disclaimer: the world isn't mine, neither are any of the familiar characters. Glinda is mine.
AN: thanks to my lovely readers, love you all!
Chapter 11
The rain had stopped by the time we arrived at Hogwarts. Charlie told me that he planned on sticking around for a while, he wanted to visit his old friend Hagrid. "Would you mind if I joined you?" I asked him, I wasn't ready to end our time together.
"Not at all," he said as he draped his arm over my shoulders. "Hagrid loves company, 'the more the marrier', I've heard him say." We led the bike towards the game keeper's cottage.
"It's a shame that he's retiring from teaching," I remarked, "the students love him and his classes. Macgonagle asked him to stay in the gamekeeper's cottage, He's going to continue helping out, and escorting the first years."
"That's good, Hogwarts wouldn't be the same with out him. Macgonagle's mellowed considerably since I was a kid. When she was still teaching, that woman could terrorize with a look. But she loves Quidditch. In my seventh year Snape was potion's master and head of Slytherin, he tried to give Gryffindor's three best Quidditch players detentions scheduled during the final game. He wanted his house to win the cup that year. He accused us of cheating in his class. Macgonagle called the nasty bastard out, it was great, she threatened to turn him onto a skink."
"A skink?" I asked skeptically, "that doesn't sound like Minerva. Besides, how did you kids find out?"
"Overheard them, we were sitting outside Snape's dungeon. I think she figured out that we heard her, when she came out she saw the three of us sniggering. She gave us the 'look' and said, I remember it so clearly. 'Mr. Weasley, Mr. Wood, Miss Johnson, none of you heard anything, correct?'
of course we said 'no, mam'. We had a great laugh over it, and we kept our mouths shut."
"Good for you, I met Snape's portrait in Minerva's office, one of the most unpleasant personalities I've ever encountered, and I've encountered a lot. He was potion's master before he became headmaster?" Charlie nodded. "That's interesting, the current potion's master is the current head of Slytherin. His name is Nott. He's quite a smarmy character, actually, asked me to go out with him the first night I was here."
Charlie stopped in his tracks, "he did, did he?"
"I turned him down flat, he tried to get me alone," Charlie's jaw clenched a bit. "he offered to escort me back to my suite. Neville was kind enough to join us. He told Nott that if he tried anything, I would hex him into next week. He's right. I have no interest in Theodore Nott, for one thing, he's creepy, for another, well... nevermind" I wasn't ready to make any confessions yet. I realized that the only person I'd want escorting me through the dark with "ulterior" motives was the man walking with me and the motorcycle.
"Never mind, what?" Charlie asked.
"Nothing," I said, we'd arrived at Hagrid's hut. He was outside in his garden feeding bits of meat to a pair of twin baby hippogriffs.
"Hello Hagrid!" Charlie shouted and waved.
"If it ain't Charlie Weasley," Hagrid grinned. He put the bucket down and walked over to meet us. "an' Miss Glinda, very nice of you to escort Charlie here." He then noticed our clasped hands, "oh?" he said, "I get it." He looked rather pleased at this. "Well, now that the twins are fed, would you care to join me for a nice cup of tea?"
"Sure." we said in unison. Hagrid led us inside,
We spent a lovely afternoon with Hagrid. I got to learn more about Charlie's school years. And, I got to play with Buckbeak the third, and Belladonna, his twin sister. "Twin foals are very rare,"
Hagrid had explained, "their mother didn't survive the laying. A beautiful mare she was, but two eggs was too much for her. So, I'm raising them."
By the time we left it had gotten dark, and the rain had started again. Hagrid lent us a large umbrella and told Charlie to leave the cycle in the shed next to the hut. Charlie held the umbrella over us as we walked to the castle. We made it to a side entrance unseen, I brought Charlie up to my classroom. "This way," I said as I led him up the spiral staircase to my suite.
"You had the dragon skeleton taken down?" he asked. "It's been up there since I was a kid."
"Yes," I said, "this is a Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, what does that have to do with dragons? They're not dark creatures, they aren't evil."
"Good point," he agreed with a grin, the grin actually, the one that turned me into a pile of mush. He dropped the now folded umbrella into the bucket next to my desk, and made himself at home on my couch.
"Are you hungry of thirsty?" I asked, I know that it's after the regular supper hour, but I can run down to the kitchen to see if the house elves have anything good to snack on. I've got an icebox with cold drinks in it, if you want."
"Not hungry, but I could use a drink."
"How about lemonade?" I grabbed the carafe out of the icebox, and pulled two goblets off the shelf near it. I joined Charlie on the couch, and poured us both a drink.
"This is really good," he said, as he took a sip.
"Thank you, I made it." I was rather proud of my culinary skills.
"Excellent." He put the goblet on to the table next to the couch. "Actually, I think I have to make a bit of a confession."
"What is that?"
"I really really fancy you," he blushed. "I now I've only known you for a very short time, but I can't get you out of my mind, woman. When you told me about Nott, I felt jealous. I wanted hex the bastard."
"That makes two of us, I wanted to hex the bastard myself." I paused for a second. "I really 'fancy' you, too Charlie Weasley." I heard a giggle from behind me, and turned around, Tonks was standing there, giving me a thumbs up sign, and grinning like a fool.
"It took you forever, Charlie," she said. "But I knew when it happened, you'd fall hard." She then winked at me. "We'll Chat later Glin," she said as she disappeared.
"Are you all right?" Charlie asked me, looking concerned.
"I'm fine,"I said as a pulled him into another kiss. He pulled me into his lap, and we continued "snogging" like a couple of teenagers.