By fifth year, it was well established that Hogwarts Library was not the natural habitat of the Marauders. Even the bookish Remus preferred to read curled up in his bed or on the sofa in the Gryffindor common room, so when the five waltzed in on Wednesday afternoon, it would be an understatement to say they turned a few heads. The most frequent visitor out of the group was actually Ellie, and only because it was one of Lily Evans' favourite places, so when the two spent time together outside of their dorm it was usually in the Library.
Hence why James was the second most frequent visitor of the group.
"I got sort of lost because the book wasn't in the Transfiguration section like I'd expected, but this is the one that should hopefully tell us all the steps." The messy haired boy announced.
The friends huddled around a small table as far away from anyone else in the library as possible, Remus muttering a quick 'muffilato', just to ensure that there wouldn't be anyone over hearing near-by.
After last year took a turn for Ellie Gryffin, Sirius suggested they should post-pone their plans on becoming Animagi until the next year. Ellie felt selfish putting off something that was for their friend for her own problems, not wanting it to seem like Remus' condition was any less important than it was, but each of the boys agreed (without her input) that it was probably for the best. They had tried to tell her that they wouldn't have been skilled enough at magic last year to complete the process, in hopes of comforting the beautiful girl, and Remus tried to ease her guilt by telling her it wasn't anything he wasn't used to, but that's exactly what Ellie hated.
He shouldn't have to be used to enduring such pain every full moon, it wasn't fair that he had to suffer whilst the rest of them pranced around the castle without a care. That fact was exactly why Ellie was the most excited to dive back into the project. If there was any way to help their friend, she was going to do it.
And it wasn't going to be easy.
Even all of their research hadn't set them up for the lengthy process that was to come. Being the most knowledgeable on the subject, James read and explained everything the book covered on the ups and downs of becoming an Animagus. Complicated to say the least, the process consisted of holding a mandrake leaf under their tongues for a whole month; then using that leaf in the creation of a potion; reciting an incantation on a daily basis and drinking the previously made potion upon an electrical storm.
How they were ever going to manage that was a mystery to all, Peter seemingly regretting his decision to ever agree to become an Animagus in the first place.
The logistics were to be ironed out over Christmas by James, but it was important that all four that were participating knew the risks in going through with the plan - in particular what could happen if it went wrong, or others found out.
Another difficulty occurred in the retrieval of the mandrake leaves and ingredients for the potion. To acquire one lot of the ingredients would pose a difficult task, but four lots seemed next to impossible and care would need to be taken in ensuring Professor Slughorn didn't notice the stock in his potion cupboard slowly diminish, nor did Professor Sprout notice any tampering with the mandrakes in the greenhouses. Doubts also rose amongst the group as to whether they'd actually all remember to say the incantation every day and in no time at all, the idea of becoming Animagi slowly started to feel like a fantasy. How were we supposed to do all of this and pass our OWLs?
But really, there was no question in the matter. They were going to do exactly what they needed to do to help their friend.
Agreeing that the first full moon back after Christmas was when they'd begin their 'mandrake month', they left the library, Sirius starting to worry it might ruin his reputation if they were seen in there too long, whilst also beginning to become late for their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson next.
When they reached the classroom, there was no sign of a desk insight and students that had already arrived were all crowded in a huddle in the middle of the classroom. Their Professor stood on a slightly raised platform at the front of the class, looking more enthusiastic than usual, and when Ellie spied a familiar red head, she pushed her way past a couple of people to stand next to her friend - the boys all following closely behind.
"What's going on?" Ellie spoke to Lily without announcing her presence, making her jump and Ellie giggle in response.
However, Lily held no answers and just shrugged in reply as they waited for the last couple students to trickle in before the lesson began. Whispers were floating in the air over the peculiar set up for the lesson and Ellie casted a glance behind her, meeting the eyes of each of the boys in return. James looked somewhat excited, so did Sirius, but Peter cowered slightly behind the tall Remus, nervous as ever.
"What was today's lesson supposed to be on?" She asked the lanky boy who also shrugged in response, "Helpful." She muttered to herself, turning back to the front of the class as their teacher began to speak.
"Today's lesson we shall be perfecting the Patronus charm!"
