Blurb:
"Hey, pretty girl, why're you crying?" Startled, I looked up to find a redheaded teenager peering down at me with sympathetic brown eyes. He looked about eighteen, was tanned even beneath the freckles and very muscular in a way that suggested he did a lot of manual work. However, none of that was important. "My ice-cream!"
Ice cream (Charlie Weasley x OC)
In the Wizarding world, when a person reached the legal age of seventeen, the first words that their soulmate would say to them after they turned legal appeared like a tattoo on the person's skin. And until that moment when the clock struck midnight, it was anyone's guess what those words might be. Sometimes it was utterly romantic, other times not so much. But every little witch's dream growing up was that when the time came, the words that appeared on their skin would be something special.
It was this that I was daydreaming about on that hot summer's day in Diagon Alley when I really should have been paying attention to where I was going.
My best friend, Hannah Abbott, and I were so excited at finally being able to go to Hogwarts and possibly meeting our future soulmates that we'd spent almost the entire morning discussing the subject and speculating on what our words might be. So absorbed had we been that I had barely made a dent into the ice cream her dad had bought for us. That was my second mistake. And the third mistake I made was letting Hannah run ahead toward Magical Menagerie when her dad reminded her we needed to get moving and her excitement at finally getting an owl overtook her. Her dad was quick to follow her, shouting at Hannah to slow down.
And I, I made the final mistake of trying to follow while my head was still up in the clouds. All it took was one step without looking at my feet. My foot caught an uneven stone in the sidewalk; my entire world tilted as I was thrown off balance; and in the space of two seconds, my ice cream splashed down my front before landing with a soft squish on the ground.
Devastation was not enough to describe my feelings as I stared down at my stained skirt and then the slowly melting ice cream on the sidewalk. Looking back years later, I'd feel quite silly for my reaction, but at the time, all I felt was utter dismay as tears pricked my eyes and threatened to fall.
And fall they would have, if a kind voice hadn't asked from above my head, "Hey there, pretty girl, why're you crying?"
Startled out of my sorrow, I looked up to find a redheaded teenager peering down at me with sympathetic brown eyes. He looked about eighteen, was tanned even beneath the freckles and very muscular in a way that suggested he did a lot of manual work. I briefly wondered if he was a Quidditch player because there weren't very many other wizarding jobs that required physical labour, but my thoughts quickly moved on and returned to my current crisis.
My lip wobbled and I pointed to the ice cream that was by now forming a small, rainbow-coloured puddle on the ground. The teenager - man, really - glanced down briefly before he looked back at me kindly.
"It did leave a bit of a stain, didn't it?" He said sympathetically. I shook my head.
He tilted his head curiously. "You're not upset about the stain?"
I shook my head again.
"Why were you crying then?"
He was genuinely puzzled so I decided to forego my mother's teaching. Just for the moment. He had to be made to understand, after all.
"I dropped my ice cream, you see. And now I can't eat it." I explained morosely.
The man started, almost violently, at my words. Indeed, it was like someone had clobbered him on the head and then he was staring at me like he'd seen a ghost. I eyed him warily, and remembered my mother's warnings not to speak to strangers. I wondered if it was at this point that I should scream for help.
But just as I was about to make a decision, the man shook himself out of his strange shock and he spoke to me again. Although there was now a somewhat careful note in his voice that I couldn't understand.
"I see. Well, I'm sure we can fix that and your skirt."
I was confused but remained curious as he drew a wand from his robes. A brief wave of hope ran through me when the stranger gave an easy flick of his wand; only to be dashed when the ice cream cleared off the ground in a small puff of smoke and wiped itself clean off my skirt.
"There, that's bett-"
"My ice-cream!" I cried in dismay, staring at the now empty pavement before looking back at the stranger accusingly. "You just made my ice cream disappear!"
The man, initially startled by my cry, laughed in mixed incredulity and amusement.
"Have some patience, pretty girl." He chuckled, pocketing his wand. "You're almost as bad as Ron, thinking with your stomach like that."
