Towers - Fred Weasley

80

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THE WEASLEY'S AND THEIR GUESTS were sitting in the living room, which Ginny had decorated so lavishly that it was rather like sitting in a paper-chain explosion. Fred, George, Harry, and Ron were the only ones who knew that the angel on top of the tree was actually a garden gnome that had bitten Fred on the ankle as he pulled up carrots for Christmas dinner. Stupefied, painted gold, stuffed into a miniature tutu and with small wings glued to its back, it glowered down at them all, the ugliest angel anyone had ever seen, with a large bald head like a potato and rather hairy feet.

They were all supposed to be listening to a Christmas broadcast by Mrs. Weasley's favorite singer, Celestina Warbeck, whose voice was warbling out of the large wooden wireless set. Under cover of a particularly jazzy number called "A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love," Fred and George started a game of Exploding Snap with Ginny. Ron kept shooting Bill and Alyx covert looks, as though hoping to pick up tips. Meanwhile, Remus Lupin, who was thinner and more ragged-looking than ever, was sitting beside the fire, staring into its depths as though he could not hear Celestina's voice.

Oh, come and stir my cauldron,

And if you do it right,

I'll boil you up some hot strong love

To keep you warm tonight.

"We danced to this when we were eighteen!" said Mrs. Weasley, wiping her eyes on her knitting. "Do you remember, Arthur?"

"Mphf?" said Mr. Weasley, whose head had been nodding over the satsuma he was peeling. "Oh yes... marvelous tune..."

Ebony sat herself down next to Remus, she had never seen him like this just when she thought everything was going better in their lives. "Want to talk?" She asked him and watched as he hesitated but eventually shook his head. "Come on, what's wrong?"

"It is strange." Remus replied and looked at her with a small smile. "The house is empty, it is quiet and worst of all. . . I feel like this might be the lonliest time I ever experienced." 

Ebony felt incredibly bad. She would do anything just so Remus could experience five more minutes with Sirius, James, Lily and Katherine. Even if she would have to give up ever seeing her father herself ever again. Remus deserved this. 

"I wanted to show you something." Remus stated and looked around. "I found out about the spell a couple weeks ago and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since."

"What spell?" Ebony asked, curiously.

"Take my hand and I'll show you." He held out his hand and waited patiently for her to take it. Ebony figured nothing bad could happen and placed her hand in his. She heard Remus whisper 'Memento memoria' under his breath before everything around her became blurred.

When the blur disappeared, she realized they had apparated to a different room in a house she did not recognize. A sudden sound of a crying child filled her ears. Ebony looked around trying to find the source but she saw Remus stand next to her instead. 

"Keep watching." He instructed to which she did. 

A woman walked inside the room, she had beautiful red hair and a face sprinkled with freckles. She had beautiful green eyes and a young child in her arms. Ebony recognized the little girl as herself. This woman must've been Lily Potter and they didn't apparate, Remus showed her his memory.

"James honey, where did we put the pacifiers?" She asked and looked around the living room. Soon, a man walked inside with a crying baby in his arms. 

"I do not know, man this is stressful. MOONY!" James' scream made the baby in his arms cry out louder to which little Ebony laughed. 

Another man with sandy blond hair, a face full of scars and a very neat and nerdy outfit on walked inside with his hands in his pockets.

"Problems, Prongs?" 

"Very funny, mate." James replied, sarcastically. "Look for pacifiers, please. Harry won't stop crying." 

"Nevermind, I found them!" Lily said and handed one to her husband. James gave the pacifier to Harry who immediately shut up once he had it in his mouth. 

"Daddy!" Little Ebony said loudly and made grabby hands towards a rather handsome man. He had long dark hair tied back into a ponytail and a tired expression on his face. He was carrying two bags filled with groceries inside. He placed the bags down and took the girl in his arms.

A woman followed him inside, also holding two bags. She wore a long brown dress with mushrooms painted on them. She had long curly blonde hair and she looked incredibly kind. She chuckled as she too put the bags down on the kitchen counter.

"Come on, Peter. Hurry up!" She said, teasingly before kissing young Remus' cheek. 

A smaller, fatter boy walked inside with the last bag of groceries and put it down next to the others. He was sweaty and his hair was messy but he did not look bad at all. Just exhausted.

"Well, I will go take a nap as I believe little Padfoot needs to rest as well." Sirius said with a small smile as his daughter cuddled up against him. 

"Did you make sure no human realized you guys are wizards?" Lily asked with a smile. "We all know what happened last time we sent you to get groceries."

"I promise you, we did not do anything out of the ordinary." Sirius stated.

"He asked whether the mushrooms packed in plastic were found in a swamp and whether they were cleaned with and I quote 'Anesthetic Mandrake Powder.' The blonde woman -- who Ebony is sure must've been Katherine -- said.

"You're kidding me." Lily groaned, frustratedly. 

James, however, laughed and patted his best friend on the shoulder. "Unfortunately, muggles have never heard of Mandrakes." 

Suddenly, as quick as it came, the blur appeared and Ebony was pulled back into reality. She looked around the living room inside the Burrow and saw Remus sit back with a disappointed look on his face. He clearly missed them all very much.

"Sometimes I'm glad I am the last one left." Remus said softly as to not draw attention to the two of them. "At least this way, they aren't the ones to suffer." He stood up and joined Harry and Mr. Weasley instead. Ebony watched him carefully, only feeling worse with the seconds passing.

"Are you okay?" It was Alyx who asked and sat herself down next to her. "I mean, whatever your conversation was about left the two of you a bit saddened."

"Ever heard of the Memento Memoria spell?" Ebony asked softly.

"The memory charm? Yeah, I sometimes use it to remember where I left my potions." Alyx replied. "Saw something you did not want to see?"

"No, I really liked it." Ebony replied with a small smile. "It was a piece of my past I did not remember."

"Those are the best ones." Alyx stated. "Sometimes you should remember some awful memories to be able to let them go." Ebony hummed, it made sense. "Christmas, however, is not the best time to do so."

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Written: 26/07/2023

Word Count: 1187