12
"It must have blown off on the way back from Herbology." Charlotte muttered, slamming the drawer shut to her dresser.
"We'll go look tomorrow. Quit banging around." Marlene ordered, Mary offering Charlotte a small smile, her attempt to apologize for their friend's rude behavior.
"I'm just going to go down and see if I can find it." Charlotte grabbed her jacket hanging on cabinet's handle and pushed one arm through the sleeve.
"Charlotte, it's nearly curfew." Lily warned, glancing towards the window which was barely lit by the sliver of a moon.
"I'll be back in time! If I can't find it in fifteen minutes, I'll give up. It's bloody freezing out." She promised, shooting the red head an innocent smile. "It'll blow away in the night!"
"It's just a scarf! It's probably blown away already!" Lily called through the stairwell as Charlotte started down towards the common room, still bustling with activity, even for the late hour on a school night. She pushed through the portrait hole and hurried down the stairs, pulling her wand out in preparation to light her way across the snowy grounds.
"Lumos." She muttered, shaking her head as the light went on and glaring at the tip until it flickered off and back on again. Satisfied now, she lowered her wand towards the ground and started walking, waving back and forth as far as she could cast the light before her, re-tracing their steps from earlier that day. It wasn't like she couldn't just buy another one, but there was something comforting about this one. She had gotten it on her first trip to Diagon alley, along with the matching hat that was now sat alone on top of her dresser.
She neared the black lake, sighing as she accepted that she would have to turn back. Maybe she had been a bit off from their path from earlier. Maybe it would have gotten weighed down with snow and it would be out here tomorrow. Or maybe she would just have to buy a new one.
She tucked her wand back into the pocket of her jacket, along with her hands which were now pink with cold when she heard the laughter. It wasn't all that close, she looked around the white grounds, not spotting a living soul. The wind was carrying it, she realized, turning back towards the lake and spotting the group at once. Only shadows beneath the large, bare maple tree, and only three of them. She never would have known who they were had she not heard their voices.
"Sniv won't know what hit him."
"I almost want to wake up early to watch-"
"You can wake up to watch my practice, Pads, and we'll catch it on our way back-"
"What are you idiots doing out here? It's freezing!" Charlotte could hardly bite back the grin as she listened to the friends laugh, the cold obviously not bothering them one bit.
"Blondie!" She could practically hear Sirius's smile through his words, and her heart sped up for a moment as she made her way towards them. "Blondie, wait, seriously don't come over-"
Charlotte's foot hit something, a pressure launched her body into the air. Her scream echoed through the grounds for only a moment before she fell silent, her head smacking against the solid ice that had formed over the lake's surface. The boys scrambled up at once, racing towards the water when the crack broke through their calls, the blonde disappearing through the ice and plunging deep into the black water.
"Charlotte!" Sirius screamed, his voice ringing across the empty grounds. His wand clenched into his fist, he darted out onto the ice, sliding through the new hole and sinking below the surface, James and Peter calling after him loud enough to wake the entire castle.
"Incendio!" A jet of red flames shot onto the ice, melting it away instantly, dark water lapping against the edges. James cleared a path towards where Sirius had disappeared, wading a few feet into the freezing water and gritting his teeth. "Lumos maxima," A large orb of white light launched over the ice, sinking lower until it looked as though the sun's reflection had returned to the lake, and with a gasp, Sirius emerged, blonde hair plastered across his back as he dragged Charlotte from the water, teeth chattering as he tried to stand.
"Here, let me-" James reached for the girl, pulling Sirius and Charlotte towards the singed grass where Peter had just burnt away the snow on the ground. Sirius dropped her beside him onto the wet grass and pushed the sopping hair out of her face. She was as white as the snow a few feet away, and she hadn't moved since he had found her below the water.
"S-She's not moving." Sirius gasped out, Peter crouching beside her and pressing two fingers against her neck.
"She's got a pulse." Peter called out, nodding to Sirius as James breathed out a heavy sigh of relief. "How do we wake her up?"
"We don't." James answered, "We've got to get her to Madam Pomfrey. A fall like that could have killed her."
Sirius's stomach went cold, sliding his fingers beneath her neck and her knees and climbing to his feet, his shoes slipping against the snowy ground.
