Eleanor thought the biggest drama revolving around the end of the term had been the hippogriff trial and she was right, but not for the reasons she had initially suspected. She had been enjoying a friendly game of chess against George in the Great Hall, with Fred sitting beside her when Ginny had approached them in a frantic manner. With exams over, all the three wanted to do was relax, but that was not on the agenda when Ginny announced that Ron was in the Hospital Wing.
Initially, she didn't plan on accompanying the twins and Ginny, thinking they would want their privacy, but Fred thought otherwise as he led her all the way to Hospital Wing, holding her hand. He didn't let go of it either when they entered and approached Ron's bedside. Ron's leg was already bandaged, and on the mend when they arrived. And Hermione and Harry were there as well, their clothes were tattered, and they looked absolutely exhausted. But there was a story behind their appearance and Ron's injury, one that Eleanor still couldn't wrap her head around the next day.
Sirius Black had been discovered on the grounds again, only this time, he attacked Ron.
However, Sirius Black was bad, but then he wasn't bad.
There was something about Peter Pettigrew being alive and being a rat.
Ron's rat, specifically.
Which mean that Ron had a man in an Animagus form, sharing a bed with him.
Speaking of Animagus, Sirius Black was one as well, taking the form of a dog.
A large black dog and Eleanor had the sneaking suspicion it was the same dog that had stolen her scarf.
Professor Lupin had shown up on the scene and was apparently friends with Sirius.
Snape arrived.
Snape went down.
Professor Lupin turned out to be a werewolf and then all hell broke loose.
Peter escaped.
Sirius was kissed.
But then he wasn't kissed.
The hippogriff was dead, but then he wasn't dead.
And everyone seemed so calm about the situation.
However, trusted with such information, Eleanor didn't say anything of what she had been told to Marnie and Cedric, no mattered how many times they pestered. She was confused by everything, especially by the reveal of Professor Lupin being a werewolf. Thinking back on all the time that Professor Lupin had missed within classes and how he often looked sick or tired, it all made sense. But Eleanor wasn't sure how she felt about it.
She had learned about werewolves back in her third year, knowing that lycanthropy was transmitted by the bite of a werewolf, where the saliva would mingle with the victim's blood. And despite the progression of medicine within the magical world, there was no cure for lycanthropy. The wounds of a bite or a scratch could be sealed by only a mixture of silver and dittany, but even then, the scars were still permanent. There was such a potion that made werewolves less harmful by allowing them to keep their human mind, but from what Eleanor remembered it was incredibly expensive and not made accessible to everyone that needed it.
When she had initially learned about werewolves, Eleanor, like many of her other peers, found themselves frightened by the idea of the beasts and their violent tendencies. But the more Eleanor thought about it, there was nothing she had ever come to fear about Professor Lupin. Clearly, he was plagued by a disease that he had no control over, and while it took an obvious toll on his health, he was still a kind man that had helped her out plenty of times throughout the term.
Of course, others seemed to quickly forget how much they liked Professor Lupin as Professor Snape had informed all of Slytherin of the man's lycanthropy. There was a rumour that Professor Lupin was packing his belongings to leave as soon as possible.
With the warm weather, the majority of the castle had taken advantage of it for the last remaining trip to Hogsmeade before the end of the term. Marnie and Cedric had invited her along, and so did the twins, but Eleanor declined both invitations, claiming she wanted to stay behind. She wanted to talk to Professor Lupin herself, hoping that he would be willing to see her after everything he had been through.
Approaching the professor's office, Eleanor knocked her knuckles against the door drawing the man's attention away from where he had been looking out the window. At the sound of her knocking, Professor Lupin turned his head and forced a smile to his face. But once again, Eleanor could see how tired he looked. The way his body was slightly slouched, his face had fresh pink scratches, and no matter how much he tried to smile, he looked so terribly sad.
"Professor Lupin," she said walking inside, "I hope I'm not bothering you, but I wanted to stop by and see how you were doing. Harry and the others, they told me what happened the other night and I've heard the rumours that have been circulating all morning."
"And yet, you still came to see me?"
"Of course, I did. I wanted to see if you were alright regarding the circumstances and I wanted to make sure that you're not going to be leaving."
Her eyes scanned over the already packed suitcase and frowned.
"You would expect me to stay?" Professor Lupin asked her quietly. "Even after learning what I am?"
"Does it honestly matter? You taught the entire term just fine. Even when you missed a few days, it didn't matter. We all learned plenty, no one could argue that. What happened that night was a mistake, that's what the others said, so treat it as a mistake."
