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Enjoy.
The Hell of Fourth Year.
Charlotte cursed the butterflies in her stomach; even with the calming drought she'd taken it was certain in her mind no simple potion was going to just erase the nervousness she was feeling. In the two weeks since she'd been invited to the Yule Ball by Cedric Diggory, Charlotte had tried to return to a simple routine, but she was lost trying to figure out the best way to do everything. She had caught herself daydreaming to herself what dress to wear and what Cedric would be wearing before she shook herself out of her daydream.
But still, it had been embarrassing enough that more than once since Cedric had asked her out, Salazar or one of the other Founders had knocked her on her backside during training when she should have been concentrating. Fortunately the Founders had been understanding to a degree although Slytherin found ways of tormenting her with mocking questions and quips which drove her spare. Still she would prefer Slytherin's quips to Snape's snide comments and remarks.
Her daydreaming had been so bad all the planned burglaries she'd prepared had been put on hold until the Yule Ball was over. But Charlotte was truly looking forward to it.
She had never really gone out dating before (those escapades in Muggle London didn't count; they were mostly for sex more than anything else, well that and information as well as for her own pleasure and she had never considered those one-night stands to be dates, nor had she considered those nights where she'd gone to nightclubs to be dates either) and since she was going with a gorgeous guy, Charlotte wanted to look her best.
She had been so determined nothing ruin this night, she'd asked the Founders (costing her some of her pride as well) to help her learn how to dance.
Fortunately, the Founders had been amused and they had taken time out to help teach her how to dance. Charlotte had actually rather enjoyed the dancing lessons much to her surprise since she had never really considered herself to be the dancing type, although she guessed that was because when she was growing up she had been more interested in committing crimes.
She blew out a slow breath as the designers and stylists she'd hired with the basilisk money bustled around her, fussing over her while she fixed her glasses. She had decided to forego her sunglasses and instead she was wearing a pair of ordinary-looking lenses which were tinted. The glasses created an illusion which made people think she was an ordinary girl with two eyes, but once the glasses were off, the illusion was broken. Charlotte had wanted Cedric to see her completely, and while it was an illusion she had to give Rowena and Salazar credit with their spellwork.
But she also had to give the designers and stylists credit, they had really poured out their hearts and their souls into making her stand out. The moment she had thought about what she'd wanted to wear, Charlotte had made it very clear she didn't want to wear anything affiliated with Hogwarts. That meant no red, green, yellow, or dark blue.
Charlotte was wearing a royal purple shoulderless evening gown which didn't touch the floor with slits at the sides that stopped at the thighs which allowed her to walk freely, on her feet were a pair of high-heeled shoes which were charmed to be comfortable and wouldn't let her trip up her own feet. As she looked at her reflection, Charlotte had to admit she looked good; unlike her former housemates Lavender and Parvati, she had never really been interested in cosmetics although she knew how to apply nail varnish, lipstick and lipgloss, eyeshadow and mascara etc, but it hadn't been her life. She just knew enough to look good, that was it.
In any case, the work of the stylists was of far better quality than anything those gossip loving idiot could ever have dreamt of and the best thing was her makeup was simple rather than overly heavy.
Her skin was soft and luckily the dress covered up what few injuries the Founders had yet to fully purge from her body, and carried the scent of roses around her. It wasn't an overpowering scent, but soothing, subtle one. Her lips were a deep scarlet in colour, with her eyeshadow a dark silver. Her short hair had been styled as best as it could considering its length, but the stylists had done their best with what they had to work with and she was pleased with it since her hair looked well combed. What Charlotte liked the most about her appearance was the collection of jewels in her hair, with a necklace of emeralds and diamonds coiled around her throat. In her ears were a pair of silver studs with gleaming diamonds in them.
When they were finished with their work, the stylists and the designers had nearly wept for joy at how she looked. As she looked at herself looking so different from how she normally looked, Charlotte promised herself to give these wonderful people a bonus. A really big bonus; she knew they were just doing their jobs, but they had poured their hearts and their souls into their work, and she had every intention of repaying them.
"Showtime," she whispered to herself, taking a deep breath.
"You look beautiful."
Charlotte turned and smiled at the portraits of the Founders. "Do I?" she asked bashfully.
