A/N: I still don't own anything. I wish I did. And thanks to all who are still reading…
Chapter 13—The One that Starts their Last Year
When Charlie and Maya arrived on the train, they stowed their things in an empty compartment. Charlie had seen his mother and brothers coming onto the platform and left Maya to go and say goodbye. The train left at 11:00 and Charlie and Maya went to the prefects' carriage to get their assignments. They would need to patrol the hallways on the train from time to time, but could have a few hours' free time. They went to their compartment and took up seats next to each other. "Have you heard about your auditions yet?" Charlie asked. Secretly, he was hoping that Maya would come with him to Romania, but he also understood that she was far more likely to stay in Britain.
"Not yet," Maya replied. "I should hear in a few weeks from Guildhall and then a few weeks after that from London School of Music."
Charlie was about to ask Maya to go to Romania with him, but they were interrupted by Ian and Jenna popping into their compartment. "What are you lot doing?" Jenna asked.
"Not much," Maya answered. "We're just talking about my auditions this summer."
"Still planning on conservatory school, then?" Ian asked.
"That or drama school," Maya replied. "I auditioned for a couple this summer and should hear back in a few weeks."
"And here I thought you'd give it up to follow Charlie to Romania," Ian joked. Maya burst into tears. "I'm sorry, Maya," Ian said. Maya got up and stormed out of the room.
"Let it go, mate," Charlie pled. He got up to follow Maya, but couldn't find her. Some first years came out of the girls' toilet and Charlie asked if they had seen Maya. They indicated that there was a girl in the toilet who was sobbing. "Could you tell me if there is anyone else in there?" Charlie asked.
"No," said one girl. "She's alone in there."
"Cheers," Charlie said and went into the girls' toilet. "It's nice in here," he mused as he took a seat on the floor next to Maya. "The graffiti is much nicer than in our toilet."
"Shut up, Charlie," Maya ordered.
"We've known for a year what was going to happen when we graduated," he reasoned. "And I would very much like to stay with you, but if you're not happy, we don't have to stay together."
"You're breaking up with me?" she cried.
"No," Charlie said, seriously. "I'm not breaking up with you. I want very much to stay together right now."
"And what about in June?" Maya demanded. "What happens when we graduate and you move to Romania and I stay in London?"
"I don't know," Charlie said truthfully. "I'd like to think that something will work itself out, but I'm not foolish enough to believe it. We'll have to make a decision then."
"I want to be alone for now, please," she asked. Charlie sighed, but nodded and left the girls' toilet to return to their compartment. When he returned, he explained to Ian and Jenna that their plans for the following year had been the cause of many fights between them and that Ian shouldn't worry about it. Maya returned an hour later to collect Charlie so they could do their rounds.
"Are you going to talk to me?" Charlie asked.
"I don't know," Maya said, sniffing. Her eyes were puffy and red from the crying. "I don't know what we should do."
"We won't have classes tomorrow," Charlie replied. "Why don't we find somewhere private and talk about it tomorrow. For tonight, we'll just forget that we're here for our last year." Maya nodded and, when they completed their rounds, she returned to the compartment with Charlie. She didn't say much more for the rest of the journey.
The Gryffindors threw a party that night in the common room. Maya didn't really feel like a party, and so she went to bed. The next morning, Charlie woke early and waited for Maya in the common room so they could have breakfast together. When she came out of the dormitories, they walked in silence to the Great Hall. They also ate in silence.
After breakfast, Charlie took Maya's hand and led her through the castle. "There won't be anyone in here today," he said, leading her into a classroom. Just to be safe, however, Charlie cast a locking charm on the door.
They sat quietly for a long while, until Charlie broke the silence. "Are you going to talk to me?" he asked.
"I don't know what to say, Charlie," Maya replied. "It shouldn't be this hard. We should be out enjoying a day off and flying or going to the lake. Instead, we're sitting here and trying to figure out what we're even doing together."
"I don't want to break up yet," Charlie said quietly, and for the first time, Maya noticed that he looked like he'd been crying. "I'm not stupid and I know that we're going in different directions at the end of the year, but I'm not ready to let you go yet."
"You'd rather delay the inevitable?" Maya asked. "You said yourself that you know that we're heading for different things…" Maya was about to continue when the door opened to reveal Professor McGonagall.
"Is everything alright?" she asked.
