By the end of the week, most of the girls were gone. Liliana stayed for two nights before being called home to prepare for school, and Maggie and Henrietta left the next day. Maggie still had to finish buying her books for the upcoming term and Henrietta was panicked, in a rush trying to leave the cabin. Something about the sky turning grey.

Elowyn and Selena were aware that by Saturday, the twenty-seventh of August, the house needed to be clean and ready for Auguste and Nadine to arrive. Elowyn helped Lylle in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes and making a list of goods for Lylle to get from the market. Selena helped Eleanor collect all the linens to be washed. This was a relatively simple task until Selena screamed and dropped all her linens.

Selena was aggressively rubbing her arms and moved behind Eleanor, as if to hide from whatever it was that made her scream.

"Sels? What is it?" Eleanor asked, trying to turn to her friend, but Selena kept pushing her towards the dropped pile of linens.

"It was a giant spider, oh my goodness. Oh my goodness, I can't go over there, I can't. I think you'll have to do this one without me, Nors." Selena kept pushing Eleanor towards the pile, but Eleanor pushed back into the girl.

"Lylle!" Eleanor shouted, dropping her own armful of linens. "Lylle, I need you!"

Lylle popped from the kitchen into the upstairs hallway, with a wet jar in her hands. "Yes, miss?"

Selena poked her head out from behind Eleanor's shoulder. "There's a huge spider in the linens. Please, please, please, get rid of it, or kill it, or something." Selena begged.

Lylle sighed, beginning to go through the dropped linens. "You two should go do something else."

"Okay, yeah, thank you, Lylle!" Selena practically shouted before taking off down the stairs. Eleanor merely rolled her eyes and followed after her, a smile that she could not fight off forming on her lips. Selena always had a fear of spiders, or anything with more than four legs really. Once, last year, when Hagrid was appointed Professor of Care of Magical Creatures, Selena almost broke down into sobs when Hagrid asked everyone to hold one of the baby giant arachnids he found in the Forbidden Forest. Henrietta had to walk Selena back up the castle through her panicked flailing.

Eleanor, while also afraid of spiders, was not anywhere as afraid as Selena. Her own fear certainly did not stop her from laughing at Selena during their free period spent just outside the Great Hall. Eleanor and Selena loved one another deeply, but that love did not matter when it came to Selena's intense fear of spiders. There had been several times since Hagrid's arachnids lesson that Eleanor, and many of Selena's other friends, teased Selena. Selena rolled her eyes and crossed her arms every time, always saying something about never trusting Henrietta to keep a secret ever again.

Eleanor and Selena joined Elowyn in the kitchen, Selena shivering and brushing her arms off as if bugs were crawling all over her skin.

"What happened to you?" Elowyn asked, rubbing Selena's arm.

"Oh , you know, another giant spider," Eleanor replied, giving Selena a wicked grin. Selena frowned and shoved both her friends hard. "You know we're just joking around, Sels."

"I know," the copper haired girl grumbled.

Elowyn and Eleanor shared a look. Selena could be so dramatic sometimes.

The rest of the afternoon went smoothly, without any more spiders thanks to Lylle, and when it was time for Elowyn to leave, Selena and Eleanor hugged her one last time and wished her well for the next week. Elowyn told them she'd probably write about the Nimue situation when she got home. Selena told her that she expected a letter by the end of tomorrow evening.

Then, it was left to Eleanor and Selena. With the linens now clean, as well as the rest of the house, Selena decided to stay until the rest of the Bernards arrived at their sleepy cabin.

"Je suis fatigué," Eleanor complained, yawning.

"Nors, I know that's an easy one, but please remember that I speak minimal French." Selena said, taking Eleanor's hand in hers as the pair went upstairs to Nors' room. "We should take a nap. Like we used to in third year."

Nors and Sels both smiled at the memories. Their friends used to tease them about their abilities to fall asleep whenever and wherever they liked. "Are you planning on staying until my family's here?" Sels nodded. "Okay," Nors said softly.

The two climbed into Eleanor's bed together, crawling underneath both her quilts. It was summer still, so Eleanor left her window open a crack, but not enough to let in any rainwater. From the cloud coverage in the last hour, it was evident that rain would come tonight. Eleanor's bed was pushed into the corner of her bedroom, and while she preferred to sleep against the wall, that was Selena's spot.

