I Know The End {Fred Weasley, ACT I}

Chapter 7- Coma Dreams

She was swimming in darkness, deeper and deeper into her subconscious, with no sign of a light at the end of a tunnel. The black wrapped itself around her, squeezing her into a peaceful bliss. She wondered if she was dead. If she truly was, she had hoped for death to be more than this. She wanted to see her parents. Softly, the nothingness shifted into a dream.

Eleanor found herself standing in the Hogwarts Express. She walked down the aisle, looking in upon crowded carriages of students she either didn't recognize or who had previously graduated. The students were confined inside their separate compartments, leaving the aisle empty besides the occasional prefect and herself. Up ahead, she caught a glimpse of a boy with bright red hair holding the door of a compartment open.

It was Bill Weasley. Not the Bill Weasley she knew today, but a younger, clean-cut Bill. He was wearing a prefect badge on the front of his robes, leaning against the compartment door with an amused expression. She moved to see who Bill was looking at.

On the left, Charlie Weasley sat holding what appeared to be a dragon egg. He was polishing it intently with what Eleanor believed to be broomstick handle polish. He held it up to the window, the light of the setting sun shimmering off the blood red egg. He squinted at it, his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth, before shaking his head and bringing the egg back into his lap to continue its polishing. Sitting across from Charlie was Percy. He looked quite small and quite sick. He was hugging his stomach with both arms, looking at Charlie without seeing. Next to Percy sat Eleanor herself.

The Eleanor sitting on Percy's right could not have been older than nine. She was reading an old textbook, flipping through the pages absentmindedly. Current Eleanor stared at young Eleanor with confusion. This must be an old memory. She wondered if she truly was dead and was now seeing her life flash before her eyes.

"You know that isn't an actual dragon egg, right?" Bill asked, looking at Charlie in amusement.

"Well of course it's not real, but it is a pretty decent replica and there's always the possibility-"

"What if I don't get sorted into Gryffindor?" Percy interrupted in a voice barely above a whisper, the blank look on his face unchanged.

"Then you won't be in Gryffindor," replied Bill with a shrug, "but you will be sorted into Gryffindor so there's no need to worry."

"But how do you know that?" Percy looked desperately at Bill, his boyish face pale as a ghost.

"Where do you reckon you'll be put if not Gryffindor?" Charlie asked, still staring at the egg in his hands with the upmost devotion.

"I don't know..." Percy mumbled, "but I'm not courageous nor brave nor daring! Fred and George think I'll be placed into Slytherin because they said that's where all third sons end up."

Bill coughed down a laugh.

"They're just messing with you," young Eleanor said softly, looking up at the mention of Fred and George.

"You definitely won't be in Slytherin, Perce," Bill said, shaking his head, "if you're not Gryffindor, then my next guess is Ravenclaw. Slytherin would be my last guess."

Eleanor had to disagree with Bill, but she wasn't sure if she was judging young Percy or current Percy. Percy was overly ambitious, and he always had been. He was so ambitious that was willing to turn his back on his family to climb his way up to the top ranks of the Ministry.

"I don't want to be in Ravenclaw either!" Percy exclaimed, fidgeting in his seat.

"What's wrong with Ravenclaw?" Charlie asked, finally shifting his gaze to look at Percy with his eyebrows raised.