2
Charlotte knelt towards her boot, propped up on the final stair to the common room, tying it quickly. The sun outside of the window was finally over the trees, sending streams of golden light across the carpeting.
Her roommates were still sleeping, where she so desperately wished she could be as well. But after staying up with the Marauders last night when she had planned to finish her transfiguration, she forced herself out of bed to get to the library before class.
She had just straightened up, looping her bag over her shoulder, when a noise like a stampede came crashing down the boys staircase, James Potter jumping over the last two steps and looking back, waiting.
"Oh, hey Char! What are you doing up so early?" He asked, bright eyed.
"Have to finish my essay for McGonagall before class. Figured I could use the silent libra...ry." She stammered as Remus stepped from the stairs, joining them in the common room.
"Oi, look Remus, she's a mini you." James nudged the boy in his rib cage lightly and nodded for Charlotte to come with them as they started towards the hallway. "Remus is headed there too."
"You're behind on homework?" She asked, sounding skeptical.
Remus shook his head once, not meeting her eye until silence over took the three of them and he realized they were waiting for an actual response.
"I'm working ahead. Probably going to have a busy weekend."
Charlotte nodded, wondering why the boy usually at the top of their class had in fact dropped half of his OWL classes. Still, as she was quickly learning, Remus didn't like to share.
"You have practice, I assume?" Charlotte changed her focus to James, who even at this hour was more talkative than anyone she could imagine.
"Morning practice. We'll have night practice as well. Morning is optional, but so far everyone's made it to almost all of them-"
"Because they know you'll pester them if they skip." Remus explained, humor filling his eyes for a moment as he looked at Charlotte.
"I'm not pestering them. I'm empowering them. I'm a leader." James replied, sounding as if he had explained this to his friends before.
"You're something." Remus said, taking a sharp turn towards the library as they hit the first floor at last. Charlotte looked over, watching the tall boy gain distance between the two Gryffindors with every step.
"Remus, will you wait for her?" James called, Remus slowing at once and turning back, a confused look on his face as if he hadn't realized they were no longer with him.
"Have a good practice, then." Charlotte nodded towards James, hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt as she hurried to catch up to Remus.
The two of them walked in silence, Charlotte's legs stepping extra fast as she tried to keep up with the brunette.
"You always wake up this early?" She asked at last, not being able to stand the silence another second.
He shrugged, pulling the library door open and letting her in first, the room silent and empty aside from Madam Pince who looked up as they entered, deeming them tolerable students and returning to her work.
"I don't really sleep that well. Makes it easy to get out of bed." He explained, pulling a chair out at a table near the back of the library, the restricted section roped off a few aisles away.
"That sounds backwards." Charlotte laughed, controlling her voice so they wouldn't anger the librarian so soon after they had arrived.
"How do you mean?" Remus asked, his eyes on his bag as he pulled out his textbook.
"If you don't sleep well, wouldn't you be more tired in the mornings?" She went on, hating herself as Remus offered her another shrug, flipping open his book to a set page. He read for a few moments before speaking again.
"I just wake up sore." He explained. "Did something to my hip a while ago, so most days it's just not comfortable to keep laying still. I have to get up."
Charlotte kept her gaze on his face, forcing herself not to glance down to his hips, even though he wasn't looking at her.
"Plus, James rummaging for his Quidditch gear and getting dressed, singing in the bathroom doesn't help." He added, his voice sounding teasing, but Charlotte couldn't tell.
"James sings?"
"Badly. Sirius too."
Charlotte laughed now, pulling her own book out and unrolling some parchment beside it.
"What do they sing?" She continued, her cheeks aching from the effortless smile. This was the longest conversation the two had ever shared, and she didn't want it to end. Even if it meant walking into Transfiguration empty handed.
"Half the time, I can't even tell. If I get lucky, they'll sing something good. Or, it should be good, if it's not sung by them. The Beatles or Queen."
"My dad loves Queen." Charlotte added, before realizing Remus wouldn't care. He looked up to her again, his brown eyes were light, almost honey colored, tiny specks of gold littered the edges.
"Is your dad a muggle?" He asked, not sounding judgmental, more curious.
"Yeah, but my mom's a witch. It's kind of wild to think about, don't you think? How do you tell someone that? After dating a while, oh by the way, I'm magic, our kid will probably be magic, is that fine?" She rambled.
Remus smiled to himself and nodded along with her words. "My... my parents were the same. Other way around though. Dad was a wizard. Mum's a muggle."
