Whats your favorite? (Charlie/open)

[Ashley Lovegood]

Dear Charlie,
Meet me in Honeydukes as soon as you can. I need to figure out what candy you like the best.
Sincerely, Ashley Lovegood

Ashley finished writing the letter and folded it so her little owl could take it. She turned to Snowy and tied the small letter around her leg before sliding off the bed and walking to the window. Her owl, still perched on her arm, hooted happily before taking flight over the grounds. Ash simply stood there for a moment before deciding that she better get moving. She walked back over to her trunk and began to dig through it's contents. She decided on a pair of gray sofies and a orange/cream colored tank top. Odd for her taste, but she was in that kind of mood today.

Ash skipped out of the castle and strolled down the path that led to Hogsmead with a smile. She was in a cheery mood today and with the thought of going to Honeydukes, nothing could ruin her mood. She made her way through Hogsmeads crowded streets; it seems like many others had thought that a trip to the near by shops would be a good idea as well. She picked her way over to Honeydukes and pushed open the door. She entered with the sound of a bell above her head. She knew that she still had a few minutes to wait before her friend arrived at the store so she began to look around the many selections. She began to wonder about the question she had had asked Charlie in the library and smiled. She was sure the answer for her was chocolate, but who knew with this many choices, it might change if she found something more delectable than chocolate, but she doubted that.

[charlie12]

Charlie walked around the Ravenclaw Common Room. He was bored and had nothing to do. He had met one person, Ashley, and she had said something about going to Hogsmead soon. It surprised him a little bit but he overlooked it. Charlie jumped a little as a small owl flew through a window in the common room. The owl dropped a piece of parchment in his hands. At first he was alarmed but as he opened it he saw it was from Ashley.

Charlie smiled a bit as he read the paper. “Candy?” He repeated and put the letter in his back pocket. The owl flew back out the window. Charlie walked out of the Ravenclaw Common Room, dodging looks as he walked down the corridors. He walked out of Hogwarts. He wasn’t too sure of the path to Hogsmead but after looking around for a while he found it. Charlie followed the path.

Charlie walked into Hogsmead. He looked around, it was his first time seeing Hogsmead and it made him smile. He watched other kids walk around Hogsmead. “Honeydukes.” Charlie repeated from memory. He looked at some of the shop signs and saw a shop with a sign, ‘Honeydukes’ above it.
He took a deep breath and walked inside, a bell rang as he did. That was new to him. He never went outside much when he lived with his mom.

Charlie looked around and tried to spot Ashley. He smiled as he saw Ashley already looking at some of the candy that the store held. Charlie walked up to Ashley and said, “Ashley? Hello.” He said questioning to make sure it was Ashley he was talking to.

[Ashley Lovegood]

Ashley heard the bell ring that was situated over the door, but she did not turn. She was too preoccupied by the many selections of sweets that were laid out in front of her. 'Should I buy anything?' She asked herself, turning from one item to the other.

“Ashley? Hello.”

Hearing a familiar voice from behind, Ash spun around to find Charlie standing there. A grin spread across her face at his appearance. "Hello Charlie. You found your way ok then?" She asked with a smile. She remembered that this was his first time to Hogsmeade and hoped that he had not had too much difficulty finding the place.

"Well, welcome to Honeydukes," She said in a lame tone. Waiting for his reaction, she glanced around the store before her eyes settled back upon him. There were many candies to look at and so little time... well not really, they had all the time in the world. "So... what do you want to look at first?" She asked him with a friendly smile.

[charlie12]

Charlie watched as the girl spun around. He was right--it was Ashley. He smiled towards her as she asked if he had found his way to Honeydukes. "Well, I'm here aren't I? I must have found my way." He joked around a bit. He got that from his grandma of course.

Charlie looked around as Ashley said, 'welcome to Honeydukes'. When he had heard of Honeydukes he pictured it a little more...non-colorful. But it was still great.
"Well," He said. He didn't really know what there was in Honeydukes, or any candy store for that matter. "Um...how about you just...er...show me something at random." Charlie thought aloud.

