Erased from History

XLIII. Coward!

After an hour or two, James excused himself to go to bed, and Remus then did so too. After they had left, Lily came over to talk to Charlie. "Hi, Charlie! How are you? We haven't talked for a while now!" "I'm fine, you?" "I'm good, being Head Girl is really exhausting, but also fun though."

"I'm sure James only regards it as exhausting and doesn't do the job properly, right?" "No, actually. He really matured! And takes the job very seriously. Somehow, he always finds every place where students are hiding and even knows their names! Although sometimes, he doesn't know what he has to as Head Boy, like today, when Remus had to tell him. But maybe we can even become good friends, now that he has stopped asking me out. Plus, we kind of have to come clear, now that we share a dorm." Charlie raised her eyebrows. "You share a dorm?" "Yes, Charlie, we do. Stop looking at me like that, we have two different rooms, okay?! It's only that it's bigger and has a kitchen for both of us! It's a bit like a small house or cottage, actually!" "I never knew that. You have a kitchen?! Now, I really want to be a Head!", Charlie exclaimed.

Lily laughed: "Yes, a private kitchen and bathroom! Didn't you notice we're almost never eating in the great hall? And, contrary to most people - well, my friends' - belief it's James who does most of the cooking. His scrambled eggs are really good! But you probably know that, after all he's your brother."

"His scrambled eggs are alright, yes, but trust me, he always burns the bacon, when he makes some!" Lily laughed: "He hasn't tried yet, but maybe we can make some together tomorrow." "Together?" "Yes, you don't expect me to let him burn my bacon, do you?", Lily replied, ignoring Charlie's undertone. "No, not really." Lily yawned: "Oh, well, I guess I'm going to bed now, what about you?" "No, not yet. Good night!", Charlie smiled, supressing a yawn, which would've shown how tired she actually was. "Good night." Lily hugged Charlie good-bye and then left. A lot of people had already left, and not much were still there. Most of those who were still hanging in the office, were drunk seventh or sixth years.

In a corner, Charlie could see a Gryffindor student reading. Shrugging, she went over to him. "Hi.", she greeted shortly. The boy looked up. Regulus! Charlie had totally forgotten that he was still in her Gryffindor robes. "Hello, Charlie." "What are you reading?" Regulus held up the book, so Charlie could read the title. But then he shrugged and lay the book down. "Hey, umm", he shifted in his seat, and got up, leading her to the dance floor and bowed slightly, holding out his hand. "Would you allow me this dance, Mademoiselle?" and then he added: "As friends, of course." Charlie nodded and took it.

If Remus was good at dancing, Regulus was perfect. And Charlie was a disaster, which seemed to amuse Regulus. "Sorry, I'm really, really bad at dancing. How come you're so good?" Regulus gritted his teeth: "Me and Sirius had to learn it, because You will represent the noble house of Black wherever you go, and as you have the luck to be born one, you will be invited to a whole lot of balls. And, well, it's true. Most pureblood families host a lot of balls. The Malfoys are famous for their soirées and balls. Mother made us go to every single one of them and they host one per month. The Malfoys are a very respectable family."

"Oh. Well, turns out the lessons worked, because you're a really good dancer! Oh, shoot! Sorry, I didn't mean to step on your - wait, what are you doing now? Why are we turning?" Regulus laughed: "Just follow my lead. I'll slow down a bit for you. Just focus on me, I'll lead you." "Yes, but it's really hard to follow someone's lead while dancing. Everyone says that, but it's near impossible to actually 'follow someone's lead'", Charlie pouted. Regulus just smiled and started dancing. He actually did a great job with guiding her. He didn't lead like the most other people, who just danced, but guided her with the hand he put on her waist.

After a while, Charlie got the hang of it, and she started to really enjoy the dance. Just before they left, Regulus pulled of Charlie's cloak and loosened her tie, while Charlie did the same. "I should probably give you back your robes. Although green really suits you. Better than red. And you're a pureblood, so you'd make a pretty good Slytherin!" Charlie's face hardened: "Does that matter?" "Does what matter?" "Does it matter that I'm a pureblood? If I were muggleborn, would you have dared to write me a letter? Would you have lent me your robes? Would you have danced with me? Does it matter that I'm a pureblood, and not a muggle-born?"

Regulus clearly seemed uncomfortable and shifted his feet: "At least, that's what my parents say...?" "I don't care what matters to your parents, because, sorry Reg, but they're gits. I want to know, does that matter to you? Are you the same pure-blood prick than your parents? You should choose your side, if you have the guts to do so." When Regulus didn't answer, she turned away. "Of course. I should've known. There's a reason you weren't sorted into Gryffindor, like Sirius, coward." She spit out the last word as if it were poison, grabbed the cloak and tie Regulus was holding and turned on her heels, making for the Gryffindor tower, eyes burning.