I Know The End {Fred Weasley, ACT I}

Chapter 12- The Final Journey

Eleanor awoke extra early the next morning. Any excitement she had previously felt about returning to Hogwarts vanished in the wake of being appointed Head Girl. She was certainly not looking forward to telling Fred and George about it, especially not after Ron's Prefect party.

She made her way downstairs, hoping to avoid the morning breakfast rush. Luckily, the only other two awake were Sirius and Lupin.

"Good morning," Lupin greeted her with a smile, "excited to be going back to Hogwarts today?"

Eleanor shrugged, sliding into the chair next to Sirius. He pushed a plate of toast her way, and she began buttering it.

"It won't be the same without you here," Sirius said gruffly.

Eleanor felt a twinge of guilt at the thought of leaving Sirius. They had finally become a little family, just for her to be all grown up when it happened.

"Will you be able to write?" Eleanor asked.

"We'll see. We have to be extra careful with what we put in writing now adays."

"How are you feeling today?" Lupin asked, putting down the newspaper he had been skimming.

"I still don't want to talk about last night."

"I know you don't, and we won't make you," Lupin glanced over at Sirius, "but if you change your mind, we're always here."

"I know."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Eleanor eating slowly. A knot of anxiety was forming in her stomach.

"I made Head Girl," she blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Eleanor, that's a huge accomplishment," Lupin beamed. "Congratulations! I swear you remind me more and more of your mother every day. She was Head Girl too, you know. She would have been so proud of you."

Eleanor blushed at the compliment. She hadn't considered the fact that her mother was also Head Girl. A surge of pride elated Eleanor for a second before she quickly shut it down.

"I don't deserve it," she mumbled.

"What? Why would you say that?"

"I don't know, it's just..." she looked around at her godfathers miserably, "I'm in detention every other week, I got two T's on my OWL report, I've abused my Prefect privileges more times than I can count-"

"You sound like your father," Sirius interrupted, "being Head Girl isn't necessarily about being the model student. It has more to do with your leadership qualities."

"So?"

"So, that's the whole point. That's why James made Head Boy. Your mother made Head Girl because she was the perfect student. She was well-behaved, well-mannered, well-respected, and extremely intelligent. Your father made Head Boy because people listened to what he had to say. If you ask me, you remind me more of your father in that regard."

Eleanor had never received a kinder compliment. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up at Sirius.

"You really think so?"

"I really do," Sirius nodded. "Remus, you were her professor. What do you think?"

"Oh, they all admire her, that's for sure," Lupin smiled.

"I'll probably make a lot of mistakes as Head Girl," Eleanor said, "and I'll definitely let Fred and George run wild. And let my friends use the prefect bathroom. And still help people sneak out at night."

"Nothing would have made your father prouder," Sirius winked.

Eleanor would miss this the most. The morning breakfasts the three of them shared throughout the summer filled a void in her that she had been missing for a long time. She wished Harry would get up and join them, but she didn't want to wake him. Instead, she finished her breakfast before going back upstairs to finish packing up her school trunk.