It had become routine for Eleanor to send letters home regularly, and since Christmas, Margaret had noticed that her daughter's letters were much longer than the usual one or two sentences that Eleanor would normally send. It was nice to hear something besides the "all is well" and "see you soon." And while Margaret had been waiting on Eleanor's next letter, she had been caught off guard by the letter she had received from Anne Diggory, requesting that they spend the day together.
Anne had brought up such an idea back during the holidays, but Margaret had only assumed that the woman was attempting to be polite. At first, she tried to come up with a way to decline the offer without coming across as rude, but she knew how much it meant to Eleanor that she at least try and welcome the world of magic. So, rather than declining the invitation, Margaret returned the owl with her acceptance.
The following day, she found herself in Diagon Alley, in a little teashop called Rosa Lee Teabag. Eleanor had brought her several teas from the shop before and Margaret realised she should have taken the hint that they were all calming teas. But as the two women placed their order, Margaret took a deep breath and sat down at the small table across from Anne.
It was rather awkward as Margaret did not know what to say at first, but eventually, Anne started off a conversation, mentioning a letter she had gotten from Cedric the day prior.
"He was a bit upset," Anne told her, "he had such high hopes for the Hufflepuff team this year. Unfortunately, they're not going to make it to the Quidditch House Cup. I told him it was nothing to really fret over, he still has time to get a win under his belt before he leaves school."
"Quidditch," Margaret repeated, "that's the one they play on broomsticks, right? Ellie has mentioned it before a couple of times. Apparently, the boy or rather boys she's talking to this year play it as well. Do you know the Weasel Boys?"
Anne couldn't help but laugh but quickly tried to cover it up by covering her mouth. "I think you mean Weasley," she corrected her. "And yes, I do know of them. The Weasley family lives relatively close to us, their father works at the Ministry with Amos. Different departments, but still. They're a nice family, big one though. Six boys and one girl. I could never manage such a household."
"Seven children?" Margaret's eyes widened. "I always thought I had my hands full with one. Although looking back on it, Eleanor wasn't a difficult child at all, it was mostly on me."
With a sympathetic smile, Anne reached out her hand to gently grab Margaret's. "I can imagine that it was tough for you. Being a young mother is scary all on its own. My own mother used to say that the first child is the one where you almost lose your mind and should you have another child after that, it's easy then. But your first child is such a learning experience. And I suppose it didn't help that Eleanor possessed magic, while you didn't."
"I was terrible to her," Margaret admitted with a shake of her head. "I want to blame my own parents for teaching me that magic was something to be feared. All the talk of the church while growing up. But really, it was my fault in the end, for treating her so horribly. The fact that she still calls me Mum, I don't think I deserve it. I'm just thankful that she's the forgiving type. And that she has a place where she fits in and doesn't feel ostracised."
"I've always told Amos that the way the Ministry and the Wizarding World handles muggle-borns is so outdated. Having muggles, such as yourself, attempting to deal with accidental magic. Even young magical parents struggle to handle it. Really, the first time they receive any sort of idea of what's going on is when the Hogwarts letter arrives and someone from the school comes to explain everything. By then, I can't imagine the damage that has taken place."
"That's exactly what happened. Professor McGonagall showed up one day after we received the acceptance letter. I thought it was a scam or a prank of sorts. Although looking back on it, it made sense that Eleanor was a witch, but after the things I had been told, I didn't want to believe it. I ended up ripping the letter and that was when Eleanor told me that she hated me. I know children say things when they're upset, but I knew in that very moment, she meant it. She truly hated me at the time. How could I blame her?"
"Well, there's no sense in dwelling on the past now," Anne told her, "you can't go back and change things. Besides, you and Eleanor seemed to mend things over the holidays. You spoke for hours one night at the house. Things have gotten better between the two of you, right?"
Margaret smiled. "Yes, much better. She's writing so much more in her letters now; she sounds happy in all of them. Back at Christmas, I hadn't heard her talk so much. Normally, when we're home, she just tucks herself away in her room and knits until it's time to go back to school. And I had to come to terms with that, she's going to be sixteen in June. I feel like I've missed out on her whole life, even though she's been living with me. And only a couple of years and she'll be moving out as an adult with a job-"
"Try not to think about it too much," Anne said, "I've been telling myself the same thing. I've been dreading the day when Cedric officially becomes an adult. I still see him as the little boy that couldn't reach the kitchen sink and threw an absolute tantrum. Sometimes I wish he could have stayed little forever, but then I see the man he's becoming, and I'm so proud of him."
"I'm proud of Eleanor too. But the older she gets, the resemblance to her father, it's almost enough to drive me mad because I see it and she doesn't. She probably never will."
For a moment, Anne looked unsure if she should ask her next question, but it seemed she couldn't resist the opportunity.
"Do you mind me asking who her father is?"
Biting the inside of her cheek, Margaret looked down at the hot cup of tea that had been brought over during their conversation. She watched as the steam swirled about before vanishing into the air before she cleared her throat.
Part of her had always wondered if Eleanor's father was a wizard and she was being presented with the opportunity to see if Anne perhaps knew the man's name. It was a reach even though the wizarding world was smaller in population, the chance of her knowing the wizard would be a chance in a million. But that meant there was still a chance.
