Chasing The Stars | Marauders | Sirius Black

19 ~ Bruises and Blame

"It's okay Lou, I've got you"

Eloise leaned into Sirius' chest, her breath evening out and her tears drying. He stroked her hair and began to speak softly in her ear,

"I'm so sorry, I was an arse to you and.." he took a breath, "Regulus. It was wrong of me and I can't bear you being mad at me Puff, especially since it's for good reason" Eloise sighed,

"I forgive you Pads, but I'm not the only person you have to apologise to" she felt Sirius shift slightly,

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that" he muttered and Eloise pulled away, looking him in the eye,

"I know you think he's like your parents Sirius, but he's not. He misses you, I know he does" she put a hand on his shoulder, "And I know you miss him too" before Sirius could reply a shout came from above the pair,

"Sorry to interrupt your little sentimental moment but I'm still hanging from the ceiling here"

Sirius rolled his eyes and stood up, facing William,

"You know, I'm about this close to leaving you up there Wood" Sirius held up his thumb and forefinger with very little space between them, "you must know by now that you don't touch my gir-" he stopped himself but William noticed what he was about to say,

"Your what? Your girl? I knew you were desperate Black but I didn't know you'd go for your brother's sloppy seconds" Sirius' face was filled with fury and Eloise was sure she was a flicker of fear cross William's features. Sirius flicked his wand and William fell to the floor - hard. Sirius stepped towards him and picked him up by the collar of his shirt, pushing him against the wall,

"You'd better watch your tongue Wood" he fumed and despite William being a year older, Sirius held him with ease. He towered over Wood as he shrank back, making the height difference more pronounced than it already was.

"What are you going to do about it Black?" he provoked, feigning confidence. Sirius scoffed and drew his hand back, Eloise shouted out in horror as Sirius' fist came into contact with William's nose.

William clutched at his face and Sirius went to hit him again but he dodged out of the way just in time. William pushed him to the ground but Sirius easily flipped them over, his animalistic strength coming in handy. Sirius launched another punch at Williams' face, snarling. William headbutted Sirius and Eloise covered her mouth, unsure of what to do. She heard someone running as the boys weren't exactly quiet, and a voice muttered a spell, Sirius flew off of William and landed a few feet to Eloise's left, she sighed in relief and saw Remus Lupin grab William by the arm,

"What happened?" Eloise had never heard Remus so angry as he interrogated William, his normally soft brown eyes had narrowed and his scarred face was twisted with fury,

"And what were you thinking!?" he turned to Sirius and he stood up, brushing off his robes and pointing at the bloodied William,

"He was spewing lies and insults to her, I'm not going to just stand there am I? Especially since he fucking assaulted Eloise!" Remus' look of anger deepened,

"What do you mean he assaulted her?" he asked through clenched teeth and Sirius pointed to Eloise's wrist which had quickly developed prominent bruises from William' grip. Remus turned to William and looked at him with the utmost hatred,

"Come near her again and this-" he said gesturing to his fast-forming bruises from Sirius, " will look like a fucking makeover" with that he let go of his arm and walked over to Eloise, kneeling next to her and pulling her into a hug,

"Let's take you to James" he held his hand out to help her up from the ground but Sirius knelt down and picked her up bridal style, walking towards the Hospital Wing.

As they walked, Eloise found herself looking at Sirius' face. She thought he'd got off much better than Wood with only a split lip, he still had a scowl on his face and it was obvious he was thinking about the whole ordeal. Remus was also deep in thought to the side of them, he was biting his thumb and frowning at the floor until he finally interrupted the silence,

"Do you think Prongs will kick him off the Quidditch Team?" he asked and Sirius snorted,

"Not if he doesn't kick his arse first" he replied which brought a weak smile to Eloise's face. She could already imagine James' reaction and was almost sorry she didn't bring earplugs. They finally reached the Hospital Wing doors and Remus opened the doors. James looked up at the sound of someone coming in and smiled when he saw his friends but his eyes widened as he saw Eloise looking rather frail in Sirius' arms.

"Belle? What's wrong?" he asked, attempting to get up but failing and deciding on shuffling backwards as Sirius laid her down on his bed. Eloise sighed and unconsiously rubbed her wrist, drawing James' attention to the bruises, "What the fuck are they?" he asked furiously, grabbing his sister's hand and examining the marks, "Who. Did. This?" he stared into Eloise's eyes and she tried to swallow the lump in her throat,

"Ummm...William Wood" she mumbled,

"Can't hear you!"

Remus sensed Eloise's oncoming tears,

"William Wood" he answered for her and watched James' expression morph into one of pure hatred,

"That bastard!" he yelled and pulled Eloise into his chest "he dares hurt my baby sister and expects to get away with this? I'll kill him!" he shot a look at Sirius and then Remus "Why didn't you two stop him? How could you let this happen to her?" Tears had started to leak out the corners of his eyes. He was clutching Eloise in one hand and tugging at his hair with the other.

"James. Calm down" Remus said with an edge to his voice. "Do you seriously think Padfoot and I would have let this happen? Sirius arrived to free Elle and I arrived soon afterwards. As for killing him - well Sirius very nearly did." James' frustration eased slightly however his expression clouded as he realised what Remus had said.

"Free her? Free her from what?" James demanded and Sirius ran a hand over his face and began to answer but Eloise beat him to it,

"He had me trapped against the wall, I tried to hex him but he grabbed my hand before I could get me wand, hence.." she gestured to her black and blue wrist, "I tried to tell him we could still be friends even after the split but I don't think he liked that very much, he umm...he called me a 'two-faced slutty bitch' I think were his exact words and then accused me and Padfoot of sleeping together and said everyone knows it, although he did say most of them thought I'd used a love potion. I heard footsteps and screamed, Sirius must've heard and came to help me" she sat up from against James and looked at the boys. Remus looked sympathetic and worried and he rubbed her knee; James looked livid and began mumbling a string of curses and Eloise caught the often,

"Kill Wood" and "Arsehole"; Sirius was still staring at her, his swirling and slightly hypnotic grey eyes boring into hers and his brow furrowed. He cleared his throat,

"I'll be back" he stormed off and Eloise groaned and stood from James' bed,

"I'd better follow him in case he kills someone...or himself"

Eloise ran down the corridors, wondering where Sirius' could've gone. She ran past the Great Hall doors when she realised it was full - it must've been lunch, but that's not what worried her: it was deadly silent and they were all staring at something, or someone...Sirius Black was stood on the Gryffindor table,

"If anyone so much as looks at Eloise Potter in the wrong way...I will rip out your eyeballs and staple them to your nipples" he smiled charmingly, crossing his arms. Eloise watched as Lily stood up from her seat and walked to face Sirius,

"Sirius! You're making a scene" she told him through clenched teeth,

"Yes my dear Evans, that was sort of the point"