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.