Eleven-year old Nymphadora Tonks sat at her desk one very hard Charms class, swishing, flicking, and chanting with all her might, but still being unable to make the feather that lay before her fly.
Her partner, Charlie Weasley, a Gryffindor, wasn't having much luck either.
"Arghhh, stupid wand." He muttered under his breath. "Why can't you just cooperate for once?"
He banged it on the side of the desk, causing sparks to fly out of the end.
"No!" shouted Tonks, grabbing hold of his wrist just in time to prevent another collision. "Don't do that! You're going to break your wand!"
"No, I'm not! Let go of me!" said Charlie, wriggling his wrist in an attempt to escape her grasp.
"No." said Tonks shortly.
"Yes." Said Charlie, narrowing his eyes.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"NO!"
"Charlie Weasley, you will stop banging your wand on the desk, or-"
She stopped abruptly and looked around the room, blushing.
They had hadn't realized how much of a racket they had been making, for now the class had gone silent and everyone's eyes were on them, including Professor Flitwick's.
"Miss Tonks? Mr. Weasley? Does there seem to be a problem?" he asked, sounding too polite to be entirely plausible.
"No, sir. No problem at all." Replied Charlie nervously, thinking about all the Howlers that he was sure to receive once his mother got wind of this.
"Then I suggest you get back to work."
They both nodded and turned back to their feathers, their cheeks still red.
"Wingardium Leviosa. This is all your fault, Charlie." said Tonks, attempting the charm once again.
"No, it's not. It's all yours. Wingardium Leviosa." retaliated Charlie.
"It is not."
"Is too."
"Is not."
"Is too."
Tonks let out a growl of frustration.
"Get back to your own work, Charlie."
"You're the one that started it."
"Did not."
"Did too!"
"Mr. Weasley and Miss Tonks!"
Professor Flitwick, it seemed, had been checking the students' progress and had arrived at Charlie's and Tonks table without them noticing.
"Enough of this nonsense. If I catch you at it one more time, you can be assured that you will both receive a week's worth of detention. Now, back to your work."
"Yes, Professor," they mumbled, embarrassed.
"This is all your fault," hissed Tonks, looking down at her feather.
"So I've heard," Charlie hissed back.
Tonks made sure Charlie was looking at her before sticking her tongue out at him.
"Hey!" said Charlie.
He lifted his hand in retaliation and pushed against her chest.
"Don't push me!" she shouted, but it was too late.
She fell over, grabbing Charlie's hand as she went, so that, with the whole class' eyes on them, the pair of them tumbled into a seemingly normal potted plant that decorated the windowsill.
Immediately, purple-colored fumes filled the air, sending the whole class into a coughing fit.
"This-"Charlie choked out between all his coughing, "is – all – your – fault!"
"So – I've – heard," said Tonks, "and – for the record – it's – all – yours!"
They glared at each other, but the effect was slightly ruined by all the coughing.
Eventually, all the purple smoke evaporated and the class continued to work on their feathers, only coughing once or twice.
All except Tonks and Charlie, who were still lying pathetically on the floor next to the shattered remains of the plant pot.
Professor Flitwick strode over to them, his hands linked together behind his back and his face looking very serious and ready for detention-giving.
When they saw him coming, they both jumped up, brushing off their robes.
"Hello, Professor Flitwick," said Tonks in a small voice.
Even in his tiny size, the Professor still seemed to tower over them.
"Miss Tonks, Mr. Weasley." He addressed them dangerously calmly.
A few seconds of silence followed. Then-
"It was him!" "It was her!" They both burst out at the same time, pointing at each other accusingly.
Professor Flitwick smiled at them most evilly, they both thought.
"Whoever's fault it is, I'm sure we can find equal punishment for both of you." He said.
They both gulped.
"Let's see… Detention at eight. Both of you will be scrubbing the awards in the trophy room. We'll see if you two need another detention from there."
Then the bell rang.
"Well, I guess that's that. Class dismissed!"
Tonks and Charlie sighed in relief. They grabbed their things and rushed out of the classroom.
As they headed to their next class together, Tonks smiled at Charlie. "Talk about being saved by the bell, huh?"
AN: Well, here's another story! Do you think I should make it a multi-chap or just leave it as a one-shot? I really don't know which one to do and JBrocks917 isn't being much of a help, so any opinions would be much appreciated! Anyway, as always, thanks for reading!