Chapter Eleven: Good Enough
Harry struggled out of bed, rubbing his face with his hands. He winced as he stretched to reach his shirt on the floor, massaging his side tenderly. Last night's detention in Myrtle's bathroom had been hell. He'd fallen more times than he can remember, and severely hoped he wouldn't get sick, having been soaking wet for more than two hours. But the worst of it was the realization that these detentions were his fate, having finally given in and asked Ella to do the assignments with him. He should have expected she'd decline him so sourly, determined to avoid him for as long as possible. Harry didn't look forward for when McGonagall found him later today.
He shrugged on his robes, going downstairs to the common room to do some homework. The first quiet hour before everyone awoke for the day was the best time to do it. As expected, when he swung open the door to reveal the maroon and gold colors, Hermione sat at a corner table, head bent over a book.
"Hey," Harry said swinging his bag on top of the table.
She looked up absentmindedly, before her eyes focused on him in comprehension.
"Harry? What are you doing up so early?" she asked, clearing her books off half of the table.
"Couldn't sleep any longer, thought I'd get up."
She looked him over, no doubt taking in his exhausted demeanor.
"How was last night?"
Harry pulled out a Quidditch magazine, flipping through the pages. He'd start his essay in a few minutes.
"Just fantastic," Harry said sarcastically. He glanced over the edge of his page, taking in her questioning expression.
"Really?" she said dubiously, raising an eyebrow.
He hesitated, "Myrtle flooded the bathroom and we had to fix it. Took a while and despite the magical ability to instantly dry clothes, I bet mine are still wet."
He winced as he shifted, the flinch not going unnoticed by Hermione's surveying eyes.
"What happened?" she asked concerned, lowering her book.
"Oh, err, nothing. Just fell a few times."
She nodded, biting the side of her cheek as she leaned back and raised her book. Harry, not wanting to wait all day for the bomb to explode said, "Go ahead."
"Go ahead what?" she threw back, not raising her eyes from her copy of Transfiguring the Past.
"You want to tell me to just do the assignments and follow the rules."
"Well it would leave you in a better state than you are now," she said, looking him over, "and would it really be that bad? I don't blame you for not wanting to, but look at yourself. Can you really go through another three weeks of this? Let alone the rest of the year?"
Harry shut his magazine, tossing it on the table. He leaned forward on his forearms, studying the table for a moment.
"I tried doing the assignment with her."
Silence reigned for several seconds.
"What?" Hermione said in surprise.
Harry ran a quick hand through his hair, "I was cold and tired. And after listening to McGonagall and then hearing the unwavering no from Dumbledore, I decided to just surrender. I suggested that we maybe just do the assignments."
Hermione leaned forward, her book lying forgotten.
"And what did she say?" she asked interestedly.
"No of course. I tried pointing out that it was only going to get worse. And I told her that Dumbledore wouldn't change his mind, which she blamed me for too. She just finished fixing the last sink and left."
"Wow… I'm sorry Harry," she said with true sympathy.
"Yeah, well," Harry shrugged, looking down at his hands.
"I'm proud of you though. I know how hard it was to put your feelings aside and ask to do it."
"Too bad it's not enough."
"Well maybe you can tell Dumbledore she won't do it."
Harry shook his head, "No, I'm done fighting it. All I can do now is just go through with the detentions."
They dropped the subject, whether because Hermione truly wanted to or because Harry hurriedly asked about his potions homework, he didn't know. A few hours later Harry hovered over the pitch, blowing the whistle hanging around his neck. The noise pierced the sky like a siren, causing all within earshot to halt.
"That's great Katie, could you run that play with Dean and Demelza again?"
Katie nodded, flying over towards the other two, gesturing wildly.
"Jack, I want you and Ritchie to try hitting Dean again, but put some pressure on Ron too!" he yelled, suspended near Ron at the goals.
"Geez Harry, you keep up this kind of pressure we'll have to start calling you Wood," Dean joked, flying past him.
Katie flew back towards them to her position, coming to Harry's defense, "You have no idea what Wood was like. Harry's a far cry from him. We'd be outside in the pouring rain at five in the morning if he were anything like Wood."
"And those were his good days," Harry said, remembering how militaristic Wood was at practice.
Harry squinted as he watched his new team repeat the play, sweat eventually sliding down his brow as he flew around the pitch and corrected their moves. By the end of a two hours practice he was happy with the team he had chosen, and while some of the new ones were a little rough around the edges, it was a promising start.
"Harry there's a person on the field," Ron said as Harry flew past him trying to catch the Snitch. Harry looked down, his eyes scanning the grassy land until he spotted a pale figured standing in contrast to the dark green.
