Chapter 7
"Maybe I shouldn't go?"
"I already told you it was a bad idea."
"I know but Harry and Ron really wanted to go and I thought it was a good idea at the time. I-I don't know what to do. I don't know what I should wear." I say, frustrated.
I'm going through my trunk, trying to find something to wear. I don't have a lot of normal clothes. No one ever bought us any. Harry got some of our cousin's old clothes but I had no such luck. My aunt gave me some of my mum's old clothes from when she was little but they don't really fit me anymore. I wish I could go and buy some new ones but that's not an option. Even if I did have a permission slip, the first Hogsmead trip is weeks away.
I sigh and close my trunk, sitting on it, "I'll just tell Fred and George I'm not going." I say to Hermione.
"WHAT??" someone screams at me from across the room.
I look back to see Lavender and Padma looking at me like I'm insane.
"You get a chance to go to a party before you are even a fourth year and you're just going to throw that away?" Lavender asks me disbelievingly.
"I just don't want to make a fool of myself." I tell her. "And I don't really have anything to wear."
"Well that's an easy fix." She says and dives into her own trunk. She looks for a few moments, then pulls out a short pink paillettes dress. She hands it to me, "Here, go try this on."
I eye the dress. It's so pink and shiny and pink that I might just throw up. I take the dress from her and go to the bathroom to try it on while casting Hermione a helpless look. She giggles at me.
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I walk down the stairs, dressed in the pink dress Lavender loaned me, bottle in hand and make my way to the boys' dormitories.
I get to their door and brace myself for the shit I'm about to get for wearing this dress. I knock on the door and there is no response. I knock again and wait a few moments, there is a shuffle inside and I hear someone walking to the door.
Fred opens the door, no shirt on. He looks like I woke him up. He blinks at me, turns around and flops, face down, on his bad. I walk in, closing the door after me. George is nowhere in sight.
"I brought the potion." I say and go to stand by his head. He doesn't answer. "Fred? Fred!" I shake his body to wake him up.
"Mhm? I'm sleeping, go away." He turns on his back and shoos me with his hand.
"Fine but I'm taking it with me. You can come get it when you wake up." I say and go to the door.
As I make my way out of the room the door opens again and George walks in, his hair wet and there is a towel hanging around his neck. "Hey, Char. You got the potion for us?" He asks me eyeing the bottle in my hands.
"Yeah, um... Fred's asleep and I didn't want to just leave it here." I hand him the bottle. "I made one liter of the potion so you should be able to get a hundred doses. Ten milliliters should be enough to help even if you drank your body weight in FireWhiskey."
"Thanks." He says, placing the bottle on his bedside table. He takes his towel off and throws it at Fred's head. "Wake up, Freddie. We have to start getting ready."
Fred gives a stir and I hear him grunt under the towel. "Five minutes, Mum." He says.
"No more minutes, you wanker. We have a lot of work to get done."
"Fine." Fred sits up, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?" He asks.
"Half past eight." George states.
"Well if you don't need me, I'm gonna go now." I say. I want to get out of here before they notice I look like a pink disco ball.
"Wait." Fred says. He looks at me like he just realized I was in the room. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to give you the potion—"
"Holy shit, I just registered what you're wearing." He says, a grin spreading across his face. "What the fuck are you wearing?"
"Shut up." I say, feeling my cheeks getting a little hot. "I didn't have anything to wear, it's Lavender's."
"Wear jeans and a sweater. It's not a fancy party." George offers.
"I don't know. Everyone is going to be older and I don't want them to make fun of me."
"They will if you go dressed in this." Fred says, pointing at my dress.
"Fuck off, ok? I didn't even want to go to this stupid party." I say sitting on George's bed.
"Then why did you ask to come?" George asks me.
I shrug, "Harry and Ron wanted to go."
"Fuck them," Fred says, "you don't want to go, don't go. Don't make decisions based on their whims."
