Ella's twenty-first birthday had come and gone before she finally felt settled into her role as landlady and manager of the Leaky Cauldron, and the timing couldn't have been better.
Draco Malfoy had proposed to Anne Warren earlier in the year, and they were married two months after Ella's birthday on a beautiful day at the beginning of October. It was with a combination of happiness and sorrow that Ella faced that day. Her joy and support for her dear friend was overflowing, but once again, her life would be changing. Anne was going to be leaving the Leaky Cauldron to assist her husband in his business - a decision that had not been made lightly and that Ella had encouraged Anne to make.
"But, Ella, are you sure you'll be alright without me?" Anne had asked a few months after Draco had proposed. "You're still so young and your father's only home on weekends and your great-gran has to be taken care of."
"Anne, I'll be fine," Ella had assured her, fully believing her words. "I'll hire someone else to help shoulder the extra workload. You've taught me everything you need to, and this was the plan the whole time, wasn't it? Maybe we assumed you'd still be around to help, but you can't tell me you never wanted your own family. And now you'll be able to have that with Draco. Fully committing to Draco by joining him at the inn makes sense. And I fully support it."
It had been all settled after that, and as Ella sat at the bar the night of the wedding, well after the bride and groom had gone off on their honeymoon and the pub had closed for the evening, she couldn't help feeling slightly sorry for herself, despite the hand she'd played in bringing about the day's proceedings. Her father was equally sad to see Anne go and had even asked her every day during the week leading up to the wedding if she was sure she wanted to go through with it. Anne had taken it in stride, assuring Neville with an affectionate smile that she wouldn't be changing her mind. He was happy for her, but sad to see her go and in a bit of a somber mood at the end of the evening as well. But while Ella had elected to stay up for a night cap, Neville had gone to bed early, merely kissing his daughter on the head before heading upstairs, leaving Ella to her thoughts and a bottle of wine after Matt the barman left and locked up.
As she sat at the bar - still wearing the light pink dress she'd worn while standing at her friend's side - Ella found it hard to pull herself out of the funk she was in. She didn't even bother to turn around when she heard someone unlocking the door to the inn, causing the bell over the door to chime. Her gaze remained focused on the bar in front of her as footsteps sounded across the hardwood floor, followed by the scraping of the stool next to her being pulled out. She recognized the tired sigh and the familiar smell of leather and musk that accompanied James Potter as he sat beside her.
He was silent for a few moments before he picked up the box of drawing pencils that was sitting on the bar next to a closed spiral bound notebook.
"These new?" he asked, giving the box a small shake.
"Birthday gift," she said, "from your aunt Hermione."
James gave a nod as he set the box back on the bar. "I thought you hated her."
Ella looked at James in annoyance. "I do not. I only hate it when she's overbearing or won't shut up about how talented and smart her beautiful daughter is."
"So you hate Rose," James said with a smirk. Ella shot him a look as she turned back to her wine.
"Stop teasing. You know I love your family. Despite all their faults."
"How generous of you," he said in amusement. Ella didn't respond, her mind back on the joy and the sorrow that the day had brought.
"Not feeling inspired?" he said with a nod towards the unopened notebook. Ella merely shrugged and topped off her glass of wine.
"So, how much did you cry?" he asked with a sigh, grabbing a glass from behind the bar and taking the bottle from her.
"I should take away your key if you're just going to come here to make fun," she said somewhat grumpily.
"Where would I sleep?" he asked, completely unfazed by her threat.
"Maybe your actual house."
"You know you'd be bored without me," he said with a smirk.
"I would be no such thing. And you stink."
"I showered after the match so I know full well I don't," he easily countered. Ella merely gave a grunt before taking a long drink of her wine. "Having a rough time with it?"
His words came out understanding rather than teasing, and Ella found herself sighing in resignation. "A little bit. At least she's only down the road. She didn't pack up and move to another continent like our stupid siblings."
James gave a light chuckle. "Exactly. You can see her every day, if you like."
"It'll be different, though," she said sullenly, taking another sip of her wine. Her other hand was resting on the bar and James covered it with his own, giving a reassuring squeeze.
"That doesn't have to be a bad thing. Look at it as an opportunity to really take charge here. I know you'll be great at that."
Ella gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, James."
"And who knows," he continued, removing his hand from hers and taking his own sip of wine. "Maybe it'll be your turn next."
"My turn for what?" she asked in confusion.
"To get married."
The comment had Ella staring at James in wide eyed shock for a moment before she burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" he asked in confusion. Ella just continued to laugh.