"We can't take her to Madam Pomfrey!" Peter called out, hurrying after the taller boys. "We'll be in so much trouble. They could expel us!"
Sirius spun towards the blonde boy, darkness beneath his gray eyes.
"Pete, you can go up and find Remus. We'll take her to the hospital wing-" James looked between the two boys, pushing Sirius to keep moving as they neared the entrance to the castle.
"No," The three froze, their footsteps falling silent on the stone floor as Charlotte spoke. Her eyes blinked open, squinting into the bright lamps lining the walls around them. "N-no hosp..." Her head sank back against Sirius's arm, the dark haired boy looking anxiously towards James who shrugged and shook his head.
"Charlotte, hey. Hey, we're so sorry, Char, we didn't... we didn't think anyone would be down here and we didn't know..." James trailed off as she moaned under her breath, Peter pulling the door open so they could get inside from the cold. "We're just going to take you to Madam Pomfrey and make sure you're okay..."
"No hospital." She whispered. "Just... bed."
Sirius had already started up the stairs when James and Peter caught him. "Pads, what do you think?"
"She just fell onto the ice and nearly drowned! She's going to the infirmary!" Sirius bit back.
"Sirius, she doesn't want to go-" Peter started, nervously.
"She doesn't know what she's saying, she just smacked her head-"
"Why don't we take her upstairs and see what Remus thinks?" James suggested and Sirius scoffed. "He's practically a healer at this point, he's spent more hours than anyone in that hospital wing."
Charlotte had not spoken again, her face tucked into Sirius's chest, both of them dripping frozen lake water onto the pristine stone staircase as he considered the idea. Peter was right, they very well could be expelled for this. Sirius just wasn't sure if he cared at the moment.
"Fine, let's go." He ordered through chattering teeth, marching up the stairs faster than before, shoes squelching beneath each step as James and Peter hurried to keep up.
"Lily's going to kill me." James muttered to himself as they finally reached the seventh floor, slightly winded from their speedy climb, uttering the password and clambering through the doorway.
Sirius spun around the room. It wasn't that far past curfew, yet there was no one around.
"We have to get Lily." He muttered, starting towards the staircase before James yanked him back.
"You can't-"
"I don't care if she hates your guts, James, what else is new!" He barked.
"I meant," James started through a clenched jaw, "You can't get up the girl's stairs."
"Fucking hell." Sirius muttered, searching the room again as if there might be someone hiding somewhere, preferably a girl. "How are we going to get her to bed?"
"Let's just get Remus first." Peter held a steadying hand out towards the dark haired boy and nudged him towards their staircase, his legs burning now, though he was hardly aware of the cold seeping through his clothes anymore.
"Moony," James announced, the door slamming shut as they rushed in, Remus's eyebrows drawing together as he sat up in bed, his book falling to the ground.
"Merlin, what've you done?" He jumped to his feet, crossing to Sirius and glancing down at the blonde in his arms.
"F-fucking prank for Snape." Sirius's words fell from his lips without him even thinking. "She walked into it, she - it launched her, over the lake, landed on the ice. Into the w-water."
"Well, what'd you bring her up here for? She could have broken her neck!" Remus shouted, surely waking up their neighboring dorms.
"No! No, she moved. She was talking to us." James cut in, stepping up beside Sirius. "We were going to the hospital wing, and she said she didn't want to go, she just wanted to go to bed."
"Since when do any of us get to choose not to go to the hospital wing." Remus grumbled, grabbing his wand from his night stand and raising it towards her, a rush of hot air sweeping around her body, her clothes and hair drying at once and Sirius felt his own clothes fall warmly against his skin again. "She could have gotten frostbite, you imbeciles. Why are you all still sopping wet?"
"Forgot." Sirius answered, his eyes skating along Remus's stern face.
"Well, she could still have a concussion. I don't know what you want me to do about that." He shot James and Peter an irritated glance.
"Come on, Moony, you know all the spells." James prodded, his eyes filled with guilt. Remus sighed, loudly, turning back to Charlotte and holding his wand over her forehead.
"Rennervate." He uttered, watching as her eyes flickered open and shut a few times, curling deeper into Sirius's arms. Remus's jaw clicked, dropping down against his mattress. "Not a concussion. Probably just in shock. From you lot almost drowning her."
