2.| ✮𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮, 𝓑𝓲𝓵𝓵. ✮ {𝓑. 𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓵𝓮𝔂}

𝒻ℴ𝓊𝓇

When she reached the graves of Lupin and Tonks, someone was already standing there. Teddy Lupin, his hair now dark brown instead of bright blue, stood in the whipping wind and stared down at his parents' graves. He didn't even notice Eleanora was there until she set a gentle hand on his arm. He jumped and looked wildly towards her, but his expression softened the second he saw who it was. "Hey," he said, catching his breath. "Sorry- just got sort of- lost in my own thoughts."

"Don't worry about it," Eleanora said in a voice so soft it was barely audible over the wind. "It's one of those days."

"Yeah." Teddy nodded and turned back to the graves. "It really is." They were silent for a long time, both getting lost up in their own thoughts as the strength of the wind grew and the sky turned grayer and grayer. "Eleanora?" Teddy said suddenly in a voice so tentative, Eleanora was immediately snapped out of her thoughts.

"Hm?"

"D'you- ah- do you think he'd like me? My dad- I mean." Teddy wouldn't meet her eyes, so he stared down at the ground.

Eleanora took a minute to steady her breathing. She'd told Teddy just about everything he knew about his father, but this question caught her off guard more than anything he'd ever asked. She knew she needed to answer it in the right way. "Teddy... you remind me so much of him every single day, and I know everybody tells you that. That you act just like him, and you talk just like him, and... and you're just- you're like him."

"I know I'm like him," Teddy said quickly. "But- from what I've heard- I mean- he didn't exactly like himself, did he? So- so d'you think he would've liked me?"

Eleanora looked down at Lupin's grave with a sad smile, and then her gaze shifted to Tonks'. "Yes, Teddy. He would've loved you. You're like- you're just all of the good things about him mixed with all of the things he loved about Tonks. You know, she would've been so proud of you. She was one of the funniest people I knew, and I had Fred and George as best friends."

"I wish I could've known her," Teddy said softly.

Eleanora bit down on the inside of her cheek hard to keep from crying. "She loved you so much, really she did. You should've seen her- and Lupin- Remus- your dad. He got so excited every time he got to go home to see you. And- and I used to visit them all the time when you were a baby and I swear they could sit on the living room floor with you for hours just playing. They'd be so proud."

Teddy looked up at the tumultuous sky and blinked furiously, then stared back down at his parents' graves. "Thanks," he whispered. "Thanks for being- you know- there for me my whole life. I don't think I've ever thanked you before- huh, that's weird-" he looked down at Eleanora and they both let out choked laughs. "Anyways, you've always been like a mum to me. The closest I ever got to one, at least. You and Bill, you just- you've never turned me down or sent me away or anything and I just- thank you."

"Jesus, Teddy, I was doing so well with not crying before now," Eleanora laughed and wiped tears out of her eyes. "Bill and I love you like our own kid, really we do. And your parents-" she linked her arm through Teddy's and wiped her eyes again. "-your parents would've loved you so much."

Teddy blinked hard and then gave up completely, letting the tears roll down his cheeks. "Thanks, El," he said in a choked voice as Eleanora patted him consolingly on the arm, feeling the weight of the loss so heavily on her chest it was hard to breathe.

Once Eleanora left Teddy at the gate of the graveyard and made him promise to check in with her the next day, she thought hard about where to go next. She considered going home, but she felt like something was missing. There was one more place she wanted to visit...

Eleanora stood on the sidewalk outside of her mother's old house, staring up at the dark shuttered windows and the blue trim. She hadn't been to this house since Snape escorted her to the Burrow after that awful night with Stephen. She felt her shoulders tense up every time she thought about it. She couldn't tell if anybody was living there now, but she didn't want to go inside anyways. If the place was anything like she remembered it, there would be too many bad memories engraved in every corner. Blood stains on the white carpet of the living room... a little ding in the plaster of the wall in the dining room where Eleanora had cracked her head when she was thirteen... a little drawing in the crevice of the wall between the bathroom and the kitchen that Daisy had made before being punished by Stephen for defacing the house. Eleanora took a deep breath and a step back from the house, emotion engulfing her as every single bad memory came flooding back to her at once.

"Watch it there," a voice came from behind her. "Heard this place is haunted."

Eleanora jumped and whirled around, but only Daisy was standing there, her blonde hair blowing in the wind and a wicked grin on her face. "Daisy! You didn't have to scare me like that- what're you doing here?"

"I come here every once in awhile," Daisy said with a sigh, gazing up at the house with an almost longing expression. "Never seen you here, though."

"That's because I never am here."

"You mean you've never visited before?" Daisy asked, incredulous. Eleanora shook her head. As much as she loved her sister and respected what she'd been through, she knew Daisy couldn't understand the memories that came back to Eleanora at that house. Her sister had been too young at the time to really remember most of it, and Stephen had left her alone for the most part anyways. Eleanora was silent for a long time, and Daisy didn't push her. She wrapped an arm around Eleanora's shoulders and leaned into her sister. It always weirded Eleanora out that Daisy was inches taller than her.

"Does anyone live here now?" Eleanora asked, her voice smaller than usual.

Daisy shook her head. "Nah, not after Mum and Stephen. The neighborhood kids really do seem to think it's haunted. Want to go inside?"

"No," Eleanora said quickly. "Maybe another time." She gave Daisy a small smile and leaned her head into her shoulder. Strangely enough, the scent of Daisy reminded Eleanora immensely of their mother. Maybe it was the shampoo... or a certain perfume. Whatever it was, it made Eleanora feel like Eveline was right there with them. The girls fell silent again, both lost in thought. "I feel like we haven't hung out just the two of us in awhile," Eleanora said at last. "How have things been?"

"Oh, you know. New job. There's a girl there I really like- I'm thinking about asking her out, actually."

"Really?" Eleanora said in mild surprise, still gazing up at the darkened house. "What's her name?"

"Alice." Then, Daisy's voice softened as she watched her older sister stare up in near-terror at the house. She didn't know what Eleanora was thinking, but she knew anything that could make her shrink back like that was serious. "Come on," she said gently, pulling Eleanora away with a light yet firm touch. "Let's get out of here, okay? We'll come back sometime. Let's go get lunch and I'll tell you all about my love life."

Eleanora let out a little laugh, feeling completely and utterly emotionally exhausted from the day she'd had. "That sounds great, Dais," she said, letting her sister lead her away. "That sounds really great."