Child Survivor, Hero, Friend

Child Survivor, Hero, Friend

A/N: Hello, everybody! This story is a sequel to The Hardest Thing, kind of a follow-up on Matt Potter and the destiny that he lived to fulfill. While it's not necessary to read The Hardest Thing to understand this story, it would help you a great deal. I know this might not get that many reviews, but it's something I really, really want to write. So here's the sequel; please review! <3, Katie

Chapter 1: Going to School

Matt Potter stood solitary in his bedroom, looking around carefully at the surroundings that had been his only world for the last twelve years. His vivid green eyes took in everything slowly, almost as though attempting to memorize the setting in an attempt to remember it forever. A huge, leather trunk sat open on his bed, already filled to the brim with contents. He looked carefully at the white bookshelf that was propped against his window and went towards it, pulling down a battered copy of Hogwarts: A History. If his mother's words were correct when she had given him her dog-eared copy, the volume would help him immensely during his schooling there. The sheer size of it didn't bother him: he was as big a bookworm as his mother, if not more so. He had learned to read basic things at a young age, and he'd been hooked ever since.

As he slammed his trunk lid shut for the final time, he heard the patter of footsteps at his doorway. Turning, he saw his six-year-old brother Jeremiah watching him cautiously, his chocolate eyes looking around the room carefully.

“Matt, Mum and Dad told me to tell you to hurry up. Or else you'll be too late to catch the Hogwarts Express.”

“Thanks, Jeremiah.” Matt's chest heaved and he flopped down onto his bed. Jeremiah scampered across the room and plopped down beside his big brother.

“What's wrong with you?” He flopped over onto his back so that he could stare at Matt upside down. “You look sad on the day you're going off to school.”

“I'm really not looking forward to this.” Matt admitted, hating himself for the knowledge. Other kids would do anything for this opportunity to go to the most prestigious wizarding school in the world.

“Why?” Jeremiah flopped back over and started to play with the clasp of the trunk.

“It's hard to explain.” Jeremiah blinked at him to continue. Matt gave him an annoyed look before facing the wall. “I'm scared that I'll be behind even the muggles since I never got a chance to go to wizarding primary school and waited for a year to come to Hogwarts.”

“That's bad, `specially since Dad is who he is and all.”

“Exactly.” Matt nodded. “What if I'm so bad that they send me back?”

“They won't. Before long you'll be the top of the class, and you'll be better even than Dad was.”

“Oh, really?” Matt smiled impishly at his brother. “Would you care to tell me the rest of my fate at Hogwarts?”

“You'll be just like Dad, and you'll find your true love on the train today.”

Matt made a `pssh' with his lips before tackling Jeremiah in a playful tackle. Before long, they were rolling around, trying to pin each other down. They were so involved in their battle that they didn't even notice Harry come in.

“BOYS!” They flew apart like the same sides of a magnet. “You know your mother doesn't like you to fight, especially when we're on a tight schedule!”

“Sorry, Dad,” Matt mumbled, and Jeremiah nodded in agreement.

“Hug each other to apologize…”

“Dad, aren't we getting too old for that?” Matt smiled.

“Not at all! Both your mother and I were only children, but we know how important brothers are to each other, and we want you guys to have a good relationship! Hug.” Jeremiah gave Matt a devious grin before attaching himself to his legs, mocking uncontrollable sobs into his pant leg.

“Oh, Matt, I'm so sorry!”

“I'm unfit to be your brother, J!”

“I'm unfit to share a room with you!”

“We have to love each other more! Or Dad and Mom will hate us and we'll hate each other and our lives will be ruined!” Jeremiah instantly let go of his brother's leg and took off on a dead run, Matt close behind. Harry watched the chase in mock anger, barely concealing his smile when Matt finally caught the younger boy and began to attack the top of his head with kisses as Jeremiah tried to struggle away.

“Okay, boys, okay. You don't have to ham it up every time; I get the picture. Now, let's go, or you'll miss the train!”

“Which is where you'll find your true love,” Jeremiah whispered out of the side of his mouth. Matt playfully swatted at his head, but Jeremiah was too fast for him. Harry ignored the boys' laughter as he whipped out his wand and charmed Matt's trunk so that it floated down the stairs in front of them. The three Potter men and the trunk finally reached the outdoors, and Harry fastened the baggage to the top of the family SUV. Hermione ran off a quick checklist for Matt before handing him Andromeda, his tawny, green-eyed owl, in a shiny metal cage. Once she was situated between Matt and Jeremiah, they set off for King's Cross Station.

The area around Platform 9 and three fourths was bustling with activity. Harry led Matt over to the hidden doorway, looking around carefully for any who might be watching.

“Okay, Matthew.” He whispered. “Best to take it at a run. I'll be behind you the whole way.” Matt stood behind his trolley and ran into the barrier, all the while feeling his father's hand on his back. He blinked in the sudden sunlight and smiled when he saw Hogwarts Express, shining in the entire splendor that Harry had described. A moment later, Hermione and Jeremiah were at his other side. They took him to the entrance of a train car and went on board with him, helping him get his luggage situated in an empty car. They piled off of the train to say their good-byes on the platform.

Hermione got all misty-eyes watching him, and hugged him casually so as not to embarrass him in front of his future classmates. To her surprise, he didn't accept her half-hug; he threw both of his arms around her and held her in a bear hug. Although he had been unnaturally small at one time, he had grown up considerably and at the age of twelve stood just taller than her shoulder.

“I love you, Mom.”

“Oh, Matthew,” She whispered in his ear, trying not to lose her composure. “I'm going to miss you. Do the best you can at school and remember all that we've taught you. And don't forget to write us, every once in a while.” Matt smiled and kissed her lightly on the cheek before turning to Harry. He gave him the same bear hug, not noticing the tears in his eyes. When they broke apart, Harry looked into the eyes that mirrored his own.

“Did you pack the invisibility cloak and the marauder's map where your Mom couldn't find it?” Matt smiled and nodded, trying not to laugh at his mother's questioning look. “You'll do fine, son. Don't worry about being behind the other kids, you'll catch up quicker than anything.”

Matt nodded and turned to the person it would be hardest to say good-bye to. He knelt down so that he was Jeremiah's height and looked into his chocolate-y eyes that were swimming with unfallen tears.

“I'm gonna miss you, Matt.” A single tear fell and he reached out to Matt and held on as tightly as he possible could. Matt held him with the same strength and cried for the first time about leaving home.

What am I thinking? I can't leave Jeremiah! He's my best friend, and I'm his role model! How will he be without me? How can I go a day without him?

Jeremiah pulled his head away and forced a little smile. “Have fun, bro.”

“I'll write you every week, I promise.”

God, please watch over Jeremiah while I'm gone, and help us stay close even though I'll be away.

“'K.”

Matt gave a final hug to everyone in his family before the whistle sounded. He bounded off and jumped over to get in the line of train boarders. As he ran, he turned back to wave once more at his family. Since he wasn't watching where he was going, his shoulder collided with someone in front of him.

“Oh, I'm sor—“ His words caught in his throat as he saw the girl he had run into. She had medium-length, perfectly straight brown hair. Well, at least it was mainly a light brown, but along with the brown there were a hundred other different colors, ranging from dark to medium brown to blond to red to black. All the colors were completely natural, and made her hair shine in the morning sun. She was tall and slender, not taller than he was, and not incredibly shapely. But the curves she did have stood out sharply on her fine persona. Her neck was long and her arms and legs were unnaturally small. Her hands were thin, her fingers long. She wasn't pale, but she wasn't tan, either. A dark little dot birthmark was located on her cheek, right beside the dimple that formed as she smiled. All these things about her were interesting to Matt, but none so much as her eyes. He thought his eyes were green, but they were nothing compared to hers. The green depths of her eyes made her eyes seem to twinkle under her dark lashes, and he was delighted to see sparks of honey and hazel dancing around her pupil. Those same sparks resided in his eyes, but before now he had never seen any other person who had them. When she opened her mouth to speak, straight white teeth were revealed in addition to a very clean tongue. She was actually quite plain compared to other girls that Matt knew, but something about her gave him a funny feeling in his stomach.

“Oh it's all right.” She smiled shyly. “I'm Charity Sullivan, by the way. I'm a First Year.”

“Nice to meet you. I'm Matt Potter, first year, too.”

Matt Potter didn't really have much experience with love, but that was the only word to describe the feeling he felt when he had heard Charity speak. He didn't know how, but he knew it that instant that he loved Charity Sullivan, a girl he had only just met.

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Chapter 2:

Hogwarts Express

A/N: Sorry this has taken so long to post. I've been living in my little euphoric, wonderful life, and writing is the last thing on my mind. However, I remembered that I forgot all about fan fiction, and I have a ton of ideas and other stories to finish. Pardon if updates take a while.

Katie

Charity gave a little gasp as she heard Matt's last name.

“Oh, you must be Harry and Hermione's son!”

Matt smiled softly. “Guilty.”

Charity smiled and darted her eyes quickly towards the ground. She scuffed her toe softly against the wooden plank she stood upon and looked around, peering at the world beneath the hair that had fallen over her eyes. She gave a sharp glance at Matt, and upon seeing his eyes on her, turned a lovely shade of crimson before pulling her hair behind her ear. Matt couldn't help but guilty as he watched her like a trapped animal, feeling as though he had somehow caused her embarrassment. He smiled softly and got behind her in order to board the train.

“So, um, is your family a wizarding family?” Charity rolled her lip in an innocent way.

“Would you ostracize me if I said no?”

Matt gave her a befuddled glance, forcing his words to disguise his surprise.

“It's okay, really, being from a muggle family. My mom was a muggle, and she ended up being the top of her class.”

“I know,” Charity said; Matt could detect a smirk on her lips that made him think of a laugh held captive. “I read about it in Hogwarts: A History.”

“You've read that?”

“Well, of course I have.” She tilted her head slightly, letting her hair cascade behind her shoulder. The sun caught her eyes and made them shine brighter than a thousand suns. “Hasn't everyone read it?”

Matt shook his head. “I doubt it. I've only read it because Mom wrote the most recently revised edition.”

“Oh. I thought everyone would have read it before coming.” She gave a deep sigh and turned to Matt with a smile. “I'll still be behind everybody. I didn't go to Wizarding Primary School.”

