Chapter Text
Chapter I
That evening was a rainy one. Not at all the weather to take a turn around the grounds. The sound of a gaggle of girls fannying about, and fusing over how this school year will turn out, could be heard from my position on a bench in the central hall. All my female peers seemed to care about, was the boys who they suspected to be trying out for the quidditch team this year. ‘I heard Leander Prewett is planning on going for the seeker positon!’ one of the smirked into the conversation, which elicited sniggers from the company. The Hufflepuff girls pushed closer to each other, their voices still audible to me, as they weren’t nearly as silent as they thought. ‘Of course Isaac Cooper will take over as Griffindor’s captain again, do you think he’ll notice me this year?’ I felt myself frown at the other girls hardening laughter. Isaac Cooper was all most girls my year could speak about. Especially recently with them all turning sixteen, coming of age was a strange process indeed. The boys name never left anyone’s lips recently, on average I was asked at least six times about my brother a day. Charlotte — Charlie Cooper as the boys affectionately named me, since my physical appearance had always struck them as boyish and unappealing. Charlie had started out as a nickname for my brothers use, then the quidditch team caught wind and it became a wildfire from there.
I didn’t mind not being renowned for my feminine appeal, I didn’t think I was ugly, and I was never called ugly directly to my face by other students, I assumed that I just hadn’t grown yet. I was plain, maybe pretty but not beautiful. My brother and I shared raven black hair which had gentle curls and waves haunting it, and the same green eyes. However physical appearances did show our clear difference. I didn’t particularly look like either of my parents other than my fathers hair, which was overly curly, and mothers eyes, the opposite could be said for Isaac who had our fathers face, although more youthful. We were skinny children, always active. His interest had always been sports, which had now resulted in his athletic physique, whilst I enjoyed exploring the forests around Feldcroft. Managing to find trouble had been my hobby, being chased by grumpy dugbogs, and falling into troll lairs. I had a small thin scar running positively on the top of my nose bridge. Mother had been mortified by this, remarking, ‘Oh! Oh my little girl, you’ve ruined your pretty face.’ Since then I had regarded my face as ruined, and in a way attempted to make up for my flaw by harbouring my kindness and sharpening my wit. I remember when I was quite young, a neighbouring boy called Clive Lawson had berated me, saying that ‘ugly girls can’t be mean.’ Well I certainly wasn’t mean.
Being sorted into Gryffindor was an opportunity for a new start, I joined a year late as a result of being a “late bloomer”. Being labelled a squib was something else which thickened my skin. Through the experiences or teasing I had encountered, I developed my unflattering devotion to kindness. My brother had sworn to me on my way to Hogwarts that I would be placed into Hufflepuff. However the Sorting hat declared me reckless and placed me in Gryffindor. Which was of course welcome. My brother was ecstatic, pushed his friends aside on the long table for me to sit next to him. He done what he’d always done and slung his lanky arm over my small frame, he introduced me to Garreth Weasley, and I had been smitten since.
Having had enough of the sound of the girls conversation intercepting my reading, I walked off to the common room as a result of the undesirable weather. Coming to the fat lady and flashing her a smile accompanied by the password allowed me access to the common room. The warm red and yellow colour scheme of the room felt homely. Having been here five years the common room was now home. Coming into the common room, I caught sight of Natsai Onai standing with Garreth Weasley, Nellie Ogspire and my brother. They seemed to be in a deep conversation, arms moving in the air as the eccentric Garreth spoke. A delicate blush spread across my relatively pale cheeks as Garreth noticed me first, then Isaac, to which he made an exaggerated gesture for me to join him. My awkwardly limp frame waddled over to them. Natsai’s smile warmed at me and I smiled back. Isaac pulled his arm around my slender shoulders, like he always did. To him I was his little sister. Even though a little less than a year separated our birthdays. Isaac was one of the eldest in the year and I was evidently the youngest, but despite this he still treated me as he had in my first year, like I was a new born doe finally learning how to walk. His babying nature towards me earned me another nickname from the Gryffindor quidditch team — ‘little brother’. I found it annoying and Isaac found it endearing. He liked how the rest of his friends felt like they were able to treat me as their own little sister, brother.