[Ashley Lovegood]

Ashley laughed at his reply. It had been a stupid question to ask, since he was right in front of her, but still... It was just in her nature to be nice like that. Even if it was stupid at times.

"Um...how about you just...er...show me something at random."

Remembering his lack of candy knowledge, she nodded in agreement. She looked around, trying to decide on what to show him first. Her eyes landed upon the chocolate frogs and she picked one up. "These are the chocolate frogs I was talking about," She said, turning to him with a smile. "Very good," She added with a light laugh.

[charlie12]

Charlie smiled as Ashley laughed. He had hoped she didn't take things the wrong way like a lot of the people he met did.
He saw Ashley look around at the candy and pick up something that looked like a frog. "Chocolate frog." He repeated and shook his head to tell that he could remember that. He was a bit skeptical about the whole "candy" thing. He didn't usually try new things. Charlie liked to stick to the things he was used to. But then again he did need to start to try new things, now that he had come to a school of magic.
"So...uh...you don't really mind being here, right?" He asked out of no where. Charlie didn't want anyone to be around him if they didn't want to.

[Ashley Lovegood]

"So...uh...you don't really mind being here, right?"

"No, not at all!" She placed the chocolate frog back before turning back to him. "I'm the one who invited you here after all," She said with a large smile. She was enjoying herself actually, something she had not done in a long time. "These are Bertie Bots Every Flavored Beans. Be careful with these," she warned with a smile, "They really come in every flavor." She stuck out her tongue before pulling it back and grinning.

[charlie12]

Charlie put his head down a little and smiled. "Bertie Bots...Beans?" He repeated a bit confused. It was pretty hard to even try to learn of the candy outside of Hogwarts. And the magical world seemed to have its own line of candy.
"Wow, bit confusing..." Charlie said as he looked around. It didn't seem as if many people were in Honeydukes.

[shortness...]

[Ashley Lovegood]

Ashley laughed at his expression at the name of the jelly beans. "Yeah, Every Flavor Beans." She repeated with a kind smile. Ash grew up in the magical world so she had come accustomed to all different kinds of candies; muggle and magic alike. "Yeah it is confusing at first." She agreed with another smile in his direction. "You'll get it though...." She said reassuringly.

She placed the beans back to it's original spot, all the while, thinking of something less complicated than candy. Candy should not even be confusing in the first place! "This is the best gum ever!" she exclaimed turning back to him with a smile. Gum was simple, and had a easier name.

[charlie12]

"Heh, yeah, you're gonna have to excuse me on this. I'm pretty dumb at times...and sometimes learning isn't my best thing." Charlie said and turned his head down again. He watched Ashley point to gum. Something he had heard of before too. Except he never really got to eat it because of the money problem his mom and grandma had.

Charlie didn't really know what else to say. He just looked at some of the 'colorful' candy. He was used to dull colors, it was a bit weird to be around so much color. Also taking into account that he always wore black and gray.
He put his hand on the back of his neck, of course not getting enough sleep the night before, he hadn't got enough sleep ever since he came to Hogwarts.

"So, you said Hogwarts...its your home away from home...looks like its gonna be that way for me too."

[Ashley Lovegood]

"Heh, yeah, you're gonna have to excuse me on this. I'm pretty dumb at times...and sometimes learning isn't my best thing."

She gave him a smile before speaking. "Yeah me too," She tap the top of her head lightly with her fist. "I have short term memory loss or something. I'll probably forget what my class was about today, tomorrow." She laughed lightly before turning back to the many sweets.

She picked up a pack of the gum and a chocolate frog and walked away from Charlie. "Just a sec," She said with a faint smile before heading off in the direction of the counter. She pulled out the amount she owed for the two items and paid for them. She walked back over to Charlie with a grin on her face. "Here you go. A present..... You look kinda tired. You ok?" She asked, her joyful smile melting into slight concern.

"So, you said Hogwarts...its your home away from home...looks like its gonna be that way for me too."

"That's good... Hogwarts is kinda my home now. My other one is abandoned of anyone." she said, the smile sliding from her face. "So your enjoying hogwarts I take it?" She asked him, the smile returning.

