Beneath Her Skin

Chapter Eighteen

"Oh shit." Were the first words out of Dawn's mouth when she saw Alastriona and Darcy standing there.

The man she'd been hugging was Dawn's height, maybe slightly shorter, his shoulders were wide and he looked rather strong and rugged with burn scars on his arms. His flaming red hair fell in shaggy waves, some getting in the way of his face. And his face was covered in so many freckles he appeared almost tanned.
He jumped back from Dawn and waved awkwardly at the two girls.

"I—" Darcy started but stopped.

"It isn't what you think!" Dawn declared, not wanting her friends minds to go anywhere they shouldn't.

Alastriona attempted to string things together in her head, "This actually explains a lot." Darcy hummed in agreement. Alastriona strolled forward and stuck her hand out for the red-headed man to take. "I'm Alastriona Breen," she pointed to where Darcy was slowly inching closer, still confused, "this is Darcy Mint."

He clasped her hand, it was rough and calloused. "Charlie Weasley, pleasure to meet you both." He cleared his throat and smiled nervously at her and Darcy, "Dawn's told me a lot about you two, so have Fred and George, actually. It's good to finally meet you and put faces to the names."

Alastriona nodded politely, "It's lovely to meet you too, Charlie."

Dawn stepped up beside him and smiled sheepishly at the two Hufflepuff's. "I was going to tell you both- well there isn't really anything to tell..." She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, Charlie looked like he was going to go comfort her but decided not to, shuffling restlessly on his feet instead.

"There isn't much to tell?" Darcy asked, finding herself able to function again.

Dawn cleared her throat, "Nope." She answered.

Darcy scoffed, "Sure there isn't! I mean there's only how you met, when you met and if you've been talking consistently since then!" She scolded Dawn, voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Can I ask something?" Alastriona directed this at Charlie, he nodded slowly... hesitantly. "How old are you?"

"I'll be turning twenty-one in December." He responded.

"We haven't," Dawn cut in, "we haven't done anything, okay? Really, we've been mates since we first met but—" Dawn cut herself off with a groan, she knew people wouldn't understand or believe her, that's why she and Charlie had agreed to keep it under wraps. "It really isn't what you think." She reiterated.

Alastriona thought about it for simply a second, Dawn had just celebrated her seventeenth birthday, wizards and witches become of age at seventeen and next year would be Dawn's final year at Hogwarts... But if Dawn said it wasn't what she was thinking then she should really stop thinking in that direction.
"You were worried people wouldn't believe you and there's obviously a bit more going on here than what you're letting on right now." Alastriona observed.

Dawn went to interrupt but Darcy jumped in.
"Yeah, what she said. However we expect a full explanation." Darcy deadpanned.

Neither Dawn nor Charlie said anything, they simply stared in shock at Alastriona and Darcy.
"Nice to meet you, Charlie." Alastriona said with a small smile, "Dawn, we'll catch up with you later."

"Bye!" Darcy called before falling into step beside Alastriona. They stayed silent for a few minutes before Darcy spoke up again, "So, how long should we guilt trip her for, you know, for not telling us about her secret friend?"

Alastriona grinned, "Maybe one week for every week they've been exchanging letters."

When the two Hufflepuff's finally made it back to the Hufflepuff Common Room the celebration party for Cedric was in full swing.
Now Cedric may not have come first but everyone in Hufflepuff believed he did an amazing job and that in itself deserved to be celebrated. He faced off against a dragon and survived!

There were cakes going around, countless bottles of butterbeer and an intense game of Exploding Snap had begun in a corner of the room.
Alastriona and Darcy sat facing each other on one of the plush couches by the fire, whispering to each other but they were unlikely to be heard with the music being played so loud it could probably be heard from the Ravenclaw Common Room.

"I can't believe she didn't tell us." Darcy claimed, still not believing what they'd seen.

"Her always lying about her letters makes a lot more sense now... I feel like we should've figured it out a while ago." Alastriona grumbled, disappointed she hadn't investigated it sooner but she'd wanted Dawn to tell her what was going on by herself.

Alastriona did feel a particular betrayal at Dawn not telling her... she was the only one of her friends who truly knew everything about her past and yet Dawn didn't even see fit to tell her she was talking to Charlie Weasley, and if they were just talking then what harm would've been done by just telling her?

"Are you worried about her, Red?" Darcy asked quietly, not wanting to be overheard by anyone.

Alastriona breathed in deeply, "I believe what Dawn told us. If she says we're thinking along the wrong lines then I believe her. We just need her to tell us what's going on... and she looked so lost when she said it, maybe not lost, maybe tired is the right word." Alastriona thought briefly about Fred, George, Ron and Ginny, "The Weasley's are a really nice family, very kind, I'm sure Charlie wouldn't do anything to hurt her or anything that... you know, he shouldn't do."

Darcy nodded along, "Yeah, he did look genuine I suppose. Oh bloody hell," Darcy tipped her head back before straightening up with a devious grin on her face, "I just pictured Theo, Blaise and Draco's reaction if they found out she's been chatting with a Gryffindor for the last few years!"

Alastriona couldn't help but snort in surprise as she pictured it too, "I think Blaise would feel so betrayed at it being someone from the Weasley family too, you know how he feels about the twins!"

The girls erupted into a fit of giggles which stopped only when an extremely happy Cedric flopped down onto the couch, landing in between them and resting his head on Alastriona's shoulder immediately.

"What're you two laughing at?" He asked with a wide grin on his face that didn't seem able to vanish.

Alastriona rested her head on top of his, "Just silly things. How're you feeling?" Alastriona asked, she noted that his burns had been all healed up, Madame Pomfrey really did amazing work.

Cedric let out a big, dramatic sigh, "Like I'm flying..."

Darcy erupted into more giggles, "How much butterbeer have you had?"

Cedric chuckled but didn't stop smiling, "No really, I feel fantastic. The first task is over, I survived a dragon, I feel like a massive weight has been lifted off my chest."

"And you did it so well!" Alastriona said with a proud smile on her face, "That transfiguration was absolutely fantastic, Professor McGonagall would've been so impressed. Oh and the way you recovered from the fire!"

Cedric beamed at her praise, a year ago it was his father's opinion that mattered the most to him but now... he wasn't so sure.
He didn't know when Alastriona Breen had become so important to him, he didn't know when it hit him precisely but he certainly wasn't fighting it. He loved this girl. He couldn't help but feel light and happy in her presence, he felt comforted just by being near her and he had this fierce instinct to protect her at all costs and to make sure she was always as happy as she could be.
"Thanks for being there, Alastriona."
It was all he could say at the moment to convey what he was feeling, one day he'd make sure to tell her what she really meant to him but for now he was happy to relax and lean on her shoulder.

Alastriona grinned happily, completely at ease in this moment, "Anytime, Cedric, anytime."