Little Blue Shark

"Ow!" Charlotte gasped suddenly, as something collided with the side of her head.

She saw it was a piece of candy, a thick blue jelly shark, as it landed with a small squelch on top of her transfiguration homework in front of her. It began to wriggle on the parchment and tried to bite her with it's tiny jelly teeth. She grabbed it and tossed it back at the offender, hard, with a scowl on her face.

"Don't make me hex you, Terrance. " She growled, knowing it was him. "It won't be pleasant for you, I swear it."

A boy across the Hufflepuff common room raised his wand, freezing the shark in mid-air and with another flick, sent it flying into the fire. He laughed it off, grey eyes shining. His friends lounging in chairs around him laughed too.

"All talk, Char. All talk." he grinned, turning back to face his friends.

Charlotte glared at the wavy brown hair on the back of his head, then, muttering insults under her breath, picked up her quill again. She had barely written another sentence when a shadow was cast over her parchment.

"What is it?" she said sharply, looking up expecting to see Terrance with a smirk on his face and a trick in his back pocket.

Instead she saw the sandy hair and light freckles of Derek, sixth year Hufflepuff and quidditch player.

"Oh, hello," she managed to choke out past her embarrassment, "I was expecting, well, never mind..."

"It's alright," he smiled charmingly, then peered down at the last line on her parchment. "Have you written about adaptations for cross-species switches?" he suggested. "I know that's fourth year stuff but they like to know you still remember."

"I - I haven't," she stuttered, "I will, thanks."

Being in the year below him, Charlotte hadn't often spoken with Derek. Maybe a few times after a particularly good quidditch match or over the headline of the Daily Prophet at the breakfast table.

"No problem," he said, then added "hey, I was wondering something..."

"Yes?" she prompted.

"Well, have you got a partner for the ball?"

"Oh," she almost cringed as she felt herself blushing furiously, "no, not yet."

"What would you think of going with me?" he asked with another winning smile.

"Are you asking me?" She felt her hands sweating.

He grinned, "Yeah."

"I'd love to." She agreed quickly.

"Great, I'll meet you in the entrance hall on the night." He was about to walk away when he stopped. "Good luck with your homework. Cross-species switches." He reminded her.

"Thanks." She smiled.

She watched him head up the stairs to the boys dormitories. As soon as he was out of sight she heard an excited squeal. Charlotte jumped and spun in her seat to see Bathilda hanging off the back of an armchair, clapping her hand to her mouth.

"Charlotte!" She grinned, lowering her hand.

"What?" Charlotte replied, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Derek of course!" She gasped, "I'm so jealous!"

"Aren't you going with Travis from Ravenclaw?" Charlotte asked, trying to divert Bathilda's focus.

"Yes, but, Derek's an older boy." She giggled.

Charlotte felt her cheeks brightening again.

"I'm so excited for the ball," Bathilda continued, "I'm going to try on my dress again." she jumped to her feet and disappeared up the girl's staircase.

Charlotte could picture Bathilda twirling around their dormitory, as that was what she had been doing every night since the gown arrived. She was about to return to her quill and parchment when she spotted Terrance reaching for his bag of jelly sharks with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"You better not," she warned, "or I swear on Merlin's beard I'll transfigure it into a real shark and hide it under your sheets!"