𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒

「 sentimental 」

   "You're doing it wrong." He offered as if it was out of kindness. 

   "Yeah, we'll see. Won't we." Was all she had to say to him before turning back to her potions table.

   After an hour or so, her potion was almost complete. Dorcas hadn't really done much this time, probably because El kept swatting her hand away, and took notes on the girl's process. It was fascinating really. People had been messing up their potions, left - right - and centre. One even exploded. It was a potion that was easy to mess up and once you did that, it could create a terrible ruckus.

   "Look at this. Amazing, Ms Evans. Well done, both of you. I think this is the closest we're going to get." Professor Slughorn boasted as he marvelled at his favourite student and her potions partner. "Five points each!" He was like a jolly little boy as he wandered off to get a vile to keep.

   "Hear that, Westbr-." The boy cut himself off after receiving a glare from her. Though Madam Pomfrey fixed his nose, he still had a slight bump there. Guess it was a constant reminder of sorts. "I'm surprised yours has gone up in smokes yet."

   "The only reason ours hasn't is because I fixed your mess." Lily hissed to Severus, making him recoil like a sad little puppy. It took some effort for both Eleanor and Dorcas to hold back their laughs as Lily headed off to pack away their supplies.

   "I think- Merlin's Beard!" Slughorn had returned and was now staring directly at the potion in front of the two girls. He immediately cleaned off the ladle and headed towards them, examining the potion in shock. "This is splendid. Perfect, I'd say. Ms Westbrook and Ms-" He paused, turning to Dorcas as he blinked. She was literally in his house.

   "Meadowes, sir." She answered awkwardly,  pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

   "Ah, yes! I remember. Mind if I use your potion as a sample. Well, this is better than what I've brewed. Fifteen points each." The man said, jollily. Eleanor turned to Snape, who was currently glaring at the two, and she smirked at him. "When I heard that you were a good potions student when you transferred, I was sceptical. This is marvellous. I'd love to have both of you a part of the Slugclub!" He told them, hurrying off to write down their names on his list. 

    "You're welcome." Eleanor said, flashing her partner a smile. Apparently, her Grandmother had wanted her to be a part of the Slugclub like her sisters' had been. Sixth year was better than never. To be honest, she hadn't planned to get herself invited in the process though. Even Lily couldn't handle the parties and she had a small problem of being a people pleaser, no matter if they were around or not.

♱

    "I don't see a problem. It is actually a win-win situation for both of us." Sirius said, trailing after the blonde as they were heading to the Great Hall. It had been a week since the robbery and she was yet to see her sister. Hiding, probably. The full moon was closing in and she hadn't had the chance to break into the potions cupboard, people were always there. That lead to Remus being worse for wear as he hadn't had full symptoms in months, it had hit him rather harshly that he'd left Arithmancy early. Delilah was still nowhere to be seen, she didn't show up to the Hufflepuff dorms now and Aaron was nowhere to be seen. Bizarre. 

   "You wish." She rolled her eyes, a smile ghosting her face.  The group had plans to spend the hours in the sun together again. There was fewer of them going this time, the seventh years had to study like always. 

   They entered the hall, it was the beginning of dinner which meant that everyone was still lurking around school because most people didn't eat till six. Her eyes immediately landed on a certain figure and she froze. For the past few days, she had time to figure out what she was going to say but everything seemed to blank from her mind. Red. Complete anger coursed through her. She was wearing a necklace that looked too similar for her liking.

   "Ella?" Sirius said cautiously, side-eyeing the girl as her hands had balled up into a clenched fist. His eyes flickered over to his friends who were already eating and Eleanor was already gone when he turned back.

    Not only did Lily notice Ellie's movements but so did Adelaide. Her eyes practically bulged out of their sockets as she let out a squeak. The brunette jumped out of her seat as her sister stormed towards her. Ada was shrinking away as if Eleanor's eyes had coated in a jet black. Her hands were trembling, trying to reach for her wand.

    "You fucking bitch!" Eleanor shouted, noticing that the necklace was her locket. She instantly saw that her sister's wand was drawn and before Ada could do anything, El's fist had connected with her face. There was a harsh crack as the girl stumbled back with blood trickling down her face, past her lip. People around them had gasped at the two fighting sisters.

   It felt as if steam was protruding from her ears as her other senses seemed to be going out of focus. She'd never been so indignant in her life. After everything Adelaide had witnessed her sister go through and she still had the fucking nerve to wear that locket.

   "Give me it back." The blonde seethed, her tone low as she glared down at her sister as if she was prey.  As she took a step forward, the brunette stepped back. Adelaide raised her wand, aiming it straight for the other girl's chest. There was a scoff of laughter, cold and calculated. Eleanor smirked at her, cocking her head to the left. Tempting her. 

   "Confringo!" Adelaide yelled.

   But it was quickly deflected back to her, sending Ada back a foot or two. All the surrounding students saw was the rings of golden mist that had combated the original jet of red. Yet, El had no wand. Her hands were held in front of her defensively but that smirk was not budging from her lips. 

   It was no secret to the blonde that she had these talents. But she hid them because she was forced to and she didn't want to stand out more than she already had. In that split second of rage, she'd exposed herself. Not like it was believable. Protecting yourself from a curse without a wand was near impossible and to have the curse bounce back was completely unheard of. 

   Whether people were whispering about her or everyone was silent; she wasn't sure. For once, her mind was at peace. She sauntered over to Ada who was wriggling in pain due to the impact. Crouching down beside her, the blonde harshly grabbed the back of her head as she forced her upwards. Carefully unclipping the locket, she slid her necklace into her pocket before twisting her sister's face so that Ada had to look her in the eye.

   "One day, you'll learn that you can't win," Eleanor whispered, her voice so soothing but words dripping with intoxicating poison. "Must I remind you of what I can do, what dear father taught me? You've picked your side. I used to be sympathetic, understood why you never spoke out or tried to help. You were a child and I didn't want you growing up too fast like I did. Now, you've chosen. This isn't a game. I'll treat you like the rest of them. You don't get to make excuses and cry about whatever fucked up jealousy you have about my life." 

   "Fuck you." Adelaide uttered with a shaky voice. All her sister did was let out an amused hum. 

   "We'll see who gets the last words in the end." The blonde said menacingly. Never had Ada seen such evil tendencies glimmer in her sister's eyes. That was the thing, she was sick of working the way that everyone wanted her to or act like this perfect princess she was far from being. Eleanor Fucking Knightley.

   And that was her last words. She dropped her sister's head, standing over Ada's quivering body. No remorse, she reminded herself. The anger had begun to fade and her sympathy began to sink in. She was no longer El's problem. Turning on her heel, she pushed through the gathered students as her friends had been shoved towards the back; probably to stop them from interfering. 

♱

A/N: It has been a while! I know the chapters have been getting shorter recently but I'm rather stressed out and prefer to do a whole lot of nothing instead. Anyways, some Sirius and Ellie content coming again so ;)  

If you have any questions, please ask away here! I love hearing your thoughts, especially your theories.

- Isla <3