Third Year

Cedric and his parents went on a very long holiday that summer much to the displeasure of nearly everyone. "Do you have to go?" Adelaide frowned.

"Yea, who's going to play Seeker?"

"Who's going to entertain Ron?"

"Oi! I heard that!"

Cedric frowned at his friends, "We're visiting family in America and I have to go. Dad got tons of time off so –"

"And Oliver's not coming this summer either!" Fred pouted.

Cedric sighed, rubbing his arm, something he did when he was upset or uncomfortable, "I have to go pack – we leave in the morning." He stood up and wiped the twigs and grass off his shorts.

Adelaide jumped up and threw her arms around him, "Bye, Ceddie, You'll write, won't you?"

Cedric chuckled, "You're my best friend, aren't you?"

--

Adelaide didn't see Cedric when she, her brothers and the Weasleys boarded the Hogwarts Express, but she barely got a chance to even wonder where he could be because her dear friend and year-mate, Cymbelia, was pulling her to a compartment. Cymbelia had gotten taller and her platinum blonde hair had gotten longer and wavier too; "Come on, you have to see Mira – she's," Cymbelia paused, "developed."

Adelaide was confused, "Developed what? A speech impediment? Learning disability?"

Cymbelia laughed until she saw Adelaide was being serious, "You'll see," her green eyes danced, "and Jessie is wearing make-up!"

Adelaide looked at her friend, horrified, but didn't get to voice her horror because they had stopped at the compartment door.

Cymbelia was right: Mia had developed over the summer. "Merlin, Mia! You're chest!"

Mira grinned and stuck out her chest even more, "I know, right?"

At first uncomfortable, Adelaide was pleased that Cymbelia and Norah were teasing Mia and Jessie mercilessly for their new assets and make-up respectively. Jessie only huffed and would complain, "Well, have you seen those 4th year Hufflepuffs? Or the Slytherins? I'm only wearing a little because my eyes are so plain!"

Adelaide and Norah were going to retort when the compartment door opened and Adelaide smiled broadly, "Oliver! How was your summer?"

Oliver grinned back, running an easy hand through his thick, dark brown hair, "Boring. But I suppose anything would be compared to St. Ottery, eh?" He paused, still looking at Adelaide before continuing, "You hear Slytherin's got a new Keeper?"

Adelaide thought for a moment, unaware of the intense gaze Oliver had while he watched her, his brown eyes scanning over her face, "No, I didn't, I forgot that Belbin graduated. Why? He good?"

It took Oliver a second to frown, having been staring at her so intently, he forgot they were talking, "Charlie says he overheard that he's real good – might give Neil and I some competition," he hesitated and then grinned again, "has Charlie been wearing that badge around all the time?"

"For weeks," Adelaide laughed, "I think Neil's down a few doors with Jack and some others, if you were looking for him," she added.

Oliver hesitated for a second, "Oh, right, thanks, Adelaide –"

There was a cough from one of her friends and then Mia was saying in a voice Adelaide had never heard her use before, "Adelaide, aren't you going to introduce us?"

Adelaide gave Oliver confused a look which made him smile slightly, "Jessie, Norah, Cymbelia, Mia, this is Oliver Wood, Gryffindor Keeper and an old friend – he stays with the Weasleys nearly every summer."

Olive nodded at Adelaide's friends and then said, "Well, lovely to meet you all, see you later, Adelaide," and with one final smile and a quick wink, he left.

"Adelaide! He's gorgeous!" Mia gushed, "And that accent!"

"He's Scottish."

"But he's so handsome! How can you stand it?"

Adelaide turned to Neil who merely shrugged, "He's my friend."

"And he winked at you!" Jessie spoke up.

Adelaide rolled her eyes, "You two are ridiculous! You know I've been friends with him!"

Mia scoffed, "But we never knew how handsome he was! What other handsome men have you been hiding?"

