"Good afternoon, Lillie."
Without looking up from her tomato soup, Lillie replies.
"Good afternoon, Charlie."
He looks past her at the bright windows that line the Great Hall. Winter sunlight streams from them, as well as down from the magic ceiling that hangs over the long wooden tables. The sun is direct, and in a normal room it would be blinding; in the Great Hall, the windows are charmed to filter it into soft, dappled light.
"Beautiful day, isn't it?" he says, uncharacteristically awkward, like couldn't think of what to say. He's sitting across the table from Lillie, watching her stir her soup with her spoon nervously.
"Yeah, really pretty. Might try and get out towards the forest, get some mugwort for my weed."
Charlie looks intrigued when she says this. He smirks slyly, "You smoke?"
"Uh yeah, I do. You?" she asks. She immediately regrets mentioning it.
"Yeah, it helps my leg. That's actually what I was going to talk to you about. If you wanna--"
Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Fred slides into the bench next to her, grabbing a piece of potato from her plate and popping it into his mouth.
"Hi Lillie. Cute headband," he says, flicking it lightly. Lillie reaches up to hear head self-consciously. He shifts his body towards Charlie, "Hey, Charlie, right?" Lillie rolls her eyes; Fred knows exactly who Charlie is. He's the most popular Slytherin in his year, and his teammate Katie's brother. She chalks his feigned ignorance up to house rivalry.
"Yeah," Charlie replies shortly. Of course, he does know Fred and George, though he gives no indication nor does he bother to ask.
"What are you two talking about?" he says casually, reaching for a plate of chicken tenders that had just appeared and plucking one up. Lillie looks at Charlie and raises her eyebrows, inviting him to continue.
"I was just about to ask Lillie whether she'd like to come smoke with me this afternoon."
Fred stops chewing momentarily, still staring at the plate in front of him. He regains his composure, continuing to chew and turning towards Lillie.
"Yeah? And what did you say?" he asks, still casual.
"She hadn't had a chance to respond," Charlie says coolly.
Fred shoots him a look. He asked Lillie, not Charlie. He turns again to her and raises his eyebrows.
"I don't know," Lillie says, lightly. She didn't particularly want to go, but she knew Charlie would smoke her out. "I have a bit of a packed day, and smoking when it's light out is a little risky."
"I'll come, then," Fred says brightly, like he'd just had a marvelous idea.
Charlie's expression hardens further, "I don't have enough weed for three."
"Not a problem, I'll bring my own. I'll smoke you both out, if you like."
Charlie rolls his eyes, "No thanks. I'm a bit picky with what I smoke."
"Suit yourself." He speaks to Lillie, now, "It'll be perfect. I'll bring the weed you like, and you know I have a, erm," he pauses suggestively, "Knack for staying out of trouble."
A look of understanding passes between them. Fred was offering his services; not necessarily protection, but a rescue from a sure to be awkward situation.
"Alright. Yeah. Let's do it," Lillie says, happily.
"Lovely," Charlie says, though he doesn't seem to mean it, "Four P.M. in the clock tower courtyard?"
"Works for me," she replies.
"Yep," Fred agrees.
Charlie slowly walks off, supported by his cane. Even though his leg is damaged, he walks with an aristocratic air about him, one that he no doubt picked up by mimicking his pureblood Slytherin peers.
"Arsehole."
"Fred!" Lillie exclaims, offended.
"What?"
"Don't be mean," she halfheartedly scolds. He laughs and reaches for her headband, plucking it off her head and spinning it in his hands before putting it on his own head, pushing his hair back and making his ears stick out.
"Sorry. Well, no I'm not. He's a git and a traitor."
"Gryffindors are so weird about house rivalry," she says, ignoring the theft.
"And Hufflepuffs aren't?" he retorts.
"Not the way you guys are. Must be the pride."
"House rivalry or not, the man's worse than Judas. I mean, to abandon a centuries-long line of Gryffindors for Slytherin? It's unspeakable. He'd be better off a squib." Lillie huffs at this; none of the Weasleys are blood purists, but their lineage makes them liable to questionable remarks like these. It bothers her.
"There's nothing wrong with being a squib," she replies.
"Well, whatever. You shouldn't hang around him."
"Telling me not to is just going to make me want to do it more," she teases.
