Christmas Break
December 1971
Winter finally reached Hogwarts a couple weeks after Snape's little outburst. Snape had gotten detention after that, of course, and the guys —James and Sirius, especially— used every change they got to rub it in his face. Other than that, things had fallen into a quiet peace in Eleanor's life, and she had o admit she was more than happy with it. Before Eleanor knew it, she had reached her last week at Hogwarts before Christmas break. And then it was all she and her friends could talk about.
"God, you have no idea how excited I am for Christmas." Emma sighed one night. The four were hanging out in the common room. Eleanor was sitting on that great velvet sofa that caught her eye the first time she saw it. It was so comfortable, so soft... Eleanor never wanted to stand up. She was sitting in between Emma and Marlene. Lily was sitting on the floor, close to the fire, in an attempt to warm up. "No more classes! And no more detention. We are free.”
"You know you still have to keep up with your homework, right? Slughorn left us a two-hundred-word essay due when we come back."
"Don't remind me, Lils." Emma groaned, putting her hands in her face dramatically. "That class will be the death of me. I am sure I am failing. "
"If you put in a little effort, then you wouldn't be in this position." Lily lectured. Eleanor didn't think Lily noticed, but she tended to lecture them a lot. "I can help you when we get back..."
"Really? You promise?"
"If you promise to try your best" Emma started nodding incontrollably, clearly exited "Alright, then I'll help you."
"I wish you could all come home with me," Eleanor sighed, "My brother's going to bring his boring quaffle-head friends and ruin Christmas for me."
Marlene shrouded, "Imagine spending two weeks with Sirius 'Satan-spawn' Black! I fell sorry for you."
"I feel sorry for me!"
"Saints, I wish I could go, but what my Ma says is she doesn't see me enough as it is. And it's not like I want her to be all alone for Christmas, the poor woman is missing some screws as it is."
"And my parents also want me home. Maybe the holiday will soften Pett a little." Lily said, looking down. Petunia—Pett for short— never wrote Lily back, so she sent another letter, and another. Lily's letters were still unanswered, making her sad and bossier than usual. Petunia was good for holding grudges, even so that Eleanor was a little in awe.
"Well, ignore her." Emma advised, as she always did when the subject came up. "And listen to me, if she says anything to you, ignore her as well. You are nobody's lapdog."
"It's not about being her lapdog. She is my sister, Lang. Eleanor gets it, don't you?"
"I don't think I'm the best example of a good sibling relationship, Lils. I don't even know what's going through that head of his half the time."
"I'll tell you: absolutely nothing."
"Regardless," Lily breathed out. "He is your brother, and you love him. It's a special bond. A team, if you will. He is the person you would call if... I don't know, if you had to hide a body, for example."
"She'd call him if she wanted to get her arse busted," Marlene mocked. "Because you know what's on his mind..?"
"Stop it!" Eleanor laughed. "Lils, if that is the problem, I will help you hide the body."
"Yeah, me too. I know a farm outside my town that is pretty lonely. No one will know."
"I'll do you one better." Emma chimed in, with a devilish smile across her face. "I'll help you hide the body and then smuggle our four arses off the continent!"
"And where would we go, Ems?"
"Who cares? We have youth, and we have beauty. World's ours, babes."
Lily laughed in such a relaxed, genuine way that in the blink of an eye, the four girls were cracking up like madwoman. After a minute or so, Eleanor wanted to stop because her ribs were starting to hurt, but only one look at Lily and she was bursting out in laughter again. She didn't mind the tummy ache it was causing her, mostly because in that moment she felt very much invincible.
She still felt that later that evening, during her very last detention. McGonagall had left them in the class about an hour ago, and Eleanor had spent all that time playing around with the creatures in each of the cages before giving them food. In those months, she had named every single one of them. There was the Dugbug —Duggie. The Niffler—Penny. And like that with all the others. She didn't want to admit it, but he got attached, and now she didn't quite want to let them go. Eleanor notices they are a little agitated, too. She reckoned it might have been that the full moon was coming. It always had some effect in their emotions.
Remus was sweeping the floor close to her. He was quiet, in fact, she didn't think he had said more than a grumpy 'hello' when McGonagall dropped them off. It wasn't unusual for him to be quiet, he seemed to have a very strong inner monologue most of the time. It was his mood that struck Eleanor in the wrong way. Remus wasn't his normal grumpy self, he was right out infuriated.
"Are you alright over there, Lupin?" She called out, frowning. He grunted, like he actually grunted.
It was obvious he wasn't alright, not only because she heard him scream at Sirius to'shut the bloody hell up'—she didn't really blame him, to be honest— but because he mindlessly was attacking the floor with the broom, causing the dust to fly in the air. Thank God Marls isn't here, she thought, her allergies would have killed her by now.