Harry flew down quickly to the person, planting his feet a yard from them. He looked the person over, but didn't recognize the young boy's face.
"Are you looking for someone?" Harry asked.
"You actually, I have a message," the young boy exclaimed, thrusting a piece of parchment into Harry's hand. Harry dauntingly opened the letter as the boy ran to his friends on the sidelines. Instructions of another detention tonight made Harry's high spirits plummet drastically. Lowering the paper in frustration he blew his whistle, knowing not even Quidditch could improve his mood now.
"That's it for today. You all had a brilliant practice. I'll set another one up as soon as I can."
Ron dived down beside him, helping him catch the balls and placing them in their proper holds. He glanced at Harry curiously as he snapped the Snitch into place.
"Why'd you stop practice so suddenly? Not that I don't mind, I'm beat," he said, rolling his shoulders.
"This," Harry said, shoving the crumpled parchment into his hand. Harry clasped the chest shut and heaved it up while Ron read over the letter.
"Ouch, she's making you spend the evening with Flich?" Ron said, handing it back to Harry, "You don't think you can convince her to do the detentions?" He had told Ron about asking Ella at breakfast this morning. He'd been surprised and didn't hide his distaste for the choice, but sort of understood how Harry could finally submit to it.
"No, she flat out refused before; I don't think she'll have a sudden change of heart."
He must have noticed Harry's sullen mood because Ron quickly changed topics as they changed in the locker room.
"So Captain, what do you think our chances are of winning the Cup this year?"
Harry blew out a breath, pushing his thoughts away, "Good I think. If practice was anything to go off of we'll do well against Slytherin in the first match."
"I'd like nothing better than to trounce Malfoy in the first match of the year. It would be a great start." Ron said.
Harry tugged his shirt over his head, swiping his bag off the floor.
"Yeah, not to mention he won't be the only Malfoy we'll beat. After all of these detentions, beating Ella will be satisfying."
They talked about their prospects and the team's overall skill as they wove their way through the castle, Harry's mood slightly improved by the distracting conversation. They were just discussing Demelza's good dodging abilities when he heard a faint tear before suddenly, all of his books spilled out of the bottom. Harry's shoulders sagged as he inspected his bag, his fingers playing with the frayed rip at the bottom. How did it tear so easily?
"Perfect timing mate, now Hermione will never help me!" Ron said as he bent over to start picking up the items that tumbled from the bag.
Harry shook his head, "No don't worry about it. Go meet with Hermione. You need all the help on that paper as you can get."
Ron hesitated as Harry sunk heavily to his knees, gathering the mess together. He lifted a roll of soggy parchment, black ink dripping from the corners.
"You sure?"
Harry tossed the mess aside, shuffling his books together, "Yeah, just go. If you're late now she'll never let you hear the end of it. Then I'll have to hear it later."
Ron gave a nod, "Alright, I'll see you in a few minutes then."
Harry nodded as Ron walked down the hall, disappearing around the corner. He gathered his books together, plucking the quills off the ground. He reached forward, not grabbing the parchment his hand sought but something hard. He frowned at the pair of shoes planted firmly in front of him. His eyes followed the foot, trailing up the person's legs to see the owner's face. He leaned back on his legs in surprise.
"Potter," Ella said in a bold tone, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
Harry rose to his feet, his frown still firmly in place, though it was laced with surprise.
"What are you doing here?"
She pressed her lips together tightly, looking as though she had just sucked a lemon.
"I thought we should talk," she said with reluctance.
"About what?" Harry asked. He stared at her in confusion, not having the faintest idea of why she sought him out. Hadn't she said all there was to say at last night's detention? She'd made it perfectly clear she was submitting both their fates to detention every night.
She said nothing, merely staring at him in disdain.
Harry waited several moments but finally shook his head, "I don't have time for this." He bent down again, meaning to resume his cleaning, but her voice stopped him.
"Look, let's talk elsewhere," she said, eyeing the corridor warily.
"Talk about what?" Harry asked in frustration, rising to his feet.
She glared, "Potter I didn't stop you so that we could bicker like your two idiotic friends in the hall-"
"Did you do this to my bag?" he asked indignantly, gesturing to the mess.
Ella rolled her eyes, whipping out her wand. Before Harry could retrieve his, she pointed at the rip in the bag, seaming the sides together and placing all of the objects inside.
"Happy now?" she mocked, tucking her wand back into her pocket, "Follow me."
Harry stood puzzled in his spot, hesitant about following her. He could see her bite the inside of her cheek as she turned back towards him.
"This could take two minutes or ten," she said in a huff.
