good things fall apart • sirius black

Putting on a show

Lily and Marlene stood with Ellie in the Gryffindor common room waiting for the boys to show their faces. The brunette looked more put together than she ever had, the skirt and blouse combination Lily had suggested for her, seemingly maturing her by a couple of years. Deciding the outfit was too similar to school uniform, Ellie didn't like it much, but she had to agree she looked rather posh. Golden lion ring in its usual place on her right-hand middle finger, there had been a proposal at one point that maybe her mother's diadem should be brought into the light again. However, that was quickly shut down, for the brunette didn't want to look that dressed up.

Funny looks were shot their way as Ellie leaned against her trunk, Lily complaining about Sirius' bad time-keeping skills - the red head was convinced they'd be late to the train, even if they actually had lots of time to spare.

"It's about time!" Lily exclaimed as four rowdy boys came crashing down the stairs.

Sirius' trunk was still half open, a shirt hanging out as he juggled to keep his things from flying everywhere. Fussing over her friend as if she were her mother, Marlene pulled Ellie's hair around over her shoulders and righted the golden necklace she'd leant her, making sure she looked perfect for them leaving. However, the brunette batted her away, not wanting anymore unwanted eyes drawn in their direction.

"Could you have been any later? You two need to go!" And with that Lily tried to usher them both out of the common room.

Sirius was protesting, after finally getting his trunk closed, grumbling about how they should both just not leave. In his eyes, there was nothing his parents could do if they just both stayed at Hogwarts. But on second thoughts, he wouldn't put it past them to show up and pull him out of school for defying them. It took Ellie grabbing his hand tightly to finally get the handsome boy to move, and they both said their goodbyes to their friends as they exited out of the portrait door.

Bright greens flew by the train windows - emerald, sage, pine, and fern, all muddling together in a blur. Spring time was often overlooked by the Marauders, with summer right around the corner it was easy to forget about how pretty spring made the world become again after the cold and harsh winter. However, the wildflowers blooming in the meadows, and the trees finally getting their leaves back, were things far from the minds of Ellie and Sirius as they sat in the unusually empty train compartment.

The Hogwarts Express was eerily quiet, and not even the sound of other students could be heard, as the pair sat in silence.

The beautiful girl's eyes were fixed on the passing scenery, her head resting against the window, but she wasn't actually seeing anything they sped by. If it wouldn't irk the irritated boy sat in front of her, she would've asked what 12 Grimmauld Place was like or what type of food his parents enjoyed, what happened in a typical day of the Black family. Yet Sirius' bad mood was sucking all the air out of the tiny train compartment, and she feared he just might suffocate her in agitation if she did anything but stay silent.

Her outfit was starting to annoy her more and more, the longer the journey went on for. None of the girls had taken into account the fact that Ellie would have to be sat on the train for so long, and now she was stuck in the itchy blouse and restrictive skirt for the foreseeable future. Shuffling constantly, pulling at her skirt as it rode up her thighs, she could do nothing but sit almost completely up right. Just having her head leant against the window was untucking her blouse in all the wrong places, and so she was constantly adjusting that too.

Of course, Sirius had thought this through. Adorn in smart fitted trousers and a casual dress shirt, he was completely comfortable as he slumped in his seat without a care for how the fabrics of his clothes were creasing.