Good morning!
Thank you so much for all the feedback on the last chapter - you really made my day!
I hope you like this one too. I quite like the ending - you'll see a familiar face.
Please keep reviewing and stuff ! I love you guys!
Enjoy x

wildest dreams
VOLUME I

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I was delighted when Dumbledore announced that all students were allowed to visit Hogsmeade the Saturday before the First Task – I immediately made plans with the twins, writing up a list of things we needed to get from Zonko. The girls also wanted to go shopping a little – but I mostly planned on going to Zonko and then get a Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. I absolutely loved going to Hogsmeade, especially when it got cold. The little village was just charming around that time of year.

My Arithmancy class had just ended on Friday, and I was walking to the Great Hall, planning on getting something to eat and spend the night working on the Fever Fudge with Fred and George, when I heard someone call my name. I turned around, eyebrows raised, to see Nik walking towards me. I smiled awkwardly.

"Hi" he said.

"Hey, how are you ?" I replied.

"Good, thank you. There's something I wanted to ask you."

I stared at him, anticipatating what he would say.

"Sure" I said quietly.

"I heard that everyone is going to this village tomorrow, huh – I forget the name."

"Hogsmeade ?"

"Yes, that's right. Not easy to pronounce" he chuckled.

I smiled. I had a feeling of what he was going to ask me – and I had no idea what to say.

"I was wondering if you would like to go with me."

He was so confident – like he already knew I would say yes. But I simply froze. I wanted to say no, because I had already made plans with everyone – but at the same time, I couldn't help but think that it could do me good to spend time with someone else, and to get a certain redhead off my mind. To be a teenager. To just have fun.

"Er –"

"You could give me a tour. Show me your favorite places."

I hesitated. I didn't know what I wanted. But I realized that if Nik had invited me, it was certainly because he was genuinely interested in me. The thought made me smile.

"You know what ? Sure. I'd love to."

"Great" he said, grinning. "I'll meet you in the entrance hall tomorrow, then ?"

"Okay."

I carefully avoided the twins for the rest of the day – I didn't want to have to tell them I wouldn't go to Hogsmeade with them. I could already hear Fred's sarcastic comment and George's glare. No, I would wait until the last possible minute, and if I could avoid it – even better. I went to bed early, feeling anxious, apprehending the next day.

When I woke up, Angelina was already up and getting dressed.

"Morning" I told her, rubbing my eyes.

"Hey" she said. "Excited about today ?"

"Today ?"

"Well, you and the twins are supposed to go to Zonko, right ?"

"Oh."

She turned to me, frowning.

"What do you mean, 'oh' ?"

I groaned and put my head between my hands. I couldn't hide anything from Angelina.

"Addy ?"

"I'm not going" I muttered.

"What ? Why ?"

I looked back at her, suddenly feeling miserable.

"Because I'm going on a date."

The hairbrush she was holding fell from her hand to the floor, making a loud noise. Fortunately, only Alicia was still asleep in the dormitory – and she didn't even notice.

"What do you mean, you're going on a date ?!"

"I'm going on a date" I shrugged.

"With who ?!"

"…Nik ?"

Angelina ran to my bed, and sat beside me, smiling brightly.

"When did this happen ?"

"Er – yesterday ?"

"Why didn't you tell me ?!"

"I don't know, I wasn't – I don't know. I'm not even sure I'm gonna go."

"Oh no, you are so going, Adelaide Harlowe."

I groaned at the name – but Angelina ignored me. She pulled me out of bed, and then insisted to help me find the 'perfect outfit'. She spent the next hour or so going through my closet, and we finally agreed on a pair of black jeans and nice, warm mustard sweater. When she said it was time for hair and makeup, I grabbed my coat and quickly ran away from the dormitory – I still wanted to look like me, after all.

I met Nik in the entrance hall, wrapping my scarf around my neck. He was dressed warmly, and kissed my hand when he saw me. I cleared my head – I needed to enjoy this day as much as I could – or at least try. We walked to Hogsmeade side by side, talking about the Tournament, the weather, and Quidditch. It was nice – he was very easy to talk to, I again noticed. He also had a good sense of humor, which was something I truly appreciated.

