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BOOK FOUR: CHAPTER EIGHT

It had been about 10 minutes since Veronica left him, and Bill was about to leave the pub when Charlie came in alone and sat down across from his brother. Bill had the tiniest hope that he had run into Veronica, but it soon became obvious that he hadn't.

"She missed another game, Bill. I don't know how much longer I can handle this before I do something drastic to make her talk to me."

"I know how much you miss her, Charlie. But you need to just give her-"

"Give her some time!?! I've given her plenty of time, Bill! It's been almost five months since I last talked to her. Five months since I last saw her. I haven't heard her lovely voice or seen her beautiful face in five bloody months, Bill! I'm losing my mind trying to figure out what I did to push her away, but I really don't know!"

Bill couldn't believe just how dense his brother was. How hadn't he figured it out yet? "Charlie... listen, okay? I want this to be over just as badly as you do because I absolutely cannot handle hearing the two of you whining about this any longer, but-"

"Wait," Charlie interrupted. "What do you mean 'the two of you'? Did you talk to her again?" Bill nodded slowly, but before he could explain himself, Charlie bombarded him with questions. "What!?! When? Was she here? What did she say? Did you ask her why she's been avoiding me? Why won't she talk to me? What did I do? Why-"

"Breathe, Charlie! Just breathe, okay? I have to tell you something that you aren't going to like, but you have to promise to hear me out." Charlie narrowed his eyes at his brother, but didn't say anything. Bill took that as a go ahead. "I've known this whole time why she's been avoiding you." Charlie's eyes widened, and he was about to interrupt again when Bill stopped him. "Hey, let me explain. I've known, but she told me not to tell you, and it really wasn't my place anyway. And it still isn't, so don't ask because I won't tell you. But... I want this to be over. I just want everything to go back to the way it was, and I want you two to be friends again. And I know that if you just have a chance to confront her and talk to her, you'll be able to fix things. So, I'm going to tell you where she is. She's going to kill me when she finds out, but I don't care. She'll forgive me eventually."

Charlie rolled his eyes and shook his brother's shoulders frantically. "Stop ranting and just tell me where she is, Bill!"

"She's by the lake. She's not..." Charlie hadn't waited to hear the rest of what Bill was going to say. As soon as he heard where his best friend would be, he ran out of the pub and down the path towards Hogwarts. As he got closer to the school's entrance gate, he noticed Tonks making her way towards him with a big smile on her face. Charlie cringed; he had completely forgotten he had told her to meet him at The Three Broomsticks.

"Hey darling, am I that late that you decided to come looking for me?" The Hufflepuff chuckled as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Charlie wrapped his arms around her waist, but just like always, his mind was on Veronica. He needed to get to her before she went back into the school because he knew he wouldn't get another opportunity like this. She would go back to her hiding places and he wouldn't be able to find her, and he wouldn't see her again for the rest of the year. So he chuckled and used his hands on her waist to gently move her out of his way. "No, no. There's actually been a change of plans. Bill told me Veronica's by the lake, so I'm going to see her. I'm hoping I can get her to talk to me. But I'll see you later, alright? And if all goes well, you'll see Veronica too!"

While Tonks inwardly rolled her eyes, she outwardly tried to match Charlie's beaming smile, and it seemed to work as his smile somehow got even wider. "Can I come with you? Maybe having me there will make things easier."

"You think so? Alright, that would be amazing, thank you!" Charlie pulled her into a hug, and Tonks smirked. She knew Veronica would not be happy to see her, and she hoped it would cause as many waves as possible. She did not want the overturned boat that was the current state of their friendship to have any chance of survival. She wanted it to become a long-forgotten shipwreck at the bottom of the sea. As the pair made their way towards the lake, they were both filled with hope, but for completely opposite outcomes.