She had quickly grabbed her wand and dug it into his neck. He towered over her by a foot, but he looked weak, easy to be fought with. It didn't look like he had a wand on him, but she wasn't so sure about it. The muggle news had said he had a gun – did he really? Was that a lie that they were told?
It took all of her might not to run away.
"Eliza," he breathed. She had no idea if her name was said in relief or disdain. Was he happy to see her?
"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" Eliza hoped that her voice was not trembling too much, but it felt weak, flat.
"Going to call the dementors on me, Eliza?" he looked down at her menacingly. "Would you do that?"
She could. It would be quick to stun him and leave him for the dementors. All of this would be over if she did. He would be whisked away out of her life and all of this would be over.
That was what she should be thinking. But Eliza's doubts crept in. It was the only thing that stopped her from hitting him with a hex.
"Come on, do it. Hex me," Sirius said. "I'm very much harmless."
"Are you?" Eliza lowered her wand, but kept her eyes on him. He was not moving a muscle, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. He was nervous. "Answer me one thing and one thing only… are you here to kill Harry?"
"What?" Sirius frowned.
"Are you here to kill Harry?"
"Why would I want to kill Harry?" Sirius demanded. "He's my godson!"
"What do you think it looks like!" she exclaimed. Eliza placed the wand back at his neck. "Just answer it you big, old drama queen."
He barked with laughter.
"Keep quite, you idiot," Eliza looked around. They wouldn't easily be spotted, but it was still very much open though there wasn't a person, portrait, or ghost around to tell the world where they were. "Talk."
"I'm here to commit the crime I was imprisoned for –" Eliza pressed the wand harder into his neck.
"Merlin's beard, Shafiq, let a man breath! IamheretokillPettigrew!" he rushed.
Eliza let go of him.
It was too good to be true. All of those floating thoughts that haunted her, the missing puzzle pieces. They were falling into place strangely.
Sirius gasped for air. His cough sounded excruciating.
"Goodness," tiredness crept into Eliza's bones. It dawned onto her how late it was. She needed her bed. Maybe this was all a dream. Perhaps she had too much firewhiskey at the Three Broomsticks.
"You… you believe me?"
Eliza took in a sharp breath of cold air. She was going to regret it alright.
"Explain. Now." she quipped.
"Not here," Sirius nodded. "In the woods –"
"Do I look like I want to go into the woods with a convicted murderer right after you ambushed me in the dark? Honestly, where are you manners?" Eliza's cheeks felt flushed with anger. Perhaps it was nervousness. Or both. "Besides, Remus will notice –"
"He's here too?" Sirius looked excited. "Wait, what do you mean he will notice –"
"Forget it. Explain now, or leave."
"Your room, where is it?" he asked. "Or a broom closet will do. You like those."
She shot him a dirty eye. They weren't too far from where her room was, but she was not sure if the castle would let Sirius into her room. Remus had one foot in her room once, but it never caused a reaction as it would do when a boy tried to enter the girl's dormitories.
"The classroom."
Sirius turned into a dog. It was not wise for him to walk around, of course. She turned around once more, mourning the cheesecake she had wished to eat. It took every fibre of her to not rush off and pretend everything was normal and to not look at Sirius who was ducking through the corridors in a way that evaded sight. No wonder he had come in unnoticed.
I should tell Dumbledore. I should tell Dumbledore.
She opened the door to the Muggle Studies room. She didn't let him go further to her office or room. That felt too much. She casted a muffliato charm.
"Spill," she crossed her arms.
Sirius took her in.
"You look finer than the day I lost saw you."
"That's quite easy, fairly. But explain for goodness –"
"It was Peter who betrayed James and Lily, not me," Sirius stated. "Not me!
"But the muggles!"
"All Peter," Sirius said quickly. "You remember, don't you? I told you I was going to check up on him."
"Yes, I remember," she couldn't forget.
"Exactly," he got closer to her. "And when I couldn't find him and heard they died, I went after him. Peter was the one who blasted up the place, he made it seem like it was me. He cut off a finger."
