AN: This is rather short, but I just wanted to get the idea out. I know I haven't updated IC in months, and I really am working on that. I just love how Charlie is such an open character and anything can really be deduced about why he never ends up married. As I'm on summer break I will definitely be writing and stockpiling chapters. Reviews are great xx
The Truth About Charlie Chapter 1
Charles. Hate it. Absolutely hate it. That's why most people call me Charlie. The only person who really calls me by my proper name is Aunt Muriel, but she does that for everyone. So it came as a shocker when my best friend decided to call me Charles one day at breakfast.
She had sauntered over to the Gryffindor table and plopped down beside me with a huge grin on her face, "Good morning Charles!" she piped, grabbing a piece of toast. I just raised an eyebrow at her and continued eating my porridge. It wasn't a one time thing either. All day long she called me Charles whenever I happened to be around, and Care of Magical Creatures was the worst. Professor Kettleburn had us taking care of Nifflers and whenever mine found a sickle she'd call out "You really picked a winner, Charles!" Believe me, I was about to kill the thing so she'd stop it.
I was really at my wits end by the time the day was over. I refused to go to dinner, and instead headed down to Quidditch practice early. I passed by Bill in the Entrance Hall, he was talking to someone about a student jinxing the toilets on the fourth floor. His Prefect badge glinted in the light and I couldn't help but be envious. This would be his second year as a Prefect, Mum and Dad were so proud of him, prouder than they were of me. Sure they bought me a new broomstick for winning the Quidditch Cup, but Bill had gotten 15 galleons and his own bedroom for becoming a Prefect. Now I was cramped in with Perce. An almost 15-year-old (well I still have two months until my birthday) and a 12-year-old should not share the same bedroom, but there was no arguing with the final say. But at least it was better than being stuck in with the twins and Ron. All three of them were sharing and Ginny got her own bedroom.
At least it was only for the summer though. The others were lucky; as soon as Bill, me, and Percy had taken off to Hogwarts they all get their own rooms too. Well, I think the twins share year round, but Ron got his own room. I remember the two years that Bill was at Hogwarts before I went. Having an entire room to myself was amazing. I would go up there and hang out as long as I wanted. It was practically like being an only child, until the sounds of my siblings running around came up from downstairs.
Life was so much simpler when it was just Bill and Percy. Mum and Dad didn't worry as much as they do now. When they sat down Bill and I one night when Percy was in bed and told us we would be expecting two new siblings I nearly had a fit. I was five and I didn't want anymore little brothers. I liked being the middle child.
Suffice to say, I refused to talk to them for three days. I finally came 'round when Dad brought me home a toy broomstick. He had come across a few extra galleons and treated the three of us with gifts. Bill got a wizard's chess set and Percy got a stuffed dragon that actually flied.
That entire fall I spent outside zooming around on my broom. And as winter approached, so didn't the twins. They didn't come until the first of April, but when they did I wanted to give my parents the silent treatment again. Our house was in a constant state of crying babies and stinky diapers. Bill had to help out since he was seven, but I got out of it all. Mum and Dad just expected me to keep Percy, who was going to be two, busy.
"Charles!" I whipped my head around, pulled out of my memories. My best friend was walking towards me from the basement and I had to suppress a sigh. "Do you realize that I would be dead by now if I had called you Nymphadora all day?"
Tonks just laughed and came up to my side, "I was waiting for you to start calling me that, actually. You know, you're a really good friend Charlie," she hugged me and smiled. Her hair was still a soft red color, almost making us look like twins. She hadn't changed it for about two weeks, which was a new record. I liked it, but I also enjoyed the eccentric colors she liked to sport, such as bubble-gum pink.
"I wish I could say the same about you," I said jokingly, ruffling her hair.
"Right, I'm sure that you have so many other friend that can change their appearance," and to make a point, Tonks made a face and changed the color of her hair to neon green.
"I'm loving the green," I told her, continuing to walk.
She followed along, "I think I'll keep it. So are you heading to Quidditch practice?"
"I am. We're trying to practice as much as possible before our first game; we want to get the cup again this year. Since we lost Hartford with last year our team isn't as good. The new Keeper is alright, but ask her to guard all three hoops and she bites your head off," I sighed and opened the doors that lead to the grounds.
