Always~Sirius Black

chapter two

Elsie was over the moon to see her friends again after the hell of a summer she had just been through. As she stepped onto the platform it was like she could finally see the light and the whole world began to make sense again.

A contented smile made its way onto her face as she watched the nervous first years hug their teary-eyed parents goodbye, second years dash off as if there was no better place in the universe, and third years quickly fall back into their rhythm. This was how it should be.

She remembered what each and every one of those days felt like and missed them greatly, but at the same time she was glad they had passed. Hogwarts was home and she could not wait to be back, although there was a slight pang in her chest as she realized that this was the halfway point. You have to move on eventually.

By now the girl was able to weave her way through the crowd as if it was second nature, and she did it with the everpresent skip in her step. She stood on the platform for a while, just observing the scene unfolding around her.

Parents began leaving their children to embark on the biggest journey of their lives while the youngest of the bunch looked around, aching for a friend. Seventh years moved as if this was an everyday occurrence, but with just a hint of gloom, knowing that this was the last time they would get to experience the start of year excitement that they knew and loved.

Boarding the Hogwarts Express always was an interesting journey, because it was different for everyone yet they somehow all understood one another. Some were sad and some were happy, but they were all going to the same place and that was enough to bind them together.

The teenage girl saw the once full platform clear out before her very eyes, being the last to board the train. She was no longer in a rush like the scattered eleven year olds were, the marauders had claimed a compartment long ago and could take as much time as they wanted getting to it.

Platform 9¾ was a constant, it would always be there and it would always be the same. That was exactly how Elsie Crawford liked it, she liked something solid that she could count on and there was only one thing other than this platform that was like that for her; Sirius Black.

Well, all of her friends were there for her whenever need be, but Sirius had been around for as long as she could remember and neither of them could see that changing. Ever.

Noticing that she really was completely alone on the station, she took a deep breath and stepped onto the train, letting the smell of sweets from the trolley consume her. Her trunk felt as if it was gliding as she made her way to the familiar compartment. She was on cloud nine and nothing could bring her down from the high, or so she thought.

The door slid open effortlessly, revealing all of the marauder, well, all but one. Sirius Black was nowhere to be found, but dwelling on that would only delay Elsie's happiness, so she chose to ignore it until she truly couldn't anymore.

"Jamsiekins," She shot him a wink, "how's Evans?"

"Haha, very funny, El." Although sarcasm was laced through his voice you would have thought it hurt like venom, and perhaps it did.

"Sorry 'bout her babe, maybe she's just not a genius like you claim."

She patted his shoulder as a consolation prize as she sat down to his right, Remus and Peter directly across from them.

"How was your summer?" The scarred boy asked politely, he always has been the inquisitive one. And the most caring.

"Oh Merlin, it was bloody hell I'm telling you! Mum refused to let me visit Sirius, I mean, come on! He lives right next door for fuck's sake! Not to mention her new boyfriend-"

"Wait, your mum's dating?"

"Well now she is I suppose, trust me, it was a shock, but anyway, he's absolutely horrid. The worst part is that by July he'd practically moved in!" Elsie sighed, not wanting to scream any longer—she tends to lose control after a while. "I just can't wait to get my own place."

Her tone was much more composed now and she spoke evenly, showing just how serious she was.

"Well maybe you could stay with one of us for Christmas, you know, cut yourself some slack?"

"Mum would never allow that, thinks the less exposure to magic the better, she does."

"Don't worry, Els, we'll figure something out. Trust me."

***

Elsie felt as if she truly had put off asking the dreaded question for as long as she could, fearing she didn't want to know the answer, but she was growing rather worried. She took a deep breath, knowing that the answer would most likely be something she did in fact not want to hear, and asked about her best friend.

"So, where's Sirius anyway? I haven't seen him since I boarded the train."

She would never know words that confused her quite as much as the sentence about to leave James' mouth. In just a few seconds her world would turn upside down and she would have no idea why for quite a while.

"Oh, he left to snog some girl, the lucky bloke. I'm sure he'll be back in time for the feast though."

Her breath caught in her throat and she felt as if she was drowning. There was a pang in her heart and her chest began to tighten. The only thing she could think was why? Why would he do that? Why wouldn't he wait to see me first? Why did he want to snog some random girl? Just why.

She couldn't see an end to her downward spiral but luckily, as always, James Potter saved the day.

"Hey, Els, are you okay?"

He sounded so worried, almost as if he could see right through her and read all of her emotions, feel everything that she felt. It was as if he understood it, unlike she herself did, and related to it deeply. As if it affected him as much as it did her.

"Yeah, Prongs, I'm alright,"

And with that she made herself snap out of whatever she was doing, thinking, feeling, and made herself go back to normal. She had to, so she did.

***

Sure enough, Sirius was back for dinner and it was as if nothing had changed. They laughed at the look on children's faces when they were sorted and clapped at all the right moments. Everything was back to normal. For now.

"EEEK! WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK IS THAT!"

"LANGUAGE, MR. BLACK!"

"SORRY MINNIE!"

"Pads, what's wrong?" Elsie inquired, slightly concerned.

"My chicken looks like it's mad at me!" He whisper-yelled a response.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, you probably just have a stick up your arse."

Elsie went back to eating with a genuine smile on her face at her friend's antics, and as he wrapped an arm around her, all the whys disappeared. This just was, and it was exactly how it was supposed to be.