20
New Years Eve was a Friday, and as calm and collected as the Potter's had seemed the entirety of Christmas Break, Charlotte wouldn't have described the afternoon as anything else beside chaotic. Even with Leeny directing all of the tasks and setting James, Sirius and Charlotte small tasks throughout the day, she had never seen Effie looking quite so frazzled.
"Oh, no. This is nothing, you should have seen her last year." James smiled as he strung another garland over the staircase, shooting Sirius a glare as it whipped out of his fingers and up the banister on it's own. "It's a blessing and a curse having you here sometimes."
"I make your life easier, how could I be anything but a blessing?" Sirius's teeth sparkled as he grinned.
"Because you're a big show off about it. You just wait until March, I'm going to have so much to make up for."
"I'm quaking, on Merlin." He teased, Charlotte rolling her eyes as she fluffed up the next poinsettia at the bottom of the steps.
"I do notice that none of your spells have been helping me carry any of these over." She shot him a pointed look, though even she could feel the smile tugging at her lips.
"My apologies, lovely." He muttered from above her as the remaining two pots flew towards them, crashing into Charlotte's open arms and knocking her a few steps backwards.
"Never mind. I'm with James, stop helping." She laughed, placing the final plant beside Sirius's.
"Done there?" Effie's voice appeared around the corner from the kitchen. "Oh, that looks perfect! Charlotte, I swear, we've gotten everything done so much faster this year with your help!"
"We're done?" James's eyes lit up as he glanced at his clock. "Merlin, that was fast. We've got ages until-"
"We've not got ages, James! Both of you upstairs, you look a mess. Charlotte dear, I can't thank you enough."
"No, it's fine!" Charlotte grinned, forcing her eyes away from the boys. She was sure Effie would be able to see right through her gaze and realize she would have volunteered for any job if it meant spending the day with Sirius. "Everything looks amazing, I can't wait for the party."
"You can come back over as soon as you're ready! Everyone should be getting here around seven, but you're welcome anytime."
"Yeah, don't take too long now blondie!" Sirius called, a twinkle dancing through his gaze as he followed James up the stairs, Charlotte stepping towards the fireplace which hadn't been lit all morning, everyone feeling plenty warm from the constant running around.
It was only a few minutes past seven when Charlotte stepped out of the floo for what felt like the fiftieth time that week, yet the house was already packed. Charlotte stepped to the side, sure that more people would be arriving any moment, and looked down, brushing any residual soot from her dress. It fell just above her knees, and she was relieved to find her skin free from any black smudges and that she had guessed correctly that the entire house would be perfectly warm despite the winter storm raging outside.
"Blondie!" Sirius hadn't yelled, yet she felt as if he was standing right beside her. She turned and spotted him at once, lounging on one of the couches, James and Peter beside him, all with sparkling glasses in their hands. Sirius stood at once, meeting her halfway and ignoring whatever comment of Peter's which had James snorting out a laugh.
"Hi." She smiled up to him for a second too long before turning to Peter. "Hey, Pete! How was your Christmas?"
"Was great! Thanks for the sweets." He smiled genuinely, sitting up straighter.
"Course." She glanced around the room, looking over all of the unfamiliar faces streaming through the house. "The girls aren't here yet?"
"No, and it's all James's been whining about." Sirius grinned back to his friend who's mouth fell open in offense.
"You're one to talk!" Peter practically giggled, Sirius's hand landing on Charlotte's elbow, steering her away from the boys and towards the kitchen.
"Want something to drink?" His words rushed out as they stepped into the bright room.
"Okay." She agreed, running her lower lip beneath her teeth as Sirius dropped her arm and grabbed for a crystal glass from the glass cabinet before them, mixing together a healthy pour of champagne and some sort of red juice mixture.
"You look beautiful." He spoke softly as he passed her the drink, his gaze snaking down her dress before returning to her eyes.
Her breath felt stuck in her throat before she forced out a response. "Really?"
