Young eleanor sat at a redwood breakfast table, a plate of stacked pancakes towered in front of her while her Brother finished his off as quick as he could.
"When will you be back?" Says her small voice.
"Before you know it." Replied James who smiled at his little sister, Eleanor frowned and struggled to cut her pancakes. She was only 7, that meant she had to wait another three years till she got to experience Hogwarts like her brother was about to.
James noticed his sisters attitude before their mother called James to escort him to the Hogwarts Express. "Come on, James. Eleanor, I'll be back in a few hours. Make sure the house elf cleans up nicely. We have a dinner party tonight."
Eleanor nodded her head as she watched her mum leave the house. James walked over and gave his sister a geniun hug. "Don't do anything dumb when I'm gone sis."
"You're taking all the dumb with you James." She laughed as James gave her a teasing pinch of the nose.
"I'll write to you, soon."
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"HUFFLEPUFF!" called the sorting hat as Eleanor hopped off the stool.
"Congrats sis!" Third year James Potter jumped out of his seat to hug her.
"Mum and dad are going to be so disappointed in me." She stated, James knew what she meant. Their parents encouraged them to be in Gryffindor. Mum used to talk rubbish of Hufflepuff.
"Who cares what they think El! All that matters is that I'm proud of you! And besides, you could be in worse houses." He looked over to the slytherin table with a funny face and ten year old Eleanor giggled as he messed with her hair.
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"Eleanor and Sirius sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
"SHHH-ut iT!" Hushed a blushing Eleanor as she threw a pillow in her best friend and bunk mate Seria Lanchester.
Seria layed upside down on her bed reading the diary Eleanor hid under her pillow. That is until Seria found it along with Eleanors secret crush.
"I mean, I understand the whole falling for their brothers friends type deal, but you pick the one who radiates douchebag!"
"Why were you even getting into my stuff?" Asked Eleanor who stripped off her shoes that irritated her heels. She sat at her bunk rubbing her feet.
"You're not true friends until you get into your friends stuff. It's my hobby." Seria went to Eleanors bed to braid her friends hair.
"He can't find out!" Eleanor warned her friend, "Please!"
"Bloody hell, okay!" Seria replied, "Who knows he might like you back."
●
"I can't believe it." Cried Eleanor, "Our parents are dead." James hugged his sister. Their parents died from Dragon Pox.
It was fifth year for her, James gave her a supportive hug and hoped all the pain would go away. He himself was saddened, but not as much as Eleanor. She was still too young to deal with death and tragedy.
"We stick together. That's all we can do." James had to admit he was terrible dealing with things like this. "I'm always going to be here for you, you know that?"
Eleanor sighed wiping hot tears from her face with the sleeves of her sweater. She nodded and continued to choke up from her burning throat.
"Is she going to be okay?" Asked Lily
James nodded his head giving Lily the signal to leave them alone for one more moment.
James breathed in about to shed tears himself, he pressed his lips to the side of his sisters head. "Its going to be alright."
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"Receive the Lord's blessing. The Lord bless you and watch over you. The Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord look kindly on you and give you peace. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen." Spoke the priest.
To Eleanor, life was now a black hole. She stared down the steep dirt where they placed two wooden caskets. They shared a tombstone, James and Lily. Alot of people showed up to their funeral, all those people Eleanor refused to talk to.
She was too numb to hear Mcgonagall speak to her about how strong she was being about the situation and how everything would work out in the end. She felt empty. Completely empty.
"Eleanor?" Recalled the voice of Dumbledore who sorrowed down at her, "The ministry would like to have some words with you, when you have the chance. I was hoping I could take you there myself."
Eleanor watched the cemetery worker begin to finish piling dirt back in the hole. Tears ran down her cheeks for the millionth time that day, she simply raised her wand and let out a simple spell.
Purple Hyacinths grew out from the dirt around their tombstone. A flower meaning 'sorry', a flower meaning Eleanor and James had broken their promise, that one wasn't always going to be there for the other."Its going to be alright." Eleanor re-quoted her brother, "We stick together... That's all we can do..."
