Detention Again
by sweaterweather21
Summary: Somehow, Charlie and Tonks always seemed to find themselves in detention.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Written for the Monthly One-Shot Exchange on HPFC for Cyclothymic. I used the prompt "pride." Hope you enjoy :)
Also thanks to 7JulesPotter7 for being an awesome beta for this story :)
Chapter 1: Happenstance
In which McGonagall inadvertently plays Cupid...
"Funny how we both end up free but everything seems alright
I wonder what will happen if we went back and put up a fight"
Never Forget You – Zara Larsson
Charlie had just completed a loop around the Slytherin goal post when a flutter of gold wings caught his eye.
Careful not to disrupt his flying pattern and alert the opposing Seeker, he continued his trajectory upward for a few more seconds before twisting into a dive. He could see the Snitch now; it seemed to have a life of its own, dancing around near the base of the Gryffindor goal posts.
Charlie attempted to flatten himself against his broom, a task easier said than done considering he had at least six inches and fifty pounds on the typical Seeker build. Nevertheless, he pushed forward, noticing that the Slytherin Seeker, an ugly sixth year by the name of Terence Higgs, had caught on to his descent.
"Damn it!" Charlie muttered under his breath.
Not only had Higgs been alerted to the appearance of the Snitch, but that bloody golden ball had risen upward toward the stands, rendering Charlie's dive useless. Higgs, who had been loitering uselessly near the middle of the field, now had the better angle and was speeding toward the Snitch with a gleeful look on his face.
Grimacing, Charlie jerked his broom upwards. His Nimbus 1700, which he had bought with his own money, was a quality broomstick for the price, but it lacked acceleration with sudden changes of direction. He could only hope that the Snitch didn't continue to fly in the direction of Higgs.
Luckily, the Snitch only continued to rise higher in the air. Charlie was a much better flier than Higgs and managed to make up for a bit of lost ground. He adjusted his positioning relative to the Snitch, effectively cutting off Higgs behind him. He heard the Slytherin swear from below him, but thought nothing of it. The Snitch was only a few meters away now, so Charlie switched his grip and prepared to extend his arm.
He was only a meter away when his broom made a sudden downward jerk. Charlie instantly knew it wasn't his own brooms faulty handling. It had a few weaknesses, but the Nimbus 1700 was solid at top speed, and Charlie was experienced enough to know without doubt that the incident had been perpetrated by Higgs.
He spared a quick glance backward at the Slytherin. Higgs was grinning maniacally, confirming Charlie's intuition, and reached out to tug on the twigs again.
Charlie heard the crowd gasp, and he knew that this time Higgs had been more successful. While Charlie had previously held a full body-length's lead on his opponent, they were now almost neck and neck, as Higgs had crept up on his left. The Snitch still danced nearly a meter in front of them both.
"You bloody bastard!" Charlie roared. He had never really been able to keep his temper in check, and despite the proximity of the Snitch, he couldn't resist lashing out at the Slytherin. They were all scum.
Higgs only sneered. "Those cheap models are known to malfunction. If only you could afford a better broom," he retorted loudly, his voice carrying despite the wind.
Charlie opened his mouth to respond, but was distracted as the Snitch made a sudden jerk to the right. He pushed his broom to follow, and extended his right arm. He was merely centimeters away now. Higgs was close by, trying to gain position, but Charlie jockeyed him away with his left elbow. With both arms otherwise occupied, his thighs were doing to brunt of the work keeping him in the air.
Charlie sensed Higgs coming for another assault, but had enough presence of mind to stretch his right arm out a little further first, wrapping his strong fingers around the golden ball.
He only had a split-second to smile, before the collective intake of breath from the crowd and the sudden feeling of free-fall alerted him to the fact that he was falling off his broom.
His left arm caught on his broomstick on the way down, and Charlie managed to secure a grip with his left hand, leaving him dangling in the air.
Higgs smirked from up above, and Charlie's eyes blazed. That prat was going to get it, just as soon as he could get back on his broom.
The Snitch was still secure in his right fist, and Charlie wasn't about to release it now. The extra muscle on his frame, which made him a fraction of a second slower in the air, was now going to come in handy. He swung back and forth from below the broom until he had enough momentum to pull the broom toward himself, hooking his right leg around the shaft.
He was mounted backward, but at least he was still in the air. Higgs looked ready to do something else, but Charlie's teammates had reacted to the danger, and surrounded him. Oliver Wood, the burly fourth-year keeper, scowled with particular menace and Higgs had the sense to back away.
Charlie allowed himself to be distracted by the deafening roar of the scarlet and gold supporters as he descended. A smile stretched across his face as he dismounted his broom, and he raised his right arm in triumph, clenching the Snitch between his fingers so the crowd could see.
The response was deafening.
