October 1: We Are The Champions (Open)

[Deleted]

She could feel the fire in her veins start a slow simmer to the surface of her skin as Sirius drew her further into the passion of their kiss. Guin made a noise that would have been a sigh if her mouth wasn’t so firmly pressed against the one boy man who had always brought her pleasure. She loved when it was like this. Slow and burning.

She pulled away, breathing a little heavier, but she hovered dangerously close to his lips. “I’ve missed you.” She whispered conspiratorially. And her hands began to wander. Down his chest, fingering his shirt and tugging. Around his neck, the nap of hair there. Then his face, his mouth on hers again. And if she had her way this night, again, and again. 

Guinevere simply could not keep her hands to herself. The girl wanted to savor this feeling, she wanted it to last. Quickly, however, the fever was taking over. “How about a private celebration?” She asked boldly, taking him by the hands. She would just have to make it last, all night long if that’s what it took to thoroughly enjoy the heat that thrummed through her. She stopped by the refreshment table to pick up the half empty Mead, shot a wink to Lily over her shoulder, and then lead Sirius up to the boys’ dormitory with one goal in mind. 

---

Note from Lexi (and Dink too!): Finally done with this MERP thread!

[James Potter]

Lily's rebuttal was too good. As in: it was anything but good. She was...stammering. The Lily Evans was stammering in response to a tease of his. Are you actually getting to her? James wondered, and not in a malicious way. He knew he got under this girl's skin - but those teases were always met with just as much venom, or just as much spirit, mood depending. So he gave a shrug of his shoulders, responding simply although a mite proudly, "No one can argue with that."

Lily was talking about chemistry, but as it turned out, the word had two meanings! Who would've thought! James listened as intently as he could - what with the drink and the music - as she explained this muggle concept. By the end of her mini-lesson, he was nodding, but full of questions. "I'm asking you more about that...tomorrow," he decided, shooting her a wink. Their talk - somehow more natural here, pressed closer together than they ever had been - continued on to the topic of her skills in the kitchen...which he could respond to with challenge. "Well then, I'll just be complimenting you dishonestly until you prove me wrong - we've kitchens here, you cozy with the elves? Think they'd make an exception - let you show your skills instead of them?"

...James was only about half-jesting.

As the song died out after what was likely much too long of a time, he felt Lily's laughter tremble through his chest. He turned down to see her with a smile, but hers faded nearly as soon as he spied it. She was looking at him in a way that felt her eyes were seeing through him, just as her laughter had moved through him. The girl pulled her lower lip between her teeth - Can you say, distracting? - and James felt his own stalwart smile faltering...

Until, that is, they were able to recover their banter. He scoffed at her admitting to not knowing anything about Quidditch, at her calling him daft when she was the one who didn't know the only sport they had at their school! "Fine - you teach me about chemistry, I'll teach you about Quidditch," he promised. "I can't have you graduate without at least knowing the basics - and knowing you, you'll want to know more than that, once I get you hooked!"

~*~*~*~

He simply wanted to help his friend finally get a girl. It was high time that Remus found someone, and if he was in the beginnings of it, well - that's where his friends should be! For support! His wishes, however, were met with his name drawn out in a laugh - which brought about a lopsided grin, a grin that continued as she half-heartedly berated him, her eyes finding his. Eyes lighting with a warmth James was not quite accustomed to. The encouragement in that may have led to his reaching out, fixing hair that really didn't need fixing...

As Lily admitted to knowing him and "his manner of helping," a grin burst onto the bloke's face, and he, to be honest, didn't quite catch much more than the gist of what she said, too caught up in that. "Yes - all right, the initial ice has broken - all well and good." His hands, one causing whatever drink was left in his cup to slosh to the edge, moved of their own accord to demonstrate such a feat happening before them. "But - Lily," he continued gravely, lowering his voice and leaning his forehead towards hers, "what if there...is a lull?" James raised a brow for emphasis, the severity of such a situation not a hypothetical, but something he felt would truly come if Remus and the sixth year kept chatting without help. He loved his friend, very very much, but the good man was hardly one for lengthy conversation with people he did not know. And if he and Lily were there to help fill in gaps-before-they-were-noticeable-gaps, well, Remus would have a better shot! "Nothing kills like a lull," he said knowingly, but his "sternness" was dissolving the longer they were...close. Even in the changing lights someone had rigged for the party, he could see her perfect eyelashes - they were multicolored and wicked with the light, and wildly distracting as they framed the eyes that always drew him in...

