Here Right Now | Charlie Weasley

Chapter 15 : Hogsmeade

Freya walked down to the courtyard with Kane, their gloved hands entwined together. It was an icy day, the wind bitterly cold. Freya shivered and Kane brought her in closer to him. She wanted to pull away from the familiar body, but knew that it would cause their friends to question the couple. It was cold anyway and his constant heat was welcome.

They were going to Hogsmeade today and she was looking forward to drinking some warm butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. It was her favourite but she wasn't going to enjoy it as much as she usually did.

Not today.

"You alright J?" Freya shouted, the wind stealing half of its volume.

Jayden, Wood and Charlie were walking in front of the couple, hunched over in the icy wind. Jayden's back was tense, something that she noticed had been happening for quite some while. 

He turned around and nodded to his friend, his face inscrutable in the cold and under the blue beanie he was wearing. The wind made his long coat flap around his jeans and as he turned around, it streamed behind him. They neared the Hogwarts gate and Jayden flicked his hands towards it. It opened in the wind, slowly and with control.

Freya always found herself admiring the Jet twins and their habits of using wandless magic. They were the only students who could do it perfectly, and they often found themselves coming to class without wands. It annoyed their professors to no end, but the two did their magic much better without the aid of the wands. 

Charlotte seemed to be one who stood her ground when it came to the wand, purposely forgetting it in her room. She had gotten detentions for the first few months but now the professors had given up and just let her do her work without a wand. She did all the magic really well with or without a wand and Freya couldn't help but admire the Slytherin. Jayden however, backed off and now had his wand with him during class-time but never on him during his down time.

"You alright?" Kane asked, his warm breathe against her ear making her shiver unpleasantly.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine." She winced internally at her sharp tone of voice.

Kane nodded silently, a look of understanding on his face and they finally made it to Hogsmeade. They had skirted past the Shrieking Shack's path and had finally gotten close enough to the thatched roofed village with its little odd shops and pubs.

"We're going to the Three Broomsticks, see you later." Kane shouted, the wind loud and stealing his words away. 

The three in front nodded and the couple left the two for the safety of the warm and cheery pub.

The other three aimed for Spintwitches, the sports shop of Hogsmeade. They entered the shop with a flurry of snow and stamping of boots, alerting the owner of new customers. It was a horrible day for going to Hogsmeade, so the shops weren't as filled with students as it usually was. 

They greeted the owner politely, who smiled at his regular customers and their new friend.

"Why do they go to the Three Broomsticks? Isn't Madame Puddifoot's Tea Shop the place to go if you're a couple?" Jayden asked, unwrapping his scarf from his neck. 

Oliver shrugged at him, already immersed in a Quidditch magazine.

"They haven't gone there since 4th year. Freya got freaked out by all the pink. They went there every Hogsmeade trip since we could come here but it got too much for them both." Charlie said, shaking his red head after taking off his beanie. 

Jayden chuckled.

"When's your brother coming?" Oliver asked, now looking at broomsticks at the window.

"I'm not sure, he said something about 12pm at the Three Broomsticks." Jayden replied, now immersed in a kit for cleaning brooms.

They fell in silence as they looked at the goods in the shop. Charlie found himself by the front display, looking out into the street in Hogsmeade. Students were sparse, the wind and snow making the normally welcoming village very dark and unpleasant. His eyes fell on a trio of Slytherins, his heart quickening when he recognized the lithe built of Charlotte. 

Shame washed through him, as he recalled his harsh words from earlier that week. She had basically run away from the class, and Charlie couldn't find her during the week, to apologize. Charlotte looked up from her feet, threw her head back and laughed at something her friend said. Her eyes were closed, her posture open and relaxed, even in the cold.

He found her so beautiful right then, making his heart jump into his throat.

"What are you looking at mate?" Wood's voice made him jump. 

He cleared his throat and pointed to the broom in front of him, hoping his friend didn't notice the direction of his gaze previously. Wood made a non-committal noise as he stared down at the unimpressive broom in front of the two.

"Hey, isn't that Charlotte?" Wood asked suddenly, looking through the window, making Jayden join them at the front of the shop.

"Yeah.. I thought she wouldn't be coming today." Jayden trailed off, confusion on his face. 

Charlie glanced at him and felt a wave of pity towards his friend.

"That's good right? I was surprised when you said she wouldn't be coming to see your brother." Oliver remarked and earned a glare from the red head. 

Oliver looked confused at the glare.

"Yeah.. I don't think she knows where we will meet. Maybe I should go tell her.." Jayden said absentmindedly, twirling his scarf around his neck. 

He nodded to his friends, and left the shop with the twinkle of a bell.

Charlie and Oliver watched as Jayden called for his sister. She turned around in the snow, the smile she was wearing melting off her face. She gestured for her friends to go to Honeydukes, the shop closer to the trio. They nodded and left the twins, although reluctantly. The wind swirled around the twins, making both of their scarfs fly up around them. They were facing off, their words not heard by anyone but the two. 

Both of them were tense, their bodies mirroring each other as they stood with clenched fists. They stood there talking for a while, the wind unnoticed. Charlie could see when the conversation shifted, as Jayden's body relaxed and Charlotte tensed up. She nodded and left her brother, who shouted something after her. She threw her hand up in an angry wave and entered the sweet shop.

Jayden jogged back in the snow, and entered the sports shop. He had a big grin on his face and he greeted his friends, in a much better mood for first time in a while.

"She's going with to see our brother." His triumphant grin made Charlie feel uneasy.