"I was looking forward to it!" I protested.
The man smiled indulgently, although that odd look returned to his eyes.
"I know you were."
There was a way he said the words, like there was a double meaning to them. But before I could figure it out, he gestured back up the road to where I could still just make out Florean Fortescue.
"How about this? I'll buy you another one to make up for the one you lost."
At once, my guard rose. "No."
"Why not?" He seemed surprised. I answered him honestly.
"Mum said not to talk to strangers or follow them."
"Ah." The man's confusion cleared and he nodded thoughtfully. Looking around as though he'd only just realized where we were, he asked, "Where is your mother?"
"She's at work."
"Where's your father?"
"He's at work too, of course."
He looked down in surprise. "Who are you here with then?"
"My friend Hannah and her dad…" I trailed off as I realized Mr. Abbott and Hannah were nowhere in sight.
Anxiety gripped me, but the strange man beside me seemed even more concerned as he caught onto my predicament. He looked around, peering above heads too tall for me to hope to see around.
"Where are they?"
"I… I don't know." I admitted.
I would later realize how foolish I had been in admitting that to a perfect stranger who could abduct me. But at the time, I couldn't feel anything except worry as I looked around for Mr. Abbott's familiar brown head amongst the crowds of families wandering about the alley.
"Right. Where were you with them last?" Strangely, it was the man next to me who grounded me a little bit with his question.
Shaking myself out of my fright, I answered as strongly as I could. "Florean Fortescue."
The man nodded, suddenly seeming to be all business.
"Okay. Let's head there and wait. Your friend's dad will probably retrace his steps to find you when he realizes you're lost, so it's best not to wander from where you were all together last."
He reached out a hand toward me and I automatically took a distrustful step back. The man grinned and a teasing light entered his chocolate brown eyes.
"I promise I'm not going to hurt you."
"Why should I trust you?" I asked suspiciously. The man paused, and then his smile turned rueful.
"I guess you shouldn't." He gestured up the road. "Well, then, my lady. Let us hither go."
"That's not how you use that word." But I still trotted after the strange man as he led us back to Fortescue.
As we walked side by side - although I was careful to keep a good six feet between us, just in case - the man asked conversationally, "So, pretty girl. How old are you?"
I frowned at the nickname this man seemed to have developed for me but answered anyway.
"I'm eleven."
The man paused and then, for some reason, he groaned softly. "Merlin, what did I ever do to you to make you hate me?"
I had no idea what the man was talking about. I wasn't even sure I'd heard him correctly, but before I could ask, he was already moving on.
"So, if you're eleven, this must be the first time you're heading to Hogwarts. Excited?"
"Of course." And because I couldn't help my own curiosity, I added, "Did you go to Hogwarts?"
"Yes, ma'am, just like the rest of my family." He smiled fondly as he thought of his family.
"Is it as fantastic as everyone says?"
"That and more." He nodded almost wistfully, and it made me think.
"Are you still at Hogwarts?"
"No, I graduated last year." He kept his tone light, but there was an odd note in his voice again. Almost strained - as though he wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad about it. Why that was, was beyond me, though.
With a shake of his head, he added, "Any idea what House you'll be in?"
I shrugged. "I don't know, of course, but probably Gryffindor. Dad says I'm stubborn enough to be one too."
"What house was your dad?"
"Gryffindor."
He laughed and I smiled at the hearty sound. This strange but kind man was softening my defenses. I would have been worried but we reached the ice cream parlour by then and Florean spotted us as we approached so I knew I was safe again. The wizard did raise a curious brow when he saw me beside my companion though.
"Weasley." Florean greeted the man beside me, looking from him to me. "Fancy seeing you here already."
"Hi, Florean." The man - did Florean say Wesley? - answered easily. I relaxed a little further, knowing Florean knew him and (at least from his tone) apparently liked him too. "You'll be pleased to know I'm not here for me this time. Could we get an ice cream for this lovely young lady, please?"
Florean's eyes twinkled and he looked at me sternly. "He's not kidnapping you, is he?"