"We didn't think it would go over the lake!" Peter exclaimed, James nodding along looking sincere.
"Was supposed to drag her into- not her, it was supposed to drag Snape, or... It was supposed to drag whatever Slytherin stepped over it on their way to class in the mornings into the tree. I didn't realize how powerful-"
"Why?" Remus whined, his hands sliding over his forehead for a moment.
"We've been trying to get them back for the slurs for weeks! Not our fault you won't help us prank anymore." Sirius snapped, not looking towards Remus as he dropped onto his own mattress, pulling Charlotte closer onto his lap. "What do you suggest I do with her, then? How are we going to get her into her dorm? Everyone's asleep."
"You're not getting her up there, unless someone miraculously appears in the common room tonight who can wake one of the girls up. So I suggest you take her back down there and sleep on the couch-"
"I'm not taking her back down there!" Sirius groaned.
"So what's your plan?" Remus asked, raising his eyebrows towards his roommate.
"She can have my bed." James offered at once. "I'll take the floor."
"Don't be stupid, it was my prank." Sirius muttered, eyeing the floor before looking back to the peaceful face of the girl in his arms, her skin still much whiter than he was used to. He yanked back the blankets from the sloppily made bed and slid Charlotte onto the soft sheets, pulling the blankets over her, eyes lingering on her closed ones for a few seconds. "She's still shivering. What if she does have frostbite?"
"She doesn't." Remus answered, easily, sinking down into his own bed and opening his book in his lap again, as if this entire ordeal had all been an annoying interruption of his previously peaceful night.
"Sirius, just..." James trailed off, looking unusually tired for the boy who usually had more energy than the sun. "She won't mind if you share the bed. You're friends. And she's cold."
Sirius looked unconvinced, looking towards Peter for a second before the blonde boy shrugged. "She's going to hate me."
"Then we'll start a club." James chuckled. "You can tell her it was my idea, none of us will get a second of sleep if she's shaking like that all night."
Sirius shook his head, mostly to himself, sliding into the bed beside the blonde and pulling the blankets up over himself, sighing at the familiar warmth after spending the last half hour in freezing cold clothing. The lights went out around them, though no one had spoken, and Remus dropped his book to the table once again, turning over in bed to face the window.
Charlotte's arms were lined with goosebumps, which Sirius tried to convince himself was a good sign. She was cold, but she was okay. Her body could still sense things, still react. He pressed his own arm over hers, tucking his chin over her head and breathing in her familiar scent. He wished he could stop replaying the moment that her bright hair had disappeared from the darkness, sinking through the waves into the black water. Not knowing if he would even be able to see her beneath the surface. Not knowing if he would be able to get back out from the icy water. He wasn't going to get a minute of sleep.
It wasn't clear how much time had passed, though after a while, Sirius felt he might start counting the seconds of their ticking clock, just to pass the time. James had long since fallen asleep, his tell-tale snores filling the room as Peter's breathing grew heavier as well. It was impossible to tell if Remus was asleep or not, though from the silence, Sirius assumed that he was. Now that he thought about it, Sirius wasn't sure if he had ever been awake longer than Moony, who was always last to bed and usually first to rise, unless James beat him for a morning practice.
Charlotte nestled further into Sirius's chest, one of her hands moving up to grip into the blanket and pull it closer towards her face. "Cold." She breathed out and Sirius ran two fingers over her arm again, pulling her closer when he felt her shaking still.
"Moony?" He whispered through the dark, sure that he wouldn't get an answer.
"What."
He was awake.
"She's still freezing. She hasn't stopped shaking."
"So get her a bloody sweater, or take her to Madam Pomfrey and she can have a pepperup." He answered, quietly.
"Moons," Sirius paused, his stomach filling with guilt as Charlotte shivered against him beneath two blankets. "Will you just help me? Come on, I'm worried about her."
"What do you want me to do about it? Light your bed on fire?" Sirius watched as he flipped over on the bed in the darkness, facing him now and waiting for an answer to the arson offer.
"Will you just come warm her up?" Sirius snapped, already feeling the resentment rise in his throat. "You're always a million degrees."