Harry's feet trudged ahead without consent, following her into a vacant classroom. He stepped inside, the door instantly banging shut behind him. He waited by the exit, his eyes following after Ella as she leaned against the windowsill, the light from outside illuminating the dust cloud that floated around her from the disturbance. She swept her blonde hair out of her eyes, her blue eyes surveying him critically.
"Do you know where the portrait of Gladria is on the fifth floor?"
"Uh-" Harry began, scratching the back of his neck as he looked at the floor. His mind was muddled, still trying to process that he was in a room with Ella Malfoy. Voluntarily.
"Well, do you?" she demanded, staring at him expectantly.
"Yes," he finally got out, looking up at her, "Why?"
"I figured it would be a good place."
"A good place for what?"
She sighed exaggeratedly, uncrossing her chest.
"You're not too bright without your bookworm are you?"
"You're frustrated with me? I'm not the one who cryptically demanded that I follow them into a deserted classroom-"
"I don't want to serve detention tonight."
"Well that makes two of us, but you're the one making us do them now, not me." Harry paused as the pieces finally fell together, making his mood rise in irritation, "if you're looking for me to go to McGonagall or Dumbledore to get them to call this off, forget it. I told you last night-"
"I heard you perfectly well last night. I didn't drag you in here for that."
"Why did you then?"
"We'll meet at the portrait at six," she said with authority.
"What for?" Harry asked with heavy emphasis. Why wouldn't she just answer him?
Ella closed her eyes, seemingly having a mental debate with herself before she blew out a deep breath.
"So we can do the latest assignment."
Harry stared at her blankly. Ella noticed his expression, shifting her weight to her left hip.
"McGonagall's having us serve detention with Filch tonight. And not only would that be unpleasant because Merlin knows what he'd make us do, but I'm not serving detention with that Squib." At Harry's persistent stare she pushed herself off the stone wall.
"Tonight at six," she said briskly, brushing past him. He turned and watched her march out the door, slamming it shut behind her.
"She said what!?" Ron said.
"I guess she wants to do them now."
Hermione gave him a small, encouraging smile, "Well that's good isn't it? Now you won't have to serve anymore detentions."
"Yeah, I guess," Harry said, fidgeting with his quill.
"Wonder what made her change her mind." Ron said.
Harry shrugged, "Don't know, she just said she didn't want to have to serve detention with Filch. Maybe she thought the same as me, detention tonight could have been the worst yet."
"Filch doesn't exactly scream friendly," Hermione agreed, scribbling something down on her parchment.
"My thoughts exactly," Harry said.
"So you're meeting at six then?"
"Yeah, guess I'll just hang out until then."
"You could do homework," Hermione suggested.
Ron made a face beside her at the word before he leaned forward, snapping his fingers, "Or you could read this over." He rummaged in his bag and pulled out a torn piece of parchment.
Harry grabbed it, holding it out in front of him.
"What's this?"
"The latest assignment, you don't want to spend more time with her than you have to right?"
"Well yes," Harry said.
"Read this over and figure out what you'll say."
Hermione lifted her head, "That's actually a good idea."
Ron's face morphed, "Act more surprised why don't you?"
"I'm just saying that it was a good idea," Hermione said.
He gave Harry a smirk, "Well, I do have them."
"Sometimes," Harry joked, dodging the quill flung at him. "Thanks though Ron."
Harry spent the rest of the afternoon reading over the latest assignment. Half the page was gone, so he couldn't prepare totally, but he had a good handle on what he would say. Two hours later, wishing he could follow Ron and Hermione to dinner, he set off on his own, weaving through the nearly deserted corridors.
He arrived at the portrait five minutes early, leaning against a statue as he examined the Marauder's Map, trying to figure out how to get inside. He became more confused as he looked at the page, then back up at the portrait. There was a small room behind the portrait and Harry wondered how Ella came to know about it. What confused him even more was that there was no spell over the entrance. Had the Marauder's forgotten to put something on the map? He doubted it. He flipped over the other pages, making sure the map wasn't going faulty somehow. His eyes landed on the one-eyed witch, the spell to get past her hovering faintly over her. He lowered the map, staring intently at the portrait. The blonde inside paid him no heed, brushing her long shimmering hair. He ran his hand over the edges of the picture, looking back down at the map. How was he supposed get inside?
"What are you doing?"
Harry whipped around spotting Ella a few feet away, looking at him as if he were as brainless as a Skrewt.
"I, uh, was trying to get inside."
Her nose wrinkled as she stared, her eyes narrowing as she gauged him.
"Get inside where? It's just a portrait."
Harry stepped away, looking back at the picture.
