If This Ain't Love 《C. Weasley》

1st Year

1st September, 1984

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Charlie stood up from the stool, smiled at Brooke and rushed to the Gryffindor table, and took a seat next to Bill.

"Potter, Brooke!" McGonagall called out.

Brooke sheepishly walked over to the stool, ignoring the murmuring crowd, as the Professor placed the sorting hat on her head.

The hat made direct contact with her mind as Brooke felt the hat peep right into her brain. "Interesting. The girl who fought and had the courage to stand up to you-know-who using her bare hands and a silver dagger. Courageous. And Adventurous. Best make it..."

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted out loud.

The entire hall burst into applause as Brooke stood up and approached the Gryffindor table, taking a seat between Bill and Charlie, as they happily hugged her.

11th December 1984

"Ouch, Brooke. You're hurting me." Charlie whisper-shouted, as Brooke and he was sneaking around past curfew and Brooke checked the time on her watch. 11:45 pm.

"Quit whining like a baby and follow me," Brooke replied and pulled the redhead into the forbidden forest.

"Lumos" Brooke lit the tip of her wand and led the redhead to a clearing. In the middle of the clearing, stood a pearly white and beautiful Hippogriff. Charlie stared at it in awe as Brooke motioned for him to follow her and do whatever is told.

"What is this creature?" Charlie asked, mesmerized, as Brooke spoke up. "That, Charlie, is a Hippogriff. Hagrid bought him the other day for Professor Kettleburn's classes and I found him yesterday. He had a minor wound on his talon and I healed it with the new healing spell I've learned. The name's Buckbeak. Now, bow to him. Hippogriffs are proud creatures and appreciate that gesture."

Brooke bowed to the creature and Charlie did the same. Buckbeak reciprocated and Brooke approached it and stroked his head. Then, Buckbeak bent his back so as to let the duo climb on it. They obliged and took a seat on Buckbeak's back. And before they knew it, Buckbeak had started running through the forest towards the black lake as Brooke, who was seated behind Charlie, held tightly to him and closed her eyes. Charlie's smile grew bigger as Buckbeak soared into the air and they started gaining altitude.

Brooke opened her eyes and looked at Charlie, who seemed to be enjoying the ride. Brooke checked her watch. 12.00 am.

She suddenly placed a kiss on Charlie's cheek and rested her cheek on his back, whispering "Happy Birthday, Charlie." Charlie was surprised by Brooke's sudden action, but he would be lying if he were to say that he didn't like that.

"So is that my birthday present?" Charlie squealed with excitement, as they glided over the black lake and the crisp winter air brushed through his fiery red hair.

"One of them," Brooke replied as Buckbeak's talons touched the ground gently.

When they arrived back at the clearing, Brooke and Charlie got off as Brooke fed him one of the dead ferrets that Hagrid had left for the hippogriff a few hours ago, and had almost forgotten about it.

They waved at Buckbeak as he cawed happily and made their way back to the castle. When they reached the castle, Brooke and Charlie were headed back to the Gryffindor common room.

Once they reached the common room, Brooke told Charlie to wait for 5 minutes as she ran up to her dorm and collected Charlie's presents.

She stumbled down the stairs to find Charlie seated by the fire. She walked over to the redhead as he stood up and acknowledged her presence. Brooke handed over the second present to him as he unwrapped it. "From Egg to Inferno: A Dragon Keeper's Guide. Blimey, I have been looking for this book for so long! Where did you get this from?" Charlie inquired, as he flipped through the pages frantically and smiled. "Let's just say, I've got connections," Brooke stated and winked at the boy.

While Charlie was skimming through the pages of the book, Brooke took the opportunity to present her third and last gift to the redhead. "And, this is for you," Brooke exclaimed in a singsong voice and handed over a velvet case to Charlie. Charlie threw open the case to find a necklace with a dragon charm on it. "I love this Brooke. This is one of the best gifts I might've received." Brooke's eyes softened at the sight before her as she smiled at the boy and stated "We should be off to bed, now. It's going to be a long day tomorrow." Brooke explained and turned to ascend the stairs of the Girl's Dormitories when Charlie grabbed her wrist.

Bewildered, Brooke turned to him and he engulfed her in a tight hug. Brooke felt the same electric feeling run through her veins like the one she felt when they held each other's hands for the first time.

"Thank you so much for these gifts, Brooke. Hell, thank you so much for being a part of my life." Charlie mumbled as those words made Brooke's heart melt.