CHAPTER TEN:

(A/N: warning — enjoy...)

Third Person P.O.V.:

Despite the very heavy load of homework that the fourth years had been given for the holidays, Charlie was in no mood to work when term ended, and spent the week leading up to Christmas enjoying himself as fully as possible along with everyone else — or attempting to anyway.

Hermione hadn't said more than two words two him since that day in the common room, and he was desperately trying to understand why. They've fought before, sure, but that was nothing compared to how they were now. For the first time, Charlie felt like a stranger to her. Hell, Hermione even avoided Harry and Ron out of fear that they might talk about Charlie; hearing his name caused sadness to swell up inside her.

Meanwhile, it was eating Charlie up inside not knowing who she was going to the Yule Ball with. The unfamiliar feeling he had felt had now had been discovered as immense jealousy as he took the time to think it over. He didn't understand what he was feeling before, but suddenly, it hit him full force like a truck; he was jealous because he had secretly wanted to be Hermione's date to the dance, but as always, his father ruined everything.

Ever since Elaina had said that she'd be his date, she was hanging around him more than ever before, which he thought, could be the reason that Hermione has been so distant, but he didn't know for sure. He figured that the news had spread about him taking Elaina to the dance, and that's why Hermione refused to speak with him, but little did he know, she was mad for a whole other reason.

Charlie had even tried multiple times to talk to Ginny about Hermione, but she seemed just as upset at him as Hermione was. During the first week of holiday break, Charlie tried to preoccupy his head by focusing specifically on Elaina, but he had felt so much guilt around her lately, it was almost as if he committed some sort of crime.

Snow was falling thickly upon the castle and its grounds now. The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly, frosted pumpkin next to the iced gingerbread house that was Hagrid's cabin, while the Durmstrang ship's portholes were glazed with ice, the rigging white with frost. The house-elves down in the kitchen were outdoing themselves with a series of rich, warming stews and savory puddings, one could simply tell by the atmosphere that the holidays were approaching.

On Christmas Eve, Charlie awoke suddenly. Wondering what had caused his abrupt return to consciousness, he opened his eyes, and saw something with very large, round, green eyes staring back at him in the darkness, so close they were almost nose to nose.

"Dobby!" Charlie yelled, scrambling away from the elf so fast he almost fell out of bed. "Don't do that!"

"Dobby is sorry, sir!" squeaked Dobby anxiously, jumping backward with his long fingers over his mouth. "Dobby is only wanting to say, 'hello' to Charlie Hawthorne and drop off his dress robes as requested, sir! Charlie Hawthorne did say Dobby could come and see him sometimes, sir!"

"It's okay," said Charlie, still breathing rather faster than usual, while his heart rate returned to normal. "Just — just like nudge me or something in future, all right, don't stand over me like that..."

Charlie pulled back the curtains around his four-poster, rubbed his eyes, and slicked his messy hair back. His yell had awoken Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville. All of them were peering through the gaps in their own hangings, heavy-eyed and messy-haired.

"Someone attacking you, Charlie?" Seamus asked sleepily.

"No, it's just Dobby," Charlie muttered. "Go back to sleep."

But now that his friends were awake, they weren't planning on going back to sleep; it was the day of the Yule Ball, after all.

The brown eyed boy had groggily removed the blanket that covered him, before sliding out of his bed tiredly, shuffling slowly after Dobby as the house-elf pulled him towards his section of the closet.

Hanging up on the closet door was a midnight blue dress robe, a white dress shirt, black dress pants, and a black bowtie, that completed the look. Dobby beamed widely as though waiting for his master to tell him he did a good job. Charlie turned around and smiled at the elf before leaning down to give him a high-five.

"Good work, Dobby," he said happily, "they look great. Thanks again for helping me out."

"It was an honour, sir!" Dobby squeaked, "But Dobby must go now, sir, we house-elves are busy preparing for tonight's feast!"

And with that, Dobby hurried out of the dormitory, waving good-bye to Harry, Ron, and the others as he passed.

"Anyone fancy going down early for breakfast?" Ron suggested, "I'm starving."

Charlie laughed, "When are you not?"

But nonetheless, all of the boys in the dorm agreed. They all got dressed, met back up in the common room, and went down for breakfast together. They spent most of the morning in Gryffindor Tower, where everyone was freaking out about the Yule Ball, then returned to the Great Hall for a magnificent lunch, which included at least a hundred turkeys and Christmas puddings, and large piles of Cribbage's Wizarding Crackers.

They went out onto the grounds in the afternoon; the snow was untouched except for the deep channels made by the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students on their way up to the castle. Elaina had even made her way outside, choosing to watch Charlie, Harry and the Weasleys' snowball fight rather than join in, and at five o'clock said she was going back upstairs to get ready for the ball.

