Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Two
With all the extra Quidditch practices and homework piling up it was a huge relief to find out there was a Hogsmeade weekend scheduled for Halloween.
"Just in time too, I have to buy ink and some parchment. Can you believe I've already run out? Honestly, the workload they give us in this school. I haven't even had enough time to – Charlie? Hellooo? Are you even listening to me?"
"Yes Leanne, I'm listening to you." I heaved a sigh, giving up on trying to ignore Leanne's droning, and closed the Herbology book I was pretending to read. I turned my attention to the ever hyperventilating girl beside me. She was quickly pulling her straight brown hair into a braid, tugging it tighter and tighter as she went into all out Leanne Panic Mode.
I rolled my eyes. "Bloody hell, relax Leanne! This year's only just started!"
"For you maybe, but I've had to deal with a crapload of work since day one!"
"Well, what exactly do you want me to say? I even told you it wasn't a good idea to sign yourself up for all those extra classes." I said to her while we walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast. "But nooo, you decide you're suddenly that Hermione Granger girl, and you bite off more than you can chew."
I rolled my eyes again as I saw Leanne pout.
"I mean, honestly, Muggle Studies? Why in Merlin's name did you take that for? You could've just dropped that and taken Care of Magical Creatures with me and Katie."
Leanne immediately stopped pouting and snorted. "Right, like I would want to deal with a bunch of Merlin-knows-what kind of monsters that Hagrid must've dug up for us this time. I swear that class was the absolute worst last year, and even then it was a different teacher. Who knows what kind of creatures he'll introduce to us."
My eyes hit the ceiling but a smile was forming on my lips. Leanne's theatrics no matter how annoying, could be funny sometimes.
"Come on. Hagrid's nice." I defended.
"Yes and he's also like ten feet taller than me! And just because he's nice doesn't mean the creatures he'll have will be. That slobbering dog of his is already a menace!"
I almost laughed out loud as I remembered what she was talking about.
It happened when we were in our first year, on the very first day we arrived at Hogwarts no less. The majority of people had already gotten off the Hogwarts Express and everyone was lining up in front of Hagrid who was telling us all to hurry up. He had Fang, his pet boarhound with him, which for a puny eleven-year-old can be quite intimidating, especially for a nervous wreck like Leanne. No sooner did she get off the last step of the train than Fang immediately set his eyes and nose on her. In a flash the dog began to run towards her. Leanne, like the drama queen she is immediately thought Fang was going to attack her and let out a shriek just as Fang reached her and began licking her with a curious fondness. It was clearly not a big deal; it was a laugh actually, to the rest of us anyway. But, Leanne was distraught, even when Hagrid finally managed to get Fang off of her. That's how she and Katie became friends. Katie was the only one nice enough to comfort her.
Anyway, to this day, Leanne claims she's 'traumatized' and refuses to go anywhere near Hagrid or Fang.
I bit back a laugh for Leanne's sake as we finally reached the Great Hall.
"Well, what about Divination?" I said changing the subject. ""You could've dropped that too. It's a bunch of rubbish anyway." I said as I spotted the only two empty seats left in the Gryffindor table. Of course they had to be across from the Weasley twins.
Leanne let out a scandalized gasp. "Divination is not rubbish!" She exclaimed taking a seat.
I snorted. "Yeah, well, Trelawney sure is." I said ignoring the bright smiles Fred and George flashed me when I took my seat. They were up to something, as usual. You could immediately tell from that glint in their eyes.
Smartly choosing to not get myself involved in another one of the Weasley brothers' pranks I reached for a blueberry muffin swatting away the twin's attempts to give me what looked like a piece of candy wrapped in a brightly covered wrapper. "Besides, since you didn't want to drop that class, that's one more subject you'll be studying for next year."
"Ugh, the O.W.L.s!" Leanne moaned, covering her ears. "Don't even remind me!"