Adelaide soon grew tired of teasing Mia and Jessie, tired of listening to them go on about Oliver and eventually about other "attractive" boys in older years, including Charlie and a few other Quidditch players. Why were Mia and Jessie so obsessed with boys now? Because they had breasts and were wearing make-up? Nancy rarely wore make-up that Adelaide had noticed, thinking of the only older girl she really was friends with. Was she obsessed with boys too? Adelaide remembered that Janet, Josh's ex-girlfriend had quit the team partially because of him, which seemed ridiculous to Adelaide in her first year and still seemed ridiculous now. Josh was a good friend and a good Quidditch player, but Adelaide wouldn't call him cute. What made certain boys cute anyway? Adelaide had to admit that yes, Oliver was obviously pleasant looking, he wasn't repulsive like most of the Slytherins, but she wasn't about to go fawning over him, was she? She felt a blush creep up her neck when she remembered how Cedric and her brothers would give her odd glances when she would colour when Oliver would wink at her, but she chided herself. She only was confused because Oliver winked at her before they were even good friends, and wasn't winking something people did when they were well acquainted? She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, forcing herself to stop thinking about winking and try to focus on the topic at hand; what made Oliver and Charlie and the older boys more attractive to Mia and Jessie? 'Must be because they're older' she thought to herself, 'and because they don't know them like I do.' Satisfied with her answer she began to wonder where Cedric was and if she was ever going to see him before the feast when her eyes darted to the glass window at the door and jumped up, grinning. She swung open the door to reveal Cedric grinning just as widely. "Ceddie!" She threw her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug that would rival one of Mrs. Weasley's infamous squeezes.

Cedric let out a hearty laugh, "Addie!" He replied just as excitedly and put his chin on the top of her head, "Have you shrunk or have I gotten that much taller?"

Adelaide tried to frown but she couldn't help but smile when she pulled back a little to look at Cedric clearly. The corners of his eyes crinkled slightly he was smiling so broadly, his hazel eyes twinkling. "I've been walking up and down this entire train looking for you! And then of course, I ran into Shaw (the new Hufflepuff Captain) and the twins and your brothers," he trailed off when Adelaide rolled her eyes slightly and he laughed letting her go so she could drag him to a seat.

"Oh, excuses, excuses. How was America ?"

Cedric glanced over her shoulder at the other occupants of the compartment, "Hello, guys," he smiled, "I was on holiday in America for a few weeks," he shrugged. "And little Adelaide here has missed me terribly," he laughed when she hit his arm, "how were your summers?"

Mia and Jessie murmured responses and Norah grinned, "It was fine, thanks, Cedric. Boring compared to America , I'm sure." Adelaide sat back slightly so Cedric could tell everyone about his holiday, albeit begrudgingly. She wanted to her best friend to herself and didn't want to share him, especially with Mia and Jessie. Although she wasn't worried they'd think he was cute – it was Cedric for Merlin's sake! He was in their year! In their classes!

Cedric began to talk, mostly looking directly at Adelaide , but occasionally glancing around the compartment. Cymbelia glanced over at Mia, who was staring at Cedric with a ghost of a smile on her lips and she nudged her foot violently. Mia looked over, about to protest when Cymbela gave her a threatening look. Adelaide and Cedric didn't hear the slight commotion but Norah looked over, and seeing Norah's glare nodded her head at Mia. Norah and Cymbelia were more sensible than Mia and Jessie (this was not the first time Norah had wondered how Mia had gotten into Ravenclaw when she was clearly neither sensible nor entirely clever) and knew that Adelaide would have a fit if she knew her year-mates thought Cedric attractive. Cymbelia could not deny that Cedric was very nice to look at and was rather intelligent, but she wasn't about to ogle him like Mia and Jessie were. She knew that if the pair didn't quit it soon, the five would not be able to keep such civil terms; Norah, Cymbelia and Adelaide had no time for silly, superficial talk with Mia and Jessie and knew her two friends would not miss such talk if it came down to it. But for the sanity of her year-mates she wished Mia and Jessie would soon tire of being boy-crazy and would come to their senses. Living arrangements between the five and lessons would be most annoying and awkward if Norah, Cymbelia and Adelaide ceased talking to the other two girls.

