Homonculous |Marauders Era

Chapter Thirty-Eight

[Chapter Thirty-Eight]

"You should have seen them," Elspeth confided in Frank as they walked along after getting ice cream. The girl was hoping to have Alice join them, but Frank informed her that his girlfriend would not be coming in until the late evening and by then, he was supposed to have Elspeth home. The ice cream itself seemed to cheer her up a bit, but she still seemed quite frustrated with what had taken place before the term ended. Frank was doing his best to capture every detail because he was certain that Elspeth was going to turn to him for advice.

Back when he had been in Hogwarts, he remembered stumbling upon the newly sorted Gryffindor that didn't hold an ounce of confidence that she had as she grew older. She was timid and quiet, constantly looking around, perhaps hoping that someone would talk to her. She would sit by herself in the library and in the Common Room, and Frank couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He remembered what it felt like to feel alone too, it was only when Alice had approached him that he had any chance of making friends. He figured Elspeth needed someone to reach out to her.

So that's what the older boy did, he invited Elspeth to sit with him and Alice during meals and when they went to the library, he invited her along as well. At first, Alice seemed confused and she thought that Frank had taken a sudden liking to the younger student because he had developed a crush of some sort, but she quickly learned that it wasn't the case at all. Elspeth was an only child, just like the two of them and it wasn't always easy making friends. So they became not only her friends but her honorary big brother and big sister. 

"They just didn't care, no matter how upset everyone was, they just didn't care," Elspeth sighed. "And for Sirius to tell me he loved me-"

Frank made a choking sound on his ice cream, causing her to pause and turn around, only to see that he had spilt a great deal of chocolate ice cream down the front of his shirt. She raised a brow while wearing an amused grin.

"You alright there, Frank?"

"He told you he loved you?" Frank said with a surprised look. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

"I just did," Elspeth answered, "I didn't tell you because we weren't to that part of the story. But if you must know, he told me he loved me right before we entered the hall for our Defence Against the Dark Arts exam. He said right there and then he told me it again in his apology letter, but I don't believe him. If he loved me, he would have known that I was completely against what they were doing. He would have stopped, right?"

The young man seemed to ponder it for a moment before giving a small shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know, El. He did make an awfully stupid mistake, don't get me wrong. What they did was horrible and you have every right to be upset with them, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he wasn't being honest about loving you. He very well may love you as he claimed, but he made a mistake. A big one, a big stupid one-"