If anyone's interested, i'm looking for a beta? Any offers just pm me! Also, I still want to know what you guys think of the speed of the story. I'm planning on doing writing passed seventh year so I'm not sure if people think we should be picking up the pace a little? Let me know!

DISCLAIMER Anything recognisable is not mine.

Time passes. It's just one of those things. It passes at the same speed that it always has, always will, and there's nothing that can change that. There are however, things that can give the illusion of changing that. For instance, a History of Magic? Listening to Professor Binns drone on and on? Well, that gives the illusion of time slowing – maybe even stopping if he really goes for it. On the other hand, amazing friends? Laughter? Generally feeling great? That gives the illusion of time flying. That was what Eleanor was going through. It felt like yesterday that she first started school here, but it was already the middle of November. Sure, work was still difficult, but she was dealing. In fact, she was doing incredibly well for someone in her position. Her powers were back under lock and key – she hadn't felt even the slightest twinge of overwhelming intensity since that night. She had been to the room regularly, it helped a lot to have even a few minutes of relaxation. However, seeing as though her best friend wasn't stupid, Lily had only took so many excuses before she realised that Eleanor was lying to her about where she was sneaking away too.

Eleanor didn't know why exactly she didn't immediately tell Lily about the room. For some reason she didn't want anyone else to know about it – it was almost an instinct to keep the news to herself. She had been doing well but her old reflex to keep others at a safe distance from her made a small appearance. When Lily confronted her about it, she didn't really have any other choice but to tell her. Well, she did have a choice; she could've lied, but she knew Lily and knew that she wouldn't let it go. Plus, part of her did want her friend to know. Best friends were supposed to have inside secrets, right?

As classes droned on, Eleanor could feel the familiar excitement that came with a Hogsmeade weekend. Once every fortnight was not enough as far as she was concerned. Hogwarts was great and all, but Eleanor wasn't particularly pleased to report that cabin fever was still a possibility in a massive castle.

It was Friday evening and the girls were sat in the Great Hall waiting for dinner to appear in front of them. It was nice to have all of her dorm mates together again and be able to catch up – even at dinner that was usually a rare occurrence. It turned out that Mary thought she had been doing a great job at being subtle when sneaking away to meet Connor, so was thoroughly confused when no one was surprised at the revelation.

"Oh come on! Seriously?"

"Sorry Mar," Eleanor grinned back at her.

"But I was really good!"

Lily laughed loudly, "Yeah right!"

"I was!" Mary proclaimed adamantly.

"Mary," Alice began, "Sweetie you told us you were going to study Transfiguration by yourself so you could concentrate more, but when I found you, you stuffed a Herbology book in your face…"

"Maybe I changed subjects!"

"It was upside down!" Alice snorted. Mary just threw her hands up, scowling playfully at her friends.

"You guys are the worst!" She tried to hide her smile and turned away, preparing to fill her plate with the food that had just appeared.

No matter how many times Eleanor had a meal at Hogwarts, she was constantly amazed. The house elves must just cook all day to be able to create this amount of food. Smiling to herself as she grabbed a grabbed a couple of slices of bread, her mind ran back to when Lily had explained about the house elves.

"So hold up, they work here? Unpaid?" Eleanor was stunned. They had been in the library doing research when she had found a book with a section on house elves, which, of course, reminded her that she didn't know what they were. The book was pretty uninformative. All it had was a small paragraph on the looks and needs of a house elf before moving on.

"Yeah," Lily said awkwardly, "It's kind of a tricky subject. The house elves 'live to serve' apparently. They can only be freed if they are given clothes by their master. Of courses all of the elves here are freed, Dumbledore freed them as soon as he took over as head master, but they like it here so most of them stayed I think," It eased her to know that her school didn't have slaves working there, but she couldn't help thinking about all of the other elves that were out there, bound to serve their masters. After her 'accidents' when her family died and she had begun to unintentionally control others minds, she had resolved a very strict opinion on controlling others.

"So they actually say that they like it?"

"Well… I've never actually seen one, so I wouldn't know personally. But Dumbledore says they do, and I trust him." Lily stated confidently.