Adelaide was laughing now as Cedric confessed that at points he was so bored being with just his parents that he even "missed Percy and Ron!" Adelaide hit his shoulder playfully, "Oh, you like Ron. And I know you don't mind Percy." Adelaide continued, "Well, St. Ottery wasn't much better you know – the twins were going crazy, Neil was off his rocker, Percy was a pain and Charlie was showing off his Head Boy badge. And my best friend was in America!"

Cedric swung his arm around her shoulder and whispered, "Why are your two friends and staring at me?" He looked frightened and Adelaide tried to cover a laugh.

"Well, they probably think you're cute."

Cedric stared at her, his hazel eyes large and horrified, "What? Why?"

She groaned, "They're wearing make-up and being all girly," she grimaced, "they made me introduce them to Oliver because they thought he was cute."

Adelaide couldn't decipher what passed over Cedric's face, so she ignored it when Cedric said, "Well, the twins said Bill started to like girls in his 3rd year –"

"But Charlie –"

Cedric shrugged, "Just ignore them, Addie," he smiled, "they're just being daft. Besides, we don't have time for this sort of thing, do we?"

Thankfully, Mia and Jessie didn't get a chance to say anything when Cedric left because Cymbelia spoke first, "All right you two this is how it's going to work. We are not as interested in boys as you are – we are friends with them especially Adelaide because she grew up with them and they are her best friends, not her boyfriends, got it? So you will say nothing to us about who's cute ok? We don't want to hear it."

Mia and Jessie just nodded when Cedric was finished and Adelaide whispered, "Thanks, Cymbelia."

Cymbelia shrugged, "I couldn't handle it either."

--

Charlie sidled up next to his little brother, "What's wrong with my new Beater? I didn't think you'd have any nerves."

Fred pushed his toast around his plate with his fingers, "I just, don't want to hurt anybody."

Charlie laughed, "Now I doubt that, Fred, you weren't afraid to hurt anyone at practice."

Fred frowned, "I just don't want to hurt her."

Now Charlie was most confused, "Sorry, who do we not want to hurt?"

"Adelaide," he whispered.

"Wait, wait, you've played against her for years and –" he paused, "Fred, do you like her?"

"What? No!"

Charlie bit back a laugh, "Fred, come on, she's one of your oldest friends and now your opponent. You're going to have to set aside your feelings and play your best. I did, didn't I?"

Fred nodded, "All right, fine. But I don't like her."

Charlie held up his hands, "Got it."

--

It was a close match, but in the end, the Weasley twins were much more in sync then Timothy and Riley, the new Ravenclaw Beaters. It was the first match Ravenclaw had lost since the triplets had first played, a point that Lee Jordan made sure to make.

Josh, the new captain, made sure that no one blamed anyone: they were a team, weren't they? And they lost together. They still had a chance at the Cup, so they just needed to practice, practice, practice for their upcoming match against Hufflepuff.

Jack took the loss pretty hard and Neil and Adelaide knew it was best to let him wallow for a little while. Adelaide and Neil shrugged the loss off, knowing they'd have to lose sometime.

That night at dinner, Fred approached her. "I'm sorry."

She turned, taking a bite of her pie, cocking her head slightly and looking into Fred's concerned, blue-hazel eyes. "Sorry? About what?" She cocked an eyebrow, "What did you and George do now?"

Fred looked confused, "No, no, I'm sorry that you guys lost."

Adelaide smiled, "Fred, cut it out, you guys played better then us, you deserved to win. No hard feelings, huh?"

Fred tried to smile, "I am sorry though."

Adelaide took another bite of her pie, "Stop, Freddie, we're going to be playing each other a lot, right? So one of us is going to have to win," she smiled, "so don't be sorry."

Fred smiled and walked back to his table. Before Mia knew what she was doing she blurted out, "He has such a crush on you."

