A/N: I've made some major revisions, so if this is your first time reading this, this is the *drum roll* New and Improved version. Everyone before said I went way to fast, and I agree, so this spans over a few days, and I think it's a little better…. Anyway, this is everyone's favorite, MWP&P with a new girl. Yes, I admit it's a little overdone, and she really is… annoying, but I based her after me, so she has to be like that. Please, R&R! I got my first flame a while ago, and it wasn't fun. L Well, I'm done ranting, so I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all Harry Potter characters. I own only Charlotte and her little…"problem".
Girls
By Wolf Speaker
- Chapter 1: The New Girl
Charlotte Went was sitting in her train compartment, staring out the window, and wishing she were back in America. True, Hogwarts was a much better school than any wizarding school in America, but this was a whole new country, and Charlotte had heard that these British snobs hated foreigners. She hoped she would fit in better here, as nobody really wanted to be her friend. It wasn't her fault, it just sort of happened.
Charlotte was an average looking girl, with long, wavy brown hair and glittering brown eyes. Her tan skin was the proof of her "heritage" in Florida, where her school was, as was her American accent. She was relatively tall, at 5'7" she was still growing steadily. She really hoped she could at least find some friends here, as she didn't have very many. Little did she know, her future friends were coming straight for her compartment…
*
Lily Evans was walking down the Hogwarts Express when she saw a girl she didn't recognize; though she surely wasn't a first year. Being the outgoing girl she was, she entered the compartment.
"Hi! I'm Lily, who are you?"
"Um…Hi. I'm Charlotte Went."
"Oh, American, huh? Well, you'll feel right at home here at-"
At that moment, a tall, lanky, blond boy with an ugly sneer on his face walked into their compartment. Charlotte thought he resembled a very ugly ferret.
"So, the new git from America has already started out with the wrong crowd. Hope you keep your wits about you when you meet her lover-boy and his friends. They're real beasts."
"Leave us alone, Lucius. Nobody takes the advice of Malfoys anymore," sneered Lily, but you could see in her eyes that Lucius had hit a nerve.
Although she hardly knew her, Charlotte had to defend Lily and her friends. She did something she knew she'd regret.
Concentrating hard, Charlotte glared at Lucius Malfoy. As she glared, Lucius started to go high up in the air. Then, with a burst of speed, he slammed his head on the ceiling, and fell to the ground, knocked out. Concentrating again, Charlotte made his limp body float out of the compartment.
Lily got over her shock quickly, and asked, "How did you learn to do that?"
"It's a genetic thing," Charlotte answered. "Could you not mention it to anyone? It's why I left America. Nobody would talk to me, because I could do it, and they all became scared of me. It's never been that out of control, though."
"Hey, don't worry," replied Lily "I keep so many secrets for people, you'd think it's what I'm made of!"
Again, their compartment door slid open, but judging by the way Lilly's face lit up, these people were friends. A boy with untidy black hair and glasses came in first, looking confused. After him came a boy that was short, blonde, and rather chubby. Two more boys were talking as they walked in, but Charlotte didn't take much notice of one. The boy that caught her attention was tall with black hair and glittering blue eyes. She couldn't believe she was already getting a crush on someone. She knew there was no chance; nobody wanted to be with someone like her.
"Lily, why is Lucius Malfoy laying unconscious outside your compartment?" the boy with the glasses asked.
"Charlotte here…Stunned him," Lily said quickly. "Everyone, this is Charlotte Went. She just transferred here from America."
"James Potter, nice to meet you." Said the boy with the untidy hair.
"Hi. I'm Peter Petigrew," came from the short blonde.
"'Lo. I'm Remus Lupin. And this is-"
"Sirius Black, at your service m'lady!" he said as he took her hand. "Such a fine damsel, thou shalt not leaveth my side, for I shall protect you against evil scum like Lucius Malfoy, and his scurvy crew. Oh, sorry, you can do that for yourself, can't you?"
James, Remus, Lily and Peter burst out laughing as Charlotte answered "Are you sure I don't need to be protected from you, good sir knight? After all, you are causing me a great pain, as you're standing on my foot."
Sirius, finally beaten at his own game, got off her foot, grinning, as everyone laughed again. Charlotte was very proud of the fact she could make people laugh a lot, no matter how embarrassed she was, or how fast her heart was beating.
"You better watch yourself, Sirius! This girl's better than you are!" laughed James.
"Well, at least I'm going to have someone to talk to now, besides you knaves."
James rolled his eyes, and started to talk to Lily, and Remus, Peter, and Sirius became interested in the new girl. They talked the whole way to Hogwarts, stopping only to buy food.
*
Once at Hogwarts, Sirius finally laid off the "Good Sir Knight" crap, but he and Charlotte were still flirting, and it was evident to everyone. Lily could tell Charlotte liked him, and as she was waiting for the sorting (Charlotte would be included), she was hatching a diabolical plan.
"Went, Charlotte!" yelled Professor McGonagall.
After only a short moment, the Sorting Hat yelled "GRIFFINDOR!"
Lily clapped with the rest, as Charlotte came and sat by her. James being the most diabolical person she knew, Lily decided to talk to him about her idea. Of course, she trusted he wouldn't tell Sirius.
*
"James, what do I do?" said Sirius helplessly. It was a couple after school had started, and James and Sirius were sitting in the common room.
"I don't know what to tell you mate," said James. "You seem to really like her, but I can't do anything about it."
"I do really like her!" said Sirius. He sighed. "I just… don't know what to do about it. I mean, if she doesn't like me, and I ask her out, it would completely ruin our friendship!"
