Summary: Arianna Perry just wants someone to talk to, maybe even be her friend. Charlie Weasley wants someone to like him for who he is, and not because of his Quidditch talent. When Ari and Charlie meet, a strong friendship bonds the two. However, being "just friends" seems impossible to both...but is risking their friendship for a possible love worth it?
Categories: Other Pairing Characters: None
Warnings: None
Challenges: Series: None
Chapters: 10
Completed: Yes
Word count: 13437
Read: 32339
Published: 12/01/05
Updated: 02/15/06
1. The Plan by Ivona Queens
2. The Lesson by Ivona Queens
3. The Catch by Ivona Queens
4. The News by Ivona Queens
5. The Silver Arrow by Ivona Queens
6. The Tryouts by Ivona Queens
7. The Letters by Ivona Queens
8. The Christmas by Ivona Queens
9. The Visit by Ivona Queens
10. The New Year by Ivona Queens
"GO, CHARLIE!"
"GO GRYFFINDOR!"
"COME ON, WEASLEY!"
"YES!!! GO! GO!"
It was the first match of the year, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. Despite an unusually chilly morning, the entire school turned out for the event, sporting yellow and scarlet or silver and green hats and scarves, depending on who they were supporting. A strong, freezing wind whipped through the stands, but no one shivred, afraid that they would miss the action. The match was tense, and all of a sudden, a sound erupted, similar to the explosion of a small bomb. The crowd was going wild as Gryffindor Seeker Charlie Weasley preformed a spectacular dive. In a few short, excitement-filled seconds, the golden Snitch was in his fist, and the commenter, Jazz Davis, was happily shouting the scores - Gryffindor won, 190 to 20.
Joy and nervousness filled me to the brim. I had asked Charlie to meet me by the lake after the match. I had a plan, and if it worked, I would have at least one friend. I still wondered if someone even knew that there was a girl named Arianna Perry in their class. The summer was a large change for me - my acne disappeared, my eyes changed color to a darker blue, my hair grew stronger and thicker, I grew a good two inches, and my skin color evened out, the end product being a milky white, a shade lighter than everyone else's. These changes hadn't gone completely unnoticed - sometimes people looked twice at me, as if I was a new student.
One thing stayed the same - I still didn't have any friends. I wasn't like the other girls. I felt lonely, and I spent most of my time in the library. I was desperate for at least a little conversation. I knew that I had to have at least one friend, so I did my research. I studied the habits and personalities of other people, the way they talked and walked, and their overall character. I came up with a startling result - Charlie Weasley.
The Charlie Weasley. The famous Gryffindor Seeker. The one who can spot a snitch a mile a way. From what I could tell, he had a good personality, he didn't have a bad mind, and overall, he seemed to be a nice person. The most shocking part of my research was that he didn't seem to have any friends.
Oh sure, there were the crazed fans and the girls desperate for his attention (not to mention a date), but apart from that, I didn't see him hanging out with anyone. He seemed to be alone and lonely while being surrounded with people who practically worshiped him. I felt saddened when I realized this, that people wanted to be friends with Charlie the Seeker and not Charlie Weasley. I thought that it was worth a shot to become Charlie's friend.
The stands were clearing out now, and I made my way to the lake. The sunlight danced along the lake's waves, making it look like a gorgeous sapphire. I sat down by the edge of the lake. A minute or two later, Charlie Weasley arrived, his red hair still wet from the showers, his cheeks still pink from the rush of the wind. My heart leapt. Charlie wasn't the most handsome boy in the sixth year, but I thought that he looked cute. I thought he looked perfect.
I swallowed hard. I wasn't looking for romance, I was looking for a favor and a friend. Neither of us spoke for a while; we looked out at the lake, and I let the wind tussle my wavy brown hair. Finally, he touched my arm., and heat shot through my arm, tingling a little. "Arianna? Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?"
I cleared my throat. "Umm...yeah, actually, there was." Well no duh. If there wasn't, why would we be there? "I was wondering...see, I...umm...I was wondering if you could train me in Quidditch." There. I said it.
He looked at me curiously. "You? Quidditch?"
I nodded. "I was thinking about going out for the house team next year, and it does look like fun." It was true. Quidditch looked like something I really wanted to try. "It's really interesting," I continued, "and you're really good at it." The last part wasn't supposed to come out. I felt my face go warm and I looked away. I became annoyed with myself. Why was I being so shy? Is it because he was a boy? I summed up all of my courage and looked him in the eyes.
He stared back at me, and after a second of consideration, he nodded. "Alright," he said. "I'll teach and train you. Is Friday alright? I think you'll like Quidditch."
I smiled and he smiled back. We walked up to the castle in silence. I was hoping that the training would bring us closer together. I needed a friend. All the girls were too loud, noisy and foolish for my taste. They got on my nerves, with their red nails and gossiping about everything. Charlie seemed calmer, and he was the kindest person in Gryffindor.
As we entered the common room, there was a party going on. Everyone cheered when they spotted Charlie, the star of the match. Of course, no one noticed me. It was like I was only a shadow - a trick of the light, hardly ever noticed, hardly ever needed. I sighed, grabbed a Butterbeer, and sat down in one of the armchairs. I doubted that I could make it to Friday.
The Lesson by Ivona Queens
As I made my way down to the Quidditch stadium on Friday, I will admit - I was a tad nervous. I wasn't nervous about teaching - Quidditch was as easy as "Wingardium Leviosa" to me; I felt confident. I was nervous about what Arianna made of this meeting.
Over the years, it's been annoying how girls have tried to get my attention. They count the days off until the next Hogsmeade visit and practically attack me in the halls with requests to go to Madam Puddifoot's with them. I've broken more than one heart over the years, but I'm still not sure if I should admit that or not. I was nervous about Arianna counting this as a "date". Usually, I would have turned someone down if they asked me to teach them Quidditch, but there was something in Arianna's eyes that told me she was serious about this. Either that, or she was a damn good actress.
I stopped before I rounded the corner. I took a deep breath, and rounded it. Part of me was expecting Arianna to be wearing make-up and some flowery or frilly dress. How wrong I was: she was sitting in the bleachers, wearing ripped pants, a raggy black sweater, her hair pulled back into a braid, a watch, and worn shoes.
No makeup.
No dress.
No flowers.
No frill.
That took a big load off my shoulders. I could see she was taking this seriously. I strode over two her, carrying two broomsticks. "How long has it been since you last were on a broomstick?" I barked. As soon as that left my mouth, I resisted the urge to slap my forehead. Very nice greeting, Charlie, I thought. You REALLY made her feel welcome.
She glanced at me, boredom in her eyes. But was that all? I could tell there were flecks of nervousness and determination, and she was going to do this if it killed her. She was trying very hard to stay cool, and it was working, for the most part.
Did I just read that all in Arianna's eyes?
"I'm not sure," she replied slowly, her gaze resting on me. "How long has it been since flying lessons?"
"Come on," I groaned. "Flying lessons were in our first year." First year? Wait a minute...
"YOU'RE SAYING THAT YOU HAVEN'T FLOWN IN FIVE YEARS!?!?!?!?!?!"
Arianna looked away, and her face turned a bright, shiny red, like a burn. I immediatly felt guilty. At this rate, she thinks that I'm the biggest jerk she's ever seen, I groaned. I took a deep breath to calm myself. Obviously, I was full of nerves, and I needed to calm them. "Hey, sorry about that," I said in a soft voice. "I'll guess we'll just start from the basics, huh?"
I layed the two broomsticks on the ground. "First, you have to learn how to command your broomstick up. Here, I'll show you." I stood next to my broomstick, stuck my right hand out, and commanded, "Up!"
The broomstick shot into my hands. Arianna looked slightly impressed.
"Your turn." I told her, motioning twoard her broomstick.
