The Dragon Whisperer

Charlie's in love?

"I'm calling a team meeting" I announced, falling into a seat on the same table as Charlie and Toma.

"Team?" asked Toma. "What dya mean?"

"I mean Team Kat" I explained. "My personal Triwizard support team!"

"I like it" grinned Charlie. "Anyway, what's the meeting about?"

"The clue in the egg. I figured it out!"

I paused to allow for the eruption of applause from my team. When none came, I moved on.

"The clue said I needed to stay underwater water for an hour to find something. Any ideas?"

My team replied with blank faces. I sighed.

"Well we all need to research it until we find out how to do it" I announced. "Is everyone clear?"

---

"Hey Kat" smiled Charlie. "How's the water thing going?"

"Not great" I admitted. "I don't know any charms about breathing underwater"

"Just hold your breath" suggested Toma. I glared at him.

"What do you think I am, a fish?"

"Muggles do it" Toma defended. "I saw them on TV. They just go underwater and hold their breath"

"How is that possible?" I asked incredulously.

Charlie laughed. "They don't just hold their breath, they have diving suits and all that"

"Diving suits?" said Toma. "Why can't Kat just have a diving suit?"

Charlie stared at him. "That could actually work" he said slowly. "I bet my dad would be able to get me one of those- he's obsessed with muggles!"

"Yes!" I squealed and hugged Toma, then exchanged an awkward high five with Charlie.

Since we'd danced together at the Yule Ball, things had been a little weird between me and Charlie. It wasn't like anything had changed in the way we spoke to each other; it was just that I started to feel different around him. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, it was just that I seemed more conscious about my appearance around him now. Like yesterday, I actually plaited my hair. Me, who never even bothered combing my hair, took time out of my life to separate my hair into 3 little groups and do some complicated twisty thing that apparently would make it look nice. The end result was awful, granted, since there were bits sticking out and I'd gotten a little confused in the middle and tied the plait into a knot, but I had tried and that bothered me.


Charlie hadn't been in his clearing in the forest when I went to check a few minutes ago. Figuring he might be visiting Hagrid, I decided to stop by at the hut on my way back.

I walked up to the door and peeked through the keyhole to see if Charlie was there. He was, and he was slumped onto a sofa with Hagrid, drinking Firewhiskey and looking really upset.

Naturally, I ended up pressing my ear against the door to try and hear what was wrong. Charlie's voice was dull and lifeless and he sipped his Firewhiskey as he spoke.

"And it's just hopeless, you know?" he was saying. "She sees me as a friend and I don't want to ruin everything we have by making a move!"

"Oh yeah" said Hagrid, consolingly. "I see the problem"

Charlie nodded. "And what makes it worse is that she's only 17... am I a pedophile Hagrid?"

Hagrid seemed to consider it. "No. You're only like 3 years older, it's fine. Just think, in 10 years, you'll be 30 and she'll be 27, and that's perfect."

"I guess." Charlie sighed. "But she's just so... perfect. This is horrible"

"I know" agreed Hagrid. "Love sucks"

I raced away from the hut, my head spinning. Charlie liked a 17 year old? I wondered who it was: maybe Fleur Delacour, or that pretty Asian girl Diggory took to the Yule Ball. For some reason, the idea of Charlie being in love with either of them made me feel sick. It was probably just because I didn't get along with many girls, and Charlie having a girlfriend tagging along everywhere would be awkward. Especially since the girl was the same age as me, maybe if she'd been older it would have been ok but Charlie would probably want me to make friends with her.

But what kind of friend would I be if I didn't want the best for Charlie? I was going to have to grin and bear it if he ever did start dating this girl.


Ahh Kat, you're so oblivious! Leave a comment telling me how blind she's being! XD