It was off-the-shoulder and mainly white. Pastel blues, pinks and greys all swirled together to create dazzling designs of landscapes and flowers, the sky and birds. Flowing out brilliantly, there was a train long enough to make an impact without causing an issue, and the fabric was the smoothest satin there was. There was no denying it was eye-catching and completely unique. Something that belonged displayed in a museum as if it were a true work of art.
Ellie hated it.
Well, hate is a strong word. But the beautiful girl had a strong dislike for any flouncy dress and this one was no exception.
Hung up on her bathroom door, it did look quiet exquisite, but Ellie knew it was just a facade. It'd be heavy and itchy, and impractical for doing anything in other than a small twirl on the dance floor. How am I supposed to run a rampage with the boys if I'm trapped in a fashion prison?
The answer was: she wasn't.
Adelaide sent off and had the dress made in Paris, and the beautiful girl knew it would've cost a fortune. So, there would be no way she'd get away with even getting a spec of dirt on it. Why her mother spent lots of money of unimportant things such as clothes, would always baffle Ellie, but she'd learnt to live with it. There'd never be any swaying Adelaide Gryffin when it came to creating perfection.
Slightly disheartened now she knew what she was going to be forced into later, Ellie trudged down the staircase and into the mayhem bellow.
Witches and Wizards were swarmed everywhere, all trying to set up for the evening. Cyrus had long shut himself away in his study, but everywhere else was being tended to by someone with a vase of flowers or a silver tray or piece of furniture in their hand. Adelaide was behind it all of course, every last-minute preparation being put in place, so that the house looked immaculate. Something Ellie thought rather silly, when guests would only be wandering in a few rooms. Nonetheless, her mother wanted everything perfect and still food needed to be tasted and music sorted out.
Not to mention the arrival of all of Adelaide's side of the family, any time soon.
There wasn't any family left on Cyrus' side, Ellie's Gryffin grandparents passing not long after she was born, and so the majority of the guests were going to be from Adelaide's family. They were all coming over from France and didn't make many appearances in England, so this was a special occasion.
However, Ellie didn't like her mother's side of the family much, deciding that Adelaide and her sister Camille were the only easily tolerable ones. Even her Grandparents weren't the warmest of people, so the fact they didn't visit often, wasn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, Ellie would much prefer it, if only her Aunt Camille came. It wasn't just the immediate French family that were coming either, it was all manner of people related to them and they were all to stay at the Gryffin's whilst they were here - Ellie would definitely be camping out at the Potter's.
And that's where she headed. To find the boys, who'd been roped into making some form of food for later by Euphemia, no doubt.
Once she'd managed to weave her way through all the people dashing back and forth in the entrance hall, the beautiful girl then had to dart between the trees next door. She ran, of course, making her way through the woods in two minutes flat.
Without knocking, she crashed through the Potter's front door and headed straight for the kitchen. Fleamont gave her a wave as he looked up from his newspaper upon hearing her entrance, but she rushed by him in pursuit of her friends. Whether they were in the kitchen or not, Euphemia probably would be, and she'd definitely know where they were.
However, as expected, three boys were crowded around the worktop, dishing spoons of cake batter into muffin trays. Over-watching carefully was James' mother, making sure they weren't being too generous with the portion sizes, for the mixture needed to go a long way. Remus was mainly in-charge, being the neatest, and James wiped away anything that was spilt in the process. Sirius however, had taken to inspecting and subsequently tasting each of the different toppings for when the muffins were baked, dipping his fingers in icing and cream and poking at different sprinkles. He was trying to be discrete about it, but he couldn't hide anything from Euphemia, and she kept scolding him for stealing what she'd prepared.
Every time he'd just smirk cheekily in response.
"It's awful!" Collapsing into a stool the opposite side of where they were all working, Ellie huffed, resting her head on the table, "The house is being taken over, soon there will by millions of people staying in it and I'm going to look like some fancy French pastry."
"If you're talking about your dress, I've seen it and I think it's lovely." Euphemia came around the workbench to place her arm around Ellie's shoulders in a brief hug, "You'll look wonderful regardless, and if for some ungodly reason you don't, we all know you're beautiful already." Placing her hands on the girl's cheeks, the loving woman made sure Ellie was listening to her properly, but it didn't look as if she were any more pleased.
"It's a dress, Cubs. How bad can it be?" Remus commented, smirking slightly at his friend's dramatics, making Euphemia point at him in agreement.
"You've not seen it!" Ellie cried, louder than what was probably necessary, "It's all poofy and... and..." She didn't have much more to say than that, for really it was a very nice dress. She just didn't want to wear it, "And completely impractical."
"It's not meant to be practical. It's a ballgown. All you're supposed to be able to do is act fake." Sirius didn't look up as he spoke, continuing to prod at a few sprinkles in one bowl.
Despite his lack of love for all things that came with events like this, he was actually quite excited to be able to go to one that wasn't full of all his obnoxious family. Tonight might actually be fun for a change.
"Well that's fine then, because I'll look like a dress-up doll." Ellie huffed again and Euphemia shook her head at the girl with a sigh.
"You always look great, though." James tried to make her feel better, just as his mother tried too, but it seemed nothing would help. When the beautiful girl set her mind on something, she wouldn't be swayed.
And Ellie had decided she had a hatred for her dress.
"See! Everything will be fine." Euphemia patted her back a couple of times, before going back to over-seeing what Remus and James were doing, leaving Ellie to wallow with her head still on the workbench, "And anyway, don't you go giving your mother any grief over this dress. She paid a lot of money for it and it was made especially for you. She's in love with the design and has been desperate to see you wearing it ever since it arrived. If I hear you complain about it in front of her, I'll be very disappointed." James' mother wasn't a woman you argued with, so Ellie didn't reply.
Now she was available, the beautiful girl didn't get out of helping the boys, but inevitably Sirius distracted her, and they ended up in a war of toppings. Remus and James' muffins were decorated with great accuracy, all nearly identical, but the same couldn't be said for Ellie and Sirius'.
