"Oh no! It's definitely crooked!"
Looking in a long mirror that she and Ginny had found venturing through Grimmauld Place, Eleanor pulled at the ends of her hair to make note that the right side was much longer than the left and was much shorter than she had originally visioned. Already, so much of her hair had been cut, resting at her feet on the floor that Eleanor was nervous that by the end of her haircut, she would actually be bald. It didn't help that Ginny didn't look all that confident to continue cutting to fix it up either.
The amount of regret that washed over her was enough to make Eleanor grab the back of her jumper and pull it over her head to hide what was left of her hair.
"This was a bad idea," she said, "I should have just made an appointment to get it cut!"
"Alright, Ellie, just relax," Ginny told her, "It's not like this has to be permanent, right? We can fix it, we just need...we need...we need Anora and Tonks! I'll be back!"
Not willing to walk through Grimmauld Place looking like a total mess, Eleanor remained where she stood as Ginny raced out of the room. Pulling her jumper back down, Eleanor looked at her hair once more, noting that several large pieces were longer or shorter. She had to remind her that it could be fixed, especially with the use of magic, but all she could picture was showing up to her internship on Monday with her hair looking utterly ridiculous.
Suddenly, Ginny returned with Anora and Tonks in tow and judging by their expressions, it was clear they thought the haircut was horrid as well.
"Fuck me," Anora muttered, only to be elbowed by Ginny, who gave her a look. "I mean, hey, you got a haircut, Ellie. That's great."
"You don't have to lie to me," Eleanor said, "I know what it looks like. I just need to fix this! I can't let everyone else see me."
Anora walked over first and grabbed a lock of uneven hair to see what they were working with. "Calm down, Ellie, it's not as bad as you think it is. It's a pretty easy fix, to be honest."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah," Tonks added, moving closer, "I saw way worse haircuts and dye jobs back when we were in Hogwarts. Late nights in the girls' dorm, you get bored, usually, the hair is the first thing that everyone starts messing with. Luckily for me, I can change it and if I don't like it, I can change it within seconds, but for those of you who can't...there are plenty of spells to help. And when it comes to hair, Anora is your woman."
Feeling more relaxed with their reassurance, Eleanor sat down on an old chair and allowed Anora and Tonks to work on her hair. To start off with, Anora decided to bring Eleanor's hair back to its original state or at least as close as possible using a hair-regrowing spell.
"I think we use hair spells more than anything back at the Sanctuary," Anora mentioned at one point, "I don't know how many times one of our colleagues has grown his beard back after it caught fire. The most important thing is control because if you let the spell get away from you, you're going to end up looking like one hairy beast."
If it wasn't mortifying enough to picture herself bald, all Eleanor could do at that moment was picture herself covered in hair from head to foot. But when she looked in the mirror, she could see that Anora had restored her hair back to its former glory, leaving her to sigh in relief.
"Alright, so how short were you looking to cut it?" Anora asked her. Eleanor lifted her hand that slightly trembled with nerves before resting it under her chin. With a nod of her head, Anora focused on the hair and started cutting away just as Eleanor closed her eyes.
It didn't take long before Anora took a step back from her work and looked to Tonks and Ginny, who grinned and nodded their heads.
"Okay, Ellie, what do you think?"
Opening her eyes, Eleanor's lip parted open in surprise. Right away, her hand lifted up and grabbed at one of the ends holding it between her fingers gently. She couldn't help the smile as she looked directly into the mirror before turning around to thank Anora profusely.
"Wait until Fred sees you," Ginny said, "he's going to lose his mind."
Speaking of Fred, very much like Eleanor and Ginny, had decided along with his brothers, that they didn't want to clean either. Instead, they walked around the rather creepy home, sticking their heads into rooms whenever they heard something behind a closed door. Eventually, they settled in one room that seemed rather clear of anything besides dust and put their feet up. At the sound of any footsteps approaching, they attempted to look busy. However, Anora and Tonks were not fooled in the slightest as they came upon the three.
"So, is this where all the cool boys are hanging out?" Tonks asked as she knocked on the doorframe. But before any of them could answer, Anora interjected.
"No, if it was, Fred and George wouldn't be allowed in here."
Very much offended, Fred and George took to flipping her off simultaneously until Ginny walked waving her arms rather dramatically.
"May I present to you, the new and improved Eleanor Ross!"
Fred was confused for a moment, wondering what Ginny was talking about until Eleanor appeared in the doorway. She stood in a bashful manner, and it only took a few seconds before Fred realised that her long hair was gone. Immediately, he stood up from where he had been sitting and made his way over to stand in front of her.
"You cut your hair?"
"Y-yeah," she said, "I thought I would try something different."
Without saying anything right away, Fred reached out his hand and gently grabbed one of the locks of her hair in the front and grinned at her.