"Pfft, the O.W.L.s are rubbish anyway." Fred said sneaking one of those candies in his hands onto an innocent first years plate.
"Says you!" Leanne exclaimed before turning back to me with a panic expression on her face. "We'll be taking it next year and if this year goes by as fast as last year, then the O.W.L.s will be right around the corner!"
Good god, I don't know how much more of this I can stand. Honestly, Katie picked the worst time to skip breakfast. Where was she anyway?
Reading my mind, George said with a knowing smile on his face, "She said she'll meet you two in Herbology, she forgot to finish one of her essays so she'll be in the library until classes start."
"Well then, I'm off to the library!" I said, jumping up quickly, bumping my knee rather hard on the table in the process causing some goblets to tip over.
I've created a terrible mess and my knee hurts like a bitch, but there's only so much of Leanne I can stand. I mean, it's not that I don't like Leanne. I do! She's one of my best mates actually. It's just that sometimes she can be a complete pain in the ass with all the whining she does. But I guess she even knows she complains a lot. So, when I do walk out on her in the middle of her dramatics she doesn't take it to heart.
I wobbled out of the Great Hall, looking like a complete tool and made my way towards the library. I looked down wincing as I saw there was already a huge bruise forming right on my kneecap. I turned a corner, eyes still glued to the ugly discoloration on my legs, glancing up only when I heard someone else's footsteps, but it was too late. I had only looked up, my eyes meeting with a very handsome face, for a brief second before proceeding to crash into said handsome person and falling flat on my bum.
"Oof!" I let out. Not the most intelligent thing I've come up with, I agree, but I was still trying to piece two and two together to see how exactly I ended up on the floor.
"Oh, Merlin, sorry," Came a voice from above me. "I didn't mean to–I wasn't looking where I was going–are you alright?" All of this came out in a rush and in a smooth deep voice.
I looked up from my position on the floor and was greeted with the sight of–Oh my–Cedric Diggory bending down, swooping up my fallen textbooks, straightening up, and reaching an outstretched hand towards me.
I took it and he helped me up while I winced. Great, now I was going to have a bruise on my ass that matched the one on my knee.
"I am sorry." He said again dropping my hand and handing me my books. He glanced at me with an embarrassed smile.
"No worries." I said reassuring him with a smile of my own. Who could stay mad at a face like that? Not me, I tell you. "No serious damage or anything."
Cedric, with his perfect smile still in place, studied me for a moment before a look of recognition appeared on his face. "Hey, you're Charlize right? Charlize Staunton?"
"Charlie." I corrected.
"Right. You're on the Gryffindor team…" He paused staring at me with a wider grin forming on his mouth. "You know, I've actually wanted to meet you for the longest time."
"Really?" I inquired, slightly taken aback.
"Yeah, you're an amazing seeker."
Huh. Cute and knew talent when he saw it. I liked this bloke already.
"Thanks. You're not too bad yourself." I replied honestly. Seriously, anyone who can make the Hufflepuff Quidditch team look less of a joke than they actually are was bloody brilliant in my book.
I heard footsteps coming toward us and I glanced behind Cedric and saw Katie coming into view, two heavy looking schoolbooks in one hand and a scroll of parchment in the other. Her eyes widened when she saw who I was with and then the corners of her mouth turned upwards.
Oh God, I'll never hear the end of this.
"Well, bye Diggory." I said to him just before the bell rang signaling that it was time for classes to start. "Nice to finally meet you." Flashing him a final smile before I hurriedly made my way towards Katie.
"Yeah, you too!" He called after me as I grabbed Katie's elbow dragging her away towards the greenhouse for Herbology.
Katie isn't much of a gossip, but when it came to stuff like this I knew she wouldn't be able to contain her hopeless romantic self.
"It's not what you think he bumped into me–well crashed is more like it–and he was just helping me up. So don't go and work that delusional imagination of yours and create some sort of elaborate story to sugar-coat what you just saw." I said all in a rush before she even opened her mouth.
