I Know The End {Fred Weasley, ACT I}

Chapter 2- Requiem for a Dream

Eleanor dreamed she was seven. She was sitting in the forbidden forest rolling a Quaffle through the grass to Charlie Weasley. The sunlight forced its way through a gap in the trees, illuminating the small clearing in which they sat. She could hear the glistening of a distant creek flowing downstream. Birds were landing in the trees overhead, twittering to each other. They were singing the tune of a familiar song. Young Eleanor paused and listened. It sounded like the song she had danced to at the Yule Ball with...

Eleanor shook her head. The Yule Ball hadn't happened yet. She was only seven. The tune reverted back to normal- nothing more than simple chirps. That was much better. The grass she sat on irritated her bare legs. She scooched over to a patch of a dirt and sat with her legs perched below her. The forbidden forest wasn't scary. How could a place barren of people be frightening?

Charlie was twelve. He had just made Gryffindor seeker. The Quaffle she rolled to him veered slightly left. He was distracted, looking out into the forest with a yearning in his eyes. He reached haphazardly toward the Quaffle, pulling it in by his fingertips. A twig snapped behind him and he swung his head around.

"And you're sure unicorns live in the forest?" Charlie looked back at her, his face aglow in boyish excitement. "I really want to see one."

Eleanor nodded her head earnestly. She reached her hands out toward the Quaffle, indicating for him to push it back to her. Charlie obliged and the Quaffle rolled in a perfectly straight path ending before her knees. She picked it up and tossed it between her hands as Charlie continued to look around the forest excitedly.

"Do you want to practice stunning spells? I just learned them in class. I'll let you have a go at me if you don't cry when I stun you," Charlie said.

He began to sing a song under his breath "Can you dance like a hippogriff? Na na na..." No that was wrong, she was jumping ahead again. That was the song from the ball. The singing was replaced by the humming of some muggle song she had long forgotten the name of. This was correct.

"The unicorns won't come if we're shouting. We can practice later."

Eleanor pushed the Quaffle back toward Charlie. It veered off course by a few feet and he had to stand up to retrieve it.

"No, you need to be practicing. This is more important than catching unicorns, Eleanor. What if a Death Eater comes and you burst the forest into flames? That'll kill all the unicorns anyway. We will watch you practice."

Charlie had vanished. In his place stood Sirius. He was holding the Quaffle in his hands. He threw it back her softly. Eleanor was still seven, but her voice was seventeen.

"This isn't how it went. You're ruining one of my favorites," she complained, dropping the Quaffle to the ground. "I like this memory. Bring Charlie back. This was the first time he ever saw a unicorn. It should show up in a few minutes if you want to stay and watch. It'll be just behind me, next to that tree that branches into a U."

She pointed a finger toward the tree the unicorn would be appearing at soon, that was as long as Sirius hadn't ruined it. She looked back at Sirius and noticed he had tears in his eyes.

"I should have known you would pick the Weasleys over me eventually."

"What? No! You can stay, please stay! I just... I just like this memory. I was so happy. Can't I just let the memory play out? I'll practice with you later," Eleanor pleaded.

Snap.

A twig broke loudly over her shoulder. She looked back at the U-bended tree to see a beautiful, pearly white unicorn standing there, munching on whatever grew below.

"Shit! Ellie, do you see it!"

She looked back to where Sirius had been. Charlie had reappeared and was sitting with the Quaffle in his lap. His eyes were wide and his joy contagious. He was trying to stay as still as possible but was bouncing ever so slightly. She smiled at Charlie and put her finger to her lips to quiet him. She was seven. She was happy.