"I'll see you tonight," she said to Charlie, giving him a peck on the cheek before heading back towards her dormitories.

"I never did understand why girls need more than three hours to get ready," said Ron, watching her incredulously and paying for his lapse in concentration when a large snowball, thrown by George, hit him hard on the side of the head.

There was obviously no dinner in the Great Hall today, as the Ball included a feast, so at seven o'clock, when it had become hard to aim properly, the others abandoned their snowball fight and trooped back to the common room.

Charlie, Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville changed into their dress robes up in their dormitory, all of them looking very self-conscious, but none as much as Ron, who surveyed himself in the long mirror in the corner with an appalled look on his face.

As for Charlie, he paired his outfit with a pair of sleek black shoes to finish it off; he looked pretty good, if he did say so himself. Harry wore a similar outfit to Charlie's, only his robes were forest green to match his eyes, to which Ron wasn't pleased. His friends looked as though they had just stepped out of the recent James Bond film, while he seemed to resemble his Great Aunt Tessie — how tragic.

(A/N: outfit reference! Charlie's wearing blue tho)

There was just no getting around the fact that his robes looked more like a dress than anything else. In a desperate attempt to make them look more manly, he used a Severing Charm on the ruff and cuffs. It worked fairly well; at least he was now lace-free, although he hadn't done a very neat job, and the edges still looked depressingly frayed as the boys set off downstairs.

The common room looked strange, full of people wearing different colors instead of the usual mass of black. Parvati was waiting for Harry at the foot of the stairs. She looked very pretty, in robes of shocking pink, with her long dark plait braided with gold, and gold bracelets glimmering at her wrists.

"You — er — look nice," Harry said awkwardly.

"Thanks," she said. "Padma's going to meet you in the Entrance Hall," she added to Ron.

The ginger nodded simply before looking around, clearly uncomfortable in his underwhelming dress robes.

Charlie quickly surveyed the room; he was searching desperately for one girl in particular.

"Hey," he said to Parvati, "have you seen Hermione?"

"No, I haven't. Sorry, Charlie! You look great by the way." Parvati said quickly before turning to her date. "Shall we go down then, Harry?"

"Okay," said Harry, wishing he could just stay in the common room — he already hated every second of this miserable Yule Ball...

The Entrance Hall was packed with students too, all milling around waiting for eight o'clock, when the doors to the Great Hall would be thrown open. Those people who were meeting partners from different Houses were edging through the crowd trying to find one another. Parvati found her sister, Padma, and led her over to Ron and the his friends.

"Hi," said Padma, who was looking just as pretty as Parvati in robes of bright turquoise. She didn't look too enthusiastic about having Ron as a partner, though; her dark eyes lingered on the frayed neck and sleeves of his dress robes as she looked him up and down.

"Hi," said Ron, not looking at her, but staring around at the crowd. "Oh no..."

He bent his knees slightly to hide behind Harry, because Fleur Delacour was passing, looking stunning in robes of silver-gray satin, and accompanied by the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, Roger Davies. When they had disappeared, Ron straightened out again and stood awkwardly next to Padma, who already looked like she wasn't having a good time.

Then, emerging from the doorway behind Fleur, was Elaina Dumont, dressed in a beautifully stunning long white dress. A smile appeared on Charlie's face as he saw her, and he wasted no time before walking over to her, staring in awe.

"You look beautiful," he said sweetly as he reached her, grabbing one of her hands and kissing it gently.

Elaina had started blushing uncontrollably, "Thank you! You look very handsome."

Charlie smiled at his date before escorting her back to his group of friends. Then, a group of Slytherins came up the steps from their dungeon common room. Malfoy was in front; he was wearing dress robes of black velvet with a high collar, which in Charlie's opinion, made him look like a vicar. Pansy Parkinson in very frilly robes of pale pink was clutching Malfoy's arm. Crabbe and Goyle were both wearing green; they resembled moss-colored boulders, and neither of them, had managed to find a partner.

The oak front doors opened, and everyone turned to look as the Durmstrang students entered with Professor Karkaroff. Krum was at the front of the party, without a date on his arm — she must not be here yet. Over their heads, Charlie saw that an area of lawn right in front of the castle had been transformed into a grotto full of fairy lights in attempt to brighten up the yard while also, trying to stay on theme.

Then Professor McGonagall's voice called, "Everyone in the Great Hall except for the Triwizard champions and their partners!"

Charlie, Elaina, Harry, and Parvati bid a farewell to Ron and Padma who walked forward toward the Great Hall doors, the chattering crowd parting to let them through. Professor McGonagall, who was wearing dress robes of red tartan, told the champions to wait on one side of the doors while everyone else went inside; they were to enter the Great Hall in procession when the rest of the students had sat down.