"I don't think so." I admitted while Wesley? Weasley? Wimberly? laughed.
"Come on, Florean, you really think I'd kidnap a girl?"
"I dunno. Your brother Bill's done it enough times, I'd wager, although admittedly none of the girls he's ever brought in here were ever this young." Florean winked at me but I still scowled.
Interestingly, Weasley seemed to wince a little bit before he smoothed out his features as I protested, "I'm not that young."
Florean laughed. "Course you're not, little lady."
"I'm not little!" I exclaimed. "I'm over five feet, I'll have you know!"
"Come on, Florean, leave her alone."
Weasley's tone was friendly but something about it seemed to make Florean pause. The older wizard peered at Weasley questioningly but Weasley just looked down at me. He gestured to the ice cream on display.
"Which one do you want?"
I pursed my lips, still somewhat annoyed. Weasley chuckled. "I think your father's right: you're certainly a lioness, pretty girl."
I gave him my best unimpressed stare, although the effect was ruined by the blush that creeped up my neck. Why did he keep calling me that? He just cocked a brow.
"If you won't pick, I'll decide for you." Straightening up, Weasley pointed to the strawberry ice cream. The exact one I'd dropped earlier.
"We'll take two scoops of that, Florean. Unless you object, pretty girl?" Weasley looked back at me expectantly. I shook my head and he grinned. "Great."
"Sure thing, Weasely." Florean still seemed somewhat puzzled as he examined Weasley, even as he rang up our balance while the ice cream scooped itself up onto two cones. Weasley was either blithely ignorant to Florean's odd looks or he was doing a very good job pretending as he turned back to me.
"So, your dad's a Gryffindor. What about your mum?"
"Hufflepuff." I answered slowly, also watching Weasley. Why was this man being so nice? It was one thing to be friendly, but he seemed to be taking chivalry to a whole different level.
"Really? A badger and a lion, huh… you must have gotten double their stubbornness then."
And just like that, my good impression of him vanished again. "Oh, you think so? What were your parents?"
"My whole family's been Gryffindors for pretty much generations." Weasley answered, and the unconscious pride in his voice was all too clear. I uplifted my nose.
"A whole den of lions? Not surprising then that you look like you wouldn't know when to run into a fire and when not to."
Weirdly, Weasley started laughing. "You have no idea."
I was confused but he didn't give me a chance to ask. Instead, he held out the ice cream he'd paid for. "Here you go."
I eyed the ice cream, suspicion warring with desire, and he raised a brow.
"Well, go on. Take it."
"Mum said I shouldn't accept things from strangers." I explained. Florean snorted, before hastily changing it into a cough when Weasley gave him a look. Weasley then turned back to me and he offered me a wide, genuine smile.
"Well, I'm not a stranger. I'm Charlie."
When I still hesitated, he added, "I promise it won't bite."
I eyed him critically. "You promise you're not trying to trick me?"
He held out his right pinky. "Pinky promise."
After a moment, I curled my pinky around his in the age-old tradition. He grinned but didn't comment as he handed me the ice cream. I gingerly took the treat, but I couldn't quite mask how pleased I was. Charlie laughed again, and I decided he had a nice laugh.
"You're adorable."
It was like he was trying to smash any good impression I had of him.
"And you're annoying." I sniffed but he didn't seem at all bothered. Instead, he ushered me to the little table by the door after a wave toward Florean who was distracted by more people entering his parlour.
I took the seat that Charlie offered by the window and, deciding I shouldn't be rude to someone who had just bought me ice cream, I introduced myself at last. "I'm Willow."
He smiled. "How fitting. That's a very pretty name."
I shrugged awkwardly. "Thank you?"
"You don't seem convinced." He noted. I shrugged again.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
"That it is." Charlie agreed, resting his chin in his hand as he watched me eat my ice cream. He seemed thoughtful again.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked before realizing that was a bit rude. Charlie just grinned, although that odd look was back.
"Just how funny the world is."
I frowned. "That's not an answer."
