6
"I feel like I should get him something." Charlotte mumbled through a bite of fruit.
"Get him an alarm clock, he's going to miss breakfast entirely." James joked, glancing at the empty seat beside Remus.
"Don't get him anything." Remus said firmly, working his way through his third slice of toast.
"True, his whole birthday will be made if you even make an appearance." Peter added, rubbing some sleep from the corner of his eye.
"Sirius needs to get over that." Lily cut in, setting her coffee mug back to the table and watching as it refilled at once. "This little crush."
"I would say it's more than little." Peter laughed, James lips tugging into a smile despite shooting Peter a stern glance.
"Well, he should get over it. Because Charlotte has her eye on someone else- Ow!" She whined as Charlotte kicked her shin under the table.
"Char! Do tell!" James rested his chin on both hands, turning his attention toward the blonde as she resisted the urge to peek to Remus from across the table.
"Lily is imagining things." Charlotte said, plainly.
"God, you and Remus are so secretive, he's got ladies lined up down our hall and now you've got some mystery boy-"
"Leave her alone, Prongs." Remus finally spoke, grabbing the empty plate from the spot next to him and piling toast, eggs and sausage onto it.
"Lupin, we're going to have to have an intervention at this rate." James turned his focus to the sandy haired boy as he stood with the second breakfast, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
"It's for Sirius. Sleeping prat." He rolled his eyes, lightly, starting out the door.
☾
Charlotte was sat on the couch nearest the fireplace, nearly regretting her outfit choice. Light jeans and a white short sleeved shirt which rode up only a bit too high, exposing enough of her stomach to keep her cool in the once again crowded common room. It wasn't as busy as the Halloween party had been. Obviously some people didn't feel that Sirius Black's birthday was cause for the Tuesday night festivity, while some younger students were likely still nursing hangovers from yesterday morning.
Still, despite Mary's promises that she looked hot and Lily's whispered assurance that if this didn't draw Lupin's attention, nothing would, Charlotte was already working her way through her third drink, and the birthday boy hadn't even arrived yet.
"Only Sirius Black would be late to his own birthday party." Lily pointed out, crossing one leg over her knee, looking impatient. In truth, there was quite a bit of homework to be done at the moment, and instead they were getting drunk and listening to loud music, likely keeping up half of the tower.
"You know Sirius," James announced his arrival, flopping carelessly onto the open spot on the couch beside Lily. "He has to wait long enough to pretend to be shocked that there's a party at all."
"He's can't be serious." Mary laughed, clapping a hand to her forehead.
"No, he is." Remus grinned, James wiggling his eyebrows at the girls as the room erupted into cheers and chatter.
"A party? You shouldn't have, you guys!" Sirius clapped a hand over his heart, looking around as if this was the biggest surprise. "And on a Tuesday, no less!" He grinned, winking at Lily as she shook her head with a glare.
"Happy birthday, Pads." James grinned as the dark haired boy approached their seats, flopping into the last remaining spot on the couch.
"Yeah, happy birthday, Sirius." Charlotte echoed, nerves flooding her stomach as the seventeen year old looked her way. She had hardly seen him since Halloween, since he had leaned in a bit too close and she had dashed away. But it was Sirius Black. And he had been drunk. He hadn't meant anything by it, and he probably didn't even remember much of the night at all.
He smiled towards her, a genuine smile which spread to his eyes as he took a drink that Peter held out for him.
"To Sirius, the first Marauder to reach adulthood!" James held his cup towards the ceiling, everyone leaning forward, liquid sloshing onto some of their hands before they pulled back to drink.
"And probably the last!" Charlotte added, the boys all spinning towards her, jaws dropped in mock offense.
"Charlotte!" Sirius had one hand over his chest again. "On my birthday?"
"Never a day off, Black." He winced at the name, taking another sip of his drink and scanning over the room.
"Feel any older, Pads?" James asked, looking towards his friend excitedly. Sirius seemed to ponder the question for a moment.
