Disclaimer: Okay I own absolutely nothing you recognise from the Harry Potter Books/Movies.
Although I do own Ellie and all members of the Roone Family.
Chapter 1.
She could sense the danger, almost taste it as she licked her muzzle anxiously. Moving from the trees, she raised her head to regard the school, her old school. Even now silhouetted against the rapidly darkening sky, it still bought the warmth of safety and familiarity.
Padding silently on large paws, she inched forward as the scent of blood flared, metallic and strong in her nostrils. Panic bloomed in her chest as a wailing howl rose triumphant into the still air, causing the fur running along her spine to bristle and rise.
Her ears twitched, trying to pinpoint the direction of the howl as she turned slightly her fur still on end and her tail flicking in agitation.
Trotting towards the main entrance, she froze as a medley of scents washed over her and sent her own anxiety scuttling sky ward. Fear, anger, blood and something that was distinctly canine, yet on instinct alone she knew it was no dog.
A snarling hiss left her mouth in response and she backed up several paces, her ears pulled flat against the top her head as a shadow moved beyond the doorway. Before panic rooted her to the spot.
She hunkered down low to the ground and snarled, a low growling laugh reaching her ears. Gleaming yellow eyes flashed from the shadowy doorway, as a large savage man seemed to slide into her view. Blood staining his ragged clothes and glistened from his unnaturally long nails.
His thin lips pulling back in a cruel sneer, as she shuddered.
"How delightful, a little feline…" He stopped a perverted leer, stretching his mouth into a frightening snarl. He chuckled again, "Do you think you can stop the big bad wolf, little witch?"
Eleanor Roone snapped upright in her bed a startled cry still lodged in her throat as she fought to untangle herself from her bed covers.
'Sweet Merlin, not again.' Raising a shaky hand, she rubbed her eyes and sighed. 'This is beginning to get repetitive.'
With a yelp of surprise, Ellie turned and glared at her alarm clock as an obnoxiously loud rock song screeched through the room. '6:30 already.'
Slamming her hand down on the small device, she clambered out of her bed and with a quick glance out of her window to check the weather headed to her wardrobe picking out a pair of jeans and a red knitted jumper, before heading into the bathroom to get ready for work.
Half an hour later, Ellie apparated with a soft pop outside Gringott's Bank, as a fresh flurry of snow began to fall. Pulling her jacket close to her body she stared at the building before her. She really didn't want to be holed up in her office today; the physical demands of being out in the field were a lot more appealing given her recent erratic sleep pattern. Still like every job, even Curse Breakers had research to do and reports to write.
Taking the elevator to her department, she smiled in greeting to several co-workers on the way to her office. She really wasn't in the mood for polite chit chat.
As she entered the small room, she wasn't surprised to see her partner already there.
Over the last few weeks, Bill Weasley had become a borderline workaholic spending every available spare minute here at the office pouring over some book.
This morning was slightly different, however in that he was leaning back in his chair booted feet propped on the desktop, with a copy of 'The Daily Prophet' in his hand rather than some dusty old tome and instead his normal work robe he was wearing a pair of faded jeans and thick black turtleneck jumper.
As she entered he lowered the paper to flash a dazzling grin, "morning, Sunshine."
"Morning," she replied casting him a curious look, while raking her hands through her long hair to remove the last of the snowflakes. "What's got you in such a chipper mood?"
Shrugging off her jacket and unwinding the long multi coloured scarf from around her neck, Ellie hung them both on the coat stand and cast a drying charm.
'For the love of Merlin, she looks good in red,' He mentally appraised, before berating himself for such a thought and shook his head.
Rising to his feet, Bill picked up a piece of parchment and handed it to her, smiling when he noticed the scarf his mother had given his partner last Christmas.
As she scanned the contents of the letter, Ellie felt a smile tugging at her mouth. "We've actually got time off?"
He nodded, the movement drawing her attention to the dragon's fang dangling from his ear, as it swayed and caught the light. "For exemplary work on the recent assignment in Prague, we're being rewarded with a complimentary week of extra holiday."
"And people say Goblins are unrewarding employers," She grinned, taking a seat behind her desk and reached for her quill and spare parchment. The prospect of an extended Christmas holiday lifting her mood, as she began to write her half of the Prague report.
"We're leaving for Romania this evening," Bill spoke almost an hour later, as a large tawny owl landed on the window sill, delivering a note from his younger brother, Charlie.
He watched as Ellie nodded distractedly, her sapphire gaze never leaving the parchment on her desk. "Give my love to Charlie, when you see him." She murmured, her quill scratching on the parchment as she wrote. A moment later, she blinked and paused in her work to look at him, "We're leaving for Romania?"
Bill chuckled in amusement, "I promised Charlie we'd meet up before you headed for France."
The petite brunette cringed, "Oh don't remind me, I've been trying to come up with a viable excuse not to visit Grandma Lucia. The woman's insufferable."
Setting down his quill, her partner fixed her an unsympathetic gaze. "I gave you a perfect reason not to go, love."
Ellie laughed, "Bill, spending Christmas with your family is not an excuse my Grandma would accept." She paused, "no matter how much I'd prefer it."
"We could always get the twins to give you a Puking Pasty," he reasoned with a grin.
The fiery look she sent him, made her thoughts perfectly clear on that subject.
"What time are we leaving?" She asked after a few moments of silence, as a lazy smile light Bill's face.