𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 | 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿

Crashing Down & Chaos Profound

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:

Third Person P.O.V.:

"P-Professor Umbridge," began Hermione nervously, her cheeks flustered with embarrassment, "Charlie and I were—"

"In strict violation of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Five," interjected Umbridge, looking stern as she crossed her arms. "Which, I may remind you, forbids boys and girls from being within six inches of one another."

Charlie sighed, muttering under his breath, "That's just completely absurd."

Apparently, however, Charlie wasn't being as discrete as he had imagined. In fact, his comment made Umbridge snap her head towards him, a wicked smile curling onto her lips instantly.

"Nothing is more absurd than your blatant dishonesty, Mr. Hawthorne," said Umbridge sweetly, although there was a underlying tone of viciousness. "Surely, you haven't forgotten about our conversation in my office yesterday afternoon..."

Charlie said nothing in rebuttal for he had been left speechless. His recollection of his encounter with Umbridge was something he wished would have never been brought up in front of Hermione. There was too much to explain and he knew his girlfriend would be heartbroken with this revelation, especially after such an intimate moment that the two had shared in the Astronomy Tower. Despite his horror, Umbridge took Charlie's silence as a victorious moment that needed to be relished in.

"As I recall, my dear boy," she began, her lips pursing as she shifted her gaze between the two guilty Gryffindors, "you affirmed that your relationship with Miss Granger meant nothing, and yet... here we are. Interesting, isn't it? That the truth has been revealed in such a short amount of time."

Charlie's eyes widened, his palms beginning to sweat. He tensed as he saw Hermione take a step back in disbelief. Evident confusion was plastered on her face as she looked to her boyfriend with furrowed brows.

"Charlie...?" she whispered, and Charlie's heart began to beat rapidly. "What's she on about?"

Before Charlie could open his mouth to explain, however, Umbridge cut him off with a wicked, short laugh.

"Oh, you poor thing," she said towards Hermione, thoroughly amused. "So blissfully unaware of the liar standing next to you..." She shifted her gaze back to Charlie, smiling sweetly, "Isn't that right, Mr. Hawthorne?"

Charlie's jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing in Umbridge's direction as he growled, "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"And clearly, neither does she," retaliated Umbridge, gesturing towards Hermione sharply. "So please, enlighten us, my dear boy, what exactly is your truth?"

But the boy remained silent, despite how guilty it made him look. The look of confusion from Hermione was in drastic comparison to that of victory from Dolores Umbridge, and both gazes fell upon Charlie looking for answers. He submitted, however, to silence more docilely than usual, going as far as to look to floor to avoid eye contact.

Charlie was more torn than he had ever been before. Although he was sure heartbreak was to ensue if he were to deny any relation to Hermione, Charlie was adamant that even denial wasn't going to be enough to withstand the evidence that Dolores Umbridge had stumbled upon. He was caught red handed in the act of dishonesty and to be damned was his punishment.

"Silence... as expected," scoffed Umbridge, growing irritated at the boy's lack of response. She stepped forward and seized a handful of Charlie's robes, "Very well then, Mr. Hawthorne... I'm afraid you leave me no choice. If you refuse to give me answers, then I am forced to take necessary precautions. You and I are going to pay a little visit to Professor Snape's office, let's see if he can't extract the truth from you," she added, yanking the boy forward.