2.| ✮𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮, 𝓑𝓲𝓵𝓵. ✮ {𝓑. 𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓵𝓮𝔂}

\𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓇𝓉ℯℯ𝓃\

"You're back," he whispered. "You're back, you're okay now."

He started to step back, but then realized Eleanora was relying on him to stand up. He lowered her into a nearby chair, then stepped back and stared at her. "What happened to you?"

Eleanora shook her head slowly. "Can you just-" her voice was barely audible so she paused to clear her throat. "Can you just get him?"

Lupin nodded slowly, his eyes not moving from her face. "Yeah... yeah, I'll be right back." He turned and headed down the hall. When he made it to the dining room, the reality hit him. Eleanora was back. He couldn't keep a smile off his face as he leaned on the doorway and cleared his throat. "Could I- ah- borrow Bill for a second?" Bill looked up, startled at Lupin's knowingly cheerful expression.

"Yeah, what's up?" Bill stood up and ruffled Daisy's hair on his way to the door.

He followed Remus out of the room, but froze as soon as he saw who was sitting in the entrance hall. As soon as Eleanora spotted Bill, she tried to stand up again, but immediately started to fall.

"Eleanora..." Bill said in a choked voice, hurrying forward to catch her. "Jesus christ, El." Remus' mouth twitched upward as he watched the scene. Bill wrapped his arms around Eleanora and pulled her into a tight hug, relief flooding through him. Eleanora didn't say anything. She buried her face in Bill's shoulder and inhaled his scent. Tears filled her eyes and her hands gripped the fabric of his t-shirt. "You're back, El. You're back," Bill whispered.

"I love you," Eleanora said, her voice cracking. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

"I love you too."

"Eleanora?" Sirius said, joining the little group in the hallway. Eleanora didn't move from Bill's arms. She never wanted to leave him again. Sirius and Remus shared a smile and Sirius crept back into the dining room. A second later, he reappeared with Daisy. "Look, Dais," he said softly, but Daisy's eyes had already widened.

"Eleanora!"

At this, Eleanora stepped back from Bill. He wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her up, but Eleanora was kneeling down so she was eye level with her sister. "Hey, Daisy-flower," Eleanora said, her voice scratchy. She wiped tears and mud off of her face and reached into her robes.

"Where were you?" Daisy asked, looking thoroughly disturbed at the state of her sister.

Eleanora shook her head dismissively and pulled out the small green necklace she'd been given at shell cottage. "Happy birthday, honey. I didn't forget." She pressed the necklace into Daisy's hand. "I got it at- well I'll tell you the whole story later- it'll bring you luck." Daisy stared down at the necklace, her own eyes watering up. "It certainly brought me some." Eleanora laughed a little, and then winced. Her leg hurt worse than ever.

"I missed you," Daisy said quietly.

"I missed you too." Eleanora squeezed Daisy's hand and then looked back up at Bill. "Help me up?"

Bill wrapped his arm around Eleanora's waist and pulled her up, kissing the top of her head as she leaned against him for support. "Come on, we've done this one before," he said with a small smile that immediately changed to a look of concern as she winced with every step. Her vision blurred when she tried to walk, pain searing through her body. With the help of Remus, they managed to get Eleanora into the dining room. Tonks leapt up as soon as she saw the group enter and offered her chair, the closest to the door. Bill lowered Eleanora into it and sat in the one next to her.

Moody was the first to speak. "What happened to you? Where did you go?"

"Yeah," said Sirius. "It's been months! What did you do?"

"What's happened to you leg?" Bill asked softly, ignoring everyone else in the room. He took her hand in his. At that moment, Mrs. Weasley entered from the kitchen, saw Eleanora, and shrieked.

"You're back!" She ran forward to fuss over Eleanora. "You're back, dear. Oh my goodness, you're in a state. You need food, I'll be right back. I made a dinner for Daisy's birthday, I'll bring some towels too- wait, no- you should be going up to rest-"

"Molly..." Lupin said wearily, "Let her breathe. We need to take care of that leg before anything else."

He looked down at Eleanora, who was quietly untying the makeshift bandage around her injured leg. She cringed and let out a low groan as she pulled the fabric away. The wound looked terrible. She looked up at Bill.

"I need scissors and for someone to get Professor Snape," she said calmly.

Bill nodded his head. "Tonks, will you send an owl to Snape real quick? And... Sirius- could you grab some scissors?" Tonks and Sirius sprang into action as Lupin knelt down next to Eleanora, examining the wound.

"This is from a werewolf," he said. "Eleanora-"

"Fenrir Greyback," she said through gritted teeth. "It was Fenrir Greyback. At Malfoy Manor. Bill- the notebook-" she reached into her sock and pulled out the little pin, pressing it so it transformed into the little book. It was in perfect condition. She handed it to Bill. "This is everything I found-" Sirius handed her a pair of scissors and she started cutting the fabric of her jeans away from the injury. "-That's everything you'll need." Bill hardly glanced at the notebook before setting it on the table.

"I'll look later. We've got to take care of you now."

Moody reached across the table and grabbed the notebook, opening it and leaning over so Kingsley could read over his shoulder. "What is this?" Kingsley asked. "I can't read it." Bill and Eleanora exchanged a look and, for the first time, a smile flickered on Eleanora's face.

"It's- ah-" Bill stammered. "A code..."

"Bill and I made it up before I left," Eleanora rasped.

"Here," Bill grabbed his glass of water and handed it to her. At that moment, the door banged open and Severus Snape swept into the room. Eleanora looked around at him, relieved that her godfather wasn't making a big deal about her reappearance. She knew she could trust him to not get sidetracked from what she needed from him.

"Professor, I need the-"

"That's a werewolf scratch," Snape interrupted, staring down at her leg. "You need the-"

"The ointment we talked about last year. I was wondering if you could make it?"

"Of course," Snape said shortly. "The one with the wolfsbane and the-"

"Mistletoe berries, yes." Snape nodded to Eleanora, and then swept off to gather the ingredients he needed. When he left the room, Eleanora slumped her head onto Bill's shoulder, exhausted, but relieved to finally be home.