I look down at my feet. This whole thing is stressing me out. I just wanted to make my friends happy and now I'm about to go to a party I didn't even really want to go in the first place, looking like a unicorn just threw up on me.
"I'm gonna go change. I'll see you in a few hours." I say, getting up and rushing out of the room. I don't look at them on my way out.
I practically run down the stairs, trying to get to my room as quickly as possible. I get to the end of the staircase and hurry my way through the common room, trying to avoid being seen by anyone.
I'm almost at the bottom of the stairs leading to the girls' dormitory when I crash into someone. "Sorry" I blurt out and keep walking in my original direction.
"Char, I was looking for you." I hear my brother's voice.
I turn around, "Harry" I sigh, impatience in my voice.
He takes in my outfit and gives me a quizzing look. I roll my eyes and turn back around. I'm not in the mood for judgment from him.
"Wait, wait I'm sorry, Char. I just need to ask you something."
"What?" I turn around again.
"Er- I... Um... What did professor Lupin want to talk to you about?"
I did not expect that.
"Oh, um... he wanted to ask me what I saw when I faced my Boggart." I tell him. "A-and he told me that he knew mum and dad when he was younger..."
"What? Why didn't you tell me?" He looks hurt.
In my defense I was going to tell him. Lupin promised he would tell me about my parents and I wasn't going to take him up on it without telling Harry. He deserves to know just as much as I do. I was just waiting for the right time.
"I was going to, I just-"
"Why did he tell you this and not me?"
What is that supposed to mean??
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"He had the opportunity to tell me on the train. Why wait? Why tell you without me?"
"I asked him. It's not like he brought it up."
"What? Why would you ask him that?"
"He looked familiar and I wanted to know why. That was the only reasonable explanation."
"That doesn't make any sense. How can you remember him?"
"I don't know."
I really don't.
"Well what did he tell you?"
"He promised he would tell me about them. He offered to find time for us to sit down and talk. I was going to tell you and we'd go together."
"Oh, well how thoughtful of you." He says sarcastically.
"Whatever, Harry. If you want to make a big deal out of it, go ahead. I'm not in the mood for this."
"How can you not see that it is a big deal to me. I don't know anything around here. Everyone is keeping secrets and I thought you where the one person I could trust."
I suddenly feel guilty. I understand how it feels to be kept in the dark. But then I remember he is the one keeping me in the dark all the time. And all of a sudden I don't feel guilty anymore, I feel angry.
What a hypocrite.
"You want to talk about trust? You are the one keeping secrets here, Harry. You're always so secretive with Ron and Hermione. You never tell me before you go off on a life threatening task, trying to be the hero." I feel my frustration babbling up. "I'm never in the loop, never asked to help. Even though I'm always protecting you, always there for you." My voice cracks and I feel tears in the corner of my eyes, threatening to stain my face.
"That's different, Charlotte. I'm doing this to protect you. You keeping this from me is not fair. I have the right to know about my own parents."
"I know that! And I was going to tell you. But don't act like you are doing me this big favor by keeping secrets from me. I'm not a little girl, Harry." Tears are now threatening to fall down my face. "And you know what? You're all I've got. If something happens to you, I'm going to be by myself. Don't you think I'd rather be there helping you then waiting around to hear if the only family I have left is still alive?"
"Of course I know that. That's why I don't tell you. So you won't go doing something risky." He says, trying to keep his voice down. "Char, you're already in so much danger because of me. Don't you get that?"
"So you'd rather risk your- our friends' lives than let me help?"
"You're not hearing me." He says, frustrated.
"I am, Harry. I am. But you don't get to make that choice. I can help you. I can protect you. I'm already in danger, let me be there with you so we can keep each other safe."
He is shaking his head. He doesn't trust me to keep him safe. To keep myself safe.
I can't do this anymore, he is not going to budge. I turn around and run up the stairs, to my room. I swiftly pass the girls and lock myself inside our bathroom, crying into my hands.