Quick like a viper's strike, the two were sleeping. Selena dreamt of a wildflower field and of the Scandinavian mountains. Eleanor dreamt of red hair.

They were not sleeping for long before Nadine came into the room, shaking the girls awake. She was a gentle woman, but to wake Selena, she shook her hard. Eleanor was easy; she could never quite commit to sleeping heavily. Eleanor hugged her mother tightly as Selena stirred.

"Maman," Eleanor murmured, giving Nadine one final squeeze.

"Chérie," Nadine said. "Est-elle toujours là?" She quirked an eyebrow, questioning Eleanor.

Eleanor smiled sheepishly, shrugging. "Elle voulait t'attendre." She explained as Selena sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Elle t'aime bien, Maman."

Selena gave Eleanor a gentle shove. "Eleanor," she whined. "I know you're talking about me."

Nadine smiled, kissing Eleanor's forehead and gave Selena la bise. It was common for Selena to spend time with the Bernards outside of the week before the start of term, so Selena was no stranger to the French custom. "Hello, Selena," Nadine said. Her French accent was still very prominent, but her English had gotten so much better than when she first started learning eight years prior.

It wasn't long before Selena returned home, leaving Eleanor with her family. They didn't see one another again until the first of September. Auguste, Nadine, and Lina joined Eleanor on the platform this year. Lina was sobbing, refusing to let go of Eleanor, while Nadine tried to coax the young girl back into her arms, but it was to no avail.

"I could just take her with me," Eleanor joked, but Nadine found no humor in her words. "I'm just joking, Maman."

"Nadine," Auguste said in a warning tone, but Nadine was too strong willed to listen to her husband. Instead, he took to helping attempt the removal of Lina from Eleanor's leg. "Lina," he cooed.

"Lina, aller." Eleanor ordered, but the girl merely shook her head, pouting. Eleanor looked around the platform anxiously. Lina was causing several heads to turn to her, including some of her peers' parents.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Mrs. Weasley rolling her eyes at the family. It was unmistakable when she heard her speak, too. "That girl's parents should learn how to control their daughter. It's entirely too much for that kind of nonsense on the platform!"

It was one of her twin sons who spoke next. "You know, Mum, I bet me and Freddie were worse when we were that little." Eleanor titled her head down. It was George speaking. She truthfully didn't know much about the twins to know which was which, or what they were truly like outside of their prankster attitudes.

"Yeah, Mum! Me and Georgie were probably your worst nightmares!" The other twin said, his voice telling of triumph.

She didn't want to look over at them, to leave any indication that she'd overheard their conversation, but she couldn't help looking back. Mrs. Weasley's back was to her and the twins were facing her. They both gave her a slight tip of their heads, a silent "you're welcome" and she gave them a nod in return. While magic was prohibited outside Hogwarts for underage wizards, the platform was a known exception, so it wasn't surprising when a tiny pair of fireworks shot out of the Weasley twins' wands as they ran off onto the train.

Lina, catching sight of the fireworks, let go of Eleanor finally. "I'll miss you," she said, eyes drying of tears.

"I'll miss you, too." Eleanor told her, kissing her cheek. She hugged Auguste and Nadine tightly and reluctantly, turned away from them and boarded the train. She loved Lina, but sometimes she hated when Lina came along. Lina could be so emotional and hated to see Eleanor go. She didn't quite understand why Eleanor had to leave for school without her. Vacation was one thing, but school was another.

It took Eleanor a few minutes to find Selena, but she was thankful to end her search regardless. It was an empty compartment, so each girl had a bench to themself. Selena sat upright on hers, whereas Eleanor laid flat on her back.

Eleanor sighed. "I . . . I don't want to make anything weird, but do you remember the first night at my cabin this holiday?"

"Before the Alps? Yeah, why?" Selena replied, fishing through her bag for a sketchbook and charcoal pencil.

Eleanor shook her head. "No, with everyone. Like Liliana and them." Selena's mouth formed into an "O" shape as she slowly nodded. "You have to promise me you won't speak of this conversation to anyone."

"Promise." Selena said quickly. "Is this about her attitude after Hen's thing? About the hypothetical situation of her parents wanting her to follow You-Know-Who? Because that was totally strange. I mean, I know she doesn't like talking politics, but that's not really politics."