She strode over, stuck out her right hand, and, in a trembling voice, called out, "Up!" The broomstick just layed there.
"Try saying it with more confidence," I suggested. Broomsticks had a strange way of knowing if you didn't were nervous, and would only respond to when you were sure of yourself.
"Up!" Still nothing.
My mind was racing. How can I make her confident? I wondered. Suddenly, and idea sparked in my head. "How about this...look, this is a broomstick. Any idiot can ride one. You are the boss of it, you are smarter than it, you are the superior. You are better! Why be afraid of a few splinters of what once was a tree? Heck, you can snap it in half if you want! It's nothing more frightening than a wand." My speech worked. Arianna believed what I said, and a confidence aroused in her eyes.
"Up!" Like a bullet, the broom zoomed into her hands with extreme velocity. She looked at me and grinned, and I returned it.
"Great job!" I praised. "Now I have to teach you how to mount it."
I showed her how to hold the broomstick so you don't slide off, how to lower yourself, and how to go higher. After a few practice rounds on the ground, she was ready to fly...for the first time in five years.
"OK, on my count, you kick off, hover, and come back down. Ready? One...two...three!"
Arianna went up, hovered, and came down. She looked proud of herself. I was impressed at the way she handled it with ease.
"That was perfect, Arianna. Your a natural." Did I say that outloud? I was thinking that it was possible that she had talent, but a natural? That's a bit pushing it for the first time.
She blushed and looked down at her watch. Her eyes suddenly became as wide as dinner plates. I glanced down at my watch too - it was getting late. "I guess we'd better get going," I advised. I picked up a broomstick and turned in the direction of the school's broomstick storage room. "Same time next week?"
"Sure," said Arianna, picking up a broomstick too. "On one condition...."
Uh-oh. I knew that the lesson went too good to be true. She wanted a date from me, she never wanted to learn Quidditch, she just wanted to get to know the Quidditch me, not the real me. My insides were squirming. "Oh? W-what's that?"
Her deep blue eyes twinked mischeviously. "That you stop calling me 'Arianna'. I won't answer to it anymore. Call me 'Ari'."
Ari. I liked that name - I liked it alot.
"Sure thing...Ari."
The Catch by Ivona Queens
Friday lessons were becoming more and more interesting, not to mention fun. After mastering basic flying skills and getting permission from Madam Hootch, Charlie was starting to teach me Quidditch using the balls. So far, we've been tossing the Quaffle back and forth, and I've been trying out the Keeper position.
However, the lessons weren't the only time we were together. You could find us talking to each other during meals, the classes we had together, and while doing homework. Charlie would being to explain the rules of Quidditch, but gradually the subject would drift off from Quidditch and to other topics, such as family and hilarious experiences. As much as it is evident now, I didn't really realize that Charlie and I were becoming friends. I just happened gradually, unlike when children are six and walk up to a random person, asking them to be their best mate.
One Friday morning, Charlie and I were walking down to the Great Hall for breakfast. I was lightly swinging my bag filled with books, listening to Charlie conversing about how a member of the Merlin Magics got traded to the North Stars. I swung too hard and suddenly, the bottom seam of my bag split. Books, quills and bottles of ink flew a good few decimeters and crashed to the floor with an echoing thunk! It shouldn't have caught me off guard, but it did. I had an unusually heavy load of books today, and my bag was an old one, from my second year. I ran to where my books lay, covered in emerald ink, and began to pick them up.
"Abdo atramentum," I muttered, tapping my spell books. The ink vanished, leaving no trace that it was ever drenched in jade liquid. I counted all of my books and came up one short. I looked around, and found Charlie studying it curiously. He looked at me with question and interest in his eyes.
"Do you like dragons?" He asked, holding up the book. I borrowed it from the library and was going to return it after breakfast.
"Yes...do you?"
"Like them? How can some only like them? They're...wicked. They're powerful and wild, dangerous and fascinating." He had a strange gleam in his eyes, and it made me a little nervous. He must have noticed my discomfort, so he closed his eyes and shook his head, clearing the gleam. "Sorry," he apologized, "but they're so cool."
I turned to my mess of books. "Repairo!" I cried out, waving my wand. Ink flew back into newly repaired ink bottles, and my bag sewed itself up again. I stuffed everything back into my bag, and we set off for the Great Hall once again.
After a breakfast of toast, bacon, sausage and coffee, we headed quickly down to the library before our first class. We went down the hall, took a left, went up some stairs, took another left, rounded the corner to the library and...couldn't believe our eyes.
There, by the first shelf, was Filtch and Madam Prince, locked in a passionate embrace.
My eyes popped open and my jaw dropped. The book slid out of my hands and hit the floor with a crash. In the silence of the library, it sounded like a dragon's roar. Madam Prince and Filtch were suddenly separate people, and staring back at us with an expression full of shock, anger, and worry.
"You..." began Filtch, and Madam Prince lunged for her wand.
"RUN!" Yelped Charlie, scaring me half to death. In shock of
recent events, I had completely forgotten that he was there.
He didn't have to yell twice. We tore down the hall, turning left and right every so often. After running for what seemed like forever, I stopped and leaned against the wall, trying to catch my breath. Charlie also stopped and put both hands on the wall, gasping for breath.
"Where are we running?" He asked in between gasps.
"I don't know," I answered, panting. "Away, I guess."
After wandering around, we finally found ourselves in front of the Gryffindor common room. From there, we made our way to our classes.
That night, I met Charlie as usual. We didn't say anything, but we both knew what the other was thinking about - today's adventure in the library. Finally, Charlie broke the ice. "So...", he began. He grinned. "Whoever said that librarians are boring?"
I smiled and suddenly, we both burst out laughing. For the second time that day, I couldn't breathe. I fell back onto the ground, and Charlie had to help me up again.
"Business time," he said, with a what was supposed to be a serious look on his face. His eyes were full of fun and joy, and the corners of his mouth twitched. "Guess what I have?" He continued on before I could answer. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Golden Snitch.
"I think you're ready," he began, "to try the Seeker's position." I mounted my broom, and Charlie let go of the Snitch.
The little ball of gold couldn't have flown off quicker if it had been shot out of a cannon. I kicked off with a groan. It was going to be impossible to find it.
I flew around for what seemed to be an hour. It shouldn't take this long to catch it I thought dismally. I opened my mouth to tell Charlie I was finished, when something glinted in the far corner of the field. I took off, and before I knew it, the Snitch was struggling in my fist.
I hovered in the air in shock. Did I just catch the Snitch...?
I suddenly bent over in a dive, jumped off the broom, and ran to Charlie. "I did it!!!" I yelled out.
Charlie raised his hand in a hi-five motion, but I just ran into his arms and hugged him as hard as I could. He spun me around, yelling, "I knew you could do it!" We screamed and yelled out until our voices got sore. I felt like I was walking on air. I had just caught the Snitch...I had just caught the Snitch...
Walking back to the castle, I felt closer to Charlie than to any other person. I think he thought so too, and it seemed perfectly natural for him to take my hand and twine my fingers in his. I felt safe and joyful, and I rested my head on his shoulder. He let go of my hand to push open the castle doors, and he didn't take my hand again. We strolled into the common room without anyone knowing how close we felt.
It wasn't until I was in bed when the idea that Charlie's actions could have been romantic hit me like a Bludger. No, I decided, burying my face in my pillow. We're friends. Just friends.
But then how could I explain the tingling in my arm hours afterward?
hI ran down to the Quidditch field, excitement bubbling up. It was the Friday after Ari first caught the snitch, and I had extraordinary news to tell her.
As Ari came into my view, I couldn't help but notice how pretty she could be in plain clothes. She was only wearing a black wool sweater, boot cut old jeans and old black boots, but there was more to her. As I neared, I saw the wind playing with the ends of her hair, the natural beauty of her face, and her eyes brightening when she saw me. I had grown very fond of Ari, and I felt close to her.
