Ellie woke with a start. Nothing in particular had woken her, but a leaden feeling in her stomach rose. It felt like her first day at Hogwarts all over again. She threw the sheets off her bed and stepped onto the hard wood, shivering at the temperature. She opened her suitcase and saw her light blue dress. She pulled it out and smoothed it onto the bed with her fingers, going into the bathroom to fix her hair and face while letting it smooth out. She brushed her teeth and rinsed her mouth, tying her hair back into a messy bun on top of her head. She washed her face, reveling in the cold water soaking her skin and waking her up more effectively than the hardwood had. She'd bought some muggle makeup as a kid and took it out now, using the mascara manually and the pink blush. She had lipstick the color of fresh lilies and resisted the urge to use her wand to curl her hair into tight ringlets. Instead, she tugged a brush through her mangled hair and pulled it into a French braid using half of her hair and used the other half to let hang down, so it was a half-up half-down sort of hairstyle. She went out of the bathroom and grabbed her dress, returned to take off her pajamas, and, realizing she didn't have her bra and underwear, grabbed the towel off the rack to go get them. She was leafing through her suitcase to find her strapless bra when Spencer knocked on the door.
"Ellie we're leaving in ten!" He called.
"Uh... Okay!" Ellie said, dropping to the floor in her towel and panicking. "I'll be right there!"
"'Kay." Spencer said, and Ellie exhaled as her heard his footsteps leaving her doorstep. She sprinted to the bathroom, threw on her dress, then sprinted out, rummaging haphazardly through her trunk to get out her pink heels. She grabbed her blush clutch, stuck her wand, lipstick, and a couple of galleons into it, then ran out of the door, grabbing the keys and locking the door on the way out, stuffing the keys into her clutch as well. She ran up to the main house and knocked on the door, saying,
"I'm ready!" Spencer came to the door. He looked very handsome, but his hair hadn't been brushed, and his tie was lopsided. The shade matched Ellie's dress perfectly. He was wearing black dress robes. Ellie laughed and fixed his tie, combing her hands through his hair until it looked somewhat presentable.
"You know you're not really ready." Ellie said.
"I'm close enough!" he replied, looking over Ellie's head and fixed his hair in the mirror, "and at least I don't take a whole school year to get ready for a party!" He looked her square in the face, and she stood on her tiptoes to reach his eyes,
"Hey!" Ellie said, trying not to laugh, "I'll have you know I can't just wake up looking like this. Beauty takes time, my dear." Spencer burst out laughing, and Ellie quickly followed suit.
"C'mon." Spencer said at last, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "Fireplace's over here." He pointed Ellie into the great room where they had been last night, and as they walked over Mr. and Mrs. White came out of the bedroom, both wearing comfortable dress robes.
"Here you go dear." Mrs. White said fondly, handing a pot to Spencer.
"Thanks mum."
"Oh, he's growing up so fast Charles!" Mrs. White said, hugging her son tightly.
"Mum!" Spencer said, stepping away and rubbing the back of his neck, "Stop!"
"Why?" Mrs. White replied, "You look so handsome."
"Okay!" Spencer said, with the tone of someone trying to wrap up a conversation, "We're going, come on Ellie." Ellie waved goodbye to the Whites, shouted "Number 12, Grimmauld Place," and the flames licked her away to Sirius' house. She stepped out of the fire and turned, almost bumping into Spencer as he came out behind her.
"Whoa!" Spencer said, catching her as they both stumbled, laughing. They turned to face the house, and Ellie's jaw dropped. It was decorated with green and silver streamers, and a green table. Everything here screamed Slytherin.
"Let's go find Sirius and his date and let them know we're here, shall we?" Ellie asked, and Spencer nodded, extending his arm. Ellie hooked her hand in the crook of his elbow, and they walked into the kitchen, where Ellie saw Sirius shoving a piece of cake into a girl's face. Ellie knocked on the door jamb tentatively, and Sirius span round, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. The girl turned around too, wiping a piece of white cake from her face.
"Hi." She said, "I'm Eva Sweeney, Sirius' date."
"Ellie Green." Ellie replied, "Spencer's date."
"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" Sirius shouted, running and sliding across the hardwood in his socks.
"You're not wearing shoes?" Eva said, rolling her eyes at him.
"Why should I?" Sirius retorted.
"Um, common human decency?" Eva said. She was very pretty. Her dark hair was curled and set about her face like curtains. Her sea foam dress was strapless and came down to her knee, and she was wearing a necklace of pearls. She looked like a real-life mermaid. Sirius on the other hand, was wearing black dress robes with a white undershirt, his curly hair swooped around his face. He looked very much like a dog.
"Avia, toss me my shoes would 'ya? They're to your left."
"'Kay." Ellie said. She reached down, picked up the shoes, and hurled them with all her might at the hallway where Sirius was, out of sight. She heard a groan, and the sound of someone hitting the floor.
"You know- 'toss me my shoes' is an expression, right?" He said, but Eva reached over the table on her tiptoes and gave Ellie's hand a smack. "I can hear you laughing at my expense! Eva, get the cake, I can hear guests arriving." He went over to an ancient record player and pumped up a record by,
"THE WEIRD SISTERS!" Ellie screamed, pulling Spencer into the room where they'd come out of the fire and spinning him around, "Come dance with me!"
"Calm down!" Spencer shouted, but Ellie was spinning and dancing like a wild woman. Different guests arrived and 10 minutes later, the big atrium was packed with guests. When the Weird Sister's track ended, Sirius put on a slower paced record, good for things like the waltz. Ellie snaked her arms around Spencer's neck, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She tripped, and he looked down other concernedly.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"I need some air." She replied.
"I'll come with you." Spencer said. This, he thought, was a perfect time to tell her. He ran the words over in his head. I'm sorry, I love you El, but I'm not falling for you.
"Great." Ellie said. This, she thought, was a perfect time to tell him. She ran the words over in his head. I'm sorry Spence, I love you, but I'm not falling for you.
They walked outside and the crickets' orchestra greeted both of their ears. After the loud music, the quiet calmness, mixed with the billions of stars above their heads, was quite a relief. Ellie's eyes adjusted to the darkness, as it had grown dark since she'd been at the party and looked up at Spencer. He looked nervous, wringing his hands together. Ellie settled hers over his.
"I need to talk to you." They said at the same time. They laughed.
"You go first." They said, again at the same time. Ellie smiled.
"I'll go." She said, "I love you." His heart stopped, and he lost hearing and almost missed her next phrase,
"El-" he started, but Ellie cut him off.
"No listen please. I'm sorry-"
"I'm sorry-" He repeated, and they couldn't look at each other.
"I'm not falling for you." They said at the same time. They looked at each other, each one wondering if the other was going to speak. Slow smiles crept up on both of their face, and she punched Spencer in the arm, hard.
"OI!" He bellowed, "What in the name of Merlin's saggy left-"
"Tell me earlier next time, stupid! I've been so concerned that you wanting me to meet your family meant this was serious, and I didn't know how to tell you that you're basically my big brother at this point."
"You didn't say anything either, dork!" He punched her back, but both were grinning widely. When the excitement subsided, Spencer looked seriously at her. "And Ellie?"
"Yes?"
"I love you too."
YOU ARE READING
Finding Her Way | Sirius Black
Fanfiction"I can't believe the things I reveal when I'm around you, it's like I can't even think straight. It's mad, this is mad, because you made me believe in a happily ever after." *** COMPLETED: After being homeschooled for the first five years of her edu...
