𝟏.| ✬ 𝒟ℯ𝒶𝓇 ℬ𝒾𝓁𝓁, ✬ {ℬ. 𝒲ℯ𝒶𝓈𝓁ℯ𝓎}

\ℯ𝒾ℊ𝒽𝓉ℯℯ𝓃\

~

Dear Eleanora
I'm so sorry it's been taking me so long to write. Things have been super busy here, but I'm not going to tell you about any of that because you have enough on your plate right now. I've heard about all the attacks and how Ron's friend was one of the victims. I'm really sorry this is happening. I also heard the Dumbledore was sent away because for some reason the school governors think that'll help. It won't, trust me. Not to be cynical, but things are only going to go downhill from here now that Dumbledore's gone. Needless to say, I'm really upset about the decision as well as my parents and a whole bunch of other people. I promise you aren't alone, there's a lot of people outside Hogwarts trying to help. I know the castle can feel isolated sometimes, but you've got a lot of support from parents, and most of them are very fired up right now. My parents have debated pulling you all out of school (yes, you included), but they've been advised to wait it out a little longer. I don't see the point in that. Why would you wait for things to get worse before taking action? None of it's up to me though, so you have my very distant (and probably very useless) support.
I've been trying to read up on the Chamber, but there isn't much information out there on it. Most wizards write it off as a silly legend, put in place by pure-blood families to keep muggle-borns away from the school. I believe it probably was used as a fear tactic at one time, but with all of the attacks going on, I think it's very much a real thing. Like I've said over and over in my last letters, take care of yourself. Keep the twins or someone around and don't get mixed up with the wrong people. It'll all be over soon, even if that just means the end of the school year. How has studying for the O.W.L.s been. Need any help? Has McGonagall given you any career advice yet? I know she does that fifth year and I keep forgetting to ask. Keep in touch.
Bill

Summer was coming at Hogwarts, but it didn't feel like it. Eleanora barely got to go outside in the new sunlight, and when she did, it was only for short intervals of time. Fred, George, and Lee had become like personal body guards and wouldn't let her go anywhere by herself, not that students were allowed to anyways. The twins and Eleanora had broken that rule only once to try and visit Hermione, per Fred's request, but Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let them in, so they went back to the common room, dejected. The news had reached them earlier that month that Dumbledore had been suspended from the school, and that Hagrid had been taken to Azkaban. With Dumbledore gone, the level of fear in the student body had risen astronomically. It was even making the twins take things more seriously, which worried Eleanora almost most of all. She had decided against reporting the threat, a decision that was met by complaints and arguments from the twins and Lee. She figured that since Hermione and Penelope Clearwater had been taken and not herself, the note was most likely a prank. On top of that, she didn't want to worry the staff even more. She didn't want to be the reason Hogwarts shut down.

Because of the new rules, the students spent most of their time in the common room, talking and playing games to pass the time. Every night, the twins challenged people to rounds of exploding snap and wizards chess in a futile attempt to keep everyone's spirits up. Eleanora rarely partook in any of it. She had taken to using all of her free time to study for the O.W.L.s to distract herself from what was going on. Percy occasionally joined her, but he was much quieter and more reserved than usual. George said it was because Penelope Clearwater was a prefect, and Percy didn't think the monster would attack prefects, but Eleanora wasn't so sure.
Ginny was acting oddly too. After spending the last few months in a constant state of near hysterics, she'd stopped eating as much as she should and always looked slightly sick. On top of this, she'd grown quiet and solitary, which wasn't normal for her. All of her brothers were worried, but didn't know exactly what to do about it.

One evening in particular, Eleanora sat in Hermione's usual seat, watching Fred and George play exploding snap with Harry and Ron. Eleanora noticed that Ginny looked subdued, but she and Percy were working on a difficult charm she could never get the hang of. She decided to wait until later to ask what was wrong, but never got the chance because Ginny went to bed early. After Eleanora had finally gotten the hang of the spell, Percy went up too, his head hung.

Only the twins, Eleanora, Ron, and Harry were left in the common room. Eleanora sat on the arm of one of the couches, watching them finish their game of exploding snap. The twins won by a landslide, but it didn't look like the other two were really  trying.

"Come on, El, one more round, you can be on our team," Fred said hopefully. She shook her head. "No, I should get up to bed. We all should, really." She picked up her books. Fred didn't push the matter.

"El's right," George said. "It's really late." Eleanora's heart sank at this. George was always the one to keep them up later, begging Fred and Eleanora to go on long walks with him around the castle or sit up late talking. They all said goodnight and parted ways.

Laying in bed, Eleanora tossed and turned but couldn't get herself to go to sleep. When she'd flopped over onto her other side for the tenth time, she heard a mutter from the other side of the room that made her jump, but it was only Bea. "El, shut up," she said, throwing a pillow across the room. Eleanora sighed and slid out of bed, pulling on a sweater and starting for the door of the dormitory, but stopped to do a double take.

"Are you two sleeping in the same bed?" she whispered. Phillipa's head popped up from the pillow.

"I got scared."

Eleanora let out a soft laugh and slipped out the door, wandering down to the common room. Fred was sitting on one of the couches, toying with a deck of trick cards and staring into the fire. Eleanora crept over and sat down right next to him. He looked over. "Couldn't sleep."

She nodded. "Me either."

They sat in silence for a long time, watching the fire together, Eleanora's eyes growing heavier and heavier. She finally closed them, resting her head on Fred's shoulder. "Why does it all have to be so bad, Freddie?" she asked, not really expecting an answer.

Fred sighed and leaned back, making it more comfortable for both of them. "I dunno, Ellie. I don't know."

They fell asleep together, both feeling like the world was ending around them, when really their troubles were only just beginning.