Disclaimer: Vela, Cassey, Leo, Thomas and Mr. Thomas belong to me. The rest of the characters belong to JK Rowling. The song at the beginning belongs to Iron and Wine. Enjoy!

"Some days her shape in the doorway

Will speak to me,

A bird's wing on the window.

Sometimes I'll hear when she's sleeping,

Her fever dream

A language on her face."

Ella sat in a stark white room, gazing fixedly at two figures. One, a middle aged woman, lay sprawled on the bed, her thick brown curls matted and spraying across the pillow. Her dark eyes stared at the ceiling as if she could see something that was not there. Her face held the traces of being quite pretty once but were now sunken and pale. On the bed next to the woman's was a boy the same exact age as Ella. His eyes were closed at the moment, though, had they been open, they would have been a very vivid shade of gray. His hair was black and fell roguishly over his face.

"Hello Mum," Ella said softly, quickly averting her eyes to her fingers. "The Healers say you're doing better; that's good. Dad's fine, though he couldn't be here today," she tried to hide the bitterness from her voice but it didn't matter much. She had come to visit her mother and brother once a week for her whole life. When she was younger and still at home she had come with her godfather and father on Tuesday mornings. After she'd turned eleven, however, she began coming on Sunday afternoons during the year. Usually she came alone though her father sometimes accompanied her.

She turned to her brother. They were twins but no one would know it to look at them. Though she had grown out of her decidedly chubby phase almost entirely, she was still quite imposing. At five nine she towered over most other members of the Quidditch team at school (of which she'd become a member in her fifth year after Fred and George left). She was the exact right build for a beater, broad shouldered and powerful though her physical appearance didn't befit her personality at all. Aggression and power were reserved for the pitch. The only trait she shared with her father, and, consequently, her brother Leo, were her ears, well, her ears and a few key facial expressions. The rest of her appearance belonged to her mother, dark, wavy hair, amber eyes and freckles.

"Hello Leo. School was quite fun this year, though, if you're anything like Dad, you wouldn't have found it fun at all." She chuckled nervously, imagining him at school, a miniature Sirius Black. "There's a lot of studying involved. I know you would have loved Quidditch; we won the Cup this year but I already told you that. Anyway, I think I have to go." She glanced down at her wrist watch. She had stayed for an hour, a respectable visiting time. Sighing, she shouldered her bag and wondered for the billionth time what it would be like to actually have a conversation with one of them.

From what her father said, her mother would have been in Azkaban anyway. It was only because she had tried to save her son that she had been tortured. She had been a Death Eater, as Sirius had so brashly informed her when she was nine. A fellow Death Eater had cornered her and Leo on a trip to St. Mungo's for a checkup. They had wanted Leo as bait for Sirius as he was a senior Auror and a good friend of James and Lily Potter. When she refused to give up her son they tortured her to insanity and took Leo. They must have gotten bored though because days later they found the one month old infant laying in a gutter in Knockturn Alley, caught in a seemingly irreversible coma. The two had been put in St. Mungo's where they would remain until they awoke which didn't seem too likely anyway.

Ella walked the well known halls dreamily. It was summer holiday and she was envisioning the mountains of books she would get to read. She was much more like her godfather than her father, a fact that caused both no end of amusement. Her long, blue sundress swished pleasantly as she walked and her thongs sent a satisfyingly reverberating slap on the tile floor. She found a fire and threw in some floo powder; stepping into the green flames she said loudly "The Leaky Cauldron, London". Tumbling out of the grate in a very un-ladylike fashion, she was forced to catch her fall on her arm. As she rubbed the assaulted appendage she looked around, the Pub wasn't as full as it had been in pre-Voldemort days but it looked all-too-familiar to her.

She glanced down at her watch again and decided she needn't rush to the Ministry where she was due to meet her Father and Godfather. She stopped into Flourish and Blotts to buy a book on Occlumency she had pre-ordered a month before. The clerk smiled at her fondly; she was no stranger to the man. He could still remember a chubby six year old wondering into the shop, long hair flowing behind her. She had been adorable then and, he didn't mind saying it, had grown quite pretty since. "Hello Vela."

"Hello Mr. Thomas. Have you got my book?" She blushed slightly at her candidness. Whenever books were involved she tended to loose her good manners. "I mean, it's very good to see you again. I suppose I got a bit carried away. . ."

"Don't worry about it. It's a book and I can always sympathize with you on that front. I've got it right here," he ducked down behind the counter and reappeared with a heavy, blue book. Ella's eyes visibly brightened at the sight of it. "I was expecting you yesterday actually."