She wasn't blind, she knew she had inherited her good looks from her parents, but unlike other girls her age, Charlotte had never truly been bothered by her appearance even though she often used her beauty as a tool while at the same time dressing provocatively to get what she wanted. But this was a special occasion for her.
"Of course you dear, Charlotte," Helga said affronted, clearly unable to fathom why she wouldn't believe it herself.
"Charlotte," Salazar began seriously, "don't let your past or your concerns burden you for one night. You get to be beautiful for this one night, let yourself go."
"He's right," Rowena nodded in a serious manner herself. "You are going with a wonderful young man-."
"He should be, he's one of the few decent badgers Hogwarts has seen for a long time," Helga interrupted, although her sad face made it clear what she really thought of the fact Hogwarts had become so stagnant the values of each of the Houses had been rotting for so long that it was virtually impossible for rare gems to crop up to shine from time to time, but Helga's feelings were shared by the others.
"As I was saying," Rowena went on, although her sad tone reflected just how the Ravenclaw Founder felt at what her Hufflepuff counterpart had just brought up, "you are going with a wonderful young man, and not one of those idiots who've hounded you."
"She means you won't be going with a boy who's actually a worthless piece of trash," Slytherin added helpfully, ignoring Ravenclaws' scathing masterful glare. "Enjoy yourself, but if anyone tries anything, don't hesitate to make them regret it."
Charlotte snorted. "As if I would." She became shy. "Well, I'd better be going."
Just as Dobby was taking her to Hogwarts, Charlotte could swear blind she heard the female Founders swoon. "How romantic!" Helga giggled, making her male counterparts roll their eyes.
Charlotte giggled herself.
XXX
Arriving at Hogwarts, Charlotte could definitely pick up on the vibe of the place. There was certainly something special about this evening, and she could already hear the sounds of music from inside that reminded her of pop music of a sort.
"Thanks, Dobby," Charlotte whispered to the House-elf. "I'll call you if I need you for anything."
"Yes, miss," Dobby said, gazing at her in awe. "You looks so pretty, Missy Char!"
Charlotte giggled at the House elf. "Thanks, Dobby."
The House elf gently took hold of her dress, careful not to crease it. "You's be having a good time," he said sternly before he disappeared, leaving a bemused Charlotte behind.
She shook her head after a moment before she headed for the castle. "I swear that guy has an attitude, but I love him and Winky anyway," she said as she walked through the castle, taking a deep breath with each step, noticing the portraits and the ghosts which she came across did the double-take at the sight of her. Even Peeves was surprised, but Charlotte flicked one of her wands into place and rolled it around in her hands, smiling malevolently at the poltergeist.
"Ruin my dress and my night, and not even the Bloody Baron, or that stupid monk ghost who keeps staying you should be given a second chance can save you when I use the most painful exorcism curse I know on you, Peeves. You will be erased from existence slowly…and painfully," she threatened, "now get lost!"
The poltergeist instantly darted away when he noticed the tip of the wand flare an angry red in colour, wailing in fear. Charlotte blew out a breath, and she carried on her way. It didn't take her long before she came across a few of the students, and they gasped in shock at the sight of her. Some of them rushed off to find their friends to let them know Charlotte Potter was in the castle.
Charlotte didn't concern herself with them, she just walked with her head held high while she approached the doors to the Hall where the Ball would be held. Once she came to the doors she stood and waited for Cedric's arrival, hoping that by being there she would finally get rid of the butterflies in her stomach while she prayed this particular night wouldn't be a disaster.
As she waited, a flash of movement caught her attention. She looked around and she stiffened slightly when she saw Malfoy and Parkinson approaching, both of them slowing down in their walk as they saw her. Parkinson opened her mouth to say something, but Charlotte's wand snapped into her hand and she levelled it at them both.
"Don't. I want a nice evening tonight; ruin it, and let's just say you won't have time to regret it," she warned.
Malfoy snapped into attention, and quickly pulled his date as far from Charlotte as he could.
Charlotte took a deep breath and she put her wand away and settled back to wait.
Finally she spotted Cedric appearing. He was wearing black dress robes with a matching bow tie with a white shirt with the lapels flecked in silver and gold. Charlotte smiled when she saw him, and her smile widened when she saw the look of awe on his face. "Hello, Cedric," she smiled.
"Charlotte…you look…amazing," he replied in awe.
