It's Nice To Have A Friend

19 - I Just Don't Understand

On Saturday morning, Mallory woke up in a terrible mood. She got dressed and went down to the Great Hall. With a quick scan over the Gryffindor table, she noticed that none of the boys were there. They'd probably had their own sleepover in their dorm. They'd probably sleep in late. Still, Mallory found it strange that not even James was awake.

She sat by herself near the end of the table and started to pile food onto her plate. It wasn't until she started eating that she realized she had dished herself a serving of pineapple. She swallowed the small piece she was chewing before eating everything around it, pushing all thoughts of Sirius and James out of her mind.

"Hey," Mallory heard as Sirius sat beside her. "You're really not coming to the sleepover tonight?"

"Nope," she replied, popping the 'p.' She stared down at her food, moving it around on her plate with her fork. She refused to look at him.

Sirius grabbed a few pancakes and placed them onto his plate. "That's a shame."

Mallory bit her bottom lip and stabbed a piece of pineapple with her fork. "I thought you guys didn't like me anymore," she stated.

She heard Sirius scratch the back of his neck. "I uh... How'd you come to that conclusion?" he asked before reaching for the chocolate syrup.

Mallory rolled her eyes and turned to look at him. "Do you boys think I'm an idiot because you think I talk funny or something?" she asked him. "Well, I'm not." She pushed her plate into the middle of the table as tears of frustration and heartbreak resurfaced. She stood from the table. Sirius followed her. "I just wish that you could have waited until I had gotten over Freddy, because now I—" Mallory's voice broke as she wiped away her tears. "I wish I'd never come here. No matter where I end up, I don't seem to fit in. I'm thousands of miles away from home and I'm all alone! What's wrong with me that nobody seems to like—"

Her rant was cut short as Sirius wrapped his arms around her, taking her by surprise as she stood awkwardly, arms glued to her sides. "Nothing is wrong with you, Mals," he softly told her as he pulled away. He gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and wiped away her tears. "Nothing." Then, he pulled away and exited the Great Hall without another word.

Mallory looked back at the Gryffindor table where his pancakes were, drizzled in chocolate syrup. She returned to her seat and stole one off his plate. She knew that if James were there, he'd throw a fit, but the freedom of eating a meal without him breathing down her neck made every bite of the pancake heavenly.

.

Later that day, as Mallory studied in the common room, waiting for Lily to return from her prefect meeting, James confronted her. He slid into the seat across the table. "Do you really think we don't like you?" James asked.

Mallory kept her gaze on the textbook in front of her as she read about amortentia. She sent him a lazy shrug as a response.

James sighed. He reached across the table and pulled the book away from her, but Mallory kept her gaze on the table. "Mal, we're not all flip-floppers like Sirius and Freddy. We care about you. We're not faking this." He gently took her hand that rested on the table. "We won't turn on you."

Mallory stared at their hands, wanting to pull away but unable because of his firm grasp.

"You're one of us, Mal. We love you. All of us..." James continued. Mallory couldn't help but notice how he danced around the root of the problem; how they canceled the sleepover because they were "sick."

After several minutes of James rambling, he stopped. Mallory forced a laugh. "Thanks, James. That means a lot," she stated.

"Why'd you think we didn't like you anyway?" he pried.