There was a murmur of chatter as the four boys dropped into seats behind the girls. Lily already had her book out in front of her, her eyes wide from the abundance of coffee she had practically inhaled at lunch. Despite taking nearly every class available to them, prefect duty twice a week and only having a few break periods each week, she was holding up quite well.
"Ladies." James grinned, pulling out his Defense Against the Dark Arts book and dropping it to the desk with a thud. "How's everyone's day going?"
"Potter." Marlene answered after a moment, seeing that Lily wasn't going to. "Were you hoping for your hair to look like you had just rolled out of bed, or is it an accident?"
The dark haired boy rolled his eyes up to try to spot his bangs, fluffing through them with his fingers before offering Marlene a glare as Peter chuckled beside him.
"It's effortless, McKinnon." He answered, the door shutting softly as their professor headed towards the front of the room.
"Good afternoon, class." She smiled, taking her place in front of the blank chalkboard. "We have a pretty exciting lesson today." With a jerk of her wand, everyone's books opened before them, pages flipping along until Charlotte looked down at the start of a new chapter.
"Werewolves?" A few voices muttered around the room, whispers sounding shrill as we all looked back towards the front.
"Werewolves. It's a somber chapter, unfortunately. Werewolves, like so many beasts we will study in this class, have been around for centuries. While there are many documented cases and we have been able to study some of their habits, the werewolf is unable to recall anything from their transformation, their human brain is out of commission while they take on their other form."
"S'fine, Sirius, shove off." Remus's voice carried to Charlotte's ears and she snuck a peak to the row behind her, Sirius pulling his gaze from his friend to meet her eyes, forcing a smile to his face.
"Pay attention now, Charlotte. I'm not sure Lupin will have enough time to tutor you in this class too." Sirius smirked and Charlotte rolled her eyes, turning back towards the front and tuning back into the lesson.
"While there has been some discussion of whether werewolves should be classified as Beings or Beasts, the ministry has come to the conclusion that in human form, they will be considered Beings, while in wolf form, they are Beasts, and are ranked at level five in that category. How are level five beasts ranked, can anyone tell me?"
Lily's hand shot through the air and Mary rolled her eyes at her friend, slouching deeper onto her own desk.
"Level five beasts are known to be violent and can often kill wizards. They are also impossible to train or domesticate, even from youth." She answered, the words sounding eerily similar to how Charlotte was sure the passage would be found on one of these pages.
"Correct, Miss Evans, five points to Gryffindor." Their professor smiled, turning back towards the chalkboard and drawing five matching X's.
"Now, in 1637, the Ministry enacted the Werewolf Code of Conduct. This was intended to help these beings co-exist with wizard-kind as well as muggles, safely. At 17, werewolves were to sign the code of conduct, which stated that they would refrain from attacking non-werewolves, which means they must be locked up for every full moon. There are holding cells at the Ministry equipped to handle their transformations, or else they must prove that they have made sufficient arrangements for themselves if they wish to remain in their own homes."
The room fell silent for a moment, the only sound the scratching of quills as everyone took notes. Charlotte, however, couldn't stop her mind from replaying the professor's words. At 17. She supposed she hadn't given werewolves much thought before, but in her mind, they were all adults. They weren't children, forced to change into a terrifying creature once a month, waking up with no memory of the night before. Locked into cells while everyone hides away, terrified of you.
"Part of this Code of Conduct also states that when they come of age, all werewolves must sign the Werewolf Registry. However, many Ministry officials have stated that this is a severely under-managed system, and estimate that less than half of the werewolves out there are being tracked by this list effectively."
"What incentive do they have to sign?" Mary spoke up at last, everyone's quills dropping to their desks. "Write your name down here to become an outcast we lock up once a month?"
Some of the classmates snickered, while others looked at Mary with confusion.
"They know they're dangerous, they probably understand it's for everyone's safety." One of the dark haired Ravenclaw girls from the front row cut in, her classmates nodding along.
