A/N: Hello! This is probably the second fanfiction that I've written that's being posted on here. Honestly I'm pretty shy about posting up my writing since I'm my own worst critic and a pessimist about how it turn out. Anywho I just wanted to let you guys know that this fanfiction idea came from a poll that I did on Tumblr a year ago. It was a poll based off of which character should I pair my OC in this fanfic up with? The results came to be a tie between Fred Weasley and Seamus Finnegan but eventually Fred won! :) Originally, it was going to be about an OC within the HP world but then I expanded on idea of making a fanfiction to be about a girl who's a fan of Harry Potter (or rather a Potterhead like many of us all in the HP fandom) who finds her way into the pages of the Harry Potter series wondering how'd that turn out!
Ever since then, I stuck with the idea and wrote lots and lots of chapters but unfortunately my computer crashed. It took me awhile to gather up the plot again as well as re-write the chapters scrapping old ideas and using new ones but now I'm back to writing it. It's actually my first multi-chaptered Harry Potter fanfiction that I decided to posted on here. I will warn you ahead that it might be a snoozer for the few beginning of the chapters though. So yeah… I hope you enjoy it. ^_^;
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the characters from the series. I'm just a fan of the series and love it so much that I wanted to write a fanfiction based off of it and everything from the characters to the plot belongs to lovely and wonderful write known as J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 1: The Monotonous Muggle Life of Charlotte Seylor
Even though she hated loneliness, there were times that Charlotte Seylor savored moments where she had time to herself. It was often then she used that moment of solitude to start drowning herself in a sea of thoughts. Today this took place in the girl's bathroom at her high school on a Thursday morning before first period started.
Gazing into the spot-filled mirror, Charlotte's thoughts revolved around as if to wonder if she'd ever be attractive enough for boys at her school to notice her especially her crush. Having to compare herself to many of the girls at school, she felt lowly by what she found in herself. The mirror reflecting her own appearance that she'd often frowned at.
The mirror in front of her painted a picture of what her actual appearance today: her hair resembled thin strips of muddy straws, her eye color reminded her of a spoiled banana peel, and although she ate a lot, her body shape remained chicken stick skinny. The only thing she liked were the clothes she wore otherwise she often questioned if her chicken stickiness was part of her genes.
With a sigh, she twisted the faucet and slapped the spilling water onto her face in attempt to wash out what was troubling her. At the same time, the bathroom door creaked open causing Charlotte to momentarily freeze when she heard footsteps. Her solitude had been disrupted, hoped it wasn't one of the girls from the cheerleading team because whenever they were around, there would be gossiping and hogging for the mirror. She preferred the solitude of being with her thoughts in contrast to being anywhere near around them and their gossip-filled, judgemental conversations.
"Mornin' Charsey," A tired but cheerful voice greeted her using her nickname. Charlotte slowly turned and found a girl was standing in front of the mirror next to hers. The girl had golden blonde hair, round cheeks, and a crooked nose. She was dressed in a white T-shirt with a black vest, dark skinny jeans, and ballet flats that matched her vest.
"Hey Bethany!" She greeted her best friend back with a relieved smile. The two of them were best friends ever since they met in Kindergarten even if they had different personalities. Bethany with her never-ending bluntness and holding the key to confidence whereas Charlotte had none and envied her for it.
"I figured that you'd be in here with your thoughts." Bethany said knowingly setting her messenger bag down. She stared into the mirror in front of her. Her eyelids seem to droop easily before she stretched and let out a mammoth yawn.
"Guilty as charged," Charlotte said turning off the faucet. There was no hiding from Bethany that's for sure. "How are you?"
"Good, I guess." Bethany paused as she fished for her eyeliner in her purse. "Honestly though, I'm worn out from working on that World History essay last night."
"Awww really?" Charlotte replied sympathetically. They weren't in the same classes except lunch and gym but they both got a lot of schoolwork over the week. "At least you're done with it right?"
"Yes, thank goodness!" Bethany breathed a sigh of relief. "So how are you doing?" She held up the eyeliner and started inking her eyelashes.
"I'm alright, I guess." Charlotte replied. She watched her friend coating her eyelashes wondering if she should do the same. Maybe that might make her more attractive. "Hey Bethany," She started hesitantly after a moment's silence filled the air between the two of them. "Do you think I'm—?"
"You're what?" Bethany wanted to know, checking her eyelashes in the mirror.
"Do you think a guy would ever find me attractive?" Charlotte blurted out truthfully. Maybe it would help if she sought Bethany for advice. Her best friend knew plenty about attracting a guy.
"Attractive?" Bethany asked like she was speaking alien. She knitted her eyebrows in confusion.
"Yeah. Attractive." Charlotte repeated herself again adjusting the collar of her green plaid shirt. Her friend seemed thoughtful at this before she replied, "Yeah, I would think so. I mean I don't see how you're not."
"Okay. How do you know that I am? I mean physically." Charlotte went on, hoping her friend would say more.