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I've been sitting here, on the bathroom floor, for over an hour when I finally decide it's time to get up and get my shit together. The girls have tried to get me out of here a few times but I told them I was fine and they let me be.
I change out of lavender's dress, wash my face with cold water and take a deep breath. I open the door and see all the girls are here. That makes sense, since they can't be in the common room and it's almost past curfew. I think the party has started but I assume everyone will start showing up an hour or so late. I know Fred and George would want to make an entrance.
I sit on my bad and pick up the charms book I took from the library. I look through it, trying to find a spell that'll help me with Hermione's birthday present. Non of the girls try to talk to me or ask what happened, which I appreciate. I read for a long time, taking notes of what can be useful, most of the girls went to sleep and the only one who's still awake besides me is Amara Young but she's reading silently on her bed, she doesn't mind me one bit.
I close my curtains and cast a silencing spell, so I don't wake anyone up. I open my notes and take out Hermione's notebook and quill. I try a few combinations of spells and non of them seem to be working.
What did he do to his diary?
I sigh. The chances of me making the same notebook, or at least the general idea of it, is very small without using dark magic. I keep trying anyway.
After a few minutes an idea pops in my head: I might need to read more about Legilimency. Before I can start writing down everything I know about it and what I think might be useful the curtains of my bed open, making me jump.
"What are you doing?" Fred Weasley is standing over me, looking puzzled. I look over his shoulder and see Amara standing by the open door looking at me apologetically. I look back at the boy standing in my room. Boys aren't allowed up here, which is weird considering the girls can obviously go to the boys' dorms.
"Um, studding..?" I say. I don't have the energy to explain what I'm actually doing.
"You're not coming to the party?"
"No, I had a fight with Harry and I'm not in the mood. Besides, you are the one that told me not to go if I don't want to."
"Yes well, now I'm telling you you have to go." He says, "Especially if your reason for not going is your brother."
"How did you even get up here?" I ask, trying to change the subject.
"I have my ways." He shrugs. I narrow my eyes at him. "Now come on you're coming down there with me."
"No, I'm not. I already changed to my pajamas and I really don't want to see Harry right now."
"Good thing he didn't come down either."
"What?" I honestly thought he would act as if nothing happened.
Fred nods, "Get dressed, you're coming."
"Why do you even want me to come, anyway?" I ask suspiciously.
"Just get dressed I'm not waiting for you all night."
"You can go for all I care."
"Come on Charlie, please."
It's unusual of him to care this much, he typically doesn't make this much effort. i don't really know what that means but i have little interest (or energy) to continue arguing with him.
"Ugh, fine." I get up from my bed and open my trunk. I take out a pair of jeans and my Gryffindor sweater and go to the bathroom to change.
When we get to the bottom of the stairs I realize why Fred wanted me to come with him so badly. As we make our way to the sofas in the middle of the common room I look up at him and give him a pointed look. He shrugs innocently.
On the sofas are Ron and Harry, talking with a few older kids. Oliver Wood, one of the kids with them, notices me and Fred and sends us a nod, which Fred returns. Harry sees the exchange and looks up at me, then looks down to his lap.
"Oi, Lewis." Fred calls out and starts to walk over to a group of his friends, giving me a not so apocalyptic look. 'Go talk to him' he mouths me and nods towards Harry.
"I hate you." I whisper-yell at him.
He makes a heart shape with his fingers while walking backwards towards his friends. Finally, he turns around and I'm left alone.
I know I should walk over there and talk to my brother but I'm also a thirteen-year-old girl and I'm allowed to hold grudges. I'll just stand here for a few minutes until Fred's out of sight, then go back up to my room.
"Why are you standing over here like a creep?" Billie Cooper, a forth year Gryffindor, asks me.
I don't know why he's talking to me. The only real interaction we ever had was last year when we both had detention with Professor Lockheart and he made us write back to his fans. Billie is a nice lad, we talked a bit and he told me that he wanted to try for the quidditch teem the next year, he even helped me with a problem I had with Ron. After that, whenever we saw each other in the hallways or the common room we'd just nod at each other in a greeting gesture.
