written in the stars | sirius black | remus lupin

17

a/n: this one's sO long I'm sorry! I went through it 3 times looking for a good place to split it but couldn't find anything.... oh well!

The two girls stepped into another of, admittedly, far too many shops for it only being eleven in the morning. Yet, Charlotte didn't feel bad. It wasn't her fault that she only had three days to find a suitable dress for a ball with next to no instruction from Sirius on what to wear.

"If you start dating Sirius Black, do you know how difficult it will make it for me to ignore James?" Lily's voice was teasing, and though Charlotte allowed her eyes to roll to the ceiling for a moment, even she could tell that her friend was bluffing.

"We're not dating," She began the practically rehearsed line by this time, pulling a few hangers apart along the wall and running her fingers over the shiny gems of a gold dress. "And if I am the one to get you and Potter together at last, I think the school would give me some sort of medal."

"Shut it." Lily muttered, pulling out a bright red dress. "How about this one? Very Gryffindor for you."

Charlotte shook her head at once and continued her slow walk along the hanging fabrics. "I'm not trying to stand out, Lily."

"It's Christmas, I'm sure people will be wearing red."

"It's not long enough, anyway." She pointed out, pulling out a silky emerald gown and holding it above her so the hem wouldn't drag on the ground.

"Well, you're not going dressed as a Slytherin!" Lily protested, meeting Charlotte on the other side of the small shop and reaching for the dress. "Oh, that is soft though."

"This is exactly why I should have said no." Charlotte held back a sigh, hanging the dress back up. "Sirius was no help at all. I asked him what I should wear and he said he couldn't care less."

Lily burst into laughter, which spread quickly to Charlotte's mouth as well as the two moved deeper towards the back of the shop.

"Oh!" Lily shoved her arm to stop her friend, reaching up to tug down a satin black dress, sleeves falling from the hanger on each side.

"I can't even tell how to put that on." Charlotte tugged the sleeves out in confusion as Lily huffed.

"This is the back!" Her eyes were wide as she pointed out the deep cut of the back of the dress. "That's gorgeous, you have to try it on. You have to!" She repeated, apparently realizing Charlotte was going to protest.

"I'll be cold! And are we sure I should wear black at Christmas?" She trailed off, letting Lily tug the curtains to the fitting room shut behind her and sighing, stepping into the dress and tugging it over each arm. "Lily, it goes really far down in the back-"

Lily had ripped the curtain back open, a grin spreading over her face.

"Oh my God, yes. This is the one. Five stores and you dragging me up before the sun, but it was worth it."

"We weren't up before the sun." Charlotte muttered, peeking behind her at the mirror. "You don't think this is a little scandalous?"

"Don't be such a prude. We should have brought Marlene, she'd be on my side. Besides, it's a ball. How often will you get to wear something like this?"

Charlotte fluffed her hair behind her neck, looking over every inch of the dress for a few more moments before nodding along with her friend. She waited for Lily to step back outside, slipping the dress off and back onto it's hanger carefully before getting dressed again.

"I should get him something for Christmas, shouldn't I?" She asked, quietly as they started towards the register, rummaging for coins deep in her purse.