Chasing The Stars | Marauders | Sirius Black

47 ~ Leave Him Alone

Snape's memory is here! Hope you like it :)

The scratching of quills against parchment echoed in the Great Hall, an occasional worried groan emitting from one of the students. O.W.Ls, or, as the Marauders called them, the week from Hell, was in full swing. They were all sat in their Defense Against The Dark Arts exam: Eloise scribbling furiously, her nose smudging the ink of the words she had just written; James doodling a snitch and, in surprisingly neat handwriting, the letters 'LE'; Peter was grimacing as he touched up his essay; Sirius, leaning back in his chair, too arrogant to double check his answers; and Remus cramming in the last few sentences of the test. Flitwick's voice rang out, signalling the end and he waved his wand, the scrolls all flying towards him and ultimately knocking him over.

The Marauders bounded onto the grounds, Sirius loosening his tie even more and grabbing Eloise's hand, lacing their fingers together. She smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder,

"I'm so glad O.W.Ls are over" she sighed contently as they reached their usual spot by the beech tree next to the Black Lake. Eloise draped her legs over Sirius',

"Hey Lou" he said as he traced patterns onto the back of her hand with his thumb, "I have something to ask you" he looked over to the other three who were too busy discussing the exam to pay any attention to them, "Well, over the last few months I know we've sorted of, picked up the whole 'meet in the middle' where we left off" he looked up at her and she felt her breath hitch when he bit his lip nervously, "But, why don't we make it official?" he asked and Eloise grinned,

"You asking me to be your girlfriend?" she teased, "I thought the Sirius Black didn't do relationships"

"I suppose I can make an exception" he replied, with a grin of his own,

"I'd love to be your girlfriend" she told him and pecked his lips to prove it.

The pair joined into the conversation that Remus, James and Peter were having,

"Did you like question ten Moony?" Sirius asked,

"Loved it" he smiled broadly in return, "Give five signs that identify the werewolf. Excellent question."

"D'you think you managed to get all of the signs?" asked James, in tones of mock concern,

"Think I did. One: he's sitting in my chair. Two: he's wearing my clothes. Three: his name's Remus Lupin." The group laughed but Peter's brow furrowed,

"I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes and the tufted tail" he said anxiously, "but I couldn't think what else-"

"How thick are you Wormtail?" James scoffed, "You run around with a werewolf once a month-"

"Keep your voice down" Remus implored, looking over his shoulder to see if anyone heard.

"Well, I thought the paper was a piece of cake. I'll be surprised if I don't get 'Outstanding' on it at least" Sirius said smugly and Eloise scoffed,

"Be careful Pads, if your head gets any bigger you won't be able to stand up" she laughed as she high-fived Remus.

The group laid about leisurely on the grass; Remus pulling out a book and reading; Eloise lying with Sirius, her head on his chest as they watched the clouds; James playing with the snitch and Peter watching him in awe.

"Put that away will you" Sirius said, turning his head to look at James, "before Wormtail wets himself with excitement" Peter went slightly pink and Eloise tutted,

"Leave him alone Sirius, besides" she said, lifting her head to look at her, new, boyfriend, "there's nothing wrong with wetting yourself every so often" the group laughed.