*Thanks for sticking around for Chapter 2! I don't have match to say, the characters will do all the talking in this chapter. I hope you enjoy…*

Chapter 2-Things Left Said

Alazais had gotten very little sleep that night, but that wouldn't stop her from trying to have some fun. Charlie had managed to disturb her, but that would no longer stand. He was a good friend from old times, and so she should treat him as such. After sending an owl to Barnaby, she picked out a nice outfit, combed her hair, and even put some makeup on. She prepared her breakfast basket and headed over to Barnaby's hut.

The mellow jazz from last night had been replaced by some intense Balkan tunes, which she didn't find displeasing in the least, she thought as she made her way inside.

"Good morning!" Barnaby said, giving him his usual greeting hug.

"Morning!" Charlie greeted, reclining on an armchair.

"I see it didn't take you long to get yourself at home here." Alazais said, placing her basket on the table, and starting to transfer its contents to the plates.

"Good to see you too, girl…"

She half-smiled and not long after, the three of them were enjoying their breakfast. Charlie was content eating and casually speaking with them, but he had so many serious questions left unanswered by their catching-up. He noticed how Alazais only talked about her work in the previous years, and Barnaby was surprisingly discrete not to say or ask anything out of line. He figured those two must have chatted and bonded a lot before he arrived, because it wasn't in Barnaby's nature to gently tip-toe around subjects. Of course, death is no ordinary subject, so it was only reasonable not to bring it up in a breakfast table. Regardless, he wanted to know more. And he still wasn't certain if the two of them were dating again or not. He monitored their interactions closely but couldn't find any solid hints.

"How's Bill?" Alazais asked, wiping some custard from the corner of her lips. "I haven't gotten around to writing him in a while. Last I heard of him, he had just become a dad, so I figured he wouldn't have much time for pen-pals."

"Somehow he manages to have time for everything." Charlie replied, and thought that this turn in the discussion could possibly answer one of the questions he had. "The baby is doing just fine, they're going to call her Victoire."

"That's a nice name!" Barnaby exclaimed. "I've always liked French names, I think if I ever have a daughter I'll name her Paris." Alazais and Charlie laughed.

"Speaking of which," Charlie went on, "we have all always wondered why you didn't come to his wedding, Alazais."

She swallowed dryly. "I had a family emergency, of sorts."

"That serious, for you to miss the wedding of one of your closest friends and coworkers?!"

She side-eyed him. "Yes."

"Well, I hope at least everything turned out alright in the end, if it was that serious." Charlie shrugged.

Alazais banged her fists on the table, and growled through her teeth. "No it was not alright! I had a miscarriage, Charles. I was pregnant, I was going to announce it at the wedding, but I miscarried that very morning. Was that serious enough for you, to justify my absence from your festivities?!"

Charlie lowered his eyes to his plate. "I…I am sorry, I had no idea."

"Of course you didn't… But you still had to know, didn't you?"

"I was just curious, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad."

Alazais sighed. "Okay… It's…it's fine. It's been almost five years now, it's just not pleasant to take about these things."

"You know what is pleasant?" Barnaby said, joyfully changing the subject. "The Christmas Ball Alazais and I are about to chaperone!"

"Oh, look at you two!" Charlie forced a laugh. "Once you went at balls together, now you get to chaperone them together too! History repeats itself."

"Yes, well, only that now we're not bringing dates, we're just going to oversee the dance." Alazais explained.

"It's still going to be fun! Charlie, why don't you come as well, now that you're here?" Barnaby asked.

"You know what, I might come! Are we allowed to bring drinks?"

"No alcoholic drinks are allowed at the ball." Alazais replied. "But no one is going to check if you have a flask on you…"

"Gotcha." Charlie winked.

Not before long, their breakfast was over, and Alazais with Charlie made their way out of Barnaby's hut; he had an appointment with McGonagall. Alazais didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, but Charlie wouldn't leave what had happened so easily.

"Alazais, I truly am sorry for before."

"I know. It's fine."

"No, it's not fine. I never thought that was the reason. And Barnaby knew, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did. He knows a lot about me."

"Are you dating again?" He asked bluntly.

