The euphoria surrounding the Quidditch Cup had yet to warn off, even as June approached the castle. For Fred, it wasn't the Quidditch Cup that had garnered such a stir in his chest, it was the fact that Eleanor had kissed him. Sure, perhaps she tried to play it off by kissing the rest of the team, but she had only kissed them all on the cheek, while kissing him on the lips, that had to count for something, right? And yet, after the Quidditch Cup, neither of them spoke about it, as if it didn't happen. But Fred wasn't willing to simply forget it because as brief as it was, the kiss itself had left him practically breathless.

However, with the upcoming O.W.L.s, there wasn't much of a chance of Fred getting an opportunity to speak with Eleanor alone, especially as she started stressing over Potions again.

"Alright, the ingredient is Moonstone," George prompted as he, Fred, and Eleanor were sitting in the library, keeping up their side of the bargain to help her pass the class with flying marks.

For a moment, Eleanor looked around but as soon as she made eye contact with Fred, she immediately looked elsewhere and tried to come up with the answer.

"Moonstone," she repeated, "it's used in the Draught of Peace potion and the powdered form is used in many other potions."

"Come on, Ellie," Fred said, "you know more than that. List the properties."

After a minute or so, Eleanor shook her head before pulling the front of her jumper over her face. "I don't know! I don't know! I can't remember anything anymore. My brain is fried! I have too much going on in my head right now. I can't tell the difference between inanimatus conjures and venom antidotes!"

Without another word, Eleanor pushed herself away from the table and left the library, leaving the twins to exchange glances with one another. Obviously, there was something besides the upcoming exams that was bothering Eleanor and George nudged his brother to go investigate. Fred didn't need any other encouragement as he left the table as well to go after her.

She hadn't made it far as Fred came out of the library and found her sitting in a window seat at the end of the corridor. Making his way over, he quietly sat next to her as Eleanor had her eyes closed, trying to calm herself down.

"Ellie, I know you think these exams are pretty much life and death, but they really aren't," he said. "You're driving yourself mad over it. Even if you got a T for Troll in the class, all your other marks will show that it was a fluke. What are you worried about? This can't be all over potions."

Eleanor stole a look in his direction before letting out a small sigh. "You're right, it's not all about the exams, it's a bunch of other things added onto it. Between my mother and you...."

Fred felt his heart skipped a beat as she mentioned him, but Eleanor stopped herself as she tried to shake her head and change the topic.

"What about me, Ellie?"

"You don't have to be so kind about it, Fred," she told him. "I was a total idiot at the Quidditch Cup. How you're still talking to me, I'll never understand. The fact that I kissed you and then proceeded to kiss your entire Quidditch team, I still haven't recovered from that."

"If it makes you feel better, the entire Quidditch team was flattered, me included."

Clearly, that was not the response she was looking for as she covered her face with her hands to conceal the darkening blush on her face.

"I couldn't help it, I panicked," she said. "I was so happy that you all won the match and you looked so happy standing there. I...I... I'm so sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It wasn't my intentions. I've already apologised to everyone else, even though they told me I had nothing to be sorry about."

"So, you didn't mean to kiss me?"

The corridor fell completely silent as Eleanor lowered her hands from her face and looked at him. She didn't say no, she didn't say anything as she continued to stare at him. Her eyes seemed to scan his face, waiting for any indicator of what she should respond with.

"Did you want me to kiss you?" she asked him quietly in return.

It was Fred's turn to stare at her, completely stunned and unsure of what to say. It was so easy to talk to Eleanor when it was just the two of them or when they were talking about pranks and life. But whenever it came to the discussion of their possible feelings for each other, there seemed to be a barrier that kept them from going any further. He wanted to say "yes" because he had very much enjoyed the kiss they had shared, no matter how brief it was.

However, time continued to pass and neither one of them dared to make the confession as Eleanor peered down at her hands and Fred swore under his breath at himself.

Reaching into the pocket of her robes, Eleanor pulled out what appeared to be a letter and unfolded it.

"My mother wrote me back finally," she said, staring down at it, "I don't know what to make of her response. She was so angry before in her first letter and now, it's like she's eerily calm. I'm afraid that when I go back, she's going to tell me that I can't come back to Hogwarts next term."

"May I?" he asked, holding his hand out to take the letter from her. Eleanor put up no protest as she gladly gave it over to him.

If only Eleanor had been aware of the pure panic Fred had felt in the moment where she claimed her mother wouldn't let her return to Hogwarts, she would have no doubts whether or not Fred had wanted her to kiss him, back on the Quidditch pitch.

But as Fred read over Margaret's letter, perhaps Eleanor's stress was getting the best of her because while the letter appeared to be calm as she had stated, there wasn't much of an indicator that Margaret would try to keep Eleanor from returning to the school.

