claret, sirius black

27

chapter 27

DORCAS MEADOWES ASKS Lenora to join her in the stands every time there is a Quidditch match, and every time Lenora promptly says 'no'. This weekend was no different, except the fact Lenora said yes, pulling her hat decorated in the Hufflepuff colours over her messy hair.

"You are?" Dorcas asked, an eyebrow quirked.

"Yep," Lenora said, popping the 'p' as she tried to act as if it was an unprecedented spur of the moment decision.

"Marlene asked me to sit with her in the Gryffindor stand. I hope you don't mind coming with me." Dorcas said, suspiciously with her big brown eyes narrowed.

"Of course not," Lenora smiled, putting two pairs of thick socks on her feet. It was the end of January, there hadn't been any snow since New Years but by the look of the clouds there was going to be soon, and Lenora likes to be prepared for the cold. Dorcas narrowed her eyes, nodding as she wrapped her scarf around her neck.

-

There are a few reasons why Lenora doesn't watch Quidditch matches. The first reason being that she is deathly afraid of heights and the stands are ridiculously high up and they don't feel the safest to walk over. The second reason is how cold it is, she's been sitting down for five minutes and her nose is already as red as Rudolph's and the tips of her fingers feel blue. The third reason is that it is far too loud and the final reason is that she has no idea how Quidditch works and nobody want's to sir cluelessly for two hours on a freezing cold Saturday morning.

Dorcas and Marlene were next to each other and sat on the row behind whilst Lenora was sat with her hat pulled as far down her face as it would go and her scarf tied so it covered her nose and mouth, only her eyes were visible. The match hadn't even started and she was ready to go back inside.

She debated standing up and leaving until someone sat down beside her.

"You look cold," Sirius Black laughed as he watched Lenora shiver. She glared at him.

"How can you sit out here for hours, it's torture?" She said through chattering teeth, no one else around her seemed to be as cold but she supposed that no one else is as sensitive to the cold as she is.

"It's not that cold," Sirius smiled as he rubbed his glove covered hands together, "Plus the excitement keeps me warm."

Lenora snorted.

"Do you want to share my coat?" Sirius asked as the Slytherin and Ravenclaw players took to the pitch.

"Then you'll be cold."

"I'll cast a heating charm?" He suggested.

Lenora was already wearing a jumper and the thickest jacket she had in her wardrobe.

"How about you cast the charm and we share the jacket?" She said, Sirius nodded as he shrugged one arm out of the black coat and put it around Lenora's shoulder so they both had one arm in the coat, their free hands meeting in the middle.

Sirius lifted his arm to cast the charm but quickly brought it back down, resting it on his thigh so their pinky fingers almost grazed. Lenora could feel the warmth from his hand against hers.

After twenty minutes of the game, the two teams were drawing on points, according to the commentator. In Lenora's opinion, it was one of the most boring things she's ever witnessed and Sirius said that they were still far off catching the snitch as the Ravenclaw seeker wasn't letting Regulus Black, the Slytherin seeker, out of arm's reach.

"Why are there so many balls?" Lenora asked as she rubbed her hands together, making the coat tug tightly around Sirius. "How can they even remember what each one is for," she huffed.

"I assume they take the time to learn the rules," Sirius chuckled, "It's not that hard to understand after you've watched a few matches."

"Quidditch is stupid," Lenora said pointedly.

"Don't let James hear you say that otherwise, he'll throw you out of the stands," Sirius said as he looked behind him at where James was sitting keenly watching the match besides Remus, who wasn't as interested.

Basil is the Ravenclaw captain and one of the beaters, Lenora knew that much. She couldn't even tell where he was on the pitch as everyone looked the same with their helmets and Quidditch gear on.

Lenora shivered as the wind blew through the stands, despite the excessive layers that she was wearing and Sirius' coat over her shoulder.

The Slytherin stand erupted in cheers. Unfortunately, the seeker hadn't caught the snitch yet, so Lenora sighed and yawned at the same time, the weirdest noise came out of her mouth but she shook it off and leant her head on Sirius' shoulder. He didn't move away or say anything, he moved his free arm and wrapped it around Lenora's waist, letting his hand rest on her thigh.

It was a surprise that James Potter had taken his eyes off of the match, he glanced down at Sirius and Lenora and nudged Remus so he would look as well. James' glasses had fogged up as his scarlet and gold scarf was covering his mouth and nose so he took the black timed glasses off and raised his eyebrows at Remus. He nudged him back and grinned.