"Right," he said, stepping over towards Ella but careful not to get too close, "So, where to?"
She didn't answer but walked up the hall to a nearby door. She hit the knob with her wand, muttering an incantation. A small pop was heard and the door gave way to her insistence, falling open as she bushed it aside. Harry followed her into the room, ducking under a cobweb just inside the entrance. The room was small and smelt stale, and his nose tickled as he breathed in the dust blanketing the few desks and chairs.
Ella took one look at the mess and swished her wand, a nearby chair spotless a moment later. She sat slowly, careful not to touch the others around her. Harry pulled out an adjacent chair, wiping his off briefly with his hand before he sat down, situating his chair to face Ella.
A heavy silence filled the room, enhancing the uncomfortableness of the situation.
Harry inspected the girl in front of him as she rummaged quickly through her bag. He wondered why they had to meet here, is a dusty old classroom? He'd much rather be outside in the fresh air, watching the sun set behind the lake in the distance. That way they'd at least have other things to focus on.
Ella pulled out a piece of parchment, setting it in front of her. She pulled another filled with questions towards her, quill poised for writing. Ella frowned down at the parchment as her eyes scanned the writing across the page. She closed her eyes longer than necessary, shaking her head a little before she started.
"What was your favorite Hogsmeade trip? And what about it made it so special?" she asked sarcastically, keeping her eyes down at the parchment.
Harry cursed Ron mentally, the page given to him not having any sort of question like this. He proably gave him the wrong session. Harry thought for several seconds, deciding nothing last year was worthwhile. His date with Cho was less than spectacular. Third year was probably the most fun, even though he wasn't technically allowed and wore his cloak the entire time. But visiting Honeydukes and buying Zonko's products was exciting. As well as throwing snowballs at Malfoy, though he figured a comment like that now wouldn't be the best answer. He didn't want to start anything, he just wanted to get this done as painlessly as possible and not have to serve detention. He heard her foot tap impatiently on the floor the longer she waited.
"First time I visited there I suppose." Ella quickly jotted down the answer, her posture rigid then entire time. She stopped writing, waiting for him to speak further. "And I guess I liked it because it was something I'd never really seen before. The butterbeer was great."
She wasted no time and talked while she wrote, "Last year's Hogsmeade trip in December. I-"
Harry glanced down at his half ripped sheet as she talked, realizing he needed the questions.
"Could I have a copy of that?" Harry interjected.
Ella stopped, glancing at him in irritation for his interruption, "A copy of what?"
Harry gestured to the parchment beside her, "The questions… I don't have the sheet."
Ella grit her teeth, grabbing her wand and creating a duplicate. She shuffled it in his direction, not waiting for him to take it. Harry frowned, annoyed at her behavior. He would have kept a copy if he would have known she would change her mind and agree to do the meetings.
"I enjoyed the Christmas chocolate sold at Honeydukes and the peppermint drink at The Three Broomsticks."
Harry's quickly scribbled down her answer, trying to pay attention to her next question at the same time.
"What was your first use of accidental magic?"
Harry remembered back to when Dudley and his friends had been chasing him and he'd somehow Apparated to the roof of the school to get away. Or when his aunt had cut his hair to merely the fringe and he'd grown it back overnight. Neither story was very winning nor was it something he wanted to tell anyone, especially the Malfoy in front of him. He decided a variation of the incident was good enough.
"My aunt had given me a rather horrible haircut. I grew my hair back overnight." Harry said, shrugging his shoulder.
Her answer was immediate, "I was out on a lake when I was four and the ice broke out from under me. I hovered over the gap so I wouldn't fall in."
Harry quickly wrote down he answer, trying to keep up with her fast paced words.
Ella couldn't hold back her expression of clear annoyance as she read the next question.
"If you could spend one day in another House, which would it be and why? Which qualities do you admire about that particular House?"
Harry took several seconds to answer, "Well Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff I suppose." He sure as hell wouldn't pick Slytherin. Though it disturbed him still that the Sorting Hat had wanted to place him there.
"You can only pick one," she said in exasperation.
"Well I'm not quite sure which," Harry said, trying to decide between the two. He didn't think either would be bad to be in.
"Then think."
"Hufflepuff," Harry finally answered, not missing the snort Ella made.
"Why?" Ella continued, not hiding the contempt in her voice.
Harry's face became hard, angered by her blatant disregard for the House. Cedric had come from Hufflepuff and he was better than the whole Slytherin House put together. He had been murder no thanks to her Lord. "Because I happen to have a few friends in Hufflepuff and nearly everyone sorted there has a good sense of morals. I admire their kindness, bravery and their ability to stand up for what they believe in."
