THE OTHER WEASLEY

This fanfiction contains a mix of original content and book content. Everything that belongs to J.K. Rowling belongs to J.K. Rowling. Everything else was inspired by her work but created by me.

Author's Note:

I actually began this story under another account many years ago. Said account is long since lost to me, but this is my opportunity to improve those first three chapters, and then go beyond them and actually finish the story!

Fingers crossed.

CHAPTER ONE:

Lucy was late.

"Mate, time doesn't go any faster when you do that," said Carter Boot as Elliot Thomas checked his watch for the fifth time in two minutes. "Maybe she's not com - "

"She's coming," Elliot said fiercely. "Look, Carter, I appreciate what you're saying, but you don't know Lucy like I do. She promised she would be here, and she doesn't break promises." 'Course, you promised to write to her this summer, and look how well you did with that, whispered a pessimistic voice in his head. He quickly squashed it, but not before doubt made his heart sink.

Carter sighed, feeding a treat through the bars of a large cage as his owl began to chirp loudly. "The train leaves in five minutes."

"She'll be here," repeated Elliot. But maybe not? After all, you weren't here for her this summer, were you? the voice said snidely. Maybe she found a new best friend - one who doesn't disappear to Switzerland for months without saying goodbye.

Shut up, Elliot told the voice. He scanned the crowded platform again. Steam from the Hogwarts Express made it hard to see clearly. No. No. No. Wait - nope. Not her. No. No. No... Could it be? Elliot let go of his trunk and cat carrier and moved towards the figure. The girl had the same golden hair as Lucy, the same buttery eyes and delicate features. But the hunched shoulders, bowed head, and bleak expression were so unlike her that they rendered her almost unrecognizable, even to him. What happened?

As Elliot approached, he saw a big-eared Hufflepuff - Devon, was it? - say something to her. He was just close enough to hear Lucy snap, "Bugger off, will you?" and send a crushed Devon in the opposite direction.

Attempting to put a smile on his face, Elliot shoved his hands in his pockets and said with forced lightness, "You're breaking the poor lad's heart, Lu."

"You act as if I care," Lucy muttered, not looking at him as she stalked towards the train.

"Lucy, what - ?"

"I'm not really in the mood for talking."

Completely thrown by her cold attitude, evidently caused by something more than his lack of communication, it took him a moment to collect himself and his things to follow her on board. She pushed her way through the throngs of students lining the corridors without any apologies, and Elliot kept a few steps behind muttering, "Sorry, sorry," until she disappeared into an empty compartment. And while she didn't tell Elliot to go find a different one when he followed her inside, her turned back and pointed silence told him to leave as clearly as though she'd shouted it.

Elliot crossed his arms and parked himself in the door frame. "So, why aren't you in the mood for talking?"

"Just don't feel like it."

"Well that's too bloody bad, because I'm not going to move until you tell me what's wrong. So spill."

Lucy glowered at him, then dug through her things and pulled out Ancient Runes of the Alps. Elliot sighed quietly, realizing that, in her ornery state, Lucy was as unlikely to talk to him as he was to leave. So he changed tactics, heaving his trunk into the overhead storage before flopping down on the seat opposite her. "You know," he said casually. "You could skip reading that book and just ask me about runes in the Alps. I saw some this summer."

His words were met with stony silence. The train whistled, jolted, and then slowly began to move out of the station.

"Or not. I mean, I totally get why you'd prefer to stick your nose in some dusty, old parchment rather than converse with your best friend."

A muscle tightened in her jaw.

"Lucy Victoria Weasley, I swear on Merlin's left - "

"Oh, can it, Thomas!" Lucy said loudly, slamming her book shut and pointing her wand at him threateningly. "Or I will hex you."

Out of good humor, Elliot sat up and returned her glare. "Go on, then. Do it. If that's what I get for caring, than so be it," he said, with more than a little bitterness in his voice. "I know I was an arse for not writing this summer, but obviously there's something more than my idiocy at play here and I just wanted to help."

Lucy flinched and her wand dropped. Elliot felt his throat tighten as the hard, angry look on her face fell away to reveal anguish. As the tears swelled in her eyes, he moved next to her and took her into his arms. "Hey, shh... I didn't mean to upset you. I've got you. Shh..."

"My family hates me," Lucy sobbed into his chest. "All of them hate me."

"That's ridiculous, Lu. Why would you think that?" Elliot asked, dismayed. She was normally the most cheerful, gentle, collected girl in the whole school, and he'd never seen her in such an emotional state before. Best friend or not, he didn't feel equipped to adequately handle a full breakdown. "Hey, hey, it's okay. Look at me. Breathe." He summoned a clean tissue from his trunk and dabbed her cheeks as she took a few deep breaths. "That's better." He waited until the giant sobs had quieted before asking, "Why do you think they hate you?"

"Dad asked Mum to leave because he thought she was seeing someone. He kicked her out three weeks ago. But she's not cheating on him! She's got cancer." Lucy must have seen Elliot's baffled look because she clarified shakily, "It's a Muggle disease; she's dying, Elliot. The treatments aren't working."

She closed her eyes for a moment, a tear trickling down her face. Elliot brushed it away, caressing her cheek gently with his thumb as he tried to stay composed. "Oh, Lucy. I'm so sorry. Does Molly know?"