"Having a good first day back, sis?” Isaac asked and leaned in a bit. His breath warmed my cheek and I cringed, swatted at his face.
"Brilliant” I replied, sarcasm practically dripping from my mouth. Although Isaac didn’t seem to notice.
“Great. Just the thing, me and the boys were thinking about going to The Three Broomsticks tonight, do you care to get your nose out of that book and come with us?” he proposed. Natsai coughed and raised a brow at him. “And Natty of course.” Isaac corrected with a playful smile.
The thought stirred, he said the boys. That meant Leander Prewett, Lawrence Davies, Hector Jenkins and Garreth. The idea of spending time with Garreth was appealing, but equally embarrassing. My body recoiled at the idea, Isaac chuckled as he picked up on my cringed reaction.
“Hah, alright you don’t have to. You’re such a hermit Charlie.” Isaac planted a chaste kiss on my head before removing the now less lanky arm from my shoulders. “If you’re not coming, we’re going to head off then. Don’t be too lonely without me.” he smirked.
“I’ll try my hardest.” I mumbled back and watched them depart, Nellie didn’t leave with them instead she excused herself and went to speak with a group of other girls.
With them gone the room became a bit quieter, I took up a spot next to the window, out of the way of my fellow housemates. The book I was reading was an autobiography of a wizards adventure studying dragons and rescuing them from poachers. It was quite interesting, the author even took the liberty of showcasing his fine art skills by illustrating the various dragons he came across. Little detailed ink drawings were printed like fine stamps on many of the pages. I had to admit I took a great length of time admiring the skilled sketches and trying to emulate them in my own. Despite the common room being slightly quieter than usual, I found it hard to be able to comfortably sit and read. Once again I closed the book and took a turn around the dormitory to see if my shared room was empty. It was not. My room mate, Cressida Blume had the same idea as me, but she was sat at the warm wooden writing desk, viciously scribbling in her diary. Her eyes snapped up to mine, and gave me one of her annoyingly judgemental looks. No wonder you've not made nay friends, Cresida. I refused to shoot her the same look and smiled.
“Sorry Cressida, hope you had a nice holiday.” I said and turned to leave.
It was a shame how unlikable Cressida made herself. She was arrogant and for some reason, always imposed competition into everything, mostly with Amit. She also had an obnoxious fixation of Garreth Weasley, always taking the chance to complain about him to anyone who didn’t actually care to listen. Mostly her complaints focused on his exploits during potions. Potions was a passion of Garreth and Cressida couldn’t seem to understand that when someone had a passion, of course they’d want to excel in it. Even if excelling meant brewing his own concoctions during lesson. Moreover, she didn’t share a table with Garreth, she was on the opposite side of the room.
The library seemed to be an acceptable place to be able to sit in silence until it closed. So I began my walk to the library, it didn’t take too long to get there, the air in the halls was quite cold and I pulled my baggy robes tighter around me. The red and gold twin doors of the library came into view, and I ducked into the room, trotting down the small flight of stairs before entering the large library. It was barren. Of course not many students would come here on the first day back. It was nice, warm and silent. Wooden tables and matching benches looks appealing, but I made my way to a table next to the window tucked away behind a bookshelf. It was a lovely little corner, somewhere you wouldn’t be bothered by Peeves. I opened my book back out on the table. The leather slightly chilly to the touch.
The appealing and more solitary environment helped me focus on my book. I usually would be off somewhere with Poppy instead of moping around on my own, but she was coming a day later so she could help her grandmother a bit before she left for school. The book was beginning to describe the authors journey to Mongolia to document a Mongolian Round Head, aptly named because of it’s round and calloused head, this specific dragon often opted for brute force by ramming into things instead of spitting fire. They were a dusty red colour with a stripped pattern, coming in different ranges of oranges or yellows. It was amazing how dragons varied around the world, but I suppose it wasn’t all that unique.
