"Remus Lupin."
"Brielle Roux."
"Why are you ignoring me?" She burst, crossing her arms in front of her.
The boy's eyes widened and he ducked his head, looking everywhere but at the annoyed girl in front of him. James, Sirius, and Peter, all of whom found the situation humorous, placed their heads in their hands and batted their eyelashes towards the wolf boy in a mocking way.
"Yea, Rem-Rem—do tell!" Sirius grinned, though was quickly punched in the shoulder by Eileen who was holding in her own giggles.
The group had thankfully made up quickly, this time both sides apologizing to each other. Everyone had been on edge this year, to which most of the teachers blamed the hormones. Teenage angst, they called it. As much as Belle would like to blame it fully on hormones, it was also due to the fact that they developing their own opinions and were becoming their own people. If someone clashed with someone else, they didn't stay friends. At least not in the wizarding world. Belle hoped that she would never clash with her friends again; she hated the feeling.
Her friends had complied to meeting Aiden, who seemed quite happy to finally be accepted into their friend group. Ironically, he got on quite well with Sirius—both of them sharing the same humor—and had fit in wonderfully. As much as the headstrong Gryffindors would like to admit, Aiden was a nice guy. Aiden still had his own friends he sat with, but every once and while the whole group would hang out together leaving Belle ecstatic. Everyone had been getting along.
Christmas break neared and Belle found herself nervous to go home. She thought about staying at the castle, only to avoid the loud yelling competitions between Uncle Maurice and her father, but her grandparents had requested her to stay with them for the two weeks. She had no idea what they had in store for Belle, considering they only ever contact her on her birthday. She only hoped it wasn't to do with her 'pure-blood training.' She'd discussed with Sirius exactly what that was earlier that week,
"Oh!" He had snorted, placing both hands in front of him, "That's the worst. They make you walk 'round with a book on your head and you learn a bunch of pure-blooded waltzes—oh and table manners! Those have to be the hardest part. Which fork to use, which napkin goes where...you know, the bullshit."
Bullshit was right.
She had never expected to be yanked into that part of the pureblood world, considering her parents had never been strict in that manner. She wondered if that's what her mother went through when she was younger, table manners and waltzes. It seemed absolutely horrid.
Remus took a deep breath before uttering his first lie ever to Belle.
"I thought you were replacing me with Aiden."
It wasn't a great lie, but it was the first that came to his head. Sirius and James didn't buy it, only because they had forced the real reason out of Remus a couple night ago. They didn't say anything, much to the relief of the wolf boy who watched as Belle's face morphed into one of shock.
"What? You know I would never do that, right? You're my best friend, Rem."
Remus smiled softly at the girl, his stomach jumping into his throat. He nodded his head, moving over to allow her to sit next to him on the leather couches in the Gryffindor common room.
Lily coughed rather forcefully into her hand, her eyebrows raised at Belle's comment.
"Sorry, Lily Flower. You're both my best friends."
"Excuse me?" Rose gasped, a hand over her heart in fake offense, "I thought I was your best friend Belle! We had something great and you just ruined it!"
"I'm pretty sure I'm her best friend," James smirked, lifting his arm around Belle, who now sat directly in-between him and Remus.
"Please—Sirius is everyone's best friend."
"Did you just talk about yourself in the third person?"
"Sirius did, and Sirius will continue to do it until Sirius annoys Rose."
"Guys—Let's be real here, Peter here is my real best friend." Belle grinned, sending a wink towards Peter who turned beet-red. The group laughed in harmony together, like they had done for years and years.
All the other Gryffindors throughout Gryffindor tower let out a collective sigh of relief, for when the 'third years' weren't happy, no-one was happy.
— — — — —
Belle narrowed her eyes at her grandmother, who paced around the kitchen relentlessly. Her hands moved quick over the pots and pans that magically stirred themselves, preparing all types of food from Indian to Warthog's feast. She never understood the want to cook and make food, she much rather be cooked for. Her grandmother, though, was a prime example of someone who loved to cook.
"Make yourself useful and light the cooker." She ordered, Belle obeying her order and taking out her wand to light the flame. "You know, when I was your age, I was already trained in pureblood standards! My mother made sure I never, ever slouched. She would—"
'Whip me with her handkerchief until my bottom was red as roses!' Belle mouthed as her grandmother spoke, hearing the phrase so many times over the past few days that she had nearly memorized her lectures.
Her grandmother did indeed start correcting Belle on her posture, but had yet to make her walk around with a book on her head. She had gone over table manners for a half an hour before her grandfather complained about his food getting cold, and made her wear classy and sophisticated dresses when she left the house. Belle was sure she'd have back problems by the time she left for Hogwarts with the amount of corsets her grandmother forced her into.
"Ugh! Merlin, Brielle! Are you even listening to me? Never the mind—head upstairs and get dressed for dinner."
"Dinner? Nana, you never make me dress for dinner..." Belle sighed, running a hand through her straightened hair. She was exhausted and completely ready to return to her friends in two weeks, even thought there was the possibility of more useless drama.
"We're having guests!" Her nana grinned, shooing the girl off to get ready. "Old friends of mine, they have a son your age!"
Belle waved her off and headed upstairs, thinking it was probably some odd family from France that her grandmother knew back in school. Her grandmother knew many, many people from around the world. How the old woman kept track of everyone was a question Belle couldn't answer, and frankly, she didn't want to either.
After settling on a floral skirt and a dressy blouse, Belle considered herself ready. She didn't bother wearing a corset because she knew her grandmother hated wearing one while eating and wouldn't make her wear one either. Her line of sight wavered to window as a constant pecking diverted her attention. Outside was a familiar owl, one she knew to belong to the Domina household. She snatched the letter after handing the owl a knut, tearing open the bindings and revealing a short but filled parchment.
Dear whom ever it may concern,
Rosaline Domina will be throwing a Christmas Party! You, yes you, are invited! Feel free to bring gifts, as we will be doing a White Elephant Exchange the night before Christmas! Parents are encouraged to attend but only my friends will stay for the sleepover! RSVP by Wednesday! Time, date, dress code, and rules are enclosed on the back of this note! Hope you can make it!
—Rosaline Domina and Family
Belle grinned at the note, reading over the extra information given. She about to call out to her Nana when the doorbell signaled the arrival of the family. She threw the note on her bed, flattening her skirt and fixing the strands of hair that escaped her ponytail. With a final deep breath, she descended the stairs. She heard the voices before she saw them.
"It's so lovely to see you again Nancy!"
"You as well, Euphemia!"
Belle's eyes widened as she heard the familiar name. She turned the corner, spotting the two older folks with two teasing boys beside them.
"Belle!" Sirius grinned, giving the girl an ecstatic wave, "Long time no see, huh?"
This was going to be a long night.
A/N: thinking about an 'It' book?