☼.* :☆ﾟ☽───𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄
❝ the marauders ❞

☼.* :☆ﾟ☽───THE SLYTHERIN COMMON ROOM LACKED BRIGHTNESS, Eleanor hated it how the dullness the atmosphere within the room was despite how luxurious it looked, she feels like she's back home in her manor, the place reminded her so much like the family room in the manor, except the greenish lamps and the lighting from the water that gives the green tinge to the room from the lake (as the common room is located under the Black Lake). Every time Eleanor enters the room either from the entrance or from her dorm, she is met with the tapestry of her great grandfather along with the other "greatest" Slytherins. He stares back at her with that scowling look, watching if she will shame her family and the name, and ready to bring the storm onto her.

          Eleanor used to think that. But it's just a damn picture.

          Like the rest of them, her whole family, their pictures that were hanging on the boards around the room, her family as they were once students here in Hogwarts School Witchcraft and Wizardry, it seems all of them had made it on the "Wall of Fame", even her big brother had made it up there after his team won Quidditch Cup in his sixth year last May. Her brother, the golden child in the family, already on his way to make their father and mother proud, and betrothed. Eleanor was not quite the opposite, she only has no intention to be better and become the gold. She was fine being the silver child.

          The sixteen-year-old had a hard time focusing on her homework, her striking clear blue eyes scanned around her; the chattering across the room where a group of fourth years were sitting around a round table, the lack of silence in the Common Room was irking, a toad croaking that was sitting on the chair's arm accompanied by one of the students from Frog Choir, and one of her friends clicking anxiously her heel against the floor.

          "Something bothering you, Cass?" Eleanor cooed.

          Her friend, Cassius Dayne since they were kids, they were friends already long before they began Hogwarts because their families were close. Cassius was short but quick-tempered and witty, her brunette hair is kept short above her shoulders and fringes covering her forehead, big grey eyes, light skin, her face shapely rounded. She perked up with her face read in question, she wasn't hearing her as she was deeply focused on her work.

          "I asked if there was something bothering you"

          Their friend, Prudence Turner was sitting beside Cassius, Prudence's attention was on them both. Cassius didn't respond quickly. "What do you mean?"

          Eleanor weakly shrugged a shoulder, "You were tapping your heel, it's what you do when you get anxious" she still couldn't say that the reason she was asking was to get her to stop.

          Prudence softly laugh, "Doesn't everybody?"

          Cassius sighed exasperatedly, leaned back against her seat, "It's just this stupid homework"

          Neither Eleanor and Prudence replied briefly. The two girls exchanged glances, both thinking the same, Prudence then said, "We'd help but you hate us helping you"

          "Did I ask?" Cassius sassed.

           The three fell back into silence, Eleanor still struggling to get her focus, Prudence proceeds reading a book from Astronomy, and Cassius scrunched her nose, her head resting on her hands, elbows on the table and frowning down at her homework. Eleanor yawned after barely managing to finish her essay despite the vexing chattering within the room. As she was scrutinizing her essay, ignoring the group coming into the common room from the entrance until she felt a nudge on her ankle, looking up to see Cassius and Prudence's gaze to the entrance, Eleanor shifted her glance around and found their friend with a group of seventh-year girls.

          The trio used to be a quartet, from the first year to the fifth year, until recently, their friend, Ygritte Malfoy decided to ditch the trio to join the seventh years. Eleanor wasn't sure how the news travelled so quickly about her brother and her friend's betrothed when it was supposed to be a secret. When the girls from the seventh year heard about it, they approached Ygritte about it, gushing over the news. It was a rumour at the start, the first two weeks into their sixth year, Eleanor had no clue how they found out that it was all true. Ygritte went off to start hanging out with those seventh years, Eleanor doesn't really blame her wanting to hang out with the popular girls.

          There was Ygritte Malfoy, with the group, smiling with them as they laughed. Though her beautiful smile fell the second she saw her friends sitting across the room, staring at her. Eleanor was the first to look away and back to analyze her essay.

