The amount of tension was enough to suffocate an entire room following the Second Task. After learning that Cho had been Cedric's "prized" person, Marnie had distanced herself from the group, only talking to Eleanor when the girls were alone. Of course, it left Cedric awfully puzzled by the sudden coldness that had been thrust upon him, especially when he and Marnie had been the closest they had ever been over the years. But when it came to him asking Eleanor what was going on, Eleanor felt she was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

On one hand, she felt like Cedric had led Marnie on, especially if Marnie's claims of flirting and almost kissing in the Common Room were true, but at the same time, she felt like her friends had been going about their feelings the wrong way. And while they were both young and nothing was to be taken as life or death while they were still in school, if things had developed any further, Eleanor knew the ones to be truly hurt would be Cho and Lee.

When Cedric tried to hint to Marnie that she was acting distant, the iciness to her tone when she relayed that she was spending time with Lee was enough to shiver the warmest of bodies.

With an upcoming trip to Hogsmeade, Eleanor had a feeling that she wouldn't be accompanied by her best friends that weekend. She figured she was going to make plans with Fred before either one of them could ask her to take their side in the matter, but before Eleanor could find Fred, it was Harry who found her first.

"Ellie," he greeted, looking somewhat flustered, " can I talk to you for a moment?"

Days since the Second Task had not been kind to Harry either, whether it was Rita Skeeter's latest article, where she falsely claimed that Harry and Hermione had once been an item, only for Hermione to toss Harry aside as she became infatuated with Viktor Krum. It didn't help that Rita had claimed that Hermione's only ambitions came from collecting trophies of famed boys, but allowed comment from Pansy Parkinson of all people, who had the audacity to call Hermione "ugly."

The entire article had left a bad taste in Eleanor's mouth and she couldn't even be bothered to finish it, knowing it was a load of rubbish from start to finish. It was bad enough that she didn't care for Hermione and Viktor dating but for Rita to paint Hermione in a bad light as if her dating life was anyone's business to begin with.

"Of course, Harry," Eleanor answered him with a warm smile, "what's on your mind?"

"It's about the upcoming Hogsmeade trip," Harry told her, " I was wondering if you made plans already?"

Her mind travelled to where she was going to ask Fred out on a date, but at the time, Harry's expression seemed hopeful that she was free. Knowing the amount of stress Harry had been facing within the term alone, Eleanor shook her head no.

Immediately, Harry's eyes seemed to brighten and he was smiling finally. "Great! It's just... remember that scarf that you loaned out?" he asked in a whisper. "Well, someone would like to return it to you."

It took a couple of seconds for Eleanor to register what Harry was hinting at, but as soon as she realised that he was insinuating meeting up with Sirius, her eyes widened and she let out a small gasp. Quickly, she grabbed Harry by the arm, dragging him to sit down in a small window seat, so she could confirm what he had just told her. The last she had heard from her father, Sirius was still on the run, he was in "good company" but his name had yet to be cleared by the Ministry of Magic, making any sort of meaning risky.

"Harry, are you sure this is a good idea?" she questioned. "I don't want anyone getting in trouble."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with spending time with a stray dog that we just happened to stumble upon while we were out, right?"

Eleanor reached out and flicked Harry on the forehead lightly.

"It sounds like you've been spending too much time around the twins."

Days leading up to the trip to Hogsmeade, Eleanor promised that she would make it up to Fred and plan a better date in the future. In the meantime, she continued on with her classes, sitting with Fred in the majority of her classes to avoid further confrontation between Marnie and Cedric. She continued to tell the two of them to talk it out but it seemed they only wanted her to just fess up and tell them what was wrong. She could feel them becoming frustrated with her because she wasn't giving them the answer they wanted.

So wrapped up in her own thoughts of how to get her two best friends back on track, Eleanor didn't even notice that class had been dismissed from Arithmancy. Without Fred there to tell her it was time to leave, she continued to sit at her desk, staring down at her book but not bothering to read a word on either page. 

It wasn't until she felt a light tap on her shoulder that brought her to look up. However, Eleanor found herself awfully confused to find that it was Artemis that had alerted her.

"Class has been over for a few minutes," Artemis said, not daring to make eye contact with her as she stared off to the side. "It looks like you were thinking about something and didn't notice so I-"

Eleanor glanced around the classroom to note that Artemis was, indeed, correct. Everyone, including Professor Vector, was gone, leaving only the two of them.

