- Chapter Sixteen -
"I've never had a birthday like this."
"Five butterbeers please." James smiled brightly at the barmaid, resting his chin in his hand as he looked up at her.
"Five?" She raised an eyebrow. They normally got four, one for each friend, so when they said five, she thought she was going mad until she saw the girl in the middle of the room, turning slowly and looking around at the building in awe. Her lips were slightly parted as she stared at the wooden interior, she had never seen another building inside except for her house, Hogwarts and the Black house when she was as very young.
"Is that one yours?" The barmaid pointed to Elladora, who was still looking around. The four boys turned to see her like this and turned back with identical fond smiles.
"Yes." The said simultaneously and she got to work, pouring the drinks into five glasses.
Peter pushed himself away from the bar and approached Elladora. "Dora, come on, lets go and get a table." He nodded to an empty table in the far corner. The boys always sat there so if any teachers came, they could hide Sirius from sight. And now Elladora.
She followed him to the table and they both slid in, Peter took his coat off and Elladora just sat, comfortable without a coat. There were cushions placed on the seat that made it more comfortable instead of just sitting on wood. They sat in a somewhat soft silence as they waited for the boys to return.
"What's this place called again?" She asked quietly, still gazing around at the place. There was a roaring fire that cast a warm orange glow all over the place.
"The three broomsticks. Best pub in Hogsmeade." He said, looking around also. His mind was working up the courage to get some words on, maybe have a proper conversation instead of sitting in silence, but just as he was about to open his mouth. Thuds echoed around the pub and five drinks were placed on the table by James, Sirius and Remus.
"Butterbeer for the birthday girl." James did jazz hands as they all sat down at the table. The boys grabbed their pints and each took a sip, enjoying the fresh taste, whilst Elladora sat staring at the yellow liquid. "It's not poison, Dora. Try it." James pushed it towards her slightly.
She hesitantly reached forward and held it securely, looking around for reassurance, which is what she got from all of them as she lifted it to her lips and drank it. Her eyes were squeezed shut, ready for the horrible taste of alcohol, but it never came. Instead, a sweet liquid that tasted a lot like cream, hit her tastebuds and her eyes lit up from under their lids as she gulped some of it down.
It was by far one of the best things shes ever tasted. She set it down with a small thud and looked up to see the boys, staring at her. They all smiled, a big grin stretching at their mouths as she narrowed her eyes at them. "What?" She asked.
"Here." James held up a hand and she leaned back slightly. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you, just breath." He said and she took a deep breath whilst still tense as she squeezed her eyes shut.
She felt something come in contact with the skin under her nose and above her upper lip and it swiped across, then the feeling was gone. When she was sure that whatever it was had stopped, her shoulders relaxed into her straight posture as she opened one eye to see James wiping his thumb on the table. "What did you do?"
"You had cream on your lip." He gestured to some of the cream still in her pint of butterbeer and she nodded slowly, though she was still a bit shaken up from the contact, no one had ever gotten that close to her face except for her parents. "I just wiped it, one smooth move." He promised and she nodded slowly once again.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Peter with the same problem, cream spread over the top of his upper lip and she took a deep breath, leaning forwards and swiping it off quickly. She recoiled her hand quickly and wiped it on Sirius' jacket whilst Peter sat frozen, heat rushing hastily up to his cheeks.
"Thanks for that, Dora." Sirius looked down at the cream that had been smeared on his coat and he brushed it off as she looked away from it, maybe that wasn't the best option.
"Just like that." James smirked at Peter's red face as the boy stayed frozen, staring down at the wooden table. "You're getting good at the whole friend thing."
Elladora's eyes lit up once again, she was glad to hear that, the boys were making it so much easier. They made it so it felt like they were the only people in the world. She had pushed the thoughts of her parents and the others out of her mind and concentrated on the present, like Sirius had told her to do, having been in that situation before. Elladora wouldn't hesitant to call them her friends, because they were, and she knew that because she felt it. And she was glad to have them, just as they were glad to have her and to help her, with everything.
•*•*•*•*•
The group had decided to take a trip to a place called 'Honeydukes', which was where Sirius and Elladora had come from. They had told her it was a sort of sweet shop that had loads of delicious things. As she said before, she was feeling a bit rebellious, maybe she would eat a sugary marshmallow or something.
A bell that was connected to the door jingled, signalling their arrival in the shop, though it couldn't be heard on top of all the excited bustling of the Hogwarts students, taking stuff off of the shelves without having to look twice at the title of the product. The shelves were filled with colour, bright orange, blue, green and red were popping out from everywhere.
Sirius, Peter and James set off immediately, ready to find some sweets that they could eat and shared with Elladora if she wanted too. The girl herself, however, was stuck staring at the inside of the shop, Remus stood next to her as he smiled at her glinting eyes.
