I found the cure to growing older
And you're the only place that feels like home
Just so you know, you'll never know
And some secrets weren't meant to be told
But I found the cure to growing older
Remus Lupin December 24, 1972
Tower Road 03
Pennal
Wales, Great-Britain
Hi!
OPEN YOUR PRESENT FIRST, THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS.
Happy holidays! I really hope you are doing fine. I'm quite worried, can you write me a letter as soon as you feel better?
I know Christmas isn't until tomorrow but I already wanted to give you your present. I hope you like the quill, I thought you could use one that writes itself. I thought it could come in handy when you feel tired. As you probably noticed, Minnie, just like last year, baked cookies for you. Even though she hasn't seen you yet, she seems to like you. I guess it's because I keep on bragging about you.
I hope they will make you feel better.
Can't wait to see you in January! Doing homework without you is actually quite boring.
Love,
Ellie
09.22 pm, December 31, 1972
Potter Manor, Luckes Lane 08, Somerset, West Country England
Eleonore groaned. Apparation had never been her favourite kind of transportation. She released her mother's hand instantly when she her feet hit solid ground. Looking up she could see a familiar manor, one she had seen before when she was a child. The pillars in front of the front door stood proudly in the moonlight. Ellie remembered running around them when she was a little girl, being chased by James Potter.
"Let's go." Eleonore managed to walk towards the front door in the footsteps of her parents, ignoring the little pang of irritation that she once again, had to spend her holidays with James Potter.
At least Christmas had been the three of them. When she heard her father speak that it would be a holiday for the family only, she was quite glad, knowing that she would have the full two weeks away from Hogwarts its biggest pranker. She had enthusiastically wrote Lily in conformation, thanking her lucky stars.
That was until her father actually let her know that they would spend New Year's eve at the Potter manor instead.
Ellie's thoughts were interrupted by the big oak door opening in front of her, revealing a beaming Fleamont Potter. "Casius! Gisila! What wonderful to see you two again. Happy holidays!" The man shook hands with Casius and placed three kisses upon Gisila's cheeks. He shifted his eyes to the young teenager standing behind her parents. "Eleonore! My, my, you keep on growing! Such a beautiful young lady already! Welcome!"
"Mister Potter, thank you for inviting us into your home." Ellie spoke out of friendliness. It was something her mother had always taught her. It did not mean she was excited to be here.
"It is my pleasure." The older man beamed at the friendly young girl, closing the door behind everybody. "James should be around here somewhere."
Great.
"I'm here!" She heard a familiar voice speak, running through the hallway, finally sliding in front of her on his socks. "Hi Ellie!"
"Potter." She nodded her head at him, mumbling his last name so her parents wouldn't hear her.
"Eleonore, what do you say?" Her mother insisted, treating her as if she was five.
"Hi James. It's great to see you again." She forcedly flashed her white teeth at the teenager, who seemed to have a hard time containing his laughter.
"Hi Mister and Misses Darensbourg."
"Hello James." Her mother appreciatively smiled at him. "I hope your holidays have been pleasurable."
"Very much so." James spoke, an innocent smile upon his face. Ellie had seen that smile a thousand times before, it wasn't that innocent.
"Euphemia is still busy in the kitchen. She'll be right here in a moment. Let me offer you something to drink." James his father spoke, leading the couple towards the dining room. "James, you show Eleonore the way."
Ellie appreciatively smiled at the older man, watching how he led her parents out of the main hall way. She turned towards her classmate, "And you tell me about licking my parents assholes! I can see through that innocent smile, you know." She whispered, pushing her hands in her sides.
The boy with the glasses immediately threw back his head in laughter, "It's called charms, Ellie. You're usually pretty good at it."
"I'm quite certain it's called counterfeit." She shot back, rolling her eyes.
"Why do you always have to roll your eyes at me? You always do that." He pointed out, "I thought Sirius and I were doing a good job, slowly marching our way into your heart." James batted his eyes at her, holding back laughter once again when she stared at him with a face of a slapped arse.
"It's nothing personal. You guys are just sometimes very annoying." After James hung up her coat, Ellie followed him towards the dining room.
"Do Evans and you have some sort of competition on who can hate us the most?"
They did actually. They often wondered who disliked one another more. "No, of course not. We don't hate you."
