26
Charlotte fell into the open spot beside Marlene, who looked nearly as tired as Charlotte felt herself. She had outlasted even Lily's studying in the common room the night before, trying to wait up to say goodnight to Sirius before bed, though eventually giving in after jolting awake for the third time in the arm chair beside the fire.
Whatever the boys had been up to, it had kept them out quite late, and she wasn't surprised to find them still half asleep as they fell into three of the four vacant seats in the back row just as McGonagall rose from her desk to begin the days lesson.
"You idiots were out all night again, weren't you?" Marlene laughed, shaking her head as she pulled out her notes.
"What's life without a bit of fun, McKinnon?" James answered through a yawn, though none of the boys were moving very quickly to at least appear as though they were taking notes.
"Where's Remus then?" Mary asked the question Charlotte had been fighting since they had entered the room without their tallest roommate.
"Oh, you know Lupin..." Sirius started slowly.
"You boys keep him out too late! He's not always hyped up on adrenaline like you three." Lily said loudly, pulling the attention to herself before changing the subject. "Now I'll have to bring him his notes again, he doesn't like to fall behind, you're all going to fall ill if you don't get enough sleep-"
"Yes, mum! We hear you loud and clear!" Sirius hissed through a grin, James sleepy eyes stuck to the back of Lily's head through her ramble, a soft smile pulling at his lips.
While it certainly would have been no ones pick, aside from Lily's perhaps, double transfiguration first thing in the morning, the hours passed quickly and before long the group was headed towards their last lesson before lunch. A thought that seemed permanently etched into Peter's mind.
"Well, we did miss breakfast!" He whined as they started towards their usual seats beside a very tall, yet very slouched figure.
"Remus!" Mary grinned as he turned back to offer his friends a tired looking smile. "God, you look awful. Why didn't you take the whole day off? Someone ought to give you one of those Merlin Order medals for putting up with this lot." She rambled, though Remus's smile didn't waver as he shrugged off her words.
"Well, there's still time." He agreed, the rest of the class filing into the room at last.
"Good morning class, hopefully everyone is enjoying the warmer weather we're getting lately?" Their professor muttered from the front of the room, shuffling through a few piles of parchment on his desk before looking up. "I've got a special lesson planned for us today. Mr. Filch has found himself a Boggart in a storage closet on the fifth floor and the Headmaster has agreed that we can study it this week before they cart it off."
There was a low murmur around the room, some worried glances exchanged with neighbors while some people seemed excited, James's eyes finally widening from their previous sleepy stance.
"Now, for those of you who haven't read up on the creatures, you should know they can be quite fearsome. They've learned to read their opponents quickly, and transform themselves into whatever you fear the most. Some of you might not even know this yourself, and it can be a frightening experience. This being said, I will not force anyone to participate, but I do hope that some of you are willing to face your fears so that we can all learn something today. And I'll expect a two page paper on Boggarts on my desk by next week. You may work in pairs."
There was a low cheer which their professor allowed for a few moments before waving his hands through the air and nodding towards a large oak cabinet near the corner of the room.
"Anyone who's willing to give it a shot? Come on up!" He scanned the room, most of the Ravenclaws seemed content in their seats, and Charlotte's eyes wandered towards Sirius who's gaze was planted firmly on the table before him.
James was the first out of his seat, a mixture of chuckles and eye rolls spreading through the room as he started towards the front excitedly, Marlene shrugging and following suit along with a few other students from around the class.
"Very good, Mr. Potter, I should have guessed." The professor smiled, taking a seat behind his desk as James approached the cabinet. "Now, I'm going to open the doors, whatever you see... you're to picture it as something laughable. Imagine it as anything humorous, it thrives on the fear of it's opponents, and you cannot let it see that from you."
James nodded, confidence practically flowing from the messy haired boy in waves.
"Once you're ready, the spell is Riddikulus!"
"I'm ready." James confirmed, and everyone watched as the doors flew open at once with a slight bang, a dark, tattered, cloaked creature drifted through the room. James blinked, took one step back and watched for only a moment as the creature grew larger over the room.
"Riddikulus!" He shouted at last, a loud ruffle filling the room as the creatures cape surrounded it's hood and began to shrink into itself like a deflated balloon. James's smile returned to his face as the class offered him a quick applause and the professor stood once again, the cabinet doors shutting with the flick of his wand.
"Well done, Mr. Potter! Rather a two-for-one for us, everyone! Can anyone tell the class what that creature was?"
"A Lethifold, professor!" Lily answered, her hand in the air, though she hadn't waited to be called on. "They're nearly silent, and are known to capture and suffocate their victims before digesting them whole. No remains are ever found in these attacks." She muttered, her eyes lingering on the cabinet.