"I don't understand why everyone is obsessed with Quidditch. Is it a bad thing I only know two people on Hufflepuff's team?" Tonks asked, rolling her eyes.
I gave her a mock look of horror, "That's just awful! You'll have to come to our match against Hufflepuff and root for Gryffindor. Your support will be very appreciated."
"I'll try to make it, but I might have previous engagements you know."
"Right, I'm sure you will, but I really need to get to practice. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast?"
Tonks crossed her arms across her chest, "Yeah, are we still studying for Charms tomorrow in the library after dinner?"
"That's the plan. I don't have Quidditch again until Sunday," I gave her a hug and jogged the rest of the way to the pitch, while she turned and went back up to the castle.
When I entered the locker rooms my teammates were chatting cheerily about what they ate for supper and who was dating whom. I said hello and changed quickly, grabbing my broom, a Nimbus 1000, and sitting down on a bench. My friend and fellow fourth-year, Lucas Pikes, was lacing up his shoes and mumbled something about homework,
"What was that?" I asked him, tucking my wand in my robe pocket and ruffling my hair. Joshua Wilkes, our team captain was just about to start explaining what he wanted us to do.
"I said that we already have enough homework. Quidditch practice just adds to the stress," Lucas told me, sitting up straight and looking over at Josh. I nodded in agreement and then also turned to face our captain.
"Okay, listen everyone. Our first match is coming right up, correct? We just can not let Slytherin beat us. We need a strong defense and an even stronger offense," Josh paused and looked right at me, "Charlie. You need to really just try to get the snitch as soon as possible. We will want this game to be quick, so I want you to just try to catch the practice snitch for this entire session, alright?"
"Sure thing," I said, nodding. He went on to tell everyone else what he wanted them to do. Our new keeper, Janice Ellington, wasn't too happy when Josh told her she needed to work on guarding every hoop and not dropping the quaffle. I heard her complaining to her friend Marissa, one of our chasers, on the way out to the field. Since Lucas was a beater alongside Josh he didn't have much to do. He'd hit bludgers towards us and try to stop the chasers from scoring or try to distract me from the snitch.
Suffice to say, I caught the snitch about 30 times in our two-hour practice. Josh was very pleased and told me to keep it up. Our match wasn't for another month, but I could already feel the anticipation inside me.
I walked back up to the common room alongside Lucas with some of the other guys from the team trailing behind us. I was in desperate need of a shower and I also really wanted to tell Tonks about practice and how well I did. There was no way I'd be able to see her again tonight though. It was almost eight o'clock and I had a ton of homework to do.
When we got to our dorm, Lucas claimed the shower first so I was stuck having to do homework sweaty and just dirty. Sighing, I collapsed on my bed and stayed there for a good ten minutes before getting the motivation to do anything. Finally, I got up and grabbed my bag.
I had just about finished my Potions when Lucas came out of the bathroom, dressed in pajamas and towel-drying his hair, "I thought you had drowned in there," I said, throwing down my quill and grabbing my bathrobe from my trunk.
"Nah," he yawned and picked up his Ancient Runes textbook, "I just didn't want to come out here and do homework."
"Well that's just great," I shook my head and went into the bathroom. Before getting undressed I noticed a note above the toilet. Praying it wasn't for me, I picked it up. It read:
"Dear C,
I've successfully done it again. The Gryffindor passwords are quite easy to guess. Godric Gryffindor? Honestly. Who comes up with them? I hope you'll be happy to know I snuggled down on your bed and even left something there for you as well. I hope you didn't crush it. Anyway, please reply promptly by owl and it's your turn to try and sneak into Hufflepuff.
Sincerely,
T."
I looked down at the note and reread it a couple more times. Great, that means that now I'd have to try to get into Hufflepuff common room. Tonks and I have had this game going on since second year. We would try to sneak into each other's houses' common rooms and then leave secret notes. Tonks usually left them up in my dorm, but since I can't go up into her dorm I have to leave them somewhere in the Hufflepuff common room. I honestly don't know how no one notices her going up to my dorm, and she refuses to tell me. We never write out our full names on the notes either, just in case someone else reads it. Not that it really makes a difference in the end, because no one else in my dorm has a name that begins with C.