The previous whispers in the room turned into rather loud mumbling, and whilst the other four Marauders began to get excited, knowing they all were able to produce a full Corporeal Patronus and saw this as an opportunity to show off, Ellie felt her stomach drop at the prospects.
She'd yet to tell the boys of the confusing event that had occurred the day James asked Lily to the ball, and she'd yet to decide whether she was actually going to tell them at all. Obviously, she knew they would find out eventually, a success in transforming into Animagus would probably reveal it quite openly, but that didn't mean she was really ready to tell them. To tell Sirius. Ellie didn't want for him to get the wrong impression, nor make things awkward, but how was she supposed to hide this?
After asking Dumbledore, she was sure the change in her Patronus was down to her happiest memories now being with her friends, but that didn't ease any of the insecurity she felt around the subject. It'll just make it so awkward and what if he's mad? What if he's mad that I've stolen his Patronus? What if he thinks I fancy him and laughs right in my face?
"Now can anyone tell me when one would use the Patronus charm?" Lily's hand shot straight up like it usually did, but to her surprise, James Potter spoke before she got a chance to answer.
"The Patronus charm is one of the most powerful defensive spells know to wizard-kind. It is used against Dementors and Lethifolds, from which there is no other protection."
Sirius nudged his messy haired friend, a proud smile on his face and Peter even clapped at the description. Of course, the information wasn't anything new to them, but the stunned looked on their classmates faces made James' outburst of knowledge even more enjoyable. Lily looked a mixture of shock and outrage, but quickly let it go, not being able to hide the small smirk playing on her lips - who knew James Potter actually tried?
"Very impressive Mr Potter, you've been doing some reading ahead I see. You are correct. The Patronus charm acts as a form of protection, with the strongest Patronus charm that you can cast being a Corporeal one. The form of the Patronus is unique to each witch or wizard and I'll be very impressed if we see any of them performed today, I'm sure." Once again James and Sirius looked like they might explode with excitement, Peter too feeling a great anticipation to begin, "To cast the charm, you must think of your happiest memory, clear your mind of everything else, let it fill you up and say the words 'Expecto Patronum', do you think we can all do that? Let's practice. Without wands please..."
"Expecto Patronum." The class spoke together on the Professors command, "Expecto Patronum."
Sirius rolled his eyes at the seemingly unnecessary task, neglecting to think about the fact that not everyone had learned the spell in their free time third year, to ensure they could help their friend during a full moon, because he was a secret werewolf.
"Very good, very good, everyone. Now I want you to spread out in the room." The class instantly began to disperse, a buzzing atmosphere starting to fill up the classroom as it always did when they did practical lessons, "Make sure we've got enough space between each other." The Professor reminded as Ellie put herself towards the back of the room, earning a few questioning looks from the rest of her friends, "We don't want any accidents so please be careful at where you're aiming your wands."
The class erupted into a chorus of 'Expecto Patronum's as their Professor went around the class aiding the students who looked like they were particularly struggling with the spell. One Hufflepuff in particular managed to explode an ancient vase sitting on one of the high window ledges, resulting in them being asked to sit out in this lesson and practice in their own time, somewhere secure.
Ellie watched her two black haired best friends quietly argue over who should produce their Patronus before the other, both wanting their friend to show off first.
Before she heard who won, Sirius shoved James with a big grin on his face towards none other than Lily Evans, making him stumble over laughing before pointing his wand at the space in front of him. With a quick mutter of the incantation, a silver jet of light projected from the end of his wand, the heads of everyone in the room turning to watch the dazzling display.
The glowing wisps swirled around the room, before coming together to form the majestic stag that the five Marauders knew so well. The class all gazing in awe, Sirius took his opportunity to amaze everyone next, and the same silver stream danced around the room as everyone gasped at the two boys who never seemed to actually try in classes. This time a familiar scruffy dog bounded around the students, making Sirius bark a laugh, before it began chasing the stag that pranced in circles around the red head girl James admired so much. Just as she had felt earlier when the messy haired boy had answered the Professor's question with great accuracy, Lily couldn't help but smile slightly at the silver stag which took a great interest in her.