"Hey Char-" smiled Ari, but I cut her off.
"What do you know about hitting?" I panted.
The smile was wiped off her face, and a 'what the heck is going on?!?' look replaced it. "Hitting?" she asked, her eyes narrow. "Why do you want to know how well I hit"?
I slapped my forehead and groaned. For some reason, people always misinterpreted my words. "Hit Bludgers, Ari. Bludgers."
A pink tinge rose in her cheeks. "Oh," she blushed. "I thought you meant...." She didn't have to finish - I realized that she misunderstood it. She thought I was referring to people or, more specifically, members of her opposite gender.
She shook her head. "Um...I don't know. Why do you want to know?" She looked at me, demanding an answer.
I grinned. "Beater tryouts!"
"Beater tryouts? But I thought you already had a Beater."
I winced. "Well, yeah...but he's not on the team anymore."
"He resigned?"
"Erm, I sorta kicked him off." Ari's eyes widened, and a look of disbelief shadowed her face. "Don't look at me like that!" I objected. "He wasn't contributing well to the team, he was a real whiner, he has a lot of studies to catch up on, and, well, I thought that he should go."
Ari nodded, seeing my point. "But how does this connect to how well I can hit?"
I rolled my eyes. Was she waiting for a written invitation? "Ari, I was wondering if you'd like to try out for the team."
"ME?!" shrieked Ari, clearly caught off guard. "But I can't! I've never tried...I don't know the first thing about Beating!"
"That's what I'm here for today!" I exclaimed happily. I shot her a look saying You're not getting out of this, so don't even try. I resumed my happy face, and pulled out a small bat from the trunk. "You might want to take this." I grabbed the other one for myself, just in case. I mounted my broom, and told Ari to release the Bludger on the count of three.
"One...two...three!"
The Bludger sailed around with frightening speed. As it came towards me, I mustered all of my strength and hit it. After flying around and hitting it a few times, I landed back on the ground, wrestled the Bludger into the chest of balls, and fastened the restraints. I flashed Ari a grin. "Your turn!"
I could tell that she was nervous, or at least going to be sick. She hesitantly mounted her broom, and I noticed that her hands were shaking. She flew up, and I released the Bludger.
I had seen Ari play Quidditch before. She wasn't the greatest at Seeking, her Keeping was a little patchy, her Chasing as alright, but I had never seen anyone Beat as well as she did.
She zoomed around the field at breakneck speed, and when she whacked the Bludger, it sailed farther than I had ever seen it go. After about five minutes, she landed on the ground, and I struggled against the Bludger to put it back in its chest. I eventually won, and I got up and faced a worn out Ari.
"How...how did I do?" she asked, trying to catch her breath.
"Brilliant."
She started at me for a few seconds, not comprehending the words. Finally, a slow smile spread across her lips. "Really?" she asked softly.
"Really." I smiled back at her, feeling the fondness for Ari growing stronger. I took the broomstick out of her hand. "If you're going to try out," I began, "you're going to need your own broomstick."
Ari nodded. "The school's broomsticks are slow, and I need my own anyway. Wait a minute...the Hogsmeade trip is tomorrow!"
I groaned. How could I forget?
Actually, it was pretty easy to forget this time. With Ari around, most of the girls didn't bother me anymore.
"Let's see how many people will be trying to bully me into a date." I replied sourly.
Ari's eyes twinkled. She held out a hand. "Would you, Charlie Weasley, give me the honor of taking you on a date in Hogsmeade to a broomstick shop?" She asked solemnly.
I burst out laughing. Every girl had asked me out...and now Ari!
I masked my humor by putting on a serious place. "It would be my pleasure to accompany you to Hogsmeade on a date." I shook her hand.
The corners of Ari's mouth twitched, and we both knelt over with laughter.
"One thing, Ari." I asked.
"Yeah?"
"This isn't a real date, right?"
She looked revolted. "Sorry, but there are no plans in the future to date my best friend."
I felt part relieved, and part saddened to hear that she'd never date me. I really did like Ari...I really did like her a lot.
I painted a smile on my face to mask my disappointment. "Sounds great."
We walked back to the castle, and we stopped by the Great Hall so Ari could at least eat a little before going to bed. "All that Beating gave me an appetite." she joked.
As she snacked on a drumstick, a girl sat down next to me. She was tall with blonde hair and jade eyes. She was wearing a tight pink sweater, a grey skirt that stopped before her knees, black, shiny boots that went up to below her knees, and (of course) black robes. Any guy in their right mind would take a second look, but in my mind, she paled in comparison next to Ari's beauty.
"I'm Zan," she began, resting her chin in her palm, "and there's no question to who you are...Charlie." She flashed a devilish smile, her jade eyes glittering. "I've seen you play Quidditch. How did you get so good?"
"Practice," I answered monotonously. Here we go again...
"It's my brother's birthday coming up, and I want to buy him some type of Quidditch supply. Since I know nothing about it, I was wondering if you'd want to come with me to Hogsmeade and help me out of my little mess."
I opened my mouth to decline, but Zan took it the wrong way. "Excellent. I'll meet you in the Great Hall tomorrow." She winked at me, and fluttered off to her preppy friends.
I shot a look of hopelessness to Ari, who was already rolling up her sleeves. "I'll handle this," she muttered.
Ari strode out of the Great Hall after Zan, and in a bolt of curiosity, I went to observe.
"Hey Zan!" greeted Ari, as if they were long-lost sisters. Zan's doe eyes found Ari.
"Hello, um...", she began, not sure of Ari's name.
"Don't worry about my name." Ari brushed the question off quickly. "I'm here to break the bad news to you."
Zan's eyes widened. "The Golden Quill is going bankrupt? Oh, no! Now where will I go shopping?" She wailed.
Ari had a hard time wiping the amused look off of her face. "Um, no. That's not it. Charlie can't meet you tomorrow."
Zan had a confused look on her face. "Really? Why not?"
Ari looked momentarily stumped. "Because...because...." Her eyes suddenly flashed with a great idea. "Because he has a hot date." Ari saw me hiding and flashed me a wicked grin.
I felt as if someone punched me in the gut. Here was Ari, telling an outright and embarrassing lie. Unless, of course, she was talking about herself...
"Oh," said a slightly hurt Zan. "Well, thanks."
"You're welcome." smiled Ari, and walked away. She waited until Zan disappeared with her girlfriends around the corner before talking. "See?" hissed Ari. "Was that so hard?"
I didn't answer. I was still reeling from how Ari handled the situation.
The Silver Arrow by Ivona Queens
The day began as any other day: Charlie and I walked down to breakfast together. But it wasn't any other day - today was the day of the Hogsmeade trip.
We sat down, and I poured us some coffee. I was about to set Charlie's cup down in front of him when a small snowy owl suddenly swooped down and landed right in front of Charlie. Caught off guard, I jerked the cup up, spilled a good portion of coffee on my breakfast. I caught Charlie rolling his eyes.
"Gee, thanks for your sympathy," I remarked testily while glaring at my coffee-drenched breakfast. The owl looked at me with large, unblinking eyes. I pushed my plate towards him, which he automatically began pecking at.
"It wasn't about you," explained Charlie, "it's about the owl." Before I could question further, he took a piece of parchment from the owl's leg. He read it quietly, and tossed the note on the table. I pulled it towards me and read:
Dear Charlie,
I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me to Hogsmeade today. If you agree to, I'll be standing by the doors of the Great Hall.
Emily Rey
I raised my eyebrows. "Who's Emily Rey?" I asked.
Charlie shook his head. "No clue."
Before breakfast was finished, there were no less than four owl pecking at my soggy meal, and no less than four notes inviting, pleading, and (in one case) threatening Charlie to go to Hogsmeade with them.