--

Charlie found her sitting in one of the hallways after dinner as he was walking to meet up with Quinn, the Head Girl, for their weekly meeting. She was frowning, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to concentrate on the book that was resting against her legs. Charlie continued to walk towards her as he watched her place the soles of her feet on the ground to prop her legs up so her book was closer to her face; he noted that although her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes were racing across the large pages, her lips were not moving as Percy's often did when he needed to focus. He tried to smile, but he hadn't seen her this depressed-looking since – well, he couldn't remember if he had ever seen her this depressed. And suddenly, he felt awful: he had watched her grow up, they had been great friends and then he went off to school and suddenly everything had changed. He had promised her when he left those seven summers ago that she would continue to be "his little Addie", they would still be good friends and that she could tell him everything. But his letters had grown infrequent and even when he would return in the summers he didn't see her or confide in her as much as he used. He had gotten older and even though he never thought it explicitly, had outgrown their childish friendship. And here she was, now a teenager, and he felt like he didn't know her at all.

"Hey, Addie, are you all right?" He watched, his deep blue-green eyes concerned, as she looked up, her pale grey eyes wide and sad. He sat down next to her, brushing her dirty blonde, shoulder-length hair behind her ear. "Your hair's never been this long."

She cracked a small smile, "Easier to pull back for matches," she hesitated, "you like it? Think it's too girly?"

Charlie appraised her face for a moment, trying to figure out what answer she wanted to her, not wanting her apparent sadness to increase. "I don't think it's too girly, no," he responded, "Ginny's long. Mom wants to make sure everyone knows there's finally a girl in the Weasley family."

Adelaide's smile grew, as Charlie knew it would; Ginny being the only Weasley girl in centuries – possibly ever – was a common joke amongst the St. Ottery families. "You like it though?"

Charlie pulled at it, "It's easier to pull, so yea." He hesitated as she looked across the hall, staring at the large painting of a large, slumbering dragon. "Not so scary when they're sleeping, eh?"

Adelaide snorted, "And a painting, sure."

Charlie ignored her snide comment, "You didn't answer my question, Addie. Are you all right?"

She didn't respond and instead looked down at her book. Sighing, Charlie pulled it off her legs and ignored her exasperated sigh, "Addie, I know I haven't been a very good friend lately," he paused, "well, in a long while," he ran a hand through his thick, short golden-red hair, "and I have no excuse, Addie. I miss being your confidant. I miss my little Addie," he leaned towards her so she was nearly forced to look him in the eye, but she kept her gaze on the painting despite his intrusion on her personal space. "I didn't mean to at first, of course, Hogwarts was so overwhelming and I got so caught up in it, and then Cedric moved-in, and I got caught up with work, with Quidditch, and I got older," he took a long breath, "and I guess I just figured it would be better for both of us to be friends with more people our own age."

She looked at him, her face blank, but her eyes betraying her true emotions: sadness, relief at his confession, hope. "I understand, Charlie. But you know as well as I that we are still friends," she paused, her eyes searching his briefly before continuing, "I missed you too."

"I feel awful, Addie," he smiled, "can we just pick up where we left off? Being old chums again?"

Adelaide sighed dramatically, her eyes twinkling slightly, "I don't know. I don't know if I can possibly fit you in to my already busy life. Quidditch and lessons and all. And you're Head Boy! And a 7th year! I wouldn't want to take time away from your N.E.W.T.s!"

Charlie laughed and slung his arm over her shoulder as she rested her head comfortably on his arm, "Stop it, you twit. Now come on, you're not going to get off that easy. Tell ol' Charlie what's wrong."

Adelaide groaned, "Nothing, Charlie, I'm fine."

Charlie pulled her hair lightly, "Liar."

He waited for her to speak, knowing she was mulling over her words carefully. He may have not been as good a friend as he had once been, but he still knew her. "Charlie, do you have a girlfriend?"

Charlie let out a laugh, causing Adelaide to sit back up and look at him, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Addie, if I had a girlfriend, undoubtedly you'd know if only because the twins wouldn't give me peace of mind."

Adelaide didn't falter and continued, "But, you like girls? You've had girlfriends before?"


Charlie cocked his head, confused, " Adelaide, what is this about?"