Charlotte ducked her head happily, and then she saw a look of sudden confusion on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.
"Your eye, it's back."
Charlotte sighed. "No, I'm afraid not," she said, realising she should have expected this. "The glasses show an illusion of my eye, but take them off and you'll see the truth."
"Oh," Cedric looked apologetic and awkward at the same time at the topic he'd just brought up. "I'm sorry."
Charlotte smiled at him as best as she could, seeing into his mind that he meant what he had said. "No, don't be. I should have realised it would be brought up."
Still awkward Cedric reached behind him and he brought out a rose which he slipped into Charlotte's hair. Charlotte looked at it in wide-eyed surprise. "Sweet," she whispered, surprised since she hadn't expected Cedric to do that.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Cedric grinned at her. "I have a beautiful girl, its good show to let her know how good I am." He mock sniffed haughtily, but the humour in his eyes made her roll her eyes at him.
At the same time, she could see into his mind and she could see he was happy that she wasn't acting insane like Cho was. The thought of Cho Chang made Charlotte inwardly cringe. Apparently the Chinese witch had shown Cedric what her true colours were and he didn't like the thought he had been dating a bully. What made it worse was Cho had been annoyed when she had heard from rumours that Cedric had met and hugged her in the corridors shortly before Charlotte's eye was slashed.
"Well, you are good," Charlotte lifted her nose in mock haughty fashion herself. "Perfect for a lady like myself."
Cedric chuckled. "Oh, that was very good," he said before he held out his arm, which she gladly took.
Charlotte and Cedric met the other Champions and their own dates were gathered, and her appearance. No-one could say anything about her, since they looked like a terrific couple.
Fleur was wearing a flowing silver dress which glittered in the light as though it were covered in small diamonds. Her hair and face were styled and made up, and her hair was shining like silvery gold. Standing next to her, enthralled by her beauty if his expression was anything to go by, was the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, Roger Davies. He was dressed in a similar manner to Cedric only his shirt was blue.
Viktor was stiff as usual in his uniform with a flowing fur cloak, and his date was, to Charlotte's surprise, Hermione Granger. She had definitely done something to her hair, making it slicked and neat and shining and she'd tied it into an elegant-looking knot. She was wearing a periwinkle-blue dress with pearl white shoes. Charlotte looked into the eyes of the girl who'd been made to spy on her by Dumbledore, and she turned her face away, refusing to even look at the girl, especially since she could see Hermione clearly having many questions but it was clear she knew better than to ask them. She could see that Charlotte had no intention of answering anything she had to ask, and she held her tongue. She knew better than to push Charlotte; she had tolerated her questions for the most part before this whole mess, but more than once Hermione had seen for herself Charlotte could only be pushed so far before she lost her temper.
In the meantime, the other Champions looked at her open-mouthed, but Charlotte received an admiring look from Viktor while Fleur was content to pull herself together., but whatever they were thinking Charlotte didn't know and frankly didn't give a damn.
Professor McGonagall appeared wearing dress robes of deep red and gold - Gryffindor colours - somehow they didn't suit her. She paused when she saw Charlotte and Cedric, but she looked away with a resigned look on her face. She managed to pull herself together and she looked around the Champions. "Are you all ready?" she asked.
Everyone nodded.
"Good. I will call your names," McGonagall said, and raising her wand to her throat she called, "Introducing our Champions, Viktor Krum and Hermione Granger. Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies….Cedric Diggory and Charlotte Potter."
As each date walked into the Hall which was richly decorated for the occasion with a podium for the band - Charlotte quickly realised they were the Weird Sisters, who seemed to be the only pop band in the magical world - but she turned her attention to the crowd, and saw some of them were a little surprised two Champions were dating for tonight.
XXX
Charlotte enjoyed the First dance, especially since it put her dancing training to good use. As the Champions danced, more and more people came out onto the dance floor.
But as she looked at the other Champions, she saw Roger needing to be forcibly pushed towards Hermione while Krum went with Fleur. "Do you want to switch to other partners?" she asked Cedric.
Cedric shrugged. "I don't mind, but do you really want to dance with someone else? I mean, none of the other Champions have treated you right, and the same with the rest of the schools?"
Charlotte scrunched her face up in distaste. "Not really, but if you want to, I don't mind."