Remus didn't answer for a minute, silence falling again between the roommates. "Why is this my problem, all because you idiots don't know how to do a single spell." He grumbled, the bed jostling as Remus clambered across the room, not caring how loud he was being, ripping open the first drawer of his dresser and pulling out a thick brown sweater. He launched it to Sirius who sat up quickly, pulling the sweater on over Charlotte's jacket and sinking back down just as Remus ripped the blankets back, climbing into the already crowded bed.
"She is cold." He mumbled, partially to himself as he sank down further, taking what little space of the pillow that he could get and sighing loudly to convey his annoyance.
Sirius waited, silently. This wasn't like Moony. Remus would help anyone, especially someone they... someone Sirius considered a friend. Maybe more than a friend. Remus had started countless study groups, tutored anyone who asked, helped younger years find their way around the castle, stopped Slytherin students from picking on the other houses.
"Moony, why-"
"Don't, Sirius." He answered at once. "I just want to sleep."
☾
Charlotte blinked into the dimly lit room, the only source of light pouring in from the edges of the drawn curtains. It was quiet, all red and gold, dark wood floors. Gryffindor tower. But it was not her room. She turned her head slowly, wincing as a sharp pain shot through her temples and spotting the three empty beds beside the one she was sleeping in.
She jolted up at the sound of a yawn in her ear, turning to see a sleepy Sirius Black, the palm of his hand pressed into his eye and he tried to wake himself.
"What's wrong?" He mumbled, groggily.
"Sirius. What am I doing here?" Charlotte pulled her sweater tighter around her chest, feeling along her body, thankful that she was fully clothed. She looked down, lips pulling into a frown, recognizing the brown sweater at once. She had seen it on many occasions.
Sirius's eyes flickered along her body, watching her mind reel for a moment with a small smirk. "You don't remember last night?"
"What are you talking about?" She practically groaned, resisting the urge to smack the smirk from the dark haired boy's face. The singular streams of light seeping in from the edges of the curtains were starting to bother her eyes, her head pounding now.
"Well, I'm not particularly inclined to tell you, as it paints me in a rather bad light." He shrugged, leaning back onto the bed, his arms propped up on his pillow behind his head.
"Sirius, I swear to God." She glared, a sickly feeling growing in her stomach.
"Okay, woah... Okay." His smile dropped at once, hearing her tone and matching the expression on her face. "Nothing bad happened. I mean... nothing like that." He paused, obviously not wanting to go on. "Just... you... got caught in one of our pranks. Ended up in the black lake."
He trailed off as her glare returned, memory trickling back now. "It wasn't meant for you. I'm sorry. James and I pulled you out, we were going to bring you to Madam Pomfrey, you were shaking so bad. But you wouldn't go. So we brought you up here so I could make sure you didn't freeze to death."
"Didn't want murder on your hands, Black?" She scoffed, tossing the blankets off herself and jumping from the bed, starting towards the doorway.
"Blondie!" He continued, watching her gather her things from the floor. "Charlotte, wait! I wasn't done with my story."
"I'm done with it." She grumbled.
"Then I guess you remember not being able to warm up and begging for Lupin?" His tone was teasing, yet his gaze was dark as she froze, turning back towards him and shaking her head slowly.
"I did not."
"You don't recognize his sweater?" His mouth was pressed into a thin line that he was trying to pass off as a smile. "And what could he say? To our poor, frozen Charlotte."
"Stop, Sirius." She warned, stepping backwards to the door, her heart in her stomach. "Swear to me. Swear it's not another prank."
"Remus warmed you up and you fell right asleep." Sirius bit back, running one hand through his hair which was sticking up in odd angles from sleep.
Charlotte ripped the door open, not bothering to wait for it to shut before she was down the stairs to the common room. She crossed to the stairwell towards her own dorm, wanting a three hour hot shower and to never again leave her bed.
"Char!" James Potter's voice was always too loud, even in the early hours of the mornings. Especially after Quidditch. She turned slowly, her heart hammering in her chest as she watched the boys eyes widen behind his glasses, half a smile stuck on his face. His normally messy hair was weighed down with what she assumed was sweat from another excruciating practice he had forced on everyone. "How are you feeling? You were still asleep when I left..."
"I'm fine." She replied, shortly, stepping backwards towards the stairwell and looking to her feet as if she might trip.
