True Love is Blind (A Charlie Weasley Love Story)

Chapter 12

“Good morning,” I added, trying to be polite, but probably not doing very well.

“Ahh...Katrina...you look...nice,” I could tell how hard it was for her to compliment me, but I knew for once, that the reason it was so hard for her to say those words was the fact that it was actually true. Though I tried not to show it, I was swelling with pride and satisfaction.

“Thank you. I’m sure you look lovely as well,” I was being polite as possible so that she could not doubt the sincerity in my words.

She humph-ed before walking away, the heels of her shoes clicking lightly against the stone floors. I grinned, knowing that I had managed to annoy her. Though I quickly wiped the grin off my face, as I did not want anyone else to see what was going on. Inwardly, though, I felt the giddy sense of triumph that I had been waiting for.

We enjoyed light conversation over breakfast, not really taking about anything serious, but enjoying the morning nonetheless. The Great Hall was louder than usual, and understandable so; the students were so excited they could hardly wait. I was excited too; I was looking forward to a day to just unwind and enjoy myself. Though I loved Hogwarts, I felt constantly on edge, always having to worry about keeping up appearances, keeping my ears open for anything suspicious. It was a lot of pressure and it was stressful.

But today I would finally be able to have a day to myself, something I had not had in a long time. After finishing off my pumpkin juice, I excused myself from the table a bit early in order to get to the courtyard where we were meeting before the crowds of students rushed outside. It was hard enough for me to walk in these heels normally, much less when I was trying to walk through a giant crowd of excited pre-teens and teenagers. Honestly, I had no idea how Mrs. Weasley could have thought that it would be a good idea to make me, a blind girl, wear 4-inch heels. I knew that I was short, but this was just asking for me to break something.

Stepping outside into the cool fall air, I began to wish that I had worn a jacket over the blazer. It was chilly outside, and I could have used the extra heat. Wrapping my arms around my body, hugging myself to try to keep warm, I smiled as the image of my dream last night came to me. I remembered Charlie and I walking inside, him pulling my into his arms and snuggling up to me to keep me warm. I so wished that he would be able to do that now. What I wouldn’t give to have him here with me, I sighed. I missed him so much.

I sat on the stone wall surrounding the courtyard, leaning my back against an old stone pillar, letting my mind wander. I stayed that way for a few minutes until I heard the low din of excited voices which could mean only one thing; the students were approaching. I smiled, glad that they were happy. They deserved a day to have fun.

“Professor Westing!” I heard two distinct voices calling me.

“Mr. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, how nice to see you,” I smiled playfully at them. Calling them both ‘Mr. Weasley’ was odd for me; I was so used to calling them by their first names, as opposed to their last name. I was looking forward to Christmas holiday when I would get to actually spend time with them as a friend, rather than as a Professor at their school.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. I felt a bit mischievous thinking of it; maybe I could trick them into telling me about Charlie. Though, knowing the twins and their reputation as tricksters, it would be extremely difficult to trick them into doing anything.

“How has your week been?” George asked.

“Good. Busy, but very good. I think I’m actually getting the hang of this teaching thing,” I grinned, disregarding the fact that we were in an environment where I was first and foremost their teacher. I honestly could not care at this point, though; I had not had a chance to catch up with them in a while and I missed spending time with two of my best friends.