"You know... I feel... like... more powerful." He answered, grabbing his wand and looking back to James. "Like I could just..." His wand barely twitched before James was screaming, one leg leading him into the air where he dangled from the ceiling, his drink splattering from his grip onto the couch, splashing Lily and Marlene in one go.
"Black!" Lily groaned, jumping from her spot. "Scourgify." She muttered at her shirt, repeating the spell on the couch, the dark liquid seeping out of the fabric at once.
"Put me down, the blood's rushing to my head!" James called through a fit of laughter, Sirius shrugging and flicking his wand upwards again as James began to plummet to the floor.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Lily screamed, halting gravity as she lowered the brunette towards the couch, turning to glare at Sirius once again. "Sirius, I don't care that it's your birthday, I will give you detention."
"Oh, come on, Lils, all in good fun." Sirius raised his hands in mock surrender, glancing around the group, attempting to avoid the grins and laughter of the students who had gathered to watch the Potter and Black show. "Another drink, blondie?" He nodded towards the table in the corner of the room, his eyes pleading.
Charlotte glanced at Lily, biting back a laugh as the red-head took her seat again, purposefully leaving a few good inches between her and James this time.
"I'm sorry! I was shocked, I didn't mean to spill it on you!" James voice trailed off as Sirius led her towards the drinks.
"You came." Were his first words, pouring himself a second drink.
"Course I did." She answered, carefully. She wouldn't let this conversation turn into what it had on Halloween. They were just two friends grabbing drinks. "Only, I didn't get you a present. So whatever James got you, it's from me too."
He cocked his head to the side. "You got me underwear with Peter's face on the ass?"
Charlotte paused, her mouth opening and shutting again when no words left as he laughed, taking her cup from her hand. "Joking. What are you drinking?"
"Firewhiskey and pumpkin juice." She answered, easily, the words seeming to tumble out on their own. This would be her fourth already.
"How much firewhiskey?" He asked, raising one eyebrow and glugging a bit of the red liquid into her glass.
"Lil' more." She held two fingers close together in front of his face, earning another chuckle from the boy as he topped the drink off with juice.
"You're not forgetting it's a Tuesday, right?" He passed the cup back to her and she took another drink. "Don't get me wrong, I've been trying to get the day marked down as a national holiday. Waiting on a call back from the Ministry."
She shook her head, rolling her eyes and starting towards the couch with their friends.
"You look hot." He announced when he caught up with her again, nearly causing her to choke on her new drink, the whiskey burning at her windpipe.
"Sirius..." She could feel her face burning now.
"What? S'only the truth." The familiar smirk was back now as his eyes trailed along her face, enjoying watching her blush.
"You're only on your second drink, you can't start unabashedly flirting with everyone yet." She protested, finally reaching the couch and dropping into her old seat, Sirius falling down next to her.
"Not everyone." He shrugged, carelessly, grey eyes dancing in the light of the fire as he watched her try to look anywhere but at him.
Nearly three hours later, long past curfew, the common room was finally starting to empty out, only a few fifth year students still lingered near the staircase, deep in some conversation. Sirius didn't care about any of that. The room could have been silent, for all he knew. The only thing that mattered was Charlotte's head rested against his shoulder, her legs curled up beneath her, blonde hair sprawling down his chest.
Lily, Marlene and Mary had all disappeared, Lily only leaving when Remus swore to clear the rest of the partiers out behind her. Lily had eyed the two of them warily before heading up, but even she knew after the amount of firewhiskey Charlotte had consumed, she would need a good bit of sleep.
"Alright, that's the last of them." Remus muttered, appearing at the side of their couch and rubbing two fingers over his tired eyes.
"Shh!" Sirius hissed, shooting his friend a glare.
"Well, you've got to wake her up? She's got class in..." He glanced at his wrist. "five hours."
"Few more minutes." Sirius muttered, running his fingers through the soft blonde hair, paying no attention to the tall Marauder before him.
