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

12

"It must have blown off on the way back from Herbology." Charlotte muttered, slamming the drawer shut to her dresser.

"We'll go look tomorrow. Quit banging around." Marlene ordered, Mary offering Charlotte a small smile, her attempt to apologize for their friend's rude behavior.

"I'm just going to go down and see if I can find it." Charlotte grabbed her jacket hanging on cabinet's handle and pushed one arm through the sleeve.

"Charlotte, it's nearly curfew." Lily warned, glancing towards the window which was barely lit by the sliver of a moon.

"I'll be back in time! If I can't find it in fifteen minutes, I'll give up. It's bloody freezing out." She promised, shooting the red head an innocent smile. "It'll blow away in the night!"

"It's just a scarf! It's probably blown away already!" Lily called through the stairwell as Charlotte started down towards the common room, still bustling with activity, even for the late hour on a school night. She pushed through the portrait hole and hurried down the stairs, pulling her wand out in preparation to light her way across the snowy grounds.

"Lumos." She muttered, shaking her head as the light went on and glaring at the tip until it flickered off and back on again. Satisfied now, she lowered her wand towards the ground and started walking, waving back and forth as far as she could cast the light before her, re-tracing their steps from earlier that day. It wasn't like she couldn't just buy another one, but there was something comforting about this one. She had gotten it on her first trip to Diagon alley, along with the matching hat that was now sat alone on top of her dresser.

She neared the black lake, sighing as she accepted that she would have to turn back. Maybe she had been a bit off from their path from earlier. Maybe it would have gotten weighed down with snow and it would be out here tomorrow. Or maybe she would just have to buy a new one.

She tucked her wand back into the pocket of her jacket, along with her hands which were now pink with cold when she heard the laughter. It wasn't all that close, she looked around the white grounds, not spotting a living soul. The wind was carrying it, she realized, turning back towards the lake and spotting the group at once. Only shadows beneath the large, bare maple tree, and only three of them. She never would have known who they were had she not heard their voices.

"Sniv won't know what hit him."

"I almost want to wake up early to watch-"

"You can wake up to watch my practice, Pads, and we'll catch it on our way back-"

"What are you idiots doing out here? It's freezing!" Charlotte could hardly bite back the grin as she listened to the friends laugh, the cold obviously not bothering them one bit.

"Blondie!" She could practically hear Sirius's smile through his words, and her heart sped up for a moment as she made her way towards them. "Blondie, wait, seriously don't come over-"

Charlotte's foot hit something, a pressure launched her body into the air. Her scream echoed through the grounds for only a moment before she fell silent, her head smacking against the solid ice that had formed over the lake's surface. The boys scrambled up at once, racing towards the water when the crack broke through their calls, the blonde disappearing through the ice and plunging deep into the black water.

"Charlotte!" Sirius screamed, his voice ringing across the empty grounds. His wand clenched into his fist, he darted out onto the ice, sliding through the new hole and sinking below the surface, James and Peter calling after him loud enough to wake the entire castle.

"Incendio!" A jet of red flames shot onto the ice, melting it away instantly, dark water lapping against the edges. James cleared a path towards where Sirius had disappeared, wading a few feet into the freezing water and gritting his teeth. "Lumos maxima," A large orb of white light launched over the ice, sinking lower until it looked as though the sun's reflection had returned to the lake, and with a gasp, Sirius emerged, blonde hair plastered across his back as he dragged Charlotte from the water, teeth chattering as he tried to stand.