"No, we are not, but I fail to see how that's any of your business?"

"No, it's not. I just wish…I knew that much about you too."

Alazais stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. "It's been so many years, Charlie. Why? You didn't even send an owl after you left. Why now?"

"I…I've wanted it for many years actually, I just never got around to doing it, I guess. Alazais, I…care about you. Please give me a chance, for all we had been through together. Let's just talk, do a proper catch-up." He smiled warmly, and brought the back of his hand to her cheek, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face.

Alazais didn't know what to make of his unusually tender gesture, but something in the tone of his voice rendered her incapable of denying his request. "Fine, Charlie. Let's talk. Meet me by the lake after lunch, it's nice as the sun sets."

"Perfect! Thank you, I'll see you there!" Charlie said, quickening his step and almost running to McGonagall's office. He had no reason to hurry, but he felt like he should do the rest of the talking in the afternoon.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Charlie wrapped the thick scarf around his neck and made his way towards the lake. It was surprisingly nice outside for a December afternoon; no rain, no snow, no clouds. Just the usual cold and the sun about to set.

He saw the silhouette of Alazais in a long coat standing by the lake, staring at the horizon. Seizing the opportunity, he hugged her from behind, landing his head over her shoulder. "Hey, gorgeous."

She was taken aback by the sudden hug; the scent of burnt wood and green apples filled the air around her, as she turned around, breaking the hug. "Hello, Charlie." She said, and braced herself for the discussion about to commence.

"Thanks for meeting me, once again."

"No problem. Let us sit, then." She said, unfolding the blanket she was carrying, allowing them both to sit by the lake shore.

"So… how are you?"

"Now, or in general?" Alazais asked back, reclining back to her elbows.

"In general, I suppose."

"I'm not perfect, but I am better than I was this time last year. You heard, I suppose that Murphy passed away."

Charlie nodded. "I read it in the papers, and I am sorry. I miss him too, you know."

"Yes, I'm sure the amount you miss your old Quidditch buddy and commentator compares to how much I miss my spouse…"

"I didn't mean it like that… But hey. Spouse? Did you two tie the knot or something?"

"As a matter of fact, we did. 30th of December 1999. Exactly three months before he died."

"And why didn't I hear of that? Actually none of us knew you two got married."

"Yes, it was a very small wedding, just a few family members. Murphy had been getting sicker by that time, but he had proposed long before that, we just hadn't come around to planning it."

"To tell you the truth, I was always baffled as to how you two started dating. Do you want to share that story or is it too sad for you?"

"That story chapter isn't sad. It's the ending that is." Alazais sighed and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees, staring at the lake. "Murphy and I had always been good friends. He supported my Quidditch journey for many years, even after he graduated, and in fact, he actively tried to maintain our friendship, unlike others…"

"Touché."

"Anyhow, when I moved to London to work for Gringotts, he was the only one I knew, so we hang out a lot. He helped me find a place and settle and he was very, very supportive. Not to mention he was killing it at his work, so he was…a ray of sunshine those days. So…happy and alive. After some months, he asked me out on a date. I was very excited, because I had started having feelings for him, but I didn't know if they were mutual or not; you remember Murphy, he was hard to read at times, and always speaking with numbers. So, at the end of our date, and let me tell you, it was a beautiful date, Murphy employed all of his courage and he dragged me, practically, on his lap and started a monologue, which I bet he was preparing for ages." Alazais chuckled. "He went on and on, about his childhood, and how he thought he could never achieve many of his dreams, but he was very happy now, and he realized that 50.4% of his happiness was due to me moving to London, and not his dream job. And he knew that he had an 80-point-something chance of being eternally miserable if he didn't try for something to happen between us, but he needed to let me know about all the little particularities life with him would have, if I decided to respond to his feelings positively, which had a very good chance, according to him, since I had already accepted his date proposal."

"That sounds so like McNully."

"It was the most stereotypical McNully thing, truly. And he finished his speech with the amazing 'So, Alazais DeLeon, I'm 99.8% sure I'm in love with you'." She laughed. "I remember asking, why not one hundred percent sure, and he said that one hundred percent is not statistically possible, or realistic. I just kissed him afterwards, there was no point in talking numbers with Murphy."