"We are very lovable." James spoke, a little conceited.
"Sure you are." Ellie shrugged, not wanting to get into the subject any longer. She did care for James but after he actually joined the Quidditch team, his arrogance had gotten to another level. Telling him how much she did care for him as a friend, would result in jokes and mocking.
"Have you heard from Sirius?" James questioned, giving Ellie a cup of pumpkin juice.
She slowly sipped from it, her green eyes staring at her classmate over the cup. "I have actually sent him a Christmas card this year, I only did it two days ago though so I haven't gotten a reply. Archimedes has been quite busy so I'm sure I'll get one tomorrow."
"Ellie, Christmas was almost a week ago."
"I had other things to think of, alright?" She shot back, watching how Euphemia kissed her mother's cheeks and Fleamont Potter raised his glasses at all of them.
"Let me guess, you sent a lot of letters to Remus."
"That's none of your business, Potter." Ellie whispered harshly, eyeing her father in the background. She did not want her parents to find out about Remus his condition, nor the fact that they had sent many letters this holidays. Her father would lose his mind that one of his little girl's best friends was a werewolf.
"Oh, I see I mentioned a touchy subject. He's my friend too, you know." James pointed out, pulling out the chair to sit at the table.
Ellie watched how a house-elf entered the dining room and snapped her fingers. The plates in the middle of the table were instantly filled with turkey, stuffed potatoes and roasted marmalade ham. "I know that. Let's drop the Remus subject now."
"Of course you want to drop it." James smirked, a knowing smile upon his face.
"There is nothing going on between Remus and I. You need to stop it." She squinted her eyes and lowered her voice.
"Sweety, who are you talking about?" Her mother gently smiled at her daughter sitting beside her. She too had noticed the way the James and Ellie seemed to have a hushed conversation.
"Just a friend of ours at school, Misses Darensbourg. He's one of Ellie's best friends. A really good friend of mine too." James smiled innocently.
Ellie's eyes flashed from James Potter towards her mother. "A he?" Her father questioned looking a little confused at his daughter. "Why is it that I haven't heard of this boy?"
Ellie felt a pang of fear inside her chore. Her father worked at the ministry. Remus was a werewolf and she knew they had to be registered. Casius Darensbourg could easily ask up the papers and go to Albus Dumbledore. She was ready to kill James Potter.
The boy was oblivious to it, of course and Eleonore had her hands tide. She knew once James would actually know the truth, he would not brag about it towards her father. Eleonore tried to edge the worry of her face, turning towards her dad. "He helps me with homework. It's nothing, really."
James nodded his head, "Remus is one of the smartest boys in class. He's very kind."
Eleonore felt her father eyeing her, then looking at James Potter, "Well, I do trust your opinion, James."
Her mouth nearly widened as her father and James shared a knowing look. She couldn't believe it! "Remus helps everybody with their homework. He's a good friend." She nodded her head, looking at her father with a convincing glance. "How was your Christmas, mister Potter?" She turned her attention towards Fleamont Potter, ignoring the way her mother held back a smile for her.
Underneath the table, she kicked James his leg, wiping that smug grin off his face instantly. She coughed a little when she heard him yelp, making sure no one noticed it.
11.43 pm, December 31, 1972
Potter Manor, Luckes Lane 08, Somerset, West Country England
"I cannot believe you!" Ellie hissed, stepping into the cold Somerset air. In contrary to last year, December closed itself with a layer of white. Eleonore's manicured hands were covered with warm, knitted hand gloves. Her hands covered in snow, scooping some in her hands and gently pressuring it into a small ball.
"Don't!" James pointed at her, warningly pointed a finger out at her.
"Hell I don't." She yelled, a smirk upon her face. She immediately aimed at the boy with the glasses, a snowball hitting his chest.
Shock took over his face, as the cold hit him another time, now on his head. Thankfully his glasses stayed put. "It's on, Darensbourg." He spoke in challenge, running away in the snow.
"Stay here Potter, I'm not done with you!" She scooped another ball, noticing how he ran towards the woods in the back of his house. Her boot covered feet ran behind him.
