good things fall apart • sirius black

Important interruptions

James, Remus, Lily, and Peter had all been stood outside of the Gryffins for nearly fifteen minutes. They'd watched the rest of the Order members arrive and file inside, even Camille who was quick to ask where Ellie was, but they could only shrug. No one had seen her or Sirius all morning and now the handsome boy was supposed to be here, and he was late.

"This is ridiculous now." James threw up his hands restlessly, "There's only so long they'll hold the start of the meeting for us and it's already been fifteen minutes."

"Maybe we just go in and then Sirius will get here whenever he does." Lily suggested, as sensible as ever. "We'll see you when we come out, Peter."

Like Ellie, the smallest Marauder was not yet of age, and even with his parents none the wiser about the Order of the Phoenix, the rules were just as strict for him - he'd have to wait until summer. And so, the other three left him to retreat into the library as they diverted into the dining room in a mess of excited anticipation. James in particular was on edge, fidgeting with his hair and pushing his glasses up his nose every two seconds, strides bigger than usual. He was eager, that was very obvious, and the fact that Sirius hadn't shown up on time had thrown him off.

"I don't know why you're surprised, Prongs." Remus said as they passed through the entrance hall, "They've been more than obsessed with each other since we got back from Protea House two days ago, and you know Cubby's at the top of his list of priorities. She will have batted her eyelashes and asked him to stay with her, and the word no won't have even crossed his mind."

"They can give it a rest for like half an hour."

"They're in love." Lily told him, "In love and about to be separated. Let them be. Sirius can join the Order anytime."

The truth was, no matter how happy James was for his two best friends, he'd been let down by his brother's promise of them taking their first steps towards fighting. The messy haired boy hadn't thought it was possible for Ellie and Sirius to get any closer, but he'd been wrong, and inevitably, he'd been pushed out in the process. Not on purpose, the couple didn't even know they were doing it, but James had never liked being left out of anything, and he didn't understand why they needed so much privacy in their relationship. They'd never been this private before, yet now it was starting to feel like they weren't interested in being in the group at all.

It had been two days, but it had knocked James, for underneath his huge ego and arrogant act, he had a fear that loneliness would one day come for him. That this war had made the possibility of losing everyone that was important to him a reality, and there was nothing else he could do besides cling onto them and never let them go. But Ellie and Sirius were starting to drift out of reach as they became independent with their relationship - Ellie had always been there before, and Sirius had always needed him before he had her entirely.

"Ah, you're here." Cyrus smiled as he beckoned them all into the dining room from his spot at the end of the table, gesturing to the empty seats. Everyone in the Order was a familiar face, even if the names of some weren't known, and there were about thirteen in total who all met them with kind eyes.

Expect one, who addressed them next, a striking man sat right beside Cyrus with an impatient sneer.

"Where's the last one?" He barked, making Lily jump as she found her seat next to Marlene.

"With Cubby somewhere." James grumbled as his father guided him into a seat and Remus sat down the opposite side of the table - the empty seat the other side of him meant for Sirius was like a stab in the gut.

"With who?" The striking man demanded loudly.

"With my daughter, Alastor." Cyrus explained.

"Then say so."