CHARLIE'S FIRST MATCH SINCE THEY'D STARTED DATING WAS THIS AFTERNOON. Carina wasn't sure what was different about attending a quidditch match as a girlfriend than the way she'd always done, but Dora assured her that it was. Sitting in the stands, Carina watched Charlie warm up in the air.
If they beat Ravenclaw today, Gryffindor would play for the House Cup in the next match. Girlfriend or not, Carina knew how important it was for her to be there for Charlie today.
"Woohoo! Go, Charlie!" Carina cheered happily, bouncing on her seat as the teams take their starting positions. He tossed her a quick grin and then the whistle was blown.
The match was twenty minutes in, Gryffindor in the lead by 157 points, when a Ravenclaw girl tripped on the bleachers near them. Naturally, Carina was out of her seat and checking on her in an instant.
"Are you alright?"
The younger girl smiled bashfully and said, "Oh, yes. I just took a tumble."
Carina recognized the girl's face from somewhere, but she couldn't place a name to the face.
"I'm Carina Tonks."
"Penelope. Clearwater."
A smile crawled it's way onto Carina's face, and her heart jumped with excitement. She did recognize the girl. Percy fancied a Ravenclaw named Penelope, but he refused to let Carina anywhere near her.
"You should have your knee checked out. Just in case," Carina sighed, feigning deep concern. "Percy can take you."
At the sound of his name, the boy's eyes widened in horror. Carina narrowed her eyes in his direction and jerked her head towards little Penelope Clearwater.
"Won't you, Percy?"
"Oh, uh, yes. Just to be safe," he stammered, rising from his seat.
"Thank you," Penelope blushed.
Nymphadora gave her sister a flat look when she took her seat again. The match was still happening, but Carina's giddy excitement prevented her from properly watching it.
"You're such a meddler," Dora sighed.
Smiling cheekily, Carina trilled, "Whatever do you mean?"
"Your boyfriend's about to catch the snitch."
She scanned the sky for Charlie's figure. He was flying incredibly fast toward a small glittering orb, and Carina suddenly realized why attending the game as a girlfriend was different. Charlie was amazing at quidditch. She'd always loved watching him play.
But watching him now, in this new light, Carina was struck by how grossly attractive the boy was.
"Come on, Charlie!" She screamed amidst the other spectators.
The snitch was clutched in his large hands soon after that, and the stands erupted in deafening cheers. Dora shoved her twin sister down the bleachers and towards the pitch, having a very good idea of what was coming next.
The pitch was filled with rambunctious Gryffindors, jostling the girls their whole way toward Charlie. Carina stumbled over her own feet after bumping into an extra excited student. She put her hands out to brace herself, but the fall never came.
"Alright, doll?"
She looked up into the grinning face of Charlie Weasley, her boyfriend, and her arms were around his neck in an instant. The girl giggled happily as he spun them around, holding her tightly to him by the waist.
When her feet met the ground, Charlie bent to her height and kissed her swiftly on the lips. Loud whistles pierced the air all around them, making her cheeks burn and Charlie's grin grow painfully wide.
"Get a room," Fred and George teased, ruffling Carina's hair.
"Get a life," Charlie quipped, shoving the two away from her. He rested a heavy arm around her shoulders and led her off of the pitch.
-
Spring Break started one week later, and Carina joined the four Weasley's enrolled in Hogwarts at the Burrow for its entirety.
Ginny was curled into the girl's side in the living room, relishing in her company.
"I'm glad you're here, Carina."
Smiling softly, Carina mumbled, "Me too, Gin."
"I hate being the only girl in the house," Ginny complained. Her hopeful eyes peered up at Carina, as good as begging her to stay forever.
"You know I'm always just an owl away, don't you?"
When Ginny only nodded, Carina continued, "Bill and Charlie too. Or Percy. Or the twins. Your brothers love you so much."
The living room was silent in the absence of the brothers, all playing an evening game of quidditch. They'd managed to convince Percy to referee for them.
"It's just not the same," Ginny sighed. "But now that you and Charlie are really dating, that means you'll really be a Weasley someday. Right?"
The weight of such a question was lost on someone as young as the little redhead, but it felt like lead in Carina's heart. The Romanian sanctuary was at the forefront of her mind. She'd have to make a choice, and she was certain she had already made it... but it didn't hurt any less than it did when she received the acceptance letter months ago.
If she wanted to be a Weasley, she had to stay. She had known that already, but Ginny's question made it glaringly real all of a sudden.
"If you lot will have me," Carina joked lightly, resting her chin on Ginny's head. "I think I could live with that."