I am a Slytherin

Chapter 5: Hallowe'en Romance

Making sure that the coast was clear, Charlie stepped out of the Slytherin Common Room. She carefully walked up the stairs, hoping to not come across anyone she shouldn't at such a late hour. It was freezing, granted she did reside in the dungeons, next to the black lake, and she couldn't be more thankful to have brought the hand-knitted sweater Mrs Weasley had given her the previous Christmas.

It was quiet for the most part, and she was able to hear the rain hit the large windows. At that moment, Charlie heard whispering. She turned on her heels and looked everywhere around her, squinting her eyes.

"I should've told Hermione I'm terrified of the dark..." Charlie muttered to herself and sighed, crossing her arms in hopes to warm herself. It was usual for an ordinary person to be afraid of the dark, but it came off a little ironic for a werewolf to be frightened. After all, werewolves were creatures of the night - of the dark.

Charlie walked silently through the halls, eyes darting everywhere in fear of being caught. She heard whispers once more and was about to pull out her wand to defend herself when she ran into Hermione.

"Blimey, 'Mione, you scared me," Charlie chuckled and put her wand back in her pocket.

"Charlie! I was worried you had changed your mind," Hermione smiled, clutching something in her hands. Charlie looked at the blanket-looking thing curiously, which made the Gryffindor chuckle. "It's an invisibility cloak. Harry lent it to us for tonight."

"I just realised that's the cloak from the Deathly Hallows story!" Charlie gasped and got her mouth covered with Hermione's hand, hushing her.

"I have no clue what that is," the bookworm uncovered Charlie's mouth and gave her a little smile, opening the cloak and throwing it over them. "I'm assuming you'll tell me all about it, though. Right?"

Charlie rolled her eyes playfully and nodded, walking as close as she could to Hermione, so the cloak covered the both of them with ease. As they turned on the last corner, Charlie stopped for a couple of seconds and frowned, looking behind them.

"Is everything alright?" the bushy-haired girl stopped in her tracks as well.

"Yeah," the Slytherin muttered and continued walking with her friend to the library. These whispers were driving her insane. Upon further thinking, Peeves was most likely the source of those whispers, tricky ghost he was.

The two girls grabbed their books, found a comfortable couch, and took a seat on opposite ends. Charlie reached for a relatively thick book and opened it, flipping through the pages, while Hermione seemed more interested in admiring her friend, biting back a smile. 

She couldn't understand why she wished to be in her presence often, Hermione thought it might have been because she could learn so much from the Slytherin, but it felt more than that. Her young thirteen-year-old heart seemed to beat faster when Charlie was around, and it frightened her for a moment.

Hermione shook her head a little, in an attempt to get rid of those thoughts and glanced at Charlie one last time before continuing to read her book. The way the older girl read so intensely about magical creatures, how curious and happy she seemed.

"Charlie, what can you tell me about Nifflers?" Hermione pipped up.

"Curious creatures they are. They have this little pouch hidden underneath their fur where they store precious items like gold, silver," Charlie replied out of instinct, turning her book a little so Hermione could see.

The bookworm sat closer to Charlie, eyes curiously examining the drawing on her friend's book. The creature was small; it reminded her of a platypus. She hummed and leaned closer, carefully reaching to turn another page and smiled at the sight of a baby Niffler, stuffing its pouch with a gold coin.