Hello there! Stay safe out there, friends! Hope you're enjoying this so far, let me know what you think!
September 30th
Dearest Eleanor,
I miss you quite terribly. I've been enjoying staying in your home, there are photos of you covering this place. Though a poor replacement for you, it is comforting to get glimpses of your smile everywhere I turn.
Padfoot has been over the moon to have so much room to roam. He is so in love with the lake that I fear he might get himself sick by continuing to swim even when the weather turns.
I know you were very concerned for the garden before you left, but Padfoot and I have been following your instructions to the letter. All of the plants are doing just fine, albeit I've noticed their spirits seem to be slightly down since you've left - do plants do that? I've never known them to respond to their caretakers so much, however I've never had much of a green thumb myself.
Tonks found the length of your instructions quite amusing. She's taken to calling it the New Herbology Encyclopedia. She's very much looking forward to Christmas holiday to get to know you better. She regrets that things were rather stressful this summer and she was unable to spend time with you that wasn't related to your circumstances. She reminds me a lot of you, and her and Padfoot keep me laughing in your absence.
I'm very interested to hear about your teaching positions. Minerva reached out to be not too long ago to tell me how proud she was of the progress you've been making, and how pleased both Hagrid and Sprout have been with your work. I wonder if this brings on any ideas for the future?
I do hope that Draco is continuing to mind his manners and keeping all of his toes in line, though I suspect you would whip him back into shape if he wasn't. That boy impressed me this summer, though he didn't entirely win me over (he needs to be kept on his toes, and also I'm not sure a father can ever be entirely won over anyhow.) Be sure to stay focused on your studies and your friends, and he will fit into your life if he is meant to.
Padfoot is making fun of me for how long this letter is. Him and Harry write such short letters, I wonder how they tell each other anything. Though I suppose this is getting a bit lengthy.
I look forward to hearing from you, my love. I know Christmas is far, but I'm already counting down the days until all of you kids are loudly bringing joy back into our home.
All my love,
Remus
October 2nd,
Dear Eleanor,
Remus has been bugging me to write to you, but I don't think there is much I can say to you that he hasn't. I don't know how you managed to keep that entire garden alive. It's too much bloody work. The weather is starting to change, so I'm hoping the plants go into hibernation soon so I don't have to panic about killing you and your mother's life work. I've heard that you are doing rather well in your teaching assistant positions. I never doubted you for a minute.
Also, an interesting development. I believe Tonks is very sweet on your father. I also believe your father might be sweet on her, but he doesn't seem to be admitting it. Once your God forsaken garden finally goes to sleep, I'll have to work on the two of them.
Looking forward to Christmas,
Padfoot
October 7th
Dear Remus,
I'm glad that the Castle is occupied full time now. And I'm happy to hear that it is bringing you and Padfoot such enjoyment. I hope you've been exploring the library. There are so many things to read in there, you can truly never be bored.
Hopefully the garden will need less tending throughout the winter. My mother and I always used to spend my entire Easter break turning soil, pruning branches, and pulling weeds. Hopefully this year, with so many of us, it will be quick work. It's my favorite way to kick summer off and get the garden looking beautiful.
I'm glad that Tonks finds my antics so amusing. Have you two been spending much time together? She seems wonderful, and hopefully all of this Voldemort business will be finished up soon so that her and I can interact properly. (Harry just read this over my shoulder and snorted, I suppose that is extremely wishful thinking on my part.)
My teaching assistant positions have been going very well. I've spent a lot of my free time prepping for classes, and tending to the plants and animals. Professor Sprout is going to have me teach some next term. Hagrid is a bit more reluctant to let me teach, he doesn't plan as thoroughly as Professor Sprout does. I've actually gotten a lot of ideas about the future since being back. There are a lot of projects to be done for the greater good, so I'll need to do a bit of research and make some plans, but I think my future lies with environmental and sustainability work. Professor Sprout has been talking a lot about a need for more education in herbology pre-Hogwarts, which is something I might be interested in. I'll have to see.
My other classes have been going well. I'm happy to report that I am back to being a perfectly average student. Flitwick and McGonagall both said that I caught up on what I missed last year, and am now back on target. Which is good, because we start Apparating classes soon, and I'll be damned if I can't pop to and from as I please.
Draco is doing well. His relationships with his housemates are a bit rocky, which has been hard for him, but he is still fighting tooth and nail to dethrone Hermione as top of the class. He's been doing a damn good job of it too. I'm in the special position of having insider information about both of their grades, and I have to be honest, it's neck and neck with them.
