4
"Alright, that's time, but I want three pages on Dementors Monday morning!" The professor shouted over the scraping of desks as everyone rushed for the doorway, excited to begin their weekends. "Specifically their history with the Ministry and Azkaban as well as defenses and afflictions!"
"God, it felt like there was a Dementor in there, didn't it?" Mary shivered, leading the girls out from the admittedly freezing classroom.
"They should just start calling it Dark Arts at this point, it's always so depressing." Marlene agreed, linking an arm through Mary's.
"They're just trying to prepare us..." Lily sighed, "You know, everyone's talking about it now. The war, the disappearances, the-" She trailed off, the four girls slowing as a thick white fog drifted through the hall, students stopping, frozen in their tracks. They had just left the lesson on Dementors, about the fog that always accompanies them, filling whichever villages they were inhabiting.
Charlotte's attention was caught by a snicker a few feet into the smokey hallway, a sharp hush followed it. She stepped forward until she could see them. Three Slytherin, matching green ties loosened around their necks, the familiar dark-greasy hair in the center, fog pouring from the tip of his wand.
"Severus." Lily snapped, marching towards the three boys with her wand raised. The smoke before her began to clear at once, the Slytherin falling into view clearly now, twisted smiles lighting up the two boys on either side of Snape, who was looking up to the red-head with wide eyes, no laughter on his face. "Get rid of all of this, now. Or it'll be detention for the three of you."
"I'm quaking in my boots." The shorter haired brunette beside Snape sneered, the blonde chuckling loudly.
"Get lost, mudblood, or you'll regret it." The blonde was standing now, towering a few inches above Lily as Snape stood too, shooting a panicked expression between Lily and his house-mates.
"Oi!" Marlene shouted, the three Gryffindor's hurried to Lily's side at once. Charlotte glanced over to her roommate's face, green eyes bright and latched onto Snape's dark ones. She shook her head after a moment and spun on her heel. Disappearing into the already fading fog as Mary hurried after her, shooting a glare back towards the Slytherin as they laughed.
"Well done, Snape." Marlene tugged on Charlotte's hand to follow their friends. "You really know how to get the girl."
"Severus has no interest in a filthy mudblood like Evans." The brown haired boy spat back, Charlotte slowing, letting Marlene gain a few steps ahead of her. She turned back, both of the boys were glaring down at Snape who's eyes were now stuck to the floor.
"She'd still be your friend if you weren't such a coward." Charlotte called back, Snape's eyes flashing to hers. "Maybe more than that if you didn't hang out with this lot. You're all pathetic, and I can't wait until the day you realize you wasted all these years trying to impress these-" The blonde next to Snape had merely twitched the wand in his hand towards Charlotte when her words cut off. Her tongue flew to the roof of her mouth where she was unable to move it, taking in a deep breath through her nose as her eyes widened.
"Char?" Marlene was back at her side, eyes scanning between the Slytherin boys who were once again snickering, Snape's face still twisted into a snarl. "Come on, let's go upstairs..."
Charlotte's hands flew to her mouth, attempting to speak again though no words would come out. She could feel her heart rate pick up, taking a few steps away from the boys with Marlene before they heard the new voices.
"What the hell's going on here?"
It was James. Marlene and Charlotte spun towards the voice, Charlotte's stomach sinking deeper. The four of them were the worst people to enter into this situation, they would make everything worse.
"Out for a bit of pranking, Sniv?" Sirius grinned, Peter hanging a ways behind the other three boys as Charlotte met Remus's eyes. The tall boy's mouth had already been open, although whether to join in with his friends or reprimand them, she would never know. He left their side, hurrying over towards the girls, Sirius and James' voices still ringing through the hallway behind them.
"What happened?" He glanced between Marlene and Charlotte.
"They filled the hallway with fog to scare everyone after the Dementor lesson. Lily went over and yelled at them and they called her-"
"I mean what happened to Charlotte?" He cut her off, though his eyes were still scanning between the two girls.
"What happened to... Did something happen, Charlotte?" Marlene was looking over her now and Remus rolled his eyes slightly. Charlotte's eyes began to water as she pointed towards her mouth, shaking her head quickly.
"Did they hex her?" Marlene shrieked, looking murderously towards the Slytherin who now had their wands pointed towards the Marauders.
"Charlotte, open your mouth." Remus ordered. The blonde grimaced, opening her mouth as Marlene swore loudly.