"James," she finally gasped out, working hard to control her laughter, "I'm never going to get married."
Ella shook her head. Her blonde hair that had been pulled up for the wedding was starting to come loose and a few strands bounced around her face as she reeled at the ridiculous notion. She continued chuckling quietly to herself as James watched her incredulously.
"Why do you say that?" he finally asked.
Ella merely rolled her eyes at the question. "When have you ever known me to show an interest in marriage?"
"I'd say all the matchmaking would make it appear that you might be open to the idea."
"That's different. That has nothing to do with what I want for my life. People should have what makes them happy, and I'm perfectly happy living here and running the inn. Everyone I know who's gotten married has had to leave or drastically change their life in some way. Maybe that's great for them, but I'd rather not go through the fuss of all that. Who'd take care of things here if I met someone who wanted me to move to another town with him or, Merlin forbid, leave the country entirely? I couldn't do that to my dad. Not with Sarah leaving."
They were silent for a moment, Ella thinking her reasonings quite solid. But James wasn't quite as convinced.
"Surely you're not wholly opposed to the idea?" he asked. Ella gave a noncommittal shrug.
"Who am I to say what the future holds? All I know is that it would take one hell of a man to get me to change my mind."
James chuckled, shaking his head in amusement as he finished off his wine. "You're a stubborn witch, Ella Longbottom. Merlin help the man who falls in love with you."
"Same goes for the witch who manages to snag you," Ella said with a smirk. "Not that you'd ever manage to fall in love. You don't have a romantic bone in your body."
"Says who?" James asked, and Ella rolled her eyes at his indignation.
"Says you, silly. Maybe not explicitly, but all the signs are there. The real love of your life will always be Quidditch."
James gave an indignant huff but didn't deny her words before downing the rest of his wine.
"How was the match?" asked Ella, delighted to see his features light up at the change of topic. She listened with a small smile on her face as James made a show of retelling the close defeat of the Appleby Arrows his team had managed. James had been playing professional Quidditch since he left Hogwarts and was now well settled into his role of Chaser and Captain of the Tutshill Tornados. He'd even recently purchased a house and some land not far from where his team's pitch was located, though he still spent half his time living in one of the rooms at the Leaky Cauldron. While she remembered him from her childhood and the one year they spent at school together, this James, the one who came into her pub after a match - sometimes without even showering - was the one she knew best.
"When does the new hire start?" James asked when Ella finally made to turn in for the night.
"Beginning of next week," she said with a smile, the depressing aspects of her day forgotten in her excitement about the young girl she'd just hired to take over some of the serving duties she'd been able to handle herself before Anne left.
Ella's search for a new employee had succeeded in more ways than she'd been expecting. The girl she hired was rather timid, though eager to please and ready to learn everything she could. Not only was she a hard worker and determined to prove herself, but she also seemed to be just the type of person that Ella could take under her wing and be a good influence on in all areas of life.
Helen Smith was a rather simple girl with curly brown hair that she didn't seem to quite know what to do with, and large and eager green eyes. She was almost a head taller than Ella, and her height combined with her long limbs and slender figure made her seem uncoordinated, but there was still something becoming about it.
The young witch had just graduated from Hogwarts and didn't have much family to speak of. Her parents were Muggles who didn't take kindly to their daughter being a witch and refused to be of help to her when she left school. Ella had been more than happy to give the girl a job and even offered lodging as well. Helen had been shy to accept at first, but Ella would have it no other way, and Helen moved into one of the suites they'd kept open for family and occasions like this.
They'd only known each other a week, but the two were already fast friends, and Ella was enjoying having a constant companion once again. She'd always gotten along well enough with Cassie, who was a couple years older and had been working at the inn for a few years now, but the older girl had always been so quiet and reserved that it was hard to get to know her. The only person who had ever really succeeded in doing so was her best friend, Lily Potter.
Then there was Gina, who had been in the same year as Ella at Hogwarts, only worked weekends, and always wanted to tell Ella what to do. Helen, however, seemed just as eager for a friend and even a mentor as Ella was to be one.
"I don't know much about alcohol, Miss Ella," Helen said nervously her first day on the job.
"That's why we're training you, Helen," Ella assured her. "You'll be shadowing Matt later tonight, but he's going to talk you through some of it now."
The young barman - who'd been working at the pub since he'd left Hogwarts the year before Ella - smiled kindly at a very nervous Helen before beginning to talk her through the different beverages behind the bar. He was rather spritely, had an infectious smile, and always seemed to be flicking his mop of dirty blond hair out of his eyes. His new goal was to eventually be a full time mediwizard, but he'd kept his job of working evenings at the bar while he went through his training. Ella held in a chuckle as he began to explain his method of organization behind the bar.