"You know, if you break that broom, McGonagall may charge you for it" she said, and he looked at her with a 'what?'expression "I wouldn't put it past her. That woman is certainly something."
"I won't break the broom," Remus mumbled.
Eleanor walked close to him, sitting on the professor's desk with a jump. With a deep breath, she said, "C'mon, what has your knickers in a twist?" Remus looked at her, raising an eyebrow, and she smiled broadly. "What? You are the one who said I speak like an old hag. I'm trying something new. What's your problem, Remus?"
"Im fine."
"I don't believe you! Tell me."
Remus gave her a doubtful look, like he didn't trust her to tell her whatever was troubling him. That hurt Eleanor' feelings; after all this time shared, after the whole vendetta thing, Eleanor thought they were on the path of becoming friends. She didn't have a problem trusting him, so she didn't see why it would be different for Remus to trust her. And then it hit her, maybe he thought she would tell the girls, "You know you can tell me, right? I wouldn't tell a soul."
"I'm fine, Eleanor," Remus replied, but he avoided her stare all the same. Eleanor knew he was lying, in the pit of her stomach, she knew, but she wouldn't push him if he didn't want her to. So she stayed quiet for a couple minutes, moving her hanging legs back and forth. She didn't reach the floor while sitting there, but she didn't mind. After a while, she asked, "Did James convince you lot to come home for the holiday?"
Remus shook his head. "Sirius reckons his family might kill him for just asking, so he is asking to go to the Pettigrew's instead. They live close by to your house anyway.”
"What about you? Leaving for the beautiful Wales?"
Remus frowned "How did you know I live in Wales?"
Eleanor panicked, What could she say? 'Oh, I read it in one of the papers in the library that said your father was fired from the Ministry for losing his mind'? Stalker much! "You have a little of an accent" it occurred to her. It was true, Remus had a tiny accent that gave him away, she just never thought too much of it. He nodded, because, of course, that explanation made sense.
"Mam reckons it better for everyone if I go home with them. They miss me, anyway." He seemed to mutter something under his breath, but Eleanor didn't understand. "There'll always be next Christmas, innit?”
Eleanor nodded. "And maybe next year you can take James and—I don't know— keep him?"
Remus laughed softly, shaking his head. "I'll see what I can do."
→──✦──←
Eleanor walked out of the Hogwarts Express with heavy shoulders. Her brother was just behind her. She had just said goodbye to her friends, who hugged her like they were never going to see each other again. It a was bitter sweet feeling. She missed her parent and her house and her bed, but she got used to being around her friends and she wasn't ready for it to be over. They made her promise to go to the muggle town close to her house and phone them since she didn't have a phone line in her house—whatever that was. She made no promises to actually be successful, but she was going to try her best. Besides, how hard could it be if muggles could to it, right?
When Eleanor saw her parents—both of them— standing in the platform nine and tree quarters, she could not hold her excitement and ran to their arms. As she hugged them, it felt like all of her troubles disappeared and there was only them. "Dad, mum..." she whimpered "I missed you so much!"
"Missed you more" her dad said, still holding her strong. Fleamont Potter was what could be described as a workaholic. He spent most of his time at the Ministry and sometimes missed important parts of his children's lives. But he was there when it mattered.
"Uhm" James cleared his throat behind Eleanor "You two do remember you have another child, right?"
"Shut up, they're with their favorite." Eleanor retorted.
"Eleanor we do not have favorites!" Her mum corrected and extended one arm to James "C'mere, baby"
Grumbling, James allowed his mum to pull him into the family hug, where he took advantage and pulled her sister' hair and she kicked him in response. Euphemia was the first to break the hug, picking up some tears with the back of her hand. "This is so exiting! You have got to tell me everything."
"Mum but we already told you in our letters!"
"And I would like to you to tell me with your voices, James. Let's get you two home, you look denurished. Are you sure you are eating right? Because I've heard..."
As their mum dragged them to the platform, Eleanor noticed a pair of big brown eyes looking at them from the distance. Remus was with a young blonde woman, she was skinny and had rosy cheeks. She was beautiful, too. Next to her, stood an incredibly tall man with brown hair and rough features. Those had to be his parents, Eleanor thought, he was the perfect blend between them.
Eleanor smiled broadly at him. Remus looked back to where her mum was, like he was checking for something, but them smiled back at her, tilting his head. Her mum dragged her and her brother off the platform, away from the people, and holding each a hand, she apparated to the front of their house.
Apparating was a transportation magic, you learned when you turned seventeen because minors weren't supposed to use magic outside Hogwarts anyway so what was the point? And also because it was very dangerous magic. If not done property, you could end up leaving an arm or a leg behind and well, that wasn't ideal. Apparating always made Eleanor dizzy. It felt like her entire body was being shrinked and forced into a very tight rubber tube that spined round and round.
