good things fall apart • sirius black

Cornered animals

Enough of the night had been wasted.

A clock in the distance struck ten, and Ellie could barely believe they'd spent three hours dancing, eating and chatting.

Running to keep up with her, James was rather out of breath once he found himself at her side once more, walking down one of the corridors and back to the ball. Questions and worries could be saved until the morning, now was time to celebrate and have fun. Ellie ran her fingers through her hair and took deep breaths, trying to compose herself for when they returned, but it became a difficult task when James was still snickering from beside her.

He was marvelling in his knew found knowledge, whether his best friend would admit to it or not, and now he'd set himself the task of prying the information out of Sirius too. That posed trickier, for Sirius would likely shut him down and laugh in his face. He'd have to confront Remus first, Remus never missed anything.

Just as the pair rounded the corner to where the entrance of the Great Hall was, they about collided with a figure coming the other way. A figure no other than Severus Snape and all three of them sneered for their own reasons.

Having decided the ball was a waste of his time, especially since Lily seemed far too preoccupied with a certain group of Gryffindors he despised, Snape had taken it upon himself to retire to bed. There was no enjoyment to be had when the perfect Lily Evans was just being rubbed in his face, by no other than James Potter himself. Or at least that's what the Slytherin boy thought before he took in the slightly dishevelled appearances of the pair before him.

    "Well, well, well. Sneaking off together in the middle of the ball. You make yourselves look quite suspicious." He sneered.

Ellie rolled her eyes, not only was James easily wound up by their least favourite student at Hogwarts, Snape also seemed to actively seek out run-ins with the group. She knew that by no means was this a one-sided feud, but she also wished James wouldn't start anything in the hopes that the rest of the night could be salvaged. She was very thankful all of their wands had been left in their dorm.   

    "Keep your abnormally large nose out of it." James retaliated, venom laced in his words and Ellie grabbed hold of his arm in case he lunged for the greasy haired boy before them.

Eyes narrowed, Snape didn't seem to be letting this go and the beautiful girl tugged on James' arm in a plea to be the bigger person and walk away.

    "I find it rather odd that you gallivant about the castle, droning on about how much you adore Lily. Yet, here you are, returning from a broom cupboard I suspect, with one of her friends." Snape was taunting them both and James's jaw locked in anger.

This was not the direction Ellie was hoping the night would take, and she contemplated rushing back into the ball to get Sirius before it was too late.

    "Come on James. He's not worth it tonight."

In an attempt to rectify the situation on her own, Ellie tugged on her best friend's arm again, but he didn't budge. That was not a good sign.

    "Yes, James..." The greasy haired Slytherin mocked, "Why don't you just run along with your pureblood princess and go back to your privileged little world where nothing you do has any consequence on others."

Ellie no longer thought it was as easy as just walking away.

    "What did you just call me?" She seethed, not sure where the nickname had come from, whether he'd made it up or if others called it her behind her back.

Either way, it cut through her like a sharp blade. Not everything in life came down to whether you were of pureblood or not. Both Peter and Remus were half blood and they were just as good of people for it. Lily Evans was Muggle-born and was definitely the brightest witch in their year. How did blood purity correlate to how good of a person you were? Being Lily's friend, Snape should know this.