ACT ONE; CHAPTER THIRTEEN
PRIDE, ENVY, DISBELIEF
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PRIDE, ENVY, DISBELIEF were not strong enough words to describe watching Kelsie Selwyn glide through the Slytherin Common Room with her tear cupped eyes staring straight forward and her head held high.
The strength she showed was bigger than any wary stares that were casted upon her or the looks of confusion at Eleanor and Regulus following behind, in step with one and other, or the failed attempt at ignoring their looks from the duo. While Eleanor glared at Barty Crouch who'd smirked at her with a cockiness he'd picked up trailing after Regulus, the mimicked boy hissed a threat towards a Fourth Year boy who he'd heard making comments. Both of them knew that they were nowhere near Kelsie's level, they could only wish and watch her with everything they could.
As if the show had weakened her, at the split off for the boys and girls, Kelsie drooped against the wall. From the tears, exhaustion had laid to rest on her eyes, and it had been a miracle she had yet to pass out from that already. Pity finally taking reign because of it, causing her better judgement to flee, a pursed lipped Eleanor gestured for Regulus to carry her.
Without questioning it, though his furrowed brows said otherwise, he did as he was silently instructed. Meanwhile Eleanor pulled out her wand and traced the archway to the girls' dorm hallway, "Votu puella Eleanor Archord."
"I have never seen anybody do that before."
Eleanor rolled her eyes and put her wand away. "It's to let you in, Einstein. Although, thinking about it now, it would have been funny to see what it'd do to you without permission."
Leading the way, Eleanor brought the unlikely trio back to the Dorm Room she shared with Kelsie, Pandora and the other two. When she alone had entered, Pandora began to speak of her worry for her two disappearing friends but broke off into a fish face of shock at Regulus carrying Pandora towards her bed. Using the power of deduction through the pictures on each nightstand, Regulus laid Kelsie gently on the right bed as Eleanor told Pandora not to ask through a scrunched face and a shake of the head.
The situation was odd enough without Pandora asking questions that Eleanor couldn't find coherent and completely truthful answers to with a gun to her head.
Instead, with a new look, a pleading to just comply with the weirdness, Eleanor dragged Regulus out of the room quicker than he'd entered. She had full faith that Pandora could watch over Kelsie with as much care and love as a stereotypical mother, that still didn't stop Eleanor trying to rush to drop off Regulus to get back to Kelsie. Responsibility for hurt people, people always seemed to tell her in one way or another, could be the hamartia of Eleanor Archord.
"You know," Regulus spoke first to break the conemtplation surrounding them. "Your Dorm wasn't how I imagined it would be."
"How so?"
"It's not as clean as I expected." The boy said blankly which caught her off guard and sparked a laugh she didn't realise she still had for that day. Even if she wasn't ready to admit it, it was beginning to seem like that was a recurring effect that Regulus Black had on her. Still, she wasn't about to start calling him her light in dark times, that was a bit much for less than two days of kind-of-real real friendship.
At the laugh, the boy who walked in line with her stopped at the arch to smile down at her as she bowed her head. Between everybody else, it was a good job she did or else she would've seen that genuine smile that held a thousand words which had the ability to melt even her seemingly stone heart. With every passing second, though, Regulus became more of a human to her than she ever imagined possible and she didn't know. For once, she didn't know – how could she face the fact that maybe she'd been wrong?
At the very least, before a smirk-replacing-smile could destroy the last awful image of him for her, she'd have to hear a that he was wrong first. About her, about Voldemort, about everything they'd ever argued about. Though, she knew that last one could be a bit of a stretch to gain.
Instead of hearing the announcement of wrongs, she heard herself announce her disbelief on how somebody could be as strong as Kelsie. "I just don't know how she found it in herself to walk past all those people after her heart-breaking. What she thought of is something I can't even begin to think of."
"'The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living,' Marcus Tullius Cicero, paraphrased by Andromeda Black at her last family meal." Regulus replied, barely audible but Eleanor was listening closely to his every word.
"I'll admit I agree with the quote but I still don't know how she did it. If another person I loved left me..."