Professor Lupin peered down at his shoes, his smile growing slightly before he leaned against his desk.
"I wish it were that simple, but once parents find out there is a werewolf teaching their child, they'll call for my resignation or for me to be fired, whichever. I rather beat them to it and leave before it becomes any uglier. Are you not bothered by any of this?"
"I'm bothered by the idea of you leaving!" she admitted. "I'll admit, I was a little thrown off guard when I learned about it, but it was more so because the signs were there and I had completely missed them. But I really had no reason to suspect anything and that's because you're a great teacher. I think you should reconsider leaving, just stay. Who cares what some uptight parents think?"
Professor Lupin let out a small chuckle. "I'm glad to know I have your support, but I'm afraid it won't be enough. But you shouldn't be here trying to console me, it's the end of the term. You should be in Hogsmeade with your friends."
"I told them to go ahead without me, I wanted to see you. I wasn't expecting you to be packing up to leave though. Is this really goodbye?"
"No, Ms Ross, it's not goodbye. I have a feeling we'll see each other again. Soon enough."
At the end of the term, on her birthday, Eleanor had received the result of her O.W.L.s and as she glanced them over, it was safe to say, she was guaranteed to move onto N.E.W.T. levels without an issue. While Fred and George had managed to get a handful of O.W.L.s, they seemed more curious about her marks than their own. She brought over her results to the Gryffindor table so they could look them over together.
TRANSFIGURATION – O
CHARMS – O
HISTORY OF MAGIC- E
DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS- O
ASTRONOMY-E
ARITHMANCY- E
HERBOLOGY- O
STUDY OF ANCIENT RUNES- E
POTIONS- E
Fred and George immediately began apologising to her about not getting Eleanor the guaranteed O that they had promised in Potions, but she didn't want to hear any apologies come from them. She was completely ecstatic regarding her marks as she hugged them individually.
"This is the best birthday gift ever!" she told them as she hugged Fred after George.
"Well, Happy Birthday, love," Fred said, wrapping his arms around her tightly, "you deserve it. Personally, I think you deserved all O's, but the world had to keep you humble in some ways. You can't be completely perfect."
But as she pulled away from him, practically giddy, only to find the Gryffindor Quidditch team playfully waiting for their hugs as it was becoming a tradition that if Eleanor hugged the twins or kissed them for that matter, they expected their hugs and a kiss.
In such a good mood, Eleanor humoured them with hugs, giving Oliver an extra squeeze, wishing him luck with his future endeavours. But before she could walk away from the Gryffindors and return to the Hufflepuff table, Harry gave a tug of her robes, requesting to talk to her privately for a second.
"I forgot to tell you back in the Hospital Wing," Harry said, "but Sirius had a message for you that I thought I would pass along."
"Really? What did he say?"
"Thanks for the scarf, it was really as warm as you said it was. He hoped you didn't mind that he held onto it for a bit longer."
Eleanor let out a laugh before nodding her head.
"Well, if you talk to him again soon, tell him he can keep it. I have plenty more."
From the time that the Hogwarts Express departed from Hogsmeade Station, Eleanor split her time from sitting with Cedric and Marnie to sitting with Fred, George, and Lee. The twins were already making plenty of plans to send her owls, while Cedric was discussing the upcoming Quidditch World Cup that would be taking place that upcoming summer. But when the train finally arrived at Kings' Cross Station, Eleanor kept her goodbyes brief, all too eager to find Margaret.
She hugged Cedric and then Marnie, with the promise to stay in touch after she learned whatever it was that Margaret wanted to discuss. She was prepared to cross through the barrier when she was suddenly lifted up off her feet, bringing her trunk to fall to the ground. Placed over Fred's shoulder, Eleanor didn't even bother putting up a fight.
"Did you really think you were going to run off without saying goodbye to me?" he asked her as he lifted the handle of her trunk to have it stand upright. "I'm offended."
"I spent half of the train ride with you!"
"That does not count as a goodbye, Ellie!"
"Well, can you put me down so I can say goodbye?"
Fred obliged by putting her down on her feet and folded his arms, waiting for his proper goodbye. In the distance, she could see the Weasley family gathered, by the sea of red hair but as Fred started to tap his foot impatiently, Eleanor giggled before grabbing the sides of his face and holding him at her eye level. She could see how wide his eyes became, especially as she began leaning in.
"Goodbye, Fred," she said before kissing his forehead, "have a nice summer."
