Home - Charlie Weasley Fanfiction Series

BOOK FOUR: CHAPTER SIX

As Veronica cautiously made her way through the corridors towards the Great Hall, she held her breath as she turned each corner, hoping not to run into Charlie. The Hogwarts Express should have left Hogsmeade station half an hour ago, but she was still worried her plan didn't work. She had sat down with Bill three days earlier and begged him to make sure Charlie got on that train, and while she trusted Bill wholeheartedly and knew he would do his absolute best, she also knew how stubborn her best friend could be. If he didn't want to do something, there was nothing and no one that could make him do it... except, of course, Veronica. He would do anything she asked, and she knew Bill would use that knowledge to his advantage. She was certain that Charlie would have fought with Bill until Bill threw his hands up and came clean about what she had asked of him. Charlie would try to hide it from his brother, but Bill would be able to plainly see that his brother was devastated, so Bill would say, "just give her some time, Charlie. She'll come around. Come home with me and Percy, give her some space and time, and everything will work itself out." Then, and only then, knowing it was what Veronica wanted, would Charlie listen.

Still, Veronica wanted to err on the side of caution, so she slowly made her way down to the Great Hall, and before going inside, she peeked her head in to confirm he wasn't there. But, as she let out a sigh of relief at having not seen him anywhere, she locked eyes with Artemis, and she knew he was upset. Cringing, she braced herself as she watched him march his way over to her, glaring daggers at her the entire time. Before she could get out a word, Art had grabbed her arm and dragged her into the nearest empty classroom, shutting the door behind them. He quickly turned to face her with his arms crossed. "He isn't here! I watched as he stood in the Entrance Hall yelling at his brother and making a scene as he refused to leave without you. And Bill, following your instructions, no doubt, did and said whatever he could to make him go with him. And the youngest one just looked on helplessly as his brothers fought. I hope you're happy with yourself, Singer."

Veronica's shoulders fell as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Seriously? You think I'm happy about this? Do you really think any part of this is bringing me joy? You think I want to be staying at Hogwarts for Christmas? You don't think I would DIE... right now... to be at the Burrow with the person that I love and his family that have become like my own family over the last few years? You think I enjoyed asking Bill to go against his own brother? You think I don't know how much this is hurting all of them? But what was I supposed to do, Art? What was I supposed to do? I..." Veronica sighed as she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, willing the tears to go away. She hated to cry; it made her feel weak and helpless, and she hated feeling that way. The only person she felt comfortable crying in front of was Charlie, but she couldn't even turn to him for comfort anymore. So, she took a deep breath, and once she knew the tears were gone, she looked back at Artemis. "Fourth year is hard enough as it is. We've got so much more on our plates as all the professors are dumping so much homework on us to prepare us for our O.W.L's next year. And on top of that, I have Quidditch practice five days a week. And now, I have to deal with this too. I was betrayed by someone I thought was my friend. I had to sit back and watch as she took from me the first person that I considered family after my grandparents died. The only person I have ever been in love with, and probably the only person I will EVER be in love with. The person that she tried to convince me loved me back... and she almost succeeded! But now, I have to pretend that I'm okay with this. I have to watch as he hugs her, kisses her, laughs with her. Knowing that... that that'll never be me. Whether it's her or someone else, it'll never. Be. Me. So I'm sorry that I was a little bit selfish in hoping not to have to deal with any of that for the next two weeks. In hoping not to have to hide in the library... or in the kitchens... or in Snape or Dumbledore's office. In asking Bill to do me one favor; a favor that would bring me a little bit of peace for once this year. I'm sorry, Art, but I did what I had to do. Because guess what? If he had stayed, she would have stayed. And I was not about to spend my Christmas at Hogwarts with the two of them. So you can go ahead and be mad at me for what I did. But I WILL NOT apologize for it. Not to you, and not to anyone."

Veronica was fuming and could feel how red her face and ears were. Knowing she would burst into tears at any moment, she quickly turned and scrambled for the door in the hopes of making it back to her dormitory without anyone seeing her. However, Art felt terrible for what he had said and was not about to let her walk away angry at him. She was one of his best friends, and he learned from his parents to never let a conflict go unresolved. To never let someone you care about go to bed angry with you. So before she could get very far, he pulled her arm and spun her around to look at him, and he immediately felt one hundred times worse seeing the tears threatening to spill from her eyes and her lips quivering. He gently pulled her into his chest and held her tightly, feeling her shake against him as she sobbed. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he stroked her hair softly. "I'm really sorry, that was insensitive and ignorant of me to say. I should have been more considerate of what you're going through and how you're feeling, and I'm sorry."

Veronica hugged him tighter and shoved her face deeper into his chest, so he almost didn't hear her when she whispered, "You wanna know the worst part, Art? It's that I get it; it makes perfect sense why Charlie doesn't love me the way I love him. I'm broken, and it's hard to love broken things. When something's broken, it's easier to just throw it away than try to fix it. I'm damaged goods, and I've got too much baggage... and clearly, I'm not worth the trouble." Artemis felt his heart break at her confession. While he didn't know exactly why she felt this way, he could tell she believed every word she said. And he wished more than anything that he could fix it, but unfortunately, the only two people that had any power to fix the situation were too scared to do anything about it.