It was at a slow point in the day between lunch and dinner, so they were thankfully reasonably empty. After checking on the few patrons, Ella left it to Cassie to see to things while she made herself at home in her favorite booth by the fire to look over some of the more tedious aspects of the business. She wasn't long immersed in her task when a pleasant interruption in the form of Anne Warren Malfoy made her way into the pub.
"You look excited," Ella commented as Anne sat across from her, her eyes shining brightly and her face tight as she tried desperately not to let a smile take over her features.
"I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much," Anne said in a would-be-calm voice, "but Draco had an owl from Scorpius this morning. He's coming to visit."
Whatever else might have been on Ella's mind was completely forgotten at this news. "Are you sure?"
"Well, he said he hopes he can come some time this fall, but the way Daphne seems to always claim to need him whenever he makes any move to come see his father, we never really know. He said she agreed, though. So it's the most promising his plans have been so far."
Ella squealed in excitement as Anne beamed. Scorpius Malfoy had always been an enigma. As he'd spent most of his upbringing in France, his aunt had insisted that he attend Beauxbatons, so Ella had never met him. Many people who knew Draco hadn't met his son. They'd all hoped he'd make it for the wedding, but his aunt had stepped in once again to prevent him from coming.
"She blames Draco for Astoria's death," Anne had said in frustration on the day they'd heard Scorpius wouldn't be coming for the wedding. "Claims that she would have been fine if he'd been able to provide a house that wasn't drafty, along with proper medical care."
Ella had been unable to refute this claim as it was the popular gossip that this was the source of Daphne's grudge. Daphne Greengrass had held onto what was left of her sister in her nephew, and she'd even saw fit to set him up with a job in Lyon working with her husband's magical law firm once he was done with school. Some had thought he'd come home once his schooling was done, but her claws were in deep, and Scorpius' letters made it sound like he believed he owed his aunt, seeing as she'd done so much for his education. She also suffered from the same ill health as her sister and would always claim that it would distress her too much to be without her dear nephew. So the fact that she'd actually agreed to let him come was an extremely rare miracle.
"He said to expect him the first week of November, if all goes to plan," Anne continued in barely repressed excitement.
"That's wonderful, Anne," Ella couldn't help but gush. There was something positively romantic about the idea of a long lost son finally returning home. Not that Ella was getting any ideas, but the prospect of finally meeting the well bred and well educated young wizard who'd grown up in France had her giddy with delighted anticipation.
Their excitement was interrupted by the entrance of Eddie Finnigan, his attire as fashionable as ever and his hair cut into a stylish fade, though not so long that it was in danger of falling in his eyes. Ella waved in greeting to the very same young man who was responsible for breaking the heart of poor Penelope Jenkins a few years prior, though Ella could scarcely bring herself to feel sorry for the girl. She'd been rather beastly during Ella's time at Hogwarts, never caring much for those who she considered to be beneath her. It wasn't as though she went out of her way to treat them poorly, but her condescending attitude could not be missed by anyone.
Ella had actually been surprised that Eddie had stayed with Penelope as long as he had. He'd always been friendly and well meaning, if a little arrogant. She hadn't known him during their time at Hogwarts, but he'd been in the same year and house as Hugo Weasley, and the two were still good friends and often seen at the pub together. His father was friends with Ella's father and owned the company that supplied firewhiskey to the Leaky Cauldron. So it wasn't that odd of a sight for Eddie to show up during typical business hours, as he was his father's number one salesman.
"And how are you two lovely ladies this fine morning? I hope I'm not interrupting," he said with a charming smile as he approached their table. "I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd check on your stock."
"Join us, by all means," Ella said with a smile, and Eddie happily pulled a chair up to the end of their table. "I heard Penelope's back in town," she said sympathetically. "How're you doing?"
"Oh, I've more than moved on from that," he assured her with a dismissive wave. "I haven't run into her and I don't plan to. I'd much rather talk about what you charming women have been up to. I thought you were working over at your husband's inn?" he asked Anne.
"I am," she assured him. "I just stopped by to see Ella and share some news. Scorpius is planning to visit next month."
"Really?" Eddie said with excitement. "It'll be smashing to finally meet him. I've only heard good things about the bloke. Did he really single handedly put away a notorious illicit magical creatures smuggler?"
"I'm not so sure about that," Anne said with an amused chuckle. "I know he helped with the case, that much is true."
"Well, I really do look forward to meeting him," Eddie said eagerly.