“Neither did I.” Charity stopped so abruptly that the conductor gave her a ferocious glare. She mumbled an apology to him and shuffled down the train corridor. Matt followed her closely, very self-conscious of every time their bodies accidentally touched. They peered into the compartments as they walked along, their peers entering at various times and thinning out the crowd. After some time, only Matt and Charity remained. Matt discovered an empty compartment near the end of the car, and he opened the door carefully before stepping inside and jumping onto the red, velvet covered seats. He sprawled out on the seat, and got settled in… only to see Charity standing timidly in the doorway of the car.

“Are you going to come in?”

A smile erupted on her face and she stepped inside with a new confidence. She sat on the seat opposite Matt, straightened out her short, pleated skirt, and clapped her hands down onto the seat beside her.

“Thanks for letting me sit with you.”

“It's…no problem?”

Charity looked to the floor and pulled back her hair. “Oh, well, it's really cool to me, because usually I'm just kinda invisible, and having someone like you wanting to sit with me is just amazing to me, and, well, Thanks.” She blushed and put her porcelain hand to her mouth. “I'm sorry, I tend to talk fast.”

“Well,” Matt smiled. “Seeing as how this is a long ride, we'll be close friends by the time we get to Hogwarts.”

Charity smiled and began to wiggle her ankle softly. “Do you know many of the students here?”

“Well, I…know a few.” Before Charity could further her questioning, the glass door of their compartment was thrown open, and a group of giggling girls entered, instantly flocking to Matt. Scarlett Weasley, tall, red-haired, and porcelain skinned, led the group, threw her arms around Matt and began to talk in her loud, high-pitched voice.

“Why, it's Matthew Potter, finally coming to Hogwarts!”

“Hi, Scarlett.” Matt grimaced at her turned head. She had always rubbed him wrong since his childhood. He couldn't help but notice that Charity had stiffened at the third-year's presence, too.

“All of the girls were just dying to meet someone like yourself! Ariel, Olivia, this is Matthew. Matthew, Ariel and Olivia.” The short blonde girl, Olivia came forward and shook his hand vigorously.

“Hello, Scarlett. Nice to meet you, Ariel and Olivia. This is my friend, Charity Sullivan.” Charity gave them a sweet little smile and extended her hand to Olivia, who stared at it before turning and walking out the door. Scarlett waved again to Matt and walked out with Ariel, slamming the door behind them. Matt averted his attention from the exiting girls to Charity, who sat deathly still with her hand still out in front of her.

“That went well.” Charity sighed, leaned back into her seat, and turned her dazzling eyes towards Matt. “How do you know them?”

“Scarlett's parents are friends with my parents. And her brother, Rhett, is my age. He's a second year.”

“Oh…” Charity's voice trailed and she averted her eyes towards the gently rolling landscape. After a few seconds, she turned back to him quickly.

“How is it that you are a first year, but you're twelve? I'm not even turning twelve until April. And how did you not go to wizarding primary school? You're Harry and Hermione's son!”

Matt grinned and leaned forward, clasping his hands together. “Well, my parents thought it was best for me not to go to primary school. Mom home schooled me, but I didn't technically start school until it was a year too late. So…here I am.”

Charity smiled and wrinkled her brow. She didn't really understand, but she wasn't going to press the matter. She saw something special in Matt Potter, something she couldn't place her finger on. She didn't know why someone special was interested in knowing her, but it made her feel more extraordinary than she had ever before felt in her life.

The two friends fell into the silence of shyness once again, not breaking it for several leagues. Charity gazed out the window in a dream-like trance, watching the sky above. A jet plane streaked across the sky, leaving a line of cloud substance behind it. She smiled, closed her eyes for a moment, and then continued watching the plane.

“It's a zipper!”

Of all the things Charity could have possibly said, this was the most random thing Matt could have thought of. “What?”

Charity gave him the look that an adult gives an ignorant child. “In the sky.” She opened her eyes wide and gave him an almost pleading look.

“For some reason, I'm not quite following this. Please explain.”

Charity smiled and perked up, pushing her shoulders back and her chin forward. “Well, when I was a little girl, my grandma died of breast cancer, and I really, really missed her.”

“I know how that feels…” Matt whispered, eyes towards the floor in thought.

“Anyways, when I asked my dad what the thing in the sky was, he told me that it was a zipper to heaven, and that Grandma was there smiling at how proud she was of me.” She finished talking and studied Matt's face. To her horror, he was smiling. “Oh my gosh, I don't know why I just told you that, it's so stupid and childish, I'm sorry.” She turned back to the window; he could see from her reflection that her eyes were a shade duller.

“Twinkling stars are the people we've loved and who've died, putting on a show for us at night.” Matt spoke quietly, but he saw Charity smile in her reflection. He knew she understood what he meant. She was a dreamer, able to understand what most girls could not, able to feel things others couldn't.

The food cart came by, and after properly stuffing themselves with chocolate frogs, every flavor beans, and pumpkin pasties, they sat down to continue talking as they had during the whole first half of the ride. Matt could tell he had found a bosom friend, though they hadn't known each other long. Charity knew all about him from the fact that he was of a high-profile family, but he had yet to learn about her. He watched as she ate her last frog, smiling at how comical she looked.

“What's your story, pre-Hogwarts? I mean, you know mine, well, most of it, just from books, but now I want to know about you.”

Charity laughed. “There's not much to say about me. I am Charity Michelle Sullivan, youngest child of John Michael Sullivan and Donna Eveann Sullivan. Nobody previously in my family is magical. Dad owns a pizza restaurant and Mom is a musician.”

“Are you?”

“A pizza? Or a musician?” Charity's eyes sparkled deviously. “Of course I'm not a pizza. But I do play the French Horn. I brought it with me, so I can keep playing, but I seriously doubt my roommates will be too happy. Anyways, I have two older sisters, who are cleverly named Faith and Hope. That's from 1 Corinthians 13:13, which says, `And now abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three…'”

“But the greatest of these is Charity.” Matt finished in a soft voice, making Charity blush. She felt very warm suddenly, and didn't know why.

“I'm a Christian, too. My grandfather's a pastor.”

“That's cool! I'm also a Christian.”

“Well, that's cool! I'm really glad, because you are already the greatest friend I've ever had, and…” She was interrupted when a prefect came to the door and told the two to get dressed in their robes. Matt eyes Charity cautiously, very conscious of the fact that he was a boy and she was a girl. Charity flashed him a smile, stood up and opened her trunk, and grabbed her clothes from the top. Matt did the same, until they were just standing in the compartment, clothes in hand, staring bashfully at each other. Finally, they both slowly turned around to face opposite walls. After a few minutes they were both fully clothed and physically ready to get off of the train. Their muscles ached, their stomachs growled, and their eyes were weary from exhaustion. However, both feared leaving the train, feared the unknown that waited before them. Matt helped Charity get her trunk down, made sure the latch was tightened on his, and waited silently in the still car. He could barely hear anything over the beating of his heart, but he managed to hear the faint hiss of the pistons slowing.

“We're here, Matt.” Charity smiled and cautiously looped her arm in the crook of Matt's arm. He was thankful for her presence, thankful that he had the comforting touch of a friend on his arm. He had a feeling that her personality was only suitable for Gryffindor material; he knew without a doubt that that was where she'd be sorted. His only fear was that he'd be stuck in a place like Slytherin or Hufflepuff, and she would be silently extracted from his life.

A/N: What do ya'll think about Charity's personality?

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Chapter 3:

Rivalry, Chivalry, and the Sorting Hat

A/N: I just got back from Galveston, and I am finishing this chapter today in honor of the real Matt's 16^th birthday. Thank you, Lord, for Matt.

Matt and Charity stepped cautiously off of the train, both self-conscious as they made their way through the throng of students. Charity had a terrified look on her face with her eyes wide, her skin pale, and her mouth pressed into a tight line. Matt tried to give her a reassuring smile, but he feared it looked like a grimace.

“Firs' years, over here! That's right, c'mon over here!” Hagrid's familiar voice made Matt's ears perk up.

“Come on, Charity. This way.” Charity looked at him warily and allowed him to pull her away with him. They wound through the crowd until they stood on the edge of Hagrid's lantern light. Hagrid, his hair turning gray with age, looked about the platform with his wrinkled face, until he saw Matt.

“Why, Matthew Potter! Nice ter see ya here, finally at Hogwarts! Who's that ya got with yer?”

“Hello, Hagrid. This is Charity Sullivan.”

“Ah,” Hagrid smiled slyly, rotating his neck up and then down again. “I hope ter be seein' the both of ya down at me hut soon.” he checked the crowd again and clapped his huge hands together, making Charity jump. “Ah-right, firs' years, follow me. We're taking a boat ride to the castle. Three ter a boat, an' no more! I don' wanna have ter fish ya out of the lake!”

Charity paled even more. Matt patted her softly on the shoulder and led her to an empty boat that was right on the shore.

“You know that guy?”

“He's really good friends with my parents. He comes by to see us about once or twice a year.” Noting the uneasy look on Charity's face, he added, “Don't worry, he's a big teddy bear. You'll love him soon enough.”

Charity nodded, not sure if she believed him. “Another question?”

“Fire away.”

“Do you go by Matthew? If that's what you go by, I'll call you that.”

“I prefer Matt, but old habits die hard, I suppose.”

Their boat jostled and another passenger got in. He was a muscular boy with strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The boy extended his hand to Matt.

“Hello, mate. I'm Dwight Bell.”

“Matt Potter. Nice to meet you.”

Dwight averted his attention to Charity. “Hello, miss.”

“Hello, Dwight. I'm Charity Sullivan.” Matt couldn't help but notice that Charity's face colored when she saw Dwight. A fierce feeling of dislike for the other boy welled up in his throat. Not wanting to be a jerk, he gave a little sigh and sat down on the back seat of the boat. Dwight sat beside him, and they were off across the lake.

Charity chattered freely during their journey. Matt tried frequently to say something intelligent, but every time that he tried, Dwight would start to talk. By the time they reached Hogwarts, Matt was determined that he would dislike Dwight until the day he died.