Cedric shook his head. "Nah, I don't," he said coming to a snap decision. "I will stay with you."
He gave a crooked smile.
Charlotte gave a bit of a giggle. "You're gonna make dozens of girls swoon if you keep grinning like that."
"Do you like it?"
"I do," she smiled. "It's a lovely smile."
"So is yours. Speaking of me having girls swooning, you should see the looks you are getting. You look amazing."
"Thanks. I wanted to look my best; I may not agree with the whole thing, and I like the events surrounding the choosing even less," she looked away for a moment as she recalled what happened as soon as she was away from the other Champions, how disowning Gryffindor, and lastly the bullying she'd had to cope with, but she quickly pulled herself together, "but that doesn't mean I can't try to enjoy myself," she finished with a smile.
Cedric chuckled. "You've blown everyone away. And this time you didn't need to use your wand."
"Ah, yeah," Charlotte looked sheepish. "Sorry if I scared you during the First Task."
"That's one way of putting it, but you were brilliant. You got me out of the way, and you didn't hurt me. I wasn't even annoyed when you went for those Hufflepuffs since they haven't acted like true 'puffs," Cedric replied before Charlotte looked away sheepishly although she wasn't sorry, not one little bit, about what she'd done during the Task. They danced in happy silence although they exchanged small talk occasionally before a loud yell bellowed close by before a pair of large hands roughly grabbed Charlotte's arm, threatening to tear her dress. "You're meant to be my date, not this stupid 'Puff!"
With that yell, all dancing in the Hall stopped. Everyone turned, surprised by what was happening while others were anticipating a drama. Meanwhile, the Weasleys present in the Hall and Hermione Granger were watching the proceedings in horror.
Charlotte swung around and looked into the angry face of Ron Weasley. "Let go of me," she snarled while she held up a hand to Cedric to let him know she could handle this.
"No, you were promised to me-!"
"Promised, by Dumbledore? What gives him the right to interfere in our personal lives?" Charlotte shouted, but Weasley was pulling her away.
"We're gonna dance now, Charlotte. You are not going to look at this Hufflepuff duffer again-!" Weasley shouted, pulling her away.
"No chance!" Charlotte spat, punching Weasley in the face. The blow was strong enough to force Weasley off, and he was sent staggering off, but he recovered quickly, and before Charlotte could do anything, in a fit of rage, Weasley had punched her back with enough force to send her to the ground.
Charlotte let out a cry out of reflex as pain sparked off in her face, and she could feel hands that she knew belonged to Cedric trying to help her up, and she could hear the voices of the twins as well as McGonagall.
"You stupid arse, Ron!"
"Just because Dumbledore says something, doesn't mean you can just storm over and ruin someone's evening, you prick!" the other twin growled.
"That's enough you two!" McGonagall began. But she was in agreement with the twins. "You are going to be in detention for this, Mr Weasley. I don't care what the Headmaster says, or what you think you are entitled to do, but in this school this behaviour is unacceptable!"
Charlotte clenched her teeth angrily, annoyed the teacher was doing this job now. As she was getting up, she realised that she could only see with one eye instead of having the vision transmitted into her brain to give her the impression she had two eyes. Anger flared inside her, and she mentally focused on her animagus form to allow her to get up quickly, stunning her date. Snapping her wand into her hand she banished everyone away from Weasley, and she summoned an empty water goblet into her hand.
Everyone was silent as she advanced towards Weasley, and all of them backed away as the air crackled with magical energy as she began to lose her temper. "You fucking pig!" she hissed as she glared malevolently down at the redhead. "I warned you not to ruin my night, I made it very clear it would hurt. What will it take for everyone in this stupid school to leave me alone? I wanted a nice night with Cedric, what do you do? You ruin it for me, and for everyone else! If we were alone, you would be lucky to walk out of this hall alive!
"But don't worry, Weaselbee…I'm not going to kill you; I don't want to be arrested, although truthfully I wonder if many would truly care given how you are seen in the school. I've got something poetic in mind for you! Tell me….what are you afraid of?" A malicious malevolent sneer crossed Charlotte's face. "Oh, yeah…spiders!"
Weasley looked up at her in horror as his arachnophobia, and before he could say or do anything to stop her, Charlotte had flicked her wand already at him before she transfigured the glass she was holding in her hand into a small mirrored box. At the same time, she created a shield around herself to stop anyone from stupidly trying to stop her.
