good things fall apart • sirius black

Si beau!

"It's not that complicated." James sighed, "Even Wormy's kept up this time."

"Yeah, come on you lot." Peter added.

Ellie, Sirius, and Remus decided it was best to sit the chaos out for once, quite literally. Whilst their messy haired friend had been trying to explain the battle plan they'd concocted last night for a prank, a pretty simple one, the trio had settled themselves on the lawn in a huddle as they took it in turns to paint each other's nails. Lily, Marlene, and a completely lost Benji Fenwick were all stood above them blinking rapidly with blank expressions.

"You speak too fast, Potter." Marlene complained after a moment of stunned silence, "Go again, but in slow motion."

"I've already explained twice!"

"No... It's not right, we can't. It'll be chaos and Cyrus has been a lovely host." Lily argued.

"It's payback for sending me away." Ellie told her, hardly having listened to the conversation at all as she focused on trying to paint tiny crescent moons onto Remus' nails. Sirius was already admiring his own Gryffindor red ones, letting the flecks of gold in the paint catch the sunlight that had so wonderfully blessed them with a partial heatwave said to continue now until summer was here in full force. "And besides, unfortunately he's got very powerful magical blood and it won't take him long to do something about it."

"Then we take his wand." Peter declared, "We'll use the cloak and it'll be easy."

"I'd rather have my nails painted too." Benji said with an exasperated sigh, slumping down onto the grass next to Remus and picking up the lavender coloured nail varnish.

"No time for you now." Ellie told him bluntly, grinning wide as she finished the last crescent moon of Remus', "Snooze, you lose, Fenwick."

"Now that's just cruel. I think lavender brings out my eyes." Benji fluttered his lashes dramatically, pouting in attempt to win the beautiful girl round, only to have the nail varnish snatched off him.

"Brings out puppy's eyes better."

If she'd have been a toddler, Ellie would've stuck her tongue out at him as Sirius tossed his hair over his shoulder.

"We're getting sidetracked everyone!" James complained loudly.

"Lupin..." Benji began, turning on the boy beside him with the same pout, "Tell her I've got prettier eyes than Sirius."

Ellie didn't miss the way Remus' ears went pink.

"Cubby won't listen, no matter how pretty you are." He told him, not seeming to process the words that had come out of his mouth, "She's infatuated." 

There was a brief moment of silence where Marlene narrowed her eyes down at Remus suspiciously, and Ellie broke out into an even bigger grin. She looked to her boyfriend in hopes that he was seeing what she was, but Sirius merely crumpled his brow as if to say 'what?' Slowly, Remus very visibly processed that he'd just called Benji pretty in front of everyone, and grew pinker by the second, but the boy in question never flinched.

"'Cause Gryffin's a bitch." He cursed jokingly, and Ellie played along with the theatrics to save her friend from his embarrassment, gasping so big she nearly made herself cough.

"That's my girlfriend you're talking about, Fenwick. Watch your mouth." Sirius cut in with a smirk, launching a handful of pulled grass at him.

"Beautiful face, ugly soul." Ellie tutted, shaking her head back and forth, "It's a shame really. You have a lot going for you until you open your mouth."