“Both of my parents are muggles, but my oldest brother was a wizard. I always wanted to be like Tanner… looks like now I'll be able to.” Dwight flashed a dazzling white smile to Charity, making Matt run his tongue over his teeth, wishing he had a toothbrush with him. Charity didn't notice Matt's frantic tongue motion, his face cast in shadow. She began an animated story about her family, much the same as she had told him earlier. Matt watched her as she spoke, noticing how the little dot-birthmark on the edge of her dimple made her face somehow look brighter, how her eyes shone softly in the lantern glow, and how her whole body glowed with excitement when she spoke with her soft and powerful voice. As he watched her, he realized that he was staring, but she simply amazed him.

“Something wrong, Matt?” Dwight was staring at him, and Matt realized his mouth was open.

“Nooo, nothing at all is wrong. Really.”

“That's good, because it would be bad if you felt bad right before we get sorted. I sure hope I get into Gryffindor. Hey, maybe we'll be roommates!”

“I'll probably be sorted into Slytherin of Hufflepuff or something.”

“No, you'll be a Gryffindor. I assume you are Harry and Hermione's son?”

“Yes, but that doesn't mean I'm going to get any special privileges…”

Charity gave a huge gasp, and the boys stopped their debating. “Hey, guys, we're coming to the castle.” Their little boat came around the corner and all three were wowed into silence by the towering castle, all of the windows aglow from soft candlelight. Matt felt really happy to be there, really blessed to be who he was and be where he was in that moment. The trio sat silently in their little boats, only waking from their trances when the boat came to a stop at the foot of the rocky shore. Matt and Dwight offered Charity a hand to help her down, but she just smiled at them both and stepped out on her own, walking ahead to get in line.

“I see she's very independent, that one. I like it.” Dwight shook his head and smiled to Matt, who just watched him with an unknown dislike. “Well, I guess we have to go get in line to go inside! After you, mate.” Matt stepped ahead of Dwight with a polite nod of the head. The group of first years followed Hagrid down a dark hallway, which ended by a large, well-lit stairway. Hagrid left the new students at the foot of the stairs with the command to stay put.

Before too long, a nervous buzz of excitement and chatter filled the air. Matt turned his head every which way, looking at all of the kids that would soon become his classmates and peers. He felt oddly out of place as he watched a group of girls talking, laughing, and reminiscing about primary school. He averted his attention from the girls and went to a group of boys standing in around the banister of the staircase. Two particular boys stood out to Matt. The first, a very short boy of Hispanic descent, stood in the center of the boys, talking very loudly in perfect English. His companion was tall and pale with spiky black hair and baggy, chained robes. He appeared gothic, but was smiling broadly at the rest of the group. As Matt walked up to them, the Hispanic boy smiled and waved his arm towards Matt.

“Hello! And who are you?”

“Matt Potter.”

“Hello, Matt!” The gothic boy had now stepped forward beside his friend. “My name is Mark Sherman. And the Hispanic you've just met is Jorge Ibarra.”

“It's nice to meet you both!”

Mark reached into his robes and pulled out a little hackey sack. He tossed it to Matt, who instantly started playing. The boys talked back and forth and before the ball was dropped for the first time, Matt found himself friends with both Jorge and Mark. During the course of their play, Jorge hit the sack beyond Matt. He gave a sheepish grin and chased after it. The sack rolled underneath a potted plant, and as he reached down to grab it, he heard a commotion occurring beneath the arbor of the wall.

“Why should a filthy little half-blood care so much about a piece of wizard's jewelry?” came a cruel, slimy voice from a horrible looking boy with pale brown hair, pale blue eyes, and pointed teeth.

“Please,” whispered the small, pale blond girl he was torturing, tears oozing from behind her glasses. “Please give it back.”

“You know, I don't think I will!” The boy tossed the little gold locket into the air, laughing mercilessly when the girl made a lunge for it. Matt began to walk towards the scene when he noticed Charity had come up beside the girl.

“Jacob McKing, stop it right now!” Charity's eyes blazed with fury.

“Who, pray tell, are you?” He spat the last word so that it sounded like poison.

“Ch-Charity Sullivan.”

“You don't look like anything but a filthy mudblood.”

Matt could stand it no longer. He jumped forward into the group and stood directly in front of the larger boy.

“That's enough. Apologize to Charity and give the girl the locket back.”

Jacob smirked and shrugged his shoulders. “What are you going to do about it?”

“I…” Matt faltered, not knowing what to say. Jacob reached inside his robe and pulled out his wand, flicking it towards Matt. Matt sprang into action by grabbing his wand too. He swished it around, causing a stream of sparks to fly from the tip, igniting Jacob's robe sleeve. Matt gasped in surprise while Charity screamed, looking about for water. The other girl pulled a bottle out of her robes and used it to douse the flames. Everybody in the hall was watching the scene; Matt felt his ears begin to turn red from humiliation. He would be kicked out of Hogwarts before he was even sorted!

“I'm watching you, Potter.” Jacob threw the locket carelessly at the girl's feet and slunk away just as McGonagal entered the room. Having no knowledge of what had just occurred, she instructed the students to follow her into the Great Hall. Mark and Jorge went forward, looking at Matt with wide eyes behind them. Charity stood by Matt's side, waiting for him to go with her into the Great Hall. Matt knew he should follow, but he had to check on the girl first. She was kneeled down on the floor, softly picking up the locket.

“Are you okay?”

The girl nodded silently and gave a little smile. “Thank you. My name is Julie.”

“I'm Matt.”

Charity eyed their interaction with an annoyed gaze and cleared her throat loudly. Matt gave a final smile to Julie and went to Charity's side in order to go into the Great Hall.

The splendor of the Great Hall was not particularly fascinating to Matt. He had been in the very room on several occasions with his parents. But watching Charity's reaction was priceless. Her whole face was alight with wonder as she turned her head about in an attempt to see everything there was to see. She caught Matt's eye and gave him an excited smile before hooking her arm in his.

As they reached the front of the room, McGonagal picked up a large scroll with the students names on it. Dwight was the very first to be called up to the front. Matt noticed the grim look on his face and couldn't help but fear he looked the same.

“GRYFFINDOR!” shouted the sorting hat. Charity clapped for Dwight with extreme enthusiasm, while Matt inwardly groaned. Four girls were sent to Hufflepuff, eight boys to Ravenclaw…the ceremony dragged on and on. Jorge was immediately sorted into Gryffindor, much to Matt's excitement. He wasn't surprised in the least when Jacob McKing, scorched sleeve and scowl on his face, was sorted into Slytherin. Before too long, it was Matt's turn to go up to the front. When McGonagal read his name, several of his parents' supporters stood up and began applauding. Matt tried to ignore them, but he could feel his face turning bright red. He slipped the hat on over his head and waited for a moment until the hat talked to him.

“Ah, young Mr. Potter, it's nice to be able to sort you at last! I sorted both your parents and your grandparents, you know.”

“Y-yes, I know.”

“Hm. Ah, yes, that's good,” the hat said as he examined Matt. I've heard tell that you are a very brave, miraculous young man. You have already battled unseen forces, and I fear you still have some evils yet to face, but you will get through them with the same strength you used to survive.”

“So what are you saying?”

“You are different, Matthew Potter. Your heart and mind are different (purer, if you will) than most, and you are able to see and feel things that others cannot. There are very few who possess this wonderful gift. And seeing as how you are brave and possess these unique qualities, your only option is GRYFFINDOR!”

Matt took the hat off of his head and went to join the screaming Gryffindor table, puzzled over the hat's words.

Dwight pulled Matt out a seat beside him and in front of Jorge, a broad smile on his comical face. “I told you you would be a Gryffindor, mate!” Matt smiled sweetly and high-fived Jorge, wishing Dwight wasn't there. All three boys cheered heartily when Mark also was sorted into Gryffindor. And Matt clapped and cheered for the poor, shy Julie when she also was sorted into Gryffindor, although the choice surprised him. Julie was an odd, quiet type, yet she had been chosen for the bravest of all the houses.

Now Matt just had to wait for Charity to be sorted.

When Charity put the hat over her head, a horrible knot was formed in Matt's stomach. He had only known her for mere hours, but he felt as though he had always known her. He had some, unexplainable connection to her, and he couldn't bear the thought of her being sorted into another house. The minutes ticked by painfully, until, after a long interval, Charity, too, was named a Gryffindor. She smiled broadly, and ran to the Gryffindor table, hugging Matt tightly when she grabbed a seat beside him. The six kids waited patiently until the sorting was over, bored looks upon their faces as they quietly applauded each selection.

After the hat had been put away, the feast began. All six stuffed themselves with as much food as they possibly could, all the while talking animatedly. Matt couldn't help but be irritated by how much Dwight talked to Charity, but he tried to ignore it the best he could by talking to Mark and Jorge. Julie sat morosely beside Mark, too shy to engage in the conversations.

The food was cleared away, the opening announcements had all been given, and the time to go the dorms has come. They trudged slowly and wearily up the moving staircases, their little bodies exhausted from the days activities. The four Gryffindor first year boys went silently to their dorms. Jorge and Mark got the beds to the north and east; Matt and Dwight got the beds to the south and west. As Matt settled down to sleep, he realized how lucky he was to be there at Hogwarts, with two of his friends in his dorm and Charity right down the hall. Life was good; there was no other thing to think. He closed his eyes and went off to the land of his dreams, the sorting hat's words playing softly in the back of his mind.

A/N: Sorry, that whole experience from Charity's sorting to the end were a bit rushed…

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Chapter 4:

First Day

A/N: I do not know why this story is taking me so long, this should be the easiest story for me to write since this is the story that's closest to home, even closer than it's predecessor, cause this is based off what I know, not what I imagine, but this is very hard to write. My apologies for the long intervals between updates, I will try to get better, but life is going really, really fast, and I have minimum time to write.

The next morning, Matt woke up bright and early as the sunlight streamed through the turret window onto his bed curtains. He stretched and yawned, temporarily unaware of his surroundings, until suddenly, the realization that he was finally at Hogwarts struck him. He felt breathless with amazement, glad that none of the other boys were awake to see the goofy smile he could feel plastered on his face. He had always dreamed of coming to Hogwarts, and he was finally there. Now that his first morning had dawned, he was no longer afraid of being a failure. All he felt was an extreme sense of excitement at making such wonderful friends and having his first ever official wizarding classes.