"We're all dangerous." James shouted, "In case you haven't noticed, we all carry around sticks of wood that can kill someone faster than any wolf could."
"That's quite enough, class! Students will please raise their hands if they have questions or comments, and Mr. Potter, I would kindly ask that you not make death threats in my classroom." She offered the boy a tight smile as James sank back into his seat. "Miss Harris?" Their professor seemed nervous now, calling on Charlotte who had hardly realized her hand was in the air.
"The Ministry thinks that Werewolves will want to cooperate with them and sign their rules when they look them in the eyes and call them Beasts? They're humans 99% of the time, and I highly doubt if any of them chose to become that way."
"That is a common issue that many wizards have brought to the Ministry's attention. Newt Scamander in particular has pointed this out, along with stating that the Ministry allows Werewolves to be double classified as Being and Beast as an excuse to push paperwork onto each other's desks. Essentially, it's a difficult topic with no easy solutions, and-"
The bell tolled from one of the towers far above their classroom and students began at once to shove papers and books into their bags.
"We'll finish this next week! Everyone finish reading the chapter and come prepared for the next lesson and perhaps we can skip the paper!" She called, the door slamming against the wall as Sirius, James and Peter exchanged frowns, Remus no where in sight.
"Where's your fourth then?" Marlene asked the boys, James reaching up to scratch the back of his neck for a moment.
"Think he wasn't feeling well." Sirius spoke up, starting out the door behind the crowd of Ravenclaws.
"Remus?" Lily asked, catching back up.
"He'll be aright." Peter piped up, bouncing after James towards the staircase.
"Charlotte?" Sirius called, the group of Gryffindors paused, all eyes locked on the blonde as she slowed, turning back to her friends.
"I might... go look for him. See if he's alright." She murmured, glancing down the hallway as if she would be able to spot the tall boy. Maybe he was just feeling ill, or maybe he had just been done with class after a long day. Still, she couldn't stop replaying the events from the other night. Remus had carried her to the hospital wing. Remus had saved her life. The least she could do was to check if he was feeling alright, especially if none of his friends were planning on it.
"Blondie, he's fine, he'll catch up with us later." Sirius promised, the group nodding for her to catch up as they started down the stairs. Sirius turned around once more halfway down, eyebrows furrowing, Charlotte nowhere in sight.
"Well, you three are shit friends, I'd want someone to come after me if I was sick!" Mary pointed out, her voice echoing down the hall as Charlotte glanced through the empty classrooms she passed, pausing in front of the restroom doors, ears trained for any sign of Remus.
Once she had exhausted the final classrooms of that hallway, she flung around the staircase and marched two floors up until she reached the familiar windows, the sunlight filtering through the clouds outside and lighting up the small alcove. She peeked around the corner, spotting the lanky prefect at once, his legs stretched out before him, boots pressed against the stone wall.
"What, Charlotte?" Remus muttered, his eyes trained to the floor, fingers tracing along the grout.
"You ran out... The guys said you weren't feeling well." She started, leaning against the edge of the alcove. "I just thought I would check on you." She went on when he didn't respond.
Silence overtook the pair, Remus still tracing the stone beneath him as anxiety built up in Charlotte's chest.
"Are you feeling better? Or, I can go get Madam Pomfrey or get you some water or-"
"How about you just leave me alone, Charlotte? For one god damn day, just leave me alone." He snapped, still not meeting her eyes. She felt her mouth fall slightly, taking a step backwards out from the alcove, expecting for him to call out for her again, to take it back. To say he was sorry. He's not feeling well. But neither of them spoke, the brunette turning deeper into the alcove, and Charlotte hurried back down the hallway, leaning against the railing as she let gravity pull her down each step, reaching their Charms lesson just in time.
"Did you find him?" Lily asked as Flitwick began their lesson, her green eyes deep with concern.
