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Quidditch and Love by Ivona Queens

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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."