He lay motionless in his poster bed for a few more minutes, praying and preparing himself for the day. When he was ready to go, he softly pulled back the curtains, went to his trunk carefully so as not to wake the others, and got dressed, a quill and parchment placed carefully in his robe pocket. He made his way through the empty corridors to the owlery. Andromeda was perched near the windowsill; she hooted softly when she saw Matt enter. He stroked her head softly and gave her an owl treat before laying out his parchment on the window. He wrote a letter to his family, telling them the majority of his experience. He didn't write about his scuffle with Jacob, but he figured they really didn't need to know about that anyways.

“I have made some really good friends already. Mark and Jorge, two of my roommates, are really great guys. But the best friend I've found so far, well, she's a girl. Her name's Charity Sullivan, and she's really…”

Matt stopped, quill poised above page, unsure of what to say about Charity. She was so many things, and he wasn't sure he could explain her in words.

“she's really unique and fun to be around.”

He concluded the letter with the usual `I love you's' and such. He tied his letters carefully to Andromeda's outstretched leg and gave her a pat before sending her outside. Finished with his task, he headed back to the Gryffindor common room to meet up with Charity. As soon as he entered the room, she stepped in from the girls' dormitories. Her hair was on the reddish side, and her face was soft with the appearance of one who has just been awakened. When she saw Matt standing in the doorway, a smile lit up her face, making her eyes twinkle.

“Matt! What are you doing awake so early?”

Matt grinned and shrugged. “I'm an early bird. Are you ready to go to breakfast?”

Charity nodded and came over to him. They looked at each other for a moment or two, before Charity reached up and smoothed her hand over his wild hair. Matt blushed but allowed her to keep doing it. When Charity pulled away, both were surprised to see Julie standing right beside them. Charity blushed and cast her eyes downward.

“Hey, Julie. Me and Charity were just about to go down to breakfast. Did you want to come with us?”

Julie tossed her pale blonde hair behind her and blinked, too shy to answer. Matt looked to Charity for help.

“Let's go, shall we?” Charity gave a sweet little smile and led the way out the portrait hole. Matt stepped to the side to allow Julie to go before him, but she simply looked at him like a scared rabbit. He shrugged and went on after Charity, growing even more puzzled when he heard Julie follow behind him. He turned to look at her, making her blush a fierce shade of crimson that paled her hair even more. Not having too much previous experience with girls, Matt just smiled politely and stepped closer to Charity.

“What's with Julie?” Matt whispered softly. Charity sighed and turned her eyes to the small girl who had stopped abruptly in the middle of the way and was staring intently at a portrait of a man who was fast asleep.

“She's… a different type of person; hasn't said a word to me yet,” Charity whispered back. When she stepped away from Matt, Julie was standing right between them, giving them an odd look of supremacy. Charity gave an annoyed little smile; none of the three spoke until they reached the Great Hall.

The enchanted ceiling was bursting with rays of sunlight; there were no clouds in sight. Charity's face burst into radiant joy at the beautiful view. She knew it was only an enchantment, and Matt knew that she knew, but it was still thrilling to watch her get so excited. The three headed towards the Gryffindor table, and, to Matt's dismay, Charity found seats for them all near Mark, Jorge, and Dwight. Matt forced a smile and sat down, immediately piling his plate high with bacon and eggs. He always ate quickly, and that morning's breakfast was no exception.

“Mate, don't choke! I don't want to have to give you CPR!” Dwight smiled slyly and hit Matt roughly on the back, causing him to choke on a strip of bacon. He coughed right in Dwight's face before getting something to drink. As he gulped his orange juice, he looked at the people sitting around him, thinking about something that McGonagall had said the day before: “Your house will be like your family at Hogwarts.” Charity, Mark, Jorge… they were okay. Julie was a little odd, but she was no problem.

And then there was Dwight. Well, there was one in every family, whatever that meant, and Dwight would just have to be his cross to bear.

As breakfast went on in a normal manner, McGonagall came to their group and delivered their class schedules. With a unanimous groan, all the young Gryffindors found to their displeasure that their first class was Double Potions with the Slytherins.

“Well,” said Charity. “This ought to be…an experience.” Everyone at the table groaned and finished eating woefully, bracing themselves for the nefarious Professor Snape.

Sure enough, the class was a nightmare. When Snape called roll, he stopped at Matt's name and gave an evil grin.

“Matthew Tyler Potter? No doubt son of the famous Harry Potter?”

“Y-yes, sir.” He closed his eyes, knowing that Snape could read minds, but it was no use.

“I suppose because of your history you believe that you are as brave a hero as your father.” The words were spat like poison. Matt shook his head. “Potter, just because you are Potter's son, doesn't mean you get special privileges. If it were up to me, you would already be gone from Hogwarts for the display that you caused last night, hmmm? You are just like your father. Ten points will be deducted from Gryffindor.”

Matt's jaw fell in fury. He wanted to say something, but was beat to it by Charity.

“Professor, that's not right! That was before class had even begun!”

“I WILL DECIDE WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS WRONG!” He slammed his fist on his desktop, making Charity shrink towards Matt in fear. From the corner of his eye, Matt could see Jacob trembling with laughter. Snape stood erect and smoothed his robes. “For your impertinence, thirty more points will be deducted from Gryffindor. Now take out your parchment and begin copying the notes from the board on how to make a simple forgetfulness potion.”

Matt did as they were told, but Charity stood in silently shock. She had just lost thirty points for Gryffindor, and she hadn't even been through one class. Matt looked over at her and spied a single, crystal tear rolling down her cheek.

The rest of the class was equally abysmal. Jacob's concoction was perfect, according to Snape, and although Matt's was just as good, his was given a mediocre grade. But the worst thing about the class was what else happened to Charity. She had spent an abnormally long time measuring her ingredients to make sure the potion was immaculate. She scooped it into a vial, bottled it up carefully, and headed to put it on Snape's desk. That was when the disaster occurred.

Jacob jumped out from behind his cauldron, knocking the vial out of Charity's hands. Matt watched in slow motion as the glass cut into her hand, the potion splashing all over her arm. Jacob smirked and walked off, and Snape failed Charity for the day.

When class was over, Charity bolted out the door, leaving the rest behind. Matt ran to catch her, ignoring Dwight's calls from behind him. He searched until he finally found Charity sitting on the ledge beneath a stained glass window. Her face was tear-streaked and her hand was bleeding profusely. She turned quickly and, seeing Matt, turned back towards the window. He gave her a feeble smile and sat down beside her.

“Maybe I shouldn't be here. I mean, I just failed our first assignment AND lost thirty points for Gryffindor.”

“Charity, don't say that! Snape is a horrible person, and it's not your fault! You'll make up that “f” and you'll end up being the top of the class! And as for the points, well, both my mom and dad lost 150 points for Gryffindor in one day. Don't feel bad, you'll get back every point you lost!”

“Your parents did that?”

Matt nodded and touched her outstretched hand. “You need to get the glass out. Do you want me to try?”

Charity nodded disgustedly. “I really, really can not stand blood. You get it, I don't want to have to go get a shot or something; I'm terrified of needles.”

“You can get used to anything after a while. I used to be terrified of needles, but well…” He took her hand gently in his and carefully took out a tiny shard of glass. Then, he took a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around her palm, tying it expertly with a soft bow. Charity smiled and hugged him tightly.

“Thanks, Matt. You're the best friend ever.”

Before Matt could say anything, Dwight came up to them. “Charity, Oh my gosh, are you okay?”

Charity smiled and kept her gaze on Matt. “Yes, I'm fine.”

“Can I walk you to lunch?”

“Sure!” She jumped off of the ledge. “See you around, Matt!”

Matt gave a little wave and watched them walk away, a feeling like lead in his legs.

******************** *************************

Matt's prediction came true: By Friday, Charity had earned back the points, earning 15 more than she had lost. She excelled in everything and was easily named the smartest student in the first year class. The only one who could ever beat her was Matt, who was quickly joining Charity's competition for top of the class. But despite their competition, they remained close friends, even though Dwight was always hanging around. The only real thing wrong with Hogwarts life was Jacob. He made Potions a living nightmare, and he found pleasure in tormenting Charity. But every time that he hurt Charity, he had to pay for it from Matt, and soon after, Dwight.

A/N: There! Now that I'm finished with that chapter, I can actually get this story rolling! Review, review!

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Chapter 5:

Charity Creates a Restraining Order

A/N: Impossible as this chapter may seem, trust me, IT'S POSSIBLE, IT'S HAPPENED IN REALITY.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shakespeare or L.M. Montgomery's quotes, and I don't own J.K. Rowling's characters. But I do own this story, that much I am sure of.

As the months went by, Matt began to notice that Charity tended to spend a lot of time with Dwight. All though she spent the majority of her life with Matt, the enmity between him and Dwight intensified weekly. He didn't know why this was, but whenever he was around Dwight he just ended up… annoyed. It really didn't make much sense—after all, Charity spent a great portion of her time with Jorge and Mark, too (not at all to his annoyance), and fondly called the four Gryffindors “my guys.” In fact, the four guys and Charity had become a super group of best friends, despite the clash of Matt and Dwight. The group spent every waking moment together, but not a day passed where Dwight didn't come and purposefully annoy Matt or where Matt would do something to drive Dwight crazy. They were rivals, but Matt would never really admit why this was.

Their battle was known by all in Hogwarts. One day, in their Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Professor Trindle, their old, feeble teacher, had to stop the whole room from burning down when a charmed scorpion from Dwight accidentally burst into flames on Matt's parchment. Professor Sprout gave Matt detention after he had come up behind Dwight and tripped him, making him fall in a wheelbarrow of jumping beans. And during flying lessons, both boys had points deducted from Gryffindor when they attempted to out-fly each other and ended up knocking Julie off of her broom, only two feet from the ground. None of the things they did were meant to be too mean, but Charity feared that if they kept it up, someone would be seriously hurt.