Being engrossed in the book I jumped when I heard books fall from behind me. My neck span around and pulled my torso slightly with it. My long hair whipped round and hit my cheek, and fell back down to my shoulder tangled. When I turned I saw a boy standing there looking rather embarrassed. His hair was a pleasant brown colour, and a little wavy. His eyes seemed to be the same shade as his hair, they were soft and warm. My eyes then racked over his familiar face, his tanned and freckled skin, like he’d been kissed my stars. I recognised the boy as Anne Sallow’s brother. Though I couldn’t remember his name, he shared a few of my classes.
“Sorry.” he spoke first, his arm gliding behind his head as he scratched the back of his neck. “I didn’t realise anyone else was here.”
The soft hair of his head bounced as he knelt down on the ground to pick up the arm full of books he dropped. The position emphasised his broad shoulders, athletic. Hanging from his shirt pocket was an old looking pair of reading glasses, black rimmed tilted ovals and a singular crack on the left lens. His face was certainly handsome, it had that boyish quality, but was notably more mature than boys like Leander or Amit. As I observed the boy, I noticed how the tips of his ears were burnt, which led me to believe him to be the outdoor type. It reminded me of Isaacs face after he came home from quidditch camp over the summer break.
“Don’t worry, it’s quite alright.” I replied after a moment.
The seconds I spent eyeing him felt longer than they were in reality. He was still picking up his books, the previous embarrassment clearly making him nervous as he dropped another book. I pushed back my chair and knelt in front of him to help, feeling partly responsible for unknowingly startling him. His eyed shot up to mine, the brown and green complimented each other quite nicely, I thought. He gave a half smile, which made my heart stutter. A dimple on his right side revealed itself on his cheek.
“Thank you, Charlotte.” his smile was intoxicating, and of course I returned it in a halved moon. Charlotte.
“It’s alright...” I paused and in the moment tried desperately to remember his name, I knew it was nice name, one that flowed easy off ones tongue.
“Sebastian, Sebastian Sallow.” his eyebrow raised, his gaze a soft disappointment, the tone of his voice sounded questioning. “I’ve shared classes with you since second year.” He half heartedly chuckled.
A surge or guilt gripped my heart, making me frown. It was certainly mortifying forgetting somebody’s name, especially after five years of hearing it in lessons. I wanted to apologise, grovel. But a part of me wished to try conceal my ignorance towards him. His eyes looked back down to his books before he stood up, leaving me kneeling in front of him, he was so tall.
“I knew that, I suppose I was just flustered is all. Apologies.” my eyes shot up to his, and after a moment followed his lead standing up and smoothing out my skirt.
Again, his smirk caught my eye. Leave it to a Slytherin to be so smug. My expression was one of indifference, he ticked his tongue and looked away out the window, still smirking. This revealed his pleasing and sharp jawline, something a good few of the adolescent boys in the year was missing. His eyelashes also casted a gentle shadow on the top of his cheeks. My face blushed again, my eyes falling down to my feet.
“Right, I believe you.” he smirked down at me, although I was too busy glaring at my feet to notice. “Don’t worry, you always seem to be off in your little world anyway.” the sheer embarrassment and shame was almost too much.
“I’m so sorry.” I muttered wishing one of the Mongolian Round Head would come and swollen me whole. “I swear I—”
“Dragons? Can’t say I’ve ever done much research into them. Is it any good?” he cut of my grovelling, and nodded to my book.
“Oh! Yes well, I find them fascinating. They are all so varied and have their own unique quirks. I’d actually quite like to study them once I’m finished with school.” I began to ramble.
“Some pumpkins that would be.” Sebastian muttered, eyes not eating mine for a moment.
I reached behind me to grab the book, and I handed it to him.
“The sketches I find quite beautiful.” his eyes scanning over the illustrations.
“Yes, they are very detailed.” Sebastian cleared his throat before speaking.
He handed it back to me, and I felt my breath halt as his long fingers brushed against mine. My eyes shot back up to his and he smiled, it was charming and a faintest hint of his dimple dipped into his cheek. Brown eyed gazed curiously down at me, he was waiting for me to speak, but I couldn’t think of anything. Instead my focus landed on his hands as he leaned over to pick up his own books. I saw him clutching a leather bound covers of The Misunderstanding of the Dark Arts. It stopped me for a moment, it was strange to be reading a book which sympathises with the dark arts, then again I suppose we have our interests.
