With Love, || N.B.

𝑻𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚

"You really mean that? You love me?"

"I have since the moment I signed that damned contract..."
__________

August 30, 1993

Chaos. That is what ensued as copies and copies of the Daily Prophet were printed with the headline:

BLACK STILL AT LARGE

After a month of searching, the Ministry still hadn't located Sirius Black and everything was falling to shit--to put it bluntly. Eleonora--along with the other Aurors in the office had searched the Wizarding World from top to bottom. Now, there was nothing left to do. A new school year was approaching, and the ministry was convinced Black was after Harry Potter.

"Now listen here, Dawlish," Eleonora snapped, looking up from a stack of paperwork she was doing. "Shacklebolt stationed you in Hogsmeade, therefore you're staying in Hogsmeade. As Deputy Head Auror, I won't be afraid to consult Kingsley on why we should remove members who refuse to carry out their stations because they find it boring. You signed up for this job. You knew what you were getting yourself into."

Dawlish stared ahead at Eleonora, a blank look of annoyance on his face as he turned around, slamming the door behind him.

Eleonora groaned, her head falling onto her desk. The door opened again and she snapped up, meeting the face of her secretary. "Yes, Elise?"

"Miss Murphy, Mr. Lupin is here to visit, shall I let him in?"

Eleonora flashed a tired smile. "Yep, let him in."

Taller than her by over two heads, Remus strutted in, a cocky smile on his face. "Chin up, Elle, I've come to save you from your sorrows."

As Remus took a seat, Eleonora sighed. "My coworkers are children."

"Dawlish, Proudfoot, or Savage?" he asks, snickering to himself.

"Dawlish," Eleonora replies.

"Well," Remus starts, "at least you won't be the only one dealing with children...Guess who got the job as Defense teacher?"

Eleonora perked up. "You got the job? As the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor?"

Remus smiled. "I did!"

"Oh that's great!" Eleonora's smile reached her ears as she walked around her desk, pulling Remus into a hug. "I'm so happy for you Remus! I know how much you wanted this." Eleonora pulled away, walking back around the desk and unlocking the bottom drawer. "Now..." She stood to her full height, holding a bottle. "I've been saving this baby for a special occasion..."

"Oh, what do we have here?" Remus asked, taking the bottle in his hands.

"A Pol Roger Vintage Brut. Chardonnay--Pinot Noir directly from France when I visited last year." Eleonora took the bottle from Remus, removing the gold foil from off the cork. She pulled out two glasses from a cabinet behind her and set them down on the desktop, popping open the bottle with a loud pop!. Fizz bubbled to the top, spilling over and onto the floor. With a clink of their glasses they smiled, cheersing to their own happy beginning.

__________

The pair ran through the brick wall separating the muggle world from the magical world. Eleonora sighed, looking around. "Remus, do we really have to ride the train? I could easily call a ministry car to take-"

"Yes, really, Elle," he sighs, hauling his luggage alongside him. "Now come on and stop complaining."

Elle's mouth fell agape. "Don't talk to me like-you know what? Fine. But only because Minerva's asked you to keep a close eye on the boy. I know how close you and his father were."

Remus gave a sad smile before boarding the train. "Right, where are we going to sit? You were a Hufflepuff and I was a Gryffindor."

"I won't even fight you on this one, Remus," Elle sighed, chuckling to herself as they moved toward the Gryffindor cart. "Most of these pods are filled-Oh! Here's one!"

The pair slid into an empty compartment, stowing their luggage above them. "Well," Eleonora sighs, "this certainly brings back some memories. Feel like I'm 12 years old again. It's strange."

__________

"You're lucky to have not been expelled!" a shrill voice cried.

"Actually, Hermione," another voice responded, "I think I'm lucky enough to have not been arrested."

Voices got closer and closer until they stopped in front of the compartment door. "Come on," Hermione said, "this is the only one left."

The door slid open, revealing three scrawny teenagers, a pet rat, and an owl.

"I think I might be wrong, Hermione," the red head whispered, "but I think two professors are in there."

"Where else are we gonna sit, Ronald?" Hermione asked, stepping foot into the small space. "I'm sure they won't mind. They're sleeping anyway."

The trio stepped into the small compartment, stowing luggage and pets in their respective places.

"Who are they anyway?" Ron asked, his face contorted in confusion.

"Professor R. J. Lupin and Auror Eleonora Murphy," Hermione sighed.

"Merlin!" Ron sighed. "She knows everything!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, pointing up at two trunks. "It's on their suitcases, Ronald."

"...oh, right...I knew that..."

Hours of comfortable silence passed, Hermione reading the Daily Prophet as Ron and Harry played a game of Exploding Snaps.

"D'you know what your dad said to me, Ron?" Harry asked, placing a card down. "He said Sirius Black is out to get me. Me. What an honor, amirite?"

Hermione sighed, adjusting her paper. "Harry, come on, don't joke about that."

"Well it's true," Harry retorted. "How am I supposed--"

The cart became cold--mind numbingly cold. Frost grew on the windows despite the warm rain shower that poured down outside. A water bottle that sat on the ledge turned frozen solid. Happiness was nonexistent at the moment as clouds of breath billowed from their mouths. The cart lurched forward, halting suddenly. Remus and Eleonora awoke, their skin wrapped in goosebumps.

"Something doesn't feel right," Elle whispered.

"Yeah, no shit," Remus mumbled back.

Dark shadows floated past, screams of terror from other students filling the frigid air as the door to their now frosted compartment opened by itself. A thin, decaying hand reached inside as if its owner was feeling its way through the train blindly. Harry collapsed, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as his body shook uncontrollably.

"If you're looking for Black, he isn't here!" Elle shouted toward it, her wand up in defense.

The floating cloaked figure stayed stationary for a moment longer, turning away and out of the cart. The lights flickered back on but the frost remained, melting slowly beneath the summer rain.

Remus stooped down, putting his hand under Harry's head. "Harry? Are you alright?""

Green eyes opened slowly, blinking against the light. "Yeah, I think I'm--who are you?"

"Doesn't matter right now," Remus responded, flashing a quick smile before reaching into his pocket and grabbing a parcel. He held it in front of Harry--a small block of chocolate. "Eat, you'll feel better."

"That's always my motto!" Eleonora smiled brightly, standing up with Remus. "Now, if you'd excuse us, we have to go have a word with the conductor!"