She released the sides of his face and took the handle of her trunk from his hand as he stood, looking quite stunned. Thinking that was the proper way to leave things off between them, Eleanor headed towards the barrier and passed through to find her mother.
It didn't take long for Eleanor to spot her mother and quickly, she hurried over to Margaret while calling out to her. As soon as they were close enough, Margaret pulled Eleanor straight into a hug, which she took as a good sign that her mother wasn't entirely upset with her.
"Mum, I can't breathe!"
"Oh, sorry, but I missed you!"
The two started walking out of the station towards the direction of where her mother had parked the car. But as Eleanor prepared to load her trunk inside, she noticed there was a sheet covering something in the back seat.
"Mum, what's that?"
Margaret smiled and gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Why don't you see for yourself?"
With a curious glance, Eleanor opened the car door and pulled the sheet off, only to jump back when she was greeted with a screech. An owl, with large pumpkin-coloured eyes and feathery ear tufts, stared back at her as Eleanor clapped her hands over her mouth and turned back to Margaret.
"That's an owl!"
"Yes, it is."
"You bought me an owl...but you're afraid of owls. Wait, where did you even get an owl?!"
"Consider it one of your birthday gifts, sweetheart," Margaret said, kissing the top of her head, " I know you've wanted one of your own. And I know you have a lot of questions, but we have time to talk in the car. We have a lot to talk about."
"Like what?"
"Well, for one, about your father."
"My father?"
Margaret nodded as she walked around to climb into the driver's seat, while Eleanor quickly opened the door to the passenger seat and sat down. Her heart was pounding in her chest, wondering what information Margaret would finally give her about the mystery man.
"What about my father?" she asked eagerly. "Mum, what about him? Are you going to tell me his name?"
"Even better, Ellie, how would like to meet him?"
"I GET TO MEET HIM?!"
Eleanor could have started crying right then and there but she attempted to control herself to the best of her abilities. But she couldn't hold back the excited squeal that pierced the air of the car, causing Margaret to flinch and the owl in the back to screech again.
"Yes, I asked him to come by the house so we could all sit down and talk to you. I want you two to meet and get to know each other."
Despite the pure excitement Eleanor felt, she couldn't help but question why the meeting of her father had become so sudden. For so long her mother refused to even give his name, now she was inviting the man into their home.
"But why now, Mum? It's been over sixteen years since you've seen him. He's never met me before and he's never contacted you before, right? What caused the sudden change?"
"I don't know, Ellie, but it started with the letter I received. It surprised me as much as it would surprise you. But he really wants to see you. He wants to talk to you and get to know everything about you."
"But where has he been all this time? He left you, with nothing, not a note or anything."
"We have been discussing that, but you don't have to worry about that part. He didn't feel a relationship was right for him, but you should know Eleanor that he didn't even know you existed. I only found myself pregnant long after he was gone."
There was a conflicting sensation of happiness and confusion that twisted Eleanor's stomach into knots as she began twiddling her thumbs in her lap, trying to register everything that was taking place. The discussion of her father was the last thing that came to mind when she had been debating everything Margaret would want to talk about. But as she looked over her should once more, Eleanor stared at the owl for a moment.
"Is this the real reason as to why you got me an owl?"
Margaret didn't give her an answer, making it obvious that it was going to be a long and awkward ride home.
As the evening settled in, Eleanor and Margaret arrived at the Ross household and immediately, Eleanor started looking around to see if there was another car parked outside. Unfortunately, there was nothing and she was starting to feel nauseous as she decided to grab her owl and released him from the cage. Margaret started to put up a protest.
"Relax, Mum," she said as they watched the owl perch himself on the roof of the home, "they like to be out of their cages."
Leaving her trunk in the car, Eleanor looked up at the house before looking back at her mother. "So-s-so, he's i-in there r-right now?"
Margaret nodded as she led the way up the stairs and the two of them walked in. She called out, announcing they had returned, and Eleanor took a firm grip of her mother's arm as she heard footsteps approaching from the direction of the kitchen. Eleanor practically craned her neck until the man appeared in the doorway to greet her.
"Wh-what-wh....WHAT?!"
"Hello, Eleanor."
Releasing her hold on Margaret's arm, Eleanor took a step forward, her legs completely wobbly as if she had suddenly become a new-born giraffe, attempting to walk for the first time.
"You're my father?"
It was the biggest slap in the face to Eleanor, she didn't know what else to say or what to do. She turned her gaze back to Margaret and then back to him. Noting that she wasn't going to approach him first, her father made his way over and came to stand before her.
"Would you like some chocolate?"