"I expected that story to be weirder, to be frank. But it was kind of sweet, actually! Can I be even more honest with you?"

"This is supposed to be our all-out talk, so you might as well."

"I was so…confused when I heard that you two were dating. Of course, by the time it reached my ears, you were probably already living together."

"And why were you confused?"

"Murphy was never the type…well, I thought he was not…your type, but then I remembered your taste in men and I just got over it."

"What is that supposed to mean?! I have dated tremendous men. And who would be a…more tasteful man, huh? You?"

Charlie chuckled. "Alazais, why did you ask Barnaby out to the Celestial Ball back when we were kids?"

"Why not? I fancied him, I mean he was one of the most good-looking students of our year, and we were already friends."

"But…was he your first choice?"

Alazais remained silent for some moments. "Why are you asking?"

"Because I have always wondered. I thought you were going to ask me, in fact, I was secretly hoping you would."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh, that's rich! You expected me to come ask you to the Ball, when I recall you explicitly saying that there are way too many dragons to study for you to have time to date?!"

"I didn't mean it like that… I was just very sad when I heard you were going with Barnaby. And I was stupid to not come ask you in the first place."

"That's more like it, Charlie. It wasn't my fault you didn't have the guts."

"But again…How did you manage to keep on dating him for more than a year? Don't get me wrong, he is a splendid guy, but hardly intellectually stimulating to keep the Alazais DeLeon interested."

"Barnaby is a wonderful person. He has a very calming aura, and I needed that. He has always been so, so, so selfless and caring, so we might not have been able to talk about Ministry Politics, but he was always there. And…he was my first, you know."

"Okay, I don't need this level of details."

"It's no taboo. I just mean to say, that we had a trusting and loving relationship, and when we called it off because we wanted different things, it was on the best of terms. You can see that we are still great friends."

"Yes, that much I can tell. And I'm sorry for insinuating that Barnaby or Murphy weren't great partners. Hell, even Orion was decent I guess."

"What does Orion have to do with anything?" She asked confused.

"Oh come on, I know you two did something when he won his last Quidditch Cup as captain. I was at the after-party, I saw you two making out."

"And so? That was an one-night thing, we were drunk, and that was it. And at least I didn't make out with a future Death Eater, and the ugliest one at that!"

"Oh come on!"

"What, attacking me as fine, but bringing up your choices is off limits? You were the laughing stock of the school when rumor got out about you and Ismelda."

"It was a dare! I had lost a bet with my brothers, this is unfair!"

Alazais shrugged, laughing. "I don't care."

Charlie sighed and lay down. Alazais joined him, now turning her gaze at the pinkish-purple sky above. "I didn't finish my narration about Muprhy."

"You don't have to say more if you don't want to. I totally understand."

"I think…I want you to know."

"Then please, by all means. Tell me everything you want."

After a deep breath, she spoke. "After a while, we ended up living together, Murphy and I. And it was great. I never thought sharing so many things with another person every day would be so nice, but it was. Murphy was part of my life in the sweetest way imaginable. The…pregnancy was something completely unplanned. We weren't ready for children yet, we hadn't even thought of it. But it happened. And when I told him and we got to discuss our options, he was surprised that I would even suggest an abortion. He said we were already a family in a way, this had a certain amount of chances to eventually happen, and that we were very likely to be good parents, despite it being unplanned and us being fairly young; I was only 25. So we decided to go on with it, and we were happy. Murphy was very, very happy. I remember he had bought all these parenting books. But…on the day of your brother's marriage, and as I was packing my things to come, I got these horrible aches in my stomach, and when I looked down, I was bleeding. We got to St. Mungo's and the Healers there confirmed the miscarriage. I stayed for one night and then we returned home. I was…devastated. You cannot imagine the pain it leaves you with. It's not only mourning, it's all the lost possibilities, it's guilt, it's fear, it's everything. But Murphy was so strong, and he helped me through it. And we got over it, together. A little while later, Jacob died in one of his…adventures. His body couldn't even be retrieved, can you imagine? And then Murphy's mom also passed away. So much death in just one year, not to mention the War… So, after I came back from the Battle of Hogwarts, Murphy proposed. He said…He said that he thought it impossible, but he was now one hundred percent sure that he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, especially after all we had been through and survived. Of course I said yes. The rest after that, you know. We got married as 1999 ended, and I hoped he would get better. But he didn't, and he passed away, and I became a widow before even turning twenty-nine. Imagine being both a war veteran and a widow at such a young age, it's…funny in its own way, I suppose…"