"Brilliant! Well done! Extremely outstanding work boys!" The Professor praised the boys greatly, even clapping slightly as the two Patronuses slowly dispersed into the air, the rest of the class still in shock.
Lapping up the attention, Sirius bowed, a grin spreading from ear to ear.
"Thank you. Thank you. We're here all week!"
James waved to everyone as if he'd been awarded an Order of Merlin as both the boys moved to the side of the classroom, taking their success as an excuse to take the rest of the class off. To Ellie's displeasure, they retired to stand right behind her, Sirius leaning against the wall whilst James egged her on.
"Go on Cubs. You're next. Dazzle us all would you.""
With a newfound determination, the rest of the class tried extra hard to compete with two boys' display, resulting in the volume of the room to significantly increase. Lily in particular felt she had to show she was just as good as, if not better, than James Potter and could be heard shouting the spell from the other side of the classroom.
"Not all of us are attention seekers, deer." Ellie put on a posh accent, quite proud of her pun and James feigned hurt, as Sirius snickered behind him.
In all honesty, the girl was putting off having to perform the spell at all, especially now the two of them were watching her intently. She'd yet to come up with some sort of excuse to get her out of the situation, whether that be not casting the spell at all or having an exceptionally good reason for the change in her Patronus' form.
"Just cast the spell and he might let us go early." Sirius interjected.
Whilst they'd been having their conversation, there had been multiple other students who had successfully been able to cast the spell. None had been Corporeal, but it was impressive none the less. Lily Evans, or course had been one of them, quite pleased with herself even if it hadn't been James Potter standard. I'll just have to practice more, she told herself.
Peter had also cast his small silver rat which scuttled over a few people's feet, making one Hufflepuff squeal. Not many people had really noticed, due to its size, but that hadn't stopped the proud look on his face that mirrored the one from when he'd cast the spell successfully the first time third year.
"I would cast the spell, if you two fools weren't distracting me." Ellie retorted, turning her back on the black haired boys who were watching her so intently.
She watched Remus cast the charm in front of her, a sadness in his eyes as he purposefully didn't cast the Corporeal Patronus the Marauders knew he was capable of. He felt as if everyone seeing the wolf form his took would reveal too closely the nature of his condition and so stuck to keeping his Patronus a secret. Ellie gave him a small smile, silently telling him that he needn't worry when his friends all knew what he was capable of. Unbeknownst to him though, Remus had given Ellie an idea and her smile grew even wider as she prepared to cast the spell.
The black haired boys watched excitedly, James particularly enjoying it when Ellie casted her Patronus. He thought it was always so powerful and breath-taking, the lioness representing her so well. Yet, he found himself disappointed when she performed the Non-Corporeal version just as Remus had.
Pleased with herself, Ellie stepped back towards the side of the room where Peter and Remus had joined Sirius after successfully performing the spell themselves, for they hardly needed practice at something they'd been casting for over a year.
"What was that?" James demanded, waving dramatically at the empty space before the girl where he felt a lioness should now be pacing.
"That was me performing the spell."
Dismissing him, Ellie crossed her arms and went to lean against the wall next to Sirius, who too was giving her questioning looks. She didn't want to be interrogated and simply wished for the class to end so she could go back to her dorm and avoid the conversation with her friends.
"Yeah, I saw that!" James sassed, making Ellie roll her eyes, "What I meant was, why in Merlin's name did you not do it properly? Moony has an excuse, but you..."
The rest of the friends watched the interaction carefully. Ellie had been rather secretive recently, the incident of her disappearance last week which resulted in her and Sirius getting detention, was just one example of a time when she'd not told them the whole truth.
The boys discussed the matter at great length whenever she wasn't around, Sirius telling them all to lay off a little, for her mother's death was still a fresh memory after all. Peter had voiced that he felt it was just a girl thing, all girls got complicated when they got older apparently, to which James had replied with his usual excuse of 'she's not really a proper girl though'. Remus had ignored the messy haired boy's statement, questioning whether he may need some new glasses. But the lanky boy also respected people's privacy, understanding what it was like to want to keep secrets and as long as Ellie seemed fine, he told them all not to worry.