"Well, look on the bright side," I told him. "You'll be hunting in broomstick shops all day, and they can't find you there!"
After about half an hour, I found myself walking the busy streets of a small village. Charlie pointed out the first broomstick shop. I wasn't worried about which model I was going to ride - I really didn't care for designer labels. I cared about prices. I didn't have too much to spend on a broomstick, and it turned out that they were more expensive than I thought.
"We're going to have to go to a secondhand shop," I whispered to Charlie. "I don't think I have enough money for a new one."
He nodded. "I know some small shops that sell broomsticks." He led me away from the large shops. We turned from the main street to some smaller ones that were littered with secondhand shops.
I pushed the door open, and the bell on the door rang softly. It was dusty, dark, and smelled like no one had cleaned it in many years. A squat witch appeared from behind a curtain. "Looking for something, dearies?" she cackled softly.
"Yes. Erm, do you have any broomsticks?" I asked.
The old woman pointed with her stubby finger. "In the back."
Charlie and I went through the broomsticks, but they were all rather worn out. The handles were chipped or broken, and several of the twigs were missing. "We can always fix it up a bit." I suggested. Charlie raised his eyebrows at me. "All right, we can't." I admitted. They were too beat up. We walked quickly out of the shop.
An hour or two passed, and I still didn't have a broomstick I even remotely wanted to buy. My hopes of buying a broomsticks were quickly dropping. We made our way back to the the first shop we visited on the main street. Checking the prices again, I mused over what to do. I could always write to my parents and explain the situation to them. I didn't like that idea, but it looked as it I would have to. The shopkeeper, a young man of about twenty, came over to where I was looking at the broomsticks. "Do you need some help, miss?" he asked.
I was about to say no, but then Charlie cut in. "Do you sell secondhand broomsticks?" he asked casually.
The salesman gestured. "Follow me," he ordered. We followed him to the back of the store, where there were broomsticks in less-than-desirable condition laying on two tables. "Poke around as much as you need to, and call me if you need some assistance," he said.
I turned to Charlie. "Now these broomsticks we can fix up." I pointed out. "You take one table, and I'll take the other."
I sifted through the broomsticks, making mental notes of which ones could be a possible purchase. One caught my eye: it was maple, with the twigs in respectable condition and peeling letters spelling out "Silver Arrow". It would need a bit of polishing, but nothing worse than that. I picked it up to examine it further - and that's when it happened.
My hand snapped to it like a magnet. Suddenly, I wasn't in the shop anymore. I had a sort of vision, and in it, I was flying, soaring high about the ground. I felt my heart pumping a sudden adrenalin rush through my veins. I felt like I was climbing higher, higher, higher, and then plummeting to the ground in a stomach-wrenching dive.
As suddenly as it started, it stopped. I was wondering why my hand was suddenly on the table and not on the Silver Arrow, until I heard Charlie apologizing for bumping into me. I didn't look up - I was still staring at the broomstick, my heart still pounding. Charlie walked over to my side and looked at the broomstick, and then looked at me. "You felt it, didn't you?" he asked.
He didn't have to explain what 'it' was. I nodded
slowly. "Yeah."
Charlie smiled. "Broomsticks are often like wands. They choose their owner." Then he dropped his voice to a whisper. "Sometimes," he confided, "they tell us if we're destined to be great."
My vision saw me preforming heart-stopping tricks like a professional. Did that mean that I was destined to be great? I shook the idea out of my head. I picked up the Silver Arrow, chose a broomstick-repair kit, and paid for the two. It felt rather strange - the Silver Arrow and the kit were about the third of the price of a new broomstick. However, the Silver Arrow was worth its weight in gold, or at least it seemed like it to me. I paid a smaller price for a greater broomstick. Sometimes, I thought, the price of raw goods doesn't match the price of adrenalin.
The Tryouts by Ivona Queens
I woke up with a strange feeling in my stomach, a mix of nervousness and excitement. I met Ari in the Common Room, looking as if she was trying to look as cool and composed as possible. Her eyes, however, had specks of fear flashing within the blue of her irises. It was almost as if I was forcing her to try out, but I knew better. Ari was strong, and if she didn't want to do something, she wouldn't let me bully her into it. She wanted to try out, but she simply needed that push.
After convincing her to eat some breakfast, we took a walk on the school ground. Ari sat down by the lake, and gazed at the glistening water. She finally looked at me with frightened eyes. The change surprised me, and yet made sense. It was as if she realized that she didn't have to fake anything, and that she could be herself around me.
"You'll do fine," I coaxed, putting an arm on her shoulder. Then, I thought of a way to take her mind off of things. "Have you made repairs on your broom yet?"
Ari jumped up suddenly, her eyes wide. "The Silver Arrow!" she groaned. "I completely forgot!" She ran to the castle with me close by. She took down her broom and the repair kit.
I tried not to show my anxiety, but the broom was a lot more work than I thought. The wood needed to be polished, the twigs would need to be straightened or (in the worse cases) replaced, and the peeling silver letters spelling out "Silver Arrow" would need to be renovated.
"Where do we start?" inquired Ari.
"You start polishing the handle," I suggested. "I'll do what I can with the twigs."
It was tedious work, and yet calming, in a way. To pass the time, I told Ari stories of when I was growing up, how my brother Ron's teddy bear got turned into a spider, and my dad's fascination with muggle objects. We spend as much time laughing as working, and I could almost feel Ari's nervousness fade away. Finally, when the last twig was replaced and the last part of the wood was polished, we put our tools down. Reaching into the kit, Ari pulled out a bottle of silver ink. She dipped a small brush into it, and re-painted the lettering on the handle. She painted it slowly and carefully, and it looked marvelous when she was done. Looking at the broomstick, I felt a strange happiness that I helped restore the broomstick to its former majesty. It looked perfect for Ari to ride on. While Ari preformed a quick-drying charm on the paint, I suggested that she warmed up on the Quidditch field. Working on the broomstick took a long time, and Ari still hadn't ridden on it.
On the Quidditch field, I sat in the stands while Ari flew a few laps around the stadium. I had a clipboard with me, and I began organizing the Gryffindors trying out for beater. I after a quick count, I figured out that there were about eight people trying out, including Ari. Only four of those were Gryffindors.
At last, the time came for tryouts. I first spotted Levia coming, her shoulders squared and her eyes hard. Levia was in my O.W.L. Care of Magical Creatures class. If it was one thing that Levia was, it was tough. Next came Zale, and close behind, Devlin. Finally came a group of girls: Octavia, Whitney, Ashley and Darcie. Octavia was a Ravenclaw, Ashley and Darcie from Hufflepuff, and Whitney was a Slytherin. I sighed and mentally excluded them from the group of people trying out.
I waited until they sat down on the bleachers in front of me. "Listen up!" I began. "What you are trying out for is a dangerous position. You are required to come in close contact with destructing object, and pelt them at other players. In turn, other players will be aiming them at you." I caught Ari's eye and gave her a wink. "Now, all you have to do is see how many time you can hit the Bludger in two minutes. Who would like to go first?"
Octavia, Whitney, Ashley and Darcie had turned as white as flour. Seeing a chance to escape from tryouts, they ran all the way back to the castle. I sighed and turned to the remaining four. "Levia, you're up."
She got up and mounted her broomstick. I set the stopwatch for two minutes, and blew my whistle. I mentally counted every time Levia hit the Bludger. At the end of two minutes, her score was 20.
I noted this on a piece of parchment, and motioned to Zale. "You're next." Zale came up with a score of 18. Levia didn't try to conceal the triumphant sneer that appeared on her face.
"Devlin, mount your broom." I said. Devlin mounted his broom, and at the end of two minutes, had a score of 19 hits. Levia tossed her hair, her sneer growing as she saw Ari mounting her broom, as if she was sure that Ari would fail.
