A Child Of Darkness : A Draco Malfoy fanfic

18 - A bitter farewell

"Professor McGonagall better be wrong-"

Eleonora froze at the open door, unable to continue her sentence as she saw the packed bags and clean room.

"You can't be leaving!" The girl pushed her way into the room, grabbing the scrolls off of the Professor's hands as he attempted to pack them. Lupin sighed, turning to the girl. "The news about me is out and if I don't leave, I'll have to face the wrath of thousands of parents". Remus smiled in an attempt to calm the girl down but it did no change.

"Professor Dumbledore would surely let you stay. Who cares about those nasty parents?". She threw her hands up animatedly as she spoke. "They've been complaining about me attending. Surely they wouldn't mind you".

Remus smiled sadly, moving to pick up the scrolls. "This is different Eleonora. They wouldn't want a werewolf teaching their children or even being in the same room as them".
He placed his palm on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Eleonora stayed motionless as he resumed packing his bags, using a flick of his wand to shut drawers and move more papers.

"Where will you be going?"

"Professor Dumbledore has arranged a lovely home for me to stay. And as much as I had declined, maybe staying there won't be half as bad".

Remus stood rooted in his spot, his gaze moving from the girl to his feet. His fingers tapped against the wooden table as he stalled his next words.

He opened his mouth to speak but shut it immediately, choosing to hold off what he had in mind. Remus needed some time to settle down and maybe then he would consider it - once he knew the house was safe.
Until then, Eleonora was better off without any false hope.

"This is horrible. I'm going to be all alone here". Eleonora groaned. She plopped down on a chair, hiding her face in her hands as she muttered incoherent complaints.

"You have Cedric and Hermione don't you?"

"Yes but". Eleonora sighed, falling back against the chair. "It's not the same without you".

Remus pulled a chair next to her, smiling as he met her gaze. "You can send Hermes to me anytime Eleonora. You'll be fine".

He patted her arm as Fawley pouted. She picked on her nails as she watched him move across the room, luggage moving around with him.

"Harry's headed this way". Remus pointed to the map on the table and Eleonora moved to see. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of the moving names and sure enough there was Harry Potter scribbled across the map as he quickly made his way to the office.

"Oh my god". She picked it up, inspecting every corner of it. "This is incredible!"

Her jaw dropped as she examined every single stroke on the map, almost burying her face in the old paper. "He's here!"

The two looked to the open door and Harry stood there breathless, staring at the duo in the office.

"I saw you coming", Remus spoke, nodding in the direction of the map in Eleonora's hand.
Harry shifted his gaze to the girl who stared back at him.
"It's not true, is it?", he asked Elen.

"I'm afraid it is", Remus answered before she could. The girl dropped the map on the table and crossed her arms.
"He's very stubborn and wouldn't change his mind", she stated, narrowing her eyes at the man.

Lupin smiled as he moved to empty his drawers. Eleonora looked to the boy and then to the Professor, deciding to give him some space to talk as Harry had almost turned red with probably several questions.

"I'll head out Professor".
Lupin turned around to look at the girl, his gaze softening as he met hers. He nodded in reply and Eleonora moved to the door, closing it behind her.

She settled down on a chair in the class room, glancing up at the closed door as she heard voices behind it. The room was awfully quiet if it wasn't for the voices. She stared at the boards, the windows, her fingers and then repeated the cycle as she awaited the man.

The door hinges creaked as Lupin walked out with his briefcase, speaking some last words to the boy by the door.
Eleonora got to her feet and watched the man descend the stairs. She forced a smile as the professor looked to her, his eyes betraying the emotions that he contained within.
He paused momentarily before her, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"You'll be okay here?"

Eleonora smiled and nodded. "When was I not".

Remus smiled and patted her shoulder. He took a final look of his class room before walking to the door. Fawley stared until she could no longer see him and her heart dropped as the reality hit her once again.

His departure definitely was a weight on her chest and it would take some time for her to adjust to his absence. But she promised him she'll be okay and that was what she would continue to be.