CHAPTER SEVEN: Survivor

The next week was as close to paradise as Ellie's life had ever gotten. They went to Versailles, the Notre Dame, Opera Garnier, and even a late-night show at the Moulin Rouge. Sirius spent most of his days with Fred and Ellie, but retired early most nights to give them alone time together.

Sirius was happier than she'd ever seen him, finally being a free man and knowing that his daughter was safe from the deadly effects of the charm he had bestowed upon her. She could tell the knowledge that she would be leaving for Hogwarts soon was weighing on him, but for the first time since he'd escaped Azkaban, at least he wouldn't have to be alone when she left.

When they returned to 12 Grimmauld Place, Ellie assumed they'd be spending the remaining week—minus the annual trip to Diagon Alley—together, too. But shortly after their return, George came to visit—and changed things.

"How're you feeling, Ellie?" he asked Ellie, giving her his usual bone-crushing hug. "Heard the City of Love was good to you."

She laughed good-naturedly, but she sensed something in his tone that she didn't like. Sure enough, as soon as the formalities were over, he asked Fred to step outside with him.

Ellie knew she should let them have their privacy, but before long, her curiosity got the better of her, and without any real, conscious control, she started hearing their conversation in her own head.

"…been doing our best, mate, but our back-orders are out of control. You know it's our busiest week of the year. Customers are starting to complain."

A pang of guilt hit Ellie. She had almost forgotten about the joke shop. Of course she knew that he'd be returning there when she went to Hogwarts, but it made sense that he was needed sooner for all the back-to-school shoppers.

"I can't just leave her, George. It's our last week together before she goes back to Hogwarts."

"I'm not saying leave her. I'm just saying come help out for at least a few hours a day. Travel by Floo, by Apparition—whatever you want. Hell—bring her with you, if you want."

Fred remained silent for a second, considering.

Fred, she said in his head. You should do it.

Wow. Listening in to my private conversations now? Who are you, Fred Weasley?

She rolled her eyes. I'm serious. Help him out during the day. I'd join you, but I think I'd break Dad's heart if I left him earlier than we planned.

But…

He didn't have to say it. It made her sad, too. But she also didn't want his business to fail, nor George to be left high and dry. Dad and I can wander around London together during the day—maybe see some sights closer to home. We're both night owls anyway, aren't we?

He sighed. Okay—fine. Thanks, El.

Despite the added heartache of missing out on what proved to be more than just a few hours a day with Fred, Ellie had a great time with Sirius, who positively glowed with excitement over his freedom.

"I'm so sorry," Fred said each evening when he returned to Grimmauld Place. "It's a zoo out there. You'll see what I mean soon."

She would, of course, in a few days' time, when she headed to Diagon Alley for her own back-to-school shopping. A part of her wasn't looking forward to it, though. Going to the Wheezes shop would mean coming face-to-face with the life he had created in her absence.

She had her locket back, which helped. McGonagall had had her trunk and owl sent to Grimmauld Place when it became apparent that she wouldn't make it back to Hogwarts in time for the end of her fifth year, and her locket had been the first thing she pulled from her trunk. It glowed even more constantly than it ever had before, indicating to her that, even if Fred wasn't with her, he was definitely thinking of her.

When she and Sirius weren't out exploring London, they were back at Grimmauld Place with Kreacher. Sirius, of course, was treating the poor house elf worse than ever after hearing how he had tricked Ellie the day of the battle at the Department of Mysteries.

"Dad," Ellie said one evening after Sirius cursed a stream of profanities at the house elf for calling her "the spawn of the devil." "He's never going to change if you keep treating him like that."

"He's never going to change, anyway," grumbled Sirius as Kreacher stalked off to dust some old paintings. "I'll never forgive him for what he did, Ellie. If not for him, you wouldn't have been kidnapped in the first place."

That was probably true, but then, why had Kreacher tricked her in the first place? Because he was more loyal to ex-Blacks like Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange than to Sirius and Ellie?

"I just think," Ellie said carefully, "that you should try being kind to him. Even just for a few weeks—long enough to see if maybe he starts treating you better as a result."

Sirius still looked doubtful, but he also seemed reluctant to say no to his daughter so close to her departure for Hogwarts. So he shrugged a shoulder, promised to do better, and sat down to play a game of wizard's chess with her.

A few days later, Ellie traveled to Diagon Alley with Fred for her back-to-school trip.

As soon as she stepped out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron, she was faced with the bright eyes and brighter hair of Tonks.

"Wotcher, Ellie," greeted Tonks cheerfully. "Been sent by the Order to protect you today. Hope you don't mind."

Ellie glanced at Fred, who looked unsurprised. "Her for you, and Hagrid for Harry," he explained. "You're the two hottest commodities for the Death Eaters to kidnap—don't bother fighting it."

"Er… right," Ellie said, managing a small smile in Tonks' direction. She looked leagues better than the last time Ellie had seen her; the talk that Sirius and Fred had had with Lupin must have gone well. "All right, then, Tonks?"

"Great," Tonks said eagerly as the three of them exited the Leaky Cauldron and headed for Flourish and Blotts. "Remus and I are back together and better than ever, and…"

She trailed off when she saw that Ellie had stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the joke shop.

It was bright and loud, standing out quite clearly from the rest of the dull, brick-and-mortar buildings. Even from several metres away, Ellie could hear the hustle and bustle coming from inside of it and see the queue of customers that went all the way out the door.

"I figured we'd get your books and supplies first," Fred said when he followed her gaze. He sounded a bit nervous. "But we can go there first, if you like."

She nodded wordlessly as she re-routed her path toward the shop. Inside the right window was a giant, purple poster emblazoned with flashing yellow letters: Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who? You SHOULD Be Worrying About U-No-Poo—the Constipation Sensation That's Gripping the Nation!