Would it really be so bad to just lean forward a little bit more? Drop his half-finished drink to grab her waist? Feel lips on his, lips that had spoken harsh truths to him when no others had, lips that very rarely - but sometimes - had been caught smiling at his antics? Their breath, full of more than traces of alcohol, mixed between them in the dense quiet.

How bad would it be? Quidditch Captain hexed at his own after-party, Head Girl not speaking with Head Boy leads to most dysfunctional year Hogwarts has ever had...

    But you know it'd be good, a persistent, nearly laughing, voice reminded him. Because - Merlin and all the greats - if they could put their passion towards each other - no, no, that's what they already did, oppose - if they could put their passion...in the same...direction?

The bloke's alcohol-ridden mind couldn't make the proper comparison come, but he did know this: they were stupidly fiery, painfully stubborn, terribly honest, and fiercely loyal. Sometimes all in one day. Hardly anyone could keep James Potter on his toes as much as the redhead he was currently eye-to-eye with. And that was what he wanted. He didn't want complacent, easy - he'd take easier, yeah - he wanted someone who was always going to push him to be his best. And although Lily likely didn't think that's what she was doing - that's what she did.

James blinked, a slow smile growing as he regarded her, much too pleased at having just proved his own point.

"See? Lulls. They're killer. Let you...think, too much."

[Charlotte Fudge]

Settling into the couch with Remus and Daisy, Charlotte was a tad on edge. She kept expecting her brother to reappear, but as she spoke - Remus leaning in to hear her better, she presumed, arm around her at the back of the couch, bringing with him a smell that was much more pleasant than the reek of alcohol imbuing most of the air in the room - the elder Fudge made no sign of interrupting them. Thankfully, as Remus was being a dear seeming just as relieved at the turn in conversation as she was to give it. She felt her heart rather swell as the bloke spoke about the sorts of books he enjoyed, delighting in the similarity.

"I have, actually!" she said with a bit of a laugh to his question, it an unusual thing to admit given her parentage, but a truth nonetheless. There were no muggle books at home - besides those in her bedroom - but some of her favorite summertime memories involved going to the closest muggle bookshop. There was just something extraordinary in seeing the world through the lens of another, whether that other be magical or muggle - and the muggles, particularly the fiction writers, captured her attention in a way little else could. Maybe it was because they lived in a world without magic that their minds were able to conjure up so many different worlds, so many possibilities, that the wizarding writers didn't. And the histories and lore, there were just so many cultures to learn about, and it was amazing how they'd spread, formulating their own origin stories - but some of the most interesting things were the commonalities found amongst so many of the origins she'd read and -

Lost in her own mind, Charlotte was a bit late to the party in realizing that although Remus' arm was still behind her, him still close by, his attention was behind them. Curious, the girl turned to see, and met the eye of one Lily Evans. Her friend was apparently monitoring her Head Student counterpart by the punch, and was giving her a warm but rather protective sort of look. Monitoring you too. Which was something to be grateful of, on one hand, this not being her usual sort of evening. But it was, all the same, unnerving to be drawing attention to herself! A bit pink in the cheeks, the sixth year gave her friend a brief smile and turned back around, exchanging a rather verklempt look with Daisy at her side. How is this going to work? They were at the season's first Gryffindor Quidditch party - easily one of the busiest social events of the year - and she and Remus were still under observation! And they were just chatting!

About books! Harmless, reliable, books.

"Glad to see they're getting along," she commented with a nod back to James and Lily, smiling as she tried to veer the conversation again.

[Daisy Hookum]

Daisy was pleased that conversation between Charlotte and Remus started up again so easily, as she wasn't entirely sure what topic she would have brought up if they had just sat there and stared at each other awkwardly. Her job now was to make sure the conversation didn't have any awkward lulls or that they weren't rudely interrupted again. If Rufus thought for one second he could get involved in this conversation, she would have a word or two to say to him. She had no issues with throwing a fit to Rufus, it wasn't as if he was her brother.

