The Game Begins
Eleonora
The library was a sanctuary, one of the few places in Hogwarts where Eleonora could exist without constantly being observed like some sort of untouchable relic. Here, in the hush of parchment and candlelight, she was just a girl searching for answers.
She moved silently between the towering shelves, fingers gliding across the spines of ancient tomes, searching for something to quiet the storm brewing in her mind. Her hand hovered over a familiar book—an old, worn text on erased magical bloodlines. Her fingers brushed the cover, hesitating.
Then, slowly, she withdrew. Some histories were better left untouched.
She hadn’t expected Sirius to follow her.
But of course he had.
She sensed him before she saw him. The shift in energy, the subtle displacement of air. He was good at making noise when he wanted to, but he was even better at being quiet when he didn’t.
“You must really be desperate for entertainment,” she murmured without looking up.
Sirius stepped out from behind a bookshelf, smirking. “I just wanted to see where the great Eleonora Rose hides when she’s not brooding in the shadows.”
She glanced at him, unimpressed. “And here I thought you had actual ambitions.”
His grin didn’t waver. If anything, it deepened. “Oh, I do. This is research.”
“For what, exactly?”
He leaned against the nearest shelf, studying her the way one might study a particularly fascinating puzzle. “For figuring you out.”
Eleonora arched a brow. “And what exactly do you think you’ve figured out so far?”
Sirius tilted his head slightly, as if considering his answer. “You’re dangerous, but you don’t like people knowing just how much. You push people away before they get too close, but you’re watching everything, always calculating. And… you hate thunderstorms.”
A flicker of something crossed her face before she smoothed it over. “That’s quite the observation.”
“Am I wrong?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she closed the book she had been holding and turned toward him fully. The dim candlelight of the library flickered against her features, casting shifting shadows over her pale skin.
“Why are you really here, Black?”
He shrugged, still leaning lazily against the shelf. “Maybe I like a challenge.”
Eleonora stepped closer, just enough that he would feel the shift, the weight of her presence pressing into his. The air between them felt charged, as if something unseen was stirring. The candlelight flickered unnaturally, stretching toward her, just for a moment.
“Careful, Black,” she said softly. “You play with shadows long enough, and they start playing back.”
For the first time since their conversation began, Sirius hesitated. Just for a fraction of a second. But she caught it.
He covered it up quickly, letting out a low chuckle. “I think I’ll take my chances.”
Eleonora’s lips curled into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Then you really are a fool.”
Without another word, she turned and walked away, the shadows shifting slightly as if reluctant to let her go.
Sirius exhaled slowly.
He wasn’t sure if he had just won something—or lost completely.
Sirius
That night, Sirius lay awake in the Gryffindor dormitory, staring at the ceiling, replaying their conversation in his mind.
Eleonora was unlike anyone he had ever met. Most people wanted things from him—attention, charm, rebellion. She wanted none of it. If anything, she seemed determined to keep him as far away from her as possible.
And yet…
He couldn’t stop thinking about the way she had looked at him in the library, the way her voice had dipped just enough to send a shiver down his spine. Not just like he was a nuisance, but like she already knew exactly how this would end.And for some reason, that unsettled him.
James stirred in the bed beside him. “You’re thinking about her again, aren’t you?”
Sirius groaned. “I hate you.”
James chuckled sleepily. “You love me.”
“Shut up.”
But James was right. Sirius was thinking about her again.
And something told him this was only the beginning.