human
Haldora Hargravewore her heart on her sleeve. If she had a feeling, somebody knew about it. Probably several people. Most likely, every single one of her friends and maybe the people who were sitting next to her depending on how loud she was. Only a few things ever got shoved down, and even then 'shoved down' usually meant that not herentirefriend group knew. One of those was the reason why she was currently stacking advanced charms classes into her schedule and trying to get Madame Pomfrey to let her help out in the hospital wing to gain experience and pick up some new spells.
And that was because the reason was a boy. Well, 'boy' was the wrong word because at 17 they were all technically wizarding adults. Which was weird, but she had stopped trying to explain that to her wizarding friends. The ones who lived on the magical side all the time didn't get it, and explaining the differences in how muggles handled themselves tended to get nods and acknowledgements that it was different but it was clear they didn't get totally it. Either way, after this year they would pick their respective paths and train in their chosen magical fields. Because there was no way Haldora was going to go do muggle work after all of this.
Which meant a lot of lying at family events. Well, more than she already had to.
"It's not fair,"she complained at dinner, resting her head on Tonks' shoulder, eyes focused at the table next to theirs where the whole horde of Gryffindors that she associated with were clustered."He's going to graduate and then go get eaten by a dragon and then I'll never get to tell him how I feel," she fussed the next morning, craning her neck to see if the freckled redhead had come in yet, while Penny carefully braided a small section of her hair. "Well you could - hold still - just tell him now," the blonde suggested, which got a small scoff in return as Haldora settled and let Penny finish with her hair. She still chased a first year Gryffindor away from sitting where she had already decided to try and get her Gryffindor friends (well, one in particular) to sit at the table across from hers when they arrived. Penny tied off the little braid with a tiny band that had a charm dangling from it and Haldora immediately slumped against the table a little, following up the movement with another dismissive noise just to emphasize what a bad suggestion that had been. "I know the things that he likes, he talks about them all the time. And he definitely doesn't talk about me."
Shewouldknow, she had been an enthusiastic audience member to anything and everything that Charlie talked about since the middle of third year when Penny had brought her in to help with something that Caelum had needed. At which point she has had been integrated into the strange, ragtag group of students who investigated cursed vaults and went into the Forbidden Forest and basically broke every rule that could possibly be broken. Which was more fun than she had expected it to be, honestly.
It wasn't like Haldora didn't have a life outside of all that. She happened to enjoy that specific friend group more than the other people she hung out with on occasion at Hogwarts. She was... acceptable at wizard chess, she was the designated replacement Beater for the Hufflepuff quidditch team - because she had played softball in elementary school - and while her interest in being a healer had admittedly been born out of a concern for someone else it was a study she greatly enjoyed and knew that she was good at. Magic sometimes responded better when the spell matched the desires of the caster, and it would come as no surprise to anyone that she was just always up for helping people. Potions had been a little bit rougher because of the patience element, but the best student potionmaker in the school was in her House and was her friend, so that was something she was working on. But she also got stuck on the things she liked and they took up a lot of her brain space, whether they were magic, games, or cute redheads with freckles.
gpt
I dont know what to do, whined Charlie, in a manner entirely uncharacteristic of him; the majority of Weasleys didnt whine, with the obvious exception of Percy and occasionally Ron, but one that certainly didnt was second-eldest Charlie. In fact, he prided himself on being the second bravest of the Weasleys, only shadowed by Bill like he was in all things, but there he was, being reduced to a competitor for Wimpiest Weasley by thoughts of a girl.
To be fair, Haldora wasnt just a girl. Passionate, selfless, and intelligent to boot, she gave the other women in his life a run for their money, often allowing him to blabber on about dragons until his voice went hoarse. Not only did she let him speak to his hearts content, she listened, and not in the oh, thats nice way most people did; she asked questions, responded with emotion appropriate for the stories he spun and even seemed to be genuinely developing an interest in the creatures herself. Whether she cared about them or just wanted him to be happy, he didnt know, but he certainly picked up on it.Mate, just tell her, replied Caelum, rolling his eyes and regretting it as he nearly tripped down a quickly-disappearing stair. Righting himself easily, as he was wont to do Charlie would have ended up face-down on the third-floor landing, and he prided himself in having excellent reflexes he placed one hand on the railing for the rest of the trip downwards, focusing his disdainful attention on his friend. Id rather listen to the reproductive habits of the Welsh Green again than hear you moan about a girl when all you have to do is man up and talk to her. I cant say it any simpler.
The instinct to launch into another in-depth explanation of the Welsh Green males mating dance pulled at him, but instead, Charlie harrumphed, one lip sticking out in a pouting face. Right, but you heard her at dinner last week. She thinks Talbott is cute and mysterious, he sputtered, saying the emphasized words in a mocking, bitter voice. It wasnt that he had anything against the quiet Ravenclaw he was interesting to talk to, when he managed to get more than three words out but knowing that Haldora had affixed her affections to him left a sour taste in his mouth. And then theres Bill and you, why would she ever cast a second glance at me?
Stop, came from his fellow Gryffindor, who emphasized his command by stopping in place, leaving Charlie several steps ahead before he realized Caelum wasnt continuing behind him. At least he hadnt still been speaking of his relationship woes; to begin the conversation talking to his friend and end it speaking only to the paintings lining the walls who, while friendly, would have archaic advice at best would have been quite embarrassing. Just because she finds Talbott cute and mysterious, or finds me extremely brave and dashingly handsome which is true, by the way or finds Bill smart or whatever, doesnt mean she doesnt find you to be I dont know, interesting?
How comforting, Charlie deadpanned, turning and continuing down towards the Great Hall, leaving Caelum to take the stairs two at a time to catch up.
No, really, I mean it, he continued. You wont know until you ask, which has been my advice since you formulated this ridiculous crush, so why dont you just take my advice?
Because you frequently get us into horrible, life-threatening situations that only seem to work out because we collectively have more good luck than you have bad?
Caelum opened his mouth to reply, then closed it, then opened again. Point taken. But that just means that luck is on your side.
Charlies bemoaning only stopped when they rounded the corner on the ground floor landing, stepping through the double doors and into the Great Hall. Caelum led with Charlie trailing, swinging one leg and then the other over the bench that left them back-to-back with Penny and Haldora, Charlie choosing to straddle the bench so he could be turned towards both sides.
Mornin, Pen. Hal, Caelum opened with a teasing wink.
Weve been over this, Charlie admonished Caelum, trying to diffuse an argument between his friend and his crush. Thinking of her like that was still so new to him, his thoughts only recently organized enough for him to admit to himself that he fancied her. Morning, Penny. Dory, he greeted the two girls, careful to emphasize the seemingly preferred nickname. We miss anything? Looks like we interrupted an important conversation, he continued offhand, beginning to pile food onto his plate for breakfast.
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Back in the Great Hall, discussion had drifted towards potions, the class that caused the most stress to the most students. It was also a subject that Penny was very talented in and Haldora soaked up knowledge about like a sponge, even though her practical skill was a little bit lower than her theoretical knowledge. Lots of healing potions could be made, and a few that were helpful in either avoiding or treating things like burns. Which she cared about for... reasons. Penny was several paragraphs worth of information deep in an explanation about why the amount of a material in the textbook could actually be supplemented with another material in order to have a slightly different but still beneficial effect when Haldora spotted a familiar redhead and their... was Caelum their leader? He might have been their leader. She would never speak this revelation, it would only balloon his already occasionally inflated ego. She raised an arm, waving enthusiastically until she managed to catch their attention and then pointing with just as much energy to the spot that she had been chasing people away from, beaming as the two teens made their way over.
Her smile faltered for a second and the nickname 'Hal', and her brown eyes narrowed briefly."Caelum, I will-- good morning, Charlie!" The switch in tone was so sudden it nearly gave Penny whiplash as the petite brunette turned on the bench to sit cross-legged, choosing a position similar to Charlie's but more comfortable for her smaller body, and carefully smoothed out her black uniform skirt."Not really, but Penny braided my hair which was very important."She turned her head quickly to show him, the small braid whipping with the movement and coming to settle on the rest of her short brown locks, the small gold feather charm glimmering there."The charm is very Talbott of you,"Caelum observed dryly, glancing over at Charlie while Haldora furrowed her brow in confusion and reached up to touch it like that would give her an explanation for why a feather was connected to the mysterious Ravenclaw."What?"