Weasley screamed as his body started transforming into that of a spider, and he watched as his arms elongated and stretched out in front of him while two more pairs of legs sprouted out of his body and his skin turned darker, while hairs sprouted over his body. Girls screamed while boys looked away as the gruesome transformation took place.
Percy Weasley stormed over to stop this, but Cedric got in the way and he poked his wand into the older Weasley's stomach. Percy was about to protest, threaten Cedric, but the look of anger on the Hufflepuff's face stopped him. "Don't. I don't want to hurt you, but if your damn family had any scruples, this wouldn't be happening!" Cedric snarled, furious his night had gone this way, and not really caring one little what Percy did although truthfully it was likely he wouldn't do much.
Dumbledore was taking a step forward to intervene as well before Professors Flitwick, McGonagall, and surprisingly Snape stopped him. "Don't interfere, Albus!" Flitwick whispered fiercely, his very expression reminding all onlookers what goblins were good at aside from accountancy.
"I don't like this any more than you do, but since you poked your nose into personal lives, what did you expect?" Minerva said quietly and angrily.
Surprisingly Snape wasn't on Dumbledore's side. He had been forced to see for himself during the First Task, and for the first time, he had seen the truth of what Pomfrey had been saying even though he had known but hadn't really witnessed Charlotte Potter in one of her berserker moments. But now, seeing it in the Task…Severus knew how lucky he was, and although he didn't realise it, his thoughts echoed Malfoy's.
Now all Snape wanted was to steer clear of not just this Potter, but all of them.
James Potter had been an arrogant braggart, a schoolyard bully.
His daughter…
She was something much worse.
She wasn't a bully. She was a monster if provoked. Truly you would need to be insane to want to cross her.
"You see, Headmaster, this is what happens when you encourage someone without any intelligence. Not only have you got it into Weasley's brain he and Charlotte are fated for each other," he sneered the word mockingly to show how pathetic he found it, "you've pretty much encouraged him to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants without caring about the consequences. What did you expect was going to happen, even I know Potter hates Weasley!"
Dumbledore was about to speak to showcase his views, but McGonagall pointed at the scene. "Look!"
Weasley was finished with his transformation, and he now appeared to be a giant spider but he was suddenly growing smaller and smaller and he was suddenly being pulled into the small mirrored box in Charlotte's hand. Once the youngest Weasley boy was inside, Charlotte looked around the hall, her single eye gazing angrily around the array of faces before she looked into the box. "You are gonna stay in that box until I say you can come out, and if your mother is really stupid enough to send me a Howler…Well, I won't be held responsible for what could happen, will, I? You'd better hope mummy won't help you, Weasley, otherwise you're gonna get a one-way trip down my toilet. Dobby!"
Immediately the House-elf appeared, startling Malfoy who recognised the elf as the one Charlotte had tricked his father into freeing.
Dobby was startled to have been summoned in public, but he looked dutifully up at Charlotte while Dumbledore was surprised that Charlotte Potter had a House elf in the first place. "Missy Char wants Dobby? What happened to your glasses?"
Charlotte knelt down and held out the box. "In this box is the wizard who almost ruined my evening, Dobby. I have transformed him into a spider. I want you to take him back to the house, put him in the top drawer of my desk. I was tempted to transform him into a mouse, a plaything for Nightstar; but I didn't want a mess even if it means his new fear would be cats rather than spiders."
No-one had ever seen a House-elf look as annoyed as Dobby, and for a moment they wondered if he would destroy the box, but he held up his hand and clicked his fingers, disappearing from view.
Charlotte stood up and she looked around for her glasses, and she flicked her wand out again and summoned it into her hands before she pushed them back onto her face, and the illusion was restored even though it was marred by the fact everyone had seen the truth.
She turned her head around the hall, seeing everyone looking at her. "Haven't you people got dancing to do?" she asked pointedly before she returned to Cedric hesitantly.
"I'm so sorry, Cedric," she apologised.
But he stopped her when he lifted her chin up gently. She was taken by surprise when she saw the understanding rather than revulsion in his eyes. "You've got nothing to apologise for," he whispered soothingly before he pulled her into a dance, and they resumed their night and they tried to both forget the altercation with Weasley.
