Little Memories

The next morning at breakfast, it all became very much apparent to Charlotte that Draco hadn’t been playing around. Daphne, with her dark brown hair and vibrant green eyes, was sitting next to Draco wearing a wide, proud smile. She seemed like the complete opposite of Charlotte, which would make it easy for Draco to forget her. Her arm was looped through his possessively, as if signifying that they had some sort of relationship beyond merely being friends. It would have seemed like Draco was just using her to make Charlotte made, but he hadn’t looked in her direction once the entire meal. He didn’t care if she was livid or heartbroken. It seemed he didn’t care for her at all.

Throughout the day, Charlotte would pass the two of them in the hallway and it was like they were attached at the hip. Daphne’s head would be on his shoulder or she’d be whispering things in his ear that would make him smirk cockily. Every time Charlotte would see this, her heart sunk a little bit further and it took everything in her not to cry in front of them. Jackson was constantly at her side, muttering venomous words about Draco in her ear that didn’t make Charlotte feel any better. She still wore the charm bracelet he gave her, in the hopes that he’d catch a glimmer of the platinum around her wrist and remember the promise to take her around the world and to eventually marry her. But still, he would not bring his eyes to her once.

The day passed by slow as ever and even Professor Carrow, the one that taught Defense Against the Dark Arts, could not rouse her from the state of emotionless she appeared to have fallen in. On the outside, she was stoic, but on the inside, she was screaming at Draco just to look at her once. She knew that she had the power to tap into his mind, to change his feelings. But that wasn’t natural, nor was it genuine in a relationship. If Draco wanted to talk to her or even look at her, she wanted it to be because he made the choice to, not because she forced him to.

“Do something to him, Charlotte,” Jackson murmured to her in the Slytherin Locker room as they were changing for practice. “Prank the both of them and get back at them like you would have last year at this time.” Charlotte shot him a sharp look and heaved an equally sharp sigh that immediately made him back off.

“I mean,” he started again, this time his voice a bit softer, “wouldn’t humiliating them in front of your peers make you feel better?” Charlotte merely focused on lacing up her boots tightly.

“You are a Slytherin after all,” Theodore added with a poignant look sent in the blonde’s direction. Charlotte merely let out another sigh and roughly tied off the lace to her boot. Crossing her arms over her chest, she took the time to stare at each of them.

“You know what I would like to do?” She asked in a voice that made them both unsure of what emotion she was trying to convey. When neither of them answered her question out of fear of her reaction, she continued with, “I would like to forget him as easily as it seems he’s forgotten me. That’s what I would like.”

“Then distract yourself with something!” Theodore exclaimed, staring at her with wide eyes. Charlotte merely stared at him sourly before grabbing her broomstick without another word and walking quietly toward the Pitch. She stared at the closed door of their Captain for a few moments before continuing on without another glance to anyone.

“Goyle!” Draco boomed, causing both of the siblings to turn their attention to him. They had been practicing for a hour and a half now and Charlotte definitely hadn’t been doing her best. In fact, it seemed she was neglecting to play correctly on purpose. “No, not you,” he snapped at Gregory, who pulled a face before shaking his head. “You!” He said, pointing at Charlotte. “You aren’t paying attention in the least and you‘ve let the Quaffle just fly by you twice! What is wrong with you?!” All movement on the field stopped as they watched the Captain yelling at the blonde girl. Things suddenly grew very tense as she merely hovered on her broomstick, staring unenthusiastically at the irate Captain. “You better not play like this tomorrow or you will not be on the team.” That certainly got Charlotte’s attention and her angelic face curled with a fierce sort of anger.

“And who would you replace me with,” Charlotte finally snapped in return, all but snarling at him. “That bimbo, Daphne?” She asked bitterly and a sharp breath of air was draw in communally through the team. Draco glared up at her, but didn’t say anything in response. He couldn’t for some reason. “You know, as good as may be in fucking your brains out, she’s shit at Quidditch…and you know that.” She flew to the ground as Draco seethed, glaring at her since he was at a loss for words. Charlotte landed just beside him and stared at him for a moment, her cheeks flushed a bright red and her eyes harshly boring into his. “You can’t afford to get rid of me…so your threat to kick me off the team is useless. Now stop fucking yelling at me,” she growled in a low voice.

“You do not talk to your Captain this way,” he hissed at her, his hands clenched in fists at his sides.

“I do,” Charlotte replied simply and rebelliously, giving him a dark look before mounting her broom and flying off without another word. Draco stared at her, heaving a heavy sigh before looking up at the stationary team who was dividing their attention between Charlotte and him.

“What the fuck are you looking at?! Get back to practicing!”