"We're fine, Professor," Maya replied. She tried to smile at the elder woman, but it didn't reach her eyes. Professor McGonagall knew that things were not all right, but she didn't press the issue and left Maya and Charlie alone.
"Let's go for a fly," Charlie suggested after a while. Maya gave him a strange look and he added, "It seems to help us clear our heads. Just trust me. Let's go for a fly." Maya nodded and let Charlie take her hand to lead her out to the quidditch pitch. Charlie smirked at Maya as they mounted their brooms. Then, he kicked off hard, soaring into the air. Maya followed after him and they raced around the pitch.
When they landed, they both had smiles on their faces and were laughing like children. Charlie went to say something but Maya stopped him by tackling him and kissing him fully. When they broke apart, Charlie said, "We were supposed to be talking not snogging."
"I think we've done too much talking and not enough snogging for today," Maya said. "I know that we've still got things to figure out, but right now, I just felt like kissing you."
"Love, anytime you want to kiss me is fine with me," Charlie teased. "I like it when you kiss me." He winked at her and rolled them over so that he was hovering over her.
"We should get up," Maya said, "before someone finds us like this."
"I don't care who finds us like this," Charlie said, closing the gap and kissing her on the mouth.
"You should care very much, Mr. Weasley, who catches you in your current position," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm taking 20 points from Gryffindor and you can each do a detention." Charlie started to protest, but stopped when she added, "If you keep up, Mr. Weasley, I shall write to your mother."
Charlie shut his mouth and they followed Professor McGonagall back to the castle. They did their detention together the next night. During the rest of the week, they came to an unspoken agreement not to discuss their post-graduation plans for a while. They, silently, agreed that it was best to just keep from arguing.
Maya did drop Care of Magical Creatures for that year, but Charlie continued to take the class. He held quidditch tryouts the weekend before the first camping trip of the year. The beaters had graduated, so Fred and George earned spots on the team, along with 2 other girls from their year, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, who were chasers with Maya. Charlie stayed on as seeker and Oliver Wood kept his position as keeper.
While Charlie was out camping, Maya spent the weekend with Jenna and Ivy. "So, what happened over summer?" Ivy asked.
"My dad got married," Maya answered. "He had cheated on Mum with his new wife and was furious when I refused to go to the wedding. Charlie and I had a huge fight about it, actually, while I was at the Burrow. He thought I would regret not going, and he tried to get me to go. I slapped him across the face and told him to bugger off."
"How did you make up?" Jenna asked.
"After our fight, I went home," Maya replied. "I was so angry with him that I could barely stand it. So, I went back to my Mum's house that afternoon. Charlie came over 2 days later and stayed for the weekend. He took me to the movies on my Dad's wedding day."
"So, then, why did your dad throw you that party?" Ivy questioned.
"He wanted to win me back into his good graces," Maya said. "He offered to throw me a ball at his house in Hampstead, but I refused. I told him if he really wanted to make it up to me, I would have my party at a club. He didn't agree right away. He only did when Mum stepped in and told him a party at his house wasn't going to happen. So, how was your summer?"
"Ian and I are making plans for after graduation," Jenna replied. "I want to write for the Daily Prophet and he wants to go to auror training."
"So you lot will be living in London, then?" Maya asked.
"Yeah," Jenna said. "What about you, Ivy?"
"I'm going to Healer training at St. Mungo's," she replied. "We're all going to be in London."
Maya got very sad for a moment and said, "Not all of us."
"I'm sorry, Maya," Ivy said. "He's really set on Romania?"
"Yeah," Maya answered softly. "And I'm trying really hard not to cry, but every time I think we're going along fine, something comes along to remind me that we're breaking up after we graduate."
"What about the long distance thing?" Jenna suggested. "You would write to each other and visit during breaks and holidays."
"I don't think that can work," Maya said, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I've got rounds with that Hufflepuff bloke." Maya left and did her rounds with the male prefect from Hufflepuff. He asked her out to Hogsmeade, but she declined, explaining that she had a boyfriend.
When Charlie returned, he too looked like he'd had a rough weekend. Professor Kettleburn had again had the students talking about their summers and their plans for after graduation and the entire trip made Charlie realize that he and Maya would break up at the end of the school year. When he returned, he went to his dorm and pretended to nap. Maya noticed, but didn't follow. She sensed that he had a similar conversation with his class that she had with her friends.