𝕿𝖗𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖗 - ʳᵉᵍᵘˡᵘˢ ᵇˡᵃᶜᵏ

Chapter 5: Friends

[ September 9th - 28th, 1977 ]

     BECOMING FRIENDS with the Marauders may have been the best thing to ever happen to Theona Bell. She had never been around such... jolly people. Their infectious energy was unending, their painfully good looks were limitless, and their horrible jokes were a constant. It had already been three weeks since the first dinner they'd shared, and yet she still replayed the evening in her head.

     She had pushed down her insecurities the best she could as Sirius and her walked into the Great Hall together, sights set on the Gryffindor table. Sirius must've already spoken to Pandora, as she was sitting merrily beside a pretty redhead, stuffing pudding down her hatch. He also must've already informed his friends of his 'plan', as none of them seemed surprised to see her approach.

     She quickly took the empty seat between Pandora and James Potter-whom she hadn't actually spoken to since their brief conversation on the train-and Sirius found himself opposite to her, in between Remus Lupin and a blonde with the most gorgeous, chic hair Theona had ever seen.

     The blonde, along with a few other people apart from the four Marauders, appeared to be in the friend group as well. One was an utterly chiseled girl, with bone structure that could cut glass and drowsy eyes. She had her head resting against the blonde's shoulder, her long braids cascading down her back. Another was the redhead whom was on the other side of Pandora; she seemed to be quite enamoured by her book, which, upon closer inspection, was titled 'The Great Gatsby.' Finally, there was a girl with bronzite skin and coiling hair. She had an air of confidence around her, however, she also seemed the most skeptical of Theona.

     "Theo, let me introduce you to everyone," Pandora offered, before turning away. First, she pointed to the redhead on her right, "this is Lily Evans."

     Lily took only a second to look up from her book, nodding, and resuming her reading.

     "This is Marlene, and that's Dorcas," Pandora explained, gesturing to the blonde and then the girl leaning against her. Marlene saluted and Dorcas gave a shy wave. "And then we have Mary," she gestured finally to the confident girl who just smiled and went back to eating. "You've met the boys, of course."

    "Unfortunately," she jeered, eliciting snickers from a few of the girls.

     The next five minutes were quite possibly the most awkward moments of her life, somehow managing to beat out the last few potions lessons with insufferable Regulus Black. Theona sat patiently, picking away at her chicken with little appetite, while the others carried comfortable conversation.

     She was never good at this part; the whole 'making friends' thing-especially when Pandora had said nothing about these people outside of the fact that they were 'Hogwarts royalty', whatever that was supposed to mean. It was easy for her to make fun of them or laugh in their faces, but it was hard for her to actually communicate or put in the effort to get to know them.

     "So, Theona, tell us about yourself," Mary spoke up, her smooth voice cutting through any conversation and sending all eyes straight to Theona. Maybe Mary had superpowers; that could be the only explanation for her confidence.

     "Um... like what?" Theona squeaked, quickly coughing to try and cover the anxiety that was clear in her voice. It definitely did not work.