The Tomb Of Our Forlorn Love

“We need to win this game! If we win this game we will knock Slytherin out of the first place position!” James said zealously, as he paced back and forth in the locker room.

The rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team was sitting on the benches dressed in their scarlet game robes, listening to him intently, even Ellary. Each one of them was pumped to finally get the chance to play Slytherin.

The Slytherin verse Gryffindor games were always the most intense, exciting, and amusing matches to watch; there was no doubt that the entire school would show up to watch the bitter rivals face off.

“Now they’re obviously going to play rough, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. They are big and they are tough. Their beaters are two Neanderthals who will not hesitate to accidentally miss a bludger and hit your head instead,” at this Katy let out a little squeak, “Their chasers are not only quick, but they are violent. So if they hit you, hit back! Malfoy is the most dangerous when it comes to brutality, Bellatrix Black is an impressive flyer,” at this comment Ellary let out a huff of disagreement; she despised Bellatrix Black, “Despite Ellary’s opinion of her,” James added, giver her an amused look. “And then there’s Regulus Black,” Ellary’s stomach squirmed at the name for some reason, “He’s talented so watch out. And finally their seeker is nothing compared to you Kat,” he added to Katy, who finally cracked a smile. She had looked downright terrified since the beginning of James’ speech. “Alright team… let’s kick some serpent arse!” James exclaimed and everyone gathered his or her hands together.

Ellary gripped her broomstick securely in her left hand and her black, burnished beater bat in her right. Eagerness built up inside her as James flew to the center of the field and grudgingly shook hands with the Slytherin captain Lucius Malfoy. The cheers and boos of the crowd got her adrenaline pumping and she was breathing quickly by the time the young flying instructor, Madame Hooch, readied the quaffle in her hand, prepared to start the game. Then Ellary’s favorite sound in the world cut through the air, the starting whistle…

Ellary immediately sped off toward the bludger nearest to her, completely discounting the race for the quaffle. In one fluid motion she wound up her bat and swung it with all the strength she had, sending the threatening black ball in the direction of Lucius Malfoy who was speeding down the field aggressively after James. A smirk came to her face when she watched the bludger make contact violently with Lucius’ elbow. “Aah!” he yelled in pain, drawing back and allowing James to speed freely toward the net and make an easy shot into the middle hoop. Lucius turned and stared directly at her with fiery rage in his cold gray eyes.

The match turned out to be just as exciting and just as rough as nearly all Slytherin verse Gryffindor matches proved to be. Ellary had taken to hovering around James, who was getting smacked with bludgers and Slytherin elbows left and right because he was the one who more often than not had control of the quaffle. The score was close with Gryffindor barely ahead at 120 to 150.

“Watch someone else!” James screamed back to Ellary, as she followed after him down the pitch.

“No! They are all over you!” she yelled back, not about to let her best friend get massacred.

“I can handle them Ell, poor Bernie over there can’t!” he retorted.

Ellary looked over to see Bernie being knocked all over the place by the Slytherin chaser Bellatrix Black, who was in her seventh year. Though Bella was a somewhat thinly built girl she was tough and Ellary knew it; the two had gotten into a fistfight in Ellary’s fourth year and she barely made it out alive.

“Fine! But if you die, don’t blame me!” she gave up and sped over to Bernie’s aid.

She found a lose bludger and skillfully hurtled it toward Bellatrix. The bludger missed, but it succeeded in stalling her a little and permitting Bernie to make a break for it in the other direction.

Ellary smiled triumphantly, but before she knew it she felt someone plow into her from behind. “Bloody hell!” she screamed, trying desperately to hold on to her broomstick, but whoever had rammed into her and done it so deliberately that she was thrown from her seat. She had always been a good flyer, but her fault was definitely her balance. She hung on precariously with one hand; fear welled up in the pit of her stomach as she looked down at the hard ground below her. The crowd didn’t even notice her predicament because they were all far too busy watching the two seekers racing for the snitch on the other side of the pitch.

“That’s what you get for messing with a Slytherin,” and she looked up to see Lucius suspended above her with a malicious grin on his face.

“Don’t kill her Malfoy! Are you mad?” Regulus’ livid voice could be heard from a distance, “Get her up, you dimwit!”

Lucius laughed, “Last time I check I was captain of this team, Black!” he yelled to Regulus, before turning his attention toward Ellary again, “Like I’d help you, Snape. Half bloods like you deserve to fall,” he sneered and he did something that Ellary never imagined he would do. He zoomed by her, purposely kicking her broomstick as he did, which was just enough to break her grip and send her plunging to her doom…

Ellary’s head felt like someone was taking a hammer to it over and over and over again. With a great amount of effort, she finally managed to force her eyelids open to see where she actually was. At first everything was blurry, but soon the bright white curtains around her came into focus. She was definitely in the hospital wing; she had spent quite a bit of time in it after the fight with Bellatrix.

“You’re awake!” someone exclaimed, catching her off guard. “Thank Merlin you’re okay!” two arms wrapped tightly around her, “I saw you fall and I thought you were doomed.” Ellary looked up into Remus’ worry-filled eyes with a small smile. He leaned over and kissed her gently on the forehead, “Are you feeling alright Ellie?”

“I’m okay, just a little sore…” she whispered in a strained voice, “How long have I been out?” she asked.

“Only about a half hour I think, they brought you to the hospital wing right after you fell,” he answered.

She nodded, taking all the information in. “Wait! Did we win the match? Tell me we won!” she burst rather abruptly.

Remus chuckled, “You almost die and all you can worry about is who won? I think you need to get your priorities straight, love,” he responded with an amused expression on his face.

