Charlie clapped his hands on both their shoulders without warning. Anthony and Hector nearly jumped out of their skins.
"Anxious much, kid?" he said.
Anthony whipped around, heart still hammering. "Dude, you scared the hell out of me."
He shook his head a second later. "It's not that bad…"
Charlie and Anthony shared a quick grin.
"Fine, we'll drop it," Charlie said, shrugging. He dropped into the nearest seat and, once he was sure the corridor was empty, pulled two small cloth bags from his robes.
"Bags are done. Inside space is twelve by twelve inches. I could've made them bigger, but then you'd be elbow-deep every time you wanted something. Palm-sized is way more practical for pockets."
Anthony snatched one and immediately shoved his whole hand inside, feeling around like a kid on Christmas. "It's perfect. Compartments would make it even better, though."
"I know," Charlie nodded. He'd wanted the same thing at first—different slots like a wallet. Too bad he wasn't there yet. Right now the bag was pure Doraemon style: you had to dig every single time.
Still, it beat carrying books everywhere.
"With this I'm never lugging textbooks between classes again," Anthony said, cinching the drawstring and stuffing the bag deep in his pocket.
"Hey, Charlie."
A voice drifted over from down the hall. Charlie looked up and saw Claire Rex strolling toward them, a new girl on his arm. Different girl from the one Charlie had seen with him in the Great Hall last time.
This guy really gets around.
Rex caught the look and waggled his eyebrows with a knowing smirk.
"Glad I caught you," he said, reaching into his pocket. "Had something I wanted to give you guys."
He pulled out three familiar chocolate bars and handed them over.
"Try these. Hottest snack on the market right now."
Charlie stared at the wrapper in his hand—his own chocolate—and slowly nodded. "Yeah, I've heard. Kinda pricey though, right?"
"Whatever," Rex waved it off like it was nothing. "Sharing's what matters. Sharing is the soul of candy."
Charlie nodded on autopilot, then froze. "Whoa…"
He looked Rex dead in the eye and repeated the line. "Sharing is the soul of candy. That's actually really good. I love it."
Note to self—launch a sharing edition. Steal that line straight from the old GG commercial.
"Honored," Rex said with a smooth smile.
"Just curious who actually makes this stuff. Charging that much, but damn if it isn't good."
"Could it be the Weasley twins?" the girl beside him asked.
Rex shook his head. "Nah, wrong style. Those two love pranks. If they made candy it'd be loaded with nasty spells. And even if it was them—would you still eat it?"
The girl laughed behind her hand. "Hell no."
Rex chuckled, then glanced at Hector. "Match is when again? Whatever—good luck."
He turned and walked off, the girl already chatting at his side.
Anthony tore open his chocolate the second Rex was gone and popped it in his mouth. "Man, every time I see that guy he raises my opinion of Slytherin."
Charlie and Hector both nodded, slipping their own bars into their pockets.
After lunch and another round of easy talk, Charlie checked his watch and headed for the eighth floor. Not the Room of Requirement this time—Professor Flitwick's office.
Lunch hour meant Flitwick probably wasn't in the Great Hall, and Charlie wasn't sure if dropping by unannounced was smart. He knocked anyway.
The door creaked open on its own. Charlie stepped inside and found Flitwick hunched over his desk, quill moving fast.
The professor glanced up, saw who it was, and muttered, "One second." Then went right back to work.
Charlie nodded and stayed quiet. Extra words would only be a distraction.
Five minutes later Flitwick dropped the quill into the ink bottle, rubbed his wrist, and hopped down from his chair. "I was wondering if you'd show."
"I was wondering if I'd be bothering you," Charlie said. "Or if you were busy and I'd miss you completely."
Flitwick chuckled. "I only had this weekend blocked for you. Next weekend and I might've actually been gone—or you'd definitely have been interrupting."
Charlie let out a breath and pulled his wand. "Couldn't wait that long. I've been dying for today—for the first weekend after Christmas break."
Flitwick nodded, eyes bright with approval. "Fair enough. Skip the pleasantries. What's your question?"
He clasped his hands behind his back and led Charlie out of the office, down the corridor until an empty classroom appeared.
Charlie followed, finally voicing what had been eating at him. "It's about the Water-Making Charm. I can't control the jet speed. And the Engorgement Charm's local enlargement is still giving me trouble."
"You've already got both spells down?"
"Pretty solid now," Charlie said.
Flitwick pinched the bridge of his nose for a second. Christmas had only been two weeks ago. Charlie had gotten the second-year spellbook that day and was already asking these kinds of questions—while still keeping up with every other subject.
The kid didn't waste time.
"Alright," Flitwick said, pointing at the far wall. "Show me your Water-Making Charm. Let's see what we're working with."