"Right," Eleanor said quietly before closing her book over and standing up, "thanks."

The room became awkwardly silent as Artemis didn't take to walking off while Eleanor put her things away. But as she turned to leave and noticed the girl still standing there, she let out a small sigh. She was so tired of the awkward setting around her own friends, she wasn't looking for any further awkward encounters.

"Are you on your way to lunch?"

Artemis immediately turned her head to face her, looking completely off guard. " Well, I was-"

"Come on, let's go, I'm starving."

It was clear that Artemis was going to open up her mouth to argue, but at the last second, she decided against it as she followed Eleanor out of the classroom. The two travelled in complete silence down the corridors, all the way to the Great Hall. As if someone was going to jump out at any given second, Artemis continued to look around in a rather paranoid state. When they reached the Great Hall, Eleanor naturally made her way over to the Hufflepuff table, only to look over and see the expression of hesitation.

Eleanor decided to allow Artemis to sit when she pleased, making herself a plate and pulling out her knitting supplies. So far, there was no sign of Marnie or Cedric in the Great Hall, making her wonder if they were both avoiding the hall in order to avoid each other. A quick glance in the direction of the Gryffindor table revealed that Fred and George weren't there either, although she figured they were probably up to something that involved Filch and trouble.

"Is that really all you do?" Artemis suddenly asked her. "You just knit all the time?"

With a small chuckle, Eleanor shrugged her shoulders. "Not all the time. Sometimes I breathe. Now, are you going to sit down or just stand there all day?"

After a second, Artemis did sit down but didn't bother making herself a plate. "Wh-who taught you how to knit like that? You knit really fast."

"Initially, I learned from watching my mother a lot and then I managed to get my hands on some knitting patterns. I kept working and working at it and eventually, it became easier with every project I've worked on. But maybe it's something within my genetics," Eleanor chuckled, " after all, my grandmother was known to be an excellent knitter too."

It was quiet again, making Eleanor turn to her again. "I take it you're not really into talking about my knitting, so what do you really want to say to me?"

"I-I wanted to apologise about everything. I already told you that I wasn't trying to get you in trouble with the Headmaster, but I also wanted to tell you that I'm sorry about what I said about you and your father."

"Okay."

Bewildered, Artemis turned her entire body to face Eleanor. "Th-that's it? Okay? You're not going to yell at me or call me a bitch? Last time we spoke-"

"Last time we spoke, you were apologising for the wrong reasons," Eleanor told her. "You were offering me money, so no, I didn't accept it then. And if I remember correctly, I already called you a bitch in the past, so I don't feel the need to do it again, nor do I feel like yelling. That would defeat the purpose of this apology."

"Oh."

"But, I will say this, if you ever insult my father like that again, no amount of apologising will be able to save you."

For most of lunch, Artemis remained at Eleanor's side, although she didn't say much. However, she seemed to relax after a while, at least, enough that she could eat something. Every so often, she would say something regarding Professor Vector's homework, but it was clear, she was struggling to make small talk. But her small talk was cut short when Fred and George finally arrived at the Great Hall. Fred looked around, happy to see Eleanor at the Hufflepuff table, but more than confused to see Artemis Carrow in her company.

Last he remembered, Artemis had not only insulted Eleanor's father and Eleanor but had attempted to get Eleanor in trouble regarding her knitting. Thankfully, Professor Dumbledore appeared to be on Eleanor's side, but Fred worried that Artemis was looking to retaliate. But as he and George grew closer to the table, he could see the two girls sharing in a casual conversation as if they were old friends.

He wasn't the only one confused as George shared a very similar expression. As soon as they approached the table, Eleanor greeted them with a smile, as Artemis proceeded to turn a vibrant red. Fred made his way over to Eleanor, placing one of his hands on her shoulder, in a rather protective manner, as he side-eyed Artemis.

"Where have you two been? Serving detention with Filch?" she asked, peering up at him.

"You know us so well," Fred grinned, "thankfully, our detention was cut short because Filch had a sudden case of diarrhoea."

George placed his chin in the palm of his hand, resting his elbow on the table. " I'll never forget the way he ran to the toilets, clenching his arse."

Eleanor shook her head at them with a grin, but Artemis let out a laugh bringing all three of them to look at her. Her laughter quickly died down and as soon as she turned her head, she noticed two people enter the Great Hall as well.