"I wanted to come by but, well, Dad and Remus didn't want to go out," the regret in her voice was palpable and Mr. Thomas brightened.

"I understand. How was you year?"

"Great, NEWT classes weren't as hard as I thought they were going to be. After reading all those books last summer I was well prepared." Mr. Thomas beamed. "Well, thanks. I've actually got to go to the Ministry to meet my dad and Remus. I'll see you later I'm sure." She placed the money for the book on the counter and waved goodbye to the clerk happily, shoving the book under her arm.

Once out of the bookshop she continued down the cobblestone street to the Ministry. Finding the telephone booth she stepped in. A feminine voice asked her name and so on, it was a bit of a broken record for the young lady. "Vela Jane Black, visiting father, Sirius Black." She pinned on the button that popped out.

After checking her wand she got into the lift and rose to the Auror floor. The office was bustling and no one took any notice of her till she passed her father's best friend's office. "Hello Ella!" James Potter greeted cheerfully. His son, Harry was one year her senior and the two were the only junior marauders (by birth anyway).

"Hi Uncle James," she replied with a wave. Though she was not petite she was quite shy and diminutive, a side of her which her guardians tried hard to eradicate. She had yet to shed the awkwardness of her youth, though any objective audience noticed the incredible difference immediately.

"Here to see Sirius I take?" She nodded. "He and Remus are checking up on something and asked me to watch out for you. Come in." He opened the door to his office and she stepped in. "So how are-"

"Dad and Remus aren't on a mission are they?" She asked bluntly. She didn't know what she would do if they, well, she didn't like to think about it. Over the years there had been many close calls. She tried to keep from crying but the auror seemed to see the unformed tears anyway.

"Oh Ella, no, they're not on a mission. They're just checking out something in the research room," he hastened, a look of concern on his face. Ella breathed a deep sigh of relief and sank into a chair in front of James' desk.

"So, how's your summer been?"

"You mean all two days of it?"

James nodded with a slight grin, settling behind his desk. "Fine. Yesterday I just worked on reorganizing everything for the summer," James chuckled at this but she ignored him. "Today I went and visited my mum and Leo." James nodded sympathetically. It was hard for her; he could see that. Sirius had never been secretive about Ella's mother's involvement with Voldemort. He didn't like to cast judgment on another parent's technique but... "What about you? Is it nice to have Harry back?"

"Yes, Lily almost lost it in the train station. She was sobbing saying something along the lines of "last time". He still wants to start auror training."

"He told me. Dad's not too happy."

"Nor am I to tell you the truth. I don't know what Sirius would do if you decided you wanted to join the force. So I heard you were cleared for all of the offered NEWT courses. How'd you manage that?" Ella blushed ruby red.

"I just did some extra studying in classes I couldn't fit in and asked if I could take the OWL exam for them. Anyway, I never got cleared for Divination." James laughed.

"You're too much like Remus for your own good. I hope you didn't kill yourself. Did you opt not to take any classes?"

"Yeah, I didn't take Muggle Studies or, well, just not Muggle Studies," Ella answered vaguely. This sent James into another small fit of laughter.

"Here, I have to finish this paperwork; you can buff up on the latest merchandise." He handed her Pranker's Monthly which happened to be doing a feature on Weasley Wizard Wheezes.

"Thanks," she mumbled and, when he wasn't looking, she slipped her new book on Occlumency behind it. Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," was James' reply, not looking up from his reports. Sirius and Remus stepped into the room, shooting grins in Ella's direction.

"Hi James," Remus greeted.

"Oh hi guys. Hey, you said no one could get Ella to read anything non school related. Look what I did!" He gestured at the magazine and Ella blushed again.

"Look again Prongs," Sirius grinned. "We learned that trick years ago." James looked at the Magazine again and caught sight of the corner of the book. He pulled it up to examine further.

"Occlumency? Why are you learning Occlumency?" he asked.

"Yeah, what do you want to block out and from whom?" Sirius demanded, his dander up.

"I-I, I just thought it was interesting." She shrugged and took the book from James shoving it into her bag.

"You ready to go kid-o?" Remus asked. She nodded and stood. As tall as she was compared to the other girls (and some of the boys) she was still dwarfed by the Marauders.

"Bye Uncle James; say hello to Lily and Harry for me." She gave James a hug and exited with her guardians. "Are we going home?" she asked, quickening her step to keep up.

"Yeah, in just a minute. I have to finish putting away some reports." Ella's eyes glowed.

