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 Fifth Insinuation (& the Fourteenth Hint)

"I c-can't believe exams a-are t-two w-weeks from now," Miraphina mentioned to Ginny during Divination two days later. "I-I mean, I was a first year not that long ago! How can I b-be a…seventh year?!!" It was weird how that train of thought had returned, but everyone was already trading notes and practicing questions for finals, O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. Mira was just sucked back into the fact that the end of the year was rapidly approaching.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Exams are going to be a piece of cake compared to everything else in my life right now."

Mira calmed down some, placing her attention on her best friend's worries. "How's Reaves been acting?"

The redhead blushed and cupped her mouth in her hand. "Nothing much has changed," she mumbled. "But he's been there for me more like a l…" She buried her head in her arms, too embarrassed to finish the sentence.

Mira's eyes widened. "Like a lover?!" she whispered giddily. "Ooh, how romantic!!"

Ginny bashfully grimaced. "Yes, more like a lover than the guardian angel he had been. Merlin, why does he have to like me?"

"Like? Just how thick is that skull of yours? The way he's been your silent protector –he loves you, Ginny!! Oh, she grew up so fast!" the Hufflepuff teased.

"That's not possible!" Ginny managed without stuttering. "Well, I guess it's possible, but –but illogical! There! It's illogical!!"

"You just can't come to terms with it," Mira corrected, shaking her head.

"Yup." Ginny stared out the window. "Men are like Divination, Mira. You try so hard to figure them out, once you think you've got it, you're screwed. …Erm, not literally. Okay, sometimes, but…"

Miraphina shook her head; she was doing her best to not let her imagination run wild, but she was undressing Charlie with her mind's eye. Think of all the tattoos I haven't yet seen… She came back to her conversation with Ginny. "This weekend's the last Hogwarts trip to Hogsmead. Are you going to patch things up with Sirius, or have a romantic date with Sturgy-boy?"

"I can't even get close enough to Sirius to patch things up with him." The redhead heaved a sigh.

"Sounds like an excuse in favor of Sturge, if you ask me," Mira teased.

"I didn't."

Professor Trelawney sauntered up to them and peered at their scattered set of rune stones. "Hmm… The serpent and the crown… That's interesting. The snake will usurp his father and take his place."

The brunette sniffed. Trelawney was a load of bull…except for the whole Charlie thing. Mira pushed that from the front of her mind. "Yes, I'll let any snake I see know that 'now's the time'." Trelawney walked away and Mira frowned. "A snake will overthrow his da? What kind of nonsense is that?" She looked at Ginny. "You all right, Ginny?"

Ginny had visibly paled. "Yeah…"

The bell rang and the room was filled with chatter. Ginny and Mira made their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts and settled in the back of the room. Their classmates filed in and everyone took out their books, since most of what Professor Lupin gave them was textwork.

"But what if Sturgis asks you out for the trip?" Mira asked, returning to their original subject. "I wonder what you should wear…"

"Stop saying that I'm going on a date with Reaves!!" Ginny hissed. She slapped her own cheeks to get her mind off something; Mira wondered if Ginny was thinking about that date despite all her qualms.

A new voice joined the conversation. "I'm sorry. Did you say Sturgis is in love with you?"

Ginny started. "No one said that, Raven."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Then why has he been smiling lately?"

She gulped. "Um…new broomstick?"

"Uh-huh." Raven turned to Miraphina. "What do you have in mind for outfits? I know his favorite color's baby blue."

Mira agreed with Raven for once. "Maybe a cute short-sleeved blouse and a blue skirt? Or maybe… Hmmn… We need to be careful so it doesn't clash with her hair."

Raven nodded vigorously. "Definitely. We'll go light on the makeup, too. A bit of bluish-silver day shadow, a dab of brown mascara, a bit of lippy, and she'll be set."

"But hair up or down? Maybe down. Y'know, all the better to grasp –OUCH!!" Mira glared at Ginny. "I thought you're not going out with him, so why should you care whether or not we're talking clothes and makeup?"

"Class is starting, you idiots!" Ginny told them, and the three girls faced forward.

