The Greywitch Trials | Harry Potter AU

Sick

Eloise had never felt so warm and safe in her life. Well, maybe that wasn't quite true. But she definitely hadn't felt such a sense of peace in more than a year, maybe two. 

The first thing Professor Sprout had done was engulf her into a blissfully tight hug when she'd arrived at Muriel's Manor to visit her old friends. Even at Eloise's not too impressive stature, Sprout was shorter by a few centimetres. It made Eloise feel like a giant after spending so much time with the inhabitants of Pendragon Castle. 

The second Sprout retreated, Luna appeared. The blonde witch brandished her wand and gave Eloise a thorough look-over. It involved a lot of spell muttering and bright light. It was safe to say that she had no idea what her eccentric friend was doing, but when Luna finished and offered her a satisfied nod, she grinned and turned on Neville. 

His hug was stiff, and he patted her awkwardly on the shoulder like he didn't know the touch of a woman, but Neville had always been a bit awkward around girls. Though, he looked rather comfortable around Luna. That had Eloise grinning from ear to ear. 

Angelina Johnson hadn't offered more than a respectful nod from where she sat across the sitting room sprawled out on a chaise next to George and across from Lee, but Eloise didn't mind. She barely even remembered the dark-skinned witch from Hogwarts as Angelina was a few years older. 

With a little pop, Mirmur, the shy house-elf Eloise hadn't even known inhabited the manor, appeared in the sitting room with a tray of simple oatcakes and a pot of tea. 

Within minutes the sitting room was abuzz with conversations and laughter. It was a bright spot in an otherwise dreary few months of existence. Eloise found herself retreating to a corner of the room where she could take it all in without feeling a suffocatingly tight squeeze in her chest. 

It wasn't like the panic that seized her still some nights after painful memories danced through her dreams like the Wild Hunt, but the inverse of that panic was almost worse. She had so much more to lose now. 

Hermione approached slowly, leaning against the wall beside Eloise to take in the sitting room that had filled even further with every guest of the house, including a smiling Ollivander who sat next to Alicia and Oliver. 

"It feels so close to how it did."

"Mmm," Eloise found herself lacking the words that had been overflowing in her mind seconds before. 

"It'll always feel ... empty without Harry. But I think he'd want us to push on, go forward, you know?" When Eloise glanced to her side, she saw Hermione's arms bright and shiny with unshed tears. Instead of answering, she reached out and took Hermione's free and squeezed. 

They quietly enjoyed the moment, watching Lee's hands flail as he regaled Angelina with an engrossing story, Ollivander's soft smile at Alicia and Oliver's mooning eyes, Luna's absent smile as she stared out the window into the horizon, Neville's smile as he watched her. 

"We're going back to the ministry tomorrow." The words were lower than a whisper, but they made Eloise's smile drop.

She turned her head sharply, frowning at Hermione, willing her friend to say more. When she didn't, Eloise asked, "Why?"

"Because there's going to be another trial, and it's going to be one of the bloodiest in months." The words hung in the air like stale breath on a cold night. Hermione's jaw worked for a moment before she continued. "Our source says we'll lose valuable allies if we pass up this chance?"

"Your source?" Eloise felt like she had fallen through a trap door and was freefalling into the abyss. "Who's your source?"

"I can't tell you that." At Eloise's glare, Hermione shook her head. "No, I mean it. I don't know who they are. Only Draco knows, and he's as tight-lipped as ever. You want to know? Try and pry it out of him; lord knows I've tried."