Mouth open, Regulus started but never truly began. Instead the sound of blunt heels on the stone floor filled the sound his voice was going to. In sync, both moved off the opposite walls they lent on and stood side-by-side to face the woman walking up to them. Blonde hair and beautiful, Narcissa Black stood with the signature smirk of their family. At first when they met there was a sense of solidarity between the two girls until they diverged onto different paths and glares became the only thing they shared.
"I would like to see Kelsie." Narcissa demanded with the tone of their family as well. Unlike usual, apparently, when she brought out the Black superiority in some way or form, she got no response and a scowl formed. "Again, I would like to see Kelsie Selwyn."
Shrugging, Eleanor acted bored while she played with her nails (which, admittedly, did remind her to venture with Pandora to get a new set done by Muggle's over the winter). "You can demand as many times as you like, Narcissa, it won't happen."
With a roll of her eyes at the girl she'd deemed inferior the moment it was announced she believed all lives were equal and worth something, Narcissa turned to her young cousin. Oh, her young, obedient, role model Black of a cousin who refused to look her in the eyes. Instead, his eyes were focused with pride on Eleanor's dancing hand that was performing on the wand that stuck out of her pocket, prepared.
"Now, Eleanor, I would really hate to have to forcefully move you. For all you are dreadfully annoying and frustrating for any normal Slytherin to be around, you get along with your life without causing us too much hassle. Wouldn't it be a shame to stop doing that so close to your final year?"
"You know, unlike you, I really wouldn't hate to do something you might force me to do." Eleanor admitted, pulling out her wand and pointing it towards the older girl in one swift motion. "So, turn around now."
In a futile attempt to deter the armed girl, Narcissa's scrawny finger pushed the tip of the wand away, only for it to fly right back to where it should be. For a moment, the two girls just stared at each other with a raised eyebrow and a determination that would have rivalled a Gryffindor's and resembled the trait that got them both Sorted into their shared House. No matter how stupid the fight seemed to be over to anybody else's eyes, there was a bigger meaning behind it all and Eleanor, for one, could not afford to be the one to back down. Even if it meant messing with a loyal Black and a future Malfoy.
"Just put the wand down, Eleanor. We both know that you won't do anything."
Rookie mistake, truthfully – being a Slytherin herself, Narcissa should've known better than to challenge a Slytherin. Especially one with so much at stake, regardless of if it was secretly to even Eleanor. By the wincing look on Regulus' face, hidden from Narcissa, even he knew it. Therefore it was barely a surprise when there was a fleet flick of her wrist that immobilised the elder girl with the younger ones silent freezing charm.
"Retractum." Eleanor then added, to keep a hold on the girl before she fell back. "Can't have you falling and harming your pretty head, can we? Merlin, what do you think Lucius would do? I heard your looks, and that pesky contract, was all he was marrying you for, after all."
"You bi—"
"Did somebody say a silencio as well?" Eleanor questioned sarcastically, taking the Black-themed smirk for herself as the girl squirmed to break out of both limiting spells. "I do hope this will teach you not to challenge me."
Eleanor couldn't help it, she was smug. Singlehandedly overthrowing Narcissa Black – even Eleanor would admit that the girl was quite the gifted witch – was something to throw on a conceited grin on your face for. Especially with the amount of silent and unmoving squirms that were radiating off her with fury.
Even with the permission from life, after a few moments of fun, an eyerolling and sighing Eleanor pulled up her wand which released Narcissa from each spell. Still, the wand stayed in her hand in case of retaliation – and Regulus' wand was sneaking into his own hand for fear of the same thing. As predicted, the second she was free to do so, Narcissa's wand had flown into her hand and was pointed at Eleanor's chest with the same anger that was written on her face.
"Here's what you're going to do," Eleanor stated firmly, looking the girl in the eyes while her wand began to smugly pushed the tip of Narcissa's away. "You, Narcissa Black, are going to put down your wand, promise not to bother anybody effected by Bilius and Robert's murder and then you are going to turn around and leave."