His laugh echoed through the emptying kitchen as he nodded, refilling his own drink. "Of course you do. You always look beautiful."
Charlotte wished that they were back in the crowded room, the only light from the fireplace and the Christmas Tree and wreaths scattered throughout the guests. Maybe then Sirius wouldn't be able to notice the bright red that was surely covering her face now.
"Even earlier, with your hair up and your ripped up jeans."
"They weren't ripped this morning, only after you and James wouldn't stop messing around with those wreathes-"
"Whatever you say, blondie." He shrugged obnoxiously, leading them both back to the boys who had found some new friends.
"Charlotte!" Mary screeched, drawing the attention from half the room as she sprinted towards the blonde. "Bloody look at you!" She pulled her in for a hug between glances at the gold colored dress.
"Hi Mary." Charlotte laughed, pulling Marlene and Lily into hugs as well. "Thank God you're finally here, thought you were going to stand us up!"
"Oh, as if you'd have had an issue. From what James said, you've been spending a lot of time with just the boys." Marlene voice was teasing, yet Lily's eyebrows were raised in a very I-told-you-so manner.
"Well... I went to the party with Sirius and I've been over a few times since... yeah." Charlotte trailed off, careful not to accidentally spill anything about Sirius's family or why he was now living with the Potters.
"And?" Mary nodded for her to continue.
"And what?"
"How is he?"
"Who?" Charlotte scanned over the three of them, Marlene scarcely holding in her laughter as Lily rubbed two fingers along her temple, shaking her head at Mary. There was no way they could already know about what had happened on Christmas Eve...
"Sirius. In bed."
Charlotte blinked, realization dawning in half a second.
"Mary, what in Godric's name..." She glanced behind her, half expecting to find a dozen strangers listening in on their conversation.
"Don't tell me Sirius Black brought you home after his family's big holiday ball and didn't try to seduce you."
"He didn't!" Charlotte hissed, shooting her friend a warning glare which did nothing to quell their giggles.
"Leave her alone, you're both terrible." Lily scolded through a smile. "Charlotte will tell us when she sleeps with Sir-" She trailed off in a new fit of laughter as Charlotte slapped a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry! I'm only joking!"
"We'll sooner get details of James's bedroom performance from Lily, Lily who sent James a Christmas gift, custom picked for him, I might add." She enjoyed the wide eyed shock as the girls looked to their red-headed friend who blinked in confusion.
"How did you-"
"What's it going to take to get you four back over here?" James shouted over the crowd from their couch, "I'm not averse to begging." He smirked, dropping from the couch to his knees on the floor, his eyes linking with Lily's green ones.
"Get off the floor, you imbecile." Lily chuckled, grabbing his hand and helping him back to the couch. Sirius stood to make room for her beside James and plopped onto the other couch, his fingers linking between Charlottes and pulling her down onto his lap with a grin.
"Sirius!" Charlotte called out in shock as she fell backwards, her voice cutting off as his hands found her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder, his breath warm on her neck.
"Won't you be cold in that dress?" He asked softly, either unaware or choosing to ignore the smirks Mary and Marlene wore as they took seats beside them.
"It's quite warm in here." Charlotte answered, sliding from his lap into the seat beside him and praying for her blush to subside.
The night flew by, Marlene keeping everyone entertained with stories from her break and presumptions of what the professors were doing back at Hogwarts, while Lily filled Charlotte in on her ski trip and her sister's ever present bad attitude. Charlotte's eyes flickered between Lily as she spoke and James, who seemed to be hung on every word. It was as if he could never soak in enough information on the red head.
Mary was informing the group of all of the Christmas cookies and sweets she had packed up for their train ride back, yet all that Charlotte was focused on was the fact that Sirius's arm had been slowly snaking it's way around her waist, his fingers falling to the exposed skin of her thigh and brushing small circles, eliciting goosebumps that she was praying he hadn't noticed.
"You do seem cold, love." He breathed into her ear and she shook her head at once, more to herself than him, forcing her mind back to Mary's words.