"It's fine." He assured her, "Will you go stop that?" He gestured towards the group behind them. "We can't lose any more house points, term has just started." Marlene grumbled and started towards the fight, shouting for them to break it up. "It's gonna be fine, Charlotte. It's a stupid jinx. Finite." He hissed, and Charlotte felt her tongue free from the roof of her mouth at once, gasping in a relieved breath and clapping both hands over her lips.
"Fixed?" Remus ensured, offering her a small smile as she nodded. "Good."
There was a grumble of muttered cursing and shouts as the Gryffindor's neared them, Marlene had apparently been successful in breaking up the fight, although Charlotte couldn't imagine how. Picking on the Slytherin's, especially Snape, was one of the Marauder's favorite past-times, although the same could be said for the three boys slouching away down the hallway as well.
"I can walk you upstairs?" Remus offered, Charlotte's lips pulling into a smile at the worry in his voice as she nodded, the tall boy's fingers sliding around her arm carefully and pulling her into motion towards the staircase.
"Oi, Moony! Thanks for the back up!" Sirius called, Remus chuckling to himself as the two turned back to their friends.
"It's not really my scene. Making a fool of myself in the hallway." He shrugged, Sirius's gray eyes flickering between the two of them a few steps ahead, rushing forward to catch up.
"You alright, blondie?" He called, Marlene, James and Peter snickering loudly from the ground. Remus's eyes rolled once again, yanking his bag higher onto his shoulder and letting the dark-haired boy catch up to them.
☾
Charlotte ignored the rumble through her stomach at the thought of dinner, scanning once more through the same page of her potions notes. Though her mouth didn't physically hurt anymore, there was still a wave of nausea every time she pictured herself back in the hallway, the hateful glares of the boys, the twisted smiles as their spell hit her. She could still feel the panic creeping it's way into her throat, shaking her head to rid herself of the mental image and attempting to return to her studying.
"Hey," The familiar voice broke her from her thoughts, her eyes snapping up to the honey colored eyes. "What are you still doing up here?"
"Oh," She stammered, waving her notes slightly between them. "Just lost track of time, I guess."
"Well, come on, I'm starving. You'll miss dinner at this rate." Remus offered her a smile and nodded towards the portrait hole, watching her eyes flicker nervously between him and the exit.
"I'm actually not all that hungry... I'll probably just... I'm probably just going to..." She trailed off, thinking of the Great Hall below them, filled with students. She could picture exactly where Snape and his friends would be sat. She grit her teeth as another wave of hunger rolled through her stomach and Remus's lips twitched into a frown.
He took the spot next to her on the couch, leaving a bit of room between them, only a bit of space between their knees as he looked down, studying her face.
"Please come down to dinner?" He spoke slowly, his voice soft even in the empty common room. "You'll walk down with me. I'll walk you back up after." He paused, noting the white color that had overtaken her face. "I won't let them hurt you. I won't even let them look at you."
Charlotte let out what was supposed to be a laugh, yet sounded more like a sigh, the corners of her mouth sneaking up towards a smile.
"How are you going to enforce that, Lupin?" She said, teasingly and he smiled once again.
"They're not the only ones who know jinxes." He grinned, climbing back to his feet and holding one hand out to pull Charlotte up with him. "It's going to be fine."
☾
"Awfully dressed up for someone who hates the people we're spending the day with." Marlene sang as she watched Lily finish her hair in the mirror.
"I can dress nice for me, Marlene." Lily scolded in response, Marlene and Charlotte sharing a smile from behind her. "I saw that! Knock it off."
Charlotte glanced at herself in the full length mirror next to their door one last time before sitting down at the desk to wait for Lily.
"Charlotte looks nice for herself and she's not holding everyone up." Marlene laughed as Lily kicked the door shut.
"You do look nice, Char. Anyone you're looking forward to seeing today?" Mary grinned, her eyes flicking towards Marlene for half a second, both of their gazes latching to Charlotte's.
"No, Mary." Charlotte turned her attention to the laces of her boots, double knotting them for something to do.
"Sirius is going to-" She giggled, pausing as the bathroom door burst open, Lily appearing before them, her hair done half up neatly with a red ribbon.
"Be insufferable." The red-head finished through half a groan. "I can't believe you've ruined our first Hogsmeade of the season, Char."
"She didn't ruin it. It's going to be a blast, let's go." Mary jumped from her spot on the bed, flattening out the short black skirt she had on and starting towards the door.
"Mary, you're going to freeze!" Charlotte looked her friend over.
"It's the last time I'll get to wear it until Spring." Mary shrugged, glancing over her outfit one last time in the mirror beside Lily.