His team lined up to shake hands, and as Captain, Charlie took his place at the end. Some of the Slytherins looked defeated, but Higgs, also at the end of the line, wasn't done looking for a fight.
The Slytherin focused his beady eyes on Charlie, teeth bared in a snarl as he gripped Charlie's hand aggressively.
"Maybe if your whore mum wasn't so busy popping out kids she could buy you a better broom!"
It took Charlie less than a split-second to decide he was done trying to play nice. Wrenching his arm out of the Higgs's grip, he pulled back and threw a punch that left the Slytherin staggering.
Higgs fought back, but Charlie wasn't intimidated. He was stronger than his opponent and determined to make him bleed. He was faintly aware of his teammates moving to stop him, but he landed several more blows before Higgs was down for the count. Charlie got in one last kick to the ribs before Wood managed to pull him away.
Everything was a blur. The referee, Hooch, was blowing her whistle uselessly and the crowd was in an uproar, but McGonagall wasted no time pulling Charlie off the pitch and into her office.
He emerged fifteen minutes later with another lecture from his Head of House under his belt and another detention to look forward to.
He hadn't even bothered protesting.
Tonks sat in the back of class, bored out of her mind. Flitwick had disappeared into his office for a few minutes to retrieve something, leaving his class of seventh-years to practice Scarpin's Revelaspell on their assigned objects. It was an advanced Charms technique used to determine the curses or enchantments bespelled upon an object, but like most of her schoolwork, Tonks found it easy.
She had completed her assignment at the beginning of class, scribbling down the basic shield charm and the triggering hex she'd encountered on a piece of parchment, including their countercharms for good measure. Fifteen minutes later, most of the other students had finished. Flitwick looked like he wanted to continue with the lecture, which made Tonks groan. Most of his lectures produced the effect of lulling the young metamorphmagus to sleep.
Sleep.
Now that sounded like a good idea. Tonks liked a good nap as much as anyone, but she'd prefer to do it in the comfort of her four-poster in the Hufflepuff dormitory rather than on the hard oak desk in front of her. If only Flitwick could be convinced to end class early for the day…
An idea suddenly sprang to mind. As a metamorphmagus, pranks and trickery came naturally to her. Tonks had tried to explain this to her mother when she was getting in trouble for yet another instance of misbehavior, but Andromeda had never accepted her excuse.
Despite her past punishments, the possibility of trouble didn't bother Tonks. But the idea of spending another hour in this classroom, bored out of her mind, did.
So Tonks decided to act.
She winked at Cara Cadwallader, her best friend and a fellow Hufflepuff who would be the only eyewitness to what Tonks was about to do. Cara groaned, recognizing that Tonks was up to something, but made no motion to stop her. Tonks grinned in response.
Tonks pushed her chair in, and took a step back, concentrating on transforming. She willed her hair to fade to white, and made it look wispy. She fixed her facial features to appear more weathered, concentrating on making her nose appear hooked, resembling a goblin. The most difficult part of the transformation was the height difference, but even that didn't trouble the metamorphmagus much. She shrunk down about half a meter, and tossed her Hufflepuff tie on the desk. Clothing was the only aspect of Flitwick's appearance that she couldn't readily duplicate, but the man usually wore dark colors, and she figured that most of the students wouldn't notice her standard black robe if she tucked it in with a quick hemming charm.
She gave Cara one last devious smile and made her way to the front of the classroom, grateful that Professor Flitwick's stature allowed her to pass by the students without notice.
The real Professor Flitwick was still rummaging around in his office, so Tonks discreetly conjured a wedge to shove underneath the door. Flitwick was brilliant, and would easily counter any type of locking charm Tonks could try, so she hoped an old-fashioned door stopper would stump him for a while. Wizards, even those as intelligent as Flitwick, often failed to consider simple muggle tricks.
She climbed onto the chair by his desk and then mounted the stack of books from which the professor usually presided. Tonks had to give the man props: it wasn't an easy climb with such short legs.
From her new perspective, she cleared her throat, capturing the attention of the class of seventh years, who had been chatting amongst themselves. Tonks wasn't a newbie at portraying others, but disguising her voice was the most difficult part of fooling people, so she decided to keep it brief. "You all seem to have mastered the charm for today, and the lesson for today is finished. Class dismissed."
Tonks tried not to smile to herself as the students immediately scrambled to pack their bags and head out the door. Flitwick wasn't known for releasing his students early, all her past experiences in tricking people had taught her just how readily people would believe what they wanted to hear.
It was amusing, and she had to resist a chuckle.
A Ravenclaw girl who hadn't quite mastered the charm yet made a move to approach Tonks, who had stepped down from the stack of books. Tonks merely waved her hand, and the girl took it as a sign to ask later. Within another minute, the class had cleared out, with the exception of Cara, who was waiting for her by the door. Tonks heard a bit of a scuffle from the inside of Flitwick's office, so she figured now was the time to make her escape.
