Author's Note: This is my entry for the Twin Exchange February Challenge, Love in Unusual Places. Thanks to emeraldboarder for giving 'Hogwarts Kitchen' as her location! Remember, if you like it you can vote for it or you could check out my other entry on The Golden Duo 22 account – all links can be found on my profile.

Love Bug

Nobody knew who started it, but everyone knew who had ended it.

Hermione shuddered as she cut another piece of cheesecake with her fork; the image of Headmistress McGonagall standing at the doors of the great hall not quite enough to put her off her dessert.

It had been a spectacular food fight, one worthy of Fred and George's approval, and one she would never admit to finding amusing – especially not if she wanted to keep her current job as Assistant Spell Mistress to the soon-to-be retired Professor Flitwick.

So there she sat, reliving the whole evening in her head, eating cheesecake and smiling to herself.

If one of her students walked into the Hogwart's Kitchen now they would think she had finally lost the plot. Then again, if one of her students walked in now she could simply issue a detention, because chances were they had been involved in destroying the Valentines Day Dance in the Great Hall.

The house-elves were all upstairs trying to clean the mess as she sat there devouring what was left of dessert, and wondering just how long it was going to be until she was summoned to the Headmasters Office to see how they as a team were going to combat the increasingly mischievous behaviour of the students.

She was in the process of tucking into another chunk of creamy cake when the hidden doorway to the kitchen swung open, the heavy portrait banging loudly against the castle's ancient stone wall.

Hermione's fork clattered to her plate forgotten when a tall, muscular figure – his finest dress robes covered in cake – fumbled his way into the cavernous room, one hand feeling along the wall, the other covering his eyes.

"Charlie?"

"Shit! Hermione."

She watched wide-eyed as he jumped at the sound of her voice before turning his back to her and fumbling his way toward the door again.

"Um, everything okay?" she asked, wincing when his knee connected with the edge of one of the many tables that sat around the kitchen.

"Well, not exactly, no," The care of magical creatures Professor answered, stopping his getaway but never once taking his hand away from his face.

"Can I help?" she offered tentatively, becoming increasingly concerned by his bizarre behaviour.

In the few months she had come to know Charlie Weasley outside of the family environment she had found him to be a funny, enigmatic and intelligent man. Never once had she thought him to be strange, but something was definitely not right as he stood on the other side of the room covered in cake and shielding his eyes.

His quiet curses floated toward her, becoming more creative as the silence stretched.

"Charlie?" she asked again.

"What?" he asked, his voice sounding more normal despite the fact that profanities continued to permeate the air.

She took a deep breath and thought of her next words, "Is there something wrong with your eyes?"

"No, there is nothing wrong with them," he answered, tapping his foot against the floor in agitation.

Feeling the first pangs of irritation, she stood up and took a few steps toward him, "Then look at me."

He shifted uncomfortably, but shook his head, "That's probably not the best idea right now, Hermione. Look, I should just go, I was only looking for somewhere quiet…"

"Why?" she interrupted.

He paused before asking slowly, "Why not?"

Another few steps closer and she was standing less than a foot away, "Charlie Weasley, either you show me your eyes or I will be forced to bind you to this floor so I can see what you're hiding."

"You don't really want to do that," he replied, pressing up against the wall as she closed the remaining space between them. Reaching up she grabbed onto his arm and tugged, but the man wouldn't budge.

"Show me," she insisted.

"You don't want to see," he replied, his arm not moving an inch, as he held strong.

Hermione gritted her teeth and put all of her body weight into tugging his arm, determined to see what he was hiding from her, "I don't understand why you won't show me, whatever it is, it can't be that bad," she ground out.

"Yes it can, now let go," he replied, his tone equally frustrated.

Hermione didn't even think about it, she just put one foot on the wall beside him to gain leverage and tugged again with all her might. It was almost predictable what happened next, but Hermione was so focussed on discovering why Charlie was being so secretive that she didn't see it happening until it happened.

His arm gave way, her foot lost grip and her body began to tip backward. Charlie Weasley, being the chivalrous man he had been raised to be, automatically reached out to catch her.

His arms reached to grip her waist, her decent stopped in mid-motion and her eyes connected with his in surprise.

"Oh my goodness," she breathed.