When Fred followed her gaze, it was his turn to freeze. He was anxious, she could tell, about how she might react to the joke.

She burst out laughing, of course. How could she not?

He sighed with relief, resuming walking and guiding them past the queue of people and into the store. "We figured people need a good laugh in times like these," he explained. "Ourselves included."

The inside of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was even more astonishing than the outside. Everywhere she looked, floor to ceiling and on standing aisles in between, were gobs and gobs of products that seemed to burst with colour, sound, movement, or all of the above. There were Skiving Snackboxes; there were Extendable Ears; there were love potions; there were fireworks. There was even a section for Pygmy Puffs—small, pink and purple creatures that didn't seem to do much other than roll around and make squeaking noises.

"It's incredible," Ellie breathed, glancing up at Fred with wide, eager eyes. "I can't believe you two actually did it."

"Well, if it isn't the People's Princess, gracing our humble store with her presence!" chirped George from behind them as he abandoned his post at one of the cash registers and jogged over to them. "What do you think of the place? Going to get yourself a Pygmy Puff like our disappointingly basic little sister?"

Ellie chuckled, glad to hear that Ginny had gotten herself a pet. "I think I'm good without. This is amazing, though, George. I'm so proud of both of you."

"Thank you—and thanks for letting us reclaim your boyfriend for what we like to call Hell Week. Speaking of which—can we borrow him again? Got a bit of a situation in the back involving a box of Decoy Detonators that won't stop detonating."

Fred glanced anxiously at Ellie, who quickly said, "Of course!"

With a kiss that was far too short for her liking, he headed out.

She wandered around the store for several more minutes, assuming Fred would eventually be able to come back and join her for the rest of her back-to-school shopping.

"Help you find something, love?" asked a pretty, young woman wearing a WWW apron as she headed over to Ellie. She looked to be about the same age as the twins.

"Er… no," Ellie said, smiling faintly. "That's okay."

The woman smiled politely and started to walk away, but before she could stop herself, Ellie asked, "How long have you worked here?"

The woman looked a bit surprised by the question, but her polite smile lingered. "Since just before the grand opening—so about a half-year or so."

"Do you like it here?"

The woman's smile widened. "Absolutely. Such a fun place to work, and the twins are incredible bosses. Do you know them?"

The question felt like a punch to the gut. Ellie wasn't insulted that the woman didn't recognize her face from the papers—frankly, she found it refreshing—but she was a bit disconcerted that the woman didn't know her from Fred. Did he not keep any pictures of her around? Had he not mentioned her?

She wasn't jealous or concerned that something nefarious was afoot; she trusted Fred and knew that he'd never so much as look at another girl while he was with her. She had never directly asked him about his exploits while they were apart, but even if he had gone there—which she doubted—it would have only been fair; she herself had gone there with multiple people.

She was jealous, though, of what the woman had been able to experience that Ellie hadn't. She was jealous of her for getting to witness this empire being built.

"Ready to go?" Fred asked, seeming to approach out of thin air and throw an arm around her. "Ah—I see you've met Rae."

The woman glanced curiously from Fred to Ellie, then, suddenly, her eyes widened. "Of course! How daft am I? You're Ellie Black!"

Ellie blushed, suddenly feeling guilty for not being upfront about the woman. "That's me. Good to meet you, Rae."

"He's got loads of pictures of you in the office," Rae told her. "I just didn't make the connection. You look…"

She trailed off at that, and it wasn't hard to tell why; Ellie had been far more beautiful in those pictures than she was now—a bony, scarred, burned mess.

Fred's arm tensed around her shoulders, and he told Rae with a surprisingly dark undertone, "We should go. Catch ya later, Rae."

Rae smiled politely and waved goodbye as Fred led Ellie out of the store. As soon as they hit Diagon Alley again, he turned to her, crossed his arms, and said, "You're not less beautiful, El. I don't want you ever thinking about yourself like that."

Ellie snorted. "Come on. It's an objective fact. You don't have to get bent out of shape about it."

"It's not," he said firmly. "You look like a child in those photos, El—a doe-eyed, teenage girl who hasn't had to venture too far into the real world." He reached a tender hand to her cheek, running his thumb over one of her scars. "Now, you look like a fighter. A survivor. And there's nothing more beautiful than that."

"Nothing happened between us," Fred told her that night after she snuck into his room. It was their last night together before she left for Hogwarts, and there was no way in hell she'd be spending it without him. "Me and Rae, I mean. Or me and anyone. I heard what you were thinking earlier."

Her cheeks burned a bit at that—she'd had a series of rather embarrassing thoughts at that moment—but she was undeniably relieved to hear that he hadn't been with anyone else.

"You don't have anything to be embarrassed about, El. It makes sense that you felt a little sad going there. You were supposed to be a part of all of that, and because of me, you weren't."

God, he was good. Sometimes she thought he understood her better than she did. "I was happy, too," she said quietly. "And proud."

"I know."

She snuggled closer to his chest, then asked, even more quietly, "When am I going to see you next?"

The logical answer, of course, was on the next Hogsmeade visit. But that could be anywhere from one to two months away, and the thought made her feel queasy.

And he had promised her to try to find a way, hadn't he?

"I've got something in the works," he promised her. "Don't want to share until it's a done deal, though. That okay?"

She nodded, relieved to hear more time with him was even a possibility.

Another romantic chapter, though a little sad, too! Poor Ellie has a bit of adjusting to do for the next few months, but she seems to be handling it well, doesn't she? We'll be back on board the Hogwarts Express tomorrow and inching back toward the source material, but I hope you enjoyed the fresh content and of course there will be more where that came from in the future!