The Girl Who Lived

Champagne Problems

June 26th, 1996.

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Elena Clairmont was sitting on the edge of the Black Lake, the breeze rustling through her locks of hair and wrapped around her like a warm, summer embrace. It was warm and the sun was shining above her. It would be a lovely summer this year, she could tell.

Her knees were tucked into her chest and she watched the water ripple as the sunlight reflected against the dark water.

Fred Weasley could see Elena Clairmont sitting on the water's edge, unmoving while the wind breezed past her. She was wrapped in the same sweater she had been wrapped in for the last few days, Draco's sweater. Her long hair, bearing those thick chunks of white hair, was in a singular braid down her back.

She was lovely and beautiful and extraordinary.

He approached her carefully and quietly, not wishing to disturb her peace but... This conversation, this final marking of the girl she once was, had been in the marking for a long time.

Reaching the water's edge, Fred sat down silently, crossing his legs. He didn't say anything for a long time, not while Elena just watched the horizon and ran her fingers over the golden pendant sitting between her breasts.

Elena had been putting off this conversation for months now and she was ready to get it over with. Giving this final piece of herself away would be saying goodbye to the girl she used to be and now, she could live with that. There was no more fear.

Life would be beautiful again, just in different ways.

Fred spoke first. "It's over between us, isn't it?"

There was no sadness or anger, just confirmation. He had known it was over between them the morning he had been handed a polaroid picture by Marietta and seen the photograph was of Elena and Malfoy kissing in the rain. He had known it was crumbling apart that beautiful night in March, Midnight Quidditch, when Elena had chosen to leave with Malfoy instead of him.

The first time he knew things would never be the same again was the day of Cedric Diggory's memorial in the Great Hall when Elena had run out, stumbling through her tears. He was about to stand up and go but Draco Malfoy had already stood up and chased after her.

Fred knew that the girl he had loved- the girl he wanted to marry was gone. He had known it for so long that it weighed on his heart and dragged him through the mud to even think about starting over with another girl.

That was the reason he had bought that damned promise ring for her. But placing a ring on her finger was the same thing as trying to patch a stab wound with a bandaid. It wouldn't prevent the inevitable.

Elena took a deep breath, the cool air filling her lungs as she flexed her palms wrapped around her legs. "It is over between us. I think... I think it has been for a very long time."

She dared sneak a look at his face and she honestly expected tears. Instead, she found clarity on his face. A grave solemn look for such a mischievous young man who thought the world deserved a little more laughter. He nodded, blowing air out through his teeth.

In the distance, in that sacred meadow, snow began to fall. Beautiful, unique and serene flakes of snow began to shimmer down onto the jade grass. Happiness and peace were the only things in that meadow.

Fred dug into his pocket and took something out, as large as his freckled palm. Elena frowned until he flipped it over and handed it to her.

The polaroid of Elena and Draco's first kiss.