There was a small roar of excitement and everyone turned towards the clock. Only a minute left until the New Year.
"Merlin!" James jumped from his seat, everyone's eyes following him. "We're going to miss it!"
"Miss what?" Lily shouted over the chatter of the room, letting James pull her to her feet, leading the group towards the back of the house. Charlotte smiled to herself, sliding up between Sirius and Marlene and watching as James's eyes searched through the sky.
"James, what are we standing out here for it's bloody freez-" Marlene stopped, a grin pulling to her face as golden sparks whistled through the air, exploding into color and raining down through the sky.
"Why haven't we been coming here every year?" Mary asked, grinning to Lily, though the green eyes were stuck to James.
Charlotte hugged her arms to her chest, watching her breath cloud up before her face and turning to catch the gray eyes staring back at her. There were cheers from all around them and inside the house, everyone shouting out new year's wishes and watching the fireworks, yet Sirius was silent, only the ghost of a smirk painted over his lips.
"Happy New Year." Charlotte spoke softly.
"I'm really glad you're here." He answered, the fireworks finally stilling in the sky as everyone started back indoors.
"Me too." She answered, not daring to move from their spot until Sirius nodded to the doorway, stepping beside her and blocking the wind as they shut the door.
☾
Charlotte snuggled deeper into the impossibly soft couch, her feet pulled up at her side, though she couldn't ignore the minimal space between her snowflake printed socks and Sirius's thigh. The three of them had been playing an excruciating few rounds of exploding snap as the snow whipped past the windows behind them until Charlotte had finally won, the tips of her fingers still numb from the constant zaps.
"You excited to get back to school?" Charlotte asked, not enjoying the silence the two had fallen into since James had left the room a few minutes before. Sirius shot her half a glare and she let out a soft laugh. "Of course, what was I thinking?"
The silence returned and Charlotte turned to face the dark haired boy beside her, watching as his gray eyes scanned over James and Euphemia from their space in the kitchen. James wore a soft smile as he let his mother pull him in for a hug, her lips catching his forehead for just a moment before he pushed her off, and Charlotte could vaguely make out his words, "Alright," and "Quite enough."
"Hey..." Charlotte mumbled, stretching her fingers to brush against the top of his hand, his eyes flashing to hers in an instant.
"What?" He answered too quickly, crossing one ankle across his knee and turning away from the scene in the kitchen.
"Do you want to get out of here? For a bit?"
"Why?"
"I don't know... Change of scenery?" She couldn't bring herself to say the words. To tell him she could see the sadness in his eyes plain as day. "We could go to my house? My mom's making casserole... It's pretty good-"
A small smile pulled at the edges of Sirius's lips before he nodded, nudging her knee with his. "Okay. Let's go."
Not ten minutes later, James was grinning behind their backs as they said goodbye and stepped into the glowing emerald flames of the beautiful fireplace. There was a pause as the world around them scattered into a million pieces, re-forming into the familiar scene of Charlotte's living room which was much less decorated than the Potter's had been.
"You know, I can apparate still." Sirius brushed some imaginary soot from his sweater and Charlotte shot him an amused glance. "I mean, I know Effie had me on forced bedrest, but I am completely capable-"
"Sirius!" Mrs. Harris grinned from around the corner near the kitchen. "It's so nice to finally see you again! We thought Charlotte was hiding us from you."
Charlotte reached up to scratch her eyebrow, watching Sirius's smile widen at her mother's words.
"Well, I forced her hand. Couldn't stand to not see you again before school." He grinned, charmingly, Charlotte resisting an eye roll as they headed deeper into the house, the warmth floating from the kitchen.
"Did you two eat? I've almost finished dinner... Charlotte, would you go grab your father?"
Charlotte's eyes flickered towards Sirius, hesitant to leave him so soon, yet he was already pulling a chair out at the table and listening as Mrs. Harris launched into a million questions about the New Years Party, thankfully not starting on Christmas Eve.
