Butterflies | Teddy Lupin

Chapter Eleven

Charlotte went her last first day of classes, tired but invigorated at the same time. She thrived in an academic setting, genuinely enjoying what they were learning. She got good grades, she had to, it came with the territory of being Head Girl, but it wasn't a stress for her.

And then there was Teddy, who could not study and still get an O. He always pulled her away from their shared study sessions, down to the kitchens or up to the Astronomy Tower. He caused her to laugh when they were supposed to be going over potion ingredients, convinced her to go fly on the Quidditch pitch instead of practice the wand movement for the charm that they learned in class. Teddy was fun, he was good, and he was hers. Her best friend.

Charlotte sat down in her seat at dinner with a thump, plunking the Bag down next to her. She waved to Teddy at the Hufflepuff table, him flashing her a grin in return. She had just gotten settled when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. She turned to see two figures, an angry-looking Polly and a shamefaced James.

"Lotte, don't let her do this, please!" James pleaded, using puppy dog eyes on the older girl. The room started to fill up, chatter becoming a background noise.

Charlotte laughed, which caused Teddy to glance quickly over at her to see the way that she threw her head back and just let it loose. He loved her laugh. Her laugh made the whole room disappear, made everyone fade off into nothing except for her.

Polly rolled her eyes at James, punching him in the shoulder. There wasn't much force behind it, but James winced dramatically, faking it. Polly rolled her eyes again. "James was showing off to Elle the third-year and then he accidentally turned that tree by the lake, you know the one that Hogwarts: A History says that it always has pink leaves," she paused long enough to let Charlotte nod in confirmation before continuing, "and he accidentally turned the leaves blue right before Professor McGonagall walked past. So then Rianne the fourth-year charmed them back to pink but it only lasts for twenty-four hours and then both her and Elle told him that if he doesn't figure out a way to turn the leaves back to pink permanently then they ware going to tell McGonagall that he did and that he was also responsible for the other prank that he pulled that I'm not going to tell you what it is because it hasn't happened yet. And James was just going to let that happen because, of course," she rolled her eyes for the third time, "he doesn't care if he gets a detention. But Professor Longbottom already gave us something to research if we want to and are bored and he gave us partners to do it with because he's nice, and James was, unfortunately, my partner and I want to do the homework but if he has detention then we won't have time to do it." All of this was said in one breath, pants now coming out of her mouth as she sucked in massive amounts of air.

Charlotte blinked at her, sorting through the rush of words that had been pushed at her, before breaking out into laughter again. "James, you've been here for literally one day, and that's what you get in trouble for? Turning leaves of a tree blue?" she managed to gasp out through her giggles.

James nodded, opening his mouth to defend himself before Polly cut him off. "Nuh-Uh, you don't get to talk anymore. That's what got us into this mess in the first place." She turned back to Charlotte. "I made him come to you because I thought that you might be able to fix the tree. Or you can help me with the homework if he gets detention." Prolly shrugged. "Either one works for me."

"Polly!" James hissed at the girl. "I thought that this whole thing was to get me out of detention!" He crossed his arms and sat in the seat next to Charlotte, his lips pushed out into a pout that made Charlotte laugh even more.

Polly turned to James and glared at him. "If you weren't my partner, I wouldn't care." Polly sat next to Charlotte on the side opposite of James, sandwiching the other girl.

Charlotte shook her head, smiling, and she started to pile food onto her plate. Around the tables, people began to do the same, the chatter dying down as food got shoved into mouths. It was less talking now, and more the clatter of plates and platters. James was chewing with his mouth open.

Certain words rose above the noise, fragments of conversation taken out of context that could shock a person who was accidentally listening. Half-sentences floated to the ears of who they were not intended for, by some miracle or by some mistake, they helped and they hindered.

Charlotte and Teddy were in tune with each other. They knew the sound of voices, of laughs, of cries, even steps. So when Charlotte hears Teddy's voice coming towards her, she stops to listen.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," he said. She missed the next few words, straining her ears to hear him say, "is so smart, so pretty, exactly, exactly. I love her."

And those three words were all that it took to make Charlotte's heart hurt. Because she knew that the girl that he was talking about was not her, that it never would be her. A hint of green crept into her heart, winding tendrils that she pushed away. She couldn't be jealous, no, because she was only Teddy's best friend. Only his best friend, nothing more. It didn't matter that she was in love with him, he was in love with someone else.

And, and, and. There were so many ands that held her from him.

And one of the biggest rules of being best friends with someone is that you are happy for them, no matter what. Whoever Teddy was in love with, Charlette would be happy for him. She would encourage him to go ask her out, would tease him after he came back from his date. She would watch when his hair turned a bright bubblegum pink like the color on his cheeks.

"Uh, Charlotte? Earth to Charlotte?" Polly waved her hand in front of Charlotte's face. "You zoned out, again." Polly's tone was amused, her face pulled up into a grin as she poked Charlotte's arm gently.

A flush rose to Charlotte's cheeks as she shook her head and looked down at her plate. "Sorry, that keeps happening to me." She forced a laugh. "I don't know why." She reaches for a bowl of mashed potatoes, plopping a large amount onto her plate.

Polly's grin widened. "I know why." Her expression was mischievous, and Charlotte groaned.

"Wait, I want to know why," James said. He turned to Charlotte and did the puppy dog look again, enticing a real laugh from her.

"It's a," Charlotte leaned in close to James and lowered her voice, "girl thing. You don't want to know."

James' face scrunched his nose, and his mouth twisted into a scowl, triggering a round of laughs from both Charlotte and Polly. "Ew!" Je screeched, scooting as far away from the girls as possible.

Charlotte felt the hold that the green had on her heart loosening. She pushed that feeling of jealousy to the back of her mind, to be obsessed over and dissected with her roommates later. As her mind turned away from Teddy, she smiled at Polly and James. No green tinted her vision.

"I can help you fix the tree after dinner," Charlotte told Polly and James. James flashed a self-satisfied smirk at Polly. Polly turned away from James to talk to Cecelia Alden, complaining about James loudly. It was obvious that she wanted him to hear her, but they just rolled off of him. He wasn't listening.

Charlotte turned her attention away from James, away from Polly, and most of all away from Teddy, and towards Rosemary. They compared schedules, their days. Rosemary was gushing about how Iliana, the new transfer student from Durmstrang, had bumped into her in the hallway accidentally and had helped her pick up her things. Charlotte laughed and shook her head as Rosemary stared dreamily at the girl who was sitting at the Ravenclaw table.

Dinner wound down, people prepared to go back to their common rooms. Charlotte sent James and Polly back to the Gryffindor common room, sternly guiding them away from trouble. As she left the Great Hall, there were eyes upon her.

Teddy Lupin stared after the girl that he loved, his heart going with her. Charlotte Ramsey was in charge of Teddy's heart, and he would gladly give it over to her if it meant that she loved him like he loved her.

Author's Note

I don't really like this chapter, but we did get some pining. I hope that you liked it, and thank you for reading!

- Nicole