written in the stars | sirius black | remus lupin

18

Charlotte could barely make out the high pitched shriek over her own coughing as she tumbled down onto a thick rug now coated with soot.

"Charlotte?" The familiar voice rang through the room before two hands were latched beneath her arms, pulling her to her feet, her eyes latching onto James'. "What are you doing here? Are you alright?"

"I-" She trailed off, her mind running in circles. She scanned over the room, a beautiful, dark-haired woman was looking down to her, her face pale as she waited for her answer. "I don't... I'm so sorry, I didn't meant to-"

"How'd you get here?" James asked, glancing between the blonde and the fire behind her.

"Sirius... I was with Sirius and he... pushed me through, I didn't know where I was going-"

"Where is he?" The smile had fallen from James's face now entirely, his skin paling to match his mothers. "Did something happen, Char? At the party?"

She was nodding before she could even think.

"Is he okay?" He pressed on, ducking his head down to meet her eyes again. "Charlotte, is Sirius alright?"

"I- I think so! He..." Her eyes flickered between the Potters.

"Charlotte, I already know... about his family. What they do to him... You're not giving away his secrets."

She blinked at his words, though nothing was truly sinking in at the moment. What they do to him.

"Tell me what happened." He was speaking quietly, though Charlotte could still see the fear in his eyes.

"I'll wake your father. He might be able to find something out." Mrs. Potter announced, standing from her spot on the couch and waving her wand towards the fireplace, the soot from the rug disappearing. "Can I get you anything, dear?"

"No, thank you, Mrs. Potter. I'm so sorry about the rug, too-" She looked back to the spotless carpeting.

"Nonsense, it's quite alright." She offered the blonde a smile and started from the room.

"We usually talk..." James started, sinking to the seat along the window at the front of the room, the snow falling in thick waves in the moonlight. "11 o'clock every night when he's at home. Just to make sure that everything's okay over there. I don't trust his parents..."

Charlotte was silent, partially listening to James while her mind ran circles over the last half hour. Could it only have been that long since Sirius's hand had been on her waist, his thumb brushing over the silky fabric with his signature smirk.

"And I knew tonight we wouldn't talk... Or at least, it would be later... I had it out." He rushed towards his previous spot on the couch and returned holding a thin mirror, turning it side to side as if he was unhappy with the reflection. "I just thought because he was at the party with you... I didn't even think to worry if anything was going wrong-"

"It wasn't." Charlotte finally spoke again, thinking back to the start of the party. "Everything was fine. The whole night, it was great... I mean, his cousins are a bit much, and his parents are scary, like you said... but everything was going fine until..." She glanced at the crystal clock on the mantle. "Until like half an hour ago... this man stood up to make a toast and..."

She paused. She knew, whatever she knew about Sirius, about the Blacks, James had to know more. She wasn't sure that there were any secrets between the two friends. They were more like brothers than anything Charlotte had seen between Sirius and Regulus.

James nodded for her to continue, and she forced her words out, seeing how worried he looked.

"He said... To the Dark Lord. And everyone started clapping. And Sirius... Sirius freaked out."