Her eyes scanned the dark area, she seemed to have lost track of James Potter. The only thing lightening up the sky was the half moon and the stars. She thought she heard something but before she knew it, a ball of snow smacked her cheek. "Aw! You shitty-" Another ball crashed down on her kneecap. "POOR AIM, YOU CALL YOURSELF A QUIDDITCH PLAY-" She groaned when another ball smashed against her hair, soaking it.
"That's it!" She screamed, her black hair soaked around her face. She hid herself behind a tree, trying to steady her breath. She looked up at the sky, noticing magical fireworks lightening up in front of the clouds. That meant that it was midnight. 1973 Just knocked at the door. "It's New Year, Potter! Maybe we should put our weapons down."
There was a five second silence before she heard James shout in the distance, "FINE. STEP OUT AND RAISE YOUR HANDS."
"You step out and you raise your hands!" She shouted back, "Why do I have to do it first?!"
"Because you're the one who started it!" He screamed back.
She groaned, staring up at the sky once again, her head still resting on the trunk of the coniferous tree. "Be a gentleman, will you?!"
"No! Step out first!"
Eleonore sighed heavily. Fine then. If she had to be the better person, she would be. "Fine." She huffed, raising her hands and stepping from around the tree. "I'm innocent and unarmed."
Her eyes sought out the area, finally resting on James' grin on his face. He too, had his arms raised. She watched how he slowly stepped forward, water dripping from his glasses. She sought out every movement, her attention spam was a lot wider and a lot more meticulous than his. "Happy New Year, Ellie." James grinned, widening his arms for her to step into.
She raised her eyebrow at him, stepping a little closer. Slowly she raised her arms, instigating that she would meet him for a hug. "See we can be good friends." He spoke, being a little proud of her.
Ellie smirked, instead of wrapping her arms around his waist, she pushed him back in the snow. He stumbled first, trying to grasp air. When his ass finally contacted with the soft snow, she turned around, laughing. "HAPPY NEW YEAR, JAMIE!" Running away she couldn't help but laugh loudly, ignoring the way he cursed at her.
Monday, January 8, 1973
Gryffindor Common Room, Gryffindor Tower, Hogwarts
Eleonore sniffed, blowing her nose in a handkerchief. Her eyes were red and her nose clocked as she lunged around in front of the fireplace. Her body fully spread out on the biggest sofa. She watched how Remus brought her a hot cup of cacao, accepting it with appreciation. "Thanks." She mumbled, sipping carefully from the hot beverage.
"You look like you need it." He held back a grin when she eyed him, sitting down on the ground with his back against the sofa she was laying on. "Very curious how James is in bed with a cold as well."
Groaning, she shot him a warning glance, trying to hold back a smile. "It's just a little col-" Before she could even finish the sentence, she sneezed. "Ha-ha-hatchu!"
"That's the most ridiculous sneeze I've ever heard. You sound like a lion on invigoration draught." She heard Sirius speak from the chair beside her.
"Shut up, Black. Don't you have to check up on your girlfriend?" Ellie groaned, blowing her nose once again.
"I already did. He's fast asleep." Sirius didn't even comment on the girlfriend comment, he was used to Ellie teasing him about his relationship with James.
"You should probably get to bed also, Ellie." Christina spoke, looking at her friend in worry.
"I can't. I'm dying." She groaned, shivering. "I'm cold."
Ellie noticed Remus turned around, looking at her with concern. He lifted the palm of his hand, placing it on her forehead. "You're burning up. Maybe you should go to the hospital wing." His eyes roamed her red nose and the cold sweat upon her temple.
"I don't want to." She pouted her lips at the boy, who tried holding back laughter at his friend.
"At least stay in bed tomorrow, we can cover your classes, Ellie." Lily spoke, raising her eyebrow at Remus who adverted his eyes from the red head. Eleonore didn't notice, she just sighed and closed her eyes.
"Do you want me to get a blanket, Ellie?" Peter asked, eyeing his friend.
"I have one in the dorms. Let me gr-" Remus nearly stood up but Peter looked a little annoyed at him so he sat himself down in his original position.
"I'll get one." The chubby boy spoke, turning on his heals to march towards the dorms staircase, disappearing from the crowd.
Lily eyed Eleonore, who seemed to have fallen asleep. Sirius immediately eyed Remus, "Merlin, Remus. Stop looking at her like she's dying, it's just a little cold."