"Honestly? Because keeping up with outer appearances shouldn't even matter." Bethany said stowing away her eyeliner. She paused before she dived in her bag for something else to cake her face with.
"Says the person who's decorating her face." Charlotte said noting her friend's apparent hypocrisy.
"Hooray! You caught me! Let's see what your prize is!" Bethany answered with a trace of sarcasm. "Honestly Charlotte, I do it for fun and not because I'm trying to impress anybody." There was a moment's pause before her eyes narrowed. "Wait. Does this by any chance have to do anything your crush on Mack?" She demanded.
"Yes. It does." Charlotte confessed, her cheeks turning the same shade as the flamingos sticker that clung to Bethany's messenger bag.
Bethany turned towards her. "Oh really? So when did this happen?" She cried, her eyes widening at this. Charlotte knew she always loved boy talk considering that she harbored a secret crush on their other best friend, Hubert Willows.
"Since a week ago when he started asking me." She turned back to her own mirror, fingering her muddy coated hair, wondering what it'd be like it if it was golden like Bethany's.
"I think that you definitely would be attractive in Mack's eyes because you have flaws." Bethany commented before puckering her lips in the mirror.
Flaws? They were attractive? Charlotte wasn't sure if she was hearing this right even. Yeah, it might be attractive if she were a fictional character in a story. She wasn't sure if it was cute in the real world. The only exception she could think was when it involved moments of endearments. "Are you sure?" She asked, still wondering if she heard that right.
"Yes, I'm positive. Now look in the mirror and tell me, what do you see?" Bethany replied, indicating to the mirror.
"I see that there's a scatter of acne on my face, my lips are chapped, and my cheeks resemble fat withered peaches." Charlotte stated pinpointing the flaws on her face after analyzing herself closely in the mirror.
"Congratulations! You just found the flaws of your outer appearance and they are indeed attractive." Bethany answered slightly content about this. Flaws are attractive? Somehow this didn't ring with her. She wanted to point out that flaws were what made people back away or avoid the person like a plague.
"Um, I don't think that's attractive." Charlotte disagreed, checking the mirror for anymore cringe-worthy features on her face.
"You're not seeing where I'm going with this." Bethany said, getting out her pink-carnation lipgloss.
"Alright I'm not." Charlotte admitted with a sigh. "So, how is that a good thing?" There had to be more.
"It's a good thing because it makes you a human. That's what I was trying to get at." Bethany chirped, opening the cap of her lipgloss.
"As opposed to what exactly?" Charlotte prodded on, skeptically.
"You know that girl named Mary Sue? The one they talk about in fanfiction? If you were her, I'd hate you so much right now." Bethany shot back automatically.
"Okay, well I guess I can live with my flaws then." Charlotte agreed swiftly.
"That'd be a good start. I'd say go for it." Bethany answered, smearing her lipgloss on her face.
"How do you suppose I go on about it?" Charlotte queried, not satisfied with this answer.
"Easy. You stop worrying about what Mack thinks about you," Bethany responded simply.
'Yeah. Easier said than done,' Charlotte thought to herself debating internally if she should take her advice or not.
"Look," Bethany said, turning to her after noting her friend's silence. "All I'm saying is that if you are your own person than Mack can see how attractive you really are." She paused, trying to contemplate what else she should mention next. "You may not think that you are but try thinking that you are when you're at your lowest point okay?"
"Okay, I'll try." Charlotte promised her but decided to end the conversation. The topic of being attractive just depressed her and she wanted to move onward with the conversation. One that didn't involve her beating up herself and feeling so down.
"Now that we're done with that, can I ask you something?" Bethany spoke up, handing her the lipbalm towards Charlotte.
"Go ahead and ask me anything." Charlotte replied taking the lipbalm from her and capping it open. There were so many things that they could talk about but today she hoped it was something Harry Potter related considering the two girls were both Potterheads and always found an excuse to talk about their favorite book series whenever they could. It didn't matter if the series came to a close back in 2011 because it would always live in their hearts until they would meet their own deaths.
"How come is it everytime I wait for my Hogwarts letter every August that it never comes?" Bethany whined.
"Probably because the Muggles, I mean our parents, have hid the letter from us?" Charlotte suggested.
Deep down, she knew the truth and it hadn't to do with their parents. The truth was that they were definitely Muggles along with billions of other people in this world and that they were far past the age of getting their owls.
"Oh my god. Did you just say the 'M' word?" Bethany shrieked loudly.
"Um yes, I did." Charlotte said, aware that her friend would react this way. Unlike her, Bethany believed that the wizarding world truly existed and claimed it was part of the reality. Due to this, she was very sensitive to two words: Muggle and reality.
"No, no, no, Charlotte! Our parents cannot do that!" Bethany screeched, a horrified expression playing on her face. "Do they not know that we're not the M word!"
