snow white (r. lupin)

two

"Caroline!"

The Slytherin turned to see Oliver racing up, a piece of parchment clutched in his hand. Having noticed she stopped, the boys slowed as well, though they continued their previous conversation. "I'll catch up with you all in Hogsmeade," she said, waving them along. They listened, though Remus cast one last glance at her before catching up with their friends.

She turned back to her brother, who had caught up to her. She and Oliver didn't interact all too much in school - they were four years apart, and in different houses, so their paths didn't cross much. Caroline made sure to keep tabs on him, though. Since their mother had died, she had felt it was her responsibility to take care of him. "What do you need, Ollie?"

"Father forgot to sign my Hogsmeade form, and I don't wanna miss my first visit. Could you..." He held the piece of parchment out to her, and she nodded. She had long ago perfected forging her father's signature, as he spent most of his time working and didn't like to be bothered by them for something as inane as signing something for school.

"Do you have a quill?" He nodded, digging about in his messy backpack before producing a quill and ink. As usual, the signature was a match to their father's tight cursive. "Let it dry so they can't tell it was just done today, and then you should be fine. How are your classes going?" she inquired as she put the stopper back into the bottle of ink and handed him back the form.

"They're alright. Don't tell, but I decided to take Muggle Studies this year. Muggles are so interesting!"

"So I've heard," Snow White said dryly. "You and Sirius would have loads to talk about, I'm sure." He shrugged, closing his bag up and shouldering it again.

"Probably. I can let you get back to your friends." She nodded, absently smoothing back his curls, which were falling down over his forehead. They both had their father's dark hair rather than their mother's blonde, but he had inherited her curls.

"Somebody's overdue for a haircut," she said, raising an eyebrow at him. The Ravenclaw rolled his eyes and shoved her hand away.

"Whatever you say, mum," he said mockingly, a faint smile on his face. "What if I let it grow out?"

"You'd look ridiculous," she scoffed. "Your hair hasn't been past your chin since you were five."

"I'm bringing the look back," he said, his smile growing as he shrugged.

"Maybe if the look were homeless chic."

"Yeah, then we'd match," he said with a laugh, making her roll her eyes. "Anyway, go on. Can't keep your friends waiting." She nodded, flicking him lightly on the forehead before turning and heading to exit the castle.

They weren't too far ahead, so she caught up with them easily. "What did your brother need?" Peter asked, glancing over at her with curiosity.

"Nothing important. James, do you have the list of ingredients?" The five of them had come up with quite a fun stunt to pull on Halloween, but it required some preparation. After all, Polyjuice Potion took roughly a month to brew. Though it had been Caroline's idea, James was the best at potions, so he was the main one in charge of the whole thing.

"Right here," he said, patting the front pocket of his jeans. She nodded, turning her attention back to the path before them. It was a little after ten in the morning, and the scene was positively picturesque. Bright blue sky, light and fluffy clouds, green grass dotted with dandelions, the cobbled streets of Hogsmeade a couple yards ahead. The weather had a bit of a chilly snap to it, seeing as it was mid-September, but the worn sweater she had borrowed off Remus a few days before worked fine to keep her warm.

"What's the mode of delivery?" Sirius asked, jamming his hands into pockets of the leather jacket he had acquired over the summer. He wore it every chance he got - Snow was surprised he didn't wear it under his school robes. "I mean, we want to get it to everyone, right?"

"If we make a big enough batch, we just spike every single jug in the kitchens, right before they're sent up to the tables," Remus pointed out. "The real question is how we're going to get the hairs."

It was quiet between the five of them as they thought. They made their way through the bustling streets of the wizarding village, the first stop being one of the shops they hoped would hold the supplies they needed. James ripped the supply list in strips, so that they each only had to look for two or three ingredients and then could meet up with all of them at the end. With that, they split up.

Snow didn't have much trouble finding the first ingredient on her list - fluxweed. She found a small jar of it and brought it up to the counter, catching the attention of the bored woman sitting behind it. "Was this picked during a full moon?" she asked, holding the jar up for the woman to see.

"No, it would say it on the label if it was." Snow White suppressed a groan but nodded, going to put the jar back. Luckily, she found another jar, this one with a label proclaiming that it was picked during a full moon.

Her second ingredient, however, was nowhere to be seen, even after she searched each shelf. She purchased the fluxweed and then sought out her friends. Only Peter had had any luck, finding both of his ingredients easily. "I guess they don't sell the other ones," James said with a frown.

"Probably don't want them getting into the hands of the younger years," Remus suggested, shrugging a shoulder. "You know who would have them?"

"Slughorn," Caroline said, biting back a grin. She didn't like to make a habit of breaking into the private stores of the Potions professor, but she had done it once before, and it wasn't exactly difficult to accomplish.

"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks - I'd like some butterbeer while we plan a robbery," Sirius said, leading the way from the store.

By the time they got there, the lunch rush hadn't yet started, but people were beginning to trickle in. They got a booth near the back, and Caroline was squeezed into a seat between the wall and Remus, who had Sirius on the other side of him and James and Peter across from all three of them.

Admittedly, they didn't spend much time planning. But it wasn't something that required much genius - Gryffindor had a game against Ravenclaw the next day, so while most of the students and teachers were there, Remus, Caroline, and Peter would go to Slughorn's stores. Remus and Caroline would grab the ingredients, and Peter would be the lookout.

"Why do I have to be stuck with lookout duty?" he asked, frowning at his friends.

"Snow and Moony are actually in his class, so if anyone were to get past you and see them, they could just say they were looking for Slughorn," James explained. Peter nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly, but James was no longer paying attention to anyone at the table - his gaze had been drawn to someone who has just walked through the door. Caroline peered over the back of her seat, her eyes landing on a certain redhead and her friends. Rolling her eyes, she turned back to her own table.

"Oh, give it up, Potter. She's been rejecting you for years now," Snow White said, though she knew her words would have no real effect. James Potter was nothing if not determined.

"Actually, I think we're making real progress. She seemed impressed that I was made Head Boy, plus we had a nice conversation in Potions the other day."

"It's practically a marriage proposal," Remus said sarcastically.

They couldn't help but laugh at that, even James grinning, though he rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the votes of confidence, guys."

"Somebody has to keep you realistic," Sirius laughed, clapping him on the shoulder.

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idk why i love this fic sm but i do and its main purpose rn is self-indulgence ngl