"That's exactly what I thought about Lily," said James. "You just have to try, and hope things turn out for the best."
Sirius groaned and put his head in his hands.
"Some help you are," he muttered.
*
As they were in the common room the next night, Lily asked James to come up with something to get Sirius and Charlotte together. James, for once, didn't know what to do.
"Well, we could always lock them in the Shrieking Shack," James teased.
"Ha, ha. I'm serious! What do we do?" Lily asked.
"Sirius should just get over himself and ask her out, I already had this conversation with him… Wait! I've got an idea!" said James, eyes glittering.
"What?" said Lily excitedly.
For another half-hour or so, Lily and James could be seen with their heads bent together, talking in very low, but excited, voices.
*
"So, where are we going?" asked Charlotte a few days later. The group was walking around the grounds, heading in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.
"The forest," said James with a mischievous grin, and a wink at Lily.
"Um… isn't that forbidden?" asked Charlotte uncertainly.
"Hence the name. Let's go! What are you dolts waiting for?" exclaimed Sirius. He went running towards the forest, dragging a rather frightened-looking Charlotte with him.
"James, should we really do this to her?" wondered Lily.
"Of course! You know Sirius, he'll be the dashing knight in shining armor, and Charlotte will fall into his arms, and they'll snog and everything. There's no chance Sirius would pass this up," explained James, a very certain air around him.
*
It took Charlotte and Sirius quite a long time to realize the others weren't right behind them.
"Um… Charlotte? Where are the others?"
"I'm not really sure. I don't think they even came into the forest. Exactly where are we anyway?" said Charlotte, getting even more nervous and clinging onto Sirius's arm. They had become very close over the past few weeks, and Charlotte trusted he would get them out safely.
"DID YOU GET US LOST?" she whispered urgently.
"Oy! Breathe, breathe, I know everything in this forest, don't worry. Just follow me," said Sirius.
"Yeah 'follow me'," muttered Charlotte. "Last time I did that, we ended up in the damned forest, lost."
Sirius grinned at her and took her hand.
"There, feel better?" he asked, still grinning.
"Ye- no," said Charlotte, turning extremely red.
"Come on," said Sirius, giving her hand a squeeze. "There are a lot of things in this forest you don't wanna run into. By the way, do you like spiders?"
"Oh, I love them, I've got some as pets at home," said Charlotte sarcastically. "Why?"
"Well, there's a huge pack of giant ones here," said Sirius casually. Suddenly, on of the spiders emerged from a patch of trees into their clearing. It glanced at them, and turned around, walking back the way it came. Charlotte was clutching Sirius's hand tightly, and staying very still close to him.
"Come on," said Sirius urgently. "If that thing goes back to camp, it'll tell the others we're here, and I don't think they'll wanna have a little party. We've got to go."
Charlotte had never known Sirius to be so… well, serious. It was sweet, in an oh-my-god-I'm-gonna-die way.
Sirius grabbed Charlotte's hand and pulled her the way they had been going. They were running incredibly quickly, yet quietly. After a minuet or two, the trees thinned and Charlotte could see the Whomping Willow. Sirius had let go of her hand, and grabbed a stick off of the ground, prodding a knot on the tree with it. Suddenly, the branches that had unsuccessfully been trying to hit Sirius and Charlotte stopped. Sirius dragged Charlotte into a gap in the roots, taking her down a long tunnel. They emerged in a room with broken furniture, ripped curtains, and boarded windows.
"Thanks," said Charlotte, hugging Sirius for a moment before realizing what she was doing. She backed away slowly, blushing.
"Really, I have something I want to tell you," said Sirius, also turning red, but keeping eye contact and coming closer.
"What?" asked Charlotte. Her heart started to pound hard, and she became nervous. What did he want? Did he feel the same as she did? But that was impossible! Nobody could like a (Charlotte gulped) telekinetic person. She took a deep breath and waited for his answer. No need to jump to conclusions…
"Ireallylikeyoudoyouwannagototheballwithme?" said Sirius quickly, blushing as red as Lily's hair, but not looking away.
"S-sorry?" said Charlotte. She could've sworn he said- but, no, he couldn't have…
"I- I really like you. A lot. D-do you wanna go to the ball with me?" said Sirius slowly.
Charlotte looked into those glowing eyes, and grinned. Sirius was asking her to the Yule Ball! She could sing!
"Of course!" she exclaimed, hugging him. Sirius looked like he was expecting her to decline. "What took you so long?"
"Hey, if I'd known you liked me, I would've asked you right after I found out you stunned Malfoy!" said Sirius happily. He came over and kissed her. Charlotte hoped it would never end, but before she had stopped enjoying herself, she heard loud laughter.
"You dolts!" exclaimed Sirius, but he grinned all the same.
James, Remus, Lily, and Peter appeared out of nowhere, laughing hard.
"I can't believe you did that!" smiled Charlotte. "You guys are so insensitive."
"Yeah, like you expect them to be sensitive," said Lily, jerking her thumb behind her at James, Peter, Sirius, and Remus. Charlotte smiled contently as Sirius put his arm around her. Lily went over to James and gave him a kiss on the cheek, while he wrapped his arms around her. Charlotte saw what would a beautiful friendship, and hoped it would never end.
A/N: Don't worry, Remus won't be left out in the cold! His one and only comes up in the next chapter, and I'm even considering giving Peter someone (although, she's going to dump him and cause him the great heartache he deserves, that scum). Any ideas or suggestions should be suggested in your review. And while we're on the topic, R/R please! Gracias! (I know that there should be an upside-down exclamation point before "Gracias", but then my program says I spelled it wrong)
