TIMELESS LOVE | James Potter

FOUR

Elladora rushed to the Gryffindor common rooms - desperate to find solace. When she passed by the girl's bathroom - she could hear someone crying. She didn't really want to help the person for she too was crying but something in her made her walk in the bathroom.

"Hello?" Elladora questioned as she entered.

"Ella? Is that you?" Came Lily's voice as she hiccuped.

"Lils," Elladora said as she opened the stall Lily was in. The sight she was met with truly broke her heart.

Lily was sitting on the floor, with tears rolling down her eyes. Her hair was messy as if someone had run their hands through it or in Lily's case trued to pull out her hair. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hands were shaking. She truly looked broken.

"Oh Lils, I'm so sorry." Elladora said, reaching her arms out to hug Lily. "That wasn't fair to you. Don't believe a word he said, ok? Everybody here loves you."

"How can you be sure Ella?" Lily sobbed, her tears falling onto Elladora's shirt. "I'm just a filthy mudblood and I'll never be equal to the purebloods - no matter how hard I try."

Hearing this, Elladora leaned back and looked at Lily. "Lily Evans, you listen to me and you listen well, you are the kindest soul here and without a doubt the most brilliant witch of your age. So you better not listen to those doubts because you Lily are my best friend and I'll be damned if I let you believe those fiul things."

"I love you Ella. You're the best."

"Me too Lils, me too."

"Ella?" Lily questioned, resting her head on the wall.

"Hm," Elladora hummed.

"Could you maybe you know give me some space to collect myself."

"Of course Lils. Of course." Elladora answered, knowing how hurt the girl had been just moments ago.

Elladora hugged Lily once more and then headed out of the bathroom. Replaying the incident in her head once more, Elladora couldn't help the tears that rolled down her cheek as she slid down the wall - unable to stand due to the weight on her heart. After all, Severus had been her friend as well.

It was then that Elladora found herself in the dimly lit corridor, a cascade of tears staining her cheeks as she kept on replaying the events's of today, Lily's cries seemed to have permanently been stored in her mind.

Severus's words had slashed her heart, leaving wounds that seeped sorrow. As Elladora struggled to console herself, the weight of betrayal hung heavy in the air. It was then that James, the reason they were in this mess in the first place, sauntered by, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Look who's drowning in tears now," he quipped, a cruel edge to his words. Despite the mocking tone, his eyes betrayed a fleeting concern as he surveyed the emotional wreckage before him.

Elladora's tear-filled eyes locked onto James, a surge of frustration mingling with her sorrow. "This is your fault! If you hadn't been so insufferable, Severus wouldn't have lashed out at us," she spat, her anger finding a target in the one person she least expected to defend.

James, torn between his habitual impudence and an unexpected twinge of guilt, retorted, "Why blame me for your drama? Snape is the one with the venomous tongue."

A storm brewed in Elladora's gaze, her voice sharp with accusation. "Your endless pranks and taunts are the reason we're in this mess at all! Don't pretend you're innocent in all of this."

The exchange escalated into a tense back-and-forth, each word a verbal duel in the dimly lit corridor. James, usually the source of Elladora's disdain, found himself oddly compelled to defend his innocence. "I'm not responsible for Snape's attitude. He's just a miserable bloke who enjoys dragging everyone down with him."

Elladora's frustration reached its peak, her tears transforming into fiery resolve. "I don't need your perspective, Potter. Stay out of it. You've already made all our lives a living hell." With that, she turned on her heel, leaving behind a maelstrom of emotions and unspoken truths in the echoing corridor, where the collision of pride and vulnerability lingered.

~~~

Alone in her dormitory, Elladora sank into her bed - exhausted. The room, usually a haven of laughter and shared secrets, now bore witness to her silent tears. As she tried to be quiet, her fingers tightly gripped the edge as she tried to make sense of the fragments of her shattered friendship.

"Why does it have to be like this?" she murmured to herself, the weight of the day's events pressing upon again. She couldn't seem to forget Lily's sobs or Snape's words. As she gazed at the dimly lit room, shadows seemed to dance in sync with the turmoil within her.

Yet, even as she attempted to rationalize the chaos, the ache in her heart persisted, and she found herself grappling with the unfairness of it all.

With a heavy sigh, Elladora whispered to the empty room, "Tomorrow is a new day. Maybe things will make sense then." In the quietude, her tears fell like silent rain, a cleansing release for the wounded soul that sought solace in the fragile hope of a better tomorrow.

A/N
Not my best :(