"Yes! But . . . Sels, you know how sometimes I can hear what people are thinking? Without trying?" She nodded. "Well, sometimes, if I try, I can live in their thoughts. I've always made it a rule to never intentionally do that to any of you guys, but I got curious when Liliana did that thing and I had to know!" Eleanor tried to defend herself, but she felt that it was ridiculous to do so. Selena would never judge her for that. Or for anything, actually. "Anyway, I think I should've stayed curious because I don't know how I can look at her the same way now."

"She's an elitist? Like her family used to be?" Sels' eyes were wide. "Really? That's just crazy. I mean, Maggie's dad's a muggle-born, and she still hangs out with her. She's never said or done anything to her." She sighed. "What exactly were her thoughts?"

Eleanor shook her head. "No, I'm not telling you. It's not that bad, it's just a few things she agrees about."

Selena's cool blue eyes stared at Eleanor, trying to convince her to tell her everything. Eleanor's eyes met hers, the two probably looked crazy to anyone passing by the compartment. Eleanor shook her head again and sighed heavily. "Most of it is somewhat tame."

"Tame? What's tame about elitist pureblood ideals, Nors?"

"You know what I mean, Selena. She isn't a fan of muggle-borns and would rather not share a school with them. She doesn't seem too worried about half-bloods, but she definitely dislikes Harry Potter. She isn't too keen on relationships involving two witches, but it seems that she's somewhat okay with the classic pureblood two wizards and a witch type of relationship."

Selena nodded slowly. "That's so strange. I mean, I understand tolerance for a trouple in traditional ways, but she's always telling us and Elowyn about how much she wishes Hen and Maggie would just confess to each other. It just doesn't make any sense." There was a long stretch of silence between the girls. "When's the last time you heard of an actual trouple? It had to have been ages ago, before Grindlewald's reign of terror, right?"

It had been a while since the wizarding world was filled with life in general. So many had died in the war fourteen years prior, the recovery period was still underway. But Selena was right, it was almost unheard of for a witch to take two husbands now. It was meant to bring families together and keep bloodlines alive. Two wizards could sire one child and strengthen the baby's bond with their magic. It had probably been almost a century since a child was successfully produced with three parents. Since then, most couples have stuck to being just a pair.

"Yeah, I think so," Eleanor said. "It's so strange. She never does anything that would indicate that she doesn't like muggle-borns, but her thoughts were so clear, Sels."

The door opened and Eleanor's heart dropped. She shot up on her bench, trying to control her now racing heart. She almost sighed in relief when she was met with Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell.

"Hey," Eleanor and Selena said simultaneously.

"Hey, have either of you seen Angelina or the twins? Or Lee? I swear we've been through every compartment and can't find them." Katie said, popping her head back out into the hallway, looking for someone.

Selena shook her head. "I've been here the whole ride. Haven't seen any of them. I didn't even see them on the platform."

"I saw the twins on the platform, and they boarded somewhere in the middle. I know that probably isn't helpful," Eleanor said, making room for Katie and Alicia to sit if they wanted.

Alicia stepped fully into the compartment. "Can we sit for a bit? I'm getting tired of looking for them." Eleanor and Selena nodded. Katie took the open seat next to Selena and Alicia sat next to Eleanor. "I'm sure they're off pranking some first years."

"Yeah, the twins and Lee, but where's Angelina? I swear that woman's a ghost sometimes." Katie said. "Sometimes, I don't even hear her coming up the stairs in our common room." She faked a shiver.

Selena laughed. "Really? I haven't really interacted with her much in the last year. I should try to talk to her more outside of classes."

Eleanor shrugged. "I don't think Angelina likes me much."

Katie and Alicia cringed. "Yeah," Alicia said slowly. "She's not your biggest fan."

Eleanor didn't need their confirmation to know that. Angelina liked to make backhanded comments at her before, during, and after quidditch matches. Sometimes, it didn't even matter if Slytherin was playing, Angelina always took a dig at her. Usually it was just about her being a Slytherin, but sometimes, Angelina made it personal. In third year, Eleanor got into a huge physical fight with one of the Gryffindor fifth-years and took a major beating and had detention everyday for a week. The following Slytherin versus Gryffindor quidditch match, Angelina followed Eleanor around the entire pitch, telling her that she should've just stayed in France and Eleanor might have stood a chance at making her parents proud. Eleanor heard that phrase twelve times before she finally took her bat and hit the blunger straight into Angelina.

