The next day after class, Charlie made his way to the Great Hall for lunch.
Dumbledore had told him the day before that the application for the Order of Merlin, Second Class, had already been submitted. The approval process would take about a month, but with Dumbledore as the one submitting it, the outcome was practically guaranteed.
Charlie found a seat and began enjoying a hearty lunch.
But something felt... off.
He could sense it in the air around the Great Hall. Students kept glancing at him from all directions, whispering to one another in hushed tones.
Some looked at him with sympathy, others with the eager eyes of spectators waiting for drama to unfold.
Charlie frowned but didn't let it get to him.
If he had to take every stare to heart, he'd never get anything done in this school.
After all, he was this handsome, standing out was inevitable.
Ernie came rushing over, a copy of the Daily Prophet clenched in his hand.
"Have you read today's paper yet?" His expression was a complex mess of frustration and helplessness.
"Nope, what's up?" Charlie took the paper casually.
And then he saw the headline on the front page:
SHOCKING REVELATION: A Love-Hate Triangle Between the Chosen One and a Rising Potion Star!
EXCLUSIVE: The Truth Behind Hogwarts' Teenage Love Drama, Who Did Miss Granger Ultimately Choose?
Charlie's expression froze.
He skimmed the article quickly, and the more he read, the darker his face grew.
What the hell is this garbage?
Might as well go work for UC's "Shocking News Division" tomorrow.
"This Rita Skeeter is completely out of line!" Ernie fumed. "How can she just make up stuff like this?!"
As Charlie's roommate, Ernie saw him every day and knew full well that there was nothing going on between him and Hermione.
This article was total fiction.
Just then, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked over.
The three of them looked just as grim, clearly, they'd read the article too.
"Charlie, we never said any of that!" Harry blurted out. "That reporter completely twisted everything!"
"I know," Charlie replied calmly, setting the paper down. "I already felt something was off during the interview. That quill of hers wrote way more than what I actually said."
Hermione's face was red with anger. "This is slander! We didn't say anything like that, and she still made up so much!"
Beyond anger, she felt deeply humiliated.
She was just a first-year girl, and now she'd been dragged into this ridiculous gossip circus. She didn't even want to imagine how many people were whispering behind her back.
That morning, she had sensed her dormmates were forming secret chat groups without her, nobody spoke to her.
Someone had even sneered, "You picked Harry? Not Charlie? What, did the Chosen One's title go to your head?"
How was this even a matter of choosing anyone?!
Ron looked furious as well. "She ought to be fired for this!"
But clearly, many of the students had already bought into the article.
When they saw Harry approaching Charlie's table, the whispers only got louder.
"Look, the Chosen One's confronting him!"
"I bet Harry can't take Charlie in a fight."
"Come on, he beat You-Know-Who once. Who knows what secret moves he has?"
"You think they'll actually throw down?"
Malfoy, seated over at the Slytherin table, was practically trembling with excitement.
"Place your bets! How long can Harry last?"
"I've got one Galleon on Charlie, he'll have Harry bed-ridden for a month."
"I say three minutes, Harry begs for mercy at least three times."
Harry broke out in a cold sweat. He wanted to explain, but didn't know where to start.
The more flustered he got, the more it looked like something juicy was about to happen.
"Don't worry, Harry," Charlie said as he calmly sliced a sausage.
"Public opinion can't be swayed by explanations."
"The more you panic, the more they'll enjoy watching you squirm."
He took a sip of pumpkin juice and continued:
"If we want to end this, we have to start at the source."
Everyone instinctively looked down at the Daily Prophet on the table.
The source, Rita Skeeter's article.
Behind Harry, Neville stood rigid, fists clenched.
This kind of slander was absolutely unforgivable.
Charlie wasn't just a friend, he had saved Neville's parents. He was a hero to the entire wizarding world.
How could such a man be smeared by a gossip column?
Neville recalled the words his grandmother often repeated: "A Longbottom never forgets a debt of honor."
Now was the time to repay it.
"I won't let them do this to you."
He vowed silently to himself.
"The honor of the Longbottom family won't allow our benefactor to be dragged through the mud."
Neville turned and hurried back to his dorm, determined to write to his grandmother that very night.
Charlie, meanwhile, hadn't noticed Neville's reaction.
To him, this was just more tabloid nonsense.
Students were full of pent-up energy with nowhere to spend it, of course something like this would get them riled up.
Once the buzz died down, they'd move on to the next thing.
And if not… well, someday he'd make sure Rita got a taste of his Nine Generations Curse Severance Hex.
Not that he was some tyrant or anything. Just a light warning.
But that was when Senior Jenny had had enough.
"That reporter is garbage!" she said, visibly angry.
"How dare she smear Charlie like this?!"
She slammed her hand on the table, startling the entire Hufflepuff table into silence.
In Jenny's eyes, Charlie was a sweet little junior, there was no way she'd let him be slandered like this.
Someone had to step in. Otherwise, what good were upperclassmen?
"Charlie, don't worry about this anymore," she said, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"Big sis will handle it."
With that, she dragged a few older girls off into the corner to start planning.
That afternoon in Potions class, Charlie walked in mentally prepared for the usual verbal ambush from Professor Snape.
But oddly enough, Snape remained silent the entire class.
He didn't say a single snide word. Not even a glare.
Charlie even started to wonder if the professor had been possessed by some unknown spirit.
When the bell rang, the students packed up and began to leave.
"Mr. White. Stay behind."
Snape's cold voice rang out.
Charlie thought to himself, Yup. There it is.
Ernie and Justin gave him sympathetic looks as they made a hasty exit.
Run. Don't get caught in the splash zone.
In no time, only Charlie and Snape were left in the room.
Snape walked over to him, his black eyes fixed like daggers.
"The Soul-Healing Elixir. Did you truly develop it yourself?"
He cut straight to the point.
Charlie blinked. That's what this is about?
He nodded. "Yes, Professor."
<><>---------------------------------------
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Hello guys Fanfic recommendation!
Check out my other work:
💥> Naruto: Mind Control (Highly Recommended)
💥> Bleach: Sephiroth Template
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