Hurt | Remus Lupin

~23~ Date with Charlie

The next day, I dressed up in a simple dress. Charlie just told me to dress nicely, but he wouldn't tell me where we were going. At precisely seven pm, I Apparated to the Burrow and knocked on the door.

"I'LL GET IT MUM!"

And Charlie wrenched open the door, smiling at me, slightly breathless. "Sara! Hi! You look, wow."

"It's just an old dress..." I said truthfully.

"Well it looks great on you. Shall we head off?"

I nodded.

"Just take my arm, I'll guide us."

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see."

I grabbed onto his arm and he whisked us away, and we landed in a little ally.

"Come on," he said.

I followed him out of the ally and through the busy street, filled with Muggles.

"I've never actually tried this place before." Charlie said, leading me into a restaurant. It looked a bit fancy, something neither of us would have tried in our lifetime.

We sat down at a booth and picked up our menus. I kept glancing at Charlie every bit. He really was a kind soul. And funny too. I wanted to try and give him a chance. I know I'm still hurting, but I could at least try.

The waiter came up. "What can I get started for you?" he blanched when he saw my face, staring at me, his face wrinkling with disgust.

"What are ye looking at?" I asked heatedly, my Irish accent slipping through in my anger. "If ye wanna stare at my face all day, ask me on a date first."

The waiter flushed at my tone and quickly took our order, not looking me in the face again.

"Wow, that was pretty scary." Charlie said, his eyebrows raised.

"I love scaring people." I grinned, and Charlie burst out laughing.

Dinner was fantastic. The food was great, and our conversations were funny and entertaining, making us both forget about the waiter.

"You didn't do that!" gasped Charlie. "You really put a firework in Snape's cauldron?"

I giggled. "I did. I was so mad at him, I just threw it in. Percy was livid when he found out it was me."

Charlie chuckled. "If I was there, I would have helped."

I laughed. When it was time to pay, Charlie insisted on paying for me. And then it was time to go home.

"I actually don't live too far from here. It's about a twenty minute walk."

"I'll walk you home." he said kindly.

We walked in comfortable silence, my arms linked through his. With winter arriving, there was a little bit of snow on the ground, but not much, so the walk was nice. When we got to my place, Charlie stood in front of me.

"I had a lot of fun." I smiled.

"Me too." he said softly.

He stepped closer to me, and my breath hitched in my throat. I stepped closer to him. Just as our noses touched, Remus' face appeared into my mind. I made a slight noise of surprise and stepped away from Charlie.

He looked slightly hurt, but regained his posture. "Are you alright?"

"I can't.' I said, tears forming in my eyes.

"Okay. That's okay." he said kindly. "You can't what? Kiss me yet?"

"No, I can't do this at all." I said. "I'm so sorry."

"That's okay." he said, but I could hear the deflate in his voice. "Does this have anything to do with whoever you were sending letters to over the summer?"

I nodded. "He never responded to me. I haven't spoken to him since the school year ended. But, I miss him. I still love him Charlie. I'm so sorry. I tried to give you a chance, and to see if I could change. Cuz I like you. I really do. You're great. But... you deserve someone who will give you her all. And I can't yet, not when my heart is still in the past."

"You don't need to explain yourself Sara." he said. "I understand completely."

"Really?"

He nodded. "I was in the same situation when I was in school too."

"Thanks for understanding." I smiled.

He just pulled me into a hug. "I'm here if you ever want to talk about it."

Walking into my house, mum was sitting in the living room and looked up. "How was it?"

"I couldn't do it." I said, flipping down next to her. "I told him how I really felt."

"And?"

"He understood me." I said. I leaned against her as she stroke my hair.

"I'm proud of you Sara. You've grown to be so mature."

I smiled. "I love u mum."

Because of the Triwizard tournament, there was the Yule ball there on Christmas Day, so Shay wouldn't be coming home. I was disappointed when he told me he was going to the ball with Lavender Brown, but I didn't say anything.
There was still a few days left before Christmas, and I was doing a lot of last minute shopping for gifts. I even decided to get a little something for Charlie, where I found a miniature moving dragon piece. He'd like it. One evening, a letter arrived at my place. Every time I receive a letter, I always hope it's Remus, but it never is. This one was from Percy.

Sara,
I have to go to the Yule Ball to fill in for Mr. crouch. And I'm allowed to bring a guest. I was wondering if you'd like to come with me.
Love,
Percy

"You should go." Mum said, reading over my shoulder.

I jumped. "Mum! Ever heard of privacy?"

She shrugged. "So will you go?"

"I don't know." I was a little surprised that Percy asked me. I knew it was just as a friend, but we really hadn't spoken much, both of us still a bit cold to each other.

"You can mend things over there." She said. "He's your best friend! There's always moments where you fight. Don't you remember that time where you and Oliver didn't speak to each other for most of your fourth year?"

I did remember that. I couldn't even remember why. I just knew it had something to do with our quidditch practice and we ignored EACHOTHER for almost a full year.

"I guess I can go. But I don't have a gown."

"I have some in my closet." She grinned.

I wrote back to Percy letting him know I'd love to go with him, and Mum helped me pick out dresses. I finally ended up choosing a light emerald green dress, that flowed all the way to my ankles.

And soon, it was Christmas Day.