As I saw Ari's hands tremble as she mounted, I felt a sensational want for her to beat Levia. I wanted this more than anything in the world, and I was ready to give up anything for this. Ari mounted her broom and kicked off.
What happened next is mind-blowing. Ari didn't fly around the field; she was just a blur. I was counting the number of times she hit the Bludger, but I hardly noticed that Devlin and Zale were counting out loud with me. All four of us stared up in wonder as we saw Ari, the human Bludger, beat Levia's score of 20 with a whopping score of 25.
Ari was soon back on the ground, catching her breath. Zale and Devlin shook her hand enthusiastically and congratulated her on her new position on the team. Levia did so too, though less enthusiastically.
When they left for the castle, Ari turned to be with an uncertain smile on her face. I grinned back at her and soon, she did so too.
"You did it!" I yelled out, hugging Ari. "You did it! You did it!" We screamed and jumped and danced until we couldn't breathe. We linked arms and strode to the castle for dinner.
In the Great Hall, all the Gryffindors knew of Ari's success. Ari picked up her goblet of pumpkin juice and accepted many toasts. Surprisingly, Levia came also came up to her. "Congratulations," she said with a painted smile on her face. She toasted Ari so hard that some of the contents in her goblet splashed into Ari's. "Whoops," Levia chuckled. "My fault." She turned on her heel and walked away. Ari raised her eyebrows at her departing back, but the incident was soon forgotten, as more people came to toast and drink to Ari.
When people finally let Ari sit down to dinner, she didn't even take a few bites before clutching her stomach, her face a strange shade of green. "Are you alright?" I asked her, concerned. She forced a smile and nodded, but the smile quickly disappeared behind Ari's hand as she bounced up and ran out of the hall. "Ari?" I yelled as I ran after her. "Ari?"
I found her in a nearby lavatory, leaning over a toilet as if she was going to be sick. Without hesitation, I knelt down next to her, stroking her hair and comforting her. Slightly trembling, Ari fainted in my arms.
I carried Ari all the way to the hospital wing. After explaining Madam Pomfrey what happened, I waited for her diagnosis. "Well?" I asked.
She sighed. "It couldn't have been the food she ate, all of it is prepared by house-elves and purified by magic. Besides, she only ate a few bites."
I was startled. "Then what could it be?"
Madam Pomfrey frowned. "You said Quidditch tryouts were today? Miss Perry got the position?" I nodded. "Then I suspect foul play."
A few minutes passed before the diagnosis. "Aqua lacerta." said Madam Pomfrey.
I was startled. "A water lizard?"
Madam Pomfrey was also surprised. "You know of this?"
I nodded. "We studied it in Care of Magical Creatures." How could I forget that lesson? The aqua lacerta was one of the many creatures in the lake. It thins out while in liquid and is oftenly slipped into an enemy's drink. While not fatal to a human, if swallowed, it will cause extreme discomfort.
"Who is in your class?" asked Madam Pomfrey.
It was easy, as there were only three of us. "Well, there's me, Jazz, and...." I stopped, as a sudden feeling of realization and shock came over me. "And Levia." Suddenly, my memory returned to me.
"Congratulations," Levia said with a painted smile on her face. She toasted Ari so hard that some of the contents in her goblet splashed into Ari's. "Whoops," Levia chuckled. "My fault." She turned on her heel and walked away.
"How bad is the damage?" I asked nervously.
Madam Pomfrey bit her lip. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "If it was a young one, or an adult, she will make a full recovery. If, by chance, she swallowed a pregnant female..." she trailed off, and I could finish the sentance myself. If Levia was cruel enough to have used a pregnant female, then Ari would be forever scarred as a hatching ground for aqua lacerta.
Madam Pomfrey, after a quick glace at the clock, was ushering me out of the hospital wing. "It's getting late, and I can't keep you in here. Good night."
Good night? How could I leave Ari there? When Madam Pomfrey wasn't looking, I slipped underneath Ari's bed. After the lights went out and Madam Pomfrey went to sleep, I crawled out and sat down next to Ari.
Sitting there and watching Ari sleep had a mystic effect on me. Her face was emotionless, her hair was streaked with sweat, and her lips were shades paler than when she was conscious. But seeing the slight rise and fall of her chest, the moonlight dance across her face, and her peaceful state made me realize that she was much more than my friend. I was falling in love with Ari, if not already in love.
The Letters by Ivona Queens
A/N: This takes place the same day as "The Tryouts"
I woke up, expecting a lazy day. It was only a week from Christmas, yes, but most people had hurried up and ordered their hand-made jewelry from my shop ahead of time. I almost never had orders this close to Christmas. I stretched, and went to my bedroom window. I saw very few people walking up and down the streets of Hogsmeade. The cold wind blew, and I could see my shop sign swinging in the wind, reading:
MADAM RICAMATO'S FINE HANDMADE JEWELRY
Today was bitterly cold, I noticed as I pulled my bathrobe around me tightly and shivered. People with sense - that being most of Hogsmeade - were indoors today, waiting for the chilling wind to pass. Yes, I expected today to be a lazy day filled with reading and waiting for customers.
However, today was going to be a different story. As I was eating my breakfast (coffee, bacon and eggs to get my day started), I heard a tap, tap, tap on my kitchen window. I opened it, and a burst of feathers flew into the room and landed on my table. It was a short eared owl with a letter tied to its foot. I quickly untied and read the letter while the owl poked at my meal.
After reading the letter, I felt a quiver in my hands. I've never made something like that before. I've made unicorns and pixies and a phoenix once, but never have I made a...
My thoughts were interrupted by yet another owl. I was a little confused - it was uncommon for two owls to come at nearly the same time, unless they were coming from the same starting point. This time, it was a snowy owl, and a bit more calm than the last one, which was now zooming around my kitchen. I scanned the letter and nearly fainted. It was rare enough to get an order at this time of year, but to get two of the same animal...
My fingertips twitched in excitement, and I knew this was going to be a masterpiece. When I first started to make jewelry, I had excitement in my fingertips nearly every time. Now, after twenty years, the excitement had faded as a result of customers asking for hearts, ovals or rectangles instead of exciting, challenging pieces of art, as as I liked to call my jewelry. I quickly began to mentally plan what the piece would look like. Without even bothering to brush my hair or change from my bathrobe to my work robes, I ran downstairs from my apartment to my shop below, sat down at my work table, and began to sketch out designs. I read and re-read the letter, but it didn't say anything specific. Onyx, with diamond eyes, about the width of a bottle of ink. I loved unspecific letters. It left room for creativity, for the true artist to flourish and magic to work its ways. Jewelry making wasn't a profession where you could simply wave your wand and boom! the jewelry is ready. This was a job for hands and for the true joy of working to emerge.
I was working rapidly and was nearly ready to start setting the stones in when I heard my shop door bell ring.
Completely forgetting that I was still in my morning attire, I ran out to assist them, and usher them away as quickly as possible.
"Good afternoon. How may I help you?" I asked, brushing back a gray-streaked lock behind my ear. The young adult, about 20 or 21, looked back at me in utter shock.
"I'd...I'd like to look at some of your earrings." he managed to stutter.
"Gold or silver?" I asked.
"Gold."
I motioned to the right side of a glass case and impatiently waited for the boy to make his decision. I desperately wanted to get back to the piece that I was making. There was a strange pull in my fingers, as if they were attempting to pull me back to my work desk. Finally, the youth made his decision and paid for the gold earrings. I was so excited to get back to the workroom that I didn't notice that I gave him five more sickles in change than intended. As soon as I saw him walk out the door, I whisked away once again to my desk. After furiously working for two more hours, painstakingly setting the stones in place, I was finished. I held it in my palm, and watched as it caught the light. I held my breath in awe. I had made some gorgeous pieces in the past, but this one topped it all. I carefully, lovingly, put it in the corner of my desk. Now...to start on the next one...