Flora and Hestia Carrow entered and spotted Artemis right away. They were younger than Artemis, more than likely twin cousins with the shared surname, but very similar in appearance. As soon as Artemis made note of them, she quickly stood up from the Hufflepuff table, muttering something about how she had to leave before she hurried off. She didn't even approach the twins but rather hurried out of the Great Hall altogether.

"Well, that was odd," George said after she was gone. "What was that all about, Ellie? Since when are you friends with Carrow? She tried to get you in trouble, didn't she?"

"And she apologised for it," Eleanor said, watching as Flora and Hestia shot dirty looks in their direction, "I think she's trying, so I'm going to give her a chance and see how it goes."

Fred wasn't going to tell Eleanor what to do, knowing that she often tried to see the best in people, but he did worry about Artemis' intentions.

"Just be careful, love."

The Saturday morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Eleanor was up early, making her way into the kitchens where she promised Harry she could steal some food. Apparently, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had done their best to sneak food out during their meals in hopes of bringing it to Sirius. She had managed to get plenty without being caught, filling up an entire bag with loaves of bread and other rather fill foods that she hoped Sirius would enjoy. While she didn't have much interaction with him, besides the time he stole her scarf, Eleanor felt the need to help Sirius as much as possible.

Not only was he Harry's godfather, but one of her father's best friends from youth, one he had considered to be his brother for years.

When she met up with the trio at noon, they all seemed pleased to see her, especially as she held out the bag of food. To avoid suspicion, the trio had made plans to visit a couple of shops in the village, including Gladrags Wizardwear, so they could pick up a couple of pairs of socks for Dobby the House Elf. Eleanor even offered to make Dobby a pair of socks after they purchased a rather flashy pair that had gold and silver stars and another pair that screamed whenever they started to smell.

The time finally came when they were to meet up with Sirius and the four made their way down a rather windy path that took them away from the village. The homes started to become more spaced out, their gardens growing larger until there were no homes at all in sight. They reached the foot of a mountain and Eleanor spotted in the distance, the shadow of a large shaggy black dog.

In the dog's mouth, he carried several pieces of newspaper and when they approached, he looked at every one of them, wagging his tail before he turned and led the way up the mountain. Eleanor had not anticipated such a climb and she could tell that the others weren't either, besides Sirius, as they were all out of breath before reaching their destination.

Sirius led the way inside of a cave but before any of them could actually enter, they could hear another voice. It belonged to a female if Eleanor wasn't mistaken, leaving her puzzled for a moment before she remembered her own father's words. Sirius had not been left alone, making her wonder, who was accompanying Sirius in the cave?

"Don't judge me! You already met him! He rode you!"

There was a loud screech that caused the teenagers to enter, but as they followed Sirius in, with Harry in the lead, they came upon a woman standing in front of hippogriff and they were clearly in the midst of an argument.

"Alright, I'm sorry, it was a poor choice of words on my behalf, what I meant to say is, well, I'm not really sure how else to word it, Beaky! He technically did ride you, whether you like to admit it or not, it happened!"

Suddenly, Sirius morphed out of his animagus form, standing on his own two legs. He proceeded to clear his throat, bringing the woman and the hippogriff to look over in his direction. She smacked her hand to her forehead, with a dreaded look of embarrassment on her face as she slowly turned to face them. Her eyes scanned over the four in Sirius' company, forcing a smile to her face.

"I could see how this looks and sounds odd," she began, rubbing her hand over the back of her neck, " but, uh, goodness, Harry! You...you..."

Sirius turned to the others. "I swear she's capable of talking a lot better than this, we must have caught her off guard," he whispered to them.

Suddenly, the woman's hands came to gently hold the sides of Harry's face, although even from where Eleanor was standing she could see how the woman's hands shook from nerves.

"Harry, you...you...you have a face!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the woman pulled her hands away and covered her own face, a whispered "oh my Merlin" echoing in the cave that was overwhelmed with silence. Sirius didn't seem to share in her embarrassment, but rather looked amused as he walked over and wrapped his arm around the woman's shoulder, before facing the group again.

"Everyone, my wife, Nixie!"

Nixie, as she was named, looked up finally, shooting a glance at Sirius before looking at the group with a sheepish grin.

"If someone would be so kind and throw me out of this cave and down the mountain, I wouldn't be opposed."