Charlotte hesitated, noting the past tense.
"Did they tell you how he broke the news?" She asked instead of the real question she had wanted to. What happened to your dad?
Remus's eyes returned to his book, scanning wildly across the page for a few seconds as if he hadn't heard her. She was starting to wonder if he had when he replied.
"I don't really remember him much." He spoke as if he was reading the words off his page. "Either of them."
Charlotte nodded, tucking her leg under her lap on the seat and leaning back slightly, watching his tongue work itself over his back teeth, his jaw looked tight all of the sudden.
"I'm sorry." She answered, her heart feeling heavy. She couldn't imagine losing one parent, but Remus seemed to have neither. And no memory of them, either. "I'm sorry I brought it up. We don't have to talk about it."
He shrugged again, a habit the boy seemed to do quite often, his eyes still moving across his book.
"S'alright. You didn't know. It doesn't really bother me much, anyways."
She was sure he was lying, could hear the edge in his voice as he read.
"It's impressive." She changed the subject, reaching for her quill to give the illusion that she was eventually going to start her work. "You reading and talking at the same time."
"Some scientists speculate that speaking and language comprehension operate on different sides of the brain." He mentioned, casually.
Charlotte nodded, dipping her quill into the black ink and glancing back to him. While he had looked pale the first time she had seen him, his skin seemed brighter now, as if he was sitting before a cozy fireplace, his cheeks rosy and his eyes bright.
"I'll let you work, I promise I won't talk the entire time." She laughed softly.
"Okay." Remus answered, apparently not caring either way if she spoke or not.
☾
Charlotte hurried through the frigid corridor towards the potions room, pulling her bag more securely on her shoulder and adjusting her tie. She had told Lily, Marlene and Mary five more minutes when they had left for breakfast earlier, which had quickly turned into another hour of sleep.
The door was still open as she neared the classroom, a good sign. Slughorn hardly minded when people were actually late, and she still had a good three minutes. She crossed into the crowded classroom, sighing in relief. It felt a bit warmer in here from the flames lit beneath every cauldron aligned at each table set for two.
Marlene was late too, Charlotte noticed at once. Which was typical for their roommate. She would slip in, just under the bell, and Slughorn would pretend not to notice, shutting the door with his wand behind her and starting class. There was one desk remaining near the center of the room. Charlotte scanned the class, looking for Lily and Mary.
Mary was always easy to spot. If not for her bright hair accessories, then for her voice which matched only the Marauder's in volume. Charlotte heard it now, although it was from the other end of the room, far from the empty remaining desk. She was sat with a new boy than she had been telling the girls about last week, and Charlotte held in a laugh as she continued her search for her red-haired friend.
She scanned the group, walking slowly as she did so to grab the last seat for herself and Marlene. Her attention caught onto the Marauders, who were talking loudly amongst themselves, dropping easily into their usual seats. Remus and Sirius in one desk near the back, James and Peter behind them. No red-haired Gryffindor among them.
"Hey," Marlene breathed just as the door shut quietly behind them, sliding into the open seat beside the blonde. "Where are-"
"There." Charlotte nodded a few rows ahead of them to a truly terrible sight. Lily's red-hair finally visible at last, clashing horribly with the dark and greasy head Charlotte knew would have been her last pick for a parter, even below James.
"Now how the hell-" Marlene started, not speaking very softly anymore.
Charlotte jumped from her spot, slinging the strap of her bag around her shoulder once again and marching towards her roommate before Slughorn could begin the lesson.
"Lils," She started at once, hardly even knowing where the rest of the sentence was going to lead. "Sorry, Marlene is begging to sit with you."
She locked eyes with the ginger-haired girl, their expressions matching stubbornness, Lily's green eyes were wide.
Are you sure?
"Mhm." Charlotte hummed softly, knowing Severus would hear anyways. He wasn't even trying to pretend he wasn't hanging on their every word.
Lily finally stood, thanking Charlotte with one final look before hurrying to the last open seat next to Marlene, leaving Charlotte to slide in next to the Slytherin boy.
"Clever." He muttered, hardly sparing her a glance as he opened his book and peered towards the chalkboard at the front of the class.
"Sorry?" Charlotte mumbled, faking confusion as she gathered her things on the desk.
"Nope." A new voice, or rather, an all too familiar voice, rang through the room. "Sorry, no." Sirius appeared at the blonde girls side, leaning against the desk and wearing an odd smile. "Up you go blondie, I had dibs on Sniv-... Snape today." He stammered, realizing the class was hung on his every word.