Charlotte shook her head twice, pulling her book out as Sirius dropped into the empty spot beside her, both elbows leaning against the desk as he met her eyes.
"Find him?" He whispered, eyebrows furrowing as she shook her head. "Are you alright?"
"Mhm." She hummed, blinking a few times before flipping open to the page Flitwick was announcing, "Now pay attention, or I'm moving next to Peter."
☾
Charlotte bounded down the stairs, her bag slung over her shoulder as she scanned the common room. Dinner had ended nearly an hour ago, and the weather was now officially too cold for anyone to be outside longer than they had to. Aside from, of course, James's mandatory Quidditch practices.
This had resulted in a packed common room most nights, as well as the library growing more and more crowded, especially as OWL's and NEWT's grew closer with every passing week. Still, despite the number of students making up the sea of red before her, she couldn't spot the sandy brown hair she was searching for.
"What's up, Charlotte? You alright?" James called from his spot on the couch near the fireplace. There were so many students surrounding him, Peter and Sirius on either side of him glanced back to her as James spoke.
"Yeah, great." She nodded, crossing over towards them and watching as one of the pieces on the chessboard before them hopped over another, slinging it's club and bursting the small horse to dust. "I'm just..." She trailed off. It was entirely possible that Remus had told them about their fight. Or, whatever it was that they'd had.
"You going to study with Remus?" Peter asked, looking up from the board.
"I think so. You haven't seen him?" She adjusted her bag on her arm for something to do.
"Not since dinner. I figured he was already down there." James frowned. "You sure you're alright? You look a bit pale."
"Gee, thanks, James." She joked, starting towards the portrait hole. "I'll see you guys later."
They shouted goodbyes as she left, starting down the stairs, her feet moving quickly beneath her. They hadn't seen him since dinner. Surely he was at the library.
She shook the thought from her head that he might not want her there with him, but continued on all the same. It was Sunday night. They'd been meeting there for weeks, and he had never explicitly cancelled it.
She nodded a hello to Madam Pince, who did not smile back, before turning to face the table she was so used to meeting Remus at. Her shoulders sank as she locked eyes with a group of Hufflepuff seventh years, scanning through the tables around the library before stalking over to an empty one near the hallway and dropping into a seat.
He could just be late.
He wasn't upstairs.
He could be anywhere.
The boys haven't seen him since dinner.
She let out a sigh, pulling her bag up to the chair beside her and setting up the usual arrangement. Her inkwell, a quill and her transfiguration book, which looked quite worn after only two and a half months of school.
Out of all of the spells used to conjure living things, Avis is one of the simplest, and so we will begin our chapter here.
Charlotte felt a spark of hope. Nothing yet this year had been described as simple.
She jumped as a loud thud sounded next to her, losing contact with the chair completely as she looked down at the worn red book that now sat on the table. Taking a much needed breath, she looked up into the honey brown eyes.
"I'm guessing you still haven't read it?" Remus spoke quietly, as if he hadn't just startled half of the students within earshot.
"I... No, I haven't." She stuttered, eyes drawn to the cover of the book, if only to escape meeting his again. The yellow letters in the title were faded nearly to white.
"It's good. You can borrow it, if you like." He spoke, still standing beside the table, one hand latched firmly onto the strap of his bag.
"Thanks, Remus." She nodded, pulling The Catcher in the Rye closer to her, the bird conjuring spell in the transfiguration book now long forgotten.
The tall boy finally took his seat across from her, pulling his own materials out silently, the low hum of whispers filling the room again.
"I wasn't sure if you were going to come." Charlotte snuck a glance as he flipped through his book. He didn't answer for a few moments, reaching the page he wanted and finally looking up to her.
"I'm really sorry." He replied, his eyes looking dark now, even in the brightly lit library. "For Friday."
