The Haunting of Judith Wagner{George Weasley}

Chapter Forty Six

He wasn't sure what led him to find her, but it didn't take him long to find the woman sitting outside her home during the early morning hours. After Hogwarts, she apparently had moved to Tinsworth, an area known for it's wizarding community. Fred walked over completely aware that she couldn't see him or hear him.

She was sitting on the stairs outside of her small home, that seemed to just be out in the middle of nowhere. She was alone, and Fred frowned knowing why.

Back in Hogwarts, she had lost her best friend back when Cedric Diggory had passed away in the Triwizard Tournament, and then her other best friend Marnie Saxon had been killed during the Battle of Hogwarts as well, leaving her alone.

In school, she had been sorted in the Hufflepuff house, and Fred remembered all the times that she had come across as sweet and quiet. But at the final battle before his death, he had been able to see the "badger" appear. Fred regretted never really approaching her, as he had ample opportunity to do so during their school years. But he always figured she and Cedric would be become an item. It never happened though and Fred had just missed out on his shot.

"Hey Eleanor." he said sitting down beside her.

He watched as she continued to knit, both knitting needles in her hands as she worked quietly. Eventually, she screwed up on a stitch and became frustrated, enough to put her knitting materials to the side. She rubbed her forehead and glanced around, at one point looking directly at him without knowing. She sighed and placed her chin in her hands as she rested her elbows on her legs.

Fred had to admit, he felt weird being around her seeing as they didn't even have a friendship really back in Hogwarts. But he had noticed the many times she had witnessed his and George's pranks and shared in the laughter. He loved her laugh, it was pleasant.

But the Eleanor Ross he was looking at didn't look to be anywhere near the laughing mood. She appeared lonely and saddened. It was obvious the war had left her scarred and it was going to take her time to heal.

He wondered how things would have been different if he had said something to her, or if events had turned out differently before the final battle.

Perhaps it was for the best though, as he would hate himself if they had actually become something and then he lost his life in the battle.

Looking straight ahead, Fred suddenly heard her sniff. He looked over and saw that she was crying into her hands.

"Please don't cry Ellie." he said but she couldn't hear him.

He reached a hand out to place it on her shoulder, but instead he ended up moving some of her brown hair off her shoulder.

She immediately jumped and peered down at her shoulder. Her green eyes were wide as she looked around.

"Pull yourself together, Eleanor." she told herself out loud as she grabbed her things and left inside her home.

Fred remained on the stairs alone.

Judith's hands rested on her hips as she paced back and forth in the Burrow trying to come up with anything that would give her a hint or a clue as to where her brother or grandmother was. She knew it wasn't Nathaniel or Bethany in control anymore, so she had to think like the Dark Lord or like Bellatrix. But she was sure that Bellatrix wasn't capable of her own thoughts, she only believed in what the Dark Lord said.

The darkest obedient puppy there was out there.

She chewed on her thumbnail but no one thought of asking her to thought. It wasn't time for her to be upset, she had to think, her family's life depended on it right now. She wasn't sure how her grandfather was taking the news of his wife's disappearance into the night. She was certain he was probably blaming himself for not looking over her.

What could the Dark Lord be planning? Obviously, he couldn't stay in Nathaniel's body forever and Bellatrix would not fair well in Bethany's body for long. As Harry pointed out, while the Dark Lord has used other bodies for his own personal use before, the plan had always been to get his own body.

"He wants a permanent body." she told herself. "How is he going to get one? Or was he after that? Perhaps he had an even bigger plan."

She sat down wishing she knew where Fred was. He was probably feeling bad about the whole situation believing he should have been the one to protect Bethany from falling under Bellatrix's possession. She wanted to reassure him that it wasn't his fault, but she hadn't seen him since that morning.

"Come on Fred, I need your help."

She waited but when he didn't show up for several hours, she decided to take it upon herself to return to Limbo and talk to as many spirits that had information on Lord Voldemort.

"I need some sleepytime tea."