101 Ways to ditch the Date | SIRIUS BLACK

No. 76

"She liked the Gryffindor common room ..." Peter added before shaking his head, "Padfoot, Emmeline ... I really think you two should be leading the discussion."

That was a good point but now that it came down to it, there was a lot of awkwardness, both feeling like they had something to prove about who knew the girl best. To add to it, Emmeline was finding it hard to meet Marlene's eyes after lashing out at her. She knew she'd been harsh, especially as Marlene had been dealing with her own issues, even if her methods of getting over them were deeply flawed. Having her here now just made Emmeline feel worse, especially as public apologies in front of the group weren't really a thing.

"Padfoot," Both James and Sirius were sat on his desk, one boy nudging the other. Sirius still didn't respond though, "Time's of the essence ... Padfoot?"

"I'm just thinking," Sirius said at last.

"Emmeline," Hearing Marlene use her full name stung a little, especially when it was laced with such cool apathy, "Any ideas?"

"I don't know," She admitted miserably, "She likes a lot of places, Norway, Brighton, London ... but none of them were special to her in the sense that she'd run away. Her favourite places were all in the school, empty classrooms where she could get some privacy, the lake she could run by, the window sill she sat on when she used to feel alone ... that's where I'd go look for her but she's not there."

"What about her Mum?" James suggested, "Maybe she went to be with here?"

"No, she doesn't know where she is and she wouldn't lie to me like ... like I ... I lied to her," Emmeline suddenly shook her head, all of her feelings welling up inside of her once more. Emmeline hadn't actually cried about it yet, even on the night it had happened. Yet, for some reason, this small thing suddenly set her off, tears welling up in her eyes which threatened to roll down her cheeks. 

"Emmeline, are you alright?" Lily asked as Emmeline shook her head, suddenly slinging her bag over her shoulder and jumping down from the table.

Her words were garbled as she murmured, "Sorry, I have to go," before rushing out of the room in a flurry. Once she was out, she suddenly let herself go, slumping down against the wall as the tears rolled down her cheeks freely. Of course she couldn't even be allowed one moment of peace as less than a few seconds later, the door opened again. Her reaction was instantaneous, jumping up and attempting to shield her cheeks with both hands. 

"I thought you were crying out here," Marlene stepped forward, "You're not hiding it very well."

"Why are you here?" Emmeline managed to say through suppressed sobs, "I was mean to you ... why do you want to help me again?"

"Because I manipulated you and then you threw me under the bus and then I was mean to you and you were mean to me, all cancels out," Emmeline didn't laugh, "Sorry ... bad joke, bad timing ... look, we agreed to help each other get over our shit so here I am and, well ... maybe your my friend too and I care about you, something like that."

"You're not angry?"

"I was a bit pissed off about ten seconds ago but then I realised your best friend and crush is missing so figured I should go easy," She took a tentative step forward, putting her arm around Emmeline before awkwardly guiding her towards the classroom opposite, "Here, I sense you're not the kind of girl who likes to be seen crying - "

Marlene opened the door but cut off abruptly as upon opening it, three pairs of eyes belonging to First years playing Gobstone stared back at her.

"Please don't take our Gobstones! They're very expensive and could definitely be traded in for several galleons!"