At the Moment

A HariPo fanfic

by mew-tsubaki

Note: J.K. Rowling's characters are in another companion story to my fics To the Future, From the Past, and In the Present. As usual, there are O.C.s, but duh, because Charlie's with an O.C. Anywho, please enjoy the story and let me know what you think of it in a review. BTW: I don't know how many chapters this'll last, but it will be shorter than the companion stories.

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The Ninth Hint

A surprise awaited Charlie the next morning in the form of Remus. The Weasley brother had just finished cleaning up his hut after venting to Laurel about the discovery of Ginny and Sirius. …Yeah. Some things were broken.

He saw Remus waiting for him on the crest of the hill overlooking Charlie's hut and the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The Creatures teacher jogged up to meet the D.A.D.A. professor. "What's up?" he asked.

Remus gave him a strained smile. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind switching seats with me at the staff table."

Charlie blinked, but then he remembered that that bastard Black was on one of his sides. The redhead grimaced. "Go right ahead, Remus." He looked at the werewolf. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm not, really. Thank you, Charlie," Remus muttered, and he turned and went on to breakfast without him.

It gave Charlie some time to think, though. An instinct had basically confirmed last night that there was something between Miraphina and him. He both loved it and disliked it. If this was something good, it couldn't have come at a worse time. If this was merely a distraction, it couldn't have come at a worse time. It was a lose-lose situation.

Especially with Laur biting my head off all the time, he thought as he sat down in the Great Hall to eat breakfast. Yes, Laurel had listened to him rant that morning about Ginny and Sirius and she had watched him throw a few things, but she hadn't been very comforting during the whole scenario. And that was exactly what Charlie needed right now.

That and a clear definition of Miraphina. He finished his meal and went to leave when something else tempted him. He left the Great Hall by way of the path near Sirius, not resisting the urge to shove the teacher right as he went to bite into his eggs. Black had most certainly chomped down on his tongue, and Charlie smirked.

"What?!" Sirius spat at him.

Charlie glared at the Animagus. "You're despicable."

The other wizard calmed down. "I'm not one to force people, Charles. Ginny did hate me for a time." He studied the Weasley boy for a minute. "You haven't told anyone," he gathered.

"You forgot to add 'yet' to the end of your sentence, Black," Charlie shot back, heat dusting his cheeks a pale pink. He didn't like Sirius pointing that out. "Besides, it may be that Mum and Dad noticed her one-eighty in attitude towards you." Fury radiated off him as he pointed a finger at Sirius. "There won't be anything left to yip about for long, you mutt." Charlie turned, not bothering to keep his long robe sleeve from smacking Sirius in the face, and exited the Great Hall.

Okay, so maybe that was what Charlie needed right now.

As the Creatures professor made his way back outside, his mind unwillingly drifted back to Miraphina. He cursed that he couldn't stop thinking about her since yesterday's class. Okay, well, I haven't really stopped thinking about her since I've been talking with her so much. But those times had been during class. With the exception of yesterday when he had approached her with an offer of friendship, he had always talked formally with her.

Maybe that's it, he pondered, a plan quickly formulating in his mind. Maybe if I get to know her outside of all things formal, then maybe I'll be able to define what it is between us. Maybe I'll figure out that it's nothing at all, that I'm just being lead by hormones.

Of course, as he thought the last bit, he felt he would discover something else entirely.

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Miraphina was glad to be back on good terms with Ginny. Apparently, Ginny's close friend Tonks, Professor Lupin's wife, had suffered a terrible double miscarriage last night, and Ginny had needed Mira this morning. Ginny hated seeing any of her friends hurt.

The Hufflepuff could only agree wholeheartedly with her. Friends and loved ones in danger –nobody wanted that. They all wanted to be safe, to be protected, to be loved. And then Mira's mind wandered momentarily to Charlie, that nagging beast inside her craving his safety, his protection, his love. It screamed at her that she already had it, she and Charlie just hadn't known or acknowledged it yet.

Mira ignored that beast as she and Ginny headed to Divination.

Trelawney cleared her throat. "Now, class, we've been working with simple interpretations and slogging our way through the medium ones, but I think you're now at a ready enough level for the tough ones." She tossed some rune stones on her table and peered at them through her large glasses. A strange noise escaped her. "With the harder ones, you have to look for hidden meanings. Look for those and even the most puzzling of predictions will present themselves as clear as glass."

The oddball of a woman turned around, waved her wand, and scrawled something on the board.

"When in doubt, substitute words. Yes, you have to be careful since you might come up with just about anything, but it's somewhat of a sure-fire way to read the rune stones. For example, a number might mean someone's age, birthday… Maybe even what number child they are in their family. A flower might suggest someone's name or what they'll be attacked by." She obviously didn't hear the snickers as she blathered on: "A color might exist to describe a person's physical attributes, like their hair, skin, or eye color." There was a clatter in the middle row. "Are you quite all right, Miss Weasley?"

Ginny picked her textbook and notes off the floor and resituated herself at her table with Mira, who stared at her with curiosity. "O-Oh, yes. I'm fine, professor."

Trelawney blinked mysteriously, and then continued her lecture. "An animal, like a dog, might also describe someone's physical characteristics…"

Ginny acted strange throughout the rest of the class, but she didn't say anything, no matter how hard Mira bothered her. It got to the point that Mira was showing a level of persistence she hadn't known she possessed.

"Goddammit, spill, Ginny!!" Miraphina hounded her after the bell rang and they headed for lunch in the Great Hall. "I would hope that you learned from last time that it might favor you if I know what's going on in that head of yours," she hissed, meaning her and Charlie's discovery of Ginny and Professor Black. But when Ginny didn't respond, Miraphina huffed. "Bollocks!!"

