Charlotte Weasley

Chapter 36 - Dirk and Bartholomew

The Gryffindors carried the entire team back to the common room and Peter and Jacob had snuck to the kitchens to get some food. Bartholomew strung up a large Gryffindor banner emblazoned with the house crest over the windows. 

I grabbed a bottle of butterbeer and joined my friends in a corner of the room to listen to Dirk's toast. 

"I want to thank my team for the great season that we had this year!" Everyone cheered and clapped, "You all did great! And Charlotte you did amazing seeing as you were in the hospital wing just this morning!" More applause and woops greeted his words. "And thank you all so much for a great year!" 

The crowd that had been around Dirk began to disperse. I turned back to face my friends who each clutched a butterbeer in their hands. 

"We only have three weeks left of school!" Lacey wailed. "What am I going to do all summer without all of you!" 

I chuckled, "Oh Lacey, I doubt you'll miss us that much over the summer."

"But I will!" 

Suddenly a few screams echoed around the common room and everyone became silent, pushing to see what was happening. 

In the center of the room, Dirk and Bartholomew wrestled on the floor, ties askew. 

"Why are they fighting?" I gasped. 

A few punches were thrown and someone ran to get help. Two of the older guys in seventh year attempted to pull them off each other and after a few tries they finally wrenched them off of one another.

We all watched in stunned silence as the door flew open, revealing a furious Professor McGonnagal. We all shrunk back into the shadows. I had never seen her that mad before, her lips were so tightly squeezed together that they could have been fused into one.

"I am very disappointed in the both of you. Dirk! Bartholomew! My office! Now!" She spoke so sharply I wasn't surprised when I saw some spittle flying from her mouth in the few seconds she separated her lips. She stormed back out, her robes billowing around her like the wings of a very angry hawk.

 Dirk and Bartholomew followed her out, shooting death glares at each other. 

"I wonder what she will do to them," Lacey whispered conspiratorially. "Expel them?"

"I don't know about expulsion.. They are almost a month away from graduating! That would be a shame,"  I said. 

It turns out that Professor McGonnagal did not in fact, expel them. What she did do was strip them both of their titles of Quidditch Captain and Head Prefect, effective immediately. 

Whispers followed both of them in the hallways, people speculating why they had their row. Every house was completely aware of the events that had occurred in the Gryffindor Common room the night of the Quidditch match and everyone had talked and gossiped so much about it, the topic soon began to wear out. 

Professor McGonnagal was treated with a lot more respect (more than before which is saying something) and students rarely talked back anymore. Even Peter and Jacob had given up their ways for the rest of the year saying, "Once she's gone, we can do whatever we want." I decided not to burst their bubble and remind them that even though McGonnagal was leaving that did not mean all the teachers would pack up and leave as well. 

One morning during breakfast, the topic of the fight was brought up for the first time in a week by surprisingly enough by Britt, who hates even the idea of gossiping. 

"Why do you think they started fighting?" She said, blinking her large green eyes as though oblivious to the fact that each and every one of us was staring at her like she had contracted an illness. 

"Umm.. I don't know." Lacey replied after a few seconds of stunned silence. Even Lacey who was always willing to talk about people was unsure about what was going on. 

"Well why do men fight? Girls." Valerie said as though that settled the matter.

"Do you mean Chelsea? They had been broken up for a while, " I said.

"I am sure he couldn't have gotten over her that quickly. Why did they break up anyways?" 

"I don't know, Dirk never talked about it at practice and no one seemed to know."

"Well maybe Chelsea broke up with him to be with Bartholomew. You never know!" Valerie remarked. 

I sighed, getting up to go finish the rest of my homework in the dormitory. 

"Hey, Charlotte, where are you going?" Britt asked, standing up as well.

"I still have a scroll on Giant Alliances in the sixteen hundreds due for Binns," I sighed thinking of the boring subject; just thinking about it made me yawn.

"Oh yeah I still have to finish mine," Britt stepped out from the bench and followed me back upstairs. 

"Ugh, I am never going to finish this!" I snapped, slamming my quill against the parchment, a few drops of ink splattering the page covered in my sprawling font. "Okay that's it!" 

"Here, I can fix that," Britt muttered, annoyed. "This is why you don't wait until the last minute to do these long projects! And also why you do it at a desk, not on your bed." Britt glared at me and I gave a look of innocence, propping my head up higher with my elbows. 

I mumbled a thank you to Brit and did the last finishing touches on my paper. 

"Okay! That should be good enough!" 

Britt smirked, "Finally!" 

"I just can't wait until school is over," I sighed, stowing away my quill and ink and rolling up the scroll for Binns. 

"Eh, me too."

Suddenly, the door banged open and Lacey stormed into the room, rage written across her face and angry tears brimming in the corners of her eyes.