"And yet, it's the only answer I'm willing to give. For the moment." Charlie answered mysteriously.
My frown deepened, but we were interrupted by a shout from outside.
"Willow! Willow!"
I looked out the window to see Mr. Abbott wandering around not far away, looking very worried. I quickly hopped out of my chair but Charlie was already shouting out the door.
"Sir! Sir, Willow's here! Over here, Willow's all right! She's here!"
Mr. Abbott hurried our way at once, relief taking over his expression. I could see Hannah in the distance too, also looking relieved as she found me. I took a quick step forward before remembering who I was with. I looked up at Charlie. Now that it was time to part, I felt a little bit awkward. We didn't know each other at all, but he'd still been nice. And I knew now he really had just been looking out for me. Even if I had no idea why.
Finally, I just settled for a simple, "Um… Thank you for the ice cream."
But Charlie touched my shoulder before I could go. I glanced back at him in surprise and then confusion as he said, "It was nice to meet you, Willow."
"Oh." I pondered that for a moment before shrugging. "It was nice to meet you too."
I started to turn away, when he made me pause for a second time.
"Charlie."
I looked back at the man, who cleared his throat a little awkwardly. But he seemed determined about something as he repeated, "Charlie. Just remember that name, okay?"
"Why?" I asked, confused. He grinned almost ruefully.
"Who knows, maybe we'll see each other again some day."
"Oh…" I was still puzzled but I didn't see the harm in it so I said, "Okay. Bye, Charlie."
"See you later, Willow. Don't drop that ice cream this time."
He smiled again. I pursed my lips but he just nodded toward Mr. Abbott. With one last look at him, I left him as Charlie pushed his hands into his worn jean pockets while he watched me off. I ran out but I turned back once I reached Mr. Abbott and Hannah to see Charlie still watching me with a thoughtful expression. It wasn't bad, though. Just… odd. Like the rest of him. But… he was also nice, I decided. Weird, but still nice.
"Who was that?" Hannah asked once Mr. Abbott finished checking that I was okay before he nodded over at Charlie. The redhead waved back goodnaturedly. Another sign that he couldn't be too bad.
"I'm not really sure." I answered as Mr. Abbott ushered us back down the streets of Diagon Alley.
Hannah didn't seem satisfied with that answer but she seemed to also recognize that I needed some time to process on my own. Especially when I paused to look back before we left, only to find Charlie was already gone. I turned back around but my eyes drifted to the ice cream I still carried. And I wondered vaguely if I would ever see Charlie again. He'd seemed genuine, but I knew that adults sometimes just said things to kids and then they never really remembered saying them afterward. I glanced back to where Charlie had disappeared amongst the bustling crowd of shoppers. He was probably the same.
But even so…
"Have you thought of what you're going to name your owl?" Hannah asked as we walked into the magical creatures shop. I nodded.
"I think… I'll name mine Charlie."
Seven years later
I gritted my teeth and sent another curse flying as I ran into the castle.
"Stupefy!"
My spell finally hit a weak spot in one of the Death Eater's shields, and he was down for the count. But the chaos was only just beginning as all around, duels broke out with those still standing to defend Hogwarts clashing with the Death Eaters who had rushed inside the castle.
My life had certainly not panned out the way I'd once dreamed.
Unlike what I'd imagined, my time at Hogwarts had been tumultuous at best. It had started relatively normal and then became increasingly more alarming with every year that passed with trolls, basiliks and murdering Azkaban escapees looking tame as compared to the horrors that were to come. Despite the fact that Harry Potter had come close to dying at the end of pretty much every year we were at Hogwarts together, my own life had only become threatened starting from my Fifth Year when first the toad hag Umbridge came to Hogwarts and then when it became clear You-Know-Who really was back. Not that my parents had doubted Dumbledore and Harry Potter. But it was one thing to vaguely realize horrors were waiting for me and another thing entirely to see them manifest. I could still remember how I'd felt when I first saw Fortescue's ice cream parlour was closed and Florean missing and presumed dead. The place of my childhood summers with Hannah gone; and with it, our innnocence.
