The music pounded in both of their ears, amplified by the singing of the crowd. Sweaty bodies pressed them together, so close they could smell the sharp bite of alcohol on each other's breath. Charlotte Ramsey and Teddy Lupin's eyes focused on one another as they hopped and bopped to the frantic beat of the music. His hair was a rich pink with emotion and her skin was flushed with blood, tinting her cheeks bright pink like Teddy's hair.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK?" Charlotte shouted over the roar of the song. When Teddy had surprised her with The Weird Sister's tickets for her birthday, Charlotte had been ecstatic. They were her favorite band, and while Teddy wasn't the biggest fan of them, he was willing to go with her. As her not date. Because they weren't dating. Just best friends. But he was willing to go with her. Charlotte's smile turned giddy as she gazed at the boy in front of her. "ARE YOU HAVING FUN?"

"It's fun! But I'm glad that I'm with you!" Teddy shouted back. His hair was a shade of vibrant pink, almost the same color of the rosiness on his cheeks. His hand reached out and caught a strand of loose hair that had escaped from Charlotte's ponytail. Biting his lip, he tucked it behind her ear. He could smell her. She smelled like sweat and alcohol and chocolate. How the hell did she smell like chocolate? It was intoxicating. "You know, Lotte, you really are beautiful."

The flush on Charlotte's face deepened. "You know, Teddy, I think I might like you." Charlotte winked at him before turning back to the stage, leaving Teddy flushed and out of breath. She spun around in a circle, hair flying completely out of the ponytail she had gathered it in meticulously. Her yellow top complemented her quite nicely, leaving Teddy in awe of her. In awe of her beauty, in awe of her mind, in awe of just her.

"I'm just a boy, oh oh. I'm just a boy in love. Just a boy in love." Myron Wagtail crooned into his microphone as boys and girls alike in the crowd swooned. A collective sigh swept over the crowd as everyone turned to face the lead singer as his voice layered a smooth background to the young pair of friend's thoughts about each other.

Teddy could only stare at the girl that he loved, the one that held his heart in her hands. Her hair was down and loose, her eyes bright and shining like liquid pools of light, and her face was so full of happiness. That was his favorite thing in the world. Her smile. Her bright beautiful smile. When it shone, he forgot how to breathe.

As the song came to an end, Charlotte spun into Teddy and leaned her head on his chest. Her hair tickled at the bare skin above the neck of his t-shirt. She yawned, smiling up at Teddy as she did so. "Ready, Teddy?" Charlotte giggled to herself. "That rhymed. Ready, Teddy? I'm ready Teddy!"

Teddy grinned down at her. "I'm ready too. We should go find the Portkey to take us home." The two had arranged a Portkey to get to the Ramsey household and another one to the Lupin house from there so the teens wouldn't be flying home. Especially not after having a little something to drink.

The pair walked hand in hand to the Portkey, beaming at each other. Surrounded by other couples, Charlotte and Teddy almost felt like one. Pressed shoulder to shoulder, Teddy could feel the heat from produced by Charlotte's body. His heart thumped in time with the last lingering beats of music from the concert. When at last, they reached the torn book that served as a Portkey, Teddy regained his composure as they separated. He didn't know how much longer he would have lasted before he broke and kissed her. Kissed her and ruined their six-year friendship. A six-year friendship that resulted in him falling in love with her.

That sucked from the navel feeling knocked the breath out of Teddy and Charlotte, leaving both of them more breathless than before. They were outside the Ramsey house suddenly as the Portkey did its job. Teddy was always slightly nervous about using Portkeys. His godfather had some interesting stories to go with them. The cool night air settled onto their skin, easing the flush that had slowly made its way to Teddy's entire body. It matched his hair and went from his cheeks to his ears.

"I love you!" Charlotte called out as she walked up to her house, sighing dreamily.

Those three, careless words were all it took to knock the breath out of Teddy Lupin. He loved her so much, so so much. If only she knew how much he loved her. "I love you too!" He shouted back to her, waiting until Charlotte was safely inside before letting out the breath he was holding. Oh, how much he had wanted to run to her then. Run to her and kiss her. Run to her and hug her. Run to her and confess. He took the second Portkey back to his house, hoping to leave the pining behind. The hooking feeling came again until Teddy was inside the Lupin house.

"How was it?" His mother was seated at their living room table, in the chair slightly chipped from the time that she had run into it when holding a large trunk. She was nursing a cup of what looked like tea but could have been an assortment of the strange drinks that Tonks kept around the house. Her vibrant purple hair stood out in the darkness of their home.

"Was it fun?" Remus Lupin sat in a chair beside his wife, one hand comfortably wrapped around her hand.