More icing and sprinkles sat on top of the handsome boy's head than on any muffin and Ellie had whipped cream smeared on her face. The pair had resorted to a food fight when Sirius tried to claim his decorating skills were superior, leading to Euphemia returning to the group with a look of horror on her face. She scolded the both of them for wasting the decorations, sending James and Remus off to do as they pleased whilst Ellie and Sirius had to clean up their mess. The kitchen looked as if a bakery had exploded, and Euphemia stayed behind to finish decorating the muffins they'd left.
Yet, as ever, Ellie and Sirius couldn't stay on task to save their lives. Not even with Euphemia breathing down their necks. And before the loving woman could contain them, they were performing an a cappella version of Led Zeppelin's 'Rock and Roll', as Sirius waved his tea towel in the air and Ellie attempted to dance on top of one of the stools.
They were laughing wildly as the lyrics of the song came out a jumbled mess, Euphemia having no way of stopping them. All cleaning had come to a halt, but she couldn't be mad with the pair, for she'd never seen two people like them. Their smiles were different than the ones Ellie and James shared, and the way they looked at each other, was as if they were the only other person that mattered in the universe.
Perhaps no one but Euphemia saw it, but the loving woman was wise enough to know exactly what was going on.
In all the joy, neither Ellie nor Sirius had noticed the presence of two new people in the kitchen and it wasn't James and Remus either.
"Persephone Eloise..."
Cyrus had been sent by Adelaide to fetch their daughter so she could start getting ready for the festivities, however, he hadn't expected to find her in the state he did. By now, he knew that he'd always find Ellie up to some form of mischief, but covered in cake decorations and dancing ridiculously on a stool in the Potter's kitchen was something he'd not dubbed her capable of. Yet, it was foolish to think Ellie Gryffin wasn't capable of something, for she was an enigma after all.
Fleamont was containing his laughter, whilst Euphemia just looked exasperated, and Cyrus sighed. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly though, for no matter how hard he tried, he could never quite be mad at his daughter's craziness. She had to get it from somewhere.
He dreaded to think what Adelaide was going to say when he finally dragged Ellie back to their house, his wife would probably faint from shock. Not only would Adelaide now have to wrestle Ellie into her dress, but also into the shower to wash her hair, something that would take up time they didn't have to spare.
The singing pair still hadn't noticed the new company, both to enthralled with their version of the Led Zeppelin song and so Cyrus took matters into his own hands. Marching over to his daughter stood on the kitchen stool, he hauled her over his shoulder and carried her towards the door. Ellie screamed loudly in mild panic, only to be replaced by hysterical giggling as Sirius collapsed into a heap laughter at the scene. Cyrus didn't put his daughter down, amusing both Euphemia and Fleamont too, knowing that if he did, she'd just run back over to Sirius. Which was entirely true, and the beautiful girl reached out for her friend as she was carried away.
"KIDNAP!" She cried, not unlike James Potter would, "SIRIUS YOU HAVE TO SAVE ME!" The handsome boy was in no shape to do anything of the sort, doubled over in fits of laughter, barely able to breathe.
"It's not kidnap when I'm your father." Cyrus' voice was as steady as it always was, though there was a smile forming on his lips, "Your mother is going to kill us both when she sees you. Why couldn't you just wait until tomorrow to throw food at Sirius?" Ellie giggled, but it came out as more of a gargling sound, her head hanging upside down.
"Throwing food at Sirius waits for no event." She replied solemnly and this time Cyrus chuckled.
He made his way towards the trodden path through the woods, keeping a tight grip on his daughter as he carried her over his shoulder, still not trusting she wouldn't run off given a chance. Cyrus was well aware of his daughter's dislike for events such as the one they were holding tonight and if he had to tell the truth, he didn't like them either. Even coming from the family that he did, he was much like Ellie in the way that he rejected all the stereotypically pureblood things in his life, having had to learn to put up with them as he got older. He'd tried to stress to his daughter that she too, would just have to learn to tolerate such things, but she was far less tameable than him and so couldn't be swayed in her opinions.
Adelaide too, liked to separate herself from the pureblood world, for she knew how toxic it could be. Her parents though, were far stricter than Cyrus' were and so wouldn't let her dislike any events she went to growing up. This had led her to having a more positive view on such things, hence her pushiness when trying to get Ellie to like the world too. She meant it in no malice, only wanting her daughter to spend every moment of her childhood enjoying life, rather than complaining. Yet, she also knew that wasn't possible. Ellie was stubborn like her father.
"Was Sirius okay over summer?" Cyrus asked, suddenly turning the mood more sombre.
Considering Sirius Black as part of his family, Cyrus always had to make sure the boy was well, but he knew how closed off Sirius could be, and didn't like to pry. Instead, he got all his information second-hand from Ellie, ensuring to keep himself in the loop.
"I cannot speak to you upside down." The beautiful girl replied with a cheeky tone to her voice and Cyrus bent to set her feet on the ground carefully. She brushed herself off and continued, "If I'm honest, I don't really know. He told me some things and I even spoke to Regulus, but he only talked of the same situations. There's lots of holes in his story and it worries me."
"You can only hear what he's willing to tell." Cyrus placed a hand on Ellie's shoulder and gave her an affectionate squeeze.
"It makes me so mad he's gone through so much." His daughter spoke so earnestly, Cyrus thought he could actually feel the sorrow radiating off of her and he stopped to make her look at him properly.
"It's in your nature to worry so much about the ones you care about, but there's also lots you cannot control. We live in a world where there is good and bad, and lots in that grey area between too. Sirius unfortunately has found himself entangled in the bad and that is no one's fault. All you can do is fill is life with as much good as possible." Ellie let his words embed themselves into her brain, filing them away safely, to be sure to always remember his advice, "Though, right now, I think it's best you focus on making things easy for your mother. She'll get you in that dress one way or another."
Adelaide did, in fact, force Ellie into the dress despite all the protesting. The beautiful girl tried to hide in the shower, but that didn't work. She tried to insist she was capable of dressing herself, but her mother knew better than to walk away and trust Ellie would behave. And she even tried just blatantly running away - she didn't get very far.