“I just don't understand why they can't get along!” Charity said one day as she sipped tea from her perch on the rug by the hearth. She, Mark, Jorge, and Julie had come to visit Hagrid on one of the crisp, autumn evenings that Matt and Dwight were spending in detention. “I mean, they're my two best friends, but they act like they want each other dead.”

Mark smiled and pushed his long black hair away from his eyes. “Well, they obviously think there's a good reason to fight.”

“Wonder what that reason could be?” Jorge hinted, a playful gleam in his chocolate eyes.

“I haven't the faintest idea,” said Charity, not catching Jorge's hint. “I just know, I've got to find some way to get them working together! Hagrid, what should we do?”

Hagrid, who had been stoking the fire, stood up and wrinkled his large nose. “Well, now, I don't know. Matthew and Dwight sound ter me like James Potter and Sirius Black. Such good boys, Matthew and Dwight…”

Charity closed her eyes and tilted her head. Mark looked puzzled. “Uh, Hagrid? Those two are known for their wonderful friendship. How do Matt and Dwight remind you of them?”

“Lord, what fools these mortals be!” Julie quoted quietly, before becoming intrigued with her blue teacup. Charity just ignored her and looked at Hagrid for his answer.

“Well, now, they weren't always friends! Why, it was `bout a year fore they were even sociable to each other.”

“Well, then, what changed?” Charity was very concerned with the issue at hand. Hagrid pulled up the corner of his mouth and looked towards the ceiling.

“I don't remember. Who wants a raisin cake?”

The other three students were easily distracted, but Charity spent the rest of the evening in meditative silence. As they put on their cloaks to go back to the castle (Mark's was the only one with a metal chain on his cloak), Julie set her still blue eyes on Charity.

“It's you, you know.”

“What's me?” Charity really did get along with Julie, but she needed to come with a decoder.

“She looks just as music sounds.”

Charity nodded, not knowing what to say.

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The next day, Charity did not meet Matt or Dwight in the common room to walk with them to breakfast. Since it was a Saturday, they didn't have any classes. And Charity was not to be found until lunchtime. When the time came for lunch, Charity came out of the library, where she had spent the whole morning. She carried a bundle of papers, and didn't seem to notice that Matt and Dwight were having a potato eating competition. She smiled sweetly, put her hands gently on Dwight's shoulder, and pushed him over, allowing her to sit between the boys.

“Charity, hey! Where have you been all morning? I was wondering, would you come down with me to the Quidditch field this afternoon and watch me tryout for…”

“I've been in the library, Matt, and I wish you luck on your tryout. Dwight, you listen, too.”

The boys looked at each other with confused looks.

“Okay, I've gotten this okayed with McGonagall, so all I have to do now is explain the terms to you and get you to sign.”

“Charity, what…?” She held up a finger and Dwight was silenced.

“Hogwarts School Code, section 43 b states that if there is a conflict between students that is not punishable by the Headmistress, that if the problem continues, it is the duty of the student closest involved to put a stop to the conflict. The student is thereby legally allowed to give advice, create isolation between the conflicting, or issue a restraining order on the two students involved. So, Sarah Caule (second year Gryffindor, intelligent in law) has written up a restraining that reads as this: `Dwight Eric Bell is hereby restrained from Matthew Tyler Potter until further notice. The above-mentioned are not to be within ten feet of the other unless at an outside school function, holiday, or emergency. Signed, this day, October 15…'”

“Wait, a second! You are restraining me from Matt?”

Charity gave a considerate look before smiling broadly. “Yes, that's what I'm doing. Now, please sign here, and Matt, you sign here.”

“Charity, why did you write this up?” Matt knew Charity never did anything without a reason, but this was a little more like something Julie would do.

“Because you guys can't leave each other alone. And, since it's really annoying and I'm afraid you are both going to get hurt, I am issuing a restraining order. Sign, please.”

Charity held out quills to both of them impatiently. They looked at each other in disbelief before Dwight gave a little shrug and slowly signed the paper. Matt reluctantly signed, too, although something in the back of his mind told him that this was one of Charity's schemes.

When the ink was dried, Charity rolled it up and placed it in her satchel. She gave an innocent little smile.

“Now, separate. You're exactly 4 feet away from each other, which means you are defying the order…” She leaned over and kissed Matt on the cheek. “Good luck at tryouts, you'll be the best seeker out there.” He smiled and softly touched his cheek. Charity leaned over to Dwight and kissed him on the cheek, too. “Good luck to you, too. You'll do a great job as a keeper.”

She stood up perkily and pranced back towards the Gryffindor common room, leaving Matt and Dwight in confused silence and Jorge and Mark in hysterical laughter.

******************* **************************

Matt got to the Quidditch field an hour before the tryouts actually began. There were two open spots on the team: seeker and keeper. He was incredibly nervous; after all, there were no other first years there, and the sixth year students seemed huge to him. He wasn't there long when he saw Dwight enter the stadium with his broomstick. A wave of relief at seeing someone familiar swept over him, but just as he opened his mouth to call him over, he remembered Charity's restraining order.

Oh, well…I can get by without him.

When it came time to draw straws, Matt drew the short end, making him have to tryout first. He did a superb job, catching the snitch all five times. He wasn't the son of the youngest seeker ever (who also went professional) for nothing. When he landed, Dwight was standing there smiling.

“Good j—“ He stopped abruptly and looked to the ground. Matt followed his gaze and went to sit in the bleachers. As he watched Dwight, he was amazed at what an excellent flyer he was. He easily beat the sixth year that tried out. He gave a whoop of support when Dwight caught the quaffle, only to hear…

“Cheering for him since you can't talk?” Matt turned suddenly and saw Charity coming towards him from the top of the bleachers, her neck wrapped in a gold scarf, head covered in a maroon beanie, and her nose tinged pink with the cold air.

“Charity, why are you making us do this? You can tell me… I won't laugh, I promise.”

Charity laughed, her eyes twinkling and her now-blond hair blowing lightly around her shoulders. “Trust me on this, Matt. By the way, you did an excellent job. I was cheering for you the whole time.” She reached up and hugged his neck before leaving to meet Dwight as he landed. As she talked to him, his eyes wandered up to Matt, who gave a short nod of approval. It was no surprise when Ogle, the Gryffindor team captain, announced that the two new team members were Matt and Dwight.

That night, there was a party amongst the first years in the Gryffindor common room—after all, two first years had been chosen for the team, a thing that had never previously happened. Yet, the party was very awkward, as every time that Matt would start to say something to Dwight, Charity would give him a stern look of disapproval followed by a tantalizing smirk.

The weeks leading up to Halloween were slow and dull. Charity had been careful to not spend an excessive amount of time with either Matt or Dwight, and Jorge and Mark would start to laugh almost every time Matt was around them. Life had become lonely, and his only constant companion was Julie. He was the only one she would actually talk to without riddles or quotes, but she was still very odd company. As much as Matt hated to admit it, he missed having Dwight around. Through their competitive natures, they had become…well, they had become friends. When Matt mentioned this to Julie, she smiled shyly and gave him the answer to his problem.

“You could always say you're sorry.”

Yes, that was the only real solution, the only way to get life back to how it should be. And it was because of this solution that he was sitting quietly behind a large dusty shelf of books in the library on a stormy Thursday night, the night of Halloween. He checked his watch nervously, praying that Madam Pince wouldn't kick him out of the library. Finally, at a quarter past the time he had set, Dwight entered the big, oak doors.

“Matt…”

“Dwight.”

“If Charity finds us, we're in trouble.”

“No, we won't be because, well… Dwight, I'm tired of this.”

Dwight frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I'm tired of having to make sure I am in no way near you, tired of practicing Quidditch with you but pretending you're not there! Truth is, I miss you, mate. And I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for everything. I hope you'll forgive me, and we can start over. Friends?”

He extended his hand, and after a moment Dwight took it and shook it heartily. “Friends.”

The two boys stayed in the library for half an hour, talking and laughing about the restraining order. When Dwight left, Matt smiled, knowing in his heart that he had finally made a true friend with someone who should have been his friend all along. As he sat there in thought, he felt someone pull out the chair beside him. Charity smiled at him and sat down.

“I'm proud of you, Matthew Potter.” She tossed her now-dark hair over her shoulder and leaned on her arm, smiling.

“You know, I really do think you're evil sometimes.”

“Whatever do you mean?” She smiled innocently, and the dot birthmark trembled with an untold secret.

“You know what I mean. You made that restraining order just so we'd become friends.”

“So what? It worked, didn't it?”

Matt smiled. “How did you know it was going to work?”

“It worked for your grandfather.”

Matt stared at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Charity smiled and scooted her chair closer. “James Potter and Sirius Black were absolute enemies.”

“No, they weren't! They were best friends!”

“I'm getting there, I'm getting there… Anyways, they fought so much that Professor McGonagall issued a restraining order, and before a month's time, they were best friends.”

Matt opened his mouth in surprise. “How do you know that?”

Charity sighed and slightly shook her head. “Matt, this is a library. People don't just make out in here: there's a thing called `books and research'.”

Matt blushed crimson, realizing that he and Charity were alone in the library, and she was a girl. She smiled at him and punched him playfully on the arm.

“Come on, let's go down to the feast.”

The feast was wonderful. Seated between Dwight and Charity, Matt had never felt so at ease. As Matt laughed and ate with all of his friends, he realized that it was the happiest he had ever been, and with a smirk, he realized that this wasn't the first friendship that had formed on a stormy, Halloween night.

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Chapter 6:

Christmas With the Potters

A/N: Yeah, I know, it's nowhere NEAR Christmas, but this chapter had to be written. This is one of the only chapters that is not 100% reality, but is based on an entirely different set of events.

Now that Matt and Dwight were friends, life had a more interesting approach for Charity. She discovered that having two best friends, both guys, was actually fun. They were “her guys,” and with her perky personality and beauty, she was loved by them both. Unbeknownst to the group of friends, all of the Hogwarts instructors were watching them fondly, noticing the uncanny similarities between this trio and the original trio. Dwight, with his reddish brown hair and clueless personality could easily have been the apparition of Ron Weasley, Matt was the exact image of his father, complete with “survivor-mentality” of constant boldness, and Charity was the smartest student since Hermione Granger-Potter, although Charity was already beautiful in her first year, while Hermione had taken a few years to blossom… Whenever McGonagall saw Charity, Matt, and Dwight together, the firm corners of her mouth twitched slightly in a rare smile as she relived the nostalgia of Hogwarts past days.

