Fantastic Beasts {Charlie Weasley}

Chapter Six

Tanin jumped up and down in place, attempting to warm herself up. No scarf nor sweater could keep out this uncharacteristically freezing October evening. Well, perhaps a Molly Weasley sweater, made by the goddess on knitting herself, but Tanin hadn't thought of wearing the purple jumper with a gold 'T' that she had received last Christmas. So here she was, hopping like a bunny rabbit, waiting for a third year with an unnatural love for Quidditch to tell him the best news he has received in his life thus far.

When Oliver finally arrived at the pitch-- long after dinner had ended, to Tanin's dismay-- he had a nervous look on his face. He was still convinced that Tanin was angry and that he had just walked into his execution. And so, the first words that came out of his mouth were, "You aren't going to kill me, right? Because I haven't said goodbye to my mum yet and I've never even kissed a girl and--"

Tanin laughed. "Kill you? Why on Godric's green earth would you think I want to kill you?"

"Percy said--"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to a thing Percy says. He's as clueless as a caterpillar when it comes to girls." Tanin rubbed her hands together for warmth. "I'm not a murderer, alright? And, I'm not angry at all. I just need to tell you something. But you have to promise me that I can trust you, and that you wont tell a soul-- living or dead."

Oliver's eyes widened. What was the secret? Was she a murderer? "C-course..."

"You, Wood, are quite honestly the most enthusiastic person at Hogwarts when talking about quidditch," she began, taking a step closer to Oliver. "All you care about is Quidditch and winning the Cup. You love quidditch more than I love Firewhiskey, and trust me when I say that I love Firewhiskey." Tanin laughed. "You should've seen me over the summer when I visited my cousins and we stole some of their mum's--" she shook her head, stopping herself from further derailing the conversation. "Anyways, you adore Quidditch. And you're rather good at it, if I'm completely honest. Therefore, I'm going to begin training you to become Gryffindor's next team captain!" Tanin grinned widely, knowing that Oliver would be ecstatic.

"REALLY?" Oliver screamed, and Tanin swore both of her eardrums had burst. The third year ran forward and latched onto her, squeezing Tanin so tight she could barely breath. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Tanin laughed before pushing the boy off of her, readjusting her scarf. "Alright, alright. I know you're excited to be the team captain, but listen Wood, this is the real kicker." She took a deep breath inward, praying Oliver wouldn't pass out from anticipation. "This season's gonna be your first as the captain, because I'm not going to play these last two years."

Unfortunately, Tanin's prayers weren't answered, and down went Oliver Wood.

Oliver wasn't unconscious for long, only a few minutes, but it was long enough to worry Tanin. When he finally woke, she insisted to take him to the hospital wing, being the motherly figure that she is-- that is, when she isn't bad talking teachers or making inappropriate jokes-- but Oliver had refused. Instead, he wanted to continue the conversation about quidditch, and so continue they did.

"You're going to be gone?" He asked, a deep frown etched on his face. "But you're the best chaser in Hogwarts! And besides, you've already been coaching this team for two years, and you're the one who selected this years team and begun coaching them! We're already two weeks from the first game, for Merlin's sake!"

"I know, I know," Tanin sighed, realizing that she hadn't thought things out completely when proposing leaving school to Charlie. But, what was done was done, and she couldn't change that. "I just... I'm not going to... be able... to... play?" She said, not knowing exactly what to say. She was normally a very good at lying, but with Oliver's face contorted in worry for the sake of the Gryffindor quidditch team, Tanin couldn't find herself being able to fib properly.

"What do you mean?"

She frowned, thinking over her next few words carefully. "I'm seventeen, Oliver. And with that comes certain... things I need to do. Quidditch sadly isn't one, because it isn't going to be my profession. And I don't want it to be."

Oliver began to panic, his eyes widening in fear. "But... Your mum! She was on the Ballycastle Bats! She was incredible! You could be just like her! And you're just... Just throwing it all away! You could be incredible! You could make history in quidditch, and you're giving up just because you're seventeen! I can't believe this." He held his head in his hands, repeating I can't believe this underneath his breath, as if his whole life has been a lie.

"Oliver," Tanin cooed, rubbing circles on the boys back, feeling bad about the breakdown she caused him to have. "I'm not going to play quidditch. I'm not going to be like my mam, because I just don't want to. I can't, really." She took a deep breath in and out, deciding to tell Oliver the full truth. He deserved to know. "Oliver, you promised earlier that you would never tell a soul about what I'm telling you today, right? You're staying true to that?"

Oliver let go of his head and stopped muttering. He looked up at Tanin and nodded feebly. Tanin hadn't realized that Oliver was this obsessed with quidditch.

"Well," she continued. "I'm not even going to be here for this season or the next. I'm going to be leaving Hogwarts this December, and I hadn't even thought of my replacement until earlier today. That's why I needed to tell you now, so I could try and show you the ropes of coaching before the first match in November. I'm sorry."

The boy frowned and tilted his head to the side. "You're... Leaving?" He shook his head, not believing what he had heard. "So, you're just going to drop out? Just... Leave school completely and never look back."

Tanin shrugged. "It sounds bad when you put it that way, but yeah. I'm going to drop out." She saw that Oliver continued to look confused. "I have plans, Oliver. I have a job I'm pretty much qualified for, and a place to live. I'm all set, but I just need to make sure everything here is taken care of before I go. I just... I can't be here anymore, Oliver. Yeah, I love Hogwarts like a home, but it isn't my home, and I can't stay here any longer. I can't describe why, I just cant."

Oliver looked at the ground before nodded. "Yeah, I get it, I guess."

The girl smiled and playfully hit his shoulder. "Besides, you'll be coaching a great team."

Oliver laughed. "Yeah, at least we'll still have Charlie."

"About that..."

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"