[charlie12]

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Charlie said as Ashley tapped her head. He was the same way, you'd tell him one thing one day and the next day he'd forget it. But everyone in the family was like that.
Charlie smiled as Ashley walked away. He usually wasn't nervous around friends but for some reason he seemed to be getting nervous. Charlie watched Ashley walk back to him, the smile still on his face.

"Present? Oh...no. You didn't have to do that." Charlie said as Ashley handed him the candy. He hadn't recieved many gifts in his lifetime, and getting one seemed new to him. "Oh, yeah, I'm alright...with Hogwarts and everything...sleep has been getting harder and harder to get. But don't waist your time worrying about me." Charlie said, downing himself a bit. But he aslways did that - a bad habit.

"So, um, your other house is abandoned? How...if ya don't mind me asking, of course."

[Ashley Lovegood]

"Present? Oh...no. You didn't have to do that."

She gave him a smile. "I know. I wanted to. That's what friends do." She replied with a grin. She wanted to be a good friend and this was one thing that she could do to accomplish that goal. His reaction was as if he had never gotten a present before. "You have gotten presents before right?" She asked, her smile falling slightly.

"Oh, yeah, I'm alright...with Hogwarts and everything...sleep has been getting harder and harder to get. But don't waist your time worrying about me."

Her frown deepened as he said not to worry. Of course she was going to worry! "Why had you not been getting sleep?" She asked, the frown still set on her face. Ash remembered times when she had failed to get sleep and shuddered away from those thoughts. "I'm going to worry about it, so theres no point in telling me that I shouldn't." She added, crossing her arms over her stomach.

"So, um, your other house is abandoned? How...if ya don't mind me asking, of course."

A faint smile appeared across her preciously worried face."I ran away to a friends not too long before my parents passed away. So as you can imagine, i have not been there in some time." The topic about her parents did not bother her. She had not really given that much thought about there deaths. Then again, they had never given her a reason to. "I live on my own now." She continued, turning back to some of the candies that she might by for some of her other friends since she was already at Honeydukes.

[charlie12]

Charlie was a bit surprised that she wanted to give him a gift. But he overlooked it. "Let's just say...I'm pretty pathetic...gifts don't come often when you only know two family members." He said, his voice trailing off.

"Oh, the sleeping...um...just coming to Hogwarts. A bit...weird. I try to spend most of my time awake so I can study for classes and things. I'm really slow, so I gotta stay awake to do all the homework." Charlie said not realizing he was talking on and on.

"Sorry to hear that." He said. Charlie never really said sorry to anyone because he usually wouldn't mean it. He looked down still a bit confused, but the problem was he didn't know what he was confused about.

[Ashley Lovegood]

"Let's just say...I'm pretty pathetic...gifts don't come often when you only know two family members."

"That's not pathetic. It's better than me. I only know one family members." She mumbled, glancing away for a moment. At hearing his next words she turned back to him with a frown. "Your not slow. Why do you do that? Always putting yourself down." She asked. "If your losing sleep over studying then you are taking too many classes. I can help you study if you want." She offered, the smile reappearing.

"Sorry to hear that."

Ashley shrugged, turning from the candies back to him. "It was a long time ago. I'm over it." She never really did like her parents.. no she did not like her parents at all. The only problems right now was the fire and her brother. The solutions were simple, but still hard to confront. "So... why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?" She asked with a friendly smile.

[charlie12]

Charlie sighed sadly. He always put himself down but no one had ever noticed. Even his own grandmother made fun of him, and that caused him to do it himself.
"I--I--" Charlie stopped himself before answering. Ashley probably thought he was an idiot, he wouldn't blame her. He sighed again as he heard Ashley offer to help him study. He hoped she didn't take the sigh as 'he didn't need help'...because he did.

"No, its okay. You don't have to help me study. Anyways I'm only taking the main classes. I'll either get it, or not pass. After a couple tries at a class I'll get it." He said not sure if it made sense.