          "She'll come running back to us next year, I'll bet you" Cassius noted, "When those girls finish their year and she'll have no one. She'll be alone, we'll make sure of that"

          "We?" Prudence uttered.

          "Have you forgotten that she ditched us for those Miss Perfects?"

          Cassius was bitter over it, Prudence wants Ygritte back as their friend, meanwhile, Eleanor couldn't care less. She'd either be bitter or kind if it wasn't for the news, she was there that evening when her parents invited the Malfoys into their manor for dinner. Eleanor never felt so immensely awkward when she listened to her father's suggestion, Esander was sitting next to Eleanor, which he reacted to their father's suggestion by choking his own drink. Afterwards, Eleanor couldn't help to wonder if her parents will make the same decision for Eleanor eventually. It seems forceful in her opinion. She could tell he wasn't quite ecstatic about it. For Ygritte, it's a dream come true for her, Eleanor was never blind that her old friend was crushing on Esander for quite a while.

          "It makes you wonder, doesn't it, Elle?" Cassius asked.

          "Wonder about what?" Eleanor set her essay down to let the ink dry and looked at Cassius.

          "You know, who'll your parents will marry you off to. Like they did with Esander to Ygritte" Eleanor never told Cassius and Prudence about Esander and Ygritte, the rumour spread pretty quick before it turned out to be true.

          Eleanor sighed dolefully, "I'm trying not to think about it". Really, she wasn't trying to think about it. She knew for a fact that if it comes to happen one day, traditionally, it'll have to be someone with the same blood as hers; Pureblood. She doesn't want to wonder when or who, she'd spend the rest of the day dreading over it if she thought of it too much.

          "Oh no," Cassius suddenly moaned, she quickly grabbed her books and notes. Both Eleanor and Prudence were confused how quick the girl left the table and said without looking at them, "I'll be in the dorm room"

          When Eleanor looked around as she wondered why the girl left in such rush, she figured it out when she spotted the fifth year boy, Regulus Black walking across the room from the entrance and making his way to the boys dorms. Eleanor and Prudence exchanged soft chuckles. When they were in the fifth year, Cassius was dating Regulus starting from last February until the summer, Eleanor wasn't sure why Cassius decided to break up with the boy, Eleanor had to admit that she felt bad for him because Cassius was foolish enough to break up with him through the letter. Yet, Regulus seems unbothered and Cassius is too embarrassed to show her face around him.

          "I'm just saying, I'd be mad if I was in his situation," Prudence admitted, she and Eleanor strolled through the dungeons, on their way to the Great Hall, Cassius refused to come along for two reasons; her unfinished homework and the fear of bumping into her ex. "if a guy breaks up with me through the letter, I'd hex them. Blimey, what was Cass thinking? She should've known better"

          "In her defense, I'd probably do the same. I don't believe it's easy to break up with someone in person without worrying about hurting them as result" Eleanor defended, but Prudence was probably not wrong. With Eleanor having zero experience of being in an actual relationship. "Besides, it was the first time Cassius dated, she didn't know what she was doing"

          Prudence hummed before she went on, "You're right, I suppose. Least she's not the worst heartbreaker like the Marauders"

          Eleanor groaned exasperatedly as she dropped her head, her chin touched her collar bone, "You just can't go a day without mentioning them, can you?" Now that Cassius wasn't around to be annoyed by Prudence mentioning the infamous group from Gryffindor. "Don't tell me you're not over Black"

          Prudence snickered, "I didn't say that I'm not over him, I was saying that they're worse at breaking up"

         "Because he broke your heart" Eleanor added.

         "And I'm over it" Prudence claimed.

          Eleanor said nothing momentarily, the echoes of their heels clicking against the concrete floor were the only sounds in the corridor, at least two or three students from their house have walked by since leaving the common room. "I still can't believe you went out with Black" Eleanor muttered in displease.