"Charlie," Elaina called, "I'll be right back, okay? I'm just going to say hello to Fleur."

"Alright," Charlie said simply as his date moved across the Entrance Hall to engulf her friend in a hug.

The brown eyed boy turned back around to Harry and his date, but to Charlie's surprise, Harry's focus wasn't on Parvati at all, but instead, on Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory across the Hall. Charlie sighed, nudging his friend's shoulder slightly, in attempt to tear his gaze from his obvious crush. Harry blushed slightly when he realized what was happening, but thankfully Parvati didn't seem to notice, she was too preoccupied gawking at someone descending the grand staircase over Charlie's shoulder.

"Wow, she looks beautiful," Parvati gasped, and almost instantly, Charlie turned.

His eyes fell on the girl on the stairs, and his jaw dropped. Suddenly, his heart began to beat out of his chest as potentially the most beautiful girl he had ever seen became the only thing his eyes would focus on.

It was Hermione, of course.

But she didn't look like the Hermione everyone normally saw her as...

She had done something with her hair; it was no longer bushy, but sleek and shiny, and twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes made of a floaty, light pink and purple material, and she was holding herself differently, somehow — or maybe it was merely the absence of the twenty or so books she usually had slung over her back. She was also smiling, rather nervously, as suddenly everyone's eyes were on her.

(A/N: she's wearing the pink dress... this way, her and Charlie kind of match, you know? Blue, purple, and pink all go together lol)

Charlie felt like he was dreaming.

Hermione walked down the stairs in front of him in, what felt like, slow motion. Everything around him seemed to stop and it felt as if they were the only two people in the room. If he thought Elaina was a stunning girl, then Hermione was a breathtaking angel, which was ironic considering she wasn't the one wearing white —

The boy felt his cheeks heat up and nervousness overcome him as she got closer, but nonetheless, he allowed his feet to carry him forward, unable to not try and talk to her after an entrance like that.

He reached the bottom of the staircase as she did, but her face fell as she saw him.

As much as it pained her to say it, he looked incredibly handsome in his dress robes, resembling a prince from a Disney movie; a fantasy and a daydream, all rolled into one. His brown eyes were sparkling, and he probably would never know, that in that moment, as he was looking up at her in awe, his eyes were more gold than ever before...

God, it took everything she could muster to not throw her arms around him and kiss him in that moment; she just wanted to forget about their constant differences. But then, reality of the situation set in, and she was forced to fight back her tears — she was not going to allow herself to cry tonight. As tonight was not about him; he made his choice — or that's what she believed, at least.

"H-hey," he breathed out as she stopped in front of him; for a moment, he almost lost the ability of how to speak, "y-you look —"

"Hermy-own!" said a very distinct voice from behind Charlie.

The brown eyed boy turned, and his brows furrowed instantly as Viktor Krum had been gawking at Hermione from a distance.

Viktor approached Hermione, took her hand in his and gave it a kiss to which Charlie clenched his jaw as a sudden realization had been revealed.

"Krum?" Charlie said, slightly taken aback and a bit distraught, to Hermione, who just looked right through him. "That's who you've invited?"

Hermione didn't say anything, instead she just stared in disbelief at Charlie, slightly surprised that he seemed to care so much.

"Vot?" called Viktor, looking at Charlie with a raised brow, "Haff ve got a problem?"

"Yes, we do —"

"No, we don't," Hermione scolded, stopping Charlie from making a scene. She focused in on the brown eyed boy, pleading him him to stop with her eyes. "Yes, Viktor is my date, Charlie. Please respect that. Now, if you'll excuse us —"

Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose out of frustration as he watched Viktor and Hermione link arms and attempt to join the procession of champions.

(A/N: what a smug bastard...)

However, the brown eyed boy was quick to run after the girl once again.

"Save me a dance," he said softly, stopping front of her, "please? Just one dance, that's all I'm asking —"

But before Hermione could even give him an answer, Elaina had come back and slipped under Charlie's arm, not realizing that she had returned at the most inopportune time.

"I'm back," Elaina said obliviously, "what'd I miss?" — she stopped to take in appearance of Hermione and Viktor in front of her — "Wow! You guys look amazing together!"

"Thank you," Hermione said bitterly, trying not to break an intense gaze with Charlie, but eventually, she gave up and pulled Viktor into the procession line.

Elaina raised a brow at her date, "What was that all about?"

But Charlie didn't say anything; he couldn't. He didn't know what to say. Instead, he walked Elaina back to Harry and Parvati, and they took their places in the procession.

That was when Harry leaned over to Charlie, and tried to lighten the obviously tensed mood with a harmless joke.

"I don't think it was the books that kept him going to the library...."

Again, Charlie said nothing. Instead, he glared at his friend, and only when Harry had began to laugh, did he receive a smack on the back of the head.