"No, they don't." Charlotte fibbed, although she internally believed that it was true but didn't feel like disappointing her best friend at the moment.
"You're right about but no! They're fools! We're witches! Salem hasn't given us a letter yet." Bethany insisted snapping her blush cover shut.
"Salem? Why there?" Charlotte said with a frown.
"Uh, because we live in America and that's our school." Bethany reminded her wearily.Oh right' Charlotte thought glumly. It wasn't that she didn't like Salem, it just didn't appeal to her the way that Hogwarts did.
"Okay but let's focus on Hogwarts okay?" Bethany said noting her expression and trying to make the subject more cheery. "So going back to Hogwarts, what do you think it'd like if when get our Hogwarts letter?"
"Well..." Charlotte answered with a smile. "we'll probably be freaking about that. Get our school supplies to Diagon Alley including our wands, then travel to Diagon Alley, take the Hogwarts Express, and then we go to the Great Hall and get sorted into our houses which is—" She prompted waiting for her best friend to fill in the blank.
"Gryffindor! Go go go Gryffindor! Go go go!" Bethany cheered.
"Correct! So we'll be Gryffindors, meet the Golden trio, attend these awesome classes like Transfiguration and Defense Against The Dark Arts and?"
"When the time's right, while we are there, we could capture the hearts of Fred and George Weasley!" Bethany finished enthusiastically. Her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Oh my gosh, that'd be awesome!" Charlotte squealed, visualizing what they'd be like around in the presence of her fictional crushes, Fred and George Weasley. The thought of it made her blush when she pictured the twins standing in front of her baring identical and mischievous grins.
"Ooh! How?" Charlotte sounded eager. Her friend was always coming up with brilliant and unique ideas.
"Duh, with our own charms of course. They won't be able to resist us now." Bethany replied smugly. Maybe with your own charm because the only thing I'm good at is being a sweetheart, Charlotte thought to herself but grinned in approval as she said, "Hmmm. I like that idea."
"I knew you would but just an FYI, Fred's mine." Bethany claimed quickly.
"Fine," Charlotte agreed immediately. "He's all yours as long as I can have George."
"Yes you can. So Fred is mine and George is yours. Agreed?" Bethany said taking out her hand out.
"Agreed." Charlotte confirmed shaking it.
The two friends shook on it and burst into fits of giggles after this.
They would have stayed longer but suddenly a sound of thud of the door opening and they were interrupted by a slew of girls pouring into the bathroom. Charlotte watched as the girls were trying to clamber for the mirror next to theirs. The two silently knew that their time in the bathroom was done as they both shouldered their bags and headed for the exit before the situation with the girls fighting over a mirror got worse and they couldn't make their way through.
It was a quarter to seven and Charlotte noticed the hallways were filling up with other students as her and Bethany proceeded towards the cafeteria. It was their morning ritual that they would come here to hang out before class started. They found a seat nearby the garbage dispenser that was on the right end of the cafeteria but it was close to where the lunch line was. They both noticed several students and staff members were standing in line with food since the cafeteria was open during breakfast hours.
"Do you want anything?" Bethany asked once they set their items down and was about to head into the lunchline.
"Nah I'm fine. Thanks." Charlotte said before Bethany walked away. She turned just in time to spot a gangling boy walking in her direction. He was a pine-cone haired boy wearing a grey shirt, jeans, and black sneakers hoisting a backpack. It was her other best friend, Hubert Willows and waved to him.
"Hello Charsey." Hubert greeted her as he plopped into a seat across from her. "Where's Bethany?" He wanted to know when he glanced around. "Getting a doughnut." Charlotte replied with a nod towards the line.
Hubert nodded understandingly. "I'd eat doughnuts too but you know how my mom is…" He sighed as his sea-coded eyes gazed longingly at the direction of where the doughnuts were. Charlotte felt a gush of pity for him. Hubert's mom was a health nut who forced her children to eat right. The only time he could only have junk food were on special occasions
"Yeah, I already breakfast already." Hubert replied, steering his eyes away from the lunchline and zipped open his backpack.
"Oh. What'd you eat?" was all Charlotte could say as she watched him taking out a red notebook from his backpack. The sounds of chattering students nearby floated in the background.
"Oatmeal with eggs along with toast and milk on the side." He answered as he opened the notebook to a page that was filled with scribbles of numerous of puzzling Math equations. "So how are you?"
"I'm good." Charlotte replied, noticing many of them were already completed. There were only three equations left though. "Finishing last minute homework?"
"You bet. These are easy," Hubert answered, plugging the numbers onto his page.
"I thought you'd be done by all of it last night." Charlotte wondered if this was the only homework that he'd put off.
"I'm not always that studious if that's what Beth thinks." Hubert said with a hint of slight annoyance.
Ever since he was in Honor classes, many people including Bethany often loved to tease him about it. Despite the fact that he was book smart, he strongly hated admitting to this fact because of his humbleness and often tried not to show what IQ he had by trying to converse with words that people like Charlotte could understand.