Now Ellie stood in front of her mirror, scrutinising her look as Adelaide went off to get ready herself and without her mother around, the beautiful girl couldn't deny that she looked average.
Or perhaps more than average.
She'd never like wearing huge dresses, solely for the uncomfortableness and impracticality. It wasn't that she didn't like them all together, for when on a hanger, Ellie thought every dress she owned was stunning. Instead, it was her love of adventure that got in the way. There was no tree climbing in dresses, no running easily; there was no sitting as you pleased, no moving freely. Ellie just saw dresses as a hassle, especially when she could be doing everything that she wanted in a plain pair of denim flares.
Her hair was coiled up into an intricate up-do (which had taken a very long time on Adelaide's part due to it's unruliness) laced with wildflowers in the colours that complimented the pastels on her dress. Wildflowers were her favourite, and this alone made the look five times better. Expensive and heavy golden jewellery hung around her neck and her wrists, again something Ellie just found a nuisance, but also could deny the beauty of.
And she did look amazing - the dress fitting her in all the right places, flowing out at her waist with such elegance she felt like she belonged in a portrait. On closer inspection, there was a majestic lion at the hem of her dress, amongst a few trees and birds and it made her smile. The pictures were truly exquisite, unlike any that Ellie had seen on clothing before.
As she stared at her reflection more and more, it grew on her, but the fact it was a dress unfortunately never would.
An odd queasy feeling settled in her stomach as she thought about having to actually walk out in front of all those guests. Descend the stairs with all the eyes of family, friends, important Ministry officials and old accomplished Wizards watching. Adelaide may have said this would be a small do, but that in her words, meant everyone they knew. Ellie was just thankful the boys were there, knowing they'd be easy to convince to sneak out at least.
Though having to walk out in front of them unsettled her too. James wasn't an issue, he'd been by her side at every silly event or ball she'd attended before, because most of the people Cyrus and Adelaide knew, would know the Potter's too. He was used to seeing her looking like a glorified peacock and in turn, she was used to seeing him in a variety of strange dress robes.
This event was a lot more casual and so full dress robes weren't obligatory, which also made Ellie frustrated over the fact she'd still been made up like someone out of a fairy tale. In no way did she look casual and she didn't want to receive any stick for it. The boys were used to seeing her in pyjama bottoms and anything of theirs she could get her hands on, not clothes that actually fit her and were made to make her look pretty - she had an irrational fear they'd all laugh at her for making a show of herself like this.
Especially when she was in heals too, something that was a very dangerous game. Ellie might be an avid ballroom dancer and trained by Adelaide to walk nicely in uncomfortable shoes, but the beautiful girl had a way of finding herself desperate to charge down the hallways. Many a heal had been broken in Ellie's mere fourteen years.
The boys would never laugh at her in a malicious way, but Ellie just didn't want to look foolish. Not in front of everyone, where most eyes would be on her. However, there was no getting out of this. She was dressed now and if she appeared downstairs with even a hair out of place from when her mother left her, that would be it. And so, Ellie just tried to shake all her worries away and endeavour to enjoy the night. Praying that things went smoothly.
"Is this really going to be bad, or is Cubby just being over-dramatic?" Remus had to raise his voice, to be heard over the Queen record blasting out as the boys all got ready. He was attempting to do something with his hair to make himself look more presentable, but he wasn't having much look.
"She's just a prat." James replied with a shrug, straightening up his tie, "Yeah, they're a bit formal and can get boring sometimes, but they're not all bad. Nice food, decent music."
"Pompous Ministry officials and their bratty children. Old people in lace cuffed clothes and stupid hats. Snotty upper-class voices... It's wonderful." Sirius drawled, "Though Cyrus and Adelaide are lovely, so I'm hoping they've got nice friends."
Given a choice, Sirius would probably skip the event, but anything was better than being cooped up in Grimmauld Place. He had his friends here too, used to going these types of events alone and having to make awkward small talk with purebloods his age, so at least there was some form of silver lining.
"I'm not going to look like an out of place pillock, am I?"
James and Sirius were both adorn in trousers and shirts that looked tailor made or at least fitted. Whilst Remus only had an old pair of nice trousers, which he'd worn a few years ago for a relative's wedding (they barely grazed his ankles now) and one of his school shirts. The outfit was far from the comfortable cable knit of his cosy jumpers - the cosy jumpers which covered all of his scars. Now he didn't even have one of the school jumpers to hide the red and pink marks showing through the white fabric of his shirt. He wasn't used to having to dress up like this, nor was he familiar with 'pureblood etiquette' and it was all rather daunting. Especially when his friends also wore waistcoats, something he was starting to believe he should be wearing too.
"Don't be ridiculous!" James announced, moving to pat his friend on the shoulder, "You look great! Handsome in fact." He ruffled up Remus' hair, something he'd only just gotten right, and it made him curse. Just because your hair is always messy, don't mean mine has to be.
"Believe me, they'll be some right stupid looking people. At least you've got some sense of style." Sirius' words reassured him, for he had no doubt that if he looked ridiculous, Sirius Black would be the one to point it out.
Euphemia dragged them all away from Queen shortly after, making them stand together in the living room for a picture. The loving woman looked as if she was about to burst in to tears out of pride and James rolled his eyes as they got ready to leave. Fleamont was in proper dress robes, but complimented all the boys on their more casual look anyway - he was just surprised to see them all looking presentable. Though it didn't entirely last for long, not when James led them all charging through the woods towards the Gryffin's home. By the time Euphemia and Fleamont had caught up, all the boys' faces were flushed and hair wild, shirts untucked and ties coming loose. None of them seemed to mind though, waltzing into the grand house as if they owned the building.
The entrance hall had been transformed into a completely different space. What once was a place to just pass through, was now decorated for socialising. Sunlight was still pooling in, for it was only early afternoon, and it made all the gold trimmed ornaments sparkle. Bouquets and garlands of flowers were everywhere, almost changing the season completely - as soon as you were inside, it felt like spring, not nearly Christmas. Now empty and open, the entrance hall was swarming with people, livening up the space and creating a buzz of chatter. It was quite a spectacle and even Sirius would agree, the event looked somewhat enjoyable.