Cara handed Tonks her book bag as soon as she got out the door. "You little rascal," she teased.
"You're welcome, by the way," Tonks responded as she transformed back. A self-satisfied smile began to spread over her features until she noticed that someone else had witnessed her transfiguration.
Professor McGonagall strode over to the pair of girls, and glared at the metamorphmagus.
Instinctively, Tonks took a step back, bumping into the wall.
"I know enough of your antics, Miss Tonks, to require no further proof that you have been causing trouble. Detention!"
With a final admonishing stare, McGonagall disappeared into Flitwick's classroom, no doubt to rescue the diminutive professor from his captivity.
Tonks turned to meet Cara's eyes, recovered from her McGonagall's chastisement. "That was so worth it!" she grinned.
Charlie trudged to the trophy room, not looking forward to spending a perfectly good Friday night with Filch when his friends had no doubt already opened the bottle of Ogden's they had hidden in their dormitory.
He had made sure not to be early, and sure enough, Filch was waiting for him outside the entrance, holding a rag and giving the tall redhead his nastiest glare.
Words were not exchanged. Charlie knew the drill. He handed Filch his wand and took the proffered rag. The caretaker would be back in an hour to relieve him of his duties and they could both get on with their nights. Charlie wasn't in detention nearly as often as the twins, who had already managed to terrorize Hogwarts with their pranks even as second years, but it certainly wasn't a novel experience for him.
What was novel, however, was the slim girl in Hufflepuff robes who already occupied the room. She was twirling her rag above her head, and didn't seem to notice Charlie's entrance at first. When she finally looked up, her eyes widened and she tripped over the rug.
Charlie couldn't stifle his laugh, but his gentlemanly instincts took over, and he extended his arm, helping her up.
The girl was blushing furiously, and Charlie only managed a quick glimpse of her large gray eyes before she turned away, tucking a piece of dark hair behind her ear.
When she turned again to face him, the first thing he noticed was her lack of rosy cheeks. Her flush had disappeared far too quickly after its obvious onset, and it set Charlie's brain in motion. He definitely knew this girl from somewhere…
"Oh! You're the metamorphmagus!" he blurted out. It was the only logical explanation for her timely transformation, and he seemed to recall rumors of a Hufflepuff girl with metamorphmagus powers, and here he was, finally putting a face to the girl with a multitude of faces. If only he could remember her name!
Her embarrassment vanished completely, replaced with a twinge of anger. "I have a name, you know."
Now it was Charlie's turn to be embarrassed, although his pride required him to hide it. "I know your name," he stalled, waiting for a second burst of inspiration.
She raised her eyebrows, waiting. But Charlie had hesitated too long - they both knew his charade was up.
"Well?" she questioned.
"Nymphadora!" he nearly shouted, pleased with himself on what he was sure was the correct guess. He didn't pay too much attention to the gossip, but he could faintly recall that name being tossed around in conjunction with "metamorphmagus."
"Strike two, but nice try, Weasley," she retorted. Despite her initial discomposure, the girl had quickly regained her footing and now had the upper hand in their discussion. "I go by Tonks."
Charlie was aware that he had already made an ass of himself, and didn't see the point in trying to be polite anymore.
"Tonks? Really?"
"Well, would you like to be addressed by 'Nymphadora?'"
"No," Charlie responded with a smirk, "but you can call me Charlie."
The girl (who he now knew as Tonks) rolled her eyes, but Charlie thought he caught a small flicker of amusement in them.
"So, should we get on with polishing?" he suggested.
Tonks let out an unladylike snort as she plopped down on the dusty rug. "Are you kidding me? Filch is the opposite of creative when it comes to assigning detentions. The trophies can only be polished so many times."
Charlie glanced around the room. The girl wasn't lying – the trophies were already gleaming.
"I see this isn't your first time, then," he responded, dropping his rag and sprawling out on the carpet across from her.
This time, Charlie noticed that she managed to suppress her blush completely at the double entendre.
"No, it's not," she responded, albeit a beat late, "although I usually manage not to get caught." She let that sink in a bit before changing the subject. "So, what'd you do to earn yourself a detention?"
"Surely you must know," Charlie answered, staring her down with a hint of a smile.
"Oh, you're the one who punched Higgs!" she exclaimed gleefully, a second later. "That miserable blighter deserved it! I was at the game - he nearly knocked you off your broomstick!"
Charlie was unable to contain the self-satisfied smile that crept across his features. He wasn't arrogant, not really, but he couldn't help but enjoy the recognition from Tonks, a pretty girl despite her less-than-feminine name.