She shook her head slightly, pulling a smile to her face. "It's fine, Remus-"
"No, it's not." He set his hand in between them, as if he was going to grab her hand but had thought better of it. "I felt terrible, right after. You..." He pulled his hand back and scratched at the back of his neck for a few seconds. "I don't want to be that person."
"You're not." She answered at once. That was what had surprised her the most. Remus didn't seem the type to snap like that. He was always quiet, calm and collected. Even Lily thought he was nice, despite her dislike of the rest of his friends. "You weren't feeling well. It's really okay."
His lips parted once more before he shut them in a tight line and nodded. "How far did you get, then?" He nodded towards her open book as the two dove into that week's chapter.
☾
"Blondie!" The voice jolted her from her page, two hands digging into the back of the couch on either side of her head.
"Godric, Sirius, what is it!" She tucked the blank slip of parchment into Remus's book and looked up into the silver eyes shining down at her. "Nearly gave me a heart attack."
"I'd save you." He grinned, shamelessly, pulling the book from her hands and tossing it to the couch beside her. "Come with me, I want to show you something."
"Now?" She asked, glancing to her wrist. "Sirius, it's curfew in twenty minutes."
"Then you'd better stop wasting time, haven't you?" His permanent grin stretched onto his lips.
"We'll be back by curfew?" She asked skeptically, eyebrows raised.
"Sure, yeah." He nodded without thinking and she laughed easily.
"You're such a liar. I'm not getting in trouble because you have some wild idea-"
"I won't let you get in trouble!" He interrupted. "Please, Charlotte?"
His eyes were still so bright, his smile fading only slightly. She was sure this worked on everyone.
"Let me put my book upstairs." She sighed, starting up to her dorm. She hadn't let Remus's book out of her sight unless it was safely tucked into her night stand, wanting to give it back to him exactly as she had received it, even if the spine was already snapped in half and many of the pages corners were folded down.
Sirius was still grinning when she reached the common room again, a thick jacket tucked beneath his arm which looked eerily similar to the one he had on.
"Why do you have two jackets?" She asked as he led them out of the portrait hole.
"This one's for you." He shrugged, tugging her arm lightly for her to follow him up their first flight of steps.
"I was just in my dorm, why didn't you just tell me to grab one?"
"I like you in mine." He smirked, chucking as she rolled her eyes.
"Where are we going?" She whined, although after the third flight of stairs, she was sure there was only one location they could be headed for.
"It'll be worth it, trust me." He jogged a few steps ahead, pulling the tower door open for her and smiling as her jaw dropped.
"How did you know this was-" She trailed off, stepping closer to the railing to watch the waves of green dance through the air.
"James and I were... well... that's not important." He said, with a lazy wave of his hand. "Here." He held the jacket out for her and she took it without complaint, the November wind was strong up here and her cheeks were already stinging with cold.
"It's so cool." Charlotte leaned her elbows onto the railing, glancing between the stars and the aurora before them. "So where's your damn star?" She squinted into the sky, spotting so many she could nearly remember from their star charts third year.
Sirius groaned, leaning against the railing beside her, their hips clicking together. "You're kidding, right?"
She looked to him, eyebrows furrowed.
"It's the brightest one in the sky, Charlotte!" He grabbed her wrist and guided her left hand through the air until her finger pointed at the twinkling star, outshining all of the others.
"You would." She laughed, still watching the sparkling star. "You would be the brightest star."
"Always have been." He grinned, his eyes flicking around above them for a moment before pointing up again. "That's Regulus. Third one down, bottom right."
Her eyes followed his finger before looking back to him. Sirius didn't talk about his family much, aside from the drunken comment on Halloween.
"Your brother?" She asked, watching him blink slowly up to the sky.
"Yeah. It's a part of Leo, supposed to be a lion. I don't see it." He pulled a smile to his lips again as he turned to her.
"In the sky or in your brother?" She teased and he laughed.
"Both." His eyes fell back to the glowing lights in front of them. "Stupidest thing ever. Name your kids after stars. I couldn't just be a Mark or something."