But the sudden drop in conversation peeked her interest, and she turned to see what the two of them were both looking at. Lily and James were staring right at the three of them, and she sighed and shook her head. Surely James wasn't going to try and come over here and interuppt things? She didn't want to go and join them, not sure that was a conversation she wanted to be a part of. She'd never seen James and Lily standing near each other so...calmly. Thankfully Charlotte didn't miss a beat and Daisy leaned against the couch, smiling. "I know, it's rather shocking isn't it? Never thought I'd see the day."

Still, she would stick around for a little while longer. If James did head over, she could hopefully intercept him and confuse him long enough for Charlotte and Remus to still enjoy their talk. This was a sacrifice she would make for the sake of her friend, Peter would understand when she told him what happened later.

[Remus Lupin]

It was easy to talk to Charlotte, a fact that surprised him a bit. He'd never spoken to her before this year, and the last time had ended up with him quoting poetry and getting embarrassed. An event he was absolutely positive that he was not going to live down any time in the near future. Out of every poem he could have recited, he had chosen that one. And while he was still unsure if he was feeling anything towards her, it had been a flustering experience. Sure, he thought she was beautiful. And she was incredibly smart, talented.

So what if his stomach was doing flips when he leaned in close to hear her, his heart racing when she didn't move away. The position they were in was so unnatural to him, his arm behind her on the couch. He hadn't quoted the poem because he felt anything towards her, but since that event...he'd thought about it. Having feelings for someone. Daisy had given him an earful when she'd heard about the incident later, telling him he should finally take her advice on the youngest Fudge.

So he'd taken it, in a sense. He'd paid more attention to her out of the corner of his eye, seeing what it was like to notice someone. He was positive that she hadn't caught on. At least, he hoped she hadn't. He was sure if she mentioned it he would positively die of embarrassment. But when he realized that he enjoyed seeing her read in the common room, and that he was having strange urges to talk to her, he'd brought it up to the boys. The stupid decision ever.

And it hadn't stopped since then. Which was why he was practically begging James (using no words - just his mind) to not come over and interrupt. Because it was going well, even though it hadn't been perfect so far. He needed to do this on his own, see if this was really the start of feeling something for this girl. Charlotte spoke up, and he turned to meet her eyes, laughing as Daisy added a retort. "It's not as surprising as you might think. But I'm sure Lily has her eye on him, he won't come over here and be weird. Not that anything there is anything to be weird about."

At least nothing had been weird before he said that. Now it sounded like he was covering something up, or insulting her in some way. This was absolutely perfect. Clearing his throat, he looked back over to the pair by the drinks before focusing on Charlotte. "What's your favorite? Muggle book that is."

[Deleted]

James’ comment sounded contrite. Like he was just giving in, because it was her. Usually she’d fight back, but tonight was different. There was a different shade to everything they said. Maybe it was called spiked punch, or maybe it was called something else. Either way the topic slid right into her diatribe on chemistry. She was getting the nasty sense that her words weren’t making sense. Lily wondered if she was slurring or if he just wasn’t catching on. Deciding that it must be a bit of both she nodded, with her brow furrowed when he mentioned asking her at a later time. “Probably for the best.” She said not owning up to why.


When James suggested that she prove him wrong, by actually cooking, Lily internally blanched. Perhaps bravado had combined with her parents’ compliments in her head. There wasn’t much she could do. But like the smart witch she was Lily was sure she could figure it out. “You’re on” she blurted out without thinking. A natural response to a challenge set by Potter. Later she would deal with whether or not it would just be them. If she wimped out, perhaps she could employ Willa or Remus to help out. Every good chef had a sous chef after all. And every good young woman who didn’t want something to be a date had a back-up third wheel. Lily tilted her head to meet his eyes as well as his challenge and wondered for a moment if that was really what she wanted. His lips looked too inviting. Her own tingled uncomfortably and she pursed them to stop the weirdness. “Sure they would.” She finally got out. “They love me down there… I only wish I could slip a few of them some clothes. They’d never accept though.” Lily looked back down at James’ clavicle thoughtfully.