Professor Lupin gave them a few pages to read with an accompanying worksheet. Mira couldn't concentrate, though. Her mind was full of possible outfits for Ginny's date. Date in Hogsmeade, date, date… Soon Mira was imagining herself on a date in Hogsmeade, running with her arms around one of Charlie's. The air was blowing through their hair and she ran her hand through his short tresses, bringing him down for a deep kiss… She sighed happily. Maybe they couldn't go to Hogsmeade, but Mira wanted to make that small fantasy come true.

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When her first break came, Mira went to the library. The table she typically sat at with Charlie wasn't vacant, much to her dismay, so she set up at a carrel near the corner window. She went to work organizing the many sketches of the rune-stone designs for Divination. Mira was quite lost in her work when someone cleared their throat. It was a deep, familiar voice that spoke.

"Good afternoon, Miss Atherton," Charlie said with a smile. He leaned on the carrel shelf with an elbow and watched her.

Miraphina locked eyes with him, but she was a little more ready for his public approach this time. She slowly put her quill down and sprinkled some sand on her fresh notes. Only then did open her mouth. "Hello, Professor Weasley," she returned with a light and airy grin.

"I see you're working on that assignment I gave you," he stated, looking at her paper.

"But you-" she cut in, wondering why he was so thoroughly confused as it wasn't Care for Magical Creatures work at all.

"You've got that part wrong, though," Charlie continued. He plucked her quill and jotted down a few words on a clean sheet she had set up beside her notes: Talk on your paper? With people around…

Mira nodded. "I see what you mean, professor." She took out another quill, dipped it in the ink, and wrote: Not a bad idea.

Everything ok? You look tired, he scribbled.

Things are just…interesting, the brunette scrawled next. What brings you around?

I think you're aware of what awaits everyone this weekend.

You mean the end-of-the-year Hogsmeade trip? What about it?

Welllll……. Charlie flicked his eyes back to hers for a brief moment. Maybe you should take a break and enjoy yourself a bit.

Are you asking me out? On a date?

He smiled when she quirked an eyebrow. If you want to call it that, then I, of course, have no objections, he wrote.

Mira teasingly tapped a finger to her chin. I'll have to think about it…

Charlie's face showed a little despair. That's cruel, and you know it.

Why, yes, I would love to be with you on that day! She dotted the exclamation point with a heart and smirked, loving how his cheeks reddened.

"So there you have it," he said aloud. "Good to know you understand."

"Yes, thank you for bringing that particular thing to my attention," Mira said, nodding vigorously. His blush was so cute, she had a hard time not bursting out laughing. "See you, professor."

"See you, Miss Atherton."

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When Charlie returned to his hut, Laurel was there.

"What is it this time?" he asked as he walked past her into his living quarters. He tossed his cloak on his bed and reached to his long ponytail and stopped. He had forgotten that he had cast an Illusion Charm on his hair, since the real strands had been cut off and fashioned into a bracelet for Mira. She had actually been the one to suggest it, so as to not raise suspicion. Laurel still didn't know about it, even.

But Laurel was not angry today. "Something's been bothering me," she said. She sat down at the table and crossed her arms, staring at the floor.

"Don't most things bother you these days?" he asked. He stopped when he realized that had been more snarky than he had intended. But he was usually this way when Laurel dampened his good mood after being with Mira.

Laurel ignored his comment. "Ginevra came to talk to me last period."

Charlie looked at the witch then. "About what?"

"This and that… Many things are troubling her, plenty surrounding Sirius Black-"

Charlie scoffed.

"-and her mate, Grant Selwyn."

The Weasley brother sat down across from Laurel. "She shouldn't worry so much. I told her that he had family business to see to at home. He'll be back. Though it's been a few months, he'll be back."

"But she has a bad feeling about all of this, and she has reason to believe-"

"Laurel," Charlie interrupted, "Ginny's a teenager. She's going to worry over every little thing at this point in her life. You shouldn't let her anxiety reach out and grab a hold of you, as well."

The woman stood. "Wrong, Charles. She's an adult, and when she cries for help, I'll stand on the sideline, telling you that I was right." Without another word, she left, and Charlie frowned.

Things would look better this weekend. Selwyn didn't matter, Ginny's foolishness didn't matter, and Laurel didn't matter. All that did was Mir.

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OK! Next chappie is the date, but then the plot thickens with 16 and so on, so you may hate me for those ones…but I know you love this story!

Please review!! And see you in 15!

-mew-tsubaki