"Aren't ladies supposed to watch their language?" Raven threw at Mira when the gang had settled for the meal.

"Seeing as you aren't one, I don't see how it should concern you," Mira retorted. She stuck her tongue out as an afterthought.

Meanwhile, Ginny was engrossed in her Divination notes. Mavrick furrowed his brow. "Ginny, you've been acting weird lately."

"Don't you mean she's just being herself?" Raven offered. "She's always weird."

Mav rolled his eyes and ignored his girlfriend's comment.

The redhead, however, was busy scribbling the words on a piece of scrap paper. Her eyes roved over each and every word. "Hey, guys."

Raven mock-gasped. "She speaks!!"

Ginny ignored her. "What color would you say mist is?"

"White," Mavrick answered.

"Isn't it kind of silver?" Mira inquired.

The Quidditch captain shook her head. "Mist is water vapor, so it takes on the color of its background. Typically, it comes with fog, so one might say that it's a cool gray."

Mira pouted. "Silver is gray."

"No, it's not!" Raven glared at her, and Mira had to wonder if Raven argued with her all the time if just for the sake of arguing.

"And flames?" Ginny asked.

This time, there was no dispute. Mav, Rave, and Mira all said it in unison: "Orange."

The redheaded witch covered her mouth with her hand, appearing very queasy. She read over her words again and again.

Nigel peered over her shoulder. "What's that you have written there?" he asked.

She hurriedly covered her script, all eyes on her. She looked up –and locked eyes with Reaves. Miraphina saw his mouth parted slightly as if he wanted to say something, but Ginny tore her eyes from his when Mira spoke to her.

"Ginny, you look-"

"I'll see you guys later," she spluttered, not stopping to notice that her words had almost come out as one. She stuffed her things into her rucksack and sped out of the Great Hall, taking little care to not bump into others.

A heavy sickness settled in the pit of Mira's stomach. Barely three months ago, she had watched her boyfriend do the same thing. It hurt that Ginny did not talk, not tell them what shook her so. Mira could feel history repeating itself all over again.

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When Mira didn't see Ginny for the rest of the day, she feared history really was repeating itself again. This time, however, it wasn't the same thing. Around supper, Miraphina saw Ginny drift past the Great Hall in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.

The brunette witch released a sigh she didn't realize she'd been withholding. Is Fate always going to keep me hanging by a thread?

"Miraphina."

Mira jumped at his voice. It wasn't just his voice saying her name, but him saying her first name with others around. She turned. All she could do was lock eyes with Charlie.

He laughed. "Everything all right?"

She tilted her head, feeling like someone was playing a joke on her. She pushed him around and out of the way where students and faculty could neither see them nor hear them. "What are you doing?"

"I was going to say 'hi'," he said slowly.

"You called me 'Miraphina'," she pointed out.

"Do you prefer 'Mira'?"

"I-" Mira paused. Was he playing games with her? "I thought we could only be friends when you said so."

"It's not a switch you flip on or off, Mira. Friends are friends."

She read his blue eyes. "You need a friend tonight."

His jaw clenched at her forthrightness, but he didn't deny it. "…Maybe," he admitted after a second, glancing away from her.

"Because of Ginny," she supplied with a sympathetic look.

Charlie sighed. "She's trouble, you know."

Mira chuckled. "I know." She looked through her bag. "You know, I have a book to return to the library." She locked eyes with him, hoping he understood. "Walk me there?"

A mix of emotions flitted across his face, but he nodded and they went upstairs. He vented in bits and pieces. "I can't believe she's with Black."

"I won't say I get it myself," Mira commented. "But I talked with her at length this morning. She really loves Sirius, and she hates that you found out the way you did."

"You gasped."

"Don't pin this on me," she said teasingly, but he didn't look like he was in quite the joking mood. She stopped him with a hand on his chest when they were outside the library. "Charlie," she began softly, savoring the taste of his name on her tongue, "love happens. You can't control it. You can't truly pick who you fall for, what their history is, or how old they are. If it's right, if it's meant to be, then the two meet. At least, that's what I've always believed," she finished with a sad smile, her thoughts drifting back to Grant for a second.

"Mira… I'm sorry," he apologized. "I should've known you'd think of Selwyn." He hugged her when her eyes got glassy. "Just promise me you won't cry."

She tried to remember how to breathe, but at this close proximity, nothing but him was in her grasp. "T-Then promise me you'll shower. I mean, pew!" she managed to joke in an effort to change the subject.

Charlie laughed. "Yeah, yeah… You don't mind bear hugs, I can feel it." He shut up then, and she was sure he understood the different meanings in those words.

Miraphina looked up at him, no sign of oncoming tears. Those thoughts were curiously long-forgotten with his arms around her. "Um, my books…"

He let her go then and they entered the library. She returned the book to Madam Pince and took a seat by a back window, Charlie of course joining her. They talked endlessly until Madam Pince kicked them out, but Mira knew that she hadn't minded missing dinner to hang out with Charlie.

And when he gave her his most charming smile, she was pretty sure he hadn't felt very hungry either.

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If you've read To the Future, then you know what's coming with Ginny. If not, then go to chapter 19 of that story to see where Ginny ran off to –I'll warn you, though, there's an explosion of sorts.

Anyway, CHARLIE!!! God, I can't get over writing Charlie, especially when he seems to sparkle around Mira and vice versa. And just wait for what happens in 10!

I'll see you in the slightly shorter chappie 10, but for now you should review!

Thank you!!!

-mew-tsubaki