Home is wherever I'm with you

The contrasting silence of the Hufflepuff common room compared to the rest of her day was startling. It had all begun with a noisy platform, then a noisy compartment, then a noisy Welcoming Feast. Now the only sounds were the faint hum of voices coming from the dorms and the crackling of a fire that was there for ambiance rather than heat. Charlie was the type of girl who didn't mind a little chaos and noise in her life but she couldn't deny that there was peace in the quiet.

There had been a small party in the common room earlier like there was the first night of almost every year. But as the hours had passed most students, especially the younger ones, had retreated to their soft beds to socialize with their dormmates and rest. It was only the oldest students who remained up now, and they sat together in small groups, scattered around the room. Not too long ago Charlie had been surrounded by friends but now only she and Nathan remained.

The pair had fallen onto a love seat that just close enough to the fire that they could hear the crackling and feel the evening air being warmed. Charlie had never felt so relaxed. Her back was propped up against the armrest and her feet had found an empty pocket of couch to rest in. Turning to Nathan, Charlie suddenly broke the quiet and spoke. "Do you have any plans now that we're back? I have some free time tomorrow but I'm not sure where to start. I'll probably head down to the greenhouses and see if I can store some stuff, if you want to come."

Charlie shrugged. She knew she would be sick of all of her friends after months of being trapped with them.. But right now she missed them all desperately, and was eager to spend every possible second in their company.

The summer hadn't gone exactly as he planned, if it even went a little bit like he thought it would. Too many things happened that upset him, but in all honesty the thing that bothered him the most was that he didn't get to spend enough time with his friends over the summer. He swore it was only twice that he'd seen them all. Besides that, the next things that bothered him bothered the rest of the world too, he just always thought his friends were before anything else.

First, what happened with Olivia. He didn't regret taking the blame, but he also didn't like the extra coldness he received from the girl who he didn't even harm. But it was worth it, if it kept Charlie safe, it was definitely worth taking the blame for. He doubted anyone else would agree with him, but he knew why he thought that way and that was what mattered.

Then there was the stupid marriage law. He didn't show it, but Nathan was freaking out about it. He didn't want to be married off to some random person he didn't know and probably wouldn't end up loving like the Ministry thought they would. He liked one person and she was sitting next to him, but he doubted she was the one he would be paired up with. It would be too good to be true.

Nathan shrugged at Charlie's suggestion and said, "I don't knooow, I might have to check my schedule to see if I can fit that in." he grinned before shaking his head. "Nah, I'll go. It's better than sitting in here and probably doing nothing more than sleep." he laughed softly.