Mortem . Sirius Black

chapter thirty

March 19th - Hufflepuff dorms

It was late at night, but despite the hour, Ellie couldn't bring herself to sleep. At that moment, she hoped that one of her roommates was awake so she had someone to talk to until she grew tired and finally closed her eyes. 

However, given the soft snoring coming from the other beds in the room, she knew that them waking up wasn't an option. So, she pulled on her shoes and left to go to the kitchens, hoping that a cup of hot chocolate and the company of the house-elves would help. 

She felt slightly apprehensive about walking alone at night, given her blood status. Attacks on mugleborns were now happening almost daily, with Lestrange and his group leading them. Yet, she felt as though it was safe now, given the fact that the hallways were empty. 

Tickling the pear in the painting, and watching as it turned into a handle, she stepped inside. The house-elves had already begun their preparations for breakfast, and the smell of bread baking immediately filled her nose. 

"Mrs. Ellie! What can Winky do for you?" asked the small-elf that always catered to her whenever she went down there

"Hi Winky, could I have some hot chocolate? Or tea maybe? Whichever one's easiest," 

"They are both easy for Winky, should I make hot chocolate like the other times?" 

The Hufflepuff let out a small laugh at how well the small elf knew her and nodded, Winky immediately whisking away to fulfill her request. She took her usual spot on the kitchen counter, watching as the other elves rushed around the area, preparing jams and different breakfast items. 

Winky came back with a mug, and the girl eagerly accepted, content with sitting back and watching the elves work, allowing the warm drink to fill her body and slowly make her more drowsy as the time went by. 

Eventually, the drink had the desired effect and she placed it down, thanking the elves and moving to leave the kitchens to go back to bed. 

The moment she stepped out of the painting, a sinking feeling of dread filled her stomach, immediately making her wide awake and alert. Ellie was a person who put a lot of trust in her gut and intuition, so she immediately took off to reach the safety of the Hufflepuff common room. 

"Well, would you look who it is," came a voice she knew too well, "Winchester's bitch," 

The blonde had spent enough time with Nephera to know her fair share of insults and hexes, and she was not about to back away from Lestrange of all people. 

"You're one to talk about being Nephera's bitch," she drawled, turning around and putting her hand in her pocket to grasp her wand, "You've been following her around for the past six years trying to get her to sleep with you. Unsuccessfully, of course." 

"Shut your mouth, mudblood," 

"Yes, yes, you've called me that a lot lately," she rolled her eyes, but her hand tightened around her wand "Learn some new words, why don't you?" 

"You think you're so smart, don't you? Who do you think you are?" 

"I'm the girl that punched you across the face on the train, making you run out of the compartment," 

"Oh yes, very brave when you have six other people behind you, but now? What are you going to do now?" 

Ellie was scared, it was a known fact that the boy was good at duelling, and this, combined with his knowledge of dark magic, and hatred for people like her certainly made him dangerous. But if he thought that she hadn't picked up a thing or two from Nephera, he was deeply mistaken.