Ella pursed her lips as she wrote down his answer. Harry thought her and Snape would probably have a good laugh at his answers later.
"I would choose Ravenclaw because of their overall intelligence that can only be found in a select few outside of the House, as well as their ability to be rational and the general quality of most of their students. There are exceptions however."
Harry thought he had a good idea of who she meant as his mind went to Luna. He jotted down her answer in irritation.
The back and forth rhythm of questions continued for some time, both sides giving quick (and in Ella's case, curt) answers before rushing on. As Ella jotted down the last question, her quill was barely done crossing the last letter before she stood abruptly, shoving her things inside her bag.
"Bring your answers to McGonagall immediately so we don't have to do the detention."
"Right," Harry said, grabbing hold of the filled piece of parchment. Ella swung her bag over her shoulder, not uttering another word as she walked briskly to the door. She opened it a crack, peeking her head outside for a moment before she rushed out.
Harry walked out into the hall, Ella nowhere in sight. She must have booked it pretty quickly to have made it out of the corridor that fast. She must have been ten times more eager than him to leave, though he didn't understand how. It was just as equally unpleasant for him. As Harry made his way to McGonagall's room, he figured it was because of her thoughts on his "inferiority" that made the situation worse for her than for him. The idea irritated him, like so many other things about the two siblings.
Harry finally stopped in front of McGonagall's office. He pushed up the sleeve of his robes, hoping she was inside. It was twenty two minutes before he was supposed to meet with Filch. He knocked loudly, nearly cringing in anticipation. The door swiftly opened a moment later, Harry relieved when he heard McGonagall's voice beckon him in.
She sat behind her desk, her glasses further down her nose than usual as she read a lengthy scroll in front of her. When she spotted him, he could have sworn she was mentally asking him in exasperation, what now?
"Potter, I'm surprised to see you here," she said, though she sounded anything but surprised. He figured she thought he was here to try to get out of detention. Which in a way he was.
"Sorry for the interruption Professor," Harry began, walking until he was in front of her desk.
"It's quite alright, though I do believe you should be getting yourself ready. You have a detention to serve tonight if I'm not mistaken?"
"Actually Professor that's what I came here for. I was actually hoping I didn't have to do it."
McGonagall slowly took off her glasses, letting the parchment fall to her desk.
"Potter, I don't know how many times we need to discuss this, but apparently it's at least once more. You must-"
Harry held out the parchment in his hands, causing her to pause mid-rant.
"What's this?" she asked in confusion, taking the sheet from him.
"It's a list of Ella Malfoy's answers from the latest House meeting assignment."
McGonagall's bewildered expression seemed to instantly become etched on her face. She stared for a long moment before quickly reeling in her arm, her eyes scanning the parchment.
"You actually did this with her?" she asked and though she tried to keep her voice neutral, Harry could hear the surprise in it.
"Yes, just finished a few minutes ago."
Her eyes continued to scan the parchment, no doubt reading the answers to see if Harry made it up or not. She gathered her composure, placing the parchment on the empty space of her desk.
"I'll contact Mr. Filch and tell him you and Miss Malfoy will not be joining him tonight after all. You're free to go Mr. Potter."
Harry smiled gratefully, nodding and bidding her a farewell. His chest felt lighter than it had in weeks, knowing that for once, he had no detention to serve. It felt like so long since he hadn't had to serve a detention, he almost couldn't remember what he did every night before them. He liked being able to walk back to the common room, the night completely open to him once more, though in exchange for the freedom he'd have to spend a few hours with Ella twice a week, but he'd take it. It wasn't much different from how it had been the last few weeks, but at least he wouldn't have to go through the tiring detentions. Tonight could have gone much worse than it did. They'd hopefully do the same thing next time, getting it done as quickly as possible and with the extra time each meeting, he could get some homework done. He hoped they'd all go that smoothly, though he knew he was probably asking for a lot. A Potter and a Malfoy was never a good combination, he had years of experience to back him up. He walked into the Gryffindor common room, spotting Ron and Hermione sitting at a corner table. They both looked up as he neared, anxious expressions on their face.
"So? Did you get it done? Do you have to serve detention?" Ron asked.
Harry grinned, "Do either of you want to play some exploding snap?"
A/N: LOOOONG wait for this chapter, I know. I got a little busy with end of the term assignments and finals. Fortunately I think I have a very mellow summer ahead of me, so writing my stories can climb a few rungs on my priority list. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I've been getting a few reviews per chapter on whether Ella will find out who she is and how. She will end up learning about it, but in a very... interesting way. In my totally biased opinion at least lol. I can't wait to write that chapter when it comes. Until next time!