Charlie felt a heavy knot in his chest as Alazais described her life. And he had been so obnoxious and careless, practically forcing her to tell him all that. He turned his look on her face, seeing a few lonely tears dripping down towards the blanket. He rolled over and brought her closer, hugging her tight. "I…Thank you for sharing all these."

"Now you know."

"Yes, I do."

She wiped the last tears and turned, so that they were now face to face. "It's your turn now, Charlie. What did you do all these years?"

Charlie smiled and exhaled, closing his eyes. "I suppose it is a good thing that you didn't come to Bill's wedding. And I don't mean the Death Eaters crushing it."

"But?"

"The truth is, Alazais, I haven't stopped thinking about you all these years. When we were at school, we were just foolish kids, and I regret not approaching you earlier. I always knew there was…something between us. We both could feel it."

"That is true. If it wasn't for that little something that's still here, I wouldn't have accepted to talk with you. And you wouldn't have gotten jealous of Barnaby…"

"Yes. Correct. But at least I did manage to steal one kiss before I left…"

"Which was arguably one of the weirdest things to happen to me, ever. Why did you do it, Charlie?"

"What do you mean why? I was about to leave Hogwarts for good, without having kissed my biggest crush, and especially when I knew that the feeling was mutual. I don't know about you, but that's the definition of stupid in my book."

"But it was so…"

"Out of the blue, I know. But we didn't have any more time, and I knew our lives needed to take different directions. Do you regret it?"

"No, not at all. To be honest, I never gave it much thought after that. It was just a kiss."

"Yes, it was, but I didn't feel like it was just a kiss. For me, it was the kiss. And I always thought about you, I was just a coward that never got around to contacting you again. I was planning to, in Bill's wedding, but you didn't come. I had just found out that you were dating Murphy and needless to say, I got a bit jealous again. I thought that if you saw me again, and I could tell you that I was an idiot, maybe you'd change your mind. But I realize now that this was a stupid thought. You hadn't seen me in years and you had something much stronger in your life. I would have only ruined your day and whatever was left of our friendship if you had come, so in a way, it was better that you didn't make it."

"Charlie, I had no idea."

"Of course you didn't, I had made myself a stranger. But trust me when I say, I never got over you, no matter how much I tried to suppress it. Don't get me wrong, I did date a few girls here and there, but in the back of my mind, I always compared them to you. So now…I am single, I am a dragonologist, and I was obsessed of coming back to Hogwarts only because I knew you'd be here. I needed to get these things off my chest."

Alazais sighed. "I don't know what you expect from me now…"

"Nothing. You don't have to say or do or promise anything. Only do what you feel like doing, I just wish to see you happy, even if that means I won't be. It's fine. I only wanted you to know."

Under the now-moonlit sky, Charlie's eyes had a wonderful shine to them, as he smiled to her. The soft breeze played with a few of his fiery hair strands and Alazais felt…weirdly warm in his embrace, as his hand rested on her waist. "Oh, Charlie…" She mumbled, bringing her hand on his cheek.

"May I?" He asked grinning, and Alazais nodded, remembering that night many years ago. Charlie closed the distance between them, bring his lips on to hers and kissing her gently. He held her even tighter, taking in how she smelled, how she tasted, how she felt. When he drew back, he almost couldn't believe that it was actually her eyes looking back at him, and not just someone that looked like her.

They called it a night shortly after. Charlie, from the hut's porch, watched Alazais walk towards the Castle and into the premises, longing to have gone with her. But he knew he was more than lucky to have even gotten a kiss. Things were just not as simple as they used to be when they were teenagers. But for once in his life, he was actually not sad after telling her goodnight, because this time, there was nothing he had left unsaid.

*Thank you for sticking through this very talkative chapter. I really hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review if you did!*