She was in the hospital wing for three days and Eleanor wound up with more detention and two weeks out of quidditch.

Everyone just assumed that Eleanor started it and that it was just Eleanor being a classic Slytherin. Eleanor never bothered to correct them. Anyone who truly liked and cared about Eleanor knew the truth.

Eleanor shrugged. "That's alright." She felt herself contorting into small places in her mind, trying to distance herself from what lay before her. She truly hated being in Slytherin sometimes. She wanted to be re-sorted most days, to finally be rid of all the bullying. It wasn't just Gryffindors, but most of it was. Elowyn, her sister, and Kenneth Towler were the only Gryffindors that truly liked her. Nimue didn't talk much with Eleanor, but she was like an older sister to Elowyn's whole friend group. Kenneth was Elowyn's best friend, so naturally, he loved all of her friends because there was no way that Elowyn could let someone horrible into her life.

Kenneth was the one who convinced the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan to stop pranking Eleanor mid-third year. He was one of their dorm mates and he managed to convince them that Eleanor was really struggling from the constant harassment. She wasn't sure that Kenneth had actually managed to put it all to rest, and she was right. In January of that term, one of the Weasley twins froze a strip of water into ice and watched as she slipped. She broke down into tears almost immediately upon seeing him, which clearly reminded him of something, because he apologised and helped her up. He escorted her to the hospital wing after she explained that she wasn't hurt but suffering from an intense headache. She never asked which twin it was and he never told her.

Since then, anytime she saw the twins, they merely walked past her, choosing a different target for their shenanigans. She was thankful.

Alicia and Katie stayed for a half hour, chatting about their summer holidays and what classes they were taking that term. Alicia said that she heard alchemy was in high demand this term, so there would actually be a class unlike the last four years. Eleanor's heart swelled; it was the only class that she truly wanted to take.

Alicia and Katie stand to leave as Selena wishes them luck on their search for their friends, when the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan sprint past from the front of the train. Their laughter is loud and there's a few students following them, all who sound angry. They must have become victims of one of their pranks.

"Well, sounds like they're having fun," Eleanor said, laughing when one of the angry students apart of the little mob was Pansy Parkinson. That girl was too uptight and far too obnoxious for Eleanor's liking. Liliana always made a point to try wrangling her little sister if possible.

Alicia grinned. "I think we've got a lead!" Her and Katie took off down the train after their friends, hollering after them.

Eleanor briefly wondered what a first year student may be thinking hearing all the commotion. She wondered what a muggle-born first year might be thinking.

"I wish I could go see Iris," Eleanor said suddenly. Her owl was horribly anxious and hated the train, but it was the only way that she was permitted to come with her. Oddly, Iris got along well with Eleanor's cat, Circe, so she felt a little more at ease knowing her owl was probably cuddled up to Circe in the pet's train car.

Selena smiled weakly. "Yeah, I don't get why we can have toads and rats and cats and such with us in our compartments, but the owls have to be stored away? So strange," she muttered.

For a while, they sat in silence. Eleanor tried reading her book, but found she lacked focus, so instead, she watched as Selena sketched the countryside. Selena's delicate hands were quick when forming general shapes and she used her fingers to make smudges along her dark lines. She was good at making art and Eleanor often told her that she would be a lovely painter. She had the talent, but Selena just wasn't sure.

Eleanor eventually moved to the seat next to her closest friend, laying her head on the girl's shoulder. Eleanor liked moments like this, just sitting in silence and watching her friend draw. Eleanor was rarely affectionate with people outside her family, but it seemed that Selena and Elowyn were always the exception. Elowyn and Selena were both extremely affectionate, often throwing themselves into hugs, holding hands with someone, or even linking arms together. For Selena, no one ever thought it could be romantic, but Elowyn was always asked if she and Kenneth had finally started dating.