"This is how you want to spend your birthday?" He grumbled, leaning against the edge of the couch, knowing he would cave to sleep any minute now.
"Birthday's over, Moons." Sirius shrugged.
"Alright." Lupin said, shortly, turning towards the stairs. "Make sure the fire's out when you come up."
"Yeah." He called back, feeling Charlotte stir against him a few minutes later, her blue eyes blinking into the dim room.
"Shit." She mumbled, leaning off from Sirius's shoulder.
"Morning, sunshine." He teased, starting towards the fire and putting out the last of the glowing embers.
"What time is it?" She asked, licking over her lips and cringing at the leftover taste of whiskey.
"It's nearly two." Sirius replied, heading back towards her. "I was trying to let you sleep a bit more, but Moony's so damn loud." He didn't miss her wince, or the way her shoulders fell when he mentioned Lupin. "Let's get you to bed, hmm?" She took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet, the room only spinning slightly.
"I'm sorry if I wrecked your birthday." She spoke, softly. "I'm sure you didn't see it ending like this."
He grabbed her arm, gently, pulling her to meet his eyes at the bottom of the staircase. "You could never."
A soft smile rose to her face and she nodded, leaning against the wall beside them to ease the dizziness. Sirius didn't miss the way her eyes were half shut, as if she might fall back to sleep any second.
"Are you gonna fall back down the stairs if I let you go?" He asked, pushing her lightly as she took one small step after another.
"Won't you feel bad if I do!" She hissed once she was a few stairs up.
"Night, blondie." He smiled, waiting for her to turn the corner where he would have to trust that she made it the rest of the way to her bed.
"Hey!" She called back, "Happy Birthday."
☾
The portrait door slammed behind the red-head as she met Sirius's eyes which grew wide at her entrance, lowering his wand to his side.
"Sirius." She raised an eyebrow, scanning the room quickly. "What are you doing here?"
"In my own common room, Evans? I dunno, give me a second to think on it." He teased, earning himself an eye-roll from the prefect.
"Don't you have a class to be at?" She asked, pointedly, knowing the answer. Sirius, unlike Remus, was taking all of his classes this year, though his attendance in half of them was severely lacking.
"Could ask you the same question." He smirked, dropping into one of the oversized armchairs near the unlit fireplace.
"I'm headed to Charms. Charlotte... She had to miss her first lesson, but I just wanted to check how she was doing."
"What's wrong with her?" His dark eyebrows furrowed as he glanced towards the stairway. He'd been working at his latest prank idea for nearly twenty minutes now, with no clue that the blonde was just upstairs.
"She's feeling a bit sick." Lily answered, shooting Sirius a look. "From last night. I doubt you had anything to do with that?"
"She was already drinking when I got there! This is just as much your fault!" He bit back. He supposed he should have advised Charlotte to slow down. He knew she didn't frequent all of the parties they did, she probably wasn't used to drinking that much. "I'll go check on her."
"You can't get up the stairs." Lily reminded him, starting up the first few.
"Lily!" Sirius called, waiting at the bottom and catching the green eyes before she turned the corner. "If she's still feeling bad... you can... send her down here, I'll watch her."
Lily eyed him for a second, a suspicious look plastered onto her face.
"Make sure she doesn't choke on her own vomit?" Sirius went on and Lily groaned, stomping up the last few steps until she was out of sight.
He sank back into the chair he had just risen from, his prank at the back of his mind for now. He couldn't finish it until Lily left anyway. The toe of his shoe tapped at the floor at the same tempo as the clock above the fireplace as he waited.
After a few more minutes, Lily raced back down the stairs, eyes locked on her watch before pausing in front of Sirius.
"She said she might come down, but she feels dizzy. So if you hear a loud crash, come find me. Or, maybe just Madam Pomfrey." Lily joked, heading back towards the doorway.