Her eyebrows rose higher at my frazzled speech and her smile grew impossibly wider as she studied me. Her eyes were practically glinting. Oh, dear Merlin.
I rolled my eyes. "Katie," I said seriously, "No."
She laughed and broke free from my grasp, skipping happily in front of me. I rolled my eyes again, but followed her anyway.
"So…" She said finally turning to face me again. "What would our Captain say if he saw you fraternizing with the enemy?" She said before erupting in sickeningly high-pitched giggles.
I repeat I will never hear the end of this.
xxx
"In the 1600's, during the Goblin Rebellions, the number of Muggle persecutions increased immensely," droned Professor Binns in his wheezy voice.
I was slipping in and out of consciousness at the sound of Binns' voice. Honestly the way he goes on and on, it's like some kind of freaking lullaby. I can never stay awake in his class and neither can anyone else.
I heard a soft snore from Katie to my left while I drowsily looked over at Leanne to my right. She had a quill in her hand and was splayed over a roll of parchment, ink smudged on her cheek. Everyone else around me, was more or less in the same position.
I glanced at the clock behind me. Thank Merlin, only a minute of this to go.
"So much in fact that the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was created in 1692. This decree stated that – " Professor Binns continued just before the bell rang and everyone was startled awake. A chorus of relieved sighs was echoed around the room as everyone started packing up their things.
"I can't believe I fell asleep again, I should really start paying more attention to this class, or at least start to take notes before I fail my O.W.L.s." Katie told me as we fought our way out of the crowded classroom. God, you wouldn't think we were all asleep a few minutes ago with the way we were struggling to get out of the dusty room.
"Careful, you're starting to sound like Leanne." I whispered to her grinning as I stole a quick glance at Leanne in front of us. Katie just shook her head at me disapprovingly, but a small smile crept onto her face.
"Bloody hell." I let out, as we finally escaped the mass of students and stepped into the crowded hallway.
"Hey look, the twins are coming." Leanne pointed out once we began walking towards the Gryffindor common room.
I looked towards the direction she was pointing, and true enough, Fred and George Weasley were running towards us their arms outstretched in front of them slapping innocent bystanders on the face who were walking in the opposite direction.
I groaned. "Quick, let's go the other way."
Katie smirked. "Too late." She said as Fred and Gorge reached us.
"Look Fred, our fair maidens have survived the treacherous clamps of – "
"History of Magic." I finished in the dullest tone I could manage.
George immediately dropped his hands and harrumphed. "You're always ruining my fun Charlie." I rolled my eyes at him.
"Look George, couldn't this totally be a slow a dance?" Fred said from next to us engulfing a struggling Leanne in a bone-crushing hug and starting to swing her wildly from side to side.
"No, you look like your holding her hostage. Let her go!" I said to him while Katie giggled behind me. Honestly, couldn't they go and harass someone else?
It was Fred's turn to harrumph as he let go of a grateful Leanne.
"You're always ruining our fun Charlie!" the twins said together. They pouted and tried to pull off a puppy-dog face but ended up with a cross between constipated and demented.
I couldn't help but laugh at their expressions, "Stop that, you look ridiculous. Seriously, what do you want? I'm too tired to deal with you two and dinner's starting soon and I am starving."
"Can't we see you lovely ladies without having a motive?" Fred asked me.
I snorted. "Oh come off it."
Fred and George harrumphed again but gave up. "Oliver's scheduled a last minute practice tonight. He wants us on the pitch, now." Fred said pulling off a fairly impressive imitation of Wood on that last part.
"You're kidding me right?" I said before Katie could say anything.
"Uh, noo." George said slowly, as if he were talking to a five year-old.
"But we've already had four bloody practices this week!" I cried in frustration. Jesus, I might as well have stomped my foot.