          "Don't tell me you're not over what they did to you back in the third year" Prudence mocked. Eleanor's face went pale by thinking about that day in the third year. It's uncommon for a Slytherin to be afraid of their own house sigil, snake. Eleanor's fear used to be snakes, live snakes. Her fear was revealed in front of the entire class with Slytherin and Gryffindor when the Defence Against the Dark Art class taught them to fight fear by using a Boggart. The class roared in laughter when the Boggart shifted to a giant snake, the humiliation was overwhelming that she sprinted out of her class. But it didn't stop there. The Marauders decided to pull a prank on her, taking the Boggart reveal as an advantage.

          She and her friends were having lunch after the morning lesson, she didn't know that the boys were snickering at her as they sat behind her from their table until she felt something slithering around her ankle before she saw it was a snake. She was on her feet instantly as she screamed and tried to shake the snake off before Ygritte pulled it off of her and disintegrated it. Half of her table and the Gryffindor table laughed, embarrassed and angry, she immediately knew it the Marauders, particularly Sirius Black with a wand in his hand, and she slapped him in response.

          "That's in the past now" Eleanor responded, half-bitterly.

          "At least he apologized" her friend responded to the hint of bitterness within Eleanor's voice.

          "He only apologized just so he can go out with you" the redhead recalled, Prudence told her after Eleanor thought was a strange encounter with Sirius Black in the library back in last April and apologized about what he did. "Though, as I said, it's in the past now". She's only saying this because she got over the fear of snakes long ago, thanks to her brother who helped her go through with it during the summer of '74.

          When the two friends arrived at the Great Hall, it was half-packed, the Slytherin table was filled with at least only fifty or less including her brother with Zabini, Greengrass and Avery who were a year ahead of the girls. Both girls walked around the Slytherin table, sat next to the wall, the reason for that was the Marauders, Eleanor never sits back to back with them as they somehow, as if on purpose they sit the same row as her and her friends most of the time.

          "Doesn't it make you depressed already that we're near the end of the table?" Prudence suddenly asked as they sat down, "seems like just yesterday we were in the front row"

          Eleanor never really thought of that. They're in their sixth year, that is two years left of school, "Yeah, we were eleven just yesterday," she joked.

          "I'm being serious" Prudence smacked the redhead's arm.

          She breathed in deeply, "Yeah, sure. It is kind of depressing" she breathed out sharply.

          The Great Hall saturated with orange and yellow by the lights from the hanging torches around the hall, the enchanted ceiling was coloured with the sunset like it is outside at the very moment, mirroring the real sky's changing colours, but in the Great Hall, the leaves were falling down before fading into midair, before they could touch the floating candles. The hall was currently in autumn-themed. Eleanor remembered the first moment she walked into this hall and thought she had entered heaven.

          "You know, if you hadn't noticed, Avery has been eying on you since we came back from summer" Prudence murmured, keeping her voice low as she can, she put her elbow on the table, resting her head on her head, as if she was guiding her the way to look or moving out the way, down the table was Avery, sitting with Esander, Zabini and Greengrass. Eleanor only looked for two seconds and found the Avery boy glancing at her.

          "Weird" she answered simply. She can't deny the fact that Avery was a handsome boy, tall and slightly built, his light brown or dark blonde hair brought out his green eyes, brightening into emerald when you get close. But there was something about him that wasn't quite right at all, she found him quite . . . ominous. She prefers to stay away from those who intimidate her. "Something's not right about that Avery boy"

          "What? Is him being attractive not right at all?"

          "If he's your type, you can have him"

          Prudence softly scoffed, "You're impossible, Eleanor. You could get possibly get any guy you like, I mean, have you taken a good look at yourself lately? I didn't quite realize how much you've changed physically throughout the year until we came back from the summer"

          "I know, I've realized as well that I've gotten taller than you" Eleanor joked again.

          The black-haired girl rolled her eyes, "This is probably why Ygritte left us because you don't take us too seriously" Eleanor merely laughed in response.