Dear Eleanor,

First and foremost, I want to apologise for my last letter to you. I wrote it during a time where I should have waited until I had calm down, and not from a place of anger. After thinking it over, I understand why you kept so much from me over the years. In a sense, it was your way of protecting me from a world you knew I feared. However, it only shows me how much I have failed you as a mother because it should have been me protecting you all this time, not the other way around. And it's been so hypocritical of me to become upset when I've been the one withholding information from you for years.

Just know, that I would never wish to hurt you, I've only wanted the best for you. You are my only child, my pride and joy, and I love you so much. But I haven't shown that to you over the years. I'm hoping if you'll give me another chance, that we can put all the truth out on the table. I want to be completely honest with you.

We have much to discuss when you return home.

Love you dearly,

Mum.

Fred flipped the letter over before handing it back to Eleanor, but as she continued to look down, he promptly moved one hand under her chin and directed her gently to look up at him.

"I think you're overreacting, love," Fred told her. "It sounds like your mother just wants to continue to patch things up between the two of you. You know, like the two of you did over Christmas. This only sounds like a good thing. She didn't make any mention about you not returning to Hogwarts."

"I know but- "

"Ellie, just see how it goes first. And if she threatens to keep you from coming back. You just send a letter to me. George and I will come to break you out of there. We're pretty much experienced in getting people out of bad situations."

She raised a brow in confusion before a small smile developed. "Really? You mean it?"

"Of course, what would I do without my favourite Hufflepuff being here?"

His hand still lingered under her chin and her eyes remained locked with his. With his promise to come to her rescue, Eleanor seemed to relax in his hold. The temptation of being so close to her as he leaned in, there seemed to be a struggle for power between his confidence and his self-doubt as they battled back and forth.

One told him to kiss her and the other said to wait.

"Ellie?"

"Yes?"

"What are the properties of Moonstone?"

Self-doubt for the win.

The week of exams began, and Eleanor was pleased to start with Defence Against the Dark Arts. The written part of the exam included the review of counter-jinxes and defensive spells paired with their best uses, and the practical was simply performing the spells accurately. She was fairly confident in her abilities to perform each incantation paired with the wand movement. While she had been fretting over her Potions exam, having Defence Against the Dark Arts first had given her a good boost of confidence.

But as the exam finished and the students were dismissed, Eleanor found herself grabbed by Marnie and pulled to the side.

"Eleanor, did you notice anything strange while you were taking your exam today?"

Trying to think back on everything that had happened, Eleanor couldn't remember anything going awry. Although suddenly she was beginning to think she had missed something completely. Had she remembered to put her name on the exam? Was there a back to something she had left blank?

"Oh no, don't tell me I missed something! I was so sure I was doing well!"

"It doesn't have to do with the exam itself, Ellie," Marnie said, "I was talking about Professor Lupin. You didn't see how he was watching you the entire time during the exam?"

"What?"

"I was getting a completely creepy vibe from him," she continued, "every time I looked up, he was just watching you. And before you say it, no, my eyes were not playing tricks on me. You can ask Cedric! He saw it too."

Eleanor turned to Cedric, looking awfully concerned with Marnie's sudden accusation. "Well?"

"I don't know, Ellie," he sighed, "it kind of looked like it. But I don't think he was staring at you for the reasons that Marnie is thinking. You know her mind is a filthy place. Maybe he was just curious as to how you were doing. You two have been close this term, haven't you?"

"How close are we talking about?" Marnie interjected.

Eleanor shook her head, scrunching her face up in disgust. "Nothing like that! It was more of like him being a therapist, not a creep. Whenever I had a problem, he was willing to listen to me and he gave me advice."

"Whatever," Marnie said, "I'm just saying that I picked up a strange vibe from him and I'm never wrong about these things."

"What!?" Cedric shrieked. "You're always wrong about these things! You thought I was a creep back in first year."

"That hasn't changed!"

Rather than relying on Marnie's word, Eleanor spotted Professor Lupin walking out of the exam hall and decided that she would approach him herself. Perhaps he had something he wanted to tell her and that was why he had been looking at her. He probably hadn't even been staring all that much, Marnie was more than likely exaggerating.

Leaving Marnie and Cedric to bicker, Eleanor ran after Professor Lupin, calling out to him until he came to a stop.

"Ms Ross," he said, "what can I do for you?"

Every time she saw him, he looked worse than before and Eleanor found herself filled with concern, even if she didn't know the man all that well. He looked beyond tired and overall stressed out.

"Professor Lupin, are you alright?"

As he looked at her, it looked as though he wanted to answer with something completely different but ended up nodding his head.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking," he told her, " have you heard back from your mother yet?"

"Well, she sent me a letter actually- "

"Saying what?"

"That we would talk when I got home, I don't understand why-"

Professor Lupin sighed before he turned to leave. "I have to go, Ms Ross. Have a good rest of your day."

"You too, Professor," she said, even though he was long gone, " feel better."