"What is he trying to do, kill us so we don't have to play against Slytherin?" I went on, not caring in the slightest that now I really did sound like a five year-old. "I expect he thinks that's a bloody good idea from all the shit he's been putting us through!"
"Blimey." Fred and George said synchronically at my tantrum.
Okay, whatever, they can judge me all they want, but look I'm functioning on an empty stomach here. If there's no fuel, everything's a no-go. And that especially includes one of Wood's stupid practices.
"You know what? I'm going to go to dinner and then I'm going to go upstairs, have a nice bath, and go to sleep. Because today is Friday, quitting time, the weekend. And tomorrow is Hogsmeade. So if Wood doesn't mind ever so much, I'm not going to practice tonight." And with that I walked away towards the Great Hall, leaving all four of them behind.
Alright, so I'm acting like a total brat and just whined my ass off to Fred, George, Katie, and worst of all Leanne (can you say hypocrite?) But honestly why does Wood have to go and piss me off when I'm starving my knickers off? It happened that week when I threw that snitch at him (I didn't have any breakfast) and now he's trying make me go to practice with no dinner. Well, I think not!
I entered the Great Hall with a scowl on my face scaring some underclassmen in the process as I plunked down hard on an empty seat, which I quickly regretted since my ass still hurts from earlier today. Ignoring the pain I started putting enormous piles of food on my plate, shoveling food in my mouth with determined ferocity much to the amazement of some first years around me.
Why does he have to pull a surprise Quidditch practice out of his ass anyway? We are more than ready to beat Slytherin silly, my muscles aching from this week's practice proves it.
My mouth was already full but I tried to stuff a large peace of steak in there. As the food went down my stomach, my belly became satisfied, but with very bite I took, guilt started to eat at me.
Ugh, so yeah, I'm being utterly ridiculous right now. I mean, by the looks of it I'm the only member of the Quidditch team in here eating dinner. I can't really eat while the rest of the team slaves away, that's not fair at all.
Grr. I hate when my conscience gets to me.
Right then, I'll just swallow my pride and my bitchiness and go…apologize to Wood (insert me cringing) and go to practice.
I swallowed one last bit of steak and got up, ready to do the Walk of Shame all the way down to the pitch. But before I could even take a step I saw Wood enter the hall, narrowed eyes sweeping the room before him slowly, like a predator searching for his prey.
I grimaced once he spotted me. God, where were all the constant freakishly tall people who shield me from view all the time? Now when I actually need them they're fucking nowhere to be seen. Freaking typical.
I wonder how mad at me he is. Judging by the way he's stomping his big feet towards me looking fit to murder, I'd say pretty mad.
Whatever, that's nothing knew. I'm almost bored with our constant fighting.
"You." He spat, once he finally reached me. "Outside. Now."
And when I didn't move–okay, no matter how much I fucked up, you can't honestly expect me to respond, when you talk to me like I'm your bitch–he proceeded to grab my wrist and drag me out of the Great Hall.
Oh no, not without a fight you won't.
I pulled back from him as hard as I could forcing him to a stop. He whirled back annoyed, and entirely too prissy-faced.
"Listen," I began as nicely as I could, all the while trying to break free from his death-grip. "I know you're not in the greatest of moods, but would you mind if – "
Oh man, if looks could kill.
"Okay." I backtracked quickly as Wood continued to fix me with his steely gaze. "Look, I know I shouldn't have – "
"What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Well that's not very nice. But, I'll allow it since I deserve it...I guess.
"All you've been doing since the season's started is to piss me off and fool around. But if you think I'm going to let you ruin my chances in winning the Quidditch cup this year-"
Wait. "What?" Was all I could say, because honestly I have been killing myself during practices to find that snitch faster and faster.
"You are so bloody lucky we can't find a fucking replacement for you now, you don't deserve to be on the team anymore."
Now that was completely out of line.