"I'm not. Actually I was just about to leave."
"But the party just started. Don't you want to have a drink first?"
"I'm just here because my friend dragged me and now he's left me here alone, so I'm gonna go back to my room now."
He chuckles, "Come on, I'll get you a drink."
And before I can argue he's dragging me over to the drinks table.
"Have you ever drank alcohol before?" He asks.
I shake my head.
"Oh, so I'm your first?" He asks cockily.
I scrunch my nose in disgust. What kind of question is that? I can see that he's a bit drunk already so I won't hold it against him yet. He pours me a cup of (I think) FireWhiskey and hands it to me. I take a sip and it's so disgusting I almost spit it right out.
"This is disgusting." I say to him.
"Yep, it gets better, though."
"Alright, I got a drink. Can I go now?" I ask.
"What, no- why do you want to get out of here so badly?"
"I just don't really feel like partying." I say glumly.
"Well, let's change that then." He says, "c'mon." And he's dragging me after him again, this time towards a group of what I assume are his friends.
"Cooper!״ one of his friends, a lean looking blonde boy, calls out to us.
"Harrison, good to see you, lad." Says Billie. We finally get over to them and they shake hands. "That's Tom, he's a Hufflepuff." He bands down to whisper in my ear.
"And who is that?" Tom asks, looking me over.
"I'm Charlotte." I say, waving hello to everyone.
"This is Kathy," Billie gesture to a tall dark skinned girl, she waves to me. "Laura," a freckled red haired girl, "and Jamie," a big brunette boy. "And that's Tom." He points at Tom.
"Are you in our year? I haven't seen you before." Kathy asks me.
"No, I- um- I'm a third year."
"Oh." They say, surprised.
"Yeah..."
"Charlotte is the brilliant potion maker, the one that writes on the textbooks." Billie says. I told him last year I was good at potions but I don't know how he figured out I was the one writing on the books.
"I recognized your handwriting from all those letters we wrote." He says, seeing the look on my face.
"Oh my god, you're our hero!" Laura says.
"Your nots are the only thing keeping my grades up." Kathy nods and I feel my face warm up.
I tend to write in the textbooks laying around in the classrooms whenever I get bored in class. Just making adjustments to the recipes or writing the instructions in a way people'd understand better.
"Wait, how do you write notes on forth-year potions books?" Tom asks me.
"I write on the ones that are left in the classroom." I say.
"But how do you know the material?" Jamie asks.
I shrug, "I like potions."
"I'm telling you, she's brilliant. Better than Snape, I reckon." Billie says.
"No, no. Not even close." I say.
"Don't be modest." he says, raffling my hair. Then, to my surprise, he rests his arm around my shoulders and slightly pulls me closer.
"I'm not." I shake my head. "Snape's a potions master, I'm just a curious girl."
For no particular reason I have the urge to look around. I look at all the older students, most of whom are pissed off their arses. Ron and Harry are looking at me, confused. I look away, not wanting them to notice me looking at them.
The group of people around me are talking about something I can't be bothered to listen to. I look up at Billie, who still has his arm around me. He's quite handsome if I'm being honest. I don't really understand what is happening. Why did he talk to me? Why did he bring me over to his friends? Why does he still have his arm around me? I think he might like me, but that's not likely, he doesn't even know me. But I can't think of any other reason.
"-she's a bit drunk." I hear Laura saying. I look over at Kathy, who's giggling uncontrollably next to her.
Yep, definitely drunk.
"Do you think she'll be fine for tomorrow?" Jamie asks.
"What's tomorrow?" I ask him.
"There's a Hufflepuff quidditch practice in the morning." Explains Tom, "Though from the way Diggory is looking I don't think he'll make it." He points at Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff's captain, who is looking very drunk as well.
"I heard the Weasleys are selling anti-hangovers." Says Laura.