However, in pure James Potter fashion, he'd declared they must confront her on the matter, just in case there was something more sinister going on - she was like a sister to him after all.
This led to a divide in opinions amongst the four boys, Peter siding with Remus on just letting her be and James standing alone in wanting to get to the bottom of the matter. Sirius very much sat on the fence, understanding Ellie's pain and wanting to allow her time to grieve in her own way, in turn letting her have her space to do so. But the handsome boy couldn't ignore the intense worry he felt for her well being and how he wanted desperately to know if something was going on that he didn't know about. Maybe Crouch had tried it on with her again?
"Properly?" Ellie scoffed in response to her best friend's comment, "In case you didn't notice, James, I performed the spell just as the Professor instructed. If you have a problem with the way I did it, then I suggest you apply for the Defence Against the Dark Arts post next year."
There was more venom behind her words than any of the boys had expected and James furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"I just don't understand why you'd not do it fully when we all know you can. You're good at it. Better than any of us." James didn't mean any harm, but he acknowledged that what he had said clearly struck a nerve with the beautiful girl. He didn't like seeing her like this, so closed off and cold. The warm and cuddly Ellie he'd grown up with nowhere in sight, "Is there something going on? Because if there is you can tell us..."
Remus interrupted the boy with a stern look on his face.
"James. No."
He could see Ellie putting up wall after wall the longer James drew out the conversation, and there was no way he'd allow the messy haired boy to upset her unintentionally.
Luckily, the noisy classroom of students still shouting the incantation of the spell they were all supposed to be performing, distracted anyone near-by from the scene beginning to unfold in the far corner of the room. One red head that never missed anything to do with the group however, watched from a far, noticing that some sort of conflict was taking place. Ellie looked slightly distressed and the hard features on Remus' face that were usually so soft, gave it all away, but she knew better than to intervene when it came to the five troublemakers. Instead, she decided to ask Ellie whether she was okay later, in the safety of their own dorm, comfortably far away from the over-protective band of idiots that were always with her friend.
"No?" James questioned defiantly, puffing out his chest slightly.
It wasn't often the group got into a proper argument, petty scraps were more than common, but full-blown disagreements were extremely rare. Remus had taken a step in front of Ellie, trying to block her from James' interrogation, but it didn't seem to be very effective.
"I want to know what's going on. Clearly something's wrong with her."
Wrong with me? Ellie took a step away from the two boys squaring up, bumping slightly into Sirius behind her who simply took her hand in his. She looked round at the handsome boy she thought had been unusually quiet considering the circumstance, for he was often one of the first to voice his opinions on matters. Stormy grey met sea green, him asking her silently to tell him whether she was okay - Sirius always knew how to be gentle with her when her emotions were tender.
"It's not your place James. Her right to share things with us is something you can't control. If Cubby wants to talk to us, she will." Remus said sternly.
If it was last year, he would've been towering quite significantly over James, but the messy haired boy had caught up with him over the summer and there wasn't much difference in height between the two anymore. Neither one was standing down and Ellie's eyes were still locked with Sirius' as he tried desperately to see what was going on inside her head.
"Well, you're not letting her talk. I want to know what's wrong with her."
Wrong with me? He said it again. Was there something wrong with me? It wasn't in James Potter's nature to be delicate or discrete and so his words came out harsher than he meant them. He simply wanted to know if Ellie was okay. She wasn't herself; she hadn't been on and off since they'd returned to school, and that worried him. It worried him more than he'd let on and his fears only came from a place of concern, even if he wasn't displaying it like that.
"Maybe we should talk about this later..." Peter suggested, never faring well in conflict.
However, neither of the boys listened to him, both shooting daggers at each other. Whilst the three battled to have their way, Ellie and Sirius still gazed at each other, the handsome boy starting to see a panic in her eyes he knew all too well. A panic that told him she felt lost and didn't know who to turn to. A panic he knew first-hand.
"Cubby, you can tell us anything..." He spoke with caution but as soon as he began, tears welled in the corners of her beautiful eyes, a stabbing feeling taking over Sirius' chest.
Before he got a chance to say anything else, she was gone.
