While Eleanor spent the majority of her summer creating as many new memories as possible with her newly constructed family, Fred found that their letters that had once gone back and forth constantly had become few and far in between. He didn't blame Eleanor, of course, it had been a shock to all of them when they learned that Professor Lupin had turned out to be her father. And in the few letters that had been sent to him, Eleanor told him that she had met her grandfather as well and was spending a lot of the summer going back and forth to his home for visits. He knew she was busy, and he was happy for her, but maybe she didn't understand how happy he was when he finally received a response from her.

In between the response time, Fred kept himself busy, along with George as they were making big plans for their future. After a couple of years of buying up prank products with what little saved money they had, over the last year, they had been attempting to develop their own products. And so far, they had been quite successful with many of them, although a lot of them still needed a name, that would come later.

However, one thing they did manage to agree on was calling their business Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

The twins were quite proud of themselves after all their hard work seemed to pay off in the best way. They actually had created enough of their products that they were looking to sell them come the new term at Hogwarts. Many nights of working in their room, suffering the side effects, and of course, trying to come up with a proper pricing list to start selling. George had even taken it upon himself to create order forms, so they really looked official. From fake wands to trick sweets, they were all set to go, that was until their mother discovered what they were up to.

It had been one day where Fred and George had been outside, enjoying the warmer weather, and Molly had taken it upon herself to clean up their room. Naturally, she found the order forms, and instantly, became furious. She demanded that they come back inside where she scolded them for nearly an hour.

Fred nearly lost his mind when Molly took to burning the order forms, telling them that they were forbidden from selling any of their products when they got to Hogwarts. And if that didn't hurt enough, she decided she would spend the rest of the time, telling them that they needed to start taking their future seriously. Wasn't it enough that she constantly brought up the fact that they didn't get as many O.W.L.s as she hoped? She wanted them to get "respectable" jobs such as working in the Ministry like Arthur and more recently, Percy.

It was then that Fred ended up losing his temper, telling his mother that he and George wanted nothing to do with the Ministry of Magic, they simply wanted to open up a joke shop. Only, that didn't go over well as Molly only argued that a joke shop was not a stable career.

From that day on, Fred found himself in a foul mood, most of it directed towards his mother. He was so tired of being constantly compared to his older brothers or being chastised for not wanting the career that his mother wanted for him and George. Sure, Bill was able to go out and become a curse-breaker and Charlie had dropped out of school to pursue a career with dragons, but a joke shop was out of the question?

And while George did his best to comfort his twin brother, obviously, he was feeling frustrated as well, but it didn't stop them from still attempting to get their business off the ground. They were just going to have to be sneakier about it while they were home.

But some good news came, in the form of tickets, as Arthur had managed to obtain some through the Ministry. He came home with the legendary surprise one evening, leaving all of the Weasley children to become ecstatic. Molly claimed she had no interest in going to the sporting event but seemed happy that her children were happy.

"Naturally, there are enough to have Bill and Charlie come," Arthur said, "a good excuse for them to come home and visit if they can manage. And with a couple of extra since your mum doesn't want to go, Ron, you can invite Harry and Hermione."

Fred had been looking over his own ticket, alongside George, when he heard his father mention the extra tickets. Instantly, his thoughts had travelled to the idea of inviting Eleanor. After all, she shared an interest in Quidditch, especially with how she reacted to the Quidditch House Cup, he could only picture how excited she would be to attend the World Cup. However, that idea was quickly shot down as Arthur didn't even hesitate to invite Ron's friends along.

"What if we wanted to invite our friends?" Fred quickly countered, bringing everyone to look in his direction. "Didn't even bother asking."

He had nothing against Harry or Hermione attending, but really, he was getting tired of constantly being reprimanded or overlooked in the household. Arthur could have easily asked if they wanted to invite someone along, but it automatically went right over the twins and right to Ron. It appeared that Arthur and Molly were caught off guard because normally, when he wasn't in trouble, Fred was often in a good mood, but he didn't look it at that moment.

"Well, who would you want to invite?" Arthur asked him. "I thought you said that Lee and his father were attending?"

Suddenly, Fred felt his face turned red, realising that he had put himself on the spot. While his parents waited for his response, his siblings all quickly developed cheeky grins, knowing damn well who he wanted to invite.

"No one," he said, "I was only pointing out that we weren't asked."

