I Know The End {Fred Weasley, ACT I}

Chapter 41- Angelina

A year had passed since Fred dove head-first back into the memories Eleanor had once washed away. 

Well, okay, maybe it had only been three weeks, but it felt as though it had been a year. He'd donned his cold demeanor once more, freezing Eleanor out as though they had not been making progress in their reconciliation only a month prior. He was convincing her that giving him his memories back had been a colossal sized mistake. Somehow, now that he knew, he hated her more. She had thought the sweetness of their relationship would have chipped away at his anger, but it had only strengthened his resolve because how could Eleanor Potter have torn apart something so good, so pure, with such ease?

The answer was simple. Because she couldn't watch something as good as Fred Weasley die. But he'd never understand that, and she was growing tired of promising herself that one day he would. She'd done as he wanted in the end, but it had simply been too late. The damage was done, the wound bled out.

"Did he go through all the memories?" Eleanor had asked George, a week having passed after she'd originally failed her goal of keeping Fred safe of the prophecy.

"No," Lee interrupted, his voice harsh, as he plopped himself next to George in the common room while throwing a glare in her direction. "How could he have?"

"It's been a week," Eleanor said, furrowing her brow.

"And it's a difficult task you've assigned him," Lee snapped, "but I don't expect you to understand. No one's ever snatched something as personal as your memories away from you."

"I'm not forcing him to remember," Eleanor contradicted. "It would be best if he didn't go through them. For everyone."

Lee frowned. "You don't understand. He's watching a version of himself that was the happiest he's ever been, and yet he can't recall the feeling. You've torn him to shreds to the point of being so low that he can't even imagine the joy you once instilled in him. He's processing each memory, one at a time. Every night, he watches the same ones over and over, willing them to belong to him but... it doesn't work that way. It's going to take time and a lot of it. The least you could do is have patience."

As much as Eleanor hated to admit it, Lee was right. Fred was at his lowest and she had no one to blame but herself. Dark bags brewed under his eyes as frown lines sketched their way across his once shining face. He skipped Charms often. And breakfast. And dinner. He made sure to avoid looking at her directly, as though the sight alone would be his last straw. She was sticking to two places of residence in the hopes that Fred could enjoy an Eleanor-free end to his Hogwarts career – Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and her dormitory.

She wasn't sure why she and Harry had made Moaning Myrtle's bathroom their official meeting place, but somewhere along the line that's what it became. They never spoke of Fred, mostly because Eleanor knew Harry disagreed with her but refused to say it aloud. Instead, they bitched about Snape and Harry's Occlumency lessons. Eleanor had tried to help but found it much too easy to invade her brother's mind. She didn't like rifling through his thoughts and refused to aid any further with the task. Harry wasn't entirely opposed. She had the sneaking suspicion that he wasn't putting his best effort into his lessons, and with Snivellus as his teacher she couldn't exactly blame him.

Ron tagged along sometimes, his loyalty falling to Eleanor since she'd always treated him with a kindness Fred had never bestowed upon him. Hermione, however, was quite sickened by Eleanor's actions and was taking the Fred approach – staying as far away from Eleanor as humanly possible. The ignoring of Eleanor Potter was a complex system that Eleanor had finally figured out. The tiers went something as follows:

Top Tier- Fred Weasley (She was dead to him. If he as much as breathed the same air as her, he'd surely combust)

Second in Command – Lee (Eleanor received his attention if only to be reminded of what a nasty bitch she was) and Hermione (morals compromised, looks of disdain given often)