"Nothing, don't mind me."
She let out a tiny"good, I won't,"and turned her attention to Charlie, leaving Caelum to shoot an exasperated look in Penny's direction, who returned a matching one."Anyway, did you sleep well? Ready for classes today? I'm a little concerned because I'm still not done with the essay for Professor Snape and its due tomorrow and I thought maybe if I begged enough you might be willing to meet up in the library after classes and study together?"Snape was the harshest grader in the school. Unfairly so, she thought. Professor McGonagall was harsh too, bushe was incredibly fair and clear with her feedback. Snape just marked things wrong. And favored the Slytherins. Everyone knew it, but it didn't seem like there was anything to be done about it."Or at least you hang out for a while and help me while I panic my way through every relevant book I can find."Like her usually detailed notes wouldn't be enough.
Penny would have objectively been a better study buddy, but she didn't have fantasies about kissing Penny behind the bookshelves.
It was easy to ask Charlie to do things or go places to with her. She didn't struggle with that at all because they were friends, and that came before all these other feelings that bubbled up whenever she was around him or even thought about him for too long. Just because she had all this extra stuff going on didn't negate her original feelings for him, which had been that he seemed like an interesting, unique sort of person who would would be fun to be around. Those were all correct, and the fact that she could absolutely pass a solid half hour just looking at freckles that decorates his face and the way his eyes lit up when they unloaded pockets full of cereal into the Great Lake for a chance to see the giant squid didn't negate those things. Haldora Hargrave wasn't about to let internal awkwardness get in the way of her fun. No, she responded to the desire to be around him more by just inviting him on more friend things, because that seemed like a good way to handle it. Or a terrible way, since they were still only friends and it was years later. But he was a Prefect and a quidditch captain and she was neither of those things and they weren't even in the same House, so if she didn't invite him places they'd only see each other at meals, in classes, and when they were both asked to go do something with Caelum that might end in an early death.
On top of all the begging, which I'm going to start..."she checked her wrist like there was a watch there,"right now, I'll buy you something at Honeydukes next time we're in Hogsmeade." Exchange services for goods, which had the additional bonus of making sure that Charlie never came back from Hogsmeade empty handed no matter how tight money was at the Weasley household. Oh and, of course, it meant he would be going there with her.
gpt
Really, he should know better than to be shoveling food into his mouth when his friends started talking, because if there wasnt something funny said, there was something off-color that made him stop and think, and when Caelum observed Haldora doing something very Talbott, he struggled not to choke on his grilled tomatoes. Of course, Caelum saw it fit to draw attention to his narrowly-avoided coughing fit, clapping Charlie on the back loudly before patting him like he was trying to help. Glaring at his friend over the pumpkin juice he swigged to clear his throat, Charlie made sure to settle the cup firmly in the center of the table so it wouldnt be mysteriously spilled to further embarrass him.
One of his favorite things about Haldora was how easy she seemed to find it to brush off their friends antics; from calming Ben down from an unnecessary panic to putting Caelum in his place to making Merula seem helpful (though that was only on one occasion, it was more than anyone else had managed to draw out of the girl) she always seemed to know what to say for the specific situation. In contrast to his brash blurting, while she was a bit chaotic, she never seemed to displease anyonethough, if he looked harder, he would see their friends sharing looks of exasperation over their breakfasts. If he did see, he would only attribute it to them being sick of Caelum, much like he wasafter all, most of the schools events revolved around him to begin with.
He had been about to open his mouth and agree when she continued babbling on, and he found himself content to just sit and listen to her. It was usually him saying more than needed to be saidalmost always about dragons, or some other magical creature, and usually unpromptedbut she seemed to be overflowing with words, like she would burst if she didnt get them all out, and he was happy to take all she would give him. He heard her melodic voice in his dreams, a fact hed had to mention offhand to Caelum when hed muttered the pretty witchs name in his sleep and had to convince his friend that no, it was not that kind of dream. But then, she tacked on the bribe, and though she hadnt needed ithe would sit and listen to her anytime, even if it was about Potionshe couldnt help but grin widely at the prospect of sweets.
At least he looks proper excited now, not all moony, Caelum muttered to Penny, the hushed words gone unnoticed by their subject.
Still, her words made him furrow his brow. Wait, we have an essay due tomorrow? he questioned, sitting up straighter on the bench. Penny rolled her eyes beside them, whereas Caelum smacked his palm to his forehead.
Yes, you dolt, we were talking about it literally last night, Caelum told him. Even Ive finished it!
Only because I helped you write half of it at lunch yesterday, Penny interjected, beginning a new round of bickering between the two that, thankfully, overshadowed Charlies obvious mooning over Haldorainterjected with the panic he was slowly beginning to feel at the due assignment that he hadnt even come close to finished. Hed thought the due date was next week, and then Professor Kettleburn had called him down to his cottage to see the new Bowtruckles that had hatched over the summer and hed completely forgotten about it.
Forget you begging me, I should be begging you for help, he moaned, slumping so his chin rested in his hands on the table in front of him. Think we can manage to write two and make them sound different enough that Snape wont catch on? he asked hopefully.
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The moment Caelum started up with his dramatics, the freckled teenager let out a gentle"oy", and swatted him."Leave him alone, you'll make it worse."She considered adding'like always' but though it would have been a joke it felt too mean when the context of the last few years of their lives were added so she didn't actually say it. Just thought it a little bit and gave the Gryffindor a brief but firm look."You alright?" She reached across the wide gap between tables, a feat that required a pretty solid lean, and gave the redhead a much gentler pat than Caelum had delivered before righting herself so that she could smear marmalade on a piece of nearly cold toast that had been left on her plate for too long. As long as the food was in the bowl or plate it had appeared on it stayed warm and at exactly the consistency it was best enjoyed at, but once it was on the plate regular food rules applied. Haldora didn't understand it and she hadn't put a whole lot of thought into it because hostess magic wasn't really the top of her list to learn and she wouldn't have been surprised if it was House Elf related anyway.
When he made it clear that he hadnt even remembered that the essay was due, she let out a little gasp ofCharlie!and pressed her lips together, clearly trying to stifle a smile.How could you? Youre a Prefect, youre supposed to be the best of us! Very shameful. She was failing miserably at this attempt at serious chastisement and even she knew it.I take back my offer of bribery. But maybe not the overall offer of sweets.It was very against the rules to eat in the library but Haldora was occasionally sent muggle candy by her family and since it never had weird side effects it was perfect for smuggling into places that candy wasnt allowed. Maybe it was a skill developed from all those years of passing notes in class, but she was very sneaky. Her pockets were often hiding treats, snacks, or crumpled notes between friends that would be disposed of later. Unless they were from Charlie, she had on occasion saved the notes they passed. If it was important. Or hed said something cute. Or drawn something cute. She saved a lot of notes from him.
"I think we can manage." It seemed like the group worked on essays communally pretty regularly, and not once in her six years and some months at Hogwarts had Haldora gotten told that an essay she wrote was too similar to that of another student. Part of that was probably because her personality shone through in everything she did, no matter how hard she tried to write professionally. Which was a whole other issue with turning in essays to Professor Snape, and part of why she liked to have a writing buddy. Someone to stop her every few paragraphs and remind her to be formal. Which Penny was, again, objectively the best option for."We just need to make sure he hates them both equally but for different reasons." She didn't understand how anyone could find Charlie anything but brilliant and charming, but she supposed that Professor Snape hated everyone but Slytherins and Penny. And he wasn't happy about not hating Penny.
But right now you still need to finish making yourself presentable, I dont understand how you got this far and still havent started doing your tie up proper.