"I think it's cool." Charlotte promised, looking towards him even if he didn't meet her eyes. "I wish I was named after a star. There's so many and they all have such pretty names."
"Charlotte is a pretty name." Sirius blurted, grey eyes flicking to hers. "It's French. Means freedom."
"How do you know that?" She laughed, her breath clouding up in front of them.
Sirius shrugged, taking a few moments before answering. "History lessons when we were younger. King Charles, Queen Charlotte? Princess Charlotte, Princess Charlotte, Princess Charlotte, Princess-" He began counting out on his fingers, stopping only when she cut him off, laughter echoing around them in the cold air. "Reg and I had tutors for everything."
She watched him closely, his eyes still in the sky, looking deep in thought for one of the first times since she had met him. She followed his gaze back towards the aurora before them for a few moments before she felt his eyes on her again. "What are you smiling about?"
"I like you wearing my clothes." He smirked and she rolled her eyes, stepping back from the railing and glancing at her watch.
"We should-"
"Why don't you let me flirt with you?" He interrupted, her words vanishing in her mind as she swallowed, scrambling for any type of response.
"I don't think anyone lets you do anything, Sirius."
"Mmm..." He nodded, faking understanding before settling his hand onto her back and steering her towards the doorway. "Come on, I'll walk you down."
"If we're going to the same place, I'm not sure it counts as you walking me down." She pointed out, leading the way down the stairs. They were already nearly an hour past curfew, yet she figured the only person they might run into up here was McGonagall, and she might be able to convince the professor that they were checking something for astrology homework.
"Why don't we count it anyway? You know, Gryffindor chivalry and what not?" He smirked as she turned at the bottom of the stairs.
"Which one of us was being chivalrous? You dragged me from my nice warm common room up three flights of stairs and into the freezing cold."
"But I gave you a jacket - shit." His fingers went around her mouth, pulling her easily a few steps back just as she placed the voices carrying down the empty corridor. Sirius ducked them behind a stone pillar at the corner of the hall, his hand still over her mouth as Lily and Remus drew closer, both looking exhausted, yet Lily still had the energy to spew out that day's lesson in Arithmancy.
Remus's step faltered as his eyes met Charlotte's, sliding up to Sirius who shot him a wide grin and a wink. The prefect's lips twisted into what was practically a grimace as Lily looked back, already a few steps ahead from where Remus had slowed, his eyes sinking from the pillar onto the floor.
"Remus? What's wrong?" The red head hurried back to him and he shook his head quickly.
"Nothing, I'm just really tired. There's not going to be anyone up this way, let's just check downstairs and head to bed?"
Lily glanced around them, as if wary of abandoning one of their patrol sections, but finally nodded in agreement and let Remus lead her back the way they had came.
"Remus, what a pal." Sirius chuckled, pulling Charlotte's arm again to resume their journey back to their tower.
"Did you feel the need to have your hand over my mouth the entire time?" The blonde pointed out, hustling to keep up with Sirius's long strides.
"You would have blown our cover!" He protested, finally reaching the portrait hole and muttering the password, letting her in first and shutting the door softly behind him.
"It was Lily and Remus! They wouldn't have cared!" She breathed in the warmth of the empty common room, the fire still roaring by the couches.
"See? Exactly, you would have blown our cover. Lily never breaks the rules. You should know that."
Charlotte rolled her eyes, pulling her arm from the sleeve of the dark jacket and passing it back over to Sirius.
"Well, admit it. You had fun." He beamed as she started towards her dorm.
"It was worth it." She admitted. "Although I'm going to have to brush my mouth out with soap to get the taste of your hand off my lips."
"Whatever you tell yourself, love." He teased, watching as she marched up the stairs, head shaking. As he started up towards his own dorm, he brought the jacket to his face, breathing in the warm vanilla and honey scent that he was growing so fond of.