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Eleanor Adler now sat at a bus station, awaiting her ride back home where she'd need to walk an extra mile out to her hide out cottage far from civilization.
She had been writing a letter to dear Harry, Letter 824, she counted the letters she had sent through the days. She talked about how her day was going and how she had almost brought a dog home to keep, but dogs are loud. She needed quiet.
"Excuse me?" Spoke a voice that belonged to a handsome man.
She looked up, "Yes?"
"You mind if I sit?" He asked and she insisted that he did so. "My name is Ted." He held his hand out which she looked down to.
"You always introduce yourself to strangers?" She asked him
"Only the most beautiful ones... miss?" He carried on, Eleanor finally let a smile creep on her face.
"Eleanor Adler."
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"Mr King, You may now kiss your bride." Spoke the priest, in which Ted didn't hesitate to lean into his beautiful Eleanor. In which they carried off their lifes in the cottage still very far from society. It made Eleanor happy, so Ted never questioned it.
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"Ted." Eleanor whispered one night three years into the life as a married woman.
Ted had been sitting at his writing desk dealing with paper work from his muggle job as a banker. "Yes darling?" He called from the poorly lit room.
Eleanor leaned against the door frame, her eyes glimmering to him with a sort of nervousness.
It wasn't until he made eye contact with her when she spoke, "I need to tell you something."
In Ted's mind he didn't know what to think, everything was fine in their relationship... "Wait.." he guessed, his eyes wide and glimmered too, "Did we do it?"
"Do what?"
"Having a baby?!" He exclaimed jumping out of his chair to hold his wife.
She shook her head, "The tests are still negative Ted." Ted brushed his fingers through his chocolate locks and sighed.
"Its not about that anyways." She pulled a chair next to him, "I should have told you this before.."
"Are we telling secrets now?" Ted asked and let out a nervous chuckle, "Might as well say it, I'll go first- The pot roast you made on our second date was disgusting. I said it was good, but I spit it out in the bathroom when you went to take desert out of the oven." Eleanor hit his arm as Ted laughed.
"I'm serious Ted."
"So am I, please never make pot roast again." Ted continued to joke before his tone became more soft, "Love, whatever you have to say, its probably not a big deal. Just spit it out. Like I did with-"
"My pot roast. I get it Ted." Eleanor had let out a small laugh and hugged her husband who she dearly loved. He was the best thing that's ever happened to her. She didn't know why she's never told him, but everything seemed too suspicious. The letters, the cottage, the fact that Eleanor had chose to stay home and keep things quiet. She was tired of hiding it. Tired of her brother in law Thomas blackmailing her about telling Ted the truth on those rough nights where he drank too much. She'd rather tell him herself. "My name isn't Eleanor Adler, its Eleanor Potter."
●
All of Ted's things had disappeared the next day, the only thing he left behind was his wedding band. The simple gold ring left alone on the table, where Eleanor sat with a bottle of liquor and a pack of smokes.
For her, nothing could make her feel something.
Not anymore.
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"That wasn't all that she left us Severus, she only showed us a partial explanation of her past. Memories she's thought about much too often." Dumbledore had said after they visited her memories.
Severus walked away to sit on a sofa chair that sat in Dumbledore's office. He needed space to take all of that in.
"She doesn't know you've seen it. She gave it to me, after I asked for permission of course." Dumbledore continued on.
Snape shook is head in response, "Why must I be involved? What did that have to do with anything?" His dark eyes looked to Dumbledore's. Snape wanted nothing to do with the woman beforehand, now it's like he knew too much of her wellbeing and personal life like nobody else.
"It's mandatory the two of you join as one to protect the boy Severus. You must understand one another and quit the game of bickering like first years." Dumbledore walked around his desk before he gave Severus a knowing look, "As for her vision, she doesn't know it yet, but I fear it to be Lord Voldemort trying to send some sort of message."
"What message?"
"He knows who she is."