Charley Effie Black

Chapter 48 - You Okay, Squirt?

Charley, George, and Fred sat around the living room of Charley's old house in Godric's Hollow. "So..." Fred started awkwardly as he set up Monopoly.

"What's up?" Charley asked. She looked up to see Fred and George silently communicating.

"What happened with Oliver?" George asked. He looked up at Charley cautiously and watched her every move as if trying to gauge how upset she was. 

"What do you mean?" Charley asked.

"You would've stayed with him if you got in a fight with Haz. But you chose Grimmauld," George explained before leaning over and taking some m&m's from the bowl.

Charley was silent for a moment. "He told me he fancies me," she replied.

"He finally told you?" Fred asked.

"Yeah- You guys knew?"

"It was obvious," Fred laughed.

Charley groaned. "He's my best friend- Or... Was my best friend. I don't know what's going on now."

"You don't fancy him back?" George asked. His brows furrowed in confusion as he stared at Charley and started digging for something in his pocket.

"No! He's just my best-"

"Charley, are you sure?" Fred interrupted as George slipped him a pound.

"Yes, I'm sure! He's my best friend and that's all," Charley argued.

Fred and George looked at each other again. "Yeah, but he's like the only thing that goes through your mind," Fred tried to continue.

"I don't fancy him."

"Charley, do you feel the same way about me that you do with Oliver?" George asked her.

"Yeah-" Charley started before she froze. "No. But that doesn't mean anything. I'm closer with him."

Fred groaned. "Just admit you fancy him. There's a reason all your boyfriends felt threatened by him and not George and Lee. Oliver is good looking and your whole face lights up when you talk about him or with him."

"Because he's my-"

"Charley, stop," George told her. "Take a deep breath in and think about Oliver. Think about if you fancy him or not."

Charley rolled her eyes but did what he said. After a moment she said, "I don't fancy, Olly." George and Fred looked at each other in a way of hopelessness.

. . .

Charley looked down at a picture she had taken out of her scrapbook. She and Oliver had found a photo booth and had their tongues out in the first one. In the second one, Charley was making a kissy face as Oliver watched her with a small smile. In the final one, Oliver was making a kissy face to make fun of Charley while Charley watched him with an identical small smile.

She picked up the photo strip and stared at it. Her heart ached as she wished she could be in that moment again. Both of them were carefree, not expecting that in one week everything would be different.

She wished that Oliver could be there beside her right then and tell her it was okay. She wanted him to hug her and kiss the top of her head. She wanted to stay up watching Lady and the Tramp until they both fell asleep in each other's arms. She wanted him.

She wanted Oliver.

"Holy s***," Charley said softly. She looked over the picture again, seeing the red cheeks in both her and Oliver. "Holy s***!" she said louder before she bolted out of her room to find George.

She pushed Nymohadora out of the way and barreled through Remus. "Charley!" Remus shouted after her. "Your dad said-"

Charley ignored him and raced down the final stairs. She found George sitting in the dining room with a bowl of cereal.

"Hey, Char," he said with a bright smile.

Charley stared at him, breathing heavily as she tried to wrap her brain around what was going on.

"You okay, Squirt? You look pale," George then added as he turned to face her fully.

Charley sat beside him and ran a hand through her hair. "Oliver," she quietly said.

"What happened? Is he okay?" George asked.

Charley stared at him. "He has a new girlfriend," she told him softly.

"Oh yeah, I think I saw that in the Daily Prophet," George replied.

He's not supposed to, Charley wanted to tell him, but she knew he wouldn't get their 'grandparents forever' stuff.

"Why'd you want to tell me that?" George asked.

Charley stared at him for a moment. "I um... You and Fred were right."

"About what?" George asked before taking another bite of his cereal. "Have you ever had this? This is like the best things muggles have-"

"I fancy Olly."

George's jaw dropped and he lowered his spoon. "Well, d***, Char. I uh... Wow," he stared at her in disbelief.

"I know," Charley said quietly. "But I can't do anything about it anymore because he already has a girlfriend."

George nodded. "I never thought you would actually admit it."

Charley groaned. "I can't believe I f***ing fancy my f***ing best friend. Except he's not my f***ing best friend because I freaked out when he told me he fancied me. How f***ing stupid am I?"

"Hey," George softly said, wrapping his arms around her. "It's going to be okay."

"How, George? I can't live without him! He's my best f***ing friend! And now I realize I-"

"Charley, calm down," George told her before he wiped away her tears. "It's going to be okay. Just trust me."

Charley nodded and took a deep breath in. "I want him back, Georgie."

"You're going to," George told her.

Remus walked into the dining room. "Charley, what were you thinking?" he asked immediately. "If Dumbledore- Are you crying?"

Charley wiped away her tears. "I'm fine," she told him.

Remus looked between George and Charley. "Uh... There's an Order meeting tonight. So you'll have to stay up in your room, Char."

Charley nodded at him. "Sounds good, Uncle Moony." Remus left the room. Charley immediately turned to George again. "The Order! Olly is going to join the Order soon!" she exclaimed, fear rising up in her. "He can't! He can't, George!"

"What do you mean?"

"If I want any chance with him, he can't join the Order."

George stared at her in confusion but nodded. "Yeah, okay. Fred and I can join the Order and stop him from joining."

Charley smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Georgie."