"You're going to overheat, Char." Marlene chuckled as she finally stood beside her roommates, light jeans hugging her hips and falling down to her oversized black boots. "A sweater and a scarf?"
"I'm already cold and we haven't even left the castle yet." Charlotte shot them half a smile as Lily pulled a sweater over her t-shirt, holding the door for the girls to file out.
At last, they stepped into the bustling common room, smaller third years excitedly filing towards the portrait hole for their first trip into the village, older students lounging on the couch, apparently electing to stay at the castle or wait for the village to clear out a bit before heading down.
"Where are they?" Marlene huffed, mild annoyance painting her words.
"Maybe they forgot and we'll have a nice time." Lily teased, pulling on Marlene's arm to get them towards the doorway.
"Not a chance, Evans." Sirius was draped over the red-head before any of them had processed his words, his arm stretching over her shoulder with a grin as she rolled her eyes nearly back into her head. "You couldn't ditch us if you tried."
He finally released her as the rest of the boys appeared behind them, Charlotte's eyes flickering to Remus at once. Sirius was dressed head to toe in black leather, his jacket hanging beneath his waist to his black jeans, a few holes ripped along the knees. James looked his normal self, a gray button up and black trousers, his hair however did look freshly done. Remus looked cozy, a maroon sweater covered a good amount of his neck, trousers nearly identical to James's. He hadn't looked up to the girls, having a quiet conversation with Peter beside him, a lazy smile on the tall boy's face.
"Blondie, gorgeous as ever." Sirius pulled her from her focus on Remus. She looked to the dark haired boy, offering him a small smile.
"It's not nice to brag, Sirius." She joked, letting Mary and Lily pull her back towards the exit, the boys hurrying after them at once.
"Don't do that, Charlotte, he's already got a big enough head." James called from behind them and Mary burst into laughter.
"She knows I was talking about her." Sirius appeared at her side once again, mischief gleaming in his eye as they started down the stairs.
Despite Lily's never-slowing march outside, the boys had longer legs, and were leading the way by the time they pushed through the heavy entrance doors. Marlene was recounting their Quidditch practice from the night before, while James was adamantly insisting that she was remembering it wrong, and he had in fact not been that bossy, Peter laughing heartily at his side.
Charlotte however was more focused on the two boys walking side by side ahead of them. Sirius was practically skipping down the stone walkway, his usual bubbly self, drawing looks from nearly every girl they passed. The difference, however, was Remus. He was keeping up with the darker boy, but as Charlotte watched closer, she noted a slight limp, one leg nearly dragging after the other, one hand holding tightly to his hip.
"James," Charlotte asked quietly, Peter thankfully still talking to Marlene, Lily pointedly walking as far from the brunette as she could.
"What's up?" He asked, matching her tone. "You think I'm being too loud? She seems annoyed..." He rambled, glancing to the red-head.
"What?" Charlotte looked between the two Gryffindors, shaking her head at once. "Oh, you're fine. Just give her time to wake up." She lied. "I was going to ask you something else, actually."
"Sure." He nodded, hazel eyes glued to hers, curiously.
"Is Remus hurt?" She asked, hoping to sound nonchalant. She would ask if any of them were limping around.
His mouth fell open a bit, glancing to Sirius and Remus for only a second before pulling a smile to his face, his eyes going wide.
"What do you mean?"
"He looks like he's limping." Charlotte explained, her attention back on the lighter-haired boy ahead of them.
"He's fine, Char." James explained, quickly. "You worry too much, it's Saturday. First Hogsmeade trip." He bumped her arm lightly and grinned, joining back into Peter and Marlene's conversation, if only to hopefully drag Lily into it as well.
Nearly two hours later, the group had officially run through every shop in Hogsmeade, paper bags in their hands carrying loads of sweets from Honeydukes and "essentials" as James and Sirius had explained, from Zonko's Joke Shop.
"I don't want to know what you three are planning with all of that. 15 Galleons at Zonko's." Lily sighed, rubbing her temples from stress.
"You three," Sirius started, barking out a laugh. "She's completely fooled by you, Moons."
"Remus is a Prefect." Lily snapped back as the girls pushed into the quiet bookshop, the boys following with no complaints, although Charlotte was sure they would be kicked out in under five minutes with the four of them trailing behind them.
"He's one of us, Evans." Sirius grinned, apparently unfazed by any of Lily's eye rolls in his direction.