"Sirius," Charlotte spoke softly, meeting the boys gray eyes and sending him a warning glance. "Go sit down."
"Char." He replied, his smile turning into more of a smirk as he raised his wand towards her. He muttered a quick spell beneath his breath and flicked his wand at her supplies, not bothering to look as they shot behind her and landed in disarray in front of Remus. Charlotte prayed her face wasn't red. "Go sit with Remus, please?" He had phrased it like a question, yet his tone sounded as if she had no choice. She stood slowly, knowing this lesson would end poorly as she walked carefully, watching her feet until she got to Sirius's previous spot, taking the seat next to Remus.
"Hi," She whispered, stupidly, as if the entire class wasn't watching the commotion.
"Hi." He chuckled, organizing their supplies which had become entangled by Sirius's spell.
"Mr. Black, Ms. Harris, if we're all finished with our musical chairs, I'd like to get started?" Slughorn chuckled, amused as he turned towards his own desk.
"Of course, Professor. You must forgive me, I just needed help from the second greatest potions master in the room." Sirius teased, the class groaning beneath their breath, Remus turning a laugh into a cough.
"He's going to get detention." Charlotte laughed, nervously.
"I'm afraid he doesn't have any nights free." Remus joked, settling in as Slughorn started in on their lesson for the day.
"Are you any good?" Remus asked, finally looking to his new parter.
"Er..." She stalled, her heart beating fast as their eyes met. "I'm not... any bad."
He laughed again. Charlotte thought it might be the best feeling in the world, making Remus Lupin laugh. It was so rare that she got to see it. Although, she figured he must be constantly laughing, with friends like his.
"You'll be better than Sirius if you even open the book." Remus replied easily, standing before she could respond and heading to the cupboard to gather their supplies.
He returned only a minute later, dropping the items carefully before them and setting to work, as if he had the potion recipe memorized by heart.
"It was nice." He spoke again, yet Charlotte thought he couldn't possibly be talking to her. "What you did for Lily. With Sniv- with Severus." He corrected himself with a small jerk of his head, as if it was something he had to do quite often. Charlotte held back a laugh.
"She's my best friend. I'd never leave her alone with him." Charlotte answered, reaching towards the tall boy to grab a few slices of root, chopping them just as she had watched Remus doing.
"You're a good friend."
"Sirius didn't have to do that." Charlotte finally replied, sliding her chopped roots over to Remus and awaiting instruction. She turned her attention towards the dark haired boys two rows ahead of them, Sirius's curls laying quite still for once in his life. She could tell even through his robes how tense he was, his arms hardly moving as the two worked separately, sure to have the worst potion in the room if Sirius had anything to say about it.
Remus laughed, softly and beneath his breath. So quiet you could almost miss it. "He was up so fast, I didn't even see it coming. As soon as you walked over there. I could hear his teeth grinding."
His voice had turned odd. As if he no longer thought it was a nice gesture, but rather, nearly an annoyance that Sirius had left him with a random partner.
Of course. Sirius and Remus were best friends. Of course he would rather work with his best friend than some girl he'd met a few weeks ago.
"I'm sorry you can't work with him." Charlotte spoke quietly, nerves running through her stomach as she spoke.
Remus looked up to her, confusion painting his eyes.
"It's fine." He answered. He sounded genuine. "You're making my lesson much easier, trust me."
Charlotte nodded a few times, more to herself, as Remus was no longer looking her way, dropping ingredients into their shared cauldron and starting to stir, glancing at his book for reassurance every so often.
Nearly an hour later, Slughorn stood from his seat, waving his wand over his head as all of their fires faded out in unison. "Time's up! Everyone please turn in a vial with your names printed neatly! Neatly, Shingleton, or you'll lose marks again!"
Remus quickly scooped some potion into a vial, pushing the stopper firmly into the top and scrawling his last name on it before adding Harris underneath. It was stupid, the way Charlotte had to bite back a smile as she watched the boy loop the letters of her name below his own. Stupid.
"I feel really awful, you did practically everything." Charlotte spoke, aching for one last conversation with the boy before they had to leave the classroom.
"You did fine, blondie." Sirius's voice was behind her again, his smile showing through his voice before she even turned to face him. "Can't say the same for Snivvy's potion. He'll be lucky if Slughorn doesn't give us detention. Worst cough potion I had ever seen."
"You're lucky, I hear you have no more room available for detentions these days." Charlotte smirked, glancing at Remus who shot his roommate a half grin.