"I could help you!" She received a couple of stares from new aurors who had yet to find out about Ms. Black's fetish for organizing. Sirius laughed and shook his head.

"No dear. I don't want to be here all night. Last time you had everything organized alphabetically and by date somehow..." Ella looked dejected but couldn't help but smile a very little bit.

"We're going to have to have a real celebration tonight. Last night was a sorry excuse for a homecoming," Remus stated as they walked into Sirius' office. The room was plastered with pictures of Death Eaters and, on a small bulletin board behind his desk, Ella and Remus. They were an odd but very happy family. There were a couple with just her father and only one of her with her mother. It had been taken at the hospital and her mother held her while Sirius, who was beside the two, held Leo.

"So, what did you do today?" Sirius asked without thinking. Ella averted her eyes.

"Well, I went to St. Mungo's. Mum, I mean Cassey, is doing better the Healers say." Remus winced. It was a struggle for her; he knew that. She wanted a mother desperately and she couldn't even really grieve for her own. Sirius told her on a regular basis that the woman deserved whatever she got.

"Yeah? How's Leo?" Sirius looked up at his daughter with interest.

"N-nothing's changed," she mumbled, a tear creeping down her cheek. She batted it away irritably. She didn't mean to get emotional. It had been so long; she should have been able to overcome it. Sirius looked a bit ashamed and beckoned her foreword. When she didn't budge he got up and crossed the distance between them. He embraced her warmly and kissed the top of her head. He always loved the smell of her hair, like honeysuckle. He knew it was her shampoo but the scent always comforted him.

She sniffed loudly against his chest. "I'm sorry," she muttered, muffled by his robes.

"About what?"

"I shouldn't be crying; it's not like I haven't ever visited them before."

"Oh dear, you don't have to be sorry. I'm sorry for bringing it up," Sirius sounded genuinely sorry too. He sometimes forgot how emotional girls got. "So did you do anything else?" She smiled and broke the embrace.

"I picked up a book," she was grinning her book-grin. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"You're head's going to explode. You know that right?" She laughed shakily. "Is it that book you reading James' office?" She nodded. "We'll talk about that later." She winced, later was never a good sign.

She and Remus chatted and she watched as he charmed Sirius' desk different colors periodically. A very annoyed Sirius finished half an hour later and they were off for home. She had yet to turn seventeen and, because of this, was forced to do side-long apparition with her father. They reappeared outside a small townhouse. It had once belonged to Remus' uncle who had left it to his favorite nephew upon his death. When Sirius' house burnt down Remus had offered his place temporarily. Well, a month turned into a year and year into two years. Ella had grown quite attached to her godfather and flat out refused to move away. Sirius, quite powerless against his little girl, hadn't argued.

Ella scurried off to put her new book in her room. Remus went into the kitchen to make dinner. It was nice, albeit a bit strange, to have Sirius and Ella living with him. Sirius dated many girls while Ella was away and Remus had, well, he supposed he had a girlfriend. It was weird when Ella was there because while she was away, the place was just a bachelor pad. When she was there, however, they were a family.

"Knock, knock," Sirius said from Ella's doorway. To the untrained eye, the bedroom was a library but, instead of a couch or chair there was fluffy bed in the center. The room was done in rich plumb, Ella's favorite color. Bookshelves lined all but one of the walls which played host to a large desk. A door in the middle of one of the walls of bookcases lead to a closet.

"Hello Dad," Ella greeted. She was debating in which section she wanted to place her new book. It didn't seem to fit anywhere. "Where do you think I should put a book on Occlumency?" she posed the question faintly as if she was asking herself more than Sirius.

"How about right there?" he asked, gesturing at a random bookshelf. She glanced at it and immediately adopted a look of pure horror.

"In the Magical Creatures Section?" she asked in disgust, grimacing. Sirius guffawed.

"Sorry. Have you a miscellaneous section?" She nodded.

"I wanted to avoid putting it there but, yeah, I guess I'll just have to put it there." She walked to the farthest bookshelf next to the bay window. She ran her finger over the tombs until coming to the proper place for "The Walls of the Mind: A Beginner's Guide to Occlumency" by Alfred O'Connor.

"So Ellie Belly, why do you want to learn Occlumency?" Sirius asked, sitting on the bed and looking over at her in interest.

"I don't really know. I came across it in a Defense book I was reading and it seemed like an interesting concept. I just figured anything I could use to guard myself would be fortuitous." Sirius imagined that if she had glasses she would be pushing them up the bridge of her nose. He smiled fondly at her. She was a good kid, much better than he could have ever hoped.

