ADDICTED | j.p x oc

26

Euphemia wasted no time in muttering incantations to heal Eleanors wounds, attempting to stop the bleeding.

James' eyes were wide, "What happened?" He spoke as though all the air had been knocked from his lungs.

"Nott was carrying her, he didn't really explain anything," Sirius replied, both of their faces drained of any colour.

Euphemia sent the two boys to collect various potions, not letting them back in the room until she was finished.

"I knew i shouldn't've let her go back there!" James paced, wringing out his hands to alleviate some stress. "I knew she was scared of her mother. Oh god this is all my fault!"

Sirius ignored his friends rambling. His eyes were wide and fixed on the closed living room door, his face was white, he hadn't spoken in several minutes (which, for Sirius, was a long time).

After what felt like an eternity, Euphemia opened the door, "She'll be fine," both the boys let out loud sighs of relief. "Do you know what happened to her? She had two broken ribs, a large slash down her back and arm, and," she took a deep breath, "Someone's used the crutiatus curse on her,"

"This is all my fault," James repeated over and over, he'd sat down on the bottom step, not trusting his legs to carry himself. He had his elbows on his knees, his hands constantly running through his hair.

"She should be awake soon, if you want to talk to her?" Euphemia eyed them both, "Come here," she pulled them into a hug, rubbing their back comfortingly. "What's her name?"

"El," her son answered, "Burke." Euphemia nodded. "Pads do you mind if i..?" James pointed towards the door.

Sirius took a deep breath, and nodded, patting James on the shoulder as he passed to enter the living room.

Eleanor was still asleep, her blood had left a stain on the sofa. She looked far better than when she had arrived though, some colour had returned to her face, but it still looked sunken.

"Burke?" he sat on the floor beside her, holding her hand and squeezing it lightly. "I'm so sorry, i should've done something,"

"Stop being so dramatic," El croaked quietly, her throat still scratchy.

James let out a mixture of a sigh and a chuckle, resting his forehead on their joined hands, the heavy feeling lifting off his shoulders. Her hand went straight to her head when she tried to sit up.

"Do you want to explain what happened?" he asked, passing her the glass of water Euphemia had left on the side table.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing," she gratefully took the water and downed most of it. "How did i get here?"

James crossed his legs on the floor, "Umm, well Nott brought you here. You were-" he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"Theo was here? Where is he now?" she perked up at the mention of her cousin, looking around to see if he was in sight.

"No, he left before i even got downstairs,"

El nodded, trying to piece together what she could remember. "What day is it?" she asked, it was still dark outside.

"Christmas eve, the 24th,"

It was all a lot to take in. She'd been in that room for three days. "I don't want to talk about anything," she spoke quietly.

"You don't have to," James stroked over her knuckles with his thumb. "I'm sorry i didn't try stop anything. I recognised her in Diagon Alley, from that night on patrols,"