Faster than her feet had ever carried her, Ellie rushed down the still confusing corridors of the old castle. As she fled from her class, she'd heard Sirius shout after her, but there was no way she was turning back. She felt rather silly, running away from the issue like this, having made no attempt to calm either James or Remus on the matter, but that's what she was doing now.
Neither boy had any place to speak on her behalf, but she could also see both sides of the argument.
Her and James had been close since they were babies and both cared for each other more deeply than siblings did, Ellie knowing by now it was in James' nature to be stubborn about matters concerning his family. If he wanted to know something then he'd find out, and if he wanted to know something about his friends' well-being than he'd stop at nothing to make sure they were okay. Ellie valued that quality in him, she always had done, but that didn't mean that in circumstances like this it wasn't annoying.
James Potter had never understood the concept of boundaries, hence him feeling as if it was his business to know whether his best friend was okay or not, rather than letting her tell him in her own time.
And then there was Remus. The moral compass of the group, always knowing what the right thing to do was. However, in this situation, Ellie wished he'd just said nothing and let the matter go, even though he too meant no malice. Remus had a better understanding of people's feelings because he wasn't as clouded by the need to help people all the time. He felt as if people would come to you when they sort help and comfort, rather than forcing yourself upon them, and again Ellie valued that he was understanding enough to allow people to have their own space.
However, she hadn't wanted either of them to step in and try and do what they felt was right for her. Ellie simply wanted more time to process recent events without them having to know straight away.
She loved them all unconditionally, they were family after all, but being the only girl in the group had a lot of flaws. It was somewhat suffocating having James being incessant and Remus trying to mollycoddle her, all whilst Peter tried to calm the situation all the time never to any avail.
And the way Sirius constantly gazed at her made it feel like he was seeing into her soul, was a different matter entirely. His stormy grey eyes felt like mind-readers and she hated the way he was able to get inside so easily. She'd confide anything in Sirius, except for the fact he turned her legs to jelly and brain to mush, all with that stupid grin of his.
"Well, well, well. Is Miss Ellie Gryffin skipping class?" Someone's voice came from behind her as she finally stopped running.
Ellie found herself sat on one of the stone benches looking out onto the courtyard, the crisp winter air making her wrap her robes around her a little tighter, cursing that she'd not worn a scarf today. Her seventh year friend sat down beside her, the brunette having not even realised anyone was walking down the corridor.
"I hate boys." She told Marlene bluntly, who simply chuckled at the deep frown set on Ellie's face.
"And you wonder why I fancy girls." She teased in reply, but when Ellie didn't even crack a smile, Marlene turned serious, "All boys? Or your boys?" The brunette crossing her arms and sighing, gave her the answer she needed, "Ah, I see. Your boys."
Marlene had never been able to understand how Ellie managed to stay sane being friends with the troublesome group she chose to associate with. She was able to see the kind hearts and joyous souls all four of the boys had, but they were chaotic to say the least, and definitely difficult to keep up with. However, Ellie was very much the same, so actually, Marlene knew exactly why she loved them all so. Though it wasn't often she heard Ellie grumbling about them.
"What exactly happened to cause your change of heart?"
"He's just so infuriating!" Ellie balled her fists and Marlene was confused now as to who she was talking about. She was under the impression they were talking about all the boys, now she wasn't so sure, "His face is just... And he doesn't even say anything and I feel like I want to tell him all my secrets."
Feeling like she wanted to tear out her hair, Ellie buried her face in her hands in despair. This was all his fault. That stupid Patronus. Why'd it have to change? Why'd it have to make things complicated?
"Sirius?" Marlene asked simply.
Ellie looked at her friend beside her with teary eyes, wondering how she'd known who she was talking about. Was it that obvious? She only buried her head deeper into her hands this time, praying it wasn't a known fact that her feelings had been starting to change for Sirius, for that would be absolutely mortifying, and now the impending ball was starting to feel like a huge mistake.
If she couldn't even produce a her Patronus in class in fear of them all thinking the worst, how was she supposed to go to the ball and dance with him all night without making it painfully obvious? He would be so close and lots of eyes would be on them, not to mention the fact that he'd be all dressed up and Ellie knew for a fact Sirius Black looked good in everything.
