good things fall apart • sirius black

Padfoot

Staring at the ceiling, Ellie was wide awake.

No one had remembered to close the curtains before they all crashed, exhausted from a very enthusiastic game of 'who can dodge the quaffle the fastest?', where in which James and Sirius raced around the bedroom trying not to get hit by Ellie's accurate quaffle throwing. It had led to an argument over who had actually won, both of the boys thinking it was themselves, and Fleamont had been sent in to intervene before they were shouting. Forgotten in moments, the spat fizzled into nothingness as they all got ready for bed, the boys instantly asleep once their head's hit their pillows.

The beautiful girl however, lay on the spare mattress at the side of James' bed, eyes wide in the darkness, and not an ounce of sleepiness within reach. Fleamont's grumbles about them being too loud for way past midnight, had sobered them sufficiently after their firewhisky affair, but Ellie could still feel her cheeks glowing slightly in an alcohol induced haze.

However, it wasn't the liquor that was keeping her awake. Instead, it was her racing thoughts of Adelaide, and knowing this time last year she was about to wake up to Christmas as it should be. Ellie had however, come to the conclusion that maybe it was time to let go of all the negativity surrounding the memories of her mother, and move on. Of course, she'd always hold Adelaide close to her heart, and that didn't mean she didn't wish she was around any less, but Ellie knew her mother wouldn't want her tormenting herself forever. It was time to get back to her old self again and start enjoying life the way she used to.

The first term of school could've gone smoother, and she felt the rockiness of it all was partly because of a lack of emotional stability, which could obviously be improved on her part. Ellie vowed to herself that she'd begin the new year as a fresh start - remembering Adelaide in a positive light and focusing her time and energy into things she enjoyed. Things she knew her mother would be proud of her for.

That lead her mind onto thinking about a certain quest that was to be begin, also in the new year, something she knew her mother would definitely be proud of her for doing.

The light shining through the window, made her mind swirl in thoughts of becoming an Animagus, and how they were going to such lengths to help their friend with his lycanthropy. When James had brought it up third year Ellie hadn't hesitated for one second on the fact that this was one way for certain to aid Remus in something he struggled so deeply with. She felt so proud of how hard her friend worked and all the resilience he showed each month, but that didn't mean the circumstance was any less melancholy.

Ellie loved and cherished Remus for who he was, werewolf and all, knowing she was a part of the minority in a society where her friend was deemed foul and evil. Never would she be able to see him that way, for the lanky boy was far too warm, friendly and cuddly looking for her to actually be intimidated by him. The beautiful girl felt that a huge indication of how it's what's on the inside that truly makes a human being, not the things that happen to you, whether those things are good or not.

She stood by her philosophy of people having both light and dark inside of them, she felt that was what truly showed you who people were, the part of them they decided to act on. And Remus always chose the light.

Aware that there were horrible murderous werewolves out there, she wasn't ignorant to the fact that Remus could be extremely dangerous either, but that didn't sway her opinions on the prejudices surrounding his condition.

If anyone ever found out about him, they'd probably cause a fuss until he was kicked out of school, although she was sure Dumbledore wouldn't allow for such an injustice. That was one of the main reasons she despised Severus Snape, for the Slytherin seemed hell bent on finding out the truth as a way to get them all in trouble. The Marauders were good at keeping Remus' secret, but Ellie wasn't obvious to the way Snape seemed to be getting closer and closer to the truth, and if he somehow got any evidence to prove his theories, that would be it. Ellie would always be eternally grateful to Lily for never letting it slip.