"What were you doing then? Painting figures, playing video games, Tumblring, or watching movies?" Charlotte said, trying to figure out what other hobbies that he had. He'd probably been doing one of those things if not attending to his homework.
"I was actually re-reading one of the Harry Potter books." He confessed as he finished an equation and continued onto the next.
"Which one?" Chasey asked, now very interested where the conversation was going. Hubert was calm as he looked thoughtful at the equation he was trying to answer.
"Prisoner of Azkaban. I mean I read them all but I feel like it's one that I haven't read thoroughly enough." Out of all three of them, Hubert seemed to be more of a casual fan than a Potterhead that both Charlotte and Bethany were. He would often remain calm when they were jumpy when they cheered with joy at midnight premieres and book releases.
"Bethany will probably give you an award for that!" Charlotte smiled, pleased that her friend was giving Harry Potter a read-over again.
"Yeah, it'll be probably be between the lines of 'Congratulations, you tried'!" Hubert responded mimicking a game show host and Charlotte giggled at his sarcasm.
At that moment Bethany came back with a chocolate-creamed doughnut and milk, noticing Hubert, she smirked and asked, "Hey Hubert, reviewing your answers from last night's homework?"
"Funny you should say that. I'm actually finishing it up." Hubert replied, not glancing up from what he was doing.
"Really? Why's that?" Bethany sounded curiously as she chewed her doughnut. She gave a Charlotte a confused glance wondering if she knew the reason.
"He took some time off to re-read the year that 'Sirius-Black-could-have-had-at-the-normal-life- if-Peter Pettrigrew-wasn't-a-cowardly-jerk'." Charlotte said, reciting the nickname that they gave The Prisoner of Azkaban.
"Are you kidding me?" Bethany almost choked on her chocolate milk. "Seriously?" She turned towards Hubert and her eyes widened for the second time today.
"Seriously." Hubert confirmed. "I felt like I need to thoroughly process the story plus I think Sirius Black is a cool character." He said this trying to appear as if it were no big deal but Charlotte noticed his cheeks were faint red but remained tight-lipped about this observation.
"You do?" Bethany's expression turned into a mixture of shock and happiness. She jumped up from her seat. "Oh my gosh, yay! This makes me so happy!" She reached across the table and flung her arms around him. Charlotte watched quietly as the two hugged, noting how red their faces were even though Bethany was smiling while Hubert seemed startled by her actions.
They broke apart after a few second passed, Bethany finished her breakfast while Hubert was still trying to recover from what just happened but had the sense to stow away his notebook in his backpack. The two of them started conversing about the third Harry Potter book while Charlotte's mind drifted off to wishing Hogwarts was real. She imagined what it would be like if the three of them were sitting in the vast Great Hall for breakfast instead of this plain-Jane high school they were at. The bewitched ceilings that would matchthe skies outside. The wooden benches would probably feel more comfortable than the plastic chair that she sat on. The food would also be more hearty and healthier than the ones that the cafeteria served for sure. Speaking of which, Charlotte suddenly realized that today was the last day of August and tomorrow would mark the first day of September. It was the first day of Hogwarts. She was about to mention this to Bethany but the bell sounded overhead and the three of them picked up their belongings and started heading towards to their respective classes.
The day was almost over but by sixth period, Charlotte was exhausted. Her classes resulted not only in monotonous agony but also loads of assigned homework. From the worksheet on working with common denominators in remedial Algebra to reading two chapters and taking notes on it in her American Studies class. Thank goodness, lunch took place then, since this would give her brain, a chance to bathe in the break from all the knowledge that she had to absorb today. Once in the cafeteria, Charlotte dropped her belongings at a spot nearby the cafeteria entrance and headed towards the lunch line to get her lunch. The lunch pick-and-buying process took her awhile before she settled with pasta, salad, and chocolate milk. It seemed better compared to today's lunch special which was spoiled meatloaf oozing with a strange green-looking sauce.
Charlotte paid for her food and when got back to the lunch table, she found that her best friends hadn't arrived yet but she was joined by three of her other friends and also classmates: William (whom preferred to be called Will) and two identical, paternal ginger-haired twins by the name of Eddie and Julie. Despite them not being as close as her two best friends, they still hung out over the weekend and summers.
"Hey guys! How's it going?" Charlotte greeted them as she took a seat next to Julie.
"Hey Charsey. I'm good. How about you?" Julie greeted her back but wasn't looking at her since she was busy rummaging into her purse for her wallet.
"Good. Anything new with you guys?" She asked, turning to Will and Eddie.
"Not much," Will answered for himself and Eddie. "We were just discussing this Youtube video. It's called Totally Cool Me Club's California Chicks." Behind him, Eddie feigned puking as if he were sick at the mention of this.
"Have you seen it?" Julie asked her as she shook the coins from the wallet onto the table.
