Cursed Child Years 1-4 | Marauders Era

99 | Avoidance

Avoidance

Tuesday 28th June, 1974

Today was Alice' sixteenth birthday. The event of the year - according to James and Remus - and that everyone would be there. This meant Firewhiskey, a break from the past three days for Elizabeth, a night where Lily and Sirius' incessant nagging would stop. The spotlight would be on Alice instead.

Except, all Elizabeth could think about was Regulus. The past three days had travelled by in a blurry haze. Her mind elsewhere. Yesterday had been the last day of classes for her third year, and she couldn't remember a thing. All Elizabeth could focus on was Regulus, and the inevitable end of their friendship. The next day, when she'd walked into the Great Hall for lunch - having skipped breakfast - she'd found him with a giggling Katy latched to his side. Elizabeth had immediately walked back out of the Hall.

Since Regulus' birthday, Elizabeth had spent her days with Bellatrix and Evan. She sat with these two Slytherin's during breakfasts and dinners. Sometimes they were joined by Evelyn or Lucius, other times they were left alone. It was Bellatrix's final year, and Elizabeth wasn't sure when she'd see the witch again - she'd grown quite fond of her company. Evan had been overly polite to her, complimenting her whenever she sat down across from him at the house table, Bellatrix always groaned, rolling her eyes at these grand gestures of thanks.

When Elizabeth wasn't in the company of any Slytherin's, she was juggling her time between going to the library during lunches, with Lily, Remus and Alice; spending their final three days, skipping the afternoon meals, talking of the future and getting head starts on their summer assignments.

At nights, Elizabeth would join the four Marauders on their nightly pranks, those had doubled in the best efforts for one last hoorah before the end of the school year. In between the library, the nightly crusade's and meals, Elizabeth spent her days with her girls. The six of them would make time to see each other - for what could be two whole months until they saw each other all together again.

Marlene and Mary had suddenly grown in confidence since breaking the hearts of Ravenclaw's two heartthrobs, causing boys to drool at their feet - Mary loved the extra attention, Marlene wasn't enjoying herself the same way. So on Sunday, Elizabeth had decided to pull the blond out of the spotlight for an hour, it was this Elizabeth was thinking about as she looked down the table at Regulus and his new girlfriend during her breakfast with Bellatrix and Evelyn.

Elizabeth was laying in Marlene's lap, the other witch's hand running through her hair as they sat in an alcove on the fourth floor. The soft droplets of rain running down the tinted pane of glass behind them.

"So," Marlene said slowly, her fingers caressing Elizabeth's scalp. "What's going on with you and Black?"

"Me and Sirius are fine actually-"

"Cut the bullshit, Selwyn. You know full well which Black I'm talking about. Out with it."

"Marls, there's nothing to tell." Elizabeth forced a smile up towards the blonde, Marlene had not returned the gesture.

"So you two aren't in the middle of a little spat that's got you both avoiding each other like the bubonic plague?"

"The bubon what?" Elizabeth frowned.

"Muggle disease. Never mind. So not the point. You're both avoiding each other, I don't think I've ever seen you two like this. Something's happened."

Elizabeth shrugged. "You may need to get your eyes checked, women," she teased.

"I want to know what you've done."