"I never thought you would cut your hair short," he said, "but I have to say, I actually prefer it this way."
Eleanor's eyes lit up at his response as she smiled up at him. "You mean that?"
"Yeah, I don't know what it is about it, but it suits you a lot. I mean...look at you. I just keep getting luckier, don't I?"
Realising that he still had a hold of her hair, Fred moved his hand to cup the side of her face and leaned in for a kiss, until Ginny cleared her throat to remind the couple that there were others in the room. However, Fred looked over his shoulder at them and told them to find somewhere else to be before he leaned in once more and kissed Eleanor.
But Ginny wasn't the only one willing to interrupt as Molly suddenly showed up. At the sight of her son kissing Eleanor, she didn't say anything but when Fred pulled away, she called Eleanor's name. The two froze for a second before Eleanor turned around with an apologetic look.
"Yes?"
"Dear, if you could come with me, Anora and Tonks, you two as well," Molly said, "the meeting is about to get started."
"Meeting?" Eleanor, Fred, George, Ginny, and Ron all questioned at the same time. "What meeting?"
"It does not concern the rest of you," Molly told them, "You all stay up here and continue cleaning. Eleanor?"
For a moment, Fred was willing to argue with his mother, stating that he had a right to know what was going on, especially if his girlfriend was involved. But the expression on his mother's face pleaded with him, just this one time, to let it go. Eleanor grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze before walking out of the room with Tonks and Anora behind her.
No one was able to get a word in as Molly closed the door behind her as she left.
Holding her breath, the entire time she followed Molly down the stairs, Eleanor hoped there would be more of an explanation as to why a meeting was being held. Even as she looked at Anora and Tonks they didn't say anything either. But as she entered the kitchen and witnessed the gathering of her father, Nixie, Sirius, Arthur Weasley, Professor Dumbledore, and Moody, it didn't take Eleanor long to realise why she had been summoned. It was clear that she hadn't been brought along to clean the Grimmauld Place as Molly had insinuated before.
While Remus gawked at his daughter's new haircut, Eleanor found herself happy to see Moody once again. She couldn't recall too much of their time stuck in the trunk together after being captured, but she would always be thankful for his kindness and help. Trying to clear some of the tension in the room, Eleanor spoke first.
"Am I in trouble?"
"No, Ellie, you're not in trouble," Remus said, "why don't you sit down? We're all just here to talk to you."
Taking a seat beside her father, Eleanor watched as all the other adults followed their lead with Professor Dumbledore sitting across from her. Although they all looked calm or happy, Eleanor couldn't help but feel nervous under all their gazes.
"So, what did you all want to talk about?"
It was Dumbledore who spoke first drawing the attention of the room to him. "Ms Ross, we have already been in discussion of your knitting," he started, "and I'm sure you remember that we spoke about keeping the special properties of your knitting a secret, except for those in this very small circle."
She swallowed and nodded her head. "Yes, but I haven't told anyone, I swear."
"This meeting is not being held to question you in those regards, Ms Ross. But to simply bring awareness of how you must practise caution. You are starting your internship Monday with Ms Amelia Bones, correct?"
"Yes, Sir."
"There are many eyes and ears at the Ministry and word tends to travel quickly. In regard to your knitting, you are not to knit with your wand in a public setting. I suggest switching back to using regular knitting needles of your choice, but you may still utilize your wand in private."
Trying to think back to when she had last used two regular knitting needles instead of replacing one with her wand, Eleanor frowned, but Dumbledore wasn't finished.
"As for gifting garments, please refrain from giving any finished products to those outside of this circle," he continued. "You may gift any of your work to others if you have only used your regular knitting needles. We cannot let others become aware of your enchanted clothing."
"You don't think You-Know-Who is aware of it by now?" Eleanor asked quietly. "You don't think he knows?"
"I am certain that he is more than aware of Cedric Diggory's survival, however, he may not be aware of the reasoning just yet. Despite Barty Crouch Jr gaining information about your knitting, at least, aware of some of the properties, I don't believe he had any time to relay a message. He was much too involved in his plan against Harry, which is why I suspect he placed you in the trunk to deal with you later or perhaps present you to Voldemort himself."
There was a cold shiver that travelled down Eleanor's spine at the mention of being presented to Voldemort.
"So, does this mean that Cedric's in danger now? You-Know-Who was going after Harry because he survived the Killing Curse, does that mean Cedric is going to be facing the same fate?"
No one spoke for a moment, leaving Eleanor's chest to stir with panic, believing that one of her best friends had become a target of one of the deadliest wizards of their time. It was bad enough having to worry about Harry before.
"Mr Diggory is safe for now," Dumbledore said finally, "Voldemort has decided to keep a low profile for a reason. I suspect he is attempting to build his numbers and with the media coverage regarding his return, I don't believe he is going to make any drastic movements."