"Ok, fine. You should definitely, totally hang out with him. Date him, if you like. Godric knows he fancies you," he mutters the latter portion of this sentence.
"Ahhh, reverse psychology," Lillie says knowingly, "it's not going to work!"
Fred just smirks and shakes his head, dismissing her jesting.
"I'll see you at four, then?" he asks, placing the headband back on to Lillie's head gently, yet clumsily.
"Absolutely," she agrees, pulling the headband off and putting it back on herself.
He pushes up from the bench, turns on his heel, and walks off.
***
Lillie and Charlie both have a free period during the last class of the day. Lillie is pretty sure Fred has potions, but she has no doubt he'll bunk it off to smoke with Lillie and Charlie. In any case, Fred is late to the clocktower courtyard, caught up in whatever prior engagement he had. Lillie and Charlie run into each other on their way out of the building, walking the rest of the way out together to wait for Fred. Lillie walks slowly with Charlie, offering little "uh huh"s and "wow"s at the story he's telling about a Beuxbaton's girl he thought she might know.
Charlie and Lillie make their way into the clocktower courtyard at 4:04 PM. They meander toward the giant tree that sits in the middle of the square and sit on the bench that wraps around its circumference. Before they sat, the tree was barren, it's bald branches reflecting the harsh winter sunlight. However, as they settle, a single branch grows down to hang between them. All along its outstretched branch, bunches of wisteria bloom from small buds. They hang in an arch between the pair, perfuming the air with a nostalgic sweetness that Lillie previously reserved to the late months of Spring. It is her favorite flower.
Charlie's eyes follow the branch as it grows, all the way till the tip of it rested in his eyeline.
He chuckles, "Charmed, it looks like."
Lillie smiles softly as she reflects on the purity of the enchantment. How sweet, she thought, A charm that grows someone's favorite flower for them. She had never known this tree to do this, so the spell must be a new addition.
Charlie reaches up and plucks a single bud from the bunch nearest him, twisting the small, delicate stem between his thumb and pointer finger. He glances at the clock before leaning his head toward Lillie sitting beside him. 4:06.
"I was sort of hoping I'd get to smoke with you alone, today," he says lightly, casually. His large hands are red and slender in the cold, looking skeletal. They still hold the flower carefully.
"Oh?" Lillie simply says, wanting to tread lightly.
"Yeah. I mean, nothing against your friend," Lillie doesn't believe him, "But I wanted to talk."
"We can still talk! Fred's a good talker, actually, he's very-" she's cut of by Charlie's exasperated sigh. She shifts her body, pointing her knees towards him. "What?" she inquires softly.
"I meant I wanted to talk with you, about something specific." He leans back from where his elbows were propped on his knees, allowing his hands to rub his thighs as he crosses his ankle to his knee. Lillie looks at him carefully. He avoids her gaze, but he doesn't look nervous, or emotional. He is enjoying the tension, enjoying how avoiding his point is building the anticipation that mounts in her gut. His face, normally so boyish and expressive, sits still as stone. His eyebrows scrunch at the clock, watching the second hand's slow, fluid journey clockwise. He looks handsome, she realizes.
"What about?" Lillie squeeks out, trying her hardest to sound nonchalant.
"I wanna date you," he says, resolutely. Lillie's eyes widen in disbelief. "I'm not saying we're boyfriend and girlfriend, or anything. But I'd like to go on dates with you, get to know you better, all that."
"You're serious?" she asks, staring at him.
"Was I not being obvious enough?" he smirks, giving her a brazen side-eye.
"I just assumed you were fucking with me," she still isn't sure he's not.
"Why would I fuck with you?" he turns towards her fully, laughing in disbelief.
"I don't know!" Lillie replies defensively, also laughing, "Why not?"
"Because I like you!" he says incredulously.
Lillie's giggles slow down when he says this. Her mittened hand reaches to itch under her eye awkwardly, unsure of what to say. Their knees touch, and Charlie's hand is splayed across his knee, palm down. His pinky edges towards her knee, touching it lightly. It was almost as though he were testing her boundaries, testing to see how she is feeling. Lillie presses her knee into his touch, allowing his hand to glide further onto her tight-covered thigh. In a different situation it would have been sensual; but to her it seemed oddly innocent and timid, like he was just touching her for the sake of it.
