The Wrong Evans

XII: The Disquietude

It was an uncharacteristic sunny day for late October at Hogwarts, and after having a week of only rain it wasn't a surprise to see more than one group of students soaking up as much sun as they could. Some were loitering around, others were sitting with untouched books as they pretended to be far more efficient than their classmates while others were truly working on homework. The birds were happy to chirp and sing around the kids as if to add happiness to their already beautiful day and even the giant squid had decided to make an appearance earlier that day gathering a healthy amount of first years, hoping for a closer look, on the shores of the lake.

Another uncharacteristic sight, this one harder to spot, was the frown that had been permanently stuck in Charlotte's face since that first night reading A.D.'s journal. It hadn't taken long for the girl to comprehend why that personal journal was put on the restricted section— whoever they were; it seemed like they were brilliantly dangerous. Their theorizations on how to master elemental magic and all the alternative uses for things like the Patronus charm were far too innovative. She was aware that in the wrong hands, all the information inside the unassuming notebook that was resting under her pillow could be deadly, and that just added to Charlie's uneasiness about the whole thing.

The dangerous and illegal journal, all the lying and sneaking around, the practising of the complex wand movements and the burden of knowing that things were getting worse outside of Hogwarts—all that was weighing heavily on the girl's mind. Some nights if Charlie's mind was far too exhausted to keep on reading theory on blood wards, she would just lie in bed, but even then, her mind would refuse to shut off.

"Are you okay?" a warm hand startled the redhead from her tormented thoughts and it was after blinking a couple of times that she noticed she had stopped writing her Defense essay mid-sentence. Judging from the looks she was getting, she had been in a trance for more than a few moments.

"No,"- Adam's voice informed the rest before she could even begin to open her mouth- "She's been cranky since she's been getting almost no sleep these days" he went on clearly ignoring the glare the girl sitting beside him was sending.

It wasn't that she was annoyed at the fact that he had noticed—Adam, as clueless as he seemed to be, was aware of everything around him. No, she was annoyed that her best friend was so willing to share with others the fact that she was clearly distressed. Sure, the Marauders were becoming good friends to all of them, but still... there was no need for them to know she was slowly losing her shit.

"She can speak for herself, you know," her snarky retort left her lips without a second thought and sadly, instead of intimidating her best friend, it had the opposite reaction. He raised his eyebrows while he did his best to suppress his smirk. But the small victory was short-lived since Charlotte wasted no time in punching his arm.

"Sheesh, talk about dramatics"- Sirius, who was laying in front of them with his head in Remus's tight, had the audacity to mutter. When everyone turned their eyes towards the dark-haired boy in disbelief, he had no choice but to add- "Okay, I get how that can be ironic" the Gryffindor said as he turned his eyes once again towards the sky.

Thankfully, after a moment, the rest went back to their respective business. Adam had already finished his Defense essay and was already halfway into his Potion one; in front of her, Charlotte noticed Peter was quietly talking to Remus who seemed unfazed with having Sirius sleeping on him, the prefect was clearly helping the other with an essay because every couple of words Pete would nod and write whatever the dirty-blond was saying.

It wasn't until she felt another soft squeeze in her shoulder that she finally noticed James on her right. The Headboy looked as unruly and handsome as ever, with his unkempt curly hair and his light quidditch uniform on. He had a familiar book open in front of him, but before Charlie could pinpoint exactly where she had known it from, he gave her another concerned look.