Even though teachers are never supposed to have favorites, it often does happen. All of the instructors, excluding Snape, were especially excited on the days that they were to instruct the first year Gryffindors. Charity and Matt were always the top of the class, and though Dwight earned mediocre grades, his witty, ornery personality won the teachers' hearts. When the teachers enjoy teaching, the students enjoy learning, and before the trio knew it, it was time to head home for the Christmas holidays.

“I just adore winter!” Charity said one afternoon as they walked across the snowy grounds towards Hagrid's house. A snowflake fell in front of her and she leaned her head up towards heaven and caught it on her tongue. “Everything is just glorious!”

Dwight smiled and raised his eyebrows. “Glorious, eh? That's a funny way of putting it.”

“It makes sense to me, Dwight. You just have no creativity.” Matt said this with a smirk, knowing that Dwight was annoyed at the fact that he was somehow different from both Matt and Charity. Charity smiled and hooked on to Dwight's arm.

“It's not his fault he has the attention span of a goldfish. We love him anyway, but only because it's Christmas.”

Dwight's ears turned red and he gave them a look of pretend frustration. “You two just wait! Whenever I am old enough to be a full wizard, well, watch your backs.”

Charity rolled her eyes and ran ahead of the boys to Hagrid's little wooden hut, her light brown braids flying from underneath her blue beanie. She rapped smartly on the door until Hagrid opened it and stepped onto the porch.

“Why, hello there! What're you doin' down here at ole' Hagrid's house? It's a snowy day, you three should be having snow fights with yer friends.”

“It was Matt's idea to come visit a friend.”

Hagrid smiled and motioned for the three to follow him inside. The hut was warm and cozy, and before long all three of the friends were shedding their cloaks. Hagrid poured steaming cups of tea for them all before joining them from his perch on the old rocking chair.

“I take it you three are going home for the holidays.”

Matt nodded and set his mug down. “What are you planning on doing, Hagrid?”

Hagrid shrugged and darted his eyes away. “Oh, now, I was gonna go see Grawp in France, but he has plans. So looks like it'll just be me here!”

Matt couldn't help but notice a sad note in the giant's voice. “Hagrid, Mum and Dad and Jeremiah and I, we were wondering if you wanted to come spend Christmas Eve with us. Charity and Dwight are coming, along with the Weasleys, and we'd love for you to come, too.”

“Oh, you wouldn't be wanting old Hagrid spoilin' your holiday…” But a twinkle had entered his beetle eyes. After talking for the remainder of the afternoon, it was settled that Hagrid would be joining the Potters, Sullivans, Bells, and Weasleys for a huge Christmas Eve celebration.

The next morning, the Hogwarts Express rolled into the Kings' Cross Station. Harry, Hermione, and Jeremiah were there to pick up Matt. He said his good-byes to Dwight and Charity, with the assurance of seeing them in one week's time.

Matt loved Hogwarts, but it was nothing compared to being with his family. The Potters were a close-knit bunch, and Matt cherished every moment he got to spend with them. From the second Matt had stepped off of the train, Jeremiah had attached himself to Matt, and the brothers happily spent every day together, building snowmen, wrapping presents, or flying around on Harry's Quidditch pitch.

One snowy morning, the day before Christmas Eve, Matt and Jeremiah lay sprawled out on the floor in the den, playing wizard chess before a crackling fire. Ron had taught both boys how to play, and they could easily beat their father any day.

“Matt, what's it really like, being at Hogwarts?”

Matt thought for a moment, moved his queen, and looked at Jeremiah's chocolate eyes. “It's all right. The classes are okay, except for Potions, but Snape just hates our family. But Charity's showing him up. She has higher grades in there than even the Slytherins, and Snape hates her with a passion for it.”

“You talk about Charity a lot.”

Matt felt his face turning red. “She and Dwight are my best friends.”

“Yeah, but you don't talk about Dwight as much. Checkmate.”

Matt pursed his lips. “Well, she and her family, Dwight and his family, are coming over tonight and staying until tomorrow night. Of course I've been talking about her.”

“Okay. So have you used the invisibility cloak or the marauder's map yet?”

Matt smiled and nodded. “This one time, me and Charity were going to spook Dwight with the invisibility cloak. We both got under it and were going to move stuff around in front of him, blow in his ear, you know, the usual. But right as we got near him Charity started sneezing, and then she tripped over a chair leg and landed in Dwight's lap, the invisibility cloak only covering her legs. So Dwight started screaming, Charity started screaming, and everyone in the dorms got really mad. It was really kinda funny, now that I think about it.”

Jeremiah smiled and sat up on his hands. “Matt likes Charity!”

Matt's mouth opened and his face turned crimson once again. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“You've found your true love.”

“Have not!”

“Yuh-huh, because I asked Mom what my name meant and she told me it meant `sent by God'. She told me Matthew means `God's gift'. Harry means `army ruler', Hermione means `earthy', Ronald means `advisor', Dwight means `fair', and Charity means `love.' So you love Charity.”

Matt opened his mouth to speak, but promptly closed it and looked down intently at the chessboard. Jeremiah smiled. “Why don't you tell her?”

“You don't understand, J. That would mess things up.”

“How do you know?”

“It…It just would, okay! Charity's one of the greatest people I've ever met, and I don't want to lose her.”

Jeremiah shrugged his little shoulders. “Whatever. But I think it would be nice of you to tell her.”

Dwight and his parents and older brother, Tanner, were the first to arrive. Tanner was an athletic sort, somewhat surly and looking as though he'd rather be anywhere in the world but at the Potter home. But when the Weasleys arrived next, Tanner soon forgot his annoyance and was soon under the enchantment of Scarlett. Dwight and Matt were glad to be rid of the two, and left to go play a game of exploding snap in the basement room, followed by Jeremiah and Rhett Weasley. Rhett was a pretty good guy, despite his sister, and before too long, all four boys were having a blast. Half an hour later, Charity and her family arrived, and both Matt and Dwight dropped what they were doing to go meet Charity.

Upon seeing Charity, Matt stopped in his tracks. She was even more beautiful than he had ever seen her before, her light brown hair fanned out and curled loosely, dressed in a red sweater and a black skirt…

Matt heard Dwight inhale quickly from behind him. Matt smiled and Charity smiled back.

“Hey, Charity.”

She came across the threshold to join the boys, quickly introducing her older sisters, Faith and Hope. They forced smiles and greetings before joining Scarlett and Tanner in the den. Once they were gone, Charity gave a little wiggled and dropped her arms to her side.

“So what have my boys been up to?”

Matt shrugged. “Nothing much, just waiting for you!” The trio adjourned to the basement where they spent the small remainder of the night playing games and decorating a small Christmas tree. During this time, Matt couldn't help but watch Charity. He noticed everything about her: the way the fire glow softened her features, the way her contagious personality won over everybody, even Jeremiah, the way she hummed Christmas carols under her breath at all times, so happy she was with the holidays…

The friends carried on their party until midnight, when the adults came and told them to get some sleep. Charity, having to go upstairs to the girls' room, gave all four boys kisses on the cheek before wishing them goodnight and departing.

The boys situated their sleeping bags around the basement fireplace and fell asleep relatively quickly, but Matt couldn't shut his mind off. He kept replaying scenes of Charity's beauty and goodness that night, and his face was still warm where she had kissed him. Jeremiah's previous words echoed in his head, and he punched his pillow furiously before laying back down. Finally, after a couple of hours, he decided on going up to the kitchen to get a few chocolate chip cookies before going to bed.

************* **************

Charity snuck slowly towards the dark kitchen, looking around in admiration of Matt's house. It was so beautiful and old looking that she could have stayed there forever. There was a touch of comfort and love in every wooden panel, in everything about the house. She could perfectly imagine a little Matthew running crazily around the huge house, growing up happily and perfectly. Charity paused at the foot of the staircase and tried to imagine what it must have been like to grow up as a Potter. Matt's childhood must have been as near to perfection as possible, having such wonderful, loving parents that she had instantly loved as her own, and a little brother who looked up to him. Plus, he had had the assistance of magic throughout his life, even though he hadn't gone to primary school. A sense of envy welled up in Charity's bosom and she paused for a moment, wishing she could have grown up like Matt had.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she softly padded her way to the kitchen, her long checkered pajama pants sliding under her pink socks. She made her way through the dark kitchen, and as she walked towards the light switch, she ran head on into another warm body. She gasped as her heart began to pound, and the person's arms went around her to quiet her. When the person leaned back to turn on the light, she saw that it was none other than Matt. Realizing that she was still in his arms, she blushed and pulled softly away. Matt, seeing it was Charity, smiled and leaned up against the island in the middle of the kitchen.

“So, what do you think you're doing, roaming around my house at two a.m.?”

Charity smiled and went to the opposite side of the island and leaned her elbows on the surface. She flicked her reddish hair over her shoulder and looked up at Matt enchantingly. “For your information, I wasn't roaming, I was just having some midnight exercise.”

Matt smiled and shook his head. “Do you want some hot chocolate?”

“That would be nice.”

Matt got a kettle out of the cupboard and Charity measured out the cocoa. After a few moments (and a peppermint drop later), both of the midnight wanderers were sitting on stools around the island, sipping cocoa contentedly. As Matt drank, he began to get a funny feeling and Jeremiah's words rattled about in his head.

“It's really nice to be able to stay with your family tonight.” Charity sighed and cupped her hands around her mug.

“Your family is really nice.”

“Well, they can be. Mum's a bit irritable. Dad and I get along splendidly, but generally Mum and Faith and Hope are always together. I just usually don't get along too well with Faith and Hope.”

“Why not?”

“They're just…well, they're pretty much everything I'm not. They're girly and popular and absolutely beautiful.”

Matt thought about Charity's older sisters and remembered that they were rather pretty. But their beauty was from makeup and clothes, whereas Charity's…

“I think you're the most beautiful one in your whole family! And as for the rest, well…does any of that really matter?”

Charity blushed and looked away. Matt, realizing the boldness of his words, compensated for the silence by choking on his cocoa. The two sat in silence for a few moments before Matt found his voice again.

