Larger Than Life {Remus Lupin}

5: Sappy Sentimentality

October passed by much too quickly for Ella's liking and soon enough November was among them. And yet, she still hadn't found the time to talk to Jonathan about his odd behavior and the Slytherin pure-bloods following her around. Sure, she saw him every morning and evening and in-between sometimes, but she just could never bring herself to just sit down with him at the Gryffindor table and tell him. For some reason she kept putting it off.

But she knew the real reason. She had thought about it multiple times over, and she always came to the thought of the Slytherins doing the following because Jon was back in league with them. But that didn't make sense. Why would they stop following her around for two years and then start again because of him?

The thought scared her. It was like she was paranoid of everyone, and the lie Leonard came clean from had muddled all her logical reasoning skills. Of course not everyone was lying to her, or working against her, or conspiring with people who hated her. It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense.

It made her feel like she was slipping again, like in second year. Always afraid. Always looking over her shoulder.

But that was everyone these days. They lived in troubling times. Everyone was scared. It seemed to only get worse as the months passed.

Ella braced the wind once again as she was on her way to mail off even more letters, and she met a friendly face near the owlry, a red-nosed Remus walking up beside her with hunched shoulders against the cold. "Looks like we had the same idea for the afternoon."

"Indeed." She replied, pulling out the small stack of letters from her coat pocket. "Parents and brothers. It's become quite the hassle to write every week."

"I stopped making that promise after first year." Remus chuckled, and she smiled despite the bitter cold and the paranoia that someone was following her.

"My little brother has been drilling me on everything. He's ten, and he's so excited for next year he can hardly contain himself." She grinned as the owlry appeared in sight over the hill. "I did the same thing to my older brother though."

"Sometimes I wish I had siblings." Remus admitted as they continued along the trail. "It could get pretty lonely in the summer."

"Well, in a way, you do. The Marauders kind of look like a band of brothers to me." She shrugged, and a sinking feeling pressed in her stomach when he didn't say anything. "From an outside perspective. Sorry if I overstepped."

"No, don't apologize. I was just thinking about it." They reached the owlry and began climbing the steps higher. "You do have a point."

"You don't have to be blood to be family." She nodded, smiling again as she looked out at the landscape. Her mother's voice echoed in her head. Family is love, not blood. She said that a lot. "My mum used to say a bunch of stuff like that. 'Blood may be thicker than water, but you need both to survive.'"

"Sounds pretty sentimental. I always pegged you for a sap." He poked fun at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Everyone in the family is a sap." She said as they walked through the entry, and she immediately scrunched up her nose at the smell. "Ugh, it stinks in here."

She walked up to Sav the screech owl, who looked as temperamental as ever. The trick, Dad had said, is to show no fear. Show no fear. So that is what Ella did. She successfully set him off with letters in his talons when Remus caught her off guard.

"Why do you hide your accent?" He asked her seriously, with an owl on his arm. Her eyes widened momentarily, but then she realized she must have let it slip. It was more of a habit now than anything, another method of avoiding attention. But she remembered the laughing. The mocking and teasing she got, people imitating her Scouse.