Once everyone settled in the Hall, and everyone was set in their positions, McGonagall opened the door to let the champions through. Everyone in the Great Hall applauded as they entered and started walking up towards a large round table at the top of the Hall, where the judges were sitting.

The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.

Dumbledore smiled happily as the champions approached the top table, but Karkaroff wore an expression remarkably like Charlie's as he watched Krum and Hermione draw nearer. Ludo Bagman, in robes of bright purple with large yellow stars, was clapping as enthusiastically as any of the students; and Madame Maxime, who had changed her usual uniform of black satin for a flowing gown of lavender silk, was applauding them politely. But Mr. Crouch, Charlie suddenly realized, was not there. The fifth seat at the table was occupied by Percy Weasley, who had recently been promoted to Crouch's personal assistant — he must be there to represent him. However, the only thing that had really mattered to Charlie, as he glanced at the front table, was that fact that his father was thankfully nowhere in sight.

There was no food as of yet on the glittering golden plates, but small menus were lying in front of each of them. Charlie picked his up uncertainly and looked around — there were no waiters.

Dumbledore, however, looked carefully down at his own menu, then said very clearly to his plate, "Pork chops!"

Pork chops appeared within seconds. Getting the idea, the rest of the table placed their orders with their plates too. Charlie glanced up at Hermione to see how she felt about this new and more complicated method of dining — surely it meant plenty of extra work for the house-elves — but for once, Hermione didn't seem to be thinking about S.P.E.W. She was deep in talk with Viktor Krum and hardly seemed to notice what she was eating.

It now occurred to Charlie that he had never actually heard Krum speak much before, but he was certainly talking now, and very enthusiastically at that. For that reason alone, Charlie's blood boiled.

"Veil, ve have a castle also, not as big as this, nor as comfortable, I am thinking," he was telling Hermione. "Ve have just four floors, and the fires are lit only for magical purposes. But ve have grounds larger even than these — though in vinter, ve have very little daylight, so ve are not enjoying them. But in summer ve are flying every day, over the lakes and the mountains —"

"Now, now, Viktor!" said Karkaroff with a laugh that didn't reach his cold eyes, "don't go giving away anything else, now, or your charming friend will know exactly where to find us!"

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Igor, all this secrecy, one would almost think you didn't want visitors."

"Well, Dumbledore," said Karkaroff, displaying his yellowing teeth to their fullest extent, "we are all protective of our private domains, are we not? Do we not jealously guard the halls of learning that have been entrusted to us? Are we not right to be proud that we alone know our school's secrets, and right to protect them?"

"Oh I would never dream of assuming I know all Hogwarts' secrets, Igor," said Dumbledore amicably. "Only this morning, for instance, I took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I have never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamber pots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished. But I must keep an eye out for it. Possibly it is only accessible at five-thirty in the morning. Or it may only appear at the quarter moon — or when the seeker has an exceptionally full bladder."

Charlie snorted into his plate of goulash. The people around him frowned, but Charlie could have sworn his grandfather had given him a very small wink.

The brown eyed boy looked around the Hall. Hagrid was sitting at one of the other staff tables; he was back in his horrible hairy brown suit and gazing up at the top table. Charlie saw him give a small wave, and looking around, saw Madame Maxime return it, her opals glittering in the candlelight.

In the near distance, Hermione was now teaching Krum to say her name properly, and Charlie swore that every time they spoke to one another, he grew more and more disgusted.

"Her-my-oh-nee," Hermione said slowly and clearly.

"Herm-own-ninny."

"Close enough," she said, catching Charlie's eye and grinning, much to his disapproval.

When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes were set upon it.

The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn. They picked up their instruments, and Charlie, who had been so interested in watching them that he had almost forgotten what was coming, suddenly realized that the lanterns on all the other tables had gone out, and that the other champions and their partners were standing up.

"Come on," Elaina said politely, reaching out her hand, "we're supposed to dance."

Charlie let Elaina guide him after he stood up. The Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tune; Charlie walked absentmindedly onto the dance floor, as he kept sending a glare in Krum and Hermione's direction. However, in the next moment, Elaina had seized the boy's hands, placed one around her waist, and was holding the other tightly in hers.

It wasn't as bad as it could have been. Charlie just had to keep his wandering eyes focused as he revolved slowly on the spot. He kept his eyes fixed over the heads of the watching people, and very soon many of them too had come onto the dance floor, so that the champions were no longer the center of attention.

Neville and Ginny were dancing nearby — he could see Ginny wincing frequently as Neville trod on her feet — and Dumbledore was waltzing with Professor McGonagall. Mad-Eye Moody was doing an extremely weird two-step with Professor Sinistra, who was nervously avoiding his wooden leg, all while Hagrid was trying to persuade Madame Maxime to dance.

