On the first of April, Fred woke with a smile on his face, one because it was his birthday, along with George, where the two of them were finally of age in the Wizarding World, and two, their birthday had fallen on a Saturday, which meant they didn't have to suffer through classes. Especially on their favourite holiday. There had also been the promise of gifts, settled at the end of his bed, which had been a good motivator to wake up.
Among one of the gifts, was the traditional pocket watch that many wizards were gifted when they turned seventeen years old. Fred never asked the significance of the watches, but nonetheless, it was the first gift he had opened that morning addressed to him from his parents. Opening it, the watch appeared to be a hand-me-down, silver in cover but covered in scratches over the front and back. He pulled it out by the chain and held it up, only to see the smallest carvings of F.P carved into it. And immediately, he knew who the watch had originally belonged to.
It wasn't a secret, but it was a topic that was usually tiptoed around within the Weasley household, and that was the discussion of their mother's older brothers, Fabian and Gideon Prewett. They had been killed during the Wizarding War, which their father explained was something Molly never truly recovered from. Obviously, Fred and George's name were meant to pay homage to her late brothers, and sometimes, Fred felt like when Molly looked at them, she was expecting to see her brothers and perhaps that was why she held them to such high standards all the time.
When George opened his own watch a short while later, his watch had been engraved with G.P on it. They knew their mother had a box of belongings that had once belong to Fabian and Gideon, and whenever it came down to an important event, such as a birthday or making Head Boy in the family, she would pull an item out and gift it to one of her children. So while Fred didn't know the significance of the tradition, he knew how much it meant for his mother to gift him the pocket watch.
Knowing how strained their relationship had been over the summer, it meant a lot to Fred to receive something he knew was considered precious to her. In some ways, he figured it was her way of saying that even if they didn't see eye to eye all the time, and even if she tended to play favourites without noticing, the twins still meant a lot to her. And despite their disagreements, she would always be their mother.
Placing the watch carefully at the side of his bed, Fred pushed himself out of bed, ready to get started with the day. He already had plans to meet Eleanor in the Great Hall for breakfast, along with George because she claimed she had a gift for them. He had told her numerous times before that she didn't have to get him anything, mainly because when it came to giving Eleanor anything in return, Fred couldn't financially do the same. Perhaps that was why he had been so happy when they went back and forth with their flower trading. It didn't involve money, but the simple act of going outside and picking the flowers.
The act itself meant more to him than Eleanor probably imagined initially.
Once he had showered and gotten dress, Fred waited on George to finish getting ready himself before the two of them left for the Great Hall, and as expected, Eleanor was already waiting on them at the Gryffindor table. She appeared to be sharing her breakfast with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, talking over something until the four of them were approached.
As soon as Fred sat down beside her, the twins were wished a "happy birthday" from all of them, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione came up with a quick excuse to leave, allowing only Eleanor to remain.
"Well, how does it feel to be seventeen, gentlemen?" she asked, pushing her plate away to give the two her undivided attention. "Did you two become dancing queens overnight? Having the time of your lives?"
Fred and George appeared absolutely lost, missing out on the reference that Eleanor had made. She waited for them to catch on, but after a minute, she realised that it was a lost cause.
"Never mind," she chuckled softly, "remind me to introduce you two to ABBA sometime over the summer. You two are missing out. Anyways, do the two of you want your gifts now?"
Fred sighed. "I really wish you hadn't gotten us anything, love," he admitted, "I was just fine with the idea of having your company for the day."
Eleanor smiled. "Well, I hope you weren't expecting something big," she told him, reaching into the pocket of her casual robes and pulling out an envelope, "to be honest, I wasn't sure what to get the two of you."
As Fred and George exchanged a curious glance with one another, Eleanor held out the envelope towards them, waving it playfully in the air until it was taken from her hand. Fred took it from her gently and after he was urged to open it, he tore off the top to reveal some sort of document inside. The two of them scanned it over, noting the name of their business " Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes" clear at the top, with plenty of heavy wording to follow.
"What is this?" George asked.
"It's the paperwork for your trademark, regarding your business," Eleanor said, " Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes has been registered under your names, meaning it properly belongs to you two now. No one can take that away from you."
"I-I don't understand," Fred said, "what do you mean?"
"It means, everything you two have been working for is now protected. This is the start of your brand. Of course, if you two decide that you don't want to go with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, well, then it's pretty much useless, but if you did, no scheming or scamming can take this from you. After what Ludo Bagman did to you two, I think your best bet is to be safe. Start off with the trademark and then, you two can patent your inventions once everything is set and clear."
For a few moments, nothing was said, Eleanor could only sit patiently as the two sat in front of her, reading the paperwork over. And after a couple of minutes when they looked up again, she seemed to wear an apologetic expression.
"I know it's not much of a gift per se," she said, "but I was talking to my grandfather about what Ludo did and he told me it was best that you two try to protect everything you've been working towards. He suggested the trademark and patents, so with his help, I thought this would be a good start."
"Not much of a gift," George repeated, "Ellie, sometimes, I think you're downright mad. This is amazing. Talk about a good start, we didn't even think about this far ahead. We've only been discussing products."