James' parents were swept away in greetings instantly, so the boys were left to their own devices.
The living room to the left, was as busy as the entrance hall, the large rug and furniture removed, to leave a huge wooden dance floor - people were already starting to sway to the music. Witches and Wizards of all ages made up the guests. Some of them looked just as Sirius had described: snotty and self-righteous. But the majority looked kind people, which wasn't surprising with how wonderful Cyrus and Adelaide were.
The couple could be seen welcoming people and making friendly conversation with everyone. Adelaide looked as elegant as ever and Cyrus wore his warm smile that could comfort anyone. Ellie, however, was nowhere in sight and the boys did a lap of each room to try and find her.
Searching for the beautiful girl, was a waste of time though, for she was still upstairs waiting to descend into the party as soon as people had dispersed a little. She hung over the banister at the top, watching more and more people arrive, trying to catch a gap where there wasn't many around. That way, she could hopefully sneak into the crowd without anyone taking much notice. But it seemed it was going to be a while before all the guests had greeted each other and Ellie knew she couldn't hide upstairs forever.
She hadn't seen the boys arrive, which panicked her also, for if they weren't here yet, she'd have no one to talk to. That would inevitably get her caught up with saying hello to everyone and she'd never get free again.
After ten minutes of watching guests mill in the entrance hall, she decided she'd just have to bite the bullet and rush down.
That, however, wasn't an easy task, not in heels. Instead, she found herself clutching the banister as she carefully placed her feet down each step, keeping her eyes on the scarlet carpet. It was half to avoid the gazes of anyone watching and half for practicality, for her feet were hidden by her dress and she didn't have enough hands to hold it up properly.
As soon as she got within view of everyone in the entrance hall though, she could feel all the eyes on her, and her steps faltered. Making the mistake to look up, nearly everyone was watching with huge smiles and she dropped her eye line immediately. For all Ellie was confident, she still didn't enjoy the spotlight. It made people scrutinise and voice opinions, and Ellie had no desire to spend her life justifying everything she did.
Luckily, Cyrus was at the bottom of the stairs to greet her, pulling her from the clutches of any guest. The beautiful girl was very grateful of this and when she took her father's arm, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Thank you for this." Cyrus whispered to her, pulling her off towards the dining room, which had been converted to hold a huge buffet table instead, "I knew what I signed up for when I married your mother, but you've been thrown amongst her extravagant world. And I know you'd rather be running in the gardens. In truth, I would too, but both of us will have to endure this together."
"I guess it's not all bad." Ellie replied, a cheeky smile tugging at her lips.
"That's the spirit." Cyrus kissed her forehead, before unwrapping his arm from hers, "And just a warning, there is a man here called Christopher Sanders, he's American and I know him from work, but he's brought his son. Your mother already seems quite fond of the boy" Ellie knew what her father was trying to tell her, and she made a mental note to avoid anyone with an American accent that afternoon, "Now go and have fun, this is a celebration after all." He pointed over to the corner of the room, where three boys were seemingly hiding from the rest of the crowds.
Ellie chuckled, before waving her father off and dashing over to them as quickly as possible.
It didn't take them long to notice someone coming their way, but not until she was close, did any of them recognise the beautiful girl. James pushed his glances up his nose and Remus smiled wide, but Sirius' expression was a lot harder to read. Already feeling like a fool under all of their gazes, she dropped her head slightly, picking at her fingernails. Their stares didn't feel the same as when they were watching her dance badly to music in their dorm, nor did it feel the same as when they were watching her discuss something with enthusiasm. It was an odd sensation, having them all staring at her so weirdly, especially Sirius, who looked like his stomach had gone queasy. But she tried her best to brush it off.
"I look like a walking tapestry." Coming the halt before them all, Ellie sighed, still picking at her nails uncomfortably.
"You look beautiful." Remus corrected with an eye roll, his comments earlier about him not believing the dress could be as bad as she was making out, were clearly true.
"Yeah, I think the whole 'a painting just threw up on me' look really suits you." Scowling in annoyance, Ellie smacked James' arm for his comment, but the messy haired boy just held up his hands in defence, "Honestly, though, you were being dramatic. And that's a lot coming from me. The dress is great."
"You've got to say that, because you're my friends." Looking down, she mumbled, pink tinting her cheeks.
Whilst the compliments were kind and she was grateful of them, they still didn't convince her. The feeling of looking like an over-dressed idiot didn't fade away when she saw how casual they all looked compared.
"Believe me, we'd tell you if you looked like a pig." James teased, "It'd ruin our reputation and we can't have that."
"I s'pose."
A small smile tugging her lips, she shrugged, eyes flicking back up to her friends. Perhaps James is right? Dwelling on appearances was shallow and it wouldn't ensure for an enjoyable afternoon. With a deep breath, Ellie endeavoured to put her vanity aside. One afternoon won't do any harm. And for the rest of the holidays, she could wear whatever she wanted.
"I don't like it."
In all her deciding to not worry about how she looked, Ellie missed the way Sirius screwed up his brow. The handsome boy spoke with no warning, rendering them all speechless and settling an uncomfortable atmosphere around them.
Sirius wasn't one to keep his opinions to himself and he often had things to say about what everyone wore. He believed everyone needed to dress in the same punk rock, rebellious way he did and wasn't a fan of the brightly colour satin shirts James liked, nor could he understand how Remus stood the heat in thick jumpers, or even found Peter's graphic t-shirts funny at all. It just wasn't his thing - just like the hippie look Ellie went for wasn't either. Never in a million years would he sport tie-dye, but for all he complained about it, he thought everyone's individual style suited them okay.
Ellie's dress was beautiful, she was beautiful, there was no doubt about it. He could've stared at her for hours with her hair pulled from her face like that, her lips full and cheeks pink. But it wasn't her. It reminded him back to when Jessica told him she'd dressed to make him happy, and the thought made his stomach churn. Never would he want Ellie to feel out of place in what she was wearing and from what she'd said, she clearly did.