"I-I'm not looking at her like she's dying." The boy mumbled, turning his eyes off his friend and staring in the fire. "I'm just concerned."
Sirius rolled his eyes at his friend. He too, had noticed that the two of them had gotten closer the last few months. "She'll be fine."
"I know that." He annoyingly snapped at his friend, receiving surprising looks from everybody in the room. Lily and Christina raised their eyebrows towards one another.
"Hey man, no need to snap at me." Sirius replied back, looking at Remus with a little irritation.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you." Remus mumbled, making eye-contact with his friend who nodded his head in return.
Full moon was getting closer and he felt something inside of him he hadn't felt before. The neediness to protect her. He didn't know whether it was the wolf inside of him or just their friendship getting closer, but he had a constant need of making sure she was fine.
Deep inside of him, he knew it had something to do with the fact that now Eleonore knew of his condition. He knew the wolf was aware of that. She took care of him when he was sick, he just wanted to return the gesture, without their friends breathing down their necks. They were getting too close to her, the wolf inside him didn't like it whatsoever when Peter carefully positioned the blanket on top of her, gently placing it underneath her chin.
Swallowing roughly, Remus thought he was completely losing his mind. This new feeling of greediness. He wanted to take care of her. He. Not Peter. The wolf wanted to dominate, he did not like other competitors. She took care of him, he had to take care of her.
These were her friends too. They were allowed to be concerned.
'No. Stop it.' He heard a voice inside his head, disturbing his thoughts.
"Maybe we should try to get her to bed." Lily spoke, "It's already late."
Christina replied, "She looks comfortable in front on the fire though, let her sleep here."
Lily nodded her head, "We'll wake her up if we carry her up to the dorms anyways."
"I'll stay with her. I can sleep on the other couch." Remus spoke, eyeing the rest of his friends. "I'm not that tired anyways."
He watched how Lily sweetly smiled at him, a look of love in her eyes, nodding her head. "That's kind of you, Remus. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." He replied, nodding his head at his friends leaving. Peter glanced back one more time before he stepped on to the stairway.
When finally silence overtook the common room, he stood up, ignoring the urge to wipe her hair out of her eyes. He placed himself onto the other couch, laying down gently. He couldn't help but watch her breathing with concerning eyes until fatigue finally took over his own body, gently drifting off to sleep.
Tuesday, January 9, 1973
Gryffindor Common Room, Gryffindor Tower, Hogwarts
"Remus." A voice whispered, pushing his shoulder slightly. "Remus."
He groaned, turning around to find his friend in front of him. "We fell asleep on the couch, we should get to our dorms." Eleonore whispered, ignoring her sore back.
"Do you feel better?" He whispered, his tired eyes trying to roam her face. The fire had expired, leaving nothing but darkness in between the round common room walls.
"I'm alright. I think I should catch some sleep." She spoke, folding the blanket that had laid upon her when she woke up. "Who's blanket is this?"
"It's Peter's." Remus answered, throwing his feet gently over the sofa.
"Can you take it back to your dorm? Tell him thanks when he wakes up." Ellie smiled, passing it to Remus. "And thank you Remus, for taking care of me."
"It's nice to know that the tables can turn after all." He answered, nodding his head.
They locked eyes for a few seconds, a smile covering her face. "Yeah."
"Do you think you'll be able to get to class in a couple of hours?"
"I honestly still don't feel that well." She mumbled, trying not to shiver from the cold.
"It's fine, I'll cover for you." Remus stood up, "Let's get you into bed. You need sleep."
Eleonore followed Remus through the darkness towards the dorms' staircase. "Thanks again." She mumbled, shifting her eyes from his dark form. "I appreciate it."
"Friends take care of one another, right?" He smiled, his eyes lightening up.
"Yeah, they do. That they do." Ellie nodded her head. "Sleep tight, Remus. I'll see you in a couple of hours."
"Goodnight, Ellie."
The dark haired witch turned around, her hands making contact with the bannister, trying to make her way through the darkness up the stairs. She couldn't remember falling asleep, the last thing she did recall was the way Lily told her they would cover her classes. Her feet finally planted themselves in the Girl's dorm, ignoring the way Marlene snored slightly. She quickly undressed herself, placing her night gown on her frame.