Charlie heard the final, quavering note from the bagpipe with relief. The Weird Sisters stopped playing, applause filled the hall once more, and Charlie let go of Elaina with a small smile.

"Let's sit down, shall we?"

"Oh, but this is a really good one!" Elaina said as the Weird Sisters struck up a new song, which was a little faster, but still intended for slow dancing.

"Okay," Charlie sighed, "one more."

Elaina wrapped her hands around his neck while Charlie secured both of his hands on her waist. However, much to the girl's disappointment, the brown eyed boy had barely even attempted to make eye contact with her as his mind was quite obviously somewhere else.

"What's wrong?" Elaina said softly causing his eyes to fall upon hers for the first time. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," he lied, "I just —"

"It's her, isn't it?" Elaina questioned, but sighed as Charlie furrowed his brows, "That Granger girl — you're upset that she's here with Viktor Krum, aren't you?"

"What? No! Why would I —"

"Don't lie to me, Charlie," the French girl laughed slightly, "I see the way you look at her. You know, for a minute there, I thought that there was something between us, but from the moment you introduced me to Hermione, I knew that you were practically already spoken for —"

"Hermione and I aren't dating, though," Charlie tried to explain as they danced, "We're friends —"

"Yeah, right," Elaina giggled, "I never pictured you to be oblivious, Charlie Hawthorne, but once again you've surprised me."

"I don't quite understand —"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Elaina raised a brow, "That girl likes you! Trust me, I'm a girl, and so I know when another girl has a crush. And you, well, you're not exactly hiding it either."

"No," Charlie said flatly, "you've got it all wrong. Hermione has told me herself that she only thinks of us as friends —"

"She probably had a good reason in the past," Elaina said, emphasizing the word, "But I'm telling you, she likes you, just as much as you like her. So, here's the plan," — she pursed her lips — "after this dance, I'm going to go dance the night away with my friends, and you, Charlie, are going to get your girl."

Suddenly, everything fell into place for Charlie, thanks to Elaina's guiding push. He was sure about his feelings; he was sure about what he wanted.

"Are you ditching me, Miss Dumont?" Charlie smirked slightly, merely joking around.

"Yes," she said with a laugh, "but for a very good reason. I won't stand in the way of this epic love story anymore. We'll tell our father's whatever they want to hear, but when it comes to us, I think we're probably better off as friends."

"You're amazing, you are," Charlie beamed, "but I can't help but feel as if I've ruined your night..."

"Are you kidding?" Elaina giggled, "Playing matchmaker is going to be the highlight of my night! Besides, there's a cute Durmstrang bloke that I've been dying to talk to anyway."

"Oh, I see," Charlie laughed, "you've got boys lining up, have you?"

"Absolutely," Elaina smirked, flipping her hair back dramatically, "you're a good guy Charlie, but you're not the only good guy in the world."

Charlie chuckled, "Ouch! Hurt my ego a bit more, why don't you?"

"Please, I'm doing you a favour," Elaina rolled her eyes, "you know that deep down, your heart wants her, whether you want to admit it or not."

And with that, the song ended. Charlie gave his date one last twirl, dipping her slightly, before pulling into a hug, "Thank you."

As they pulled away, she smiled at him, "Yeah, yeah, you can make it up to me by letting me plan the wedding."

Charlie's eyes had widened, but before he could even say anything, Elaina had physically turned him around, and pushed him in the direction of Ron, Harry, and Hermione that were all sat at a distant table; Parvati and Padma had seemed to bugger off on there own with a group of Durmstrang blokes.

The boy's eyes became fixated on Hermione at the table, so much so, that he hadn't even realized that Elaina had already gone to join her Beauxbatons friends. Slowly, Charlie walked over to the table where his friends were, but the only one who seemed to notice him was Harry — Ron and Hermione seemed to be in a heated row.

"He's from Durmstrang!" Charlie heard Ron say as he approached.

"He's competing against Harry and Charlie! Against Hogwarts! You — you're —" Ron was obviously casting around for words strong enough to describe Hermione's crime, "fraternizing with the enemy, that's what you're doing!"

Hermione's mouth fell open.

"Don't be so stupid!" she said after a moment. "The enemy! Honestly — who was the one who was all excited when they saw him arrive? Who was the one who wanted his autograph?"

"Uh, what's going on?" Charlie mouthed to Harry, but the boy with glasses shrugged, obviously uncomfortable by being placed in the middle of the argument.

Ron chose to ignore Hermione's previous comment, "I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were both in the library?"

"Yes, he did," said Hermione, the pink patches on her cheeks glowing more brightly. "So what?"

"What happened, trying to get him to join spew, were you?"