At song’s end, all that had been sad sunk into Lily. The natural ebb and flow of their banter no longer seemed like a simple repartee. A deeper level that had perhaps always dwelt under the surface was becoming clearer. If they were going to be friends that had to happen right? Things that would not have been said when he was simply Potter and she was simply Evans had to be shared. James seemed to know that too. It was rare that he didn’t smile when she was looking at him directly. His boundless need to be charming seemed flawless… up until that moment. They were either locked in battle or he was trying to hard. This in between… this was new. And disarming.


“I know the basic rules!” Lily blurted out, once again taking up the fight. “Chasers throw the quaffle through the rings. The keeper acts as goalie and stops that from happening. But because that’s seemed too easy to some masochist there are beaters who hit bludgers of all things at the players. And then the seeker flies around the whole time chasing around the snitch. Which in all fairness should award them more points, but 150. Really?” Knowledge dropped, Lily threw her hands up in the minimal space between them and exclaimed “Wizards!” Everyone within earshot just kind of looked at her then gave James a weird look. Lily turned red and looked at their shoes. “Ridiculous.” She muttered.


~*~*~*~


The James Potter glint was unmistakably glimmering in his hazel eyes as James watched Remus and Charlotte. Lily found the pair a delightful surprise, but she wasn’t about to come to any conclusions. Let alone let James of all people come to a conclusion that he would feel obligated to make come to fruition. With her face as fuzzy feeling as it was Lily didn’t know if the sternness she was trying to portray was there, but it didn’t stop her from trying. It wasn’t working. He was still worked up.
It was kind of cute obnoxious. 


He drawled out her name in the way that only he could. She tried not to think about why that made her feel so light inside. James continued to yammer on about lulls and Lily tried not to laugh. Something in her wanted her to laugh more than be stern. The grin pulled at her lips but she fought it. The mental image of James sauntering into poor Remus’ attempt to be a wall flower killed it pretty quickly. Not to mention how shocked Charlotte would be. Their younger housemate never came to parties like this. For what she hoped was the briefest of moments, Lily allowed herself to take in the sight of James so close and yet so not fixated on her. His affection was so exhausting to receive, that Lily was mesmerized it didn't burn him out daily. How had it taken her so long to realize that it went even double for his friends. At least the Marauders accepted the love he showed them. Mostly. Peter basked in it. Remus blanched sometimes as much as Lily, but had the ability to appreciate its authenticity. Sirius Black... he was a breed all his own just like Potter.  It all just fit. Even in a haze, this realization came crashing into sudden clarity. 

Gryffindors were brave. Lily was brave. For years she had shied away from this boy and his exuberance, because it had scared her perhaps more than it had annoyed her. Not any more. In that brief moment, she took int he whole of James Potter. He was ready to spring into action even when warned not to. He was optimistic at heart. He was... kind of dashing in the obnoxious boy turned energetic young man sort of way. It wouldn't be so bad to be swept up into his brightness and his strength. But it could be. And so Lily kept herself from getting pulled in to the magnetism. She would face this new relationship with him with strength and bravery, yes, but not foolishness. 

Lily couldn't stand it anymore. Neither her thoughts nor his shenanigans. “Oi!” she blurted out to get both his mouth and his racing mind to shut up. Her hand didn’t have far to go in order to clamp onto his slightly scraggly cheeks. He was staring starry eyed at his fellow marauder and that was no good. “Look at Remus’ face. Does he look like he needs help?” Lily looked over at her smiling and captivated. Their eyes must have been burning a noticeable hole or else Remus would not have looked over. “Are those the eyes of someone that’s asking for your assistance or begging you to stay away?” Lily squeezed his cheek a bit “Hmm???” She turned his face too look at her. “Tell the truth.” She took a moment to look over at Remus watching the spectacle and gave him a conspiratorial wink.


If her head had been clearer Lily would have realized what a marauder-esque move she was pulling, but for now this was fun.

