▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE - 🍂 ୧ maybe . . .
one day ও🦌

AUTUMN HAD SUCCESSFULLY TRACKED DOWN Elliott during his roaming around the fifth floor. She waited for the ideal time and moment and saw her opportunity as he passed by an abandoned classroom.

Quickly and quietly, she grabbed his arm and pulled him inside of the abandoned classroom, shutting the door before closing the distance between them.

As the door shut behind Elliott and he was now surrounded in silence, he reacted quickly and took out his wand, ready to defend himself against what he believed would be an attacker.

However, as he realized he was confronted by none other than Autumn, his eyes widened and he dropped his wand immediately, shock washing over his expression.

"Are you bloody mad? I could have hexed you!" Elliott's tone was filled with anger, and he kneeled quickly in order to collect his wand.

Autumn's smirk continued as she responded playfully, and she felt a rush of adrenaline pass through her as the reunion with Elliott continued to play out in front of her.

"Glad that you didn't," she responded with a teasing giggle as she continued looking at him.

Elliott remained upset at her casual attitude as if she did not take his annoyance or anger seriously. He glared at her and spoke in an agitated tone.

"Not funny, you could have seriously gotten hurt."

Autumn shrugged as if it were something trivial, and she responded to his agitation with a casual shrug and a soft smile.

"And I didn't."

Elliott's stance as he crossed his arms and glanced at her cloak was a mixture of annoyance and nervousness.

He wasn't entirely sure how to handle the situation, particularly after the tension that was building between them. However, he felt himself being drawn to her despite the difficulties that were present, and as he glanced away again he felt his anger slowly begin to subside.

Autumn, on the other hand, saw the awkwardness that Elliot was experiencing and was amused by the way he was glancing away from her. She had a lot she wanted to laugh about.

Autumn's amusement faded as she quickly switched gears and decided to start with interrogation. She wanted answers, and she knew that Elliot was trying to protect her, Raven, and Lily, but there were things she had to know.

"I need answers," she began directly as she stared at him intently.

Elliot's facial expression changed from one that was awkward to one that was more calculated as he attempted to act oblivious, not wanting to deal with her probing questions about what he had been up to. However, what he failed to account for at that moment was that she knew him better than anyone

She knew his facial expressions, how he reacted to things and his behaviours, and she wasn't going to let him get away with this.

"You cannot act oblivious," she stated firmly.

Elliot's patience was wearing thin as he let out a long sigh and looked to the ceiling briefly as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. His frustration boiled over as he glanced back at her, and he let out a few well-placed curses.

"Why couldn't you have just left it alone? Just go about your daily activities with the others. Or just go play house with James," he snapped with an agitated hiss as he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Autumn smiled softly, unable to hold back the brief-expression as she continued speaking.

"Believe me, if I could, I would too. You are one of my most important friends," she stated fondly as she glanced back at him. "We've been through a lot, done a lot, and I can't just let that go."

Elliot's interruption fell on deaf ears as she continued speaking passionately, determined to ensure that he understood the gravity of the situation.

"People can change," he tried to interrupt, but the fire in her eyes deterred him from continuing.

"Eli—"

"Don't try to convince me otherwise." Elliot shook his head.

As she saw that Elliot was going to do his best to avoid providing her with answers about his actions, she decided to pull out the drawing that she had completed in secret about him, wanting him to be taken by surprise and forced to deal with the situation.

She let out a sigh as she pulled out the drawing and held it in front of her, waiting to see his reaction.

Elliot's eyes opened wide as he took in sight of the drawing, and as the scene within the drawing slowly played out, he took in every detail of the drawing.

Professor Slughorn, who seemed terrified from watching the drawn-out interaction between him and Elliot, was left stunned as Elliot began glaring at him, and then Elliot walked right out of the depicted scene.

Autumn could tell that the drawing had caught him off-guard, and she waited patiently for his response.

"Professor Slughorn looked terrified at whatever you said," Autumn reiterated as she lowered the drawing in front of her with a firm gaze.

"And while it might seem like a jump, it was clearly something that shook him," she continued in reference to the reaction that the Professor had to deal with Elliot.

"I discovered that I can draw things that are about to occur..." her voice trailed off slightly as she held him captive with a hard glare.

"But from the look of it, it apparently already happened."

Elliot gripped his fist and looked away. His eyes closed before he turned to her with a broken stare," It's something you can't help with. No matter what you or the others say. I have to do this."

"You won't ask any of us for help?" Autumn repeated his response as a statement in a final attempt to sway him.

Elliot shook his head and closed his eyes, clearly not looking to bend his stance even under her prodding and pressure.

"No. maybe not now, but maybe one day," was all he would offer in response.

Autumn sighed and let out a long sigh as she seemed resigned to not pestering him any longer about this.

"Fine. I won't ask."

Elliott smiled gratefully at her as he continued to offer a small apology for his actions on her birthday.

"Thank you... and I am sorry for choosing your birthday to act like this."

Autumn smiled back as she quickly brushed that part of his past actions aside, as she was determined to only focus on his apology and his current attitude.

Despite her previous annoyance and agitation, she managed to soften her heart in response to the guilt he was showing her.

"It did feel terrible, however, I must admit I had a great day in the end."

Elliott let out a light snort as the topic shifted to her relationship with James. He was obviously sincere about his gratitude and happiness on their behalf, and she couldn't help but feel a light warmth wash over her at his comment.