Her frustration stemmed from the fact that whatever had shifted between the pair of them, was something she was completely okay with.
Which sounded odd, she knew that.
But after watching how her father fell apart after Adelaide, she wasn't so sure love and relationships were all they were cracked up to be. How could they be this good thing, when it hurt so badly when things went wrong? And Ellie really was terrified that everything would go wrong. She didn't know where Sirius stood about their relationship, and now her Patronus changing had just thrown a spanner in the works. What if this changes everything? Ruins everything? It definitely had the possibility to, and Ellie wouldn't know what she would do if she lost Sirius over something so stupid as her feelings changing.
That was her biggest fear of all - losing him.
"I just... He's just so..." Ellie wiped furiously at her face as she stuttered.
There were no words that could be formed to express her emotions, for she didn't even know what they were in the first place. And that was so frustrating. She didn't think she loved him, Ellie was sure that was something she'd be aware of, but her Patronus seemed to have other feelings on that matter.
"Gorgeous?" Marlene suggested nonchalantly. A furious red colour rushed to Ellie's cheeks, the beautiful girl feeling flustered and extremely warm all of a sudden. Marlene just smiled cheekily, "Don't be embarrassed. I feel like it's in the Black genes to be ravishingly beautiful and believe me, Sirius knows it."
"You can say that again..." Mumbling, Ellie looked out across the courtyard, still feeling slightly wobbly from Marlene's previous comment.
Whilst she'd always thought Sirius was more than handsome, actually admitting something like that out loud was strange. They'd always joked about it, but it was difficult for Ellie to think of him that way properly. They'd been so close ever since they both got sorted into Gryffindor first year, he was like family, basically James' brother. Would it be weird if I liked him? Would it make the group weird? There was just no way this would ever be straight forward and the complexity of it all made Ellie's head spin. Especially when this felt like something that had completely creeped up on her all of a sudden.
"Look," Marlene began, "Boys can be blind. But Sirius would have to have no eyeballs to not notice you. Not to mention how brilliant of a person you are." Placing an arm around Ellie's shoulder, the blonde attempted to brush the hair out of her face that was starting to stick to her cheeks from her tears. Ellie looked at the blonde like a lost puppy, and Marlene's heart poured out to her, cursing Sirius who clearly needed to get his act together, "You're going to the ball together, remember! There's lots of people talking about you guys."
Marlene was smiling cheekily again, for it was a well-known fact that not only was Sirius Black broadly sort after, but Ellie was also often cast longing glances from many students in various years. However, she was almost certain though, unlike Sirius, Ellie wasn't aware of the attention she drew when in a room. Oblivious.
"Maybe that might give you an opportunity to see whether he likes you back." Ellie's eyes went wide.
"But... I don't-" Marlene cut her off.
"Yes, you do."
Sirius practically ran back to the Gryffindor common room after Defence Against the Dark Arts ended. He'd half expected to run into Ellie in one of the corridors on the way back there, but when he didn't, the common room was the next place he thought she'd go. The handsome boy had a tendency to be hot-headed, but to say he was angry with James and Remus, would be doing an injustice.
Sirius Black was fuming.
He'd given both the arguing friends an earful right after Ellie had ran out, causing both of them to trail down the corridors behind him with their heads hung low. Peter had tried to keep up with Sirius at first, but it was clear that he was also in bad books for getting involved, even if he had been trying to stop the argument. In all truth, it didn't matter who it was, the handsome boy had no intention of speaking to anyone until he'd found the lost girl.
Storming through the portrait door, Sirius drew a few heads. Briefly stopping to check if Ellie was there, his frowned deepened, whipping around to look at the three boys now in front of him. With a look inherited from none other than Walburga Black, he glared at them all, causing the common room to go silent.
Usually whatever was happening between the Marauders was interesting, and they often found themselves the subjects of curious gazes when in the common room, but never did anyone see them argue. Never did Sirius Black ever get this angry at any of his friends.
"This is your fault." Seething, the handsome boy pointed a finger at all three of them, eyes cold and dark.
