Bill returned to Hogwarts the day before term recommenced with a slice of Mrs Weasley's Christmas pudding for Charlie, and shocking news from home.
'You would not have believed how angry Mum was, and that was nothing compared to Dad.' Bill shook his head. 'I've never seen Dad so furious in my life.'
Charlie listened to the tale, open mouthed. Arthur had walked into Fred and George's room to find them with five year old Ron, making an Unbreakable Vow.
'They were just starting the third Vow when it happened. They'd taken Dad's wand from his bedside table and he'd gone looking for it. I was downstairs with Mum, Ginny and Percy at the time. I thought the ghoul has escaped the attic before I realised it was Dad shouting at the twins.'
'What did he do?' Charlie asked, trying to imagine his father angry. He just couldn't do it.
'Next thing I knew, Fred and George were jumping down the stairs with Dad running after them broom in hand! Fred couldn't sit down for the whole next week.'
Charlie winced. 'Ouch. What about George?'
'Oh he was alright; it was Fred who had been doing the spell so he got the worst of it. But Mum and Dad separated them for a couple of days as punishment. George got to spend the next few days looking after Ginny with Mum while Fred was with Percy and Dad.'
'Well at least it's made Mum forget about the food fight. I'm glad I stayed here,' Charlie breathed, 'we only managed to get Birch in the face with a snowball.'
Charlie, Tonks and Scabior's detentions began at the start of the new term with an owl to each of them about when their first session would start.
'Mr Weasley,' Charlie read Professor McGonagall's slanted script.
'Your detention will begin tonight at 20:30. Please arrive promptly at my office. Bring protective gloves.
Professor M. McGonagall'
Buck had been reading the letter over Charlie's shoulder.
'Bring protective gloves? I wonder what you'll be doing,' he said.
Charlie shrugged. 'Hopefully nothing as bad as Tonks or Scabior.'
Sure enough, not even two minutes later, Tonks came marching over to the Gryffindor table.
'Guess what that miserable old troll is making us do?' she threw a scrunched up piece of parchment to Charlie. He unfolded it and read aloud.
'Miss Tonks…detention with Mr Filch…polishing the trophy room…no magic allowed.'
'Ouch,' Buck grimaced, 'you'll be there all night. Have you seen how many trophies there are in that room?'
Annie jabbed him in the ribs, 'Not. Helping.'
'At least you'll have Scabior to keep you company,' Annie pointed out. Tonks shrugged.
'I guess, but Filch probably won't let us talk at all.'
Before he knew it 8:30 had arrived and Charlie found himself knocking at Professor McGonagall's office door. He'd been given a pile of homework already as the teachers began gearing the second years towards their exam preparation.
The door to McGonagall's office opened and Charlie poked his head around the door. The transfiguration teacher was sat at her desk, beside a pile of parchment she was marking. The ravens above Charlie's head cawed.
'Come in Weasley,' she beckoned. 'I've been informed that you have an interest in creatures. Is that so?'
'Yes Professor.'
'Then you might enjoy cleaning out the animal cages this evening.' Charlie looked to the ceiling where a number of cages hung, all containing an animal used for transfiguration practice. McGonagall waved her wand and a dozen cages floated down from the ceiling. Mice squeaked as their cages settled onto the desks.
'I trust you brought your protective gloves?' Charlie pulled the dragon-hide gloves from the pocket of his robes. 'You have a scrubbing brush and a bowl of water on the front desk, and a spare cage to hold the animals. Try not to lose them,' McGonagall informed him. 'I'm sure you're well aware by now, from your string of detentions last year, no magic is to be used during your detention.'
'Yes Professor.' Charlie slipped on his gloves and picked up the cage closest to him. It contained a large mouse, about the size of Percy's pet rat Scabbers. The mouse was pure white with red eyes. It scrabbled at the bars of the cage when Charlie put his face closer to it to look at the mouse.