"Nope, I haven't." Charlotte replied guilty. Truth be told, she haven't had time to watch any Youtube videos since school started. Any free time she used for reading or bike riding around the neighborhood.
"Good for you. It's really not worth watching." Will advised her.
"Oh. Is that bad? If so, well what's it about?" Charlotte inquired forking her pasta.
"It's about these teenyboppers going all over California in different transportations, singing about how cool it is to be them." Julie summarized making air quotes at the words: singing and cool.
"Dear god, that video killed my brain cells, man." Eddie commented with a tiny shudder.
"Mine too. Their dances moves should win a spot on Dancing America." Will added sarcastically before he and Eddie headed towards the lunch line.
"It's stupid but you want to watch it for laughs, I'd recommend that you do." Julie said before she got up and followed after them.
Sitting alone, Charlotte consumed her pasta silently before her daydreams took over as the lunch room switched to Hogwarts. She found herself amongst Harry, Ron, and Hermione who were sitting nearby her. The ceiling resembling the clear skies that laid outside. She noticed that the empty spaces to her left were occupied by Fred and George Weasley who was now only sitting several inches away to her right and she found herself staring at George. The two of them were conversing with each other but she saw them smiling so whatever they were discussing must have involved a mischevious prank or an idea for their future joke shop.
Suddenly a loud voice spoke and the walls of Hogwarts starting shaking as if Hogwarts was crumbling, "Charlotte, hello, you in there?" it said and a giant hand was waving in front of her and the Great Hall dissolved quickly back into the reality of her bland cafeteria that she was sitting in. Bethany and Hubert were standing in front in front of her. It was Bethany who popped her out of her reverie.
"Oh hey, guys." Charlotte replied with a sheepish smile after being caught daydreaming again.
"Welcome back to Earth. Did you have a fun time in the wizarding world?" Hubert said, taking a seat across from her.
"Yeah, I did. I was at Hogwarts enjoying the view of Gred and Forge." Charlotte said dreamily with a sigh.
"How was the view?" Bethany wanted to know with a grin.
"Fantastic! You'd love it." Charlotte answered, feigning like she was watching something from a pair of binoculars, causing Bethany to giggle.
"I'm sure it was and yes, I know I would!" Bethany said with a wink and went to get her lunch.
Charlotte turned to Hubert who was fingering his brown bag lunch. "Your mom packed your lunch again?" She asked, wishing she could offer more than sympathy for him. She tried to buy sweets from the cafeteria but he firmly decline reminding her that he couldn't have any whatsoever.
"Yup. You know, just a typical ham and veggie sandwich with a side helping of carrots sticks, wheat crackers, and a healthy drink." He made a face after this.
"Yeah, sounds interesting." Charlotte said with a polite smile.
"So anything new so far?" Hubert said conversationally before he bit into his sandwich.
"There was a discussion about this Youtube video called California Chicks." Charlotte recalled attacking her pasta with the fork again. "Have you seen it?"
"Nah. I haven't been on Youtube much since school started and my classes started piling homework on me." Hubert admitted, \ biting into his sandwich.
"How's The Prisoner of Azkaban re-reading coming along?" She queried interested in where he was going with that. He always made interesting comments about the books be it good or bad while reading it.
"It's really good. I'm on the part when Ron is being dragged into the Whomping Willow by Sirius." He said with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"That's cool. So what do you make of it re-reading the second time?" Charlotte wanted to know. Maybe he picked up thing that she might of missed or he would analyze the time turner scene considering the fact that he was interested in time-traveling.
"I loved it. It's just as I remembered while reading it the first time." Hubert answered, hesitating between bites of his sandwich.
"So does that mean you know everything that happened in order and the details of the book?" Charlotte asked him.
"Yup." The way he said it seemed like wasn't a really huge deal after finishing his sandwich and taking out the carrot sticks.
"How so?"
Even she couldn't remember everything within the Harry Potter books unless she re-read them. The only things that stuck out to her were the important or interesting scenes but still it was impossible to paint all the pictures in detail. If she'd remembered anything, it was mainly the minor details.
"A lot of it is already stored in here," Hubert claimed, pointing to his brain.
"Wait. So do you have a photographic memory or something?" Charlotte pondered out loud, trying to confirm this.
"Yes, I do," Hubert said, picking up his carrot sticks. "Oh and before you accuse me of not telling you, nobody's ever asked." He shrugged, acting like it was not even a huge deal. Maybe to him, it was probably an everyday thing but this was news to her. One that she had to tell Bethany unless her other friend knew too.
"How much do you remember?" Charlotte demanded, wondering what other things he kept from her. This was definitely news to her.
"Well it depends, I mean I remember the things I read here and there but not everything. Yes, I have photographic memory but contrary to popular belief, just because we can store things in our head doesn't mean we can store all of it in our head. Sometimes we have to chronicle it in our journals or take pictures but it depends." Hubert explained after finishing his carrot stick.
