Charlie and Bill Weasley had been discussing Charlie's love life that morning when he had come out with the revelation that he was madly in love with Nymphadora Tonks, the clumsiest, most colourful, Hufflepuff anyone at Hogwarts had ever met. At breakfast that morning Bill had convinced Charlie to tell Tonks how he felt or Bill would tell her for him.
They had a Quidditch match together that afternoon so Charlie had decided to try and tell her at some point in that match, either before it started, during their time on the pitch or afterwards once one side had defeated the other. Charlie was almost entirely unsure how to talk to her about how he felt though because at the beginning of the match, neither side would want one of their players vanishing for five minutes, during the match he knew he couldnt really just sit there talking to the opposition and afterwards, presuming Hufflepuff lost, Tonks would be sulking all afternoon and wouldnt want to talk to him.
He was trying to think of the perfect time to talk to her when he heard someone saying his name, "Hmm? Yeah?" he asked, looking around for who had said it and then he noticed his brother beckoning for him to follow. "What?" he asked as he ran over to Bill.
"The game starts in half an hour, you need to get changed! And... Uh... Other things," Bill said, receiving a glare from Charlie and a look of confusion from several people around them.
"Yeah right," Charlie mumbled, running off towards the Quidditch Pitch. He guessed it was now or never, after all.
Soon enough he was in his Quidditch outfit with his broomstick in his hand waiting for the gates to go up so the team could fly out onto the pitch. 'It's now or never, Charlie, don't mess it up,' he thought to himself, gulping as he saw the gates being lifted and then saw Tonks a few places behind the captain on the opposite team. He had never felt so nervous in his entire life, yet he had been with hundreds of girls. Why was this any different? He frowned, shaking his head and getting on his broomstick along with the rest of the team.
Seconds later, they were in the sky and he was searching the skies for Tonks. Sure, he should have been concentrating more on getting into place but his mind was on other things. He saw the rest of his team falling into place so he did the same, his eyes finally finding the woman he loved so much yet was too afraid to tell. The Quaffle flew up in front of him and he instinctively grabbed it, shooting towards the goal and narrowly avoiding being hit by a bludger coming in his direction. He found Tonks beside him a few moments later and before he even realised what was happening, she had the Quaffle. "Hey!" he exclaimed, turning back and chasing after her.
The game continued like that for the entirity of it's playing time, finally stopping only when the Snitch was caught by a member of the Hufflepuff team. Gryffindor won overall, though, as the Hufflepuff goalkeeper wasn't up to scratch that day. Charlie gulped, for the first time ever wishing that they hadnt won. He needed to talk to Tonks. Badly needed to talk to her.
He hurriedly got changed out of his Quidditch clothing and then pulled his casual clothes on before going to wait outside the Hufflepuff changing rooms. There was no way she could have changed and left in that time, he was sure of it. He stood there waiting for several long minutes before a Hufflepuff girl walked out, although it wasn't Tonks. "Is Tonks still in there?" he asked her.
She nodded, "Yeah but I don't think she'll be out for a while...She's annoyed that Hufflepuff lost again," she explained.
Charlie nodded and rolled his eyes, "Typical," he laughed slightly, "Anyone else in there or just her?" he asked.
"Just Tonks," she replied, "The rest of the team went to celebrate a near victory," she smiled. "See you later," she added and hurried after a group of Hufflepuffs that seemed to be waiting for her.
Charlie frowned. Now how was he meant to talk to her? She was alone... Maybe she wouldnt mind if Charlie went into their changing rooms? He knew he wasn't meant to but he didn't mind overly. It would be worth it if he could tell her how he felt and hopefully find out she felt the same.
He knocked on the changing rooms door but there was no answer. He frowned, "Tonks? You in there?" he asked, then just listened at the door. She seemed to be crying. He frowned and pushed open the door.
"Leave me alone," she sobbed, burying her head in her hands. "It's always my fault Hufflepuff lose. If only I wasnt so clumsy, maybe we'd win for once."
Charlie frowned and sat down beside her, gently putting his arm around her, "You played well, Tonks," he said. "Gryffindor are a good team though, you know that," he added, "I bet you could beat the Slytherins any day," he smiled at the thought of it.
"If I wasnt on the team, yeah," she said, looking up for a few seconds, "Why do you care anyway? Your team won. Shouldn't you be celebrating or something?" she asked, shooting him a small glare.
"I don't want to celebrate when you're upset," he responded, "I want to help you... If you'll let me," he explained as he hugged her a little more tightly. She looked at him again for a few seconds, turned towards him and hugged him back as tightly as she could. "Does that mean I can stay here with you instead?" he asked.
Tonks nodded, "I think it does. But maybe not right here. I don't want you to get into trouble," she said, smiling a little at him.
"Tonks... Before we go anywhere...." he gulped, "Uh... I think I love you," he admitted, his cheeks flushing the same colour as his hair.
Tonks' mouth dropped and she looked more shocked than he had ever seen her before, "You..." she frowned, "Why me?" she asked. He could have pretty much any girl he wanted in any house (apart from Slytherin where the majority hated the majority of Gryffindors of course) and she couldn't understand why he would want her, the clumy, colourful, Hufflepuff.
Charlie frowned and let go of her, "I shouldn't have said anything... Sorry... I'll... Uh.. Go..." he said, sighing and standing up as he thought she wasn't interested. His eyes resembled that of a lost puppy as he looked down at the floor with sudden sadness.
His thoughts were soon interupted though, "What? No, Charlie, Wait! I love you too," she said as she grabbed his hand to stop him leaving. "I just... You could have any girl you wanted, why do you like me?"
"What is there not to like?" he responded, his cheeks going an even more vibrant shade of red. "I always loved you... None of the others mattered," he shrugged a little. "I guess I like the whole clumsy colourfulness," he shrugged.
Tonks grinned, wrapping her arms around him tightly and holding him close to her. Charlie grinned. Maybe this wasnt so bad. Hopefully they would be together for a long time now that he had finally made that first move.