“Charity, I need to talk to you about something…”

“I have to talk to you about something, too! But you go first.”

“I—“ I love you, you're the most amazing person I've ever met in my life, and even though I'm young, I know that I don't ever want to live without you… “You go ahead, really.”

“Okay. This is really weird and random, but you're my best friend ever, and I know you can help me, -because I really, really need advice! - and I know you won't laugh at me or anything, because you understand me better than anyone and—“

Matt chuckled. “Okay, Charity, okay. Carry on.”

“Right, sorry.” Charity blushed and looked at her mug. “I don't know why this has happened, but…No, it's stupid.”

“Charity, you know you can talk to me, of all people.”

She took a deep breath and spoke softly. “I think I have a crush on one of my best friends.”

Matt's heart flew out of his chest, but he forced himself to remain calm.

“He's a great guy, and I really want to tell him how I feel. But that's just the problem—I don't know how to tell him. Plus, I mean, there's NO WAY he could ever feel the same way. And I just…I don't know!”

“Well, I don't see how “he” could possibly feel anything but affection towards you.”

“Oh, but poor Dwight has the emotional range of a teaspoon, he could never really figure it out.”

At Charity's words, Matt looked away quickly, willing himself not to cry. He was made of stronger things, and he wasn't going to show Charity how he felt. It would only hurt her to know that he was hurt. He could handle it; he had dealt with other tough things before.

Yeah, but nothing I've EVER had to go through in my life has ever hurt like this. Matt's mind began to run rampant, and he imagined a life spent watching from the outside of a relationship, getting further separated from Charity…watching Dwight kiss her under the mistletoe by their Christmas tree…Matt standing as best man to a man who was marrying the love of his life…watching “their” family grow and flourish while Matt stayed single…

“Do you think I should talk to him about how I feel?” Charity's voice brought Matt sharply back to reality. He brought his hand up to his temple and rested his head gently against it. How could he help Charity when it would only hurt him? He took a deep breath before speaking.

“Charity, you are… an amazing person. And I know that you never feel anything half-heartedly. And if this is honestly how you feel, well, if I were you, I would pray that God would turn Dwight's heart if it's meant to be. And if it is in His Will, I'd pray for an opportunity to talk to him about it. And if that opportunity comes, and you spill your heart and Dwight still doesn't love you for you…”

“Yes?”

“Then he's not good enough for you, to not appreciate you for who you are, and there's someone else out there who will always love you.” Someone like me…

Matt looked at Charity and was surprised to see her eyes shining with tears. “Did I say something wrong?”

Charity smiled and shook her head as a fresh tear fell from her bright eye. “No, no, it was…wonderful. Thank you so much for listening and helping me.” She leaned across the table and gave his hand a squeeze.

“It's no problem. You know I'm always here for you, no matter what happens.”

Charity nodded and smiled. “Ditto. Hey, what were you wanting to talk to me about?”

Matt's heart sunk once again. “Oh, I…it's nothing. Forget I said anything.”

“Okay…?” Charity's brow arched in a curious stance.

“Really, it's okay.”

She shrugged and took another sip of her cocoa. “What was it like, really, growing up Potter?”

“Oh, I dunno…”

“I mean, has your life always been magical? Did you and Jeremiah get to travel all over the world or watch your parents fight evil forces or anything like that?”

Matt squirmed uncomfortably. “Not exactly.”

“So what was it like?”

Matt shrugged. “No life is perfect, and the son of Harry's and Hermione's life is no different.”

Charity smiled and nodded knowingly. The two finished their hot chocolate in silence before Matt bade Charity good night and slowly went back downstairs. Charity stayed at her perch, musing as to why Matt had spoken so emotionally and why he had still never told her anything about his life growing up.

************* *****************

The next morning, both Charity and Matt acted as though the night's occurrences had never happened. The boys slept late, waking up a little before noon and spending the rest of the day playing Quidditch in the snow and toasting everything they could find on a fork. Surprisingly, during a snowball fight, Matt realized he felt no hard feelings towards Dwight, who wouldn't have had a clue if Matt had been mad at him. It wasn't Dwight's fault—Charity just liked him more. Matt paused in mid-throw and breathed deeply. It still stung to think of Charity, whom he had barely had a chance to talk to all day. Instead of spending her time in warfare, she had spent all day with Hermione.

Inside, Hermione and Charity alone were making a huge batch of gingerbread cookies. Charity was honored to spend time with Matt's mom and the heroine of the wizarding world. Likewise, Hermione was having a great time in Charity's company. She loved this younger girl, and knew that she was a very special person. She had already seen Charity's influence on Matt even after such a short time. Ever since Charity had entered Matt's life, he had come out of his shell more. The moment that Charity had entered the Potter household the day before, Hermione had realized a wonderful truth: Charity was changing Matt's life for the better. Matt had always been an exceptionally great kid, but under the influence of Charity's huge heart, he was becoming more caring, under her childlike innocence he was becoming the little kid he had never really had the chance to be, her intelligence stimulated him to achieve his full potential; her faith led him to pray more, too.

Yes, Hermione was absolutely positive that Charity was the one, special girl that God had created specifically for Matt.

“So, Charity, what do you want to be when you get out of school?”

Charity shrugged and pulled her brown hair out of her face, leaving a trail of flour on her nose. “I'm not really sure. When I was a really little girl, I told everyone that I wanted to be a nurse, so I could help sick people. But seeing as how I'm mortally afraid of needles… Well, I know God has a plan for me that's bigger than what I can plan for myself, so I'll just trust Him and go from there.”

Hermione smiled. I love this girl. “I really admire your outlook on things! I always wanted to be a teacher, but God called me to be a nurse, and here I am. God has really blessed me and my family.”

“Matt talked to me about that once.”

“He's a pretty perceptive person.”

“Can I tell you something, honestly, without you telling Matt?”

Hermione wiped her hands and considered for a moment before nodding. “You can trust me, I promise.”

Charity fingered her hair lightly. “Matt's the best friend I've ever had in my whole life. Before Hogwarts, I was a shy little nobody, but Matt makes me feel…free. I'm just so thankful that he's a part of my life. And like last night? I needed some advice on a boy, and he helped me out tremendously. I'm just so…proud to have him as my best friend.”

Hermione nodded and her eyes clouded up. “I'm really proud to call Matt my son.”

“I can imagine.”

The timer rang and Charity jumped down to get the cookies out of the oven, doing a favor to Hermione. “You know something, Charity?”

“Yes, ma'am?”

“I'm proud to know that you're Matt's friend. You've really influenced him for the better in just this short time you've known each other. I can't wait to see where God brings you two in the future.”

“Well, uh, thank you.” She hugged Hermione around the waist, feeling as though she was hugging her own mother. Suddenly, the floo alarm went off, and a few moments later, Hagrid bumbled slowly into the kitchen.

“Happy Holidays, Hermione…Charity.” Hermione ran to hug the giant and Charity waved warmly. After a few moments conversation, all the boys came in at the same time that the girls and Tanner did. Charity listened politely to Scarlett's innocent pleas for Charity to join them before grabbing her coat and heading outside with the boys.

*********** ***************

When night fell, the Potters, Weasleys, Bells, Sullivans, and Hagrid all gathered around a warming bonfire outside. While waiting for the fire to begin a good blaze, Matt and Dwight created an entertaining game in which Scarlett and Charity got on trash can lids and the boys competed to see whose girl went the farthest down the snow bank. The losers, Matt and Scarlett, had to sing a karaoke Christmas song, which Matt hammed up by singing in a high pitched voice complete with a spastic jig, much to the embarrassment of his partner. After several more shenanigans led on by Matt and Dwight's caffeine high, the fire was finally large enough to roast things by it's heat, and the real festivities began.

Hermione and Luna and Charity's mother led the group in singing O Holy Night. Charity sang along from her perch between Matt and Dwight; a more pure, angelic voice Matt had never heard. Finally, they distributed presents. Matt had easily found a present for Dwight (a book on Quidditch) and Jeremiah (a video game all about flying and dragons). But for Charity…well, he just hoped that she liked his present.

After he had received a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, a green sweater, a tin of treacle fudge, a Quidditch pitch model, several books, and a gold pocket watch from Charity, Matt reached down beside him and gingerly picked up his present for Charity. She was sitting serenely on a log near the fire, listening to Scarlett's chatter. When she noticed Matt, she looked up at him and smiled.

“Merry Christmas, Charity.”

She unwrapped the parcel carefully and smiled when a leather journal flopped out into her hands.

“I didn't know if you'd like it or not, but I know you're always writing poems and stuff on scrap paper, so I thought you could organize your thoughts better.”

“It's perfect, Matt! Thank you so much!”

They embraced, and before too long, Dwight joined them. Charity pulled away from Matt and attached herself next to Dwight. Matt looked away, but when he did catch Charity's eye, he saw that what she had told him the night before was true. He could read how she felt by her eyes, and her eyes were twinkling with only one possible emotion: Love for Dwight.

“Okay, kids, we're going to sing another hymn!” Harry was smiling towards his son and his friends. Matt left the other two and stood hugging his dad. Everyone gathered around, and Hermione hugged Matt on the other side, Jeremiah standing in front of Matt.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman

Let nothing you dismay!

Remember Christ our Savior

Was born on Christmas day

To save us all from Satan's power

When we were gone astray

Oh tidings of comfort and joy

Comfort and joy, oh tidings of comfort and joy!

Matt looked around at the faces of the loved ones around him: Hagrid, face beaming merrily, Ron and Luna and Scarlett and Rhett, all singing off pitch, Dwight, Tanner, and their parents, Charity with her family, and last but not least, his own wonderful family, holding him tightly and loving him always. His life was still being written, and even though Charity and Dwight may hurt him, he knew that he'd endure just as he had always endured before.

A/N: Wow, looking at the meanings of the names, quite coincidental compared to this story's predecessors… Also, do not be angry at Charity, she's only human!

