Despite not having the deep copper tinge to her hair that the rest of her Gryffin ancestors had, Ellie's hair was just as untameable as theirs.
It wasn't an utter mess, for really it fell in soft waves on a good day. But nothing could be done with it, bar scrape it back into a loose ponytail. You could try your hardest, but inevitably it wouldn't cooperate that well. The beautiful girl often despaired with it; Adelaide despaired with it; even Marlene despaired with it. Them all believing that leaving it in its natural state, did nothing to enhance Ellie's features. However, Cyrus found his daughter's hair trouble quite amusing, saying that 'she wouldn't be a proper Gryffin without a lion's main'. Adelaide would then always remind him that he had to keep his hair short because he wasn't able to do anything other with it. Cyrus would say his beard compensated, but that didn't really help Ellie in anyway.
Instead, she was left with masses of wavy chocolate locks that would have nothing done to them.
As a result of this, it was always a battle in the morning between Ellie and her hairbrush, something that caused lots of frustration for the usually half-asleep girl. And it was no different this morning.
There was a subtle pounding in the back of her head and her eyes felt fuzzy, so having to tug her hairbrush through tangles wasn't a particularly enjoyable task. It wasn't even her hairbrush either, it was Sirius', and far too small to even attempt to attack how much hair was sprouting from her head. She cursed it, and she cursed her parents for giving her the hair genes she got, and then she cursed her lack of knowledge on any spell that would help too. Adelaide always did her hair at home; it was something they both enjoyed. But now, Ellie was gritting her teeth and trying not to scream from fury.
Staying up so late and drinking all of that wine was definitely not a good idea.
James had risen with the break of dawn, firmly following his 'seize the day' motto, and as always, and he'd woken Remus up in the process. Peter was sitting up in bed looking very blurry eyed, but well rested all the same, and as soon as there was a mention of them going down to breakfast, he'd be raring to go. Much like Ellie, Sirius was nursing a slight headache and definitely a case of over-tiredness, still lying flat on his stomach with his pillow firmly over his head. The handsome boy was always groggy in the morning though, so it wasn't much different.
Usually, the group would be down for breakfast at a reasonable time, not liking to be rushed before lessons. But today, they already seemed like two men down.
Ellie finally cracked, launching the hairbrush across the room so it made a loud crash by the side of Peter's bed - that seemed to wake him up a lot more. She huffed and stomped her foot like a petulant child, making Sirius groan in annoyance, before she marched out of the door and back to her dormitory.
Having watched the beautiful girl's dramatic exit, Remus shook his head with a chuckle and James just rolled his eyes, attempting to get the other black-haired boy out of bed. Sirius waved an arm around haphazardly, trying to deter whoever was stirring him, dislodging James' glasses in the process. The messy haired boy took that as a challenge, shoving his glasses back up his nose and shaking his best friend with even more force. It was a dangerous game, getting on the wrong side of Sirius Black before ten in the morning, but James was willing to risk the consequences.
A string of curses fell out of Sirius' mouth lazily as he rolled over, grabbing his pillow off of his head and whacking James with it. When he heard the person disturbing him grumble, he finally opened his eyes, slightly satisfied with himself. James looked bewildered and dishevelled, his glasses on crooked once again and his hair now messier than usual. The first thing Sirius did was snort.
"What d'you want?" Words all jumbling together in a sleepy mess, Sirius rubbed his eyes and sat up, his head only aching a little bit more.
"You've got to get dressed. Breakfast, remember? First day back of school. Any of this ringing any bells?" James replied, righting himself again and Sirius just flopped back down in bed, groaning.
"Not today." He mumbled, rolling away from his best friend and shutting his eyes tight. James sighed and looked to Remus for help, but he knew better than to mess with Sirius in the morning.
"Yes today." James said firmly, "We're back at bloody Hogwarts! This is a good thing, mate. Pancakes for breakfast and people to see." Picking up the pillow he was attacked with, the messy haired boy hit Sirius back. Three times before he sat back up again.
"You mean, Lily Evans to see." Sirius grumbled as he made moves to get up, but just for that comment, James hit him one more time for good measure, "ALRIGHT! Alright, I'm getting up." And finally, Sirius did, fumbling around with half closed eyes for his uniform, before going into the bathroom to get changed.