"Dinner's ready." Charlotte gasped into her father's study, slightly out of breath from her race over. "Sirius is eating with us."
"Oh, Sirius?" Her father's eyes lit up as he joined her, starting down the hallway and back into the bright kitchen. "Look who's back!" He grinned, Sirius offering his hand across the table, still nodding along as Mrs. Harris continued her speech.
"Mom, you're going to make his head explode." Charlotte crossed around the table towards the vacant chair at Sirius's side which he kicked out as she neared, as if she was planning to take a different seat.
"Have a good Christmas, son?" Mr. Harris asked, Charlotte's eyes flashing towards Sirius's gray ones which surprisingly didn't even twitch as he answered.
"Yeah, I did. How was yours? I know we kept Charlotte for the morning, but I promise you can blame that entirely on James."
The table chuckled and Charlotte let out a silent sigh, the breath that she had been holding in her chest without realizing.
"Alright, dinner's ready!" Mrs. Harris smiled as she began dishing food onto four plates. Charlotte felt her heart jump to her throat as Sirius's fingers inched along her thigh beneath the table, finally reaching her hands which were knotted together and prying them apart, fingers looping between hers with a squeeze.
Charlotte had offered to clean up after dinner, half as thanks for her mother cooking, and half to give Sirius a few moments of peace from the constant chatter he'd put up with all through the meal. Sirius had stayed to help, Mr. and Mrs. Harris reluctantly filing into the living room after offering the pair to join them in a board game, though Charlotte had insisted they were going to bake cookies before the holidays were officially over. A small smile pulled it's way onto Sirius's lips at her words, though he leaned against the counter beside her and reached for the next dish to dry.
"They're fun." He spoke at last, once the two were alone in the kitchen, the quarter moon now bright in the sky outside of their window. "Thank you for having me."
"They're a lot. I'm sorry they brought up... Christmas."
"They didn't know." He shrugged, stacking the next plate beside her. "And besides... I did have a great Christmas."
Charlotte nodded, peeking towards him from the corner of her eye and catching his eyes on her. "Good." She started towards the pantry, spinning to look at him once she had made it a few steps away. "Do you want to make cookies? We don't have to... We could do something else, or you can go back to James's..."
Sirius's lips were locking in the familiar grin as he watched her ramble on.
"If you'll show me how. You're looking at someone who can hardly manage toast."
Charlotte laughed, easily, grabbing a large bin of flour which Sirius took from her arms at once, placing it on the table as she went back for the rest of their ingredients.
"Should be even easier for you to learn to cook... you can use magic."
He shrugged, watching as she started measuring out the flour and handed him a small glass jar with a slice of butter. "Can you melt that for me?"
"Can I?" He rolled his eyes, playfully, pulling his wand from his pocket, the butter bubbling at once before he passed it back to her.
"You're going to make this whole experience insufferable, aren't you?"
"If you've made it this long without realizing I'm insufferable, blondie, I don't know whether to be impressed or disappointed."
Not twenty minutes later, Sirius and Charlotte sat at the table once again, the heat from the oven behind them warming their backs as they waited.
"There's got to be a charm for this. We could be eating them by now." Sirius glanced back for the tenth time at the oven and Charlotte laughed.
"I'm sure there is. But my mom does it all by hand. She says it relaxes her. But we can look when we get back to school."
"No. No." He shook his head, "You're not tricking me into voluntarily going to the library."
"Then I guess you'd better familiarize yourself with muggle cooking." She shrugged, watching as his eyes flickered to hers, falling to her lips and then meeting somewhere in the middle. "What?"
"You've got..." He mumbled, reaching out before attempting to finish his sentence. His fingers hooked gently against her jaw and pulled her gaze up to his before brushing his thumb along her cheek, white powder lining the pad of his finger when he finally pulled away. "Flour."
She reached up, swatting gently at both cheeks to ensure it was gone as he chuckled. "Don't trust me?"
