusiasm. Harry was momentarily afraid that his own face was just as readable, but decided that he was probably safe. After all, Charlie wouldn't be expect Harry to be checking him out�
Oh my God. I'm checking Charlie out. Harry couldn't prevent the painful heating of his cheeks. He clapped his hands to them, and cast a distressed glance at Charlie, who broke off and frowned. Harry fled.
He ran through the house and out of the back door, down to the stream at the bottom of the garden that Ron had discovered unfortunately while hurtling away from an attack by Bill. He pushed his way under the heavy weeping willow and huddled under its trunk. He won't find me here. He clasped his knees and stared blankly into the green water.
A soft rustling distracted him. He glanced into the grass and saw a small green adder. "You are Harry Potter?"
"Yes." The snake rippled with satisfaction.
"I was told you would come."
"By who?" Harry was slightly disturbed at the idea of the snakes knowing his movements.
"Sto-pri. He was told by Slienn. He was told by Scarrass. She was told by -"
"I get the picture. Snakevine."
The snake's tongue flickered out, testing the air. "A man is outside." Before Harry could reply, the small green shape flickered away. Harry sat perfectly still for a second, then sighed and pushed his head back through the willow leaves.
"Harry!" Charlie startled. His face was curiously abstracted. "What's� uh� what was � is�um�" Harry scrambled out and gazed at Charlie in genuine confusion, forgetting his earlier embarrassment. Charlie's cheekbones were dusted slightly with red. "Was that Parseltongue?"
"Yeah. Little adder."
"Oh. It's very�"
"Very?"
"Very suggestive." Harry's mortification came rushing back. The tips of his ears felt on fire. Charlie seemed to become calmer as soon as he noticed this. "You int � shit! You're sixteen!" He swung away and ground the heel of his hand into his eye.
"Oh." Harry blushed again and looked at the ground, but not before admiring the curve of Charlie's shoulders.
Charlie turned back. "And I'll be back in Romania soon." He smiled regretfully at Harry.
"You're here for the summer, though." Harry's chin came up.
"Maybe. And you're still sixteen." Charlie reached one finger out and stroked a line down Harry's cheek. Harry pushed into the touch, and then blushed again, looking away. "And one of my little brother's best friends. It'd just feel� strange."
"Yeah." Harry looked down at his feet and Charlie let his hand drop with a sigh. When he had gone, Harry allowed himself a smile.
"Did that go well? You appear to be happier than you should be." The snake was at his feet again.
"Alright." Harry grinned. "He's stuck in this house with me for the summer. And I'm a teenager. I haven't been innocent for a very, very long time."
"Ah," said the snake, regarding Charlie's back as he went into the house. "I feel a bit sorry for him."