If Ellie was in her dorm, they wouldn't be able to get to her, and all Sirius wanted to do was makes sure that panicked look in her eyes had gone. He'd never forgive himself if he knew she felt completely alone, isolated from the rest of them because of their friends' ridiculous behaviour.
"If we're being technical, Peter didn't really have anything to do with it..." James' voice was small, something that almost never happened and the guilt that radiated off of him covered the whole room in a thick blanket.
"I don't care about being technical!" Sirius' voice roaring, James flinched - it wasn't often he was on the receiving end of his best friend's fury and now he understood why a lot of people were afraid of him, "You just had to go and open your fucking mouth, didn't you? Both of you." Remus felt especially guilty when his intentions had only been to protect the beautiful girl from James' interrogation. He hadn't expected to make her feel worse, "In case you all forgot, her mum died! This year! She's allowed to have some space, and neither of you get to decide whether she wants to tell us things or not."
James furrowed his eyebrows. He remembered back to the dinner just last week when Sirius himself had been asking Ellie about why she'd skipped Potions. Ellie hadn't wanted to tell him, but Sirius insisted, which didn't feel too different to the situation they were in now.
"Hypocrite." The messy haired boy mumbled, raising his eyes to Sirius', who glared at him harsher, "How is me asking if there was something wrong, any different to you insisting on knowing where she was last week before you guys got detention?"
The Gryffindors watching the scene unfold were almost gobsmacked, since when did James Potter and Sirius Black argue?
"We're not talking about then! We're talking about how you caused her to run out of class almost crying!"
"It's double bloody standards, Sirius!"
Remus stepped forward quickly, momentarily forgetting his guilt and placing a hand on each of the boys' chest. Sirius looked as if he was going to start a fight with James, Muggle style, and Remus knew they were both just clouded with anger and worry. Both of the boys cared too much about Ellie, and now it was becoming a contest as to who cared the most, when really they should be looking for her to apologise.
Sirius shoved Remus' hand away violently, turning on his heal and marching up the stairs towards their dormitory. The handsome boy knew the others would be moments behind him, but he wouldn't stand there and be told off for caring about one of their friends. His best friend. I wasn't the one that made her cry. I wasn't the one that put that look in her eyes.
Swinging the door of their dormitory open and letting it slam shut behind him, Sirius pounded his fist against one of the wooden posts of Remus' bed, not stopping to notice the person already in the room. A small sniffle from behind him, made his head shoot round and his heart instantly stopped beating.
Ellie was sat in a bundle on his bed, eyes blood shot from crying, James' Quidditch blanket wrapped around her shoulders that she was holding on tightly to.
"I'm sorry..." The lost girl whispered and that was all that needed to be said for Sirius to rush to her side.
Crossing the room in two bounds, he collapsed onto his bed beside her, not waiting a moment before taking her into his arms. Sighing deeply, Sirius held Ellie closer than you'd think humanly possible, burying his head into her hair.
"You've got nothing to be sorry for..." He whispered softly.
As soon as she was in his arms, the beautiful girl felt instantly calmer, taking big deep breaths. Ellie was engulfed in that smell of bonfires that always promised safety, but having him comfort her like this only made her mind keep swirling about how her feelings for him had changed and what her Patronus meant because of that.
They stayed in silence, Sirius trying to ignore the clenching feeling in his stomach from seeing her this upset again, but it wasn't easy when she was clutching on to him so tightly. He thought it was bad at the beginning of the year, but knowing it was his friends' fault that she'd gotten into this state, just seemed to make the situation worse. Sirius had no idea how to make this better for her, and so he just held her as tight as he could and let her have peace.
As expected, James, Remus and Peter weren't long behind Sirius, and as they all came into the room, they were shot a warning glare from the handsome boy comforting their friend. None of them had expected Ellie to be in their room and they dropped their heads when they realised, all respectively making their way to their beds. Nestling her head further into Sirius' chest, Ellie hid her face from the rest of the group, only prompting Sirius to squeeze her a little tighter.
The dorm was quieter than it had ever been in the whole time the group had been coming to Hogwarts and none of them really knew what do to. No one dared break the silence for a good fifteen minutes, the only sound being the occasional sniffle from Ellie.
That was until, James Potter decided enough was enough.