Living in such close quarters, inevitably the group got close with each other, but there were still some unwritten rules they all obliged to. The first, being that Ellie always got ready in her dorm, no matter how late it would make them - Peter had a meltdown second year at just the thought she might decide that the middle of their dorm was a good place to start undressing. And the second, was that all the boys took turns going into the bathroom to get changed. It perhaps slowed them down and James would just strip anywhere if he was given the opportunity, for the boy had no shame. But Remus didn't like to show off his scars to anyone and Sirius too, had things on his body he didn't want to display, so an unspoken agreement was made that the dorm was a 'clothes on' only space.
They all took it very seriously.
In the meantime, James got Peter to his feet. With no help from Remus of course - he just sat on his bed with a book open, reading and making playfully snide remarks to James about better ways to coax the smallest Marauder to get ready. It was fair to say it frustrated the messy haired boy, but it was all in good spirit and he did end up using some of his friend's advice.
Once Sirius came out of the bathroom, dressed in his version of the school uniform, Peter was ushered in after him and James thought he might actually get a moment to spend making sure he was ready. But just as he made his way over to the mirror, Ellie came bursting back in, just as dramatically as how she left. Skirt too short, shirt untucked, one sock on and the other in one hand, robe slung round her shoulders, tie in her mouth and shoes in the other hand - she looked a shambles. Remus contained his laughter and even Sirius had to scoff at the sight of her. Even for Ellie Gryffin standards, this was a mess. The beautiful girl looked completely exhausted already, standing in the doorway like a lost puppy, those big sea green eyes slightly glassy.
Sighing, James beckoned her over, pointing at his bed, as he went looking for Sirius' hairbrush somewhere near Peter's things now.
"Take your tie out of your mouth and put that other sock on." James said calmly, moving to her side with the found hairbrush in his hands, whilst she sat on the edge of his bed, "Right, now sit still."
After removing her robe from around her shoulders and watching her do the things he asked, James sat down on the bed behind her. He didn't claim to know much about hair, his own a prime example of his lack of expertise, but if he could take one stress away from the beautiful girl this morning he would. Trying not to tug, he pulled the brush through her hair gently, right until there were no knots left. Ellie was slightly surprised he'd do that for her, but it was strangely relaxing, and she was thankful for him sorting her out. When her hair fell in almost perfect chocolate waves, James was satisfied and patted her shoulders to let her know he was done.
"Are you all ready now?" He asked as Peter emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed and definitely more awake. Everyone mumbled in confirmation and James smiled wide, "Good." He nodded, satisfied with his work and he lead them all down towards the Great Hall for their first breakfast of the year.
It was fair to say James Potter was the one to keep all the Marauders in order. An outsider would probably think it was Remus, for he was the most level-headed one. But secretly, James was the mother hen, constantly keeping check on how everyone was.
Probably something to do with Euphemia's influence, the messy haired boy felt a constant need to make sure every single one of them was as well as they could be and completely prepared for the day. Yes, he was overdramatic and impatient, but that only helped him keep an eye on everyone better. Because any problem was a big problem to James Potter. He was the first to notice if one of them was slightly off, if not always the first to act on it. And he was the one that made sure they all had what they needed, no matter how minuscule or large that thing may be. The only down fall, was that James often lacked tact in serious situations, being too all or nothing to be subtle sometimes. However, this abruptness was usually quite helpful in getting to the root of issues.
James was nothing if not persistent, that was for sure.
And so, in his motherly way, James marched ahead of his friends on their way to the Great Hall. The other four, like his little ducklings, trailing behind absentmindedly. Peter was always the first, trying his hardest to keep up with James the best he could; Remus was always at the back, smirking to himself about how ridiculous they all looked; and Ellie and Sirius stumbled around somewhere in the middle, clinging onto each other and complaining about the light being too bright for this early in the morning.
They were definitely the two ducklings that somehow always found themselves lost or stuck in bother without James around.
