𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝘆, sirius black

˗ˋ 10

CHAPTER TEN
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-: sixth year :-

── IN WHICH SHE'S LOST HER TIE

. . .

"Nancy? Nancy, you need to wake up!" The Scamander girl woke up with her world in a blur, a filter over her eyes that she blinked wearily away, reaching to tuck blonde curls behind her ears.

A daze of ginger was peering over her, and when she could finally focus her eyes rested on a certain Lily Evans, a smile on her pretty features but a rather panicked look elsewhere. "You're going to be late if you don't get up and change." 

"Oh.. I see." Nancy nodded, rubbing sleep out of her eyes and pulling the thick red covers off of her bed. All around her, the other girls were getting ready, pulling their skirts over the ends of their shirts to tuck them in, twisting ties around their necks. 

Her uniform was folded neatly beside her bed, and at the advice of Dorcas - who had seen Nancy looking rather nervously around - the Scamander girl had changed in the bathroom, emerging to brush her hair and apply the slightest bit of makeup, pulling the charm of her necklace around so that it was peaking out of her grey jumper.

Alice pulled the dark robes over her shoulders and untucked her collars, the four other inhabitants of the Gryffindor dorm room waiting as Nancy pulled on her shoes and hurried to tie the laces.

"Something is missing." Marlene narrowed her eyes, and Nancy watched as the four of them tilted their heads in sync, trying to find out what. "Her tie!" The McKinnon girl finally exclaimed, the rest of them nodding. "Nance - where's your tie?"

"I thought I put it with the rest of my uniform..?" The girl replied, Lily already darting back into the bathroom to check if it was there. It wasn't.

"It's fine, we can just get a spare one - anyone in here?" Glancing around, Dorcas didn't see anyone reply positively, and instead began to think of who could have one. "Oh - Sirius always has a spare."

"Sirius?" Nancy repeated, eyes going wide. "I.. I don't think I should borrow one off of him." But it seemed to be too late to change the girls' minds, as they pulled Nancy towards the door, Alice grabbing her already prepared bag. 

"Nonsense. That boy has about twenty ties - or at least one for each day of the week." Marlene waved away Nancy's worry with a shake of her hand. "Really, he should be fine about it. Sirius! Sirius!" 

They reached the end of the winding staircase, emerging into Gryffindor common room. It was just as busy as the night before, even more so perhaps as everyone appeared from their respective dorm staircases and headed towards the portrait hole.

Marlene's shouts caught the attention of a group near the exit, groaning as they pushed their way back through the crowd and coming to a stop. "Nancy! Hey - how was your first night?" James was by far the most awake of them all, an easy-going smile on his face as he slung an arm around the Scamander girl's shoulders. 

"It was nice." Still a little new to such friendliness, Nancy sounded a lot more meek than anticipated and James had to lean closer to hear her. She cleared her throat before repeating it.

"What's wrong McKinnon? We'd almost got out of here." Sirius sounded annoyed, but he wasn't truly. Perhaps Peter, who was clutching onto Remus's arm so he didn't get pulled away by the crowd.

"Alice - morning love." A voice echoed around the group before Marlene could reply. Nancy peered around to see a boy wrapping his arm around the Fortescue girl's waist. "You guys don't mind if I eat with her this morning, right?"

Instant replies came, and soon enough the boy was leading Alice away. "Frank Longbottom." Dorcas explained when she saw Nancy's expression. "They've been dating since the summer of fourth year. Puts absolutely any relationship we have had to shame - it's like they're still in that same initial period of time when they're both still falling."

"Marlene, what's wrong?" Sirius asked once more, taking his chances of asking again after checking around for any further ways of being interrupted.

"You have a load of spare ties right?" Marlene asked, waiting for a nod of his head. "Well you see, Nancy doesn't seem to have one - and clearly she can't get one just yet and we don't want McGonagall to be after her for uniform on her first day so-"

"I'll go get one." Sirius said with a sigh, dark eyes flickering over to the Scamander girl. "You owe me one, okay?"

"Over a tie?" Lily blinked. "Sirius - you have to be kidding it's one small thing." 

"Not kidding." The Black boy replied, face deadpan to further his point. "You guys go and get seats before the entire table is taken up by these morons. Scamander, wait here." 

"You'll be fine." Dorcas reassured her, as Nancy was barely given a choice, left waiting as the group disappeared through the portrait hole. 

The common room was much emptier by the time Sirius arrived, somewhat surprised to see Nancy waiting in quite literally the same spot he left her. "I didn't mean you had to freeze, y'know?" He asked, towering above her as he held out his hand, silken material draping over the sides.

Nancy stared at it like it was something foreign.

"Never tied one before?" Sirius cocked an eyebrow, scoffing when he saw his expression. "Here." He said, pulling her over to the low table in front of a sofa and lifting her up onto it. That way, he didn't have to lean down as he did the tie for her, tucking it under her jumper and readjusting her collar and necklace.

"Thank you." Nancy smiled, taking the offered hand as Sirius helped her down, a second hand appearing in the small of her back and pushing her towards the portrait hole.

"If all the bacon is gone by the time we get there then I'm taking the tie back." Sirius grumbled, but didn't speed ahead when they finally ended up in the corridors, making sure she took the right moving staircase and didn't get lost in the corridors.

He might not really like her, but it wasn't worth the upset it would cause his friends if she got lost.

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