Once Eleanor's wand lowered from it's push, Narcissa looked between the duo in front of her with anger wavering. A good Slytherin knows when to pick their battles and went to throw them away – that could be the reason Eleanor was often labelled a bad Slythein – and nobody could deny that title from Narcissa. With pain that was prominent on her every move, Narcissa's face scrunched with a new type of irritation and she lowered her wand.
Though, once she spoke, Eleanor would've taken a thousand duels compared to how she had to force everything inside of her not to react even with the slightest of facial movements. It was no wonder that Narcissa smirked when she said, "I guess you'll just have to owe me a favour for this, won't you, Eleanor?"
Not even breathing out of fear it could give away some form of fear was hard. Soon enough though, the fourteen and three quarters seconds it took for Narcissa to leave earshot was lifted and a silent breath of relief was granted. Regulus pretended not to notice. Instead he offered her a high five which the amused girl took – yet another show of his way to lighten her up when it seemed almost impossible.
"Well, there is no love lost between you and your cousin, is there?" She attempted to joke herself.
"Hey, I don't discuss your tragic relationship with your sister—"
"Yes, you do, actually."
"Dammit, yes I do." Regulus repeated with a mutter. Again, she was caused to smile. "I guess that means I owe you an explanation. Since the whole thing with me and Kelsie breaking our own little contract because we didn't want to get married, things had been bad. Though, I have to admit, as this bloody War reaches new heights so does the tension between us Black's. I bet my Mother blames it on Sirius."
Now they were friends and Regulus seemed completely fine with opening up to her, Eleanor was learning a lot. Not just how he positioned himself to study but how his brain worked through his choices of words and where he popped a sly kind of joke in his explanations. For so long, she'd regarded him as the open book of arrogance but, like a click of magic, he was now so much more. In some ways, quite frankly, she was always eager to flick to the next page to learn more.
"Everything has worsened with the War." Was all she replied though. It caused Regulus to give her a look, which she repeated back to him.
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Nobody who knew them well couldn't help but notice that the food that was served for the rest of the day was what Bilius and Robert would politely pester the House Elves for. Which was why Eleanor couldn't find it in herself to eat so therefore simply rested her head on Pandora's shoulder as she ate for them both. Everybody dealt with grief in different way, after all.
Pandora had also been gracious in not questioning the team up of enemies. Instead, once Eleanor returned to check on the sleeping girl, Pandora simply suggested they eat – more of an order since she knew if there wasn't food in her mouth then questions would spill out. Knowing how much her best friend adored Robert and Bilius in their own ways, there was no way that Pandora could harass her grieving actions.
Plus, Eleanor seemed drained from when she'd told Pandora to go alone as they passed the stairwell to Gryffindor upon noticing Lily Evans. The anger from storming past celebrating Slytherin's who cared more about classes being cancelled than lives being lost fled away as the two girls shared a squeeze. With a kiss on the younger girls head, Lily pulled back and rubbed Eleanor's arms gently.
"I don't suppose you could help me with something, if you think Pandora can wait a few minutes."
Eleanor smiled. "I'd be happy to help."
Thus, the reason Eleanor had been drained: helping check on mourning Marauders. On the journey there, hushed whispers had told her of the impact of the great Gryffindor loss had left everybody feeling lost but none more so than the four Seventh Years and one particular Sixth Year, Frank Longbottom. The latter had bolted up both figurative and literal walls that not even the apparent love of his life Alice Prewett could force down with all her might. Spotting the girl sat waiting for it to fall on its own accord, Eleanor remembered that, no matter how easy it seemed to forget sometimes, but Frank was third in the trio Bilius and Robert created, despite the age gap.
All Eleanor could compare his loss to was if she lost Pandora or Kelsie, which brought excruciation to her heart at the mere thought of the concept. Which was why she left Alice's side with a message of friendly love to pass on when Frank was ready to leave his castle of grief.
