written in the stars | s. black | r. lupin

10

"Charlotte, you have to come." Marlene ordered, pulling on a jacket that was much too thin for today, though Charlotte couldn't remember the last time that Marlene had complained of the cold.

"I will." Charlotte nodded, not moving from her spot on the bed, reading the same page she had been working through for over half an hour. "I just might meet you three down there a bit later."

"No, Charlotte. You're coming with us now. We don't have to hang out with them, we can avoid them. I'm getting quite good at it." Lily joked, grinning towards the blonde through the mirror as she finished up her hair, pinning half of it up with a golden clip.

The girls eyes linked for only a few seconds before Charlotte stood up, holding in a sigh and stepping over towards her dresser, pushing through the sloppily folded clothing one by one. She didn't much feel up to putting an outfit together, but she knew that no matter how hard the girls tried, they would eventually run into the Marauders. Though it probably shouldn't matter what Remus thought of her anymore, as he had made it quite clear the other night.

Still, she pulled out some jeans and a thick black sweater, eyeing the window again to make sure the snow from earlier was still falling. At least their walk down would be pretty, and it definitely felt closer to Christmas now that snow was sticking to the grounds.

"Alright, lets go! I'm fresh out of fizzing whizbees." Marlene announced, already flinging the door back to join the hoards of people gathered in the common room.

"How can you eat those? They make me sick to my stomach." Mary laughed, the two girls leading the way out of the portrait hole as Charlotte did her best not to glance around the crowded room. The boys would already be halfway to Hogsmeade by now, eager to get a start on whatever they had planned for their day off.

Lily slowed down, letting Mary and Marlene scamper down the stairs ahead of the group, arguing loudly over candy and paying no attention to their roommates.

"How are you feeling?" The red head asked as she wrapped a white scarf around her neck twice.

Charlotte shrugged, shoving her hands into the pocket of her jacket, eyes on the floor. Much to Lily's disapproval, Charlotte had taken the day before off of classes, Marlene offering to tell their professors she was sick and Lily bringing back her work after each class, each time with a new offer for her to join for the next class.

She only needed a day. Well, truthfully, she could have used today as well, but she really did need to buy Christmas gifts. She just knew that Sirius would be waiting, or worse, James, with his worried eyes and the volume to announce every issue to the entire tower. Mary had brought her back breakfast, lagging behind to enjoy a muffin and some juice with the blonde before hurrying off to her first lesson.

"I know I can't keep making this excuse, but... Remus isn't usually... He's not mean." Lily said, "Something must be wrong, he must be having a tough time right now-"

"Lils." Charlotte cut her off, Mary and Marlene had finally realized how far ahead they had pulled from their friends, waiting beside the heavy doorway to the grounds. "He just doesn't like me. It's alright. He's allowed to not like me."

"But it's so strange! It's like hating himself! You're practically the same person. You're both quiet, you like to read, you do well in school, you're... well he's usually nice."

"Can we just drop it?" She asked, Mary and Marlene guessing at their topic and pulling the door open quickly, the four friends starting down the familiar path to Hogsmeade.

"Alright, what's everyone getting me then?" Marlene grinned back towards them, the falling snow and freezing air having no effect on her at all.

"Bag of coal." Charlotte replied, shoving the girl forward down the icy path. "I'll save Santa the trip."