good things fall apart • sirius black

Oblivious

Once out of the eye line of any Ravenclaws, James was happy to let Ellie and Sirius be as they pleased. He kept a hold of the beautiful girl's hand for a little while longer though, keeping her by his side as they made their way to Transfiguration (by-passing their dorms to collect their books for the day). She gave him an odd look when he didn't explain himself, squeezing his hand once as if to ask if he were alright, and on this, he finally looked at her.

It was a strange emotion in his eyes, one Ellie didn't really understand. Annoyance? Maybe mild panic? It wasn't exactly clear to her.

The messy haired boy wouldn't know how to explain himself if he wanted to. He didn't believe that Ellie wasn't capable of standing up for herself, for he knew she'd ruin anyone that gave her a reason too. And it wasn't for any element of control over the beautiful girl either. Instead, he was just worried that she'd end up caught in the middle of something she didn't mean to end up between.

Having grown up with Ellie, he knew how utterly oblivious she could be. For saying she was so caring, noticing when any of her friends needed comfort or support, she could be so unaware of what was happening to her. James knew it probably stemmed from her confidence, the fact she was so sure of herself, that other's opinions didn't matter. But this wasn't always a good thing. She never noticed if someone was muttering about her; she never noticed when she was being cast looks, whether they were good or bad; she never noticed anything that didn't happen outside of her little bubble.

It wasn't that she was unobservant necessarily, because on the odd occasion, she did notice something. And she wasn't stupid enough to keep herself ignorant to the presence of others either. However, the beautiful girl had a tendency to miss things that could potentially be an issue. Something to do with her love for risk-taking behaviour, she'd just learned to block out the warning signs.

It was in situations like this, where she could often fall behind socially, as a result of her living entirely in her own world.

There would be no showing her that Jessica and her friends had probably taken a disliking to her already and James didn't want Ellie being dragged in-between Sirius and the Ravenclaw. For both of his best friends' sake. That meant he'd have to act as Ellie's barrier against the ugly glares that she missed, and he was sure Remus would be on board too.

    "Do you think it'll be bad?" James asked the lanky boy, both of them watching Ellie and Sirius charge down the hallway, laughing wildly and engaged in the second intense race of the year.

    "Not if we don't let it be." Remus replied with a sigh, both the boys sharing a pointed look.

    "Jessica isn't going to like Cubby, is she?" None of the boys wanted to expect the worse, for they didn't know Jessica and so couldn't speak on behalf of her character. However, neither of them could deny Peter's statement either.

    "We can't stop them being like that." Eyes fixed on Ellie and Sirius as the beautiful girl caught up with him in their race, barrelling into his back and nearly sending them both toppling over, James pushed his glasses up his nose in a nervous tic. The pair erupted into fits of laughter, clinging onto each other in a bid to stay upright.

Smiles like the ones they wore in moments like that, were something nobody had the right to take away from them.

    "They've got to learn how to let other people in on what they've got. We understand it, because we've watched it grow. But they'll come a time when they can't carry on like that." Remus spoke in his ever-thoughtful manner, "What happens when one of them wants to get married in the future? I'm not talking about Jessica Arnell either. I'm talking, serious relationship that calls for them to put other people first. Friendships have to evolve as people get older."