Eliza vividly remembered the cut-off finger. She had been the one to put it in the box and give it to Peter's mother. It still didn't make sense.
"Do you believe me?" he begged. Eliza didn't realize she had droned off. "Eliza?"
"What are you doing here then?"
"He turned into a rat and has been living as an animagus for years."
"Now that's just –"
"He's here. In Hogwarts. The red-head's rat! That's why I keep trying to get into Gryffindor tower – that bastard knows I am here," Sirius growled.
Eliza blinked. "Okay, now that's just crazy."
"You believe the beginning but not that?"
Her head was rushing. What he was saying was exactly what she had thought all these years, but she couldn't dare believe that it was true.
He had been innocent all this time. But why did he have to act the way he did when he was taken off to Azkaban? Why did he have to take on Peter alone?
She felt his hand gingerly touch her arm. Eliza felt the inherent need to punch something. To let out all of her anger and frustrations.
"Eliza?" Sirius asked.
She rolled her hands into a fist and hit the corner of her shoulder. It was more of a pound, or like a small chid that was having a tantrum.
"Stupid. Stupid. STUPID," she felt the tears run down her face. "Why didn't you tell me before you decided to play hero –"
"I… I didn't. I wasn't sure if…I didn't think to –"
"You never do," she felt hysterical. "All this time I thought I was crazy for even trying to fight for your innocent –"
"You fought for me?"
"Of course I did, you idiot!" she wiped the tears away. "I loved you."
"You saw me off to Azkaban. Never visited." He accused.
"Jee, I wonder what losing nearly everything does to a person," Eliza said sarcastically. "You're not the only one who got hurt."
"I'm…" he trailed off. "I'll make this right. I promise."
He held her and Eliza found herself sobbing. He smelt terrible, looked terrible, and she could feel just how bony he was from being on the run. There were tattoos on his body that hadn't been there before. But still, it felt nice to cry with him there.
"You can't bring back the dead." She felt extremely lightheaded. Too much crying and hitting Sirius had taken all the energy out of her.
"But I can give it meaning," he cupped Eliza's face and brushed the tears away. "I'll make it right. I promise."
"What are you –"
There was a big knock on the door that lead to Eliza's office.
Sirius looked towards the door, alarmed that someone could walk in.
"I gotta go" Sirius growled. "He'll pay."
Before Eliza could protest, he pressed a rather sloppy kiss on her cheek. Then, he immediately turned into a dog and left the room just as Remus had gotten into the room.
"I thought you were going to get cheesecake… are you alright?" Remus looked at her in shock. It hadn't even been twenty minutes since he had last seen her and she had been completely fine. Eliza's knees buckled.
It was too much for her right now.
It was when Remus carried her over to the hospital wing when the news of the break-in came. This time, he had made it past the doors and into the boy's room. Nearly killing Ronald Weasley.
Or was it… was it the rat he was trying to kill?
Nobody could get it out of Eliza what had happened, but professor McGonagall was quick to make the assumption that Eliza had seen Sirius, which made the Gryffindor break-in even worse.
"Yes," Eliza let out.
"There, there," Poppy said in a sad tone. She poured her a sleeping draught. "You were never a fighter. Just a healer."
*
Eliza avoided Sirius those weeks after Slughorn's Christmas party. The kiss was not mentioned between the two, which was easy when they would barely be around each other. She ignored him in Ancient Runes, though she noted how he would look across the room to her every once in a while, but then he'd be out snogging the next girl he saw.
She saw Remus in the library where he would take the seat across from her, smile softly, and they'd work in ignorant bliss. But as soon as Sirius or James arrived, she would run off citing something.
It was nothing for him, why should it mean anything for me?
Then it happened that Eliza was walking back from practice when she headed a corner. Two distinct voices were shouting at each other. Eliza wanted to keep walking. It was not her place to interrupt childish fights.
"You keep Evans out of this!" James had yelled.
"She will never like you, Potter!" Severus sneered.
"Oh and she would like you?"
She slowly looked around a corner. It was three against one. A coldness settled in her stomach. Mulciber, Snape, and Regulus.
