Chapter 23
Charlotte could practically feel the air shift as the boys entered the Great Hall for breakfast. As Sirius entered the Great Hall. James's laughter boomed over the crowd, Sirius wearing a sleepy, yet full, grin, Peter and Remus dragging their feet behind them as they made their way to the girls.
Mary kicked Charlotte, unnecessarily hard, in the shin as they drew near with a smirk and Lily shook her head at the dark haired girl, mouthing a warning for Mary to behave.
James fell into place beside Lily at once, as if there had been no other seat he could possibly have taken in the entire room, Remus dropping down at his side and pulling breakfast over towards himself without a moments hesitation.
Charlotte pushed a mug of milky coffee towards Sirius as he took his seat beside her and a smile tugged at his lips as he wrapped his fingers around the steaming mug.
"Thanks, blondie." It was ridiculous, how just hearing his voice could fill her chest with warmth. He took a sip, set the mug back to the table and looped one arm around her neck, pulling her close to press a kiss to her temple.
"No!" James called, drawing the attention of everyone at the neighboring tables who simply offered the Marauder's an eye roll and went back to their breakfast.
"He didn't tell you?" Marlene didn't even attempt to bite back her laughter at James' wide eyed stare.
"Pads, the betrayal!"
"You're joking!" Peter now looked fully awake, though Remus's eyes skated over the couple before falling back to his breakfast at once in silence.
"It's not been twelve hours, tossers."
"It has absolutely been twelve hours." Mary muttered, Marlene glancing at her fingers briefly as Lily choked back laughter.
"Are you paying her?" James grinned, obviously already lining jokes up in his head. "Char, blink twice if you need help."
"Yeah, we've got a safe house all ready if you need one, don't we, Moony?" Peter kicked the brunette lightheartedly though Remus hardly looked up, raising his eyebrows slightly to appease his friend before gulping down another sip of tea.
"Are you feeling better, Remus?" Lily asked, noting her friend's silence and also knowing Charlotte would appreciate the attention being stolen from her.
"Much." He answered, nodding Lily's way.
"Good, because there was no way you were missing this game!" James clapped Remus on the back before turning back to his own breakfast. "Can't believe you didn't tell me, you've only been pining after her since Sept-"
"Sod off, kindly?" Sirius interrupted, though the damage was done, Mary practically on her feet across the table.
"I told you!" She blurted, "Day one, I told you all!"
"Well, this has been lovely." Sirius tried for a glare at James, though it did nothing to suppress either of the boy's smiles.
James had finished scarfing down his food at record time to pull Marlene along down to the pitch to get ready. Peter had allowed the rest of the group twenty more minutes before claiming he couldn't wait any longer and begging them to start down to the game.
"Peter, it's bloody cold and we've nearly half an hour left before they'll actually start." Sirius groaned, eyes flashing towards the doorway.
"We want good seats! We can watch them warm up!" Peter whined.
"You watch them practice practically every night." Sirius bit back before Remus set a hand on Peter's shoulder and nodded towards the Entrance Hall.
"Come on, I'll go with you." He spoke softly, already out of his spot and nodding a quick goodbye to the Gryffindors.
"Lunatics." Sirius called, a grin spreading over his face as he watched Remus shake his head.
The rest of the Gryffindor's were able to stall nearly another 45 minutes before Lily glanced at her wrist once again, declaring they should really get outside.
"Yeah, you'd hate to miss James's first big loss of the year." Sirius grinned, flinching away as Charlotte smacked his chest lightly. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be on my side now?"
"If that was part of the agreement, I must not have read the fine print." She teased as the four of them pushed through the heavy doors leading to the snow covered grounds. Charlotte wrapped the brown scarf tighter around her neck and leaned deeper into Sirius's side, his arm circling her waist and his fingers pushing into her pocket for warmth.
"You don't actually think they'll lose, do you?" Lily asked, glancing up to Sirius, Charlotte noting the nerves painted on her face clear as day.
"To Hufflepuff? Not a chance." Sirius beamed, "Even if half the team does have a cold from Potter's ridiculous practice schedule."
"Yeah, don't you worry, Lils. Your boyfriend will lead Gryffindor to another victory." Mary grinned, Sirius's eyes lighting up at the comment.
"Why's he practicing so hard then? If Hufflepuff is such an easy win?" Charlotte skated past Mary's joke, though Lily's cheeks were still tinged pink.
"Because James is a perfectionist. Annoyingly, really. And when they win this game, James thinks it will shake Slytherin's confidence for next month's game."
"I don't think anything can shake Slytherin's confidence." Mary said through an eye roll as the group climbed the last few steps of the crowded bleachers, falling into their seats that Remus and Peter had saved for them near the top of the stands.
"Peter, I know the view is bloody brilliant, but it's colder than Salazar's heart up here." Sirius grumbled, finally releasing his fingers from Charlottes and stuffing them into his own pockets.
"Want my scarf?" She whispered, biting back a smile at the way the tip of his nose had turned pink.
"No, blondie. Bit too fashionable for me, don't you think?" He teased and she rolled her eyes.
"Oh, yes. Coming from the grunge king himself. I'm surprised your jeans are hole-free today."
"It's winter." He snarled, though the corners of his lips were turned permanently into a smile. "I thought girlfriends were supposed to be nice?"