Throwing back her sheets, she placed herself into bed, her head softly contacting with her cushion. She was about to close her eyes when she heard Lily's voice speak softly, "You alright, Ellie?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be okay. It's just a little cold."
"I suggest next time no more snowballs with Potter, eh?" She could hear Lily's smile in her soft voice. "Then again, it did get Remus to take care of you."
"Shut up, Lils." Ellie ignored Lily's giggles, closing her eyes and drifting off to a much needed slumber.
Tuesday, January 16, 1973
Great Hall, Hogwarts
"I can't believe Professor Slughorn asked me to be in his Slug club." Lily squealed, clapping her hands beside Ellie in enthusiasm. After the Christmas break, Professor Slughorn had indeed sent invitations for the 'Slug Club', a stupid little gathering of his most 'promising' students. Eleonore thought it was absolutely shit. "You are coming, aren't you? Friday?"
"Eh, no." Ellie shook her head, taking a piece of chicken breast and placing it on her plate. "You know I don't like potions. I'm not even good at it, I have no idea why he invited me into his little assembly. It's stupid."
"But it should be fun, Ellie! We get to learn tons of stuff!" Lily argued, hoping that her friend would come along. "Please, do it for me?"
Ellie eyed her best friend with a conscious look, stopping the intense chewing on her chicken for a minute. "I hate it when you plead."
"Please, please, please." Lily bounced up and down, her fingers crossed. "I'd owe you."
Ellie grunted, ignoring the pleading look of her friend. How could she ever say no to Lily? Groaning she answered, "Fine. I'll go with you on Friday. If I don't like it, I'm not coming anymore."
"Thank you!" Lily grinned.
Eleonore wanted to reply that she only actually did it for her but her attention was caught by the four boys entering the Great Hall. She immediately raised her eyebrows, knowing what that familiar grin on James Potter's face meant. The boys walked towards the two of them.
James placed himself next to Lily, as Remus seated himself straight across from Ellie. When Eleonore noticed Sirius seating himself next to her, she tried not to roll her eyes at his Chesire smile. "Let me guess, you made Peeves throw water balloons at the first years?"
"Nope." James spoke, a grin still upon his face.
"You hexed every toilet seat in the building?" Ellie guessed once more, raising her eyebrow at Remus who just gave her a shy smile, raising both his hands in innocence. She knew he wasn't THAT innocent. Potter and Black were the main coordinators but Remus and Peter were never far behind.
"Nope." Remus replied, taking some potatoes and scooping them onto his plate.
"You hexed the new care keeper's cat so she doesn't meow anymore but barks."
"Nope." Sirius grinned, shaking his head. Ellie's eyes turned back towards Remus. It had to be bad if even Remus was excited. His tired eyes held some anticipation. "Altough that is a great idea, thank you Darensbourg!"
"Remus is excited, this is bad news." Lily replied, pointing her fork at the young werewolf.
"I need you to look at the Slytherin table, in five seconds." James whispered to Ellie, because he knew Lily would be mad at him since her oh-so-nice friend Severus Snape was part of the Slytherins.
"Oh no." Ellie sighed, her eyes wandering off, looking over the Ravenclaws to the Slytherin's table. Her eyes widened and she tried not to burst out laughing when someone sipped from their pumpkin juice and suddenly their hair stood on end. It took a while for the Slytherins to realize that there probably would be something in the juice, because 80 percent of the table had now green, sprouting hair.
The Slytherin's frantically looked for a solution, trying to think of spells to make their hair flatten. A boy named Lucius Malfoy, a sixth year, who's hair was normally white angrily flashed his eyes at the Gryffindor table, knowing the pranking source immediately. His fuming eyes flashed at Eleonore, who tried her best to still her laughter.
She watched how James and Sirius laughed full on, slapping their thighs. Remus tried to do it more subtly but Ellie couldn't help but notice his trouble at holding back laughter. Lily on the other hand, thought it was funny until she actually saw Severus his green hair. She angrily pushed James Potter his arm. "Make it normal again!"
"I can't!" James laughed, "It has to wear off."
"You did something in their pumpkin juice, didn't you?" Eleonore amusingly spoke.
"Ellie! You surely don't approve this!" Lily looked at her with her arms crossed.