[James Potter]

Her acceptance of his challenge was something James had hoped for, and didn't think he'd be denied of (she was rarely one to not rise to a challenge, after all), but having her so quick to agree was the most surprising bit. There was no protest of him being silly, no negotiation of rules...this will be great. But as the girl went on, looking up to catch his eye, James' heart sunk a tad. He supposed that to muggleborns, and even many halfbloods, the notion of house elves being happy with their lot was something difficult to understand. But growing up with Libby and Oliver at home, well - the elves were part of his family, and they enjoyed caring for him and Sirius. "No, they wouldn't," he said with a bit of a sympathetic smile to her before trying to lighten the mood again. "They'll love you teaching them a thing or two about cooking, though."

Talk turned to Quidditch, and James' assumption of her lack of understanding of the sport, the lad was left wanting to snog the girl right then and there after her rant. Maybe she'd seen the look in his eye, because she was shortly blushing a bright red and stringently avoiding his gaze. He couldn't stop grinning, shooting a wink to those around them who were giving Lily a look at her unexpected outburst. Wanting to bring her back to him, James pulled her a little closer to tease under his breath, "Do I detect some concern for my well-being? I run around with a we- with a well-mannered group of friends." James quickly laughed to conceal his awkward cover-up. How had it been so easy to forget himself? Slow down on the drinks, too off guard around her. "You know about half of what we've gotten up to, Evans. Believe me, they have trained me for dodging Bludgers better than any of my captains did. But, since you're so well-versed in the rules, the next step in your training should be obvious..."

~*~*~*~

As he explained the importance of avoiding lulls, Lily…was trying not to grin. In the last months he’d learned that look, and was loving it. He'd see it in her face, and there wasn't a thing that he would change. Her dimples would just start to show, green eyes lit with a warmth towards him. It was about time she realized how amusing he was! Although he wasn’t trying to be funny at the moment! But she couldn’t keep a straight face, and that was ridiculously entertaining to him, seeing her mouth twitch, the laughter in her eyes -

Her hand was suddenly gripping his face, and it was so surprising to him that he couldn’t do anything but look down at her in happy bemusement during the "tirade." "Look what you’ve done, now they’re all distracted," James accused playfully, a laugh tumbling out of him as he gave the trio on the couch a little wave on his way to scratch the back of his reddening neck. Because, surely, it’d been Lily’s shout that had gotten their attention, eh? The three of them were giving him and Lily what felt like the same sort of attention he’d been giving them, and he knew he’d be getting an earful from his mate about his present proximity to the Head Girl. She’s the one all over me, he said innocently with an eye to Remus, but had read what Lily was saying in the bloke’s look. Was he really so in the wrong in wanting to help the guy out? Remus had confessed wanting to get to know the younger Fudge better, which was honestly the first time he’d gotten close to talking about having feelings for a girl - it was his brotherly duty to ensure it went well, wasn’t it? But…Remus seemed to be doing fine.

"They grow up so fast," he lamented as admittance of defeat. Having her so close was mightily distracting - he was still riding the high of their epic win today, and they'd danced (with help from their friends), and were having good fun together...

"Kitchens." James gave a solid nod to the idea, Lily's earlier acceptance of his challenge coming back up to him. "We throw a good party, but the food runs out before anything," he said by way of explanation, an arm swung out behind him towards the punch and sad looking nearly-emptied bowls of snacks. "I'm gonna go fix that, Captain's work is never done," James continued with a laugh, bright eyes meeting hers as he ventured further. "Wanna come? Heads perks, nobody will question us being out." His counterpart didn't so much as verbally agree but, perhaps, felt compelled to follow him out as he jauntily left the common room. Whether it was "for his own good," or "because he was in such a state," Lily was nevertheless shortly behind...

[Charlotte Fudge]

Ignore them, just ignore them, Charlotte told herself, doing her best to shut the Head Students - and any other housemates who may have taken notice of them - out of her recognition. Whatever was happening between Remus and herself - Goodness, getting ahead of yourself, aren't you?  - shouldn't be of concern to anyone else. You can tell yourself that, but Rufus would throw a fit... Her brother wasn't incredibly fond of his roommates, of which Char couldn't discount him - the other four were so close, and Rufus just hadn't fit in with them, even though they were all so different from each other. It would be so difficult to live with best of friends when you weren't one of them, and perhaps that was why her brother always had some complaint or another against them, even the kind and unassuming bloke sitting so closely with her.

