Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, I do not.
The Leaky Cauldron
It wasn't long after Sirius left that Ella decided to take a trip to Diagon Alley so she could purchase some school supplies. Her parents were gone for the day, but Ella had coaxed them into giving the necessary money under the threat that they'd be under heavy scrutiny if she went to school without the required materials. About two weeks after Sirius had arrived on her street, Ella took a taxi to the magic shopping center. It was early in the day and the Muggle shops were only just beginning to open.
Ella made her way through the Leaky Cauldron while keeping an eye out for someone she might know. She was doing her shopping a bit early this year since she received her letter the morning before. It was pleasing to see that there were absolutely no Gilderoy Lockhart textbooks this year, and there would be no Gilderoy Lockhart either. In the backyard behind the Leaky Cauldron, Ella pulled out her wand and tapped the third brick from the left above the trash bin. She watched with a wide smile as the archway to Diagon Alley opened for her.
The streets were already filled with bustling witches and wizards looking for items they or their children needed. Ella maneuvered around the crowds of people trying to make it to Gringotts, the wizard bank. She quickly exchanged her money before making her way around the streets to go to Flourish and Blotts. As she moved Ella noticed a mess of black hair out of the corner of her eye. Knowing she'd have all day to retrieve her supplies, she changed her path to lead her to Harry who was sitting outside of an Ice Cream Parlor.
"Hey there, Harry!" She trilled as she made her way to his table.
He looked up quickly then smiled, "Hi Ella, are you here to get your things?"
She nodded, "Just got my list this morning and needed to get out of the Muggle World. How's your Aunt Marge by the way?"
"I imagine back to the way she was before," Harry groaned.
Ella grinned and heaved a dramatic sigh, "That's too bad, I'm sure she would've been much nicer if she'd remained a hot air balloon. No use having someone so full of air if they can't float." She winked at Harry who couldn't help but laugh.
"So have you heard from the twins at all?" Harry questioned her, probably hoping that the Weasleys were coming home sooner. Ella couldn't blame him, she wanted it too.
Downcast she told him, "Only the one letter where they told me they were in Egypt. They'll be back soon enough for school, though."
Harry smiled slightly, "Thank goodness that's starting soon. I can't wait to get back to Hogwarts and everyone there."
"Me either, I've had enough of the Muggle World for this holiday," Ella agreed.
"I'm living in the Leaky Cauldron right now, so I'm done with Muggles until next summer," Harry stated brightly.
Ella laughed, "Maybe I'll have to join you. That sounds a lot more fun than staying at my house for the next week, but I don't think I could afford the room prices."
"Harry! Who's your friend?" A man said coming out with a sundae in his hand. He smiled kindly at Ella before setting down the ice cream in front of Harry.
"Mr. Fortescue, this is Ella Worthington. She's a friend from my school and going into her fourth year there. Ella, this is Florean Fortescue, the owner of the ice cream parlor," Harry introduced the two. Ella shook hands with the business owner.
"Here, I'll bring you out some ice cream while you and Harry catch up," Mr. Fortescue told her happily.
She shook her head, "That's alright really. I'm fine, sir."
"No, no! On the house, my dear!" And so he went back in the shop and returned a few minutes later with a large sundae. Ella figured he might be a kindred spirit of Mrs. Weasley's because of the size of the sundae. He must have thought Ella looked much too thin like her mother-figure always did.
Harry and Ella sat out in the warm sunlight and ate their ice cream for the next hour. A couple people stopped to say hi to them, but other than that the two were on their own. Ella found it was nice to talk to Harry without any visions to hinder her. She even helped him on some of his homework since she had taken the class the year before.
"I'm nervous about taking Divinations, would you say it's hard?" He asked at one point.
Ella shook her head and replied earnestly, "It's a bit difficult until you get the hang of it, but nothing to worry about, honestly. The class is almost a bit of a joke. You'll see when you go through a class or two."
