Of All The Stars: Sirius Black

𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓕𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓷

"So he just, kicked ya out? Just like that?" The old bar man said, looking up from his soup bowl and over too Estelle.

She nodded her head, spinning her spoon in the oddly thick pea soup. She had told the man, whose name was Tom, all about her last couple of days and the drama at home. She wasn't exactly sure why she had told him, but as soon as she had sat down and began to eat, everything just kind of... spilled out.

She was so confused and frustrated, and it felt like she had no other adult to turn to. So there she was, spilling her entire guts to Tom, who turned out to be the owner of the Inn.

"Hmm, well that seems like a lot of trouble for a young person to deal with all in one go. Why don't you just head to bed, hmm? Tomorrow you come on down here and we will send an owl to one of your friends to come keep you company. We are closed up tomorrow, and one shouldn't be spending Christmas all cooped up in an empty pub anyways." Tom said, smiling warmly towards her in a very Grandfather like way.

Estelle smiled back, letting a little yawn out. "Yeah that's probably a good idea." She said, giggling at the timing of her yawn.

She said a quick goodnight, before wandering up to her room. When she reached the room, she opened and closed the door quickly, pressing her back against the door. She sighed deeply, breathing slowly as the cold of the door started to cool down her back. The cold was calming, and it sent a little shiver up her spine.

She closed her eyes, pushing herself off the door and climbing into the bed. She fell asleep quickly after the hours of overwhelming situations, despite being in a place she was completely unfamiliar with.

The dampness of the room was cool, as the weather seeped through the icy window. Wrapped up in wool blankets and warm socks, Estelle felt the cold, but it was soothing not uncomfortable in any way.

***

When Estelle woke up the next morning, there was a soft knock coming from her room door. She opened her eyes slowly as the bright winter light lit up the room. Tiny ice crystals formed across the thin window pane, the sound of Christmas bells came from Diagon Alley below.

Estelle sighed to herself, knowing that she was completely alone for Christmas. She turned over in bed, as the person on the other side of the door knocked again. She rose out of bed sleepily, tossing her curls over her shoulder and out of her eyes.

She tentatively opened the door, wrapped tightly in the Quidditch jumper that had caused so many problems for her, yet seemed to solve them all at the same time. As the door cracked open, she was met by the smiling face of Tom holding out a cup of tea for her.

"Tom! What are you doing here? It's Christmas morning, you should be with your family." Estelle said, a frown spreading across her face.

"Estelle dear, how could I happily sit with my family all morning knowing you were up here all alone?" He said, his smile unchanging as he pressed the cup into her hands. She shrugged, taking the cup with a smile.

"Come on then, let's get you to one of your mates for the holiday." He turned, waving his hand for her to follow.

She set the tea cup down, looking around quickly and slipping on a pair of sneakers before following after him.

After a long night of thinking, Estelle had decided to write to James. She struggled with the idea a lot, as she knew she would be interrupting his time with his family and putting a damper on his Christmas morning... But she had no choice.

She had no money with her, and she couldn't stay in the Inn without paying Tom. He had already treated her with so much kindness, she would never take anything more from him and his business.

She tried to explain as shortly as possible in the letter, telling James that she had been kicked out of her house, and that she was staying at the Leaky Cauldron, and that she was hoping he would let her stay for a couple of days.. But the letter ended up flowing out so easily, it was almost two pages by the time she had finished.

The first line read out, "James, I need your help..." and the rest went from there. She felt guilty sending it, as Tom helped her tie it to his owl Nelsen, and she started to panic as he flew out of the pub door.

Minutes went by as she paced around the pub, Tom watched her silently, chuckling to himself.

"So, this lad.. Is he your, erm..Boy-" Tom began, as he watched Estelles worried glances at the door and the clock.

"What? No! James is my best friend, he's like a brother to me." Estelle gasped out, staring at Tom with wide eyes.

He threw his hands up in the air, chuckling loudly. "Sorry, sorry, don't mind this nosey old man."

The seconds turned to minutes, and slowly to an hour before the pubs fireplace burst into bright green flames and a tall lanky boy in pyjamas tumbled out. He pushed himself up, fixing his glasses and rustling his hair out of his face.

"Estelle?!" James called out, before looking around the room. A worried expression plastered on his face.

"Estelle!" He called again, so worried that he didn't even see her standing across the room.

"James! You came?!" Estelle said, slightly baffled by his disheveled appearance.

"Oh Merlin." James said with a sigh, racing over to her and pulling her into a giant embrace.

He started mumbling something into her hair, but not letting go of her. He held her tightly, and Estelle didn't let go either. Slowly the tears started to choke back up again, spilling out onto his jumper. She silently sobbed into his arms, feeling the familiar warmth overcoming her.

After a few long minutes, Estelle pulled back sniffling and wiped the tears from her eyes. James looked at her, his eyes filled with concern and sadness.

"Stella... You are always, and forever welcome at my house. We don't have to talk about what happened right now, your letter said it all. I told my parents, and they already set up the spare bedroom fro you." James said, placing his hand on her shoulder warmly.

Estelle looked at him with wide eyes, not expecting anything that had just come out of his mouth. "Wait.. Really?" She mumbled.

"Of course Stella! You are my best friend!" He paused cheekily, "Erm-don't tell Sirius." He said with a wink.

Estelle giggled, shaking her head at him with a little sniffle.

"Let's go get your stuff, yeah? Mum's making breakfast right now." James said with a wide smile, and Estelle nodded eagerly.

After profusely thanking Tom for everything, and promising to visit as soon as the school year was over, Estelle followed James to the fireplace. He said goodbye to Tom and went first, carrying her case.

Estelle looked back over her shoulder one more time, before running back and hugging Tom.

"Thank you so much for everything."

"Anytime my dear, you are always welcome here." He said, patting her on the back.

She walked back to the fireplace, pulling out the handful of floo powder. "The Potter's!" Estelle yelled, before being swirled into a burst of green flames.

Hey everyone, so sorry for the slow updates.. I work 7 days a week! It is insanely busy right now... But I am going to put in some more writing time for myself, and for you all!

xoxo- Em