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Chapter 7:

Hearts

The Christmas holidays over, life returned to a normal state. The joy that came along with the holidays carried on until mid-January, when a bitter weeklong ice storm forced everyone indoors, killing the winter excitement. Even though Matt and the rest of the male first years had the wintertime blues, Charity's personality was sunny as ever. To someone such as Mark, Charity's constant peppiness became a source of annoyance. But to Matt, her bright attitude was his incentive for waking up on the hardest, coldest mornings. The teachers had doubled the workload since the break, there were no incoming or outgoing letters because of the storm, and trips to see Hagrid were an impossibility; still Charity found joy and spread it to her beloved boys.

And then, near the end of January, Matt noticed a change in Charity.

It was subtle at first, but as time went on, even Julie noticed it. She came up to Matt one day and asked, “Why is Charity all weird lately?”

Yes, this was the question. She was still Charity, but something was different. She had been floating around the castle in a daze, speaking in a soft, airy voice and saying random things at inopportune times, and clutching the leather journal Matt had given her closely to her heart.

In short, she was acting like Julie.

Matt would have been incredibly worried had she been the only one that was acting like a space cadet, but Dwight, Mark, and Jorge were acting strange, too. Dwight had become somewhat moody, choosing to spend his time alone. And Mark and Jorge acted as though Matt were a dying person whenever they were around him, but when Dwight was around, they would erupt in hysterics, laughing and smiling. When Charity joined them, they turned into their same old, respectful but fun selves.

Yes, this post Christmas world was a very strange one, and oddly, Matt felt as though he and Julie were the only sane first years to be found.

One afternoon after the first Quidditch practice since the storm, Matt made sure to stay after everyone else left to wait for Dwight. He was making lap upon lap around the Quidditch pitch. Finally, after he landed, Matt greeted him at the entrance to the locker room.

“Hey, mate, you want to go play some exploding snap?”

Dwight forced a grin and shook his head before heading towards the showers. Matt followed, and hearing the water blasting, stood near the lockers and shouted over the noise.

“Dwight, I'm not stupid, I know something's wrong! You can talk to me, mate!”

“I don't think you could help me.”

“But I can try! What are best friends for?”

Dwight was silent for a few moments before answering. “Valentine's Day is coming up.”

“Yeah, I know it is.”

More silence ensued. “Scarlett Weasley asked me out.”

Matt gave an odd look that he knew Dwight wouldn't see. “Um…okay?”

“And I really do like her. But I don't know if I should or not, because I think… never mind.”

“No, tell me!”

Dwight sighed loud enough for Matt to hear it. “I think Charity likes me, too.”

Matt felt as though he was going to throw up.

“But I'd rather be with Scarlett.”

Matt couldn't understand this. Charity honestly, wholeheartedly loved Dwight, a thing that killed him to know, while Scarlett “loved” every member of the male gender. Charity was naturally beautiful, while Scarlett was covered in makeup and such. Charity was the kindest, most loving person ever, whereas Scarlett was only superficial—a wannabe of perfection. Matt swallowed hard before speaking.

“I thought you liked Charity.”

“I thought she was hot when I first met her, and I may have liked her a little bit. But I'd rather have Scarlett.”

Matt shook his head in disbelief. “So have you told her `yes'?”

“No, I've been thinking about it. What do you think I should do?”

“Well, if you really do want Scarlett to the point that you couldn't be happy staying single, go ahead. But realize you're running the risk of hurting Charity and possibly destroying her confidence in you.”

“I'm willing to take that risk. Charity's always so happy, she won't be hurt. And Scarlett would be crushed if I turned her down…”

I bet she would be.

“So I'll tell Scarlett I'll go out with her as soon as I see her! Thanks, Matt!”

“Uh, no problem.” Matt turned and left the locker room, unsure of what he had just done, and wondering if he was the one who was supposed to tell Charity, or if Dwight would actually be suave enough to tell her himself.

****************** *********************

As Matt discovered that night at supper, neither boy had to tell Charity that Dwight was dating Scarlett. Having been working in the library, Charity bounced into the Great Hall after everybody else, and made her way to the Gryffindor table to sit beside Dwight. But upon getting there, she saw that Scarlett was in her usual place.

“Uh, hello, Scarlett! What are you doing down here with us?”

Scarlett gave a seductive smile. “I am just eating lunch with my boyfriend.” With that she leaned over and wiped gravy from the corner of Dwight's mouth. “You got something right there, honey.”

Matt looked up towards Charity, but the look on her face made her wish he hadn't. He had never seen anything so wrenching in his life. She had a helpless look in her wide green eyes, and her mouth was open ever so slightly. Matt could tell that she was beginning to breathe faster, and before he could say a word, she turned on her heel and calmly walked back out of the Great Hall. Matt gave a look towards Dwight and Scarlett before jumping up and following her, not caring that the whole school was watching.

Once in the corridor, he heard the distant sound of running. Turning in the direction of the dormitories, he saw Charity sprinting as fast as she could to get away from everything. He began to sprint after her, following everywhere she went. Finally, he saw her dash into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. When he reached the door, he put his ear against the hard wood and heard sounds of sobbing from within. Unsure of what else to do, he looked carefully around before opening the door and stepping inside.

Charity's black shoes were visible from within a middle stall. Thankfully, Moaning Myrtle wasn't there, and Matt padded softly to the stall door.

“Char?” Her sobs stopped abruptly and she spoke in a shaky voice.

“Go `way. You shouldn't be in here anyways.”

Matt's eyes darted about anxiously, not having the faintest idea of what to say to a heartbroken girl.

“It's a lovely night, cold and bright.”

Silence.

“It's a lot nicer than how Charity's feeling right now!”

An outburst of a laugh, quickly silenced by a sob.

“Charity, I'm so sorry that that happened to you, and I'm really trying to figure out what to say to help you!”

A wrenching sob echoed from the stall. “Please tell me that this isn't true!”

Matt stood in silence, not knowing what to say, and Charity had her answer. She hiccoughed pitifully.

“And the worst thing is they both betrayed me and used me!”

“What?” Matt breathed, disbelief in his mind, barely hearing Charity's new rack of sobs.

After a few sniffles and a ripping off of toilet paper, she sighed, and began to speak softly in a monotone.

“Scarlett knew how I felt about Dwight because of the Christmas Eve party cause she tricked me and I trusted her, but she acted all nice and said she liked Tanner, but now she's with Dwight.” Another sob threatened, but Charity breathed as deeply as possible.

“And then Dwight came to me in mid-January and asked who I liked and he persuaded me to tell him and he said he liked me, too, but that he wanted to wait to date so I believed him and have been having the greatest time of my life these past few weeks because somebody actually loved me and I loved them back but now he's going out with Scarlett and I don't understand why this is happening… Oh, I need my journal!”

Matt closed his eyes tightly and leaned against the other side of her door.

“Why did they do this to me?”

Matt shook his head sorrowfully. “I honestly don't know, Char…”

He heard her stand up and slowly, the lock came undone, and Charity stood looking up at him. Her face was blotchy and red from tears. Her lower lip trembled uncontrollably, and her eyes were a murky gray color. She stepped forward slowly, finally falling into Matt's open arms. She began to sob again, into the shoulder of his robes.

“I honestly don't know why, either.”

Matt took a deep breath and prayed a silent prayer for help. “I know you may be hurt by what I'm going to say, but just know that I only want to help you. Dwight is not the one for you. If he really did care about you, he wouldn't have broken your heart like he just did. And God has made someone specifically for you who will never break your heart.”

Charity sniffled and forced a nod. “I just feel like there must be something wrong with me.”

Matt shook his head furiously and pulled his hand up to smooth Charity's hair. “There is nothing wrong with you at all, and don't ever think that. The one with the problem is Dwight, not you.”

Charity sniffled again and tilted her head on Matt's shoulder. “Tomorrow's going to be so hard, being Valentine's Day and all.”

Matt shrugged. “Just go about like you've never been hurt, show them all you're made of stronger things. I know you can do it; it'll be hard but you'll be okay. You're going to walk tall and not let anybody get in your way! And just know that no matter what happens, I'm always here for you, and I'll never hurt you, ever.”

Charity brought her head up to Matt and smiled a genuine smile. “You know something? You are the greatest guy ever.” She hugged him fiercely and he patted her on the back.

“You're not too bad, yourself.”

She laughed and he wiped the area under her eyes softly. “Now, what was this about you needing your journal? Cause we can go get it…”

Charity blushed a fierce shade of crimson. “You'd laugh…”

Matt sighed and dropped his arms to his sides. “I'm standing in a girls' bathroom covered in tears, standing between my two best friends…I'm not going to laugh.”

Charity shrugged innocently. “I like to—write. Poems and such. And I use the journal you gave me for Christmas for that stuff.”

“That's cool! I wish I could write.”

They went together out of the bathroom and towards the dormitories. Charity hadn't eaten, but she couldn't have even if she had wanted to.

True to Matt's prediction, Charity appeared to be the most confident person in the Great Hall the next day. She walked in with a smile plastered on her face. Matt could tell from her eyes that she wasn't okay, but she portrayed a solid, steadfast person. She sat down next to Matt, gave lukewarm greetings to Scarlett and Dwight, and turned all her attention on talking of random things to Matt. She was chattering a little to incessantly to be normal, but no one other than Matt noticed. He thought she would lose her composure when Dwight leaned over and kissed Scarlett, but she distracted herself with a little confetti heart. Right before she left the Great Hall, she handed Matt her journal, opened to a certain page. On the page was Charity's precise penmanship, creating a poem.

Just Because I'm Broken

Just because I'm broken, doesn't mean I cannot fight

Just because I've fallen doesn't mean I'm through with life

Just because I feel as though broken beyond repair

I throw myself against the odds of anger and despair

But just because I'm broken doesn't mean that I'll give up

I'm adaptable to change, even though there's way too much

I feel now I must fight to be free

For being broken has brought strength to me

I'll learn to stand strong when the winds come my way

I'll be able to smile when they laugh in my face

So though I am broken, when my Lord carries me

I'll mount up and soar with eagle-like wings.

Matt smiled and closed the journal softly before handing it back to her. Yes, Charity had been broken, but she was like Matt. She could endure any hardship brought her way, for she was made of stronger things. And whenever she couldn't bear it anymore, Matt would be there to be her “hero.”

A/N: Review! Also, I just want to throw out that Charity is loosely based off of Keely Teslow from Phil of the Future, and a mixture of someone else.

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