He smiled at her and then Ella said goodbye. She continued on her task to buy her books and other necessary items. The bag she brought with her was weighed down by all of the things she'd need for the school year. It was with a heavy heart that Ella returned to the Muggle World, and to her parents.
She stepped into her house and was pleased that her parents were still at work. Ella hopped up the steps to her bedroom and received the second delight of the day. Rowena, her pet barn owl, hooted happily at her from her cage. Ella smiled at her friend and raced over to the pet she hadn't seen in a long while.
"Rowena! I'm so glad your back, I've got you some more owl treats from Diagon Alley today. Have you got replies?" Ella asked her. Rowena hooted and motioned her head towards the letters sitting on her bed. Ella fetched her a treat then moved over to take a look at the letters from her friends.
Dear Ella,
I hope your summer is going well, I've been learning quite a bit during mine, which might surprise you. For instance, I am not a cat person. Not in the slightest. I'm hoping that summer comes to an end soon because I would take a year's worth of Potions with Snape over another second with these smelly fur balls. Hope I get to see you and everyone else soon.
Your friend,
Lee
Ella couldn't help but laugh at her friend's predicament. Of course Lee's letter would be lighthearted and funny. He probably assumed that she'd need something like that knowing her parents, and he was certainly correct. She turned to the next one.
Ella,
We can't even begin to explain what an excellent match it was, but you'll get full details on the train in a week. We're hoping that your holiday is going well and can't wait to see you again! We've heard the twins are abroad in Egypt; Angelina keeps the photo of the Weasleys under her pillow at night so she can look at George when she wakes up. (She's angry we included that, but she can't erase it and we're certainly not starting over.) Things are starting to die down here, and we're about ready to head home to get some supplies in Diagon Alley. We'd also like to rest a bit before the train takes us back to never ending homework.
Hope to see you very, very soon,
Alicia, Katie, and Angelina
She grinned at the fact George was still Angelina's crush. It was a silly, school-girl thought, but Ella entertained the idea of them being sister-in-laws one day. It wasn't likely to happen, but Ella enjoyed the thought nonetheless. Finally, she turned to the letter with the twins' scrawl all over it.
Hello Ella,
We're about ready to leave Egypt, only a few days left as of right now. Mum and Dad say we're going to stay at the Leaky Cauldron the night before we leave for Hogwarts. We're going to get our supplies then too. Mum wanted to know if you'd like to stay there and then go with us to the station. If it's alright with your parents, that is.
We really hope we can see you. It feels like it's been forever and we have your gift like we promised. You'd get to stay in Ginny's room if you stayed and with the money we got from the drawing, it wouldn't be a burden at all. We'd all love to see you and have dinner with you.
Your friends,
Gred and Forge
Similarly to the last letter, Ella ended reading it with a smile on her face. It was impossible to not smile when Gred and Forge sent her a letter. Her twins were always the best medicine to her depressed moods. Ella wasn't even sure she'd have to ask. She'd just head out to Diagon Alley with a note to her parents about returning for next summer.
The next few days passed in a dull blur of visions and solitude. Ella's things were already packed and Rowena remained in Ella's room all day before hunting during the night. Ella sat on her window sill dreaming of seeing the twins again. She'd run up to them both and they'd hug her like they always did. She tried to mentally prepare herself for not blushing when Fred gave her one, but she knew all her preparations would be in vain. Everything was going as well as Ella expected until one night when her parents came home from a long day of work. Her father called her downstairs, and to say Ella was surprised was an understatement. They hadn't talked since he dragged her away from Sirius.
"We're going out of town tomorrow," her father stated as if there were no reason to sugarcoat it.
Ella looked up at him and shrugged, "So?"
"Watch your tone," he mother lashed out. "We won't be here when you leave, and we needed to tell you that you have to come home for the winter holidays."
Her mouth gaped open at her parents and she complained, "Why should I have to come home? Why would you even want me here?"
