𝕝𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕔𝕪 ⟡ ᴊᴀᴍᴇs ᴘᴏᴛᴛᴇʀ¹

twelve: damage control

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

JUST ONE KISS was all it took for everything to go up in flames. The rest of the party was a disaster. A good handful of the group had turned quiet, each stuck in their own little world of questions and unresolved feelings.

James had yet to speak to Lyra, Remus brushing it off saying he had too much to drink and probably didn't feel good. Lie. Or he was getting pummeled with homework and didn't have enough time to go and find her. Lie. The rest of the Marauders were just throwing sheepish smiles her way, none of them really knowing what to say without saying too much.

Mason kept more to himself, and she noticed it always seemed like he had his own war going on inside of his head. Most of the time she'd note that he was angry, frustrated, or sad. She wanted to help, but he continuously refused to admit that there was something wrong. It bothered her.

All of a sudden it felt like secrets were creating walls between her friendships, and she felt isolated. Not in a victim kind of way, she understood that people needed their space. She just wanted to help. She didn't want him to feel like he had to deal with whatever it was alone. She was there for him no matter what, always.

Regulus tried to play it off and she knew he knew something that she didn't. It was obvious. But she didn't understand. Lyra just wanted everything to go back to the way it was. She didn't like this new atmosphere where she was constantly walking around on eggshells. She was determined to fix whatever it was that she broke, and she intended to do it successfully.

✰ ✰ ✰

Lyra crawled into Ella's bed, sitting herself up against the headboard next to the seventh year witch. Silence filled the air, the Macmillan girl leaning her head back with her eyes closed while Lyra just sat. She didn't want to say the wrong thing or interrupt her peaceful moment, so she opted to stay quiet.

"I'm not mad, if that's what you're wondering" Ella mumbled, turning to look at her. Lyra nodded, biting the inside of her cheek as she hummed. She supposed that was a good sign so far. A sigh escaped the older girl's lips, pursing them before turning back to face forward. "I was just in my head" Ella spent a lot of time convincing herself that what had happened was okay. Because while Lyra did know she fancied the Burke boy, she didn't know how long she actually had.

Mason Burke first entered Ella's thoughts when she was in her fifth year. She had bumped into the boy and successfully dropped all of her books, and he kindly helped her pick them back up while she got all awkward. She of course recognized him and vice versa, but the two had never really spoken. At the time, she hadn't thought much of it.

She'd occasionally see him with Lyra, never approaching the pair because she didn't want to just barge in when they weren't all friends. She was also still slightly embarrassed that she had dropped everything in front of him, which was not a normal emotion for the girl. She liked to be confident and sassy, not self conscious or reserved.

Then, last year, Lyra had dragged her to quidditch tryouts because she wanted to support her best mate, and that was the first time Ella was in awe of the boy. The way he glided through the air and treated the sport as if it were his own baby just made her heart warm. She supposed the fact that he looked bloody good while doing it was a huge plus as well.

She kept this crush under the wraps for a while because she assumed it would have blown over in a couple of months. However, it didn't. She got used to looking at him first when she entered a room, but never looking long enough that he or anyone else would notice. She started to actually go to the Slytherin matches with Lyra rather than just staying in the common room.