"That's correct, Miss Evans, five points to Gryffindor. Miss McKinnon, when you're ready?" He gestured towards the cabinet and Marlene stood a bit father back than James had, nodding once before the doors opened again.
After the class had successfully vanished a very large acromantula, a troll, and what looked to be a disfigured skeleton, there was only one Ravenclaw remaining in line, and she looked quite ready to be back in her seat.
"Alright, last one! Then I'll give you the rest of the lesson to start your papers with the partners of your choice." The professor nodded towards the Ravenclaw before the cabinet burst open once more.
There was a long pause of silence before a slender creature crawled slowly from the cabinet, hunching forward and letting out a low growl towards the small Ravenclaw.
"Ah, shit." Sirius hissed and Charlotte spun to face him for only a second before letting her eyes flicker back towards the wolf at the front of the room.
"Ri-" The girl started, though the wolf cut her off, leaning back, tossing it's snout towards the ceiling and letting out a long, eerily familiar howl. "Riddikulus!"
The howl was cut short, the wolf shrinking down lower and lower until a small poodle sat in the room before them, a large pink bow tied to each ear and it scampered quickly back into the cabinet, the doors shutting with a bang behind them.
"Well done, class! If only it were that simple to escape a real werewolf, isn't that right Miss Spencer?" The professor chuckled as the girl took her seat, smiling nervously at her friend. "Alright, everyone pair up now! You've about twenty minutes left to get started."
Before Charlotte could even look to Lily beside her, the red-head was already out of her seat, pulling a chair closer beside Remus in the back row.
"Hey!" James glanced between the seats, apparently confused how he had already managed to lose Evans before he'd even had a chance to try.
"Oh, come on." Lily argued, already pulling out a roll of blank parchment as Remus blinked slowly. "You exhausted the boy last night, he deserves a partner who will actually do their fair share of the work."
"We do our fair share of the-" James trailed off as Sirius dropped into the now vacant seat beside Charlotte.
"Fine by me." He shrugged, pulling the empty parchment from before Charlotte towards him. "What are we writing about, love?"
"You think I'm going to do the whole assignment for you?" She grinned, pushing the ink well towards him.
"No, just give me a rough idea. I'll get you a good grade, blondie." He dropped his fingers to Charlotte's thigh, squeezing quickly, his fingers dragging over her tights and watching as her gaze flickered between his eyes and his hand.
"That was stupid. What he said." Lily muttered to Lupin, already two sentences into their work.
"Sorry?" He mumbled, glancing up, though Lily's writing didn't stall.
"About werewolves." She continued. "They're people too. Everyone seems to forget that."
Remus glanced to the floor, thinking over her words. He'd had very little sleep after returning to the hospital wing that morning, and his heart was now racing at the redheads words.
"It doesn't seem to be a very popular opinion." He answered, quietly.
"Well, it's mine." She said, dropping her quill back into the inkwell and finally meeting his eyes, the bright green color practically glowing, her mouth set into a thin line. Neither of them spoke for what felt like minutes before Remus finally nodded, his heart still thundering beneath his chest.
"Thanks, Lils..." He whispered, hardly believing what was happening.
"Of course, Remus." Her lips pulled into a smile and she nodded twice before returning to their paper. "Can you grab my book, because I'm almost positive that the first boggart was spotted in Venice, but now I'm second guessing myself because-"
Remus bit back a smile as he passed the book towards her, allowing her to ramble on as he took a deep breath, waiting for his heart rate to return to normal. She knew. And she didn't care. And he felt quite sure there would be no afternoon nap for him that day. He hardly felt tired at all anymore.
☾
"What do you mean she knows?" Sirius hissed, biting his tongue at the stern glare Remus shot him from across the table.
"I mean. She. Knows." Remus answered, digging into their dinner and glancing towards the doorway, anxious for the arrival of the girls. If Lily knew, would she have told the rest of them? Would they react the same? Perhaps they had convinced the redhead that he really was far too dangerous to associate with. Maybe they were running late after a meeting with Dumbledore to discuss his immediate removal from Hogwarts.
"Lupin!" Peter snapped two fingers in the tall boys face. "Stay with us."
"How could she know?" Sirius asked again, his eyes linking with his friends once again.
"Well couldn't be the fact that we're conveniently missing every full moon..." Remus muttered.
"Or that we all show up half asleep the morning after and Remus is always in the infirmary-"
"Charlotte's seen me there. The next morning. They could have pieced it together. Oh Merlin, they surely all know by now..." He dropped his face into his hands, his plate of food the last thing on his mind now.
"Moons, the girls are not going to care, we've always said that." James started, setting a warm hand on Lupin's arm, though he didn't remove his face from it's hiding spot.
"Yeah, Lupin... this is a good thing!" Sirius said. "I don't have to sneak around behind Charlotte's back anymore and make up excuses for where we're going every month and-"
"I'm so happy this could benefit your relationship, Pads." Remus groaned through knit fingers as James shot Sirius a warning glance.