What were they doing going against one person?
Eliza could not bring herself to walk forward. If she did, she wouldn't know what would come her way later. So she watched. She watched from the darkness as the three duelled. James held out . He had hexed Regulus in a second and disarmed Mulciber. The blow, however, came from Snape. There was a flash of light and before she knew it, James had knocked his face onto the ground. The three boys rushed away.
"Blimey, what kind of hex – oh, Shafiq," James looked more disheveled than ever. There was blood on his clothes from his bleeding nose.
She looked on in terror.
Eliza said weakly. "We're not supposed to fight each other."
"Well your lil' fiancé doesn't care," James groaned. "Care to help me or will you just stand there?"
Eliza rushed through every counter jinx she knew. Snape was good a creating spells and it seemed as though James could not use his legs. The easiest way for her to fix this was…
She cleared her throat and spoke an incantation.
"Wiggle your toes for me," she instructed James. He nodded.
"I can wiggle them."
"Good, now slowly get on your feet."
She dug into her robes and produced a small sugar tablet.
"What's this?" James looked at curiously. "A potion to poison me?"
"No, dextrose," she let out weakly. "In short: sugar. I take it for an energy boost."
He eyed it at first but then popped it in his mouth. "Thanks."
Eliza helped James to his feet.
"How come you didn't step in? Or is it an unspoken law to not fight Slytherins?"
"I…" Eliza couldn't think. Why didn't she?
"I can't fight."
James shook his head. "Everyone can fight. You just need to learn"
Eliza didn't argue with that.
"You should stop picking fights with Snape. He is dangerous," Eliza warned. "He's been inventing new spells ever since… well, ever since that fight with Lily. Not sure what he thinks it will do."
"No spell will get Evans to fall in love with him," James said sternly. "I'll make sure of that."
Eliza sighed. "Do me a favor, P- James," Eliza decided it was best to use his first name. "Stop trying."
"What?"
"All of this –" she gestured to him. "The extra disheveled hair, the snitch. Stop trying to impress her and work on yourself."
"How is that going to help?" James looked bewildered. "Are you saying I should be…me?"
He sounded like it was some wild concept that he had never heard of before. Perhaps it was the first time that someone had told him that.
"No one likes a person who bullies," Eliza told him. "And right now, you only look like a bully to her. Not the Quidditch captain, not how brilliant you are at DADA or charms. A bully."
"B-but – "
She held up a finger.
"That's my advice as a her best friend."
They walked, though James limped a little from having his legs jinxed. So, he leaned on Eliza as they walked to the library where he was supposed to be meeting Remus, Peter, and Sirius.
"What did you do to Prongs?" Peter accused.
"I got to fight three Slytherins" James said proudly. Sirius looked between James and Eliza, an unreadable look on his face. "Your dear brother was one of them. Eliza here was just there to fix up the mess."
"You shouldn't be here," Sirius said. "They'll be looking for you."
It stung. He must think her dumb for not stepping in and helping, but her hands were tied. She was safe as long as she was in Hogwarts, but goodness knew what they would do to her once she left the grounds.
Eliza said under her breath. "I'll take my leave. Potter, I'll see you on the pitch next week."
She walked out, holding her head as high as she could. She knew how to look okay. It was what she had to do every time she walked into the Slytherin common room and anyone who wanted to join the Dark Lord was there.
Keep your head down, do not talk. That was her tactic. Avoid any conflict if possible.
It worked. Normally it did.
If only she didn't care too much about Sirius Black. It would make things a lot easier.
Is that - gasp - a callback to the beginning of the story where Eliza stops Ari from hurting things in anger but does it herself? DUN DUN DUUUNNN
Fun fact of the day: the aterisk for the flashbacks came from reading Orlando by Virginia Woolf where the * was an indicator for Orlando's transition from man to woman. I just use it to indicate the past.
Song of the Day: Until I Found You by Stephan Sanchez
Thank you to everyone who is reading the story and I hope you look forward to the next chapter. I've also crossposted this to Wattpad.