Chapter Fourteen - All About Lily, Nomomom
"Don't even what?" Charlotte snapped, her voice sharp enough to cut through the noise of the party around them. "Don't even belong here? Don't worry, Lil, I'm used to it."
Lily's face tightened, her green eyes narrowing as she glanced between the firewhiskey bottle in Charlotte's hand and the defiant expression on her face. It was a look Charlotte knew all too well—the same one Lily always wore when she was on the verge of lecturing her.
"Charlotte, this isn't you," Lily said, her tone dipping into something dangerously close to pity. "You don't need to pretend to be someone you're not."
"Pretend?" Charlotte barked out a humourless laugh, shaking her head as if she couldn't quite believe her sister's audacity. "That's rich, coming from you. I'm not pretending, Lily. I'm just trying to live my life without you hovering over me, reminding me how much better you are at it."
Lily's lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes flashing with hurt. "That's not fair, and you know it."
"Fair?!" Charlotte's voice rose, drawing the attention of several nearby partygoers. She could feel the eyes on her now, watching, judging. But it only fueled her anger. "Nothing about this has ever been fair, Lily. You walk into a room, and people notice you. They remember you. They like you. And I—I'm just... nothing. You don't get it. You never will."
Lily's gaze softened for a moment, but the tension between them didn't ease. "Charlotte, I never meant for you to feel like that."
"Well, you did." Charlotte's voice was quieter now, but the edge hadn't dulled. "And honestly, I'm done trying to fit into a space that was never meant for me."
James stood frozen beside them, his eyes darting between the sisters as if he wasn't quite sure whether to intervene or stay out of it. Sirius, meanwhile, hovered awkwardly on the sidelines, running a hand through his hair as if he could feel the weight of the argument suffocating the air around them.
"Maybe you should sit down, Charlotte," Lily said, her voice tense but measured. "You've had too much to drink."
"And there it is!" Charlotte exploded, her hand tightening around the bottle. "Perfect Lily, always so concerned, always knowing what's best for everyone. You don't get to control everything, Lily! Not me. Not anymore."
The air between them was thick with the weight of unspoken resentment, years of tension bubbling to the surface. James opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. What could he say? He wasn't even sure what the root of their argument was anymore—it felt like more than just this party, more than just tonight.
"You're drunk," Lily hissed, clearly losing her patience. "You need to leave before you embarrass yourself any further."
"I'm not embarrassed!" Charlotte shouted, her face flushed with anger. "Maybe you should leave, Lily, before you embarrass yourself by trying to be everyone's moral compass. I'm sick of you pretending to care when all you do is judge!"
"Girls..." Sirius finally interjected, raising his hands in a gesture of peace, his eyes flicking between them nervously. "Let's not ruin Remus' birthday by tearing each other apart, yeah?"
But neither of them paid him any attention.
"I do care about you!" Lily's voice cracked slightly as she stepped forward, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "And maybe that's why I can't stand to watch you throw everything away like this!"
"Throw everything away?" Charlotte's laugh was bitter, her eyes narrowing. "What is there to throw away, Lily? What? You? Our family? Friends? Oh wait—no one even remembers me long enough for that to matter!"
The room seemed to still at her words. Even James, who had been standing awkwardly on the sidelines, shifted uncomfortably as the weight of Charlotte's admission hung in the air.
Lily's expression shifted, her frustration bubbling over as she crossed her arms. "Oh, here we go again," she snapped, rolling her eyes. "Always so dramatic, Charlotte. You act like the world's against you, but it's not. You're just... making this up."
Charlotte's jaw tightened, her hands curling into fists. "Making it up?" Her voice was low, incredulous. "That's rich, coming from you, Lily."
James shot Sirius a look, silently begging him to jump in, but Sirius was watching the exchange with a slightly amused grin, clearly not planning on intervening. Typical.
"I'm not the one who's constantly trying to make everything about me!" Lily shot back, her voice growing louder. "You do this every time. You throw a fit, make a scene, and somehow, it's always everyone else's fault."
Charlotte felt the heat rising in her chest, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. "I'm not making a scene! You're the one who comes over here, acting like you know everything about me, about my life. But you don't, Lily! You never have!"