"Come on, I'll show you my favourite." He said to her and set off forward through the shop, she followed after him quickly as he glanced back continuously to make sure she was with him. They arrived at some sort of empty counter, separate to the one that everybody was paying at. Remus knocked on the counter three times. "Larry?" He called.
After some rustling behind the counter, a goblin popped his head up, looking at Remus specifically. "I told you, Lupin, no more free samples, I've fallen for enough of your tricks, if you want chocolate, buy some." He said and Remus blushed out of embarrassment, shaking his head.
"Not for me." He said and gestured to Elladora as they man leaned over the counter and narrowed his eyes at her instead.
"I've never seen you before, lady. What's your name?" He asked and Elladora hesitated at the interrogation.
"Elladora Hargreaves." She said and he grumbled something under his breath, disappearing from view, but popping up a moment later with a red, stripy bag.
"Enjoy your day." He muttered and Remus grinned. Elladora took the bag from on top of the wooden table and followed Remus out of the shop.
They walked back out into the windy breeze of October as carved pumpkins were sat outside of pubs and shops, ready to be lit at night. "Thought you could hear me better out here." Remus said and sat down on a bench, patting the place next to him. The girl joined him and opened the bag, peeking inside and seeing some chocolate.
"These are a lot of samples." She commented and the Gryffindor laughed, taking the bag from her.
"They're different flavours. There's milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate, caramel, crispy, hazelnut, mint and orange." He said and took a brown square of out of the bag, handing it to her. "Milk." He said.
She brought it up to her mouth and nibbled it slightly. The taste immediately making her crave more as she shoved the rest of it in, savouring it. Remus laughed and took out a water that he had in his backpack, handing it to her. She tipped her head back and swirled around the liquid around in her mouth, swallowing it down along with the remaining chocolate.
The two of them continued this process until all samples had been tasted, the only one she didn't really like was the dark chocolate and the mint. Her favourite had to be either caramel or hazelnut, which Remus had agreed to, but expressed that milk was his all time favourite. "Let's go and get you a couple of bars then." He stood up again but she didn't get up yet.
"I don't have any money with me." She said, feeling guilty, her mother never gave her any money for trips or anything like that.
Remus reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a little brown sack. "Say no more." He smiled and she still looked unsure, she didn't want to use his money when he could be buying better things. "Consider it a gift, it is your birthday after all." He waved the sack in her face.
She sighed and stood with him, the two of them walking back into Honeydukes as they scanned the shelves for the chocolate section. Having been there more times than he can count, Remus led her to it, taking two milk chocolate bars for himself and grabbing one caramel and one hazelnut for the girl stood behind him. They made their way to the till, where a kind old man smiled warmly at them both and wished them a good life as they left.
Elladora had no idea what he meant by that, but she nodded at him anyway, leaving the shop. When they got back outside, the other three were there waiting, they must've missed them when they went back inside.
Sirius stood and walked over to them, gaining the attention of the other two as they all regrouped. "Happy birthday." He grinned and held something out, she looked down at it and saw that it was another bag. When she looked down in it, she saw that it was different coloured jellies in the shape of slugs. Jelly slugs.
Peter came forward next and held out two blue cases to her, smiling, she took them and looked at the name. 'Chocolate Frog' it said and she looked at Remus for a view on what type of chocolate it was. He mouthed the word 'milk' and she nodded again, taking it from Peter as James stood forward, holding out another box as the rest of them groaned.
"Bertie Botts? Really Prongs?" Remus asked him and he placed a hand to his heart, looking offended.
"Your telling me that she's going into Honeydukes and not coming out with Bertie Botts every flavour beans." He asked and Elladora peered down at it, that's exactly what it was, yet there was no indication of what the flavours were.
"Well, I think she prefers chocolate."
"If she's been listening to your mouth going on about it then she will, won't she?"
"We tried every single sample and-"
"Thank you." Elladora interrupted their bickering, looking up from the beans and at her four friends. "I mean it, thank you. I've never had a birthday like this." She said and edged slightly closer to Sirius, hesitantly punching him in his shoulder.
He laughed and punched her back, not hard, but just a sign of reassurance. "It's no problem." He smiled softly and she nodded at him, turning to face the rest of them.
"Happy birthday." They said and Sirius brought the cloak out from his pocket.
"We should get going and eat everything back at the castle." He suggested and they all agreed that that was the best idea.
So with a wave and a bid of farewell, Remus, James and Peter set off back towards the castle whilst Sirius and Elladora moved away from prying eyes, throwing the cloak over themselves once again as they ventured through Honeydukes, down the stairs and back through the passageway.
Today was a good birthday.
•*•*•*•*•