"We don't want you here, but we have an important dinner to attend on Christmas Eve and the whole family had to be there. That includes you as well."
"But –"
"No buts. You're going and that is final," her father commanded and before Ella could argue anymore, both people had left the room.
Feeling a strong urge to kick something, Ella stormed up to her room and threw herself onto her bed. Now she'd be returning home sooner than expected and spending one of the most family-oriented holidays with the people she considered furthest from her family. She hid in her room until her parents had left the next day. There was some money on the table for her to take a taxi to the station the next day, but Ella had no intention of spending the night in an empty house. She called a taxi as soon as she knew her parents were gone for good.
The journey to the Leaky Cauldron was as uneventful as ever. The only difference from the time before was the odd looks the driver gave her as she brought Rowena inside the car. When the driver sped off, Ella entered into the pub and found Mr. Weasley sitting at one of the tables looking through a copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Mr. Weasley!" She called out while trying to pull her things through the door. Some witches shot her a dirty look for blocking the doorway with her things.
He smiled kindly to her, "Ella, it's so good to see you." Mr. Weasley strode over to her and helped take her trunk. Rowena hooted annoyed at Ella for accidentally knocking her cage against the wall.
Ella muttered, "Sorry, extra treats tonight to make up for it." Rowena hooted happily at the arrangement. She followed her father-figure up to the rooms and he ended up opening a door that took her to where Ginny was staying. They left her trunk then went back downstairs to wait for the rest of the Weasleys.
"Had a good holiday, Ella?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"Not really, but I'm alright," she responded. She noticed the newspaper, "Anything good in there today?"
Mr. Weasley shook his head, "Can't seem to find anything worth reading in here. It's almost becoming as worthless as the Quibbler, mind you, the Quibbler holds more merit than half the things Rita Skeeter writes." Ella settled into a chair and listened to Mr. Weasley as he ranted about the ruckus this Skeeter woman caused the Ministry on a daily basis. Ella was just happy to be back with someone who she knew cared about her. After a while he handed Ella another copy of the paper and she read an article or two while he looked through his own. Barely any time passed before Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the area.
"Harry! How are you?" Mr. Weasley smiled setting down the newspaper. The trio sat beside Ella at the table.
Harry answered, "Fine thanks." Then he noticed the picture of Sirius on the cover of the paper. "They still haven't caught him, then?"
Mr. Weasley looked extremely grave, "No –they've pulled us all off our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but no luck so far." Ella relaxed slightly, but feigned a face of disappointment about the prisoner alluding capture.
"Would we get a reward if we caught him?" Asked Ron excitedly, "It'd be good to get some more money –"
"Don't be ridiculous, Ron. Black's not going to be caught by a thirteen-year-old wizard. It's the Azkaban guards who'll get him back, you mark my words," Mr. Weasley warned them. Ella had to fight not to smirk. Mr. Weasley was right that a thirteen-year-old wizard wouldn't catch Sirius, but a fourteen-year-old witch already talked to him and fed him. No one could know that though, and no one would because at that moment, Mrs. Weasley walked in closely followed by Percy, Ginny, and the twins.
Ginny's face flushed at the sight of Harry and she mumbled, "Hello." Her eyes never wandered to him and she moved to give Ella a hug. The two girls turned and watched Percy greet Harry.
"Harry. How nice to see you," Percy greeted with a solemn handshake. Ella and Ginny caught each other's eye and tried not to laugh at Percy's odd behavior.
"Hello, Percy," Harry said with laughter dancing at the edge of his voice.
"I hope you're well?" Percy inquired rather pompously.
Ella leaned towards Ginny and whispered in her ear, "This is just painful to watch…"
Harry, looking just as uncomfortable as everyone watching it felt replied, "Very well, thanks –"
Fred, deciding enough was enough, elbowed Percy out of the way, "Harry!" His voice was filled with proper pompousness and he bowed deeply. "Simply splendid to see you, old boy –"
George pushed Fred away and grabbed Harry's hand copying, "Marvelous! Absolutely spiffing!"