'Whoa. I didn't know that.' Charlotte thought. This was fascinating piece of knowledge that she hadn't known until now. It was helpful to have a friend who sprouted facts even if he didn't like to admit that he was somewhat of an intellect.
"Really? Wow that's so cool though…" Charlotte trailed off with a smile.
"Yeah…" He said but then glared down at the can that he got out of his brown bag. "I can't believe she packs me this stuff and expects me to drink this stuff." He complained, showing her the can. Charlotte saw that it had a picture of tomatoes and cranberries on it. The label read: Hearth's Fruit's Unusual Veggie Fruit Beverage. Hubert stuffed it back in his brown bag, got out his change, and told her that he was going to chocolate milk instead.
After he left, Charlotte pondered what it'd be like to have his photographic memory. She'd have an easier time with dealing with memorizing the contents of her textbooks. Not to mention it'd be a lot easier for her when it was time to take tests and quizzes. It'd also be easier to remember certain parts of Harry Potter too. By then, Eddie and Will both returned to the table with their lunch trays and sat down again.
"Any interesting conversations while we were gone?" Will wanted to know picking up the burger from his tray. Charlotte noticed he also got sea salt potato chips, a fruit snack, and milk on his tray. He must be hungry to get that much.
"Mostly talking about stuff," Charlotte responded, unsure if he and Eddie even liked Harry Potter. The two of them weren't big readers and usually only read books if mandatory.
"What kind of stuff?" Eddie wanted to know as he tore off his pizza crust. He glanced between her and Hubert.
"Just Harry Potter and photographic memory," Charlotte answered, watching Will taking a bit of his burger. It may of not appealed to her but he was probably found the burger wasn't spoiled or a health hazard.
"Oh man, I love Harry Potter!" Eddie replied, suddenly as if he were interested in where the conversation was going.
"You do?" Charlotte was skeptical about this considering he never mentioned this around her before. She was also surprised he or Will didn't make any comment regarding her friend's photographic memory.
"Yeah, read all seven books, seen all eight movies, went to the Exhibition on my vacation Seattle, and going to The Leavesden Studio Tour next year." He seemed smug about this.
"Lucky! I really want to go there but yeah…" Charsey said but didn't want to mention that her family couldn't afford the airfare to get to England. Eventually she'd have to try and enter a contest to get to go there.
"You'll get there eventually. And yeah, I can't say I'm a huge Potter fan as I read only the first three books and seen all the movies." Will spoke up after finishing up of his burger.
"Well now that we're talking about Harry Potter!" Charsey sounded excited. "What house do you think you'd be in if you were at Hogwarts?" She had never asked them this question and was curious to what they would say.
"Uh…" Will contemplated, trying to respond to this question. "I'm not sure to be honest. Let me think on that."
"Knowing Will, I'm positive that he would be a Hufflepuff." Eddie answered with a knowing smirk.
"Nah, I would say I'm a Ravenclaw." Will disagreed after slurping his milk. He seemed content with his own answer.
"You're not in honors class though." Eddie pointed out bluntly.
"Thank you for that reminder." Will responded with a tinge of sarcasm.
"What? It's true! You aren't! So you actually want to be a nerd now?" Eddie insisted.
"Oh so just because I want to be Ravenclaw means I want to be a nerd now? What if I'm smart in other ways that don't involve school work?" Will shot back glaring at his friend.
Charlotte didn't say anything but suddenly felt uncomfortable that the two of them seemed to be disagreeing. She noticed Hubert had returned to the table wondering if he had heard Eddie's comment but he was too busy scanning the contents of the milk carton and hadn't seem to notice what was happening. With an internal sigh of relief, she glanced back at Eddie and Will, who were quarreling with each other about smarts.
"It's where they go when they're in Hogwarts. I highly doubt they'd accept common sense or street smarts since the house is crowded with book smart people." Eddie answered back.
"I highly doubt that." Will disagreed shaking his head. He turned to Charlotte and asked her, "Ravenclaws aren't just for book smart people right?"
"No, they don't," Charlotte concurred, rolling her eyes at Eddie. "I'm sure other smarts counts towards becoming a Ravenclaw."
"Thank you for seeing my side of things," Will said with a grateful smile in her direction.
"You're welcome." Charlotte returned his smile but at the same time, noticed Eddie was stuffing his face with pizza, and found herself averting her gaze from him.
"What are you guys talking about?" Julie asked when she arrived. She seemed curious for she had just noticed her twin brother's haughty and Will's happy expression.
"What house we would be in if we are at Hogwarts." Will told her. Charlotte noticed Eddie dived in for his sister's fries.
"Ooh cool!" Julie said as she sat down, unaware of what her brother was doing as she turned to Charlotte with an interested expression.
"And that Eddie's convinced that Will's a Hufflepuff even though Will thinks he'd be in Ravenclaw." Charlotte told her innocently.
"I was kidding! Geez woman, you take everything seriously." Eddie cried glaring at her before fishing his sister's fries again.