'C'mere little feller,' he whispered. Charlie could feel the rodent's body expanding and contracting as it breathed. He carefully placed the mouse in the spare cage, clean of dirt and muck. 'I bet you make a really impressive snuffbox,' he told the mouse.
Charlie tried his best to ignore the smell of mouse droppings as he set to cleaning the cage. Before long, he was used to it. Professor McGonagall's nose wrinkled as the stench washed over her every few minutes.
By the time the two hours were up, Charlie was just finishing up the last mouse cage. Professor McGonagall came over to inspect his handiwork.
'Good job Weasley,' she nodded with approval. 'You'll be doing the same thing the night after tomorrow with the ravens.' With another wave of her wand, all the mouse cages returned to their original places among the other animal cages. 'Goodnight Mr Weasley.'
Charlie waved goodbye to the animals and headed back up to Gryffindor tower. The good feeling he'd had while cleaning the animals vanished when he contemplated the pile of homework still waiting for him.
Surprisingly, Tonks had a better detention than expected, despite the evening featuring two hours with Filch and a lot of polishing.
'Will made it really funny,' Tonks told Charlie in Herbology, a huge grin on her face, 'he kept doing these impressions of Filch whenever he wasn't looking.'
Charlie put on a smile while she retold the story. He felt a bit put out knowing that Tonks was having a good time in detention when Charlie was on his own, especially as he'd gotten himself into trouble to help her out. His pleasure at having an easy and relaxing detention was no longer something Charlie felt happy about.
'So how was your detention?' Tonks finally asked when she finished her tale.
Charlie shrugged, 'you know, the usual, boring cleaning stuff.'
'Oh,' Tonks lapsed into silence.
Charlie thought, as they walked back up to the castle after the lesson, how weird it was that Tonks was calling Scabior by his first name.
'Don says they sometimes talk to each other in Defence Against the Dark Arts,' Annie told him when he pointed it out to her at lunch. 'Does it bother you?'
Charlie scoffed, 'Why would that bother me?'
Annie raised a single eyebrow. Charlie caught her shooting sideways glances at him for the rest of the day.
With his detentions, homework, revision, and Quidditch practices all going on at once, Charlie had very little time for anything else. When Slytherin beat Ravenclaw by over two hundred points, Gwenog became manic in her preparation. The onslaught of wind and rain didn't help; Charlie could barely remember what it felt like to be warm and dry.
'Charlie, you're dripping.' Annie complained as Charlie threw himself down on one of the Gryffindor sofas. Buck sat down on Annie's other side. 'Ergh, have you ever heard of a drying charm?'
'Obviously not,' Rose sniffed, recoiling from Buck's damp smell.
'Go and get changed,' Annie told the pair.
'Only if I can have a look at your Herbology homework,' Buck smirked.
'Anything, just get away from us,' Ellie Elkins squealed as Charlie shook his growing hair all over them, spraying water everywhere. Julia squirmed, sheltering her homework from the drops.
'Merlin's beard, I can't wait until this Hufflepuff match is over,' Charlie told Buck as he emerged from the shower, 'I don't think I can feel my big toe.'
'I don't think I ever had a big toe,' Buck shrugged, wrapping a towel around his waist, 'it's been too long since I've had any feeling in it.'
Charlie finished his detentions with Professor McGonagall and was handed over to Professor Flitwick. Weirdly, he would miss spending time with the animals and cleaning their cages.
Charlie turned up at the tiny Charms teacher's classroom on the third floor wondering what he would be doing for the next few Monday evenings.
'Come in Weasley,' Flitwick squeaked as Charlie poked his head around the door. 'I'm afraid your detention this evening will be rather dull. You'll be cleaning the desks, students seem to feel the need to dispose of their gum on the underside of them so it'll be your job to clean it all off. Here is your tool.'