Charlie looked down at her, looking sad as comprehension dawned, "I was trying to find somewhere to hide until this passed, I couldn't risk running into a student while infected."

She licked her lips, determined to reply, or move away or do something other than stand there like an idiot, but the moment she looked into his eyes her brain froze and she knew there was no other option but to kiss him. The desire to do so was overwhelming.

"I'm so sorry Hermione, I didn't expect anyone to be here," he explained, even as he pulled her up, wrapping his arms tighter around her, his fingers tangling in her unruly curls.

She sighed at the first tentative brush of lips, the chaste kiss that was the complete opposite of what he really wanted to be doing to her. Her fingers stopped their restless movements and she flattened her palms against his cake-encrusted robes, the rest of her body slowly moving in to press against him intimately again.

"Where?" she managed to whisper.

"I was patrolling the grounds," he replied, kissing along her jaw line, his breath washing deliciously against her neck.

"What did it look like?" she managed to moan, her arms wrapping around his shoulders to bring him closer.

He chucked deeply, "Always the academic. I'll show you a picture later."

"I wish I could have seen a real love bug," she mused, moving her head to brush against his lips with her own.

"If you weren't under its spell you wouldn't be saying that," he murmured against her lips, his fingers finding the tiny row of buttons down the back of her robes.

"Probably…" she trailed off with a sigh.

Deepening the kiss her sigh turned to a moan, one hand creeping further up to grip the back of his neck, playing with the hair that had been getting a bit on the long side. She could had never such sweet lips, his tongue clashing with hers as she lost herself in his touch, giving as much as he took.

The kiss seemed to go on and on, rising in intensity as he curled his fist into her hair, his other hand sweeping down the curve of her back before finding her rounded backside, drawing her hips into his arousal. The feel of him pressed hard against her core drew another tortured moan from her throat, setting them both alight.

"Tell me to stop," he gasped as he pressed hot, open mouthed kisses against her neck, finding the deep valley between her breasts and nuzzling the soft flesh along the scooped neck the dress she had worn beneath her robes.

"No," she moaned, "Don't stop, please don't stop."

Her words seemed to spur him on as he came back up to her mouth, seeking her tongue once more as he backed them toward the straight-backed chair she had been seated in earlier. He dropped to his knees when she tumbled down into the seat, his height bringing them to eye level.

She tore at his clothes frantically, the effects of the Love Bug gaining in intensity as their arousals reached fever pitch. Fabric tore and within seconds he stood proudly before her, naked and ready. Suddenly her clothes were gone too.

He reached forward, tugging into his strong arms easily and urging her up onto the table. Her cheesecake was brushed aside and his body was on top of hers before she could even comprehend the enormity of the situation.

"Charlie, please," she begged instead, tugging at his body as he kissed every inch of flesh he could reach, his fingers between her thighs now preparing her for size.

Charlie smirked up at her, his hands leaving her as he once again captured her lips with his, "Later I want to do this right, without the bugs effects. Later I will treat you the way you deserve."

His words became lost in her cries as he surged in deeply, his pace unrelenting. Hermione cried out over and over as the man above her sought his release from the same desires that were driving her crazy.

"I'm sorry," he cried out, his body tensing above her all too soon, his muscles bunching and his cries harsh as he found release. Hermione cried out too, feeling the intimate pleasure of such a carnal act, her body pulsing in time to his as he gently collapsed against her.

"Well that was… unexpected," she chuckled, running her fingers through his hair as he tried to regain his breath.

"Hermione, I'm…" he began, trying to sit up.

"Going to make it up to me," she grinned; kissing the frown lines that now marred his brow.

He looked at her wearily, before raising an eyebrow in question, "Do you think we'll have time before the house-elves return?"

"Do you think we could perhaps find a bed instead?" she asked, working her fingers through a particularly sticky patch of his hair, "Maybe a shower somewhere along the way?"

He grinned, bending down to kiss her tenderly, "You know, if this is what happens when the Love Bug is in season, I might begin to like Valentines Day."

"You don't hear me complaining," she replied, easing her way off the rather uncomfortable table.

"No, but I don't hear you screaming either," he whispered in her ear, causing her to shiver.

"We'd best get moving them, shan't we?" she winked boldly.

Thanks for reading!