"Who're you?" said Stephen. He looked at Lupin and Bill in utter disgust.
"Friends of Eleanora's," Lupin said resolutely. "And we're going to kindly ask you to leave. The funeral is for family and close friends only."
"Am I not family?" Stephen growled. "I practically raised those girls, I lived with them for nearly ten years. The least they owe me is the chance to say goodbye to- to Eveline." Eleanora could tell the emotion in his voice was genuine, but her hand clenched into a fist.
"Still, we're asking you to leave," Bill said calmly, but seriously.
"Fine, fine- but where's Daisy? I wanna say-"
When he mentioned Daisy, Eleanora flew at him. Bill stepped back in surprise as Eleanora's flung her fists at Stephen, finally landing a punch on the side of his face. She forgot she was a witch, she forgot there was people standing everywhere, she forgot she could pull out her wand and hex him into oblivion. All Eleanora wanted to do was beat the living shit out of Stephen. To get payback for everything he'd done over the years. Stephen didn't fight back, maybe out of shock, maybe because he was thinking more clearly than Eleanora. He knew it would look bad if he fought the girl half his size whose mother had just died.
Lupin and Bill stood back for a second, looking surprised and, in Bill's case, a little impressed. "Ok, ok, ok," Lupin said after a minute, stepping forward to pry Eleanora away from Stephen. She was more persistent than he'd expected, and fought her way out of his grasp to go at Stephen again. Lupin stood back and looked helplessly at Bill.
"Okay, come on, Nora," Bill wrapped an arm around Eleanora's waist and pulled her back.
"Let- go- of- me-" Eleanora fought him off, but stood back from Stephen, massaging her wrist.
Her hair was skewed across her face and she was breathing hard, glaring at Stephen, who was absolutely stunned. He had a bloody nose and it was obvious Eleanora had gotten a few good punches in.
"Okay, okay," Bill murmured, but he kept an arm out in case Eleanora changed her mind and went back at Stephen. He knew Stephen would only take so much before fighting back, and then Eleanora would really get hurt. Everyone in the room was staring at the group in silence. Eleanora didn't seem to notice.
"Get- the hell- out-" she growled at him. Stephen opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and turned on his heel, storming towards the door. Eleanora started to pull her wand out of her pocket, but Lupin grabbed her arm to stop her.
"You got him, El. Let him go."
~
Eleanora disappeared into her bedroom as soon as she got back to Grimmauld Place. She wasn't planning on sleeping, but when she laid down on her bed, she couldn't help dozing off. When she was woken hours later, the windows were dark and the room was only lit by her bedside lamp.
"Hey," Sirius said, shaking her shoulder lightly. "Come- come downstairs... real quick. There's someone here who wants to see you."
"Who is it?" Eleanora asked, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She was still in her now disheveled funeral clothes, her hair a mess.
"Just come and see, okay?" Sirius looked more nervous than she'd ever seen him. "It's not something I can tell you."
"Okay..." Eleanora slid out of bed and padded down the stairs after Sirius. When she reached the landing, she could see Lupin, Bill, and Moody standing in a semi-circle with...
"Dad?" Eleanora's fell open in shock.
"El," Cillian said in a low, heavy voice. "Hey."
Eleanora stepped down from the landing and crossed the floor. "What- where have you been?" Her voice came out high pitched and accusatory. Cillian looked as though he'd aged ten years. His previously dark brown curls were speckled with gray and the dark circles under his eyes ran deep.
"We have a lot to talk about," he said quietly. "And I'm sorry about your mother."
Eleanora's nails dug into the palm of her hand. "No you're not," she said, her voice cracking. "You couldn't even make it to the funeral- don't pretend you care."
"We'll... give you two a minute," Lupin murmured. He ushered Moody and Bill towards the kitchen and pulled Sirius away by the arm. Only Eleanora and Cillian were left in the hall.
"Eleanora," Cillian sighed. "I'm sorry, I really am-"
"For what, exactly? For leaving Daisy and I again? I mean- we didn't have any idea where you went. You could've joined up with the Death Eaters right now for all we know- wait, show me your wrists."
"Lupin and Moody already screened me, but-" Cillian pulled his sleeves up with a sigh, showing bare arms. "No mark. I haven't gone back, I promise."
"Then where have you been?"
"I had to-"
"Disappear for awhile, I know." Eleanora was sick of the excuses. She was sick of the people who were supposed to be caring for her leaving. "I don't care. Where- were- you?"
Cillian sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I had some things I needed to get- closure on."
"Closure?!" Eleanora exploded, so loudly Cillian jumped. "You needed closure? I needed a dad! Daisy needed a dad! I had to leave her with Mum while I went and risked my life for the Order- I almost died, did you know that? And- and now Mum's dead and Daisy doesn't have actual parents, and you couldn't even make it to the funeral." She was screaming now.
"Eleanora, I didn't-"
"You didn't what? You didn't realize? You didn't know you were fucking up our lives? Last year, you told me you were trying to clean up your act. You promised you were going to be around again- and I trusted you! I thought you were going to be here for Daisy at least-" Her voice cracked and she wiped tears she hadn't even realized were there out of her eyes.
Cillian's eyes were watering too. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice raspy. "I was in hiding. I thought it would be better for you girls. I always just- I think me not being there- I think it's better for you."
"Well, stop it," Eleanora said in a dry voice. "Stop it, stop it. It hasn't worked in the past, and it'll never work in the future. Just be there for us- for Daisy, at least. I don't need you anymore. I never needed you, Dad, but Daisy does. Just-" her voice broke and tears cascaded down her face. "Please." She turned and sat down on a couch behind her, covering her face with her hands. In a moment, she felt Cillian sitting next to her.
He didn't try to comfort her, he didn't touch her or say anything at all. Together, the father and daughter cried together over everything they'd lost and everything that could've been if things had just gone right.
"What's happening?" a small voice came from the stairs. Daisy was standing in her pajamas, staring wide-eyed at her father and sister. "Dad?"
"Daisy," Cillian said through sobs. He put his arms out and Eleanora was surprised by how quickly Daisy rushed into them. Her sister's eyes filled tears at the sight of Cillian and Eleanora crying. "I'm so sorry," Cillian whispered into Daisy's hair. They sat together as a family for one of the first times ever and cried, letting out the pent up frustration and pain they'd suffered for years.
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2.| ✮𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮, 𝓑𝓲𝓵𝓵. ✮ {𝓑. 𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓵𝓮𝔂}
Fanfiction𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔' 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝟷 - eleanora marks is a half-blood witch with a dark backstory, a sunny dispos...
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