"Come here kiddo, I never got a good look at you." She blushed but crossed the room to him. She stood in front of her father and twirled slowly. Her curls bounced and her skirt twirled. "You're much too big to be my daughter," he stated, feigning a look of seriousness. "Too pretty for her own good." Ella's cheeks reddened again.

Remus leaned his head into the room. "Dinner's almost ready. I took the liberty of flooing Lily. You don't mind if they come over do you Elle?" Ella shook her head, smiling, still blushing profusely. "Good."

"What'd you make?" Sirius asked, getting up.

"Tofu stir fry."

Sirius groaned. "And don't give me any of that Black. It's Ella's favorite and it's her homecoming." Remus reminded Sirius sternly.

Ella grinned. "Thanks Remmy; the house elves haven't mastered the fine art of vegetarian cooking," she said, embracing her godfather.

Twenty minutes later Remus, Sirius, Ella, James, Lily, and Harry sat around the dining room table. Sirius grudgingly filled his plate with the "vegetarian garbage". Ella picked at her food as she always did. It annoyed her guardians to no end but she had acquired a rather small appetite. "So, Harry, tell us, is Ella catching the eye of anyone we should know about? She's been infuriatingly tight-lipped," Remus asked, looking over at his surrogate nephew.

"There's a Ravenclaw you should be looking out for. He's been sending a few too many looks her way and seems completely impervious to my, erm, subtle threats."

"And what Ravenclaw are you speaking of pray tell," Ella shot at him, her eyes narrowed.

"Thomas Marks," Harry answered simply, taking a bite of food. Ella's cheeks inflamed.

"Oh, I haven't noticed," she mumbled into her plate.

"It's kind of hard not to notice. I saw him sporting a Gryffindor armband even when we played against Ravenclaw. He nearly had a conniption when you fell in the last-"

"Harry," Ella said quickly, hoping Sirius and Remus hadn't been listening.

"Ella, to what is Harry referring?"

"I'm sure he didn't actually have a conniption," Ella hastened, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Vela Jane Black, what is this about you falling off your broom?" Sirius asked, his voice firm and his eyes searching. Remus had adopted a similar look. Harry shot her a sympathetic and apologetic glance.

"Um, well, it was nothing," Ella stammered.

"I don't think falling off your broom is ever nothing," Remus replied.

"I, you see, I shot a particularly hard shot at the Slytherin chaser and, well-"

"That crummy, cheating Slytherin prick sent a bludger her way and it unseated her. She could have died! She was like a hundred fifty feet in the air and if it hadn't been for Dumbledore slowing her down a bit-"

"I was fine. I just spent a night in the Hospital Wing and was as good as new. I didn't even miss a day of classes." Ella cut Harry off mid-rant, glaring in his direction.

"Why weren't we informed?" Sirius questioned angrily.

"Iaskedthemnotto," Ella said quickly, looking at the floor. Harry always had to open his big, fat mouth.

"Pardon?" Remus could be just as scary as Sirius when he wanted to be.

Ella took a deep breath before answering him. "I asked them not to because I knew you would just worry for weeks about absolutely nothing. Then you would come to Hogwarts and that would most certainly interrupt my pre-exam study schedule." She was trying desperately to stay calm. She really hadn't banked on either of them finding out about the bludger incident.

"Oh, so this was all for our well being then?" Sirius asked. Ella nodded. "Since when can students request that their parents not hear about something?"

"Well, I just explained everything to Professor McGonagall and she quite agreed..."

"We should have been there. I just thought it would be fine to miss one game but apparently it's not. If she can fall off her broom we clearly must be there at every game," Remus fumed.

"Maybe she just shouldn't play," Sirius interjected.

"WHAT!" Ella exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

"Come on Sirius. She just took a little fall," James said cajolingly.

"Traitor!" Sirius boomed. "You weren't like this when Harry fell!" James was immediately silenced and Ella was left to look hopelessly between the two irate men.

"Listen, if you like you can go to all the games and, even if it just looks like I'm going to fall you can cast a protective spell on me. Nothing happened; Professor Dumbledore was there to keep anything from happening!"

"Oh Missy, we will be there and I'm seriously considering placing a permanent protection spell on you!" Remus put in but sat down at last. He hadn't registered ever jumping to his feet. Ella and Sirius followed suit.

"So what's this about the Ravenclaw?" Sirius asked, still breathing deeply.

A/N: I hope you liked this little ditty. I don't know if I'll update but I just wanted to write it. Please REVIEW! The button's right there so don't pass it up!