Natalie sat in the mustard yellow armchair beside the common room fire. She sat with her legs clutched to her breast, curled up like an acorn.
The common room was empty but for Natalie. Everyone else had gone to sleep. Natalie hadn't been able to sleep. Every time she had started to fall asleep she'd thought about her conversation with Charlie in the cave and involuntarily began to shiver with embarrassment and would have to roll over several times to get her own thoughts out of her head. It wasn't a very good strategy so she had given up and come down to the large square common room, with its homely fire, hoping that getting out of her now hot and sticky bed would help her feel more like sleeping.
The wall that was the entrance and exit to Hufflepuff common room crunched to the side in the usual manner. Natalie shrank back into the armchair, petrified with nerves that jittered through her veins. She had recognised who had climbed through the portrait hole instantly. It was Charlie, back from the Hospital Wing too, it seemed Madame Pomphrey had cured his frostbite (worse than Natalie's had been) and discharged him so that he could sleep in his own bed. With the archaic reflex of trapped prey Natalie didn't move an inch. Charlie still saw her. He smiled at her. Natalie still didn't move. She didn't even smile back. She did feel a plummeting feeling in a stomach which overruled the feeling of her heart rapidly thumping. Charlie had been the last person she wanted to see. Especially so soon. She'd been planning on skipping breakfast (feigning oversleeping) so she wouldn't have to deal with him at least till Lunch time.
Charlie walked over to her and sat down gingerly in the smaller armchair, he obviously wasn't entirely mended yet from the time in the cave. Natalie didn't feel like she'd ever fully recover from the time in the cave, although Madame Pomphrey had completely mended all of her skin deep wounds.
Natalie plastered a smile across her face and said amiably, though a little too loudly
"So Madame Pomphrey fixed you up then?"
"Yeah, look Nat, about what I said in the Cave."
"It's fine seriously, don't worry about it." Natalie lied.
"I don't think I said what I meant to say."
"Don't worry I understand, it's cool. I am just a Hufflepuff girl."
"Nat. Look you'll never be just anything. When all is said and done you're still my best friend and you know why? Because you make me laugh. Because of your evil sarcasm. Because you're always there when I need you. Because you're completely daft. Because no one else can make squeezing booba tubas into a game. Because we can have conversations without actually having to say anything."
"Thanks Charlie." Natalie managed a small smile at Charlie who was looking at her with concern. "Let's just forget about the whole thing, hey? We could say what was said in the cave stays in the cave." Natalie's voice only croaked a little with the tears she held back (a mixture of disappointment, embarrassment and pleasure at what Charlie was saying)
"Well I did start to worry what I was going to tell Sam, he'd want to know exactly what happened in the cave."
"Why?" Natalie asked distracted by the sudden change in conversation
"Oh he has a crush on you, nothing major."
"Oh no! He hasn't!" Natalie exclaimed shocked. "You shouldn't have told me! Now I'm going to act differently around him!"
"You know it wouldn't have worked out, us being together anyway, we would have driven each other mad instantly. Like that time we got stuck in that Zonko's finger cuff thing." Natalie did remember. They'd had their index fingers stuck together during the Christmas holidays two years previously. It took two days before they had overcome their embarrassment and taken their predicament to Professor Sprout. They had nearly ended their friendship then and there.
"I'll have to tell myself that a few times but yeah I know you're right." Natalie gave another small smile. "Maybe I'll be able to sleep now." She said getting up. Charlie got up too with a groan of effort. They headed to the two adjacent doors on the right of the room which led to their respective dormitories.
"You're house isn't the most defining part of you anyway, Hufflepuff girl." Charlie said as they reached the doors
"Oh yeah what is?" Natalie asked wearily, the late night finally catching up with her. She stifled a yawn.
"Your huge bum!"
Natalie told him where he should go, rather rudely.
