promised || fred. w

29; The Black-Stoned Ring

We were all having Christmas dinner that day. We had opened presents that morning. I got amazing things for Christmas.

Everyone was talking at the table, eating the wonderful meal Mrs. Weasley made. Hermione, Ginny and me helped her make it, and it was rather fun.

It was surprising how fast winter break had goon by. There was only a week left of it, and then it was back to Hogwarts. I did miss Hogwarts very much, but I'll rather stay at home with dad and the others. 

Once we were done eating, we all went to the living room to talk. We were laughing and telling jokes next to the fire that was warming us. We danced a little as Christmas music played in the background. "Echo, do you remember Sprinkles?" Dad asked me.

"Of course I remember him! He was my cat, dad!" I said back. "You never told us you had a had cat!" Ron said. "I don't like to talk about it," I said. Dad began to chuckle. 

"What's so funny?" Ginny asked. "No, no, it's just how he passed, Sprinkles." He said, started to laugh. "It's not funny! I cried for weeks!" I crossed my arms.

"How'd he die?" Harry asked, smirking. "I was going to go outside to the park with Tonks, and somehow, Sprinkles managed to escape and followed me. He crossed the streets, but then a car hit him! I heard a loud meow and saw him there in the floor, half alive, but close to passing. I saw him die in front of me!"

Most of them laughed. Mrs. Weasley and Hermione slapped their mouths with her hands as they looked at me with awe. "How'd he managed to leave the house?!" Harry asked through laughs. I shrugged. "It's not funny! I felt guilty for such a long time, and I still do!" I yelled at them. 

"I'm sorry, it's just the face I imagine you making when you saw the poor cat," Ginny said. They all laughed again. I rolled my eyes, smirking a little, still half sad about my dead cat. 

-

I woke up to tapping noises that morning. I groaned and got up. I walked over to my window, half asleep. I rubbed my eyes and looked out the window. A dark, Greater Scooter owl was tapping the window. It had a small box tied to its leg. 

I opened the window and cold air filled my room. The owl came inside and  made itself at home. I walked over to it and untied the box that was on it. It was wrapped in dark purple wrapping paper with a black blow on it. 

It also had a note. I took the note before opening the box. 

Sorry I didn't get to goodbye to you before you left. I was caught in traffic with everyone trying to get to where they needed to be. This might be a day or so late, but I hope you like it. 

Jeremy

It was a small letter. I opened the box. A ring stood there. It had a black stone in the middle as it was made of small diamonds. My mouth a gapped a little at the beauty of it. I ran my pointer finger over the stone. I frowned. I saw my reflection in it, but something else happened. 

It was hard to explain. It sparkled, and then someone was standing behind me. But how could that be if it was a ring, not a mirror. I ignored it and slipped it on my index finger. 

My mind stood with the ring as I got dressed and went downstairs or breakfast. Everyone was already there, talking and eating. "Good morning!" Dad smiled at me as he saw me. "Good morning," I said back, sitting next to George. "Hey, Echo." He said. "Hi, George." 

George leaned closer to me. "So, me and Fred have been talking about the Skiving Snackbox we're making. We got a couple perfected, but were going to need your help. Yeah, I guess the first and second years are helping with trying them out, but we — what's that?" He was looking at my ring. 

"Oh, Jeremy gave it to me. It came today with his owl." I told him. "What?" Fred was looking at me now. I showed him my ring. He looked at it, examining it. "Take it off." 

I dropped my fork. I looked over at him with furrowed eyebrows. "What? No!" I said, taking my hand back. "Trust me. Take it off." He demanded. "Why should I?" I asked him.

"It seems weird. Let someone investigate it first before you surly keep it on." He said. "No! It's a gift to me, I get to choose what to do with it, and I choose to wear it!" I said. 

"Just take the damn ring off!" He yelled. 

Everyone was looking at us. George was looking from me, to Fred, then back to me as we spoke to one another. The table was silent. We glared at each other for a moment.

"May I see it?" Dad asked me. I took the ring off and gave it to him. He took it and frowned as he stared at it. He turned it sideways, flipped it around and did many over things with it. 

He gave it back to me. "Yeah, we should let Mad-eye examine it. It seems fine, but we never know. Who gave it to you, anyway?" He asked me. "A—" Fred interrupted me. "A boy who came to the school around a month ago." He said, not looking at me. 

"And what's his name?" Dad asked. "Jeremy Hills." I quickly beat Fred to it. Dad nodded. "But they didn't announce his last name when he was getting sorted," Harry said. Dad perked his eyes at him. "They didn't?" He asked us. We all shook our heads. "Echo..." he said, looking over at me. 

"Yes?" I asked him. "Does this...boy...look familiar to you?" He asked me. I thought for a while, staying silent. Everyone turned their eyes to me.

"You know...yeah, kinda." I answered his question. "Stay away from him." Dad quickly said. "W-what?! Why?!" I asked. "Just do as I say. And I'll be taking that ring." He said, nodding towards the ring in my hands. "No! It's mine, he gave it to me!" I refused. 

"Echo, I'm doing this to keep you safe, just give me the ring and—" 

"Safe from what?!" I asked him. He stayed quite fro a while. "Just give me the ring." He said, his hand out towards me. "No, dad! I'm not giving you the ring until you tell me why!" I said. "This boy...I know him. I'm not saying anything more. I'm doing what's best for you, so if you—"

"I don't need you to keep me safe! You failed to do it for thirteen years! I've learned to do it myself! So I'm  not giving you the ring!" I yelled, getting up and leaving the table. 

I ran to my room, anger filling me up. Towards Dad and Fred. Towards everyone. I slammed my door shut behind me. I sat on my bed and ran my fingers through my hair. What was wrong with them? Why did dad want to take the ring away? This boy, I know him.  What did dad mean when he said this? 

A knock then came from my door. I stayed quite. "Echo? Can I come in?" It was Harry. "Yeah," I said. The door creaked open. Harry came in and sat next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "What does it affect him? Both of them?" I asked him. "Sirius is your dad. He wants to keep you safe. And Fred.. well, he probably just likes you," he smirked. I hit his stomach. He groaned with a small laugh. 

"I'm kidding. He's probably worried. Also wants to keep you safe," Harry said. "What does dad mean by 'this boy I know him'?" I asked. "Well, I'm not Sirius, so I wouldn't know. You could ask him, though." Harry said. "Ask him? Are you crazy?! I just tired to ask him, but he wouldn't tell me." I said. 

"You know, he's really protective over you. He probably feels guilty. He missed your entire childhood, which you spent in an orphanage, all these things happened with you and Gabe, which makes him feel worse. And now he's super busy with the order, he doesn't have much time for you." He said. I shrugged. "But why does he start acting now?" 

Harry also shrugged. "Maybe he didn't know how to earlier," he responded. "How does that the work?" I frowned as I stared at the floor. "I dunno. Like I said, I'm not your dad. I can't read his mind. But I do know this: he cares for you a lot. So trust him." He said. 

"I trust him, I do. But why's he coming after Jeremy?" 

"I'm not so sure. He does seem a bit weird to me, but that's up to you." Harry said. We stayed quite for a while. After a while, he stood up and walked over to my door.

 "Just do what you think is best. 'Follow your heart!'." He smirked before leaving my room.

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