Because hes got you to do it for him,Caelum muttered but instead of taking that as it was meant - a comment on Charlie purposely continuing what had become a morning ritual-, Haldora took it as Charlie having not gotten good at it remembering because his mind was always somewhere else on things he deemed more important and then he never suffered the consequences that kept the rest of them making sure they were dressed as what Hogwarts professors deemed 'presentable'. She let out a tiny sigh, followed by a dramatic I am a mother bird who failed to kick her hatching out of the nest and now I must suffer the consequences. It was impossible to believe she was truly bothered. She did little things with so many of her friends; Penny braided her hair and she and Tonks painted each others nails even though Tonks could just change nail colors with a thought. Those were fun, sweet, and a little physical, but neither reached the level of ritual that was preparing Charlie to not get points deducted for a disorderly appearance every morning.
She had long forgotten the days when it was an occasional thing.
gpt
At the mention of taking away the bribery, Charlie mock-gasped, putting a hand over his heart like she had wounded him, but his expression soon neutralized again when she amended her statement to say she wouldnt take away the sweetsat least not yet. Hed have to be on his best behaviorhe knew she was not above taking those back too if she became displeased enough with his behavior; hed seen it firsthand, both with him and the others, and it was a strangely effective technique in getting the ragtag group to calm down and obey the rules even if only for a short time. Though she was the most composed of them allwhich wasnt saying much, considering the group theyd gathered through the yearsshe had a sneaky tear to her, a duality that he was confused by, occasionally frustrated by, and constantly enamored by all at once.
Instead, he fixed his face into a dramatic pout, bottom lip jutting out while the corners of his mouth turned downwards and his eyebrows slanted upwards. It was an expression he was thankful for when she started chastising him and immediately reached out to fix his tie, her hands arranging the article of clothing with expertise that hed never achieved himself. Of course, that was mainly because hed never bothered to try and do it up beyond functioning enough to stay looped loosely around his neck; as shed started to make all of them look more presentable by school standards, hed noticed that it was a surefire way to get her to touch him, something he hadnt realized why he wanted at first, only that he did. It was something she did to everyone, which both helped him pass it offhe was only jealous she wasnt doing it to him because she did it to everyone, hed said to himself before hed been ready to admit his crush on herand could bother him at times, especially when she did it to Caelum. It was to the point where Charlie, if he woke up in a bad mood, would glare at his friend to fix his hair in the mirror before they left the dormitories lest Haldora take it upon herself to smooth it down for him. The day shed spent minutes over breakfast arranging his locks, running a hand through his hair to complete the look, hed thought he was going to toss his pumpkin juice across the table.
If its not the tie, itll be something else, he shrugged. Weve got Transfiguration first thing and even though McGonagall adores Bill, I dont think shes passed the same favor on to me. She almost took points away from her own house for my shirt not being pressed enough the other day, he recounted with a sour look. He didnt understand why the uniform rules even mattered, especially since they were all running around the castle all dayand, in his case, around the grounds. It was probably what contributed most to his usually disheveled appearance, and though he did usually try, it wasnt easy to keep himself looking pristine when he was dodging fireballs from the back end of a Blast-Ended Skrewt in between classes. He really should go out of his way to learn more quick spells that would help him fix his appearancehed been on the receiving end of many a Face-Cleaning Charm from his mother growing upbut who had the time when there were books about creatures to read instead?
Even though her fingers didnt touch his skin, the thick white button-down standing traitorously in the way, he still shivered as she pulled the offending garment tighter, looking down at her and watching as her fingers worked to make him look more presentable, as she would say. What do you think, good enough for old Minnie? he asked with a boyish grin, tilting his chin up and striking a comical pose.
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She didn't understand why he ever compared himself to Bill, they weren't anything -- well okay, they were both tall redheads with long hair and a talent for Defense Against the Dark Arts, so she supposed she couldn't really say they weren'tanythingalike. So rewind and restart, they were barely anything alike and nobody who knew them well tried to compare them."Professor Sprout takes points away from Tonks all the time. Usually jelly slugs are involved, though." The usually pink haired wix liked to hide them in the greenhouse during Herbology."They're just doing their job. Anyway, she's obviously at least a little fond of you - prefect, quidditch captain, best seeker I bet she's ever seen... She just might prefer you didn't draw dragons all over all your notes. Anyway, would you really want her to be nice to you just because she was fond of your brother?"Maybe he would, but she felt like the answer to that was a solid 'no'.
Once his tie was properly around his neck she carefully straightened his collar, giving it a gentle but almost chiding tug at his nickname for his Head of House."I think if she catches you calling her that she'll deduct so many points it somehow passed over into the reset next year, and then that'll be your legacy." She tilted her head slightly, and then considered"or you'll disappear and suddenly she'll have a new porcupine for second years to turn into pincushions."Professor Mcgonagall was the most composed, practical woman that Haldora had ever met, so the idea that a nickname might be the thing that caused her to snap was casually entertaining. Haldora was always perfectly put together - tie comfortably knotted, white shirt and sweater smooth, and tights free of the occasional tears and runs in thin fabric that plagued Tonks - when Tonks bothered to wear them at all, anyway. It was partially out of preference, partially because for all her willingness to sneak around at night and solve mysteries Haldora really didn't like being the reason that her House lost points, and partially because she was pretty sure that looking good was part of what made guys interested and she needed all the help she could get in that regard.
But she also liked accessories and balancing that was the line the little witch walked. Bracelets, hair charms and ribbons, necklaces, not usually a problem until it was time to find something specific in a drawer or they were on their way to Care for Magical Creatures and Charlie was pointing out how unhappy she was going to be if a Niffler spotted whatever she was wearing or reminded her if she got blasted by something that magically made fire whatever metal she was wearing was going to get just as hot as everything else and that wouldn't be pleasant.
He lacked a little bit of bedside manner in that regard.
"There, all good to go." She patting his shoulder before settling back on the bench to address the last little bit of her breakfast."On the bright side after this year you'll never have to wear a tie again. Unless they find out dragons are less likely to try and kill wizards who are dressed well," she teased,"and then you'll have to learn to do your tie proper or face getting toasted." It would be a good motivator, at least. But after this year she might never see him again, and that made her heart twist in her chest. Haldora dreamed of becoming a healer and then tagging along to wherever he was going to end up, but it felt like it would be weird to try and plan their futures together when they weren't...together. Friends didn't follow friends to go chase dragons in different countries instead of getting better paying and more stable healing jobs. Especially when there had never been any talk of being an on-site healer for that sort of thing. It would be weirdly obsessive.
So instead she talked mostly about the apprenticeship period and the training she'd go through when they discussed their futures. Because even if she didn't know where she was going to be, she did know what she wanted to do. She could be enthusiastic about the prospect of healing even if she wasn't enthusiastic about years of working at Saint Mungo's.
gpt
It took everything in him not to puff up at the praise coming from the witch sitting across from him, though he might have failed a bit as he straightened up in his seat, back ramrod straighthed tell anyone who gave him a curious look that it was so she could have better access to the garment shed decided was offending, but the light blush on his face would give him away unless he could find a way to convince the questioner that hed just taken a bite of a sausage that was spicier than he was used to. With how much he stuttered through his lies, those that he barely ever chose to attempt in the first place, he doubted it would go over well, but at least his friends were nice enough not to question him on that, too.
Prefect, Quidditch captain, best seeker McGonagall has ever seen Oh, yeah. Those words would ring through his head for weeks to comeespecially since that was probably how long it would be before he did something deserving of praise. The coming nights session of studying and writing for Potions would likely provide a multitude of opportunities to bring his ego back down. He could see it already: a bit of a dunce, Potions-illiterate, honestly Charlie have you ever read a Potions book in your life? Maybe that was a bit harsh, and none of his friends would really go that far and mean it, but
As she let go of him, he immediately picked up his goblet and took a swig of spiced ciderif anything, it would give him somewhat of a flimsy excuse as to why his face had turned even redder after shed given his tie a playful tug. Even Caelum raised an eyebrow at the jerky movement hed made, and Charlie knew hed be hearing about it later, but he met his friends eyes over his glass and pleaded with him not to say anything, and by the time the wordless conversation between the two boys had ended, Charlies face had returned to its normal color. Thank goodness for small mercies.