The first time Eleanor asked Elowyn about her relationship with Kenneth, Elowyn nearly went into a rampage. She was insistent that neither could ever habour feelings for the other, going as far as saying he had been more like a girl than a guy. Eleanor was initially confused by what she meant and after Elowyn explained that she had no attraction to the female gender, Eleanor understood. It didn't stop anyone at Hogwarts from constantly asking the pair if they were dating. Kenneth preferred to avoid the questions and not say anything, but Elowyn wasn't afraid to say anything, especially when it came to setting the record straight. Nothing could stop that girl from telling the truth.

Eventually, Eleanor drifted off into a distant sleep. Her dreams were often prophetic in nature, mostly silly things, sometimes serious. She once had a dream about sending her cousin, Cosette, a letter, which she had not done in months, and another dream the next night about Slytherin winning the next quidditch game. So Eleanor followed through on her dream and sent Cosette a letter, however, Eleanor promptly broke her leg when she missed a stair on her way back down from the owlery. Madam Pomfrey could heal the bone, but she had to miss the next quidditch game. The game was set for the day after Eleanor broke her leg, but got canceled after the entire Ravenclaw team and half the Slytherin team came down with food poisoning, along with most of Hogwarts. Turns out, the potatoes used for the shepherd's pie that week had gone bad and lessons were canceled for the week as most of the student body and some of the staff were focused on recovering. Eleanor, who had missed food poisoning due to her being in the hospital wing, was the only person on the Slytherin quidditch team who was fully well for the next game. She was the only reason the team was able to make it through the game and win.

Her dreams were weird, to put it simply.

This dream was more like a nightmare. There was a maze and then a grave yard. She saw a wall of framed parchment, all reading "Educational Decree" with a number associated with it. She saw the top of her hand bloodied and scarred. She saw fire and death and destruction.

She shot up in the compartment as the door opened.

"Hi, Elowyn. Hi, Kenneth." Selena said, her eyes still trained on her sketch.

Eleanor waved as the pair sat down across from them. "Hey!" Elowyn said cheerfully. "Have you two been hiding out here the whole ride?"

"Yeah," Eleanor replied, leaning back against the bench. "Katie and Alicia were here a bit ago, looking for the Weasley twins, Lee, and Angelina."

"They find them?" Kenneth asked, trying to steal Elowyn's bag, probably for some of her sweets. Elowyn's always had a big sweet tooth. She slapped his hand when he reached into the bag. "Ow, Wynnie! Why won't you share?" He whined.

"Because, you should get your own food, Kenneth!" She exclaimed, slapping his hand away again. "Stop! I'll owl your mum if you don't!"

"She's so mean to me," Kenneth tells Selena and Eleanor.

Eleanor grinned. "You know, you two fight like an old married couple."

Elowyn and Kenneth both gasped. "We do not!"

Selena and Eleanor gave them a look. Elowyn conceded with her own look. Selena laughed. "You know, you two really cannot escape the rumors."

"It's embarrassing, really," Eleanor said, in a tone sickeningly similar to Selena's.

"Oh, shut it, both of you," Elowyn said, her mothering tone coming across strongly. "You know, if one of you were a boy, everyone might think you two were in love with one another."

Selena and Eleanor raised an eyebrow at one another. "The difference is . . . " Eleanor paused, weary of saying something in front of Kenneth. She trusted Elowyn, so she had to trust Kenneth. "The difference is, Selena and I were together." Eleanor said coyly.

"For a while, too." Selena chirped.

Elowyn's mouth hung open in shock. "When? Still?"

Eleanor shook her head. "Not recent. Not still. A bit ago. We didn't really think it was relevant to tell anyone, but I trust you."

"Thank you," Kenneth said, pensively looking out the window. "How long have you two been broken up?" He asked slowly, treading lightly.

Selena shrugged. "Over a year now. We love each other a lot, but we don't think it's romantic anymore. And we're okay with that. Besides, we've both moved on from our relationship and, well, I've attempted pursuing other relationships. Nors is . . . not. And that's okay, too!" Selena rambled.

"Alright, alright, we get it, Sels. Let's not harp on it." Eleanor said defensively. The group talked and laughed. Selena got along with almost everyone and generally liked Kenneth, so she found no hardships falling into conversation with him. Eleanor was quiet again. Then she spoke. "I should change into my robes, so if you'll excuse me."

None followed her and she went in peace.

The stress was already eating at her soul and the term hadn't even started.