"No, not really." She grinned, teasingly as his jaw fell slightly.
"I sometimes forget why I enjoy being around you." He slouched over the table, his head falling to his fist. "You're lucky you're so nice to look at."
☾
The train rolled along, sunlight reflecting off the light snow still falling across the white mountains in the distance. The Gryffindor's compartment was a record quiet, Charlotte was sure. James and Peter had hardly made it an hour in before giving in to the sleep pulling at their eyes. James had given Peter the bench, falling easily to the floor and bunching Lily's purse up at her feet as a makeshift pillow; something Charlotte was sure would have started a screaming match only a year ago.
Sirius had put up more of a fight, biting back a smile as even Marlene, usually the epitome of energy and laughter had leaned her neck against the frozen window. He had made it all the way until the trolley arrived, purchasing everyone some sweets and even a small stash for their sleeping friends, even if he insisted that they hide the pile to convince James and Peter they had missed out.
He was now, however, visibly fighting the fatigue, blinking forcefully every few minutes as Charlotte snuck peeks over to his face each time she turned the page of her book. She had thought she would be more nervous, returning to Hogwarts, having to see Remus again every day. She had hardly thought of him over the break, only for the times James would mention their friend, though Sirius was always quick to change the subject when it arose.
"What're you reading?" Sirius mumbled, leaning closer to Charlotte until she was sure all of the air in their compartment had been replaced with his cologne.
She turned the cover towards him as an answer, pressing her lips together into a thin line as she turned up towards his face which was much closer to hers than she had been expecting. "Why? Want to borrow it when I'm done?" She teased, watching his eyes roll towards the ceiling.
"Yeah, you know me so well." He grumbled, quietly, before giving in completely and dropping his head to her shoulder. "M'going to just take a quick nap." He murmured, his eyes shutting as he spoke, not noticing Mary and Lily's had grown twice as large as they grinned.
"Charlotte, come on-" Mary hissed a few seconds later, the blonde shooting her a murderous glance to stop her mid-sentence. There was no way Sirius was already asleep, and she didn't even want to think about the next words Mary had planned.
Lily shook her head with a smug grin, flipping the page on her own book as Charlotte pointed at James, messy curls spilling onto Lily's bag at her feet, cheeks flushed pink.
"Are you nervous?" Mary asked softly after a few minutes of silence. Charlotte's eyes flicked to Sirius beside her before answering.
"For what?"
"To see him again? Remus?" She went on, Lily watching Charlotte closely, as if she could tell the answer even if Charlotte didn't know it herself.
"I don't know." The blonde whispered, shutting her book, her thumb in the center to mark her spot. "It's been two weeks, I'm sure he's already forgotten."
"Oh, please." Mary scoffed, clapping a hand over her mouth before realizing the rest of the car was still fast asleep. "We all saw him at breakfast that morning. He looked bloody awful."
"Mary..." Lily warned through a sigh.
"It's fine guys. Really, it's fine. I'm sure he won't want to talk about it, and neither do I, so we can just move past-"
"He wrote me. When I got back from the trip. Asked how it went and how my Christmas was... and he asked how you were doing."
Charlotte's heart had stopped. She was sure of it.
"What? You didn't tell me-"
"I didn't know how. I just thought I'd give you a few Remus free days," she dropped her voice even softer, "And then we saw you on New Years and you seemed so happy and I just couldn't bring it up."
"What did you tell him?" Charlotte asked, annoyance pricking at the back of her mind now. If Remus had wanted to know how she was doing, there was only one person that he should have asked.
"I told him I hadn't seen you and I didn't know." She shrugged, watching for Charlotte's reaction for a few moments. "I agree with you, I don't think he'll want to talk about it. But I thought you'd want to know."
"Yeah, I guess." She nodded, leaning back against the comfortable bench, nearly forgetting that Sirius was still pressed against her until he let out a soft groan, re-adjusting his head onto her shoulder and thoroughly convincing Charlotte that he was actually asleep.