I clenched my teeth, gnashing them together, biting back my anger before I could say something I'd regret. I tilted my head up, narrowing my eyes, until they formed two furious slits, staring Wood down. He wouldn't break of course. He wasn't like the other idiots who crossed paths with me. No, he was a whole new species of stupid. He wouldn't back down, because he thought he could win this fight.
Over my dead fucking body.
Behind Wood's enormous brain-dead head, I knew we had the attention of every student in the hall, possibly even the teachers'. We weren't exactly talking in hushed tones, much to the delight of the majority of Hog wart's entertainment crazed students.
Another Oliver Wood versus Charlie Staunton Fight, Round Five-Hundred.
Damn it, I should've let him drag me out into the corridor. That way no one can see or hear him when I separate his ginormous head from his body with my bare hands.
I haven't said anything to Wood. I just glared at him, daring him to do or say anything else.
"What," he said, "going to shave your head now?" He sneered mockingly.
A growl emitted from deep within my throat and my free hand immediately reached up to his face to give him a good slap.
He caught my hand easily with his free one (bleeding keeper reflexes) and that ugly smirk of his reappeared on his face again.
"Let go of me. Now." I warned him absolutely livid.
He just kept smirking. "Or you'll what – Umgh!"
Wood immediately let go of my hands and stepped back from me, tears in his eyes and clutching his – oh mother-freaking yeah – you guessed it. I kneed him right in the baby maker for all I was worth.
I heard laughs around me and shocked gasps from all his adoring admirers and fans as I stood there gloating, reveling in the fact that I had an audience to witness the demise of Oliver bloody Wood.
But alas, my victory was short-lived since karma caught up to me right then.
"Miss Staunton, what in heaven's name are you doing?" I heard someone say sternly from behind me.
Oh, shit.
"Really, have you no shame at all? Resorting to Muggle violence, right in front of your peers and esteemed professors?"
"Professor McGonagall, I – " I started, whipping around to face her.
She stared me down, but unlike me, she had the experience and ability to transform me into a red-handed, puddle of nerves, without even raising her wand.
"I…" I trailed off. God, she was good. Age hasn't stumped her ability to make me pee my pants every time she fixes that stony gaze at me.
"I am strongly disappointed in you for displaying such crude behavior. To think, my house would resort to displaying their arguments in front of everyone in the Great Hall. This kind of behavior, Ms. Staunton deserves twenty points from Gryffindor and a detention should be in session for you."
Oh, bullocks.
The last time and only time (well until now) I had detention was in my second year when I was still naïve enough to help Fred and George with one of their pranks (they blew up a toilet for Ginny who so badly wanted to go to Hogwarts that year.) Usually I smartly talked and connived my way out of situations like these but I was already proven to be an accomplice in the twins' scheme so I had to endure the consequences.
Not surprisingly, that detention I had to serve with Filch was hell. (He kept on muttering something about how back in his day I would be hanging upside down by the shackles in the dungeons if I tried any of that foolish stuff then. Ugh, psychopathic, creepy, little booger.) And after that I swore to myself I would never get a detention, ever again.
Well look how that turned out.
I braced myself for what my detention was going to be, imagining piles and piles of dusty grimy trophies to be shined by hand or worse, another day with nutty Filch. The horror.
"But," she continued looking down at me, a glint in her eye, I didn't know she was capable of having. I mean, she was always strict, but never cruel. "I'll leave your punishment to Wood, since it is his…" She coughed before continuing. "Body part you have injured. I suspect he will give you what you deserve for such foul behavior." She said turning her disapproving gaze away from me and looking about our audience. "Now who would be so kind as to escort Mister Wood to the Infirmary?"
About a dozen binty cows raised their hands, eyeing a still grimacing Wood lustfully.
If were it not for the serious situation I was in, I would have laughed at how desperate girls my age were nowadays, but instead I stood there in complete shock.
Oliver Wood. Oliver bloody Wood. Oliver mother fucking Wood was going to give me detention
Fucking hell.