Discovery

98.

"Where were you two?!" I shrieked, rooted to the floor.

Sirius and my mother exchanged worried glances.

"Ella, honey, we hoped you would understand." Mum said hesitantly.

"I haven't heard from you two in months!" I cried, feeling incredibly angry. "I thought you died!"

Before I could continue my rant, Sirius hurried toward me and pulled me into a tight hug. His familiar scent and comforting arms made my anger disappear as quick as it had come.

"Let us explain, please." he pleaded.

I just nodded into his chest.

"We Apparated to the first place we could think of," Mum said as we sat down on the sofa. "The old house."

"I knew you had been there!" I said. "I went to look for you. I saw how clean my room was."

Mum chuckled.

"We stayed there for a few weeks, but Death Eaters started patrolling it for hours on end. They figured that's where I would be hiding." Sirius explained. "When we got the chance, we Apparated to James' childhood home."

"It was rather worn down." Mum said. "We stayed for a month, until someone said You-Know-Who's name."

"It was an accident!" Sirius frowned. "Anyway, the enchantments broke and Death Eaters attacked us. We got out, and went all the way to your grandparents' house in Cookham."

"My parents' house," Mum explained. "They left it to me when they passed away. I never did anything with it, of course, because Sirius and I had our own place. I never got around to selling it once I had to raise you kids on my own. It's just been sitting for years now."

"So that's where you've been this whole time?"

My parents nodded.

"We wanted to come find you right away, but we weren't sure if you would be forced to return to school or not. Last month, we heard you were in hiding." Sirius said.

"We went to Muriel's, but Fred said you had gone off on your own." Mum said, her eyes filling with tears. "We tried to look for you, but we hadn't a clue where you would be until Andromeda sent us an owl."

We sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Is Fred...cross with me?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer.

"No, of course not." Mum assured me. "He's just so worried."

"Why hasn't he reached out?" I frowned. "I'm still wearing my ring."

Sirius could not suppress his laughter.

"I think he needs to explain that himself."

***

Sirius and Mum spent the night catching up with Andromeda, Tonks, and Lupin. The next day, they agreed that I should go to Muriel's to make amends with Fred.

My stomach was filled with butterflies as I entered the house. Fred was waiting for me at the door, and immediately pulled me into his arms when he saw me.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in my ear. "I'm sorry, Ella. Forgive me, love."

"I'm sorry too," I replied. "I know you were just trying to keep me safe. I shouldn't have ran off. I wasn't smart."

"I wasn't smart either," he mumbled. "I'm sure it was hell not knowing where your parents were. I worry about mine every day, and I know they're just at home."

We broke apart, and I looked at his hand. Sure enough, the ring was missing.

"Where's your ring? I've been trying to talk to you." I told him.

Fred immediately turned a dark shade of pink.

"After you left, I was a bit frustrated..." he trailed off. "I may have punched a wall. It broke the ring right in two."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Here I thought you were ignoring me, really you just punched it into pieces!"

"Laugh all you want," Fred said, taking my hand in his. "But you should know that I did some serious damage. You have a ridiculously strong boyfriend."

"Don't get so cocky, Weasley."

"So, want me to escort you back to your room?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, Fred. I'm...I'm not here to stay." I looked at my feet to avoid seeing his disappointed gaze. "I haven't seen my parents in months. I want to go with them."

"Of course you do..." Fred said, and I could hear the sadness in his voice. "And you should. Can I come visit?"

"Of course." I nodded. "As much as you can."

That night, Fred and I parted once more, but this time on much better terms. He promised to make a new ring as soon as possible, and to come visit once it was done.

Sirius picked me up at quarter past ten, and together we Apparated to Cookham. It was a small village, with rows of small houses on stone streets. Snow covered every road and rooftop for miles.

"This is us," Sirius said, walking towards the second cottage on the left. Unlocking the door, he quickly ushered me inside. "It has the usual protective enchantments, but you can never be too careful."

"I can't believe I just heard you say that," I laughed.

The cottage was cozy inside. There was a spacious living area, complete with a bookcase and a window seat. Everything seemed to be covered in a layer of dust.

"Seems like your mother hasn't done much cleaning," Sirius muttered, waving his wand to get rid of the excessive amount of dust. "Want to see your room?"

Upstairs, my room was at the end of the hall. My parents had fixed it up to look almost identical to my room at the old house, except there was one bed instead of two.

"I'll let you rest up." Sirius said, patting me on the back. "Goodnight, kiddo."

"'Night," I replied, though I knew sleep would never come. I sat by the window instead, watching the stars. I recalled that night when Miranda lead me up to the roof of our old house. How fearless she seemed up there.

Without a second thought, I poked my head out and evaluated my surroundings. The ledge wasn't far from my window, and I grabbed onto it with a quick jump. It required a lot of upper body strength, but I finally managed to pull myself onto the roof.

The view was incredible. The air was freezing, but I didn't mind. It made me feel more alive.

I could see everything from here. Lights on in windows, smoke from chimneys, a stream nearby. It was beautiful.

I fell asleep hoping this village would remain untouched by the darkness seeping in around us. I hoped it would remain perfect and peaceful for many years to come.

***

Over the next few days, we continued cleaning the house and decorating for the holiday. It was almost impossible to believe that even while people were being tortured, captured, and murdered, Christmas was right around the corner. It felt wrong to even think about celebrating.

But despite my objections, we decorated a tree and hung up lights anyway.

After some discussion, it was arranged that we would stay home for Christmas day dinner. I longed to go to the Weasley's like we used to, but Sirius claimed it was too risky.

"Death Eaters are watching them closely," Sirius lectured me during the tree-trimming. "Arthur told us not to come. We'll see them again soon, don't worry."

I hoped he was right.

As I fell asleep on Christmas Eve, I wondered about Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I wondered if they were okay. If they were warm. If they knew it was Christmas Eve...

"Happy Christmas, guys," I sighed, staring at my framed photograph of the four of us. We looked so young. If only we had known what was coming...