"It sounded like you wanted to invite someone specifically, Fred," Ginny said, earning a deadly glare from her brother, "perhaps a pretty girl that happens to be in Hufflepuff?"

"Maybe her name starts with an E?" Ron added on. "Ends with an R?"

Fred decided his best bet to avoid any more of the awkward exposure taking place in the kitchen, that he would leave and head up to his shared bedroom. It was no longer a secret, at least among his siblings, when it came to the idea that he fancied Eleanor Ross. Leave it to Ginny to witness how Eleanor had kissed his forehead back at Kings' Cross Station and used it to tease the hell out of Fred. And eventually, Ron picked up on it too, and just as he wanted to initially avoid it, they used it at every opportunity.

He was just about to start working on another product by himself when he heard a tap at the window.

Dermot fluttered about impatiently, he came across as a rather agitated owl most days, whether it was constantly nipping at whoever took the letter from him or constantly thrashing about outside the window if someone didn't open the window fast enough.

Quickly, Fred opened the window and collected the letter, only to have Dermot bite the top of his hand.

"Ow! The hell is your problem, Dermot?!" He didn't bother to rub the painful area but readily tore into the letter that he didn't expect to get so soon.

Dear Fred,

Fred had never felt his heart pound so hard in his chest, at least, not over something that was simply a letter that was addressed to him. But that was just it, it was addressed to him. Sure, they had gone back and forth, using their playful nicknames that identified who they were writing to, but there was something different about her writing his name as if it was meant for his eyes only.

I'm so sorry that I haven't been writing as much to you lately. I've been getting rather caught up between being at my mum's or at Grandpa Lyall's house. It's been great trying to spend as much time with my father and my grandfather, but it's almost like we're trying to make up for sixteen years in less than two months. Grandpa Lyall decided the other day to go out and buy me sixteen presents, one for each year, and he sang me Happy Birthday sixteen times as well. A little excessive in my opinion, but incredibly sweet.

As for Dad, well, we get along great, and he and Mum are getting along well too. Maybe too well? I don't know, I don't want to jump to conclusions, but if you had watched the two of them cooking together the other day, you would probably think there was something between them. It's been a long time since they were together in that sense, but maybe an old flame is starting to rekindle? Who knows?

Mum has been taking care of him these last couple of nights, after the full moon. We've been trying to find someone that supplies Wolfsbane, but not with much luck. I try and help but Mum says that he doesn't want me to see him in such a condition, so they usually just tell me to spend the day with Grandpa Lyall.

Anyways, enough about me. How are you? Last I heard, you and George had settled on Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. I think it's a great name, it sounds like a proper name for a joke shop. You mentioned that you wanted to test some products, how is that going? I hope all is going well for you and you're enjoying your summer. Maybe we'll get the chance to see each other before term starts up again, hopefully with a better warning than you falling out of my fireplace, if not, looking forward to your next letter.

Your favourite Hufflepuff,

Ellie

The full moon had come and gone, but days after, it was still taking its toll on Remus. It had been so long since Lyall had made accommodations for him to stay at the Lupin home, but with his old room reinforced, Remus survived another transformation. He wouldn't say it had been his worst transformation to date because he didn't feel like he was under a great deal of stress, but it had been no walk in the park either. Waking up the morning after with fresh scratches that littered his skin, and a sore body was nothing pleasant.

But having his father help him to his feet and having Margaret and Eleanor, helping to take care of him to allow him to rest, for the first time in a long time, he felt relaxed. The first couple of days, he didn't want Eleanor to be around, mainly because he didn't want her to see the fresh scratches. Lyall showed Margaret how to properly take care of them while providing a healing mixture that wouldn't rid them but make them less obvious.

A couple of days later, Remus was stirring from an afternoon nap, memories from his childhood had taken over his dreams. He wondered how Sirius was doing, knowing very well that he had someone important on his mind since his escape. He figured they had reunited, but he hadn't heard anything from either of them, leaving him to wonder if they were alright. Then again, Sirius' name had not been cleared, thanks to Peter escaping, and Remus was still blaming himself over that aspect.

Had he just remembered to take the wolfsbane that evening, his transformation wouldn't have been nearly as chaotic as it turned out to be. And maybe then, Peter wouldn't have been able to escape. Then Sirius would have been a free man, free to return to his lover and live his life, rather than remaining on the run.

"Dad?"