"You picked the wrong one." Mary teased, leaning forward to thump Sirius on the back of his head as Charlotte giggled, Remus's eyes glued carefully to the sky as the game began.
"Girlfriend?" Peter repeated, apparently finding this a big enough conversation to distract him from the start of the game he'd been so excited to watch all morning.
"Yeah." Sirius answered, "Girlfriend."
"About time." Mary grinned, meeting Lily's eyes, though her green ones flickered between Sirius and Charlottes smiles and Remus's clenched jaw before everyone's attention was finally pulled back to the game.
"Potter with ten points, the first goal of the game, not even five minutes in!" The announcer's voice rang through the stadium as everyone jumped to their feet to cheer, Lily's grin nearly taking up half her face now.
☾
January had come and nearly gone in what felt like the blink of an eye. It seemed only yesterday that she had been snuggled up on the Potter's couch beside Sirius, watching the snow fall outside of the glittering windows. Sirius's fingers were cool against hers, though she guessed it was from the chilly corridors which they had been walking through since dinner. He had taken to walking her back the last couple of nights, purposely taking different turns around the perimeter of the castle, though she didn't mind. Extra time with him, just the two of them, before she would have to leave him for the night. She didn't mind one bit.
"You know, I miss waking up beside you." Sirius spoke, as if he had read her mind. Her lips spread into a small smile, though he caught it at once, his eyes hadn't left her face in a while.
"That has only happened once, Sirius." She pointed out as the two of them finally started up the final staircase towards Gryffindor tower.
"Exactly my point. I think it should happen more often." He grinned.
"Well, it's such a shame Gryffindor didn't trust boys like you with access to the girls dorms."
"And such a relief that he trusted good girls like you with access to ours." He teased, mischief sparking in his eyes in the dimly lit corridor.
"Your roommates won't appreciate that, I feel."
"I don't give a rat's ass." He laughed, "Besides, if I have to listen to James pine over Evans every night, they can put up with an overnight guest a few nights a week."
"A few nights a week?" She grinned as he muttered the password, pushing through the portrait hole.
"Alright, every night, then? God, you're needy!" He shrugged, Charlotte's laughter echoing through the room, the rest of the Marauders glancing up at the pair. James's grin spread over his face, his mind trailing away from the game of chess he and Peter had been focused on, while Remus's eyes flickered back towards the book in his lap at once before it snapped shut. He didn't spare anyone another glance before rising from his seat and starting up the staircase to the boys dorms.
Sirius's smile fell from his lips at once, glancing to Charlotte who was quick to pull her gaze back from the tall Marauder's disappearance, pasting a convincing smile over her frown.
"I'll be right back..." Sirius muttered, pulling her closer to press a quick kiss to her forehead. "We're not done with this conversation." He pointed a finger at her as she started over to sit with James and Peter, Sirius starting up the staircase after Lupin.
His friend moved awfully fast for someone with such a bad hip, and Sirius was already at their door before he finally caught the boy. He knew he had heard him, that he had likely heard the entire exchange, every step Sirius had taken after him, yet he didn't turn as he pushed through into their shared dorm.
"What is your problem, lately?" Sirius asked, Remus finally facing him, a scowl painted across his face as he shook his head with a small shrug.
"Dunno what you mean." He muttered, dropping his book to the nightstand beside his bed.
"Yeah, you do." Sirius snapped, "Why are you still being so terrible to her? She's left you alone now, isn't that what you wanted."
"If you're talking about Charlotte-"
"Yeah, Charlotte, of course Charlotte!" Sirius bellowed, Remus blinking as his voice rose. "I'm not standing by anymore while you treat her like shit."
"I'm not doing anything, Sirius."
"Storming out every time you see us together? Completely dropping out of every conversation when anyone brings us up? She's my girlfriend, Lupin, so whatever problems that you had with her, either spit it out or let it go."
"I have no problems with her, Sirius! She's great! She's bloody perfect, I'm so happy for you both." Remus's voice rose now too, neither boy seeming to care for the other dorms surrounding theirs.
"Okay, so that's your problem then?" Sirius's voice was practically a growl. "You've still got feelings for her-"
"I've never had feelings for her-"
"Well, excuse me if I couldn't tell! You've been so back and forth the entire year. Tutoring her every weekend, talking shit about her behind her back, lending her all of your favorite books, standing her up for Slughorn's party. Don't think I don't know about you getting her that scarf."
"I can't get her a scarf?" Remus scoffed, his lips sliding into half a smirk. "Should I remind you of the reason she even needed one?"
"Piss off, Lupin." Sirius was practically seeing red. "I'm happy. She's happy. I'm not letting you ruin that just because you can't get your bloody feelings in check."
Remus was silent, his jaw clicking into place as he watched Sirius, looking almost bored with the conversation.
"You had your chance. You had months. She picked me. And you've got to accept that, or we're going to have to talk it out."
More silence.
"And I guess that's not happening." Sirius scoffed, crossing back to the door and slamming it back into it's frame as he started back down the stairs, Remus sinking onto the bed and wincing as the noise echoed through the tower. He glanced at the book on his nightstand, contemplating for only a moment before falling back into bed, shutting the lights off with the wave of his wand and yanking the covers over his head.