Nonetheless, she managed to keep her lunch in her belly until they got to the outside of their house, which was charmed against people Apparating in the inside for security. The house was a simple eight bedroom, huge manor. It had a victorian stile, which made sense because it had been built at that time. The facade was warm and welcoming, painted with a warm beige and a huge front garden filled with all kinds of flowers and a huge oak tree with a tree house on the top.
She walked through the brick road and entered her house with her family behind her. Inside, there were dark wooden floors and the same warm beige walls. The first living room had a ruge, fluffy dark red couch, and to its sides there was a marfil single-one and a two-place one with the same color. On the corner, there was a big Christmas tree filled with red and golden decorations. After that there was her dad's study, locked as always. There was also a huge dining room, with way more chairs than needed, but her mum liked to invite people over so they were used constantly. The kitchen and Winnie's room followed, along with another living room, a mini-bar and a pudge picture window that led to the back yard.
The smell of freshly cooked mince pies float her nose, making her eyes fill with tears. It smelled like home. Her home.
"Go change, my darlings" her mum said "Shower and everything, dinner will be ready in an hour. Winnie will be so happy to see you."
And so would be Eleanor. Winnie was the nicest elf the had ever met, and her personal friend when she didn't have anyone else and James was too busy being everyone else's friend. She didn't complain when her mother sent them to change, she felt dirty from all the travel and was in desperate need of a shower.
Her room was just as she left it. It had always been a big room, but now that she was used to being in the same space than the three other girls, it felt especially lonely. The walls were a soft pink shade, and so was her bead spread. On the floor, there was a soft baby pink rug. The walls were filled with pictures and doodles she had made in the sad attempt of drawing something nice. Sometimes it was flowers, or a sunset, other times were her parents or her nagging brother who could not for the life of his stay still for a portrait. They weren't exactly good by any means, but they were hers. There was also a big bookseller filled with books she hadn't read and a dresser.
She took a sweet time showering and dressing. Then she went back downstairs to say hello to Winnie before dinner. She was in the kitchen making some tea when Eleanor entered, and she was so happy she almost dropped the kettle.
"Mistress Eleanor, Winnie its such a joy seen you" Winnie vowed her head.
"Hiya Winnie" she saluted back, taking the kettle off her hands and putting it in the fire "And I've told you not to call me that. Call me just Eleanor."
"Winnie its very sorry, Mistress Eleanor, but she cannot call you just Eleanor" she sook her head violently "Mistress Eleanor its too much like her father. It will get her in trouble in the future."
"You worry too much, Winnie" Eleanor laughed, but followed to the to the dining room anyway. There, her parents and brother were already siting. James's messy wet hair was sticking out from all sides like a bird's nest. Eleanor sat beside him, and a strong smell of soap filled her nose.
"For Merlin's sake, James! Did you use the whole bar of soap?"
"At least I don't smell like something I'd scrape of my shoe."
Eleanor kicked him, but then turned to face Euphemia "Everything looks great, mum."
"Thanks, darling" she smiles sweetly "Now that you are both here, tell me everything" her mum begged once more, so they did. Eleanor told her about befriending the girls, she gave exclusive details about all of them—leaving out certain details like Emma's cursing. She told them about school and the classes, and then she made a mistake, she complained about the Care of Magical Creatures classroom being a mess, which mas a mistake because if it weren't for detention. "The Care of Magical Creatures classroom?" Her dad caught it right away, raising an eyebrow "You are not supposed to be there until third year, if you choose the class, that is."
"Well..." Eleanor looked at James for help, but it only took one look at his wide freaked-out eyes to know she was alone. "McGonagall sent me there on an errand."
"What for?" Her mum asked, and she looked to her brother again. That lie was all she had. Please, James...
"It was to give professor Kettleburn that package, right?" He said, dropping his eyes to his food "The one with the quills."
"Y-yes, yes it was!" She nodded "But anyways how is everything over here? You two were vague on you letters."
Her mum looked down, then at Fleamont, and down again. Her eyes were very sad and for the fist time, Eleanor noticed big dark circles under her eyes.
"Mum, is everything alright?" Eleanor asked.
Euphemia sighed, nodding very slowly "Yes, everything its fine. But there is something your father and I would like to discuss with you two." Because the serious tone in her mum's voice, the two kids looked at each other. Eleanor frowned, 'what did you do now?' James shrugged, he had done nothing yet "Monty, love, can you help me? I don't think I have it in me."