"Do you really believe they work?" Asks Tom, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, they work." I say.
"How d'you know?" Jamie asks.
I don't know whether I should tell them I made it. It might be a problem for the sales if people hear a third year made them.
I shrug, "I trust them."
"Oi, Weasley." Billie turns around halfway and shouts over his shoulder.
All four Weasleys present in the room turn around (and I'm kind of surprised to see Percy hear). Fred and George, spotting the caller, come over to us. They eye me suspiciously, probably not understanding why I'm with these people. They see the arm Billie has around me and raise their eyebrows.
"Yeah?" They say together.
"What's this potion we hear you're selling?" Billie asks.
Fred looks at me, then back at Billie. "Cure for hangovers." He explains, "You take it before you go to sleep, and get up as if you never drank at all."
"Or if you're really pissed and forget you can take it in the morning, works just the same." Adds George.
"How do I know it'll work?" Billie asks him.
"Don't you trust us, Cooper?" George asks, faking a hurt expression.
"Aren't we trust worthy?" Says Fred, smirking.
Billie rolls his eyes, "Not really, no."
"Well, trust this: how many times have you seen us with a hangover?" Says George.
"Zero." Answers Fred, making an O shape with his hand.
"And how do you think we manage that?" George asks, raising an eyebrow.
"And how much does this treat costs?" Pipes Tom.
"Ten sickles per vial."
Billie looks at his friends, then at me, "D'you want one?" He asks.
"She doesn't need one." Says Fred before I have the chance to answer.
Billie gives him a side glance, looks at me again. I shake my head. He reaches a hand to his back pocket, takes out some gold coins, looks at the twins. "I'll give you three galleons for five of these."
The twins look at each other, then at Billie, "Deal." They say together.
He just offered them more money than they asked for and they know it.
Billie hands George the money and George takes five vials out of his side bag and hands them to Billie.
"Come on, Charlie. We'll walk you to your dorms." Says Fred, gently pulling me towards him by the arm.
"What? I'm not going to my room yet." I say.
"Yeah, you are. It's getting late." He says.
"You're the one who brought me here in the first place. Now you want me to leave?" He's being ridiculous.
"I brought you down to talk to your brother, not so you could hang out with older kids and drink FireWhiskey." He takes the drink out of my hand. Not that I mind, I haven't touched it since the first sip I took. "come on." He tags at my arm.
I cast Billie an apologetic look while trying to keep up with Fred's pace.
People've got to stop dragging me after them.
I halt in my tracks, tagging my arm free from Fred's grip. George seems to have given us privacy, I can't spot him anywhere. "What's your problem, Fred?"
"What's your problem, Charlotte?"
"Excuse me?" I ask, baffled. "You drag me down here, trying to make me talk to my brother. Then you drag me again, taking me to my room like I'm a child. Well, I don't want to go yet and I definitely don't want to talk to Harry. He hurt my feelings, Fred. I'm allowed to be mad at Harry fucking Potter."
"Hey," he points a finger at me. "You can be mad at him all you want but you're not allowed to be mad at me."
I make a face, the kind you make when someone says the most absurd thing, because that's what he just did. "I don't know if anyone told you, but you're an annoying person, Fred. It's quite easy to get mad at you."
"Look," he pinches the bridge of his nose. "I only tried to help you with your brother. I don't know what happened between you two, but Ron came whining to us and asked us to help. I usually tend to not help Ron with anything but I know how you and Harry can get."
"I-" I don't know what to say. I know he's trying to help but it isn't his place, and anyway, he just dragged me away from a group of nice people. I was making friends - sort of - and he totally embarrassed me, acting like I was a little girl. I'm tired of people acting like they know what's best for me better then me. I can take care of myself. I can protect myself. "Whatever, I'm going to bed. I didn't even want to come here in the first place."
"Char, don't be like this." He says, "I'm sorry, ok? I really did try to help you."
"I know, Fred." I say, walking past him and up to my room.