“Well, see you in classes Charlotte, maybe now you’ll remember my name.” he smiled and left.
My eyes followed him as he left my corner of the library. His tall frame stalked out of the library completely in fact, because when I went to chase after him to apologise he was out the door. My chest sunk with a heavy sigh. My hands were still holding onto my book. The door could’ve practically melted under my stare, God I’m such an idiot. I would be lying if didn’t say that was one of my more embarrassing moments. The first place prize went to my first ever flying lesson, where I flew straight into a window, went through it and ended up in the hospital wing for a week. I hadn’t been fond of broom travel since.
Madame Scribner’s putrid voice startled me, telling it was time to close the library. I didn’t need to be told twice, in fact I practically sprinted back to the common room. The stone floor echoing my footsteps against the walls. On my way back I couldn’t help wonder about Sebastian Sallow’s curious reading. There were a fair few books to do with he dark arts and curses, the book covers he held were dark and purple hued. Old books, I could practically smell the grimy dust that hid their dark secrets inside. But he could have those books for any reason, defence against the dark arts homework, history of magic, it could be anything. However the sinister feeling still loomed in the air.
I came to the portrait of the fat lady when I heard a familiar hoard of voices approach.
“I’m telling you, we’re going to win that cup this year.” Lawrence Davies’s mock deep voice sounded. His words slurred a bit, and I heard a few other voices laugh.
“We have the strongest team.” Leander replied.
Turning around I faced my brother and his intoxicated friends. Isaac smiled down at me and strode towards me to ruffle my hair. He stank of fire whiskey, I never had been partial to that drink, or it’s smell. His hands were clammy which was one of Isaacs tells when he was drunk. His smirk was childish and dumb as he tried to spin me around.
“Hi Charlie.” he smiled more. It was hard to be mad at him with his goofy nature. He pulled me in for a hug, which I obliged. “You’re the best sister I’ve ever had.”
“I’m the only sister you’ve ever had.” I mumbled, my breathing restricted by his bear hug.
“Charlotte! How was your summer?” Leander’s shy stutter called from over my brothers shoulder.
I let my brother step away from me, stumbling back into Natsai. I heard his muffled laugh as she walked him into the common room. I looked to Leander next, eyeing him carefully, he hadn’t really changed much, a bit taller his hair fuller and that was all. Clearly they all had a little soemthing to drink our at the Three Broomsticks. The remaining boys seemed dishevelled, a thin sweat covering their foreheads and loosened uniform, Lawrence’s tie had been completely discarded now being tied around his head as if he was a bloody pirate. And maybe I could’ve helped the disapproving glare I shot at them.
“You let Isaac drink? You know if he gets in trouble, kogawa won’t let him not the team this year. Same for all of you.” I berated them.
“Pish posh little bother.” Lawrence slung a heavy arm over me, which I immediately shook off.
“You all stick. Go clean yourselves up before Professor Weasley comes.” I rolled my eyes and entered the common room first.
“We’re sorry Charlie.” Leander spoke as he trotted along behind me, his voice having a soft desperation residing.
“Speak for yourself Prewett.” The other perpetrators spat to him.
I didn’t stop to listen to them. I took myself up to my dorm room where I was met with a sleeping Cressida Blume, Nellie and Natty had yet to come up. I quietly slipped off my uniform, and contemplated how I should lecture my brother in the morning. It was our first day of lessons tomorrow, and he decided it would be a good time for a hang over. As I slipped on my nightdress the door opened, with Natty and Nellie coming through giggling. Nellie hadn’t gone with them, but Natty must’ve been telling her everything.
I watched them for a moment, until they themselves decided to change into their nightclothes. I crawled into my bottom bunk bellow Natsai’s top. I pulled the traditional red covers over myself and wished it to protect me from awkward atmosphere.
“Relax Charlotte, Isaac was just having fun.” Nellie spoke.
“In fairness he didn’t have to drink that much.” Natsai came to my defense. “He could’ve been suspended if they found out.”
Nellie and Natsai started to quietly argue, I didn’t pay much attention. I was eager to get to sleep.