The rest of the practice went by silently. Draco didn’t dare point out anyone else and no one else said anything to the Captain. They all figured he was in one of his moods and didn’t want to push him to yell at them. When practice was over, he stomped off into his office without a word on what time they should be in the locker room by the next morning for the game.

Jackson and Theodore gave Charlotte her space, since she seemed to be in a very distant, unapproachable mood. Her movements became very robotic and rehearsed as she tidied up her locker and changed back into her school uniform. Theodore, who’s locker was right besides her, risked a sidelong glance at the silent blonde. There was something very forlorn and very sad in her eyes when she thought no one was watching.

“You alright?” He asked softly, keeping his eyes on the girl.

“Fine,” she said softly, but forcibly as she shut the locker door and let out a heavy sigh. Theodore gave her an unconvinced look as she brought her eyes to his. She looked up at him for a moment and her expression softened a bit. “No, really…I am,” she added before pulling in her lips.

“You don’t really look it, Charlotte,” he said, shaking his head a bit. Charlotte bit the inside of her cheek and drew in a deep breath of air. Her light, crystal-like blue eyes suddenly grew very wide and honest as she stared up at him.

“Theodore,” she whispered, “I think I’m ready to take you up on your offer now.” Theodore didn’t say a word, he merely grinned broadly in response as they both made their way out of the locker room. Jackson followed just beside them, but didn’t say a word. He had been listening in to their conversation, but he was a bit saddened by the news he had heard. This was definitely not what he had in mind for Charlotte to feel better.

“So…we’ll start acting like we’re a couple at dinner, yeah?” Theodore asked with a sly grin, looking over at Charlotte. Her face curled slightly with thought as they quickly made their way across the school grounds. It was quite chilly and the three of them had forgotten their proper winter cloaks in the haste to get to Quidditch practice.

“No,” she said, surprising the both of them with the smirk that curled the corner of her lips, “this relationship has got to come out in a dramatic way. We’ve got to be gossiped about a bit before people actually see us together.”

“I thought you didn’t like being gossiped about, Charlotte,” Jackson commented softly, causing Charlotte to look over at him. She held his eyes for a moment before shrugging slightly.

“At least this kind of gossiping I can control,” she said with a small smile as she gently took his hand in hers and gave it a slight squeeze. Jackson forced a small smile in return, but couldn’t help but think that this plan was somehow going to backfire horribly. However, if it meant Charlotte feeling better, he’d go along with it.

The next morning, the school was abuzz with the anticipation of the first Quidditch match of the school year. The students were excited to see how Slytherin was going to smash Gryffindor, or, for the majority of the students, how Gryffindor was going to clobber the Slytherins. Also, for the few that paid attention to Draco and Charlotte’s business, they were waiting to see how well the rebellious girl was going to listen to her captain.

Draco had already been seen that morning, surrounded by Crabbe, Goyle, and, of course, Daphne. The same could not have been said for the other half of the team. Charlotte, Jackson, and Theodore had not been seen, until twenty minutes before the teams were going to make their way to the field. And even then, it was only the boys, leaving the girl in question no where to be found. It seemed, at least to those on the outside, that the statuesque blonde was not going to be present for the game.

Charlotte glanced around the Slytherin Common Room, noticing that the majority of the students were gone. She had her hair braided over one shoulder to stay out of her face while she played. She donned the regulated Slytherin green sweater to wear under her uniform, khaki pants, and black boots. The few students in the Common Room were decked out in green and silver, but were so immersed in talking that they wouldn’t notice what Charlotte was doing or where she was going. She quickly darted the corridor to the boy’s dormitories and silently pulled open the door to the seventh year boys.

She quietly closed the door behind her when she had made sure that no one was left in the room, and she quietly crept further in her room. She could tell what was her brother’s bed, since it was a right mess, and Crabbe’s bed looked the same. That only left Blaise, Theodore, and Draco’s bed. She crept over to one of the made beds and peeked around. Theodore had told her to look for the black tie he draped over his mirror and, lo and behold, she had instinctively picked just that bed. She hadn’t exactly told him why she wanted to know, but he gave her the information willingly.

Charlotte stared at the nicely made sheets and fluffy white pillow, her bottom lip quivering slightly and her nostrils flaring. Then, in a flash of movement, she grabbed at her wrist without looking. It took her only a moment to pull the platinum charm bracelet from her wrist and hold it in front of her eyes. She looked over the small dragon and faerie charm, her eyes watering despite how many times she wouldn’t cry. Finally, after moments staring idly at the charms, she let the bracelet go, having it fall onto the pillow with a slight noise.

Charlotte drew in a steady breath of air, closing her eyes and wiping the tears that had escaped. She then turned, without a second glance back to the bed or the bracelet, and left the dormitory. This signified the turning point for a lot of things and Charlotte was more than ready for it.