'Well, I, er,' said Ron, who was pink around the ears, 'I mean, I didn?t — '
Harry stepped firmly on his foot.
'There were three dementors, actually,' Ron finished weakly.
Moniques huge blue eyes widened. 'Dance with me,' she breathed, and whisked Ron away with such rapidity and force that one was left to wonder if she had used an Accio Ron! spell without anyone noticing.
Hermione stared after them, looking shocked. 'Well, really,' she said, sounding just a shade indignant, as Monique cozied up to Ron on the dance floor. 'I can?t believe he?d fall for her act.'
'Which act?' grinned Angelina. 'The showing up wearing a low-cut dress and behaving as if hes the most wonderful thing in the world act? Because you?d be shocked how many guys would fall for that.'
'I resent that broad generalization,' said Fred, appearing, then paused and whistled. He was looking up at the top of the stairs, and the rest of them followed his gaze just as Anton bellowed out, 'Charlie Weasley and Rhysenn Malfoy!'
Hermione blinked in surprise. Charlie Weasley, broad-shouldered and handsome in a neatly cut black dinner jacket, was coming down the stairs with an unfamiliar young woman on his arm: a black-haired beauty in a scarlet dress, who hugged his side so tightly that he almost seemed to be wearing her like a bracelet. No sooner had they reached the foot of the stairs than the girl had planted a kiss on Charlies cheek, and disappeared into the crowd.
'Who was that, older brother?' George demanded as Charlie ambled over to them, eyebrows raised. 'She was really — '
Jana elbowed him in the ribs.
'..Not somebody I?ve ever seen before,' George finished somewhat lamely.
'No more so have I,' said Charlie with a shrug. 'She grabbed me at the top of the stairs and begged me to walk her down. Anyway, I was afraid if I didn?t, I?d end up walking down with Snape. He was standing just behind us and he didn?t have a partner either.'
'She probably didn?t have an invitation,' said Hermione, looking after the girl, but unable to locate her in the crowd.
'She said she was a Malfoy,' said Charlie. 'She looks like a Malfoy.'
'Doesn?t mean shes invited,' said Hermione, who knew how convoluted and expansive the Malfoy family connections were.
'Its done now,' said Charlie in a tone that indicated that this line of conversation held little interest for him. He turned away from Hermione, towards Harry, and said something quietly to him. Harry nodded, looking surprised, then leaned over to Hermione and kissed her a bit clumsily on the ear, 'I?ve got to talk to Charlie. I?ll be right back.'
Hermione nodded, and glanced after him as he followed Charlie a little ways away. She saw with a jolt of shock at the base of her stomach that Harry and Charlies heads were on the same level now. Harry was as tall as Charlie? When had that happened? A faint cold feeling began in her stomach. Some part of her wanted to think of herself and Harry as children, wanted to keep him as a child, as if that would keep him safe, safe from the forces that had taken Harrys fathers life when he was only five years older than Harry was now.
Her eyes slid past Harry to Ron, entwined on the dance floor with Fleurs part-veela cousin. Oh dear. She looked hastily back at the twins, both of whom were staring back at the grand staircase with peculiar expressions. So, for that matter, were Angelina and Jana.
Hermione followed their gazes just as Anton bellowed out:
'Virginia Weasley and Draco Malfoy!'
'I?m glad you decided to come to the party, Charlie.'
Harry held out his hand for Charlie to shake, and Charlie took it. It was a very, almost oddly, adult gesture on Harrys part, and Charlie felt something smart at the back of his eyes as he looked at the boy in front of him. He remembered the first time he had seen Harry —
small, pale, and almost lost in his black robes, staring anxiously at a pen full of dragons with Hagrid at his side. Charlie remembered thinking how brave a little kid he seemed, how stubborn, and how brightly his green eyes burned behind his glasses. He could almost forgive him for the way Professor McGonagall had famously evaluated Harry's capabilities upon first seeing him fly: Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it!
Hmmph. Well, what did she know?
Charlie gave Harrys hand a firm shake, and released it. 'Happy Birthday, Harry,' he said.
Harry smiled. 'Thanks.' He looked collected, relaxed and handsome, the dark green of his sweater bringing out the color in his eyes.
'I almost didn?t come.' Charlie reached into his pocket. 'But I wanted to give you your birthday gift.'
Harry looked surprised. 'Hey, Charlie, you didn't have to — I mean, after everything you've done for us — I don?t know how much dragon-keeping pays, but — '
'Hang on there, Harry. I didn't exactly spend much money on it. In fact, I didn't spend any money on it. It's a bit of an odd story, but I had to…have you got a moment?'
Harry nodded, curious. 'Sure.'
Charlie took a deep breath, not taking his hand out of his pocket.
'You know how close the dragon camp is, or was, to Slytherins castle,' he said. 'Which isn?t surprising, considering that Slytherins heirs kept dragons, so it was natural there?d be a lot of them in the area. Anyway. I know you were there the night the castle vanished — disappeared without a trace, didn?t it?'
Harry nodded. 'Nothing left — just a sort of round, flat, grassy area and a few stones.'
'Yes,' said Charlie. 'Well, about a week after what — what happened to you all, I saw some odd lights in the sky over the forest, so I took a dragon out and went to investigate.'