Once she'd entered the Marauders' Dorm, Eleanor was again reminded of Frank as she dreaded to think what his Dorm looked like. Boys, generally, got furious in their grief. This was shown in the boys' Dorm by Sirius' chair laying sideways on the floor and hundreds of sheets of parchment decorating the floor nearby in a fashion that resembled an anger fuelled spells work. Truthfully, it wasn't as bad as certain other occasions when death was announced but it was still hard to see.
"Scourgify," Eleanor whispered, to clean up and alert the boys to the girl's presence. At the sound, all four looked up from laying on their separate beds either faced down or eyes closed.
"What do you two want?" Sirius questioned.
Looking at Eleanor, then back to the boys, Lily shrugged. "To see if you needed anything. Like something to eat, some company..."
"To be left alone, would be our choice." James replied. Both girls shared a look of worry – James Potter never turned down an opportunity to be around Lily Evans, even know they were dating and he didn't have to annoy her into submission.
Through several options, the duo of girls attempted to tempt the boys into leaving hibernation to carry on as their deceased friends would have wanted. However, upon pointing that fact out, they were harshly snapped at to 'just leave' by a unison of four muffled voices. Giving people time was hard to do, admittedly, especially when those people were usually so full of life, but with a share of a knowing look, the girls knew that it was the best thing they could do for them.
That was why the girls simply left. Well, that's how it should've gone but Eleanor just couldn't help herself and she rested her hand on the door she almost closed as she said, "Just know that, uh, 'the life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living'."
"Who said that?" Remus asked. Even in grief, the boy was as studious as ever – she wasn't there, but she'd heard he was a hat stall too, and it wasn't a surprise since, in Eleanor's eyes, he fit into every House. And every House would be more privileged to have him.
Pursing her lips, Eleanor had lied in her reply, "I can't remember."
Also looking up was Sirius Black who stared at the girl with a wondering gaze behind the tears that brimmed his eyes. Eleanor didn't look back at that when she left and finally closed the door.
So, with Eleanor exhausted from her effort to support the sufferers of the tradgedy that rocked the school resting on her shoulder with some peace for the first time that day, Pandora ate. Best friend's were, by uncertified definition, is 'the one who you could piss off so badly, but in your time of need they will still be there for you'. That day Eleanor hadn't pissed her off, per say, but she'd confused and frustrated her but Eleanor needed her rock and, by Merlin, her rock was what Pandora was going to be.
That was why Pandora was glued to her side even more than usual once she returned from Gryffindor. Especially when a Hufflepuff Third Year raced into the Hall with a great shout of, "Come outside quickly!" that laced panic and anticipation in everybody. Panic, on Eleanor, created the odd strength of a mother when her child is trapped under a car, so the best friends were at the front of the ever building crowd as fast as Eleanor could push.
BW + RW were painted in the sky in the colours of Filibusters by four artists on brooms that flew in between explosions and each other with skill Eleanor wished she could show to the world again in next game – but that wouldn't be until after the summer.
A shocked but knowing smile rose on Pandora's face while she watched the display and she squeezed her best friend's arm lovingly. Across the way, sat on the low walls of the Court Yard was Kelsie and Regulus who, when they found Eleanor's eye, shared an at ease nod with her. In the sky some place, Lily and Marlene cheered on the boys with thankfulness even though they should've been watching out for Filch like their job stated.
Fortunately for them, they wouldn't be fired anytime soon as Filch was being held on a leash next to Eleanor by the Headmaster's words as the two staff watched the display. "Perhaps, Mister Filch, we could allow the display for this one day."
Pride, envy, disbelief were not strong enough words to describe watching Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew continue to cause the display for as long as their Filibuster supply lasted because she wished she could be that strong in the face of breaking. So, with much hard work, over time, she became that strong.
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WORDS: 3330
ok so like.... wow i loved this chapter.
first of all, the drama between eleanor and narcissa? did you mean: the drama even i didn't know that we needed? second of all, releanor(?) was so cute and badass this chapter like i can't even myself. third of all, kelsie selwyn is a badass and the love of my life. fourth of all, next chapter is the start of what y'all came here for. just saying.
with that hinted i'll love you and leave you with the ask of likes and comments because it's in my Wattpad Writer™️ blood