But even back then, even when I joined Dumbledore's Army and then when Dumbledore died a year later, I hadn't really thought that it would come to this. That I would be fighting on the front lines alongside my friends at my home away from home. And yet, here we were, fighting for our lives.
I turned a corner and instantly started firing off spells while simultaneously raising shields to deflect the answering curses the Death Eater I'd run into sent back my way.
A blast suddenly took out the entire wall near me. The vibrations sent me flying back although luckily none of the rubble struck me. The warbled cry that abruptly cut off nearby told me that the Death Eater I'd been fighting had not been so lucky. That didn't mean I got off completely unharmed though as my head whacked against the ground, leaving me at least a little bit stunned. I definitely saw enough stars before my vision slowly blurred back into focus.
But more than that, as I lay in a heap on the ground, I was reminded of all the others who had fallen tonight. My friends and allies who had been caught by a stray spell, not unlike me right now. Only not all of them had gotten back up. A lot of them…
A few tears even welled up of their own accord but I shook my head. This wasn't the time; there would be time enough to mourn later. Opening my eyes, I slowly pushed myself up and tried to regain my bearings. It wasn't easy, but I managed to crawl up onto my knees. Before I had to find a way back on my feet without falling over, however, a hand appeared in my periphery.
Realizing it was help, I took it wearily but gratefully.
"Thanks-" I started, only to be interrupted.
"Hey, pretty girl, why're you crying?"
I froze even as I righted myself on my feet. I knew those words by heart; had known them since I turned seventeen. Even if I hadn't really had the luxury to think about it much since the day I'd seen my soulmate mark appear on my skin. But of all the places, I had certainly not thought I'd hear them here. Not now. Not unless…
I looked up at my saviour, really taking him in as I tried to figure out how on earth this man knew what was written across the inside of my right bicep.
He looked vaguely familiar with his red hair, freckles and broad shoulders. My first thought was that he looked kind of like the Weasley twins, but that wasn't right. I'd seen the whole Weasley family assemble in the Room of Requirement just hours ago and this stranger hadn't been amongst them. And yet, there was something else definitely familiar about him. Familiar and at the same time elusive. It was like trying to remember a dream after waking up; a hazy picture from some distant memory. I frowned with the effort of trying to remember before I finally spoke.
"Do you know me?"
The stranger smiled - grim but still a smile - and nodded. "I do."
I narrowed my eyes, but he seemed to be enjoying some private joke and didn't appear to be willing to say anything else.
"Are you related to Fred Weasley?" I felt it was safer to ask about one of the twins than my former classmate. This was a war after all - and Ron Weasley was all too famous now for being one of Harry Potter's two best friends.
"Yes." The man in front of me nodded again and tacked on before I could ask, "That's not how I know you, though."
His smile broadened and became more genuine when I scowled. That only made me angrier, however.
"I really don't think this is the time for jokes." I snapped testily, glancing around at the destroyed castle pointedly.
There was so much damage done to my childhood paradise, but even that paled compared to what was being done to those who had sworn to protect it. I thought of Lavender Brown, who we had barely managed to drag out of the rubble after she was attacked by Greyback and whom Madam Pomfrey had taken only one look at before she sadly told us to prepare for the worst. I thought of my old Defense professor, Remus Lupin, who I had seen fall at Dolohov's wand. Not to mention Colin Creevey, who I still remembered as the little kid with the camera even though he'd shot up and we had fought against Snape in Dumbledore's Army together for the last year. Who knew who else we'd lost?
My words dimmed the strange man's mood quickly.
"No, it's not, is it?" He murmured, growing much more serious. His eyes flickered around the area before returning to me. "This isn't how I imagined I'd see you again. For the longest time, I thought I would surprise you at your graduation. Of course, the way things have gone, I suppose it's a miracle I got to see you again at all."
My guard was up even further long before he finished speaking. "How would you know when I was graduating?"
"You told me." The strange redhead answered. I bristled.