Ella and Ginny were giggling by now at the two boys. Fred winked at Ella. Percy, on the other hand, scowled at both twins.
"That's enough, now," Mrs. Weasley told the twins in an attempt to keep Percy calm.
Fred wheeled around and seized Mrs. Weasley's hand, "Mum! How really corking to see you –"
"I said that's enough!" Mrs. Weasley told him setting down her bags in a chair. She turned to Harry, "Hello, Harry, dear. I suppose you've heard our exciting news?" She motioned toward the shining silver badge pinned to Percy's chest. "Second Head Boy in the family!"
"And last," Ella heard Fred mutter under his breath. George gave a nearly inconspicuous nod.
Mrs. Weasley frowned, "I don't doubt that. I notice they haven't made you two prefects."
"What do we want to be prefects for?" George asked. His face twisted in revulsion, "It'd take all the fun out of life." Ginny giggled and Ella tried to hide her laughter as well.
"You want to set a better example for your sister!" Mrs. Weasley snapped at the two of them.
"Ginny's got other brothers to set her an example, Mother," said Percy loftily. "I'm going up to change for dinner…" And without so much as a glance in Ella's direction he went upstairs.
Ginny shook her head, "I may have other brothers for an example, but he's certainly not the one I want to take after."
"Ella!" Mrs. Weasley said suddenly. In all the commotion with the twins teasing Percy, she must not have seen her. "It's so good to see you." Mrs. Weasley bustled over to her and enveloped her in one of the hugs that Ella loved.
She blushed at the affection, "It's good to see you too, Mrs. Weasley."
Mrs. Weasley smiled then turned to the twins, "And Ella is another reason for you two to be good role models."
The boys rolled their eyes before going over and hugging Ella themselves. After the three siblings took their things up to their rooms, they came back downstairs to sit with Ella. They all took their seats at the end table of the three tables the innkeeper had put together and tried to catch up a bit. Ella sat with Ginny to her right while Fred across from her and George was at his side.
"So how was Egypt?" Ella asked them.
Ginny gushed, "It was brilliant! There were a lot of neat pyramids, but Mum wouldn't let me go into some of them."
Ella shrugged, "Probably for good reason, now what happened with Percy and the pyramid you two tried shoving him into?"
"Oh that," Fred grinned mischievously.
"We were a bit sick of the constant pompous attitude," George explained.
Fred nodded, "Bill never acted like that when he was Head Boy. Percy just took it too much to his head."
"So naturally, we thought if he wanted an audience –a group of truly avid listeners –he should go into the pyramid. All those mummies would probably listen to hours on end about his plans for the future and how important he'd be next year." George pointed out rationally.
She laughed at their antics, "Well, when you put it that way it seems you were doing him a favor."
Dinner was a happy affair with a five course meal and a lot of laughter bouncing around the room. Mrs. Weasley urged Harry and Ella both to have multiple helpings of each course. Ella couldn't help but take the advice and eat until she was sure she'd burst from all the food. Her only hope was that the nightmares would stay at bay tonight so she wouldn't be sick while staying with Ginny.
"How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?" Fred asked while eating some more chocolate pudding.
Mr. Weasley swallowed then said, "The Ministry's providing a couple of cars." Everyone gaped at him in surprise.
"Why?" Percy questioned with a hint of curiosity.
"It's because of you, Perce." George told him without a hint of joking in his voice, "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them –"
" –for Humongous Bighead," Fred snorted. Mrs. Weasley and Percy were the only two to not find the joke funny. Fred couldn't help the grin that automatically came when he heard Ella's laugh once more, he really loved making her laugh.
In a dignified voice, Percy reiterated, "Why are the Ministry providing cars for us, Father?"