"Yeah, the day you and James got together," he spoke in response to her thanks. He sighed and gave another, more genuine chuckle.

"Congratulations, by the way, I am truly happy for you two."

"Thanks, Eli." Autumn voiced.

As they continued conversing, they talked about how things had been going and Elliot wasn't forthcoming with many of his own details, preferring not to share the ugly details of his life with her.

Regulus was his only real friend, but he and Snape still had issues with one another, and he hated his housemates. They were his enemies, and he would never feel a shred of regret or remorse for any of them.

Elliot felt torn as it was time for him to meet up with Regulus, as he felt like he should disclose the information he had concerning Autumn's ability. However, he didn't want her involved in whatever they were doing, as she would undoubtedly become a target if the dark lord found out about her ability.

So, at that moment, he was thankful for his family's insistence upon him learning Occlumency, as her secret was secured. It was now a matter of his loyalty as her friend and his dedication to his task to protect that secret.

JUST AS AUTUMN WAS WALKING OUT of the fifth floor corridor, she saw James waiting for her at the grand stairwell. He had waved at her with a smile, but he was quick to read the look on her face, and he immediately knew that things had not gone as they had planned.

Without a word, he just held out his hand, and she quickly made her way towards him, wrapping her arms around his torso and remaining there for a few moments.

This embrace was interrupted by the growling of their stomachs, and they finally released their grasp of one another.

"Guess that's our cue for dinner," James smiled cheekily as it seemed that they both knew it was time to stop their embrace and head to the Great Hall.

Autumn smiled as she nodded in agreement, finding his observation humorous at the moment.

"I probably know just as much as you," she confessed as she decided to fill him in on the details of her meeting with Elliot.

She spoke without any sense of resentment or bitterness, despite the events that had transpired earlier in the day.

"So, he really didn't let anything slip?" James pursed his lips as he mulled over the information she provided.

"Not a word. It was exactly what you told me," she confirmed with a nod.

"So, you're gonna tell Raven and Lily?" he asked in response.

Autumn went silent before shaking her head again, deciding not to bring her other two best friends into this, as she believed that the risk was too great.

"No. I don't want to give them hope and I am pretty sure it is already risky enough that the two of us know as much as we do."

...

Autumn's feelings of guilt persisted, even as time pressed forward and the days turned into weeks, then weeks into months. The two of them managed to enjoy their time together, however, and the days they spent in each other's company slowly helped her to forget about the guilt she felt.

Unfortunately, this reprieve was brief as they were suddenly confronted with the reality of their final days of school for their Sixth year rapidly approaching. The realization was terrifying, especially considering the unknown outcome of the upcoming final year.

The days sped up, and their final year was just a matter of months away.

Raven, Lily, and Autumn all groaned unanimously when they found themselves unable to move as they were suddenly stuck on a sticky floor, preventing them from proceeding.

"And they got us when we didn't have our wands," Raven complained bitterly—angrily trying to free herself with little effect.

As she attempted to regain her footing, she nearly fell and shrieked as if she was about to plummet to the ground, which only added to her irritation and angst.

Lily caught her just in time, however, she underestimated her strength, and the two fell together and landed in an awkward position. Lily ended up on her butt while Raven struggled to prevent herself from falling in front of face-first.

The trio found themselves the victims of a prank by the Marauders, who were paying them back for a prank they had pulled the previous year. All three were unable to contain their frustration and irritation as they realized what had happened to them.

After Lily and Raven had fallen, Autumn remained the only one standing.

She tried to stop her robes from touching the sticky floor, however, she unexpectedly lost her balance as only one of her feet was flat on the floor while the other was lifted.

She cried out as she fell flat on her back and became fully stuck to the floor as a result of the trap. Her backside and hair were also stuck to the floor, rendering her helpless and causing her to moan in frustration as she struggled to get free.

"I am going to hex them," Autumn grumbled as she stared up at the ceiling in frustration while remaining stuck to the floor.

Soon enough, laughter began to fill the girls' ears, with the source being the four Gryffindor members slowly coming into view.

Both Raven and Lily turned their heads to the approaching group, with Raven muttering some curses under her breath.

Lily, on the other hand, was silently pondering the best ways to wipe those amused expressions off of their faces as they approached.

Sirius and Peter were both giving each other high-fives, seemingly delighted about the outcome of their prank. They went to Lily who had a lot of colorful words said to them.

As for Remus, he went to kneel beside Raven as he continued to wear a smug grin on his face.

"And I still find the glitter everywhere," he said, referring to their previous prank involving glitter.

"Ha ha," Raven responded sarcastically, attempting to disguise her annoyance as she forced the chuckle.

James peeked his head over the top of Autumn's own, seeming quite amused, as he spoke," Hello, my love, fancy seeing you here."

She rolled her eyes at his mocking tone and responded sharply, while attempting to prevent herself from laughing as she realized their situation was funny, at least to him.

"Be glad I don't have my wand," she stated adamantly.

James shrugged and responded nonchalantly, "Not like you can move anyways."

She glared at him angrily, but deep down, she was fighting back a smile.

Slowly, and with great effort, the guys had managed to remove the trap, however, the residue that remained made its presence known, as the girls were left with sticky hair and robes.

Autumn let out a wince as she felt her hair all sticky and messy, being completely helpless to do anything about it herself.

Remus had reassured them all that the sticky residue would soon pass, and thankfully, it did indeed begin to wear away after a few minutes.

Before long, they were all ready to head to the final dinner of the school year without any more sticky hindrances.