ADDICTED | j.p x oc

15

Regulus Black

Eleanor, Sirius and Marlene all shared a questioning look, hoping one of them had any idea as to why Regulus was surrounding himself with such people.

Another awkward silence fell over the table as no one knew what to say in response to the glum look that etched itself onto Sirius' face.

To an outsider, the presence of Regulus with his fellow Slytherins wouldn't seem out of the ordinary, however after Eleanors unpleasant encounter with Lucius and the rumours of Snape's knowledge of dark magic, Sirius could only assume the worst. It was no secret that you know who had been turning to pureblood family's to gain support, and realistically, the Blacks and the Malfoys were top of his priority list.

The six friends returned to the castle not long after, and walked back fairly quietly. Sirius and Remus fell behind the group, silently enjoying each others company. Marlene and Peter walked ahead, seeming to be the only ones really in the mood for a conversation. This left Eleanor and James to walk with each other, not saying a word.

"You've been avoiding me," James stated. This wasn't a question, he knew she had, and he knew why. "We dont have to talk about what happened. But i'm not judging you for it, you know." He raised his gaze from the ground to look at her. El's grey eyes remained on her feet, swinging the bag she was carrying back and forth in time with her steps.

"Thank you," was all she said, not wanting to dwell on the subject. She meant it. Being truly grateful at James' ability to sense her discomfort and not question her further.

***

El arrived at the great hall to be pleasantly surprised by the four marauders all dressed in green to support her and Marlene during the match.

"First match of the season, ladies. How ya feeling?" Sirius came up behind them and put a friendly arm around their shoulders.

"We'll win," El replied, "I'm not too worried."

Accompanied by the rest of the team, El and Marlene set off for the quidditch pitch to get changed and prepare for the match. The sound of the crowds could be heard from the changing rooms, causing adrenaline to pump through their veins.

The green and yellow players mounted their brooms in a circle in the centre of the pitch, looking up at the stands to see a sea of people waving flags and cheering. The teams kicked off the ground and the four balls were released, starting the game.

"The quaffle has been released!" the Ravenclaw commentator announced, "McKinnon catches the quaffle, passes it to Nott, who passes it to Burke... Burke scores ten points for Slytherin!"

The stands erupted in a mixture of cheers and shouts from the different houses, chanting the names of their respective team, which only got louder as the game continued.

"Burke is in possession again... close save from a bludger by Rosier! She passes the quaffle to McKinnon, back to Burke, then to Nott... another ten points to Slytherin!" The game now stood at 10-70 to Slytherin when Regulus caught sight of the snitch, "The Slytherin seeker has seen the snitch, the Hufflepuff seeker is not far behind!" he shouted. "Regulus Black has caught the snitch! Slytherin wins!"

The crowds erupted into even louder cheers as the players touched down on the ground, the entire Slytherin team jumping on Regulus in celebration. El threw her arms around Evan who picked her up off the ground and spun her around, only for her to be snatched from his grasp and crushed by Marlene. Both girls ecstatic, yet unsurprised at their win.

It only took a few minutes for the marauders to reach the bottom of the stands to congratulate their friends, who ignored their complaints and pulled them each into sweaty hugs.

***

After El and James' short reconciliation, she'd stopped avoiding him and the pair were back on speaking terms for their patrols that evening which passed a lot quicker now it wasn't spent in silence. They returned back to the common room at around midnight and sat on the sofa together, with a bottle of fire whiskey, of course.

In their mildly drunk state, James had requested El to paint his nails, so she was now sat with her legs draped over his lap, holding his hands and painting his nails black.

Once she was finished, she tilted her head to look at her handy work and nodded, satisfied with herself.

"You suit nail polish," she hummed, not moving from her position next to him, still holding his hand and twisting one of his rings absentmindedly.

"Oh yeh?" James' usual cocky smirk resided on his face, cheekily pinching one of El's cheeks.

She batted his hand away, "Stop, you'll ruin your nails," she pouted, only causing James to laugh and grab his wand to perform a drying charm.

"So, Prancer..." she began, causing James to laugh.

"Nope, you're not calling me that."

While on their patrols, El had decided she was bored of calling him 'Bambi' and had now started going through each of Santas reindeer. "Why not?" She laughed, still playing with his rings.

"Im a stag, not reindeer," James used the hand that she wasn't holding to wave a finger in front if her face in mock condescension.

"Whats the difference? Both got antlers," She wiggled her hands on top of her head, to make the shape of antlers.

James didn't reply, he only laughed at her actions and shook his head, pleasantly surprised to see this side of El again, instead of the cold one he was used to.

"I'm serious though, what is the difference?"

"Well thats the worst impression I've heard of Sirius in a while," El rolled her eyes at the joke she'd heard numerous times before, yet James still insisted was funny. "But to answer your question, i'm not entirely sure."

The head boy and girl stayed up talking for several hours, not moving from their position on the sofa, and ended up falling asleep like that, with James' arms wrapped around the small girls body.

a/n: word count 1.7k .
tysm for 6k views thats maddddd.
this chapters kinda boring, idk how to write quidditch games but i didnt wanna long it out bc its kinda boring.
next chapter should be more interesting bc its ab the halloween party.
pls dont forget to vote if u enjoyed xxxx