Stopping at the entrance to the Great Hall, the messy haired boy ushered the others in, making them all pass him so he knew he had everyone. There had been too many occasions where someone had been lost along the way, despite them all now knowing the castle inside-out. Peter hurried passed, the smell of breakfast carrying his feet with little thought and James patted his shoulder with a nod. He was surprised to see Remus coming striding passed next, the lanky boy pointing to behind him, clearly seeing James' confusion.
Stuck on the marble staircase were Ellie and Sirius, the latter sat down and his eyes closed. Chuckling, Remus followed after Peter into the Great Hall, leaving James to sort out the troublesome pair.
They were always the ducklings that got themselves lost.
Sirius was grumbling inaudible words, looking as if he were about to try and sleep on the stairs, Ellie pulling his arm with what little strength she had. Other students going passed were casting them odd looks, but James waved them on as he rushed over to help.
"What happened?" He asked exasperated. The last time he'd checked, the pair were walking like the rest of them.
"I don't know, Jamie. He's being an arse." Ellie looked as if she were going to collapse herself, flopping down beside Sirius, the handsome boy taking that as an indication to finally lie down on the steps. Both of them had their eyes closed, Ellie swaying slightly as she tried to sit still, and Sirius shuffling to lie with his head on her knee.
"I'm not an arse." The handsome boy complained, his brow furrowing slightly, but Ellie just patted the side of his head - a little too heavy handed really.
"It's alright, you can be an arse, I'll still like you." She mumbled, her hand resting on Sirius' head. James just sighed at their silly conversation, knowing what the cause of their over-tiredness was.
"What did you two do last night?" He asked, placing his hands on his hips and not being able to contain his smile.
"Astronomy tower..."
"Up late..."
"Too much wine..."
The pair spoke in the way Remus found creepy, as if they knew what each other were thinking, but James just laughed. His two best friends were his favourite people in the whole world, and they were so completely ridiculous, that you couldn't do anything else but laugh.
"Well then I think you two need some food." He stated, placing his hands on his hips, "And we should probably get you off of the stairs before someone tramples on you."
That was a complete possibility, for other students were already stepping over Sirius' legs on their way towards the Great Hall. They probably wouldn't have a very good explanation as to why the two were trying to sleep on the stairs if a teacher found them either.
"Tired..."
"So far..."
"Stay here..."
"Very sleepy..."
Ellie and Sirius' words were becoming more and more slurred with tiredness and James knew if he didn't get them up now, they generally would sleep right there on the stairs. So, he did the only thing he knew would get them moving.
"Good morning Professor McGonagall!" The messy hared boy called, making other students cast the three even stranger looks. The Gryffindor head of house was nowhere to be seen, but both Ellie and Sirius shot awake and to their feet, slightly dazed.
"Lovely day, just stopping for a breather..."
"Don't mind us, Minnie. Got to get used to all the stairs again..."
James had to laugh at their reactions, but as soon as the pair realised they'd fallen for their friend's trap, they both scowled. Sirius thought the messy haired boy used dirty tactics and Ellie complained loudly about his rudeness, but it got them moving again and eventually they joined Peter and Remus for breakfast.
The five Marauders sat in their usual spot at the Gryffindor table, and at the sight of the food, both Ellie and Sirius seemed to perk up a little. They had a set dynamic at breakfast without them even realising it and it was quite fascinating to watch them all moving like clockwork. Remus poured Ellie a mug of coffee, whilst she poured him a cup of tea, both of them exchanging drinks without having to say a word; James dished out sausages, bacon, eggs and fried tomatoes to himself and Peter; Sirius plated up two lots of pancakes for him and Ellie and then filled three goblets of pumpkin juice for the those that didn't have hot drinks; and Peter spooned porridge into a bowl for Remus. They moved like a machine, everyone knowing their role and completing it without having to ask if anything had changed. Plates and goblets never went colliding, somehow they just passed around their breakfasts without any catastrophes, beginning to eat in a chorus of 'thank-you's.
Students continued to flood into the Great Hall with their friends, everyone chatting excitedly about the first day back. And the group of five were no exception. All of them were awake enough now and even Ellie and Sirius felt better with food in their stomachs. In fact, James was talking so energetically about who the new Quidditch captain was going to be now Joseph Wood had graduated, he didn't even notice his favourite red head walking towards them.