This one was more complicated than the last. Yellow, with red eyes, the letter instructed, in a walking position. I worked on this one until the candle on my desk started to drip wax. Careful not to stain my art, I blew that one out and lit another candle. When I was finally finished, I sent wrote out separate letters explaining how much the pieces cost. I saved the letters and waiting until morning to walk down to the post office and send them. Realizing that I didn't know where my customer was located, I searched the front side of the letters. It wasn't until I turned them over that I realized that on both of them, there was a postscript:
P.S.: Please send to Hogwarts, Gryffindor Table
Hogwarts? I thought, I smile curling at my lips. Ahhh...I realized. It's young love - about to blossom.
The Christmas by Ivona Queens
I never really knew what awakened me - all I knew was that I felt myself resurface. I opened my eyes, and found my self in a dark room. It took a while for me to figure out where I was...and then it hit me. The tryouts. The pain. The passing out. The last twenty-four hours hit me in a rush of realization. In a sort of daze, I let my head drop on the pillow. I gazed up at the celling first, and then around the room before I settled on a dark figure in a chair next to my bed.
I started intently. The person was familiar, yet I couldn't put my finger on who it was. Finally, the moonlight shone in his direction and illuminated his face. It was Charlie.
Charlie, my mind echoed. He was here to protect me. He was here to keep me company. He was here to be my friend. And only my friend. I closed my eyes and thought. My most dangerous weapon is my mind, and at times I could solve problems through talking through thought. I had to admit that I was feeling something strong for Charlie...I was drawn to him. I almost wanted to admit that I was falling in love. No, you're not, I scolded myself. You're friends with him.
Then what was I feeling? Was this friendship? What is the definition of friendship? Is it possible for friends to have this strong of a bond? Is there a line or boundary that you cross before falling in love, or was there an in-between spot of deep friendship and not-yet blossomed love? My heart was ripping into two. I was torturing myself. On one hand, I wanted to confess to Charlie that I was falling in love with him. One the other hand, I knew that this would be a great risk. If things didn't work out, I could loose him forever, and I didn't want to be friendless anymore. I needed to scream. I needed to let the frustration and confusion out somehow. My head felt like it was going to burst. I took a few deep breaths to calm down, and slipped into a dreamless sleep.
When I woke up, Madam Pomfrey was bustling about, and Charlie was no where to be found. She came over to my bedside and handed me a goblet filled with a cloudy liquid. "Drink this," she instructed.
I sipped at it and nearly spat it out - it tasted saltier than seawater. It made my throat burn and my eyes water, but a stern glade from Madam Pomfrey made me keep drinking. When I was finished, she whisked it away from me, grabbed my arm, and studied the veins on my wrist. After testing my pulse, she dropped my wrist. "It seems that you were luck, Miss Perry."
Lucky? I was sitting in the Hospital Wing! "Excuse me?" I asked. "Why would I be lucky?"
Madam Pomfrey took a deep breath. "You swallowed an Aqua Lacerta, Miss Perry. A water lizard that upsets stomachs. The potion you just drank was to kill off whatever could have remained of it. You were lucky and only swallowed a small one, however, if you had swallowed a pregnant female, you would be a hatching ground for aqua lacerta for the rest of your life." She said this as if she was informing me that it was rather chilly outside, and that I should put on an extra sweater.
My head swam with realization of what could have happened. I couldn't really have been a hatching ground of water lizards, could I? How did I swallow the lizard in the first place? My thoughts were interrupted by Charlie bursting through the doors, robes over his pajamas, his hair uncombed. Even after being told that I was nearly a nest for lizards, the sight of Charlie made me grin.
"Ari! You're awake!" Charlie's blue eyes widened with joy. "How do you feel?"
I started to laugh. "I'm fine, Charlie, but did you even dress today?"
He grinned sheepishly and combed his head with his fingers. "I wanted to see how you were."
"Well, now you know. I'm fine. I think I can go now."
Madam Pomfrey cut in. "I believe that I'm the one that decides that." she said testily. "And yes, you may go now."
Charlie looked as if he could dance the cha-cha. "I'll be outside," he promised, and then left me to change into my regular clothes.
I quickly changed into my normal robes, and then went to Madam Pomfrey to sign out of the Hospital Wing. "Thank you for your care, Madam." I said.
Madam Pomfrey gave me a small smile. "It was no problem, dear."
I turned and started to walk out the door when Madam Pomfrey's voice stopped me. "Miss Perry?" she called out. I stopped and turned around. "You really are a lucky person."
I thanked her and went out the door, a little confused. The message seemed to have another meaning, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It was soon driven out of my mind by the sight of Charlie, still in his pajamas, still with messy hair. He turned to me and bowed. "May I escort you down to breakfast?"
I laughed. It was hard to be anything but happy around Charlie. "Aren't you worried that the whole school will see you in red dragon pajamas?" I teased.
Charlie stuck his nose in the air. "Only the dignified may wear pajamas as royal as these." With a laugh, he added, "Besides, most of the school is gone. The Christmas holidays begin today!"
Christmas holidays, I remembered with a jolt. I hoped that my package arrived quickly...
Stepping into the Great Hall was like stepping into a Winter Wonderland. There were twelve trees decorated with live faeries and golden bubbles. The floor was covered in fake, warm snow, and there were clumps of mistletoe strung around. "I always loved that snow," I said with a small smile. "But I could never figure out how to charm it."
Charlie and I quickly sat down at the Gryffindor table, which was much more empty than usual. During our usual feast of toast, bacon, eggs and coffee, the morning mail came. Two owls swooped down - one next to me, and one next to Charlie.
Quickly, I untied the package from the owl's leg and stuffed it into my pocket. When the owl flew away, Charlie turned to me. "What was that?"
I grinned mischievously. "You'll have to wait to find out."
After breakfast, Charlie went up to the tower to change out of his pajamas. I took advantage of this time to think. Charlie was...fantastic. I around him, I could just be me - Ari. He could make me laugh and smile, and I found myself telling him things I wouldn't tell anyone else. Trying to stay out of love with him was easier said than done. I would swear to myself to keep my heart out of things, but I quickly forgot all about that. Perhaps if I wasn't afraid, then maybe we could move forward...but I was too afraid of loosing him as a friend.
When Charlie came back down, we headed outside onto the school grounds where we promptly had a wild, wet, and very fun snowball fight. While I was unconscious, it snowed a few good centimeters. I felt like a carefree child again, screaming with joy as I launched snowballs at Charlie, and he threw them at me. After several hours, we returned, soaking wet and tired, to the tower. While roasting marshmallows on the fire, we told each other stories of past Christmases late into the night.
The next day, we visited Hagrid, the gamekeeper and Charlie's friend. He certainly was a kind and cheery fellow, even if he couldn't bake. I nearly broke a tooth on a scone he offered me.
"I gotta tell yeh, I'm glad ter hear yeh'v found a friend at last, Charlie." he said, beaming at me. "Seems worthy of yer friendship, too."
After a few more minutes, we bade good-bye to Hagrid. Walking up to the castle, I thought of what Hagrid said. "...I'm glad ter hear yeh'v found a friend at last, Charlie." Was I really Charlie's first friend too? All I knew was that he didn't have any friends his age this year.
After lunch, we went outside for another snowball fight. Hours later, we were drying ourselves by the fire while playing a game of chess, with me loosing horribly to Charlie.
"Have you ever played chess before?" He asked quizzically, when we beat me for the third time in a row.
"Yes...with my cousin."
"How old is he?"
"He's about 22...and has failing eyesight."
At last, after I accepted defeat for the fifth time, we climbed the staircases up to our separate dormitories and went to sleep.
A muted thunk...thunk... woke me up the next moment. Rubbing my eyes sleepily, I threw on a robe and opened the dormitory door to find a snowball coming straight at my face. I ducked just in time and heard the snowball splat on the wooden floor by my bed.