"No, I'm all booked up for those. But I can always make time for you, Charlotte." The dark haired boy leaned against the desk beside her, both he and Remus towering above her.
"Come on, loverboy. Leave her alone, it's not even lunch yet." James Potter's fist tangled into Sirius's robes, yanking him towards the doorway as Charlotte turned to find Lily, Marlene and Mary.
"Char," Sirius spoke softer now, letting his friends out the door without him, stepping closer to Charlotte. "Why were you late this morning?"
"Overslept." She answered, noting her roommates huddled outside the doorway, definitely watching her every move with Sirius Black.
"How very unlike you." He grinned, teeth sparkling even in the low lit room and Charlotte rolled her eyes. "So you missed breakfast?"
She paused, her stomach rumbling beneath her robes. "Yes..." She answered, slowly.
"Want to know a secret?"
"I'm not sure I do." She laughed, stepping towards the exit, the two of them now the last students in the room.
"You do. Come on." He grabbed her hand, fingers locking between her before he broke into a sprint. He dragged her after him, giving her no time to speak to her friends as they brushed past, the three of them sending her confused looks, Marlene's arms in the air before they turned the corner, Sirius taking the stairs two at a time.
"Sirius!" His name came out between a laugh and a gasp for air, "You have to slow down, I'm going to puke!"
They had climbed and descended two separate flights of stairs, finally slowing down in a vacant hallway, warm yellow light shining from the lamps above multiple oversized portraits which lined the walls.
"Why is it so warm down here?" Charlotte laughed, soaking in the newfound heat after nearly two hours in the dungeons.
"Because." Sirius turned back towards her, a mischievous grin lining his face. "You can't tell anyone I showed you. Moony- er, Remus would kill me. He's the one who figured it out."
He reached up quickly towards a painting and drew one finger along the pear in a large bowl of fruit. Before Charlotte could even ask, the painting elicited a soft giggle, glowing brightly, a door handle appearing beneath Sirius's outstretched hand. He pushed into the new room, nodding for Charlotte to follow him.
Heat enveloped the two of them at once, the room was thick with steam and a haze lingered above a few massive ovens pushed off towards the side of the kitchen.
"Mr. Black!" A few small elves beamed up at Sirius, as if this was an every day occurrence.
"Sirius, why do they all know you?" Charlotte held in a laugh, smiling politely towards the house elves.
"We're old friends." He shrugged, moving deeper into the kitchen as if he owned the place. "What can I get for you?" He began looking around, rifling through cabinets, the elves paying him no attention at all as they scrambled along, obviously preparing lunch already.
"I have to get to Charms..." Charlotte glanced at the small watch on her wrist and then behind her at the doorway.
"You have to eat something." He explained. "Muffin? Toast? I'm sure they'll give you some lunch early if they have anything ready-"
"Sirius," Her voice was scolding. "I don't want to bother them. I'll have lunch with everyone else, it's fine-"
"Here." He ignored her, grabbing a handful of muffins, an apple and an orange from a large basket near the exit. "I'll see you all! Sorry to interrupt!" He called, nudging the blonde girl towards the door.
"Oh, good bye Mr. Black! See you soon!" A few of the elves echoed goodbyes and waved as the eldest Marauder shut the door behind them, the doorway shrinking back until it was no more than a portrait of fruit once again.
"I don't know how any of you get good grades." Charlotte shook her head, taking a blueberry muffin from Sirius's outstretched arm, the dark haired boy smiling to himself as she took a bite.
"Hey, it takes a lot to do what we do." He replied, his jaw dropping in offense.
"I really do have to go to class, though. Do you have a free period?" She asked as they neared the stairwell again.
He offered her half a smirk. "I can. You want to skip with me?"
"No, I don't." She laughed, the sound echoing through the empty hallway. "Not all of us have our enormous fortunes to fall back on, Black. Some of us have to do well in school so we can get jobs one day."
She watched as he ran his tongue along the left side of his teeth, nodding to himself, his previous smile fading quickly.
"Alright, Char." He started up the stairs ahead of her, looking back when he reached the top and tossing her the orange from his hands. "I'll see you around then."
She hesitated, knowing if she didn't leave now, she would surely be late for class, and Flitwick held less of a soft spot for the Gryffindor than Slughorn apparently had. Still, she had never seen Sirius look so... sad.
"I'll see you..." She muttered, taking a step towards the staircase again. "And thank you... for potions. And for breakfast."
"Anytime." He smiled again, although it didn't reach his eyes.