“Well it was an important match!” Ellary retorted, “So did we win or not? Don’t make me hurt you, Lupin,” she said more firmly.

“You won,” he gave in, “Katy caught the snitch about five seconds after you plummeted to the ground.

“Yes!” Ellary exclaimed, punching her fist victoriously in the air. She quickly regretted this action though when sharp, piercing pain shot through her back and neck. “Ow…” she moaned, “I forgot I was hurt for a second,” she muttered.

“Oh, be careful,” Remus chided lightly, “Do you want me to get Madame Pomfrey? Maybe you need more pain medicine,” he suggested.

“No, no… I don’t feel like her telling me to more cautious and all that crap again,” she sighed, “Where are James, Sirius, and Peter anyways? Are you the only one of my friends that still loves me?” she asked, half-joking but half-serious. It hurt a little that her other friends had not come to see her.

“Oh yeah…” Remus sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “Well see, I saw Lucius kick you off your broom. To be honest I was watching you rather than concentrating on the actual game,” he began, blushing a little. “But after I saw I kind of told Sirius what happened and naturally he went and told James-”

“Oh Merlin, what did they do?” Ellary inquired, shaking her head. “They didn’t go after him, did they?”

“Of course they did, you know them,” Remus responded, “They barged right into the Slytherin locker room and kicked his arse. I don’t think I have ever seen them so mad Ella. They’re in Dumbledore’s office right now, probably getting detention for the next two years. Peter on the other hand went to get us lunch from the Great Hall,” he explained. “I would have- I would have went with them to help them out, you know. I’m not scared of Lucius, but I was just so worried about you,” Remus tried to explain. He didn’t want to come off as a coward by not going with James and Sirius.

“Remus,” Ellary whispered, cutting him off. “I don’t think any less of you for not beating up Lucius for me,” she laughed, “James and Sirius solve problems one way and you another. I think that is why I like you so much. You don’t act all impulsive like I do sometimes, you think things through. You complete me, mate,” she chuckled, stroking his cheek a little as she talked. “Thank for you staying with me, I appreciate it,” she said, kissing him tenderly on the lips.

“I’ll always stay by your side, Ell… no matter what,” he replied.

“Hey! You’re awake! I thought you would be out for hours by the way you fell,” Peter exclaimed when he walked in through the curtains. Ellary and Remus broke from their embrace as Peter walked over and pulled Ellary into a gentle hug.

“What can I say? I’m a resilient little bugger,” Ellary chortled. “If you push me down, I’ll get back up. Lucy should have figured that out by now.”

“Yeah, well I don’t think Malfoy is going to be getting back up anytime soon,” Peter said seriously, “Prongs and Padfoot really wailed on the git, not like he didn’t deserve it though,” he added.

“He damn well deserved it,” Ellary said callously, “He could have bloody killed me, you know!”

“Yeah, it could have gotten him expelled. Too bad barely anybody saw it,” Remus muttered bitterly.

Ellary sighed, “Oh don’t worry about it. It’s kind of fun having Lucy around sometimes,” she smirked. “I just really hope Prongs and Padfoot don’t get into too much trouble,” she said worriedly.

“I wouldn’t worry about it, they’ve done worse… hell you’ve done worse,” Peter smirked, “I’d bet good money that they will both get off with little to no punishment,” he finished, but something about the tone of his voice told Ellary that he was just trying to comfort her.

“Remus, go to bed,” Ellary whispered softly. Remus had been sitting by her bedside for over four hours and she could tell he was starting to drift off in fatigue. She also was aware of the full moon night coming up quickly and that he was not feeling his best. “You look exhausted,” she told him.

“I don’t want to leave you,” he said, with a weak smile, “Plus I feel fine,” but this last part was obviously a lie.

“Don’t lie to me Remus, I know you too well,” Ellary chuckled in reply, taking his hand in hers gently. “I really appreciate you staying with me today, you know that right?” she said and he nodded. “Okay, then go and get some rest! I will be just fine, I promise!” and at that Madame Pomfrey walked through the curtain.

“She’s right Mr. Lupin. Though I have never been one to break up young love, Miss Snape needs her sleep,” she said sweetly. Madame Pomfrey was a rather young lady with curly strawberry blonde hair and a plump, freckly face. “I’ll let you two say your goodbyes, but after I need you to take this Miss Snape,” she said holding a vile of bubbly, blue liquid. “If you need me in the night I am just in the next room over, just ring the bell next to your bed, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Ellary replied and with that Madame Pomfrey left.

“I can’t just spend the night with you?” Remus asked, with a cute puppy dog expression on his face.

“Aww- it’s tempting, but not tonight,” Ellary answered, “You need to get a good night sleep, so you are up for the full moon tomorrow.”

“Alright, alright…” he sighed, giving in. “Can I at least have a kiss then?” he asked hopefully.

“Of course, you can,” she smirked. He leaned down and their lips met in a soft, sweet kiss that sent pleasant chills through Ellary’s body. “I’ll be back in the morning to check up on you. Sweet dreams, love,” he said, giving her one last kiss on her forehead before standing up from the edge of her bed.

“Goodnight, sleep tight,” she replied back and with one last sweet smile he exited the room.

Ellary sighed as he left as she sat in the lonely stillness of the empty hospital wing. Following Madame Pomfrey’s direction she chugged down the vile of blue liquid. It felt like ice traveling down her throat and into her stomach, making her shiver involuntarily and gasp a little.

“You okay?” an unfamiliar voice asked from the darkness. Ellary’s jaw dropped in shock when she looked up to see whom the voice belonged to.