"Sorry!" yelled out Charlie, standing in the middle of the Common Room. He seemed to have enchanted the same type of snow that was used in the Great Hall during the holidays. It covered the entire floor in a blanket of purest white. A supply of snowballs was at his feet, and apparently this was his idea of a Christmas wake-up call.
"Charlie!" I exclaimed, breathless. "How did you...." I began to ask, but then I remembered...
"I always loved that snow," I said with a small smile. "But I could never figure out how to charm it."
Charlie grinned up at me. "I snuck out last night to go to the library. I found it in a spell book. Merry Christmas, Ari!"
I was still in shock...no one had ever done something so kind for me. I smiled warmly at Charlie. "Want to go eat some breakfast?" I asked.
"What about gifts?"
I waved my hand, as if dismissing the idea. "We'll get to them later." I said with a grin
Soon, we were at the table, eating a glorious feast. When the mail came, owls of many different colors and sizes laden down with packages, a snowy owl swooped down and landed next to me. I unwrapped the package, and two large bags of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans fell into my lap. Reading the card, I announced, "It's from my mother. She's sent you some candy too!" I gave one bag to Charlie and opened one for myself.
"Shouldn't you wait until after breakfast?" Charlie asked quizzically as I popped a bean into my mouth.
"C'mon, Charlie! It's Christmas! Live a little!" I laughed as I popped another one into my mouth. "Mmm...peppermint!"
We walked up into the Gryffindor Tower together. "Wait here," Charlie instructed, racing up to his dormitory. I smiled and went up to my own. There, on my nightstand, was Charlie's gift. I was back downstairs before he was.
"Charlie," I said, suddenly a little nervous and shy, "this is for you. Merry Christmas!"
He grinned. "Ari, you really shouldn't have gotten me anything!" He unwrapped the palm-sized box and opened it. His eyes widened, and he sucked in his breath in awe. "Ari..." he breathed. He lifted it out of his box. It was a dragon cloak pin, studded with yellow stones and a red stone for the eye, in a walking position. "It's a cloak pin," I stammered, wringing my hands, nervous to see his reaction.
"It's amazing!" He exclaimed. He gave me a hug. "Thank you, Ari." I wished that the hug would have lasted longer, but he was determined to give me my present. "Ari," he began, "this is for you."
"You really shouldn't have..." I began, but I stopped once I took a look inside of the box. My heart stopped beating, and I felt my eyes widen. "Oh, Charlie," I whispered.
It was also a dragon, this time however, it was a dragon necklace. It was onyx, with a diamond eye. It caught the light like a crystal goblet, and I never saw anything more beautiful.
"Here," Charlie offered, "I'll put it on for you." He took it from my fingers, walked behind me, moved my hair to the side, and began fastening the silver chain around my neck. I felt his fingers brushing against my neck, and it felt warm. I felt warm and awake and...alive.
Charlie ran a finger down my cheek. "Ari..." he whispered.
I turned around, preparing to tell him no...but I never got the words out. I felt Charlie's lips brush against mine. The chemistry between us was as real as the necklace around my neck. My mind started to scream warnings, that this would be the Armageddon of our friendship...but would it? I didn't care anymore. I poured all my frustration and confusion into the kiss. I savored the sweetness of his lips, forgetting everything else. I tasted a hint of buttered biscuits and coffee from his breakfast, and pressed myself against him. The kiss plunged deeper, and my mind was spinning like a top, the only thought being was how I never wanted this to stop...
...but it did.
The portrait hole swung open with a creak, and Charlie and I broke apart. As quickly as a bolt of lightning, Professor McGonagall was in front of us.
"Miss Perry and Mr. Weasley," she said in a stiff sort of greeting. "I have been looking for you."
The Visit by Ivona Queens
"Miss Perry and Mr. Weasley," she said in a stiff sort of greeting. "I have been looking for you."
I stood there, frozen stiff. My mind was still spinning like a top. What just happened? I asked my self. Did I actually kiss Ari...?
"Miss Perry," asked Professor McGonagall, her face emotionless and clam, "do you have any idea who could have poisoned you?"
Poisoned her? I thought questioningly, but then it all came back...Levia poisoned Ari with the water lizard, and now McGonagall wanted to know who.
Know who? Oops...I didn't tell Ari it was Levia....
"No, Professor," replied a breathless Ari.
Professor McGongagall's lips tightened as she turned to me. "And you, Mr. Weasley? Do you have any idea?"
I froze. I could rat on Levia...but the decision wasn't mine to make. It was Ari's.
"No, Professor."
Professor McGonagall sighed. "Thank you anyway, Mr. Weasley. If you find anything, be sure to report it to me immediately." She turned around and walked out of the portrait hole, leaving Ari and me alone.
Alone. I shuddered a little. It felt a little...eerie...standing there alone with Ari. The kiss told me everything I needed to know...she cared for me, or else she couldn't have kissed me like that. Right?
I needed time to think, to be alone. I cleared my throat. "I'm...going to give Hagrid his present."
Ari nodded, her deep blue eyes gazing softly at me. "Alright," she whispered.
I dashed to my dormitory and got the wrapped bundle from my trunk. When I came downstairs, Ari wasn't there - as if she disappeared. I trudged out the door, my heart heavier than before.
When Hagrid opened the door, cheerfulness spread across his face. "Charlie!" he exclaimed. "Good ter see yeh!"
"Merry Christmas, Hagrid," I replied, handing him his gift.
"Yeh shouldn't have!" he grinned. "I've got yer sumthin' for yer too."
I unwrapped a carving of a dragon in attack position, his eyes narrowed in anger, his nostrils flared, and his tail coming down in a crushing blow. "Thanks, Hagrid." I tried to smile.
Hagrid pointed to my cloak. "Who gave yeh that?"
I looked down and saw the dragon cloak pin that Ari gave me. Ari. Had I chased her away forever?
"Ari," I replied softly.
Hagrid smiled. "She's sumthin', ain't she?"
I didn't reply. I couldn't reply. Hagrid understood.
"It really depends on who yeh are, an' what the risk means to yeh. If it happened in the past, it doesn't have to happen to yeh. If love can grow, then who says that it can' reduce? It never really breaks. Friendships are solid ground - if it doesn' work out, then yeh can always try to return. But yeh'll never know what could have happened, an' yeh'll go mad wonderin'."
I sat there, soaking up the words, and I felt a little better...but what troubled me the most was trying to think of what went wrong with the kiss. We obviously were in love - even Hagrid could see that, and he only met Ari once. But the kiss felt awkward at the end...was it Professor McGonagall's fault? Did the kiss end unnaturally? I couldn't think of it.
I bade Hagrid good-bye, and was surprised when I saw that the sky was already dark. I had spent more time at Hagrid's than I had intended. I trudged slowly up to the castle, hoping to talk to Ari. The kiss was mind-blowing. She felt perfect in my arms - just like we were meant to be...but she was also a great person. She was funny, intelligent, athletic, a good listener, beautiful...the list can go on into infinity.
I was nearly attacked by a hoard of girls when I entered the Common Room.
"Charlie, I was wondering - "
"Charlie!"
"Charlie, if you are going to the - "
"I'd like to go to the - "
I made my way through the mob and saw a new sign tacked up on the notice board:
New Years Eve Celebration
Great Hall
New Year's Eve
A New Year's Eve celebration? I asked myself. This was the first time Hogwarts had one.
"So, Charlie, who are you taking?" inquired a curly-haired fourth year.
"Me," came a voice.
I wheeled around. Ari was standing by an armchair by the fire with a stack of books on its side. Her eyes were tired, as if she was reading all day. She caught my eye and grinned. I grinned back and turned to face the crowd.
"It's true." I affirmed.
The air was filled with grumbling, disappointed, and even hysterical girls, but my attention was on Ari.
