𝕝𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕔𝕪 ⟡ ᴊᴀᴍᴇs ᴘᴏᴛᴛᴇʀ¹

forty: the picture

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

EXAMS WERE FINALLY over. The students of Hogwarts were practically jumping with joy, this being the most stressful time of the year. The last few weeks have gone by in a blur, everyone pretty much too busy worrying about their grades more so than anything else.

Lyra was extremely nervous. She had to make sure she got good grades, otherwise she knew what would happen as soon as she got back home. But she was also relieved that it was all over. She was officially finished with her fifth year of school.

The young Black almost couldn't believe it. This year didn't exactly go down how she expected it to. I mean, she got a Gryffindor boyfriend, became friends with the Marauders and Jaxon Rowle, and even got Sirius and Regulus to speak to each other on a couple of occasions.

She had just finished packing her bags, grabbing her trunk and owl cage as she made her way down to the common room. She honestly didn't know how to feel. She was just overwhelmed with so many emotions.

"You ready?" her twin questioned, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked over at him, her friends in the background laughing at something Barty had said. His face was heating up in embarrassment. "Yeah" she nodded, doing her best to smile. "I am"

"Oi! Let's go" Regulus called out, alerting the rest of them of her presence. They all cheered, happy to get out of school and finally enter summer break. Ella came around and stood by Lyra, the two girls walking side by side as they made their way out of the common room.

"Am I actually going to do what we talked about?" she asked softly, glancing back at everyone nervously. "Yes, Ellie" The now graduated student almost stopped walking. Lyra hadn't called her that since they were kids. "It's what's best for you and we've already planned it all out. Everything will go smoothly"

The Macmillan sighed. "I'm still worried about you getting blamed. I have a feeling you'll be the first they turn to" Lyra shrugged, walking up the steps quickly. "Then let them. The more they pester me, the less time they spend looking for you" She turned to look at her best friend with a smile. "This is going to work. And it's not like we'll never see each other again"

Ella felt her heart sink. "Why does it feel like we're saying goodbye?" she whispered, struggling to compose herself. "Because we are" the Black responded, sadly. "But it's not forever"

Barty clapped his hands together, excitement lighting up in his eyes.

"The Lean Green Slytherin Team is out!"

✰ ✰ ✰

Ella nervously played with her fingers, looking at the boy across from her with pursed lips. She didn't know where to start.

"You can calm down, you know?" Mason hummed, leaning back into his seat. The pair were currently alone in one of the train compartments, needing some time to talk about things by themselves. "We've already spoken about your leaving. It's not like you're catching me completely off guard"

"I know" she sighed. "I didn't mean to do this" Ella was admittedly disappointed with how things with Mason were ending. It was like she's had this pent up crush on him all for nothing. Because where did it get them? Absolutely nowhere.

She's been thinking about things. Things that she's even confronted him about before. And even though he did deny it, she couldn't help but still think the opposite. "When you asked me to the ball-" She paused for a moment, frowning as she tried to find the right words. "Do you remember what I had questioned you about right before?"

Mason furrowed his eyebrows, attempting to recall the memory that had occurred a little over six months ago. When she saw his confusion, she decided to go on. "I had asked you about Lyra" Realization quickly spread across his face. "I know you told me no that night, but I can't help but-"