"I suppose not," she said finally, "but I'd rather you didn't mention it to Eleanor. She's asked about him numerous times and I've thought about telling her, but I just don't want her to go searching the world for him. I don't even know if it was his real name that he gave me. I've looked it up myself and found nothing. But if somehow, she did manage to find him and it turned out he didn't want anything to do with her, she would be devastated."
Too ashamed to look Anne head-on, Margaret focused her gaze out the window, watching as a newspaper fluttered about in the wind before it landed against the pavement outside of the shop. She squinted her eyes to get a closer look, noting the moving picture with the headline. Her lips parted as she read it over before her eyes focused on the picture once more.
"Sirius Black!"
Meanwhile back at the castle, Eleanor had stepped out of the Charms classroom after excusing herself to use the toilets. She had just finished up and was washing her hands when the door to the bathrooms practically burst open and a young girl came in, her loud sobs echoing before she locked herself into the nearest stall. For a moment, Eleanor was left bewildered before she turned the faucet off and slowly approached the stall.
"Er...hello? Are you alright in there?"
It was a stupid question because obviously, by the sounds of the girl crying, she was not okay, but Eleanor didn't know what else to say. She waited a few seconds but there was no response, leaving her to try again.
"Listen, I don't know what has you upset, but if I can't help you, would you like me to get a professor? I could-"
"No! Please don't get a professor!" the little voice called out to her. "Please! I'm already embarrassed enough! I don't want to go back out there."
"Why not?"
There were sounds of shuffling and movement in the stall, before the toilet was flushed and then the girl came out. She was quite young looking, more than likely a first year. Her dark skin was stained with tears before she promptly wiped them away. She held onto the stall door a moment, wearing a shameful expression before her brown gaze met Eleanor's.
"My mum tried to tell me that it might happen soon, but I didn't think it would," she whispered, "none of my friends have had theirs yet."
Eleanor's brows knitted together tightly as she tried to put together what the girl was talking about, but it quickly clicked.
"Oh, you got your period?"
"Shh!!"
"Well, it's nothing to be embarrassed about," Eleanor told her, "I mean, we've all pretty much have to go through it eventually. I know it's not exactly the best time in the world, but really, you don't have to be upset- "
"Yes, I do! Look!"
The girl turned around, exposing the back of the skirt where Eleanor noted the bloodstain. Within seconds the girl placed on her robes to cover it up and folded her arms across her chest.
"I was in Defence Against the Dark Arts," she said, "I didn't even notice it was happening. I just thought I ate something weird during lunch. When I stood up, the boys behind me started laughing and my friend pointed out there was blood in my seat! It was so embarrassing! I didn't have my robes on over my uniform, so everyone saw it! Even Professor Lupin! I don't want to go back to class."
While Eleanor had never experienced the embarrassment of blood leaking onto her clothing, she had been around Marnie back in their second year and before anyone could notice, she had quickly tied her jumper around Marnie's waist to cover it up. She couldn't imagine what it was like to have immature boys point and laugh, let alone have it happen for the first time in the middle of class.
"Well, how about this," Eleanor said, "I'm going to teach you a simple spell that will become your best friend during these times. Pretty much every older girl in the castle knows this one. It'll get you cleaned up and then afterwards, we can go to the Hospital Wing, and Madam Pomfrey will be able to help you. She's fantastic when it comes to these things. Here, turn your skirt around..."
The girl did as she was told, and Eleanor told her the incantation of "scourgify" to clean away the bloodstain and it was like it had never been there, to begin with.
When she was all cleaned up, the girl, who's name turned out to be Dalia Arnette, a first-year Ravenclaw, accompanied Eleanor to the Hospital Wing, where Eleanor took to explaining the situation. And as promised, Madam Pomfrey wasted no time in assisting the student.
After his class was dismissed, Remus decided it was best to see where his student had ended up after she had abruptly run out of the classroom. He couldn't imagine how embarrassed she must have felt during such a time, and it didn't help that the boys in his class had decided to make fun of her. He made sure to take care of them though, issuing all of them a series of detentions. But Remus figured she had made her way to the Hospital Wing and he was right because as he went to enter, he spotted Dalia, but he also spotted Eleanor in her company.
The two were sitting together as Madam Pomfrey seemed to be going over something with Dalia. Eleanor appeared to be there as emotional support as Dalia kept looking to her for confirmation at whatever Madam Pomfrey was saying. Every so often, Eleanor nodded her head or offered a smile and when it seemed Madam Pomfrey was finished, Eleanor stood up and offered Dalia a hug.
Remus didn't dare to interrupt the moment, thinking he wouldn't really be able to console Dalia in the way that she needed but as he watched Eleanor hug the younger girl, it all finally came to click in his head of who Eleanor reminded him off. He took a step back, nearly falling down the steps of the stairwell. Hoping to go unnoticed, he hurried down the steps until he made his way down the entire tower.
Standing at the end of the staircase, Remus stood in complete silence until a voice caused him to jump.
"Mr Lupin," Albus Dumbledore appeared to be walking towards him, " you look like you've just discovered something."
Remus could only stare at him for a moment before swallowing. "I believe I finally figured it out, Professor," he said quietly, "I figured it out."
"And?"
"I have no idea what to say."