Lily's eyes flashed with anger, her hands dropping to her sides as she took a step closer. "Maybe if you stopped pushing everyone away, Charlotte, people would actually care. You can't just blame everyone else for not wanting to deal with your constant sulking."
The words hit Charlotte like a punch to the gut, but she refused to let it show. Not here, not in front of all these people. Her throat tightened, but she swallowed back the rising emotion, her gaze hardening as she met Lily's furious stare.
"Right. Because it's all my fault, isn't it?" Charlotte's voice was cold now, her eyes narrowing. "It's always been easier for you to pretend I'm just being difficult instead of actually listening."
Sirius shifted beside them, looking between the sisters as if debating whether to step in. James, on the other hand, was standing as still as possible, trying to avoid being dragged into the crossfire. He glanced around the room, the tension palpable, knowing this argument was about to spiral out of control.
"Listening to what?" Lily snapped, throwing her arms up in exasperation. "Listening to you whine about how hard your life is, when you have it so much easier than most people? Please, Charlotte. Grow up."
Lily's words hung in the air, sharp and biting. Charlotte clenched her jaw, her heart racing with a mixture of anger and hurt. Before she could fire back, someone else intervened.
"Alright, that's enough," Remus said, stepping forward and placing a gentle but firm hand on Lily's shoulder. His voice was calm, but there was a quiet authority in it that made both sisters pause. "Let's not do this here, Lily. Come on."
Lily turned to face him, her frustration still evident on her face, but Remus gave her a pointed look, silently urging her to stand down. After a moment, Lily exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "Fine," she muttered, her voice tight with irritation. "But this isn't over."
Remus guided Lily away, his hand resting lightly on her back as they moved toward the other side of the room. Alice followed, casting a concerned glance over her shoulder at Charlotte, but Charlotte ignored it, her chest tightening as the weight of the confrontation settled in.
The common room felt stifling, the noise, the crowd—everything closing in on her. Without thinking, she grabbed the bottle of firewhiskey from the table, the glass cold and comforting in her hand, and turned on her heel.
She didn't care about the stares or whispers that followed her as she pushed through the crowd and headed for the door. Her footsteps were heavy, her breathing uneven as she stormed out of the common room and into the quiet, dimly lit corridor.
The halls of Hogwarts were eerily silent compared to the bustling common room she had just left behind. With every step, Charlotte felt the weight of her anger and embarrassment pressing down on her. She could still hear Lily's voice echoing in her mind, the sting of her words cutting deeper with each passing moment.
Her hand tightened around the bottle as she stalked through the corridors, her pace quickening as she tried to outrun the overwhelming flood of emotions that threatened to swallow her whole. She needed to be alone. Somewhere—anywhere—where no one would find her.
She turned corner after corner, her footsteps echoing off the stone walls, until finally, she found a small, dusty storeroom near Gryffindor Tower. It wasn't much, but it was enough.
With a heavy sigh, Charlotte pushed open the door and stepped inside, closing it behind her with a soft click. The room was dim, cluttered with old furniture and forgotten supplies, but it was quiet. Mercifully quiet.
She sank to the floor, her back against the wall, and pulled her knees to her chest, the bottle still clutched in one hand. For the first time that night, the adrenaline began to fade, leaving only the raw embarrassment and shame that had been simmering beneath the surface.
Why had she let Lily get to her like that? Why did it always feel like she was losing, no matter what she did?
Charlotte leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes as she took a slow, shaky breath. The anger that had fueled her was gone, replaced by an empty, aching hollowness. She had wanted to prove something tonight, but now all she felt was foolish.
She uncorked the bottle and took a long, slow sip, the firewhiskey burning its way down her throat. For a brief moment, it numbed the pain, just enough to let her breathe.
Alone at last, Charlotte allowed herself to feel the full weight of her embarrassment. The argument with Lily, the tension with James and Sirius, the stares from everyone in the common room—it all hit her at once, like a crashing wave. And here she was, sitting in a dusty storeroom, running away from it all.
She pulled her knees closer to her chest, feeling small and vulnerable in the quiet darkness of the room. And for the first time in a long while, she felt truly alone.