𝙿𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚔𝚒𝚗 𝙿𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜 - 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦 | ✔︎

Chapter 3

The first year of Natasha Black attending Hogwarts was eventful, to say the least. Along with the twins and Lee, the four landed themselves multiple detentions, receiving a Howler at least once a week from Molly.

Charlie gave up trying to save their skins after one week, just groaning whenever McGonagall's shrill voice ran out throughout the floor her office was on. Percy was absolutely mortified to be seen with the four, his ears turning bright red whenever Natasha's name was yelled down the hall.

The faculty tried their best to fake sick days when teaching the four, memories of the original Marauders clearly showing throughout them, especially Natasha Black. But, no matter how many times she gave her detention, Minerva McGonagall had found a soft spot for the girl, especially when it came to her classes.

Her intelligence shone in every class, even potions, where Severus had found a tolerance for the child of one of his childhood enemies. She held no grudges, always opting to sort her issues out straight away.

She outshone even the smartest of the Ravenclaw students, receiving top marks in every class. The twins were quite smart as well but used their brains for prank ideas as Natasha looked over their essays.

Together, the four young Gryffindors created an image for themselves. Natasha was the ringleader, never missing a deadline, and always pranking the staff and students at Hogwarts to her full potential.

Fred and George could never be separated, acting as Natasha's wingmen for everything. There was never a dull moment with the twins around, but when their queen arrived, all hell broke loose.

Lee was the loud one, the apprentice prankee. He followed the three around, sneaking into their detentions whenever he could, convincing some that the boy should have been a Hufflepuff. But they were always proved wrong when the young Gryffindor bravely stood up for his friends when people made remarks over the twin's robes or Natasha's heritage.

Ultimately, laughter in the school was always a pointer on where they were.

During their first year, Natasha started to grow, and by the time she had taken the train back home, her black mess of curls reached her lower back, and her body had filled out, from all the hearty meals she had received.

On the last day of term, tears were flowing from the seventh years, including Charlie, who was set to study dragonology. He and his best friend Nymphadora, who insisted on being referred to by her surname Tonks, held each other in a long hug that lasted more than 5 minutes, earning glances from fellow students as they tried to pass by.

He was planning on moving to Romania as soon as he got back to the Burrow, having finally mastered his Apparition tests, so as he boarded the Hogwarts Express one last time, it was no surprise that Natasha Black was attached to his neck, not wanting to get off.

"Don't cry Nat, I'll visit whenever I can, I promise," the young man cooed as the girl sobbed into his shoulder. He carried her crying body all the way to his younger brothers' carriage, where he set her down on Fred's lap.

"Why does everyone leave me?" she sobbed, and her three best friends glared at Charlie, who looked down.

"Natasha Lily Black, don't you dare think I'm leaving you," he said, with a stern look. Her cries stopped as she looked through the dark curtain of hair surrounding her face. Charlie pushed her hair behind her cheek and smiled softly at the girl he thought of as a sister.

"I will always be with you, do you still have that mirror shard I gave you?" he asked, and she nodded, pulling it out from where her wand was. It was nothing fancy, just a jagged piece of glass, where through it, the contents of Charlie's trunk could be seen.

"Promise me you'll talk?" the girl asked hopefully. Charlie nodded and took the child into his arms one more time. He kissed her forehead before nodding to the boys.

"I'll see you guys at the platform, but please don't piss off the Trolley Witch," he pleaded, earning grins from the twins.

"Now why would we ever annoy the one woman in our life who feeds us sweets?" George asked, his face telling a completely different tale to the innocent person he was trying to portray.

"Yeah, do you not trust us?" Fred asked, his arms still around Natasha. Charlie shook his head, trying to bite back a smile, but he gave up, chuckling as he left the carriage. Natasha refused to move off of Fred, and eventually fell asleep on him, earning quiet cheers from George and Lee.

"I bet you 4 sickles that you'll be together by the end of seventh year," George whispered, before earning a swift hit to his shoulder.

"Oh, clock off Georgie, no one knows what'll happen in the future, who knows, she might even be a lesbian!" Fred said, before his words set in concrete in his mind.

What if Natasha didn't like him? Fred had to admit, there was something special about her, but then again, he also found something special about those tiny spoon's muggles collected.

Fred was only certain about one thing in his life as an eleven-year-old, and that was that Natasha Black would always be the centre of it.