Their plates were dwindling quickly. As usual, the feast was incredible and left everyone stuffed. Throughout the meal, the marauders - who sat a few spaces down from them – were being particularly rowdy. As much as Eleanor was infuriated with them, she did have to hide a smile when James charmed Sirius' hair bright orange. She was in a way sad about their actions. Most of the time they were nice boys, who she could actually imagine being friends with, but it was when their arrogant antics came out that ruined all manner of good will, she was reminded why they weren't on the best terms. She cast a glance in their direction. Sirius was still sporting orange hair but unlike most people who would be thoroughly embarrassed, he was thriving in the extra attention he was gaining because of it. Remus and James were almost falling off their seats with laughter as he continuously flicked his hair dramatically from one side to the other. Peter was both laughing and stuffing his face.

"Excuse me?" A tap on her shoulder caught her attention. She turned to see a Hufflepuff boy stood next to her. She recognised him as Francis Elliot, she had seen him around school, and was pretty sure that he may have even been in some of her classes. "Um, hi. I'm not sure if you know who I am…?"

"Of course I do, Francis," She could practically taste the nerves coming from him.

"Oh, right. Well, I was just wondering, if maybe… seeing as though it's a Hogsmeade weekend tomorrow, well… if you didn't have anyone to go with… if you would maybe, want to go with me?" His cheeks flushed a soft pink. The question left her speechless for a few seconds. She had spoken, maybe, seven words to Francis all year, and he was asking her on a date? She gathered herself quickly, and brought her eyebrows down from her hair line.

"Oh… uh, sure?" Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw her friends' gaping mouths and wide eyes, but what was she supposed to do? Turn him down in front of everyone in the middle of the great hall? Especially with the marauders, very obviously, watching. Anyway, he seemed a sweet boy. From what she knew of him, he was kind although very quiet. His blonde hair constantly flopped in his face, always in the way of his blue eyes. He had a rounded face and wasn't particularly slender. Despite not being Eleanor's 'type', he wasn't awful looking.

His eyes lit up as she answered him, "Great! Uh, I'll meet you at the entrance doors tomorrow at… say 10?" She nodded up at him, "Great! I'll see you then! This is going to be great!" With that he turned and walked back to the Hufflepuff table, a noticeable spring in his step.

As she turned back around, she was faced with more shocked faces than she could cope with.

"What?"

"Nothing! Nothing…" Mary grinned, "Everything's great!" She burst out laughing as Eleanor threw a bread roll at her.

The next morning Eleanor was woke by a continuous poking sensation in her side. She rolled over to see Dorcas stood at the end of her bed. A beaming smile was on her face, but her eyes showed an expression that Eleanor had come to know very well. She rubbed her own eyes, clearing away the sleep and sat up. Dorcas began to bounce slightly. Eleanor sighed.

"Dor, it's way too early for this…"

"It's 9! You have only one hour to get ready for your date!" Unlike Dorcas, Eleanor could quite easily get fully ready in one hour and have plenty of time to waste. She just stared at the other girl, "Oh please El?!"

Throwing the duvet off of her, she headed to the bathroom to shower, "As long as you don't make me look like a clown!"

Even though she would've loved a nice, relaxing shower, Eleanor couldn't enjoy the hot water because of a constant banging on the bathroom door. Dorcas was giving her reminders every 2 minutes of how much time she had left. Sighing, she rested her head against the wall and did her best to block out the noise. Her muscles were tense; the hot water did wonders for the knots in her back but as soon as they started to release, that familiar knocking brought them back. Eventually, she gave up and turned the shower off before stepping out. Rubbing the mirror so that she could see herself, Eleanor took a quick inspection of her face. Her hair was stuck to her unusually clear skin. That was one thing she knew she was lucky to have; clear skin. Especially at her age, she definitely should not have been a stranger to spots but she was. Debating between whether she was lucky and was never going to have spots, or it was just a matter of time before they all came at once – she decided to stay on the optimistic side of life and declare that she would just always have clear skin.

After she dried herself off she left the bathroom, covered up in her dressing gown, and was immediately assaulted by Dorcas.