Lily Evans was striding from her place further up the Gryffindor table, with five timetables in hand. She was slightly dreading having to face James Potter and his band of mischief makers so early in the morning, but seeing Ellie made it worthwhile. She'd decided she'd just speak to the brunette, and maybe Remus, and leave as fast as possible. Luckily, Ellie was the first one to notice her coming, making both the girls smile.
"Lily!" Ellie threw up her hands in celebration, now awake enough to be as loud as she usually was, a huge grin plastered to her face. She made the boys jump and James looked at her in complete confusion.
"Evans?" He said slightly panicked, ruffling up his hair and making sure his glasses sat right. Ellie nodded up the hall and his head whipped round at a rather alarming rate, "Evans!" James repeated, this time in celebration too and Lily scowled slightly at Ellie for announcing her arrival so openly. The beautiful girl just shrugged, content with her actions, shooting Remus a knowing look over the table. He smiled too.
"I've got your new timetables." Coming to a halt in front of Ellie, Lily spoke as if she was the only one at the table, ignoring James' gazes from beside her, "We've got Transfiguration today, and Potions later, Herbology and Arithmancy somewhere in the middle. Well me and Remus have Arithmancy..." The red head's eyes lit up in excitement, no one loved learning more than she did and Ellie took the timetables off of her with a fond smile.
"Thanks, Lils!" She replied, passing the timetables onto Remus as her eyes darted to James beside her, who looked like he was about to combust.
"That's lessons with the Hufflepuffs." Peter said with a frown. The smallest Marauder didn't like the large class sizes that came with having lessons with the badgers, it made him feel a lot more self-conscious when having to perform practical skills.
"And the Slytherins." Sirius added with a grumble.
"That's lessons together though!" James exclaimed in his ever-positive manner, eyes never leaving Lily once. The red head finally looked at him and his lopsided smile only grew as he ruffled up his hair once more, "Did you have a good summer, Evans?" He asked, an overconfident edge to his voice and Lily visibly tensed.
"I did." She replied curtly, Ellie and Remus stifling laughter at the exchange. James wasn't put off by her cold tone though.
"And did you get my letters?" He probed and Lily's face flushed red for a second, before she re-gained her composure.
"I did." She repeated, keeping her voice steady and head titled slightly away from him.
Most holidays, James tried to write at least one letter to Lily. It was usually filled with endless questions and some form of sappy, badly written poetry. But this summer, he'd sent six, which was nearly one a week - all in his attempts to win her over. He'd been sort of clever with it this time, including a few lines of poetry in each, so when Lily had received all the letters, it would create one big poem together. Ellie had helped him of course, for she was a bit more eloquently spoken, and knew that Lily would pay no attention if the rhyming was rubbish. Which it was most of the time.
James had waited painfully each morning for some form of reply, but inevitably it never came. This then became even more frustrating when Ellie told him that Lily was replying to her letters, so the red head must be choosing to ignore him. Ellie had asked Lily about whether she was getting James' letters, but she never acknowledged that in her replies. James had half expected it, but he was slightly disheartened just the same. Though he'd never show her that of course.
"What did you think?" The messy haired boy asked, eagerness in his voice that Ellie didn't miss. Lily seemed oblivious to this though, crossing her arms and looking uncomfortable even having to think about the subject.
"Mediocre." She replied, just as short, as her other words directed at him. James looked deflated, but unbeknownst to Lily, this had only spurred him on more. I'll just have to try harder.
"Cubby wrote most of them." James said casually, trying to make it seem as if as little effort was put in as possible. When both he and Ellie knew they'd spent hours on end pouring over these letters and even Euphemia had had some input for help. Lily's eyes snapped to her friend, in slight betrayal, but Ellie just held up her hands in defence.
"I was coerced." She said quickly, "Jamie says, we all have to do. This group is sort of a dictatorship really. You should've seen him earlier! Route marched all of us down here like he was the King!" James feigned hurt at her words, gasping over-dramatically.
