Illicit | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 39

"Er hi Regulus," she said with a short smile.

Regulus straightened himself. "H-How've you been? I haven't seen you in the Library for a while," he said, lowering his gaze a bit.

Eleanor quickly glanced over her shoulder. What was she supposed to say? 'Oh yeah about that, my best friend told me you're a Death Eater and I'm not sure what to do now'?

"Yeah I-I'm really sorry about that, I've been rather busy with other classes," she lied. She hadn't been doing a lot actually, she was getting along just fine.

Regulus frowned a little. "Right, yeah, I was already thinking like 'is she avoiding me?'" he said with a nervous chuckle.

Eleanor laughed as well, maybe a little too loud and on cue. She could turn around now and leave, this was really not the time for them to talk.

"So-"

"I really have to go Regulus," she accidentally interrupted him. "It's Lily's birthday and they'll probably be wondering why I'm taking so long."

He bit the inside of his cheek and stared down at his feet.

"Of course, yeah, I'll er see you later," he said softly.

Eleanor nodded and then quickly turned on her heels. As she approached their table, James was staring at her intently, a look of judgment in his eyes. She exhaled through her nose and then sat back down next to Sirius.

"You alright?" he immediately asked her. "What took you so long?"

She shook her head. "Just a long line, as usual," she said with a smile.

Sirius took a sip from his Butterbeer. "I don't understand why women always take so long in there," he said with a frown.

Marlene raised her eyebrows. "Well it's not that easy, is it? You can just whip it out and you're good to go," she said bluntly.

Lily almost choked on her drink. "Christ Mar, could you be any more direct?" she laughed in between coughs.

Sirius laughed. "Well I respect you a lot, you've got enough on your plate as it is," he said before taking another sip.

Eleanor smiled at him. "That's very sweet Sirius," she said.

He put down his glass and leaned back in his chair a bit. "I can be a nice lad," he said in a provocative way.

She huffed. "I never said you weren't."

"Ella likes a bad guy Sirius, why d'you think she bought you that leather jacket?" Mary said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Eleanor felt her cheeks burn and she smacked the older girl on her arm. Mary just laughed. Eleanor crossed her arms over her chest.

"Awh no need to feel ashamed Ella, everyone has their secrets," Sirius said as he deliberately straightened his jacket.

"Hey I've got an idea, let's talk about something else!" she said in a mocking tone.

Mary grinned at her, as did Sirius. The night went on and on, and the young Gryffindors were having a great time. Then at one point, Eleanor saw Professor Slughorn walking over to their table. She sniggered when she noticed he was rather drunk, bumping into several people and spilling his drink on the way.

"Ah goodnight my young bright pupils!" he said cheerfully. They all looked up and greeted their professor.

He put a hand on the backrest of Peter's chair. "To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing your lovely faces here?" he asked the group.