"I did no such thing." I raised my wand as I spoke, ready to hex this man. He didn't seem the least bit worried.
"You did."
"You're lying."
"I'm really not, Willow."
I froze. "How do you know my name?"
He just continued to look steadily at me. "You told me."
"Stop ly-"
The words died on my lips as the man in front of me lifted his arm upright, allowing the sleeve of his robe to drop all the way to his shoulder. I was awarded a clear view of his impressively muscled arm, but that wasn't what caught my attention. Instead, my lips parted in shock as I read the words scrawled across the inside of the man's bicep.
I dropped my ice cream, you see.
With a gasp, I remembered the day, as if the sun had burst out from behind murky clouds. Dropping my ice cream while following Hannah and her father down Diagon Alley. A strange man helping me clean up and buying me a replacement ice cream. A strange man who was really not so bad. A man whose face and conversation with me had become blurred with time but whose name I had promised to remember. Because he had known from the moment I opened my mouth all those years ago exactly who we were destined to be.
I slowly tore my gaze from the words inked in exactly the same place my own were on my body, and met the twinkling brown eyes I now recognized.
"Charlie?" It couldn't be. And yet…
"Hey, pretty girl." Charlie gave me the same, wry smile I recalled. "You've grown quite a bit, haven't you?"
"It has been seven years." I pointed out, still reeling. My soulmate. The man I'd dreamt about as a child and then spent the better part of my recent past thinking I would never meet. And yet, I'd met him so long ago.
"What… How… What…?"
His smile widened again and I gathered my wits enough to say the words that were in the forefront of my mind.
"How did you know it was me?"
"As if I could ever forget you." His gaze was soft again as he met my eyes directly. "You might have grown up, but there are some things that don't change about a person."
He gestured toward my eyes.
"I knew who you were the moment you opened your eyes. Even though they look more tired than the last time I saw you, they're still as clear and blue as the Romanian sky with a fire in them to rival the sun."
"Romania?" I repeated, frowning in confusion. His expression turned grim once more.
"Yeah. That's where I've been working since I graduated from Hogwarts. It's also why I'm so late."
"What were you doing in-?"
The sudden feeling of ice running through my veins and the darkening of the world around us made the words die instantly on my lips. Both Charlie and I raised our wands in a heartbeat as the Dementor rounded the corner at the end of the corridor. But perhaps thanks to Harry's training back in Fifth Year and all the practice I'd had with Neville since, I was a little bit faster.
"Expecto Patronum!"
The familiar silver dragon blasted out of my wand and, with a roar, it chased down the Dementor which fled with a screech. The cold darkness disappeared with it and I inhaled shakily. Remembering the man beside me, I looked over to see Charlie staring at me with an unreadable look on his face. He looked thoughtful and almost surprised, yet at the same time not.
"What?"
"Nothing."
I didn't believe him but Charlie just gestured around.
"We should probably move."
"Probably." I agreed shortly.
I started to walk away, but Charlie's hand wrapped around my wrist to stop me. I looked back at him with a frown.
"I did say, 'we'." He pointed out and my frown deepened.
"I don't know you." I pointed out.
"I know that." He answered quite matter of factly, making me tilt my head suspiciously. "I don't really know you either. But I'd like to."
"Why?" I tugged my hand out of his grasp and folded it across my chest. "Just because we're soulmates doesn't mean-"
"You know, I spent a long year wondering who my soulmate was, that the first words she said to me were about ice cream." Charlie interrupted me softly.
"I wondered when I'd meet her, how I would meet her and who she would be. So when I found out she was an eleven year old girl, I think it's understandable when I say I was mortified. But then, you told me off about cleaning up your ice-cream. And then, you continued talking. And I grew curious about the girl who looked me right in the eye as she told me I looked like I didn't know when to jump into a fire. I grew curious how she would grow, if she would end up in Gryffindor after all, if she'd be as strong and fierce now. So you see, I've been waiting a long time to meet the woman that little girl grew up to be. And I'm not willing to have to wait another seven years if I let you go now like I did back then."