While I took my shower I tried to plan a way on how to get into Hufflepuff. I've done it dozens of times, in fact, in third year I'd do it almost weekly. But I had a feeling it'd be harder this year. People in Hufflepuff could recognize me as not belonging, now that I'd been at the school for the past three years, and I could get in a lot of trouble. If Bill found out about it he'd surely be angry. He'd think I was trying to keep him from getting Head Boy next year. Maybe I'd have to call off this whole "game". Tonks would understand, she wouldn't want me getting into trouble.
I got dressed in pajamas and brushed my hair and teeth before going back into the dorm. My and Lucas' fellow dorm mates had come up; Dylan, Sam, and Oscar. Sam was actually Lucas' identical twin. They weren't like Fred and George though. They barely tolerated each other and constantly bickered. Since Sam was the "leader" of their little trio, Lucas also wasn't friends with Dylan or Oscar. I didn't have a problem with them, and got along with everyone.
"Sup bro?" Oscar called to me as I went over to my bed. He tried to act like the "gangsters" and "rappers" in Muggle movies, but most of the time we all just laughed at him.
"I don't understand Muggle," I said, smiling and shaking my head. Lucas glared over at him and turned back to his Ancient Runes. I shrugged at Oscar and gave him a "just-ignore-him" look.
"So, Charlie, want to explain this letter we found on your bed?" Dylan asked me, holding up an opened letter with a smirk on his face.
"It was very interesting," Sam added, his eyes glinting.
I maintained my composure and slowly grabbed my wand while saying, "I have no idea."
"It was addressed to a "C" and face it bro, you're the only guy in here who it could have been meant for," Oscar said standing up.
"Accio letter!" I called, flicking my wand. It was pulled out of Dylan's hand and came straight to me. I caught it and smiled triumphantly.
"Too bad we already copied it," Dylan said, pulling out an identical letter with a smirk.
No, no, no! I thought, internally cursing Tonks for leaving her note in such plain sight. I just prayed she didn't say anything embarrassing in it.
Dylan cleared his throat and began to read:
"'Dear C,
I hope you've found my other note by now. If not then you'll just be reading this one first. It's no big deal,'" he paused to chuckle at this, glancing at me with a slightly evil glint in his eye, then continued, "'I just wanted to let you know your dorm actually smells a hell of a lot better than last time. Have you been cleaning up after all the other guys? Wouldn't surprise me as you're such a neat freak. I should get going though, before anyone else comes up here.
See you around,
-T'"
I could feel the blush creeping up my face as my dorm mates laughed loudly; even Lucas was trying to hold back his chuckles. He knew Tonks was my best friend, and thus probably figured out the note was from her.
"So who is this mysterious person leaving you notes, Charlie?" Sam asked me, throwing himself down onto his four poster bed. Dylan had crumpled the letter up and tossed it in the bin, before situated himself down onto his own bed and repeating Sam's question.
I could feel their eyes practically stabbing me as the flush on my face refused to fade. "I-I don't know."
Oscar snorted, "Sure you don't, man." He then proclaimed he was off to shower, before it got too late. Sam and Dylan tried a bit longer, but I stuck to playing dumb. They eventually shrugged it off, seeming to think it wasn't worth wrestling it out of me any longer who this mystery person was if I didn't want to say. They knew I wouldn't stop being stubborn about it.
I finished the rest of my homework, mainly just a star chart for astronomy, and then began setting things up for tomorrow morning. I found that if I took out my robes and had my bag all packed, in the morning I wouldn't be so rushed. Usually the other guys made fun of me for it, but tonight they were all preoccupied with their own things. Dylan and Sam had gone down to the common room, Oscar was writing a letter to his parents, and Lucas was working on the Potions essay that was due tomorrow. It was a slow night, not even close to midnight, and I already wanted to go to bed.
I knew Bill would still be up, so I decided I'd go say goodnight to him and ask if he'd heard from Mum and Dad. They hadn't written to me for a little over a week, and in the last letter I sent them I had asked for some more socks, which I needed desperately.
