constellation ✧ marauders

Chapter Eleven

Halloween was sneaking up on Noelle, and before she knew it, it was the Thursday before the creepy holiday. Jack-O-Lanterns littered the halls and classrooms of the castle, casting an eerie orange glow on their surroundings. The suits of armor were replaced by skeletons (the result of a prank pulled by the Marauders in light of Halloween), and an all around festive mood lightened the student's schedules. There was also an energetic buzz of who would attend the Gryffindor's Halloween Party in the common room that afternoon.

Only one student seemed more distant than ever before, even with the excitement of the upcoming holiday and ecstatic talk about Halloween parties, and her name was none other than Noelle Deces. Once a boisterous and lighthearted girl, she seemed replaced by a broken version of herself; one that cut herself off from the welcoming world around her, one that pushed away any friends who were only trying to help. Everyone close to her took blame for her alienating actions, such as James feeling overwhelmingly responsible for her new mood, and Sirius staying up deep into the early hours of the morning, staring at the ceiling, and wondering how he had managed to ruin someone as perfect as Noelle. Lily, Lana, and Marlene knew better than the boys, though, as they understood it wasn't them who had transformed Noelle into the unrecognizable girl that stood in front of them, silently chewing on her quill as she faced the front of the classroom attentively. It had not been Sirius and James's actions that broke her-- it was something else, something dark and evil, a cloud that was blurring her mind and influencing her decisions. She was not acting on her own accord; she was missing a part of herself. The girls simply did not know what the source of the darkness that surrounded the girl was, but it was dangerous, and they needed to help her. But how? How could they help a friend in need, when the friend neither wanted their help, or realized their need for it?

Noelle looked downwards to her Transfiguration notes, a frown lingering on her plump, rosy lips. She failed to notice Auggie's eyes, full of concern, trailing her every move; Noelle did not realize that Sirius, Remus, and James had been watching the now frail girl with the intent of keeping her safe. She ignored Lily's glances sideways at her every minute, and Lana's and Marlene's pleading looks of worry that reoccurred like clockwork.

No, she did not notice any of this. Instead, she observed how to transfigure a feathered quill into a baby chick, and the fact that with only seventeen more glances sideways from Lily, one for every minute, she would be free to return to the library for the rest of the afternoon.

A party was to be held in the Gryffindor Common Room that night, but Noelle had absolutely no interest in attending. Instead, she would bundle up in her covers, and spend the entire night writing with her only friend, Tom. The two had become as close as possible in the last couple weeks, and the more Noelle poured her secrets into Tom, the more human and life-like his responses became.

Transfiguration class ended, and Noelle lazily piled her countless notes, stuffing them into her pack. She started towards the library slowly, knowing that she had nothing else to do, no where else to be, no events to be late to.

An soft hand caught her forehand just as she stepped out of the class. The girl recoiled, every muscle in her body tensing up. She wasn't used to human touch anymore, not since the start of term, and her introduction to Tom. Noelle looked up.

"Noelle," James started, letting her arm go as he realized how terribly uneasy he was making her feel by grabbing her. She stared at him obviously, searching his hazel eyes for any sign of what he was trying to say.

"What, James? What is it?" The girl replied, her steady voice a walking contradiction to how tired she looked.

"Bloody hell, Noelle, what happened to you? I just- I just don't get it, alright? I know, we shouldn't have bullied Auggie, Severus, and all the other kids... But it shouldn't have this affect on you. How do I make it right? How do I fix this? How do I fix you?"