Once we got to Hogsmeade, I brought him to Honeydukes, Dominic Maestro's, Spintwitches and even showed him Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, which was known to be 'the romantic spot' in Hogsmeade. I had gone there with Oliver once – it had been a very funny experience.

"The tea's good. But it's really tacky, you know ? Everything's pink and couples just make out in front of you while you're trying to drink your cuppa" I laughed.

"We should try it" said Nik with a smile.

"Oh – no, no, no. You would hate it."

"Why ?"

"You just would" I chuckled. "I know a better place if you want to get something to drink."

I quickly pulled him away from the teashop – the simple thought of going in there with him was enough to make me feel uncomfortable. I brought him to the Three Broomsticks, making sure to sit in a quiet corner, far from the crowd, after I ordered two Butterbeers.

"This beverage is excellent" he said after tasting the Butterbeer.

"It is – it's my favorite. But you got to be careful, you know ? One too many and suddenly you're dancing on a table in the kitchens."

"That ever happened to you ?" he asked playfully.

"No, of course not" I replied with a chuckle.

Half an hour later, we were talking about English traditions when I saw Ron, Fred, George and Lee enter the pub. Luckily, Nik's large stature protected me from being seen, but I was suddenly really hot and in need for fresh air.

"Hey, do you want to continue our tour ?" I asked.

"Of course" smiled Nik.

We stood up and put on our coats – I made sure to stay hidden behind him. Then, I took him by the hand and led him through the pub, hoping no one would seen us. I already felt better when we stepped outside – it was considerably colder than before we had went in, and the wind seemed to clear my head. I then brought Nik to the Shrieking Shack, one of my favorite spots in the village. We sat down on the cold grass – I loved looking at the old house from afar, and hear the sounds it made echo in the air.

"Addy ?" said Nik.

"Yeah ?"

"I just wanted to thank you for this beautiful day. It was very nice."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it" I said with a smile.

"I did. When I arrived here, I was only thinking about the Tournament – I already saw myself champion."

"Like most people" I chuckled.

"Yes. I didn't expect to meet anyone – anyone like you, that is."

I stared at him, unable to determine if I wanted to blush or laugh.

"I – I'm nothing special" I muttered.

"You are" said Nik, his eyes planted into mine. "You are funny, intelligent, and beautiful. What more can you ask for ?"

"Blimey" I whispered. "Believe me, Nik, I have a lot of flaws."

I was blushing now – but luckily, I could pretend it was the cold. Nik smiled softly at me.

"I don't care about your flaws" he said.

I barely I had time to register what he was doing before I felt his lips on mine – and I was so astonished that I didn't move. Clearly taking my lack of reaction as an encouragement, Nik deepened the kiss, and pulled me closer to him. For a moment I couldn't think of anything, and only kissed him back as some sort of automatic reaction – but the first thing that popped into my head was George's face – and how I wished it was his lips I was kissing instead of Nik's – and I knew. I couldn't do this. I simply couldn't.

I pulled away from Nik, pushing his arm off my waist. I was breathless – but I knew it wasn't from the kiss. I could feel Nik's stare on him, but my eyes were glued to the ground.

"What is it, beautiful ?"

"I'm sorry – I – I cant do this."

I quickly stood up, taking in a deep breath. I needed to get away from here.

"Sorry" I said again before I ran away.

It was such a cliché, I thought – how could I have thought that spending time with someone I didn't even like would make a difference ? It hadn't made the thought of George fade away, it had made him even more present in my head.

I stopped running after a while, walking silently back to the castle. What was I going to do now ? Telling George how I felt was out of the question. I didn't even understand how I felt myself, what a laugh it would be to try and tell him. But I certainly did not want to keep feeling this way – fretful and agitated, measuring every move, thinking about every word. That wasn't me – that wasn't me at all.

