It's getting a little more emotional, the more serious side to certain people.
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Leaving Charlie and Professor Valence in the room to get her patched up. Sitting down across from her, Charlie could see his jaw line clinching, his body was tense, his face wore a look of irritation, but his breathing was calm. Charlie was about to say something when Valence started, "What happened out there?" he asked her. Charlie watched him as he soaked the towel in the water, "I don't know." she knew she was lying and he could hear it. Lifting her chin with his hands, he wiped the left over blood, "What do you mean you don't know? You know perfectly well what happened!" he said in a rough voice but trying to remain calm. Charlie knew it was useless to try and lie to him about her dancing with him; however, there was a feeling in the back of her mind that it wasn't just that.
"Fine! I danced with Cedric. What's wrong with that?" she asked him with a bit attitude, "You know what you did was wrong! He wasn't your date from the beginning yet, you danced with him." he was now roughly holding her chin while cleaning dried up blood. Charlie slowly pulled away but he kept a grip, "I know. I wasn't oblivious that he had a date." not realizing how she was talking to him, but she still talked in a quiet tone. "Should I even mention how you looked like on the dance floor?" he growled at her, pushing the conversation more and more. Charlie pushed his hands away from her, "Great! I can't even be myself when I dance, when I feel like I have to be someone else at school." she fired back at him. Professor Valence didn't seem to care if she was angry, "Is that all you do? Do you tease Cedric for attention? Are you crying for attention from him? What's the matter with you Charlie? Speak to me!" he said in a pleading voice.
Charlie's mouth drew open in shock, she had never heard Professor Valence talk like this, "What do you want me to say Professor?" she asked him, "Yes, I have issues Professor! I tease Cedric because I feel like it and it's all for fun! If I could, I would do this for a living. I'll cry for attention every day so people will look at me! I'm just a misunderstood girl who needs someone to hold her every night so she can feel whole," she said in a fake tone, "This is exactly what I want!" Charlie was being sarcastic as all hell.
Professor Valence looked as if he wanted to hit her but he grabbed the iodine, lifting her neck with his left hand, he started rubbing the iodine on her neck roughly. It was burning, making Charlie flinch and wail in pain. Valence didn't seem to care if she was in pain, "Suck it up! If you can handle someone digging their nails in you, then you can handle this." flatly saying to her. Charlie tried to move away but he had a good grip, she was like a little girl at the doctors refusing to get the shot.
"What do you want me to say Professor?" she was pleading to him as she tried to calm him down; "I want you to say nothing at all!" he sounded as if he wasn't to be reasoned with. "Professor!" Charlie was trying to capture his attention again. Then in an instant, he turned the chair a full 180 degrees, making Charlie's head jerk a bit, "Professor!" she tried to reason again but he didn't say anything. Rubbing the iodine on the back of her neck making her flinch and wail again. Trying to stand up, she found herself bound on the chair, "Professor?" she said in a careful tone but he didn't respond, as she felt her back being forced to the chair. He had bound her to the chair with a spell, "Professor, this is not fair!" she yelled to him, "And you think it was fair for you to say that about your mother?" he said with fury. "What do you want me to say Professor? Do you want me to comfort you? Do you want me to be like mother and tell you I'm alive? What is it?" feeling as if she was ready to cry again, but this time she knew why she was crying.
Leaving the iodine in place, he blew on it so it could dry off quickly. It sent a big shiver up Charlie's spine, a feeling from her stomach went quickly out of her mouth, she moaned loudly in surprise. Professor Valence quickly grabbed the gauze and wiped it off the iodine with alcohol, Charlie started feeling the real pain, and it was stinging. He was torturing her when he was supposed to help her clean her wounds.
In the back of Charlie's mind she knew she had to do something that was out of her reach. At least that's what she thinks, but she knows that the Professor knows she's capable of doing it.
Through the pain and agony, she had to reach inside herself to find the voice she once knew.
Moving her neck to the left roughly he started to place butterfly stitches on her when she said in a calm and sweet tone, "Michael." he stopped. Charlie gave a small sigh of relief for a second; she had to play the role for a while.
Slowly he moved his hands away from her, "Don't do this to me Charlie!" he said as if he was begging her. "Michael, please stop!" she said in the same tone, while trying to be sincere. The Professor ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, leaning on his desk with his arms holding him, his head hanging, "It's not fair Leah!" he said to her. Charlie didn't know what he meant but she had to say something, "Nothing ever is." responding to his comment. "Why did you leave me?" he asked her in a heartbreaking tone, Charlie gulped, she didn't know how to respond to his question. Silently she waited for him to say something else, but there was nothing so she felt like she needed to continue, "I'm sorry." whispering to him.
"Yeah, I'm sorry too!" he said in a bitter tone.
"For what?" Charlie was now curious as to why he was talking this way.
"For meeting you in the first place! I wished I never met you." he seemed to have forced it out.
"Why?" asking again, though she knows that she was toying with his feelings, she wanted to know why her mother left him.
"Because Leah, you left me! You got up and left! You left me in pain for years and now, every time I see Charlene, I can't help but think it's you! As if you have returned to me but you haven't!" Professor Valence was in pain for the first time, she had never heard him like this. Slamming his fist on the table, Charlie gave a quick jump. The room was silent for a minute while Professor Valence collected himself. Charlie couldn't see any of this since her back was facing him, but she knew that he needed time to pull himself together.
