The next morning at breakfast, Eleanor couldn't help but to avoid eye contact with Sirius. She had found his intentions very sweet the other night, but she felt a bit awkward too.
"Have you planned anything for today Ella?" asked Amelia, who was sitting opposite her?
She thought a moment. Was it wise to tell her about Remus? Although, Amelia already knew her brother didn't feel well on Friday.
"Well, I'm going to see Remus first, he's with Madam Pomfrey. She thought it best he stayed overnight," she explained, munching on her toast, "But after that I'm free," she smiled.
Amelia looked concerned, "Oh is he alright? Is it bad?"
Eleanor shook her head "No, no, nothing major, he just felt a little under the weather," she lied.
Nothing major, yeah right, just a few scratch marks and bruises, she thought to herself.
"Oh okay, good," she smiled, "I was thinking we could hang out for a bit at the lake. The weather will probably become worse over the next few days, so we should take advantage of that."
Eleanor nodded and finished her piece of toast.
"I'll meet you at the lake then," she smiled, getting up from her seat and leaving the Great Hall to go see her brother.
But she hadn't even turned the corner in the corridor when someone behind her grabbed her wrist, causing her to stop and look over her shoulder.
"Weren't you going to wait for us?" James said with gein.
Peter and Sirius were standing on either side of him. The latter smirked at her and winked, making her blush a little.
"Er, well," she bit her lip, "I don't know if now's the right time to tell him, I mean he probably just had a really rough night... Finding out you three know about him might be a little too much."
James considered this a second before he shrugged, "He'll find out later anyway, better rip the bandage off at once right?" he grinned and walked along the corridor, Peter and Sirius staying right behind him.
Eleanor opened her mouth to say something but closed it when she realized nothing she said would get them back. She caught up with them, walking next to James.
"Okay fine," she panted, "But I'm the first one who enters, I need to explain it to Pomfrey first. She's only expecting me to visit."
The three of them mumbled in agreement. When they reached the Hospital Wing she knocked on the door before entering, leaving the three boys behind her.
"Madam Pomfrey?" she whispered, walking over to her.
"Good morning dear, your brother's doing quite alright, just one rather nasty scratch on his chest, nothing I can't heal of course -" Pomfrey rambled on, obviously in a bit of state.
"Sorry to cut you off Madam, but I have to ask, is it okay to let others in? See, Remus' friends found out and they want to see how he's doing," she asked, pursing her lips.
Pomfrey sighed deeply, "Fine, fine, let them in, but they better behave, else I'll let Professor McGonagall know they are not welcome here anymore," she said before turning back to her paperwork.
Eleanor smiled and opened the door, allowing the others to come in as well. She carefully walked over to Remus' bed in the corner. As she reached him, she froze. He was laying there shirtless, with a huge gash across his chest, going from his left shoulder down to his right hip.
"How is- oh god," she heard Sirius whisper.
He was asleep, and still, he looked like he was in pain. Eleanor sat down on a chair next to his bed and gently took his hand in hers. It felt cold.
"He's just dozed off," Madam Pomfrey came over to them, "I don't expect him to wake up for the next couple of hours. I had to give him the heavy stuff because of the pain."
She looked up at her and nodded, tears pricking in her eyes. Sirius noticed it and put a hand on her shoulder.
Eleanor gulped, "That's going to make a nasty scar," she whispered.
Pomfrey shook her head, "Oh no dear, I can fix up most of it," she said, tracing some spells across the wound, which made Remus' body tense up.
Eleanor smiled sadly, "Thank you," she said softly.
James suddenly spoke up, "Well, I guess we'll come back another time to tell him, he clearly needs rest now," not taking his eyes off the cut on Remus' chest.
They all nodded. Peter had been quiet this whole time. Eleanor reckoned he didn't like this at all, which she couldn't disagree with. But Remus was her brother, and he meant the world to her. Eleanor got up from her seat and bent over a but, giving a little kiss on Remus' forehead.
"Come on," Sirius gently squeezed her shoulder, "We'll come back later."
The four of them left the Hospital Wing in silence and they didn't speak until they reached the Fat Lady.
"Wattlebird," said James, and they entered.
Sirius immediately plopped down on the sofa, James sat down in the chair closest to the fireplace, and Peter took the spot next to Sirius. Eleanor just sat down on the floor against the coffee table, feeling the heat of the fire on her face.
"I have to be honest, that was not what I expected," James suddenly said.
She sighed, "Well, better get used to this because that is what you signed up for," she said, poking the fire with a stick.
"Oh blimey! I forgot I was going to meet up with Amelia!" she quickly got up and left the common room.
When she got to the Black Lake she had to look around a while before she found Amelia. She was sitting under a tree with a book in her lap. Leaves were flying above her head, so Eleanor assumed she had been practicing her spells.
"Hey," she said, sitting down next to her, "I'm sorry it took me so long, Remus wasn't doing great."
Amelia didn't look up at her.
"Your eh, leaves are coming along nicely," she smiled at her.
Amelia lowered her wand and looked at her, "Why have you been hanging out so much with Remus' friends?" she asked.
Eleanor frowned, "What do you mean? I barely even talk to them?" she blushed a little, knowing all too well that that was far from the truth.
Amelia raised an eyebrow, "Maybe not to them, but to him you do," she grinned at her.
Eleanor chuckled, "I have no idea what you're talking about Lia."
"Oh come on El, you can barely take your eyes off him!" Amelia exclaimed.
Eleanor laughed and shook her head, "Who? Who are you talking about?"
Amelia rolled her eyes and groaned, "Sirius!"
Eleanor broke down in laughter, clutching at her stomach.
Amelia laughed too, "Oh don't you try and deny it Lupin, you fancy him!"
She was crying with laughter at this point, shaking her head.
"I really don't know why you would ever think that," Eleanor said when she had finally gotten herself together again.
Amelia shrugged, "You just seem to always have a good time with him, so I thought you maybe liked him. And I mean, you can't deny the fact that he's rather good-looking," she grinned.
Eleanor chuckled and smacked her friend on the arm, "Lia!"
Then after a moment of hesitation, she said, "I mean you're not wrong, he's definitely one of the better ones," grinning, "But still, I don't have feelings for him."
Amelia chuckled and nodded, then looked out on the water.
"What do you think our lives will look like in say, four years?"
Eleanor smiled and followed her friend's gaze, "I hope they'll be just like this, with all of us together at school and just having a good time."
Amelia smiled, "Yeah, me too."
Eleanor lay down on the grass and looked up at the clear blue sky.
Yeah, life just like this would be fine, she thought to herself before drifting off to sleep under the last summer sun of that year.