It was a tortuous few months that Ginny was gone, true Charis had Sirius and the other Order Members to talk to, but Ginny was nice, and Tonks still hated her guts.
She had learned to simply stay out of her half sisters way all together, after an incident with led to drawn wands and Charis deflecting a nasty hex and Remus restraining Tonks.
"She didn't mean anything by it." Sirius had insisted.
"No, only to cause me physical pain." Charis muttered.
"Carly, don't be like that." Sirius scolded, ruffling her hair, in that annoying overly parental way, which was strange for her, not ever really having proper parents – well affectionate ones at least.
"Carly!" Ginny called happily as she leapt off the train and throwing her arms around Charis' neck. "I missed you so much!"
"Missed you too!" Carly squealed as she and Ginny started doing the whole, hoppy excited thing, as Sirius smiled brightly at his niece's happiness.
"Hey Harry, how was school?" Sirius questioned as Harry grumbled slightly.
"Ginny is angry at me." Harry admitted.
"Why?" Sirius asked. Harry raised his eyes at Sirius before looking towards Charis, it was her fault, well, sort of, it was his fault…. No it was her fault. "You can't blame Carly. Harry, it's not her fault, it never was and it never will be."
Charis stopped dead in the middle of the platform, she and Ginny had been gossiping when she had seen him. His eyes were on her, unmoving, and completely blank. He was not glaring, he did not look surprised or even disappointed, he was blank. She took a step forward, curious, but his father appeared, he did not see her, and she did not want him to.
He left, simply walked away, Ginny was watching her curiously, and looked, she watched Draco Malfoy walk away form Charis, and not a word was said, and yet, it seemed to the redhead that so much had passed between the pair.
"Carly?" Ginny murmured.
"Something is wrong." Carly said quietly, finally Sirius noticed that something was happening to his niece and he too was concerned.
"Carly, what's going on, Kiddo?" Sirius asked nervously.
"Something is really wrong with Draco." Carly said, now frantically.
"Yeah, why wouldn't she know when the vile git is upset!" Harry muttered darkly.
"SHUT UP!" Carly screamed at him suddenly, wanting to hit him. "YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE DO YOU! You don't know what it is like to be the child of monsters like them! You never will, I know you're parents are dead, and yet you have the most amazing family built up around you, we don't have that! I'm lucky, I am so damn lucky! Before you judge Draco, think for one bloody second what it must be like to be him!"
Harry stared at Charis with wide eyes, in many ways he really was ignorant, he had not thought, or cared to think about what kind of life that the Slytherin boy lived. But right now, it was laid out before him and he did think, and the horrors of that reality struck him.
"When we get back after Christmas, I'll keep an eye on him." Hermione said quietly, speaking up for the first time. "Make sure that he isn't doing anything stupid, but until then we can't know what's going on, Carly, so let's just go home, if you really want send him an owl, I doubt it will help, I'll even sign it for you, say it's prefect stuff."
Charis nodded her head and sunk back, Sirius wrapping an arm around her shoulders, swiftly making his way back, there would be no more out bursts for today.