Charlie scoffed at the mention of him dressing properly in the future. Dont think a bit of fabric is going to make them suddenly decide not to make me into dinner, but thanks for the suggestion. If it were anyone else, he would have launched into an explanation of what would help him avoid being made into dinnerdifferent breeds seemed to prefer different cologne scents, which he had been researching heavily in his spare time, along with stockpiling mint from the gardens back home since it seemed to appeal noticeably to the Welsh Greenbut he didnt want to take up any more of Haldoras time than he already would later that night with his forgetfulness. It was, after all, his obsession with dragons and other creatures that had led to him putting his paper for Snape to the side, so in his mind, hed already done enough.
Caelum held his breath briefly, but upon seeing the time for dangeralso known as Charlie starting to go on way too longhad passed, he grinned and clapped his friend on the back, causing him to cough, but thankfully swallow the last bite hed just taken. Well, if you two are done, weve got a date with Minnie, he said as he stood from the bench, all but yanking Charlie up with him, who reached over the two girls to grab another biscuit before sticking it in his mouth and waving with one hand, the other hoisting his bag over his shoulder as he followed Caelum away from the tables. Seeya tonight for Potions, Hal! he called as he broke out into a light jog to catch up with Caelum.
Charlie wasnt in the habit of being early. In fact, his timekeeping was something that got him into trouble often, both with professors when hed lost track of time at Kettleburns and barely skated into his next class and with his friend group. So, when he arrived fifteen minutes after the designated meeting time and found only Haldora at an otherwise empty table, he knew something was afoot. That morning, most of them had agreed to meet up for one class or another; even if they werent working on the same paper, it was nice to have the camaraderie in misery (misery was a bit dramatic, theyd be quick to remind him, and yet) and they rarely skipped out on their plans.
It was a set-up, and a damned good one considering hed never seen it coming.
Even though their friends were double-crossing traitors who were probably watching from the comfort of the upper levelhe did a cursory scan to see if he could spot any of them spying on the two of themCharlie put a grin on his face as he sidled over to the table, taking a quiet seat across the table from her as the previously mirthful smile turned sheepish. Sorry Im late, he whispered, doing his best to keep quiet even though Pince had likely long turned in for the night. Was a bit late getting to dinner and didnt want you to lecture me about only eating candy for a meal, he joked, before pausing and studying her. You did still bring candy, right?
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There was a blush rising up behind his freckles and Haldora allowed herself to entertain the idea that it was because of her. And it probably was, but not for the reasons she wanted. She assumed it was embarrassment over being fussed over because Caelum teased him for it occasionally, and because somewhere at the Gryffindor tables were the twins and they teasedeveryone, especially their brothers.
Today was what she had dubbed an 'off' day. That meant no classes shared with Charlie. Somehow their Potions, Transfiguration, and the Care of Magical Creatures classes fell on the same days, leaving her with half her week full of Charlie and half her week without. On the days without, she had a few more career targeted classes, and spent a few hours assisting Madam Pomfrey. Mostly that meant organizing things, making beds, and fetching things for her, but the healer would talk through things while Haldora did that so she was getting the information she needed.
If the library was open, Madam Pince was around somewhere. Haldora hadn't seen her, but sheknew it. The librarian always showed up the moment someone was doing something wrong, as though summoned by some unknown force. It was part of what kept the freckled brunette from from getting fussy with or without her friends around. The threat of getting in trouble was in general a better behavior motivator for her than it was for some of her friends. She still participated in all the adventures she got asked on (or heard about), just with more caution than it seemed like some others used. So while in the library she was quiet, studious, and only smuggled the least disruptive candies. So, by the time Charlie arrived, she had a small stack of books with several open and was working what seemed to be studiously though she had been looking up towards the library entrance entirely too often to truly be getting much done.
When she spotted him she waved and then tucked a few strands of brown hair behind her ear, leaving a small smudge of black ink across her face where her finger had touched skin as she gathered the loose locks."Well at least you showed up! I was starting to think maybe even you had bailed on me."She pouted for a moment once he'd arrived at the table, and then her face slid back to it's usual cheer. "Tonks got detention today during Herbology, and had to stay lae to sweep the greenhouse and trim some vines. And also go through all the cupboards and empty pots to find all the hidden jelly slugs. Penny's sister apparently asked for help with something."She didn't know where anyone else was, though. It was Charlie's job to wrangle Caelum because they were in the same House, and because Haldora could not be expected to keep track of TonksandCaelumand Charlie himself.
"Candy is only an acceptable dinner during exam weeks,"she informed him. The O.W.L.s had been one such time, when breaking to eat properly felt like too much time taken out of studying during the last days of cramming, and she had the feeling that their N.E.W.T.s at the end of the year would end up being much the same. Once Charlie had sat down, she glanced around the wide, multi-chaired table."Should we move? I chose this table because I thought there'd be more company, I'm not going to be able to read whatever you try and show me upside down or from across the table." Brown eyes darted around the library for a moment before gesturing."Couch? Then I don't have to slide treats across the table either." Much sneakier. If they got caught eating in the library they'd get a lecture, after all. She didn't wait for a response from Charlie, just picked up her small stack of books and made the short trip over to one of the well-worn couches and dropped the texts down on the short table and flopped onto the more comfortable seating. This was just objectively better than the table. Would it make it more likely she got sleepy and ended up having a harder time concentrating? Probably. But that was okay.
Haldora might not have figured out how to express her feelings, becauseobviouslyjust coming out and saying them wouldn't work for a variety of reasons, but she had no qualms about being close to Charlie. She wanted to say she'd been just as interested in being close to him before her crush, but Haldora couldn't really remember a time 'before the crush'. She'd seen that red hair under the dim light before they'd all gone off into the Forbidden Forest in her first adventure with the group and she'd come back pretty sure they'd almost died and absolutely enamored by a freckled face lit up with a smile.
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No sooner had he sat down did Haldora suggest moving, and to the couch of all things. The table was safe. The table had his ass in a hard, wooden seat roughly four feet away from her, and kept a respectable distance between the two of them at all times. It afforded no possibilities of falling asleep or physical contact, and even though it was still hard for Charlie to focus on a subject as uninteresting to him as Potions was, it at least kept him awake and somewhat alert. His eyes followed her as she gathered her things, but he didn't immediately get up and follow, pausing a bit to close his eyes and take a deep breath before pushing off the wooden surface to turn and follow her.
They settled into the plush material of the couch, Haldora in one corner and Charlie pressed as far into the other as he could. One leg bent with the ankle crossed over the other knee, he was angled so his back was against the arm of the couch, using his legs to at least ensure some distance between the two of them. If he sat straight on, even a brush of their arms would have him immediately ripped from whatever concentration he could muster, which wouldn't be much to begin with. Despite what he said if asked by anyone, he did want to pass even the subjects he hated. After all, if he didn't manage at least a passable grade in Potions, he could kiss his dream of studying dragons in the remote country land goodbye, since he'd need to know how to make at least a functional Wiggenweld to get hired by any respectable breeders or studies. There was a starting stack of books that Haldora had gathered, and if necessary, Charlie would gather more from the stacks; he owned only the most necessary books for being allowed to take a class on, and even those were hand-me-downs from Bill that were swapped between the two if they shared classes with similar requirements. The library, as much as Charlie detested being there, was his main resource for learning material, though he mostly checked out the same books over and overand they were rarely Potions tomes.
"Caelum said something about going to explore a secret passage," he explained with a shrug. "I told him just to ask the twinsthose little freaks seem to know everything about the school even though they've only been here for a short bitbut he said he 'wanted to do it on his own'." Finger quotes accompanied the reason Caelum had given him, though Charlie expected it was all a lie. He'd caught the tail end of robes and a flash of dark hair that looked suspiciously like Caelum's, but he'd been in too much of a hurry to quickly wash up and get down to dinner before meeting Haldora that he hadn't stopped to question it. If he asked him, he was sure that his friend would stammer out some bullshit excuse, and while he didn't quite appreciate being lied to, he couldn't deny that he was excited to spend time with Haldora on his own. "Don't worry. I already told him we wouldn't bail him out of detention. I learned my lesson last time."
