Mortem . Sirius Black

chapter twenty-five

January 20th - Kitchens 

The Hufflepuff, the Ravenclaw, and the Slytherin were all sitting in the kitchens that Thursday afternoon. Ever since they had started hanging out with the marauders, the time they spent only together was limited. 

Even though they liked the group of Gryffindors, their paces were quite different. The marauders constantly felt the need to be loud and fast when they were together, while the other three preferred quiet and intelligent conversations. Because of this, they found that spending too much time with the Gryffindors could be tiring, and they wanted to have an afternoon to themselves. 

"So, you know I have to ask," drawled Tony "How the hell did you and Sirius get over everything?" 

Nephera rolled her eyes in her friends' direction, "We didn't get over everything, we're just on civil terms compared to how we were before," 

"I'm just happy I haven't had to stop you from killing him," grumbled Ellie "It was getting exhausting," 

"Oh come off it, you both know you enjoyed it some times," she snapped, eating a bite out of an apple 

"Rem and I would bet on who would win each argument," added the Ravenclaw "I always bet on you and I always won," 

"Of course you did, Gryffindors can't argue," said the Slytherin "They're all loud voices and simple words," 

"How did we even end up being friends with so many of them?" asked Ellie 

"Loverboy over there decided to date one, and then the invasions happened," teased the brunette 

"Oh shut up, and don't you have prefect patrol?" 

"Oh crap I do, I'll see you two later," 

As she was leaving, Nephera noticed that Ellie had zoned out, and it wasn't hard to figure out what she was thinking. The war was getting more and more prominent each day, and muggleborns and their families were the prime targets. 

 It wasn't only the newspapers that showed how dark the world had become, though, it was shining through in Hogwarts too. 

Lestrange and his group were leading the prejudice in the school, students were avoiding them at all costs, and muggleborns neglected to walk alone. 

The only slight reprieve for the group of friends was that none of the Slytherins had come near Ellie. The ghost of the Hufflepuff's punch still lingered on Lestrange's skin and the last person that said anything about the blonde was Snape, who had to be levitated into the hospital wing after Nephera was done with him. 

It wasn't that Ellie couldn't handle a wand, or couldn't defend herself, but the girl froze whenever matters of blood were mentioned. She spent the nights worrying about her family and wondering whether she would be reading about their deaths in the morning newspaper the next day. 

People had also taken to mocking Remus and Tony's relationship, but they quickly regretted it. It was no secret that the marauders could be very violent if they wished, and that became evident when Evan Rosier was caught mocking the werewolf and the Ravenclaw behind their backs by Sirius. 

"Hey, you know nothing will happen, right?" said Tony, resting a hand on the Hufflepuffs shoulder "We'll be fine, we'll survive this," 

"I'm not sure about that," said the blonde 

Tony was shocked, Ellie had always been the positive one of the group, balancing his and Nephera's pessimism. Now, however, the girl was absolutely crestfallen and tired, she was ready to give up.