Charlie made a face, wishing he was back in McGonagall's office already. He picked up the metal ruler from Flitwick's desk and made a start on the desks, lying on his back staring at the underside of the wooden tables. It was unpleasant work. Charlie scraped and scraped at the hardened clumps of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum and rolled out of the way as they fell.
Halfway through the detention Charlie reached the back of the classroom. He flung himself down on the floor and gazed up at the desk. As Charlie hacked away at the clusters he slowly began to uncover some graffiti: the initials S.O.B, R.J.L and P.P as well as the bold cutting J.P + L.E. Curious, Charlie stuck his head above the desk.
'Sir? Whose initials are these?'
Flitwick toddled over and looked underneath the desk. Strangely, he sighed unhappily. 'Don't you worry about those Weasley,' the little professor advised. 'Some old students, that's all.' He returned to his desk and was quiet for the rest of Charlie's detention. When Charlie told him that he had finished, Flitwick dismissed Charlie early, staring sadly into the distance, absently offering Charlie a cupcake. Charlie didn't know what to make of it.
March arrived and the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff match was all Charlie could think about. Professor McGonagall even excused Charlie and Buck from extra homework in the weeks running up to the match.
'Just don't tell anyone,' she had winked before dismissing them from her classroom with a 'good luck' and a gingerbread newt. 'Cooper, Weasley – do try to win won't you?'
'Yes Professor,' Charlie promised.
Saturday dawned and Charlie and Buck were awoken by Gwenog Jones bursting into their dormitory.
'UP!' she ordered as though they were a pair of broomsticks. Charlie jerked awake; Buck smacked his head on his bedside cabinet. Reg snorted and Fergus fell out of bed.
'Why does she keep doing that?' Fergus moaned from the floor. But the two Quidditch players were already half dressed and heading out of the dorm.
'Good luck boys,' Tonks sneered dropping over to the Gryffindor table. 'You're gonna need it against the 'Puffs.'
Charlie rolled his eyes. Tonks was competitive at the best of times, but house Quidditch was a whole other level.
'Let's go team,' Gwenog barked, leading the scarlet and gold clad players out of the Great Hall and down to the pitch. In the changing room Gwenog gave her pre-match speech.
'We beat Slytherin back in November. Hufflepuff should be an easy game, and if we can break that Sphinx's nose along the way, I'd say it's a result. Let's go!'
Charlie offered a confused look to Jon Roberts. Out on the pitch Myron was introducing the Hufflepuffs to the stadium, with much gravitas and flair.
'Yeah, Gwen's been a bit intense since before Christmas. Spinks dumped her for Griffiths, you know, the Ravenclaw chaser.'
'Mount your brooms!' Jones called from the front. Charlie clambered onto his broom, waiting to kick off.
'HERE TO DEFEND THEIR TITLE AS CHAMPIONS - HERE COME THE GRYFFINDORS!'
Charlie kicked hard off the damp ground and sped forward.
'JONES! JENKINS! RYAN! COOPER! DENT! ROBERTS! AAAAAND WEASLEY!' The stadium cheered. Charlie looped the stadium relishing in the chanting.
'GO GO GRYFFINDOR!' Charlie faced fifth year Lennox Campbell in the starting circle. Campbell was short and slim; the right build for a seeker. He shared his red hair with his twin, Angus, who played chaser. Charlie thought that either Gwen or Spinks would spontaneously combust from the heat of each others' glares. As it happened, Madam Hooch had to tell the captains twice to get back on their brooms before blowing her whistle.
'Picked up by Dent, passes to Cooper, over to Roberts, back to Cooper, intercepted by Mullet. What a girl that Olivia Mullet is, I asked her out again the other day. She rejected me, it nearly broke my heart.'
'WAGTAIL.'
'Alright professor. Anyway, Dorny has the Quaffle. Passes to Campbell, a fearsome Scotsman is Campbell, he and his brother too. Have you noticed that both seekers here today are red heads? Do you think red hair has some sort of link to good eyesight? Obviously not as Angus Campbell takes a bludger to the chest! That's got to hurt!'