Remus moved to catch her eye and laughed - and a nice laugh she had, why hadn't she taken notice before? - while she tried to look unaffected by...everything. The unusual proximity between them, the very fact that they were conversing. The slight tingling in her stomach that had happened when he laughed. She gave him a nod, tucking her long hair back behind her ears again, assured that Lily would keep her counterpart in line. Her friend seemed to be doing the job, taking James' face in her hand and berating him, or so she assumed. Have you spoken with James, with Peter, about me? The thought was narcissistic at best, but...not too unlikely, right? She was certain Remus had heard all of James' frustrations about Lily (even she, so out of the loop with gossip, could tell), so why would the opposite not be true?

At Remus' question, she smiled, letting out a little laugh of her own. "It's hard to choose...I enjoy reading lore, it's so interesting to me to learn about early cultures. Their interpretations of the world, of how they came to be - we don't have anything quite like it, at least not that I've found. But I enjoy historical fictions as well. Right now I'm rereading Wuthering Heights, which is one of my favorites. It can be a bit much sometimes, but there are parts that have stuck with me." Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same, she thought, letting herself wonder foolishly if the same could one day be said of herself and Remus. Feeling as though her best friend could read into her thoughts, she colored and continued, "Have you read it?" The characters were full of big personalities, with emotions as sharp as their tongues. While she didn't feel a kindredness with the main characters, she found herself envious of the feeling they were capable of, wondering if she would ever feel as they did about someone. For all of their bluster, for all of their dramatics, for all of their hateful speech, Cathy and Heathcliff had found themselves in the other. She wasn't mad for wanting to find that someday too, was she? Hopefully with fewer dramatics...

[Remus Lupin]

It seemed like his conversation was going to continue to stay uninterrupted for now, and for that Remus was thankful. He would find out later from James what was going on behind him, that was for sure. Even if Remus didn't want to know - James was going to tell him. Probably repeatedly, until the three other Marauders had enough and made James can it. At least that might buy him some time to sort out his own feelings about this conversation before his three friends sat him down for more information. Because they were just having a conversation, that didn't mean anything. People had conversations all the time, it wasn't as if they were doing anything wrong or out of the ordinary. Just talking about books and not feeling any weird feelings in the bit of his stomach as she smiled and talked about books.

The way she called it lore - muggles would call it history, although there were plenty of incorrect facts - brought a smile to his face. He had missed out on going to muggle school due to his condition, but he'd still read as much as he could when his mother took him on his weekly trip to the library. It was the only time he ever interacted with other kids his age, and he'd tried to keep up with their schools work with the few friends he made that didn't think he was completely strange. So Wuthering Heights? Yes, he had read it. He'd found bits of a tad peculiar, as it seemed like there was more drama than necessary. Then again, that had been before he'd met Sirius and he realized that perhaps people who were overly dramatic actually did exist in the real world.

"I have read it, I'm pretty sure there is a copy at my house," Remus replied, his smile growing wider. He'd have to see if his mother could mail him the book, it would be worth reading again. Especially if Charlotte was interested having a more in depth discussion about the characters. Planning on talking to her again? Maybe you do have more to think about than you originally thought.. There was nothing wrong with two intellectual people discussing books in the library. After all they did have school work to do, it wouldn't be strange to do it together in the library and chat. "Have you read The Counte of Monte Cristo? It's a fantastic read, but I don't think I've read anything by Alexandre Dumas that I haven't enjoyed,"

[Daisy Hookum]

It was conversations like this that kept Daisy from joining thinks like the Hogwarts Book Club. Remus and Charlotte were doing just fine talking about books. She really did try and listen, but she had heard enough about Wuthering Heights in her dorm room. Looking back, she noticed James and Lily leaving through the portrait hole. Where were the two of them off to? It wasn’t as if she could follow them to snoop, but surely whatever was happening between the two of them was more interesting than Heathcliff.