"What did Lily say, Remus? Exactly?" The messy haired boy asked, relieved as Remus finally looked back to his friends.
"That werewolves are people too." He started. "And I said that was not a popular opinion and she said that it was hers."
The four of them were silent for a moment before Sirius spoke again.
"Moony, that doesn't mean... she doesn't know shit, you idiot." He rolled his eyes, returning to his dinner.
"She knows." Remus repeated. "You didn't see her face. Staring at me, like she was waiting for me to admit it. She knows."
"I bet she does know. You can't get much past Evans." James agreed, watching the color once again fade from Remus's face. "If there's anyone in this school who I would trust with your secret, Moons, it's Lily."
"I agree." Remus nodded, picking lazily at his dinner again. "Still doesn't mean I wanted her to know. Any of them."
"I don't think she would have told-"
"Why can't Charlotte know?" Sirius cut in again, Peter's eyes flicking between the boys in rapid succession.
"Why does Charlotte need to know?" Remus bit back.
"Because she's our friend?" Sirius looked between the boys who both wore identical blank expressions. "Because she's a good person, like Lily, and she would keep your secret and you'd have one more person in your corner to-"
"I don't need anyone in my corner." Remus shoved his plate towards the center of the table where it vanished from sight. "And in case you haven't realized, the second that anybody at this school finds out what I am, it's over. I'll have to leave, no one wants a monster sleeping in Gryffindor tower." He hissed, standing from the table and starting towards the doorway, dropping his eyes to the floor as the girls walked through.
"Lupin, you can't be done eating already!" Marlene called, though Remus continued up the staircase, not sparing any of them a single glance.
"What's going on now?" Charlotte asked, her voice low as she dropped into the empty seat at Sirius's side.
"Nothing." He answered with a sigh, though Charlotte didn't press the issue.
"Where's he off to?" Lily asked, linking eyes with James.
"Needs a bit more rest. Long day. Long night." He joked, a fake grin plastered to his face.
"And yet a whole day passes with no pranks discovered? Perhaps you four have lost your touch." Marlene teased, starting on her dinner as the group launched into a loud conversation.
"How are you?" Charlotte asked the dark haired boy beside her and his eyes finally met hers, a small smile pulling to his lips.
"Much better now." He remarked. "Missed you."
"Did you?" She felt the familiar warmth envelope her chest at his words, though she focused her attention on the plate of food before her again.
"Always." He kicked her shoe gently beneath the table before falling back into silence as they both ate.
"Guess who I ran into last night." Charlotte said, watching as Sirius's eyebrows pulled together in thought.
"Last night?" He started, "Trying to confess something to me, blondie?"
"Oh, please." She rolled her eyes, turning slightly in her spot to face him. "You're allowed to sneak about the castle all night but I can't?"
"Correct. Go on."
"Found your brother. In the Astronomy tower."
There was a beat of silence, taken up only by Lily and James's banter over Boggarts and Lethifolds and how James truly can't explain why the Boggart would become that for him seeing as he is most certainly not afraid of them.
"You saw Regulus?" Sirius finally spoke.
"Mhm."
"By himself?"
"Yes."
"By yourself?" He scowled and Charlotte shot him a look.
"Sirius, he's your brother-"
"Yeah, and when he hangs out with a bunch of future death eat-"
"Stop!" She whispered, setting a hand on the rough fabric of Sirius's jeans. "I know he misses you."
"I'd sooner kiss Filch on the lips than believe he told you that."
"He didn't. But I can tell."
"Spare me." Sirius scoffed, stabbing through a piece of his chicken with his fork.
"I was wearing your sweater and he said I smelled like you."
"So? That's rather creepy, if anything."
"Sirius!" Charlotte whined, "He's struggling. I can tell. You know him. You always said he wasn't like the rest of them. You should try to talk-"
"I have tried to talk to him, Charlotte. You think I haven't tried that? He wants nothing to do with me, and he's too far gone, and I don't want you alone with him, or any of his little friends, alright?"
"I didn't go looking for him,"
"I know. But still."
"Alright, Mr. Over Protective." She huffed, allowing the conversation to rest. She knew Sirius missed his brother, even if he wouldn't admit it, and at the very least, she hoped she had put the idea of speaking to his brother back into his mind. "One other thing... when we were up there, we heard the strangest noise from the forest..."
Sirius looked to her once again, though his eyes were wide now as he waited.
"Your brother thought it was a wolf... I mean, I thought so too, and then today in class... Do you think there could be-"
"Charlotte, you've hardly eaten a thing! We're going to be down here all night at this rate!" Lily scolded, the crouton she had just thrown bouncing off the blondes nose and pulling her mind from the forbidden forest entirely.