good things fall apart • sirius black

Rearrange the stars

She'd not moved since they returned after their last lesson, only breaking off briefly to eat. Remus had stayed with her whilst the other three boys ventured down to the Great Hall at dinner time to bring them food. In his ill health, he didn't want to face going down there, and Ellie had been working away too furiously to even think about leaving. However, now she'd grown tired of the task, and knew she needed to stop before her drawings got sloppy.

"You don't have to do it if you really don't want to. I'm sure James would have a go."

Not wanting Ellie to overexert herself, Sirius sat up whilst she closed the books around her, voice laced with concern. It was a big task they were asking her to do, and the handsome boy selfishly wanted some time to talk to her whilst no one else was around. Just as if she'd read his mind, Ellie grabbed her sketchbook and abandoned her spot on the floor, settling herself on the sofa instead. Sirius shuffled so they were facing each other, both sat crisscross and knees touching.

Maybe it was the comfortable quietness they had grown to like this year or maybe it was the warmth of the fireplace, but a strange atmosphere settled over them. Like a thick blanket of snow, insulating all noise and resting around the room as it created a blissful wonderland.

On the outside, they were calm and homely, unshakable and so so peaceful. On the outside their friendship was stable and unmoving like strong building foundations, put in place to make sure nothing would ever come crumbling down. But on the inside, everything was changing. Their hugs no longer felt the same, carrying more weight than they once did, and simple words exchanged now felt like they held more meaning, secret messages lingering just below the surface. Their gazes weren't as light as they once were either, both pairs of eyes now swirling with a new passion neither one knew how to handle.

Perhaps no one had expected it when they'd always been close friends and nothing more, not until the beginning of this year at least. To everyone else they were just as warm as they'd ever been, contagious laughter following them around like a lost puppy seeking shelter from the rain. Yet, beneath the surface things were starting to stir.

The atmosphere surrounding them tried to keep things the same, friendship dancing around tauntingly as a reminder of what they were supposed to be.

But they were inevitable.

For, together they were unsettling the universe. A seer would tell you they were written in the stars - souls intertwined and destined to find one and other. The two planets in orbit together, spinning so fast that one day they were bound to go crashing into one and other. Exploding their universe, destroying what once was and creating a whole new solar system in their wake. The boy named after the stars and the girl descended from them. Nothing could stand in their way as gravity drew them ever closer, more powerful than anyone could have imagined. For, together they were unsettling the universe and the stars were waiting to be rearranged.

Stormy grey would always meet sea green in a way that no one could understand. 

For, together they made a storm. Waves crashing as clouds swirled in the angry sky. Thunder rumbling and the ocean calling back in response, ready to engulf anything that found itself being swept from shore. Ships on the horizon stood no chance against the ferocity they raged at, the waves only growing more powerful as the clouds spiralled quicker. For, together they made a storm and no one could predict when it was coming.

"I want to do it Padfoot, you're not forcing me into it." The corners of Ellie's mouth twitched up, Sirius not being able to tear his eyes from her lips as they did so, "Like I say, it just gets quite boring after a while. I prefer drawing other things." Forcing her gaze down to her sketchbook in her lap, she flicked the pages over until she came across a blank one, her pencil being stuck between her teeth as she did so, "Now stay still, my picture won't be accurate if you move."