"And it was quite the impressive Snitch catch," she rambled on, "although I'm sure Hufflepuff will knock you off later on in the season…"
"Bloody likely!" Charlie interrupted, only to realize that Tonks was giggling, obviously kidding. The Hufflepuff team this year was a joke, and they both knew it.
"Hmmph," he muttered, but the smile wouldn't leave his face. It was his turn to turn the questions back on her. "So what'd you do to earn the pleasure of spending a little alone time with me?"
"I'd hardly call this pleasure." This time, Tonks had been ready for his jab, and Charlie was beginning to think that he had underestimated the force of the Hufflepuff girl's personality.
She smiled at him to let him know she was joking and continued. "McGonagall busted me for impersonating a teacher."
Charlie's jaw almost dropped. He knew the metamorphmagus was capable of enough mischief to get a detention, but using her powers to impersonate a teacher was another level. When he looked back at her, it was with a new level of respect.
"Which teacher?" he managed to ask.
"Flitwick," Tonks responded, grinning, "getting down to his height was one of the harder transfigurations I've done. I almost got away with it, too, but McGonagall saw me transform back."
"McGonagall got me too," Charlie admitted.
"No way!" Tonks exclaimed, "not that I'm surprised. Not much gets past her."
Charlie nodded in agreement, still smiling. This detention was going far better than he had anticipated.
Tonks had to admit that this detention had been a bit of a pleasant surprise. Although a good student, the metamorphmagus was no stranger to spending her nights in detention. Her transfiguration powers allowed her to get away with most of her mischief, but she had been caught enough times that she knew the routine when it came to detention, especially with Filch.
He had a reputation for being a nasty old man, but Tonks knew his bark was worse than his bite. His detentions were wholly predictable, and a complete waste of time. She had packed a novel in her bag, planning on enjoying a good book instead of wasting the hour doing pointless labor.
However, Charlie Weasley had surprised her. Despite their initial encounter in which he called her Nymphadora, she found herself in good company. He was slightly arrogant, sure, but Tonks knew enough of his Quidditch prowess to be sure that he could "walk the talk," or so they say. Plus, she would be lying if she said she didn't find it attractive.
The hour passed relatively quickly, thanks to the banter Tonks found herself more fully engaging in. They had debated everything from this year's Quidditch standings, to the best way to sneak into the kitchens, to the Ministry's policy on endangered species. To Tonks's surprise, he had proved himself knowledgeable in all of the subjects they discussed.
She also couldn't help but notice that Charlie Weasley had the sexiest smile she'd ever seen.
It was also apparently contagious. Tonks found herself smiling and laughing throughout their conversation. It only began to fade when she finally checked her watch and found that their hour was almost up.
"Quick!" she blurted, "grab your rag and pretend to be polishing!"
Charlie had quick reflexes, and was on his feet in seconds. Tonks followed suit, and giggled when she looked over at the Gryffindor who was furiously pantomiming scrubbing the nearest trophy.
She was still giggling when Filch stalked into the room. He scowled. Evidently, anything remotely humorous was still a black mark in his book. "Weasley, Tonks," he growled, "you're done." Then he retreated out the door as quickly as he had entered, Mrs. Norris on his heels.
Tonks dropped her unused rag in the display case and moved to pick up her book bag from the floor. She started walking toward the doorway, but stopped halfway there and turned to look at Charlie one last time.
"Well, it was good polishing trophies with you," she said with a smile. "Maybe I'll see you next time I'm in detention?"
With his long strides, Charlie quickly strode over to her. "Is that a date?" he smirked.
Not for the first time that night, Tonks hid her blush. "Maybe," she responded, managing to keep a straight face.
Charlie's smirk didn't fade, and he took a step ahead of her, turning to face her straight-on. "How do you feel about a date that doesn't take place during detention?"
With that, Tonks couldn't help the grin that broke out on her face. "I think I'd like that very much."
Author's Note: I'm so glad I signed up for the one-shot competition this month but this fic gave me a huge amount of inspiration! So much so, in fact, that I apparently couldn't stick to the rules. This'll be a two-shot, so make sure you alert in order read the next part. And if you're already following, it'd be excellent if you could type a few words into the box below as well :) I'd love to know what you think!
A little background on this: to my surprise, I discovered that according to HP Lexicon, Charlie and Tonks are actually in the same year in Hogwarts! Hence, the inspiration for this fic. I know Charlie's a perennial bachelor, and Tonks eventually ends up with Remus, but I couldn't help but imagine a little seventh year romance between the two. I also took the liberty of making Terence Higgs be the opposing Slytherin seeker. If Charlie only graduated a year before Harry came to Hogwarts, I feel like it's definitely plausible that his years as a seeker could overlap.
Anyway, feel free to ignore my ramblings! Hope you enjoyed part one of two :)