Standing up and swiftly crossing the room to the record player, he riffled through the ever-growing stack of records until he found the vinyl with the exact song he wanted. Remus had looked at him as if to say, 'is this really the best time?' And Peter looked rather panicked that he was about to do something dangerously stupid, but neither Sirius, nor Ellie had even noticed he'd got off of his bed.
One hand around her body and the other stroking gently through Ellie's hair, Sirius had his eyes fixed on the beautiful girl who was so still he wasn't sure she was even awake. However, as the record player crackled loudly, James never having a gentle hand when dealing with it, both of the pair turned to look at what was going on.
All of a sudden music broke out and before anyone could say anything about it, 'I Want You Back' by Jackson 5, was playing at an almost deafening volume. Or at least as loud as the record player went. Sirius was scowling as Ellie sat up properly to look at James who was starting to advance their way. If the music hadn't been so loud, their definitely would've been some choice words said about the appropriateness of the outburst from the handsome boy who's eyebrows were set in a hard line.
Singing began on the track, causing Peter to mumble along, it was his favourite song after all, and James came around Sirius' bed to look at the beautiful girl who's eyes were still slightly swollen and red.
"Oh, baby, give me one more chance! Won't you please let me, back in your heart..."
Starting to sing along with the lyrics at the top of his lungs, James knelt down in front of Ellie, taking her hands in his.
James Potter wasn't one to do anything without some style and if an apology through song didn't scream style, what did? Though that wasn't to say the messy haired boy was actually any good at singing, and Remus winced as he hit some rather out of tune notes. The guilty and regretful look in his eye spoke a million words and Ellie knew that he was trying to say sorry as best he could. Peter was up on his feet in no time, doing some form of awkward dancing to the song and adding the backing lyrics for James.
"Oh, baby, all I need is one more chance..."
Not being able to help herself, Ellie cracked a small smile at the pure chaos that had taken over the dorm.
She knew she had to forgive James, Remus too, they hadn't meant harm, even if they'd caused it. Both the boys' actions had come from good places, Ellie just wished they weren't so loud and obnoxious about it sometimes. But that was also why she loved them unconditionally.
Taking her smile as an acceptance of his somewhat apology, James pulled Ellie onto her feet, spinning her round before she had even found her balance. The messy haired boy laughed wildly, Ellie starting giggle at Peter's wiggly dance moves as her and James danced around each other haphazardly. As much as she hated it, James Potter had a way of making everyone happy, even when he was the reason that they were upset in the first place. Dancing over to Remus, Ellie dragged the lanky boy off of his bed, much to his protest, forcing him to dance with her whether he wanted to or not.
It didn't take long before they were all laughing and smiling as they jumped and screamed the lyrics to the song, Peter in particular, happy that he finally had the opportunity to singing along to the song without the others listening to him.
Sirius however, watched on from his bed, having not fully cooled off after the events of the day. He was happy to see Ellie smiling and giggling again, she always looked most beautiful when she did so, but his stubbornness wouldn't allow him to just get over the matter easily.
However, Ellie was having none of it. If they were all dancing and having a good time now, so should he.
Just as she had with Remus, she made her way over to him, jokingly mimicking his grumpy expression. When he crossed his arms in defiance, not allowing himself to be swayed, Ellie did something she never thought she do in a million years.
In a quick burst of confidence, she cupped the sides of his face in her hands and placed a swift peck to his cheek.
"Come on." She whispered in his ear before she pulled away.
Hands dropping slowly from the sides of his face, Ellie gestured for the handsome boy to join the others, having not noticed them all stopping to watch what just had happened.
Sirius felt like all the air had been knocked out of his chest, a bright red colour flooding to his cheeks that he so wished he could hide. Thoughts moving at top speed, he was up and dancing with them in no time, but the feeling of her lips on his skin didn't leave his mind all night.
It was needless to say, that it was in that very moment, Sirius felt something for Ellie he'd never felt before. A feeling that filled him up so fully he worried it may begin to burst out of him. It rose goosebumps on his skin, and sent his brain to mush, but the feeling was so heavenly, he didn't care.
Whatever that feeling was, Sirius wanted to be engulfed in it forever.