Dark

Chapter 47

Harry
I had trouble sleeping that night. My parents wove in and out of my dreams, never speaking to me, but always looking at me oddly. I dreamed that Mrs. Weasley was sobbing over Kreacher’s dead body, watched on by Ron and Hermione, who were wearing crowns for some reason. Then Eleanor drifted into my dreams, backing away from a shadowy corner as a strange man stepped out of it. No matter how far he removed himself from that corner though, his face remained shadowed, hidden. Then I was walking down a corridor that ended in a locked door.
I woke abruptly when my scar began to prickle. Ron was already dressing.
“Better hurry up, Mum’s going ballistic, she says we’re going to miss the train…”
There was a lot of commotion in the house. From what I heard as I gathered my belongings, Fred and George had bewitched their trunks to fly downstairs to save the bother of carrying them. The result was that they had nearly hurtled straight into Ginny and knocked her down two flights of stairs into the hall. Mrs. Black’s portrain and Mrs. Weasley were both screaming at the top of their voices.
“– COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS –“
“–FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS –“
“Are you ready yet?” Hermione asked as she walked into the room.
“Nearly – Ginny all right?” I asked?
“Mrs. Weasley’s patched her up,” Hermione answered. “But now Mad-Eye’s complaining that we can’t leave unless Sturgis’s here, otherwise the guard will be one short.”
“Guard?” I asked incredulously. “We have to go to King’s Cross with a guard?”
“You have to go to King’s Cross with a guard,” Hermione corrected me. “Eleanor too for that matter. Something about Dumbledore being worried she’ll run off on us.”
“Have you seen her this morning then?” I asked, hardly daring to look Hermione in the eye.
She was furious over what I had said to Eleanor the previous day, and I had a feeling discussing Eleanor wasn’t going to put her into any better of a mood than she had been then.
“Yeah, she’s in the kitchen. I don’t think she slept at all. She was already drinking coffee when Mrs. Weasley and I got down there this morning.” Hermione’s expression fell the more she spoke. “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just coffee though, Harry.”
“Of course it wouldn’t be just coffee.” I said, sighing as my shoulders seemed to cave in with my mood. “I don’t understand why she does this, Hermione.”
“I think she just wants to numb herself…that night we came across her and Malfoy, she said she didn’t want to think about things, that the alcohol made her brain all fuzzy.” Hermione said. “She needs help, Harry. And pushing her away over and over again isn’t going to do her any good.”
“I know that.” I said.
“WILL YOU LOT GET DOWN HERE NOW, PLEASE!” Mrs. Weasley bellowed. Hermione jumped as though scalded and hurried out of the room. I grabbed Hedwig and stuffed her into her cage before setting off after Hermione, dragging my trunk behind me.
“Harry, you’re to come with me and Tonks,” Mrs. Weasley shouted over the screeches of “MUDBLOODS! SCUM! CREATURES OF DIRT!” coming from Mrs. Black’s portrait. “Leave your trunk and your owl, Alastor’s going to deal with the luggage…Oh, for heaven’s sake, Sirius, Dumbledore said no!”
A large black dog appeared at my side as I finished climbing over the mountain of trunks blocking most of the hall.
“Oh honestly…” Mrs. Weasley said despairingly, “well, on your own head be it! Eleanor? Where’s Eleanor?”
As I turned to look for Eleanor, she came walking out of the kitchen door at the end of the hall.
“Oh, there you are!” Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. “Eleanor, you’ll be with Arthur and Remus. Where’s your trunk, dear?”
“It’s at Hogwarts.” She answered. “Couldn’t very well take it back to the orphanage with me at the end of term. I just have this backpack.”
Eleanor pulled lazily on the strapped of a small backpack that was slung over her shoulder. I recognized it as the same one she had been carrying on her way out of King’s Cross at the end of term.
“Oh.” Mrs. Weasley seemed taken aback for a moment before continuing on. “Well don’t forget, you’ll be with Arthur and Remus, all right?”
Eleanor simply nodded her head in acknowledgement and turned away again, avoiding eye contact with me.
Within minutes, Mrs. Weasley had rushed us out the front door and down the street. We met up with Tonks at the end of the block, who was disguised as an old woman with tightly curled gray hair and a purple hat.
“Wotcher, Harry,” she said, winking. “Better hurry up, hadn’t we, Molly?” She added as she checked her watch.
Sirius stuck by my side throughout the journey to King’s Cross. He barked joyfully as he gambled after pigeons and chased his own tail. I couldn’t help but laugh. Sirius had been trapped in Grimmauld for so long that he seemed ecstatic to be outside once again. Mrs. Weasley however, kept her lips pursed in a very Aunt Petunia-ish way.
When we finally reached the station and approached the barrier between platforms nine and ten, I couldn’t help but give a sigh of relief. I was really going back.

