Lestrange

Nice Catch

As winter break arrived, Charlie was once again left on her own as the majority of the students returned home to their families. Loneliness was all too familiar to her, but the anxiety of what lurked behind each corner had been dulled to an irritating annoyance. Walking the halls expecting them to be empty only to jump when the occasion stray student rounded before she did. Each time it happened, Charlie was left cursing under her breath in embarrassment, but no matter how many times she tried to prepare herself for the possibility of another person sharing the winding halls or Durmstang, she was always left disappointed as her fear won every time.

Charlie tried to talk and make new friends, but as she stepped closer to talk to them, they would either get up and move away as quickly as they could or shoot her with a glare. They either feared her or hated her. She wanted to talk to Viktor about learning to play quidditch on the first day of break, but after various jump scares and countless failures at making friends, she decided it was best to avoid another disappointment, but after four days of studying, Charlie was consumed by boredom. She couldn't take another day buried under all the books Orlov was giving her or training without Magnus's snarky commentary. When dinner finally rolled around, she summoned up every ounce of courage she had and talk to Viktor Krum.

Surviving a wolf attack or dealing with death eaters was something Charlie could handle, but socializing was beyond her. When she entered the sparsely populated dining hall, she looked for Viktor Krum and spotted him at his own table, also eating alone. Normally he was surrounded by a massive crowd of people all vying for his attention. With a deep breath, Charlie strolled right over and set across from the boy and mustered up her nicest smile, which she had a feeling made it seem as if she were in pain rather happy to see anyone. "Hello Viktor, I'm Charlie." She introduced herself and offered up her hand.

He looked over with wide eyes as he slowly put down his fork and shook her hand cautiously. "I know who you are; why are you sitting with me?" He questioned, unsure why she would ever be interested in speaking to him.

"I was hoping we could help one another and also keep each other entertained over the rest of the break." She explained hopefully as the boy continued to look at her rather confused. "I want to learn how to play quidditch." She admitted with a hopeful expression.

The boy instantly relaxed with a chuckle that the rumors circulating around the school weren't even slightly true as the curly-headed girl stared at him in anticipation. "I have been pretty bored practicing by myself," he admitted, unable to hide a grin at the glimmer of hope in her big brown eyes. "I'll make you a deal. I'll teach you how to play quidditch if you tutor me for Orlov's class." He offered, having seen her out on the training grounds with Magnus progressing at a faster pace than anyone in his class, himself included.

Charlie nodded, breaking out into a real smile. "Deal."

"Deal." Viktor mirrored her smile as the two shook hands before settling in to enjoy their meal together. "I'm surprised you're interested in Quidditch," he spoke, offering her the other half of his roll. "I assumed you would only be interested in dueling since you've been hanging around Magnus and Ghita. Those two are obsessed with dueling. Rumor is Magnus was kicked off the school team for nearly killing another student while Ghita has a reputation for sending people to the infirmary."

A timid hand took the piece of bread as she shook her head. "Magus was just protecting Ghita. They don't like to talk about it, but from what they've told me, that student in particular really hurt Ghita." Charlie explained before looking up from her plate. "We give the pain they gave us back, but ten times worse. No one ever protected us and never will due to our blood. All we have is the loyalty between us. Our families are filled with dark wizards, and try as we might, we will always be seen as one of them." She explained before taking a deep breath for being so open with a complete stranger. "Loyalty amongst friends is all we have."