"We should throw a party," said Ella, her joy at not being the only one excited to meet the younger Malfoy emboldening her and tearing away all her fears of appearing over eager. "We could have it here and it could be casual so he doesn't feel too overwhelmed, but it gives him the chance to at least meet everyone. And this way you and your husband don't have to worry about throwing one and you can actually enjoy yourselves."
"I'll talk to Draco," said Anne, seeming pleased with the idea.
"Miss Ella, sorry to bother you. But there's someone in the back delivering some salmon but the schedule says we're supposed to be getting cod but he's insisting and everyone else is busy and I'm not sure what to do."
Helen seemed completely flustered and distressed by the predicament as her round eyes nervously flickered between the three people at the table.
"Don't worry about it, Helen. I'll take care of it," Ella said placatingly as she stood. She poured a glass of water from the pitcher at her table and handed it to the still slightly panicking girl, instructing her to sit and compose herself while she handled the situation. It took ten minutes to sort things with the supplier, and when Ella came back out into the pub, she was pleasantly surprised to see that not only had Helen calmed down, but Eddie Finnigan had taken the initiative to talk to the young woman and set her even more at ease. Helen was smiling easily, though still understandably a little nervous around the charming young wizard, and Eddie was speaking to her in a buoyant manner.
"First days are always hard," Ella heard him say as she approached the booth. "It'll get easier. I'm sure you're not doing as bad as you think."
Helen gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you," she said in a timid voice, noticing Ella as she reached them. "I suppose I should be getting back to work."
She stood and Ella gave her instructions to have Cassie show her how they handled carry-out orders before the girl walked off and Ella resumed her seat.
"She seems sweet," Anne said with a fond smile.
"I'm glad you like her," said Ella. "She's inexperienced, but she makes up for it in willingness to learn."
"Well your judgment does you credit," said Eddie. "She's perfectly lovely and shows a lot of promise."
They enjoyed the company of Eddie Finnigan till it was almost time for the dinner rush. He then stuck to his initial story of coming to check their stock, and Ella took him back to the storeroom, bringing Helen with them to show her around. He'd been incredibly agreeable and complimentary during his visit, and it pleased Ella to see him being so kind to her new employee. She encouraged him to feel welcome to stop by anytime, and he left them with the promise to do so within a few days to see how Helen was getting along.
"He's so nice," Helen said shyly as Ella showed her how to man the register.
"Oh yes," Ella agreed, a plan slowly forming in her head. "He's a frequent customer as well as a business associate, so you'll be seeing a lot of him."
Helen gave a smile at this, but didn't give much away otherwise.
"Rather fit too, don't you think?" Ella prodded, and was delighted to see a slight flush appear on Helen's cheeks. The poor girl was saved from answering by the first dinner customers arriving and Helen being quick to go shadow Cassie in her serving responsibilities as she'd been previously instructed. What Ella hadn't expected to see, was Helen jumping up and down in delight before rushing at the tall, blond, young man who'd entered the pub, closely followed by what could only be his twin brother.
It took Ella a moment, but the second she realized who they were, she felt a rush of annoyance. Lorcan and Lysander Scamander were the twin sons of her father's friend Luna and her husband Rolf. They were a few years younger than Ella, but she'd grown up knowing the boys, and they were about as eccentric as their parents.
The Scamander family lived a rather vagabond existence, always flitting off to chase after some exotic or imaginary creature. This meant that not only did they have a rather unstable lifestyle and hardly had a place to call home, but their sense of style was nonexistent. They wore clothes that consisted of all eclectic articles from around the world. At the current moment, Lorcan - who'd received the initial and ecstatic greeting from Helen - was wearing a navy blue jumpsuit that zipped up the front and a pair of combat boots. His brother wore a raggedy poncho over faded jeans with worn out sandals on his feet.
Ella barely had a moment to wonder how in the world Helen could be on such good terms with the two brothers before she was jubilantly waving her over.
"Miss Ella, these are my friends, Lorcan and Lysander Scamander. I traveled with them over the summer."
Ella couldn't help but look at the two boys in surprise. They gave her small waves in greeting as they looked at her with somewhat vacant and innocent expressions. Helen had mentioned during her interview that she'd spent the summer traveling with some good friends of hers from school before she started looking for jobs, but she'd never mentioned that it had been the Scamanders.
"Good to see you both," Ella said with a forced smile and a small wave of her own. Helen's eyes lit up in excitement at the greeting of familiarity.
"Oh, well then, you already know each other," she said, sounding truly pleased by this development. "What brings you to town?" she asked Lorcan.