Charlie grinned as Joey held his beater's bat aloft for the crowd.
'You're going to get it real good Weasley.' Lennox yelled across to Charlie.
'Bring it on!' There was something about being in the air that made Charlie feel indestructible. Charlie rolled quickly to avoid a bludger.
'Dunstan launches a bludger at the Gryffindor seeker! Sorry about that Charlie!'
'It is not okay Myron!' Charlie called back, aware that Myron had no chance of hearing him over the chanting crowd.
'Roberts has possession again. Drop it Jon! Only kidding professor,' Myron laughed uneasily. Charlie imagined McGonagall giving her most intense glare. 'Roberts is closing in on the keeper! Save it Sponge! YES! Hufflepuff keeper Spungen saves the first shot of the game! It's nil-nil here at the Quidditch pitch!'
Charlie scanned the stadium while the match resumed. He thought he spotted the snitch once, but then realised it was Professor Dumbledore's half-moon glasses glinting in the obscured sunlight. Ryan had a tough game after that as Hufflepuff doubled their efforts on the Gryffindor goal, conceding two goals from five shots.
'Twenty-nil over at the Quidditch pitch!' Myron informed the spectators. 'Hufflepuff are very strong this year. Gryffindor need to up their game soon to be in with a chance of winning.'
A minute later Buck had scored through the centre Hufflepuff hoop.
'I was joking!' Myron roared over the Gryffindor cheers, 'there's no need to go and do that!'
'Twenty-ten to Hufflepuff and – oh! The Gryffindor keeper is taken out by Spinks! Gwenog Jones isn't too happy about that as she appeals to Madam Hooch for a foul! Yes, it is given!' Charlie watched in anger as Phil 'the Sphinx' Spinks waved to the outraged Gryffindor crowd. Joey Jenkins, Buck and Arthur Dent dived to catch Ryan before he spiralled to the ground. He was stretchered off the pitch by Madam Pomfrey and the Gryffindor goal was left defenceless.
Roberts missed his shot he was in such a furious state. Charlie actually feared for the state of Spinks' health during and after the match. Getting on the wrong side of Gwenog Jones was one thing, but taking out one of her players was the last straw.
'Cooper crosses to Dent, he takes the shot and it goes wide!' the Gryffindor crowd groaned as the rouge Quaffle soared clearly over the centre hoop. Spungen mimed using binoculars and almost got knocked off his broom by an angry bludger from Jenkins.
The tide began to turn when Dorny gave away a penalty for "flying with intent to collide" with Buck. Buck took the shot and scored.
'That's twenty-twenty!' Myron announced. 'Oh, Cooper takes another bold shot at Spungen but it's easily cleared by the experienced keeper. WHAT IS HE DOING? Campbell has locked brooms with Roberts and is steering him off-course! Roberts drops the Quaffle, but what is Madam Hooch going to do with Campbell after that obvious case of blurting? It's a penalty to Gryffindor! I think Spinks is going to need some harsh words with his chasers.'
Sure enough, as Jon lined up to take the shot Spinks was making himself red in the face shouting at his team.
'Roberts shoots – he scores! Thirty-twenty to Gryffindor now at the Quidditch pitch! Gryffindor are back in the game. All bets are on! Oh and uh, betting is obviously against the school rules, so there are in fact no bets on. I repeat Hogwarts, no bets are on. Sorry professor.'
Charlie hovered near the Hufflepuff end as he scanned for the snitch. 'An easy shot for Mullet there as the Gryffindor goal lies wide open, you go Liv! MERLIN'S CODPIECE! Spinks aimed a bludger at Gwenog Jones who retaliated by throwing her beater's bat, with pin-point accuracy I might add, at the Hufflepuff captain. What has gotten into the players today?'