Teddy slid into a chair across from them, smiling giddily. His parents could also smell the alcohol on his breath, but decided not to comment on it. It was his last summer before Hogwarts, so why not let him have a little fun. They would talk to him tomorrow when he was hungover and feeling the effects of the alcohol.

"She's beautiful." Teddy sighed dreamily to himself. "Her laugh, oh her laugh, Mom. It makes me want to melt. It's so beautiful and full of energy. I'm in love, Mom! I'm in love, Dad!"

Remus and Tonks swapped a glance, small smiles materializing on their faces. Their son was growing up. "This is great," Tonks said quietly to Remus, silently bringing out her cell phone and pressing record. She wanted to have this moment documented, as a memory when Teddy was older or as blackmail. Most likely as blackmail, knowing Tonks. Remus shook his head at his wife, smiling softly. However, he didn't do anything to stop her recording.

"She was so happy today. Thank you so much for letting me get her the tickets. She loved them. She said that she might like me! Oh, she might like me! I almost kissed her right then and there. Kissed her like my life depended on it. But I didn't." Teddy's hair darkened slightly before turning back to a bubblegum pink shade. "She was wearing yellow today, Mom. Yellow! Even though she's a Gryffindor. And it looked so good on her. Her color is yellow. Hell, every color is her color. Oh," Teddy sighed. "She's so smart. Dad! Did you know that her favorite subject is Defense Against The Dark Arts? How is she so perfect? I'm in love. At the concert today, she winked at me! Merlin's beard! She winked at me! I'm in love. I'm in love." Teddy's feature settled into one of content. His mind was consumed with thoughts of Charlotte. Her hair, her laugh, her smile. His thoughts wandered to her constantly. Tonks stopped the recording and leaned over to whisper to Remus, "Our boy is in love."

And Teddy Lupin wasn't the only one in love. In another house, miles away, Charlotte Ramsey was giddy with love herself. Waving hello to her parents as she entered the house, she immediately headed upstairs to her room where she video called Aurora immediately. The phone rang for a few seconds before Charlotte's other best friend and older sister came through. Aurora answered the phone covered in paint, a new mural covering the right wall of her room.

"What's up?" Aurora asked around a paintbrush as she concentrated on her painting. Aurora had been known at Hogwarts as the one to go to if you needed art. Now she was a professional artist and had followed her dream. Aurora was Charlotte's role model. Charlotte wanted to be as unapologetically herself as Aurora was.

"I'm in love!" Charlotte beamed down at her phone, her face still gleaming and sticky with sweat. "Oh, I'm in love Aurora."

Aurora narrowed her eyes at her camera, and therefore Charlotte. "Hold up, who are you in love with? Wasn't today the day you were going to that concert?"

Charlotte hummed, her eyes filling with light. "I'm in love with Teddy Lupin. Isn't he so perfect? His eyes make me want to melt. They are so bright and they hold so much love. I love that he has a sense of humor but can still be serious. I love how he is down to earth even though he's the cutest human being to ever walk this earth. I told him that I liked him today, Aurora! I almost kissed him right then and there," Charlotte stared dreamily off into space. "I'm in love,"

Aurora shook her head and smiled at her sister through the camera. "How much have you had to drink little sis? And Teddy Lupin is a good guy. I'm sure that he is lucky that you are in love with him,"

"Just a little bit." Charlotte blushes sheepishly. "It's my last summer before Hogwarts. Let me live it up!" Charlotte twirled around her room, singing one of the Weird Sister's songs about love in her head.

"Oh, I'm not judging you Charlotte," Aurora smirked. "I did the exact same thing when I was your age. Except instead of being in love with one guy, I was in love with everyone. I was in love that summer. Everyone was in love." She snickered. "The summer before seventh year is the summer of love!" Aurora waved her paintbrush around animatedly. "You'll see. When you get back to school, everyone will be in love. It's a thing that happens."

"His hair was bright pink today. A beautiful bubblegum pink. I love it when his hair is like that. It's so pretty." Charlotte twirled in place, sighing.

"Alright little sis, you need to go to bed. Get some sleep and we can talk tomorrow about how you are in love with Teddy Lupin." Aurora grinned and ended the call.

Charlotte Ramsey flopped back onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her thoughts consisted of Teddy Lupin, the one and only.

And many miles away, Teddy Lupin was lying on his bed with his thoughts consumed by Charlotte Ramsey.

Love is a beautiful and strange thing. It can make two friends completely adore each other. It can make two friends fall asleep thinking about each other. Charlotte Ramsey and Teddy Lupin were in love. They just didn't want to admit it to each other yet.

Author's Note:
I hope that you like the first chapter of Butterflies! Ash, I hope that I'm doing your plot justice! Do you think I started off too strong? I've never been in love so I don't know! Please let me know in the comments! If you have any comments or constructive criticism, I would love it! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading!

- Nicole