Chasing The Stars | Marauders | Sirius Black

36 ~ What a Stupid Question

OOOH gorgous and angry rem! I love himmmmmmm! Also thanks a bunch for 5k peeps, eternally grateful I am.

"You see, here's the thing mate" James began, sitting opposite Sirius on the sofa in the common room, his elbows on his knees, "I know you fancy my sister" he said, "But if you really like her, you need to support her in her new relationship" he told him.

"So that's what they're calling imprisonment now" Sirius mumbled and James frowned at him. Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Yes I know; be happy for her, if you love someone let them go, blah blah blah, bullshit bullshit" he muttered angrily and James sighed,

"Padfoot, listen" he began, his tone oddly solemn, "I'm not the biggest fan of Cameron either, I mean he's my baby sister's boyfriend!" Sirius rolled his eyes at the mention of the words 'boyfriend' "But" James continued in a stern tone, "If I make a big deal about it, it's only going to upset Eloise and she seems happy so, until he does something wrong, I'm going to be a supportive older brother...and I suggest you be one too".

~~~

Sirius had taken into account what James had told him, and the next time she saw Eloise and Cameron, he grinned heartily and carried on as though there wasn't a green creature clawing at his insides and telling him to hex Milton into oblivion. It was dinner and the Marauders were sat in the Great Hall. Remus was half way through his story about what he swore he saw in Brutta Bulstrode's beard when Sirius' vision was clouded with blue and bronze robes. Cameron sat down next to Eloise and slung his arms around her shoulder,

"Evenin' Beautiful" he winked and helped himself to one of her chips,

"Watch it Milton, what did I tell you about taking my chips?" Eloise growled playfully and smacked his chest,

"I don't know, I'm foggy on the area...something to do with me being eaten by the Giant Squid" Cameron replied nonchalantly and grabbed another chip,

"Hey babe" Eloise said sweetly,

"Mm?"

"Drop that chip or I'll shove it up your arse" Eloise told him and Cameron stopped chewing, a scared look falling onto his face,

"Is she serious?" he gulped and looked at the boys, who all nodded,

"I suggest you get a headstart mate" James said, patting his shoulder, "As much as I love her, my sister is fucking scary".

~~~

It was the weekend. The Marauders, Lily, Marlene and Cameron were all sat by the Black Lake, soaking in the Spring sun. Eloise was leaning with her back against the trunk of the tree with her eyes closed and Cameron's head was resting in her lap. Lily, being Lily, had already begun studying for O.W.Ls and had insisted that the rest of them did too. The redhead was quizzing Eloise on constellations for Astronomy whilst the remainder of the group giggled at Eloise' sarcastic replies to each question.

"Which constellation is also known as The Sea Goat?" Lily asked,

"Severus Snape" she replied instantly without opening her eyes, earning a guffaw from James and Sirius,

"Eloise!" Lily reprimanded, putting the Astrology textbook on the grass. Eloise opened one eye,

"What? I didn't come up with the insult, I wish I did though, it's rather fitting". Lily sighed and mumbled under her breath, she picked up the book again and began searching for a new constellation.

"That was quite harsh Beautiful" a voice came from below Eloise and the laughter stopped as they all stared at Cameron, "I mean, what did Snape ever do to you?" he asked. James' mouth dropped open,

"What did Snivellus- I mean...what a stupid question" he scoffed and Cameron sat up,

"Well he's always kept to himself really hasn't he?"

"No" Eloise said simply, "He hasn't. He calls me, James and Sirius blood traitors on the daily, constantly belittled me about being 'a disgrace to the Malfoys' and just the other day he called me a slag, said that the Malfoys were stupid for thinking I could've been any use to them and hexed me because I got a higher grade than him on our Potions essay!"

"He did what?" James asked, his voice eerily calm but anger still seeping through the words. Eloise froze, she hadn't meant to tell anyone about that. She looked up slowly and everyone was looking at her aghast; James with narrowed eyes, Sirius clenching his jaw and even Remus had his hands in fists.

"Shit" she muttered and played with her hands, "It's not a big deal-"

"Are you shitting me Elle?" Sirius asked angrily,

"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Remus asked,

"I didn't really want Snivellus' death on my hands" she said quietly and groaned when the boys stood up,

"Too late Belle, he's gonna wish he didn't open his slimy mouth" James cracked his knuckles and began walking away, Remus and Sirius close behind,

"Potter!" Lily called out and James stopped, turning around and frowning, expecting Lily to try to stop him,

"Evans, I'm not going to let him speak about my sist-"

"No no, I was going to say try to humiliate him in front of his Slytherin friends" she crossed her arms and then it was Lily's turn to be looked at incredulously. "What?" Lily shrugged, "He seriously can't think he can get away with being horrible to my best friend". Eloise grinned and wrapped an arm around Lily's shoulders,

"I think we're having a negative influence on you Lily-flower" she smiled and Lily laughed, swatting her arm off of her shoulders jokingly.

"Right well, we'll be back soon" James said and he, Remus and Sirius walked off, looking for a hook-nosed Slytherin.

~~~

It had become dark by the time the boys returned. Sirius, James and Remus walked into the Great Hall at dinner and sat down at the Gryffindor Table, Remus and Sirius either side of Eloise and James opposite. Eloise took the opportunity to look at them, they had returned unscathed and were sporting rather proud expressions,

"What happened?" she asked as she pushed her plate in front of Sirius who was eyeing it hungrily, he grinned at her and kissed her cheek before digging in,

"Not much, we found the greaseball, hexed him a bit, threatened him if he ever came near you again and then left" James shrugged and grabbed some bread. Eloise nodded and sipped her pumpkin juice,

"Well thanks guys, you didn't have to do that for me" she said gratefully and Sirius wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her,

"Of course we did Puff, we can't let Snivellus get away with making anyone feel like shit, especially not our favourite girl" he said with a grin and Eloise wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him back.

The inexplicable warmth that had spread through her chest throughout her embrace with Sirius extinguished abruptly when Cameron's voice came out from behind them, the pair pulled away from each other, both rather red,

"Hello Beautiful, mind if I here next to my" he paused and looked at Sirius, "girlfriend" he said and sat in between Eloise and Sirius.

"Not at all Milton, she's all yours" Sirius chimed and went back to eating. His cheery behaviour unnerved Eloise and she didn't listen to anything Cameron was saying about the piece of chicken he had found that he claimed looked exactly like the Minister for Magic, Harold Minchum, instead she found herself staring curiously at her best friend as he observed the conversation, speaking significantly less than usual. He met her eye and smiled slightly but she didn't return it. Cameron, who had noticed Eloise's absence from the conversation, wrapped his arms around her waist,

"You okay Beautiful?" he asked and Eloise blinked slightly, looking away from Sirius,

"Yeah yeah, fine" she said and looked down at the table. Upon glancing up again, she noticed Sirius' smile had dropped and he looked rather forlorn as he observed Cameron's arms around her waist. Eloise watched as he made up an excuse and stood up from the table. He walked out of the hall with his head low and his hands in his trouser pockets, lacking his usual cocky and cool aura.