"No, I wasn't! If you really must know, he said he'd been coming up to the library every day to try and talk to me, but he hadn't been able to pluck up the courage!"

Hermione said this very quickly, and blushed so deeply that she was almost the same colour as her robes, but Ron simply huffed in frustration; Charlie was super confused as to why the ginger was acting in such a way.

"This whole tournament's supposed to be about getting to know foreign wizards and making friends with them!" said Hermione hotly.

At this, Ron snapped, "Clearly, he's got a bit more than friendship on his mind."

At this comment, Hermione jumped to her feet and stormed off across the dance floor, passing Charlie in the heat of the moment before disappearing into the crowd. Ron watched her go with a mixture of anger and satisfaction on his face.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Charlie said when Hermione was out of sight.

"She had it coming," Ron grunted. "Bringing Viktor Krum," — he scoffed — "who the bloody hell does she think she is?"

Unable to stop himself, Charlie retaliated, "Who the bloody hell do you think you are? You have no right to —"

"Oh, save it, Charlie," Ron spoke furiously, "we all know that you weren't too keen either when she arrived with him. Don't be a hypocrite."

"Yes, but I didn't blatantly insult her," Charlie clenched his jaw, "you, on the other hand, got your wand in a knot because everyone else is having fun, while you're sitting here moping in the corner."

"Watch it —"

"Whatever, mate," Charlie sighed, "I'm going to find Hermione."

With a small shake of the head, Charlie turned on his heel, and followed in the direction that he saw the bushy haired girl run towards.

———————————————

Charlie had been searching for Hermione for quite a while, but she was nowhere to be found. Some students were starting to head back up their dorms after a good two hours of dancing hysterically, but a handful were still in the Great Hall.

Harry and Ron were still sat at the table, looking miserable as all hell as Charlie circled back around. This time, to his surprise, he saw Hermione sitting alone at the front table after finally returning from her, much needed, moment alone.

Smiling widely, Charlie walked straight towards her, dodging out of the way of the few dancers that were still on the dance floor. She looked upset under the bright light still coming from the stage, but regardless, the boy didn't stop.

She had yet to notice him, she was too preoccupied with fixing one of her heels that had come undone, but when Charlie extended one of his hands towards her, she looked up at him curiously.

"How about that dance?" he said with a small, comforting smile that he hoped would persuade her.

But to his surprise, Hermione shook her head, "I'm not in the mood, Charlie."

"Precisely why I think we should dance," Charlie said happily, hoping to lift her spirits, "Please? I promise it'll just be one dance. You can even continue to hate me afterwards, if you want — what do you say?"

Hermione sighed; she never did have the ability to say no to him.

"One dance," she said softly, slipping her hand in his and allowing him to pull her towards the dance floor.

As if practiced, Hermione's hands hooked around his neck, and Charlie held his hands directly on her waist; they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle.

The gaze of everyone in the room had suddenly fell upon them, watching the two intently as they danced.

"Everyone's staring," Hermione said bashfully.

Charlie laughed, "Well, in case you haven't noticed, people have been staring at you all night."

Hermione's eyes widened, "What? Why?"

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" Charlie said so softly that it sent shivers down Hermione's spine. Their eyes connected in an intimate gaze. His voice got caught in his throat slightly as he went to speak again, "You — you're beautiful, Hermione... and I'm not just saying that to get back on your good side or anything like that! I wholeheartedly mean it. Hell, you're more than beautiful even — gorgeous — breathtaking, if you prefer —"

Hermione's cheeks turned a brighter pink than ever before as Charlie babbled on out of nervousness. While the boy thought it to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, Hermione thought of it as one of the sweetest things that she had ever been told — and she absolutely hated the fact that he had such an effect on her after all that's happened.

"Th-thank you," she breathed out causing Charlie to sigh out in relief. The two of them swayed in an a comfortable silence after that, unaware of where to go from there.

"So," Charlie said after basking in silence, still slightly embarrassed, "where did Viktor bugger off to?"

Hermione sighed once again, "Karkaroff pulled him aside, said they had to talk about something important."

"Ah, I see —"

"Where's Elaina?" Hermione said bitterly, "I'd half-expected to see the two of you snogging in the back corner by the end of the night —"

Charlie's eyes widened and he swore he felt his heart stop at Hermione's newfound bluntness.

"I saw you, you know," Hermione said quietly, her eyes turning cold, "the other day, in the corridor." — she paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts — "So much for, 'I wouldn't do that, especially not in front of you, and certainly not after everything that has happened between us,' What a fool I was to believe such rubbish —"

"Hermione —"

The girl had loosen her grip around his neck, prepared to walk away, "You don't have to explain yourself to me Charlie, save your breath —"

"No, no! Yes, I do!" he said at once, pulling her closer once again, "You need to know the full story. Elaina kissed me — I pushed her away the second her lips touched mine, I swear! Hell, I didn't even want her as my date tonight, but I was forced. My father told me that it would help persuade the French Minister to sign the partnership deal, and I know that I was stupid to let that force my decision. But you've got to believe me when I tell you that I felt horrible about all of it, because the truth is, the only one I see myself with is —"

"Apologies, but vould you mind if I could I haff my date back?"

