Euphemia wasted no time in muttering incantations to heal Eleanors wounds, attempting to stop the bleeding.
James' eyes were wide, "What happened?" He spoke as though all the air had been knocked from his lungs.
"Nott was carrying her, he didn't really explain anything," Sirius replied, both of their faces drained of any colour.
Euphemia sent the two boys to collect various potions, not letting them back in the room until she was finished.
"I knew i shouldn't've let her go back there!" James paced, wringing out his hands to alleviate some stress. "I knew she was scared of her mother. Oh god this is all my fault!"
Sirius ignored his friends rambling. His eyes were wide and fixed on the closed living room door, his face was white, he hadn't spoken in several minutes (which, for Sirius, was a long time).
After what felt like an eternity, Euphemia opened the door, "She'll be fine," both the boys let out loud sighs of relief. "Do you know what happened to her? She had two broken ribs, a large slash down her back and arm, and," she took a deep breath, "Someone's used the crutiatus curse on her,"
"This is all my fault," James repeated over and over, he'd sat down on the bottom step, not trusting his legs to carry himself. He had his elbows on his knees, his hands constantly running through his hair.
"She should be awake soon, if you want to talk to her?" Euphemia eyed them both, "Come here," she pulled them into a hug, rubbing their back comfortingly. "What's her name?"
"El," her son answered, "Burke." Euphemia nodded. "Pads do you mind if i..?" James pointed towards the door.
Sirius took a deep breath, and nodded, patting James on the shoulder as he passed to enter the living room.
Eleanor was still asleep, her blood had left a stain on the sofa. She looked far better than when she had arrived though, some colour had returned to her face, but it still looked sunken.
"Burke?" he sat on the floor beside her, holding her hand and squeezing it lightly. "I'm so sorry, i should've done something,"
"Stop being so dramatic," El croaked quietly, her throat still scratchy.
James let out a mixture of a sigh and a chuckle, resting his forehead on their joined hands, the heavy feeling lifting off his shoulders. Her hand went straight to her head when she tried to sit up.
"Do you want to explain what happened?" he asked, passing her the glass of water Euphemia had left on the side table.
"I was gonna ask you the same thing," she gratefully took the water and downed most of it. "How did i get here?"
James crossed his legs on the floor, "Umm, well Nott brought you here. You were-" he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.
"Theo was here? Where is he now?" she perked up at the mention of her cousin, looking around to see if he was in sight.
"No, he left before i even got downstairs,"
El nodded, trying to piece together what she could remember. "What day is it?" she asked, it was still dark outside.
"Christmas eve, the 24th,"
It was all a lot to take in. She'd been in that room for three days. "I don't want to talk about anything," she spoke quietly.
"You don't have to," James stroked over her knuckles with his thumb. "I'm sorry i didn't try stop anything. I recognised her in Diagon Alley, from that night on patrols,"
She shook her head, "You're the last person i blame for this." Her stomach made a loud grumbling noise.
"When did you last eat?"
Not wanting to answer his question, she shrugged. James got up from his position, presumably to go get her some food, but she tightened her grip on his hand, not letting him leave.
"Please, i've been alone for the last three days. I've had enough time on my own," he looked at her, his eyes filled with sympathy as he sat beside her on the sofa, gently pulling their bodies closer.
"Don't pity me," El muttered, seeing his facial expression.
"I don't," he said quickly, "The opposite, actually,"
There was a moment of silence, before it was broken by Eleanors stomach rumbling again.
"Julie?" James called, only waiting a few moments before a house elf arrived in the room. "Could we have some toast and two cups of tea please?"
"Of course, Master Potter," the house elf said with a bright smile, "Julie will get it right away,"
The pair smiled appreciatively at the elf before she disappeared again. The only sound El could hear was James' heart where her head was resting.
"The whole time i was there," El whispered, "All i could think was; 'that's the reason i'm not a Gryffindor'. I didn't do anything! I was too scared," she paused for a moment, "I just kept thinking that if it were you, or Sirius, or Remus, or Peter, or anyone else, you would've done something. I had to be rescued, like a 'damsel in distress'."
A single tear fell down her cheek, "Needing help to get out of a bad situation doesn't make you weak," he pulled her body even closer, being careful to watch for any sign of a wince.
She looked down at her hands awkwardly, not knowing how to respond. Julie arrived and placed a large pile of toast on the coffee table, handing the pair their cups of tea. They both muttered 'thank you's to the house elf before she left.
"It's Christmas tomorrow," El stated, her voice deflated at the mention of the holiday, "I forgot," she paused, "I'm sorry for coming here, i'll leave before tomorrow i promise,"
She went to stand up but winced at the sudden movement, "Don't be stupid. You're not going anywhere," he pulled her back to the sofa.
James could tell she felt on edge, every time there was a random sound upstairs she would flinch. She had both her hands wrapped round her mug of tea, it occasionally spilling when she moved. After not long, Euphemia and Fleamont came back into the room, closely followed by Sirius.
The Black boy rushed over to El, a sat next to her, "You scared the shit of me," he whispered. She flinched at his sudden actions, he tried to hold her hand but she jerked them away, feeling uncomfortable with the contact.
Euphemia handed the plate on the coffee table to her son, and her and Fleamont sat in its place.
"Thank you for letting me stay," her voice was uncharacteristically shy, "I know it's near Christmas and-,"
"Nonsense dear, i'm Mia, this is Monty," she gestured to her husband, who gave her a kind smile.
"You can stay as long as you like, the more the merrier," Monty said, putting an arm round his wife, he had the same scruffy hair and glasses as his son.