No matter how many times he had been called Dad since it became known that he was Eleanor's father, it made him smile each time. Leaving his thoughts behind, Remus turned his head to see Eleanor in the doorway, holding a quilt in her hands.

"How are you feeling?" she asked walking into the room. "You were sleeping earlier when I got home. Grandpa says hi, by the way."

Remus chuckled. "I'm feeling a lot better, your mother has been in here every hour on the hour to make sure of it. So, what did you two do today?"

"We were going through old boxes in the attic, found some more pictures of you back when you were in Hogwarts. I saw you and Sirius, along with Harry's father, and well, Peter was there too. Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Go ahead, Ellie."

"I found out what happened that night, you know, in the Shrieking Shack, and I know it was Peter that ended up framing Sirius, but I don't understand why he would do such a thing? And I don't understand why the Ministry won't believe that Sirius is innocent if there were multiple witnesses. They should be looking for Peter right now, not Sirius, and yet, his story is still circulating in the Daily Prophet."

"To answer your first question," Remus began, "I only imagine Peter betrayed all of us, including Sirius and Harry's parents because he was frightened. It's not a good excuse and I will certainly never forgive him for it, but Peter was never considered the brave type. Sure, he was sorted into Gryffindor, but that was merely because he valued bravery, not because he was brave. He was more than likely given a choice to betray his friends or likely face death, he chose the first option. Even now, he ran because he was a coward, and rather than admitting he was wrong, wrong for causing his friends to suffer, he ran off. And I can't speak for the Ministry, but they've never been known for their competency as you well know."

Eleanor was quiet for a minute before she spoke again. "Will you ever get to see Sirius again? With him being on the run alone, what if he gets caught being out there?"

"Oh Ellie," he laughed again, "I'm sure Sirius is fine right now, and I will see him in due time. Don't you worry, he's not alone. If he is where I think he is, he is completely safe."

She appeared puzzled but didn't question it further as she pulled the quilt out from her arms and handed it to him.

"Here," she said, " I know it's not really cold, but whenever I'm not feeling the best, I cuddle with this quilt. It's probably in my head, but I always feel better afterwards. It was the first quilt I ever made, took ages, I think I was only twelve when I made it, and it's not exactly my best work but-"

"Thank you, Ellie," Remus said, taking it from her, "I was thinking about taking another short nap and then finally pushing myself out of this bed."

Eleanor nodded her head and excused herself so he could sleep, closing the bedroom door behind her. Remus lifted the quilt in his hands, it was small, probably a good size for a young child but he wasn't about to refuse it. And while Eleanor claimed it wasn't her best work, Remus was impressed that she had managed to knit the pattern of a badger in the centre of the quilt, especially since it had been her first time when she made it years ago.

He noticed a loose thread that was fraying in one of the corners, and went to grab it to tuck it in, however, as soon as he did, Remus found himself sitting in the sitting room of the Ross home. He was wildly confused as if he had apparated suddenly to the location, but he grew even more confused when he spotted a younger version of Eleanor seated beside him.

She had the same quilt in hand, although it appeared unfinished and she was using her wand, which meant that she had been old enough to start at Hogwarts. He was just about to reach out to see if he could tap her shoulder when he jumped at the sound of Margaret's voice. Eleanor mirrored his actions as she, too, jumped in her spot and brought herself to look up.

Margaret came into the sitting room and Eleanor appeared cautious as she paused in her knitting.

"What are you working on there?"

"It's a quilt," Eleanor answered quietly, "I've been trying to knit a badger on the front of it. It's not coming out so well."

"Why a badger?" Margaret asked, earning a frown from her daughter. "Why not something like a cute little rabbit?"

"Because I didn't want a rabbit," Eleanor huffed at her. "A badger is the Hufflepuff house animal and I like the way they look."

"Alright, alright," Margaret sighed, "I just thought a rabbit would be a bit more pleasant looking than a badger, that's all."

While Margaret didn't hear it as she left the room, Remus certainly heard Eleanor's response.

"Well, I didn't ask for your opinion, did I?" she muttered under her breath before holding up the quilt in her hands to look it over. "Don't worry, Mr Badger, I happen to think you're far more pleasant looking than a rabbit."

Dropping his version of the quilt from his hands, Remus found himself back in the guest bedroom, the younger version of Eleanor vanishing. He looked around the room for a second before peering back down at the quilt.

Had he just witnessed a memory?