"Eddie! Stop stealing my own fries! Why don't you get your own?" Julie shrieked as she saw this and tried to swat his hands away but he already put some on his tray. He pushed it away before she could retrieve them.
"So what were you guys talking about?" Hubert asked plugging himself in the conversation. He had been sipping his milk and was staring in the direction of the lunchline for what seemed more like a second as if he were lost to what was going on around him. He seemed to come out of his dazed expression when he heard Julie telling her brother not to steal her fries.
"What Hogwarts houses we'd be in." Charlotte said, well aware at who he might be looking at from where he was sitting. "So Julie, what house are you in?" She responded turning to her.
"Definitely Gryffindor!" Julie responded automatically after gulping her fruit punch. "And NOT just because of my hair color." Julie replied, twirling her natural red curls as if they were a prize procession and Charlotte tried not to stare enviously at how beautiful it was.
"Aren't you scared of spiders though?" Eddie said with a nasty smirk on his face and Charlotte saw Will and Hubert glancing over at Julie nervously like they knew what was coming.
"Of course I am! And so was Ron Weasley! And look what House he's in!" Julie insisted hotly before she picked up her pizza.
"What's this about Ron Weasley?" Bethany asked as she arrived back at the table with her lunch. Her tray consisted of pizza, salad, and orange soda.
"I was just explaining to my brother that I can be in Gryffindor and even though I'm scare of spiders, so was Ron." Julie explained to her with a satisfied smile.
"Oh my gosh! Yes!" Bethany cried at this. "10 points for Gryffindor." The two of them highfived each other. Charlotte saw Eddie shaking his head as he went back to his lunch.
"So what house would you be in?" Hubert said to Eddie.
"Ooh! I know what house Eddie's in!" Julie sung as she bounced in her seat before her brother could answer. She ignored the stares that she was getting from the other people nearby who noticed this.
"Don't you dare say Gryffindor or I'll disinherit you as my twin sister." Eddie began, for he too, had red hair like his twin was something that affected him whenever people asked if he was related to the Weasleys or not in which he had to remind them that they were from England and he was an American and not English.
"Don't disinherit me! Please!" Julie wailed sounding apologetic. Despite the fact that they bickered often, the two got along fairly well even though Charlotte sometimes never knew when he was joking or not by the way he responded to things.
"Wait why would you disinherit her" Will asked curiously looking up from his lunch.
"I was joking, Will." He turned to the others. "Anyway, I'm nothing like the Weasleys. I mean just because my hair matches theirs, it doesn't nor should it mean that I'm related to them." Eddie told them bluntly after he sipped his coke.
"He has a point though. Your hair color doesn't define what house you are in." Hubert piped up in agreement.
Eddie gestured to him as if to say, 'See this guy understands me!' and Charlotte noticed Bethany biting her lip as if to stop herself from grinning. "That is correct, Hubert," Eddie said patting him on the back as if he just won his seal of approval. "I'm actually more of a Slytherin." He made a hissing sound after this.
"Slytherin's a good house." Will concurred finishing his burger while everybody else murmured in agreement that the house suited Eddie perfectly.
"And what House would you three be in?" Julie asked turning to Charlotte and her friends.
The three friends looked at one another to who would go first. Charlotte and Hubert both waved at Bethany to go first since Hubert had a 'Ladies first' rule implanted in his brain while Charlotte always let Bethany take the lead.
"I'm pretty sure I'd be a Gryffindor. Scarlet's my favorite color, and I got enough nerve and bravery." Bethany answered confidently for herself.
"Gryffindor or Hufflepuff," Charlotte answered after draining much of her chocolate milk.
"You're definitely more of Hufflepuff though since you're such a thoughtful sweetheart." Julie stated eagerly. "Right guys?" She asked turning to her twin brother and Will. The two of them immediately nodded in agreement with claims of "Yeah! Julie's right!" and "Definitely a sweetheart!" causing Charlotte's cheeks to flush at the praise that her friends were giving her.
"And...what about you Hubert?" Julie asked, turning to him. Hubert who had been paying attention but also pondering what to do with his vegetable drink glanced up. "Come again?" He said when he heard his name.
"What house are you in?" Will reminded him staring at the drink in his hand. He made a face when he realized what it was.
"I think I'm a Hufflepuff," Hubert replied aware of their stares. "I'm quite persistent and I'm really friendly." He explained with a nervous chuckle.
"Hmmm seems legit." Eddie accepted contently, surprising Charlotte who expected him to be skeptical about this. He probably hadn't been aware of Hubert's intellectuality
At that moment the bell yelled at them for all of them to split up to get going to their classes. Julie, Eddie, and Will headed off to class in one direction while Bethany and Charlotte waited for Hubert who was debating what to do with his fruit drink but finally decided to stuff it in his brown bag and figure out he'd deal with it later.