Leaning forward, he reached out for one of the books that looked at least somewhat familiar, though that was mainly because it was one of the few he actually owned. He hadn't brought his copy that night, since it was with Bill, and he flipped through it with mild interest to see if there were any differences in the outdated copy the Weasleys had found secondhand and the pristine version the library carried. "So, you have your topic yet?" he asked with a wince. He hadn't even thought about it, though that had mostly been because he'd forgotten it was even due in the first place, and then because Haldora had offered to help him. His best thinking was done partially for him, after all.
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Charlie's internal struggles were lost on Haldora, who had become so confident in her ability to accurately read Charlie and the fact that he'd never be interested in her romantically that she didn't recognize any of the signs. She knew him, she said, she'd know if he was into her because she could always tell what was up with him. Because she always wanted to know. She was very invested, for obvious reasons.
As the redhead moved from the table to the couch, she picked up his body language and scooted over a little bit more to make some more space between them. Why was he trying to be as far away from her as possible? It had happened before. When it was one of the girls or even Barnaby and sometimes Caelum they would end up shoulder to shoulder looking over the same books, but it seemed like Charlie kept his distance. She had come to assume he just needed more personal space, but he let her fix his tie and adjust his collar so she wasn't sure why that was okay but sitting too close together wasn't. It probably didn't matter why though, Haldora just had to respect it. And so she would, thought she would love to be curled up against him while they studied. Probably wouldn't get as much done, but it would be nice.
"I dont know if you want to encourage Caelum and the twins hanging out too much. I'm not sure if they'll be a bad influence or he'll be a bad influence but someone will definitely be a bad influence." She didn't bother to tell him not to call his brothers freaks because she knew he didn't mean it. Haldora was a little jealous, honestly, of how connected the whole Weasley family seemed to be. She didn't have siblings and every time she was allowed to briefly step into the bubble it was so warm and loving and she enjoyed it immensely. "If we always bail him out he'll never learn,"she said, summoning up the maximum amount of 'team mum' energy she could."Plus if you ever have to fall back on your second job option of professional Quidditch, you don't want a reputation as a troublemaker." Other people thought it was crazy he'd give up the option to try and go pro so that he could run around with dragons, but she had accepted it easily. Just because someone liked and was good at something didn't mean it had to be their passion."Or maybe you do? Dragons won't care how rowdy you are either way."She had a hard time using that as a descriptor for Charlie. He was energetic and very enthusiastic and hyperfocused on his passions but she only ever saw him as gentle and friendly and sort of... unassumingly strong.
Though it was more obvious now. Wrestling animals and years of Quidditch had maybe changed that, or maybe she was just more aware of it, and it was even more noticeable when they were sitting this close together. Not that Haldora Hargrave noticed that sort of thing,obviously.
Im doing an analysis of potions with unintended healing side effects. I grabbed you a book with a Magizoologist's considerations on increasing the strength of potion versus dosage size for large magical beasts because it seemed relevant to your interests."There was a lot of room for interpretation in this project, and that meant they got to drift towards their interests. And Charlie's interests were easy to remember. She shifted a few books because it would be hard to pull something from the bottom of a stack and held the leather-bound book out to him."It's only a chapter, but it's a start?" She was here to help, and if helping meant hopefully giving him a foot in the door, she was happy to."I also found some guy's ideas on topical application of potions and you could extrapolate that into application of burn healing potions or something." While waiting for him or any of the other study buddies to meet up, she'd gotten all distracted looking for things for Charlie instead of giving proper focus to her own partially finished essay. So maybe studying with him wasn't such a good idea after all because she was just going to focus on his work. But she liked the alone time. Wanted to use this to talk to him, just be around the redhead without her friends or the possibility of death or some weird mystery to solve.
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It never ceased to amaze him how in tune with those around her Haldora always was; it appeared no one could hide anything from herthough of course, that had been proven false considering he had successfully hidden that he had a giant crush on her for years nowand she always found some way to relate the topic at hand to the person she was speaking to. Perceptive to a fault and with a memory like no other, it made her a great friend to have, though it also made it dangerous for him to be alone with her. Just because hed succeeded at keeping his affections secret for this long didnt mean that he wouldnt let something slip in the future. It was easy for him to feel at ease around her, after the nerves that naturally came with a crush subsided, but that in and of itself was dangerous. If he got too comfortable, his lips might be far too loose for his preference, and he could end up embarrassing himself.
Thankfully, the topic of the twins distracted him from his internal struggle; it was easy for him to talk about his family, the only thing other than dragons (and her, of course, but it wasnt like he could bring that up as a topic unless he wanted the self-fulfilling prophecy of him putting his foot in his mouth to become true) that could cheer him up any time. Though the twins were a handfuland that was putting it lightlythey were his brothers, his blood, and even if Bill hadnt drilled it into him that family was the most important thing to keep close from day one, he would have still held favor for the twin terrors.
Thats inevitable, he agreed with a shrug. But if I try and discourage it, you know themtheyll just hang out even more. At least if I act like Im okay with it, they hang out under my nose so I can make sure theyre not slipping Dungbombs into my shoes. What they did with anyone elses shoes, however, wasnt really his business. It was supposed to be, sure, with him as a position of authority, but if he never let anything slip, he wouldnt be as well-liked in the student population of Hogwarts as he was. With a brother like Bill, who everyone seemed to love, to live up to, he really couldnt afford to alienate more people than he probably already did with his obsessive tendencies.
He took the offered tome from her and flipped to the mentioned chapter, only briefly scanning it before moving to the secondhe hadnt given any thought to his topic yet, figuring that she would do exactly as she had done, and while that felt a bit selfish to let her focus on not only her work but his as well, she was good at it, and besides, she didnt seem to mind. In fact, she seemed all too happy to help; as much as she would likely sigh theatrically and roll her eyes at him, he would also be rewarded with her special smiles, the ones that she didnt wear all the time and seemed to shoot in someones direction only when theyd really pleased her, and one of those was even better than a compliment from his older brother.
You really do think of everything, dont you? Youre a lifesaver, he breathed, already beginning to draft up a basic outline for his essaythe first topic shed suggested was perfect for him, and it would be easy enough to write enough to satisfy Snapes length requirements, especially if he managed to relate his knowledge of dragons to hismuch more limitedknowledge of medical potions meant for creatures. After all, he worked with Kettleburn to heal the sick creatures he used for his lessons. What difference was there besides justscaling up the patient a little bit?
Yknow, I know healing is your calling and all, but you could really be a professor someday, he stated offhand, his quill scratching as he copied down examples of a few trials to cross-reference in official records. If anything, youve at least managed to relate my least favorite subject to my favorite one Well, one of my favorite ones, his mind corrected him, and Im pretty sure youve been responsible for keeping Caelum safe both from, yknow, all thata generously simplistic way to describe Caelums general life, to be sure and himself.
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"I'm so jealous of how many siblings you have."She'd always been open about that and no amount of horror stories about the twins could dissuade her. It was an opinion she expressed regularly, occasionally slightly wistfully as long as Fred and George weren't actively causing trouble - that they knew about - and Percy wasn't right there fussing in their ears. Even when those were happening she still took a cheerful 'well you're lucky to have siblings, I'm so jealous' attitude about it. Except for the time Fred and George had made her cry. But they'd apologized very seriously the next day, so as far as she was concerned they weren't that bad. "At least you don't have to worry about Percy getting up to trouble with Caelum."Just Percy getting Caelum in trouble but sometimes he deserved it.
"Not everything, maybe just most things."But she looked pleased by the compliment, and smiled at him."The praise certainly helps."Specifically when it came from him. She was willing to work a little extra hard to get a compliment from Charlie, though it rarely seemed like she actually needed to."I had a little extra time was all." An absolute lie, and one he could probably call her on, if he wanted to."And I already had the book."Also a lie, harder to call her on.