"Ok, so I was thinking…"

If she was honest, Eleanor blocked out getting ready. Dorcas bounded around the room like an overly excited puppy as she practically painted the make up onto Eleanor's face, not giving her a choice in how she looked. She had also demanded that she chose Eleanor's outfit, but was kind enough to give Eleanor a choice between two. Eleanor was extremely grateful, it wasn't like she had spent the past 10 years dressing herself – she definitely needed her help. When she told Dorcas this, she either didn't catch the sarcasm or ignored it and simply said, "You're welcome," much to the amusement of her dorm mates. When Dorcas finally stepped back and declared that she was ready, Eleanor hesitantly headed over to the mirror in the bathroom. If it hadn't been obvious by her enthusiasm, the skill and proficiency Dorcas had used was a clear sign that she loved all things 'makeover' related; she was actually very talented Eleanor noted as she inspected her reflection – not that she would ever tell her and risk this becoming a regular occurrence. Her blonde hair was pinned half up, half down, lying down her back in gentle curls. A few loose strands framed her face which had been expertly made up; thankfully, Dorcas had took into consideration Eleanor's modest personality and had used only natural tones, par the red lipstick. She couldn't stop the blush as she looked over herself – she had to admit, she did look pretty. For her clothes, Dorcas had 'recommended' – another word for forced in her face – either a short skirt or skinny jeans, needless to say Eleanor chose the jeans. She paired them with a simple red and white stripy jumper and trainers, much to Dorcas distaste.

As Eleanor escaped Dorcas' clutch and headed down to meet Francis, she realised that because of the mornings exploits, she hadn't had a chance to feel nervous. But now, when all she had to focus on was walking, she felt the nerves. Why was she nervous? It was just a bit of fun, she barely even knew the boy.

Rounding the corner, she instantly spotted Francis. He was stood leaning against the huge archway with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a single rose. Eleanor could see he had made an effort, he wore a smart shirt with jeans with a Hufflepuff jumper stuck between his arm and side. His blonde hair bore a massive amount of gel in what she assumed was an attempt to control it – it hadn't worked. Anxiety written all over his face, she noticed as she neared him. He was still intensely focused on the floor as she reached him and coughed gently. His head shot up and he broke out in a small smile.

"Hi," He pushed himself up off the wall, "You look, uh, nice,"

Eleanor grinned as he nervously smiled at her, "Thank you, so do you." The small compliment caused a rousing blush.

"So, uh, shall we go?" He gestured towards the open doorway, "Oh, this is for you," He seemed to remember the rose he held and handed it to her; well, more like threw it at her.

Once again, Eleanor couldn't stop herself from grinning at him, "Thank you," She smelled the flower softly, "Are you nervous?"

Francis blushed even harder and looked back at the floor, "A little,"

"Me too," His eyes flashed up and met hers. They had a silent conversation in which Eleanor tried to will as much confident encouragement towards him as she could. After at least 30 seconds, he nodded slightly.

"Well then, shall we?" This time she accepted the offer and they both set off towards the carriages.

The ride down to Hogsmeade was sufficiently awkward. They ended up stuffed into a carriage with three other students, none of which Eleanor knew. Being stuck in a small space with other people was awkward in a normal situation, but a first date? Fate is just laughing at me right now, Eleanor thought as they finally arrived, the carriage slowing to a stop. The others forced their way out first before Francis jumped down himself, turning back to hold a hand out to help Eleanor down the few steps. She smiled softly at the gesture and took it. His hand was oddly warm for someone in just a shirt and jeans in November in Scotland. Despite what his eyes said he wanted, he dropped her hand as soon as her feet touched the ground.

"So…" Eleanor started as they walked up the main street, "What do you want to do?"

"I was thinking, we could go to Madam Puddifoot's?" Francis stuffed his hands into his pockets. Eleanor cringed a little internally but plastered a smile on her face. She had never been in, but from what little she had seen and heard of the place, Madam Puddifoot's was where the lovey-dovey, over the top romantic couples went on dates – and over the top romance was not her thing. But one look at the puppy dog eyes that Francis was doing – whether intentional or not, Eleanor wasn't sure yet – got her nodding and on her way to the café.

When they reached the building, she looked it over with caution, as if searching a bomb rather than a place to eat. Only a few students were there but considering it was still fairly early, Eleanor wasn't surprised. This left them with a choice of tables. Francis suggested the window table, noting that the sun was beginning to show and it would be nice to sit in the warmth. Eleanor wasn't particularly fussed until a few minutes after they sat down and the marauders walked passed. When they didn't make it passed without noticing her, she decided that fate was for sure laughing at her today.

Sirius' loud voice rang through the quiet street, "Douglas!" His arms wide open. Eleanor gave him a certain finger to which he just laughed, "I know you love me really El! Hey Francy!" The other boys laughed as he waved and headed off, leaving Francis, once again, blushing furiously, and Eleanor just plain furious.