Eleanor was suddenly on her feet. "But you can't guarantee that, can you?! You can't guarantee that he won't go after Cedric, or have someone else go after him?"
"Settle yourself down, lass," Moody's voice interrupted, "you think we're new to this? We've been dealing with him and his followers before you were even born. We know how he thinks and how he works. What Dumbledore is telling you to do is keep a low profile. Don't bring any more attention to yourself. You just try to keep living your life as normal as possible."
Normal? Eleanor scoffed in her mind.
Her life hadn't been normal from the time she was a little girl back when her mother thought she was possessed by a demon. Only to find out she was a witch and later on to find out she was also the daughter of a werewolf. And to top it all off, her knitting turned out to be like magical armour against the Dark Arts.
Normalcy had long gone out the window.
Feeling the onset of irritation, Eleanor did not sit back down, but rather asked if she were allowed to leave. She wanted to go home. Hearing her tone, Remus went to comfort his daughter, but Dumbledore spoke first, telling Eleanor that she was free to leave as long as she understood what was being asked of her. She only stared at Dumbledore for a moment or so before walking away from the table.
But rather than going home like she originally wanted, Eleanor decided to return to Fred and the others upstairs. She would much rather be cleaning than be subjected to any more meetings that would leave her feeling on edge.
Unwilling to be left in the dark of things, Fred, George, Ginny, and Ron found themselves camping out on the stairs, hoping to hear any bit of the meeting that they hadn't been invited to. However, it was clear that whatever was in the discussion was meant to be private as Molly had closed over the doors and not one sound echoed into the emptiness of the other room. It was only when Eleanor appeared, looking positively annoyed, that there was any sign of life. And while Fred was terribly curious about what had been discussed, seeing the look on Eleanor's face made him think twice about asking any questions. Instead, he shooed the others up the stairs and waited in the middle of the staircase.
When Eleanor finally reached the staircase and looked up at him, he held his arms out offering a hug. An offer she gladly took him up on.
From that point on, none of the other adults came to speak with Eleanor. They seemed to be busy with different matters as Molly didn't even come out to scold them when they completely slacked off from cleaning. No one had bothered to ask Eleanor about the meeting, per the advice of Fred as he warned them all to leave her be for a bit. Instead, he took the opportunity to try and make her laugh as much as possible, by throwing jokes left and right, or acting even sillier with George.
Eventually, Eleanor came around, feeling a little better, but still didn't want to talk about the meeting. Every so often, she would look at her wand in her hand, telling herself that she was just being dramatic. She would still be able to knit with it, she just had to do it in the privacy of her home or at the Grimmauld Place. It wasn't like Dumbledore had told her to stop knitting completely. But she knew that wasn't the real reason behind her irritation. It was the fact that they couldn't guarantee Cedric's safety and she felt like she had placed him in danger.
Remus was the first to emerge from the kitchen, later on, looking quite tired as he approached where Eleanor and Fred were sitting together.
"I think it's about time we head home," he said to her, hoping she wasn't upset with him. "Your mother said she would have dinner ready around this time."
As Eleanor turned to Fred, he offered her a smile before leaning into her, promising her that they would see each other the next day. And seeing as Remus was standing in front of them, the two exchanged kisses on the cheek before Eleanor stood up to leave with her father.
Back at the Ross household, Margaret was eagerly waiting on Eleanor's return as she hadn't seen her daughter all day. She had heard from Lyall that Eleanor had passed her Apparating test and gotten her license. She had baked a congratulatory cake during the day to fill her time and when she heard the soft popping sounds outside of the home, she quickly opened the front door to find Eleanor and Remus. Much to her dismay, neither of them looked very happy, but she was hoping it was just due to the fact that they were tired.
"Ellie!" Margaret wrapped her arms around Eleanor in a hug. "I'm so proud of you. Congratulations on passing!"
"Thanks, Mum," Eleanor said, forcing a smile on her face. But Margaret was not as oblivious as her daughter believed.
"Are you alright, Ellie?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just been a long day. I'm going to go shower-"
"Well, before you do that, do you want to open the package that came for you this afternoon?"
Margaret smiled as soon as Eleanor's expression switched to curiosity. "A package? From who?"
"Amelia Bones!"
The package was sitting on the kitchen table after Margaret pointed it out and the tired Remus, suddenly became cautious, hoping that it was actually from Amelia. He made his way into the kitchen behind Eleanor and watched as she tore into the box. He kept a firm grip on his wand that rested at his side.
"What is it?!" Margaret asked excitedly. "What did she send you?"
Eleanor turned to her parents, this time wearing a genuine smile.
"It's my Ministry robes," she answered, holding up the little card that came with it. "She said I need to wear these to Wizengamot sessions."
Not really sure what all that meant, Margaret still clapped her hands together until something caught her attention that she didn't notice before.
"Eleanor Ross, did you cut your hair?!"