𝐚𝐛𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲⇒ 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕦𝕤 𝕝𝕦𝕡𝕚𝕟

| 009 ; n i n e.

[ ARDEN ]

[ 09.28.1976 ]

[ t h i r d p e r s o n ]

[ unedited ]

"um, yes. i suppose it did. should i help ivory?" arden mumbled to james. 

"oh no, no. i'm sure she's doing a great job of it herself. the only one who can keep him in line, i'm afraid."

"james what's going on? why'd sirius do that, he knows he can get kicked off the team for that," remus asked as he joined them, panting and out of breath. 

"malfoy making comments about you and ivory. bloody bastard wouldn't shut his mouth," james replied to his friend.

"blimey, you'd think he'd risk his career over something more important than us," ivory commented, joining the group, along with sirius who was currently being dragged by the ear.

"ow! ow! OW! IVORY!" sirius squealed. "cut it out!" he looked at his best friend for some assistance, but james only laughed. "sorry, mate, but you've brought this on yourself. can't help you with this one."

he scowled. 

"thanks for your effort in helping a brother out," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"hey now, we're both aware that we should never step over the line that dear ivy has placed here. i cant help that i'm the only one between the two of us that actually acknowledges it, mate."

"oh screw you. remmy? help me out."

"remus if you say one word to me about your boyfriend to try to convince me to let him go, you'll be next."

remus looked between ivory and sirius and sighed. "sorry, sirius. she got me."

"you lot are pathetic— OW! i will sock you in the stomach right here right now ivy if you don't bugger off this inst— OKAY, OKAY! fine! you win!"

"mister black," mcgonagall called out from behind the group. "due to your recent actions, the other head of houses believe you should get suspended from the team. fortunately for you, mister malfoy admitted to starting the fight. take this opportunity and don't mess it up. i'm serious-"

"no i'm sirius, you silly go—"

"okay, thanks minnie it's greatly appreciated," james cut in. he turned back to sirius and whispered, "you're trying to get yourself killed, aren't you?"

"now, buddy, does that really sound so bad? to me it doesn't. off i go back to the game!" sirius chirped.

arden could see how uncomfortable ivory became when he said that, so she grabbed her hand, although she wasn't sure why, and told her, "come on, dude. let's go watch these boys kick some slytherin ass," with a smile. 

ivory gave her a weak smile in return before running off the field and up to the stands.

<>|<>|<>

"SLYTHERIN FOR THE WIN! 210 to 70!" fischer called out. sighs of defeat could be heard throughout the crowd. 

the gryffindor quidditch team was visibly upset, especially sirius and james. 

"bloody, hell. we almost had 'em this time!" sirius bantered on the way to dinner. 

"they beat us by 40. we weren't even that close," arden said. sirius stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the girl. 

"pardon me?"

"sirius, leave her. she means no harm."

"remus you might want to get your little girlfriend in check—"

"sirius black i said leave her be!" ivory said strictly, whacking the boy upside the head.

"dude, she—" he began but was cut off once again. 

"arden has done nothing to hurt you. get your ego under control."

"no! ive, i'm sick of you freakin bossing me around like you own me. it's annoying and i cant stand it. i'm sick of it—"

"i heard you the first time, sweetie," she said sarcastically. 

"my point is, things aren't working with us. i think we should break up."

a startling silence overcame the group. eyes darted from sirius to ivory, waiting for a response.
"no." and with that, she walked away.

"what— you can't do that! can she do that? no! come back here right now!"

remus leaned over towards arden and whispered to her, "quite the power couple, huh?"

she smiled. "if that's what you call it."

"say, how would you feel about going back to the tower? we can hang out in my dorm, and then get food later," remus offered, holding a hand out for the shy girl. 

without wasting a single second, arden grabbed his hand and began running up the stairway, laughing, as remus stumbled behind her. 

"slow down there, you might break a sweat," a familiar voice called out from the top of the stairway. 

arden quickly let go of remus's hand. "andrew. i— we were just headi—"

"save it," he said, holding up a finger to shush her. he turned to remus. "no funny business whatsoever. i will hunt you down. okay, you two best be on your way! have fun."

"he really doesn't like the idea of us," arden said shyly. 

"us?" remus questioned.

"well, yeah— i mean— y'know... nevermind. he doesn't like people associating with me."

"well that seems rather toxic," he said. 

"no no! not like that! he just isn't very trusting. he watches me like a hawk and thinks everyone is out to get me. hell, he thinks that you befriending me is one of your group's antics," she laughed nervously. 

remus froze. shit. he had completely forgotten about that night. he wasn't one for secrets, but if she found out about this, she'd have a breakdown and possibly never speak to him again.

"no, of course not."

he'd tell her... eventually.