BOOK FIVE: THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

CHAPTER ONE: I Will Always Love You

It had been exactly one month since Ellie and her father had moved into 12 Grimmauld Place, and it was no less miserable than it had been on day one.

"I did warn you," pointed out Sirius Black, Ellie's father, as they sipped at the cold stew that their resentful house elf, Kreacher, had made for them. "You could be at the Burrow right now, indulging in one of Molly's delightful pot roasts."

Oh, she knew.

It wasn't exactly that she regretted her decision; Ellie knew exactly how hard it would have been for her to remain close to Fred that summer. Only… was it really any easier, being away from him?

From where she sat, it was all hard.

She missed Fred. She missed those sweet, warm eyes of his that always seemed to look deep into the depths of her soul. She missed the way it felt when he held her—like he was the real shield protecting her from the outside world, rather than the Perelli charm that had gotten her into nothing but trouble over the years.

She missed kissing him, too. But thinking about that was never a good idea.

I can't say I agree with you there.

Ellie gave a bit of a start at the sound of Fred's voice in her head, but not quite a jump. It wasn't the first time he had read or invaded her thoughts that summer, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. It seemed to happen several times a day by now.

We've talked about this, she said for what felt like the thousandth time. You have to stay out of my head, Fred. You have to give me space.

Well, that might prove trickier than we initially thought, given… recent developments.

She had no idea what that meant, and she very much wanted to find out, but before she got the chance to press further, Sirius was speaking again.

"You said you've been writing to Harry, right?"

She nodded. Dreaming about Cedric nearly every night had been far too much for Ellie to face alone, and sharing those feelings with Fred always seemed to make her feel worse, instead of better. It wasn't his fault, of course; it was simply the nature of their situation.

Harry, on the other hand, seemed to understand. He had been the least guilty party of the three of them, yet no less devastated than Ellie or Fred. He, too, dreamt of Cedric and of that graveyard; he, too, was having trouble sleeping and, for that matter, even existing.

Especially given the fact that the Ministry of Magic was denying the return of Lord Voldemort and calling Ellie and Harry liars.

They called Fred a liar, too—though, more often than not, he was left out of the stories altogether. Ellie and Harry were more famous, and two lying witnesses was more believable than three.

"Albus has been checking in," Sirius continued. "With me, and with the rest of the Order. He has certain… concerns… about Harry being involved with our plans going forward."

Ellie stiffened at that. The Order, short for Order of the Phoenix, was a group of anti-Voldemort, anti-Death Eater witches and wizards who had made a habit of conglomerating at 12 Grimmauld Place every few days. Ellie had tried asking them questions and attending their meetings, but had given up when she was told repeatedly that underage witches weren't invited to the party.

This, though, was news to her. Dumbledore had concerns about Harry knowing the Order's plans? Why?

"I don't like it, either," Sirius said when he saw her expression. "Just wanted you properly warned. Seems he's warned Hermione, Ron, and Ginny against disclosing too much about the Order, especially now that…" He frowned.

"Now that what?" she asked, connecting the dots that this was likely related to the comment Fred had just made in her head.

"There have been discussions about this place becoming the official Order HQ," Sirius told her. "I'm not exactly proud of the place, but it is the one thing I can offer them. Only, it would mean…"

She didn't need him to finish his sentence. She deduced it on her own: It would mean the Weasleys moving in.

"Why can't the Burrow be the headquarters?" she asked.

"People know where the Burrow is. Nobody knows where this place is—nobody save for its Secret-Keepers, anyway."

That was it, then. The Weasleys would come here, and Ellie would be forced to find a way to exist in the same space as Fred again.

It was simultaneously the best and worst news she had received in a month.


The next morning, Ellie emerged from her bathroom with nothing but a towel on, singing I Will Always Love You at the top of her lungs, when the Weasleys walked in.

"Well, that's certainly nice to hear."

Ellie froze in her tracks, gaping down the stairs at the horde of redheads who were piling into the house—particularly at the one who had just spoken.

She should have been embarrassed. She should have gone red as a tomato and darted off to go and find some clothes before anyone else from the Order showed up unexpectedly.

She wasn't, though, and she didn't. She wasn't thinking about anything or anyone except the boy staring up at her who she loved more than anything in the world—who she had missed with all her heart and soul.