"We're really sorry." He stepped with her, and she realized now he was worried she was angry. "We never meant for you to end up-"
"I know. It's fine. I've got to get upstairs and-"
"Remus said to tell you... That he hopes you're feeling okay." James seemed to add as an after thought.
Charlotte nodded, trying to ignore the weight in her chest at his name.
"No, honest." James must have sensed her disbelief, or maybe her face had given her away. "He just had an... early study thing. You know Moony."
"Yeah..." She tried for a smile as she took the first step up the stairs. "I know."
☾
Charlotte had never been envious of Lily taking so many classes until today, as the red-head was long gone from lunch, and Charlotte had no where to be for another hour. She had been hoping Mary or Marlene might have shown up on one of their many free periods, but that was not the face she saw hurrying down the aisle towards her.
She gulped down a last sip of her coffee before jumping up from the bench.
"Charlotte! Wait, wait, please!" James begged, nearly slamming into her, his hands grabbing hold on both of her arms to hold her in place.
"What?" She asked, meeting his eyes and pressing her lips together tightly.
"Char, I'm... we're... We're so sorry." He stuttered, waiting a few moments for a response before realizing there wasn't one coming. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine." She nodded, rubbing two fingers along her forehead absentmindedly. It had been aching a bit throughout the morning, though nothing serious.
"Did you go see Madam Pomfrey? If your head is hurting, maybe-"
"It's fine, James." Charlotte replied, keeping the sharpness out of her voice when she saw the guilty look in James' eyes. "Really. Just going to make it through the rest of the day and then I'll probably just get some more sleep."
James nodded, following the blonde as she started out of the great hall. "Did Sirius find you?" He asked, his voice sounding nervous. "He said he wanted to make sure you were feeling alright."
Charlotte scoffed, "He didn't seem too worried this morning."
Jame's gaze flickered to hers, his lips turning down. "He mentioned you were... upset."
"Well, you all nearly killed me." She bit back, regretting it at once as surprise filled the boy's hazel eyes. "I know, it was an accident. Sirius just seemed like it was a big joke."
"He didn't." James blurted, "He didn't think it was a joke, Char. You should have seen him last night, he was losing his mind. Dove right in the lake after you, we didn't know where either of you were, I don't even know how he found you in the dark, he was-"
"What?" She skidded to a stop, looking up to James again. "He jumped in the lake?"
James blinked twice, replaying the words in his mind as if he might have slipped up. "Well, yeah. How did you think we got you out?"
Charlotte hadn't thought that far. In fact, she had been trying not to think about the events of last night at all.
"Well," She pressed on, resuming their journey to Gryffindor tower. "I didn't know that."
"Where you off to now?" James changed the subject, keeping up with her easily as they started up the stairs.
"Have a free period, then charms." She answered.
"Well, I'll walk you up. I've got a half an hour until herbology." He offered, the perpetual smile returning to his face as she offered him a nod.
"Yeah, you can take Remus's sweater back upstairs for me? I accidentally... wore it down this morning." She held back a wince. Remus had been the last thing she had wanted to bring up, her entire body cringing at any thought of her begging for him last night.
"I thought that was his." James chuckled. "We were all worried about you, Char. I swear, we really were going to the infirmary! Made Remus check you for a concussion and everything."
"Well, tell him I'm really sorry, for whatever I said last night. I can't believe it."
"What'd you say?" James looked confused, reaching the seventh floor a step before her and offering the password to the fat lady.
Charlotte stepped through into the quiet common room, looking away and praying for the flush to crawl back down her neck.
"Sirius said... That I was freezing and... begged for Remus to warm me up." She forced out, watching as James's face clouded over in thought.
"Char, I... I think he might have been making a joke. You were out, I doubt you said anything at all the whole night."
"No, I... I made him promise me he wasn't..." She trailed off, forcing her mind back to their dorm, Sirius in bed, messy hair and hooded eyes. She played over the words in her mind.
"I don't think you have to worry about it. I'm sure Remus just offered you the sweater because you were still really cold." James cocked his head to one side, watching her turn over the memory in her mind.
"Well... I'll go get it, if you'd bring it upstairs? I don't really feel like..."
James nodded before she could even finish, falling into the couch as Charlotte disappeared up the staircase out of sight.