Traitor : Fred Weasley, Draco Malfoy & OC Fanfic

Chapter 36 - The Leaky Cauldron

The sound of the box hitting the ground rung in our ears. It had contained tins of skiving sweets and the metal clanged together causing an excruciating noise. I ran to Daphne's side to help her pick it up and gave her a stern look as I knelt down. She shook her head at me furiously with wide eyes, but I couldn't work out the signal that she was trying to convey to me. How on earth did she know Charlie?

"You two know each other?" George asked nervously, attempting to lean nonchalantly against the central counter of the shop.

"Yeah, we met in Romania" Charlie said sheepishly, turning to look for Daphne's confirmation. She gave a shy nod and mumbled "You never said you were a Weasley", before hoisting the box back into her arms and hurried to place it by its display.

Fred looked over at me, furrowing his brows and mouthed "What the hell was that?" but all I could give him was a shrug. She's hadn't mentioned meeting a Weasley when she'd gone to Romania. Truthfully, the only thing she told me about that trip was the boy she'd met, but surely it couldn't be Charlie.

"Right, shall we go to the pub?" Charlie suggested, clapping his hands together. We all nodded and rallied around him to leave the shop. With a wave of Fred's wand the curtain snapped shut, the lights dimmed and the door locked safely behind us.

We crossed the alley to the Leaky Cauldron, it was nowhere near as pleasant at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade but it would do. There was always a strange crowd in there but if you had enough drinks in you it was quite a laugh. I hung back with Daphne as we walked, letting the three brothers catch up ahead.

"What was that about?" I whispered.

"It's not what you think" Daphne warned, raising her eyebrows at me. I wasn't quite sure what I thought. My first instinct was that, this was the boy. I didn't see how I couldn't have made the connection sooner, she said he was Dragon Tamer, the story about the Dragon's pen, it made sense.

George repeatedly glanced back at us, so there was hardly a moment for me to ask the unthinkable without him seeing or hearing, so we remained quiet until we got to the pub.

Charlie found us a cosy table by the window and we all took our places. He'd insisted on buying the first round to treat us after a hard day's work and we'd all happily obliged. A warm fire crackled nearby and everybody's faces were lit with warm amber glow. The soft sound of rain began to tap against the window pane, we got inside just in time to miss it.

"So how do you know each other again?" George asked, finally mustering the courage after sinking at least three pints. We'd been sat for a good few hours catching up with Charlie but both George and Daphne had stayed somewhat quiet, completely distracted. Both clearly having the same thought on their mind.

Charlie let out an awkward cut chuckle and flickered his gaze to Daphne's face. She looked at him pleadingly before letting her expression ease, as if to relinquish control.

"Well we-"

"Oh god I don't think I want to know" George muttered, resting his hand in his palms.

"Oh no, goodness no, we didn't- nothing happened between us" Charlie reassured his brother, putting a hand on his arm. This settled George's nerves but didn't really explain the whole story.

"It was one of Charlie's - what would you say he was? An assistant?" Daphne asked, quietly.

"Rolf, he was a trainee" Charlie explained, "I can't believe you thought I- I mean you're lovely don't get me wrong but far too young"

We chuckled and George let out one of his comically exaggerated sighs of relief. Daphne looked far more relaxed now, she'd been nursing the same pint since we'd arrived, in fear that she might get too drunk and blurt something out.