He seemed to be feeling similar things.

"Oh, my," said Sirius, emerging from his own room one floor above her and glancing down at the Weasleys. "Didn't realize you were coming so early."

"Apologies, Sirius," said Arthur good-naturedly. "Thought it best to get it done before I went into work for the day. Been working long hours at the Ministry these days."

"Right." Sirius glanced at Fred with a bit of a scowl, then at Ellie with a more exaggerated one, before snapping at her, "Well, go and put some clothes on, would you?"

Ellie did blush at that, then blushed even deeper when she heard Fred's voice in her head as she scampered off to her room: I didn't exactly mind the look.

Fred was here. He was actually here. She hadn't seen him for an entire month, and now he was here, in her house, and he looked so handsome—had he gotten taller? Stronger? Had his hair grown out?—and all she could think about was how badly she wanted to kiss him, and—

This is what I want. I want you to go.

She cursed out loud as the memory of Cedric's handsome face said those same haunting ten words to her for what felt like the millionth time.

There he was again—the reason she had dreaded Fred returning almost as much as she had looked forward to it.

"I'm sorry," she whispered into the quiet air around her as she stumbled into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top.

But, of course, the air didn't reply.


"I just don't get it," said Ron a few minutes later when all the teenagers had gathered in what would soon become Fred and George's room. "Dumbledore expects us not to report anything back to Harry about the Order or us living here at Grimmauld Place, but he won't tell us why?"

"He expects us to trust him, like the parents all do," said Ginny with a frown. "But I'm not lying to Harry."

"Maybe just… more of an embellishment of the truth?" suggested George. "Y'know—no mention of exactly whose house we're staying at?"

Ellie was trying to pay attention to the conversation at hand, but it wasn't easy. She found herself focusing solely on Fred, who was staring at her like she was the only thing that mattered to him in all the world. As always, there was so much love, concern, and passion for her in his gaze, it made her heart both leap and ache.

"Right," Fred finally said, rising to his feet. "Well, that's settled. We'll tell Harry an embellished truth. Now, then. El, I want to show you something."

She wanted to say no. She wanted to tell him that she was far too busy—that she needed to focus on getting the others settled in—anything to avoid the pressure and confusion of being alone with him.

But more than that, she wanted to say yes. So she did.


As soon as they were alone together, he disappeared—literally.

She knew, of course, on some level, that he must have Apparated. She knew that was the only logical explanation—that he was seventeen now, and a seventh year, and capable of such magic—and that he would reappear again any moment, grinning from ear to ear like he so often did.

Still, her gut wrenched in fear. What if it was something else? What if something had happened to him? What if—

"Ta-da!" he announced dramatically from behind her.

She let out a gasp of relief as she whirled to face him. But before she could think of what to say or do, she felt two very large tears slide down each of her cheeks.

"Whoa," said Fred, eyebrows narrowing with immediate concern. "I'm not—what—?"

"Sorry," she mumbled, wiping her eyes and looking away from him. "It's nothing. Congrats on being able to Apparate now."

She was such a fool. Why did he even like her? Did he still like her?

"Like you?" he asked, laughing a bit, though his expression was still full of concern. "That's the understatement of the year. What's going on, El? I didn't mean to scare you."

"I know." The tears were still falling. It didn't even make sense, the way she had feared the worst. If something did happen to Fred, it wouldn't happen in the safety and confinement of 12 Grimmauld Place. "Forget it."

"No." His voice was firm, and his concern seemed to fuel a bravery in him she hadn't yet seen. He reached out to take her face in his hands, thumbs wiping the residual tears from her cheeks. "I won't forget it. Tell me what's wrong."

"I just… missed you."

The words hung between them for several seconds, seeming to weigh a thousand tons. He should have known—would have been a fool not to know, especially given the fact that he could read many of her thoughts—but judging by the way he was looking at her, he hadn't. And hearing it meant the world to him.

"I missed you, too," he whispered.

And with that, he kissed her.


Well, the spark definitely still exists between them, even after all the heartache... But will it be enough, or is there more pain and sadness in store for these two? Feel free to drop your predictions in the reviews, and don't forget to follow the story if you're enjoying it. Love the support and comments, and hope you'll keep them coming!