The staircase was empty as I mounted the steps and climbed past the fifth years. As I approached the sixth year dorms, I paused before knocking. I could hear low murmurs inside, and what sounded like a heated argument.
"I told you, Dumbledore doesn't want anyone knowing about that," Bill's voice was sharp, and I could tell he was mad.
"So what? I only told a few people…" the voice trailed off, but it sounded like one of Bill's fellow sixth years, Greg Peters.
"Well only a few people eventually turns into the entire castle!"
"Sorry mate, but I really didn't know it was that big of a secret, it's only th-"
"I know what it is! Just, just don't tell anyone else, okay? I don't need to be losing my Prefect badge because you can't keep your mouth shut," Bill sighed loudly.
Greg must have said something I couldn't hear, because eventually Bill started to laugh. My heart was pounding in my chest. What was this "secret" Greg had slipped? It must be important if Dumbledore didn't want too many people to know.
As I was running different ideas through my head, I almost forgot why I had come up to the sixth year dorm in the first place. Before anyone could come upstairs and question me, I quickly rapped on the dorm's door three times. Bill opened it, glancing down at me.
"Come in," he beckoned me into the dorm. It was empty, besides Greg loitering on his bed, reading some magazine. There wasn't really any tension either, so the argument they had must not have been too bad. "Hey Charlie," he greeted, glancing up briefly. I waved, before going to sit on the edge of Bill's bed. Most of the guys in Bill's year knew me, either from Quidditch, or just as Bill's younger brother. Joshua Wilkes, our team captain, was one of them. He was presumably down in the common room, locking lips with his girlfriend, some ditzy fifth year.
"What brings you up here?" Bill asked me, ruffling my hair as he went to go look for something in his trunk. He was actually pretty nice for an older brother, but recently he seemed to be more strict, trying to live up to his role as Prefect.
"I was just wondering if you've heard from Mum or Dad? I would ask Percy, but I'm sure he's asleep by now." It's true. Perce usually went to bed at 9, and was definitely asleep by 11. He was twelve, so I guess he had a good excuse. That and he was on top of his homework, getting it done by 7 each night.
Bill scratched his head in thought, and I noticed his hair was already back to its usually length. Mum had forced him to cut it the night before we boarded the Hogwarts Express, a little over a month ago. It really wasn't too long; it barely grazed his shoulders, but it drove her insane. "I haven't heard from them since you showed me the letter they wrote all three of us, why?"
I frowned, "Oh, I just need some more socks, because most of the ones I packed were too small. I was hoping Mum had sent them."
"You can borrow a few pairs of mine. They might be a bit big, but that's better than wearing ones that are too small." He pulled out the jumper he was looking for, and then dove back into his trunk, emerging with four pairs of socks. "Just give them back when Mum sends you some more."
"Thanks, Bill," I smiled gathering up the socks. "I better be off to bed though, Quidditch wore me out, and I'm sure your other dorm mates will be coming up soon," I stood up.
"It is getting late, I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast. 'Night Charlie," he gave me a hug, well, a half-hug as one of my arms was full of socks.
"G'night."
I went back to my dorm, and quite a few sixth and seventh years past me on the way. Josh patted me on the back and told me for the thousandth time he was proud of how well I did today. I just thanked him and managed to escape before he started talking about techniques he wanted to try next practice.
Everyone was in the dorm when I returned. I put the socks in the drawer by my bed, so I would know they were the ones Bill let me borrow. The trio were each in their own beds, either sleeping, or close to it. Lucas was laying under his covers, watching me crawl into bed.
"That Potions' essay was brutal," he said, sleepily.
"Tell me about it," I replied, my eyes feeling heavy.
"Maybe Professor Snape will feel bad and give us a good grade on it?"
"I doubt it," I said.
"Well I guess we'll see, but I can barely stay awake. Goodnight mate."
"'Night Lucas."
As I began to fall asleep, I suddenly remembered that Bill and Greg had been arguing about something. What could it have been? This caused me to toss and turn for a good twenty minutes before I finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep. I had a feeling whatever it was, it was going to change things here at Hogwarts.