Eleanor
“Nice dog, Harry!” a tall boy with dreadlocks called out.
“Thanks, Lee,” Harry said as he grinned and watched Sirius wag his tail frantically.
All in all, it put me in an awful mood. I was stood off to the side of our large group, awkward and alone, as everyone said their goodbyes. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both pulled their children in for hugs. Tonks, Lupin, and Mad-Eye made their own rounds of goodbye with everyone as well. As Mrs. Weasley pulled Harry into a large hug of his own, with Sirius standing dutifully beside him, I couldn’t take it anymore.
I wasn’t one of them. I wasn’t a part of whatever family it is that they’ve made for themselves. I never would be a part of it. I was too different, too interested in the dark arts, too damaged from my past. I was just a random puzzle piece that had been shoved into the wrong box, an outlier.
I couldn’t allow myself to be fooled into thinking there was ever a chance. I couldn’t handle it again, the pain and disappoint of finding out you were never truly wanted in the first place. The feeling of knowing that you were simply being tolerated for a time, until you could be gotten rid of. That had been my entire life. I couldn’t have any hope of something different. I wasn’t meant to be a part of something like this. I just wasn’t built for it.
Even though I knew this all to be fact, even though I’d known it since a young age, it still stung. It still hurt, and those feelings still managed to break through my walls, through my defenses. It was like a weakness was taking me over as I began to feel the sting at the back of my eyes. I couldn’t let myself pretend for even a moment that I belonged here with them.
Without a word, I simply turned toward the train and walked off. It wasn’t only the Weasleys who were embracing and saying fond goodbyes though. Families filled the platform, parents, siblings, friends, it seemed as if everyone here had someone to see, someone to speak to, someone who cared for them. And then there was me.
The stinging in my eyes grew as I made my way closer to the train. By the time I was just a few feet from a set of doors, I stopped. It wasn’t until then that it hit me. The Daily Prophet had been spreading lies about Harry and Dumbledore all summer, claiming they were crazy and telling tall tales about Voldemort. The only place I may have ever belonged in the smallest of senses was Slytherin House. I wasn't accepted by everyone there, but I was definitely one of them. So what would happen now? Would I be ostracized again because Harry has been telling people about Voldemort’s return?
Would people demand to know if I agree with him?
There’s no question about how I would answer. Of course I agree with him. I wouldn’t doubt him about this for second, it was too big, too important, and too obviously true. Only someone with something to hide, or someone with half a brain would think that Dumbledore and Harry were lying about this.
Would Slytherin House turn me away though, all for believing that Voldemort has returned and that something has to be done about it?
I don’t know how long I stood there. It wasn’t until someone’s voice finally broke through my muddled brain that I realized I was still here, standing before the train doors, tears slipping down my face. I turned my head, confused as to why someone was speaking to me.
That was when I realized it was Malfoy. Then it was like all my senses finally returned. The loud chatter and clatter happening around me on the platform, the smell of the steam filled air, the sensation of wetness upon my cheeks.
I turned away from Malfoy and quickly wiped the end of my sleeve across my face. I couldn’t do this, not here, not anywhere, not now and not ever. This was a weakness I couldn’t display, a part of me that others couldn’t know about.
Without registering what Malfoy had said, without giving him any further acknowledgement, I simply stepped onto the train and gave Harry, Hermione, the Weasley’s and our guard one last fleeting look before making my way for an empty compartment.

Draco
“Eleanor?” I called after her.
She never answered me. She just walked away and disappeared down the train corridor.
I could feel in the pit of my stomach that something was wrong. I had never seen Eleanor like that, never would have expected it.
My gaze followed the direction she had looked in before walking away and it was obvious where the problem originated. Potter.
Without even thinking about what I wanted to do, I made my way across the platform.
“Potter!” I shouted out.
“What do you want Malfoy?” He said, turning to glare up at me as I drew closer.
“What the hell did you do to her?!” I asked furiously.
“To who?” Weasley asked, stepping up beside Potter as if his presence would give Potter some sort of support.
“To Eleanor.” I said. “What the hell did you do to her this time?!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Potter said, giving a hurried glance to a dog that was standing at his side, looking as though he was ready to pounce on me. How Potter could be deluded enough to bring him here of all possible places was nearly baffling. His stupidity knew no bounds.
“I just saw Eleanor getting on the train, and she’s crying and she wouldn’t say a word to me, Potter.” I told him. “I’ve never seen her cry. Not when you let that dragon maul her, not when she was freaking out over how you could have died in that stupid lake last year, not even when she was nearly killed in that maze. Eleanor never cries.” I moved in closer to Potter, my fury rising by the second. “What in the bloody hell have you done this time?!”
“Maybe she just doesn’t want to talk to a Death Eater’s kid, ever consider that one, Malfoy?” Weasley asked.
“You guys, that-” Granger had joined them now, trying to diffuse the situation, but neither Potter or I were ready for that.
“Say it again, Weasle-bee. I dare you.” I hissed.
“You have no business being around her, Malfoy. Just leave her alone.” Potter said, stepping now directly in front of Weasley.
“I have no business being around her? You’re the one constantly messing with her head, Potter.” I said loudly. “You honestly think that you have more right to be around her than I do? You’re the one that didn’t want her around, or have you conveniently forgotten that?”
I had hit a nerve. Potter’s face tightened as he clenched his jaw, nearly grinding his teeth in anger.
Had he said it again? Had he told her yet again that she wasn’t his family? That he didn’t want her around?
“Just fuck off, Malfoy.” Weasley said as he grabbed Harry by the shoulder and led him away.
Granger hadn’t moved yet though. She was just staring up at me, glaring for a moment. Then she finally left as well, the now growling dog following at her heels.

