After the full moon, Remus had been in the Hospital Wing for a lot longer than usual. He had suffered some fractured ribs due to his encounter with James and Sirius, for which they had apologized many times.
He was okay with it though, because he realized that, had they not held him back, he would've attacked Eleanor, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen.
As December rolled around, the weather became colder and Hogwarts and its grounds were soon covered in snow.
It was safe to say that after their first full moon together as werewolf and Animagi, the bond between the five friends had been restored once again.
Eleanor had made a sort of truce with Sirius. It was one-sided though, as Sirius knew nothing about a truce. She was very happy when she heard he Swiney had broken up after what hadn't even been two months.
It told her everything Eleanor wanted to know; it wasn't a serious relationship.
And yes, Swiney was her nickname for Denice Wiley and she was very proud of it.
Their second full moon together, on 18 December, was a quiet one. Remus hardly did anything and they had decided that taking turns to sleep would be a good idea. That way they wouldn't be as tired the next day as last time, but someone would be keeping am eye on Remus as well.
The Sunday before they were to go home for the Christmas holidays was Peter's birthday. Seeing as they pretty much had nothing to do, the Marauders decided they would go for a Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks.
Eleanor, Amelia, Lily, Alice, and Mary came along as well. Doris and Kathy had never really been close friends with the boys; they were far to rebellious for their liking.
Marlene was in detention with Professor Flitwick after accidentally making the books he always stood fly hysterically across the room. He ended up with a broken leg and couldn't teach for two days.
The nine of them sat down at the biggest table in the room appointed by Madam Rosmerta herself. She loved having the young Gryffindors in her pub and would do anything to make sure they had the best time.
"To Peter!" James said cheerfully as they all raised their hot Butterbeers.
The others repeated after him and then took a big gulp of their drink. Eleanor sighed happily as she felt her body go warm on the inside.
"So, you guys excited for the Holidays?" Mary asked the group. Everyone nodded eagerly in response.
They all got to talking, but Eleanor overheard a conversation between James and Sirius.
"Are you coming back to our place?" James asked Sirius. He shrugged in response.
"I don't think my dear mother would like to see my face again after what I pulled off," he huffed before drinking some more of his Butterbeer.
Eleanor looked down at the table. She remembered Regulus telling her he was going to ask Sirius to come back home with him. Was she supposed to do something about it?
She was probably the only one in the whole school who knew both Black brothers pretty well, but Sirius had no idea she hung out with his younger brother almost twice a week. And to be honest, she wanted to keep it that way. Did she really want to cause that much trouble between them? But what if they actually made up...
"If it's not too much trouble for your parents of course," Sirius added.
James snorted. "Yeah right, I'm pretty sure they like you more than me," he said with a laugh.
Meanwhile, Lily had gone to use the bathroom, and when she returned she looked very stresses.
"I just overheard two wizards talking at the bar," she started. James immediately looked at her. "They said entire Muggle families have gone missing in the past week." Her eyes were big with concern.
"What? That's absurd!" Eleanor exclaimed.
Peter held his Butterbeer with both hands. "Do you think it has anything to do with You Know Who?" he asked in a small voice.
"Well, why else would it be happening, it's not like they just disappear on their own accord," Alice mumbled. Mary nodded solemnly.
Lily was biting her nails. Eleanor knew she had every right to be anxious, she was a Muggleborn herself.
James cleared his throat. "I'm sure nothing worse will happen anytime soon, no need to worry Evans," he tried to reassure her. But Lily seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.
Life in the Wizarding World had been uncertain for the past five years. Even though Eleanor didn't want to admit it, things were running out of hand lately. And she didn't like it at all.
***
The next morning, the Entrance Hall was packed with students ready to leave for the Christmas Holidays.
Eleanor was sitting on her trunk next to Amelia. Doris and Kathy were standing next them. They were waiting four the boys to come down, but knowing them that would still take a while.
"Are you going on wintersport in Austria again this year Kathy?" Amelia asked her.
Kathy nodded. "Yeah, father insists. He says it's a fantastically ordinary way of umwinding," she said, rolling her eyes. They laughed.
Kathy's father was a Muggle, so their family was the exact opposite of Eleanor's. Only Kathy had two older sisters, one who was a Squib and the other had already graduated from Hogwartd and was now working as a Healer at St Mungo's.
"Mum and dad booked tickets Gran Canaria, so I won't be at home either this year," Doris said, sounding rather bummed.
Eleanor tried to stay optimistic, "At least the weather's nice over there."
Doris shrugged. "I s'pose," she mumbled.
Eleanor looked across the room and noticed Regulus Black coming her way. She smiled at him. The other girls grinned at each other as he stopped before Eleanor.
"Hi Reg," she said, looking up at him.
He smiled back at her. "Hey, I wanted to ask you a favor," he started, putting his hands in his pockets.
Regulus was wearing a dark grey suit with a matching striped waistcoat underneath. He wore an emerald green tie with a pin that had the Black family crest on it.