"High treason! You can't speak of our King like that." Sirius spoke through a mouthful of syrup-soaked pancakes, not missing a beat, and Lily made an unimpressed face. With the handsome boy's comment, Ellie placed the back of her hand against her forehead with a sigh.
"Oh, how I've been foolish!" She cried, drawing the eyes of a few other Gryffindors around them, "Have mercy King Potter! I didn't mean those harsh words against you." James smirked, whilst the others chuckled in amusement and Lily just rolled her eyes. The red head was used to only getting random confusion out of the group, but she was just glad to not have James standing on the table, announcing to the whole hall he was in love with her.
"Maybe he'll smack some sense into you." She quipped straight-faced, and Ellie gasped in mock hurt. James snorted unattractively and Sirius let out a bark of a laugh, both earning a violent hit from the girl in between them.
"How rude!' Ellie exclaimed playfully and Lily finally giggled a little herself.
For all the red head complained about the Marauders being a nuisance, she'd couldn't argue that they actually could be quite funny. She didn't condone the pranks they pulled on other students or them blatantly disregarding the rules. But when they weren't causing anyone any harm, they were actually enjoyable to be around. As long as James Potter kept his mouth shut and Sirius Black wasn't being obnoxious, that was.
"Is there anything interesting in the paper? Mum and dad won't let me get a subscription. They say the moving pictures unnerve my sister."
Remus had been reading a copy of the Daily Prophet for the entirety of breakfast, for he had one delivered every morning to keep up with what was going on in the Wizarding World. Being at Hogwarts shielded them from the goings on outside of the castle walls, and whilst this was good for the most part, Remus believed it was important to know what was happening elsewhere. As did Lily.
"The Goblins want to charge more interest on loans..." Remus read out, turning over a few pages of the paper.
"Greedy sods." Ellie muttered, making Sirius turn to look at her with a smirk. She just shoved the side of his head.
"Some woman in America has become the oldest witch to ever give birth..." Remus continued, showing a picture of a bloated and wrinkly faced woman, holding a new-born baby, "Apparently it's a miracle." He added with an uninterested tone. Lily cooed over the baby a little, but Ellie scrunched up her face. If that child was going to grow up to look like its mother, she was sure there was nothing to be cooing at.
"It looks like a small house-elf." Sirius commented, a face mirroring Ellie's, making the red head scowl. Peter too was turning his head in different angles, trying to make the ugly baby look a little better, but he didn't have much luck.
"There's been more Muggle attacks..." The mood suddenly turned foul as Remus' eyes darted up off of the page, "The Ministry say it's nothing to worry about, the Aurors are already chasing the wizards that did it."
It was no secret there was something brewing in the world outside of Hogwarts. Relationships were tense and people spoke in hushed voices, as if there were constantly ears listening.
Almost like people wanted to remain oblivious to the changes, no one dared discuss it. The Ministry blamed everything on coincidence, saying that the Wizarding Community were just going through a troubling time, and they assured things would be back to normal soon. But deep down everyone knew it was lies. This was bigger than a few random disappearances; this was bigger than just the odd person going to Azkaban.
Something was coming over the horizon and no one was prepared for what it was.
Even the sky seemed different. Like it was whipping up a storm. A storm bigger than anyone had ever seen. The clouds grew angrier by the day and darkness loomed above them, waiting to cast shadows over everything. Winds were icier and could cut through you like sharp blades, trying to maim in preparation for what was coming next. The only protection was to stay indoors and close the windows. Shut out the weather coming and keep your fire burning inside. But soon that wouldn't be enough.
Soon it wouldn't be enough to just stay ignorant. Soon would come a time when everyone would have to pick a side. And it was ludicrous to think otherwise. It was foolish to think otherwise. To believe that you could choose to stay out of this, for clearly even Muggles were being involved.
It didn't seem as big of a threat to Ellie, Sirius or James. They were pureblood and had no Muggle relatives that might be dragged into whatever was happening. But to the others it was a worry beyond worries. Peter and Remus' mothers, Lily's whole family, Marlene's father. They were all Muggles. Muggles that had been dragged into the Wizarding World by no fault of their own. Too many questions surrounded what would happen to them if things escalated. That didn't mean Ellie, Sirius and James worried any less though, for they knew of the risks too. In fact, both the Potters and the Gryffins made sure Ellie and James were aware of the current political climate, to ensure they stayed cautious. It did no one any favours to not know what was going on.