Eleanor
“There you are!”
I turned around to find that Astoria was rushing towards me from down the train corridor, her hair flying behind her as she approached.
“I’ve been looking all over for you.” She said, taking my hand.
Without even bothering to slow down she pulled me along down the corridor and suddenly veered off into a compartment. When she had dragged me in behind her she hurriedly closed the door and plopped down in a seat.
“Why were you –“ I had started to say, until I turned around and found that we weren’t alone.
There was a boy in the compartment with us. He must have been around mine or Astoria’s age, because he certainly didn’t look any older than us. And yet he wasn’t small enough to be much younger.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Oh, I forgot!” Astoria shouted happily. “I forget you’re actually a year ahead in classes. Do you really not know any of the other Slytherin’s your age?”
“No, not really.” I said.
“Well this is Jase.” Astoria said, indicating the boy. “Jase, this is Eleanor.”
“Yeah, I already know that. Pretty sure everyone knows who she is Greengrass.” He said with a smirk. “Anyway,” he turned toward me, holding a hand out, “I’m Jason Harper, but most people call me Jase, or just Harper.”
I took his hand and we shook quickly before I took the seat next to Astoria.
“Well, hello then, Harper.” I said. “So, you’re a Slytherin too?”
“Sure am.” He answered proudly. “Would be the same year as you, but you went and got yourself bumped up an extra year. How’d you manage that, anyway?”
“I don’t know.” I answered. “I’m just really good at memorizing things I guess.”
Soon the conversation turned toward Astoria, and she slipped into a long-winded explanation of her summer. She seemed likely to talk our ears off through the entire trip, and I was honestly willing to let her. I had no desire to share the details of my summer. We were only interrupted twice during the journey to Hogwarts.
The first interruption came in the form of Draco Malfoy.
“Eleanor, can I speak with you?” He asked, a rather serious expression on his face.
I wasn’t sure what it was that made me say no. It could have been the embarrassment of knowing he saw me crying on the platform, even for the briefest of moments. Or perhaps it was that something Harry said truly did bother me about Malfoy. It didn’t matter which it was, in all honesty. I simply didn’t want to talk to him now.
“No.” I answered.
“What do you mean no?” He asked again, a hint of his usual smugness leaking through his tone. “I just want to talk, I’m not –“
“Draco, you can have her later. Right now though, she’s busy with us.” Astoria said hurriedly, jumping from her seating and pushing him back into the corridor before closing the compartment door again.
It must have been a couple of hours later before I heard the door click open once again.
“We told you not now, later, Mal–“ Astoria started as her head perked up. “Oh! You’re not Malfoy.”
“No, I’m definitely not.” A girl answered.
I looked up from the book I had pulled out a mere half hour into Astoria’s tales to find a tall red-headed girl standing before us. She looked unsure of the situation she had stepped into, a common reaction I associated with non-Slytherins suddenly finding themselves in the presence of only Slytherins. It made my stomach church at the ridiculousnous of it all, but then the girl gave us a warm smile and it somehow seemed to melt away the sickening feeling I had experienced only a second before.
“I was just wondering…” She started cautiously, “everywhere else is a bit full, and the boys in the compartment I had been in were getting quite annoying. Do you think I could sit in here with you three?”
“Really?” Harper asked, unamused. “You really think you want to sit in a compartment with a bunch of –“
“It’s fine. Take a seat.” I said, cutting Harper off before he could do any real damage.
“Thank you.” The girl said, releasing a sigh of relief as she closed the door behind her and took a seat across from me.
“So who was bothering you?” Astoria asked.
“Just the Weasley twins.”
I scoffed at this. It wasn’t any surprise at all that the Fred and George could manage to annoy someone to no end.
“What?” The girl asked, looking at me inquisitively. “Do you know them?”
“Yes, unfortunately I do know them.” I answered. “They can be extremely annoying when they really get going. It’s no wonder you wandered away.”
“I mean, they’re nice and all for the most part, but –“
“You don’t have to explain yourself to us.” I said.
“Yeah, we don’t mind the extra company, as long as you can handle us.” Astoria said with a small laugh.
Before long, the conversation picked up again, and though I returned my book, the girl across from me joined into Harper and Astoria’s ramblings with ease. After the first few minutes, she didn’t seem worried about us any longer. It wasn’t until we neared the castle that I discovered what house she was in for sure. As she slipped her robes over her head and fixed a tie around her neck, it became clear that she was a Ravenclaw.
Well at least now I was sure of one Ravenclaw that didn’t hate all of us Slytherins