But Cedric had something on his mind. "What was all that about anyway?"
"Dumbledore, for reasons which escape intellectual reasoning, told Weasley we were meant to be together and that I was his date, his girlfriend, and Merlin knows what else."
"What?" Cedric pulled back so he could stare at Charlotte with eyes full of disbelief. "But you hate Weasley. Everyone knows that; before the Tournament "
"No-one ever said Dumbledore was smart about the little details; he's intelligent and seen as one of the most powerful wizards on the Earth. I'm not denying that, nor would I. But so many of his decisions make little sense," Charlotte shook her head. "He talks about how muggle-borns should be treated as equal, yet he doesn't stop any of the more extreme students from bullying them. He targets students specifically for something, and he changes the environment so all students in the school assault them. It's almost like he's trying to create dark lords."
"What?" Cedric gasped.
"Yeah. Do you remember the Weighing of the Wands, how I lashed out at him?"
Cedric needed to remember for a moment. When he did he stared down at her in surprise. "You hinted some students had committed suicide," he reminded her. "That actually happened?"
Charlotte nodded, cursing Dumbledore and Weasley for ruining her night; she and Cedric should have been relaxing or something like that, not speaking about such a depressing topic. "Yeah. One girl did. She was singled out and transformed into a pariah. In the end, she committed suicide because she couldn't take it anymore."
She buried her head in Cedric's chest, making it clear she didn't want to discuss the matter anymore.
Cedric was more than happy to oblige. "I'm sorry," he whispered, hoping that his apology carried the fact he was sorry she had become one of the Headmaster's targets as well.
XXX
"There is no need to stop me from going over to her, Minerva," Dumbledore protested as he tried, and failed, to break out of the grip the Transfiguration mistress had on his hands.
That was of course the wrong thing to say since Minerva was now glaring at him. "Oh yes there is, Albus. I am trying to stop you from finishing what Mr Weasley finished earlier, to ruin this evening for everyone simply because he didn't get what he'd wanted."
Dumbledore sighed. He was aware that what he had said to Mr Weasley had blown up in his face now, especially since the youngest Weasley boy had embarrassed himself and even worse, although it hadn't been completely confirmed, everyone knew he had deliberately tried to push Weasley and Charlotte together.
Dumbledore had no idea what he was going to do about this, especially since Charlotte had made it clear she wouldn't tolerate anyone interfering in her life.
"I wasn't going to say anything to her, Minerva-," Albus tried to say, but the disbelieving snort made him glare in annoyance at the Transfiguration mistress. "I wasn't!"
"Oh, really? You weren't going to say anything to her? Why do I not believe you?" Minerva stared at him angrily. "Severus was right. You do encourage people without any intelligence, or common sense. You've practically given permission to Weasley he can say and do whatever he wishes where Charlotte is concerned, ignoring the fact she wants nothing to do with him. And now it's blown up spectacularly in your face, after what he did; he not only embarrassed himself, he embarrassed his family when he assaulted her. Doesn't he realise the danger in harming the heir or heiress of an old family? Just because Charlotte broke off the alliance, doesn't mean she's weak."
Dumbledore had to hide his inner delight at the thought of the alliance being fractured. He had been surprised when word had gotten out since the alliance affected businesses on top of everything else, surprised that Charlotte who was quite defiant at moments would go that far. But what surprised him the most was that Charlotte, who was quite defiant to him at the moment, would go through with one of his plans. It never occurred to him that if the Alliance had proven to be loyal to the last heiress of the Potter family, she would have been loyal in turn.
But his mind caught up with what Minerva had said.
He sighed wearily. "I doubt it," he whispered, inwardly furious and horrified by Ronald's treatment of Charlotte. That type of behaviour would be unthinkable between a loving couple.
Minerva coughed and he looked her in the eye. He inwardly sighed when he caught sight of her narrow-eyed expression. "When she returns him to his former self, I will make sure Mr Weasley understands it," she promised him in a dark way.
Dumbledore sighed. He knew he would need to distance himself from the Weasley family for a while for this.
"Albus, stop trying to control that girl. Stop meddling in her personal life; it is none of your business!"