I'm looking forward to Christmas and being able to spend time with everyone. I miss you terribly.
Love always,
Eleanor
October 7th,
Dear Padfoot,
I'm sorry that my garden is such a nuisance to you. I appreciate your efforts in not killing it off. They should be starting to go to sleep for the cold months now, and with all the rain, it won't be necessary to water them. You'll soon be relieved by Mother Nature.
This development between Remus and Tonks is quite interesting. I wouldn't have put them together, however I don't necessarily disagree with it. Do you know if Tonks is much like my mother was? That would be interesting to know. Keep me updated, and push him to take her on a date or something.
Miss you lots,
Eleanor
Draco watched pointedly as Eleanor wrote her letters. Her Saturdays were usually reserved for replying to Remus and Sirius. Writing to them consistently brought Eleanor a lot of joy, it reminded her of the support she had waiting for her at home. Draco seemed on edge as she wrote them, knowing that he was slacking in the letter writing department.
"You can get the post office box, Draco." Eleanor said simply without looking at him. "I don't understand why you don't write to her. I'm sure she'll want to hear from you."
"What am I supposed to say?" Draco fretted, rubbing his forehead. There truly was no keeping anything from Eleanor. She knew him too well.
"Tell her that you're safe, that you love her. She just wants a way to write to you." Eleanor answered softly, putting her hand on his hand.
"I'm scared. What if I screw it up? What if they are able to track my letters? What if they get to her and I led them? I know Hogwarts isn't exactly Death Eater free, who knows who could be watching me." Draco looked pale as he continued to worry.
"You're paranoid." Eleanor tried to be soothing, she knew his fears were valid, but he was spending entirely too much time dwelling on them. Far too much time to be healthy.
"You're not?" Draco cried out incredulously, then immediately quieted down. The two of them were in the Great Hall, though it was currently devoid of students. Eleanor was hoping that being in there long passed the breakfast rush would convince Draco to eat. He hadn't been doing much of that lately.
"What if we asked Hermione to send the letters for you. She goes in there rather frequently to mail things to her parents, it wouldn't be odd if she slipped a letter to her aunt in Malibu in the outgoing post." Eleanor suggested. Draco seemed to take the idea and think it over for a while.
"My mother would immediately burn a letter from Granger." He decided.
"If it were your handwriting, I don't think she would." Eleanor reasoned. Draco's shoulders sagged slightly, knowing Eleanor was right.
"I don't want to ask Granger for help." Draco admitted softly. Eleanor tried very hard not to show any emotion on her face when he told her that. She felt a lot of things. She was amused at his embarrassment to admit any sign of weakness in front of her friend, and knew this knowledge would make Hermione feel slightly powerful. She was annoyed at his pride, and how he still let it get in the way of things, but she was happy that he was admitting that he was too proud to let some things go.
"Can I be honest with you?" Eleanor asked carefully, unsure if Draco wanted help, or to be coddled in that moment.
"I know what you are going to say, but sure." Draco puffed out.
"I think admitting you need help will go a lot further than you think in the 'acceptance from Hermione' department." Draco rolled his eyes then rubbed his face. Eleanor had to admit that he looked like he was struggling greatly. Eleanor's heart ached looking at him. She knew she was in similar shape the year before, and she thought of what she would have needed from Draco had they been talking. Eleanor shoved her letters into her bag and slung it over her shoulder before standing up and holding her hand out to Draco. "Come on."
"Where are we going?" Draco asked.
"Draco, I love you, and today we are just going to be Draco and Eleanor. I have a few rules, though." Draco nodded slowly in acceptance. "Okay, we cannot talk about Blaise, Voldemort, my friends, or your mother. We aren't allowed to do any homework. And you have to eat something, Draco." Eleanor listed off. "Do you agree to my terms?"
"Do I have a choice?" Draco countered with a light smirk.
Eleanor laughed and shook her head. "I'm afraid not." Draco took her hand and stood from the table. Eleanor first took Draco to the large painting that covered the entrance to the kitchens.
"What is this place?" Draco wondered. Eleanor didn't answer, and instead tickled the pear, revealing the bustling madness of the Hogwarts House Elves prepping food. Draco's eyes grew wide at the sight of them.
"Miss Eleanor," a small voice squeaked from below, "Mr. Draco."