George's reassurance seemed to be enough to allow Eleanor's smile to return, but as she turned to Fred, waiting for his answer, she was more than surprised when he handed the paperwork over to George and stood up from the bench. He said nothing as he promptly left the Great Hall, leaving Eleanor and George to stare at each other in confusion. Thinking she had done or said something wrong, Eleanor excused herself from the table and told George she was going to go after him.
Just as she left through the doors of the Great Hall, she managed to spot Fred round the corner of the corridor, leaving her to hurry after him. But just as she came around the corner, she suddenly found herself in Fred's arms.
Although puzzled by his actions, Eleanor was ready to apologise, only to find Fred's hands slide to the sides of her face before she pulled into a strong kiss. Had it not been for him holding her in place, she would have stumbled back. Very rarely was Fred the one to initiate a kiss between them, but when he did so, it seemed to make it even more special in Eleanor's mind. She remained in his embrace until he finally pulled away wearing a soft smile.
"So, I take it that you do like the gift then?" she asked him after gathering herself again.
"Yes," he chuckled, "but I didn't want to start snogging you in front of my brother, now, did I?"
"Well, you could have said something!" She smacked the front of his chest lightly. "You had me worried, walking out like that!"
Truth be told, the gift itself was beyond anything Fred would have guessed, and it meant so much to him that Eleanor was that invested in a dream he shared with George, enough that she was willing to help them make it into a reality. And paired with the gift from his mother that morning, he had become suddenly overwhelmed with emotions while sitting in the Great Hall.
"Thank you, Ellie, really," he said sincerely, "I don't know how else to thank you besides saying it over and over. And when I do get the chance, I'll thank your granddad for helping too."
"Just as long as you don't kiss him like you just kissed me as a part of your thank you," she laughed, "I wouldn't want to fight Grandpa Lyall."
"I can't help that I'm so desirable, Ellie."
"I know you can't, love."
With the twins' birthday come and gone, it seemed the majority of Eleanor's fellow peers in her year had become of age and qualified to take the Apparition Test when the time finally came. Both Marnie and Cedric were of age, along with the twins and Lee, leaving Eleanor the only remaining one of their group unable to take it. Of course, Madam Bones had reassured her that she could take the test right after her birthday and get her license, but she still felt slightly envious of everyone that was able to get theirs right away.
After weeks of stumbling, falling over, splinching random pieces of their bodies, and listening to the excessive reminder of the importance of the Three D's of Apparition, the students who qualified, were called to Hogsmeade to further demonstrate their skills. Unfortunately, for those that did not qualify, it meant they still had to attend their classes as usual.
Eleanor found herself in Arithmancy, and apparently, Judith and Renna, were also of age as they were absent from the classroom, leaving only Eleanor and Artemis. With the class attendance of only two students, even Professor Vector found the class to be relatively pointless that afternoon as she advised the girls to work on any other work if they needed to catch up. Otherwise, there was nothing else for them to do.
However, Eleanor found it to be the perfect opportunity to talk to Artemis one on one. Since the day she invited Artemis to sit with her at lunch that one day in the Great Hall, Eleanor had witnessed some rather odd behaviour from the girl. They would talk in Arithmancy class just fine, they had even paired up a couple of times to complete an assignment and everything seemed to be okay between them.
And sometimes, she would sit with Eleanor at lunch in the Great Hall, but it was only for a brief set of time before she would quickly excuse herself and vanish. Sometimes, Fred and George were a witness to her behaviour as well, and it only led Fred to become suspicious that Artemis wasn't being very genuine with Eleanor and Marnie and Cedric seemed to agree with him.
Meanwhile, Eleanor and George suspected there was something more to the story because from what she witnessed, Artemis seemed to enjoy herself at the table or in class, especially when George spoke or joked around, but whenever her cousins appeared, she would hurry off. It didn't take a genius to piece together that more than likely, Artemis didn't want to be seen hanging around the others if her family was there to bear witness.
And while Eleanor tried to understand where Artemis was coming from, it still bothered her, perhaps because she wanted Artemis as a friend, more so than an enemy. It didn't help that Marnie and Cedric had fallen into an awkward agreement to get along with each other, but the friendship felt stiff and awkward as Marnie struggled to rid of her feelings for Cedric and try to stay loyal to Lee. Eleanor wanted to help her, but she was unsure how to go about it and Cedric was completely clueless to the whole matter of Marnie's feelings but confessed to Eleanor that he felt like Marnie didn't want him around anymore.
Eleanor encouraged both of them to talk to each other while they were at Hogsmeade for the Apparition Test because they needed to communicate, rather than rely on others to speak on their behalf. She hoped it would go well, but there was no telling, leaving Eleanor quite anxious as she said in Professor Vector's class, knitting away after the professor left the classroom for a few minutes.
Artemis had placed her own things down beside her, working on homework for Potions, when she noticed Eleanor making a really long scarf, a really really really long scarf.
"Were you thinking about gifting that scarf for the Loch Ness monster?" Artemis asked. "Or perhaps a giraffe?"
Glancing down, Eleanor realised the length before she placed her knitting down quickly. "I guess I was lost in my thoughts for a bit."