Bringing her attention back to the conversation at hand - still books?! - and shook her head. ”Well, seeing as the boys dorm is occupied I guess you are stuck down here for a while, huh Remus?” Standing up, she shot Charlotte a look. ”I’m going to go find Peter, you two enjoy your conversation.”

[Charlotte Fudge]

What was it that she was saying that was getting Remus to light up how he was? He could be thinking the same about you, a quiet little voice told her, bringing a fresh smile to her face as her conversation partner acknowledged he'd also read one of her favorite muggle books. Charlotte couldn't help but feel that that was special; true, the bloke was the president of the Book Club, so he should be well read, but...having similar taste is nice. The blossoming warmth she'd felt at the shared experience with him, however, was shortly drenched as he brought up, presumably, one of his favorites. Monte Cristo? Is that a place? A family?...

"Do you happen to have a copy of it here?" she asked, trying to smile through her slight discomfort. He can't expect you to know every book in existence, calm down. Daisy interjected suddenly, and Charlotte turned to her with a bit of panic as she, just as suddenly, stood. Where are you going? She'd surely need to apologize tonight about inadvertently excluding her from the conversation; there were many things that her roommate enjoyed discussing, but books as dense as the ones Charlotte tended towards were not on the list. She swallowed, smoothing her skirt unnecessarily, as her friend left them alone on the couch. Can it even be counted as "alone" when the whole House is about? "I admit I haven't read it," Charlotte continued, attempting for ease. "What are some of the themes? I'm sure I'd find it interesting, if you do - you always have quality recommendations to the club."

[Remus Lupin]

He wasn’t entirely surprised at Daisy suddenly leaving, but he wished he was more comfortable with it. The conversation had been going just fine up to this point without much interjection from the redhead, but her presence had still been comforting. But he had to be able to carry on a conversation without Daisy around, without making a complete fool of himself. It couldn’t be that complicated, considering the topic. He liked books, she liked books. That would be easy enough to handle. He had been talking about books since he had learned how to talk.

”I do have a copy somewhere in my trunk,” he answered with a smile, trying not to fidget in his seat. “The themes are the limits of human justice, relative versus absolute happiness, and love versus alienation. I can bring it down to breakfast tomorrow if you’d like to read it.” Giving her a book wouldn’t be an abnormal thing, they were in the book club together. No one would think anything of it. He was making himself panic the longer he thought about it.

”Have you read The Three Musketeers? I have that one as well.”

[Charlotte Fudge]

She could happily listen to Remus talk about books he loved or otherwise found interesting for the rest of the night. When people spoke about something they were passionate about, it just...lit their eyes and lilted their voices in ways that nothing else could. Charlotte had seen bits and pieces of this side of him during Book Club, but one-on-one the change in him was...magnified. She wondered fleetingly if he'd thought similarly about her when she was sharing, in meetings versus on this couch. What's gotten into you? Generally Char didn't engage in conversations with people she didn't already know, which made her friend group quite minuscule but comfortable all at once. And she never spoke semi-privately with her brother's roommates, having a gut feeling that he'd told them all off about approaching her in their younger years.

He means well.

"I'd like that, thank you," Charlotte replied quickly at the offer, rather jumping on the opportunity. Because if she read the book he so enjoyed, they'd of course need to get together for her to give it back. And if today was telling of their common honest interest in discussing books, then wouldn't he want to break it down and talk it through with someone with fresh eyes to it? If questioned, she could...say that she was trying to make a new friend. It wouldn't be a lie, nothing of the sort, as she didn't expect anything "more" to come of their interactions. Even if this didn't particularly feel like the spark of a friendship.

She was about to reply to Remus' Three Musketeers remark, having actually read and enjoyed the novel herself, when they were joined by Rufus. Her brother made himself comfortable at her side with his arm around her shoulders, and she took the moment to congratulate him on the match before he leapt into excited commentary about it. Before long the Fudges were getting up to talk specifics, and while Charlotte usually enjoyed her brother's play-by-plays, she was reluctant to leave Remus...not reluctant enough to stop herself from walking away with her brother after saying a quick goodbye, though. But they could have time at breakfast, and after...