Sirius had a slightly different window into the Muggle attacks, for his parents had no problem with them. They'd never say it in polite company, but they actually endorsed the 'extermination' of anyone who wasn't of the purest magical blood. They thought purebloods were the only ones worthy of being able to study magic, or know about it full stop. It made going home for Sirius even harder, because he couldn't just sit there and listen to them discuss such awful matters at the dinner table like it meant nothing. He dreaded to think what would happen to any of his friends if they got caught up in the horrors that seemed to be brewing, but the Blacks had no regard for that. Instead, they praised whoever it was behind it all.
Dangerous ideals seemed to be spreading through communities like wildfire. Crazy beliefs of purifying the nation of anyone who didn't deserve to know of magic, becoming rational to anyone that would listen. Sirius had heard it. His cousin Bellatrix wailing about how dirty she felt having to take lessons at Hogwarts with half-bloods and 'mudbloods'; his grandfather preaching about the importance of keeping pureblood, pure; his parents punishing him for having any association with anything that was Muggle. Sirius had seen what the darkness was doing first-hand and once it had its claws in you, you couldn't get away.
Again, there would come a time when everyone would have to pick a side and Sirius knew already, he'd be on the opposite one to his family.
The atmosphere between the six had significantly darkened and no one really had anything to say on the matter that could be remotely positive. For what was good about anyone being attacked.
"The Ministry can't just ignore this forever." Lily said, eventually breaking the silence and frowning deeply, "What are they going to do? Put half the Wizarding population in Azkaban?"
Sirius physically tensed, the thought of watching his parents being dragged away from their home, churning his stomach. He hated them, but it didn't make it any easier to process the idea that he may end up the only one in his family that didn't support whatever was spreading. Not understanding how they could condone such things, Sirius dreaded to think what would happen to Regulus if his brother kept speaking in alliance with the rest of the Blacks. He'd be dragged away too. And what about himself? Would he get swept up in their ugliness for just being in the same family? Would he end up being viewed to be like them? Would he be branded a dark magic supporter just for his last name? Sirius didn't have any answers to those questions, and never had he wanted to have been born to a different set of parents more in his whole life.
At least the brothers were somewhat safe at Hogwarts.
With the previously playful atmosphere having fizzled out, Lily left, and the Marauders went back to eating breakfast in a tense bubble of muttered words. Peter said something about his mother banning his father from speaking about it, and Remus said Lyall Lupin often came home from work at the Ministry over summer more stressed than he'd ever seen him. Ellie, however, hadn't really been listening to them, her eyes darting sidewards to Sirius most of the time.
Tortured thoughts were written all over his face as he kept prodding the last pancake on his plate. The beautiful girl knew of how the Blacks could be, obviously, so she could hazard a guess at what was paining her friend so badly.
"You're not like them." Ellie whispered, taking his hand on top of the table. Sirius' gaze snapped to her immediately, a hurricane whipping up in those stormy grey eyes, "You won't turn out like them." She repeated the words that she'd told him when they were in the Astronomy tower, just hours before, and in an instant a peace washed over him. The same peace that made him relax last night, knowing that as long as she believed, he'd never be what his family wanted him to be.
Sirius smiled contently at her in response, but someone clearing their throat interrupted them. Both looking up to see Remus, wide-eyed and shaking his head slightly, they just frowned. Why can't I comfort him? Ellie thought with frustration. Remus wasn't usually so cold-hearted. But it was panic written all over the lanky boy's face, both Ellie and Sirius staring at him in confusion not helping his worry. When it was clear that neither of them were taking his hint, Remus' face dropped and he sighed.
"Behind you." He said firmly, not wanting to have had to be so obvious. And when both the pair and James all turned round, the messy haired boy now interested too, Remus sighed again. Very subtle everyone.