Charlotte had been excited when Lily had mentioned that she had needed new quills from Scrivenshafts, although how her friend had managed to go through her supply from the summer in just two months was beyond her. Still, Charlotte had already burned through all of the books she had managed to force into her trunk for this year, and she was in desperate need of a new one.
She split from the group at once, Peter and James following Lily and the girls towards the quills near the front of the shop, and slowed near the first aisle of books, all brand new and un-cracked.
"You really are a nerd, aren't you?" Sirius's voice was in her ear, and she whipped around quickly, a book still gripped in her hand as she met his gray eyes, his mouth curled into a smirk.
"You scared me." She hissed, quietly, thankful that the shop owner was busy assisting the group at the front. "Why are you so close to me?" She side stepped, setting the book back into it's place and moving to the next aisle.
"To scare you." He explained, as if it was obvious. "Are you looking for something specific?"
"Oh, I don't know, are you an expert?" She quipped back, earning a chuckle from the dark haired boy. "I just need something new to read. I've run out of all the books I brought to school."
"... It's October." He spoke, slowly, eyeing the blonde as she read through another book from the shelf. "You've read through all of your books, and it's October?"
"Mhm," She hummed, half listening to him as she flipped to the first page, scanning over it.
"You want that one?" He asked, moving closer to her again.
"Maybe." Charlotte shrugged, tucking it under her arm and looking towards the next row before her, thinking of the money in her purse. She would probably have enough for two books, but this money was supposed to last her until Christmas.
"Hand it here." Sirius held out one arm towards her, earning a doubtful look from the girl. "What? I'll hold it while you're looking!"
"I'm quite capable of carrying a book for a few minutes, Black." She shook her head, reading through the back of the next book, deciding on the first one and setting this one back on it's shelf.
"Let me buy it for you." Sirius demanded, holding his hand out for the book again, his eyes shining bright from the window before them.
"What? No." She laughed, stepping around him again before he moved to block her path. "Sirius!"
"Please!" He smiled down at her, his cologne once again enveloping her senses.
"I can buy my own things." She replied, slight annoyance creeping into her chest. Did he think she was poor? Although, everyone was probably poor to Sirius Black.
"I know, I know that." He stuttered out, obviously realizing where her thoughts were headed. "I want to buy it for you."
"That's very sweet." She finally stepped around him, his path blocked by a tall shelf as she hurried to the counter at the front, counting out a few galleons and dropping them into the shopkeep's hand with a smile and a thank you, sliding the book into her bag from Honeydukes.
"You're quite stubborn, aren't you?" Sirius smirked as she turned back to face him, the girls behind them quickly paying for their quills and joining them at the exit.
"Alright... Butterbeer?" James's eyes lit up to match his grin as he lead the way to the Inn at the end of the street, eyeing a large table in the corner of the busy pub. "I'll get drinks." He explained, meeting Charlotte's eyes with a grin, hurrying towards the bar before anyone could protest.
"Fine by me." Mary grinned, sliding into the booth with Marlene, Lily hurrying to beat Charlotte into the next spot, leaving zero chance that James could squeeze in next to the red head when he returned.
"I'll go help him." Charlotte offered, watching the quidditch star looking over the eight mugs of butterbeer, obviously contemplating how he was going to get them all back to their table without magic.
"I'll help you." Sirius jumped, letting you lead the way towards James who offered the two of you a grin at your approach.
"Didn't think this one through, did I? Thanks again," He smiled, setting a couple of galleons in the bartender's hand as Sirius and Charlotte started grabbing mugs, the boys looping mugs around their fingers leaving only two left for the blonde to carry back to their friends.
"Just think, in less than a month I'll be able to levitate them for us. Might never stand up again." Sirius smirked, setting the drinks down with three matching clunks, Remus and Peter reaching for theirs at once.
"You're turning 17 in less than a month?" Charlotte asked, looking to the dark haired boy. It felt strange, that any of them would be coming of age this year, much less Sirius Black.
"Oh, how could you not know?" Marlene grinned through a sip of her butterbeer. "It's been all he's talked about for weeks now."
"Just making sure your calendars are all marked." He shrugged.
"Yeah, mine's marked off as 'Annual Silencing Spell Practice.'" Lily grumbled, holding back a smile. Charlotte noticed how James's eyes were stuck on the bit of whipped cream clinging to her upper lip, offering him a sharp nudge to his knee which shook him from his trance.
The eight of them spent the next hour drinking their way through a second round of butterbeer and hearing all about James' plans for Sirius's party, as well as Remus's reassurance to Lily that he would keep them all in check for her. At last, as the sun began to dip, the Three Broomsticks dimming from the loss of light outside, the friends filed out of the pub one after another and started the trek back to the castle.