Maybe our friendship wasn't as doomed as I thought it was.
The New Year by Ivona Queens
After Charlie and I agreed to go to the celebration together, I expected things to get a little better...and they did. But it wasn't a vast improvement, and I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. I had forgotten what it was like to be lonely.
After sneaking around the library all day (Madam Pince was still angry at me for walking in on her and Filtch, and I didn't want to get caught by her) I felt my eyes cross and the lines of the book I was reading swim together. Rubbing my eyes with one hand, I closed the book and crept out of the library. I was about to turn in the direction of the Gryffindor common room when I stopped. What was the point? All I would do is loll around the fire. I turned in the other direction and decided to explore an unfamiliar part of the castle.
I was walking along the vast hallways lined with enormous paintings the size of...well, Hagrid. They nodded in my recognition and murmured soft words of greeting. It was a gloomy way to pass the evening. Calming, yet gloomy. Seeing the paintings lit up by torchlight and the blackness swallowing everything else up made me think of myself. I felt lost again, like I was just another face in the entire world. My own torch, my own light, had gone out.
Light? Speak of the devil. A flash of electric blue whizzed past my ear, freezing me for a second, making me too scared to move. I didn't think of the wand in my pocket, or about turning around to see who it was. Only one word burned into my mind: run.
And run I did. I tore down the hallway, fighting my way through the blackness, having no clue where I was going. The only part of me that was working was my legs, stepping one in front of the other, until I came across a familiar way. This is the way to the Great Hall! I exclaimed to myself in relief. I ran into the room, which was nearly empty with only a few students playing chess or chatting casually. I stood there, catching my breath, which I had left behind in the dark corridor. I'm not safe I decided. I needed to get to the common room.
I exited the Great Hall at a brisk pace, wand in hand. Heart beating, I broke into a jog, which turned into a sprint up the staircase. I babbled out the password in a voice that didn't sound at all like mine - it was laced with fear and nervousness. I stumbled through the portrait hole and flopped onto an armchair. After a few deep breaths, I calmed down. It wasn't until I put my head in my hands and felt my moist cheeks that I realized that I was crying silent tears.
"Ari?" came a familiar voice. I lifted my head up to find Charlie standing in front of me. "Ari? Are you all right?" He knelt down, so we were at eye level.
In a surprisingly calm matter (considering what had just happened), I explained the situation. "And I really just have no idea who could have - "
"Levia."
The comment surprised me more than the attack. "What? That girl that tried out for Beater?"
Charlie nodded, looking slightly guilty. "She's in my Care of Magical Creatures class, she's the only other one who would have know about Aqua Lacerta. That is, besides Jazz and me...."
"You told McGonagall that you didn't know who it was."
"It was your choice to turn her in or not, not mine. I'm sorry, I should have told you earlier, but I completely forgot." He sounded sad and guilty, but I didn't see why. He did what anyone should have done, and I felt the close feeling between Charlie and me grow strong again.
"That was really sweet of you." I whispered, keeping my eyes low, too bashful to look him in the eye.
"Really?" He sounded relieved that I wasn't angry.
"Yeah. I mean, it was my decision, and - "
"You should report her!" yelled out Charlie, his face screwed up into a mask of hatred. "I didn't think that she'd try to attack you again, I'm so sorry - "
"No."
"No?!?"
"You're suspect as well." After seeing Charlie's confused face, I began to explain. "You said that Levia and Jazz are in your class. That means that three people know about Aqua Lacertas. Levia might be jealous of me, but as far as McGonagall knows, you might have been angry that I made it and she didn't. And Jazz - "
"...is friends with Zale and Devlin, the other people that tried out." choked out Charlie. "I didn't realize that - "
"It's all right." I soothed. "At least I know who's out to get me, and, well, now I can practice some hexes." I smiled.
Charlie smiled sheepishly, and then cleared his throat. "I have to go help Hagrid with something. I came up here for my cloak." I grabbed it from a nearby armchair and exited through the portrait hole.
This is what was missing, I thought to myself. After the kiss, it felt a bit awkward, but now we felt close than ever. What was different? It took me a few minutes of pondering to come up with the answer. I sat up in my chair and gasped with realization. What was missing....was us. The feeling of us. The kiss was my kiss or his kiss, but not our kiss. We lost all sense of us.
I fell back onto the armchair and grinned - I had just found the key to mending the hole in our friendship.
The next day was New Year's Eve - the last day of the year. I wandered downstairs to breakfast with my wand clutched tightly in my fist. Grinning inwardly, I went over and plopped myself down next to Charlie.
"Happy New Year," I teased, piling some bacon onto my plate. "Want to go outside after breakfast?"
"You're bouncing back pretty fast," commented Charlie, a little taken aback. "And yes, I would love to."
After we ate, we ran back upstairs for our cloaks, and then we went outside. I was studying the Forbidden Forest, admiring the way the snow fell on the bare branches of all the trees, when a snowball hit me on the arm. I whipped around to see Charlie grinning at me. I grinned back and threw a snowball at him, which resulted in the largest, most breathlessly splendid snowball fight of the year.
When it began to darken, we trekked up to the castle, wet and breathless, to get ready for the celebration. After donning a long black skirt, silver belt, and white turtleneck, I stood back and observed myself in the full-length mirror. Something was wrong...something was missing....
A quick glance at my jewelry box answered the question. Pushing all the hair out of my way, I snapped on the necklace that Charlie gave me for Christmas. After combing my hair with my fingers to get it straight again, I tore down the stairs into the common room.
Charlie stood there, in black pants and a white button-down shirt. "Want to go down?" he asked, blushing when he caught sight of my necklace. I nodded, and we descended arm-in-arm.
The celebration was chaotic, to say the least. There were clumps of girls under mistletoe, eying Charlie eagerly. A local Hogsmeade band was playing some loud rock music, and the dances on the dance floor were anything but innocent. Charlie and I looked at each other, and immediately trooped back upstairs. We entered the empty common room flopped down on the armchairs. The part in the Great Hall was already too rowdy for both of our tastes.
"Don't they have teachers for this sort of thing?" he finally asked.
"That's what I was thinking." I laughed. "Hey - don't you hear some of that music?"
"Yeah, I do." He looked at me with a smile. "Want to dance? No one is looking."
I smiled and accepted the invitation. "I'd be glad to."
We danced. We waltzed around the room with the slower songs, and created new dances for the faster ones. Before I knew it, it was nearly midnight. The chant of hundreds of drunken students counting down the final seconds of the New Year flowing into the room. Charlie was moving in for a kiss, but I playfully stepped away each time. Looking up, I spied a wilted clump of mistletoe.
...ten, nine, eight, seven, six...
I grabbed a surprise Charlie by the hand and pulled him towards the mistletoe.
...five, four...
I put my arms around him and he slipped his arms around my waist.
...three...two...
The tip of our noses brushed against each other, sending wonderfully sweet chills down my spine.
...one...
My lips found Charlie's as we heard a cry of, "Happy New Year!" This kiss felt like our kiss. It was Charlie and me, together...one kiss. One body. One soul.
This time, we broke away from each other when we decided to. I leaned my head back, laughing. Staring into Charlie's very blue eyes, I felt the strangest feeling, and thought a rather random thought...
A new year, new opportunities. Leave the old and welcome the new. Have faith in change.
Faith in change. Maybe then, just maybe...
Maybe I wouldn't be a terrible Beater.
Maybe I could finally condemn Levia.
Maybe I could help Charlie deal with the fan girls.
Maybe I had really found my best friend.
Maybe I had really fallen in love.
Maybe Charlie and I would have a relationship that would last.
Maybe Charlie and I were meant to be.
Maybe I had found someone to live for.
Suddenly...overwhelmingly...the world seemed to be filled with infinite possibilities.
The End.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.