Chapter Twenty One

A/N: Thank you to ImsebastianstanButter for reviewing.

The long wooden tables of the Great Hall had been charmed away to leave room for camp beds, the echoing space filled with row upon row of coverlets. It felt strange to see the ruby covers taken from the Gryffindor dormitories, even stranger to see them placed beside the emerald, sapphire and topaz of the other Houses. Ginny had been quite right; the teachers had decided it was far too dangerous for the pupils to sleep in their dormitories while Sirius Black may still roam the castle, that any of them might be at risk. Well, all but one, but Charlotte was not certain they knew that.

True to her word, Ginny had saved a camp bed beside her, throwing her spare Gryffindor Quidditch jersey over it before a barrage of fifth years could get near. She had not spoken to Charlotte then, continuing a conversation with her second year friends, but her sly smile had been enough to make the girl feel warm inside.

A group of teachers patrolled left and right, watching over the students as they began to fall asleep. Remus arrived to begin his shift a little after the shutters were closed, raising his eyebrows in a familiar gesture that questioned why she was not yet asleep. Somehow that one small thing made all the madness around them seem unimportant.

Before long, it was the middle of the night, but Charlotte still could not get to sleep, tossing and turning in her bed. She could not stop thinking about her father, all alone in the Shrieking Shack. That was if he was still in the Shrieking Shack.

Her father would never hurt anyone, of that much she was certain. The rest of the world might know of Sirius Black as a heartless murderer, a criminal beyond redemption, but they were wrong. He was nothing like that; even a few short minutes had told her that.

Most of the students were fast asleep in their beds by now, though many of her fellow first years had struggled to find rest for fear they might be attacked while they dreamed. Only a few remained awake now, whispering among themselves quietly enough that the professors would not hear. But not quietly enough to evade all ears.

"It's ridiculous, really." one of the fourth years claimed, lying just a couple of beds from Charlotte. "If he was a Muggle, their police would have shot him on sight. I don't see why they can't do the same just because Black was born a wizard."

Charlotte gritted her teeth together, trying to control her anger. 'They're idiots.' she told herself. 'They don't know what they're talking about, they're just repeating what they've been told. They'll stop soon.'

But they did not. In fact, the girls kept talking for an hour. Charlotte was wide awake the whole time, listening to their lies. She did not say anything, knowing that causing a fight and waking the whole of the Great Hall would not be the best way to keep her secret, but she had been so tempted that her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish for most of that time.

By the time morning broke, the brunette was still awake, her eyes bleary and swollen from the silent tears she had shed once silence finally fell around her. She was exhausted, with barely enough energy to lift her head up from the pillow. While the rest of the students began to ready themselves for the day, chattering loudly and crunching the toast that had been passed around on large platters by the house elves, Charlotte collapsed back onto her camp bed, her head resting on her knees.

"Charlotte, are you alright?" Ginny asked, a little too loudly. Remus looked up from his conversation with the other professors, his brow furrowing with concern. He was by their side in a minute.

"Miss Weasley, you should probably get going to class." Professor Lupin instructed, trying his best to look commanding, which was a mean feat when his hair was sticking up in different directions from the small amount of sleep he had managed to find. "Tell them I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Yes, sir." Ginny obeyed, hurrying along to catch up with her friends. Remus led his goddaughter to perch on one of the benches at the edge of the hall, waiting until the remaining dregs of students had drifted away to speak.

"What's wrong, Charlotte?" he asked, his eyes so determined that she would not dare to lie to him. "You look awful and you're very quiet. Something must be the matter."

"There were some girls last night, talking about my dad." she confessed, feeling her blood bubbling even at the mention of it. "They said that if he was a Muggle, he would have been shot by now. They said it would only be fair for the Ministry to kill him for what he did, but he didn't do anything!"

"I know he didn't," Remus acknowledged. "But most people don't. They only know the stories The Daily Prophet feeds them, and we all know how reliable they are. I'm afraid it's just something you're just going to have to live with."

"But surely if they knew the truth…" Charlotte pressed. Remus cut her off with only a look.

"No one can know, Charlotte." he assured her. "If they know that you've met with your father, they'll know he must be nearby. It will only make it easier for the Ministry to catch him and place him back in prison. We can't allow that to happen. The best way to deal with this is to carry on as normal, and stay within the castle grounds."

"So it's safer for everyone to believe my dad is a monster?" she asked, incredulous. There was a cruelty to the plan that she could not quite overcome. She barely waited for Remus' nod before she shrugged on her robe, setting off for the first of her morning classes, where she would begin the impossible task of pretending she knew nothing about the escaped prisoner of Azkaban.

She had almost reached the doorway when she turned around, the question too strong in her mind to ignore it.

"Remus?" she questioned, her voice suddenly quieter. She felt almost like a small child again, asking whether the strange noises in the dark were a monster coming to eat her. "You don't think my dad would… hurt anyone, do you? Everyone thinks that he's violent, that he killed all those people, but he could never be capable of that. Could he?"

Remus paused, a score of emotions seeming to pass through his eyes in the moments that followed. Then he took in a deep breath and shook his head. He could not quite bring himself to speak and Charlotte did not press any further. His answer was enough to satisfy her fears, for now at least. Her father would never hurt anyone, she was sure of it.

And she would remain sure, until he did.

A/N: Just wanted a bit more interaction between Remus and Charlotte. Please review!