"Oh..." Ellie's whole face dropped in an instant, a sudden overwhelming feeling of sickness washing over her, "Why not?"
She wasn't entirely sure why it bothered her so much that Sirius didn't like her look, he didn't like a lot of things. But the way he'd spoken had stabbed, that fear of looking like a fool returning.
"I don't like all the fuss." He replied simply, still turning his nose up, "I'm fifteen and already I've seen more girls in frill and lace than I think Moony will in his lifetime." Remus looked quite bemused by this statement, "It's all just one big way to hide the fact, that really, they're ugly, and brainless as a result of inbreeding."
Still, no one could form proper sentences at his forceful words. Sirius really meant what he was saying, that was clear, he looked genuinely disgusted.
"Oh... I guess so..."
Any and all of Ellie's confidence dissolved in an instant. She suddenly felt very similar to a wounded animal, powerless and weak. Taking a step back as some form of self-defence, she dropped her head, picking at her nails more furiously than she had done all night. Never had Ellie Gryffin lost confidence like she had with Sirius Black striking her down. The power his opinion had was unmatchable and not until he'd spoken it, was that fact made clear.
"Shut your mouth, right this second." With a threatening glare, James took a protective step toward his best friend, not liking Sirius' tone one bit. He couldn't understand where his horrible words were coming from, but in no way did Ellie deserve them.
"All I'm saying is.-" Sirius began to explain further, completely unfazed by what James had said, but Remus cut him off.
"Nothing. All you're saying is nothing."
"All I'm saying is..." Repeating his words, Sirius paused to see if they were going to let him continue this time, "That you're neither ugly, brainless or even inbred. So I don't like the dress, no. You don't need it. In fact, I prefer the denim flares."
Confusion flashed across all of his friends' faces, but the handsome boy seemed completely nonchalant. To him, Ellie was the most beautiful when she was charging down the school corridors with her uniform all wrong and hair flowing everywhere. To him, Ellie was the most beautiful when she was spouting off facts in Care of Magical Creatures. To him, Ellie was the most beautiful when that 'catch me if you can' grin formed on her lips and those big sea green eyes sparked with mischief.
She didn't know how to reply and flushed pink as Sirius started to smirk. Remus watched the pair with curious eyes and James visibly relaxed, a grin spreading across his features.
Dissolving the tension, the messy haired boy suggested they take first pickings at the buffet, for there weren't many other people in the dining room with them. They all agreed of course, hungry eyes scanning across the abundance of food before them and Sirius commented it could rival that which they're given at Hogwarts. Clementine was still bringing out smoked-salmon canapés and crudité platters to place on the table, but Ellie made a dash for the muffins they'd all decorated earlier in the day, picking a particularly scruffy looking one she knew was the handy work of a particular handsome boy - he'd marked each one of his with an 'S' of sprinkles. They were really good and Ellie applauded her friends for doing such a good job, as she picked off the toppings to eat first.
James challenged Remus to a game, throwing salted peanuts in the air and making him catch them in his mouth. Remus was surprising good, only missing the odd couple, though when it came to James' turn to catch, the messy haired boy didn't have much luck. He would've, if Remus hadn't been throwing two at a time to distract him. Of course, James was outraged at his poor sportsmanship.
"There's a boy over there staring at you." Sirius had stayed close by Ellie's side and his words made her eyes goes wide immediately. She didn't make any move to look, praying it wasn't the son of that American man her father had told her about, "He's tall and blonde. Looks like a posh prick..." Mumbling the end of his sentence, Sirius shuffled his feet, trying to gage Ellie's reaction.
She knew now that she had to look to check it wasn't a relative, for everyone on the French side of the family (besides her mother) was a blonde. Making eye contact with the boy in question, Ellie sighed immediately, grabbing Sirius' hand and dragging him over to James and Remus. She'd been trying to avoid that one particular relative ever since the whole family arrived, but it now seemed she hadn't been successful. Sirius was baffled by her response to the boy, but found himself smiling wider as she kept a hold of his hand.
"Oh look! Eet's my cousin and 'er boyfriends." The blonde boy came striding over as soon as Ellie made eye contact with him, but when she moved away, he was slightly deflated, "Persephone! Persephone Gryffindor!"
Henri was the son of Adelaide's cousin, Apolline, and her husband Clovis. Just older than Ellie, whenever the Gryffins had ever visited the French side of the family, the beautiful girl was always forced to spend time with him - something she didn't like at all. Over-bearing and just generally annoying, Ellie found him very difficult to get along with. Henri, however, liked his cousin a lot, and never missed an opportunity to speak to her. That was why she'd tried to stay away, for as soon as he noticed her, she got stuck with him indefinitely. Ellie was sure, that given more time to find things in common with Henri, she probably would learn to tolerate him. But that never happened, for his family hardly ever came to England and now Ellie was at Hogwarts, the Gryffins didn't make the trip to France very often either. In fact, the last time Ellie had seen Henri, was 1970.
"Second cousin." With an exasperated sigh, Ellie corrected the beaming blonde boy for her friends' benefits.
"Eet 'as been a long time since I saw you last." Lurching forward to kiss her cheeks in greeting, Henri grabbed her shoulders and Ellie stiffened immediately. Her grip around Sirius' hand tightened and he had to refrain himself from pulling her away from her cousin.
"Well, we do live quite a distance from each other. I don't really fancy a swim across the English Channel." Her reply was a passive aggressive one, oozing with sass that went completely over Henri's head. He just laughed heartily.
"'Ow I 'ave missed your 'umour!" Clapping his hands together once, Henri smiled wider, "Please introduce me to your boyfriends." Ellie cringed, letting go of Sirius' hand immediately.
None of the boys were really enthused to meet this cousin of Ellie's, for if the beautiful girl didn't like him (which from her body language, she didn't), then they probably wouldn't either. Sirius, however, was more concerned about why his hand had now gone cold. He frowned and threw an arm around Ellie's shoulders, fiddling with the golden chain around her neck. She squirmed a little, but made no move to shove him off.