"Well, yeah, you may be over it. But still sorry to hear it." Charlie said as Ashley asked him to talk about himself, "oh, no. I couldn't talk about myself. There's nothing to talk about really. Just a boy trying to make it in the world, but probably never will." He said downing himself again. It's just, now...he's realizing that he's putting himself down. Charlie looked at the store, the colors of the store made it seem like everyone was happy.

[Ashley Lovegood]

The frown was still set upon her face as he stumbled over his words. Not because he was slow, which he was not, but because he had no answer for her. She sighed and glanced away. She felt bad for saying that. It was clear he did not feel like talking about it, not matter how much she might want him to.

"No, its okay. You don't have to help me study. Anyways I'm only taking the main classes. I'll either get it, or not pass. After a couple tries at a class I'll get it."

"That's not fair. You should let me help you." She said with another frown. She knew it was probably him putting himself down again that kept him from letting her help.

"Just a boy trying to make it in the world, but probably never will."

"Stop doing that!" She said abruptly, turning from what she had been looking at. "You can if you would quit putting yourself down and thinking negative things about yourself!" The anger that had flared inside of her died just as quickly as it had appeared. She looked down, letting her hair fall into her face. "Sorry, that was out of place." She said apologetically. What was with her today? She had been aiming for helpful friend and now she was lecturing him? Some friend she had turned out to be.

[charlie12]

Charlie still looked at the store and avoided looking at Ashley. After he had spoken he realized that he may have acted a bit unfair to say how he truly felt. He did hide behind a smile in front of his grandma, and his mom was never around, so she didn't notice.

Charlie heard Ashley start an outburst. He quickly looked at her, a surprised expression was set on his face. Even after Ashley had stopped. At first he looked down at the ground.
"No, no don't apologize. It's not your fault. It's basically my fault." Charlie said, taking a quick look of Ashley. Sometimes Charlie got like this, sad and depressed. Yet he always tried to hide it. The better he got at hiding it - the better off he was.

Charlie opened his mouth to speak but he could not think of something to say. Instead he bent his head back down and decided not to say anything for a moment. The look of suprise was quickly taken from his face, not he was more confused. Now he just felt horrible for himself, for causing Ashley to get mad like that. "Sorry--" Charlie whispered. He really didn't want to whisper that - but it seemed to just slip off the tongue, like usual.

[Ashley Lovegood]

"It's not fair that you won't let me help you study. You should let me help you out, thats what friends are for." She continued, hoping to wipe away the saddened expression on his face. Along with letting her or anyone really, help him out she wished he would be honest with her. No mask, just what he really thought.

"No, no don't apologize. It's not your fault. It's basically my fault."

"Yes it is. I'm the one who lectured you. It's not my place but I really do wish you would quit drowning yourself in those dark thoughts." She said, brushing her hair out of her light eyes. "It's not your fault." She added, looking back at him with a calmer expression. She did not want to ruin the good time they had been having, so she looked around, trying to discover another topic to discuss.

"Sorry"

She opened her mouth to tell him to quit apologizing, but shut it quickly. It probably would not improve his mood if she did so. "You shouldn't be," She muttered, looking down at her shoes. With a sigh, she ran her hand through her hair and placed the smile back on her lips. "You gonna try the presents I bought you?" She asked, nodding down toward the candies in his hands.

[charlie12]

"Well, yeah I guess you can, though I still don't see why you would want to help me." Charlie said unaware that could be considered 'downing' yourself. He looked around the store once more. He, somehow, was feeling worse, but a fake smile appeared on his face. Hopefully Ashley wouldn't be able to tell between a fake and real smile.

"No, Ashley, as I said before, its not your fault. Its my fault for being stupid and not realizing that I should fake a smile instead of showing a frown." Charlie said shaking his head a bit. He was sort of hinting that the smile was just fake and hoped Ashley got what he meant.

Charlie watched Ashley. She ran her hand through her hair. His smile faded a bit until she began talking again. "Right, I will." Charlie said looking down at the candy in his hands. He felt a little bit stupid-looking for just standing there holding it. Charlie didn't eat the candy in his hands. He decided to wait a little while before trying it. He felt bad for letting Ashley see him like that and all he wanted to do was say, 'sorry' but she probably wouldn't take it.