          To joke is something that Eleanor Casterly does to avoid subjects she doesn't fancy to talk about, most of the time she manages to get away with it, anything so narcissistic, she didn't like it, anything too personal about her family, she avoids. What everyone knows about her family, the ancient Casterly, it's like what they read from Daily Prophets, from the fact that they own a castle-like manor that is one of the oldest in the country, that the Casterlys are and were all in Slytherin, all Purebloods and rich and powerful, what all everybody hears about the family is enough that they think they know them. Let them think that they know everything about them, she used to tell herself. In reality, they're just normal, a normal and boring family, a loving mother who loves her children with all of her heart and soul, a father so strict and yet, loves and cares for his children too. Their children, both good, willful, like hanging out with friends and stress about school and the future like the rest of them. She avoids personal subjects about her family, because, for some strange reason, she likes to be mysterious.

          A roar of laughter grabbed Eleanor's attention, she shifted her gaze to the entrance of the Great Hall, and it's just the Marauders laughing at their own shenanigans. James Potter is like the leader of the group, a tall boy with untidy black hair and his rounded glasses which he began wearing last year that somehow made him sudden attractive, everyone was well-aware of his arrogance behaviour for the last six years. There was Sirius Black, a tall, well-built, darkly handsome boy with fair skin, medium, lustrous black hair, Eleanor hated how fairly attractive he is, it was unquestionable, it was his behaviour that she didn't find fancy at all. Then there was the mousy-haired boy, Peter Pettigrew, pointy-nosed, he expresses an innocent, yet shy smile, the shortest of the group, follows Potter and Black like a puppy, he does whatever they do, he was the kind of boy that Eleanor would hug like a stuffed teddy bear. Lastly, Remus Lupin, perhaps the tallest of the group, slender, his brown hair had grown thicker and yet tousled as he dresses, the most unenthusiastic one who often doesn't share a laugh with his friends when it comes to pranks.

          Eleanor didn't look away until Potter and Black were near them while Pettigrew and Lupin were in the other side of the Gryffindor table, making their place across from her, she turned to her friend before Black greeted them, "Casterly, Turner," both girls looked at him, "fine day?" It's usual that he asks this almost every evening, it's either him or Potter.

          Prudence didn't want to respond, part of her was still feeling awkward to speak to Black. Instead, Eleanor responded sardonically, "Spectacular, thanks" she and Prudence exchanged baffled looks before shrugging it off.

          Not long before Cassius came rushing into the Great Hall, and joined the table, sat on the other side of Slytherin table, across from Eleanor and Prudence. "Oh boy, oh boy, I am out of shape, remind me to take a run soon!" Cassius sighed sharply.

          "Yeah, you look like you ran as if hell was chasing you," Prudence remarked.

          Before Cassius responded, there was Potter chirping behind her, "Perhaps that's where you were running from, eh, Dayne?"

          Her eyes rolled, Cassius whipped her head around at the boy, shifted around to turn sideways, "Oh, Potter, I didn't see you there . . . and your little ducklings" she responded, "wait, if you're here, then who's guarding Hades?" Her short hair whipped back as she twisted back around at the girls while Potter and Black were chuckling at the girl's sardonic comment. It seems like James Potter finds it rather entertaining when Cassius Dayne makes these witty remarks like she's spitting out the joke of the day, or in her case, the insult of the day.

          "You'll never gonna grow tired of them, are you?" Eleanor asked.

          Cassius scoffed, "I've grown tired of them for the last six years, Elle"

          Six years is a long time, but Eleanor didn't feel like it's been that long, two more years until she finishes school, and she has no plans at all for her future, what career she should get and focus on. She had six years to think about it and two more years to make a final decision. Before OWLs, she had a talk with Professor Slughorn like every fifth year student had, discussing what she wants for her future, her answers were insincere and reluctant. She did eventually answered, even though it wasn't certain, she told him she'd like to come back to Hogwarts one day and become a teacher which amused Slughorn and he gave her sincere advices.

          If that potential future still holds on through the big storm that's coming.

☼.* :☆ﾟ☽───AUTHORS NOTE | damn i'm actually writing a Marauders Era fic for the first time lmao. My first chapters are bad and I hate writing first chapters xD anyway, hopefully I'll able to write this because for some reason, I find Marauders Era seemingly difficult to write because for me there isn't enough backstory of them during their Hogwarts time, so I'll probably just make it all up at some part later on... for now, it'll be just some kind of coming-of-age in the first act of the story :)