With a casual tone but a reddening face, Mr. Weasley explained, "Well, as we haven't got one anymore –and as I work there, they're doing me a favor –"
"Good thing too," Mrs. Weasley took over briskly. "Do you realize how much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be on the Muggle Underground… You all are packed, aren't you?"
"Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk yet," Percy whined. "He's dumped them on my bed."
"You'd better go and pack properly, Ron, because we won't have much time in the morning," Mrs. Weasley called to him at the opposite end of the table.
After dinner when everyone was full and sleepy, they made their way upstairs to their rooms so they could complete their packing. Ella followed Fred and George to their room since her bags hadn't even been touched yet. For once, both boys had their trunks already packed. When they entered the room, Fred tossed something to Ella and sat on the edge of his bed. George grinned at Ella who caught the object with ease.
"Nice catch," Fred remarked.
George agreed, "If we didn't already have a full team, we'd suggest that you join Quidditch."
"Thanks. What is this?" Ella asked before looking at it herself. A little silver badge was currently sitting in the palm of her hand. "Percy is going to be beyond furious with you two when he finds out what you've done."
Fred shrugged in response, "It's typical for that to happen anyways. We figured we'd improve it a bit before giving it back."
Ella gave a mischievous grin that could rival the twins, "And what did the two of you have in mind?"
"Well," Fred began, "underage magic is difficult to track in a place like this."
"Nearly impossible," George interjected.
Fred mused, "We think that Head Boy isn't the right title for our dear brother. We were going to do some alterations."
She beamed, "What are we waiting for then?"
"You know, Fred, I think Mum's right about our influence on her," George told his twin.
"I think you're right George, thank goodness we wouldn't have her any other way; otherwise things could be very difficult." Fred affirmed to his twin.
"What can I say? I've learned from the best," Ella teased.
George clapped his hands together, "That reminds me… we've got your gifts! Here's mine to you –I think you'll like it just fine." Fred's eyes widened as her pulled out a book that they'd found in the market. They knew Ella would find it fascinating because it talked about the history of Egyptian wizards. Even the twins found some interesting points in it, and Ella loved learning much more than they did. What worried Fred was the second gift they found that he would now have to claim as his gift to her. They were supposed to give her the gifts together so there'd be no awkward moments or anything of that nature.
Ella eyes brightened, "Wow, I've heard that the history of those wizards is brilliant! The pyramids were supposedly built by some astounding architects who had magic. Thank you so much, George!"
Fred's legs felt like jelly as he moved over to the truck and pulled out the second gift. It was a long silver necklace with a beautiful black opal at the bottom. The black stone had flecks of all sorts of colors in it including red, yellow, green, and a lovely blue. While they were down in Egypt looking for gifts to bring back, Fred had seen the necklace and while the red and gold made his mind wander to Gryffindor, the blue made his thoughts wander to a certain Gryffindor's eyes. The witch at the stand recognized the look he was giving it and gave him almost a steal of a price, and told him to give it to that special someone he was thinking about.
"Here's this, we thought you might like it since you really like your bracelet," Fred said shyly to her.
Her gaze was transfixed on the gem, "That's breathtaking. Thank you, Fred!" Ella gave him a large hug then put the necklace on. George grinned at his brother who glared slightly at him.
"By the way," George added, "the witch we bought it from said that it had a spell on it to keep the wearer safe from harm. I don't know if that's true, but we put it on Ginny for a while during the trip and a pot fell from a building –some vender knocked it off accidentally –Ginny moved away just in time."
Ella's hand brushed the stone's cool surface, "Sounds like a lucky gift to have then." The twins pulled out their wands and Ella suggested different spells to use to change the wording of the badge. They were pretty satisfied with their work.
"C'mon then, let's go see if Percy's realized it's gone yet," George said and they followed him to the shadows of the stair landing. They could clearly hear a lot of noise coming from Ron and Percy's bedroom, and every so often Percy would shout at Ron about its whereabouts. The three were heaving with laughter after a few minutes.