She squinted at him for a moment when he said she could be a professor, and then shrugged."Maybe, but I don't want to. I like to help you because I'm fond of you... all." she added quickly, "of all of you."Oops."You're basically the poster boy for being really good at something you don't want to do for a living so I know you get it." Not that he wasn't also bursting at the seams with dragon knowledge and astoundingly good at soothing and working with basically any animal and Haldora was fully charmed by that and she knew it, but working with dragons was something you probably had to actually meet dragons to know if you were good at."I can't make Caelum do anything he doesn't want to, and I've just got the best episkey charm of all of us is all. Which has been concerningly helpful, just so you know. Anyway I think he listens to you better. He certainly talks about things to you more. I just get 'hey Hal',"she pitched her voice lower in what objectively a pretty poor mockery of what Caelum sounded like,"'Charlie and I going to go talk to some giant spiders tonight and I want you to come in case one tries to eat me because you got a better score on your protego. And then I'm going to wander away for an hour and leave the two of you alone because I thought I saw an artifact I didn't tell you about ahead of time and seem really disappointed in you when I come back for reasons I won't ever tell you, hope you weren't worried I died'." She complained a lot but she always agreed to go no matter how short notice, and she did like Caelum. He was charming and funny and a pretty good friend to have around.
She tried to settle into her book but it was hard, and she found herself sneaking increasingly long and obvious glances at the teen sitting next to her. She wanted to accuse him of distracting her but what would she even say? Charlie wasn'tdoinganything except existing in the same space as her. So then she'd have to explain or sound like a crazy person and even if she explained chances were that 'I get distracted by your freckles' wouldstillmake her sound certifiable.
What if she justtold him? And then ran away to live among the almost certainly enchanted bookshelves like some kind of library ghoul. She'd never get to graduate, but that was okay. It would solve the immediate problem and nobody in their friend group seemed to do all that well at thinking ahead long term anyway so they would probably fully come to accept the life choice she would have to make. She could eventually become the new Hogwarts librarian, or maybe just become some Hogwarts equivalent of a muggle cryptid.
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It was a sentiment that many people had extended to him, that he was lucky to have as many siblings as he had, that he would be thankful someday for his family being that largebut so far, while he loved his family like no other, he couldnt help but wish things had been different sometimes. After all, all anyone really saw from the large family was that they should be happy to have each other, never really focusing on the difficulty of it all. Growing up having to share everything, never having a moment to oneself it was the reason he loved being at Hogwarts so much, because he could both see his siblings and know that they were close to him, and have his time to himself, too. Especially now that he had made Prefect and was able to have his own dorm; it was a luxury like nothing else hed ever experienced.
More often than not, if he couldnt be found, he was in the Prefects bathroom, turning his skin pruny with the grandeur of a private bath, water charmed to stay at the perfect temperature for as long as it was in use. And not only that, but he couldnt be interrupted. It was all he had ever wished for growing up, and truthfully, it was one of the main reasons he had campaigned for Prefect status in the first place.
Still, he would never argue out loud, especially not with Haldora. Hell, she could likely say that Hungarian Horntails were bright purple and hed make it his mission to find the one case where a baby had been born looking more purple than black to prove anyone who might argue with her wrong.Caelum talking to me about things more isnt really a point in the win column, Charlie contradicted with a grimace, then a laugh. Its scary how good you are at mocking him, by the way. Can you just take what he wants to say to me and say it instead? Id much rather listen to you than him. He blinked at the book in his hands, stopping in the middle of a sentencehad he really just said that out loud? I just meanits funnier that way, you know? When you say it, youre aware of how ridiculous you sound. He thinks hes perfectly reasonable. Which Im pretty sure hes the only person to think that wayif I said I was going to wander off into the Forbidden Forest by myself, Im pretty sure one of you would check me into the Hospital Wing. Then again, was that too out of character for him? The comparison that his mind made between his behavior and Caelums was alarming; did he worry her like Caelum did?
He didnt want to worry her, but he couldnt deny that he wanted to be on her mind just as much as their troublesome friend wasno, more than.
It wasnt a smooth recovery, but it was the best he could have hoped for; still, he ran his finger along a few sentences in the book in front of him, the ones he should have already read but hadnt because he had been so distracted by it being just the two of them, curled up on a couch in a dimly-lit corner of the libraryno, Charlie, he scolded himself mentally, back to the books or youll never pass. Jotting a few sentences down, he scratched out a few portions after a few moments, huffing a frustrated sigh as his quill tore a hole in the parchment.
Maybe I justits not like I need the NEWT level, do I? he whined, feeling discouragement sink into him. Ive already passed my OWL just fine, and I think I could skate by without Potions if I do impressively enough in Herbology.
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Had she known how he felt, Haldora would have stopped expressing her envy out loud. But she enjoyed his family immensely, and perhaps that was a little bit because it washis familyand definitely a little bit because she didn't have to live with them or even share a common room with them. She also liked Penny's little sister though, was jealous about that too. So she doted on Beatrice Haywood, probably would have absolutely spoiled her if it were possible to truly do that.
And yeah she was also jealous of Charlie's access to the Prefect's bathroom, but it wasn't like she could ask him to let her in. That would be super weird.
"Scary because it's bad,"she countered, knowing full well her attempts to mimic his voice were terrible and absolutely unidentifiable as Caelum. "I would rather listen to you translate Caelum things so I didn't have to listen to all of it from him," and because she greatly enjoyed listening to Charlie talk."so we're out of luck. We'll just both have to listen to him. Which sounds mean and I guess it is? But even if everything is absolutely bonkers, it's..."what was the right word for this?"certainly always an adventure. Feels important." Because it was important. She wouldn't ever ask to be left out of it."I wouldn't be worried if you said you were going into the Forbidden Forest, I trust you to handle yourself out there. You're smart and you'd be absolutely in your element. Bill used to tell us about your attempts during first year so I know you know your way around,"a pause and then"and I also I know you'd let me go with you, so there would be no reason to worry." And by this point she would assume he had some kind of good reason. He wasn't eleven and chasing rumors of dragons anymore. As cute as it was to hear stories about that, since she had only been friends with Penny that year.
When Charlie settled in to work on his essay, so did she. He was a little bit of a distraction what with his whole... all of him, but she already had a solid start and she knew what she wanted to do so she had no issue with getting to her writing with only the sound of two quills scratching against parchment breaking the quiet, at least until he sighed.
"Hey, hey, no. None of that."No whining and more importantly, no giving up on this project just because he was feeling discouraged."Even if you could skate by without potions, you still have to pass this class before you can decide if you're going to go for the actual NEWT or not, and the better your grades and scores are, the more options you'll have." He deserved to get to go work with whichever dragon sanctuary or weird dragon project he wanted and she would drag him through his classes kicking and screaming if she had to.
With no knowledge of why Charlie had chosen to position himself the way he had on the couch, Haldora scooted closer, dropping an arm on his leg as she leaned in to look at his parchment. She produced her wand and gave it a quick flick with a murmured word, repairing the hole he had made, and let out a soft comforting noise before tucking her wand back into the book where she'd been using it as a place saver."Let me see, I can help."It wasn't like he had a choice because while she was speaking she was reaching out to grab his essay. She let out a thoughtful little hum while she read before letting go of the paper."You should take a moment to plan ahead. Figure out what each paragraph is going to be before you start. Then all you need to do is tie it together and fill it in. I know you know how to plan ahead, I've seen you play quidditch."Enthusiastically, she never missed a game and had come to his practices once or twice with some made up reason why. And sure maybe that was a bunch of instinct but it couldn't beallgoing with his gut and reacting in the moment.
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Charlie knew he was wrong, and he knew he wasnt going to give up, but that didnt stop him from being discouraged. Watching his friends, it seemed like everything came so easily to them, especially Caelum and Haldora, and he was just Charlie. One Weasley among the others, and not even the most anything. Bill had the popularity and the wisdom, Percy had his natural intelligence, the twins had their humor, and Ron and Ginny were still children with all that potential. But him? All he had was a hole scratched in the parchment and a hopeless crush on a girl that was way too good for him.
Middle child syndrome had never applied to him more.