"Sorry about him," She grumbled. She was going to have to talk to one of the marauders soon, preferably Remus – he was the one most likely to actually listen and not just be childish the entire time. Plus, if she got Remus on board, maybe there was a chance of him being able to control the others?

Eleanor would be the first to admit, Madam Puddifoot's was every bit as cringe worthy as she imagined it to be, but she actually had a good time with Francis. Despite his obvious nerves, Francis was the perfect gentleman; holding doors for her, pulling out her chair, offering her his jumper - all completely unnecessary actions of course, but appreciated nonetheless. As they spoke, Eleanor learned that Francis had a witch for a mother and a muggle for a father; they had met many years earlier in muggle London when his mum had been exploring muggle towns for the first time and didn't anticipate how dangerous crossing a busy road could be. Anyway, his father came to her rescue when she was knocked down and took her to hospital, staying with her until he was sure she was fine, but by then the two had built up a kinship that neither wanted to let go of – thus the relationship of Ivy and Nigel Elliot was born. He was an only child but had always wanted siblings. Eleanor told him that both of her parents were muggles and was grateful when he didn't press for information about her family, not even Lily knew about them. She was pretty sure she had successfully diverted his attention without raising suspicions, but Francis didn't seem the sort to confront her even if he did suspect something.

As he stood to go order their third set of drinks, Eleanor felt herself smile. Seeing as the day was getting on, the café was a lot more hectic than earlier – leaving multiple bags in the way for Francis to trip over on his way to the counter. She watched as he coughed embarrassedly and apologised before continuing. A small laugh rose from her throat. He was pretty adorable. Eleanor was confused as to why she had never took any real notice of him before. Perhaps it was because he was so quiet? It was fairly evident how his gentle nature could be over looked when other students such as the marauders were in the same class, but she internally chastised herself for unintentionally following the crowd. If she had had full control of her telepathy and could 'turn it on', she would've noticed him sooner – of this she was sure. After just a couple of hours, she could tell that he was a caring person and his mind would've stood out to her.

"So where did you say you were from?" Francis asked as he sat back down with their drinks. Eleanor had tried but he'd refused to let her pay for anything.

"Wimbledon. It's just south of London but I spent the last four years at school in America,"

"I thought you sounded a lot posher than me," He joked, letting his northern accent fully ring out, "But that's so cool! I've always wanted to go to there! Where about was your school?"

"New York," She muttered, trying to think of one of the wizarding schools in America in case he asked for the name of her former school – was Ilvermony one of them? She needn't have worried herself as he didn't push for more information.

"That sounds amazing. It's one of my dreams to go to New York. Is it really as incredible as everyone says?"

She let a relieved laugh out, "Well, I didn't live right in the centre of the city, but yeah, it's pretty extraordinary. You should definitely go if you ever get the chance."

Regardless of the awkward beginning, the day was going brilliantly. The conversation flowed easily; so easily in fact, that when 2 o'clock rolled around, Eleanor was left wondering where the hours had gone. Francis had worked his way closer to her so discreetly that in the end, it seemed as though they had always been sat right next to each other, their knees brushing every so often. Eleanor waited for the fairy tale reaction of butterflies in her stomach as they repeatedly touched but felt nothing other than his knee knocking hers. Butterflies in my stomach is a bit far-fetched anyways, she thought.

When the two of them eventually decided to leave Madam Puddifoot's, Eleanor felt a warm hand work its' way into hers. She looked down at their conjoined hands and then up at Francis, who was blushing slightly but otherwise showing no other signs that anything else had occurred. Smiling to herself, she didn't mention it as he held the door open for her and they stepped out into the cold.

Students were filing in and out of shops left, right and centre. The store owners of Hogsmeade must love when the school let out for the weekend, Eleanor thought to herself. She half expected to see her friends wandering around but it seemed that they had actually listened to her when she warned them to not follow her around – no matter how much they thought they'd be able to get away with it. After a few minutes of idly strolling down the main street, Francis suggested they go to Honeydukes. Her face must've portrayed more excitement than she thought because she didn't even have too reply before he grinned and headed down to the store. Eleanor's stock pile was in desperate need of refilling – despite being fairly certain that she was soon going to weigh the same as Hagrid.

As usual, Honeydukes was packed to the brim with students all grabbing their chocolate fixes.

"It's so crazy in here," Francis said as he pushed his way over to her. She was standing in the corner next to her favourite candy; Cauldron cakes. Lily had been a very bad influence on her eating habits.

"I know, can't exactly blame anyone though," She grinned back at him.