"Henri, these are my friends, Jacob, Richard and Sebastian." Ellie didn't miss a beat, her face deathly serious and Remus had to cover a laugh with a cough.
By the way she'd emphasised 'friends', Sirius now picked up on the fact that she didn't want to give her cousin the wrong impression by holding his hand, and he removed his arm around her shoulders, keeping them pinned to his sides as he addressed Henri.
"Ravi de vous rencontrer."
The handsome boy blurted out the French as if it was second nature, and he rendered all his friends speechless. Remus snorted in amusement whilst James' mouth hung open wide, none of them having known he was so fluent in the language. His accent was spot on and he'd spoken so casually, that if you didn't know Sirius Black, you'd assume he was French. Ellie was stunned.
"Votre français est très bon. Depuis combien de temps le parlez-vous?" Henri replied quickly, looking very impressed, though no one understood what he was saying other than Sirius.
"Toute ma vie. J'étais meilleur avant, mais je n'ai pas souvent l'occasion de pratiquer." Shrugging, Sirius shoved his hands in his pockets, shuffling his feet slightly at the praise, "Mon frère est meilleur que moi."
"Je suis très impressionné. Vous êtes meilleur que Persephone, elle ne peut pas dire une seule phrase!" Henri chuckled heartily, as if something he'd said was very funny, but the language barrier got in the way for the others - Ellie was slightly put off by hearing her name in there though. Sirius just nodded his head once with a smile tugging at his lips.
"Merci."
"Trés bon!" Clapping his hands again, Henri was almost jumping up and down now that he'd been enthralled by Sirius' hidden talent, "When I 'eared we would be coming, I told maman zat my cousin Persephone would 'ave a boyfriend by now, and look! You 'ave trois!" Ellie cringed again and James snorted this time, "I am never wrong, I told 'er! I am never wrong." Sharing a mischievous look, James and Remus started plotting instantly and it seemed they already had the same idea.
"Actually, Henri..."
"It's not all three of us, but Sebastian is very taken with Persephone. They make a very lovely couple." Remus continued James' sentence for him, trying to hide the cheeky grin on his face the whole time, "She loves it when he speaks French to her." Sirius shot him an angry look, whilst Ellie's eyes went wide.
"Sebastian, Sebastian. Even better!" Henri clapped Sirius on the shoulder with his biggest smile yet, one that sent the handsome boy queasy, "I must tell maman!" In an instant, Henri was racing off towards a blonde woman, who'd just entered the room.
"What d'you do that for?!" Ellie exclaimed, whacking Remus violently, "And since when are you fluent in another language?! I can't speak a word and half my family is French!"
She was quite jealous that Sirius had been able to communicate with her cousin so easily, for Adelaide had tried to teach her on a number of occasions and she'd never been able to pick it up. He'd never made it known that he was bilingual, and as frustrating it was that he'd shown her up, it was also extremely breath-taking.
"Mum and dad made me learn... and Latin too, though no one speaks Latin anymore so it's kind of pointless." Sirius seemed somewhat embarrassed, the polar opposite to his usual love of showing off.
"Two languages?!" Ellie exclaimed, "You can speak two more languages and we never knew?!"
"You never asked..." He mumbled, shuffling his feet a little more.
"Henri was so happy for you Cubs. I think he was impressed you've gotten yourself a little French boy." James cooed, grinning playfully as he went to place a hand on one of Ellie and Sirius' cheeks. They both batted him off - Sirius with a disgruntled huff.
"Yeah, but now they all think we're together." Both James and Remus looked at Sirius with blank expressions and exasperated eyes.
Across the room, Ellie watched Henri speak enthusiastically to his mother, who happened to be chatting with Adelaide and Euphemia. Convenient - she thought sarcastically. Once Henri came to the end of an enthusiastic explanation of what he'd just found out, all three women looked in her direction. Apolline smiled with a polite wave, whilst both Adelaide and Euphemia shook their heads at Ellie and Sirius in amusement. They pretended to be shocked to hear that the beautiful girl was supposedly in a relationship with 'Sebastian', for neither of them were surprised to hear that rumour being spread.
"To the happy couple!"
James grabbed four Champaign flutes off of the drinks table at the side of the room, handing them out and toasting his friends. Whilst neither Ellie, nor Sirius were happy with the lies James and Remus had spread, they took the drink willingly. Starting a competition with their eyes, the pair both attempted to down the Champaign as quickly as possible, which only resulted in Sirius nearly choking and Ellie spitting back into her glass.
The group of friends continued to keep themselves to themselves as much as possible, getting a scolding from Euphemia at least twice for misbehaving, but inevitably Ellie got dragged away.
Adelaide eventually made her 'do the rounds', taking her daughter along with her to greet a few people. Ellie shot desperate looks at the boys as she was dragged away, but there was nothing they could do the save her. So, the beautiful girl found herself putting on big smiles and straightening her posture as best she could, to speak to all these adults that she didn't know. Regardless of that though, they knew her, and she was answering question after question, Adelaide barely saying anything.
Her mother didn't want to keep her from her friends too long, but she was working up to introducing Ellie to Christopher Sanders' son and knew her daughter would need warming up with casual small talk first. It wasn't that Adelaide was trying to be controlling, but she thought it was only polite for Ellie to at least show her face to everyone and the quicker she did it, the sooner she could be off doing whatever she wanted with the boys.
Once Ellie was more relaxed and chatting with people freely, Adelaide strategically guided her over to Christopher Sanders, a very tall man standing with his son in the living room. Cyrus hadn't missed what his wife was doing, making his way to somewhat rescue his daughter from what she was being thrown into - Adelaide meant well, but Ellie had enough boys in her life to keep track of, Cyrus didn't want to see of any more of them.
"Christopher, have I introduced you to my daughter yet?" One hand on Ellie's shoulder, Adelaide caught the man's attention straight away, "This is Persephone Eloise, Ellie this is Christopher and his son Jason."
