written in the stars | s. black | r. lupin

16

"Only for a few days, we leave the day after New Years." Lily was finishing up, attempting to explain her ski trip to Marlene who was looking at her like she'd gone mad.

"You're strapping sticks to your feet and jumping off cliffs of ice, but a broom in the air is where you draw the line?" She shook her head, finishing her coffee and watching as it refilled again the moment it touched the wood table.

The conversation had only held half of Charlotte's attention, the rest had been spent focusing her gaze on her eggs in front of her. Or, more accurately, keeping her gaze off the doorway. The train would be leaving in just over an hour, and it was rare that the girls had beat any of the Marauders down for breakfast. James or Remus, or likely a combination of the two, paired with an exhausted looking Peter or Sirius nearly always drew everyone's attention each morning toward the Gryffindor table.

Charlotte could feel Lily sneaking nervous glances her way at the end of each sentence, which Charlotte would sometimes return with her best attempt at a confident smile. Yet, as she pushed her breakfast around once again on her plate, she couldn't help but grimace at the nausea that had settled in her stomach the moment the girls had stepped into the common room that morning.

She didn't know who she was more anxious to see. Remus, who had stood her up and embarrassed her for the last time, or Sirius, who had smiled at her all night and invited her to meet his family for Christmas, at an annual family ball.

She heard them before she saw them, though she forced her eyes onto Marlene as if she'd been listening to the conversation the whole time, taking another sip of the black coffee before realizing she had forgotten to add anything to cover the bitter taste.

She watched Mary and Marlene's eyes rise above her head to where the boys had to be standing now, judging by the voices behind her. Before she even had time to decide if she was going to turn, she watched James and Remus appear at the other end of the table, James falling into a spot across from the blonde and grinning up to Lily, who was making a far less convincing show of avoiding his gaze than Charlotte felt she herself was doing with the rest of the boys.

"Morning ladies, Evans." He smiled, pulling food to his plate without another moments hesitation as Remus dropped into place beside him, his eyes wide, and Charlotte pretended not to feel the way they lingered on her face. "Sorry we're late, hope you lot weren't bored."

"No, it was quite peaceful, actually." Lily answered, bringing her mug of tea to her lips to hide the smirk as she looked to the brunette, his hair ruffled terribly from sleep, his eyes lit up as if he'd just won the lottery.

"Oh, I'm sure." His lips pulled into a matching smirk, and Charlotte decided that something had definitely happened between the two the night before, despite Lily's insistence that Charlotte had completely let her down by disappearing for over an hour with Sirius at the crowded party.

"Morning, blondie." Sirius's voice was soft near her ear as he dropped into the space beside her, Peter filling in the final remaining seat, the boys all launching into breakfast, Peter's eyes still seemed half asleep.

"Morning, Sirius." She answered, finally looking to the gray eyes, the corners of his mouth turned into a small smile down at her. She felt a jolt of nerves flood her stomach, pulling her eyes back to the rest of their friends, though still pointedly avoiding the brown eyes she would have been searching for only a few days ago.

"How was the party, you guys?" Peter asked, cluelessly, James blinking through a plastered smile as Remus dropped his head lower, hurrying to shovel another bite of toast into his mouth.

"It was really fun." Sirius answered, his voice loud and sure, and Charlotte pressed her fist against her cheek, keeping her gaze off from Mary and Marlene who wore matching grins and were stifling giggles. "Terrible crowd, though, but fun."