"So what else are you wanting?" He asked after gathering a few Cauldron cakes.

"Oh no, you are not paying for this as well!"

"A gentleman never lets a lady pay,"

"An old fashion gentleman maybe, but this is the 70's ergo I'm paying." With a smirk, she snatched the chocolate out of his hands and headed over to the queue. Before long, she watched as Francis was pushed from pillar to post by rowdy people all wanting to beat the other to the line so she told him to just wait for her outside. Considering that the shop was full, the line wasn't particularly long. She could have done with it being a lot shorter however, when a familiar voice chirped up from behind her.

"Well, well, well, where's the boyfriend Douglas?"

Sighing, she didn't even turn around, "What do you want Black?"

"Nothing, just making friendly conversation…"

"Considering we're not friends that is a difficult thing to do."

Any other person on Earth would have heard the iciness in her voice and shut up – in fact a couple of people in front of her even turned around with slightly bothered faces when she spoke – but nope, Sirius Black was not like any other person on Earth.

"You wound me El," She didn't have to look to know that his hand was dramatically thrown across his chest, but the use of her nickname had her spinning around.

"Don't call me that."

"Why not?" He smirked. She silently scolded herself for biting.

"Just don't. In fact, why don't you just go run along and completely humiliate someone?"

"I have to pay for these first," He said completely seriously, holding up some chocolate bars in his hand, "Is that what this is all about though? Seriously? You're still pissed that we joked around with that second year?" Eleanor felt her hand twitch as it longed to slap him. Slap that stupid smile off his face. Instead, she just turned back around. Just two more people and then you can pay and leave. Just two more people. When she didn't answer he continued, "Oh come on El," She heard the grin in his voice as he used her nickname again, "we were just messing around…"

Eleanor knew if she was honest with herself, she would find that it wasn't the particular scenario that had her so angry – sure, she was pissed on behalf of Sam, but it was more than that. They made her lose control. Made her dangerous. The fact that she couldn't even tell them the real reason behind her anger only annoyed her further. Ugh.

"Sure," She scoffed.

"We were! He knows it's all a joke!"

"Ok, I'll make you a deal. If you can tell me his name, I'll drop it." She looked at Sirius who had a - dare she say ashamed? - look on his face. A few seconds passed without a reply, "That's what I thought." Eleanor turned away from him to pay for her candies and did give him another glance as she walked out onto the street.

"You ok?" Francis asked with a smile as she walked over to him, handing over his sweets. Pushing down her frustration towards Sirius, Eleanor faked a grin.

"Great."

After walking aimlessly around for the better part of an hour, Eleanor suggested they started the journey back up to Hogwarts. It wasn't far but setting off early meant they didn't have to keep to a certain speed. Francis took her mind away from the marauders quickly, inadvertently reminding her how much she enjoyed his company. In spite of her initial doubts, Eleanor'd actually had a good day. Francis was sweet. He didn't randomly hex people just because he felt like it. Sure, he was shy, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing – it just meant she didn't have to worry about him causing a ruckus just to be the centre of attention.

When they reached the castle and Eleanor told Francis she best go see her friends in the Gryffindor common room, he insisted that he walk her to the door, claiming that every self-respecting gentleman walked a lady to her door – Eleanor didn't feel like pointing out she was in no way, shape or form a lady, even on her best day. As they reached the portrait, she turned to face Francis. She couldn't say the password with him within hearing distance so was stuck. He stood awkwardly in front of her, his internal battle practically written on his forehead. Even though it was her first date, Eleanor wasn't naïve, she'd seen movies; she knew what stereotypically happened when a guy dropped a girl off at her door. Francis shuffled his feet around as he faced her.

"So, I had a really great time today,"

"Me too," She smiled. Francis' eyes fell back to his shoes, "Maybe we could meet up tomorrow and do something?"

His face brightened as she spoke, "Yes! Yes, we could do that!"

"Well I promised Lily we'd do homework in the morning, but sometime after lunch?"

"Yes! I'll meet you here? Or at the entrance hall?"

"The entrance hall will be good. 2 o'clock ok?"

"Great! That's great! See you tomorrow!" Francis pulled her into a quick hug before springing down the stairs. Eleanor smiled to herself as she watched him go. Turning back to the fat lady, she whispered the password and took a deep breath as she prepared herself for the onslaught of questions undoubtedly headed her way.

Again, any opinions on the speed of the story?