"How wonderful it is to finally meet you!" The man's American accent struck fear within Ellie immediately, her father's words echoing in her head. This can't be happening.
"It's a pleasure." She replied politely, plastering the most convincing smile to her face as possible.
The boy, Jason, was good looking, Ellie could give him that. With a rather dashing smile and curly chocolate hair, he looked kind and bright eyed. Though, she knew what her mother was doing and that seemed to ruin everything.
"Do you recognise Jason from school, sweetheart?" Ellie could firmly state that she'd never seen this boy in her life before. She was sure she would remember if she did.
"Oh, no!" Christopher cut in with a lighthearted chuckle, "Jason goes to school over-seas. Ilvermorny. I went there, so I wanted my son to as well." Ellie wanted to ask about Jason's mother, but she held her tongue, it would be rude to be so blunt.
"A wonderful school." Cyrus' voice boomed beside Ellie, making her jump slightly. Jason stifled laughter, "Not a bad decision either, with all that's going on here at the moment. I doubt relationships are as tense over there in the States."
"It's quite different, Sir." Jason replied with a respectful nod.
"Yes, another reason for me sending Jason there. I don't feel it's quite safe enough for children to be roaming the streets of London these days. I assume it's quieter down here, but in the capital, even Diagon Alley feels vulnerable." Christopher shuddered, making everyone's moods dampen.
"These are troubling times." Cyrus replied solemnly and Adelaide's hand gripped Ellie's shoulder a little tighter out of instinct.
"Jason, why don't you take Ellie for a dance? It'll be a good opportunity for you two to talk."
The boy's cheeks flushed, and Ellie couldn't deny it made him look even more attractive, but being forced into his arms felt awkward and she quickly made up an excuse.
"I'm really sorry, but I promised my first one to Moony..." Everyone stared at her blankly, "Sorry, Remus. I promised my first dance to Remus." Lies. But one that worked every time. No one was ever offended if you had a prior commitment.
"Perhaps later." Jason seemed as relieved to not be forced to dance with the beautiful girl as she was to be getting out of the situation and they shared a knowing smile.
"Yes, later." Adelaide confirmed for her daughter, allowing Ellie to take her leave.
Now though, she had to actually carry out her words, for otherwise it would raise suspicions. Scanning the room for the three boys, her eyes landed on the two black haired ones, waltzing together in the middle of the dance floor.
She nearly burst into fits of laughter right then and there, placing a hand over her mouth to act as a physical barrier for preventing the giggling that was bubbling in her chest. Sirius appeared to be leading, posture perfect and footwork flawless, whilst James was stumbling around a little more haphazardly, being spun and dipped every which way. They looked a right pair, most people in the room stopping to watch them be ridiculous, but nothing had ever been so inherently James Potter and Sirius Black. Other couples trying to dance were being nearly forced off of the dance floor by the two boys, for they were taking up far too much of the space and nearly crashing into other people. Sirius also appeared to be shouting commands at James, whenever the messy haired boy stepped on his feet.
All the years spent as Ellie's dance partner (her scape goat before Remus was) still hadn't taught James how to waltz properly. Ellie sometimes wondered how he was such a good Quidditch player, and could catch the snitch easily too, when most of the time, he was a clumsy mess.
Remus was stood at the side of the room, watching his two friends and laughing to himself, but it wasn't long until Ellie had his hands in hers.
"Come and dance with me." Remus shook his head immediately, making Ellie pout.
"I don't dance." He replied with a slightly worried expression. What he'd really meant to say was 'I don't know how to dance', but that statement felt embarrassing.
"I'll teach you."
Ellie, or course, saw right through his facade and dragged him into the middle of the dance floor regardless. James and Sirius seemed shocked to see their friends join them, but when Ellie grabbed Remus' left hand and placed his right on her waist, they both started chuckling. Remus looked very unsure, not wanting to grab Ellie too tightly, just in case. Though the beautiful girl shuffled closer and patted his shoulder comfortingly.
"Follow my lead, it's quite simple really."
In no time, they were waltzing around the dance floor, even if Remus' steps were still sloppy. Ellie would say he was a better partner than James, for the messy haired boy had a tendency to step on toes - something she kept hearing Sirius complain about. In fact, Remus picked up the steps quiet easily, finding himself growing more comfortable the longer him and Ellie danced.
Cyrus watched on fondly, glad his daughter was spending time with her friends and not potential 'suitors'. It was much fairer on Ellie, if she were left to dictate her own relationships.
"D'you meet anyone interesting?" Remus asked casually, as they passed James being dipped by Sirius for the umpteenth time. He was sure James got closer and closer to the ground every time, and that soon, Sirius would just drop him.
"There was a boy called Jason Sanders, he goes to Ilvermorny." Nodding over to where the American boy still stood with his father, Ellie just shrugged the question off, but Remus followed her eye line with a smirk.
"Do you fancy him?" Smacking Remus' shoulder for teasing, Ellie scowled, "What? After Regulus, I thought you liked curly haired boys."
"Don't be mean." Remus was smiling cheekily, and she knew it was all in jest, but a pang of guilt pooled in her chest at the mention of the youngest Black. Ellie still longed to make amend with him, "Besides, what if curly haired boys weren't my type?" She continued defiantly.
"Darren Wayne's got curly hair. James seemed to think you were quite taken with him when he told me who the new Quidditch captain was."
"James is delusional." Ellie replied swiftly, "Jason is handsome, yes. But I don't even know him."
"Who's handsome? Me, I hope." Their conversation was interrupted by Sirius, him and James seeming to have finally given up dancing, and Ellie and Remus came to a halt too.
"Jason's handsome." Remus teased once more, making the beautiful girl roll her eyes and march off of the dance floor.
All three boys followed closely behind her, as she made her way back into the dining room, stopping in the corner they were in originally.
"Who's Jason?" Sirius' voice was strained.
"Cubby's new American lover."
"He is not!'
"You fancy him."
"I don't!"
