This, Draco noted, was the third week that Dean had sat next to Charlotte, and Draco's temper was about to snap, as he heard her laugh for the seventh time. He counted since the class had started.
"Are you even listening to me?" Pansy's whining voice said. Draco rolled his eyes.
"No." He said, flatly, rubbing his forehead.
"Draco!"
"Shut up or you'll give me a headache. Let me do the god damn potion by myself, and I'll get us a pass." He said, grabbing the ingredients.
As he grabbed a handful of frog brains, he heard Charlotte laugh one more time.
"Um...Draco?"
"What?"
"You're squishing the frog brains." Draco looked at his hand, which was now covered in frog brain juice, and a fist-shaped brain.
"Oh," He dropped the frog brains ball into their potion.
"You actually gave your mum a chocolate frog?" Charlotte asked Dean after he told his story.
"Yes! She stood on the stool for like a good hour as I searched for it. And then said we shouldn't use magic on food." Dean laughed, rolling his eyes.
"Anything else is fine! But my chocolate frogs always jump away from me! I never find them again. It annoys me." Charlotte said as she stirred their potion.
"I don't think we did it right. It's like an olive green color. Isn't it supposed to be light green?" Charlotte asked Dean, peering over her shoulder.
"Um... I don't know."
"I think we're going to fail this." Charlotte laughed.
"What is that? The four one in a row now?" Dean asked. Charlotte nodded.
"We passed the first two, didn't we?"
"Barley."
"Well, we can try for the next one." Charlotte shrugged as the bell rang. They picked up their bags as Snape cleared off their failed potion.
"Anyway, are you going to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" Dean asked as they walked out of the classroom.
"Yes, I am. Hermione's got us all going to the hog's head, so we have to." Charlotte said,
"Oh yeah, but I mean, I was wondering if you wanted to do anything after or before that?" Dean asked,
"Oh, I'm sorry... I can't. I made plans with someone else."
"Oh, okay. Well, I'll see you later than." He said, embarrassed, as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"See you later," Charlotte said as he walked off.
---
Charlotte looked through the racks of clothes in Gladrags Wear.
"Boo," Someone shouted behind her, grabbing her waist, and making her drop her arm full of clothing.
"Draco," She breathed, as she heard him laugh behind her. She turned around, glaring at him.
"You scared me." She said, smacking him on the arm lightly, as they both bent down and picked up her clothes.
"Yes, that was the point." Charlotte rolled her eyes, smiling.
"How did you know I was in here?" Charlotte asked,
"I saw you through the window." He said as they stood up, their arms filled with clothes.
"I thought you would be here with Lavender and Parvati?"
"I didn't feel like seeing Lavender." Charlotte signed.
"Still fighting?"
"Yeah, she won't admit she's wrong."
"And you still haven't told me exactly why you two are fighting?" Draco said, as Charlotte, she looked through the clothes again.
"It's just some stupid girl thing. I think she'll apologize today, actually." Charlotte said,
"And you know this for a fact?" Draco said,
"Yes, I do."
"That's also why you haven't been sitting with them these last couple of weeks in potions. You and Dean seem to be getting very friendly." Draco commented.
"Yeah, he's nice. We don't know anything about potions, though."
"That's why I'm helping you. You need to have an O for your owl so we can be in potions together next year. It's really an important class-"
"Draco, I'm pretty sure you've told me this all every time we meet in the library." Charlotte laughed as she handed him some more clothes to hold.
"My arms hurt."
"I didn't pick that many clothes out, did I?" Charlotte asked,
"I think I have a hundred in my arms."
"I count twenty."
"It feels like a hundred, Charlotte."
"Lucky for you, I'm done," Charlotte said, looking around before kissing him on the cheek.
"Well, I mean, I can hold these clothes a little longer if you want me to." He said. She laughed, shaking her head at him.
"I really am done. I have to meet up with Harry." She explained,
"Oh, well, are you free after?"
"It's going to be awhile. I'll meet up with you later today, okay?"
"Okay," he said, nodding.
---
Charlotte entered the hog's head. When it was a little crowded, she saw an empty spot next to Parvati and Lavender. Parvati smiled at her as she sat down next to her.
"Hi, Parvati." She said, not acknowledging Lavender.
"Hi, Charlotte. Lavender here was just telling me about how much she-"
"It's starting," Lavender said, as they saw Hermione stand up.
"Er. Well - er - hi. Well... erm... well, you know why you're here. Erm... well, Harry here had the idea - I mean-I had the idea - that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts - and I mean, really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us - because nobody could call that Defense Against the Dark Arts -
"Hear, hear," said someone said.
"Well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands. And by that, I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just in theory but doing the real spells -"
"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL too, though, I bet?" Micheal Corner asked.
"Of course I do," said Hermione at once.
"But more than that, I want to be properly trained in defense because... because... because Lord Voldemort is back." Hermione breathed. Everyone seemed to shudder or gasp, or yelp, all staring at Harry.
"Well... that's the plan, anyway. If you want to join us, we need to decide how we're going to -"
"Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" Some blond Hufflepuff asked,
"Well, Dumbledore believes it -"
"You mean, Dumbledore believes him," The boy nodded towards Harry.
"Who are you?" Ron snapped.
"Zacharias Smith and I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Who's back," Zacharias said.
"Look, that's really not what this meeting was supposed to be about - "Hermione said, trying to intervene.
"It's okay, Hermione," Harry said, suddenly standing up.
Harry explained his story, with several students wanting answers from him. For rumors from the first year all the way to last summer. Everyone in the room, except Cho Chang's friend, Marietta Edgecombe, was now convinced that Voldemort had returned, even Lavender, who had come to see if Harry had been lying this whole time, but now had a horrible, guilty feeling that she had thought Charlotte was wrong for these past couple weeks.
Everyone decided on a day to meet up, and a time before signing their name on a paper Hermione had brought. Charlotte stood up, grabbing all her bags that were around her feet, and standing up.
"Charlotte?" Lavender said, quietly. Charlotte turned around, seeing Lavender. Her eyes filled with tears, her lips quivering.
"I'm sorry I didn't believe you! I'm so sorry! I was so stupid! I just thought that I was so right, and that you were just believing him because he was your brother! I'm sorry!" She said, throwing her arms around Charlotte, who almost fell over.
"It's okay, Lavender."
"It's-it's not!" She shouted, crying into Charlotte's shoulder. Charlotte dropped her bags on the floor and hugged Lavender back.
"Now, will you believe me when I'm telling you you're wrong?" Charlotte asked. She felt Lavender nod into her shoulder.
"Good, now get off my shoulder. My shirt is probably soaked through now." Charlotte laughed, and Lavender sniffed as they pulled apart. Parvati's arms were crossed as she glared at them.
"I'm happy you two are finally friends again! BUT DO YOU TWO KNOW HOW FUCKING HARD IT WAS TO BE WITH YOU TWO! I SWEAR TO GOD YOU TWO DO THAT ONE MORE TIME AND I'LL KILL BOTH OF YOU! I'M EXHAUSTED!"
"We're sorry, Parvati!" Charlotte yelled as she and Lavender fought back laughter.
"No, you two really aren't." She said, rolling her eyes, but she was smiling as well as the three of them walked out of the Hog's head.
A/N- I'm going to try to be a little quicker with this year so I can get to the years of the war, I have so many ideas for that, I'm so excited!