"When I came back from Australia, I though you were coming back to be with me, but you said you came to visit. . . and you weren't alone!" he said as he sat down behind her. Charlie's could hear the squeaking sounds of the chair, "You came with a baby," he continued, "with the biggest and brightest hazel eyes I had ever seen. Telling me that you were a mother of three." giving a big sigh of grief.
Leaning his head back as he tried to recollect more of the memory, "I believe that was the day I died. I couldn't believe that you were married and you were a mother of three kids!" saying in a surprised tone, his voice was cracking. "You wouldn't believe how many times I told myself that day that I could make it up to you. I told myself that I can be exactly what you want me to be but, I knew you would see right through me. Just like you always did. But you never saw the pain I endured that day. You used Charlene to soften me up and it worked!" he chuckled at the thought, "It really did work because, when I saw her smile, I couldn't just not smile back. I was jealous that I wasn't a father. I was jealous that I wasn't her father."
Professor Valence was staring at the back of Charlie's head, thinking that it was Leah. "Then you make me promise that if I ever come across Charlene, that I wouldn't let any harm come to her. I would protect her as if she was one of my own. So, like a sucker, I said yes! It was hard to resist anything you asked for. You always knew how to talk me into things." he said as he laughed a bit but then died down, "But you didn't talk me out of going to Australia. You knew it was my passion to go there and you didn't stop me." he said in a sad tone. Pounding on the table again, "I promised you only a year, but I guess . . ." he was now silent, standing up from his chair, he placed his hands on her shoulder, making her shudder. "You couldn't wait for me. After three years."
Charlie knew she needed to stop the act, she didn't want him to go on any further, "Professor." she said in a quiet but cautious tone. Valence quickly broke away from the trance when Charlie called his name, backing away from her, taking his hands off her shoulder. "Professor, I'm sorry." forcing the words out of her throat. Before she knew it, she was being wheeled around to face Professor Valence, she was too afraid to look at him. She knew she had hurt him even more, but she knew nothing else to do to stop him. Guilt was written all over her face, he knew that what she did was wrong. Coming near her at eye level, he watched her face. Charlie slightly lifted her head, to see how he was reacting to all this. A blank expression was written all over his face, but she could see that his eyes were a bit watery, Charlie quickly looked away.
In a deep but rough voice he told her, "Don't you ever do that to me." he was serious in his expression. Charlie looked at him and nodded her head. "I never want to hear you talk like her. Don't use that against me." quietly telling her in a pained tone. Charlie again nodded her head and didn't say another word. Professor Valence slowly turned her chair around and gently started to place the bandages on her neck, without saying another word.
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Cedric came back with her wand, rushing into the room he saw that Charlie was already patched up. However, the vibe in the room was different from what it was when he left. Professor Valence didn't say anything else to Charlie, "She's done. You can take her." he told Cedric in a dry tone. Charlie stood up from her chair, without looking back at Professor Valence she walked out of the door. Cedric watched as she exited without him, then he looked at Professor Valence, wanting to ask him what happened. Opening his mouth to say something Professor Valence glared at him, just shaking his head. There's nothing that Valence wanted to say to him and nothing that could be said. Cedric nodded his head and walked out of the room to catch up with Charlie.
Charlie and Cedric walked slowly to the portrait, Charlie had nothing to say, though Cedric had questions to ask her. She walked ahead of him while he followed from behind, but not too far from her. They could hear the echoes of the music and the people through out the castle walls, making Charlie remember the dance she had with Cedric. For once, she was regretting something and that was the dance. Although she couldn't deny that she had fun, she knew that what she did was stupid. Too ashamed to look at Cedric, she didn't even want to be reminded.
Just as they approached the portrait, she went on ahead to open it but Cedric stopped her when he said, "Thank you." Charlie kept her back facing him, "For what?" she said in a dull tone, "For the night." he answered. Charlie just shook her head and gave a small grunt.
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Entering the portrait, she saw Faye and the Weasley twins waiting for her inside. Fred, George, and Faye ran towards her, "Are you okay?" Faye started asking questions; Fred and George did just the same. Charlie didn't say anything she was glaring at the twins. "How bad was it?" Faye asked her, Charlie still didn't say anything, and the twins fell silent; realizing that Charlie wasn't going to say anything until Faye left.
"Faye, can you do me a favor and help me get cleaned up? I'll tell you everything." quietly telling her, hoping that Faye wouldn't question her. Nodding her head, she walked away from her and kissed George on the cheek goodnight and ran upstairs.
Charlie, Fred, and George were looking at each other. Their minds were buzzing with thoughts, not knowing how everyone was taking it. Fred looked at George, concerned of what was to come out from Charlie mouth. Just then they noticed her mouth slowly moving, her left side of her mouth was slowly rising, into a crocked smile. The twins both gasped in shock, was she happy about this? Charlie gave a big sigh, "Thank you boys! I don't think I've had that adrenaline rush in quite a while." telling them. Patting their shoulders she walked away from them and up the stairs, "Goodnight boys. Like it never happened. Like it never happened." she told them in a distant voice.