Madam Hooch furiously blew her whistle. 'This is unprecedented ladies and gentlemen,' Myron exclaimed, 'Madam Hooch is ordering both teams to take a five minute time out or she will start sending players off for reckless and unsporting behaviour! What do you think of that Hogwarts?'
The resounding mixture of booing and cheering made nothing any clearer about how the crowd was feeling. Charlie guided his broom down to the pitch floor and gathered along with the rest of his team. Gwen was red in the face.
'I'm sorry team, I don't know what got into me,' she was saying, 'but when Madam Hooch blows that whistle we are going to play the cleanest game anyone has ever seen, even Filch will be impressed.' Charlie suppressed a grin, well aware of Filch's cleaning standards. 'I need one chaser hanging back by the halfway mark at all times in case they get close to our goal. We've got no keeper now so we're vulnerable. Roberts, I'd prefer it if you could hang back, you've got more experience with filling in as keeper.' Jon nodded, his jaw set. 'Weasley, you make it your life's goal to find that damn Snitch before Campbell. Gryffindor!'
'GRYFFINDOR!' They punched the air; Charlie remounted his broom, waiting for Madam Hooch's signal.
The shrill whistle once again pierced the air and Charlie felt the usual stirring in his stomach as he soared above the sound of the crowds, searching for the tiny flitting speck of gold that was the snitch.
'Cooper, Roberts, Dent, Cooper, Dent, DROPS IT! Mullet, Campbell, Mullet, Dorny, tackled by Roberts, narrowly misses a bludger from Dunstan. Roberts versus Spungen now, here he goes, cheeky cross to Dent and it SAILS THROUGH THE LEFT-HAND HOOP!' the Gryffindor crowd went wild. 'That's was perfectly timed handling of the Quaffle there from those two Gryffindor seekers, not many can make a play like that without being picked up for Stooging – that's more than one player in the scoring zone Hogwarts. And the game resumes, forty-twenty now to Gryffindor!'
Charlie allowed himself a loop-de-loop high above the crowd in celebration. His gaze roamed over to the Slytherin quarter of the crowd who were supporting Hufflepuff for the match, well, those who were supporting anyone at least. Then Charlie caught the glimpse he had been waiting for: a fleck of gold against a black background. The snitch was there. Charlie darted towards the Slytherin crowd, careering straight at them.
'I think Weasley's spotted the snitch!' Myron mentioned, almost off-hand, but the crowd bit. They were on their feet tracking Charlie through binoculars and telescopes alike.
'Come on,' Charlie urged his broom on as he saw Campbell trailing out of the corner of his eye. 'Come on!' The snitch veered sharply and Charlie followed it twist for turn. There was no stopping now, no slowing down. Campbell had joined the chase too late, and unless Charlie was taken out of the snitch race there was no way Campbell could edge ahead. He was close enough now, keeping his broom steady in one hand; Charlie reached forwards with his right hand. Fingers outstretched, broom vibrating like crazy beneath him, Charlie mentally pleaded to get that little bit closer, and he did!
'Charlie Weasley catches the snitch for Gryffindor! One hundred and ninety points to thirty! And boy, ladies and gents, was that a tense match. No one would have guessed it would end so suddenly!'
The fine feathered wings of the snitch beat half-heartedly in Charlie's clenched fist as he triumphantly showed off his prize to the crowd. The team surrounded Charlie in a bubble of scarlet and gold.
'Nice one Weasley!' Gwenog cheered, raising his fist in victory once more. Charlie sank back down to ground level with the team, but it took far longer for his mind to get back to normal as he was high on glory for the next few days at least.
Apologies for taking so long to update.
There's some good news and some bad news - the bad news, I was in hospital for the past week. The good news, I had all that time to exclusively edit and write for this fic.
You also may have noticed the addition of 3 interval chapter, these are just to fill out the story from other characters' point of view and will be added every 5 chapters.
Keep on reviewing!
LittleGuitar94
