A/N: I had a number of ideas for Tasting Fire that I ultimately realized wouldn't really work in the world I was building in that story. Sweater thief was intended to be done in 2-3 shots, but might be a bit longer. We'll see where it goes.
Disclaimer: As always, I do not own or profit from Harry Potter or its related properties in any way.
Quarter Past Seven
Walking out of the floo into her flat Charlie was shocked to find Hermione with an open bottle of firewhisky in her hand, wearing only her knickers and an oversized knit sweater. She was a bit unsteady on her feet and looked like she'd been crying. He stepped forward in time to catch her as she stumbled into the coffee table.
"Where are your trousers, Hermione?" he asked, at a loss for anything else to say. He wasn't accustomed to seeing the otherwise prim and proper witch in such a state.
"Don't need them." she shrugged, taking a long pull from the bottle before offering it to him. He shook his head.
"What do you mean 'don't need them'?" he demanded, trying to avert his eyes from her lower half.
"Not going." she shrugged, avoiding his eyes.
"What? Why? Mum will have my hide if I don't bring you back for the party! It's New Year's Eve, you're not spending it alone in your flat." he crossed his arms over his chest, not wanting to know what the Weasley matriarch would do to him if he didn't accomplish his task of fetching her surrogate daughter. There was a long silence before she suddenly burst into tears.
"He dumped me, Charlie. That bloody arse dumped me." she bit out. Charlie was taken aback, crossing slowly to her and reaching out to rub her back.
"Viktor dumped you?" He whispered.
"By bleedin' owl." she sniffled as she took a long pull from the bottle and flopped herself onto the couch, the sweater riding up to reveal even more of her thighs. Charlie swallowed hard, trying to avert his eyes. He focused on her shoulder, noticing a small hole in the knit of the too large sweater. A hole that looked slightly singed...
"Hold on, is that my sweater?" he demanded. He'd been looking for it for weeks now. He loved his mum's yearly Christmas sweaters. This one happened to be his favourite.
"Maybe… probably… yes." she fumbled, pulling it out in front of her so she could visually confirm it was the sweater in question.
"How did you get my Christmas sweater?" he noted the slight flush in her cheeks at the question.
"You loaned it to me at the pub for the twins' birthday. Ginny had just spilled red wine all over my dress and everyone has too blasted to remember a cleaning charm. I forgot to give it back." she admitted, worrying her bottom lip.
"I thought I'd lost it. Mum will be happy to know it didn't get torched by a dragon." Charlie chuckled, sitting on the armchair closest to her head. He gently pulled a piece of lint from the shoulder.
"Now, you say you're not going to the party anymore. Why? Just because that arse dumped you? So what. Go anyway. You don't need him."
"Easy for you to say. You have a date. You don't have to explain to your mum why you're suddenly alone. I don't want to be the next victim of Molly Weasley's matchmaking service." she pointed out, taking yet another large swallow from the bottle. He was slightly impressed at how much the little witch was able to put away without slurring.
"Err… actually, I don't." he swallowed and broke eye contact with her nervously.
"Have a date that is. Mum doesn't know yet, but Lisa and I aren't together anymore." he rubbed a hand behind his neck, blushing slightly at the admission.
"What?" Hermione's ears perked and she sat up to look at him. He squirmed uncomfortably under her probing gaze.
"We've been broken up for nearly a month. I was just going to go stag tonight. Figured it was time to tell the family anyway. I think they're starting to notice I don't bring her back with me anymore. It was a lot easier to hide these things when I was still in Romania. The Wales reserve is great, but I've lost a lot of privacy." he looked embarrassed by the revelation.
"Oh." she let her eyes wander, settling on something just passed him.
"We could go together if you want. Tell mum we're each other's dates given the circumstances," he suggested, he didn't want to be the sole subject of his mother's inquiry either.
"I suppose we could do that…" she trailed off, the wheels of her mind turning rapidly.
"Give me ten minutes." she sighed and set the bottle on the coffee table.
"You mean you aren't ready to go now?" he teased.
"In just a sweater and knickers? You're joking, right?" she laughed as she crossed into her small kitchen and rooted a potion bottle out of the cabinet, knocking it back in one smooth movement. The grimace that followed confirmed for him it was a sobering draught.
"Just a sweater? Granger, do you mean to tell me you've got nothing on under there?" Charlie's eyebrows shot up in shock.
"Guess you'll never know!" Hermione winked and darted toward her bedroom, flinging the sweater in his face as she closed the door behind her. Charlie thought he caught the sight of bare skin and the flash of a large tattoo. He caught a whiff of vanilla and cinnamon as he untangled himself from the soft grey yarn. He wondered if she really hadn't been wearing anything under the sweater, excited by the possibility.
Hermione emerged several minutes later dressed in a skin-tight black crew neck and dark jeans. She was still zipping up the side of a pair of high heeled boots that stopped just below the knee. She had twisted her hair into a messy bun and applied a light dusting of makeup. Save for the cherry red of her lips, he would have thought it was just her natural face.
"Right. Let's go," she announced, sticking her wand through her hair and crossing toward the floo. He couldn't help but notice how great her arse looked in those jeans as he obediently followed.