Fleamont nodded, cleaning the corner of his mouth with the napkin "Well kids, you know that the magical world has been having some tension over the last few years, right?" Both nodded, of course they knew. But the magical world was always in tension. That wasn't new. "There is no easy way to say this, kids, but a couple weeks after you left for Hogwarts, some attacks started."
Eleanor frowned, but it was James who asked "Attacks? What do you mean 'attacks'?"
"They call themselves Death-eaters" her mum explained, he eyes sorrowful "Their leader likes to call himself the Voldemort." Eleanor's blood ran cold. It was certainly the first time she had heard his name, but something inside her told her it wouldn't be the last "They began targeting the houses of half-blood and muggle born families, burning them down and plastering their God-awful sing on to of them."
"How many?" Eleanor's voice was shaking when she asked "How many deaths?"
"Too many, darling."
Eleanor blinked, her eyes burned. While she was safe at Hogwarts people were being killed, innocents were being murdered. She felt a hand land in hers, and she didn't even had to look to know it was her brother's. She squeezed it, and James squeezed it back "Why?" She asked "Why them?"
"He blames the ministry for going soft with its laws. Many years ago they didn't let wizards and muggles get married and he says we were better off. The is preaching a hateful anti-muggle-bloods ideology and blaming everything bad on the muggles and the Ministry."
"But it will go away, right dad?" James asked, "The Ministry will fix it. Dumbledore will fix it like he fixed it with Grindelwald."
Her dad shook his head slowly "No, son. Voldemort declared war on the Ministry a couple weeks ago."
Slowly, Eleanor dropped her fork and left it in her plate. She wasn't hungry anymore. She was confused. Why hadn't she heard any of this? It must have appeared on all the papers by now? How can people let others die and do nothing? "The ministry its trying to get it under control" her mum explained like she was reading her mind "They seamed to be gathering forces right now, he is not strong enough. So i trust that it will come to an end soon, my darlings. There is nothing to worry about. Do not fear, everything will be alright."
"It might" her dad corrected "But we need to prepare ourselves in case it doesn't..."
"Monty..."
"Now, I want you to be children, to be happy and do not think about this any more than you have to. Be children. I promise you that as long as I live you will be safe..."
"Are you going to fight?" Eleanor asked, terrified. She looked at her mother, but her mother only looked at him.
"If it comes back to this, I will asses the situation and do as I see best. But my duty its with my family and my family only"
They didn't spoke after that. Her mother tried to have a conversation, but she wasn't feeling right. Later that night, she laid on her bed with an empty stomach and a reastless mind. She couldn't close her eyes, she couldn't stop thinking. Eleanor had an obsessive mind, that wasn't a secret. She would go over and over the same thought and she wouldn't let go. She couldn't let go. She thought about her friends, Lily and Emma were muggle-horns, and Marlene was half-blood. Those people who died, it easily could have been them. Who is going to stop them when they decide to target them?
With nothing better to do with her time, she stood up and silently walked out of her room. She opened her brother's door slowly. She didn't know if he was asleep and if he was, she didn't want to wake him. In the dark, he wasn't much more than a lump of shadows and crazy hair, but she knew he was awake, she just knew. Eleanor walked to his bed and settled next to him, shivering because of the cold.
"Can't sleep?" He whisperer.
"No" she admitted "Keep thinking about my friends."
"That's right, they are muggle born" he said, mostly to himself, but then told her "Nothing is going to happen to them, you heard mum."
"Yeah but you heard dad, that why you can't sleep either." He let her under the covers and gave her one of his pillows "Im scared, James" she whispered.
"Me too, Ellie. But everything its going to be alright. We just have to have faith."
"In what?" She asked. Eleanor didn't believe in anything, not any muggle God, not the grace of some wizard spirit. She believed in no one, expected nothing.
"In humanity" James said like it was the most obvious thing in the world "We have to have faith that there is still good in this world. And that the good outruns the bad." Eleanor closed her eyes shut. There were moments in which she wanted to be so much like James. She wanted to believe in it. In the good, in the people. She wanted his certainty that everything would always be alright. "And Ellie, as long as we are together, I wont let anything happen to you or your friends. I promise I will keep you safe."
"And if you can't?" She let out a cry. She couldn't help it, she was emotional, that didn't make her weak "What if something horrible happens to you? To us? What if they win?"
"Then we will live a life worth living. That how we'll win them."
"James?"
"Yeah?"
"I want to go to the muggle town tomorrow. I need to talk to them and make sure they are alright."
"I'll take you" he promised "We'll pick up Pete and Sirius on the way."
"You promise?"
"I promise. Now close your eyes and try to sleep or you'll be unbearable in the morning."
And Eleanor did just that. Feeling safe with her brother beside her, she closed her eyes and let sleep take her away. In her dreams there was a magical forest, a dog, a deer, a rat and a werewolf.