02/05/2001
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, somewhere in Scotland
¬

[ h o g w a r t s p t . 2 ]

"HOLY HELENA, ELLIE?!"

Elinor knew that the moment she stepped out on the other side of the castle, seeing the guardrails placed around lumps of dirt under lush green grass, tombstones, and a tall marble monument besides Professor Dumbledore's unburied grave, she would cry.

But a shout of her name dragged her out of her emotion and she briefly saw a tall, lanky man before she felt two strong arms wrapped around her small figure.

The young man released his hug after a few seconds and placed his hands on her shoulders instead.

"It's really you! Wow!"

"Peter?"

"Yeah!"

His name triggered a wave of fury among some of her companions, but Elinor just made a mental note to ask George about it later and brushed it off.

(Cough, Peter Pettigrew, cough...)

"How are you? Is your head okay? Why— Are you here with the Weasleys?"

"Y— Yes," Elinor awkwardly tried to wrench her sweaty hand out of George's, but the latter kept his grip tighter instead.

"Who is this guy?" George pointed at the intruder with his chin. Elinor sent him a disapproving look for his rude behaviour, "It's Peter Kavinsky. I told you about him. Peter, this is—"

"—George Weasley, I know," Peter's eyes were wide and he wiped his palm on his shirt before offering a handshake, "It's a pleasure, man. I'm Peter Kavinsky, uh, Hufflepuff alumni. I was— I'm Ellie's ex-boyfriend."

Elinor blinked.

George stiffly shook his hand, "I'm Ellie's boyfriend."

"How did that happen?!"

Elinor blinked again, "I... don't know. It just happened."

"Did you come here with Harry Potter, too?"

"Er... Ellie." And right at that moment, the previously mentioned Boy Who Lived stepped into the conversation. Even Elinor was pretty surprised, seeing that they were just fairly acquainted last night. "Are you going to take a while? If you are, we'll be off first."

"Let's go together, Harry," George replied in her stead.

"It's really nice to meet you, Peter. Really," Elinor said sincerely, "Are you— Are you here to—"

"I'm here for Melissa," Peter said with his crooked, charming smile, "She's in the far East corner. It's really good to meet you, too, Elle. We should get together sometimes."

"Of course!" Elinor felt a tug on her hand, "Will you write? I don't have an owl—"

"Sure! Where—"

"His joke shop is fine!" She exclaimed when George pulled onto her hand and she stumbled forward, "See you soon!"

"Yeah, yeah. See you!"

Elinor saw Peter awkwardly returning her wave and she threw a glare at George, "What was that?!"

"What?"

"He's jelly, El," Ginny said, giggling, "Threatened by the tall, built, and handsome ex-boyfriend of yours."

"No, I'm not!" George exclaimed defensively.

"You so are, Georgie," Fleur added in a tone of finality.

"Oh no..." Elinor cooed, "Is little Georgie insecure?"

That earned a playful laughter throughout the Weasley family.

"Says the girl who's one entire foot shorter," George replied mockingly.

The supposedly sad walk turned jolly and Elinor found herself standing in front of a huge marble block that matched Professor Dumbledore's tomb. Elinor read the ornate inscription.

WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER

The Fallen Fifty
Battle of Hogwarts Casualties
~
Death is not the end of the road
It is the start of a new journey
~
May 2nd, 1998

A list of names were alphabetically engraved underneath them and George pointed out familiar names for her to see.

Brown, Lavender;

Lupin, Remus;

Lupin-Tonks, Nymphadora;

Snape, Severus;

Weasley, Fred;

and all the unidentified heroes.

Elinor ran her fingers down the surnames starting with H and stopped at Hughes, Melissa.

She sighed in relief. If there was nobody around to identify Melissa after Elinor cowardly left the castle and she fell into the unidentified heroes category, she would die of guilt and shame.

Fred was buried near the White Tomb.

When Elinor and George arrived there, Molly was whispering words as she caressed the tombstone lovingly. The bouquet of flower Hermione brought and Ginny's Quidditch medal were already placed on its base.

Elinor read:

Frederick Gideon Weasley

A brave wizard,
a loving son,
a comical brother,
a loyal friend,
and a brilliant prankster
who died laughing

April 1st, 1978 - May 2nd, 1998

"Oi, Fred!" George exclaimed. He released Elinor's hand and threw his arm around her shoulders instead, pulling her closer to his chest, "Look, I bring my girlfriend. Told you I'm the better looking twin."

Elinor circled her arm around his waist and said with a smile, "Hello."

"This is Elinor Rousseau. She's kind, smart, brilliant at cooking, and a bit weird, but I can't do anything about that. Did you know her? She was a Hufflepuff here, one year below us. I just don't know how I could overlook someone as amazing as her for six years. You would love her."

George crouched down.

"I've got somethin' for you."

He pulled a wooden box out of his pocket (which had to be a work of magic since it was pretty big) and placed it between Hermione and Ginny's gift. He opened it to reveal four jars with Weasley & Weasley markings. Each had a symbol drawn on its cap: a snowflake, a sun, a flower, and a leaf.

"This is my first ever invention after you're gone. Called it 'Seasons in A Jar'. It's Ellie's idea," George ran his fingers on the box's lid, "I promise I'll come up with better, more brilliant ideas in the future. I'll make sure our joke shop won't ever close. Ever. We'll be the world's greatest purveyors of ingenious magical products."

George felt Elinor's hand resting on his shoulder, stroking it gently. He took it in his, kissed the back of her hand, and returned the caress with his thumb.

☆★☆

Of course, Noah Centineo as Peter Kavinsky