Harry appeared shortly after with a slightly pained look on his face. Fred whispered to him, "We've got it. We've been improving it." He showed Harry the badge and he forced a slight laugh before hurrying up the stairs.
"What's the matter with him?" George asked looking after him.
"I think he found out something he didn't want to know," Ella informed them. "I'm sure he'll be alright, though." The twins nodded and listened to their brother's panic for a while longer before Ella told them to give her the badge.
She tentatively knocked on the door to Percy's room, "Hi, I couldn't help but hear all the noise. You aren't by chance missing this, are you?" Ella held out the badge and for a moment she thought Percy would kiss it.
"Where did you find it?" He demanded fastening it on his chest once more.
Ella tried not to laugh as she told him, "Downstairs on the table with Ron's rat tonic. You must've forgotten it there."
Percy's eyebrow furrowed, "And I thought I set it on my bedside table for polishing. Well, thank you very much anyhow. Now, you should go to bed. We'll be up early in the morning as it is and no one will be allowed to sleep in." Ella nodded dutifully then turned and went back to the twins. They friends said their good nights and Ella went to Ginny's room.
Ginny was already in her pajamas when Ella entered the room. Ella quickly threw on her own pajamas and the two girls climbed into their beds. The lights were out in their room and the two girls lay silently for a while. Ella knew Ginny wasn't asleep from her breathing.
"Hey Ginny?" Ella asked softly.
"Yeah?"
"D'you think this year will be better than last year?" Ella asked looking up at the ceiling above her.
Ginny thought for a moment, "Well, I certainly don't plan on being possessed, so I think that classifies as better for me." Ella turned her head to look at Ginny and Ginny turned her head as well. Both girls started giggling.
"You know, I think that classifies as better for the both of us," Ella stated after their giggling subsided.
"It's true, I figure if I go a year without being under the control of a diary, I'll probably remember a lot more of the school year than I did last year," Ginny speculated.
"And I'll probably be around for more of the school year as well," Ella observed. The girls remained lying on their backs chuckling at their casual conversation.
Ginny put in, "Sorry again about that by the way. I was absolutely awful to you last year. I kept thinking all summer about if you decided that I really couldn't be forgiven. I couldn't even imagine how awful that'd be."
Ella looked at the girl seriously, "Ginny, I'm not taking back what I said. I don't blame one iota of last year on you. You were possessed and I can't incriminate you for that."
"I know, but I'm really glad we can talk about it like this. It's nice to know that there really was no lasting damage done," Ginny confided in her.
Turning her attention back to the ceiling Ella queried, "You're going to try to make more friends this year, aren't you?"
"Of course," Ginny stated. "In fact, I think I have one already. I started talking to her in the last few days of term. She's nice, but a little different."
"There's nothing wrong with being a little different," Ella said feeling slightly defensive since she was different from most people herself. Not everyone in the wizarding world could dream the future after all.
Ginny backtracked, "I know there's nothing wrong with being a little different, but I mean this girl believes in creatures that don't exist and things like that. She's really weird."
"Oh, well still, if she's nice I wouldn't let a little oddness get in the way of being friends with her," Ella urged.
There was a pause then, "You're right. I think I'll give her friendship a try. She's almost as alone as I was last year, but I don't think she minds it much. She acts like she doesn't in any case."
"Good for you, now I think we should go to bed. It'll be morning before we know it," Ella told Ginny.
"Alright. Sweet dreams, Ella."
"Sweet dreams, Ginny." And sweet dreams were exactly what both girls were blessed with.
A/N: First things first, I just want to shout out a big Happy Birthday to my friend who reads this fanfic! She shares a birthday with Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling, so that's pretty awesome, and those two should have a happy birthday as well today! Please, Please, Please Review. Feedback is much appreciated!