She crossed her arms, "Evading the question," she said in her best impression of Percy.

"I've had friends that are girls, yes, you being one of them. But have I ever gone steady with a girl? No. Yes, I like girls, but I don't really have time for a steady girlfriend or anything, and besides, most of the girls I know my age are afraid of dragons and other creatures and didn't like Quidditch as much." He hesitated, looking at her questioningly, "What is this about, Addie?"

"Mia and Jessie are obsessed with boys. And a lot of older boys like Mia, because well, because she's," Charlie watched as her cheeks coloured slightly, "because she looks older. But they think Cedric and Fred like me and they always want me to introduce them to Oliver," she paused as though she suddenly remembered something, "and you too! They're always saying how I'm hiding all these cute boys from them because I want them for myself," she finished, grumbling. "And they say that girls and boys can't just be friends."

Charlie tried not to smile at Adelaide 's ruffled and harried expression. "Addie, they're just upset because they aren't friends with boys. They know that boys only like them because of their looks and don't want to be friends with them because they're silly and vain. And you're my friend, aren't you? And you are friends with the twins and Percy and Ron and Bill and Cedric and Ollie and the boys in your year and the boys on the team, right? So Mia and Jessie are just being silly, jealous little girls. Don't listen to them. I'm sure, one day, plenty of boys will have crushes on you," he teased, clucking her under the chin, causing her to smile. "Because you're smart and beautiful and you don't take anything from anyone. And you're a loyal friend," he grinned, "and you're bloody good at Quidditch."

Adelaide tried to repress her own grin, "I don't want boys to have crushes on me. I don't want a boyfriend."

"And you don't have to have one if you don't need one, Addie. I don't have a girlfriend and I'm a 7th year. And your friends think I'm good looking," he laughed as Adelaide swatted at his arm, "Oliver doesn't have a girlfriend, and Bill only did because he's Bill and a little ridiculous, isn't he? You don't have to have a boyfriend if you don't want one." He paused, "And I doubt the boys and your brothers will allow any boyfriend of yours to live very long anyway," he chuckled more to himself then anything, imagining all of the Weasleys boys, Cedric and the two Hayworths (and probably any other boy who saw Adelaide as a sister or dear friend), pummeling some poor unsuspecting twit.

Adelaide laughed, "If I like him, you lot wouldn't dare cross me."

Charlie laughed too and pulled her towards him, his arm around her shoulder again and squeezing her small frame against his own larger one. "You going to be all right?" She nodded and satisfied he replied, "Mia and Jessie are twits." He squeezed her one last time before standing up, "Even if I'm somewhere far away gallivanting with dragons," Adelaide grinned as Charlie used the phrase his mother so often used to describe her distaste for Charlie's true passion, "we'll still be best friends, Addie." He bent down quickly to pull her hair and then walked off down the hall, whistling and shaking her head, Adelaide picked up her forgotten book and walked off towards her common room.

--

The Hayworths and Diggorys always went to the Burrow on Boxing Day, but this year, before Adelaide could even welcome Bill home from Egypt. Charlie had pulled her up to his room. Laughing and grimacing simultaneously, she flexed her fingers when he finally let hold of his grip, "What's so bloody important you needed to nearly break my fingers to tell me?"


"Language, young lady!" Charlie admonished before grinning, "You can't tell anyone. You have to swear."

She eyed him suspiciously, "Merlin, all right, I swear. Now, what?"


"I got a job –"


"Charlie that's great but why –"

"In Romania ! At the Reserve!"

Adelaide let out a squeal and threw herself at him, "Charlie! That's great!"

True to her word Adelaide didn't tell a soul, and it wasn't until Charlie had finished his final year as Head Boy, Quidditch Captain and had both the Quidditch and House Cups to inform his parents. His mother was devastated and Arthur put on a disappointed front for the benefit of his wife, but in private, he was terribly proud and made sure Charlie knew that his whole family supported him, even if they thought it was dangerous.

--

Please review! 4th year will be probably be longer…I'm writing it now.