Viktor Krum had once again, ruined the moment. Interesting how he seemed to return as soon as Charlie and Hermione were getting somewhere.

But Charlie didn't care much for the intrusion. Instead, he kept his eyes locked on Hermione's as she seemed to process what he had just told her.

Krum spoke again, "Excuse me —"

"Listen," Charlie said as calm as possible, snapping his head in Krum's direction, "give us a minute, will you?"

"Sorry," Krum said, getting impatient, "I vust insist that Herm-own-ninny comes vith me."

Charlie had groaned in frustration, "Alright Icky Vikky, listen up." — he paused slightly finding enjoyment in watching Krum's face fall — "First of all, her name is Her-my-oh-nee, so get that through your thick skull. Second of all, we're clearly in the middle of something, so I would very much appreciate it if you and your pumpkin head —"

"Charlie!" Hermione scolded, forcing the boy to a halt instantly as they separated from their dancing position. "You don't have to be so rude!"

"Are you kidding?" Charlie sent a surprised glance in Hermione's direction.

However, as soon as he was about to push the limit even further, he stopped himself. In that moment, Charlie came to realize that his behaviour was resembling that of Ron, whom he had just scolded for acting such a way. He looked at Hermione and took notice in her tear-stained face, his own face falling instantly. As much as he wanted to continue the conversation, it wasn't worth the guilt he'd feel if he ruined the night for her.

"You know what?" he spoke in a calmer tone than before, "You're right. Enjoy the rest of your night — I'm sorry for any damage I've caused."

And then, without giving Hermione any time to say anything, Charlie held his head down, turned on his heel, and walked out towards the Great Hall doors; he just wanted to leave, and forget this entire night had never happened.

The Entrance Hall was deserted, there was not a person in sight when Charlie walked out. The boy pulled on his tie, loosening it out of frustration, as he climbed the grand staircase towards the dorms.

"Charlie!" a familiar voice called, and he turned around instantly on the steps upon hearing it.

It shocked him, to say the least, that Hermione had actually came after him.

"What was that?" she shouted at him, storming up the stairs to meet him where he was, "You can't just say things like that and then walk away!"

"I messed up, I know," Charlie sighed, "but just forget it, go and enjoy the rest of the dance."

And with that, he tried to continue up the stairs, but Hermione had yanked him back by the arm.

"No," she said sharply, "for once in our relationship, I don't want to forget what's happened! I want to stand here and, uncomfortable as it may be, talk it out, like civilized people!"

"What do you want me to say?" Charlie raised a brow, "I told you the truth about what happened and you still have yet to say whether or not you actually believe me."

Hermione shrugged, "It is quite the convenient story, Charlie."

"What?" Charlie said, his eyes narrowing in disbelief, "Do you honestly believe that Elaina was my first choice? I've told you how I felt last year before she even came into my life! And you rejected me! Don't make me out to be the bad guy when we're clearly both at fault here."

Turning away again, Charlie walked angrily up the stairs, but to his surprise, Hermione followed him, reciprocating every step he took, until they both reached the flat ground where the staircase turns in another direction. Hermione stopped once they reached that point, but Charlie had proceeded up the stairs, not willing to argue about this anymore.

"And?" Hermione yelled after him, "Have you ever once asked me why? Your timing wasn't exactly perfect, Charlie! But it doesn't matter, because ever since that day I've been blatantly throwing myself at you, trying to get you to see that I made a mistake! Do you have any idea how much of a slap in the face it was when suddenly, that French dimbo came walking into your life? You chose her over me after knowing what we had been through together!"

Charlie came to a halt on the steps and turned around, staring at the girl below him; her expression was a mix of anger and sadness.

"Is that what you think?" he said with a raised brow, "Hermione, for Merlin's sake, I told you that Elaina and I were friends! She, in no way, shape, or form, even comes close to comparing to how I feel for you. Hell, I wanted to come to the dance with you!"

"So, why didn't you ask me?" she shouted again, crossing her arms in frustration, "Honestly, Charlie, I rejected Krum on four different occasions, hoping that one of those days, you'd come strutting into the library to ask me!"

"I already told you." Charlie breathed out, shaking his head, turning away from her slightly, "My father sai—"

"I don't give a damn what your father said, Charlie." Hermione snapped, growing impatient, "You knew the solution, didn't you? For the first time in your life, you were supposed to pluck up enough courage to go after what you truly wanted!"