He nodded, laughing to himself as she pulled the portrait shut behind her. With a final glance towards the now empty staircase, he set back to work, his wand in his hand again. It had come to him at breakfast when he had watched Peter nearly miss the bench sitting down. And now, he was determined to move all of the furniture in the common room exactly three inches to the left.
"What are you doing?" The small voice sounded from behind him and he reacted at once, spinning to see her, his heart dipping a bit at her hooded eyes, one arm slung around her front as she leaned against the wall at the bottom of the stairs.
"If I tell you, you've got to promise to let me continue." He grinned, nodding her over towards him.
"I'm in no mood to try and stop you." She answered, dropping onto the couch she had fallen asleep on just last night.
His eyes lit up as he moved the coffee table three inches over, copying his movements for a few more minutes until the entire common room was shifted. He turned back to face her, grinning and waiting for her response.
"You're re-decorating?" She asked and he scoffed, dropping onto the couch beside her, grimacing as she let out a small moan and shut her eyes.
"I've moved everything in here three inches over. I'm hoping people won't notice and will walk their usual path and fall or drop their stuff on the floor instead of the edge of tables." His eyes were lit up but Charlotte let out half of a laugh.
"That's so stupid, why wouldn't people just look where they're going?" She leaned against the arm of the couch.
"Alright, my apologies. Next time, I'll be sure to come to you for pranking guidance."
Her lips pulled into a small smile as she pulled her legs to her chest.
"I heard you're feeling like shit." He spoke again.
She shot him a look. "I highly doubt that's what you heard."
"Well, no. Of course not. Lily's too proper, she probably said 'my dearest friend has taken ill, and i've come to pay her a visit.'" He pitched his voice up and Charlotte let out an effortless laugh this time, Sirius's grin returning now. "I can't remember. I try to tune her out, usually. It's always about rules or homework."
"Speaking of which," She mumbled, "Why aren't you in class?"
"Well, someone had to look after you." He shrugged.
"I was hoping I'd be fine if I could just sleep in a bit." She continued, picking at a loose thread at the edge of her sock as Sirius watched, a small smile painting his face. "I really can't afford to miss any classes."
"Oh, please. You and Evans, you'll be top of the class and still find some reason to be upset."
The blonde didn't meet his eyes, shaking her head slightly. "You're top of the class, Sirius."
"Only now that Moony's only in half of them. I'm starting to think he only dropped so many to do us all a favor."
She looked up now, meeting the gray eyes across from her.
"Why did he drop them? It seems like he enjoys it. School. Learning."
Sirius's smile faltered for a moment, pulling on a thoughtful expression.
"I don't know. But I'm not complaining. More time he can spend with us, planning pranks."
"Yeah, you need all of the help you can get." She teased. "Why do you call him that? Moony?"
His smile spread again, raising his eyebrows mysteriously. "That's Marauder business, blondie. You'll have to wait until your official initiation."
"Then tell me yours, Pads." Charlotte turned to face him, leaning her weight against the back of the couch. "Don't tell me it's what I think it is?" His eyebrows furrowed, blanching for a second before she went on. "Never mind."
"You're not getting anything out of me, Charlotte. I've been gruelingly trained. I'll never break."
"Well, tell me something. When you're talking, I don't think about how much I want to hurl."
He laughed, loudly, the noise taking up the empty room as Charlotte winced.
"Sorry, sorry." He held both palms out before him in apology. "Why'd you drink so much last night?" Her lips curled slightly, as if the thought of last night was bringing back the familiar queasiness. "Escaping some demons, blondie?" He pressed on and she shook her head, eyes rolling slightly.
"No. I just... I wanted to have fun. And I was feeling a little... nervous." She answered, eyes falling from his again.
"Nervous?" He questioned, trying to meet her eyes again, yet they were firmly planted on the fabric of the couch, following the thread patterns. "Why were you nervous, Charlotte?"
"I mean... not nervous, really..." She muttered, running her hands over her face for a few seconds. "Just... I felt... I don't usually wear clothes like that."
