As the Second Wizarding War ended, many students decided to go back to Hogwarts to finish their studies. Anne-Leigh Conway was one of them.
While she attempts to come to terms with what's happened, she gets entangled in an effort set forth by Headmi...
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Chapter 11: Reason for Celebration
Perplexed, Leigh watched as Fred stepped out of the Weasleys Wizard Wheezes shop after her, closing the door firmly behind him. He had for some reason offered to walk her back towards the Hogwarts grounds, and she had no clue why. She did have to admit it made her moderately nervous.
The two walked in silence for a second before Fred spoke up, gaze remaining in front of him. He didn't seem as joyful and teasing as usual, but a rather serious expression clad his face.
"I don't know how to say this without it sounding very clumsy," he started, glancing at her slightly with soft eyes. "But I'm sorry for your loss. George is too. We heard about your friend Evan."
Out of all the things Leigh had expected to come out of the ginger's mouth, this was not one of them. She wasn't prepared for his words, nor to be reminded of Evan at his very moment. For some reason she wasn't used to hearing his name anymore. So far it had felt like her struggles surrounding his death was dealt with by her alone, and with everyone else being unaware. Even Nova, who was her closest friend, hadn't spoken his name, but simply referred to him as him the few times he was spoken about nowadays. And now, when his name was spoken by someone she was sorely unprepared to hear it from, it felt like a punch right to the stomach.
She forced air into her lungs after a few painful moments. Her mouth felt dry. "How did you know?" She asked quietly, trying to keep her mind from the mention of his name. Just thinking about him made tears threaten to well up in her eyes, and she looked down at the path in front of her as she tried to push them back.
"Talked to Ron and he told us," Fred said honestly. His voice was soft, and she nodded slightly at his words. It felt weird to know that people were speaking about her without her knowing, but at the same time she understood. They were brothers after all, and they were bound to share things like that.
She nodded slightly to herself again, clearing her throat and facing him. "Thanks," she said genuinely, watching him as he delivered a sad smile her way, his eyes remaining on her as she quickly looked away and tried to push the memories from her mind. He probably waited for her to say something else, and she truly appreciated his words, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Just thinking, yet alone talking about him, hurt so goddamn much.
She cleared her throat again, hoping she didn't do so too loudly and obviously, before raising her gaze from the ground and instead looking ahead of her. She blinked away the tears in her eyes and started raking her brain trying to figure out how to divert this conversation to another topic. If she had noticed anything recently it was that she wasn't good with feelings.
"Wait..," She trailed off, looking at Fred, confused. "You talked with Ron after the spiders?"
Fred looked back at her, equally confused by her line of questioning. "Yeah. How else would we know if they did what they were supposed to? We couldn't really ask you, even if you witnessed it all. I have a feeling you wouldn't be too useful on that front, being as opposed to the shop as you are."