The three friends all headed towards the same class as they headed towards Computer Graphics class which was the only class that the three of them had together. Charlotte was immensely relieved that Hubert's self-esteem wasn't damaged by Eddie about his intellectuality but couldn't help but notice that Bethany hadn't mentioned anything about it either which struck her as odd because she'd never miss a chance to tease Hubert whenever she found a chance to.
When the bell dismissed them out of ninth period, Charlotte was immensely relieved when she walked out the Girl's Locker Room. Gym was her last day of class and the class had to run eight laps around the track field. When she reached her locker getting ready to head home, she almost like she was collapsing after she opened her locker but remembered that she'd have to wait until she got on the bus to do so. Instead she found herself staring at the textbooks sitting at the bottom of the locker and debated between what books she needed.
"Whoa, what happened to you?" Hubert exclaimed alarmed at her sweaty state.
"We had to run ten laps on the track today in Gym." Charlotte said, wondering how many surprise laps they had to endure before she was graduated high school.
"Well, I'm sure eight laps isn't that bad—" Hubert started to say but stopped when he saw when she glared at him. Did he not understand that just because she wasn't on the Cross Country or Track like he was that not everybody was made for running?
"Please spare me the details. You know I'm not the athletic one here." Charlotte reminded him. She hoped he also wouldn't sprout out facts about it being healthy for her because she already got enough of it from her teachers and her parents.
"Sorry. Gym class made you do running laps and they were exhausting weren't they?" He started again. "Better?" He wanted to know watching her debate whether she should take her Chemistry or Remedial Algebra textbook with her.
"Better, thanks. And yes, it was definitely exhausting. So how was Driver's Ed?" Charlotte agreed as she put the Chemistry textbook back into her locker.
"Alright," Hubert said, his eyes peeling elsewhere like he was distracted. "We are watching videos so far but the teacher said we'll start driving shortly. So that should be fun." He seemed somewhat nervous about this.
"Well, I'm sure you'll do fine." Charlotte reassured him noticing his expression. "I mean once you get a lot of practice with driving. It'll easy peasy and—"
"And I'll get through it right?" Hubert finished for her with a smile.
"Yes that," Charlotte answered back before diving towards her locker again to find what journals that she should take home or not.
"Hey guys. How's it going?" She heard Bethany's voice floating above her.
"Good, how about you?" Charlotte heard Hubert saying as she stuffed her journals into her backpack.
"Alright, but I have to go to after school tutoring for Math today." Bethany said, crinkling her nose with distaste.
"Ew Math. I wish there was a substitute for that." Charlotte spoke up as she stood up again. Like her best friend, she loathed Math but not because she struggled through it but more of the fact that numbers and equations always gave her a headache.
"Tell me about it. So how are you?" Bethany wanted to know leaning against the locker next to hers. She took out a toothpick and started picking at it drawing stares from nearby but ignored them.
"Fine but honestly P.E. was exhausting," Charlotte confessed after trying to stuff her journals into her backpack. It seemed like she'd be carrying a load home today which wasn't good for her back so she took the ones she didn't need and placed them back into the locker.
"That sucks. Do you think a three-way phone call tonight would make up for it?" Bethany offered with a sympathetic look.
The three-way phone call was a daily routine to getting by school nights. It was something that they did whenever they could get their homework done before ten and the call would go to sometime around midnight.
"Yeah, if I get my homework done." Charlotte said, unsure of how much homework she got today hoping wasn't too hard or kept her up until past midnight.
"How about you, Hubert?" Bethany asked, disposing the toothpick in a nearby garbage bin.
"Yeah, sounds good with me."
"Okay I'll call you guys around ten." Bethany confirmed, before picking up her bag and walking away.
Once she had finished packing for home, Charlotte and Hubert headed towards the buses. They got on the bus taking seats across from each other. Hubert took out The Scarlett Letter and started reading it while Charlotte who sat across from him, glanced out the window.
Outside her window, she spotted the sets of cotton textured clouds that floated across the blue sky. It was a gorgeous sight. This was the great part was that it was part of her reality. But she often wondered if behind the clear blue sky, there might be another sky aligning with the one she saw. If so, did it specifically lead to another world? The wizarding world perhaps? There it was again. Her own thoughts focusing on the existence of the wizarding world but it wasn't her fault that couldn't help it. It always struck her mind whenever she watched the skies. 'Too bad I'm a muggle living in this world.' She couldn't help but think when the bus started rumbling to life.
While it did hurt to realize that the wizarding world wasn't tucked away in secrecy, as she always hoped, it didn't mean that that she couldn't fantasize the thought of it becoming conceivable. It was either that or trying to cope with her monotonous Muggle life. One that could easily trade her soul for if she was offered the chance.
A/N: That's it for the first chapter. I'm aware it's probably a snoozer but I swear that there will be future chapters after this that gets more exciting. Also, it'd mean a lot to me if there were feedback as to how I'm doing—any review is fine! I don't mind constructive criticism too but please don't be too harsh about it. Thanks for reading!