XXX
In Charlotte's opinion, the evening had gone wonderful once she had managed to push what had happened with Weasley out of her mind for good. Unfortunately, someone else had tried to make it their goal to cause problems. After the first dance, Charlotte and Cedric had had dinner, and unfortunately for the pair of them, Percy Weasley had sat down as close as he could get. As soon as she and Cedric had sat down, Charlotte had waited for Percy to start on them both for what had happened with his brother.
She didn't have long to wait. As soon as they'd ordered their meals, Percy had started having a go, going on and on about rules and all that while Charlotte was composing a particularly long and compromising account for the media, along with the private threat to the media's chiefs she would withdraw funding if they pushed her, about what Ronald had done.
She was not going to care about the outcry to the Weasley family. She was sick and tired of people telling her how to live her life, who she was meant to date. It never ended, and it pissed her off all the time. After listening to Percy for about a few seconds, Charlotte had put a strong silencing charm on him, much to the relief of the other Champions as well as Cedric, although Charlotte had noticed Hermione look disapproving although she could tell the brunette was just as relieved, which meant her disapproval was just out of reflex.
After the formalities of the evening were done, the whole Hall transformed into something Charlotte had only seen in a nightclub. And she enjoyed dancing and laughing with Cedric.
When the evening was over, Charlotte was laughing with Cedric as they made their way to the garden. "That was fun!" he said.
"Yeah, it was," she gave him a dazzling smile. "Thanks for asking me to be your date. I'm sorry some of it was ruined thanks to Weasley-dum and Weasley-dee."
"You're welcome, but the brightest highlight of the night was going with you, but, er, Weasley-dum and Weasley-dee?" Cedric looked at her confused.
She smirked. "Muggle novel," she said shortly, promising herself to lend him a copy of Alice in Wonderland before her mood changed. "Anyway, I'd better be heading home, unless you'd like to come to, have something….to-to drink?" she stuttered uncertainly.
Inwardly Charlotte was killing herself. Here she was, a master thief, stuttering and uncertain about asking this handsome and amazing guy to her windmill for a drink or even more.
Cedric looked at her stunned, he hadn't expected this. He hadn't even thought that Charlotte was coming and going in and out of Hogwarts, but it made sense. At the same time, as he saw her uncertain posture as she waited for his reply, the gentleman in him responded although truthfully ever since this whole mess had begun, he had been growing more and more fascinated by Charlotte. In hindsight, he remembered her saying to that House elf she'd summoned earlier about a house. "I'd love to."
"You…you do?" Charlotte stammered before she shook her head. "Sorry, I'm not good at this. Erm, okay!"
She took a deep breath and then to Cedric's surprise she seemed to stiffen, taking in deep breaths as she did.
"Er, are you okay?"
"Hmm, oh, yeah, definitely. It's just there's a bug on your shoulder," Charlotte reached out and brushed a beetle off of Cedric's shoulder. "There, all gone. Dobby!"
The House elf appeared. "Missy Char called?" he bounced.
Cedric shot the flushing witch an amused look, which Charlotte studiously ignored. "Could you take us back to the House please, Dobby?"
As the House elf nodded and popped both her and Cedric to the windmill, neither Dobby nor Cedric heard or saw Charlotte squeeze the beetle in her hand.
A few minutes after they had left, Professor Snape was taking a walk in the garden. He breathed in the fresh highland air in relief, tired of the hormones and the sounds of the students in the Hall. As he walked through the gardens, he stopped when he heard the sound of someone groaning. Instinctively he pulled out his wand and lit it and advanced quietly while he pulled from his extensive repertoire of deadly curses a choice of some spells which were nasty but not dangerous enough to alert the idiots of the DMLE or Dumbledore.
Snape was so busy thinking through his list and looking out for whatever was causing that horrific breathing and panting that he almost tripped when his feet had caught something, and he went flying, and he lost his grip on his wand which clattered to the floor.
"Ooh," he groaned but he stiffened when he heard groaning coming from whatever it was he'd tripped upon. The tip of his wand was still glowing, so it was easy to find. He picked it up and stood up as quickly as he could, and he went back to whatever he'd tripped upon and he found himself looking at a familiar-looking woman.
Rita Skeeter was lying on the ground, and she looked terrible. At least that was what he'd thought at first. When he bent down and gently felt for a pulse, he needed a moment before he realised her heartbeat and breathing was slowing down. She was near death.