But Haldora made him feel so good, and when she spoke to him so complimentary, he could almost believe her. The only thing that kept him from doing so was himself, telling himself that she talked to all her friends that way, that he was no different, and that she would do the same for any of the others should they find themselves in the frustrating position he was in. Still, there was a little catch of hope in his chest that kept him thinking maybe there was something more to itthough he wouldnt let himself invest too far into it, lest he convince himself he had a chance. Because, of course, that would be ridiculous.
I know, I know, I just Charlie was going to explain himself, but all coherent thought left his brain when her arm collided with his leg, putting some of her body weight onto him, and then she was leaning towards him, and it would be so easy to lean in, toono. He straightened up, doing his best to move so it seemed natural, when really it was anything but, and he willed his cheeks not to turn their trademark cherry red as his eyes fixated on the parchment weaving itself back together. She really was skilled at mending charms, and wow, she was amazingoh, wait, she was talking again.
Focus, Charlie.
Easy enough for you to say, youre so good at this, he murmured, tapping the tip of his quill against the margin of the page before attempting to rub the ink away, completely forgetting for a moment that he could just use his wand. Thankfully, he remembered after only a moment, flicking his wand and erasing the stray ink from his mindless tapping. Planning wasnt really his strong suitclearlybut the strategy did at least help him jot a few more sentences down. It would be a step-by-step process, but before he knew it, he at least had the makings of a decent starting point. It would take some fleshing out, but even if he didnt, it would probably still be passable. Raising his eyebrows at the parchment, he looked up at Haldora for the first time since shed touched him, cheeks coloring lightly.
Thanks. A lot. I really couldnt have done it without you, he said aloud, his voice uncharacteristically soft in the nearly silent library.
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She gave his leg a comforting pat, perhaps not the best thing to do after accidentally breaking the poor boy with her thoughtless physical contact, but Haldora didn't know better and she was touchy."You just get all tangled up in your head about something,"she said gently, like that was for sure what Charlie was about to finish his sentence with,"and then you get stuck and you get down on yourself because you're stuck and then I think you start to convince yourself that 'stuck' means 'not good at', but it doesn't."He was obviously fantastic at research, all that dragon knowledge had come from somewhere after all.
Essay writingwasoften relatively easy for Haldora, if she didnt get sidetracked while working either by her friends or by other things that were more appealing in the moment, she couldnt fully deny it. So instead she went for a more ambivalentmaybeand then added but how important is this going to be, really, when you're staring down a dragon next year? I don't think you'll be asking her to pleases hold off on eating you long enough for you to pen a quick and well-worded essay on all the reasons why she shouldn't. It'll probably be observation reports and letters to your family. And me."Because eventually she'd just be exchanging letters with her two favorite Weasleys, getting updates on their lives through hastily penned mail of... varied handwriting quality.
She thought Charlie's handwriting was one of his charms, though the Hogwarts professors wouldnt agree. His messy scrawl was distinctive and kind of cute, which might have meant more if it wasn't for the fact she thought everything about him was cute and so probably wasn't the best judge.
There was no reason for the brunette to stay where she was against him, but it was also hard to convince herself to move. He didnt seem particularly bothered and it was easy enough to excuse it as her simply monitoring his work, and she did her best to try and give a little bit of input so that her excuse would also be at least partially true and she wouldnt have to return to her half-written (and admittedly much neater looking) essay.
The praise made her smile."I know,"she said with a false sort of of smugness that was shattered and absolutely abandoned as she looked up while straightening and it became her turn to notice how close they were. Color flared behind her freckles and she turned back to her own essay quickly, adding"you could have, it just might have taken you longer." She wasn't usually much for a library level voice either, but after this long at Hogwarts Madam Pince had pretty much all the seventh years except Caelum and Tonks well trained about how to act in the library. The end of the feather tickled her skin as she tapped it gently against her lower lip for a moment before dipping her quill into the ink pot and scratching out another four sentences before frowning and reaching out across the coffee table to get a book other than the one she currently had her wand bookmarking. She slumped and made a fussy noise, mind still half caught on thoughts about letters to be exchanged next year and Penny's advice from that morning.
Just tell him now.
It would solve all - or at least most - of her problems. And he was right here, closer than they usually were because Haldora hadn't scooted away after she'd stopped leaning against him. She let out a tiny exhale and geared herself for a moment before turning to look up at him again."Hey, Charlie?"Her voice was almost uncharacteristically hesitant,"I--"
"--library closes in forty five minutes, dont leave your books on the table and dont wait until the last minute to reshelve them." Madam Pince's appearance was just as sudden as it always was - the woman seemed to glide more than walked and was dangerously quiet - and Haldora let out a high pitched, startled squeak and turned sharply to look at the narrow faced librarian, eyes wide. She gaped for a fraction of a second and then closed her mouth, nodding to show she understood and then looking back at her essay when Madam Pince gave them both a particularly suspicious look, almost visibly weighing their membership in one of her least favorite groups against the fact that on their own both Haldora and Charlie were barely ever a bother.
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It was obvious to anyone with a brain that Haldora was right, but there were a few things revolving around that that made it almost impossible for Charlie to believe her. For one, even though he knew she was smart, years of believing the things his mind told him about himself in his darkest hours was hard to get over, and for another, Charlie wasn't entirely convinced that he had much of a brain to begin with.
Still, even if the full effect of her words didn't settle in, the sentiment behind them did, and that might have done more than rational thought would have. Processing rational thought meant his brain would have to work, and with her still settled against him like she belonged thereshe did, she does, his brain sung to him, but he didn't even hear that over the alarm bells going off in his head that he was going to mess things up like he usually didthat wasn't really a possibility. Before he'd met her, he'd always caught snippets of the sitcoms and romantic comedies his mother liked to watch on the Muggle television she'd berated his father for bringing into the house or heard others spewing mushy babble about their significant others and, to be frank, he'd always thought it to be codswallop. Now, though... well, he could see where the expression "weak in the knees" came fromas well as a host of others that he couldn't even recall due to the loop of 'she's touching me, she's touching me, she's touching me' taking over his frontal lobe.
The small, uncharacteristically so, mention of his name made him turn even redder, and he dared not look at her as she continuedonly to be interrupted by the unmistakable shrill voice of Madam Pince, appearing at the most inopportune moment as she was wont to do only to scold them and sweep away. Charlie had been so entranced by Haldoraher leaning in, her soft 'hey, Charlie', the kiss and happy ever after that his imagination went wild with even though he was sure that hadn't been what was about to happenthat he hadn't noticed her, though even if he had been paying attention, he probably still wouldn't have. Her constant ability to materialize out of nowhere had him doubting Dumbledore stating that Apparition wasn't possible inside Hogwarts. Letting out an indignant yelp at the sound of a third voice joining them, he jumped so hard that the book in his lap slid to the floor with a loud slam, causing the few scattered others to glance their way and Madam Pince to tut with displeasure as she stalked back down towards her desk.
"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly as he stacked up the books in front of him. "I can get these put away if you want. If she's going to yell at someone, might as well be me, hmm? Would hate to tarnish your image by getting you in trouble," he offered with a boyish grin. "What were you saying before we were so rudely interrupted, though?"
human
Charlies yelp drew a positively undignified snort of amusement out of Haldora, who twisted away slightly to clear her throat immediately after and because she didnt think that Madam Pince would appreciate watching her struggle not to giggle. She let out a shaky breath and then whisperedat least dragons will be too big to be as sneaky as she isas the librarian swept away, looking almost more like she was floating than walking. It was a grace Haldora could only dream of matching, though she didnt really want the intimidation that came with it.
I spend most of my time with Tonks and Caelum,part of her wanted to clarify that she only spent time with Caelum in a group but she didnt need to do that, Charlie would know because that was also his life, if my image isnt tarnished by that at this point I think Ill survive. And you need to finish your essay Mister Weasley, if we pack up and leave now youll be doing that without supervision.
There was very little awkwardness or discomfort in her attempted recovery, because shed lost the tension of the failed moment when shed tried not to laugh at him. But the grin got her a little anyway, it was so easy to pretend that it was just for her even though sheknewthat wasnt true, and it always made her heart thunk once, offbeat, against her ribs. Haldora forced herself to move on through it, simply offering a warm and bright smile in return and hoping that the soft light of the library would help cover the tiny bit of pink behind her freckles.