"Sure, what is it," she responded, crossing her legs.
"Could you maybe make sure Sirius is alone on the platform so I can talk to him?" he said, his grey eyes roaming her face.
Elesnor nodded. "Yeah, of course. I'll try my best," she said with a chuckle.
Regulus laughed shortly. "Thanks Ella, I owe you," he said, pointing at her before turning on his heels to go back to his friends.
She laughed to herself and shook her head. Just as Amelia was going to ask her what that was all about, the Marauders were pushing through the crowd to get to the girls.
James shoved his trunk against the wall and kicked it. "Ruddy thing," he mumbled. Doris raised his eyebrows at him.
Eleanor sniggered. "Somebody had a rough morning," she said. James gave her a deatg glare.
"Don't even get started, it'll just make him grumpier," Sirius said, looking annoyed by James' behaviour.
Eleanor's face lit up as she saw him wearing his leather jacket again. Sirius had stopped wearing it when Swiney told him he looked childish in it.
He was wearing a plain black t-shirt underneath and and a pair of jeans. The exact opposite of Regulus, but she thought they both looked very handsome either way.
"Alright I've done enough sitting around, let's go," Amelia said with a sigh.
It was freezing outside but luckily it had stopped snowing. Everyone was wearing warm clothes, scarves and whatnot. But Sirius didn't seem to be cold at all. He just zipped up his jacket, put his hands in his pockets, and walked on.
They split off into two carriages and then they were on their way to the train station in Hogsmeade.
None of Eleanor's friends new what pulled the carriages, but they had been told they were horse-like creatures called Thestrals. Nobody knew why they couldn't see them while some others could.
After a pretty long ride because of the snow and ice, the carriages came to a halt and all of the students stepped outside again. Eleanor wrapped her scarf tightly around her and put her hands into her pockets to keep them warm.
"Oi Evans!" she heard behind her. James never seemed to learn. She turned around to watch the scene unfold.
Lily was only there to get Remus because they had to sit in the Prefect's compartment. "What," she said impatiently.
"I wanted to ask you if you maybe wanted to go out with me sometime in the next two weeks," he said with a handsome smile, meanwhile messing up his hair.
Eleanor gasped. But Sirius, who stood behind James, facepalmed and shook his head. Remus was looking at him a very confused expression on his face. Peter on the other hand was grinning broadly, probably proud that he finally had the balls to properly ask her out.
Lily's mouth opened to say something. Then she just frowned, shook her head and walked off without saying anything. Remus patted James on the back and then followed the red-headed girl.
Eleanor felt sorry for him. He looked like a lost puppy.
James inhaled deeply. "Right," he said. "Let's go."
The train ride to London was as any other. They talked, ate, talked some more, ate even more, and eventually they were all too tired to do any of that, so some of them dozed off while others just stared outside.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, the Hogwarts Express arrived on schedule at King's Cross station. Eleanor was woken by the sounds of the others getting their stuff.
They all got off the train, and as she heard Sirius talking to Peter behind her with his mouth full, she remembered the promise she had made to Regulus.
Eleanor frantically looked around to see if he was already on the platform, and smiled when she spotted him coming from the front of the train.
She quickly said goodbye to the girls, giving each of them a tight hug, wishing then a good holiday, and sending love to their families.
Not really having a plan, she bumped into Sirius on purpose. The food he was holding dropped to the ground.
"Oh I'm so sorry!" Eleanor gasped.
Siris frowned and chuckled. "It's fine, don't worry."
As he bent down to clean up the mess, Eleanor grabbed James and Peter by their arm and dragged then away from their friend.
"Oi- what are you doing?" James said, furrowing his eyebrows.
"It just came to my mind that you never really met my parents and I think that now is a very good time to do so," she said casually.
Peter frowned and pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "But what about Si-"
"Mum, dad! This is James and Peter, they're Remus' best friends but I couldn't find him-" she pushed the two boys forward.
Without further questioning, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin got acquainted with them. They had to agree that it was strange they had never met their son's friends before.
Eleanor looked over her shoulder to see if her 'plan' had worked. Regulus and Sirius were talking.
She was too far away to be able to hear what they were saying, but her heart sank when she saw Sirius shaking his head.
He put a hand on Regulus' shoulder, said something, and then walked over to where Fleamont and Euphemia Potter were standing, looking around the platform for their long lost son.
Regulus walked off and disappeared into the crowd, probably going to find his parents. Eleanor sighed to herself.
"It was great meeting you Mr. And Mrs. Lupin," James said in a well-mannered way. "But I believe my parents are looking for me."
Hope Lupin smiled at him and nodded. Peter excused himself as well and joined his parents who weren't standing that far away.
"Come here you!" her dad said and pulled into a bone-crushing hug. Eleanor laughed.
"Oh, there he is! Our son the Prefect," her mother said proudly.
Remus smiled and kissed his mother on the cheek. Lyall let go of his daughter and put an arm around his son.
"Right," Mr. Lupin said. "Let's get you lot home."