That single comment froze Charlie in place. His heart was beating so rapidly that he could've swore it would explode out of his chest. So many voices and memories echoed in his head:

It took him all of a single second to realize and get confirmation of what he was missing; what he truly wanted — or who he truly wanted.

After Elaina's guiding push, he was sure about what he wanted.

"You know that deep down, your heart wants her."

"You were supposed to pluck up enough courage to go after what you truly wanted."

Charlie had made up his mind in that moment. Everything was clear to him now, clearer than they had been in ages.

"You know what? Let's just forget it," Hermione hissed icily, "we seem to be really good at that."

That comment snapped Charlie back to reality. She had been right before; he didn't want to forget what had happened either, not after they had made such great progress. With his newfound clarity, Charlie wasn't going to let another moment slip by without doing what he had been wanting to do since the start of last year.

And so, in the instant that Hermione had turned to walk back down to the Great Hall, Charlie ran down the stairs after her, pulling her gently back by the arm to the flat ground in between the sets of stairs once again.

As he turned her around to face him, Charlie placed both of his hands on the sides of her face, confusing Hermione slightly as he looked at her was the same sparkling eyes as before.

"Charlie, what're yo—"

But he cut her off as he passionately placed his lips upon hers. Suddenly, everything had fallen perfectly into place. After taking a second to adjust to the surprise of the kiss, their lips molded together as if never meant to be separated again.

Hermione had, without realizing it, wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss in the process. Charlie's hands moved to her waist as the two got comfortable snogging on the steps of the Entrance Hall. Fireworks, butterflies, and every cheesy, fluttery feeling was happening in that moment. Both of them were savouring so much of that kiss, almost as if they were making up for lost time.

The feeling of their lips molded together was euphoric. Merlin, Charlie thought, why hadn't they done this sooner?

Everything had gone quiet, like the moment of silence between lightning and thunder. Then, as reluctantly as possible, they separated, breathing heavily, gasping for much-needed oxygen, after such an mind-blowing kiss.

Hermione's entire body had been sent into a state of electrifying intensity. She felt as though she was floating off the ground as she stared into Charlie's eyes, completely stunned as to what just happened.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because I wanted to."

The words didn't even leave Charlie's mouth completely before Hermione had pulled him back down into another eager kiss. This time, the first-kiss nerves had seemingly evaporated and the two of them slipped right into the passion as though they had been doing this for years.

It was a kiss that had the power to break open the sky. It would steal their breath from them and then politely give it back, so that they could continue. Hermione's fingertips found the back of Charlie's neck, playing mindlessly with his hair, which simply added to the perfection of the intimate kiss.

After another untouchable moment, they pulled away again, and this time, rested their foreheads on each other's, smiling widely like the pair of lovesick teenagers they were. There was so much emotion that poured from their eyes, speaking indescribable volumes in that moment, which was crucial as they were clearly at a loss for words.

It had not even been two minutes, but Charlie had already missed the taste of strawberry that was on her lips. Hermione was screaming internally, his lips were incredibly soft which didn't help her craving for more. They both just wanted to stay here, in this moment, forever.

Gazing back at one another, Charlie and Hermione simultaneously leaned in again. This kiss was different from the other two. This one was shorter, yet more intimate and meaningful as they both smiled into it, savouring every last moment together.

"Charlie! Where are you?" Harry yelled from a distance, "The dance is over!"

Pulling apart at the sound of their friend's voice, Hermione and Charlie shared a glance as people started pouring out from the Great Hall doors below them. The silence from when it was just the two of them had now exploded into chatter amongst the crowd.

Hermione smiled sheepishly before leaning forward to give Charlie a final kiss on the cheek. But before he could even react, Hermione climbed the stairs quickly and set off towards the Gryffindor common room, so that she would have time to process alone before anyone bombarded her with questions.

Then, almost instantly after she had departed, Harry and Ron had climbed the stairs, finding their friend standing there by himself.

"There you are," Harry beamed, slapping his friend gently on the shoulder, "have a good night?"

Charlie smiled, still staring in the direction that Hermione had disappeared to. He raised his hand and touched his bottom lip gently as if to check to see if his lips were swollen. He wanted to make sure that what just happened wasn't a dream because it definitely felt like one.

"Yeah," Charlie said softly, a wide smile appearing on his face as he reminisced on the kiss in his head, "great night, in fact."

The most perfect night of bliss, sealed with a kiss...

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Author's Note:
*this chapter was not proof read*

AHHHHHHHHH! IM HYPERVENTILATING!

I hope that was worth the wait ;)

Also, fun fact! They kissed in the same place they met and that wasn't even planned... 😭

Much love to you all! Until next time!

xo, Selena