He gazed at me with those steady brown eyes I remembered.
"I'm not asking you to date me or anything. All I'm asking is that you let me get to know you."
I examined the man before me intently. A part of me was wary - he was a strange man a good seven years older than me. For all I knew, he was trying to take advantage of me. But I remembered the spirited young man with laughing brown eyes who had bought me ice cream and teased me about being a Gryffindor. It was the same man I could see in front of me, despite the hardness the last few years had brought.
Finally turning away, I said over my shoulder, "Fine. But if you die because you stuck to me, I'm not going to mourn you."
"Deal."
I didn't have to look back to know he was grinning. I heard the smile in his voice, as always. And despite everything that was going on, it made me smile for the first time in months too.
Seven years later
"AAHH! PAPA!"
"For Merlin's sake! Leslie Weasley, put that down, right now!"
"Uh oh, darling, run!"
As my toddler ran squealing out of the tent, clutching the little toy dragon that still had smoke puffing out of its nose, I turned irritably toward my husband.
"You shouldn't encourage her like that." I scolded the redheaded man still lounging in bed. Charlie just shrugged.
"We already agreed, Willow. You're in charge of disciplining Leslie and I'm in charge of doting on my darling princess."
"Molly was right when she warned me that having a daughter changes a man." I grumbled crossly while dousing the fire that our daughter had accidentally started. I stilled when Charlie's arms wrapped around my stomach and he tucked his chin over my shoulder.
"You know you'll always be my number one, pretty girl."
I scoffed. "You're a hopeless romantic, Charlie."
But my hands were already wrapping around Charlie's and he knew I was already getting over the morning's excitement. I could only sigh as he kissed my cheek before he let go.
"Come on. I'll make us a cuppa. And if you're good, I'll even get you some ice cream."
Charlie ducked as my hand instantly swatted in his direction, and he ran out of the tent behind his daughter with a boisterous laugh. I could only shake my head after him, my lips curled into a fond smile despite myself.
My relationship with Charlie had been… well, it was something you wouldn't call normal. Not that this came as a surprise to anyone. We were basically strangers, after all, connected by Fate and brought together by chance.
It had even at one point looked like things were going to be over as soon as they began when our second meeting ended on quite possibly the worst possible note. Not the worst: Harry did beat You-Know-Who at last. But it was also after the final duel that we discovered Fred Weasley amongst the dead and Parvati told me that Lavender was gone. I was saddened to learn of my dormmate's passing; Charlie, however, was devastated by his brother's death. It had been odd, to say the least, to see the man whose smiles were the only constant I knew about him, crumble and sob beside his older brother and mother. Awkwardly, I had left the family to mourn, not knowing what else to do. That night, as I lay in my bed in Gryffindor Tower as I hadn't done in months since pretty much my entire House had taken to hiding in the Room of Requirement, I had thought that this was probably it. It wasn't surprising, just… maybe a little disappointing.
So why had my feet taken me to Charlie the next morning? Maybe it was because we were soulmates. Or maybe it was because I couldn't bear to leave a good man to suffer. We had all suffered enough. Red-eyed, he no longer wore his trademark smile for me that day. But he had embraced me in a tight hug the moment I appeared, shuffling my feet, in front of him.
'I guess Professor Dumbledore was right after all.' I mused as I stepped outside just in time to see Charlie catch little Leslie and throw her, giggling, up high into the air before he caught her once again. Her laughs rang like little chimes through the air, drawing several fond gazes as Charlie's fellow dragonologists watched the pair's usual antics.
'Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.'
Leslie spotted me then, and I smiled back when the young redhead gave me a beaming grin that was the spitting image of her father.
'So long as you remember to turn on the light.'
My smile turned into a loud laugh when Charlie noticed me as well and, with a flourish, he conjured a cone of strawberry ice cream - only for my daughter to chomp down on the treat. Charlie dropped the ice cream as a result of his surprise, but he started laughing with me when Leslie cried out in dismay.
"My ice cream!"