"Dobby?" Draco asked incredulously with a laugh. "I always wondered what happened to you."
"I work here, in the kitchens." Dobby answered. Eleanor smiled at the house elf. When Harry told her of his encounters with Dobby after their second year, Eleanor was excited by the idea that Harry had not only interacted with a most beloved friend from her childhood, but that he was now free of the Malfoys. Eleanor had always been fond of the house elves that the Malfoys employed, but never of the fact they employed them. It felt wrong to her that house elves worked tirelessly for their families and were never compensated fairly. "And I get days off, and a fair wage."
"I didn't know they could do that." Draco was looking at Eleanor now, who still had her eyes fixed on Dobby.
"Don't you think they deserve it?" She returned. Draco stammered for a moment, unsure of how to answer, unsure of what he thought. He had always believed house elves liked working for people, but he also supposed that he never actually sat down to ask one.
"Sure, but do they want it?" Draco finally asked.
"Oh no," Eleanor chuckled off handedly, "most don't. Dobby is the exception. But I think it is important that the option is there for them. They should be free to choose if they want to work. Shouldn't everyone be free to choose?"
"Of course," Draco said as a house elf handed Eleanor a large picnic basket. She rummaged through her pockets of her jacket and pulled out a small jingle bell and handed it to Dobby.
"I don't have any hats for you today, Dobby, but I do have this." Eleanor smiled at the little elf.
"Oh, thank you Miss Eleanor." He jingled it excitedly before disappearing into the kitchens.
"I had no idea that this is how everything is run." Draco looked around with wide eyes as the pair took the food and left. The weather was starting to turn cold and while Eleanor liked to feel the crisp air when she was feeling anxious, she knew that Draco preferred warmth for comfort.
"There might be a few things about this castle that you had no idea about." Eleanor smiled, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the Room of Requirement. Eleanor had told him of its existence after Dumbledore's Army the previous year, however Draco had yet to see the room that could be whatever he needed.
With each step, Draco fell more in love with Eleanor. She was everything he needed. Fierce, and kind, and smart, and funny. She was a force of love and light, and he was enchanted. In a way, he always had been.
Upon entering the Room of Requirement the couple saw the walls covered in dark hanging tapestries, plush rugs under their feet, and fluffy chairs, couches and blankets in every corner with a fire blazing. The room was warm and cave-like. Draco felt immediately at ease. It all felt too perfect. Despite the world falling to pieces around him, his best friend being untrustworthy, his mother being in hiding, his father imprisoned, the Dark Lord hunting down him and Eleanor to force them to marry and do unspeakable things to Eleanor's family; yes despite all of this, he felt safe. He was warm, he was loved, and he was in love. Nothing weighed on him, he felt accepted and at peace.
"Ellie," Draco croaked out quietly while she set up their food on, she didn't look at him.
"Hmm?" She inquired in a hum.
"Can anyone come in here while we're in here?" Draco asked.
"Well apparently Umbridge blasted the wall down last year to bust Dumbledore's Army, but neither of us were there to actually witness that. But I don't think so. Why?" She hadn't looked up to look at him yet, so she didn't see how nervous he was to say what he was about to say next. He took a deep breath and tried to be smooth but he faltered a bit.
"I think you know why." His voice was dark and sultry and he sauntered over to her.
"What, are you going to kill me?" She joked, sparing a glance up at him, unsure of what got into him, and not picking up on his innuendo.
"What, Ellie, no." Draco shook his head. "No, I just want to make sure this place is completely private for us." He put his hand on her back. "Just you and I."
"Oh, yeah. We shouldn't be disturbed in here. Eat up." She smiled, looking at all of the snack foods that were on the table in front of them. She wasn't getting it.
"I'm only hungry for one thing." Draco started again lowly. Eleanor gave him a sidelong glance, suspicious at his tone.
"Me?" Eleanor asked, confused. "You want to eat me?" His joke delivery wasn't what it normally was.
"El, I'm trying to be smooth, please don't take everything so literally." Draco rested his forehead on her shoulder as she chuckled at her own inability to see his meaning.
"Oh, babe, I'm so sorry." She laughed. "You were doing well." She picked his head off of her shoulder and brought his lips to her softly.
"El, I don't want to stop today. I'm ready if you are." Draco puffed out truthfully, all of his suave nature was gone.
Eleanor could barely say anything, just let out a quiet breath and nodded once.