It seemed that the three had forgotten that the Ravenclaw table was behind them and as soon as they all turned around, they came almost face to face with Jessica Arnell and her friends. Sat eating breakfast adjacent to them, Jessica and her friends all giggled as Sirius made eye contact with her. Ellie quickly pulled her hand from his, setting it down in her lap and James looked at her funny. Sirius gave an awkward wave as Jessica's face flushed bright red, her friends continuing to giggle almost obnoxiously.
"Hi." Jessica spoke in an airy voice. Batting her eyelashes slightly, in a bid to be seductive. Or at least that's what it looked like she was meant to be doing. All of the Marauders would say she wasn't doing a very good job, and that included Sirius, for the Ravenclaw's friends were ruining the mood.
It was just the same as yesterday, when Sirius had been thrown into Jessica in all the melee of trying to get out of the Great Hall after the feast. Her friends' giggling was just annoying.
"Hi Jess." Sirius replied, the nickname he called her only making her friends giggle even more furiously. Ellie turned away from the girls, them annoying her too and James shot her another funny look, "Um, are you excited for the first day back?" In a very un-Sirius-like manner, the handsome boy tried to start a conversation now she was staring at him, not knowing how to make the situation less uncomfortable. Normally, he'd just grunt and move away from anyone who tried to disturb him when he was with his friends, so having his back turned on the other Marauders felt very strange. Jessica just nodded in response to his question, because as she went to open her mouth, one of her friends cut in.
"We've got Ancient Runes and Herbology, DADA too!" The annoying blonde who'd spoken was quickly shushed by Jessica, who shot Sirius an apologetic smile.
"Oh, I've not looked at mine properly..." Swivelling in his seat, Sirius attempted to look for his timetable, forgetting that Remus hadn't actually give him his yet, "What did Evans say we had, Cubs?" Ellie wasn't entirely listening, staring at the few coffee grounds floating in the bottom of her mug, "Cubby?" Poking her in the cheek playfully, Sirius smirked at the distant look in her eyes when she finally looked at him. It was as if he'd awoken her from a deep sleep, "What lessons have we got today? Or have you decided to leave us for a different planet?" He teased, unaware of the uncomfortable expression Jessica now wore, or the harsh glares her friends were sending at the back of Ellie's head.
Remus didn't miss it though, for this is what he was trying to avoid in the first place, and James cast him a look as if to say: 'you're seeing this too right?'.
"Transfiguration first and then a study period," Remus interjected, saving Ellie from anymore glares that were being shot at her behind her back, "Then Herbology..." Jessica's eyes lit up and the annoying blonde let out a high-pitched squeal, "But with the Hufflepuffs, shame..." Remus sighed, a slightly sarcastic edge to his voice, "Then you've got another study period and Potions last thing." Jessica, or her friends, didn't look pleased to find out her and Sirius wouldn't be having any lessons today. But Remus and James didn't miss Ellie sigh in relief.
Just as she'd told Remus when he'd asked, Ellie had no problem with Jessica and Sirius being together. If it made him happy, then she was happy too. However, she couldn't cope with the constant giggling and squealing, and she'd only had a brief taste of it so far. The beautiful girl was sure she was going to grow to hate the lessons they had with the Ravenclaws. Already, Jessica was interrupting, where she shouldn't be interrupting - in Ellie's opinion that was. They were having breakfast, discussing important topics. That was no place for fluttery eyelashes and seductive voices. Jessica could whisk Sirius away whenever else she pleased, but she didn't have to do it whilst they were all trying to eat.
"Damn!" Remus cursed with a very obviously fake annoyance, although it seemed the Ravenclaws were oblivious to it, "You'll just completely miss each other today. Maybe tomorrow you guys will be able to sit together. Whenever we have Charms, I guess."
"Yeah. For now, you'll just have to gaze from a distance." James added and Sirius shot him a warning look. The handsome boy was sure they were both teasing. Which, mildly they were. But really, their comments came from a place of loyalty.
Remus had known from the very second Sirius had uttered the word 'girlfriend', that there was going to be an issue. Not on their side, on Ravenclaw's instead. Ellie and Sirius were just too close for their own good, and whilst the Marauders knew nothing was going on between the two, that wasn't necessarily clear to everyone else. From the outside, Remus knew it looked bad and he'd expected some form of conflict immediately.
