The Lost Daughter

Chapter Twelve

The days before they returned to school passed uneventfully compared to the excitement and terror of the World Cup. They got their school supplies from Diagon Alley, and Fred, George, and Elle received their OWL results. Elle received all 'Outstandings' and 'Excellents' while the twins received a few 'Excellents' and lower. They didn't do poorly, but not well enough to get a promising job from the Ministry or similar. They would have to do much better on their NEWTs to make up for their average OWL marks.

It was their sixth year at Hogwarts, and Mr. Weasley had hinted that something very special would be happening that year. Ron begged his dad to tell him what it was, but Mr. Weasley wouldn't say a word.

They travelled by floo network to the platform and sat in their usual spots on the train. Fred helped Elle carry her trunk onto the train and sat next to her during the ride. Fred retold the story of Elle battling the death eater to Lee, Alicia, Fred, and Angelina. "At the end, she used a non-verbal petrificus totalus to finish him off. I've never seen anything like it from someone our age. It was bloody brilliant," complimented Fred.

"Well I'm only underage for another two weeks," Elle said, trying to hide how much she enjoyed his praise.

"Wow. I can't believe you battled a death eater and lived! I knew you were good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, but to actually be able to use those spells in combat is hard," Alicia exclaimed.

Despite secretly loving the attention, Elle changed the subject to what was going to be happening at Hogwarts this year. They all discussed their own predictions, but none seemed to make much sense. They would just have to wait and find out.

When they arrived at Hogwarts and sat down for the feast, they were jittery, wanting to know the news. They knew Dumbledore would address it in his start of the year speech. Everyone in the Great Hall became absolutely silent when the last first-year was sorted and Dumbledore rose from his seat.

After talking for a long time about a list of rules Filch wanted to remind students of that year, Dumbledore announced, "With all of that out of the way, I am sure you all want to know what is happening at Hogwarts this year." Not a single person whispered or spoke. "I am happy to announce that this year Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament."

And with that, the hall burst into curious chatter. Dumbledore kindly asked for everyone to quiet down before continuing, "We will be hosting two other wizarding schools, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. They will be arriving at the end of October, and one champion from each school will be selected to compete in the tournament. With that being said, there will be no Quidditch this year. More information will come at a later date, but for now let's enjoy our feast." Food materialized in front of everyone, and they all excitedly talked about the tournament as they ate.

Fred and George both immediately wanted to be the Hogwarts champion, but Lee said, "Don't you like have to be really good at magic though?" He was met with yelling from Fred and George who shouted, "We are good at magic!"

"Plus if one of us was chosen we would have Elle to help us, right Elle?" added Fred.

"Oh, yeah sure. But I think I want to add my name too," Elle replied.

Upset that Elle would put in her name and run against them, the twins were fake mad at her for the rest of dinner.

On their way out of the Great Hall to go to the Gryffindor common room, Fred whispered to Elle, "You should definitely put your name in. You would be amazing."

Elle smiled up at him and whispered back, "Thanks, Fred." She was happy they were friends again, but she couldn't help but feel like he was flirting with her. She didn't want to get her hopes up just to be humiliated again like last year, so she brushed off his compliment as something a friend would say.

***

The end of October came quickly, as the sixth years were constantly working on assignments for classes. The Gryffindors were stressed and often found in the library or yelling at first years to keep it down in the common room. When Elle wasn't with all of her Gryffindor friends, she was alone with Fred.

Elle and Fred were spending a lot of time together because Fred insisted that he needed her help in Defense Against the Dark Arts. They practiced dueling twice a week on the top of the Astronomy Tower. He wanted to be able to protect his family if they were ever in a situation like the World Cup again.

On the night before Halloween, Elle and Fred were practicing again. Fred was getting much better and was even starting to be able to do nonverbal spells. When it started to get dark out, Elle suggested, "Maybe next time we could start trying Expecto Patronum, if you want."

Fred hadn't heard what she had said. He was focused on trying to get himself to finally tell her that he hadn't meant what he said last year. Elle walked over to him and asked if he was alright. She looked up at him in concern, worried that he might have hurt his head when he wasn't able to block one of her her Stupefy spells earlier.

Fred locked eyes with Elle, lost in how pretty they were. "Elle," he whispered.

"What's wrong?" Elle asked.

Fred replied, "I need to tell you something.. Something I've been meaning to tell you for a while."

"Yes?" Elle questioned, her heart rate beating faster.

"Last year when I told you our kiss meant nothing to me, I lied. It did mean something to me, and I've been meaning to tell you that for a long time," Fred said.

These were the words Elle had wanted to hear more than anything, but not knowing what to say, she replied softly, "Oh."

A wind flowed through the astronomy tower, making Elle shiver. The end of October had brought colder weather to Hogwarts, and now that the two weren't dueling anymore, the wind felt colder.

Fred took off his jacket and wrapped it around Elle, saying, "We should get back. I don't want you getting sick."

Elle said thanks, surprised at how kind Fred's gesture was.

They walked back to the Gryffindor common room and before saying the password, Elle turned to Fred, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for letting me borrow your jacket," she explained.

Then she turned back to the Fat Lady and said, "balderdash". Once inside, Elle gave Fred back his jacket and told him she'd see him the next day at breakfast.

Fred stood in the common room, dumbfounded. He touched his cheek where Elle had kissed it, hoping it was a sign she liked him.

Both went to bed thinking of the other.