I sighed deeply, planning to lock myself up in my room with a stash of Chocolate Frogs for the rest of the weekend. I accelerated as I walked next to the Forbidden Forest, starting to feel a little cold. Suddenly, I heard voices coming from the forest – I narrowed my eyes and saw a few silhouettes walking through the trees. I hesitated – that forest did not have a good reputation, and the only time I had went in, it was because Fred and George had forced me to, during our first year, convincing me it wasn't dangerous or scary at all – but when we had seen a weird figure, growling and staring at us in the dark, we had ran away and never went back.

But it seemed to me like I knew one of the voices, and when I got closer to the trees, I immediately recognized the ginger ponytail.

"Charlie ? Oi, Charlie !"

I saw him turn around, frowning, and I ran to meet him, grinning from ear to ear.

"Addy !" he said.

I hugged him warmly – I couldn't be happier to see him.

"What are you doing here ?" I asked.

"Oh, it's –"

"Hey Weasley, you're gonna introduce us ?"

I hadn't even noticed the two other men next to Charlie – they were staring at us, eyebrows raised. One of them looked very kind, but the other was smiling suggestively.

"Forget it, Noryn. Walk away" said Charlie.

The two men chuckled and started walking away. Charlie sighed deeply.

"Sorry about that. Noryn can be a real git sometimes."

"Don't worry about it."

"It's just – they work with dragons so much they forget how to talk to real humans, you know ?"

"Charlie, it's okay" I chuckled. "Tell me what you're doing at Hogwarts !"

He grinned, scratching his neck.

"Er – you know, I'm not really supposed to say anything…"

"Oh, c'mon ! I promise I won't tell anyone !"

"Except Fred and George, right ?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Okay. I promise I won't tell anyone other than Fred and George, all right ?" I laughed.

"Very well."

"So you'll tell me ?"

"I don't think I have to. Isn't it obvious ?"

I frowned, unsure of what he meant. But I thought about it – Charlie worked with dragons, and the First Task was in a few days. He was right – it was very obvious.

"Oh my Goodness !" I exclaimed. "Dragons – that's the First Task !"

"Yep" nodded Charlie with a smirk.

"Blimey, Harry's gonna faint !"

"He'll be fine" chuckled Charlie. "None of the dragons we brought are really dangerous – well, except maybe that Hungarian Horntail… But yeah. It's not going to be easy."

"Does Harry know ?" I asked.

"Not yet. But Ron's coming to see them tonight, he'll probably tag along."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that – they had a fight or something. They haven't been talking to each other for bloody weeks !"

"Are you serious ?"

"Yeah ! Ron was upset about Harry entering the Tournament – he thinks he's done it behind his back."

"I heard about that. I don't think Harry would ever do something like this."

"I agree. But you know Ron – stubborn as a mule."

"Like his mother" chuckled Charlie. "Hey, I heard about Fred and George trying to outsmart Dumbledore – what happened exactly ?"

I laughed, and then started telling Charlie what had happened. It felt really good to talk to him – I already felt much better.

"What about you ?" he asked. "Anything new ?"

"Not really" I said. "Just a disastrous date."

I didn't know why I mentioned it – probably because I felt so much at ease with Charlie, and felt like I could tell him everything. He frowned, asking me about it.

"It's nothing important. It's just – this guy from Durmstrang who asked me out today. And it was going really well, but then – he kissed me and… It just didn't feel right, you know ?"

I stared down at the ground, all my previous thoughts suddenly coming back to me. I felt pathetic.

"Sorry – I really don't want to bother you with all that rubbish."

"You're not bothering me, Addy."

Charlie then pulled me into a hug – his long hair tickled my nose.

"Teenage boys are idiots, Addy. Have my word on that" he said.

I laughed, hugging him back.

"They always want to go too fast, and they never know the right thing to say. But it will get better. I promise."

"Thank you, Charlie."

He gently pushed me back, smiling mysteriously.

"Now, how about I show you the dragons ?"