I knew shed be here, the brunette said softly, tone conspiratory,because I was just about to bring up these.No she hadnt, the sweets shed brought had been fully forgotten until this moment, and were only one being produced as a way to cover up what would probably have been a massive mistake. What was she thinking , trying to confess in thelibrary? If he said no hed still have to stay to clean up his books - because Charlie Weasley did not leave messes for other people to deal with, at least on purpose - and that would have been incredibly uncomfortable. She would have to pick a new time where one of them could easily leave without more than minimal embarrassment.
While she considered this and gave herself a silent but sound lecture for how unthoughtful it would be to confess in a library, she produced a small bag of jelly babies. Real muggle candy, no crying or anything, just weirdly shaped. She always knows when someone is planning on breaking the rules.She caught one of his large warm hands with hers and then used the other to press a handful of candy into his palm, thinking (not for the first and definitely not for the last time) that it was no wonder he had what could only be described as a little fanclub. She carefully pushed his hand back towards him as though she had just given him something important and very secret, and then let go and immediately tucked some of her hair behind her ear and turned back to her assignment.
When youre either done or confident you can finish on your own, Ill let you go.It sounded almost professorly, except for the fact she was very clearly having to try and sound serious."You'll be heading back to Caelum and your brothers and I know how helpful they are."At least she had Penny. Sure Tonks was always there, but Tonks was manageable.
gpt
It felt like something had shifted between them, something that he couldn't put his finger on but that he knew was significant, but just like that, the magic had dissipated, and they had returned to their normal, joking, if not slightly flirty even though they'd both deny it selves. There was something nagging at Charlie that that wasn't what she was about to say, but there was no way he was going to push the envelope; he was already doing that enough by allowing himself this solo study date with her, and if it didn't end pleasantly-- if a bit tame-- he'd never get a chance at time away from their boisterous friend group withjusther again. And maybe that was being dramatic, but maybe he was allowed to be a little dramatic. After all, an essay dueandthe possibility that the only chance to hear Haldora confess her feelings to him-- feelings that absolutelydid not exist, he reminded himself again-- might as well be the end of the world.
Still, he played along, his grin widening as though he'd been waiting the entire time for her to bring up the candy. When he'd entered the library, that had been the case, but after noticing how much closer they'd physically gotten in their short time in the library-- well, he'd dared to hope a bit. While those hopes weren't entirely dashed, they were certainly diminished, but the cool, smooth surface of the candy in his palm softened the blow a bit. Without bothering to pause and count out the colors, he shoved the handful directly into his mouth."So my hands won't get sticky,"he explained while covering his open mouth with the now-empty hand so she wouldn't be able to see directly into his mouth. The multicolored blob allowed sugar to explode on his tongue, but he doubted it looked very appealing.
"So do you. At least you're not as scary when you yell,"he replied in a hushed tone, a chuckle stifled for fear of being yelled at by either Pince or Haldora."Well... sometimes. You're at least not usually that scary towards me."Save the few incidents where he'd done something obviously dangerous and unnecessary, but he kept that to as much of a minimum as possible. At the very least, he kept it to a far lower frequency than Caelum, his brothers, and even Tonks, placing him squarely in the middle in the rankings of 'friends most likely to give Haldora a heart attack'. If hetried, he could probably get below Tulip, too...
Sighing dramatically, he scratched out a few more sentences, but they were hurried and likely wouldn't add much substance to his essay in the end."I need more sugar. To function. It'll give my brain a jump start. That's how that works, right?"he pleaded, bottom lip jutting out in a ridiculously overperformed puppy-dog face."C'moooonnnn. Pince is gonna kick us out and then my essay will never get finished."
human
If he had pushed it she probably would have managed a second wind, but this was not the first time Haldora had started to try and confess her feelings and then something had interrupted it or gone wrong, or she'd just lost her nerve. It felt like Charlie had never even noticed that she was gearing up for something, and that was part of why she was so convinced that however much room there may or may not have been in his heart for romance, she wasn't someone who fit in there. But if she just got it out there she would at best find out she had interpreted things all wrong and at worst be able to move on from the feelings and clear the air on her side. It was just hard. Harder than telling Barnaby he was handsome or flirting with Talbott (admittedly that had been mostly an accident, she wasn't trying to beflirtyas much as friendly). It should be easier, they had so much more chemistry and it was so easy to be comfortable around Charlie, but it was not the same as those other interactions.
The expression on her face was unsurprised, but equal parts skeptical and disbelieving. She let out a sigh that blew a few loose strands of hair out of her face and then smiled at him. "I feel like there's a better way," was all she said in response. This was pretty par for the course in the friend group she'd found herself in, between Charlie, Caelum, Tonks, and Barnaby. Zero appreciation from any of them for the experience of eating candy that didn't scream or move or try and bite you back. At least Charlie had the manners to cover his mouth while he spoke.
"I think I only know because I'm always around to see everybody do it." They invited her along for it, in fact. "I should try harder." Scary wasn't actually something Haldora wanted to be, and she waspretty sureshe wasn't anyway. At best she was just... capable of sternness, or so she thought."You don't usually do things that scare me." Only occasionally. He was better at listening to suggestions than Caelum, but that didn't mean a whole lot. Charlie was capable of some truly thoughtless acts of bravery and/or stupidity in the name of special interests or his friends (god forbid there be crossover between the two) but he was... stoppable. He was above Tulip in the list of people she worried about hurting themselves, though."I worry about you... all." All of them. It was true, at least.
"That's is not how it works." But she felt wholly incapable of saying no to him at the best of time and the pout always got her, even when he was doing it on purpose and being ridiculous about it. He had to know. It felt like he didn't, but she felt so obvious about it that it was ridiculous to think he didn't. "and it will not be the fault of me and my candy if you don't finish your work, don't make that face."It was said as sternly as she could manage, a tone completely undercut by the fact that she was actively handing him more candy while the words were coming out of her mouth. "If I could help you after the library closed I would."But there wasn't really anywhere to meet, she couldn't exactly go back to his dorm with him.
She was painfully curious about what it looked like, though.
"So you'll just have to finish quickly now under my watchful eye or do it later with your pockets filled with however much candy I have left." It had been a gift from her mum, but she hadn't brought more than she was willing to give away. That amount was all of it, but that was irrelevant.
gpt
Everything added up to point towards Haldora feeling the same way Charlie did, but try as he might, he couldn't get over the fact that things just didn't happen that perfectly for him. It went back as far as he could remember. Just when he thought he would be the one getting new school supplies that year, Bill hit another growth spurt and needed new robes. When it started to look like he'd be able to have the broom he'd been asking for for Christmas for years, Ginny was unexpectedly born a girl, and the house got a whole lot more chaotic due to not being able to use most of the boys' hand-me-downs with her. Things didn't just fall into place for him, so just like it had been for his entire life, he figured that was the case with Haldora, too.
Still, occasionally, he'd get a rush of courage, thinking I'm just going to tell her! But as soon as it came, it went, once he realized how awkward he would make things if she didn't feel the same. While he knew she was kind enough not to bring it up again or torment him with it, the dynamics of the group would surely shift, and he couldn't bear to be the one to do that to the group.
They already faced enough with Caelum insisting on bringing Merula and Ismelda into the fold at every turn, despite them showing each time why that wasn't a good idea.
"Fine," Charlie whined, though he popped another piece of candy into his mouth with a grin as he spoke. It was hard to look pouty with a mouth full of sweets, but still, he let his chocolate-glazed bottom lip jut out for effect.
A few more moments and he'd at least gotten a passable outline scratched out on the parchment. It would take quite a bit of fleshing out, but he'd learned well enough at that point how to take things from the textbook and rephrase them just so, to the point where it looked like he was learning something even if he wasn't. "By Merlin... You've done it. You've done the impossible," he stated incredulously, holding his parchment up as though it were an artifact. "I think I'll be able to do something with this. I mean, it won't be great, but it's Snape. I was never going to get anything above an Exceeds Expectations with him."