written in the stars | sirius black | remus lupin

25

Charlotte stepped down into the warmth of the common room, hearing the familiar sound of laughter she hadn't heard in what felt like weeks. Her eyes flashed around the room for less than a second before landing on the boys, James, Peter, Sirius and... Remus. Remus, who wore a genuine smile and sat beside Sirius as if they hadn't been ignoring each other for weeks now.

She watched for a few more seconds, leaning against the arch of the doorway to the stairs behind her. Even if Remus had made the first few months of the term a bit glum... even if he had been driving Sirius crazy for weeks... she was thankful in this moment for the brunette. She had been waiting for that signature grin to return to Sirius's face ever since he had opened that letter and found out about his uncle. And there it was. Mesmerizing, infectious...

"Blondie!" He called at last, his gray eyes linking with hers, the smile spreading wider across his cheeks. "We've been waiting for you all evening!"

"Oh, have you?" She asked, nearing the couches, her eyebrows raised in disbelief. They deserved a bit of time, just the boys, and she was sure Remus agreed, though his smile hadn't faltered even as she joined the group.

"Yeah, come on. Let's do something. What should we do?" James agreed, scanning the room, likely for some more people to rope into their plans.

"I'm going to owl this home." Charlotte raised the roll of parchment in her hand and the boys groaned.

"Tomorrow. I'll take you before breakfast!" Sirius offered, his bottom lip jutting out in an exaggerated pout.

"Sirius, I'll be back in twenty minutes." She dropped her fingers to the top of his head, ruffling his hair messily and giggling as he slapped her hand away.

"Well, you've just bought yourself an hour for him to fix that mess." Remus grinned, the boys bursting into a new round of laughs as Sirius raised one finger towards the tallest Marauder before setting to straightening up his hair.

"I'll be back in a bit." Charlotte called, starting through the portrait hole and down the quiet corridor. She glanced up to the windows lining the walls where the sun was already slipping behind the horizon, leaving the faintest glow to compete with the lanterns lining the staircase.

The owlery was a short walk from Gryffindor tower and she smiled as a few small owls hopped down to greet her as she entered, obviously all hoping for some sort of treat in exchange for their flight. She slid two fingers softly over the nearest owl and reached for it's leg, tying the string around the parchment carefully onto it's ankle before offering it, and the friend beside it each a small part of a biscuit.

The owl hooted happily and hopped closer to the window before taking off into the night air, and Charlotte watched as it faded into the distance before turning back towards the staircase. She stopped in her tracks, one foot already onto the next step when three familiar faces rounded the corner, grins pulling into sneers as they spotted her.

"Oh, look who we have here." Rosier spoke, and Charlotte felt her stomach twist uncomfortably as she took another step to pass them before Crouch stepped out to block her path.

"Where you going, Harris?" The brunette asked, his canines poking out beneath his grin as he stared down at the blonde.

"Out at night with no little body guards?" Rosier continued, though Charlotte glanced towards Regulus who was making it a point not to meet her eyes.

"Bodyguards?" She scoffed, shaking her head and trying once again to pass the boys.

"How is Sirius? Haven't seen him much lately..." Crouch sneered, and Charlotte pressed her lips together, resisting the urge for a snappy comeback.