Girls usually travelled in packs, and it seemed Jessica and her friends were no different. Remus had an inkling that if one of them said anything remotely suggestive about Ellie and Sirius' relationship, it would only spark them all off into a jealous fury. In all honesty, he didn't know whether this was valid or not. Maybe his friends shouldn't be as close, if Sirius was going to be in a proper relationship? It made perfect sense for him to start putting Jessica first.
He understood why someone would be jealous, of course, so this wasn't a case of Remus putting the blame on the Ravenclaws for any conflict. However, he believed girls sometimes had a tendency to overreact about things like this, and the jealousy wasn't needed in this case. In fact, he'd had confirmation from Ellie that as long as Jessica didn't completely steal Sirius away, she was fine with it all. And that was valid, because friendships should never be lost over things like that. Not when they were family.
Yet, it seemed the jealousy ship had already sailed, with Jessica and her friends on board.
It suddenly became inevitable that one of them would complain about Ellie at some point.
Initially, James hadn't even given a thought to what would happen now that Sirius had a girlfriend. His two best friends seemed perfectly fine with it all. As close and as ridiculous as they always were. But then he'd noticed the looks...
The looks Remus was giving them; the looks they were giving each other; the looks Jessica was giving them; the looks her friends were giving Ellie.
All of a sudden it hit him like a wave and Remus seemed to see it happen. The arguments this all could potentially cause. Perhaps not intentionally, but a catalyst all the same. He knew the look on Ellie's face that said loud and clear she was annoyed, and he saw Sirius acting completely oblivious to the fact that he was closer to Ellie than he was to his girlfriend. And most important of all, he saw the look of jealous rage masked carefully in Jessica's eyes. It seemed that if it was one of the boys in Ellie place, everything would be alright. But because Ellie was a girl, it just stirred the pot for no reason.
James would always argue that technically Ellie wasn't a 'proper girl', because she spent more time with them than she did with anyone else. She was so different to both Lily and Marlene, and so much more similar to them, that his statement had to be true. Of course, it wasn't, but you couldn't tell James Potter that. However, this made him feel like Jessica's jealousy was completely uncalled for.
Not to mention the fact that the messy haired boy would have no one speak against his friends - the girl he thought of as a sister in particular, so that only lit the fire that was the potential for there to be issues.
"Speaking of lessons though, we should probably go. Minnie will be pissed if we're late for Transfiguration on the first day back."
Making a rather pathetic excuse to leave, James stood up as he spoke, grabbing Ellie's hand in the process. Remus was quick to his feet, when the messy haired boy gave him a look that said: 'we need to leave, now', understanding his want to remove Ellie from the situation. James tugged the beautiful girl up and helped her swing her legs over the bench, so they stood in the aisle between the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor table. She gave him an odd look, but he chose to ignore it and instead James brushed down a section of her hair that had stuck up in the chaos of events, from them getting into the Great Hall to them now trying to swiftly leave. Ellie just batted his hand away, confused as to why he was fussing so much over her, unaware of the nasty gazes still being sent her way by a couple of Jessica's friends.
The messy haired boy wouldn't give them another reason to talk about her once they were gone.
"I've not finished." Peter complained, having just picked up another three rashers of bacon, pouting slightly. But Remus took his fork out of his hand and made him stand up too, telling him he'd explain their hasty leave when they were moving, making sure to speak in a hushed voice.
"You too, mate. Come on." James grabbed Sirius' arm, also pulling him up and avoiding his questioning looks. When James gave nothing away, Sirius looked to Ellie, but she just shrugged with an eye roll. It made the handsome boy chuckle and James took a strategic step to move in the way of their eye contact. They're really not helping themselves.
"Let's go." Remus spoke only to James, once he'd finally gotten Peter to stop snatching for the bacon and the messy haired boy nodded firmly.
It was like a calculated operation, the way they managed to scoop up all their friends so quickly. And without another word, Remus was pushing Peter down the hall and James was dragging Ellie and Sirius with him.
Sirius turned to give a small wave behind him at Jessica, but James wouldn't stop until Ellie was away from the glares that she didn't know she was getting. Which meant Sirius had to come too.
They were always the ducklings that got themselves into bother.