They are sitting like this when they hear pounding footsteps on the flagstone, forceful yet subdued, confident. Fred had arrived, ten minutes late, smelling of spices and acrid bitterness. He pauses when he arrives at the courtyard, taking in the scene before him: Charlie and Lillie, sitting under a blooming wisteria, smiling shyly at each other. He clears his throat and walks toward them. Lillie, whose back is mostly facing Fred, turns away from Charlie. Upon seeing Fred approaching she bounces up, her hair stirred up by her sudden movement. He scans her face. The tops of her cheeks and the tip of her nose are red from the cold, and her eyes water slightly from the wind. Her hands shake visibly, even through her thick woolen mittens. He wonders if it's from the cold, or the interaction he'd stumbled into. She smiles at him happily, then widens her eyes and darts them toward Charlie, who was still sitting. She was sending him a message: I'll tell you later.
"Hi Fred!" she says.
"Hiya," he replies, leaning sideways into her light hug and pecking her on the cheek. "Charlie, how are you?" he says tightly.
"I'm quite well, thanks. Have you got your weed?" he replies brusquely.
"Yeah, yeah," he says, digging in his robes and holding up his pouch, "Cheers."
"Should we get going, then?" Lillie says.
"Right," Charlie grunts, getting up from the bench with the support of his cane.
The trio are silent as they walk across the suspended bridge and down the hill towards the forbidden forest. The trek down is slow going, and Charlie's cane makes little scraping, shuffling sounds, somehow amplifying the tension. Fred keeps accidentally plowing ahead of the group, unaware of his own speed. Lillie has to grab the back of his robes multiple times to force him to slow down and wait for Charlie, jabbing him in the ribs each time. Eventually, she resolves to looping her arm in his for the rest of the way down. He smirks at the look on Charlie's face when he sees their linked arms.
"There's a place, a few hundred yards into the forbidden forest. It's a nice place to smoke. Slytherins keep the location under wraps, but I wanted to show Lillie," Charlie says her name pointedly, subtly emphasising his disappointment with Fred's presence. Fred simply hums in assent, his curiosity piqued. He was in no position to turn down Slytherin secrets. They enter the forest, the frost-hardened leaves crunching under their feet. They fall silent again, though this time it isn't awkward. It would feel bizarre to talk at a normal volume in such a place; silence here feels natural. After they make their way into the forest, the sunlight seeps away as the foliage above them grows thicker. A few hundred yards in, the group slows. They come upon a clearing. The floor beneath them would be soft and bouncy with moss, were it not for the winter frost that solidifies it. A small pond sits in the middle, frozen over in a light layer over the top. The dry, grey sunlight sprinkles through the thinner bits of canopy, and last week's snow sits unmelted in the shadows made by the trees and boulders. The area is beautiful, but Lillie suspects that it must be much prettier in the spring and summer months. It gives her a melancholy feeling, like she is missing out on something.
Her hand finally slips from the crook of Fred's arm as he walks further into the clearing, craning his neck as he spins around, taking it in.
"Holy shit!" he says, disbelieving. Lillie laughs, both in excitement and at Fred's own. "Why haven't I known about this?"
"Because no one told you," Charlie mumbles sarcastically, quiet enough so that only Lillie could catch it. He is clearly regretting his decision to bring him here. She shoots him a scolding look before walking toward Fred, who is still exploring the clearing. Charlie follows suit. Fred settles on a long fallen log, which has been dried out from likely decades of rest on the forest floor. He casts a warming charm around the area, and removes his cloak to lay over their spot. He sits on the edge, his seat fully protected by the cloak. Lillie sits next to them, placing herself in the eventual middle of the two boys. She also sits on the cloak, muttering a quiet "thank you" to Fred. When Charlie sits down, enough cloak is left for only his right side. Lillie notices this and scoots towards Fred, attempting to make room. Fred also notices, yet makes no attempt at moving down. Charlie huffs, removing his own cloak and easing onto it. Lillie is now pressed against Fred, but Charlie sits a few inches away. Fred and Charlie both notice, but Lillie is oblivious, simply peering into Fred's lap, where he digs in the pouch for his weed.
Charlie taps her on her shoulder and she turns. He is holding out a medium-sized, perfectly wrapped joint, offering it to her casually. She takes it and he reaches back into his cigarette case. It looks muggle, silver plated with swirling engravings on the front; he pulls out his own joint. She thanks him and looks at it, trying to discern if it has any magical enhancements.
