Stay with Me | Hermione Granger x Female OC (Book 4)

Epilogue: Part 2

The Forbidden Forest wasn't as eerie as Ellie expected, considering the amount of times Ron and Harry ranted about its dangers. She took a step forward, the crunch of the leaves bellow her feet echoing across the trees. It was deathly silent, but Ellie didn't mind; Luna had told her that its inhabitants were friendly. She began to walk slowly, carefully scanning the ground for a certain object.

"Where is it..." Ellie mumbled quietly to herself. "Where did Harry leave it?"

Ellie continued for nearly half an hour before stumbling upon the object. With a smirk of success, she picked it up triumphantly, inspecting the material. The Resurrection Stone was about the size of a marble, precisely crafted into a diamond-like shape. Its black stone reflected against the sunlight peeking over the treetops, and Ellie could see the Deathly Hallows symbol etched lightly.

Ellie took the stone in her palm and turned it three times over in her hand. Two shadowy wisps formed in front of her, eventually turning more and more solid, though they never reached a a fully human state.

Ellie grinned widely as she ran to the slightly shorter boy first with a full-forced embrace. She went right through the red-head, causing her to stumble as she turned around with confusion.

"I'm sorry Ellie, but we're not really here," Fred announced solemnly, with Cedric nodding in agreement.

Ellie's face dropped in sorrow as she clutched the stone in her hand.

"Don't look so glum. That look doesn't suit you," Fred spoke. "I mean, you've got a fiancé, two kids on the way, a spot on the Holyhead Harpies, and your legs back. Beats being up there. Cedric doesn't enjoy me watching you so much."

"You watch me?" Ellie frowned, her mind wandering to all the events he shouldn't have witnessed.

"Hey, hey, hey. Cedric does too," Fred shrugged, earning a light-hearted scoff from the boy.

"Respectfully, Fred. Give the girl some privacy," Cedric scolded before turning to Ellie with a gentler expression. "By the way, great game today. Saw you working up a storm on the field, dodging Bludgers here and there. The view from up there is way better than the stands."

"What can I say? I've taken after the best Seeker Hufflepuff ever had. You, of course," Ellie smiled.

"So when's the wedding, Ellie?" Fred cut in with smirk. "You and Hermione already have your honeymoon planned?"

"Don't know yet, honestly, " Ellie shrugged. "I guess we're all just waiting for it to be legal. Hermione didn't want to be left out. Harry and Ginny just had their second, and she wanted our children to grow up with him."

"But are you ready for children? I mean, you haven't even gotten married," Cedric contended.

"I've been ready. From the moment I ditched that wheelchair, I knew what I wanted. I just waited for Hermione to say the words."

"Mate, she's already named one of her children after you. Don't make her have second thoughts," Fred nudged at Cedric before turning back to Ellie. "By the way... Frida? That's a brilliant name. Wonder where you could've gotten that one."

Ellie laughed, earning a similar hearty chuckle from both Fred and Cedric. The laughter died down, and Ellie soon snapped back into reality. Though the blissful moment felt real, she knew that it was just an illusion, that there was no way in bringing them back. She glanced at her watch, noticing that the time had passed faster than she anticipated.

"I really miss you guys," Ellie spoke in a soft tone. "I don't want to leave."

Ellie sighed as she felt her sorrow kicking in once more. Though she had grown to move on with their passings, seeing them again brought back a gut-wrenching feeling. She brought her head down as she attempted to swallow her cry, her throat tightening at the thought of her departure.