Sirius blinked, remembering the shirt she was referring to. The soft white top that had come just above her belly button. He didn't think he would forget the sight for a while.
"You didn't like it?" He hoped his voice didn't sound so incredulous.
"I did. When I bought it. I just never really thought about wearing it, I guess." She let out a small laugh under her breath. "But Mary found it in my trunk and insisted. It just felt different when I was down here. I just wanted a few drinks, but I've learned pumpkin juice and firewhiskey is a dangerous combination."
"I shouldn't have let you drink so much." He leaned his head back to the couch, eyes locked on the arched ceiling.
"Let me?" She joked. "It's not your fault, Sirius. It's fine, Marlene says i'll be good as new in a few hours."
"She's right." He nodded, rolling his head to look down at her face again. "Can I get you anything? Water? Or juice, or some toast or something?"
She shook her head a few times. "I've had some water this morning. Mary brought me up some toast after breakfast, but I could only get down a few bites."
The two fell into silence for a few minutes, Sirius enjoying the sound of the clock as he sat next to the blonde, hoping no one would come back into the room until classes were over for the day.
"I thought you looked beautiful." He spoke, softly, eyes still locked on the clock as it ticked away across the room.
"What?" He could feel her eyes on him before he turned to meet them.
"That shirt? You were gorgeous." He smirked, enjoying the pink that rose to her cheeks at his words. "I told you so last night."
"You did?" She reached up to scratch along her eyebrow, hoping to hide the flush of her face.
"You don't remember anything from my birthday?" He cried, clapping both hands to his forehead. "We're going to have to do it all over again because of you!"
She laughed, pulling her legs back to her chest and letting her head fall onto her lap. Sirius felt his chuckles die down as his eyes skated along her bare arms below the sleeves of her t-shirt, the skin lined with goosebumps.
"Are you cold?" He asked at once, her blue eyes peeking towards him as she turned her head in her lap.
"Little." She mumbled, "I was burning hot upstairs..."
He pulled one arm from his dark sweater, smirking at her before ducking his head from the collar. "You're always burning hot."
She shook her head, a small smile bit beneath her front teeth as she pulled the sweater over her arms gratefully.
"Why are you always in Black? Is it an egotistical thing? Have to represent the family name?" She tugged the sweater over her head, warmth seeping into her skin, the now familiar scent washing around her, musk and honey.
He held his smile, eyes tracing over his sweater against her pale skin. Even as his heart sank at her question, even as he thought back to her words. The family name. He held the smile.
"What color would you like me in, love?" He shot her a cheeky grin.
She pretended to ponder the question for a moment, scanning over his features. Ignoring the familiar smirk. "Some Hufflepuff yellow? Purple? Or blue, would bring out your eyes."
"I'll keep it in mind." He dropped his hand closest to her onto the couch, dragging his pinky along her fingers silently. "I hope you know you always look gorgeous. It doesn't matter what you wear. You don't need to be shy."
Charlotte's mouth fell open a bit, blinking slowly up at him as she let out half a laugh.
"Pads, we can't keep covering for you! Your devilish good looks and unabashed charm can only get you so far-" James cut off, looking up from the stack of papers he was scanning through in his hands. "Oi, Harris, not you too!"
"She's sick." Sirius explained, shooting his very loud friend a pointed look.
"Oh... Oh! Sorry Char." James lowered his voice, stepping closer to the two of them and tossing Sirius's papers out, blinking in confusion as they floated down to the floor next to the table.
"What the..." He knelt to grab them, Remus and Peter sauntering after him, Remus's eyes flickering between Sirius and Charlotte before they all spun around at Peter's shriek. He was on the ground a few inches beside the armchair Sirius had been sat in earlier, eyes wide as he looked around for some kind of explanation. Sirius locked eyes with Charlotte, one finger bit between her teeth to hold in the laughter threatening to burst.