good things fall apart • sirius black

Wicked Walburga

t.w. blood

Ellie spent the rest of the evening thinking of Narcissa's words, and only after they'd returned to Grimmauld Place and she'd washed the day off of her, could she really think clearly again.

She lay on her back like a starfish as she listened to the shower running for Sirius in his bathroom, trying to file away everything swirling in her mind. There was no denying that the blonde knew exactly how their world worked, exactly what their futures looked like, and having it said so bluntly to her had unsettled Ellie. Her and Sirius might be pretending they wanted to get married for now, but what happened if they were actually forced to go through with it? What happened if she ended up marrying someone else and losing the freedom which she so desperately craved all the time?

Whatever those answers were, they didn't need to be known right now, for she was just fifteen and things so far in the future didn't need to be worried about. But it might be closer than you think, the devil on her shoulder liked to remind her, but Ellie shut that voice out. She wasn't ready for what lay after Hogwarts yet, not with a war brewing out there too.

Sirius emerged from the bathroom with wet hair dripping everywhere and dressed in his pyjamas. He watched the beautiful girl wiggle her feet to imaginary music as she continued to stare at the ceiling deep in thought. As soon as it was time to sleep, he knew Orion would be in here like a shot to order Ellie up to her room, and this time there would be no breaking the rules - that meant he had to savour the time he got to see her sprawled out on his bed. Chocolate waves fanning out around her like a mane, Sirius could've stared forever, but he pulled his gaze away before she caught him goggling.

Instead, he went riffling through his Hogwarts trunk for something to give her so that she didn't get cold that night, throwing the item of clothing at her as soon as he came across the first thing appropriate. It happened to be his Quidditch jersey, but the fabric was soft and it was long sleeved, which was all that mattered. Landing right on her face as he threw it, Sirius chuckled to himself when she sat up looking slightly offended.

    "Don't chuck your dirty washing at me! What do I look like to you? A box of washing powder?" She went to throw it right back at him but was stopped when Sirius shook his head with a smirk.

    "Put it on so you don't freeze to death tonight." He said simply, "And besides, it's clean, so there's no need to have a mard."

Narrowing her eyes sceptically, Ellie slipped the Quidditch jersey over her head before pulling her hair out to fall down her back. She sat herself crisscross in the middle of his bed, setting Snuffles on her lap, as Sirius shook his head around to dry his hair off a little. Clamping a hand over her mouth to stop her giggles spilling out, Ellie couldn't help but think he was acting exactly like a dog would, and she fell backwards on the bed in mild hysteria. She rolled around a little as all the laughter bubbled in her chest, and eventually, she couldn't keep it in any longer.

When she started giggling loudly, Sirius stopped shaking his hair and looked over at the beautiful girl confused. He didn't know what had happened suddenly that was so funny, but her amusement only elicited chuckles of his own. Crossing over to the bed, he sat down next to her, having to grab one of her arms and a leg to stop her from rolling around like a lunatic.

    "What's so funny?" Sirius had to lean over her so that he could see her face, his own grin wide.

    "You, Mr Sirius Padfoot, are my favourite person on this planet." Ellie bit down on her lip after she spoke, forcing her laughter to stop.

    "Yeah?" A warmth pooled in his chest and it creeped slowly up the back of his neck too, "You better not tell Prongs that."

He couldn't stop staring at the way her big sea green eyes were sparkling, but he had to avert his gaze when he felt his cheeks flushing red. Normally, Sirius would've been able to come up with some arrogant reply about it being because he was so 'dashingly handsome', but his brain had turned to mush and now all there was were thoughts of her. Ellie saw his slightly pink cheeks and reached up run a finger along his jaw so that his head turned back to her, well aware she was starting to push boundaries - the boundaries of friendship that she had put firmly in place.