"Here, Lil. Brought you that strain I got last week that you liked," Fred turns to her, offering her a lumpy but well-endowed blunt. He stops in his tracks when he sees the slender, white one already in her hands.
"It's okay! Charlie's got me," she says.
"Oh, yeah, alright," he says awkwardly. Lillie feels bad, as though he'd gone out of his way for her.
"Will you light mine, though?" she offers. He smiles and nods, digging out his wand from his pocket. She puts the joint in her mouth absentmindedly, using her free hands to tap the pockets of her cloak, looking to see if she brought a lighter. She feels a finger hook under her chin, lifting her head and turning it towards him. Fred has his wand out, and he aims it at the joint.
He looks up from where he's focused on the joint and past Lillie, and sees Charlie leaning back, casually but not-so-subtly observing them. They make eye contact before Fred raises an eyebrow and turns his gaze back to the joint.
"Suck," he says. Lillie's eyes widen and she inhales, his hand still at her chin. He whispers "ignis parva" and the joint lights, a string of silvery-green smoke trickling out of it. Normally, Lillie would've laughed at his word choice. But suddenly, she couldn't. Normally a command like that would've been innocent, jesting; here, it seemed oddly sensual.
After the group gets sufficiently high, the conversation flows much easier. Though Lillie has to bridge many of the gaps, their chatter is largely pleasant. Charlie is kind, offering observations and asking questions about the things Lillie says. Fred even laughs at a few of his one-liners, which results in awkward silence each time. After about an hour, the warming spell Fred cast starts to wear off, and the light that filters through the trees is dimming rapidly.
They pack up to leave, the boys putting their slightly dampened cloaks back on and scanning the area for any dropped items. Fred stands in front of Lillie and offers both of his hands. Lillie takes them and he pulls her up, almost comical in his forcefulness. This gives her too much momentum and causes her to crash into him, bracing herself on the sides of his shoulders. He laughs hoarsely and she wacks him with her mittened hand and smiles indulgently before stomping off toward Charlie in mock-frustration.
Charlie departs from the group outside of the Great Hall, where the closest route to the dungeons is. Lillie thanks him and hugs him goodbye, an action neither Charlie nor Fred expected. He hugs her back tightly with the arm that isn't supported by his cane, wrapping it around her shoulders protectively. Fred looks away, scratching the back of his neck. She turns back to him when he leaves.
"Wanna go eat?" she says lowly, like she is suggesting they do something dangerous. Fred nods dopily and follows her through the massive doors, where they sit at the end of a Hufflepuff table.
"You're never going to believe what Charlie said to me before you came," Lillie says, giggling.
Fred is high out of his mind. But even in his haze, he can feel the uneasiness spread into his chest at the mention of Charlie.
"What's that?" he says, smiling tightly.
She buries her face in her hands, laughing, "It's so embarrassing!"
"What?" he says. He's laughing with her, but it's strained and unsure.
"He told me he likes me!" he says, ripping her hands from her face. It's bright red, and her bangs are askew.
"I'm not surprised," he says, shrugging. He's trying his hardest to appear calm. Inside, he's near panicking. He knows that if she'd outright denied him, the day would've gone a lot differently. He is preparing himself for the worst.
"You're not?" she says, disbelieving.
"No, I'm not. You're easy to like," he says quietly, "What did you say? When he told you that."
"Nothing, really, I was so shocked. I thought about it for a moment, and I decided I didn't mind. He's not bad. Pretty hot, to be honest. The arrogance sorta works."
He snickers, "I beg to differ."
She rolls her eyes, "So, I decided I'd give him a shot. He said he wants to take me on a date."
"A date?" Fred says, "To where?"
"Dunno," Lillie says, smiling and staring at the platter of sausages to her right.
"Well, I hope the git has something better in mind than smoking in a forest," Fred states. "If that's his idea of a date, then get ready for disappointment."
"Oh, I don't think I'll end up disappointed. Ella's friend Cass dated him, she said he's packing."
Fred chokes on his water from the laugh he lets out, spluttering into his elbow as his irritated lungs betray him. Lillie laughs, offering extra napkins.
"If size is what you need, then look no further, Wenlock!"
"Shut up, Fred."