"We knew it was your first day," he said with a gesture to his brother, who'd been distracted by something out the window and was staring dreamily out of it, no longer paying attention to the conversation. Ella would wager that it was more Lorcan's idea than Lysander's to come see Helen on her first day of work. Helen seemed positively thrilled by this show of thoughtfulness.
"That's so sweet," said Helen, her eyes looking adoringly at the odd boy. "Oh, did you managed to read the book I lent you?" she asked suddenly. Dread at having to disappoint her crossed Lorcan's face.
"No, but I've been meaning to," he assured her when she seemed dismayed. "I've been wanting to learn more about Merpeople since we're traveling to Greece in a month, so I'll be sure to read it and get it back to you before then."
This seemed to placate Helen, who smiled at him.
"I brought you something," Lorcan said, fumbling in the pocket of his jumpsuit until he pulled out what looked like the claw of a lobster, only it was grey with green spots. He handed it to Helen, who handled it gently and looked at it in wide-eyed wonder.
"It's the claw of a Mackled Malaclaw," Lorcan explained. "They actually cause bad luck for a week when they bite you, so it's said to bring you good luck to have one of their claws. Thought it seemed appropriate for your first day and all."
He said this with a shy shrug, and Helen looked at him in awe for a moment before throwing her arms around his neck in an exuberant hug.
"It's wonderful," she said, pulling back and cradling the claw gently in her hands, looking down at it fondly. "It's the most perfect gift anyone's ever given me." She held it against her chest and gave him a brilliant smile. "Thank you so much."
Lorcan smiled back at her, his cheeks flushing at her praise and gratitude, and Ella was thankful to be able to find an excuse to pull Helen away from the attentions of the strange boy by the arrival of more customers. Helen looked at Lorcan apologetically when Ella informed her they needed to be getting back to work, and Lorcan grabbed the attention of his brother so the two could be seated by Cassie.
"Aren't they lovely?" Helen said after they'd taken the orders of their current lunch crowd.
"Aren't what lovely?" Ella asked in confusion as she put the orders in to Sally the cook.
"Well, I guess I really just mean Lorcan," Helen corrected as she followed Ella around and observed what she was doing. "Lysander's nice too, but he's a little spacey at times."
Ella gave a derisive snort that went unnoticed by Helen.
"But Lorcan was so thoughtful to want to stop by. And to bring me something special and meaningful too."
"I suppose," said Ella as she and Helen filled the drink orders for two of their tables. "He forgot to read the book you gave him, though," she pointed out, and the content smile that had been on Helen's face started to slip.
"Well, he said he would," she said in his defense as she placed a few bottles of butterbeer on a tray. "Although, he seemed so excited when I gave it to him, I would have thought he'd want to read it right away."
Seeing the conflicted look on Helen's face, Ella paused in her task of filling a pitcher with water to turn to her new friend.
"Look, I've known them both their whole lives," she said in a quiet tone so as not to be overheard, "and Lorcan is just as spacey as his brother. They've both always been rather odd, though not quite as odd as their mother."
"Oh, but Mrs. Scamander is so kind," Helen said in defense of Luna, and Ella was quick to agree with her.
"But the family's not very stable as a whole," Ella reasoned. "I can think of a dozen blokes who are much more suited to giving a girl any type of special attention than either of the Scamander boys, who fly off to who knows where the moment they find out their beloved Crumple Horned Snorkack has been spotted. Take Eddie Finnigan, for example. Works a steady job and has a respectable family and does well for himself. Not to mentions he's so charming and thoughtful, don't you think?"
Ella resumed her task as Helen thought this over, and neither girl said anything else on the subject, though Ella did notice Helen was a little more reserved in her interactions with Lorcan as she waited on their table. She couldn't help but feel a small sense of triumph at this observation, feeling very much satisfied that she'd done a kindness to a naive girl who hadn't known any better.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed on the first chapter! I'm excited to see others excited about this story already :) If you are coming into this story without any knowledge of the source material, welcome! I hope you enjoy it, and I'd love to hear reviews from you as well.
I had a one guest review that asked about Neville and Lily. Obviously, you see one of them here, and while Neville will be around, he doesn't take a prominent role throughout most of the story. As far as Lily goes, we will get to her later, although she is mentioned here as well. It was fun to explore that extra character that's not in the original story. I won't go too much into how I'm doing James' character, but I think the thing that he needs for the character to work is his independence and solid reputation, which he can have even though Harry and Ginny are still around.
Keep the reviews coming! I always want to improve and you all help me do that. So thank you!