"Well, I can't do much about it now, might as well have a laugh." Ellie shrugged, still trying to hold back laughter. When she saw Lily's angry glance, she continued, "Come on Lils, it's harmless. I wouldn't care if they did a hair colouring potion in my drink. Give it a couple of hours, it'll wear off."
"Well…" Sirius spoke, fumbling his fingers.
"More than a couple of hours?" Lily shot at Sirius.
"Hours, nights, days… It's the same really." Sirius shrugged, cutting into his roast beef and placing it in his mouth.
"DAYS?!" Ellie shrieked, watching how Professor Slughorn hastily made its way towards his house table. "What did you put in there?!"
"Just regular Hair-Rising Potion. Nothing bad. We just put a lot of it in there." James grinned.
"You do realize that Slughorn knows we made that potion only yesterday. He'll know it comes from you." Ellie answered, shaking her head.
"It's worth the detention." James Potter shrugged, turning towards Peter who snickered. "Did you see Snivellus his face? I do think this color fits him better, always wearing black, it's just not very original."
"Ellie! I'm done with their shit." Lily stood up roughly. Eleonore's eyes widened at her friend cursing. Lily never cursed. "Are you coming or not?!"
Ellie's eyes adverted from the boys towards Lily. "See you in the common room."
"Bye Ellie. BYE EVANS." James spoke, sliding closer to Sirius. "Totally worth it. I think Ellie thought it was funny."
"She did. She just didn't want to laugh too much for Evan's sake." Sirius replied. "Anyways, we need to come up with more pranks. She'll thank us later on, the Slug Club will be a lot more interesting now that half of its members have green hair."
"Making the new care keeper's cat bark instead of meow was genius though. We need to look into that." James spoke, nodding his head. "What's his name anyways?"
"Filch. Argus Filch." Remus spoke, remembering how Albus Dumbledore had introduced the young man and his cat when they got back from the holidays.
James nodded his head, "That's right. I always hated cats."
"Me too. I'm more of a dog person." Sirius replied, "We would use your cloak, James, and scare the shit out of the animal tonight."
"That's a good idea. I've always wanted to know if a cat could see through an invisibility cloak."
"I actually read that they could." Remus replied. "Anyways, I think I'll be off to bed early tonight, I'm actually exhausted."
"You do look quite sick again, Remus." Sirius spoke, a look of concern on his face. "I'm starting to think you're only doing it so Ellie would be able to take care of you."
James tried not to laugh, trying not to point out Remus his red cheeks. "Believe me, I'm not doing it because Ellie can take care of me."
Peter slowly nodded his head, his eyes imperceptibly looking at his friend sitting next to him. "But you do enjoy it?" Sirius pointed out.
"Enjoy what?"
"Ellie, taking care of you."
"I told you this times before, friends take care of one another. Ellie is my friend and I'm Ellie's friend." Remus annoyingly spoke, trying to ignore the way he wanted to snap at Sirius Black.
"Yeah, yeah." James smirked, popping another potato in his mouth. "What did she buy you for Christmas again, Remus?"
"A self-writing quill." The boy mumbled, adverting his eyes.
"Do you know what I got for Christmas from Ellie?" James pointed out. "Five snowballs in my face, some chocolates and hypothermia."
"At least you got something, I only got a Christmas card saying that she hoped that I'd be less annoying in 1973." Sirius mumbled.
"Merlin would almost say you sound jealous, Sirius." James smirked, looking at his friend.
"Like hell I am. The day I'm feeling jealous about Darensbourg is the day I'll hug my mother and tell her I can't live without her."
Author's note; Can I get an amen for cuteness? Yes, I think so. Thank you Michelle for your review, thanks to rosebaby123, tingting26021996, 19irene96, , Taffyrose, Tina0609 (I SEE YOU YES.), paulaa90 and all of the guests for reviewing. I am STILL looking for a beta, who's willing to keep up with me because I write quite rapidly and need quick BETAing. If you know anyone or you are that someone, please send me a message. Yes, this will eventually turn out to be SIRIUS/OC, unfortunately not REMUS/OC. But let's just enjoy while it lasts, alright? (they haven't even started yet and you guys are already cooing over them, it's cute). Thanks for reading and leave me a little review.