"Do you want to tell us what happened?" Euphemia asked, trying to be as kind and gentle as she could. She placed a comforting hand on El's knee which she removed when the girl flinched.
El shook her head, the last thing she wanted to do was explain. "That's fine," Monty affirmed, "The boys have mentioned you once or twice over the years, you're a Slytherin, correct?"
She nodded. "You need a proper meal, come on boys help her up," Mia instructed.
Wrapping an arm around her waist, James helped El hobble to the kitchen, placing her on a wooden chair and getting her a fresh cup of tea. He put his hand along the back of her seat, noticing that she flinched at everyone else's contact but his.
James' parents were quick to make everyone a full english breakfast, El sent them a smile and gratefully ate the whole thing. The table was silent, no one wanting to speak before El did.
Eventually it was Mia who spoke first, "El, i've had Julie take your things to one of the spare rooms, she should've put the bedding on by now if you would like to have a nap,"
"Thank you," replied El timidly, not knowing how to respond to someone being so kind.
"I can show you to your room," James suggested, to which she nodded and allowed him to help her out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
The room El would be staying in was opposite James', and Sirius' was next to that. It was a simple room, with cream walls and carpet and red bed sheets. Her trunk had been placed neatly at the foot of the double bed in the centre of the floor. It was a relief to be staying in a room that wasn't green.
"I should probably get changed," she looked down at her clothes, they were the same ones she'd been wearing since her visit to Diagon Alley several days ago, her mother hadn't given her a chance to get changed. They were covered in blood and torn in places.
"Do you want me to help?" James stood by the doorway, waiting for her to feel comfortable before her fully entered, "It's nothing i havent seen before," he added lightheartedly.
"Thank you," she nodded.
"You don't need to keep thanking me," he came over and helped her remove her shirt, becoming more gentle when she winced. "I'll go get you a jumper to put on," he said, heading towards the door. Her face twisted with discomfort at being left alone, "I'll be two seconds,"
True to his word, moments later James returned with a large grey hoodie in his hand. He helped El remove her skirt and looked at it with a slight frown, "I'm sure this will only take a few charms to fix,"
"Don't bother," she responded, "Never liked it much anyway,"
Still trying to be as gentle as he could, James eased the hoodie over her head, not wanting to look at her body as he knew the scars covering it would only upset him.
"Have you got any firewhiskey?"
James laughed at the return of El's usual personality, "Not first thing in the morning, i don't,"
She gave him a playful pout, trying to mask the pain she felt when she sat back down on the bed.
"Think this is the longest we've ever gone without arguing," El mused while James helped her lie down.
"Don't jinx it," he laughed, "Do you want me to stay?"
Feeling embarrassed at being so dependant on him, her nod was barely noticeable, but James got the message and got into bed beside her.
He wrapped both his arms around her lightly, tracing his finger up and down the fresh scar on her arm, lulling her to sleep.
***
When she reawakened, she seemed even more jumpy than before, sitting bolt upright and looking around the room to evaluate her surroundings.
"Woah, you alright?" James had woken at her sudden movement and had also now sat up, trying to calm her fast breathing.
She put a hand on her chest to feel how rapidly her heart was beating, "Bad dream. I forgot i was here," she replied, still out of breath.
"It's like midday now, you want some more food?" he asked, to which she nodded and stood up.
The cut on her arm and back were now only scars, the only pain remaining was from her healing ribs, the bruises that had previously littered her body were entirely faded.
James' jumper fell onto her thighs, so she didn't bother putting on anything else before walking downstairs. Despite her knowledge of how kind Euphemia was, El was still hesitant around her, her voice being eerily similar to Belvina's.
Wordlessly, she sat in the same chair she'd been in earlier, Monty was the only one room in the room when they entered.
"You feeling better?" he asked. He took a seat opposite and placed a small bottle in front of her, "A painkilling potion, if you need it,"
"Thank you, for everything," she smiled.
Sending her a nod he stood back up, "Lunch?"
At that moment, Sirius and Euphemia came into the kitchen and sat down. The elderly woman eyed the jumper El was wearing, smirking suggestively to her husband but not saying anything.
Julie carried in a large plate of sandwiches and placed them on the table, handing El another mug of tea.
"Monty and i need to go shopping for tomorrow, will you three be alright?" Euphemia spoke, looking round at the three teenagers for their response.
"We'll be fine, mum," James replied.
***
James' parents left after everyone had eaten, James was in the shower, leaving Sirius and El in the living room, sitting on different sofas.
"I'm glad you'll be here for Christmas, El," Sirius announced, moving slowly to sit next to her.
She pulled him into a long hug, not knowing what to say, "What was it like when you came here?" she asked when they finally separated.
"I was a bit jumpy for a few days," he sighed, "You'll gradually feel more comfortable. The Potters are the nicest people you'll ever meet,"
This made her relax a bit, "I just can't help but feel like i'm ruining their Christmas,"
Sirius shook his head, "Not at all, they love guests. Big house 'n' all, want to fill it,"
She gave him a grateful smile for being able to put her at ease, "God, i'm going soft," they both laughed.
"I love you, Els," he hugged her again.
"God, you're going soft," she chuckled, burying her face in his shoulder.
"Oh shut up,"
a/n: word count 2.3k
i love El n Sirius' friendship
i feel like im updating too much but its the last day of half term so it wont be as regular anymore. if u have any requests or recommendations for the storyline pls lmk, id be happy to put them in
pls vote if u enjoyed this chapter n thankyou for 18k reads, ily all xxx