"No one does. Not Molly, or Dad, or anyone." Lucy took another tissue from him and blew her nose. "I wasn't supposed to know, either, but I caught her on the way to her treatment one day."

"Why hasn't she told anyone?"

"You know how religious she is. She says she isn't a witch, and must trust in her beliefs to give her strength."

Elliot could picture Audrey smiling kindly as she said this, the stubborn light that Lucy had inherited glinting in her eyes: fully accepting of the magical world to which she now belonged, but firm in her devotion to her faith and Muggle roots. His eyes stung; Audrey was like a second mother to him and the thought of her struggling alone... "And she didn't want anyone to stop her from doing it her way?"

"She thinks Dad wouldn't understand and would force her to go to St Mungo's if he knew... Which is probably true. But now everyone is upset! Mum's rented a flat near her treatment center, and I went with her to help, but now no one in my family will speak to me. They think I'm horrid for taking her side in the 'affair.'"

Lucy was trembling in his arms. Elliot pulled her even closer, stroking her hair. He didn't know what to say. There was nothing to be said. The Weasley family was very big and very loyal to each other, and, even after many years of marriage, they would have favored Lucy's father Percy over an outsider like Audrey. What an ugly situation...

Lucy's breathing slowed, deepening into a light snore. Glancing down, he realized how dark the circles under her eyes were, and how ashen her face was. She's been completely alone in her grief, he thought, painfully regretting not keeping in contact over the holidays. Of all the summers to not have written...

He sighed, sliding her down so that her head rested comfortably in his lap. He and Lucy had been friends practically since birth. His father, Dean Thomas, had been a good friend of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and as such was a regular visitor at their family gatherings. His mum, Alexandra Thomas, and Audrey Weasley, the beautiful blond Muggle whom Percy had married, were both pregnant when they'd met at one such function, and remained friends even to this day. Born only two weeks apart, he and Lucy had practically been raised under each other's roofs, and had grown only more inseparable once they'd started Hogwarts. Elliot had a sneaking suspicion that the two mothers were waiting for them to announce a secret love affair or something, but, to his relief, neither had mentioned it aloud.

Not that he necessarily would've minded dating her, if things were different. Lucy Weasley was, in his opinion, the most beautiful girl in every single way. She took after her mother more than her father, with bronzed-blond hair, golden-hazel eyes and a small, slender body that disguised the fact that she could knock him off his broom without losing a breath. He'd been trying for years to get her to join the Ravenclaw team, but she said she didn't want the stress of people watching and judging her.

It wasn't shyness, exactly. She just hated the attention that the rest of her family seemed to revel in, and did her best to stay away from it. She was brilliantly smart, passionately curious about everything and everyone, and kind almost to a fault. Most people who talked to her couldn't help but like her, and yet she managed to fly so far under the social radar that she was known as "the other Weasley" in most conversations - a title which bothered Elliot to no end.

A few months ago, after overhearing some classmates wondering "how that other Weasley girl aced her all of her O.W.L.'s," he'd shared his annoyance with her. "I don't see why they can't even be bothered to learn your name," he'd complained as they lay together on the grass near the lake. "You helped tutor half of them last semester."

Lucy had laughed and put her head on his shoulder. "Forget them. I don't mind being the other Weasley if it means I don't have to deal with the pressure. Besides, you know who I am, and that's what's important to me."

His stomach had done a little flip at her words.

No, he definitely would not mind being more than just friends, if things were different. But things weren't different, and there was no way he would risk damaging their friendship for what he hoped was just a passing fancy. He'd purposefully tried to get over her this summer by not talking to her, and that had backfired enormously, so he'd have to find another way to get over his feelings. Now, more than ever, she needed his friendship and support.

The thought made his heart ache, and he brushed a curl from her sleeping face.

Elliot hadn't realized he'd dozed off until the compartment door slid open and awakened him. He looked blearily up at a grinning Carter. "What?"

"That." Carter gestured towards Lucy, who was still asleep in his lap, and waggled his eyebrows. The grin didn't leave his face as he threw himself across the opposite seat, already in his Hogwarts uniform. "What's up with her, anyways?"

"Oh, you know, just a bad day combined with, uh... hormones," Elliot lied vaguely, reddening. He hated being dishonest, and wasn't good at it.

Fortunately, Carter wasn't exactly the most perceptive of people. "Girls. Crazy, they are," he said knowingly.

"Hey. I'd watch your tongue if I were you, Boot," mumbled Lucy, startling them both as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Right. Of course. I mean, not that you're crazy or anything," Carter said quickly.

"Oh, I'm the craziest of the lot."

Elliot laughed. Two years ago, Lucy had transformed all of Carter's quills into snakes after he'd made an inappropriate comment about a girl, and Carter still groveled whenever he thought she was angry at him.

Lucy gave them both an exhausted grin. "I expect we'll be arriving soon; I'll wait outside while you change your clothes, El?"

"Alright."

As soon as she'd left, Elliot quickly stripped out of his jeans and t-shirt and pulled on his robes. He was just adjusting his tie when Carter's salacious gossiping was interrupted by a yell from outside the compartment.

"Why the bloody hell are you ignoring me?"

I have so many great ideas for this story. Romance, and family, and friendship, and self love... how can I go wrong? (Knock on wood.) I really hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Please feel free to review and let me know if so (or if not!) - reviews feed my work like cookies feed the Cookie Monster. :)

I'm a dork. Signing off now.