"Yes you do. Curly haired boys make you swoon." Ellie whacked Remus violently, making the lanky boy chuckle and back away.
James and Sirius were both very confused, but watched the interaction with completely different expressions. Knowing this was a common occurrence at events like these, James was thoroughly amused by Remus' teasing. Ellie looked furious, but it only made him laugh.
Whilst, on the other hand, Sirius looked as stony-faced as ever. His joy and amusement from dancing with James, had completely fizzled out, leaving him feeling rather empty. Curly haired boys like Reggie? He didn't want to think about that. Not when he was so far from his brother at the moment and Ellie was safely from Regulus' clutches. Cubby wasn't gone long, how did she fall for someone so fast? Though, his question was an unnecessary one, for Ellie was sure nothing would come from meeting Jason. Remus was just being annoying on purpose.
"All the posh Ministry people always only ever bring their young eligible sons." Ellie informed Remus with a disgruntled scowl, "It's all a ploy to try and get me to marry one of them. It's gross and no matter how good-looking any of them might be, I won't be making any of them my 'lover'." She cringed dramatically, but Remus seemed to become a lot more serious with her words.
"All these boys are here for you?"
He hadn't thought twice about the fact the event seemed to be lacking in any girls their age, just assuming none of these people had daughters. But now he was left rather gobsmacked.
"It's the same every time there's one of these things." James informed him casually.
Though Remus didn't believe this was a causal matter. He'd been joking about Jason, but now it appeared that the American boy could actually get involved with Ellie, and that sat uncomfortably with him. No stranger to hearing boys at school whispering about his friend, Remus wasn't entirely new to the 'when's Cubby going to get a boyfriend?' situation. But whenever James jested about her getting swept off of her feet one day, it always felt very much like a joke, not something that would genuinely happen.
Ellie was always adamant that she was happy without being in a relationship, and this always made Remus smile. Not because he was harbouring secret feelings for her, but because he believed there was lots of pressure on girls Ellie's age to have their first relationship, and he never wanted his friend to be forced into anything. Her emotional well-being should be the most important thing. Remus would be on board immediately, as soon as Ellie expressed any desires for a relationship, to support her. But he wanted it to be her decision, and this situation felt like she had no say at all.
"Yeah, don't sound so disgusted, Moony. Cubby's a blossoming woman now." Teasing Sirius smirked, earning him a hit round the head from the beautiful girl in question.
"What are they, like suitors?" Remus was still trying to wrap his head around the situation which the rest of his friends seemed completely comfortable about. It must be a pureblood thing - he concluded.
"I guess so..." Ellie shrugged nonchalantly, and Remus was surprised to see her so dismissive of the subject.
"Welcome to the world of the purebloods, my friend." Noticing the lanky boy's utterly bemused expression, Sirius clapped him on the shoulder, but Remus was far from discussing this matter.
"So is that's it then? Will your mum and dad marry you off to someone?" He hadn't taken Cyrus and Adelaide to be those types of people, to be so controlling about their daughter's emotions. It unsettled him.
"Merlin no!" Ellie's response filled him with relief, "Not my mum and dad at least. Maybe Sirius' parents would..."
The Blacks were a different breed of purebloods all together and subjects such as marriage were ones that were discussed when children were barely teenagers. The continuation of their line was important and finding acceptable suitors was a lengthy process. Especially when there were becoming less and less purebloods to pick at.
"Oh there's been Slytherin purebloods lined up years for me." Sirius let out a disgusted laugh.
"Like who?!" Ellie's reply came very quickly, the beautiful girl finding herself eager to know who all these people were. Sirius hadn't ever mentioned them before.
"Like half the bloody house of course! I'm pretty sure Jennifer Beadles is on that list too..." He ran a restless hand through his hair.
"Well you won't be marrying her." Scoffing defiantly, Ellie's words were firm.
All the boys gave her a funny look, her reply one that seemed too definite to not be hiding something else. Eyes flicking between Ellie and Sirius, Remus watched the pair carefully, for their exchange seemed riddled with unspoken tension. Sirius however, formed a rather bashful smile, dropping his head in an effort to hide it slightly - an expression Remus had never seen him make before. Before things got too awkward, he turned the conversation back to Ellie.
"So you're expected to marry someone like all the people here?"
"It's expected, yes. Will I marry someone here? Highly unlikely. Who's says I've even got to get married anyway?" Shrugging, Ellie was as fiercely independent as she always was.
James cast a knowing looking at Sirius, thinking back to the conversation they had about just how unattainable the beautiful girl was. She'd spend her whole life being chased after.
"Your grandad would be turning in his grave to hear you say that. Not carrying on the Gryffin line, how disgraceful!" The messy haired boy joked, wanting to make the serious topic brighten slightly.
"It's the truth though. And anyway, if I was going to get married, I'd like to take his name and then the line would still end. It makes no difference."
"Oh, to have to worry about such straining matters!" Remus was teasing again, bringing his hand to his forehead in mock despair. Ellie giggled slightly.
"Don't joke about it Moons. When that day comes, it'll be in the Prophet, you watch. Dearest Cubby is near royalty." Slinging an arm around the beautiful girl's shoulders, Sirius winked at her and she replied with a big toothy smile.
He was starting to get used to her in this pretty dress, for she really did look breath-taking, and it acted like an invisible force pulling him closer. When she reached for the hand that was now resting near her face, pinching each of his fingers between hers and drawing swirls on his palm with her thumb, Sirius found himself shuffling ever nearer still. He wiggled his hand playfully, even poking her in the cheek couple of times and it made her giggle - something Sirius never got tired of.
"Yeah, she might be boring old Cubs to us, but to the rest of the Wizarding World she's Persephone Eloise Adelaide Gryffin - Youngest Descendant of Godric Gryffindor." James announced loudly, cupping his hands around his mouth for the last part.
They all erupted into laughter as he bowed in front of Ellie dramatically, like she really was royalty.
"And don't you forget it."
•••
Author's Note-
I don't speak French whatsoever, and spent a lot of time on translate.
Apologies if any of it isn't correct.
-E