"What were you thinking about?"
There was no sense in beating around the bush. "Is there a particular reason as to why you talk to me in class and sit with me at lunch, talk to me like we're friends, but as soon as you spot one of your cousins, you make a mad dash to get as far away from me as possible?"
Artemis visibly stiffened as her gaze fell on her parchment paper, a frown tugging at her lips. She didn't say anything, only confirming Eleanor's thoughts.
"You don't want your family to see you hanging around me, do you?"
"It's not just you," Artemis answered quietly, "I...I can't be seen with your or with Ge..the twins. If word got back to my father, he would be absolutely furious with me. Hestia and Flora, they've already said something about it. I've been playing it off that we're grouped together for projects. Of course, he's annoyed by it, but he knows he can't do anything about it. So...I...I'm sorry."
"But you don't agree with him?" Eleanor asked. "Right? You don't think there's anything wrong with hanging out with me or the twins?"
"After that night, where you helped me at the Yule Ball, everything just became confusing because I said so many terrible things to you and about your father, and you still helped me. You could have just left me there or let me go and you didn't. I told my father about it, and..."
She left out a half-laugh, half-scoffing sound.
"He wasn't even concerned that some boy had likely laced my drink with something or was attempting to do something foul to me," she confessed, "he was more upset that your kind had helped me. He was furious actually, thinking it made it seem like I owed something to you or however he put it."
"That's why you tried to offer me money, to make it seem like you didn't owe me something."
"It was his idea."
"What does your father have against my father or me?" Eleanor continued to question. "I haven't done anything personal to him and I doubt my father has."
Artemis wouldn't meet her gaze as she answered. "You didn't have to do anything, Ellie, it's the fact that you exist when he and my family passionately believe that you shouldn't. Or the fact that you do, we shouldn't be seen as equals. I have been raised my entire life being taught that anyone who isn't a pureblood is inferior to me, they are nothing. And even purebloods like the Weasley family who believe that blood status means nothing, they're nothing but traitors. All terrible people, who wish for terrible things to happen to the magical community. And yet, my father..."
Her voice trailed off as she shook her head.
"If you don't believe in those teachings anymore, why don't you tell him that?"
Eleanor's naïve and innocent nature seemed to shine through as Artemis lifted her head and looked at her as if she had gone mad.
"I'd like to see my seventeenth birthday, thank you very much," Artemis told her. "My father he would...he would..."
She stopped, looking as though she had revealed too much.
"He would what, Artemis? Are you trying to imply that he would hurt you?" Eleanor asked with a worried look. "He shouldn't get away with that. You shouldn't be bound by fear. If you don't believe in-"
"Just be quiet, Ellie!" Artemis suddenly snapped. "You don't know what you're talking about! You don't know how things work! Just mind your business."
In what seemed like a panic, Artemis grabbed her things and left the classroom before Eleanor could say anything else. But in a rush, she had left behind the assignment she had been working on. Lifting it up off the table, Eleanor called after her but by the time she reached the doorway, Artemis was gone.
Entering the Great Hall later, Eleanor settled at the Hufflepuff table, feeling rather guilty over how things had spiralled between her and Artemis. She wasn't looking to make Artemis upset, but rather help her. Hearing the genuine fear in her voice and seeing it in her eyes, Eleanor had to suspect that the relationship between Artemis and her father was not a healthy one. Looking down at the parchment paper that Artemis had left behind, she read over the handwriting to herself, not really in the mood to eat.
"Polyjuice Potion ingredients," she read under her breath, "of course that potion would be on the N.E.W.T.s levels. I suppose I should thank Fred and George for not getting me an O, can't imagine having to sit through that exam again since the O.W.Ls were almost the death of me. Let's see, lacewing flies, I remember that. Powdered bicorn horn. Leeches only took me ages to remember that during the exam. Fluxweed picked at a full moon...and knotgrass...knotgrass...wait a minute- "
"ELLIE!"
The sound of her name being called by not just one, but multiple people caused her to nearly fall off the bench as she jumped. In the midst of her panic, she managed to knock over her goblet of water all over the table, spilling onto the parchment and everywhere else. Immediately, she stood up to avoid the spill, only to look up and see the twins standing across from her and Marnie and Cedric standing behind her.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" she scolded them. "Trying to have me suffer a heart attack?!"
"Uh, Ellie, we've been calling your name for like two minutes," Cedric told her, "you were just in your own little world."
"What were you reading anyway?" Marnie asked.
Eleanor looked down to the soaked parchment paper, too frazzled to remember anything as she shook her head. She quickly came to realise that they had all returned from Hogsmeade, meaning they had the results of their Apparition test.
"It's not important," she said waving her hand, "you're all back! How did it go?!"
Judging by the surrounding smiles, before any of them could answer it was safe to say that they had all passed, but once confirmed, Eleanor congratulated all of them.
"And we're proud to say that we didn't land on some old lady doing her shopping," Fred grinned, "can't wait to write that in our next letter to Charlie and Anora.
A/N: Thank you to itsboncism on Instagram for making this amazing edit of Frellie! I love it!