"Thanks for the drinks, James." Charlotte called ahead to the brunette, who was already hurrying to catch up to walk back next to Lily.
"Yeah, thanks James, I'll buy next time." Marlene grinned, linking an arm with Mary, the two girls walking so slow that at this rate, they wouldn't even make it to the grounds by curfew.
"Don't promise them a next time!" Lily spun back to her friends with half a smile at James and Sirius's matching whines.
"So," Sirius started, pulling Charlotte's attention from Lily and Remus leading the group up the path, James finally catching up to them and slinking up to Lily's free side, Peter on his tail. "How come James can buy drinks?"
She pulled her focus from her friends, or more particularly, from the tallest Marauder, to look to Sirius. "What?"
"Potter can buy you butterbeer all night, but I can't buy you a-"
"Neither of you has to buy me anything!" She snapped, looking up at him, the sunlight nearly gone from the sky now.
"Okay!" He held his hands up in mock defense, as if she were planning to hit him. "I'm only asking, blondie, didn't think I'd get you all worked up."
"I should probably just get preemptively worked up anytime I see you headed my way." Charlotte sighed, dramatically.
"No, don't do that." He grinned, "I'll work you up myself."
"Oh, Godric, you're disgusting." The blonde held back a laugh, Sirius's own was so loud, James and Remus both looked back to make sure they weren't missing a good joke.
"Are you cold?" He asked once his laughter had faded away, leaving them with only the sound of the leaves crunching beneath their boots and the faint conversation James was leading between Lily, Remus and Peter a ways ahead of them.
"No, not really." She lied, eyes skating along the castle in the distance. Despite Marlene's earlier words, her sweater was doing little to keep out the chill, the cold night air seeping right through the knit fabric.
"You're a liar." Sirius's lips pulled into half a smirk. "A stubborn little liar. How have we not been great friends all this time, blondie?" He dropped his jacket from his arms and held it out towards Charlotte, raising his eyebrows and stepping to block her path until she reluctantly pushed one arm into the first sleeve. The leather was still warm from his body, and she could hardly feel the wind anymore.
"Could be because you didn't know my name until last month." She grinned up to him, watching his smirk fall.
"It's nearly November, let's call it two months now." He bit back.
"And judging from the 'blondie' comments, I'm starting to think you might still not know it-"
"Charlotte." He drawled, the hint of a smile pulling the corners of his lips at her name.
She took a small breath, looking away from him back to their friends up ahead. She wasn't sure if it was walking this close to him or being wrapped in his jacket, but it was all she could smell: the honey and woodsy scent and the smoke from the cigarettes she was sure she would find in one of these pockets if she cared to check.
"So, we'll throw a party. My birthday. It's two weeks away." He moved on, pulling Charlotte back into reality.
"I heard." She nodded. "You're going to give Lily a heart attack."
"She's used to us." He grinned back, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Will I see you there?"
She peeked to the side, seeing his eyes locked on her face before she turned her own back to the ground, watching the leaves crumple beneath their feet.
"It's in my common room, isn't it?" She teased, smiling at the path.
"Well, yeah..." He trailed off, flicking a strand of hair from his face. "But you never come to them."
"I've... passed through them." She looked to him now, his eyebrows raised at her, a soft smile lining his lips. "It's just-"
"Charlotte," She cursed herself silently as her head whipped around at Remus's voice. They were nearly to the castle now, Lily looking back to the three of them, clearly looking for a way out of the long walk up to Gryffindor tower with James and Peter. "When do you want to study?"
"Oh..." She could practically feel her face heating up, suddenly thankful for the darkness surrounding them. "Uh... whenever. Whenever's good for you. Maybe tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow might not work for Lupin-" Sirius started at once.
"It's fine." Remus cut him off, hardly sparing the boy a glance. "Tomorrow. After dinner?" His eyes were locked with Charlotte's, yet they looked conflicted, as if he was already regretting their plans.
"Sure. Perfect." She nodded, smiling as he held the door for her and Sirius, the three of them watching Marlene and Mary from a distance, the two girls laughter echoing across the nearly vacant grounds. "Thanks Remus."
He hummed something that she assumed to be along the lines of no problem as they hurried to catch Peter, James and Lily, a sigh of relief washing over Lily as she stepped back to walk with Charlotte, letting the four Marauders lead the way up the first flight of stairs.